This volume explores how a second language is acquired and what learners must do in order to achieve proficiency. The paperback edition is a collection of original essays that approaches second language acquisition from a linguistic rather than a sociological, psychological, or purely pedagogical perspective. A wide range of viewpoints and approaches is represented. The essays in this book provide an incisive analysis of how a second language is acquired and what the second language learner must do mentally to achieve proficiency in another language. The chapters are arranged topically from those covering the broad area of theories of acquisition to those focusing specifically on syntax, semantics, pragmatics, lexicon, and phonology in another language.