A book-length exploration of the role of online chat in supporting the teaching and learning of foreign languages is well overdue. Tudini's new book takes a Conversation Analysis approach, which is new to online Second Language Acquisition. It provides observable, previously undocumented insights into how native speakers and learners pursue the learning of foreign language and culture during online text chat.

It looks at dyadic chat between native speakers and learners, with examples drawn from a corpus featuring 133 learners and 584 native speakers of Italian. This unique book contributes to our understanding of how conversation in a foreign language unfolds between native speakers and learners in an online social environment, rather than in the classroom. It will be of interest to researchers in second language acquisition and conversation analysis, as well as language teachers.

This book pushes research on computer-mediated language learning into new directions. It argues that engaging in web-based chat with native speakers provides opportunities for sustained language learning. Vicenza Tudini uses Conversation Analysis techniques to present a detailed and well-argued analysis which demonstrates where opportunities for learning are to be found in chat and how such interactions contribute to learning. This book is an important contribution both for those interested in the use of technology in language education and for those who wish to use microanalysis of interaction to understand processes of acquisition. Tony Liddicoat, Professor in Applied Linguistics, University of South Australia, Australia