The Psychology of Second Language Learning: Papers from the Second International Congress of Applied Linguistics, Cambridge, 8-12 September 1969.

The 19 papers in this collection cover diversified topics in the general area of psychology and second language learning. No single method of language teaching emerges, but the complexity of second language behavior and the importance of psychology in the field are underlined. Several trends seem to be most prevalent. There is a new focus on the individual learner as the central element in the complex process of second language acquisition. There is a growing awareness that the receptive skills of listening and reading are vastly complex. Listening behavior and comprehension processes must be more extensively investigated. The student needs closer contact with "real" language as it is used in the real world by people successfully communicating with each other. (Author/VM)