Book Reviews w 433 © The Authors Journal compilation © 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd The concluding chapter, by Hasebrink, Berns, and de Bot, underscores the notion that English is present in the lives of young Europeans. It is here that the book’s title is fleshed out, as the authors argue that there has been a “qualitative change of the kinds of presence” of English in the form of its transformation into “a multi-dimensional means of expression and communication . . . linked to the professional sphere as well as the private sphere, to globalized mass media entertainment as well as private communication” (p. 114). Young people in the Netherlands, for example, “regard English as one means to express themselves and their cultural orientation” (p. 115). It is argued that “most parts of the European population will have to acquire at least a certain level of English”, which would allow “people from different countries and cultures to develop their specific way to communicate”. This communicative condition would make everyone “a user of English to some degree” (p. 118). Many scholars and students in the fields of English studies and applied linguistics will find this volume of great value. It is one of the first empirical explorations of the young English-using populations across four national contexts, offering tools (survey questionnaires and self-assessment tests) that can be further refined and used in other contexts. In considering English use and learning beyond the classroom, the volume offers a window into the complex sources of English input for young people acquiring the language as part of their linguistic repertoire to meet communicative needs without presumed threats to their identity. The new forms of input and learning outside the school context are of relevance to language pedagogy in Europe, as new curricula will need to respond to the changing nature of language proficiencies and how they are developed. This volume is timely and provides the researcher and practitioner with a basis to understand the complex nature of young people’s language development and use. e-mail: bruttg@buffalo.edu [Received July 20th, 2007] Gibson Ferguson, 2006, Language Planning and Education (Edinburgh Textbooks in Applied Linguistics). Edinburgh University Press, 243 pages, ISBN 0-7486-1262-9 Reviewed by Alan Firth Newcastle University Language Planning (LP) has long been a core component of applied linguistics courses and textbooks. LP prototypically addresses issues relating to national language policy implementation, the state control of educational resources and the large-scale organisation of language teaching programmes. LP has traditionally concerned itself with broad-ranging questions such as “Which (versions of) languages should be granted state support and legitimation?” and “On what bases should national language education be