ABSTRACT
When I set out to plan a chapter such as this or to prepare myself to write one (a distinction to which I return later), I always begin with a feeling of being overwhelmed by the scale of what needs to be said. The theme, “Collaborations in Second Language Teacher Education,” is broad, and many aspects of it range beyond my knowledge and experience. I remember (and probably still partly identify with) the very strongly held view that I had as a young man that any statement that claimed to be relevant to language teaching but did not contain some ideas on how to do something was just so much hot air—what one might these days call an unnecessary and unwelcome contribution to global warming. At the same time, I now feel a need—encouraged by the appearance of Clarke (2003) and Johnston (2003)—to take account of the significance of action beyond its immediate context of impact. I want to consider a wider horizon and in that larger context, to be as sure as I can that the actions of which I speak truly realise the values that I value.
