Voices

IATEFL Voices 237 a

March–April 2014 Issue 237 Mastering literary language – Edgar R. Eslit | Rewriting Jane Austen – Stella Smyth

Effective reading – Eak Prasad Duwadi | ‘It’s all Greek to me’ – Raluca Sarghie You wanna teach? Don’t bother – Mikołaj Sobociński | Perceiving CLIL nuances – Renate Agolli

Teaching English to Young Learners – Derya Bozdoğan | IATEFL Liverpool 2013 – Nicoleta NechitaStrategic reading and writing – Richard Sheehan | Getting rid of boredom – Muhammed M.El-Sayeed Eissa

Increasing vocabulary – Nasy Inthisone PfannerISSN 1814-3830

LINKING, DEVELOPING AND SUPPORTING ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING PROFESSIONALS WORLDWIDE

THE BI-MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TEACHERS

OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

237

IATEFL Voices 237 1

Alison Schwetlick, Editor

From the Editor

DisclaimerViews expressed in the articles in Voices are not necessarily those of the Editor, of IATEFL or its trustees or directors.

Copyright NoticeCopyright for whole issue IATEFL 2014.Copyright for individual contributions remains vested in the authors to whom applications for rights to reproduce should be made.Copyright for individual reports and papers for use outside IATEFL remains vested in the contributors to whom applications for rights to reproduce should be made. IATEFL Voices should always be acknowledged as the original source of publication.IATEFL retains the right to republish any of the contributions in this issue in future IATEFL publications or to make them available in electronic form for the benefit of its members.

Cover photography this issue: Mike Hogan © 2013

Contents 3 From the President

Feature articles 5 Mastering literary language EdgarR.Esliteases the process with music 6 Rewriting Jane Austen StellaSmyth develops critical thinking

through literature 8 Effective reading EakPrasadDuwadiactively promotes

critical thinking skills 9 ‘It’s all Greek to me’ RalucaSarghie helps students to master

idioms10 You wanna teach? Don’t bother MikołajSobocińskitakes a back seat in the

classroom 12 Perceiving CLIL nuances RenateAgollireflects on the Italian

educational context13 Teaching English to Young Learners DeryaBozdoğanargues for a CLIL

approach14 IATEFL Liverpool 2013 NicoletaNechita looks back at the

experience15 Strategic reading and writing RichardSheehan provides solutions when

you’re stuck 16 Getting rid of boredom MuhammedM.El-SayeedEissa lets us in

on his secrets17 Increasing vocabulary NasyPfannerintroduces a creative writing

project

Regular columns18 Practical teaching ideas: Activities with

origami Jennie Wright19 Literature: Remembering WW I David A. Hill20 Materials Reviews Sandee Thompson23 ELT News: ELT Journal, Guardian

Network, Conference Poem

Inside IATEFL24 Focus on the SIGs25 Spotlight on LMCS SIG26 Associates news from Ghana and

Senegal29 Coming events and Publications received30 Who’s who in IATEFL

March–April 2014Issue 237

ISSN 1814-3830

The International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language was founded in 1967Registered as a Charity: 1090853Registered as a Company in England: 2531041

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We are rapidly approaching our annual conference. Our head office, our many committees, the SIGs, the Associates, and the speakers and presenters are working hard to make this event a success. We have a new conference photographer this year, Rachid Tagoulla from Morocco, and we thank Mike Hogan for his very professional support in this role over the past few years.

Still on the conference theme, Cambridge English Language 2013 scholarship winner, Nicoleta Nechita from Romania, shares a lesson learned in Liverpool while JoAnn Salvisberg, based in Switzerland, has written a poem (page 23) to be sung

to the tune of ‘Penny Lane’ with her reflections. Who knows, perhaps it will become the IATEFL conference song.

This issue the Spotlight is on the Literature, Cultural and Media Studies SIG, where Coordinator, David A. Hill, based in Hungary, talks about the breadth of the SIG and its Harrogate conference programme. Still in the literary vein, Edgar Eslit uses song lyrics to make metaphor and rhyme accessible to his classes in the Philippines; Stella Smyth helps her students in London transpose a classic scene from Jane Austen to a contemporary context and Eak Prasad Duwadi gets his learners in Nepal to critically engage with reading.

Raluca Sarghie in Romania and Nasy Pfanner in Austria focus on extending learn-ers’ vocabulary, the former via activities to learn and practise idioms and the latter by short story writing with the help of reference books. Moving from the classroom to the wider educational field, Renate Agolli reflects on CLIL as an important tool for furthering multicultural education in Italy whereas Derya Bozdoğan in Turkey argues that young learners, with their positive attitude to all things new, are the most likely to benefit from CLIL.

Muhammed Eissa offers strategies to enliven his lessons in Saudi Arabia while Mikołaj Sobociński takes a step back and allows the real world into the classroom in Poland. Richard Sheehan, who has an EdD, an MSc and an MA, uses his experience to provide helpful strategies to overcome that stage of your dissertation when things don’t seem to move forward.

Jennie Wright is the guest contributor to Practical teaching ideas, teaching func-tional language through origami and Sandee Thompson shares reviews of materials on exams, research, the oil and gas industries and English history, which shows just how diverse our field is.

I am looking forward to connecting with many of you at the conference either in person or online.

Copy Deadlines

• May–June 2014 (238): 28 February 2014

• July–August 2014 (239): 25 April 2014

• September–October 2014 (240): 27 June 2014

2 IATEFL Voices 237

March–April 2014 Issue 237

IATEFL Voices 237 3

From the President

From the President

Seven reasons to be excited about the Annual Conference in Harrogate.

Spring has arrived in Europe and this means it’ll soon be time for the 48th Annual International IATEFL Conference and Exhibition, due to take place this year for the third time in the beautiful and friendly former spa town of Harrogate in the north of England. Behind the scenes detailed planning and preparation for the conference have been going on for well over a year. There are plenty of reasons to be excited about what’s in store and I’d like to share with you some of the features that I think are most likely to appeal.

1 Associates Day and Pre-conference events (PCEs)

The Associates Day offers an opportunity for representatives of many of IATEFL’s 100+ Associates to get together in order to debate issues of common concern and strengthen their links in developing a global, professional ELT community. All fifteen SIGs will also be offering PCEs on topics as wide ranging as socially conscious simulations and role plays, preventing academic manager burnout, teacher research, trainer development, critical pedagogy, war literature, creat-ing digital resources and many more—a plethora of good reasons to get to Harrogate a day before the conference starts if you possibly can!

2 World-class plenary speakers

We’re delighted that David Graddol, Kathleen Graves, Michael Hoey and Sumata Mitra have agreed to give plenary talks and share their innovative thinking on current, hotly debated aspects of ELT and education. In the spirit of our recent tradition of inviting one plenary speaker from the world of literature and the arts, we’re also delighted that Jackie Kay, renowned poet and novelist, will be reading extracts from her work in The Imagined Land at the end of the conference.

3 Wide-ranging programme to suit all ELT tastes

Over the four days of the conference, delegates will have the opportunity to choose from 500 sessions including talks, workshops, forums and symposiums. For early risers, the ‘How to …’ sessions give advice and tips on specific skills areas such as presenting at an international conference and writing for publication. Signature events, hosted by major ELT publishers or institutions, show-case expertise and state-of-the-art thinking in key areas. The Interactive Language Fair provides a unique arrangement of short, thumbnail presentations followed by opportunities for interaction and networking. Two new formats to watch out for in Har-rogate include the ‘Open space’ event, which allows for spontaneous exploration of topics which are of immediate relevance and importance to you, and ‘ELT conversation’: a semi-choreographed discussion between two experts in the field and including questions and interaction from the floor.

4 An exciting exhibition of the latest ELT titles and products

A large and dynamic ELT resources exhibition will enable delegates to browse at leisure and get up-to-date with all the latest published materials, teaching resources and equipment, computer software and services. As well as friendly, professional help at hand to respond to enquiries, there will be many advantageous offers avail-able exclusively for delegates.

5 A varied and enjoyable evening programme

Following IATEFL’s custom, there will be a wide range of enjoyable evening programmes on offer where you can relax after the intensity of the conference day. These include ‘Speaking a world of words’, ‘Hard times for English teachers’, an international quiz, an Open mic night and the Extensive Reading Foundation Awards Ceremony. We’re also delighted to be re-introducing a Pecha Kucha evening event this year.

6 Opportunities to meet and network with colleagues

One of the main benefits and pleasures of the confer-ence will be the opportunity to interact with friends and colleagues, both new and old. The IATEFL conference is renowned for its friendly, professional atmosphere in which both first-time and experienced delegates network, share and exchange ideas in an open and relaxed way. For many people, over and above the official programme, this is something that makes the conference so unique and special.

7 Opportunities to participate via British Council/IATEFL Harrogate Online

If you’re unable to be in Harrogate in person, we’ll be making the conference freely accessible to both members and non-members of IATEFL, through Harrogate Online. Remote delegates will have the opportunity to watch live video sessions, recorded highlights of the conference and interviews with conference presenters. Harrogate Online will also be available as a rich resource for teacher education and development sessions after the conference.

If you’re coming to Harrogate, please come and tap me on the shoulder and say ‘hello’. I’m really looking forward to seeing you there!

Carol Read has over 30 years’ experi-ence in ELT as a teacher, teacher train-er, academic manager, materials writer and

educational consultant. Carol’s main specialisation is in primary language teaching and she has published extensively in this area.

4 IATEFL Voices 237

Feature articlesMarch–April 2014 Issue 237

IATEFL Voices 237 5

One of the fundamental principles behind good teaching is tailoring lessons to the needs of the students. In my Literature and Poetry classes, the majority of my students struggle with comprehension and have yet to master literary language. How then can I expect them to cope with the complex themes and figurative language found in poetry? Then I found the solution—music!

Getting to the basicsOne of the best ways to introduce students to figurative language, poetic form and sound devices is to use lyrics from popular songs. Print snippets from various songs so students read the lyrics as they listen to short music clips. Here are some examples of good songs to use to explore the beauty of poetry:

and concrete references so that I can explain abstract concepts. Pop-ular songs are also very motivating as well as being easily accessible and downloadable from YouTube.

The higher thinking skill Although I use a great deal of contemporary music in my class, I still want to make sure that my students have an appreciation for the classics that many of us love. In order to do this, I often have my students compare the themes found in popular music to the themes expressed by famous poets. For example, I can have them compare a song by Tupac Shakur to a poem by Langston Hughes, both of whom stressed the struggles of African Americans in their respective social contexts. Sometimes I am even tempted to use Michael Bublé’s songs for the poems of Nathaniel Hawthorne; with caution of course!

I like to use popular music in my poetry class because it’s a great way to loosen up the class and to show students that many of the themes expressed in the classics are still salient in today’s songs. A note of caution: let’s exercise discretion as some songs may contain inap-propriate lyrics. In some cases, it might be necessary to substitute edited versions. Yes, by experience, I’ve taught my students poetry using songs with great success. It’s fun. Want to try?

