Second Language Research

Second Language Research is the peer-reviewed journal for theoretical second-language acquisition. Founded under Edward Arnold in 1985, the journal carries work in generative and processing approaches to L2 grammar, phonology, and the lexicon; bilingualism and multilingualism; the development of the multilingual mind; and the interfaces between syntax, semantics, and discourse in adult and child second-language learners.

The journal has been historically associated with the generative linguistics tradition in second-language research — Universal Grammar approaches to L2 acquisition, parameter-resetting models, the interface hypothesis — and has been a primary venue for both theoretical and empirical work in this paradigm. Editorial leadership during the Arnold years and beyond has been provided by senior figures in the field; current Co-Editors include Silvina Montrul (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) and Roumyana Slabakova (University of Southampton).

Transferred to SAGE Publications in the 2006 Hodder Arnold journal-list sale, Second Language Research has continued with its theoretical-linguistic editorial direction and is consistently among the most-cited journals in the applied-linguistics field.