Includes bibliographical references and indexes (pages 270-294).

Machine generated contents note: 1. The quest for the LAD; 2. First language development - Universal Grammar as the centerpiece of the human language making capacity; 3. Obvious (observable) similarities and differences between first and second language acquisition - developmental sequences; 4. The initial state and beyond; 5. Developing grammatical knowledge - parameter setting and inductive learning; 6. Neural maturation and age - opening and closing windows of opportunities; 7. A (tentative) theory of language acquisition - L1, 2L1, and L2.

"Infants and very young children develop almost miraculously the ability of speech, without apparent effort, without even being taught - as opposed to the teenager or the adult struggling without, it seems, ever being able to reach the same level of proficiency as five year olds in their first language. This useful textbook serves as a guide to different types of language acquisition: monolingual and bilingual first language development and child and adult second language acquisition. Unlike other books, it systematically compares first and second language acquisition, drawing on data from several languages. Research questions and findings from various subfields are helpfully summarized to show students how they are related and how they often complement each other. The essential guide to studying first and second language acquisition, it will be used on courses in linguistics, modern languages and developmental psychology"--

"This is an introduction to the study of the human Language Making Capacity. More accurately, it is a textbook presenting research questions and research results referring to specific manifestations of this capacity in monolingual and bilingual first language acquisition and child and adult second language acquisition. A more comprehensive treatment of this subject would have to address other aspects as well, for example, the genesis and change of languages, creolization and pidginization, language attrition and loss, impaired acquisition, and so forth"--