INTRODUCTION

This chapter provides an overview of the Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Discourse. The perspectives on second language acquisition and discourse taken in the book are explained; that is, broad, interdisciplinary views of both second language acquisition and discourse as it is taken up in research into second language teaching, learning, and use. The history of the terms discourse and discourse analysis are then outlined, from their early days to the ways in which they are more often understood today. A description of the Handbook follows. The Handbook has three main parts. Part I reviews methodologies, perspectives, and approaches to discourse analysis that have been employed in researching the teaching, learning, and use of second languages. Parts II and III show how discourse-analytic research has been taken up in a range of areas related to the areas of second language learning, teaching, and use. Each chapter addresses the fundamentals, background, and history of its topic, how it has been researched and how this research contributes to both understandings and practices of second language teaching, learning, and use. Future directions are highlighted in each of the chapters and suggestions made for further reading on the topic of the chapter.