This collection provides a snapshot of the evolution of David Nunan's theoretical and empirical contributions to the field of second language education over the last 40 years.

David Nunan is Vice-President: Academic, Anaheim University, USA; Professor Emeritus of Applied Linguistics, University of Hong Kong; Honorary Professor in Education, University of New South Wales, Australia; and Distinguished Visiting Professor, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok.

Introduction Part I: The Second / Foreign Language Curriculum 1. Learner-Centred Curriculum Development 2. Communicative tasks and the language curriculum 3. Conceptualizing Second Language Teaching and Learning 4. Seven hypotheses about second language teaching and learning 5. Closing the gap between learning and instruction 6. Focus on form in task-based language teaching 7. Task-based Language Teaching and Learning 8. The impact of English as a global language on educational policies and practices in the Asia-Pacific region Part II: Language and Culture 9. Discourse and language systems 10. Doing things with spoken language 11. Learner narratives in research and teaching 12. Dog rice and cultural dissonance 13. What does it mean to be 'language aware'? Part III: Teachers and Teaching 14. Toward a collaborative approach to curriculum development: A case study 15. Hidden voices: Insiders' perspectives on classroom interaction 16. Action Research and Professional Renewal