Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Oxford Introductions to Language Study

Second Language Acquisition (Oxford Introductions to Language Study) 1st (first) , Later by Ellis, Rod (1997) Paperback

Rate this book
In the age of the global village and the world wide web, understanding the way in which people learn languages is of ever increasing importance. This book makes the essentials of this rapidly expanding area of study accessible to readers encountering it for the first time.

Unknown Binding

First published April 24, 1997

40 people are currently reading
590 people want to read

About the author

Rod Ellis

73 books104 followers
Professor Rod Ellis is Professor in the Department of Applied Language Studies and Linguistics at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He has worked in Zambia, the UK, Japan, and the U.S.A for extended periods. He has published a number of books on second language acquisition and teacher education. He has also published EFL/ESL textbooks. His main interest lies in the application of second language theory and research to language teaching.

He is co-author of Analysing Learner Language, and author of Second Language Acquisition, SLA Research and Language Teaching, The Study of Language Acquisition, which won the English Speaking Union's Duke of Edinburgh Book Competition, Understanding Second Language Acquisition, which won the BAAL Book Prize, and Task-based Language Learning and Teaching, all published by Oxford University Press.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
89 (32%)
4 stars
85 (31%)
3 stars
74 (27%)
2 stars
19 (7%)
1 star
4 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
Profile Image for Lisa.
105 reviews5 followers
June 27, 2011
I liked this best of the two SLA books I'm reading, but still: full of "duh" information.

Still, I suppose we all need a reminder of even the most "duh" of information.
Profile Image for Ash Moran.
79 reviews40 followers
January 5, 2010
Short, concise overview of topics in second language acquisition. Gave me exactly what I needed - a quick overview of the topic. I would have preferred a longer Survey section (the overview) and less in the Readings section, but that's just me.
Profile Image for Ufuk Ataş.
19 reviews
March 11, 2014
A brief introduction to many important aspects of SLA. Good way to refresh what you already know. References are cut out for easy reading, though it would have been better if specific references were included in the main text.
Profile Image for Jona.
23 reviews
November 11, 2007
Ellis provide a comprehensive understanding of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) theories. It is a MUST READ for linguist who specialized in SLA major.
Profile Image for Casey.
129 reviews5 followers
January 6, 2021
My workplace’s library has this series and I wanted to get a sense of it so I tested the waters w/ this title. As a series, I think it’s pretty good. The survey section lays out a decent foundation. The readings and references sections offer enough options to dig deeper into the subject of interest.

All the above holds true for this specific title too. It’s dated, originally published in 1997–the edition I read published was published in 2012, but has a solid core to it. Probably best to look into current websites, blogs, magazines, journals, and books if your curious about the current state of the field.
Profile Image for IVellon.
95 reviews5 followers
March 1, 2018
Very short introduction, mostly written from a generative perspective, other theories are not dealt with or not discussed in depth, some information is outdated
Profile Image for Toshi.
212 reviews4 followers
December 17, 2024
My learning: There is no best way of Second Language Acquisition that works for everyone. Not a surprise but rather it is understandable and a bit disappointed as a novice educator.
22 reviews5 followers
September 30, 2013
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
9/27/2013=80minutes
7 word summary=second language acquisition target input studies child
Discussion Question
Why is the study of SLA needed for us?
I think that using more than two languages are important for communication all around the world
because internationalization is expanding now. Moreover, it leads to earn much money finally.
Therefore, the study is useful when learners learn languages.

This book tells you the outline of second language acquisition. There are too many factors in SLA, so this will be introductory book for you
17 reviews3 followers
June 10, 2015
A wonderful succinct introduction to a plethora of paramount aspects of SLA. Prof. Ellis has always left me with food for thought; intriguing questions from this gripping book are - I believe - as follows:

1. "Does instruction that emphasises input-processing work better than instruction which emphasises output production?"

2. Does strategy use result in learning or does learning increase learners' ability to employ more strategies?" (p. 78)

3. "... not enough is known about which strategies and which combinations of strategies work best for L2 acquisition" (P. 87).

All the best! :)
Profile Image for Pam Dise-Moran.
197 reviews2 followers
October 9, 2018
I read this chapter by chapter alongside other articles and tests regarding second language acquisition for a grad course. The other texts enriched the context and expanded on the theories. I enjoyed this concise, clear text that gave an objective introduction to the various theories regarding the study of second language acquisition. This is a good introduction for anyone interested in the study of linguistics, language pedagogy or the sociology of multilingual communities.
Profile Image for Will.
115 reviews
July 16, 2016
A good basic overview of theories and approaches to SLA. Chapters 7-9 will be the most applicable to language teachers. the bibliography seemed a little small, and many of the sources were journal articles that most people will be unable to access without paying for them.
Profile Image for Shane.
159 reviews3 followers
December 15, 2020
A brief but useful survey of the issues and research into understanding how we learn a second language or why we don't.
Profile Image for E.
154 reviews
September 24, 2014
Good, but not the most useful SLA book.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.