British Studies is a rapidly expanding interdisciplinary field particularly associated with the teaching of English overseas. Having its origins in tradition al studies of British life and institutions, or civilisation, it has been transformed by adopting approaches and methods from Cultural Studies, Anthropology, Discourse Analysis and Media Studies. In the context of political transformation in Europe and developments in global East-West relations, the subject has developed comparative methodologies which give it an important cross-cultural dimension.
The inclusion of British Studies in teacher training and re training programmes has led to a re-evaluation of the role of the language teacher as intercultural mediator. Contributors to this volume are, uniquely, academics and teachers from Latin America, South East Asia, China, Turkey and East and Central Europe, as weIl as Germany and Britain. Many are involved in language education at secondary and tertiary levels where there is an urgent need to broaden the score of the curriculum to reflect cultural perspectives and priorities.