ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the insights from research on the cognitive dimensions of language learning that can inform teacher's practices and expectations. Not all phenomena of interest have been examined in the real world complexity of classrooms, and even those that have are obviously constrained in generalisability by the particular contexts in which they were investigated. The chapter begins by describing five issues relevant to teaching and learning that have been well-researched and about which some level of consensus has been reached. Although there is a long history of second and foreign language teaching methods Kelly's historical overview goes back to 500 BC the focus on the cognitive learning processes involved in language acquisition is much more recent. The new discipline of second language acquisition (SLA) emerged at about the same time. It broadened the scope of inquiry from the language itself and how to teach it to include the learner's knowledge and use of the second language.
