Abstract

Developing the ability to speak in a foreign language is an arduous task. This is because it involves the mastery of different language subsystems, simultaneous focus on comprehension and production, and the impact of a range of social factors. This challenge is further compounded in situations in which learners have limited access to the target language. Thus, there is a need to explore issues related to teaching, learning and testing speaking with a view to translating the guidelines based on theoretical positions and research findings into feasible and context-specific pedagogical recommendations. This is the rationale behind this book, which considers speaking from leading theoretical perspectives, investigates individual variables which affect its development, and reports the results of studies focusing on different aspects of its instructed acquisition.

This volume offers comprehensive analysis of speaking skills as one of the most important issues in instructed foreign language acquisition. The nature and development of speaking are not only discussed here from theoretical and practical perspectives but are also well-illustrated with examples of empirical studies in the area.

Mirosł?aw Pawlak is Professor of English in the English Department at the Faculty of Pedagogy and Fine Arts of Adam Mickiewicz University in Kalisz, Poland. His main areas of interest are SLA theory and research, form-focused instruction, classroom discourse, learner autonomy, communication and learning strategies, individual learner differences and pronunciation teaching.

Ewa Waniek-Klimczak is Professor of English linguistics and the Director of Studies in the Institute of English at the University of Lodz. She teaches courses in phonetics, phonology, accents of English and spoken discourse. Her main research interests are the acquisition and usage of the SL sound system, cross-linguistic phonetics and phonology and pronunciation teaching.

Jan Majer is Professor of English and head of the Department of Psycholinguistics and ELT, Institute of English Studies, Faculty of Philology, University of Lodz, Poland. His main areas of interest are bilingualism, second language acquisition theory and research, analysis of classroom communication, and English as an International Language.

The development of oral skills, particularly in a FL, is complicated by a number of social and cognitive factors. The edited volume "Speaking and instructed foreign language acquisition" is an excellent testimony to this and is thus an invaluable contribution to our understanding of current ideas and topics on the acquisition of oral skills in FL settings. Unlike many other volumes on FL acquisition, the present volume presents theoretical discussions drawing on cognitive and sociocultural perspectives. Given recent efforts to adopt a more holistic approach to the study of language acquisition, readers will enjoy the thorough examination of factors at play.

This book explores the complexity of acquisition of speaking ability as an instructed foreign language skill. Developing speaking ability in a foreign language involves acquisition of many subsystems which are then used in various social situations with a simultaneous focus on comprehension and production. At the same time, instructed acquisition suffers from limited access to the target language and natural speaking conditions which have to be compensated for by pedagogical procedures. The majority of those issues are the topics of the empirical studies presented in the book. In this way, this volume is probably the most exhaustive study on the subject.