This book provides an introduction to the field of sociolinguistics for second and foreign language teachers. Chapters cover the basic areas of sociolinguistics that have a bearing on language teaching, including regional and social variations in dialects, language and gender, World Englishes, and intercultural communication. Each chapter has been specially written for this collection by an individual who has done extensive research on the topic explored. For each topic there is an overview of central terms and issues, and a discussion of implications for the language classroom. This is the first introductory text to address explicitly the pedagogical implications of current theory and research in sociolinguistics. The book will also be of interest to any teachers with students from linguistically diverse backgrounds.