146 Book reviews / System 38 (2010) 142–156

References

Parry, K., 1991. Building a vocabulary through academic reading. TESOL Quarterly 25, 629–653.
University of Edinburgh, IALS, 2008. The Edinburgh Project on Extensive Reading. <http://www.ials.ed.ac.uk/postgraduate/research/
EPER.html> (last accessed 16.11.09).

Catherine Walter
Department of Education,
University of Oxford,
15 Norham Gardens,
Oxford OX2 6PY,
United Kingdom
E-mail address: catherine.walter@education.ox.ac.uk

doi:10.1016/j.system.2009.11.003

The Study of Second Language Acquisition, second ed., Rod Ellis. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK (2008).
xxvii+1142 pp.

When I received an invitation to review the second edition of The Study of Second Language Acquisition, I
wondered how I could review a tome of over 1000 pages within 1500 words. However, on reading the book, I
realized that its clear organization made it possible for me to highlight the outstanding features of this updated
classic. Like many of the author’s publications, this new edition is an exceptionally successful synthesis and
survey of the developments of SLA research thanks to the reader-friendly penmanship and lucidity in expo-
sition. The book is made of eight clearly divided parts with 17 chapters in all. Although it is a revised and
expanded edition of what was already a substantial work, readers will find that it is, in fact, quite accessible.
Part One provides the background against which the story is sketched of how SLA as a field has developed
to the present day. Beginning with an introduction, Ellis illustrates ‘what is SLA?’ in Chapter 1 by presenting a
number of case studies. He then provides a framework within which he explores the field. This is the chapter
that not only sets the tone but also lays out the blueprint for what the ensuing chapters follow. The focus of
Part Two is on learner language, so Chapters 2–5 cover areas ranging from learner errors and error analysis,
to developmental patterns in SLA, learner language variability, and pragmatic features. Variability in SLA, an
area of significant research interest, is discussed with reference to the various theoretical perspectives (e.g.
sociolinguistic models, social-psycholinguistic models, and psycholinguistic models).
Parts Three and Four are concerned with how SLA is explained. Ellis first addresses the external factors to
be considered in Chapters 6 and 7. Chapter 6 examines the relationship of input and interaction to SLA, where
the methods employed (e.g. descriptive methods, experimental methods, self-report methods, and introspective
methods) for investigating input and interaction are reviewed and relevant findings on L1 and L2 acquisition
are discussed. When he moves on to elaborate on the social aspects of SLA in Chapter 7, Ellis places emphasis
on major recent theoretical expositions, including the inter-group models, language socialization, and social
identity theory the “social turn in SLA” (Block, 2003), in addition to the theories that were already fully ex-
pounded in the 1994 edition (e.g. the Acculturation Model, the Socio-educational Model). Despite the absence
of any computational model of L2 acquisition and the exclusion of sociocultural accounts of interaction and
L2 acquisition in the 1994 edition, these areas are now systematically reviewed, and the major theoretical
thrusts of these schools of thought that have gained prominence in recent times have been given sufficient cov-
erage. Language transfer and related studies are reviewed in Chapter 8. Cognitive accounts of SLA are pre-
sented in their full versions in Chapter 9, where Ellis provides solid descriptions of the computational model of
SLA, the representation of L2 knowledge, and the cognitive theories of SLA. Research and theoretical per-
spectives on L2 production within cognitive perspectives, speech planning and communication strategies
are the main focuses of Chapter 10. The rich and plentiful developments in SLA research have been trans-
 Book reviews / System 38 (2010) 142–156 147

