Contents:
Introduction Part 1: An historical perspective 1. Shaping the image of the English teacher 2. English our English: the new orthodoxy examined 3. The National Curriculum in English Part 2: Speaking and Listening 4. The National oracy project 5. Perspectives on oracy 6. Planning for learning through talk 7. Talking and assessment in secondary English 8. Bilingualism and oracy 9. Standard English: the debate Part 3: 10. Reading 11. Making sense of media: from reading to culture 12. Information skills 13. Working within a new literacy 14. The centrality of literature 15. Teaching black literature 16. Teaching Shakespeare in schools 17. Balancing the books: modes of assessment in A level English 18. How do they know its worth it? The untaught reading lessons Part 4: Writing 19. Writing 20. The national writing project 21. Teaching writing: process or genre? 22. School students' writing: some principles 23. Writing in imagined contexts 24. Teaching poetry in the secondary school 25. Getting into grammar

This book offers an opportunity to engage with the debates in English teaching and to explore the viewpoints of writers who have contributed to those debates. It provides invaluable introduction to the complexities of English to Novice English teachers.