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English language teaching in its social context: a reader.

Article Excerpt
English language teaching in its social context: A reader. Ed. by CHRISTOPHER N. CANDLIN and NEIL MERCER. New York: Routledge, 2001. Pp. 352. Hardback $95.00. Paper $29.95.

In this book, Candlin and Mercer have compiled recent articles to demonstrate that L2 learning does not involve just a cognitive process but also entails a social action. Mainstream SLA research has examined to what extent the development of L2 features is similar to the L1 learning process. However, the authors included in this volume share a similar concern that teacher-student classroom interaction and social conditions must be considered important factors in language learning. The authors address the effect of social contexts on language learning from the perspectives of methodology, social workings, students' identities, communication, language variation, and language socialization.

METHODOLOGY. Lightbown and Spada remark that achieving a native-like command of grammar is not a goal for all learners in all contexts. An immersion program is inappropriate for child learners in a non-English speaking country because 'early intensive exposure to the second language may entail the loss or incomplete development of the child's first language' (42). The authors assert that since the child's native language will remain the primary language in the larger society, it may be more efficient to begin L2 learning later. Accordingly, Mitchell and Myles suggest that teachers should not blindly believe research findings but deploy their teaching beliefs 'and experiences...

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