Includes bibliographical references and index.

"For the purposes of this exploration of GLL, our focus is on those individuals who become near-native or native-like in a language acquired after early childhood, implying a good deal of time and effort across multiple settings and varying conditions. It is therefore important to consider the extrinsic influences of family, peers, mentors, and cultural and societal framework(s), i.e., milieu. Other intrinsic attributes of the person such as creativity, risk-taking tolerance, task commitment, and directed motivation are also crucial. In whatever measure and configuration, most SLA scholars would agree that all of these factors help to shape structured and unstructured opportunities to further long-term mastery. That notwithstanding, the undeniable focus in GLL research has been the search for unusual, innate abilities that can uncover the mystery behind extraordinary accomplishment"-- Provided by publisher.

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