ABSTRACT

Contexts The world of information and communications technology (ICT) has changed incredibly fast, and continues to do so. The authors of English for Tomorrow, for instance, found it necessary in 1997 to explain in a footnote what ‘World Wide Web’ meant (Tweddle et al. 1997: 2). The speed of change is important, as it can lead to confusion as to what is valuable and what can be discarded; indeed, in the same book the authors make the key point that ‘The question for English is how the subject might change in order to accommodate a growing body of knowledge and skills’ (op.cit.: 1). That question remains fundamental, especially in the context of any proposed development of the subject in an interdisciplinary direction.