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Cambridge Guide to Learning English: Book Review

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Applied Linguistics 2020: 41/2: 320–322
REVIEW
This book, a follow-up to the editors’ successful guide to second language (L2)
teacher education (Burns and Richards 2009), is a clear and concise introduction to the research and scholarship across 36 topics related to learning English
as an L2. Although the title indicates that the focus is on English, because
many of the authors discuss L2 learning and second language acquisition
(SLA) more generally, the book should find an audience with scholars who
are interested in research on learning other languages as well. Also, the book
may find a readership with those who might not require the depth of scholarship offered in previous handbooks of SLA (Doughty and Long 2008; Gass
and Mackey 2013; Herschensohn and Young-Scholten 2013).
The compendium’s 36 chapters are divided into nine sections. Section 1,
Learners and Learning English, begins with chapters on learning English as a
child, an adolescent, and an adult, respectively. Section 2 focuses on the affective, individual, and social aspects of learning English, such as learner anxiety, motivation, and identity. Section 3 is organized around the social contexts
of learning English—from learning through interaction, to learning in the
classroom, and to learning beyond the classroom. Section 4 includes chapters
on learning English for academic purposes, learning for specific purposes, and
learning English for the workplace. Section 5 is organized around learning the
systems of English—from pronunciation, to vocabulary, to chunks, and to
learning grammar. Section 6 looks at learning the four skills, beginning with
listening, followed by speaking, then reading, and, finally, writing. Section 7
focuses on social uses of English, with chapters about learning genres, literacy,
pragmatics, and intercultural competence, respectively. Section 8 is about
approaches to learning English and includes chapters about learning through
tasks, content, translation, textbooks, or a corpus. Section 9, the final section,
looks at learning through technology, online learning, and learning through
social media.
While overseeing the project, the editors stated that they did not impose any
particular theoretical perspective on the respective authors; rather, they
invited the scholars to apply theory as they saw fit. As a result, the book
includes multiple theoretical perspectives to L2 learning, including ‘incidental
learning’, ‘scaffolded learning’, ‘learning as socialization’, ‘learning through
observation’, ‘autonomous and self-directed learning’, ‘and language learning
as the negotiation and development of identities’ (p. 4).
ß The Author(s) (2018). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
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Anne Burns and Jack C. Richards (eds): THE CAMBRIDGE GUIDE TO
LEARNING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE. Cambridge
University Press, 2018.
REVIEW
321
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Despite their varying perspectives toward L2 learning, the contributions in
this volume are unified through the following themes. First, English learners
are assumed to be emerging bilingual or multilingual language users. Rather
than using native English speakers as the standard, the contributors take the
perspective that learners develop by integrating their use of English with the
other languages that they have acquired. Second, many of the authors emphasize how agency and identity construction are integral aspects of L2 development. This perspective expands on traditional views of fluency (e.g.
speaking or writing skills) to include ideas about becoming members of a community of practice or even ‘reconstructing one’s understanding and view of
the world and one’s place in it’ (p. 4). Third, the chapters generally assume that
language learning is not only a cognitive or interactive endeavor, rather, that it
is situated, occurring in diverse sociocultural contexts. Fourth, rather than a
traditional linear and grammatical approach to L2 learning, the authors
assume that language acquisition is complex and dynamic, involving multimodal interaction in diverse settings. Fifth, the topics discussed in each chapter
come with implications for teaching languages, a point which is helpful for
relating this new book to other books in the field.
Given the nature of this volume, it finds its niche somewhere between the
more theoretically oriented handbooks of SLA (Doughty and Long 2008; Gass
and Mackey 2013; Herschensohn and Young-Scholten 2013) and two other
more pedagogically oriented handbooks also from Cambridge, the authors’
previous guide to L2 teacher education (Burns and Richards 2009) and The
Cambridge Guide to Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (Nunan and
Carter 2001). While this new volume does include implications for L2 pedagogy in each chapter, unlike the previous education-oriented guides, the focus
of this new contribution is on the process of learning as opposed to that of
teaching (or learning to teach) languages. Indeed, because of this, there is
overlap with the aforementioned SLA texts. For instance, the following
topics are addressed in this new book and at least one or more handbooks of
SLA: the development of reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills; learning vocabulary, lexical chunking, and grammatical structures; motivation and
anxiety; identity construction; multilingualism; pragmatics; and learning
through technology. However, the approach taken in the current book
makes it more accessible to interested readers who are looking more for an
introduction into the scholarship on these topics than the in-depth coverage of
research generally examined in the SLA handbooks. In addition, the volume
is worthwhile for its new contributions, for example, in the areas of L2 learning with learning difficulties, learning English for the workplace, and L2 learning through social media. The inclusion of subsequent chapters on learning
English as children, adolescents, and adults is also welcome for a concise comparison of the issues associated with L2 learning at different age groups in the
same place.
One aspect under-discussed in the book is the difference between English as
a second language (ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL). Although the
322 REVIEW
Reviewed by Ian Moodie
Mokpo National University, Republic of Korea
E-mail: ianmoodie@gmail.com
doi:10.1093/applin/amy047
Advance Access published on 21 November 2018
REFERENCES
Burns, A. and J. C. Richards (eds). 2009. The
Cambridge Guide to Second Language Teacher
Education. Cambridge University Press.
Doughty, C. J. and M. H. Long (eds). 2008.
The Handbook of Second Language Acquisition.
Blackwell.
Gass, S. M. and A. Mackey (eds). 2013. The Routledge
Handbook of Second Language Acquisition. Routledge.
Herschensohn, J. and M. Young-Scholten
(eds). 2013. The Cambridge Handbook of Second
Language Acquisition. Cambridge University
Press.
Nunan, D. and R. Carter (eds). 2001. The
Cambridge Guide to Teaching English to
Speakers of Other Languages. Cambridge
University Press.
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literature discussed in this volume comes from both areas, the distinction is not
often made even though the implications for teaching and learning English can
be quite different depending on the learning context, for example, whether it
is the language of an education system (i.e. ESL) or a subject within it (i.e.
EFL). Moreover, the dominance of English in the era of globalization seems to
be taken as a given, so issues such as the ownership of English and linguistic
imperialism are mostly glossed over.
Nonetheless, this volume is a fine introductory reference book indicating
many specific areas and issues related to learning English. It is an academic
text, not a guide to learning English (as the title suggests), so to be clear it is a
book for L2 scholars, not learners. As such, it suits the audience that it is
intended for—that of English teacher trainees, teacher educators, and graduate
and undergraduate students needing an up-to-date introduction to the research literature.
The format of the book is consistent across all the chapters. Each begins with
an introduction and overview of the research of its given area, followed by key
issues for learning English, the implications for teaching and assessment, and
each then finishes with discussion questions or follow-up activities. This consistency contributes to the readability of the book, as does the manner in
which it is written and edited, which has made it accessible to non-native
English users. The consistency also enhances its suitability as a course book,
although it is more likely to find its place as a supplementary textbook or as a
sourcebook for research or introductory seminars. With this in mind, the
coverage of areas—along with the formatting, clarity, and conciseness—
makes this volume a welcome addition to the literature on L2 learning.
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