Description
Book SynopsisDeveloping the ability to speak in a foreign language is an arduous task. This is because it involves the mastery of different language subsystems, simultaneous focus on comprehension and production, and the impact of a range of social factors. This challenge is further compounded in situations in which learners have limited access to the target language. Thus, there is a need to explore issues related to teaching, learning and testing speaking with a view to translating the guidelines based on theoretical positions and research findings into feasible and context-specific pedagogical recommendations. This is the rationale behind this book, which considers speaking from leading theoretical perspectives, investigates individual variables which affect its development, and reports the results of studies focusing on different aspects of its instructed acquisition.
Trade ReviewThis volume offers comprehensive analysis of speaking skills as one of the most important issues in instructed foreign language acquisition. The nature and development of speaking are not only discussed here from theoretical and practical perspectives but are also well-illustrated with examples of empirical studies in the area.
* Professor Danuta Gabryś-Barker, University of Silesia, Poland *
This book explores the complexity of acquisition of speaking ability as an instructed foreign language skill. Developing speaking ability in a foreign language involves acquisition of many subsystems which are then used in various social situations with a simultaneous focus on comprehension and production. At the same time, instructed acquisition suffers from limited access to the target language and natural speaking conditions which have to be compensated for by pedagogical procedures. The majority of those issues are the topics of the empirical studies presented in the book. In this way, this volume is probably the most exhaustive study on the subject.
* Professor Emeritus Janusz Arabski, Department of English, University of Silesia *
The development of oral skills, particularly in a FL, is complicated by a number of social and cognitive factors. The edited volume "Speaking and instructed foreign language acquisition" is an excellent testimony to this and is thus an invaluable contribution to our understanding of current ideas and topics on the acquisition of oral skills in FL settings. Unlike many other volumes on FL acquisition, the present volume presents theoretical discussions drawing on cognitive and sociocultural perspectives. Given recent efforts to adopt a more holistic approach to the study of language acquisition, readers will enjoy the thorough examination of factors at play.
* Caroline Payant, Department of English, University of Idaho on The LINGUIST List 23.3856 *
Table of ContentsPreface
Part I: Theoretical perspectives on instructed acquisition of speaking
1. Mirosław Pawlak: Instructed acquisition of speaking: Reconciling theory and practice
2. Agnieszka Nowicka and Weronika Wilczyńska: Authenticity in oral communication of instructed L2 learners
3. Piotr Białas: Formulaic sequences in the output of instructed L2 learners
4. Agnieszka Wróbel: Formulaicity vs. fluency and accuracy in using English as a foreign language.
5. Jan Majer: Talking the same language: Sociocultural aspects of code-switching in L2 classroom discourse
6. Anna Niżegorodcew: Speaking in English for Academic Purposes in the light of Lingua Franca English
Part II: Speaking and individual variables
7. Adriana Biedroń: Near-nativeness as a function of cognitive and personality factors. Three case studies of highly able foreign language learners
8. Ewa Waniek-Klimczak: ‘I am good at speaking, but I failed my phonetics class’ – pronunciation and speaking in advanced learners of English
9. Krystyna Droździał-Szelest: Oral skills awareness of advanced ESL learners
10. Aneta Całka: Pronunciation learning strategies – identification and classification
11. Magdalena Wrembel: Metaphonetic awareness in the production of speech
12. Krzysztof Nerlicki: Foreign language speaking anxiety from the perspective of Polish students of German studies
13. Ewa Piechurska-Kuciel: The relationship between language anxiety and the development of the speaking skill. Results of a longitudinal study
Part III: Research into instructed acquisition of speaking
14. Sebastian Piotrowski: On the authenticity of communication in the foreign language classroom
15. Irena Czwenar: Ways to proficiency in spoken English as a foreign language – tracing individual development
16. Anna Mystkowska-Wiertelak: Task repetition as a way of enhancing oral communication in a foreign language
17. Mariusz Kruk: The use of the Internet and Instant Messengers in assisting the acquisition of speaking skills in English lessons
18. Dorota Werbińska: Investigating the perception of speaking skills with metaphor-based methods
19. Jolanta Szpyra-Kozłowska: Phonetically difficult words in intermediate learners’ English
20. Przemysław Krakowian: Transcultural interference, communities of practice and collaborative assessment of oral performance