[email protected]

Mastering literary languageEdgar R. Eslit eases the process with music.

Edgar Eslit is a university professor and assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences of St Michael’s College, the Philippines,

and is currently finishing his doc-toral studies in English Language Studies (PhD ELS) at MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology.

… it’s a great way to loosen up the class and to show students

that many of the themes expressed in the classics are

still salient in today’s songs

Engaging the studentsOne good advantage to using music to teach poetry and poetry analysis is that many popular songs have music videos where the visuals help provide both a context for the lyrics

Metaphor My Girl: The Temptations

Rhyme Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You: Frankie Valli

Simile Like a Rock: Bob Seger, Turn Me On: Norah Jones

Allusion Hey Leonardo: Blessed Union of Souls; 1985: Bowling For Soup

Alliteration, Dear Mama: Tupac Shakur Assonance, Consonance

Persona Beat It: Michael Jackson

Hyperbole Ain’t No Mountain High Enough: Marvin Gaye

Logo made by a student Student group presenting poetry C. Ella trying Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

Loyen courageously using Hey Leonardo

Feature articles

6 IATEFL Voices 237

Task 2 Reading

Students read and listen to the proposal scene between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Collins or watch it on YouTube. If the class aren’t familiar with the story, it’s sufficient to say that it was first published in 1813, that it reflects the vulner-ability of unmarried women and that Elizabeth’s parents are in a difficult position because they have no son. She is one of five daughters and when Mr Bennet dies, all his property will be passed onto his cousin, Mr Collins. The novel raises stark issues about the economic and social survival of women in the early nineteenth century who failed to secure a marriage partner.

In Pride and Prejudice, Mr Collins gives three reasons for his proposal: for convenience, to further his career, and that she is a beautiful asset. He is pedantic, pompous and offensive while pretending to be motivated by higher feelings. Students can be guided by skimming, scanning and inferential questions to see how Mr Collins ends up achieving the opposite of what he intended.

Task 3 Creative writing

Rewrite the dialogue of Mr Collins’s proposal in a con-temporary setting in your home country. The manner and language of his proposal as well as his reasons for making it should still ensure that your modern day Elizabeth rejects him.

(This group of students needed about 40 minutes for the activity. If students need further prompts, suggest a setting in a place they know very well, such as a Chinese restaurant, family run company or university!)

Two student samples 1 Mr Collins’s proposal transposed to contemporary

China by Jialong Feng (Chinese student, MSc FT Electronic Engineering)

The restaurant was extremely busy and Elizabeth was help-ing her mother and sisters when Mr Collins came in. Mr Collins speaks to Mrs Bennet: ‘Is there a chance that Miss Elizabeth can see me privately?’

Mrs Bennet: ‘Sure and I think she will be extremely happy about it. Come do sit down.’

Mr Collins: Dear Miss Elizabeth, I can’t oppress my impulsive admiration of your beauty and tenderness. I think we are perfectly matched. Since my great wealth can greatly allevi-ate the economic pressure of your family and your charm and cleverness is in conjugation with my manly talent. There won’t be a better pair in the world any more.

You should know how many pairs are affected by the lack of power of the groom and the lack of charm of the bride. How many couples are broken by the question that: ‘When a man likes a girl, he can’t protect her but when he can

Rewriting Jane AustenStella Smyth develops critical thinking through literature.

The following activity can be adapted to a variety of English language or literature teaching con-texts. In this case, it was used to teach a multi-disciplinary group of postgraduate and undergraduate overseas students on a non-credit in-sessional English course at Queen Mary, University, London. They wanted to extend their knowledge of English and culture by engaging with literature. The class wanted to do something by Jane Austen

because of the popularity of Pride and Prejudice films, and because 2013 marks the novel’s 200th anniversary. Consequently, I adapted Austen’s prose to tasks designed to develop their critical thinking and literacy skills. I used her treatment of Mr Collins’ marriage proposal to Elizabeth Bennet (2004: Volume 1, Chapter 19) as a speech event; a core element of the main plot, a comic template for creative writing.

The challenge was to see if they could recreate his self-interest and materialistic concerns. Having been read the

scene aloud and reflected on it in open discussion questions, they watched it on YouTube (BBC 1995) to observe how Andrew Davies’ screenplay is faithful to the situational and verbal irony so richly crafted in Austen’s orig-inal version. None of the group had done any fictional writing before, but they were open to experimentation and sharing the additional humour that emerged from their efforts. It was important that they drafted their ‘proposals’ in timed classroom condi-tions to retain the momentum in responding actively to Austen’s wit. As the student samples below testify, Austen’s comic narrative took on new life in their appropriations.

ProcedureTask 1 Discussion

• Why do people get married today in your country, or in the world at large?

• How would a contemporary woman propose to a man, and a ‘modern’ man propose to a woman?

• Or do people make proposals any longer? What sort of language and channels of communication might they use for their marriage proposals?

Stella Smyth has been a teacher trainer and an aca-demic manager in educational organisations in Ireland, the UK, China,

Japan, Chile, India, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. She teaches in the School of Languages, Linguistics, Film Studies, Queen Mary, University of London.

They wanted to extend their knowledge of English and culture by

engaging with literature. My

task was to create activities designed

to develop their critical thinking

and literacy skills.


IATEFL Voices 237 7

protect her, can he like her anymore?’ And with assertive-ness I will say yes I can. I try so hard to improve myself to increase the power of myself so that I can protect the one I love. I assure you that I can protect you well and I can make you the happiest woman in the world. Our combination will not only set a gorgeous example to the world but also greatly increase the business of both of our families. I want to marry you and no matter what happens I will marry you! No one can stop me! Not even you, please accept my proposal! Please Elizabeth.

2 Mr Collins’ proposal transposed to contemporary Ukraine by Marina Myntsykovska (Ukrainian student, MA FT Languages, Linguistics and Film)

The party in students` Residence Halls was in full swing, and as Elizabeth popped in the kitchen to get some more coke, Colin Collins, that horrible friend of Charlie`s flatmate, cornered her with two glasses of champagne in his hands. He was one of those kids of wealthy parents who got them doing masters, MBAs, and God knows what else in prestigious universities abroad, exactly the type her mother considered ‘worthy of having a look at’.

When they accidentally bumped into him in a Shopping Mall, Mum found this guy to be an absolutely ‘charming young man’, especially after he mentioned the fact that his father used to be a MP and is now working in the govern-ment committee on taxation. Given dreadful fiscal situation Elizabeth`s father`s business was in, a good link to the authorities was vital for family survival.

Collin nonchalantly squeezed between the table and the fridge and offered her a glass:

Hey, Liz, fancy some champagne? I`ve been looking around for you. Listen, I`ve got to tell you something. I`ve thought a lot about it, you know, the whole evening. Didn`t go clubbing or anything. I even refused to watch football with chaps, although it was Shakhtar [a high-profile Ukrainian football team, MM] versus Chelsea that night!

Tell you what, don`t you think it`s time for you to get married? Your graduation is in one week, and you know all sensible women get married right after uni, otherwise they end up being old career-obsessed spinsters. So how about you marry me? I mean, I know your father`s is in the

tax trouble and stuff, but you know... You are a fit girl, so I could whisper a couple of words to my dad, like, to sort this business thing out. It`s a piece of cake for him, especially for those petty kind of businesses like yours. What is it your family owns, a hairdressers`? Oh, that shouldn`t be a problem at all!

Lizzy was so shocked she almost dropped the can with the ‘Coke’. She wanted to escape, but there was only one way out of the narrow kitchen, and Colin was blocking it. And the last thing on earth she wanted – to squeeze her way past him.

ConclusionThe students enjoyed sharing and comparing their ‘marriage proposals’. The task also gave them the means of analysing how the scene’s humour comes from the way Mr Collins speaks. Yet this was the very feature that had to be changed to ‘update’ the story. The class were thus involved in mak-ing critical decisions about their engagement with Austen’s language and concepts through the creative writing process.

The writing task also provided scope for more analysis, for example, of the humour generated by Jialong’s uninten-tional use of ‘oppress’ instead of suppress above. Extracting a comic opportunity aka comic template, can generate contrasting cultural perceptions. The ensuing texts can then be used for interviewing each other about the decisions they made to capture the authentic voices of Mr Collins and Elizabeth Bennet, and their choice of setting. Students can also be encouraged to find another textual or cinematic adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and prepare a presenta-tion on how it deals with the contemporary rendition of ‘marriage proposals’.

[email protected]

References Austen, J. 1813 Pride and Prejudice. Republished 2004. J.

Kinsley (ed.). Oxford World’s Classics. BBC. 1995. Pride and Prejudice. (Episode 2: 44.48–50.20

minutes). Directed by: Simon Langton, screenplay by Andrew Davies, with David Bamber and Jennifer Ehle. (Retrieved on 15 January 2014 from ww.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn_L0IGdsrg)

If you would like more information about IATEFL’s Special Interest Groups you can visit the website at http://www.iatefl.org/ membership-information/iatefl-membership or contact the coordinators of each group at the relevant email address for details

• Business English – [email protected]

• English for Specific Purposes – [email protected]

• English for Speakers of Other Languages – [email protected]

Find out more about IATEFL’s SIGS• Global Issues – [email protected]

• Leadership and Management – [email protected]

• Learner Autonomy – [email protected]

• Literature, Media and Cultural Studies – [email protected]

• Learning Technologies – [email protected]

• Materials Writing – [email protected]

• Pronunciation – [email protected]

• Research – [email protected]

• Testing, Evaluation and Assessment – [email protected]

• Teacher Development – [email protected]

• Teacher Training and Education – [email protected]

• Young Learners and Teenagers – [email protected]

Feature articles

8 IATEFL Voices 237

understand what the writer means. As Walker et al. (1994–2012) emphasise, we should read a text three times to make as much meaning as we can. Then encour-age them to read it again in order to evaluate and reflect on the author’s ideas.

2 Students should read the text with a pen or highlighter in their hand as highlighting important phrases, sentences and/or passages will empower them to paraphrase or summarise.

3 Ask students to make original notes as they read. Tell them to write notes in the margins to record what they are thinking as they read. Their annotations will be useful during the post-reading activities.

4 Encourage students to ask questions as they read. Allow them to think critically, to challenge the author and the ideas presented—how do the ideas mess or fit with their own knowledge, experiences, beliefs, and values (McWhorter 2013)?

5 Give students post-reading activities that encourage them to analyse, interpret, argue, summarise, compare, contrast, and explain, etc.

ConclusionUndoubtedly, students exposed to this type of critical thinking will write more convincingly and logically in examinations. Also, many students, if they have developed critical reading skills through their assignments, will be able to continue thinking critically in their lives. For instance, when they see a newspaper headline and have learned to ask themselves if what is written is a fair representation of what happened, they will also examine the promises made by their leaders and employers with a more critical eye.

