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A History of ELT, Second Edition | |
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Authors: A. P. R. Howatt, with H. G. Widdowson
417 pages.
ISBN: 0-19-442185-6
In the year 1400 AD, English was spoken by about three million people - a minority language, even among the population of the British Isles. Today, English is the mother tongue of several hundred million people, and the second language of about a billion more. In this book, two senior academics, one at the University of Edinburgh, and one at the University of Vienna study how the world started to learn English. Here we are looking at the second edition, published in 2004.
The book is in three parts and twenty-one sections. Part One: 1400-1800 has sections with titles such as " 'Refugiate in a strange country': the refugee language teachers in Elizabethan London" or "The spread of English language teaching in Europe". 'Part Two: 1800-1900' examines how the British empire affected the teaching of English, and secondly how English was taught in Europe. Though always interested in how English has been taught, the authors focus even more tightly on methods in this part, with section titles such as "The grammar-translation method" and "Natural methods of language teaching' from Montaigne to Berlitz". The third and final section - '1900 to the present day' looks at both methods of teaching and at the development of the profession of English language teaching.
There are occasional pictures and tables in the text, but that is not what this book is about. Fortunately, despite their academic background, the authors have carefully made the book readable by anyone with good English language skills. Sentences such as "He realised that every student had a god-given duty to instruct himself. The role of the teacher was to assist the learner, not to control him" will be immediately clear to anyone in the teaching profession. Where jargon is used, such as the 'mim-mem' method, it is explained immediately afterward (mimicry and memorization).
Who is this book for? It is recommended for anyone who has an interest in the history of English, and particularly for any EFL teacher who takes the job seriously. At almost £20, this is not a cheap book, though it depends what price you consider worth paying to totally impress your colleagues and Director of Studies. If you are a student, and really want to frighten your teacher with your knowledge, this book may also be a good investment. Every language school should have a copy in the library.
Verdict: Essential background reading for EFL professionals
Assessment 8/10
This review copy was supplied by Cambridge International Book Centre