English as an additional language, policy and the teaching and learning of English in England

This paper is focused on the ways in which social policy and social concerns have impacted upon and shaped provision for students who consider English as an additional language (EAL). It provides an overview of practice and provision in relation to EAL learners in the context of state-funded education in England over the last 60years in order to highlight common patterns and similarities in approaches as well as to draw attention to some of the implications of these patterns or policy tendencies on classroom practice and provision. The past six decades is a period in which important changes have occurred at all levels of English society in terms of its ethnic and cultural composition as well as educational organisation, provision and classroom practice. Against this historical backdrop, the paper highlights what we can learn from past policy in addition to how it may inform where we might be heading next.