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1999). How Languages are Learned (Second Edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Lightbown and Spada present a highly accessible overview of second language learning, with discussion of theories of learning and factors that affect second language learning. Additionally, second language learning and teaching in the school setting are treated, as are popular myths about language learning. Bialystok, E. & Hakuta, K. (1994). In Other Words: The Science and Psychology of Second-Language Acquisition.

E. predating 1980) approaches included in this section. Contrastive Analysis Contrastive Analysis (CA) is an approach to the study of SLA which involves predicting and explaining learner problems based on a comparison of L1 and L2 to determine similarities and differences. It was heavily influenced by theories which were dominant in linguistics and psychology within the USA through the 1940s and 1950s, Structuralism and Behaviorism. The goal of CA (as that of still earlier theories of L2 learning) was primarily pedagogical in nature: to increase efficiency in L2 teaching and testing.

These include: • Ambiguity in classification. It is difficult to say, for instance, if a Chinese L1 speaker who omits number and tense inflections in English L2 is doing so because of L1 influence (Chinese is not an inflectional language) or because of a universal developmental process (also present in L1 acquisition) which results in simplified or “telegraphic” utterances. • Lack of positive data. Focus on errors alone does not necessarily provide information on what the L2 learner has acquired (although I have inferred from the examples I gave above what the Korean L1 speaker/writer has learned about English auxiliary verbs and articles); further, correct uses may be overlooked.