This collection of papers treats second language users in their own right rather than as failed native speakers, reflecting a new shift within the field of second language acquisition research. The 13 papers are: (1) "Background to the L2 User" (Vivian Cook); (2) "Lexical Representation and Lexical Processing in the L2 User" (Anette de Groot); (3) "The Phonology of the L2 User" (Roy Major); (4) "A Minimalist Approach to L2 Solves a Dilemma of UG" (Suzanne Flynn and Barbara Lust); (5) "Development of L2 Functional Use" (Clive Perdue); (6) "Cognitive Processes of L2 Users" (Ellen Bialystok); (7) "Portrait of a Bilingual Child" (Fred Genesee); (8) "The Neurolinguistics of L2 Users" (Franco Fabbro); (9) "Individual Differences in L2 Fluency: The Effect of Neurobiological Correlates" (Jean-Marc Dewaele); (10) "Language Attrition: Tests, Self-Assessments and Perceptions" (Kees de Bot and Madeline Hulsen);(11) "Poststructuralist Approaches to the Study of Social Factors in Second Language Learning and Use" (Aneta Pavlenko); (12) "Second Language Learners' Rights" (Francisco Gomes de Matos); and (13) "Language Teaching Methodology and the L2 User Perspective" (Vivian Cook). (Papers contain references.) (SM)