The outcome of a series of lectures given at the yearly Experimental Methods in Language Acquisition Research workshop, this volume is constituted of 13 chapters, each focusing on a specific experimental technique, or on the use of this type of research with different populations—that is, first (L1) or second language speakers, children or adults, and typical or atypical acquisition. As indicated in the introduction (but not directly so in the contents), the first nine chapters deal with a particular data-collection method, whereas chapters 10–12 are concerned with cross-group comparisons. The very last chapter is dedicated to the notions of statistical analysis that one needs to be familiar with when tackling this type of research.

The editors recognize that the goal of this book is rather ambitious, and, therefore, they further describe how they have attempted to provide an overview of each method that is as thorough and broad as possible. Additionally, Blom and Unsworth point to the inevitable limitations that having such a wide goal created. Nonetheless, they should be commended for having quite successfully achieved the aim they set out to reach: providing students and researchers alike with a book filled with comprehensible and practical information on conducting experimental research in language acquisition. Indeed, this introductory volume is nontechnical and would be excellent to use in an introduction to experimental research class. A more advanced researcher could also rely on this volume to refresh his or her memory of the key aspects of the various methods described or to discover the key components to a method he or she is not very familiar with but would be interested to use.

In the introduction, Blom and Unsworth also provide a series of common and practical points that one needs to address or take into consideration when conducting experimental research. Note that each chapter is organized in an identical manner. On the one hand, this allows a nice parallel between the different chapters and ensures that the same key components (i.e., rationale, linguistic variables, subjects, procedure, and analysis and outcomes) are addressed. On the other hand, it sometimes leads to quite a bit of repetition and thus does not seem the most appropriate presentation for certain chapters. Although there is no glossary of the important concepts presented throughout the volume, each chapter ends with a dos and don’ts section that highlights the most important points presented in the chapter or even adds a few additional important reminders. Designed for researchers interested in language acquisition research in general, only a few chapters deal directly with SLA research, and the majority of the volume seems to discuss child L1 acquisition. Nonetheless, many of the methods presented could be adapted to SLA research, with both children and adults, and thus this book should also be of interest to novice and advanced SLA researchers. Additionally, the end of each chapter provides a list of many supplemental references that would prove quite useful to obtain a more thorough understanding of each methodology and its possible application to SLA research. Overall, this volume will undoubtedly prove to be a valuable introduction to a wide range of experimental methods used in language acquisition research and should soon find its place on the shelf of every experimental linguist.