The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Neurolinguistics

Kara Morgan-Short, Janet G. van Hell

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Routledge
26 December 2025

Language acquisition; Bilingualism & multilingualism; Child & developmental psychology; Educational psychology; Neurosciences

Series: The Routledge Handbooks in Second Language Acquisition

The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Neurolinguistics provides a comprehensive discussion of a wide range of neurocognitive and neurobiological scientific research about learning second or additional languages. It is a one-of-a-kind centralized resource that brings together research that is typically found in disperse publication venues.

Eminent global scholars from various disciplines synthesize and cross-fertilize current and past neural research about second language through systematic, in-depth, and timely chapters that discuss cores issues for understanding the neurocognition of second language learning, representation, and processing. Handbook sections provide overviews of extant and emerging neuroscience methods, syntheses of neurocognitive research on second language syntax, morphosyntax, lexicon, phonology, and pragmatics, and up-to-date descriptions of theoretical approaches of the neural basis of second language learning. The volume provides additional sections that synthesize research on a variety of topics including factors that affect the neurocognition of second language, the neural mechanisms underlying second language learning, individual differences in the neurocognition of second language, as well as research on understudied languages and populations, such as sign language, child second language learners, and individuals with aphasia.

This handbook will be an indispensable resource to scholars and students across a wide range of disciplines, including those interested in second language acquisition, applied linguistics, cognitive science, psychology, neuroscience, and research methodology. It should facilitate transformative connections between ideas and disciplines and lead to informative and productive paths for future research.

Edited by: Kara Morgan-Short, Janet G. van Hell
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 254mm, Width: 178mm,
ISBN: 9781032042053
ISBN 10: 1032042052
Series: The Routledge Handbooks in Second Language Acquisition
Pages: 492
Publication Date: 26 December 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Kara Morgan-Short is Professor of Hispanic Linguistics and Psychology at the University of Illinois Chicago, USA. She directs the Cognition of Second Language Acquisition laboratory, has served as Associate Editor of the journal Language Learning, and has won undergraduate and graduate teaching and mentoring awards. Janet G. van Hell is Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Linguistics and Director of the Center for Language Science at the Pennsylvania State University, USA. She has served as Editor of the Journal of Cognitive Psychology, and has received excellence in graduate student and postdoc mentoring awards.

Reviews for The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Neurolinguistics

The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Neurolinguistics is a useful resource for novices and experts alike. It provides a comprehensive compilation of expert reviews of up-to-date academic research on theoretical and methodological aspects of SLA at the intersection of neurocognition and neurolinguistics. Professor Viorica Marian, Northwestern University, USA This volume is an invaluable, one-of-a-kind, one-stop resource for anyone interested in the neurobiological and neurocognitive bases of the acquisition of additional languages. The editors have made a titanic effort to include a wide range of methods, levels of linguistic analysis, languages, and populations, as motivated by cross-disciplinary perspectives. Professor Cristina Sanz, Georgetown University, USA This impressive handbook provides an authoritative in-depth overview of how cognitive neuroscience has expanded our understanding of how the brain supports the acquisition and processing of a second or third language. It is a highly recommended resource for students and scholars – and for anyone interested in how a bilingual brain works. Professor Karsten Steinhauer, McGill University, Canada