INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM IN LANGUAGE TEACHING: HELPING LEARNERS TO DEVELOP A DIALECT OF THEIR OWN. Christopher Brumfit. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. Pp. xvi + 208. $29.95 paper

In this volume Brumfit provides a detailed, yet highly readable, analysis of many problems that at least partially arise from viewing language as a static code. He describes language as a dynamic force that interacts with other social forces and practices and as a process that is permeable, variable, and useful. He argues that the best way to teach, research, and plan language policy is to recognize and enhance the users' abilities to use language for their own permeable, variable, and unpredictable purposes.