This paper will report on Rethinking pedagogical models for e-learning, a major UK research project funded by the national Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies, based at the University of Southampton. The purpose of the research is to explore the pedagogical and methodological implications of the development of e-learning in Higher Education.

The study addresses the three key questions of what, why, and how. It is mapping the manifestations of e-learning in languages, linguistics and area studies, identifying what is driving these developments, and examining the ways in which teachers and learners are supported, both structurally and pedagogically. From this, recommendations for future development will be made.

Using a two-stage research model, formal questionnaires and seminars enabled the map to be drawn, followed by six case studies. Although the emphasis has been on provision in the UK, this has been located within a global picture, with data gathered on an international level.

Terry taught languages in secondary schools in England for sixteen years before moving into higher education. He now works at the University of Sheffield, where he is Director of Initial Teacher Education as well as working on Masters programmes and supervising doctoral students in his own research fields of learner autonomy, linguistic diversity and language policy.

Terry's work with a number of key national bodies involves him in policy development in the UK. He has also acted as consultant to the Ministries of Education in Malaysia and the Czech Republic on the development of learning and thinking skills, and been a visiting lecturer and keynote speaker in many countries, including Austria, Australia, China, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the USA. At the AILA 2002 conference in Singapore, Terry was elected as one of the convenors of the Scientific Commission on Learner Autonomy in Language Learning.