Rémi A. van Compernolle is Assistant Professor of Second Language Acquisition and French & Francophone Studies at Carnegie Mellon University, USA. His research interests include sociocultural psychology, second language development, pedagogy and assessment, sociolinguistics, pragmatics and interactional competence. He is the author of Sociocultural Theory and L2 Instructional Pragmatics (2014, Multilingual Matters).Janice McGregor is Assistant Professor of German at Kansas State University, USA. Her research interests include second language learning and use, study abroad and intercultural dimensions of language learning and use.

• Rémi A. van Compernolle and Janice McGregor: Introducing Authenticity, Language and Interaction in Second Language ContextsRémi A. van Compernolle and Ashlie Henery: Evaluating L2 Pragmatic Appropriateness and Authenticity in Synchronous Computer-Mediated Strategic Interaction ScenariosLawrence Williams: Authenticity and Pedagogical Grammar: A Concept-Based Approach to Teaching French Auxiliary VerbsRémi A. van Compernolle: Sociolinguistic Authenticity and Classroom L2 Learners: Production, Perception, and MetapragmaticsNaoko Taguchi: Learning Speech Style in Japanese Study Abroad: Learners’ Knowledge of Normative Use and Actual UseWenhao Diao: Gender, Youth and Authenticity: Peer Mandarin Socialization among American Students in a Chinese College DormJulieta Fernández: Authenticating Language Choices: Out-Of-Class Interactions in Study AbroadSheng-Hsun Lee and Celeste Kinginger: Authenticating Practices in Chinese Home Stay InteractionsJanice McGregor: Metapragmatic Talk and the Interactional Accomplishment of Authenticity in Study AbroadGabriele Kasper and Alfred Rue Burch: Focus on Form in the WildRémi A. van Compernolle and Janice McGregor: Conclusions and Future Directions

In bringing together a wealth of empirical data from both informal and formal pedagogic contexts, this collection not only makes a powerful and informed contribution to the still vibrant debate over the issue of authenticity in language education, but also succeeds in challenging and, to a large extent, superseding existing understandings of the concept.