[email protected]

ReferencesBaird, M. 2013. ‘Effective reading’. CLIP. (Retrieved from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvgZTOnUPzY)McWhorter, K. T. 2013. Expressways: Writing Scenarios. New

York: Pearson.Sousa, D. A. (ed.). 2005. How the Train Learns to Read.

California: Corwin Press.Walker, D. , R. Kiefer and S. Reid. 1994–2012.. ‘Critical

reading. Writing@CSU’. Colorado State University. (Retrieved from http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/guide.cfm?guideid=31)

Effective readingEak Prasad Duwadi actively promotes critical thinking skills.

Reading critically means question-ing, reacting to, and evaluating what you read. In the cognitive model you as a reader are more than a passive participant who receives information while an active text makes itself and its meanings known to you (Walker et al. 1994–2012). The reading and writing processes are inter-

related, and critical reading is thus a vital part of the writing process too.

In both, you make meaning by actively engaging with a text. This is an essential skill because most English teachers want to assess whether students not only comprehend a text but can also respond to it critically. Moreover, students who can think, solve problems and tackle the issues which arise will be successful not only academically but also in their professional lives. ‘Reading critically is a lifelong valu-able skill.’ (Sousa 2005:104). You can germinate the habit of critical reading in students by involving them in various ways.

Ways of involving studentsFor example, Baird (2013) has suggested the SQ4R model for the same. SQ4R is an acronym for

Eak Prasad Duwadi is an associate profes-sor of English at Kathmandu University, Nepal. His interests include teaching, rhetoric, creative/

critical writing, training ELT practi-tioners and linguistics.

…students who can think, solve problems and

tackle the issues which arise will

be successful not only

academically but also in their

professional lives.

• Survey the chapter• Question for each heading and sub-

heading• 1. Read the information one section at a

time 2. Record notes while you read 3. Recite the important information and 4. Review your questions.

Similarly, McWhorter (2013) advises bringing prior knowledge to bear on everything we read, whether we are aware of it or not. Titles of texts, authors’ names, and the topic of the piece all trig-ger prior knowledge in us. Skilled readers also make predictions about what mean-ing the text will convey.

Method1 Students should read the text more than once. Ask

them to read it several times to ensure that they fully


IATEFL Voices 237 9

Do you have students who tear their hair out over idioms and who fail to pass their examination with flying colours because of them? What should teachers do when they feel their students are always in the dark when it comes to idioms?

Why are idioms important?The main reason for shedding light on idioms is their use in a wide variety of contexts and situations. Several researchers have pointed out that the use of idiomatic expressions is a sign of good English and improves learners’ oral fluency, reading speed and listening comprehension (Brown 1974; Wray 2002). A good knowledge of idioms is essential at advanced levels in order to make students’ English sound more native-like and less awkward. Otherwise they tend to:

• paraphrase the idiom they are not familiar with, produc-ing sentences that are too long and flat;

• use word-for-word translation from their mother tongue, producing meaningless constructions; and

• over use general words when not knowing the proper idiom.

Furthermore, it is widely agreed by teachers and research-ers (for example, Lewis 2000) that grammar rules are too general to provide guidance for idioms. Thus, in order to make students feel comfortable and perform like native English speakers, the teaching of English idioms has to be part of our lessons.

What is to be done?Needless to say, more exposure to ‘tricky’ texts such as short stories, jokes, advertising and other real-life situations is needed. If students cannot make head or tail of idioms they won’t be able to communicate properly or feel con-fident when tackling advanced level exams. They have to be encouraged to read, listen to or watch TV programmes, record the idioms in their notebooks and then use them in writing assignments. I have found the following activities to be successful.

Idioms at workAn idiom a day keeps bad marks away

At the end of each class I encourage students to take turns and come up with an idiom. The other students have to try and guess its meaning from the context, without using a dictionary. For example: Student A: ‘We are having a test tomorrow.’ Student B: ‘How do you know?’ Student A: ‘I got it straight from the horse’s mouth.’ This popular activity has given us some extra ‘authentic’ language.

C is for category

Categorising is all about considering similarities and differ-ences. Some students realised the impracticality and the problem of noting down randomly all the idioms they came across, and started to categorise them. Therefore, I ask

students to group idioms by mean-ing, by verb or other key word, or in any way that makes them memorable.

Who’s who?

This activity focuses on idioms con-cerning people in the classroom and all the students get excited and involved as they have to deal with humorous and ironic idioms such as: Who’s the teacher’s pet/top of the class/a real know-all/ a couch potato/a lazy-bones/the busy bee/a bit of a big head?

The Romanian pancake

This is an activity designed to revise idioms and it can be used with all levels. I give one slip of paper or card with a different idiom on it to each student. On the other side of the card I ask them to draw a picture corresponding to the idiom. Then I collect the slips of papers or cards and arrange them on the teacher’s desk with the picture facing up. Students choose a card and, in turn, identify the idiom from the drawing. If they are correct, they flip over the card (hence the ‘pancake’) and keep it. The winner is the student who collects the most cards.

Shelling peas

On a slip of paper students write an idiom they are more familiar with or that they like the most. On the other side they write an idiom they find difficult to remember (indi-vidual words offer no help in deciding the meaning). The words are then written in two lists on the blackboard and everyone works together to practise the difficult idioms until they become easy.

Body idioms

Ask students to draw a person in the middle of a slip of paper. Draw arrows to different parts of the body and for each one write an idiom using that part of the body.

The use of idioms is an essential feature of a high level of proficiency, enabling non-native speakers to convey greater meaning while using very few words, adding colour to the language and increasing their chances of academic success.

[email protected]

ReferencesBrown, D. F. 1974. ‘Advanced vocabulary teaching: the

problem of collocation’. RELC Journal 5: 1–11.Lewis, M. 2000 Teaching Collocation: Further Developments

in the Lexical Approach. London: Language Teaching Publications

Wray, A. 2002. Formulaic Language and the Lexicon. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

‘It’s all Greek to me’Raluca Sarghie helps students to master idioms.

Dr Peter Hargreaves Scholarship winner, Raluca Dana Sarghie is a second-ary school English teacher in Romania.

She has a Master’s degree in Linguistic Studies and Intercultural Communication and her interests include using modern technology in class.

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10 IATEFL Voices 237

in conversations about what they had found in the news-papers and what they had done the previous weekend. It worked! My students talked, in English only. They read the newspapers and discussed them; dipping into all the topics that we had covered and touching upon a dozen we only have in plans.

When the train reached its final station, I told my stu-dents that it was time to go to work/study.

This time I asked them to make a sort of square with a few chairs inside and a few outside. And I said, ‘You have finished work and have called your friends to go pub crawl-ing. Unfortunately, some of your mates aren’t here yet, so you have to wait until they arrive’. This time there were no papers left. I was afraid it was not going to work as well as the Tube scenario. Fortunately I had orchestrated the task with the real end of the classroom and the students started talking about what they would do during the break. And then when I heard one person joking, ‘Whose flat is that? I want some tea!’ I just prompted them to go to the ‘kitchen’—the space behind the square—and prepare tea. Of course now everybody wanted something to drink. Five minutes later I asked if anyone smoked and a few social smokers gathered in the kitchen again, shouting obscenities through an imaginary window. Later on there were taxis, late friends, pizza and bills to pay.

I taught this class to four different groups and it worked well. Even the least responsive group read newspapers and talked more than usual. Doing something unusual helps break the routine, but you cannot turn this new pattern into a new habit. Or so I thought. For the following six months I tried to run the Reading Week class every 4–6 weeks. Each time I asked my students to imagine they were at a different place, and each time those 30-minute sessions worked. I did not teach them any vocabulary or grammar or phonetics at this time. I did not correct or even guide them. I just set the scene and inserted prompts and new situations when appropriate. Some of them discussed the most trivial issues and others spoke rather infrequently. But in the end I had all the students talking together in a quasi real-life situation. It is the team spirit and their own interests that make them take part in the conversations.

After the first Reading Week class some students came to me to tell me that this was the best speaking class ever. To make sure that this had not just been said in the heat of the moment, I posted an anonymous survey on the Net. The outcome was amazing. After a week, 70 per cent still believed it was a fantastic class and 80 per cent wanted more. After the first term I prepared another anonymous survey about the whole term, and again most students asked for more real-life situations and newspapers in the classroom. What can I say? I can only applaud them for their willingness to talk. And to read!

You wanna teach? Don’t botherMikołaj Sobociński takes a back seat in the classroom.

As is probably the case with most teachers, I have no choice but to train my students to handle par-ticular groups of vocabulary, use particular grammatical structures and speak on pre-selected subjects. Both I and my students enjoy those lessons where the topic spurs on the discussion. But on the days when fashion, the weather, inventions, etc. do not trigger the slightest response from my students, what then? Well there are plenty of meth-odologies and techniques to help you, but what is there that your

students may really need and at the same time makes the course progress?

Over the last ten years, I have tried numerous approaches, as you have probably done as well. I have tried real life mate-rial, books, role playing games and quizzes. I have taken my students to a pub (they are 19+ and we agree not to drink beer ...) and I did take them to a barbecue. Some of those lessons worked better, some did not work at all. Until I tried

something I branded Reading Week after what I experienced when study-ing in England. Reading Week there meant no classes, and a lot of time for reading course books. My Reading Week meant bringing newspapers to the class and ... doing nothing.

Preposterous though it may seem, it worked. After a scheduled test and checking attendance, the remain-ing 75 minutes was totally devoted to doing nothing, or at least noth-ing classroom-like. I did not tell my

students to talk. I did not tell them to check or use any vocabulary. I did not give them any topics. And it worked! That is not the whole truth though. I did ask them to arrange two rows of chairs to look like a carriage on a Lon-don underground train. This was the first task, ‘You are on the Tube, commuting to work or your uni, and you’ll spend the next 30 minutes with other passengers doing nothing but waiting for your station’. That is all I promised them. Some of my students were eager to try a new thing, some were more than hesitant. I supplied the carriage with current newspapers, which cost me 35PLN at Empik (the Guardian, the Spectator, and the Daily Mail). For the next half an hour, every five minutes, I merely announced the next station on the route at which point some students had to change seats randomly. Or to be precise I had to shout because the 20 students present were talking non-stop, deeply engrossed

Mikołaj Sobociński, has 13 years’ experience of teaching, research and administra-tion, including

working as an Erasmus coordina-tor. He belongs to a group intro-ducing gamification (the use of games in non-game environments) in Polish higher education. His research interests include semiotics and pragmatics and the influence between space, proxemics and interactions.

But on the days when fashion, the weather,

inventions, etc. do not trigger the slightest response from my students,

what then?


