Böcker utgivna av Multilingual Matters

This book examines the evidence relative to the idea that there is an age factor in first and second language acquisition, evidence that has sources ranging from studies of feral children to evaluations of language programmes in primary schools. It goes on to explore the various explanations that have been advanced to account for such evidence. Finally, it looks at the educational ramifications of the age question, with particular regard to formal second language teaching in the early school years and in 'third age' contexts.

Within the complex process of second language acquisition there lies a highly variable component referred to as the silent period, during which some beginning second language learners may not willingly produce the target language. Silence in Second Language Learning claims that the silent period might represent a psychical event, a non-linguistic as well as a linguistic moment in the continuous process of identity formation and re-formation. Colette Granger calls on psychoanalytic concepts of anxiety, ambivalence, conflict and loss, and on language learning narratives, to undertake a theoretical dialogue with the learner as a being engaged in the psychical work of making, and re-making, an identity. Viewed in its entirety, this study takes the form of a kind of triangulation of three elements: the linguistically described phenomenon of the silent period; the psychoanalytically oriented problem of the making of the self; and the real and remembered experiences of individuals who live in the silent space between languages.

Translation is intercultural communication in its purest form.  Its power in forming and/or deforming cultural identities has only recently been acknowledged, given the attention it deserves.  The chapters in this unique volume assess translation from Arabic into other languages from different perspectives: the politics, economics, ethics, and poetics of translating from Arabic; a language often neglected in western mainstream translation studies.

The now familiar forces of globalisation and internationalisation are influencing the role and significance of language teaching and learning in contemporary classrooms. This affects the ways in which English is taught and learnt in particular but is also an inevitable factor in all language teaching and learning. The authors of the chapters in this book all share a concern to explore the ways in which the contexts in which language teaching takes place impact on the aims and the methods of language teaching. Some do so by discussing the implications for what research we do and how we do it; Kramsch, for example, explains in detail how her own research evolves from issues which arise in the classroom. In other chapters the changing nature of the teaching of English is presented from empirical research; Decke-Cornill, for example, identifies different philosophies of language teaching among different kinds of English teacher in Germany. Other authors present studies of the ways in which what learners bring to the learning process from their own contexts and languages has to be taken into consideration if we are to understand language learning; Holme shows this from close analysis of the acquisition of metaphorical language, and Wendt argues for the importance of a social constructivist theory of language learning. Our common purpose is to take a fresh look at teaching and research through the perspective of the inevitable connections between contexts, cultures and classrooms. 

The volume highlights the role of language ideologies in the process of negotiation of identities and shows that in different historical and social contexts different identities may be negotiable or non-negotiable. The chapters address various ways in which individuals may be positioned or position themselves in a variety of contexts. In asking questions about social justice, about who has access to symbolic and material resources, about who is ‘in' and who is ‘out', the authors take account not only of localised linguistic behaviours, attitudes and beliefs; they also locate them in wider social contexts which include class, race, ethnicity, generation, gender and sexuality.  The volume makes a significant contribution to the development of theory in understanding identity negotiation and social justice in multilingual contexts.

This book emerges as a response to the increasing use of English as a lingua franca in the multilingual European context. It provides an up-to-date overview of the sociolinguistic, psycholinguistic and educational aspects of research on third language acquisition by focusing on English as a third language.

This book provides both practical case studies and theoretical directions from five continents and advances the collective pursuit of "reversing language shift" for the greater benefit of cultural democracy everywhere.

This book examines the interrelation between language and society in contemporary Italy. It aims to provide an up to date account of linguistic diversity, social variation, special codes and language varieties within Italian society, and in situations of language contact both within and outside Italy.

This book brings together theoretical and practical debates from adult literacy and language education with those of creative writing and community publishing work. Illustrated by accounts of first-hand experience, each chapter focuses on the practical business of achieving good learning and development opportunities for women and men of all ages.

The book aims to establish the concept of attitudes as more central to the study of minority and majority languages. The strong tradition of attitude theory and research from social psychology is made relevant to language restoration and decay. Research shows how attitude to bilingualism is distinct from attitude to a specific language.

This volume contains a collection of seminal articles and recent research which are important reading for anyone wanting to understand current theoretical developments within the field of language and literacy studies.

This book examines the main issues in bilingual and multilingual language acquisition through children and youngsters growing up in today's multicultural Spain. The studies cover phonetics, grammar and pragmatics, code mixing, parental strategies, bilingual twins, SLI bilingualism, literacy and stay abroad effects.

It has been widely recognised that an in-depth textual analysis of a source text is relevant for translation. This book discusses the role of Discourse Analysis for translation and translator training. One particular model of discourse analysis is presented in detail, and its application in the context of translator training is critically examined.

Biliteracy - the use of two or more languages in and around writing- is an inescapable feature of lives and schools worldwide, yet one which most educational policy and practice continue blithely to ignore. The continua of biliteracy featured in the present volume offers a comprehensive yet flexible model to guide educators, researchers, and policy-makers in designing, carrying out, and evaluating educational programs for the development of bilingual and multilingual learners, each program adapted to its own specific context, media, and contents.

During the last thirty years, the field of translation has exploded with multiple new theories. Contemporary Translation Theories examines five of new approaches - the translation workshop, the science of translation, translation studies, polysystem theory, and deconstruction - all of which began in the mid -1960s and continue to be influential today.

Peter Newmark's third book is an attempt to deepen and extend his views on translation. He goes easy on theories and models and diagrams and offers a few correlative statements to assist translators in finding a variety of options and in making their decisions.

This book provides a guide to key approaches in translation studies.The book is divided into 9 specialist areas: culture, philosophy, linguistics, history, literary, gender, theatre and opera, screen, and politics. Each chapter gives an in-depth account of theoretical concepts, issues and debates which define a field within translation studies.

This book is the first comprehensive approach to language on signs and provides a unique research perspective to urban multilingualism. It offers an up-to-date review of previous research, introduces a coherent analytical framework, and applies this framework to a sample of signs collected in Tokyo.

This book contributes to the growth of interest in task-based language learning and teaching that has been seen in recent years. It brings together research that focuses on various aspects and effects of pedagogic task design and presents work that uses tasks to examine oral interaction, written production, vocabulary and reading, lexical innovation and pragmatics in different formal language learning contexts and in different languages (English as a second/foreign language, French/German/Italian/Spanish as foreign languages). It also provides guidelines for task classification, sequencing and design.The book is addressed to both professionals and students interested in second language acquisition research. It will also be of use to professionals involved in language pedagogy and curriculum design.