What do I need know about English to teach it effectively in primary schools? How do children learn English? How do I teach it? What does a good primary English lesson look like? This is the ultimate guide for primary trainee teachers grappling with these questions. A comprehensive guide to teaching the National Curriculum for primary English, it covers both subject knowledge and teaching theory and practice. This new edition now includes new chapters on the teaching of phonics and the barriers to learning English in primary schools, making it the complete course textbook.