Book Review: Introducing Second Language Acquisition

This book review provides a comprehensive overview of Introducing Second Language Acquisition by Muriel Saville Troike and Karon Barto. The review covers the book's purpose, organization, content, and relevance for undergraduate and graduate students. The book explains the relation between first and second language acquisition, the stages of language learning, and the importance of concepts in second language learning. The book is published by Cambridge University Press and is relevant for those interested in gaining in-depth knowledge about second language acquisition.

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Book Review
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The Book “Introducing Second Language Acquisition” written by Muriel Saville
Troike and Karon Barto introduces us to the field pertaining to Second Language Acquisition
(SLA). There are three purposes for writing this book- this book can help in providing basic
knowledge related to second language learning phenomena, stimulation of interest and for
offering practical help to that of the second language learners. The book talks about the
integration of linguistic, psychological and the social perspectives in relation to SLA after
recognizing differential nature of that assumptions. The book has been written in a manner
that maintains the balance between the quantity and the quality of the representation. The
book focuses on the aspect of second language competence and how this aspect can be
perceived from that of different points of the view.
The book was published by Cambridge University Press which forms a part of that of
University of Cambridge. The press helps in furthering the mission of the University by
spreading knowledge in pursuit of that of education along with learning. The table of contents
of the book reveal that the book has been organized in a logical manner. The first chapter
introduces second language acquisition, second chapter talks about the foundation of that of
Second Language Acquisition, third chapter talks about the element of linguistics, fourth
chapter talks about Psychology in relation to SLA, fifth chapter talks about social contexts in
relation to SLA, sixth chapter talks about the acquisition of knowledge for second learning
and the seventh chapter talks about learning and teaching. The contents of the book have been
organized in a logical manner that makes the matter clear in front of the readers of the book.
The first chapter throws light on the second language and the first language. It talks about the
diversity in relation to learning and the learners. The Second Chapter- Foundations of SLA
talks about the world of the second languages and nature of the aspect of language learning. It
discusses about logical problem in relation to language learning and the frameworks
pertaining to SLA. The third chapter discusses about nature of the language, early approaches

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to that of SLA and universal grammar. It also discusses about functional approaches in
relation to SLA. The fourth chapter contains material about learning process, complexity
theory and effects of that of multilingualism. The fifth chapter talks about the social along
with cultural knowledge that are embedded within a language. It talks about the categorizing
of objects along with events that can help the second language learners in communicating
effectively. The sixth chapter elaborates on recognising the functioning of the words
grammatically that have a bearing on the aspect of learning the second language. The seventh
chapter talks about the relation between that of language teaching and that of second
language acquisition. It talks about the choice of the linguistic forms in relation to focussed
instruction and the benefits on the basis of the individual factors.
The date of publication of the book is the year 2016 that shows that the information
provided in the book is up-to-date. The content of the book has been updated that makes the
information relevant for the readers. The authors of the book are Muriel Saville Troike and
that of Karen Barto who have wide knowledge in the field. Muriel Saville Troike is an
American linguistics and he is a member of the American Association for Applied
Linguistics. The other books that have been written by the author is “ Perspectives on
Silence”, “ A handbook of bilingual education” and “ Foundations for teaching English as the
second Language”. The other author of the book is Karen Barto who has more than 17 years
of the experience in relation to language teaching along with teacher training. She has a Ph.d
In that of Second Language Acquisition and Teaching that makes the knowledge that she has
in relation to Second Language Acquisition very valuable. The immense knowledge that
these authors have helped in making the book valuable for the readers.
The book states that the second language learner should possess that of real-world
knowledge that can help them in relation to language acquisition. The book talks about the
stages in relation to language acquisition. It talks about the stage of Preproduction that helps

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the learners in building the vocabulary to around 500 words without speaking of the
language. The second stage that is known as Early Production that can help the learners in
learning around that of 1000 words vocabulary. The third stage called “Speech Emergence”
talks about how learners can acquire about 3000 words and speak in the short sentences. The
developmental stage of Intermediate Fluency talks about learning around 6000 words which
helps the students in the forming of complex phrases. The stage of that of Advanced Fluency
enables the learners in becoming near-native.
The book talks about the initial stage that can be called innate capacity and how the
linguists believe in the fact that the children have a genetic disposition that helps them in
learning language throughout their life. The book argues that innate capacity in relation to
language acquisition can go beyond that of childhood and one can learn the subsequent
languages by the methods that are akin to the older learners acquiring other domain of the
knowledge like mathematics or that of history. The book states that it is not possible to
observe the mental capacity in relation to language directly. The various beliefs are on the
basis of theoretical assumptions which are tested by taking recourse to indirect methods that
the individuals coming from various disciplinary perspective cannot agree on. The book
argues that second language learning follows that of first language learning and for the
purpose of second language learning it is important that a learner should have prior
knowledge in relation to the first language. The book asserts that prior knowledge in relation
to first language is can help in transferring from first language to the second language at the
time of development of the second language. Initial stage in relation to second language
learning has the resource of the first language competence that can act both as an asset and as
an impediment.
The book states that the intermediate stage can help an individual in progressing from
the initial to the final stage in relation to linguistic system. The book highlights the view that

