This book reports the findings of an extensive research project on the acquisition of the native norms of spoken French variation by French immersion students who have learnt their second language primarily in an educational context. The project focused on a range of phonetic, lexical and grammatical sociolinguistic variants documented in studies of contemporary first language varieties of spoken French, and assessed the extent to which the students master the linguistic and extra-linguistic factors which govern variant choice. The book also discusses pedagogical strategies to improve the students' mastery of spoken French variation. The book represents an important contribution to an under-researched aspect of advanced Second Language Acquisition in an institutional setting.

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In previous studies, the team of Mougeon, Nadasdi, and Rehner has contributed greatly to our understanding of variation in second language learners' speech. The Sociolinguistic Competence of Immersion Students sets a new standard for researchers in the sociolinguistics of L2 speech and represents a major contribution to both second language acquisition and sociolinguistics.

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Mougeon, Nadasdi and Relmler's study of immersion students' acquisition of native norms of spoken French ofters a fresh and stimulating contribution to the relatively under-researched field of sociolinguistic competence in an inunersion context. Where the volnme is particularly successful is in presenting the findings of a major research project whilst integrating a diversity of approaches to the phenomenon. As a result, the intended readership is broad: graduate students interested in sociolinguistic variation within the field of SLA, teachers of French as a second language keen to reflect on the factors which condition their students' learning of variation, and finally policy makers for whom it is important to be aware of the 'variable use oflanguage' (p. xi) if they are to develop pedagogical materials which take the acquisition of variation by learners into consideration.