Second Language Learning Data Analysis

Twenty years after its first publication, Susan M. Gass’s Input, Interaction, and the Second Language Learner has become a classical text in the field of second language acquisition (SLA). This new printing includes the original text, along with a new preface that comprises individual consultations between the author and Alison Mackey, Rod Ellis, and Mike Long on the importance of the project two decades later. The volume provides an important view of the relationship between input, interaction, and SLA. In so doing, it should prove useful to those whose major concern is with the acquisition of a second or foreign language, as well as those who are primarily interested in these issues from a pedagogical perspective. The book does not explicate or advocate a particular teaching methodology, but does attempt to lay out some of the underpinnings of what is involved in interaction—what interaction is and what purpose it serves. Research in SLA is concerned with the knowledge that second language learners do and do not acquire, and how that knowledge comes about. This book ties these issues together from three perspectives: the input/interaction framework, information-processing, and learnability. This Routledge Linguistics Classic remains a key text for all SLA scholars and an essential supplementary volume for students on SLA courses.

This edited volume offers critical reflections on an essential component of research method in the field of second language acquisition – data. Scholars working on diverse areas (e.g., pragmatics, corrective feedback, phonology) and approaches (e.g., corpus linguistics, concept-oriented analyses, variationism) have come together to identify challenges researchers face when collecting, coding, and analyzing data and to provide guidance for making advancements regarding these aspects of research method. This volume also showcases three types of critical reflection. One involves building a relevant corpus of published investigations and using that database to identify methodological issues in existing research. Another consists of recoding and reanalyzing published work, before reflecting on the impact that these decisions have on observations made about interlanguage. The third begins with a particular area of or approach to second language acquisition and then offers a critical examination on the challenges that characterize the selected area or approach. Researchers and graduate students alike will benefit from an open discussion on methodological issues that are in need of improvement.

The purpose of this workbook is to provide students with practice in analyzing second language data. For the student of second language learning, "hands-on" experience with actual data is essential in understanding the processes involved in learning a second language. Working through exemplars of the kinds of interlanguages that learners do and do not create brings about a clearer understanding of the principles underlying these interlanguages, as well as the universal principles of language learning (those that are independent of particular languages and interlanguages). The goal in this workbook is to present data organized in such a way that by working through pedagogically presented data-sets, students are led to a discovery and understanding of theoretical and/or methodological issues. In addition, they acquire the ability to interpret data and to begin to draw conclusions from them. The authors intend that students should go from the data to a conclusion that includes a 3-part statement: *what else you should want to know about these data; *why this, specifically, and not something else; and *how one can empirically research what you want to find out. This sequence of questions forces students to constantly keep in mind the important question of falsification: What kind of data would it take to falsify the particular conclusions the students come to? As with the earlier edition of this workbook (Sorace, Gass, & Selinker), two audiocassettes provide language samples for use in the exercises. These cassettes and the teacher's manual are offered free of charge on adoption of the workbook for classroom use; a three-part set (workbook/manual/tapes) is also available.

The purpose of this workbook is to provide students with practice in analyzing second language data. For the student of second language learning, "hands-on" experience with actual data is essential in understanding the processes involved in learning a second language. Working through exemplars of the kinds of interlanguages that learners do and do not create brings about a clearer understanding of the principles underlying these interlanguages, as well as the universal principles of language learning (those that are independent of particular languages and interlanguages). The goal in this workbook is to present data organized in such a way that by working through pedagogically presented data-sets, students are led to a discovery and understanding of theoretical and/or methodological issues. In addition, they acquire the ability to interpret data and to begin to draw conclusions from them. The authors intend that students should go from the data to a conclusion that includes a 3-part statement: *what else you should want to know about these data; *why this, specifically, and not something else; and *how one can empirically research what you want to find out. This sequence of questions forces students to constantly keep in mind the important question of falsification: What kind of data would it take to falsify the particular conclusions the students come to? As with the earlier edition of this workbook (Sorace, Gass, & Selinker), two audiocassettes provide language samples for use in the exercises. These cassettes and the teacher's manual are offered free of charge on adoption of the workbook for classroom use; a three-part set (workbook/manual/tapes) is also available.

This introduction to visualization techniques and statistical models for second language research focuses on three types of data (continuous, binary, and scalar), helping readers to understand regression models fully and to apply them in their work. Garcia offers advanced coverage of Bayesian analysis, simulated data, exercises, implementable script code, and practical guidance on the latest R software packages. The book, also demonstrating the benefits to the L2 field of this type of statistical work, is a resource for graduate students and researchers in second language acquisition, applied linguistics, and corpus linguistics who are interested in quantitative data analysis.

Aimed at students of applied linguistics and TEFL on research training courses and practising language teachers, this work provides specific advice and support to those wishing to learn how to approach the critical anaysis of a research paper.

Research Methods in Second Language Acquisition “With its cornucopia of information, both thorough and practical, this book is a must for our methodology shelves. Its study questions and project suggestions will be a boon for many research methods courses.” Robert M. DeKeysevr, University of Maryland “This guide to collecting, coding and analyzing second language acquisition data will be an essential reference for novice and experienced researchers alike.” Peter Robinson, Aoyama Gakuin University “Comprehensive and technically up-to-date, yet accessible and cogent! This remarkable textbook is sure to become a premier choice for the research training of many future SLA generations.” Lourdes Ortega, University of Hawaii “Alison Mackey and Susan Gass’ valuable new book offers hands-on methodological guidance from established experts on all kinds of second language research.” Michael H. Long, University of Maryland Research Methods in Second Language Acquisition: A Practical Guide is an informative guide to research design and methodology in this growing and vibrant field. Utilizing research methods and tools from varied fields of study including education, linguistics, psychology, and sociology, this collection offers complete coverage of the techniques of second language acquisition research. This guide covers a variety of topics, such as second language writing and reading, meta-analyses, research replication, qualitative data collection and analysis, and more. Each chapter of this volume offers background, step-by-step guidance, and relevant studies to create comprehensive coverage of each method. This carefully selected and edited volume will be a useful text for graduate students and scholars looking to keep pace with the latest research projects and methodologies in second language acquisition.