The study of pragmatic development of second language (L2) learners includes but is far from limited to studies of speech act performance. There is particular interest in the success (or lack thereof) of L2 students navigating contexts in which communicative abilities have consequences for academic as well as social outcomes. In this volume, Nguyen broadens the scope of studies of pragmatic development by focusing on pragmatic development of foreign language learners still in the home country but preparing to study abroad—specifically, Vietnamese learners of English preparing to study in Australia. Nguyen also broadens the range of speech act types studied, focusing on criticism, which is fundamental to academic communication.

After the brief first chapter that introduces research goals, the second chapter reviews literature on interlanguage pragmatics, situating it in speech act theory, politeness studies, and SLA. Nguyen aims to improve on prevailing data-collecting methods and uses three different instruments: a peer-feedback task, a written questionnaire, and a retrospective interview. The 36 Vietnamese learners included 12 advanced beginners, 12 intermediates, and 12 advanced students between the ages of 22 and 26. Twelve Australian English native speakers and 12 Vietnamese native speakers also participated. Participants wrote essays on the (in)convenience of public transportation; in pairs, they critiqued each other's essays and responded to resulting criticism. A questionnaire about hypothetical criticisms and a retrospective interview completed data collection.

The results demonstrate the complexity of pragmatic development in a foreign language. Whereas Australians tended to make direct, descriptive criticisms and readily accept criticism of their work, learners' critiques were less direct, yet abrupt, overly explicit, and occasionally demanding, and learners tended to disagree with criticism offered to them. As proficiency increased, learners showed greater use of techniques to modify or soften criticism. There was evidence of both sociopragmatic and pragmalinguistic transfer from Vietnamese, such as resistance to criticism, and of misleading information from textbooks. This innovative, carefully conducted, clearly researched study demonstrates the complexity of learner pragmatic development and suggests implications for English as a foreign and English as a second language pedagogy.