This book is part of a fresh and lively series on bilingual education and bilingualism. It deals with immersion in general but adds its own evidence and contributes substantially to knowledge in the field. Its originality lies in its emphasis: Whereas most of the literature on immersion deals with outcomes, de Courcy focuses on the process, particularly from the perspective of the learner. The research methods are tailored to the research aims. Rather than providing quantitative data, the author emphasizes various types of qualitative data, such as taped interviews, videotapes, student journals, and the researchers' log books. Introspective accounts are central to the discussion, and the importance of an ethnographic approach is also stressed: Observation alone is not enough, and the learners are seen as informants. Another interesting aspect of the book is that, whereas much of the literature on immersion studies is on English and French, here we have much-needed evidence from another language group, Chinese. The research is carried out in Australia with late immersion learners.

The seven chapters are presented with admirable clarity, with clear research questions posed at the beginning of each one, and the content summarized in helpful final sections. The account is very much that of case studies, and this permits a level of detail generally rare in SLA studies but one that is most useful for researchers carrying out similar work. For instance, detailed field notes are provided of classroom interactions, the methods of transcription are described in detail, and a useful appendix provides the conventions used. The case studies reveal processes that remain to be described in relation to immersion—for example, four stages the learners go through: (a) translation, (b) key words, (c) relax and “get the gist,” and (d) out of awareness (where they stop being conscious of learning). De Courcy finds that this path is common to all of the learners, irrespective of L1. In describing what went on in the classroom, she found several themes in common: (a) the teacher's role, (b) the students' response to curriculum, and (c) the group dynamics of the class.

There are chapters on reading and writing and also on processes and strategies, which are interesting for the detail provided. The most striking and original aspect of this work is the immediacy of the descriptions of what actually goes on in an immersion classroom from the perspective of the learner. It is fascinating for this reason, not only for the SLA researcher, but also for the language teacher.