Last update before a nice break, woohoo! New releases Another one for Paul Ashe (with Jeremy Bowell) – Prospects. I’ve seen Paul’s name around a bit recently. IH are running a course in online tutoring, he’s listed as a tutor… Read More ›
materials writing
Materials writing news and views, June 2020
Rushed off my feet. No time to put any news and views together in recent months. This one will be more views than news, and a bit loose. So, what’s going on? Work I expected loads more cancelled projects due… Read More ›
Materials writing news and views, March 2020
One-year anniversary of these posts. Cool! New releases Congrats to Billie Jago, who has authored these practice tests for Cambridge C1 Advanced: This is the first time I’ve come across the publisher Prosperity Education. Looks like they are mainly exam-focused,… Read More ›
Materials writing conversations #6: the packager
This is a completely imaginary conversation. No characters in the convo are based on real people – I’m just bored and imagining conversations I might have with editors… Editor: Thanks so much for this work. You’ve clearly put a lot… Read More ›
Materials writing news and views, February 2020
I’ll hopefully keep this update going this year. Bit busy at the moment so here are a few very quick updates and some useful links. New releases Express Publishing are promoting a new book English for 21st Century Skills (Mavridi… Read More ›
The benefits of using an ELT coursebook
Late last year I read the Jordan and Gray/Hughes exchange on ELT coursebooks, which appeared in ELT Journal. It’s an interesting discussion if you haven’t read it yet. I generally agreed more with Hughes, but that’s to be expected; I… Read More ›
Research in brief: reading disruption of a textbook
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 ›
How to annoy commissioning editors (and find work)
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
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 ›
More on developing meaning-building skills in reading
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 ›