The last thirty years have witnessed considerable research in the fields of second language acquisition (SLA) and second language teaching (SLT). However, most of this research has been concerned with second languages such as English, Spanish, French, and German. There has been comparatively little research on the less commonly taught second languages such as Hindi and other South Asian languages. As the editor states in the preface, enrollment in courses on South Asian languages has rapidly grown in universities in the United States and there is an urgent need for a careful examination of the issues relevant to the teaching and learning of these languages. The purpose of the book is to fill the existing gap and to generate an interest among both researchers and practitioners in the teaching and learning of South Asian languages.