Handbook

Second language acquisition draws on theories from linguistics, cognitive psychology, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics and education, and aims to account for processes of learning a second language. This subject is designed to provide students with a solid grounding in the issues and factors prevailing in second language acquisition. Its scope ranges from first language acquisition to different approaches to examining second language development including behaviourist, cognitive, functional, social-cultural and sociolinguistic approaches. These topics provide an appreciation of the complexity of second language learning and how successful learning may be promoted.