It has been said that managers make sure we do things right, whereas leaders make sure we do the right things. With this in mind, I shall attempt to trace some of the key turning points in the development of the global teaching of English over the past 40 years or so. Much of what we now take for granted has its origins in the work of key individuals, schools and institutions.

For the sake of convenience, I shall divide the talk into:

• The cauldron of the 1960s: a rich fermentation of ideas and influences, many from outside our field.
• The academic movers and shakers, from Chomsky to Krashen, from Wilkins to Jenkins and many more.
• The methodological experimentalists, and their legacy: designer methods and the communicative revolution.
• Landmarks from maverick practitioners, such as John Fanselow, Mario Rinvolucri, Scott Thornbury
• The contributions of institutions, including university centres, examination boards and publishers.

I shall conclude with some questions: Where are we now? Have we lost momentum and direction? What avenues for creative leadership now exist outside the academic rat race/ paperchase/treadmill? Are we suffering from the sclerosis of institutional control?