Publisher's Synopsis
This volume explores both theoretical and empirical questions related to second language acquisition and foreign language learning in general, and English language education in Hungary in particular. The book overviews the relevance of the critical period hypothesis (CPH) to early foreign language programmes and contributes to a better understanding of the complexity of problems underlying discussions. It also challenges the CPH by giving an account of two studies on successful adult learners of English and Hungarian. Three different aspects of the same children's classroom experiences are explored over their eight years of study in primary school: the development of their attitudes and motivation, strategy use and negotiation. The book includes two classroom-based empirical studies. One on how children of 6-14 interact in a variety of foreign language classrooms, whereas the other one gives a detailed analysis of a classroom observation project of 118 disadvantaged secondary English classes.
