Book excerpt: What are the key debates in English teaching today? Debates in English Teaching explores the major issues all English teachers encounter in their daily professional lives. It engages with established and contemporary debates, promotes and supports critical reflection and aims to stimulate both novice and experienced teachers to reach informed judgements and argue their point of view with deeper theoretical knowledge and understanding. Key issues debated include: the professional identity of English teachers attitudes to correctness in grammar and standard English the importance of the media and new technologies social class and literacy the nature of the dialogic classroom the role of wider reading the politics of early literacy. With its combination of expert opinion and fresh insight, Debates in English Teaching is the ideal companion for all student and practising teachers engaged in initial training, continuing professional development and master's level study.