Publisher's Synopsis
This book was motivated by the desire to further the ongoing discussion about the role of cognitive Sciences in the language teaching and learning process. This analysis is done through a comprehensive overview of language policies in a wide variety of countries on every continent through an interdisciplinary and internationalizing approach. The language preservation, teaching and learning efforts are reviewed and critiqued in an attempt to compare and contrast the ob¬jectives and results as well as the history and context of language preservation and teaching in each region.This publication charts the deepening and broadening of the field of language and education, moving on from these country profiles which in many cases highlight the institutionalization of language marginalization and their impact on generations of indigenous peoples and minority communities, the book looks into human sciences, language learning theories and their application. Language is at the heart of anthropological constructions, in particular how each language makes a unique contribution to humanity and symbolizes man's relationship with his environment as well as his ability to build relations and the book deals with this paradigm in great detail.Specific pedagogical theories in particular concerning the teaching and learn¬ing of foreign languages as it relates to both communicative and cognitive ap¬proaches are highlighted. It reflects the depth of language acquisition theories and other disciplinary knowledge as well as a wide breadth of interdisciplinary perspectives.Language education research, and practice, together with an emphasis on lan¬guage policy, literacy discourse, language acquisition and teaching is assessed in great detail through review and analysis based on canonic research but also more modern methods in order to integrate new voices and international per¬spectives. Cognitive, motivation and instructional theories about how our brain or mind works or how our mind works and how we process information is also explored. Different approaches to language instruction are reviewed in particu¬lar as it relates to the learner and his environment.Several chapters in this book address specific case studies especially in the field of second language (L2) acquisition, recognizing the fact that a wide variety of factors ensure or prevent success in language teaching and learning.The book concludes with tangible recommendations and strategies gleaned from the considerable mass of theories, case studies and research presented examined, analysed, debated and interpreted in its previous chapters.
