The increasingly large gap between prescriptive norms and actual usage is perhaps no more pronounced than it is in second language (L2) textbooks in which the presentation of sociolinguistic variation of linguistic forms is practically nonexistent. Accordingly, this six-chapter volume adds to a growing body of research that seeks to inform instructors, curriculum developers, researchers, and students about the importance of developing holistic L2 competence, which crucially includes sociolinguistic variation. To this end, the authors focus on L2 French and present the findings of a large comparative study in which data were collected from interviews with immersion students from high schools in the greater Toronto area. Targeting 15 variables within grammatical, lexical, and phonetic variation, these data were then compared with (a) two native speaker (NS) corpora (i.e., the Quebec corpora: Sankoff & Cedergren, Reference Sankoff, Cedergren, Boudreault and Mohren1976; Thibault & Vincent, Reference Thibault and Vincent1990; and the Ontario corpora: Mougeon & Beniak, Reference Mougeon and Beniak1991; Poplack, Reference Poplack, Fasold and Schiffrin1989), (b) the French immersion teacher corpus (i.e., Allen, Cummings, Harley, & Swain, Reference Allen, Cummings, Harley and Swain1987), and (c) the corpus of French language arts materials (authors).

In a study of this magnitude, one can easily become lost in too many superfluous details; however, one of the major strengths of this volume is its succinct yet detailed presentation. The authors were able to cover a wide breadth of variables (see chapters 2–4) without sacrificing depth in their presentation. The study is further strengthened by its well-motivated design and the fact that the authors never lose sight of their underlying research questions or hypotheses (see chapter 2) at any point in the volume. Additionally, the reader who enjoys visual presentation of data will be pleased with the clear and comprehensible tables and figures found throughout the volume. Of equal strength is the fact that the work can be read either as a cohesive whole or as independent, stand-alone chapters. Although the authors focus principally on L2 French, this need not be a detractor: Researchers and students of general, French, or L2 sociolinguistics will find chapter 1 (on previous studies of NS and L2 variation) particularly informative, whereas instructors and curriculum developers will find chapters 5 and 6 (on the benefits and pedagogical implications of developing L2 sociolinguistic competence) useful.

In spite of these strengths, like all studies, this one is not without its flaws. Even though the authors made clear the fact that most of their data were comparative in nature and although the variation that occurs within the 15 variables under study was well elucidated, the reader is ultimately left to infer why these 15 variables were selected for investigation. Had the authors provided a more explicit explanation, the reader may have had fewer lingering questions. The classification of the variants—in terms of sociostylistic markedness—along a five-point continuum ranging from hyper formal to marked informal is, itself, not puzzling, but the inclusion of certain variants in one category as opposed to another (e.g., the past tense use of être “to be” with intransitive verbs as instances of formal variation) is puzzling and, at times, poorly justified. Finally, although the authors identify the limitations of the French immersion teacher corpus (Allen et al., Reference Allen, Cummings, Harley and Swain1987) in regard to their study, these limitations (e.g., a 10-year gap between this corpus and the one collected in the study and data collected from elementary school teachers as opposed to high school teachers, among others) cause the reader to question whether or not these two data sets are, in fact, comparable.

Overall, this volume makes a valid contribution to the field of L2 sociolinguistics. As the authors correctly surmise, this study, with its focus on the role of educational input, offers “a blueprint for future research” (p. 169). Its underlining of the importance of teaching and learning of sociolinguistic variation by L2 learners as well as its emphasis on the development of a more holistic and naturalistic L2 competence makes this volume a must-read for researchers and students interested in L2 variationist sociolinguistics.