I teach English as a Second Language and I want a book to read about the process and science of learning a language. Both as a child learning your first language and as someone at any age learning a second, third, etc language. I don’t what this to be a “how to be fluent in any language fast!” Or anything like that. I want to learn about how language-learning words and take time to just appreciate and ponder the process.
One of the reasons I want to read a book like this is to become a better language teacher. There are students who I’ve been teaching for over a year who still make so many mistakes using something so basic such as simple past. “Last week, I go to park” instead of “went,” for example. And these students understand that they should say “went” instead of “go.” But when speaking, they forget and keep making the same mistakes. I want to know more about what is going on in their heads.
I’m intermediate at Spanish and beginner at French so I have experience in their shoes, but it’s not enough. I really need to know more about what’s happening for them. Also, I’d love to learn more about how languages were taught and learned in the past, but that’s not the most important thing.
I really just want to know more about the process, science, philosophy of the brain when learning language. And I don’t want it to be a “how to teach a second language” either. Just information about what it’s like to learn language.
Thanks 🙂
(I misspelled language in the title sorry)
by Novemberswims
2 Comments
I spelled language wrong in the title sorry
How Languages are Learned, by Lightbown and Spada.
I did a Masters in English Language Teaching in 2014. This book was foundational in my understanding of how the brain works when trying to learn, and some of the theories behind the differences between learning your first or an additional language.
It is clearly written and digestible.