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Educational linguistics is an area of study that integrates the research tools of linguistics and other related disciplines of the social sciences in order to investigate holistically the broad range of issues related to language and education (Hornberger, 2001; Spolsky, 1978). As an area of inquiry, educational linguistics is young. Its naissance occurred in the early 1970s with the work of Bernard Spolsky. The history of educational linguistics is inextricably linked to applied linguistics, with which it continues to have a symbiotic relationship. At the same time, educational linguistics has developed a unique niche in its directed focus on language and education. This chapter recounts the emergence of this niche and the development of the nature and scope of educational linguistics.