Third or Additional Language Acquisition

Third or Additional Language Acquisition examines research on the acquisition of languages beyond the L2 within four main areas of inquiry: crosslinguistic influence, multilingual speech production models, the multilingual lexicon and the impact of bi/multilingualism on cognitive development.

Gessica De Angelis is Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics in the Centre for Language and Communication Studies at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. She researches and publishes extensively within the areas of multilingualism, multilingual testing and assessment, crosslinguistic influence and language education. Among her works is Third or Additional Language Acquisition (2007, Multilingual Matters).

Despite its title, this volume should be of particular interest not only to those researching multilingualism, but also to all those working on second language acquisition and bilingualism, as De Angelis provides abundant evidence illustrating the existing differences between l 2 and multilingual acquisition. Her re-examination of previous research studies provides a great deal of food for thought and also shows that much road has yet to be paved. Thus, not only researchers but also students will find the author's statements challenging and capable of stimulating debate, which makes its reading a must for all those interested in language acquisition. David Lasagabaster, University of the Basque CountryThird language acquisition is a field of study which has attracted wide attention during the last decade or so. Gessica de Angelis is one of the foreground figures in this area. This book provides a comprehensive overview of additional language acquisition and argues convincingly for making a clear distinction between SLA and Third or Additional Language Acquisition.What even educated people in the US and Britain often neglect is that globally speaking multilingualism is the general norm, not monolingualism. SLA researchers everywhere also need to be reminded that there are essential differences between learning a second and learning a third (or additional) language. In this stimulating and well-argued book in a highly topical area of research, De Angelis has provided an excellent analysis of these differences. The book should be of interest to all researchers in the areas of SLA and bilingualism/multilingualism, as well as to non-specialist readers who want to know more about additional language acquisition. Hakan Ringbom, Emeritus Professor of English, Abo Akademi University, Finland.