This volume, a record of the teaching of English to speakers of other languages from the Renaissance to the present day, starts in 1400, when English was a minority language spoken by a population of no more than 3 million people. The book describes the process of making the language teachable and documents the developments in language teaching theory and practice that led to the emergence of English language teaching (ELT) as an autonomous profession.

This second edition is fully revised and includes new sections on (a) ELT in the British Empire, (b) the period from 1900 to the present day, (c) topics such as English for specific purposes (ESP), (d) the spread of English as a global language, and (e) current trends in ELT. The book consists of a short preface to the second edition, an introduction, three main parts that total 21 chapters, and a chronology of ELT.

The three parts constitute the bulk of the book. Each part is subdivided into two sections that are chronologically parallel and look at the subject matter from complementary points of view. Part 1 documents ELT in the period between 1400 and 1800. It starts with the emergence of English as a national language in the late fourteenth century and ends as schools in Europe and elsewhere start to take interest in teaching it along with other modern languages. Section 1 documents practical ELT before 1800, which was constituted mainly of (a) the language taken up by learners wanting to read texts that were only available in English and (b) the measures of spoken fluency used for refugees. Section 2 deals with the process of making the English language teachable by providing a stable orthography, a standardized grammar, and an authoritative dictionary.

Part 2 documents ELT in the period between 1800 and 1900. It records the changes and development of language education in Europe and in the expanding British Empire. Part 2 contains two main sections. The first relates to the growth of the teaching of foreign languages to children in school, which was rare before 1800. The second relates to innovation in the sense that language teaching changed rapidly due to innovations in linguistics and psychology.

Part 3 documents ELT in the period from 1900 to the present day. The key theme in Part 3 is the emergence of ELT as an autonomous profession in its own right. This part also consists of two parallel sections. Section 1 provides a detailed account of ELT throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century. Section 2 provides selective accounts of ELT that are of sufficient interest to warrant a more detailed study.

The final chapter, a perspective on recent trends, is by Widdowson, one of the acknowledged leaders of the profession during the last three decades. The chapter identifies and focuses on trends and tendencies that have influenced ELT during the last 20 years or so. Widdowson's chapter provides a contrasting view to the other chapters because it provides an interpretation of the events of the recent past and a prediction of potential trends and tendencies, rather than a record of these events, as was the case with the other chapters.

Finally, the book provides a detailed chronology that contains content that has directly and indirectly influenced ELT. The chronology also includes other significant events in order to provide historical context.

Does the book achieve its objectives? In his introduction, Howatt states that

As stated earlier, the book has indeed documented the progress of English from a minority language in the fifteenth century to making the language teachable to the developments in language teaching theory and practice that have led to making ELT an autonomous profession as we see it today.

What is noteworthy about this book, however, is that most of the discussion centers around spoken discourse in ELT, with little reference to written discourse. This might be because, admittedly, the vast majority of approaches to—and theories of—ELT that the book documents have themselves emphasized the spoken language in ELT at the expense of the written language.

Finally, the book is written in an accessible style. It would be relevant to most courses in language studies, including applied linguistics, the teaching of English to speakers of other languages, language education, and SLA. The readership of the book might therefore include students and researchers of applied linguistics and the teaching of English to speakers of other languages as well as language educators and language teachers around the world.