Language

Although Rod Ellis is listed as the sole author of this work, seven other contributors participated in six of the ten chapters it contains. The book is essentially an exploration of the role of interaction in L2 learning which rests on the premise that, although ‘[t]heories based on Universal Grammar view interaction as neither necessary nor especially important for acquisition [it] nevertheless constitutes the primary means by which language learners obtain data for language learning’ (ix). Consequently, it is claimed that ‘an interactionist perspective . . . is more valid than a mentalist one because it provides insights that are translatable into pedagogic proposals’ (31).

This study is divided into five sections followed by a rather extensive bibliography and a subject index. Section 1 consists of the ‘Introduction’ in which the only chapter is E’s ‘Theoretical perspectives on interaction and language learning’. His primary concern here is to outline the relationship between interpersonal and intrapersonal interaction in terms of three theories that have addressed this relationship, namely Long’s interaction hypothesis (IH), Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory as applied to second language acquisition (SLA), and depth of processing theory which, although only minimally exploited in SLA, is deemed to offer considerable potential.

The second section, ‘Input, interaction and vocabulary learning’, contains five chapters which ‘are all concerned with how input of one kind or another contributes to the acquisition of second language (L2) vocabulary’ (33). First comes ‘Factors in the incidental acquisition of second language vocabulary from oral input’ of which E is the sole author. Then in Ch. 3, he is joined by Rick Heimbach, Yoshihiro Tanaka, and Atsuko Yamazaki for ‘Modified input and the acquisition of word meanings by children and adults’; in Ch. 4 by Xien He for ‘Modified output and the acquisition of word meanings’; in Ch. 5 by Hirota Nagata and David Aline for ‘Modified input, language aptitude and the acquisition of word meanings’; and in Ch. 6 by Hoda Zaki for ‘Learning vocabulary through interacting with a written text’.

The theme of the third section is the relationship between interaction and grammar learning, that is to say, ‘whether and how interaction contributes to the development of L2 grammar’ (171); both of these chapters are co-authored. Ch. 7, ‘Output enhancement and the acquisition of the past tense’, is the result of a collaboration between E and Hide Takashima while Ch. 8, ‘Communicating about grammar’, is the result of a joint effort by E and Sandra Fotos.

The last two sections, like the first, were written by E alone and comprise only one chapter each. The section concerned with pedagogical perspectives is centered on the article ‘Making the classroom acquisition rich’ which ‘addresses directly how teaching can create the kinds of interactional opportunities likely to promote acquisition’ (209). Finally, the chapter entitled ‘Retrospect and prospect’ in the conclusion seeks ‘to try to bring together the various insights provided by the preceding chapters [and] to suggest some future directions for research’ (231).

The main purpose of this book, as stated by E, is ‘to contribute to the growing body of theory and [End Page 850] research that has addressed the role of interaction in second language (L2) learning’ (ix). Anyone involved in this area would do well to peruse this well-planned and clearly presented analysis of the ways in which interaction/input contribute to L2 acquisition, the types of interaction/input that promote it, and the kind of language pedagogy that is needed to ensure that classroom learners experience acquisition-rich interaction.