April update has got a bit long, sorry. It’s mainly because of IATEFL and ELTONS. IATEFL talks There were some interesting talks related to materials writing. Equality, diversity and inclusion was certainly a theme. Two interesting points from John Gray’s… Read More ›
materials writing
Materials writing news and views, March 2019
A longer post this month – some overspill from the last post and then happenings over the last few weeks… What’s new out recently? Here are some recent coursebooks from publishers that I’ve clocked mainly on LinkedIn… Oxford Uni Press… Read More ›
Materials writing news and views, Feb 2019
Thought I’d start sharing a semi-regular post on materials writing for those (semi-)interested. Just news, views, jobs I see and stuff. Whatever, don’t know yet! 9 ways to get noticed by an ELT publisher This is a new blog post… Read More ›
Webinar notes: What about principles for materials development? (Brian Tomlinson)
Here is Brian Tomlinson’s recent webinar in written form: ‘What about principles for materials development?’ The session was delivered as part of the MaWSIG ‘What about…? Webinar series. It was full of take home points so this post is pretty… Read More ›
Tech tips for new materials writers
These tips may sound simple to some, but useful to others! As a new writer I reckon you’ll have to do some of the things below, so this primer could help you hit the ground running…
Developing into a materials writer
Here are a few general tips for skills to develop if you’d like to write for publishers or big teaching organisations. This is not a ‘How to become….’ post. You can find good tips about how to actually get into… Read More ›
I clearly love coursebooks
I always feel embarrassed when I speak up for coursebooks. I think I’m supposed to hate them. Everybody else seems to, so I guess that’s the right thing to do. According to Steve Brown’s latest post (well worth a read),… Read More ›
The 8 stages of teaching my own materials
I sat down to plan a General English class for our adult learners to the other day. I say plan, more like adapt. We have an in-house set of lessons so there’s already a plan in place, but the lesson… Read More ›
Funny ELT illustrations
I picked up some interesting throw-outs from the British Council library here in Thailand. I’ve been flicking through Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language by Christine Nuttall (1996) this week. It’s clear, well-organised and has lots of practical activities… Read More ›
Problems with images in ELT materials
Images in ELT coursebooks are often ambiguous. What might seem a fairly obvious depiction of an act or concept to us may be perceived as something completely different to our learners. In an interesting, small-scale study, Hewings (1991) asked a… Read More ›