Priming research in SLA has been generally purely theoretical in nature, and this volume’s goal is to fill a gap by making priming research accessible to broader audiences of SLA researchers who are not necessarily psycholinguists, to beginning SLA researchers, and to teachers.

In the first chapter, Trofimovich and McDonough describe the historical background of and prior research on priming. Due to space limitations, their literature review is brief, but readers are referred to recent reviews on this topic, and the subsequent chapters provide in-depth overviews of specific areas of priming research. The following chapters present a variety of research studies—some more theoretical in nature, others more practical—on lexical, syntactic, and auditory priming. In chapter 2, Altarriba and Knickerbocker compare three ways of teaching vocabulary in a second language (L2): via first language (L1) translations, black-and-white pictures, or color pictures. The priming effect was found for all three conditions. In chapter 3, Barcroft, Sommers, and Sunderman argue against an extensive use of the keyword method based on their finding that rote rehearsal speeded recall of L2 words, whereas the keyword method slowed such recall. They also provide suggestions for other vocabulary learning methods. In chapter 4, Williams and Cheung compare the use of L1-L2 translations and pictures for learning vocabulary and conclude that both methods have benefits and drawbacks but, importantly, that context should be provided to ensure the learning of correct meanings of L2 words. In chapter 5, Trofimovich and John examine the nature of phonological entries in L2 lexicons. Next, McDonough investigates the effect of different types of syntactic priming activities on the learning of wh-questions in a classroom context. Collaborative activities with lexical boost as opposed to without it appear to result in more targetlike wh-questions. In chapter 7, Segalowitz, Lacroix, and Job utilize an innovative paradigm—semantic attentional blink—to examine attention-based and automatic processing in L2 lexical access. These authors demonstrate how priming can be conceptualized broadly as the impact of previous experience on subsequent processing. Leeser, Brandl, and Weissglass also take a broad approach to priming in chapter 8 and examine how task type (comprehension questions vs. grammaticality judgment tasks) following priming influences the processing of morphosyntactic violations. In the next chapter, Hu and Jiang use a paradigm that is different from others in this volume—cross modal priming—to investigate semantic integration in listening comprehension. The last study, by Sunderman, examines conceptual mediation via evidence from false memories; this study was also conducted in a classroom setting.

This book clearly serves the necessary purposes of (a) broadening priming research and (b) providing implications for language teaching. The volume defines priming broadly, incorporates a variety of both traditional and innovative research paradigms, includes studies conducted in laboratory and classroom settings, examines a wide range of topics—including third language acquisition—and appeals to various audiences: theoretically oriented researchers, researchers interested in classroom-based studies, and language teachers. Regarding the second purpose, many psycholinguistic studies provide very limited implications for teaching. In this volume, all of the studies provide teaching implications, and the studies that are particularly practical in orientation provide especially extensive implications. These studies can serve as exemplary models for researchers who are reporting on priming research and can encourage them to provide wider implications for teaching. However, a word of caution is in order. Most of the implications are provided based on studies with one-shot designs, as is typical of psycholinguistic experiments, but ecologically valid studies should also be conducted to confirm or disconfirm these implications. Whereas controlled experimental studies are necessary, long-term effects of various methods of teaching vocabulary, morphosyntax, pronunciation, and other aspects of L2 should also be examined. The same conclusion has been reached by the editors, who, in chapter 11, call for more priming research in situated language use.

The authors of various chapters should be commended for using clear language and explanations for their methodologically well-designed research studies. They provide excellent examples of the design and reporting of priming research that are accessible to researchers and students who do not have vast prior knowledge of such research. Although some background knowledge of psycholinguistic methods and theories may be necessary, a strong background is not needed to understand and critically read this volume. For these reasons, this volume makes an extremely valuable contribution to the field of SLA.