Talking About Second Language Acquisition

“[T]he book succeeds in providing a very novel and engaging expose of key issues and key scholars in the field of SLA – a combination rarely encountered in a book focusing on topics in SLA.”

—Neomy Storch, Associate Professor, The University of Melbourne, Australia

“Bringing SLA research to life through such a personalized approach promises to be an invaluable source of inspiration to burgeoning and seasoned scholars alike. Highly recommended!”

—Roy Lyster, Professor Emeritus, McGill University, Canada

“These interviews with fourteen minds that have shaped the field of second language acquisition are an intellectual feast and a treasure of historical memory and future-looking insights.”

—Lourdes Ortega, Professor, Georgetown University, USA

“Both experienced and new researchers in the field will find this a very useful resource to understand the past, present and future of several key SLA topics. The personal voices of the contributors make this an interesting read throughout.”

—Bimali Indrarathne, University of York, UK

This book includes interviews with fourteen internationally-acclaimed leading figures in Second Language Acquisition (SLA), who speak on seminal issues in the field as well as their own contributions to SLA scholarship. As well as covering the contributors’ backgrounds and academic achievements, the interviews also delve into their areas of expertise, current theoretical and practical considerations, and contemporary questions, developments and challenges in SLA. An introduction by the author draws out the key themes and debates in the field today, and highlights areas for future research and further exploration, and a foreword is provided by Rod Ellis. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of Applied Linguistics, Teacher Education and Methodology, and Second and Foreign Language Education.

Karim Sadeghi is Professor of TESOL at Urmia University, Iran, and is the founding editor-in-chief of the Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research, a Scopus Q1 journal.