As a language teacher, you know that if your pupils are trying to use their English in a productive and independent way, they are likely to make mistakes. That’s fine, it shows they are giving it a go! The problem… Read More ›

writing
Materials writing news and views, July 2021
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 ›
Materials Writing: Samples
Question from a reader: Can you give me some advice on how to write a sample? Ummm… The free ‘No Nonsense Guide to Writing’ from ELT Writers Connected includes a good overview on this topic (see page 27, written by… Read More ›
Materials Writing News and Views, May 2021
Busy, busy! Will breeze through some happenings since the last update in March. New releases This from Afshin Vatandoost – a new general English coursebook series from Pearson.
Why I work for free (sometimes)
I take on materials development work for free sometimes. I appreciate that not everyone has time to do that, can afford to, or might want to. I choose to do it for different reasons. It might be for a good… Read More ›
Materials Development Task 3: Images
This is a new series of blog posts for teachers looking to become materials writers. It aims to help future writers explore topics and issues in writing, encourage deeper insight into the content of published materials, and promote a principled… Read More ›
Materials Development Task 1: absence and presence
This is a new series of blog posts for teachers looking to become materials writers. It aims to help future writers explore topics and issues in writing, encourage deeper insight into the content of published materials, and promote a principled… Read More ›
Materials writing and pub quizzes
Before lockdown I was an avid pub quizzer. It’s the perfect hobby for a materials writer because we accumulate tons of useless facts when researching articles. Here’s a list of some random topics I’ve written texts on in the last,… Read More ›
Year in review
Last blog post of 2020. Here’s how the year went… January: Handed in my notice at British Council. Started Module 2 of the PGCEi. Goaded a few people on Twitter, felt guilty, stopped using Twitter. For a day.
Writing and full-time teaching
I wrote this in 2019. Just came across it again. My loose thoughts on a random post-writing, pre-COVID evening… Balancing writing alongside teaching (and other) commitments isn’t always easy. I try to be realistic about the amount of time I… Read More ›