This book is a collection ofarticles for the series Language Teaching and Testing-Selected Works of Renowned Applied Linguists. This series collects articles written by a number ofleading applied linguists. Each collection focuses on a specific area of research in applied linguistics. Previous books have addressed the following topics： grammar learning and teaching， vocabulary language learning and teaching， task-based language teaching， second language motivation，language testing， and writing in a second language. The aim of each book is to bring together older and more recent articles to show the development ofthe author's work over his/her lifetime. The articles are selected to address both theoretical issues relevant to a particular area of enquiry and also to discuss issues of significance to the teaching or testing of a second language （L2）. As a whole， the series provides a survey of applied linguistics as this relates to language learning， language pedagogy and language testing.Each book begins with an autobiographical introduction by the author in which he/she locates the issues that have been important in his/her lifetime's work and how this work has evolved over time. The introduction also provides an outline of the author's professional career. The bulk of the book consists of chapters based on articles published over the author's lifespan. A concluding chapter draws together the various threads that have appeared in the previous chapters.Each book， then， will contain articles that cover the author's career （over thirty years in some cases）. Not surprisingly there are likely to be shifts （and possibly contradictions） in the author's positioning on the issues addressed， reflecting the changes in theory and research focus that have occurred in the specific area of enquiry over a period of time. Thus， the articles will not necessarily reflecta consistent theoretical perspective. There is merit in this. Readers will be able to see how theory and research have developed. In other words， each book provides a snapshot of the kinds of developments that have occurred in the applied linguistic field under consideration，I first became aware ofjack Richards' research when I became interested in second language acquisition in the 1970s. He edited a book called \"Error Analysis\" that included his own paper on social factors and interlanguage along with a number ofother seminal papers.Jack， however， did not pursue his early work on learner errors and language learning. Instead he pursued a highly productive career in writing ELT course books and switched the focus of his academic writing from learners and learning to teachers and teaching. His interest lies in the kind of knowledge that informs the practice of teaching and，related to this， teacher's professional development.This collection of his published articles addresses issues of direct relevance to teacher education - how teacher's sense ofidentity and their beliefs aboutteaching relate to their skill as teachers and to their practical actions. It also includes proposals for how teacher education can contribute to teachers' professional development. There is no person better equipped to write about materials design in language teacher education - the final article in the book.Jack is adept at making research and theoretical ideas accessible to readers. This
　　book is a valuable resource for teachers， teacher educators and researchers， who are interested in why teachers teach in the way they do and what can be done to assist their development.