Robin Peel is Senior Lecturer at the University of Plymouth, Annette Patterson is Senior Lecturer at James Cook University, Australia and Jeanne Gerlach is Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, United States.

• 1. Introduction 2.'English' in England: its history and transformations 3. Beliefs about English in England 4. Shaping the English Specialist: initial teacher training for English teachers in England 5. 'English' in Australia: its history and transformations 6. Beliefs About English in Australia 7. Shaping the Specialist: qualifying as an English teacher in Australia 8. 'English' in the United States: its history and transformations 9. Beliefs About English in the United States 10. Shaping the Specialist: requirements of programs leading to teacher certification in the United States 11. English for the Twenty-First Century? summary and conclusions

'... [a] helpful and beautifully produced book' - IRichard Andrews, European Journal of Teacher Education'At the level of argument (as opposed to metaphor), the book strikes a pragmatic note. To those still hankering after an Arnoldian or Leavisian role as an English teacher, it offers this practical advice: "Given that English wants to be properly funded and valued, it is proving strategically necessary for English to be more modest and specific in the claims it makes for itself as a subject." The book in its forward-looking way makes much of that "strategically necessary" argument. The book is good then in providing detailed contexts for readers to reassess their own ideas about English and in raising crucial issues.' - Anthony Kearney, Use of English