This volume complements practice by providing reviews of and discussions about current literature in foreign language (FL) learning. The book is based on survey results from English FL teachers about where they feel gaps need to be filled or knowledge broadened in their personal know-how and know-why. Although this book is intended for FL teachers or as a resource for heads of departments, it would also be a good reader for graduate students as an introduction to the teaching of FLs or for teacher trainers at various levels.

Part 1 describes the survey and its results, which form the basis for the subsequent chapters in Part 2. The author shows that although there is no large discrepancy between what teachers want to know and what researchers study, accessibility to the research is often masked by varied or confusing terminology as well as by the fact that it is not always obvious that results of one study could be transferred to a different context (e.g., primary to secondary school, language to language). Moreover, with the amount of research available, it is difficult to know where to start, although this book provides a definite starting point.

Part 2 begins with a chapter on theories, grammar, and methods that covers the historical development of FL learning. The sections on long- and short-term memory and recasts (errors and corrections) were particularly interesting. The following two chapters—the first on vocabulary, the second on attitudes and motivation—look respectively at how vocabulary is stored and retrieved as well as strategies for learning it, followed by an examination of what predictors might be entailed in FL learning, such as gender, social class, age group, among others. The following four chapters (chapters on reading, listening, oral interaction, and writing) look at process-oriented research about development in each one of these skills without disregarding their interaction. The conclusions provide a good critical analysis of what has been learned thus far and what still would be helpful to explore. Additionally, the conclusions also mention some of the current hot topics that were not covered in depth in the preceding chapters, such as language awareness.

This book is rich in valuable and up-to-date information—although mostly about English language education—which the author acknowledges. He also mentions the lack of information about younger learners, although there has been a great deal of research in recent years at certain universities (e.g., the University of Jyväskylä, Finland and the University of Nottingham, England).

Most chapters whet the appetite because the research is reviewed enthusiastically but also critically. Also, although one certainly does not have a clearer understanding about the jargon and definitions in FL learning (there is so much of it and often it changes from country to country), this work is definitively thought-provoking and makes one think about how one's own definitions play a role in teaching. This book is a good stepping stone for reflecting upon becoming a better teacher and trainer and trying out new things. The chapter on vocabulary, for example, has sparked me to start a small-scale classroom research project of my own. This book is so packed full of information that it would not be recommended to read it cover to cover, and it would have been nice if, when a given concept was to be discussed later, the referring page numbers were mentioned so that a train of thought could be continued.

It is a shame that more heads of departments did not respond to the questionnaire. There is no doubt that this book is a valuable resource, but it still leaves open the question of whether FL teachers really want to expand upon their theories and, if they do, what they really want to know. Should FL teachers find and thus take the time to read this research, perhaps their experiences, their trials, and their errors would feed more into the research and, consequently, the gap would be narrowed.