Abstract

This is the first book that deals primarily with vocabulary learning strategies as a specific and integral subgroup of language learning strategies. Its aim is to define the concept of language learning strategies in general and their features on the basis of cognitive theory and relevant models of second language acquisition as the basis for empirical research. Furthermore, the book gives a survey of relevant research on vocabulary learning strategies and describes three original empirical studies. Thus, the book integrates the approaches of theories of second language acquisition, the theory and practice of instructed foreign (second) language learning, and the findings of current empirical research.

This book provides a timely, thoughtful, and welcome contribution to the current surge of articles and edited volumes on L2 strategies. Researchers interested in vocabulary and strategies will appreciate its concentrated, theoretical accounts of vocabulary learning, whereas classroom practitioners will value the pedagogical applications it provides on topics such as L2 strategy instruction.

The book is well-written, nicely organized, and reader-friendly, and it should be quite accessible to teachers, researchers, and graduate students alike. It provides excellent coverage of relevant theories of vocabulary learning and useful data through its empirical chapters. It should be essential reading for language teachers and graduate students working on language learning and teaching strategies and can also be enthusiastically recommended as a supplementary text for courses on methodology in second and foreign language teaching.

This much needed book will be an invaluable text for researchers of language learning strategies and of vocabulary acquisition, and for teachers and teacher educators. It will stimulate the reader to reflect at length, not only on learner strategy deployment, but also on the problematical relationship between instruction and acquisition. The elaborate and detailed review of studies in the field makes the book suitable for those new to the field while the results of new research particularly in the second and third studies will appeal to those with more advanced knowledge and experience in the area.

Takac's book is a significant contribution to LLS in the field of SLA. Each chapter is clearly laid-out and well written, with excellent end-of-chapter summaries. I believe that this much needed book will be an invaluable resource and will be thought-provoking for the reader, not only on learner strategy use, but also on the relationship between strategy training and language acquisition. Overall, I would highly recommend this book to those researchers involved in LLS and of vocabulary acquisition, and for teachers and teacher educators. The wealth of illustrations and the elaborate discussion makes this book an extremely useful reference for those involved in strategy teaching and training.

ViÅ?nja PaviÄ?iÄ? TakaÄ? obtained her BA in English and German language and literature from the University of Osijek, Croatia, and her MA and PhD from the University of Zagreb, Croatia. After working as a primary school teacher of English, she was appointed teaching assistant for the English language and ELT methodology at the Faculty of Philosophy University of Osijek, Croatia. As a guest lecturer, she has also taught at universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the postgraduate course on foreign language learning strategies at the University of Zagreb, Croatia. Her professional and research interests include individual differences in foreign language learning, language learning strategies, interlanguage, cross-linguistic studies, as well as pre-service teacher education and foreign language teachersâ?? competence. She is currently an assistant professor and teaches a variety of under- and postgraduate courses related to theory and practice of foreign language acquisition.