This cutting-edge volume describes the implications of Cognitive Linguistics for the study of second language acquisition (SLA). The first two sections identify theoretical and empirical strands of Cognitive Linguistics, presenting them as a coherent whole. The third section discusses the relevance of Cognitive Linguistics to SLA and defines a research agenda linking these fields with implications for language instruction. Its comprehensive range and tutorial-style chapters make this handbook a valuable resource for students and researchers alike.

An Introduction to Cognitive Linguistics, Second Language Acquisition, and Language Instruction. Section 1: Cognitive Linguistics and Cognition. Aspects of Attention in Language. Prototypes in Cognitive Linguistics. Cognitive Grammar As a Basis for Language Instruction. Word Grammar, Cognitive Linguistics and Second Language Learning and Teaching. Spatial Language Learning and the Functional Geometric Framework. Language Without Grammar. Children's First Language Acquistion from a Usage-based Perspective. Construction Learning and SLA. Usage-based Grammar and SLA. Section 2: Cognitive Linguistics, SLA and L2 Instruction. Learning to Talk About Motion in a Foreign Language. Gestures and SLA. Conceptual Transfer and Meaning Extensions. A Unified Model. Usage-based and Form-focussed SLA: The Associative Learning of Constructions, Learned-attention and the Limited L2 Endstate. Corpus-based Methods in Analyses of SLA Data. Teaching Construal: Cognitive Pedagogical Grammar. Cognitive Linguistics and Second Language Instruction. Conclusions: Cognitive Linguistics, SLA and L2 Instruction - Issues for Research.