IATEFL Voices 237 11

I … noticed that when those classes are more fun, the other ‘compulsory

topics’ classes work better as

well

Other scenarios I have tried successfully include:

• At their flat waiting for friends before a night out• In an airport lounge • At the dentist’s• At a grocery store• At the cinema• At a business lunch where the service is appalling• At a BBQ (needs a park close to your institution)

Here are some guidelines I found useful:

1 These are not role plays so don’t assign any roles but place your students in a natural situation and leave it to them. If some start pretending to be someone else, do not interfere. That is natural for shy and self-conscious students.

2 These will not work so well if they are part of a normal class session. Normally I have 2–3 tasks for the whole class or one task for 30 minutes after ‘normal’ tests, presentations, or discussing the organisation of the term. It is always advisable to finish the class, give homework, and then start the scenarios, so that students are fully aware of the fact that there will be no more typical class and that after they have finished, they can leave.

3 Have them just once a month but keep them regular events. Then you will have enough ideas for the whole year and together they will boost your students’ speaking and understanding (as well as confidence) tremendously. If you have them too often, they will become ‘normal’ and you will not have enough time to introduce vocabu-lary, grammar, etc. as we all must when following the curriculum.

I have tried these ideas with many groups and they worked every single time. Even when there was not much going on, there was still 90 per cent student talking time and everyone had something to say. I also noticed that when those classes are more fun, the other ‘compulsory topics’ classes work better as well. After some time they notice that the more they remember from ‘normal’ classes, the easier it is to interact and recall vocabulary during those Reading Week lessons. Students feel that there are some things that we have to do, but every month there is a reward and relaxation. After all we should not give them knowledge of English; we do not train them to be experts in syntax. What we should do is to show that English can be used as a tool to do whatever they want, and that means treating the foreign language as a skill and the classroom as a practice field or testing ground only.

So the next time you want to make your students talk, don’t bother. Do nothing. Just create a bit of real-life drama in the classroom and let the props (newspapers, menus, magazines, shopping lists etc.), boredom and curiosity do the trick. If it does not work, you can stop after 30 minutes. And if it does, as it has for me, you will spend some quality time with your students. After all, that is what we all want to do, isn’t it?

The author is happy to provide detailed steps for each scenario on request. (Ed.)

[email protected]

IATEFL VOICES—NOTES FOR CONTRIBUTORSIATEFL Voices appears six times a year and contributions are always welcome.

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Feature articles


CLIL implementation

It has been practised in Italy for over ten years at two distinct levels, that of: ‘local grass-roots activity’ and ‘EU Policy’, The prevalent form of delivery was that of team teaching (codo-cenza) where the subject teacher explained the lesson in L2 and the language teacher intervened to correct any mistakes. This practice distorted the normal sequencing of the lesson, so independent learning (monodocenza) is now considered indispensable. The recent school reform of 2010 dictated compulsory curricular integration in the third grade of Licei Linguistici (2012–2013) and in the final one of all the other secondary schools (2013–2014) implying that CLIL is under-going an institutionalization process (MIUR 2012). In fact, MIUR is launching blended teaching education courses for subject teachers (2012) in line with the reform (see Table 1).

Perceiving CLIL nuancesRenate Agolli reflects on the Italian educational context.

Content and Language Inte-grated Learning (CLIL) is a new pedagogy at the forefront of the pioneering thinking that underpins its popularity and widespread use at an interna-tional level. This article reflects on aspects of CLIL identity and typology on a national and international level driven by the new Italian school reform (MIUR, 2012).

A panoramic viewCLIL philosophy

CLIL aims to teach a school subject (for example, History, Biology) in the L2. CLIL fuses subject matter and L2 in a trajectory where learners undergo a subconscious cognitive processing of content area from L1 to L2 by approaching it both linguistically and cognitively in L2. This metamorphic CLIL texture contributes to holistic learning by activating the skills and content knowledge through problem-solving (Agolli 2013; Krashen 2011).

Framework and methodology

The conceptual framework consists of 4Cs (i.e Culture, Content, Cognition, Communication), as put forward by Coyle et al. (2010) + 1C (Context). Culture is a neglected aspect of CLIL, but through penetrative and progressive analysis, it may be able to promote intercultural education through an etymological approach of the lexis. Content is the input that triggers the Cognitive and metacognitive pro-cess. Finally, Communication is achieved in a continuum of Input– Process–Output (I–P–O). The CLIL practitioner, before embarking on CLIL planning and implementation, should exploit pedagogies that are inherent to both the EFL terrain and the subject matter area (Agolli 2013). Thus recourse to subject matter pedagogy is of paramount importance, when constructing a comprehensive CLIL theoretical background.

CLIL identity in ItalySocio-cultural and educational context

The CLIL experience in Italy permeates all levels of educa-tion and blossoms particularly in the northern part of the country where multilingualism looms large, for example, Bolzano, Valle d’Aosta and Friuli (Coonan 2011). Here the multilingual background and mentality offer a fertile terrain for CLIL implementation that opens up the prospect of cosmopolitan and intercultural education. It must be noted that schools have been granted autonomy status (School Autonomy Decree n. 275/199) in adopting innovative learn-ing approaches and projects (MIUR 2012).

Renata Agolli has broad expe-rience of teach-ing and speaking on a variety of issues in Greece and Italy. She has taught ESP and Business

English extensively and is currently working as a consultant at the Ministry of Education on the implementation of a CLIL project.

School reform Before After

Delivery mode Team teaching Independent learning

Teacher role Subject/ Language Subject teacher Teacher

Form Hybrid CLIL Full CLIL

Implementation Selective Holistic

Reflective considerationsCLIL, as a reform model, is subject to two congruent fac-tors: education policy making (i.e the institutional decision making process) and education politics (i.e the actions of citizens, teachers, students, parents). The reform aims to help Italy join the ranks of those European countries that promote multicultural and intercultural education. The areas to be reinforced are the precision of the methodology implemented and a more active incorporation of language teachers. Moreover, a gradual CLIL implementation at an earlier level is indispensable for effective results.

ConclusionCLIL in Italy has an idiosyncratic nature that reflects the inher-ent traits of our socio-cultural composition. The versatility of CLIL in diverse contexts calls for pluriCLILism as an educational strategy that can foster the personalisation of the learning experience (Agolli 2013). The integration of CLIL into the official curriculum is a serious step towards a multicultural education that will serve the emerging needs of Italian society.

[email protected]

References available on request from the author

Table 1: School reform changes



What is CLIL?Simply defined, CLIL ‘is an educational approach in which various language-supportive methodologies are used which lead to a dual-focused form of instruction where attention is given both to the language and the content’ (Coyle et al. 2010: 3). Therefore, it does not focus solely on either con-tent or language—both are emphasised in a balanced way. Furthermore, contrary to the belief of some researchers, it does not only target a specific group of learners at a certain age with a certain proficiency level.

CLIL for young learnersThe literature on CLIL points out its applicability and suc-cess at all ages. For instance, Gabillon and Ailincai’s (2013) research with Breakthrough Level Young Learners in a science lesson reveals that CLIL can be an effective way to increase language proficiency.

However, a period of detailed preparation is required. CLIL requires the development of a new curriculum (Coyle et al. 2009) necessitating the contribution of both language and content teachers. At the secondary or tertiary level it might be difficult for the language teacher alone to design and master the subject content. Hence, support from content teachers either in or out of the classroom is indis-pensable not only for the preparation of the curriculum but also its evaluation. Nevertheless, for lower levels, language teachers can achieve sufficient mastery of the content and select the topics and supporting materials accordingly.

To exemplify, in Bentley’s (2009) Primary Curriculum Box the organisation and content are achievable for language teachers. The units are organised around five themes: sci-ence, the environment, maths, the arts and literacy. The levels are grouped as: Level 1 (age 6–8), Level 2 (age 8–10) and Level 3 (age 10–12) with the content focus related to the child’s developmental stages. How the skills are identified at each level gives us clues about the course objectives for both the language and content. Simply reviewed, at Level 1, the skills to be practised are ‘recognizing, grouping, developing awareness, understanding relationships, sequencing, and making decisions’, while at Level 2 ‘classifying, identifying, predicting, describing, recognizing and performing, design-ing and ordering’ and at Level 3 ‘comparing, locating, giving reasons, negotiating, calculating, visualizing, creating and acting out’ are listed.

At the syllabus level, the pre-service Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL) course offered for two semes-ters in Turkey provides a general picture of the young learners’ course content. For instance, one of the state universities planned the course around skill teaching, class-room management, error correction, learning styles and lesson planning. The course requirements are two exams

(mid-term and final), activity and poster presentation. At another state university, the course focuses on skill teaching, integrating games, songs and craft activities as well as storytelling. Article and activity presentations as well as a drama performance of storytelling are the main requirements. The syllabuses display a similar pattern of basic content and a task-based methodology.

In another EFL country, a state university TEYL syllabus includes more hands-on experience. Pre-service students are asked to observe a child, interview a teacher of young learners, analyse a textbook, plan a lesson and get involved with skill teaching practice. Despite the variety of course content, the syllabus resembles those previously mentioned in that activities are chosen based on games, songs and stories in a task-based fashion. All in all, young learners’ classes can be best identified as among the most suitable settings for task based and hands-on learning supported by teacher scaffolding.

In addition, a more CLIL-focused model could be imple-mented. Depending on the time devoted to language teaching, the class could first approach CLIL in the form of language showers ranging from one to three hours a week of CLIL type instruction. Afterwards, consistently and steadily, the number of hours could be increased and extended to differ-ent topics.

An example CLIL syllabus for a TEYL course could include the graded integration of frequently recycled content. In addition to cur-rent themes and topics, Biology, for instance, can be introduced while talking about living and non-living things, a classification that will then be recycled within the topic of ani-mals and world habitat. This can be accompanied by videos, animations, and visuals on posters or through the computers that are young learner course requisites. Games such as Hangman, the Memory Game, Who wants to be a billionaire? or Jeopardy for vocabulary; songs along with the lyrics for reading and pronunciation practice; and brainstorming discussions with the teacher for listening and speaking practice could be continuously integrated and recycled. The important part is to stick to English consistently, only allowing students to

Teaching English to Young LearnersDerya Bozdoğan argues for a CLIL approach.

Derya Bozdoğan is currently Assistant Professor at Abant İzzet Baysal University, Turkey.

Her research areas are Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), CLIL and Teaching English to Young Learners.

Depending on the time devoted for

language teaching, the class could first approach

CLIL in the form of language showers

ranging from a minimum of one to three hours a

week of CLIL type instruction.

Feature articles


Perhaps the most important lesson

I learned was that there is a lot more to

explore and learn.

I have already applied it and it works well with my students as I use a different shape or colour for each idea, which makes it easier to remember. I also ask them to write the ideas down. As a result, the technique not only exploits the students’ ideas, but also helps them to organize their ideas by linking them. I was also inspired to transfer this technique to reading activities. In groups of four, students read a multiple matching text. First, each member reads one paragraph. While they are reading their text, they have to draw what is the text about. After that, the group members read their the paragraphs again and, using their drawings, together try to answer the questions.

