Nine papers from a British conference on applied linguistics are compiled in this report. Introductory comments point out the traditional primacy of spoken language while acknowledging the demand for literacy and the importance of the written mode. Papers and authors are as follows: "An Educational Theory of (Written) Language" (Michael Stubbs); "Predicting Texts: Aspects of a Strategic Model of Text Comprehension" (Ulrike Hanna Meinhof); "Playing Safe with Predictions: Hedging Attribution and Conditions in Economic Forecasting" (Pindi Makaya, Thomas Bloor); "Predictive Items in Student Writing" (Teresa O'Brien); "Do Dictionaries Help Students Write?" (Hilary Nesi); "The Oral Dimensions of Literacy Events: A Letter from the DHSS" (Mike Baynham); "First and Foreign Language Composing: A Protocol-based Study" (Valerie Arndt); "Non-nativeness in Second Language Texts: The Syntax Factor" (Marie-Paule Woodley); and "The Representation of Spoken Language in Early Reading Books: Problems for L2 Learner Readers" (Catherine Wallace). References are provided with each paper. (LB)