The continued debate among schools of thought is still essential because innovations, themselves, are only ideal constructs designed to bring increased effectiveness and coherency to teaching and learning. They are tools rather than panaceas and are effective only to the extent to which they resonate with instructors, and, it should be added, students as well.

Second Language Pedagogy is an important text for adult basic learning communities like LVA which are undergoing a shift in their theoretical base from audio-lingualism to a communicative competence perspective. This transition that mirrors the pedagogical transformation detailed by Prabhu in the Bangalore Project. Thus, the themes articulated by Prabhu, particularly his theory of language acquisition and the importance of a sense of plausibility in shaping the practices of instructors are particularly important. In this transition, there will invariably be practitioners from both camps as well as those who mix and match theoretical assumptions for quite pragmatic purposes.

This is not meant to deny the importance of theory, far from it, for good theory channels intellectual energies that often resolves problems that would otherwise remain intact. Communicative language teaching provides a compelling rational to ground instruction in meaning-making activity as an antidote to the profusion of skill-based activities and artificial language use pervasive in the field of ESL instruction. Whether this will result in more effective learning remains to be seen, but at the least, it provides a way of moving forward against what would otherwise be viewed as an impasse by many.

The move to communicative competence will need to be viewed by communities like LVA less as "the new truth," than as an experiment that will require both practical and theoretical refinement over time. As we engage our colleagues in the debate about second language theory and practice, we will do well to respect each other's perceptions and sense of plausibility.