Nick shared with us a method that he had tried himself in an interactive way. We had to share our experiences of the conference which helped us make connections with

each other. I even gained some friends. What is more, the presentation stimulated innovative thinking and a desire to explore more while enabling us to discover common issues from various perspectives.

Perhaps the most important lesson I learned was that there is a lot more to explore and learn.

[email protected]

IATEFL Liverpool 2013Nicoleta Nechita looks back at the experience.

Winning the Cambridge scholarship to attend the IATEFL Conference in Liverpool was the best thing that has ever happened to me. The array of informative and empirical activities that I was exposed to was benefi-cial both from a professional and a personal standpoint. I participated in many sessions, so it is hard to say which one was the best. However, the one that I immediately applied in the classroom was ‘In your writing’ by Nick Bilbrough.

As I teach in an Art School, Nick’s presentation on encouraging students to write using differ-ent shapes cut from coloured paper was both attractive and appropriate. First, the teacher asks students to brainstorm ideas on a topic. Then, for each idea, the teacher sticks on the board a shape cut out from different coloured paper. When another idea is pinned on the board, the teacher asks the students to recall the previous ones. Finally, the students are asked to join the ideas together using linking words and then to write the composition.

Nicoleta Nechita, Cambridge English Language scholarship winner, Liverpool 2013, has

taught all ages for 11 years at Margareta Sterian’ Art High School, Buzau. She is dedicated to professional development and her interests include promoting creative teaching and an ener-getic learning environment.

speak in their L1 when necessary. Additionally, technology is believed to help ease the

process of transition from partial to full language instruc-tion; PowerPoint presentations, videos, online posters, and computer-aided games are leading teaching aids. Through technology, learners can be involved in the production process autonomously via interactive games, animations, websites and even assessment through self-created e-port-folios. Thus, learners practise learning styles while interacting with the computers and cooperation during group work. An example activity for a history class could be creating a movie using text-to-speech websites (for instance, http://goanimate.com) that are freely available. Another activity is making an online poster (http://edu.glogster.com) on a geographical area to be presented in class.

ConclusionThere is no doubt that motivation plays a highly influential role in the learning process and thereby the achievement levels. Lasagasbaster (2011) reports that, in general, young

learners have more positive attitudes and motivation than older learners, not only towards the foreign language but also the school subjects. This makes the younger learners more readily susceptible to language learning.

[email protected]

References Bentley, K. 2009. Primary Curriculum Box.

Cambridge:Cambridge University P.ress. Coyle, D., B. Holmes and L. King. 2009. Towards and

integrated curriculum—CLIL National Statement and Guidelines. The Languages Company.

Coyle, D., P. Hood and D. Marsh. 2010. CLIL: Content and Language Integrated Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Gabillon, Z. and R. Ailincai. 2013. ‘CLIL: A science lesson with Breakthrough Level Young EFL Learners’. Education 3/3: 168–77.

Lasagasbaster, D. 2011. ‘English achievement and student motivation in CLIL and EFL settings’. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching 5/1: 3–18.



A quick Google search will show that postgraduate dropout rates are a burning issue in education. There is nothing surprising about students who drop out in the early stages. They sample what is on offer and decide that postgraduate studies are not for them, at least not for now. Of far greater concern is the number of students who opt out much later in the process. My aim here is not to inquire why but to focus on some very narrow and practical solutions; to sug-gest how to become unstuck and resume the process.

Positive factors in the learning environmentA student may drop out despite many positive factors in their learning environment. If you are a postgraduate stu-dent reading for and writing a dissertation, let us assume that you have chosen a research topic that you know you can live with for some years. Let us also assume you have a supervisor who is supportive both academically and person-ally, sensitive to the needs of a researcher who is primarily working alone. Further, let us assume that you have been reasonably realistic about the amount of time you can devote to a postgraduate degree while still managing life’s other demands. Yet, you find yourself stuck. I believe the best way out of the quagmire is to set small, manageable tasks that push the great enterprise forward on a daily basis.

Strategic readingKeith Richards, when Director of the Language Studies Unit at Aston University, mentioned en passant at a lecture I attended that he made it a point during his train com-mute to get through an article in 15 minutes and a book in an hour. This was on the basis that these times should be enough to understand the essentials without getting bogged down in irrelevant details and data. You would get a clear idea of whether or not the article or book was worth any more of your time. I found this strategy appealing and put it into practice immediately.

Later on, I wondered if I had dreamed the whole thing up, but no. In his book, Richards (2003: 247–8) reiterates that his ‘aim is to skim any book in about an hour before returning to those parts of it … that need careful reading as a basis for my own notes’. He defines this two stage process as reading for worth to gain an idea of the usefulness and relevance of the work, and reading for work to take notes in a more narrowly focused and detailed reading of your selected parts of the work.

This is surely a much better alternative to gathering information haphazardly, or getting bogged down in a work without any clear concept of its relevance to your research. This strategic reading has enormous benefits for time management. Richards also provides a note-taking template

for the detailed reading including spaces for keywords, theory, and conclusion but the most important point for me was the initial one: fifteen minutes/one hour - key tim-ings to bear in mind.

Strategic writingNo matter how much or how little you read, it is ultimately on your written product that you will be judged. At a certain point, you will need to determine when to shift from a predominantly reading/research stage to a predomi-nantly writing phase. Here are three writing strategies that I found effective.

1 Always stop writing your writing session when you are about to say something really interesting. It may be in the middle of a paragraph, or at the penultimate point in a sequence. Scribble a note on what you were about to say. Then, shut down and walk away. This will give you a compelling reason for coming back to your writing tomorrow. Meanwhile, your mind at some level may be processing that point, refining it further and creating a richer context in which to make it. This is much more effective than writing yourself, and your argument, into a state of exhaustion. When you write exhaustively in one session, you have far less reason to begin writing again. You have left yourself nothing you urgently need to resume.

2 Make it a goal to write for 15 min-utes a day. You will probably write a couple of hundred words, which means at least a thousand a week. This makes more sense than eventu-ally attempting to construct out of nothing the thousands of words that make up a dissertation. Ultimately, you will have far more words than you need and your dissertation will be a work of compilation, synthesis and reconstruction rather than of laborious construction. Write about what? It doesn’t matter. As long as you keep doing it. It could be a study-diary; a rebuttal or a summary of an article you have read; an idea for your methodology; some thoughts on the strengths and limitations of your research so far; a gut-response to an interview you have conducted; an observation. Write in creative mode. Enjoy the discovery that writing brings as you put things into words for yourself alone. Later, you will edit as you prepare your

Strategic reading and writingRichard Sheehan provides solutions when you’re stuck.

Raymond Sheehan completed an EdD for Leicester University, an MSc in TESOL for Aston

University and an MA for the National University of Ireland. He now teaches at Zayed University in the UAE. His research interests include task-based learning and corpus linguistics.

The most important

thing overall is that you are

doing a job which can be strategically

managed and completed

Feature articles


work for public consumption, but don’t be self-critical before you need to be.

3 Thirdly, create a number of files and folders reflecting the chapters of your dissertation into which you drop your writings and incidental discoveries. You may find as you read, or write, that something may ideally fit into your conclusion, or methodology chapter. You could cut and paste abstracts into these places along with a note to yourself. These files and folders may well look like ragbags now, but they can be a source of great richness when you finally come to piecing everything together.

The most important thing overall is that you are doing a job which can be strategically managed and completed. It does not have to be a Herculean labour. You work out your own new strategies as you go along, you share them with others and you borrow theirs. It’s all part of the great collective enterprise that constitutes further education, and nobody in ordinary circumstances needs to give up.

[email protected]

ReferenceRichards, K. 2003. Qualitative Inquiry in TESOL. Basingstoke:

Palgrave Macmillan.

... to use these strategies

effectively, the teacher has to be as skilled as an artist as he

paints the picture of the lesson

tends to arouse it in our minds’. So I advise all teachers to start smiling.

Add colourColour motivates, draws the attention and emphasises new ideas. It can give visual organisation to a complex lesson and is influential in getting people to buy something (Singh 2006). So if you want your students to ‘buy’ your product (knowledge) you have to use colour.

Plan In the planning phase of the lesson, choose a strategy that suits your class. The more your students share and speak during the lesson, the more successful it will be. Don’t be the only source of information but encourage your students to search for knowledge too. Active learning changes the atmosphere inside the classroom and working in groups and pairs, and using concept maps and other strategies for engaging students are useful techniques.

These and many other strategies can motivate your students and get rid of boredom in your classroom.

[email protected]

ReferencesDarwin, C. 1872. The Expression of Emotions in Men and

Animals. London: John Murray.Singh, S. 2006. ‘Impact of color on marketing’. Management

Decision 44/6: 783–89.

Getting rid of boredomMuhammed M. El-Sayeed Eissa lets us in on his secrets.

Before presenting a new lesson, most teachers try to think of a way to attract the attention of their students and make the lesson interesting. New strategies and theories can give you good ideas on how to organise your lessons. However, to use these strategies effectively, the teacher has to be as skilled as an artist as he paints the picture of the lesson.

SmileSmiling at the students can elicit

their positive feelings towards you and make them feel that you are an interesting person rather than a talking

machine. You show them that you are funny and share the students’ thoughts and emotions. You can start with a joke in their native tongue (jokes don’t often translate well) or display a funny cartoon or comic strip. Charles Darwin (1872: 366) said that ‘the free expres-sion by outward signs of an emotion intensifies it. On the other hand, the repression, as far as this is possible, of all outward signs softens our emotions …. Even the simulation of an emotion

Muhammed Eissa is an Egyptian teacher with 14 years experience in Al-Khandaq National Schools, the

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He has been awarded the Shield of the Creative Teacher and honoured by the Minister of Education as one of the distinguished teachers in that country.



Although we know that a large vocabulary is necessary to master any language, achieving it is no piece of cake. Educa-tors are still searching for the magic formula. The purpose of this article is to present a writing activity that has been successful for me in encouraging learners to increase their vocabulary.

In one of the lesson units of the last school year we learned about words and reference books. Building on this, I developed the idea for a writing project requiring reference books. The assignment was to write a text of between 50 and 80 words (depending on their language level) without repeating any words. The learners:

1 were free to choose the topic,2 had at least three days to complete the task,3 were allowed to contract words, which were counted as

one,4 had to use an English-English dictionary, thesaurus or

other reference source, and5 were not allowed to get words from anyone. (This way

they had to look up words.).

Initially the pupils (aged 16–18 in their penultimate school year) complained that it would be too difficult. I reminded them that it would contribute to their end grade and suggested that they simply started with a few words and worked from there. Before I assigned the homework, I wrote the following text. I needed to know how difficult the task would be and how long it would take to complete it.

