putting: “the notion itself is less important than the constellation of concepts it makes possible” (p 126) Overall, Pennycook has made a compelling case to question, then broaden, the range of phenomena often taken for granted in linguistic, cognitive linguistic, and applied linguistic research The level of argumentation precludes in-depth analysis of empirical data but makes the book an important exercise in “rethinking relations between humans, language, objects and space, and considering more carefully what distributed agency, language and cognition may mean” (p 18) Central to studies of language has been the relation between languages, bodies, minds, and worlds Pennycook’s book reminds us why this relation must continually be rethought SIMON HARRISON City University of Hong Kong Hong Kong International Students’ Challenges, Strategies and Future Vision: A Socio-Dynamic Perspective Anas Hajar Bristol England: Multilingual Matters, 2019 Pp xv + 237 doi: 10.1002/tesq.573 The current monograph contributes to a growing number of publications on study abroad It reports on the lived experiences of eight Arab university students undertaking master’s degrees in the United Kingdom Using a longitudinal, qualitative approach, Hajar traces the participants back to their learning of English in their home countries in chapters and and up to their experiences in the United Kingdom during a pre-sessional course in chapter 6, their master’s courses in chapter 7, and their dissertation writing in chapter Through a socio-dynamic lens, Hajar explores the challenges the students faced, their strategies for coping with these challenges, and how the students’ future visions helped to motivate them throughout each leg of their journeys In chapter 1, Hajar makes quick work of an introduction, which includes an autobiographical narrative of his own journey studying in Syria before embarking on his postgraduate studies in the United Kingdom This narrative is brief but important in that it situates Hajar’s rationale for the current study in his own experiences as a 533 REVIEW language learner and former Arab sojourner himself; it makes readers aware of the origin of his interest in language learning strategies Although positioned inconspicuously in the middle of the book’s title, it is evident early on that strategic behavior is Hajar’s main area of interest Chapter provides an up-to-date overview of the literature on language learning strategies that holds its own among similar chapters in other popular volumes Readers familiar with existing overviews will find similar themes here It is in chapter 3, however, that Hajar’s theoretical contribution comes to life After moving through more familiar ground regarding strategies, Hajar begins to weave together aspects from several theoretical frameworks (from activity theory and communities of practice to investment and possible selves) to form his own socio-dynamic framework for understanding the relationships between motivation(s), strategy use, and learners’ future visions Noteworthy is Hajar’s categorization of strategies as “compulsory/other-imposed” or “voluntary” (p 56) Refraining from lengthy classification systems of old enables Hajar to conceptualize strategies based on their locus of causality Such a distinction mitigates some concerns I have voiced previously regarding conceptualizations of strategic behavior that have increasingly become conflated with aspects of self-directedness (e.g., Thomas & Rose, 2019; Thomas, Rose, & Pojanapunya, 2019) Hajar uses his compulsory versus voluntary distinction to describe strategy use amongst his participants in the subsequent chapters Chapters 4–8 follow a formula, with Hajar providing background information and a brief review of literature to foreground each chapter’s focus; then, drawing on more than 15 hours of interviews with each participant, Hajar introduces 15 to 30 interview excerpts in each chapter The excerpts are part of a larger chapter narrative that focuses on a specific period in the learners’ journeys (see above), presented in chronological order Hajar’s analyses and discussions are sensible and grounded in existing work Finally, each chapter concludes with implications, mostly pedagogical On the whole, I found this monograph thought-provoking While Hajar states early on that this volume is “a new exploration of language learning strategies” (p 1), it is obvious that it explores far more Strategies are simply the point of departure for much larger discussions of transition, motivation, and identity Essentially, it is Hajar’s indepth approach to understanding his participants’ experiences that makes this memorable It clearly draws influence from Gao’s (2010) earlier work, and both are excellent examples of the type of qualitative inquiry that the strategy field has, for the most part, been lacking I have just a couple of minor critiques First, the book would have benefitted from a final chapter to tie everything together I turned the TESOL QUARTERLY 534 last page of chapter 8, expecting to see a larger synthesis of the key topics, only to find an invited epilogue It would have been nice to read Hajar’s own concluding discussion on the book’s larger themes Second, some of the chapter/section titles could have been a bit more representative of their respective content (e.g., chapter 2, part 2, and part 3) Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this volume and recommend it to anyone interested in learning strategies, study abroad, and/or transition THE AUTHOR Nathan Thomas is a postgraduate researcher at the UCL Institute of Education His interests are wide-ranging, but current projects pertain to language learning strategies, self-/other-regulation, and English medium instruction He has published in leading academic journals such as Applied Linguistics, Applied Linguistics Review, ELT Journal, Language Teaching, System, and TESOL Quarterly REFERENCES Gao, X (2010) Strategic language learning: The roles of agency and context Bristol, England: Multilingual Matters Thomas, N., & Rose, H (2019) Do language learning strategies need to be self-directed? Disentangling strategies from self-regulated learning TESOL Quarterly, 53, 248–257 https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.473 Thomas, N., Rose, H., & Pojanapunya, P (2019) Conceptual issues in strategy research: Examining the roles of teachers and students in formal education settings Applied Linguistics Review: Advance online publication https://doi.org/10 1515/applirev-2019-0033 NATHAN THOMAS University College London, Institute of Education, London, England 535 REVIEW