Language Processing and Second Language Development Processability theory
Produktdetaljer
I found this a very interesting and stimulating book. The author develops an original point of view which has never before been made accessible in the form of a coherent argument in a single volume. In addition, there are many aspects of the theory and of its coverage which are new.
- R.J. Towell, University of Salford,
[<i>Language Processing and Second Language Development: Processability theory </i>] is a very good book indeed. The contents are rich, there are many discussions of similar models, and the differences between them and PT are thoroughly accounted for. Even if one were not primarily interpreted in PT, one would still learn a great deal about SLA from this book. So it is really a gift to SLA researchers. Buy it — you will be sure to use it many times as a source of inspiration and for references.
- Esther Glahn, University of Copenhagen in Applied Linguistics 22(4), 2001,
Pienemann's book represents a significant contribution to theoretical debates in SLA with its systematic description of language development in terms of cognitive factors relating to human processing abilities as well as formal/linguistic notions derived from a theory of grammar. <br />
- Fehti Mansouri in Australian Review of Applied Linguistics 25:1, 2002,
The core of the book is Pienemann’s Processability Theory which spells out which second language forms are processable at which developmental stage. The theory is based on recent research into language processing and is formalised within Lexical-Functional Grammar.
The predictions of the theory are applied to the second language development of English, German, Japanese and Swedish. The theory is also tested in on-line experiments. In addition, Processability Theory has major implications for interlanguage variation (including task variation) and age-related differences in language acquisition. All of these issues are explored from a processing perspective with theoretical and empirical rigor.