Eric Hawkins is in every sense the ‘father’ of Language Awareness, its setter of standards and source of inspiration.
His contribution to the LA movement was two-pronged. First, he laid its theoretical foundations, in such seminal works as Modern Languages in the Curriculum (1981) and Awareness of Language: An Introduction (1984). Second, he spelt out and exemplified the classroom implications of LA. In fact, we see in the second of these books (1984) theory and practice elaborated in parallel, the first half expounding the rationales, the second half illustrating their classroom implications.
The Association for Language Awareness first recognised Eric Hawkins’s immeasurable contribution and commitment to LA in 2002, when The Association for Language Awareness (ALA) elected him its first and sole Honorary Life Member. Then, in 2004, it was decided to honour him further by designating the main keynote paper at the biennial conferences of the ALA The Eric Hawkins Lecture.