Input Matters in Sla

Some researchers into the acquisition of a second language believe that learners will be able to construct a linguistic system with almost any input from the language. These linguists from Germanic speaking countries tend to disagree. They consider the role of input in the actual learning process as well as the theory. Their topics include processing matters in input enhancement, learner attitudes towards comprehension-based language learning, orthographic input and second language phonology, and developing non-native pronunciation in immersion settings. Annotation c2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Thorsten Piske is affiliated with the University of Education in Schwabisch Gmund, Germany. His research focuses on first and second language acquisition and on bilingual education. He is well known for joint work with James E. Flege on factors affecting degree of foreign accent in a second language. He has done research on the production and perception of first and second language speech sounds and on the effectiveness of bilingual programs in kindergartens and primary schools.

Currently at Newcastle University in England, Martha Young-Scholten works on morpho-syntax and phonology. She is well known for joint work with Anne Vainikka on uninstructed adults? development of morpho-syntax in German. Prosodic structure, orthographic input and the phonological awareness of low-literate immigrant adults are some of the lines of research she pursues in the second language acquisition of phonology.