Sociolinguistic variation and acquisition in two-way language immersion is an accessible resource for linguistics and educators alike on the role of the awareness of sociolinguistics and variation within the two-way immersion classroom setting. In documenting the linguistic challenges and triumphs of the children of The Meizhang School, Rebecca Lurie Starr ultimately provides support for the value of these immersion programs. The book's six chapters address several aspects of language and the classroom through qualitative and quantitative longitudinal analyses.

The first two chapters provide a brief introduction to the site of data collection and to key aspects of Mandarin. In chapter 1, Starr introduces the reader to the Meizhang School and provides a thorough description of the school's dynamics, ranging from the variety of Mandarin dialects spoken to the language and cultural background of teachers and students. Chapter 2 provides a brief account of Mandarin phonology in relation to dialectal variation and prestige. This introduction allows readers without knowledge of Chinese to understand and benefit from this work.

Chapter 3 offers a detailed examination of the teachers’ phonology. By examining the variation in phonology of the Mandarin teachers in particular discourse settings, the book explores concepts of dialect and register both within the classroom, by examining event-specific utterances, and beyond, by considering the teachers’ linguistic origins.

Starr investigates, in chapter 4, the metalinguistic discourse of the classroom to identify the prestige variety within the classroom, all the while questioning the validity of such notions of prestige. In several instances, both teachers and students were frustratingly unaware of crucial sociolinguistic knowledge that would have been instrumental in resolving metalinguistic disputes. In sharing such challenges with the reader, Starr reaffirms the importance of this book—greater awareness of variation might lead to teachers who are trained in how to manage such situations.

The children's language use and their metalinguistic interactions with one another are reviewed in detail in chapter 5, revealing a stigma concerning nonstandard features emerging in children as young as six. The students showed a remarkable ability to identify and incorporate the standard variety despite receiving minimal exposure to it in some cases. Overall, this chapter reveals the degree to which the students were aware of certain linguistic features, however consciously or unconsciously.

The concluding chapter of the book summarizes key findings and relates them to sociolinguistic and acquisition theory. This chapter also highlights effective teaching strategies, which included exposing students to variation early on and providing models for delivering corrections. Although pedagogy is not the focus of this book, the utility of its message can be applied in many settings.

The ongoing polemic nature of the instruction or impermissibility of sociolinguistic variation in the classroom reinforces the book's importance. The increased awareness of nonstandard varieties is an important step towards the acceptance of variation and the elimination of the stigma accompanying such varieties. Starr's work will be of interest to all who work with speakers of various dialects of any language, including variationists, sociolinguists, and language teachers.