SummertimeOn many sunny afternoons I sat under big trees by a lake. Ships sailed peacefully, people swam grace-fully, and children played loudly. My eyes could see majestic Swiss mountains. Soft winds, warm sun relax the soul. Homework, examinations, meetings, etc. are bygone memories. Enjoy today, forget work until school begins again. (51 words)

It took me over an hour to write and in the rough draft I repeated the following common words ‘and’, ‘the’, ‘a’. These words are easy to repeat and to not overuse them requires a thinking cap.

When I collected the assignments a week later, I was sur-prised to find that they had been very creative and they had repeated very few words. These two were my favourites.

Winter seems to be over soonSpring time comes, Snow is melting, flowers are blooming,

Sweet, well-known fragrances Strip foreboding land, Temperature gets higher, Kitty the cat catches beautiful

butterflies, Bees will fly around again, And l found a treasure, Which my best friend was looking

for, Bring all your loved ones

together. Oh this period gonna be wonder-

ful (62 words, Evelyn Schwendinger)

Dog story Once upon a time, there was that farm. On the way to this magical place you pass the biggest American Quarter horse stallion of Vorarlberg. When my curious family arrived, many little puppies welcomed us. Suddenly I saw one incredibly cute dog. Winnifred would be perfect as her name. My mother paid for it and we drove back home. (59 words, Laura Rein)

They had accomplished something that had initially appeared both difficult and banal (just another writing assignment!). They had researched antonyms, homonyms and used a thesaurus and a monolingual English dictionary, which explains the ori-gin of the words, their usage, and gives an example in a sentence. Pupils of English as a foreign language generally rely on a bilingual dictionary that translates their language into English and vice versa. Such dictionaries give translations without word origin, clear explanation of usage or example. Consequently, pupils are often confused by the many definitions knowing neither how nor when to use them.

Writing a text without repeating any words is creative and can add spice to your writing cur-riculum. It creates word awareness and encourages the use of reference books and English-only dictionaries. Doing this related to the lesson topic activity on a regular basis, increases active vocabulary in a fun way.

[email protected]

Increasing vocabularyNasy Pfanner introduces a creative writing project.

Nasy Inthisone Pfanner earned her Masters degrees in German Language and

Literature from Arizona State University and in Education from the University of Michigan. She has published articles con-cerning education, and about Lao Americans. Presently, she is teaching English at B.O.RG Dornbirn-Schoren, in Vorarlberg, Austria.

It creates word awareness and encourages the use of reference

books and English-only dictionaries

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As a fan of the ancient art of paper folding, I wanted to create inter-esting ways of using origami in my classroom which would not only be fun, but also stimulate lots of functional language practice. All the following activities are easily carried out using normal paper, a pair of scissors and free origami instructions found online.

1 Information gap activity

Sit pairs back to back, giving one learner the origami instructions and the other learner a piece of paper and a hard surface to work on. Give them a time limit to make the model without looking at each other or what their partner is doing—one gives instructions while the other makes the model. When they have finished, swap roles and give them another model to make.

Good for: asking for clarification, asking for repetition, giving detailed explanations

Works well with: level A2 and upwards, auditory learners, learners working in virtual teams

2 Deconstructing and reconstructing activity

Prepare a variety of origami models yourself before class. Divide the class into small groups and give each group one finished origami model. Challenge them to figure out how the model is made—how it’s correctly decon-structed and then reconstructed step by step. They are allowed to pull apart the model if they wish, but warn them of the conse-quences of destroying their one and only model. When finished, each group demon-strates and explains the construction of their model to the class. To make the presentations more interactive, let the other groups construct each model as they listen to the explanations.

Good for: defining sequences, using problem-solving language, agree-ing and disagreeing

Works well with: level B1 and upwards, kinaesthetic learners, engineers

3 Instruction writing

Prepare a sample of each stage/fold of one model. If there are 15 stages/folds for your model, you will need 15 pieces of paper to literally show each step of the instructions to your learners. When complete, place them in a line in the correct order on a table (or if you want to be mean, mix them up and get your learners to put them in the correct order first). Ask pairs or small groups to write a set of instructions to go with each stage of the origami model. When finished, have them compare the original written instructions with their own.

Good for: agreeing and dis-agreeing, expressing opinions, writing using the imperative

Works well with: B1 and upwards, visual learners, learners who write and / or use English manuals / texts

4 Listening strategically

Sit pairs back to back, giving one learner the origami instructions and the other learner a piece of paper and a hard surface to work on. The instruction giver is only allowed to say each instruction once—they can choose to read directly from the instructions or make up their own. The listener/model maker must repeat aloud key words from the instructions. If they repeat the key words correctly, they are allowed to start folding. If the key words are incorrect, instruction givers can repeat their instructions a second time. If, after listening twice, the maker still has the incorrect key words, they must start folding anyway using their best guess. The activity continues until the model is complete (or not). Although this activity can be frustrating, once learners get to grips with the task they become much more focused and the second attempt is always more successful.

Good for: listening for key words, encouraging clear and comprehen-sible pronunciation

Works well with: A1–B1 levels, auditory learners, learners that don’t give up easily!

5 Jigsaw activity

Cut up one set of written origami instructions for a medium to hard level origami model. Give each learner one part of the instructions. As a group, they first need to mingle and exchange their instructional information verbally without reading each others’ instructions. Once everyone has heard all the instructions, the group must decide on the correct order of the instructions and then make the model together. If possible, use a large piece of paper for this activity to make a giant origami model; I recommend flipchart paper.

Good for: expressing opinions, interrupting, management and organ-isational language (getting back on track, setting aims, keeping everyone involved, gathering contributions)

Works well with: B1 and upwards, collaborative groups, Business English learners

Key vocabulary: to fold; to unfold; to crease; to make a crease; to flip over; horizontal; vertical; diagonal

As a final tip, I recommend starting with easy ships and sailing boats, moving onto the more complex crowns and hats, then finishing with the most challenging models—rabbits and frogs!

[email protected]

Practical teaching ideasGuest contributor Jennie Wright practises functional language with origami.

Jennie Wright is a teacher, teacher-trainer and ELT author based in Germany. Her blog features free profession-al development resources for

teachers http://teflhelperblog. wordpress.com/ and she co-authored Experimental Practice in ELT: Walk on the wild side which is published by the-round.

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Owen is comparing the bleak deaths of soldiers on

the battlefields of France with

civilian funerals, asking what

substitutes the normal rituals

these young men will not get

2014 is the year when we mark the 100th anniversary of World War I, and the LMCS SIG is devoting its Harrogate Pre-Conference Event to examining it from a vast array of perspectives. Alan Maley and David A. Hill will ask participants to work on newspaper reports, personal diaries, photos, historical documents and film from the time, as well as many novels, poems, plays and films which have been written and made about it since. All as fascinating as it is disturbing.

As a taster for those who will be attending, and a suggestion to those who will not, I would like to look at a well-known poem by Wilfred Owen (1893–1918). Owen, who was killed right at the end of the war, famously wrote: ‘My subject is war, and the pity of war. The poetry is in the pity’. And this is nowhere more true than in his wonderful sonnet below.

Anthem for Doomed Youth

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? – Only the monstrous anger of the guns.

Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle Can patter out their hasty orisons.

No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells,Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs, –The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

What candles may be held to speed them all? Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyesShall shine the holy glimmer of good-byes. The pallor of girls’ brows shall be their pall;Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

The first thing that learners need to work out or be told is that Owen is comparing the bleak deaths of sol-diers on the battlefields of France with civilian funerals, asking what substitutes the normal rituals these young men will not get. One activity is to ask learners to find the comparisons Owen makes: ‘passing-bells’—‘gun explosions’; ‘orisons’—‘rifle shots’; ‘prayers’—‘nothing’; ‘bells’—‘nothing’; ‘choirs’—‘wailing shells’/’military bugles’; ‘candles’—‘nothing’ (their own eyes shone), ‘pall’–pale faces of their girlfriends; ‘flowers’—the memories of their loved ones.

Once this has been explored and understood, the next activity might involve examining Owen’s language, which is splendidly rich. He uses all these sonic devices – alliteration

(starting words with the same sound), assonance (making patterns of vowels), consonance (making patterns of consonants), onomato-poeia (using words with sounds which imitate what is being described). It might be a time to introduce a particular group of learners to this terminology, as it is used to such clear effect here; alternatively, simply ask them to find the sound patterns in the poem and explain why they are effective. Here are some examples:

• assonance: ‘Only the mon-strous anger of the guns’: the sounds in bold imitate the noise the cannons make;

• consonance: ‘stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle/ Can patter’: the alternating /t/ and /r/ sounds imitate the noise of machine gun and rifle fire;

• onomatopoeia: ‘The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells’: the three sounds in the highlighted words imitate the ‘wail’ of the shells in flight;

• alliteration: ‘rifles’ rapid rattle’: the initial /r/ sound patterns the words, and imitates the rifle sound; ‘dusk a drawing-down’: the initial /d/ sound patterns the words, and indicates the dull finality of death and the sound of blinds being closed in respect for them. There are others to explore throughout the poem.

And, of course, one can follow up this with a discussion of what Owen is saying about war. The fact that the soldiers ‘die as cattle’, they do not have a proper funeral and the sorrow of those they leave behind might be starting points.

Another activity is to compare the finished version of the poem with this earlier draft. Here are the first eight lines (the octet):

Anthem for Dead Youth

What passing-bells for you who die in herds? Only the monstrous anger of the guns!Only the stuttering rifles’ rattled wordsCan patter out your hasty orisons.No chants for you, nor balms, nor wreaths, nor bells, Nor any voice of mourning, save the choirs,And long-drawn sighs of wailing shells; And bugles calling for you from sad shires.

There is much to discuss in what he chooses to replace. Why, for example, is The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells’ preferred to ‘And long-drawn sighs of wailing shells’? My suggestion would be that ‘long-drawn sighs’ is too gentle in comparison to what

he chooses, plus the use of the adjectives ‘shrill demented’ gives much greater force to the horror of the sound of the shells.

Please do come and join us at the Harrogate PCE if you can. And watch out for the World War I related events on the LMCS SIG Discus-sion List, where you can read and join in.

[email protected]

The literature columnDavid A. Hill exposes the pity of war.

David A. Hill is a freelance consultant in English language and literature working out of Budapest. Coordinator of the LMCS

SIG, he is the author of many books for students and teachers in various educational sectors, as well as original and adapted readers, and four collections of poetry.

(Many more resources about Wilfred Owen, including images of the poet and soldier, are available on the internet—Ed.)

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Gateway to Success, A2, Student’s BookDavid Spencer Macmillan, 2013168 pagesISBN 978-0-230-44895-7

Gateway to Success is a new multimedia, multi-level text written for students who are leaving school and preparing for exams.

