The intriguing environment of a two-way (English-Spanish) immersion classroom is the setting for this ethnographic study of linguistic and social interactions in a kindergarten class. DePalma explores how these interactions transpire in language learning and how teaching practices can best build upon these interactions to help facilitate simultaneous language development. This book is an ideal reference for educators, administrators, and researchers who are interested in second-language teaching and learning and particularly in curriculum (re)design and instruction.

In the first part of the book, DePalma reviews classroom-based studies that explore how teaching practices shape classroom experiences and introduces the featured ethnographic study. Through a rich description of a variety of effective activity structures and teaching practices, DePalma elaborates on the implication for language development in dual-language programs and in the context of previous studies. Her observations and hypotheses are clear-cut and thought-provoking, and, by the end of the book, the reader realizes that this volume will play an important role in the ongoing dialogue on two-way bilingual education.

Although DePalma’s advocacy for a two-way education system may not be as forthcoming as García’s (Reference García2009) plea for a world in which bilingual programs must be the norm, her readers will certainly learn from her words of wisdom and from the dynamic ethnographic study. It is without a doubt that this book will be beneficial to those wishing to rethink the design of their curricula and programs or to any educator, administrator, or researcher interested in second language teaching and learning.