The last few years have witnessed exponential growth in research output within the field of language aptitude. With contributions from an international team of leading experts, this volume provides the most comprehensive, authoritative and up-to-date overview of developments in language aptitude theory and practice. It addresses central and newly emerging methodological and theoretical issues, and revisits and re-examines the most popular language aptitude tests, including the most durable...

Task-based language teaching is an approach which differs from traditional approaches by emphasising the importance of engaging learners' natural abilities for acquiring language incidentally through the performance of tasks that draw learners' attention to form. Drawing on the multiple perspectives and expertise of five leading authorities in the field, this book provides a comprehensive and balanced account of task-based language teaching (TBLT). Split into five sections, the book provid...

Language Aptitude: Advancing Theory, Testing, Research and Practice brings together cutting-edge global perspectives on foreign language aptitude. Drawing from educational psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience, the editors have assembled interdisciplinary authors writing for an applied linguistics and education audience. The book is broken into five major themes: revisiting and updating current language aptitude theories and models; emerging insights from contemporary re...

Understanding the way in which learners differ from one another is of fundamental concern to those involved in second-language acquisition, either as researchers or teachers. This account is the first to review at book length the important research into differences, considering matters such as aptitude, motivation, learner strategies, personality and interaction between learner characteristics and types of instruction.

Researching Pedagogic Tasks brings together a series of empirical studies into the use of pedagogical tasks for second language learning, with a view to better understanding the structure of tasks, their impact on students, and their use by teachers. The volume starts with an introduction to the background and key issues in the topic area and is then organised into three sections:the first section focuses on the language and learning of students on tasksthe...

Second Language Task-Based Performance is the first book to synthesize Peter Skehan’s theoretical and empirical contributions all in one place. With three distinct themes explored in each section (theory, empirical studies, and assessment), Skehan’s influential body of work is organized in such a way that it provides an updated reflection on the material and makes it relevant to today’s researchers. Also in each section, an early publication is matched by at least one later public...