Onestopenglish is still free at the moment. This is a great opportunity to make the most of their awesome resources. There’s so much available on the site: lesson plans, articles related to methodology, resources created by the Onestopenglish community… they’ve… Read More ›

writing
Materials writing news and views, August 2020
*Opens hands expressively* Hello everyone, and welcome to this month’s update. *Does cup holding/triangle hand thingy in front near belly* My name’s Pete, and today … Ahhh you’ll get what I’m going on about in a minute. New releases Sarah… Read More ›
Finding work as a writer
I haven’t shared any tips for new writers for a while, not since my post on how to find commissioning editors. So, here it goes. There’s nothing wrong with building connections at big publishers like Pearson, Macmillan, CUP, OUP, NGL… 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 ›
ELT Publishing Professionals – is it worth signing up?
A question I’ve been asked on LinkedIn by a writer (post for writers/editors, not publishers)… Is it worth joining the ELT Publishing Professionals database? Anonymous Bit fiddly to answer on LinkedIn, also the answer might be useful for others. So…… Read More ›
Writing lesson: online dating profiles
This is a lesson based around authentic texts from the eHarmony website. It is aimed at adult pre-intermediate level plus, but these texts are full of rich language so it would ideally suit intermediate level students. Aims: · Share personal… 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 ›
Materials writing news and views, September 2019
September already? It’ll soon be Xmas… New releases Deborah Hobbs (author) mentioned the release of ‘Open World’ (CUP). This is from the Cambridge English website: Open World is an exciting new course from Cambridge which takes you further. Embark on… Read More ›
Lesson idea: Kahoot! for capitalisation and punctuation
A few months ago I mentioned word stress games using Kahoot! This app has also come in handy recently for practising punctuation/capitalisation. I just display a sentence with various errors in it– learners judge how many mistakes there are in… Read More ›
Review: Great Writing
A couple of months ago we ran a two-week ‘Grammar and Writing’ course for teens (aged 14+). I was scheduled to teach these classes but, to be honest, the prospect didn’t fill me with excitement. I enjoy teaching teens in… Read More ›