Vocabulary Learning Strategies And Foreign Language Acquisition (Second Language Acquisition) - Tapa dura

About the Author

ViÅ nja PaviÄ iÄ TakaÄ obtained her BA in English and German language and literature from the University of Osijek, Croatia, and her MA and PhD from the University of Zagreb, Croatia. After working as a primary school teacher of English, she was appointed teaching assistant for the English language and ELT methodology at the Faculty of Philosophy University of Osijek, Croatia. As a guest lecturer, she has also taught at universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the postgraduate course on foreign language learning strategies at the University of Zagreb, Croatia. Her professional and research interests include individual differences in foreign language learning, language learning strategies, interlanguage, cross-linguistic studies, as well as pre-service teacher education and foreign language teachersâ competence. She is currently an assistant professor and teaches a variety of under- and postgraduate courses related to theory and practice of foreign language acquisition.

Review

This book provides a timely, thoughtful, and welcome contribution to the current surge of articles and edited volumes on L2 strategies. Researchers interested in vocabulary and strategies will appreciate its concentrated, theoretical accounts of vocabulary learning, whereas classroom practitioners will value the pedagogical applications it provides on topics such as L2 strategy instruction.

(Luke Plonsky, Michigan State University, USA, in Studies in Second Language Acquisition Volume 31, 2009)

The book is well-written, nicely organized, and reader-friendly, and it should be quite accessible to teachers, researchers, and graduate students alike. It provides excellent coverage of relevant theories of vocabulary learning and useful data through its empirical chapters. It should be essential reading for language teachers and graduate students working on language learning and teaching strategies and can also be enthusiastically recommended as a supplementary text for courses on methodology in second and foreign language teaching.

(Is’haaq Akbarian, University of Qom, in English for Specific Purposes 28 (2009))

This much needed book will be an invaluable text for researchers of language learning strategies and of vocabulary acquisition, and for teachers and teacher educators. It will stimulate the reader to reflect at length, not only on learner strategy deployment, but also on the problematical relationship between instruction and acquisition. The elaborate and detailed review of studies in the field makes the book suitable for those new to the field while the results of new research particularly in the second and third studies will appeal to those with more advanced knowledge and experience in the area.

(Dr Muiris O'Laoire, Institute of Technology, Tralee, Ireland)

Takac's book is a significant contribution to LLS in the field of SLA. Each chapter is clearly laid-out and well written, with excellent end-of-chapter summaries. I believe that this much needed book will be an invaluable resource and will be thought-provoking for the reader, not only on learner strategy use, but also on the relationship between strategy training and language acquisition. Overall, I would highly recommend this book to those researchers involved in LLS and of vocabulary acquisition, and for teachers and teacher educators. The wealth of illustrations and the elaborate discussion makes this book an extremely useful reference for those involved in strategy teaching and training.

(Yasemin Kirkgoz, University of Cukurova, Turkey, in Linguist List 19.2650)