formed by two newer concepts, sociocultural theory, which is presented in Chapter 11 and neuroimaging, to be
found in Chapter 13. Key concepts in sociocultural theory such as mediated learning, mediation through so-
cial interaction, private speech and new developments in SLA research, including corrective feedback, collab-
orative dialoguing, and metatalk, which are essential to activity theory, are all new perspectives to the
conventional SLA researcher and are covered in this chapter. Universal Grammar (UG) has always been
the core for SLA researchers who treat SLA as a cognitive science, and the key concepts and research findings
within UG frameworks are presented in Chapter 12.
Part Five has only one chapter and readers will enjoy some light-hearted reading in the less technical nature
of the content as well as its closer relationships to classroom practice. Individual learner differences such as
intelligence, working memory, language aptitude, learning styles, personality, motivation, anxiety, learning
strategies, and the relatively new addition to the field, willingness to communicate, along with learning strat-
egies, are addressed in Chapter 13. Despite the unequal weightings given to the different factors, Ellis has been
very successful in updating readers on how the research community takes stock of research on ‘willingness to
communicate’ by looking at its situated and dynamic nature.
Like Part Five, Part Six also has a single chapter, where neuropsychologically-driven SLA is reviewed.
Although new to SLA, the anatomy of the human brain has been a well-established area of research in neu-
ropsychology. However, I have some reservations regarding Ellis’s evident optimism about this line of re-
search and how much it can offer in explaining such a complex human endeavour as SLA. Researchers and
practitioners with a strong orientation towards improving SLA in classroom settings will be pleased with
Chapter 15 (Part Seven). Elsewhere, Ellis calls this a theory of instructed SLA. Readers who finish reading
this chapter will certainly give credit to Ellis for his justification for such a theory. As an extension of in-
structed SLA, form-focused instruction (FFI) is discussed at length in Chapter 16. Issues discussed included
the methodology of FFI studies, effects of FFI on L2 acquisition, the durability of FFI effects, FFI and im-
plicit knowledge, effects of instruction on L2 pragmatic development, and the mediating effects of individual
difference factors.
The whole tome is well rounded off in Part Eight, where Chapter 17 examines epistemological issues in SLA
research. In fact, these issues are crucial to the whole enterprise of SLA research and Ellis rightly shares his
concerns with the choice of data in some SLA research (e.g. non-production data and grammaticality judg-
ment tests). It is well recognized that tensions exist regarding the criteria against which a SLA theory can
be counted as a valid one, and, in fact, the discussion has not abated even after the well-known Lantolf-
vs.-Gregg debate (e.g. Gregg, 2002). In this sense, Ellis’s gradual intrusion in expressing his own views on
the construction and evaluation of SLA theories becomes apparent, in spite of his initial statement that he
‘will endeavour to avoid taking up any particular position regarding what constitutes the most legitimate ap-
proach to SLA research’ (p. xxii). His attempt to offer suggestions for the application of SLA research to other
fields of inquiry is also well brought out in the conclusion of this chapter.
It is significant that while there is a strong voice in the SLA research community to keep SLA as a
discipline which is mainly a ‘cognitive science’, Ellis has been able to present an objective, balanced view
of SLA, encompassing the different theories that have been driven by different philosophical underpin-
nings. As a researcher–practitioner of SLA, I was completely comfortable with this balanced scrutiny
of over 40 years of SLA research. Indeed, Ellis has been extremely successful in keeping abreast of the
latest research findings and his work reflects, properly and professionally, SLA researchers’ efforts in the-
ory-building and in furthering the development of SLA research since 1993. Although differences are inev-
itable, Ellis concludes that ‘what matters most is that SLA has established itself as a vibrant field of
inquiry with a willingness to explore a wide range of issues by means of alternative paradigms and meth-
ods’ (p. 949). He also charts future directions by recommending that SLA theory evaluation and pedagog-
ical applications should be based on replications of previously published research and studies of
longitudinal designs.
The unique feature of this book is that it takes stock of current thinking without demarcating artificial bor-
ders between the cognitive and the sociocultural, and, in doing so, will draw the attention of scholars of both
camps. The author’s macro-view of SLA requires from readers a deeper level of intellectual engagement and
critical thinking about what and how SLA should be, as Ellis approaches these theories by subjecting all of
them to relatively unbiased scrutiny.
148 Book reviews / System 38 (2010) 142–156

Fluently written and systematically presented, with many tables summarizing research findings in various
chapters, the new edition of The Study of SLA has already become my standard reference book and is
highly recommended to graduate students of TESOL/Applied Linguistics who want to have snapshots of
the major themes, trends, and research findings in SLA. University faculty and researchers wishing to have
one coherent volume on SLA will see its value as a handy encyclopaedia serving the same function as a
reference book, while practitioners keen to equip them with disciplinary knowledge will also find it tremen-
dously useful.

References

Block, D., 2003. The Social Turn in Second Language Acquisition. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, UK.
Gregg, K., 2002. A garden ripe for weeding: a reply to Lantolf. Second Language Research 18 (1), 79–81.

Lawrence Jun Zhang

English Language and Literature Academic Group,
National Institute of Education,
Nanyang Technological University,
1 Nanyang Walk,
Singapore 637616,
Singapore
E-mail address: lawrence.zhang@nie.edu.sg

doi:10.1016/j.system.2009.11.003

Writing in Foreign Language Contexts: Learning, Teaching, and Research, Rosa Manchón (Ed.). Multilingual
Matters, Bristol, UK (2009). 296 pp.

One of the major concerns in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) has been second and foreign language
(FL) writing: how learners learn and develop their writing skills and the different processes they go through
when carrying out such a necessary skill in today’s societies. Writing in Foreign Language Contexts not only
provides an extensive review of the literature and research which has been carried out in the field, but also
presents the aspects that need to be further investigated in order to have a broader view of the writing process
in FL contexts.
The book consists of two main parts together with an extensive bibliography to round off the book. The
first part of the book aims at ‘looking back’ at the main findings of research projects which have contributed
to the field. The aim of the second part is to ‘move forward’ in the theory of FL writing as well as in the ped-
agogical implications that it may bear. Finally, in the bibliography, Melinda Reichelt classifies a series of exist-
ing papers on FL writing into an annotated and an unannotated bibliography, which might be useful not only
to researchers of the field but also to teachers in FL contexts.
In Chapter 1, Carol Rinnert and Hiroe Kobayashi consider how the learning contexts may have an effect on
FL writing and review their own research, classified into three stages. In first stage, the authors aim at ana-
lyzing the role of contrastive rhetorics in FL writing: how difficult it may be for learners to cope with the dif-
ferences between the rhetorical aspects of different languages. In the second stage, they focus on the learners’
writing experience. Finally, in the third stage, Rinnert and Kobayashi examine the possible effects of writing
instruction from a socio-cognitive perspective. One of the conclusions is that there seems to be a tendency for
learners to adopt rhetorical aspects of the second language as they receive more instruction on SL writing.
Miyuki Sasaki (Chapter 2) presents a study which looks at the development of the L2 writing ability after a
period of 3.5 years. As the author points out, one of the triggers of this work is the fact that few studies in FL
writing have focused, firstly, on the relationship between L2 writing skills and stay-abroad (SA) experiences,
secondly, on the learners’ motivation in relation to the SA experience, and thirdly, on the development of L2