English teaching in globalised educational contexts

Abstract

<p>Over the years, secondary English teachers have often occupied difficult and shifting territory in relation to their roles and responsibilities as English literacy teachers. Midway through the second decade of the twenty-first century, Australia represents a rapidly changing cultural landscape, and this is nowhere more in evidence than in our schools where it is not uncommon to find a dozen or more different first language speakers in secondary English classrooms across the nation, particularly – though not exclusively – in urban settings. So how can secondary English teachers harness the resources presented by their multilingual students, and make English a more fulfilling and rewarding subject experience for all students in their classrooms? It is this very question, then, that we start to address in this issue of <i>English in Australia</i>, and we are delighted with the different approaches to teaching multilingual students that have been taken by the various contributors.</p>