Author Archives

Teacher and Materials Writer

• Research in brief: reading disruption of a textbook

  By Pete on December 9, 2019 • ( 4 )

  

  The research Winter, C. (2018). Disrupting colonial discourses in the geography curriculum during the introduction of British Values policy in schools. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 50(4), 456-475. Open access, click here. Summary The aim of the study was ‘to expose and disrupt… Read More ›

• Lesson idea: the ideal classroom

  By Pete on December 4, 2019 • ( 1 )

  

  My secondary class (age 14+, B1) are exploring education in our latest module. We are building up to a ‘design your ideal school’ task. The first step was to consider what makes a good classroom/learning environment. Step 1: General discussion… Read More ›

• How to annoy commissioning editors (and find work)

  By Pete on November 27, 2019 • ( 10 )

  

  Another ‘how to become a materials writer’ article has popped up – Kirsten Holt’s article for ETPro  offers some more good advice for budding writers. Every time I read one of these posts I’m itching to chip in. I really… Read More ›

• ELT materials writing – my year in review

  By Pete on November 26, 2019 • ( 7 )

  

  It’s been quite a good year on the writing front. Balancing writing with full-time teaching is tough, but the rewards are great! It’s only three weeks until our xmas holidays so I’m calling this the end of my writing year…. Read More ›

• Learning to read the world through other eyes

  By Pete on October 30, 2019 • ( 1 )

  

  I’ve just come across this booklet as part of the reading on the PGCEi at the University of Nottingham. It’s a brilliant open access resource for exploring global citizenship. It offers a series of cross-cultural exercises, which help learners to…… Read More ›

• Dialogue in ELT

  By Pete on October 22, 2019 • ( 2 )

  

  I received some really interesting responses to my post on good working conditions in ELT – thanks for all the comments on Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. One of the many comments that are worth exploring in a bit more depth was… Read More ›

• What are good working conditions in ELT?

  By Pete on October 9, 2019 • ( 15 )

  

  I’ve read a lot about poor pay and working conditions in ELT recently. Keith Copley’s recent article in ETPro touched upon some of the many issues that influence working conditions in the industry – institutional power, neoliberal-romantic rhetoric that promotes… Read More ›

• Lesson idea: Great British Bake Off

  By Pete on October 3, 2019 • ( 0 )

  

  It’s the penultimate week of term. State schools are on holiday, so the students have already requested something ‘fun’ and ‘light’ for lessons this week. The current topic is food. It’s lacked a creative task so far, and I don’t… Read More ›

• More on developing meaning-building skills in reading

  By Pete on October 1, 2019 • ( 8 )

  

  This post follows on from Rachael Roberts’ great article on developing meaning-building skills in reading.  As Rachael says, comprehension questions have their place but they also have their limitations. Tasks that develop meaning-building skills, which you could use alongside/instead of… Read More ›

• Trends in the ELT materials market (?)

  By Pete on September 26, 2019 • ( 8 )

  

  I don’t know what the trends are. No facts here. Just my opinion. I’m interested – do you agree/disagree/take offence/think these are pointlessly general statements/etc? Please comment! Key markets for most publishers seem to be China, Mexico, Turkey and Brazil…. Read More ›