Thenowfamiliarforcesofglobalisationandinternationalisationareinfluencingtheroleandsignificanceoflanguageteachingandlearningincontemporaryclassrooms.ThisaffectsthewaysinwhichEnglishistaughtandlearntinparticularbutisalsoaninevitablefactorinalllanguageteachingandlearning，Theauthorsofthechaptersinthisbookallshareaconcerntoexplorethewaysinwhichthecontextsinwhichlanguageteachingtakesplaceimpactontheaimsandthemethodsoflanguageteaching.Somedosobydiscussingtheimplicationsforwhatresearchwedoandhowwedoit;Kramsch，forexample，explainsindetailhowherownresearchevolvesfromissueswhichariseintheclassroom.InotherchaptersthechangingnatureoftheteachingofEnglishispresentedfromempiricalresearch;Decke-Cornill，forexample，identifiesdifferentphilosophiesoflanguageteachingamongdifferentkindsofEnglishteacherinGermany.Otherauthorspresentstudiesofthewaysinwhichwhatlearnersbringtothelearningprocessfromtheirowncontextsandlanguageshastobetakenintoconsiderationifwearetounder-standlanguagelearning;Holmeshowsthisfromcloseanalysisoftheacquisitionofmetaphoricallanguage，andWendtarguesfortheimportanceofasocialconstructivisttheoryoflanguagelearning.Ourcommonpurposeistotakeafreshlookatteachingandresearchthroughtheperspectiveoftheinevitableconnectionsbetweencontexts，culturesandclassrooms.