This volume presents the results of a study conducted at a Finnish university, in which Jaatinen evaluated her performance as a teacher of English for social services. As explained in chapter 1, the study is grounded on an undoubtedly provocative principle: Teaching and learning a foreign language is based on the holistic conception of man in line with the phenomenological meaning paradigm. In essence, Jaatinen argues that teaching and learning take place through autobiographical reflection acts that take into account “the historicity of the human being and ‘being-in-the-world’ changing oneself and the world in which the language has a key position” (p. 5). This inquiry facilitates the description and study of the changes in the researcher's (the instructor) and the subjects' (the learners) subjective worldviews, creating opportunities to research teachership and learnership.

Chapters 2 and 3 are devoted to providing the theoretical underpinnings that frame the study and Jaatinen's notion of the autobiographical reflexive approach. The author highlights the importance of assigning meanings and making sense of the teacher's and learners' subjective (life) experiences. According to her, this is the basis for reflection, when a person's own consciousness and his or her reality can be seen. She also emphasizes that this reflection is bound to cultural and social factors that mold the experiences on which the creation of knowledge depends. Understanding a human being as a whole is another key aspect of this approach: The life-world of each individual is a collection of all the conditions and events—including language—in his or her past, present, and future existence. Tapping into this network of bodily, conscious, and situational relationships is what allows us to trigger the sense-making process that characterizes our ever-changing nature. The discussion is thought-provoking and the quality of the literature review is impressive, but the lack of cohesiveness in the chapters and the continuous repetition of the author's goal are two major flaws.

In chapter 4, there is yet another explanation of the study's objectives, whereas chapter 5 tries to link theory and language teaching and learning. Jaatinen claims that language courses should prepare learners to interact with people from other cultures with respect and to understand their own culture as they make true, authentic connections with the content to be learned, with the world, and with each other. Language obviously plays a central role in this progression; it is seen as the element of expression and interpretation and as the instrument with which we describe—although not exhaustively—our symbolic universe.

In the strongest chapter of the volume, chapter 6, the author presents a description of the methodology behind the autobiographical approach. Through the recollection of episodes, we are able to be part of what was happening in the classroom and to witness the implementation of what up to this point seems somewhat idealistic and abstract. The writing is engaging, and the explanations showcase Jaatinen's ability to get learners involved in explaining concepts and inferring meanings, interpreting pictures, solving problems, dramatizing, and encountering the other as well as her ability to handle unplanned teaching moments. As part of her own evaluation of the study, the chapter concludes with her assessment of the true meaning of the environment, learning, teaching, knowledge, and knowing in a foreign language program. It is in this section that we can clearly see her commitment to this teaching philosophy and how it transformed her professional practices.

In the last chapter of the volume, three of the learners in Jaatinen's class candidly reminisce about their experiences and struggles learning a foreign language. What follows is the author's interpretation of these stories, narrative that often seems superficial and forced to fit within the theoretical mold she has so insistently described. The last part of the book is an epilogue that serves as a summary of the research.

Jaatinen's work does an admirable job of inviting us to rethink our conception of teaching and learning by stressing that the ultimate goal is for learners to develop their own personal foreign language. Although the humanistic foundation of her study and methodology is solid and persuasive, the volume leaves the reader with a very unclear picture of how it translates into language acquisition and proficiency.