The history of language learning and teaching in Britain

This article provides an introduction, based on the most recent research available, to the history of language learning and teaching (HoLLT) in Britain. After an overview of the state of research, I consider which languages have been learnt, why and how that has changed; the role of teachers and tests in determining what was taught; changes in how languages have been taught (and why); and the emergence of the modern infrastructure of language teaching policy and practice. I conclude with case study of the contribution of Walter Rippmann, a key figure, in the period 1895 to ca. 1920, a time of professionalisation of language teaching and of efforts towards innovation and change, which set the agenda for many of the major developments of the twentieth century, including a call for scientifically based language teaching and a greater emphasis on the spoken language

English as an additional language, policy and the teaching and learning of English in England

This paper is focused on the ways in which social policy and social concerns have impacted upon and shaped provision for students who consider English as an additional language (EAL). It provides an overview of practice and provision in relation to EAL learners in the context of state-funded education in England over the last 60 years in order to highlight common patterns and similarities in approaches as well as to draw attention to some of the implications of these patterns or policy tendencies on classroom practice and provision. The past six decades is a period in which important changes have occurred at all levels of English society in terms of its ethnic and cultural composition as well as educational organisation, provision and classroom practice. Against this historical backdrop, the paper highlights what we can learn from past policy in addition to how it may inform where we might be heading next. © 2013 © 2013 Taylor & Francis