Examines the practical aspects of the acquisition of Japanese as a second language, underpinned by theory and research. This book is of interest to postgraduates studying second language acquisition and applied linguistics. Each chapter examines theory and progresses to a consideration of the practical design of tasks for teaching.

Acknowledgments; Introduction; Abbreviations; I: Preliminary considerations; 1: Preliminary considerations; 2: The Role of Focus on Form; II: Communicative Language Teaching: Grammar and Communicative Tasks; 3: Communicative Language Teaching; 4: The role and practice of grammar teaching: designing communicative grammar; 5: Designing Communicative Tasks in teaching Japanese; III: Classroom Research; 6: The experimental methodology; 7: A classroom experimental study on the effects of grammar instruction in the acquisition of Japanese; Conclusion; References; Index.

"This is a highly readable work on communicative language teaching, both general and specific. Whilst it focuses on Japanese language teaching, the instructional issues covered are universal. All readers will benefit from Benati's discussion of the role of focus on form in communicative language teaching and his communicative teaching model for grammar instruction. Benati successfully frames the issues for classroom practice with a careful consideration of research and theory. The main implications are clearly and succinctly presented in bullet lists, and appear at the end of sections as the logical conclusions to the discussion of research and theory. Practioners will find this book a valuable addition to their professional libraries. Students will find the list of key terms and their definitions helpful and the end of chapter questions for consideration insightful." - James F. Lee, University of New South Wales, Sydney Australia