Rethinking English in an Age of 'Standards-Based Reforms': a report from the 2011 IFTE conference.

This paper reports on the 2011 conference of the International Federation for the Teaching of English (IFTE), drawing out implications for the theory and practice of English studies at a time when 'standards-based reform' movements are affecting the practice of teachers in several countries represented at the conference. Focusing firstly on a study of the impact of these developments in Australia, the paper then gives detailed, evaluative accounts of the other main conference presentations. These relate to the teaching of writing, literature and discourse generally, and offer productive alternatives to contemporary tendencies by demonstrating pedagogy that respects the agency and cultural formation of both teacher and student. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]