While it is accepted that the pronunciation of English shows wide regional differences, there is a marked tendency to under-estimate the extent of the variation in grammar that exists within the British Isles today. In addressing this problem, Real English brings together the work of a number of experts on the subject to provide a pioneer volume in the field of the grammar of spoken English.

In this provocative interpretation of the history of English, the contributors emphasise the diversity of English throughout its history and the changing social meanings of different varieties of English.

Without sacrificing technical integrity for the sake of simplicity, the author draws upon accessible, student-friendly language to provide approachable instruction perfectly aimed at statistics and Bayesian newcomers.

Articles in this volume discuss the role and effectiveness of corpora and corpus-linguistic techniques for language teaching but also deal with broader issues such as the relationship between corpora and second language teaching and how the different perspectives of foreign language teachers and applied linguists can be reconciled.

This volume explores the defining element in the work of language teacher educators: language itself. The book is in two parts. The first part holds up to scrutiny concepts of language that underlie much practice in language teacher education yet too frequently remain under-examined. These include language as social institution, language as verbal practice, language as reflexive practice, language as school subject and language as medium of language learning. The chapters in the second part are written by language teacher educators working in a range of institutional contexts and on a variety of types of program including both long and short courses, both pre-service and in-service courses, and teacher education practice focusing variously on metalinguistic awareness for teachers, language improvement, and classroom communication. The unifying factor is that collectively they illuminate how language teacher educators research their practice and reflect on underlying principles.

David Hughes enjoyed a long career as a secondary-school teacher and his pupils used to say of him that although he was not always right, by golly he was never wrong. He is certainly never one to follow fashions blindly or to accept without thinking the views of those around him. He is always prepared to listen carefully to the arguments of others. He likes a good debate. He is always asking questions. Here he expounds the common-sense ideas he has formed about humankind and the world of today and he attempts to explain why so many of the changes he has seen during his lifetime have not been for the better.

In this dismantling of the myth of Japanese "quality education", McVeigh investigates the consequences of what happens when statistical and corporatist forces monopolize the purpose of schooling and the boundary between education and employment is blurred.

Practice Teaching surveys issues and procedures in conducting practice teaching. Written for language teachers in training at the diploma, undergraduate, or graduate level, Practice Teaching, A Reflective Approach surveys issues and procedures in conducting practice teaching. The book adopts a reflective approach to practice teaching and shows student teachers how to explore and reflect on the nature of language teaching and their own approaches to teaching through their experience of practice teaching.