The book is a collection of key papers presented at an international conference held at the Indo-American Centre for International studies, Hyderabad, India, in 2004, and includes a few other contributions of an equally high standard. Together, they offer an international perspective on language use and pedagogy, relating to both theory and application, in various countries including Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Switzerland and the United States of America. The volume highlights issues such as identity construction, self-esteem, economic and intellectual empowerment, and the role of the individual and state in the context of English as a second language, and suggest how we may examine and address them.