The history of English Language Teaching (ELT) is such a vast subject that it would require several tomes to describe its historical development worldwide. It is for this reason, obviously, that the author, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Edinburgh, has limited his scope to the European scene mainly, or in his own words in the Preface, "hence the indefinite article."
Starting, then, with the Renaissance, he subsequently deals with theories and developments of English teaching materials, the expansion of ELT in Europe, the emergence of ELT as an autonomous profession, and the impact of applied linguistics in the US and Britain. Following the four parts of the book, which will be reviewed in similar order in this paper, the interested reader finds: a chronology of English language teaching, biographical notes, an appendix containing the translation of Wilhelm Vietor's memorable Der Sprachunterricht muss umkehren!, and a bibliography.
The wealth of information, presented chronologically in clear language together with the writer's insights as an educator, makes the book an indispensible source for the teacher of Ehglish, native and non-native alike. To do justice to the author in his impressive undertaking and present the reader with something more than a mere evaluation, I have called this paper a "descriptive review," implying a synoptic description of the subject matter interspersed with my comments.