ABSTRACT
Most of you reading this will have a certifi cate or two which provide some evidence of your competence in English language. The teaching and learning of English language is the key focus of the NC Orders for English (QCA, 2007; DCELLS, 2008) and will form the basis of much of your teaching. At degree level, however, the study of English seems to be more usually the study of literature. For many of you, your most recent studies will have involved analysing and exploring literary texts rather than aspects of language. It is also fairly probable that many of you would fairly quickly identify English Literature as the study of prose, poetry and drama and see attainment as being linked closely to the depth and detail of your understanding and analysis. English language, however, seems to be both broader and more diffi cult to pin down.
