UMass Boston

Course Overview

Description

This course introduces students to contemporary issues and theories of language development and to the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA). It presents an overview of the major research findings on language learning during the last forty years: e.g., universal features of the L2 learner and the L2 learning process, nature and route or acquisition, Interlanguage, cross-linguistic influences; role of the environment and environmental triggers of acquisition; cognitive contributions. Students examine a range of SLA epistemologies and theories that attempt to account for some of these research finding and the issues they have raised. They practice critically evaluation specific research studies and understanding their connections with current perspectives in the field.