This paper suggests that research in applied linguistics in Great Britain has recently had little impact on the learning and teaching of foreign languages and that new priorities for relevant research in second language learning and teaching need to be proposed. The objective of the new research would be to ensure that language skills be available to meet the commercial, industrial, diplomatic, and military requirements of the country as well as the social and cultural development of the individuals of that society in the forseeable future. Potential areas of research include the present and anticipated needs of trading partners in those areas, intercultural or interlingual communication, and the contribution of technological developments to language teaching. (MSE)