English Concepts in Applied Linguistics

ENGLISH
Concepts in applied Linguistics
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ENGLISH
Book Review; Peer Interaction and Second Language Learning
Overview of content
The book explores peer learning interactions for L2 learning. In doing so, three central areas
have been looked at, including interactional patterns and learner characteristics, task and
interaction modality as well as learning settings. The book suggests that learners feel more
comfortable during peer interaction as compared to student-teacher interactions. It is therefore
clear that this comfort positively contributes towards learners' processing ability, thus creating
more opportunities in learning practice. The book has also explored existing literature and
provides an extension by identifying three theories of peer interaction. The cognitive perspective,
social, cultural perspective, and social cognitive perspective are among the three theories that
this book sheds light on.
The book entails thirteen empirical studies that involved more than five hundred L2 learners
from all levels of learning, including elementary, high school, and university levels. The target
languages in this study comprise English, French, and Spanish (Sato & Ballinger, 2016).
Moreover, since the book aimed towards presenting a variety of theoretical perspectives
undertaken in examining a similar phenomenon, each chapter in this book has a methodological
framework section where the author justifies methodology adopted and to what extent they
contributed towards pinning down the research question.
Even though peer interaction is not a primary focus in this book, it is a very crucial aspect in
facilitating active peer learning. The book also argues that a teacher's role in peer interaction is
varies depending on several issues, including social context, learners' age, the task in question,
and learning outcomes. The argument here is that a teacher has a vital role to play in as far as