Stephen Krashen

To those familiar with the field of linguistics and second-language acquisition, Stephen Krashen needs no introduction. He has published well over 300 books and articles and has been invited to deliver more than 300 lectures at universities throughout the United States and abroad. His widely known theory of second-language acquisition has had a huge impact on all areas of second-language research and teaching since the 1970s. This book amounts to a summary and assessment by Krashen of much of his work thus far, as well as a compilation of his thoughts about the future. Here, readers can follow Krashen as he reviews the fundamentals of second-language acquisition theory presents some of the original research supporting the theory and more recent studies offers counterarguments to criticisms explores new areas that have promise for progress in both theory and application. An invaluable resource on the results of Krashen's many years of research and application, this book covers a wide range of topics: from the role of the input/comprehension hypothesis (and its current rival-the comprehensible output hypothesis), the still-very-good idea of free voluntary reading, and current issues and controversies about teaching grammar, to considerations of how it is we grow intellectually, or how we "get smart."

Now In Paper! While there is a great lamenting among the public within educational circles about "illiteracy," especially within the language minority community, there is little focus on the possible solutions to the problem of low literacy rates. This body of work highlights many successful strategies which tackle this issue. This book is unique in that it approaches the issue of literacy in the language minority community from many perspectives. Literacy is investigated as a continuum of interconnected factors. It takes a hard look at the research in a way that is enlightening for both researchers and students. Accompanying the research are numerous suggestions and possible solutions. This book contains the necessary theoretical base as well as practical solutions. It includes accounts of reading programs in the classrooms, recommendations of selected Spanish language books for children, documentation about cases of free reading at the university level and the strengths of native language books for adult learners. Literacy, Access and Libraries is helpful to a wide range of audiences while detailing the specific concerns of language minority communities. With a concrete foundation in theories of literacy the book is also helpful to educators and those concerned with relationships between communities, and the impact of language acquisition, literacy, and reading on the social practices of students. It contains effective strategies for literacy in both public and private settings, and proves an excellent source of information for anyone providing services to the language minority community. Cloth edition previously published in 1998.