This study of English instruction in Great Britain concentrates on the changes in the last seventy years at the junior and secondary school levels. The author states that a long-term perspective on the study of English-teaching methodology is needed so that poor teaching habits will not be perpetuated and good ones will be encouraged. Relying on textbooks, method books, Board and Ministry reports, and other informed opinion, the author examines the extent of advancement in attitudes toward children's writing, toward work on literature, and toward examinations, and the reasons for the great quantity of grammar work at the junior-senior level. The main emphasis is on changes in classroom methods, but the author also looks at social pressures which have modified the school system and the teaching of English. An analytical bibliography of English anthologies, textbooks, and studies of English is included. (Author/DI)