This is a highly stimulating and refreshing book with contributions from some of the most authoritative voices in the field. It should be essential reading for English teachers; its broad perspective challenges many simplistic assumptions about the nature of English as a subject.

Mike Fleming, Emeritus Professor of Education, Durham University, UK

This intellectually exhilarating book offers a bracing riposte to those who would seek to confine ‘English’ within crude, easily assessable categories. The editors have assembled an impressive writing team of international experts who, holding fast to a core belief in the holistic and dialogic nature of their subject, invite readers to reconfigure their practice in order to meet the opportunities and demands of the twenty-first century.

Nicholas McGuinn, Department of Education, University of York, UK

This book is a celebration and an affirmation of what is important in English, providing a source of inspiration for all English teachers, whether experienced or just starting out on their careers. The book offers a wide-ranging and thought-provoking analysis of the complexities of teaching and learning in English, which, in taking the long view and drawing on historical contexts, provides a focus on intertextuality and making connections rather than compartmentalising the subject into skill sets. The authors draw effectively on case studies to interrogate theoretical approaches through worked classroom practice and present an empowering model of English teaching, which recognises the agency and engagement of the individual pupil as learner, at the heart of the English curriculum.

Carole Page, Senior Lecturer in Education, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK