This is an absorbing book, and reading it makes one understand why Michael Halliday has been, and continues to be, such an influential and inspirational figure in the field of what he himself has called “appliable linguistics”.

For nearly half a century, Professor M. A. K. Halliday has bean enriching the discipline of linguistics with his keen insights into the social semiotic phenomenon we call language. This ten-volume series presents the seminal works of Professor Halliday.

‘What is so distinctive about Michael Halliday's work in linguistics is that it has always been motivated and informed by a concern for the actuality of language experience, of what makes it real for its users and learners. The papers here are a remarkable record of his explorations over the years into the relevance of linguistics for language education, and his enormously impressive contribution to a principled approach to both first and second language teaching. But this volume is not only, not indeed principally, of interest as an historical record of a distinguished scholar's innovative thinking. For although the papers here are dated, the thinking is certainly not: over and over again, one finds insightful and incisive discussion of issues in language education that, in various guises,remain as pertinent and problematic today as they have ever been. This is an absorbing book, and reading it makes one understand why Michael Halliday has been, and continues to be, such an influential and inspirational figure in the field of what he himself has called “appliable linguistics”.'

Preface

Acknowledgements 

Introduction

PART ONE: MOTHER TONGUE EDUCATION Editor's Introduction

 1. Linguistics and the Teaching of English (1967)

 2. A “Linguistic Approach” to the Teaching of the Mother Tongue? (1971)

 3. Some Thoughts on Language in the Middle School Years (1977)

 4. Differences between Spoken and Written Language: Some Implications for Literacy Teaching (1979)

 5. Language and Socialization: Home and School (1988)

 6. Literacy and Linguistics: A Functional Perspective (1996)

PART TWO: SECOND-LANGUAGE LEARNING Editor's Introduction

 7. General Linguistics and its Application to Language Teaching (1960)

 8. Is Learning a Second Language Like Learning a First Language All Over Again? (1978)

 9. Learning Asian Languages (1986)

PART THREE: MULTILINGUAL SOCIETIES Editor's Introduction

 10. National Language and Language Planning in a Multilingual Society (1972)

 11. Some Reflections on Language Education in Multilingual Societies, as Seen from the Standpoint of Linguistics (1979)

 12. Where Languages Meet: The Significance of the Hong Kong Experience (1998)

PART FOUR: CONTEXTS OF LANGUAGE EDUCATION Editor's Introduction

 13. The Notion of"Context" in Language Education (1991)

 14. Language Across the Culture (1986)

 15. Contexts of English (1994)

PART FIVE: EDUCATIONAL LINGUISTICS Editor's Introduction

 16. A Response to Some Questions on the Language Issue (1981)

 17. Some Basic Concepts of Educational Linguistics (1988)

 18. On the Concept of"Educational Linguistics" (1990)

 19. A Language Development Approach to Education (1994)

Bibliography

Index