The editors have put together a volume that effectively reviews the literature on speech acts from theoretical perspectives to cross-cultural and SLA studies and that presents pedagogical approaches for teaching speech acts. The text is divided into three sections. “Theoretical Groundings” consists of one well-researched chapter written by Martínez-Flor and Usó-Juan, who present a clear explanation of speech act theory, the critiques, and some universals. They argue that learners will not be exposed to a range of speech acts nor to ways of intensifying or mitigating them in the classroom because textbooks and teacher talk do not represent everyday conversation.

“Empirical Foundations” consists of seven chapters. Kuriscak’s chapter presents a review of the literature on individual differences—specifically personality, aptitude, and motivation. Only at the end is it made clear that there is scant attention to these factors in speech act studies. Félix-Brasdefer’s informative chapter evaluates methodological approaches used to examine speech acts, and weighs the usefulness of each. González-Lloret underscores the importance of more research into discursive use of speech acts using conversation analysis so that the emergence of speech acts, rather than preformulated versions, becomes the focus. Meier’s chapter provides a very useful theoretical approach to the ways cultural values inform expectations and choices in speech acts. Schauer effectively reviews literature on the effects of study abroad on learners’ performances. Yates focuses on research in the workplace on face threats in which English native speakers predominate, arguing for studies of naturally occurring talk. Takahashi explores the teachability of speech act conventions in terms of instruction and learner characteristics.

The seven chapters in “Methodological Innovations” provide a review of the research on particular speech acts and propose pedagogical practices to help students acquire them. Kondo examines apologies in cross-cultural situations, emphasizing the importance of choice rather than teaching normative practices only. Boxer argues that teaching about indirect complaints may help learners build solidarity with others. Ishihara presents a compelling argument for recognition of cultural values in learning compliments and responses to them; she includes a written self-assessment for learners in her lesson plan that highlights their intentions. Malamed suggests that learners focus on their own cultural ways of disagreeing before learning ways of doing so in English. Eslami describes the complexity of refusals and the negotiation that usually occurs. Usó-Juan examines requests and presents a student-centered approach for teaching based on their understanding of sociopragmatic factors. Martínez-Flor provides a taxonomy of suggestions based on her own research and proposes activities that develop learners’ awareness of sociopragmatic factors and the ways they influence pragmatic choices.

The primary focus of the volume is to present effective pedagogical practices in teaching speech acts in response to SLA theory. The abstracts for each chapter are a very useful feature. I found the teaching practices particularly successful when the writers drew from their own experience in teaching the speech act in question. For example, Ishihara points out that learning pragmatic strategies in the target language for speech acts is not just a matter of language learning; speech acts, like all forms of language use, are a way of constructing identity. Learners have their own agency, and instructors need to recognize that they may intentionally resist native speaker norms. This is a crucial point of which the concept of negative transfer does not take account. As many of the authors point out, there is a large range of linguistic choice, and learners need to acquire some pragmatic competence to make choices that avoid misunderstanding. Ishihara and Malamed both mention the importance of tone of voice, suggesting that more work could be done on prosody. Some chapters emphasize the importance of research methodologies and pedagogical practices using naturally occurring talk or transcriptions, which should inspire more research in this very important field of study. This volume could be used as intended for educators of second and foreign languages, and it would be very valuable in graduate courses, as it bridges SLA and practical applications of the theory in the classroom.