Spencer uses authentic texts, check lists to promote learner indepen-dence and includes online materials and websites with a multitude of worksheets. There is an 8 page guide book which comes with the coursebook to support and explain the online materials as well as a separate workbook/dictionary, teacher’s book/test CD ROM/online mark-book, class audios and interactive programs for purchase. The topics are what you would expect at an A2 level—for example, jobs and work, free-time activities, countries and nationalities and the weather—but the format and text types are varied and quite interesting so I think this coursebook will be of interest to older teens.

The coursebook includes the usual multi-skill table of contents and is bright and colourful. There are plenty of cartoons, pictures and colour coding to help the visually oriented teacher and the material is varied for a wide clientele. My favourite feature is the amount of vocabulary included in each chapter. The Starter unit included vocabulary on :classroom objects, English-speaking countries, days, months and years, the family, colours and basic descriptions as well as a revision at the end of the unit. Each unit begins with vocabulary to prepare the students for the upcoming reading and listening texts and also includes some text and post text vocabulary work. This is often missing in coursbooks and means the teacher has extra work to do before being able to use the materials.

I also like the references to the online, web materials and CLICK, which means ‘cross-curricular, Literature and International Cultural Knowledge’. This reference to specific subjects in the curriculum, for example Science/biology in unit 5 and Business in unit 6, can be very helpful for teachers working in a secondary school environment.

At the back of the coursebook, there are two useful little sections. The ‘Study section’ encourages learners to work independently while incorporating learner strategies, for example, the tip for Unit 2 is ‘Look at photos, pictures and titles that go with a text. They help you to know things about the text before you read’ (page 156). The other section, ‘Exam success’, has helpful information regarding exam task

types, editing work and the like. These helpful comments span the skills and will really help foster independent studying.

I think this is a terrific new coursebook! Take a look.Sandee Thompson

DELTA, MA [email protected]

English for Global Industries: Oil and Gas; A study and practice book for oil and gas professionals.Steve OliverGarnet Publishing Limited, 2010240 pagesISBN 978 1 85964 506 2

English for Global Industries: Oil and Gas; A study and practice book for oil and gas professionals is primarily a vocabulary self-study text aimed at broadening the language profi-ciency of professionals in the oil and gas field. As such, the content is very industry specific, but extends across a wide range of themes, all relating to the oil and gas field. The book is divided up into 5 main sections: ‘The business of Oil and Gas’, ‘Working on a Rig’, ‘Drilling Operations’, ‘Geological and Geophysical Operations’, and ‘Producing and Delivering’. Within each of these sections are 8 individual units, for which the author recommends about one hour of self-study per unit and are meant to be stand-alone units. With this book, readers can take in short one- hour bursts of language study at any time, making it convenient for the busy professional and useful as a supplementary text in the classroom or as the main text in a tutoring one-on-one situation.

As the author points out on page 4 of the introduction to the text, ‘There is a big difference between the English words that you can understand and the words that you can use.’ This book endeavors to use new vocabulary in a real and meaningful way by first introducing it in context with a short reading, and then providing practice activi-ties (such as fill in the blank, matching and word association) using the targeted vocabulary. The reading at the beginning of each unit is modelled after authentic texts such as websites, press releases, maps, transcripts and magazines and the answers to all of the activities are provided in the back of the book. There is also a glossary included at the end of every two units, as well as a complete word list at the back of the book.

All in all, I like the straightforward manner in which this book is organised and presented. It definitely appeals to the way I like to

Materials reviews Sandee Thompson is a teacher trainer/assessor. She received her MA TESL from Birmingham University and is currently teach-

ing EFL at the College of the North Atlantic, Qatar.

Edited by Sandee Thompson

This issue of Voices offers reviews of a fairly eclectic sample of readily available EFL material. I had the good fortune to review and explore a new series called Gateway to Success, put out by Macmillan and Hilary Liv-ingston, a colleague who works here in Qatar, reviewed an older coursebook for Technical English, English for Global Industries: Oil and Gas. Neil McBeath explored the history of English in the United Kingdom in Past Simple: Learning English through History and Martin Sketchley looked at teacher development in Teacher Research in Language Teaching—a Critical Analysis. We hope you enjoy these reviews and if you have any suggestions of materials you would like to see reviewed, please email and let me know!

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study a foreign language, by learning as much relevant vocabulary as possible!

Hilary LivingstonCELTA, MEd. Curriculum Studies/TESL,

College of the North Atlantic [email protected]

Past Simple; Learning English through HistoryDavid Ronder and Peter Thompson Garnet Publishing, 2013143 pagesISBN 978-1-85964-529-1

There is perhaps an irony in the fact that Garnet has published this book at a time when the teaching of history in British schools is under attack for not being

sufficiently ‘celebratory’ (Evans 2011: 11). Battle has been joined over whether students should be exposed to themes, as opposed to content (names and dates), and in Past Simple; Learning English through His-tory, Ronder and Thompson have opted to offer both, albeit in reverse order.

There are 12 chronological chapters, taking us from the Romans in Britain (pages 6–11) to Margaret Thatcher (pages 72–7) via, among others, Elizabeth I (pages 24–9), the Victorians (pages 42–7) and The Blitz (pages 54–9). The thematic chapters cover the growth of democracy in Britain and include: Shakespeare (pages 84–9); the Brit-ish Empire; the relationship between England and Scotland; and the impact of social class to name a few.

The book is classified at CEFR B1+. All the units follow the same format. There is a ‘before you read’ section; a text with a short glos-sary; and a page of multiple-choice items that allow students to both check the facts and confirm their understanding of the language. Section Two offers activities that extend the topic both linguistically and factually. Section Three provides extension activities, often refer-ring students to the internet, or YouTube, and then setting a topic for a short, 250-word essay that brings critical thinking to bear on what they have just read.

Not everyone, of course, will be happy with the authors’ choice of topics. Margaret Thatcher’s funeral proved that she remained a divisive figure long after her retirement. And while cricket (pages 102–7) may be regarded as one of England’s gifts to the world, Association Football (soccer) has probably had a greater impact on sport.

On balance, however, this is a book that has much to offer. The contents make it an ideal CLIL text. Apart from its coverage of British history, the activity on the War Poets (page 51) and the section on Shakespeare could be incorporated into any literature course, while The Welfare State (pages 60–5) and Social Class (pages 132–7) have socio-political implications. An excellent case could be made for using individual copies as a teacher’s resource book.

Reference

Evans, R. J. 2011. ‘The wonderfulness of us: the Tory interpretation of history’. London Review of Books 33/6. 9-12.

Neil [email protected]

Teacher Research in Language Teaching: A Critical Analysis Simon BorgCambridge University Press, 2013253 pages ISBN: 9780521152631

Teaching Research in Language Teaching, written by Simon Borg, is the latest in the Cambridge Applied Linguistic Series and is a highly recommended read for all budding teachers keen to develop their skills and

expertise of action research inside and outside the language classroom. It also complements those language practitioners who are currently studying a post-graduate degree in TESOL, ELT or TEFL, which requires the development of any sort of research project.

Teaching Research in Language Teaching is divided into nine suc-cinct and recognisable chapters: ‘Research and teachers’, ‘Investigating teacher research engagement’, ‘Conceptions of research in language teaching’, ‘Teacher engagement with research’, ‘Teacher engagement in research’, ‘Research engagement and teaching quality’, ‘Research cultures in language teaching’, ‘Facilitating teacher research projects’, and finally, ‘Promoting language teacher research engagement’. The initial chapters of the book introduce and guide the reader through the processes and rationale of classroom-based research projects. Subsequent chapters naturally focus on how teachers can engage with research, the reasons why teachers are able or unable to undertake research, attitudes towards research, the reasons for doing it and the impact of classroom research both on teachers as individuals and on the profession as a whole. Within the last few chapters, readers are introduced to the culture of research with different institutions in the UK. It was mentioned that higher education institutions include various mechanisms such as ‘study leave, a workload allocation for research time, investment in books and journals ... to enable their staff to be research active’ (page151). In the final two chapters, the author recommends, with guidance and checklists, areas to facilitate and promote teacher research projects to reflect on possible classroom practice. These hints and suggestions are incredibly invaluable to help the researcher consider options prior to attempting any research project.

Within the Appendix, the author provides readers with pro-forma questionnaires, surveys and interpreter prompts as well as cover letters to make use of. This section is helpful for any would-be postgraduate student who requires inspiration to create a questionnaire or survey for their dissertation.

In conclusion, Teacher Research in Language Teaching: A Critical Analysis is an important addition for ELT professionals seeking to enhance their knowledge, expertise and skills in creating and under-taking a research project.

Martin SketchleyYoung Learner Coordinator, LTC, Eastbourne

www.eltexperiences.com, [email protected]

Inside IATEFL



Are you based in the UK and have time to offer support to an international student attending a boarding school in your area? The children return home to their parents during the long holidays of Christmas, Easter and Summer, but require an English family to have them to stay during a couple of weekends each term and the half term holiday.

Imagine your child were attending a board-ing school overseas and the reassurance you would gain from knowing a local family is supporting them, keeping you in touch with how they are getting on.

This is an excellent opportunity

• For your own children to make new friends, to learn about other countries and gain cultural understanding.

• To fill the ‘empty nest’ when your own children have perhaps gone off to university or left home.

• To become involved in the school life of a young person, supporting them through attendance at school matches, concerts or parents’ evenings.

• To build lasting friendships with international families overseas.

As the IATEFL 2014 Conference approaches, thoughts at ELT Journal are turning to the ELTJ Debate which will take place at the conference on Thursday 3rd April (11.30–12.45). This year we will focus on the teaching of younger learners, more specifically primary level ELT. The ongoing expansion of English language teaching into the primary sector has been a notable feature of ELT in recent years, but is an earlier start to learning English automatically ‘better’ for learners and for society at large? Indeed, is it now time to call a halt to this trend?

Thus our motion is ‘This house believes that Primary ELT does more harm than good’. And our speakers? Fiona Copland (Aston University, UK) will propose the motion while Janet Enever (Umeå University, Sweden) will oppose. Please come along as Fiona and Janet debate the issues, have your

say, ask questions—and join in the vote!And what of the forthcoming April 2014

issue of ELT Journal? As ever, you will find a range of articles, from those focusing the ways in which teachers might exploit ‘linguistic landscapes’ with learners to the use of music in classrooms; from an exami-nation of how teachers might support peer assessment in class to an exploration of authenticity in coursebooks; and we also find space to consider the place of Shake-speare in ELT.

If by any chance you don’t subscribe to the Journal, remember, as an IATEFL member you can subscribe as part of your membership package – and get online access to back issues from 1996 and to ‘advance access’ articles, accepted for publi-cation but not yet in print, as well.

Graham [email protected]

The role is suitable for families, single par-ents, couples without children, retired couples with empty nests—guardian families come in all shapes and sizes. All have a common inter-est in offering care and support to children and teenagers from overseas.

Why not put your spare bedroom to good use and bring in a few extra pennies? The role is voluntary, with generous expenses paid per night’s stay, as well as to cover travel, time and entertainment.

