Bill VanPatten is Professor of Applied Linguistics and Second Language Studies at Texas Tech University. Alessandro G. Benati is Reader in Second Language Acquisition and Director of Research and Enterprise at the University of Greenwich, UK.

• 1) Second Language Acquisition: An Overview; 1.1 What is SLA?; 1.2 Historical perspective; 2) Key theories in Second Language Acquisition: Theory, Research and Pedagogy; 2.1 Key Theories; 2.2 Implications for Teaching; 3) Key Terms in SLA; 4) Key Texts in SLA; 4.1 General Key texts.

This is a well-crafted primer for the newcomer to the field of second language research. The discussion of key issues is clear and straightforward, and illustrated effectively with simple linguistic examples. The definitions of the key terms are equally good. The text provides an excellent point of entry to the more technical research reported in the specialist journals.