James Britton’s work addresses central educational questions that are as relevant today as they were half a century ago. Britton was the architect of a theory of language and learning which has influenced the thinking and practice of generations of teachers across the anglophone world. This Reader helps teachers and students explore his theories of the relationships between language and thought, between thinking and feeling, the links between unconscious and conscious ways of knowing, and the symbolising nature of language.

This carefully curated collection of Britton’s key writings renders his work accessible to today’s students, educators and researchers. Fully annotated chapters explore how his work fuses observation and theory in a remarkable synthesis, and demonstrates the continuities between the early use of language and later, more complex achievements in speaking, listening, reading and writing.

All those involved in teacher education and training, including researchers and scholars, will find this a rich and insightful text.