English Language Teaching in its Social Context Edited by Christopher N. Candlin and Neil Mercer

An absorbing collection of essays with practical applications

This book concerns itself with language students as members of society and how that influences their approaches to, attitudes towards and ability to learn English. These social aspects of the student are considered in terms of how they should influence the teaching of English, so that it may be the most effective. There are three sections to the book: How is language learning explained? ; Strategies and goals in the classroom context; and Analysing teaching and learning, which are comprised of both “classic” essays and specially commissioned pieces.

Starting off very theoretically, the book is quite hard-going to begin with. The first section has some useful points to make but it takes a lot of effort to glean them. It seems perverse but true that in academic fields such as Applied Linguistics and English language teaching, some writers seem not only to take pride but also pleasure, in using obscure language. Continued effort pays off though, as the second and third sections become much more practical and easily applied to one’s own teaching environment, with the last chapter being literally a practical guide to recording and transcribing talk in the classroom.

The final chapter reveals who the book is intended for, as it would be of great help to a student of a post graduate course in TESOL or Applied Linguistics. The book also is of use for practicing teachers who may want to do research in their own classrooms, or gain more insight into their students as members of societies. This is what I liked most about the book; teachers spend so much time and effort thinking about what to teach, that they can often lose sight of who they are teaching.

This is a collection of essays and as such its quality, accessibility and usefulness is variable. Notwithstanding this, the editors have tried to construct a whole from various parts and they are largely successful. Much thought has been given not just to the selection of the essays themselves but also the order in which they are placed. The essays build upon each other, with the specially commissioned ones making reference to the others.

This is the second book of a series entitled Teaching English Language Worldwide. I am now reading the third book of the series; Innovation in English Language Teaching and so far it seems to be very similar but with a focus on new ideas and approaches.

Overall this is an absorbing book with a lot of theory that can be applied usefully to many different types of classrooms and students. It is great for the teacher who wishes to consider students and their contribution to the learning process in order to maximise the effectiveness of their teaching.