Author Archives

Teacher and Materials Writer

• Renewable English Series 2 “Beyond the SDGs” is on its way

  By Pete on September 4, 2021 • ( 1 )

  

  The moment you’ve all been waiting for, Renewable English take on the UN’s SDGs in a brand-new series of live lessons. Seville, Andalucia, September 2021—The much anticipated second series of Renewable English is just around the corner. Founded by teacher,… Read More ›

• Writing a rationale for your materials

  By Pete on August 17, 2021 • ( 1 )

  

  In a previous post about writing samples for publishers I mentioned including a rationale. I can’t say for sure that publishers welcome this. Maybe they just want to look at your sample materials and judge for themselves whether you’ve got… Read More ›

• DipTESOL Independent Research Project

  By Pete on August 10, 2021 • ( 0 )

  

  A DipTESOL candidate got in touch asking for tips/recommendations for the Independent Research Project (IRP). Hmmm. Er… So, I’m just gonna write, then I’ll go back and try to pick out useful bits! Pfff. I learnt that according to Bolitho… Read More ›

• Review: English for Business Communication

  By Pete on August 5, 2021 • ( 1 )

  

  This review originally appeared in IATEFL Voices 281. You’ll be pleased to know that Voices reviews have a 400 word limit, which saves you the pain of all my usual rambling in reviews! Haha. Dr Mable Chan Routledge Applied English… Read More ›

• Blogging tips for new ELT writers

  By Pete on July 29, 2021 • ( 1 )

  

  I recently shared a tip on LinkedIn for materials writers who blog: Here are a few more suggestions for using your blog to good effect as a newbie materials writer.  Note: these tips are mostly about finding work, interacting with… Read More ›

• Before I became a teacher

  By Pete on July 17, 2021 • ( 10 )

  

  Tyson Seburn recently tweet-asked followers about their degrees prior to working in ELT. After seeing such varied responses, I feel quite embarrassed to admit that I know very little about anything other than the English language ☹. Not even much… Read More ›

• International schools: the current state of play (EL Gazette)

  By Pete on July 14, 2021 • ( 0 )

  

  The latest EL Gazette includes a feature article on international schools: This article began with a focus on traditional international schools – those typically serving the interests of Western expatriates. It suggested that nations such as Singapore, India and China… Read More ›

• Materials writing news and views, July 2021

  By Pete on July 13, 2021 • ( 0 )

  

  Euros over. Wimbledon over. Olympics coming up! New releases Some more Primary teacher books from Michelle Worgan: Emily Bryson is running a course on engaging learners with simple drawings. See here. This digital storytelling project from Vicky Saumell. See here…. Read More ›

• Poetry lesson: What do you hear?

  By Pete on July 10, 2021 • ( 2 )

  

  Here’s a short poetry task that worked well with YLs and teens. It’s based on a poem from A Nest Full of Stars by James Berry. Before you ask, no. I haven’t suddenly gone all NLP.   Aims Create a… Read More ›

• Reflections on the DipTESOL

  By Pete on June 29, 2021 • ( 3 )

  

  Here are some short video reflections on my DipTESOL experience. These are meant for candidates on the new DipTESOL course run through DublinTEFL. I’ve explained more in this intro vid… Excuse the tiredness. And the lockdown hair! Barbers are shut… Read More ›