I read The Articulate Mammal for my A Level English Language students in the past and found it to be a very accessible book with solid reasonably contemporary research on how humans gain the knowledge and skills to use and understand language and specifically, English.  It is an important book in the world psycholinguistics.  From West London English Tutor, English and Media tutor in Harrow, London. http://paltip.com/westlondonenglish/!4kqv