This book assumes that you want to learn how to write better. Not that you are especially cheerful about it, mind you—few people like tasks that have no clearly defined beginning and end and for which progress is so hard to measure. But in my experience, most students really do recognize the need to improve their writing skills. Their attitude is usually a kind of resigned willingness. If you have that resigned willingness, you are on solid ground. “Writing is an important skill”—you’ve heard the cliche countless times. And like so many clichés, it just happens to be true. 

Making use of examples from around the world, the book considers the rise of linguistic nationalism, and the ways in which the assumption of a strong language-identity link has led to attempts to fortify and protect languages. Considerable attention is also given to the real-life mechanics of language maintenance and shift, and the psychological evidence bearing on language attitudes and behaviour.

The Handbook of Applied Linguistics contains thirty-nine articles on a broad range of topics in applied linguistics written by a diverse group of contributors. Its goal is to provide a comprehensive survey of the field, the many connections among its various sub-disciplines, and the likely directions of its future development. The book addresses a broad audience: applied linguists; educators and other scholars working in language acquisition, language learning, language planning, teaching, and testing; and linguists concerned with the applications of their work. 

This book provides students and practising teachers with a solid, research-based framework for understanding creative problem solving and its related pedagogy. Practical and accessible, it equips readers with the knowledge and skills to approach their own solutions to the creative problem of teaching for creative problem solving. 

The Second Language Learning Processes of Students with Specific Learning Difficulties is the only recent book available to offer a detailed and in-depth discussion of the second language learning processes of students with specific learning difficulties (SpLDs). It summarizes research advances in the fields of cognitive and educational psychology and integrates them with recent studies in the area of second language acquisition (SLA).