One of the main purposes of the book is to provide a forum in which to examine contributions in a variety of areas of Japanese linguistics to the teaching and learning of Japanese in the L2 classroom. This book has at least two interrelated areas of benefit. First, both researchers and teachers benefit from each other’s expertise and receive new insights that apply to their respective fields. Second and more important, the book serves as a forum to promote ways in which we can apply linguistic theory to the learning of Japanese as an L2. That is, what researchers have learned from both theory and practice can suggest what is important for the teaching of language; conversely, language educators have a great deal to offer linguists regarding the phenomenon of language. Thus, the goal of this book is to integrate theoretical concepts and empirical research findings in L2 development in order to apply them to educational practice.