ABSTRACT
As a subject in Australian secondary schools, English has undergone significant changes in the past twenty years. It has played a major role in general moves to humanize the curriculum by emphasizing the value and significance, for the classroom, of students’ experiences. Attention to the role of language in learning and of language across the curriculum has been compatible with the redefinition of English, and the resultant emphasis on language and language matters has contributed noticeably to the individualization of school learning. The result has been that the total language environment of schools has become much more an object of critical attention.
