The nine chapters of this book revolve around four themes: imbalanced bilingualism (Chapter 2); the modular mental architecture of bilingualism and componential nature of language ability as revealed by extreme cases such as deaf children learning sign language (Chapter 3); the processing and learning of the Chinese morphosyllabic writing system (Chapter 4); and effective approaches to second language (L2) teaching, including topics of negative evidence (Chapter 5), corrective feedback in computer-assisted language learning (Chapter 6), and the immersion approach, which the book defines as content-based instruction (Chapter 7). The author’s proposals are built on critical reviews of the literature, and are emphasized in the preface, in Chapter 8, and in the final chapter. For further reading, Francis recommends several books that approach bilingualism from perspectives such as neuroscience, sociolinguistics, universal grammar, and so forth.

Instead of attempting to cover all issues regarding bilingual development and literacy learning, Francis focuses on particular topics, such as first language (L1) processing and learning of Chinese orthography in literacy development in East Asian languages. This focused strategy enables Francis to address representative cases within several vast areas of language acquisition, which makes the book appealing to audiences with diverse backgrounds, including language teachers, researchers, and administrators. For instance, those who are interested in the theoretical foundations of bilingualism will find Chapters 2 and 3 particularly helpful. One fundamental issue addressed is the difference between L1 and L2 acquisition, reflected in ultimate attainment (i.e., uniform and effortless in L1 and varied in L2), in the critical period (i.e., consistent in L1 and mixed in L2), and in the availability of the language acquisition device (LAD). Many other important concepts are addressed, including the interaction between processing mechanisms and competence factors, the difference between learning and acquisition, the input hypothesis, and the role of direct instruction. In contrast, readers who are more pedagogically oriented will find Chapters 5–7 directly applicable to teaching or classroom-based research. In particular, the analytical methods for evaluating learners’ self-correction introduced in Chapter 5 offer an exemplary starting point for future research. Readers will appreciate the list of acronyms and the glossary as well as the abundant references to up-to-date literature provided in the book.

In general, the author presents the literature objectively and comprehensively. When there are several divergent approaches to an issue, Francis reviews them with an open mind, explaining their differences and commonalities. For instance, when proposing that the LAD is available to L2 learners through the mediation of L1, he specifies that this approach is compatible with the full transfer full access hypothesis, but he also reconciles the proposal with theories that argue for fundamental differences in L1 and L2 grammar.

However, one particular claim made in the book may be inaccurate: the description of the different spoken varieties of Chinese, such as Wu, Yue, and Min, as separate languages “on mainly linguistic criteria” (p. 9). Perhaps a more objective description is that these varieties share the same writing system, and a distinction between dialect and language in this case cannot be easily made, because these spoken varieties constitute a continuum in their linguistic attributes (Lin, Reference Lin2007, pp. 2, 264). Francis refers to situations in which Chinese children first acquire their indigenous spoken variety and then learn Mandarin Chinese and English at school as “three-tiered language-leaning” (p. 5). An acknowledgement that such “trilingual education” in China is not necessarily identical to trilingualism elsewhere, in which case one has to learn three definitively different languages that all have different writing systems, would be helpful.

This volume should be commended for its clarity in writing, for coherent organization, and especially for covering in an accessible way some of the most fundamental issues in bilingualism. A careful reader will notice occasional inconsistencies in citation (e.g., “Perfetti and Dunlap, 2008” cited on p. 61 does not appear on the reference list) and a few minor typos (e.g., “with come […] contradictions” instead of “some contradictions” on p. 170). These weaknesses are minor, however, in comparison to the overall contribution of the book to the field.