Throughout the 1970s while language teaching theorists and practitioners excited themselves with course design for Specific Purpose language teaching, and while needs of adult migrants and private sectors or industrial language learners were extensively examined, the majority of learners of English continued to struggle with large classes, limited text books, few contact hours, and years of unintensive study. The work of many teachers had either been ignored by syllabus or curriculum designers, or had been interfered with by insensitive and too rapid application of ideas from ESP theory or Council of Europe discussion by administrations who did not fully realize the implications of the innovations so proudly presented. As a result, several national educational systems have `gone communicative' or `gone functional-notional', and then retreated after a brief trial period whatever they had before.

It seemed worthwhile, therefore, to convene a symposium at TESOL Convention in Toronto in...