The Handbook of Spanish Second Language Acquisition by Kimberly L. Geeslin (review)

The Handbook of Spanish Second Language Acquisition is the compilation of thirty essays which have been organized into five parts corresponding to the following respective topical areas of research in second language Spanish: I. Theoretical and methodological approaches; II. Phonology; III. Developing grammars; IV. Individual and social factors; and V. Acquisition in the classroom. The appearance of this editorial compilation is timely because in recent years the field of Spanish second language acquisition has progressed significantly, not only evolving into a rigorous and sophisticated discipline in and of itself, but also providing insight into the acquisition of second languages more generally. The new arrival of this volume is particularly welcome given the fact that eight years have passed since the last edited collection of essays in this area (Salaberry & Lafford, 2006) was published, and particularly because it had been only three years before that when the next previously edited volume (Lafford & Salaberry, 2003) had been produced by the same authors.

From an editorial perspective, division of this compilation into five distinct areas is fully justified and adequately covers the wide ground in which Geeslin suggests there have been major representative advances in the field. As the author also suggests, recent work in the acquisition of Spanish as a second language is not only a global endeavor, as indicated by the “pan-national” (Geeslin, 1) representation of contributors, but it also has been approached from a wide range of theoretical perspectives, most of which have been addressed in the current volume.

Especially refreshing about this compilation is the equitable treatment of topics regardless of the extent to which they are prevalent in the current literature. The book strikes a careful balance between those areas that are at the forefront of the current research as well as those that have not attracted as much academic attention, but continue to be significant in terms of the overall enterprise. This is particularly true in regards to Geeslin’s dedication of an entire section of the book (Part II) to a mere four chapters on the acquisition of Spanish phonology, reflecting, as Geeslin suggests, the comparably scant though growing and important work that has been conducted over the years in this area. Chapters 26 and 27 (Part V), which respectively cover Spanish second language reading and writing, stand as further instances of Geeslin’s tendency for inclusiveness; in this reviewer’s opinion, these are two skills that are not sufficiently represented in the literature, yet Geeslin apportions an individual chapter to each.

The chapters that are included in Part III on the development of grammatical structures appear to provide more detail than some of the chapters of other sections, particularly with respect to findings of empirical research conducted to date. Other chapters, particularly those that are subsumed in Part I on methodology and frameworks, provide more of a general focus on historical development. Despite this difference in approach, each contribution is careful to strike a balance between previous work (either in the form of empirical studies or theoretical development) and what the direction of future work looks like.

Overall, the Handbook of Spanish Language Acquisition should be recognized as a welcome newcomer to the field, taking a prominent place among the fold of previous survey volumes such as those cited at the outset of this review. This book offers value to all researchers in the field, whether inside or outside the classroom, and whatever the methodological framework to which they subscribe. In some respects, the volume’s detail would make it ideal required reading for a graduate course in second language acquisition of Spanish. On the other hand, its approachability would also make the volume appropriate as additional assigned reading of selected chapters for students of similar courses at the undergraduate level. Finally, the book may also serve as introductory reading for students undertaking special projects across a wide range of topical areas in Spanish second language acquisition, as well as further direct them to...