Ellis, R. (1997). Second Language Acquisition.

Oxford University Press, New York: ISBN:

019437212 X

Reviewed by: Belyihun Muchie

Rod Ellis is a well-known author on the subject of SLA and foreign languages. He has published articles
and books on second language acquisition, language teaching, and teacher education. This reviewed book
is part of the "Oxford Introductions to Language Study" series, which gives novice teachers a more
general and less difficult introduction to language. In its chapters, the book circulates similar patterns like
surveys, readings, references and glossaries. The survey section provides an overview of the main
features of the language study, its scope, principles and key concepts. The reading section also provides
texts extracted from specialist literature, and its aim is to give readers a preliminary familiarity with more
specialized literature. The reference section presents works for further reading, and finally the glossary
contains the definitions of the technical terms that appear in bold throughout the book. The book consists
of ten chapters, which are discussed as follows.

In Chapter one, Ellis defines second language acquisition as a way that people learn a language other than
their native language. The goals of SLA, which are descriptions and explanations of L2 acquisition, are
explained concisely, and the core issues of why some learners seem to be better at it than others are
assessed exhaustively. Research has also dealt with the central focus of SLA, merging it with parent/sub
disciplinary disciplines, particularly cognitive/psycholinguistics and sociocultural theories. Although
linguists have been debating, these theories seem to be independent of each other due to internal and
external factors of language acquisition. Additionally, this chapter includes exemplary case studies to
elaborate on some issues on methodologies, descriptions of learner language, and explanations of second
language acquisition. Due to this fact, the second language study methodologies focus on a specific aspect
of the language, acquiring features of the target language that are the same or less than those of the native
speakers.

While chapter one introduces the definition and goals of SLA, chapter two deals with the nature of learner
language, considering error analysis, developmental patterns, and variability in learner language. As to
Ellis, the main way of investigating L2 acquisition is by collecting and describing samples of learner
language using steps like identifying, describing, explaining and evaluating errors. Ellis makes a
distinction between mistake and error and between global and local errors. He confirms that errors are
systematic and predictable. He also elaborates on the developmental patterns of learner language. In the
early stages of L2 acquisition, children prefer to listen and read, but when they begin to speak, their
speech is manifested with formulaic chunks and propositional simplifications. From the samples of
learner languages, researchers chose a number of linguistic features to study their acquisition order;
hence, they claimed that there must be a natural, systematic, and universal order and sequence of
acquisition. Similarly, while learner language is systematic, variability depends on the linguistic,
situational, and psycholinguistic context in which learners make use of different forms and thus make
different errors. Even this variability is not random, because although learners have two or more linguistic
forms for realizing a single grammatical structure, they do not make use of them arbitrarily. Their choice
is dependent on the context of use and their planned time.

In the book, chapter three is dedicated to the concept of interlanguage, which is a mental system of L2
knowledge. This chapter is brief in that Ellis condenses the behaviorists and mentalists learning theories,
while the former believes learning is habit formation, whereas the latter says that innate properties of the
human mind shape learning. Finally, mentalists say interlanguage is a permeable mental grammar that can
be influenced by both inside and outside factors. Input, as a computational model, is a factor depending
on the social context, and it varies from one setting to another.

The fourth chapter focuses on the social components of interlanguage and examines three approaches to
these concerns. First, Tarone and Giles' concepts of stylistic continuity and accommodation theory are
briefly examined. The Schumann acculturation paradigm and associated vocabulary, such as social
distance, psychological distance, and pidginization, are then defined. The chapter ends with a brief look at
Peirce's ideas about social identity and investment in L2. Pierce's social theory necessitates a variety of
metaphors and, of course, language that readers without prior knowledge may not fully comprehend it.

However, because Pierce's theory includes discourse discussions, chapter five, which deals with discourse
features of interlanguage, gives adequate context for a clearer comprehension of the preceding chapter's
last section. Ellis claims that acquisition of discourse norms, like acquisition of grammatical rules, is to
some extent systematic, reflecting discrete sorts of mistakes and developmental sequences based on
studies on learner talk. He then introduces the interactionist theories of L2 to explain the function of input
and interaction. In this chapter, words like outsider speak, understandable input, and meaning negotiation
are given and explained in a nutshell, along with Long's interactionist hypothesis, Vygotsky's conception
of interaction, and ZPD. The last section also briefly discusses the role of production. Ellis claims that
output might serve awareness-raising and hypothesis-testing purposes, citing Merrill Swine's ideas.

