This course aims to familiarize students with the main theories and models of Second Language Acquisition (SLA), the factors that affect language acquisition processes and the current research carried out in the field. Topics to be covered in this course include old and current theories and models of SLA, age and critical period hypothesis, interlanguage, the learner environment, individual differences, aptitude, cognition, affect, motivation, and social dimensions of learning.

It is hoped that by the end of the terms students will have detailed, multilateral answers and understanding of the main questions in the SLA field:

(i) How do humans learn additional languages after they have learned their first?

(ii) What factors contribute to the variability observed in rates and outcomes of second language learning?

(iii) What does it take to attain advanced language and literacy competencies in a language other than the mother tongue?