Contains eighteen academic and pedagogical articles and seven satirical pieces. Brings Michael Swan's best known and most widely cited articles together in a single book for the first time. This creates a unique and valuable resource both for people already familiar with these articles and for those discovering them through this collection. Articles were all originally published in leading journals such as Applied Linguistics and the English Language Teaching Journal All articles are published in their original form, but each one has an introduction by the author written specifically for this book, giving readers a historical and personal perspective on the topics discussed. Suitable for a wide audience, including teacher trainers, practising and trainee teachers, as well as academics and researchers.