Chapter six successfully addresses psycholinguistic aspects of interlanguage emphasizing on L1 transfer,

role of consciousness, processing operations and communication strategies. Ellis briefly presents
phenomena like as positive and negative transfer, avoidance, overuse and the causes for them. He
demonstrates the behaviorism and cognitivism theoretical accounts of L1 transfer, hence with behaviorists
argue that L1 prevents the L2 habit, but cognitivists consider L1 as an input for the mental process. Here,
two basic controversies are also issued between Krashen and Schmdit on the concept of consciousness,
because the failure of Krashen on incidental L2 acquisition, Schmdit claims there is still some degree of
consciousness. Then, two processing operations, namely operating principles and processing constraints
are examined. Finally, communication strategies are briefly discussed. Ellis defines communication
strategies are various kinds of mechanisms that learners use in L2 learning such as, avoiding problematic
items, substituting an item and borrowing a word from L1. He adds the two types of computational model
as strategies of communication which are called series processing and parallel distributed processing
models.

Where chapter six deals on the cognitive structure of interlanguage, chapter seven links SLA with
linguistic aspects. Under this, Ellis states some languages have relative clauses, but others not and this has
its own effect on L2 acquisition. The other critical point in this chapter is universal grammar, which
Choamsky calls it an abstract principle of language. However, Ellis argues inconclusive results are
provided in different linguistic studies. Then, the learnability of input is briefly explained in relation to
poverty of stimulus, positive evidence and negative evidence. Another line of enquiry, markedness is also
examined. Based on typological linguistics, unmarked structures are those which are more common in
world languages, but in Chomskyan linguistics unmarked structures are those which are governed by UG,
and marked structures are those which lie outside of UG. This chapter, finally provides a controversial
summary whether L2 acquisition is to be explained in terms of a distinct and innate language faculty or in
terms of general cognitive ability.
Ellis also introduces individual differences in L2 acquisition in chapter eight. In this regard, he presents a
concise explanation on three psychological dimensions of differences namely, language aptitude,
motivation and learning strategies. He defines language aptitude as a natural ability for learning an L2,
and it has for about five components that are briefly stated. Types of motivation for L2 acquisition such
as, instrumental, integrative, resultative and intrinsic are also described clearly. Finally this chapter,
presents the learning strategies of an L2 with the two strategies which are called cognitive and
metacognitive strategies.

In chapter nine, the issue of instruction and L2 acquisition is discussed. Ellis considers three branches of
studies: first he concerns on the effect of teaching grammar on learners interlanguage development;
second he enquires the individual learner differences to match the kind of instruction with their preferred
ways of learning an L2; the third branch looks at strategy training on how learners use the learning
strategies. Then, three main issues form-focused instruction, learner-instruction matching and strategy
training are brought into L2 instruction with sample studies. On form-focused instruction, Ellis brings up
two key questions: does form focused instruction work? And what kind of form focused instruction works
best? According to Pienemann's research, form-focused training can have an influence on acquisition,
although it is unclear if these benefits are long-lasting. In response to the second question, Ellis cites the
work of VanPatten and Cadierno, their findings imply that form-focused education that emphasizes input
processing may be beneficial. The remainder of the chapter is devoted to learner-instruction matching,
which states that individual differences should be considered when considering the effects of instruction
and strategy training, which is the process of identifying and training in strategies that appear to promote
acquisition. This strategy assists learners in becoming autonomous and so taking control of their own
learning.

Finally, in chapter ten, Ellis offers a conclusion on the many viewpoints on SLA. He goes on to say that
"there is no single metaphor that can encompass all the metaphors that SLA has drawn on to explain how
learners acquire an L2". Then he states that because SLA has numerous viewpoints and each researcher is
interested in a different dimension, many perspectives will continue to exist and evolve inside SLA.

In general, the book offers rookie teachers and other interested readers a conceptual foundation in SLA.
In each chapter, the author briefly explains key ideas while adding fundamental features. Each chapter is
concise, informative, and easy to understand. When Ellis presents a new topic, he recasts the prior
thought logically and provides a straightforward comparative explanation of theories, models, and basic
SLA concerns. However, certain topics in the book require more clarification, and others may appear
contradictory. Another point to consider in this book is the author's stance. In most situations, Ellis
discusses and explains concepts from the viewpoint of others rather than taking sides on some contentious
issues.