The PhD program in Second Language Studies at Michigan State University is designed to provide a firm foundation in the field of Second Language Acquisition and its application to current second language research and teaching.

The field of Second Language Acquisition is the study of the acquisition of a non-primary language. As such, the field addresses some of the following questions:

• How are second/foreign languages learned?
• How do learners create a new language system with only limited exposure to a second/foreign language?
• How do language learners learn? What do they not learn?
• Why do most learners not achieve the same degree of knowledge or proficiency in their second language as they do in their first language?
• Why do some learners appear to achieve native-like proficiency in a second language?
• What are the patterns of acquisition that are similar regardless of first language and second language?

The PhD program at MSU draws from a number of disciplines as students are trained to explore some of these and related questions.

The specific goals of the program will be to train students to conduct in-depth investigations into:

1. non-primary language acquisition and use.
2. the teaching of second and foreign languages in multiple contexts.

We anticipate that the graduates of this SLS PhD program will be part of the future generation of Applied Linguistics. Graduates of this program will actively

1. contribute to the general fields of Applied Linguistics, SLA, and language teaching
2. disseminate findings to future generations of graduate students.

MSU has a rich environment for language study that includes three departments that focus on the teaching and learning of second/foreign languages, and English Language Center for instruction in English for international students, a Center for Language Education and Research, (a Title VI funded center whose mission is to aid in improving language learning and teaching in the U.S.), and a well developed program for teaching of Less Commonly Taught Languages.