Book excerpt: A companion to Aspects of Teaching Secondary Modern Foreign Languages, this book charts developments during the past few decades of reform in MFL teaching, considering the origins of these reforms and analysing their impact on the classroom. The reader is divided into four sections: 'Controversies and disagreements' is an overview of changes to MFL teaching and learning during the last thirty years; 'MFL, schools and society' looks at the role of MFL in a wider social and educational context; 'Developing strategy' looks at how more effective MFL teaching might be achieved; 'Research and the MFL teacher' looks at the implications for classroom practice of recent research into MFL teaching and Learning.