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first language along with second language learners can play a creative role in relation to
language development. The development can be said to be an unconscious process pertaining
to first language child grammar that is related to that of cognitive maturation. The children
matures along with that of the language abilities. The developing of the learner language in
relation to the second language learners takes place at the age when cognitive maturity cannot
be held to be an important factor. In the inter-mediate state the second language learners
reach the level of maturity that can help them in producing complex utterances in relation to
the first language.
The book argues the view that cross-linguistic influence occurs in various levels of
that of second language learning. The book has rightly stated that positive transfer can
facilitate second language learning because the first language structure will also work for that
of second language learning. Negative features of that of first language feature can be got
from that of forms in second language which would be produced by the native speaker of the
second language. The book states that the inappropriate transfer of that of L 1 pronunciation
to that of L2 can be said to be detectable in the foreign accent of that of non-native speaker’s
production. The book states that the older children have access to that of world knowledge
that occurs owing to cognitive development. This can be available for that of the second
language learning at the intermediate state. The book provides a pertinent example that the
older children within the immigrant families can enrol in the US schools having prior
knowledge in relation to the academic subject areas. The subject areas can be equal or more
advanced as compared to the US curriculum expectation. The students can lack the
competence in relation to second language learning. The book states that the students do not
have to learn the concepts again as the concepts are not dependent on that of any specific
language. The students can require the new language specific form that can be represented in
that of second language learning. The book has aptly pointed out that the advanced

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international students like engineering along with computer science can learn the second
language of English for the concepts that they have already got as compared to the native
English speakers who have acquired the concepts in the beginning.
The book has talked about nature in relation to language learning. The book has
successfully stated that the acquisition of the first language is generally completed before one
enters the school and this kind of development can take place without any kind of conscious
effort. The book has made it clear that the children learn distinctive sounds in relation to first
language before they reach the age of three. Children can control the grammatical patterns of
the first language before they reach the age of five and the complex grammatical patterns
continue developing through that of the school years. The book has argued that successful
learning can take place in the event of having significant exposure to that of more than that of
one language in that of early childhood. In the event of children hearing and responding to
more than that of two languages, it will result in simultaneous multilingualism. The book has
put forth that children have been able to accomplish mastery in that of the first language in
the last sixty years owing to the developments taking place in the arena of linguistics along
with psychology. The book has stated very convincingly that the language acquisition of
children can be said to be purposive and the developing of language takes place because they
have to communicate the wants. The communicative needs of the children are satisfied with
the help of gesture along with that of non-speech sound like that of whines and the grunts.
The book has stated that children learns the language by taking recourse to imitation. The
book has stated that however there are utterances of the children that are original and which
cannot be stated to be imitations.
The book has illustrated with the help of various examples how the learning of
English as the second language can be easily done in the event of an individual knowing
about the vital concepts that can facilitate their learning. The adults in the immigrant families

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of that of USA know the process of driving of a car as they have the vocational knowledge
that can be transferred to that of the new social setting. There remains some amount of
English that has to be learned before the passing of the test for that of the driver’s license.
The book has succeeded in illustrating how the people do not need to learn driving again. The
book has been successful in illustrating that the transfer of that of knowledge to that of
second language setting can be made easily in the event of first language support that can
evolve to form a part of that of second language learning. The second language learning can
be carried out easily in the event of key terminology being shared across the languages. The
skills in relation to social interaction can be transferred from that of first language to that of
the second language easily.
The book has stated that language input is crucial for both first language along with
second language learning. The book has correctly laid stress on the fact that children need
reciprocal interaction with that of other people to facilitate the aspect of first language
learning. Children cannot learn the first language from experiences like listening to the radio
or by watching the television. The book discusses that children take less amount of time for
learning the first language and it takes place without any kind of wild divergence. There are
innate principles that cause the child to organize input that they get in certain form and not in
other form. The book has aptly talked about the elements pertaining to linguistic input. The
book says that linguistic input comprises of sounds, words and the sentences. The book has
argued that there exist similar pattern pertaining to the acquisition of language within the
world.
The book has covered the topic in a comprehensive manner and explained elaborately
about the aspect of that of second language acquisition. It has successfully explained about
the relation of the first language with that of the second language and how the learning of
concepts can help in the quicker learning of the second language. The author is writing the

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book for mainly the undergraduate students but the book is also suited for the graduate
students. The graduate students who do not have prior knowledge in relation to linguistics
can also read the book. The intended audience of the book are those people who want to get
in-depth knowledge regarding the acquiring of the second language. The audience of the
book would be those people who want to gain more knowledge in relation to language
learning. The book makes use of tables for illustrating the concepts. The tables help in
elaborating on the different stages in relation to language learning like the initial and the
intermediate states. The illustrations given in the book can be said to be relevant as they talk
about different aspects in relation to that of second language acquisition. The illustrations
help in making the matter clear in front of the readers.
The book provides us with an introduction pertaining to that of second language
acquisition. The book helps in providing basic knowledge in regard to second language
learning and it can stimulate interest of that of the readers. The book is useful in providing
practical help to second language learners. The publisher of the book is Cambridge
University Press that helps in serving mission of that of University. The book states that
children possess genetic disposition which enables them in the learning of language
throughout the whole span of their life. The book has covered the topic elaborately and
explained about various aspects in relation to that of second language acquisition. The book
has talked about the relation that exists between first and the second language. It states how
concepts can help an individual in learning second language more rapidly. The book has used
tables for making the concept clear in front of the readers. The book has beautifully explained
the various stages of that of language learning like initial and intermediate states. The book
has been written for undergraduate and graduate students. Graduate students not having
knowledge regarding linguistics can learn important things from the book.

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Bibliography
Saville-Troike, M., & Barto, K. (2016). Introducing second language acquisition. Cambridge
University Press.