Reflecting the influence of James Britton in the field of language and learning, this book--a collection of essays by researchers and practitioners in the area of language and learning--focuses on recent issues of language development in learning. The book contains the following 27 essays: (1) "Social Interaction as Scaffold: The Power and Limits of a Metaphor" (Courtney Cazden); (2) "Knowledge as Action" (Douglas Barnes); (3) "Learning Listening" (Gordon Pradl); (4) "Drawing a Story: Transitions between Drawing and Writing" (Myra Barrs); (5) "Stories at Home and at School" (Henrietta Dombey); (6) "How Texts Teach What Readers Learn" (Margaret Meek); (7) "I wanna write jes like in dat book!": Talk and Its Role in the Shared Journal Experience" (Amanda Branscombe and Janet Taylor); (8) "Places for Evolving Autobiography: English Classes at Work in the Curriculum (Claire Woods); (9) "On Difference: Cultural and Linguistic Diversity and English Teaching" (Tony Burgess); (10) "Reality, Play and Pleasure in English" (Peter Medway); (11) "Doing Things with Language: Skills, Functionalism and Social Context" (Mike Torbe); (12) "Stories of Stories: Footnotes on Sly Gossipy Practices" (Harold Rosen); (13) "The Enterprise We Are Part of: Learning To Teach" (Arthur Applebee); (14) "Institutionalizing Change: The Problem of System Beliefs" (Don Rutledge); (15) "Negotiating the System: A Letter to James Britton" (Garth Boomer); (16) "Teaching English as a Rehearsal of Politics" (Martin Lightfoot); (17) "Starting a School: Learning with Jimmy Britton" (Merlyn Rees); (18) "Books of Verse and Books of Stories" (Mary Worrall); (19) "James Britton and Poetry" (Nancy Martin); (20) "James Britton at the London Institute of Education" (Denis Lawton); (21) "Jimmy Britton and NATE" (Bill Mittins); (22) "Jimmy Britton and Linguistics" (Ian Pringle); (23) "Dartmouth" (W. W. Douglas); (24) "A Community of Inquiry: James Britton and Educational Research" (Janet Emig); (25) "Teachers Learning about Learning" (Pat D'Arcy); (26) "And Gladly Learn" (Margaret Gill); and (27) "A Centre of Influence" (Merron Chorny). (MM)