The first book‎-length treatment of its type‎,‎ Ultimate Attainment in Second Language Acquisition is a case study with a solid theoretical grounding that examines the language of an immigrant learner of English‎,‎ and thereby presents a much needed understanding of the linguistic competence of second language speakers‎.‎ Based on longitudinal data collected over a period of 16 years‎,‎ this clear and accessible presentation is well‎-grounded in linguistic theory and in second language acquisition research issues‎.‎ Author Donna Lardiere presents the narrative of Patty‎,‎ an adult Chinese immigrant learner of English‎,‎ who achieves native‎-like proficiency in some areas of her English idiolect‎,‎ although reaches a plateau in her language acquisition‎,‎ known as the concept of fossilization‎.‎ By addressing this concept‎,‎ a central idea in second language acquisition research‎,‎ Lardiere fills a void in existing literature‎.‎ Individual chapters focus on Patty‎'‎s end state knowledge of grammatical areas of finiteness‎,‎ past‎-tense marking‎,‎ word order‎,‎ wh‎-movement and relativization‎,‎ passivization‎,‎ number marking‎,‎ and use of determiners‎.‎ Important topics discussed throughout the book include‎:‎ *learner variability in production‎;‎ *case study methodology‎;‎ *the roles of motivation and prior language ‎(‎L1‎)‎ knowledge‎;‎ and *sensitivity to input in circumscribing ultimate attainment in adult second language acquisition‎.‎ Ultimate Attainment in Second Language Acquisition is intended for anyone whose research is in the areas of second language acquisition‎,‎ language acquisition‎,‎ theoretical‎,‎ applied‎,‎ or developmental linguistics‎.‎ It is also appropriate for graduate level students of TESOL and teachers who work with more advanced learners of foreign languages‎.‎