The leading practical magazine for ELT, EFL, ESL and ESOL English language teachers worldwide
Each issue is packed with a wide range of feature articles covering practical techniques for teaching, written by leading authors, experts and professionals. In each issue, we also provide reviews of the latest books and products, competitions, practical tips, and advice on personal and professional development.
| Issue 70 Editorial & Contents |
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In our main feature, Michael Swan describes trends in English language teaching in terms of a pendulum swinging between two extremes: form and meaning, and he would like to see more emphasis on the actual teaching of language. Nevertheless, he comes to the comforting conclusion that most good teachers pick and choose between the methodologies and materials on offer to create a mix that works for them.
The other articles in this issue represent some of the many different viewpoints on the way in which language should be taught. Dave Willis wants to make things easier for students by abandoning the teaching of rules which he believes don’t actually work. Britt Jepsen’s school students read authentic materials from the word go, and Chris Payne also advocates looking at real-life language. He favours the use of concordances to reveal not just the frequency of words and collocations but how they are actually used. James Venema then explains how students can record and remember new language efficiently.
Also concerned with real language usage is Mark Hancock, who describes ways in which we can teach our students about politeness conventions in different situations. Taking a more humanistic approach to language teaching, Rose Hickman appeals to us to make our classrooms places of inclusion and safety for all students, whatever their gender or sexual orientation. Andrew O’Dwyer, for his part, sees opportunities outside the classroom to get his students to practise the language they are learning and to see real language in use, while Rebecca Norman brings the language of the outside world inside by luring tourists into her conversation classes.
Helena Gomm
Editor
MAIN FEATURE
STRIKING A BALANCE
Michael Swan puts the language back into language teaching
FEATURES
REPORTED SPEECH – RULES, WHAT RULES?
Dave Willis explodes the myth of tense backshift
ACTIVE WORD POWER
James Venema makes the most of vocabulary notebooks
CARRY ON READING!
Britt Jepsen applauds authentic materials
CORPUS DELICTI 1
Chris Payne celebrates the corpus
SEX EDUCATION
Rose Hickman advocates an all-inclusive classroom
EAP: AN ALL-ROUND CHALLENGE 2
Louis Rogers improves his students’ seminar skills
THE TOURIST TRAP!
Rebecca Norman captures some keen conversationalists
OVER THE WALL
Alan Maley recommends books dealing with disability
LEARNING DISABILITY 4
Lesley Lanir describes reading difficulties
TACKLING THE REAL WORLD
Andrew O’Dwyer takes his students out for some playful practice
MORE THAN PLEASE AND THANK YOU
Mark Hancock looks at how we teach students to be polite
TEACHING YOUNG LEARNERS
A PRIMARY READING PROJECT
Betka Pislar sees her students’ reading blossom
A FAIR DEAL FOR ALL
Laura Loder Büchel addresses the needs of the already fluent
TEACHER DEVELOPMENT
FROM TDU TO CPD
Bahar Gün investigates the impossibility of pleasing all the teachers all of the time
TEACHER PLUS
Sue Leather and Andy Hockley consider how teachers can become managers
TECHNOLOGY
E-LEARNING
Blanka Klimová outlines the benefits and demands of online courses
FIVE THINGS YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW about: MICROBLOGGING
Nicky Hockly looks at a trend that’s getting bigger all the time
WEBWATCHER
Russell Stannard describes some quick and useful online tools
REGULAR FEATURES
PREPARING TO TEACH ...
Grammar
John Potts
COMPETITIVE GAMES
Rose Senior