To find out more about this interesting and rewarding role, visit www.guardianfamily.co.uk or give us a call for an informal chat on 01865 522066.

(written to the cadence of Penny Lane by the Beatles)

IATEFL held its conference last in Liverpool2,000 plus were registered it to attendAll the people that came and wentThought it a cool event.

At registration there’s a super team to sort you out

As always Glenda’s also there to overseeThat the delegates get to plenaryWell before it startsVery Smart

IATEFL’s in my notes and memoriesOn all those plenaries, workshops and

talksI think but meanwhile back at

IATEFL there were some PCE’s held the day before

And attendees had to choose ahead what to go see

I chose the one by the SIG called TEA, And then they chose me!

IATEFL’s in my notes and memoriesOf coffee breaks and dinners outWith others meanwhile back

Presenters share their ideas and their research

With attendees who discuss and come to grips

With adaptations to approach and gather tips

It’s never ending change (not so strange!)

Many evenings there were some fun events we could attend

There was a Quiz, the Open Mic, then Failure Fest

And a Swiss cowbell was used then to attest

To proclaim success

IATEFL is in my notes and memoriesWith such cold and rainy skiesUmbrellas we took to get us back

IATEFL is in my notes and memoriesThere we learned neat stuff and made

new friendsIATEFL.

[email protected]

The Guardian Family Network

ELT Journal news

IATEFL memories

You can choose the way you receive IATEFL Voices in the Members Area.

Just login at www.iatefl.org to change your settings.

Are you reading this online?

Inside IATEFL


The Testing, Evaluation and Assessment SIG PCE Harrogate: This year we will be dealing with the practical aspects of classroom testing and the possible application of the main prin-ciples in several different contexts.

• How much do teachers need to know about testing?

• Are teachers always the best testers? • Do teachers need to set formative tests,

diagnostic tests or tests of achievement or proficiency?

• What are the main cpnsiderations when organising classroom assessment?

• How can large groups be dealt with effectively?

Delegates will be able to put questions to the presenters and we hope that delegates will get new insights and ideas to put into practice in their own contexts.

Judith Mader, [email protected]

The Leadership and Management SIGPCE Harrogate: In today’s high pressure, high stakes world how can you avoid burn out? How can you support your teachers and ensure that they too do not burn out? In this year’s LAMSIG PCE, we will look at these questions and related issues. ‘Creating a culture of resil-ience and preventing burn out’ will review ways that individuals and institutions can respond positively to the challenges they encounter. This interactive workshop will provide practical tips and techniques that managers and teach-ers can apply to manage themselves effectively and ensure that they and their colleagues don’t succumb to stress and burn out.

Speakers are Andy Curtis, Agnes Enyedi and George Pickering.

Jenny Johnson, [email protected]

The Teacher Training and Education SIG2013 was an active year for TTEd SIG in differ-ent parts of the world including Beijing, China and Muğla,Turkey as well as Liverpool.

PCE Harrogate: We are working very hard to make Harrogate 2014 PCE a great success with our celebrity speaker Tessa Woodward.

TTEd SIG Day Harrogate: This will involve

Focus on the SIGSsuch well-known speakers as Susan Barduhn, Jaimie Durham, Katrina Baran, Sylwia Wis-niewska, Barbara Buxton, Briony Beaven, Jim Scrivener, Ann Burns, Donal Freen and Anne Katz. Come and join us.

Birsen Tutunis, [email protected]

The Learner Autonomy SIGNew e book in the LA SIG Autonomy in Language Learning series

Following the success of the first volumes, we are delighted to announce that The answer is autonomy: issues in language teach-ing and learning has just been published and is available on Amazon or Smashwords. It attempts to help researchers in and practitioners of learner autonomy learning by integrating the knowledge of the different research areas involved and includes practical examples from various contexts. The sixth e-book will be dedi-cated to tools, tasks and environments.

Christian Ludwig, [email protected]

The Learning Technology SIGLTSIG invites you to participate in the following events:

• Webinar: ‘Innovations in Learning Technologies for ELT’ with Gary Motteram (UK) at https://iatefl.adobeconnect.com/_a875541554/ltsig Sunday 23 March 2014, GMT 14:00

• PCE, Harrogate: ‘Learning Technologies in Contexts’: Technology is increasingly preva-lent in all aspects of our lives. The question for educators is not whether to respond but how to do so.

See http://ltsig.org.uk/events/13-future-events/ 308-1042014-harrogate-2014-ltsig-pce.html

Vicky Saumell, Community [email protected]

The Business English SIGThe 27th IATEFL BESIG Annual Conference, Prague, was attended by 106 speakers and some 400 delegates. Sessions were live-streamed worldwide with satellite events in Germany, Croatia and India. The opening ceremony included the David Riley Award, a fashion show and a cake to celebrate 100 years of Cambridge English exams. The conference kicked off with Keith Harding on ‘Business English: special interest or driving force?’

PCE Harrogate: ‘How to teach business skills through teaching business English’ starts with a short overview followed by workshops and a panel discussion.

BESIG Day: This will consist of talks and workshops, finishing with the Open Forum.

Summer Symposium in Graz, Austria 2014: ‘Putting the research to work: research, prac-tical applications and materials in business English teaching’. The plenary speaker is Evan Frendo and we hope to see many of you there.

Marjorie Rosenberg, Coordinator [email protected]

The Teacher Development SIGPCE Harrogate: ‘Opening Space for Critical Pedagogy’. These are critical times. The impact of governments, institutions and organisations on the lives and work of teachers around the world is increasingly obvious; balancing this, never has it been more possible for small groups of committed teachers and students to make a positive educational and social differ-ence beyond the borders of their classrooms or countries. In this spirit, we are calling you to join us in Harrogate.

A series of short, powerful talks on key issues relating to critical pedagogy and practice will lay the foundations for the Open Space work that will follow. We will collaborate in flexible working groups, exploring critical topics and issues. As well as this, you are sure to walk away with new and renewed friendships—a perfect end to our day, and a perfect starting point for the main conference.

Further details from http://www.iatefl.org/harrogate-2014/harrogate-2014.

Anthony Gaughan, [email protected]

BESIG Prague 2013 opening audience (photo by Justine Arena)

Inside IATEFL



Just as all teachers need

continual development, so do all teachers use literature,

media and include cultural

issues in some way on an almost

daily basis

The Literature, Media and Cultural Studies Special Interest Group has one of the longest names and smallest memberships of all the SIGs. I have always found this latter factor strange because, like the Teacher Development SIG, we have something for all teachers. Like them, we are not specific, we are broad and inclusive. Just as all teachers need continual development, so do all teachers use literature, media and include cultural issues in some way on an almost daily basis.

Literature or literature?

I think that one serious misconception about the LMCS SIG is that—because Literature comes first in the name, and has a serious capital ‘L’—our main focus is on the canon of Literature in English: Beowulf to Virginia Woolf, as it has often been described, by way of Shakespeare, Pope, Keats, Shelley, Austen and co. And so people are put off joining the SIG; they—quite rightly—feel that Milton’s Paradise Lost is not entirely appropriate for their teen-age intermediate learners.

Can I dispel this idea now, once and for all?!

To use John McRae’s term, we are con-cerned with literature with a small ‘l’—in which we include all kinds of imaginative texts, from Wordsworth’s ‘I wan-dered lonely as a cloud’ to Ogden Nash’s The Cow: ‘The cow is of the bovine ilk;/One end is moo, the other milk’. It includes the right type of magazine and newspaper article, folk songs, nursery rhymes, graffiti, jokes—indeed any texts in which the writer was playing with language in an imaginative and interest-ing way. It also includes what has lately been termed ‘learner literature’ and what used to be known as ‘simplified or graded readers’: those stories written specifically for English language

Spotlight on Literature, Media and Cultural Studies SIG

learners with limitations on vocabulary and structure, and those adaptations from Litera-ture. Because one of the main beliefs of LMCS SIG is of the centrality and value of extensive reading to language learning.

Media studies

The next part of our name is ‘Media Stud-ies’. This reinforces the consideration of print media—newspaper and magazine literature already mentioned, but also includes the wealth of articles which is available on the Internet. And, delightfully, film. We regularly include film in our events, and had a specific PCE on ‘The film of the book, The book of the film’ at the previous Harrogate conference. The media studies area also includes everything from television. An activity in which students compare an item from BBC World News with an article about the same topic from The Guardian (both available online) would fall right into this area of our work.

Cultural studies

And finally, there is the somewhat fraught area of ‘Cultural Studies’. Thankfully, we are past the colonial period of reading passages about

British red phone boxes and kind bobbies in ELT course-books, and our emphasis these days is much more on intercultural skills. We take a topic such as ‘time’ and see how it is dealt with in different cultures. A train is considered late if it is one minute behind schedule in Japan, and if it is 15 minutes behind sched-ule in Italy. What does that tell us about the attitudes of different peoples to what is important in life? We can also take a concrete topic such as ‘bread’ and explore the manu-facture, cost and use of the

product in different cultures. These are the areas the LMCS SIG works in.

Harrogate 2014

At the 2014 Harrogate Conference, we will run a PCE called 'The Pity of War: An exploration of World War I in text, film and song’, to coincide with the centenary of the outbreak of that war. In it, Alan Maley and David A. Hill will work through a range of activities which include the ‘L’ and the ‘l’ and the ‘MS’ and the ‘CS’ ele-ments of the topic.

They will use texts such as poetry by Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon, novels by Sebas-tian Faulks and Ernest Hemingway, films of novels, such as All Quiet on the Western Front and films of plays, such as Oh What a Lovely War. There will be newspaper articles, personal diaries, official reports. We will hear the voices of nurses, wives at home and women munition factory workers, politicians, generals and foot soldiers, and see documentary film from the time. And include writing in translation to give other perspectives on the whole terrible event. Then there will be songs—those of the soldiers in the trenches, and those written afterwards in celebration and castigation.

A true LMCS unification if ever there was one.

Why not join us?

That is the kind of thing the LMCS SIG does, and I am sure that there must be something in there for you, so join our SIG, take part in our events—which are usually extremely satisfying at your own level, as well as providing ideas for teaching, and write articles for our newsletter and make yourself heard in our regular online discussions. You can get into our SIG website and Discussion List through the LMCS SIG sec-tion on the main IATEFL website.

The LMCS SIG Committee

David A. Hill (Coordinator); Alan Pulverness (Newsletter Editor); Amos Paran (Treasurer); Chris Lima (Discussion List Moderator); Carel Burghout (Website Manager).

We look forward to hearing from you!David A. Hill, Coordinator

[email protected]

Inside IATEFL


From the Associates IATEFL’s Associates Representative, Les Kirkham, brings news from the Associates.

Les Kirkham, Associates Representative

The 14th Annual National Delegates’ Conference of the Ghana Association of Teachers of English (GATE)

We have a distinctly African flavour in this issue, with reports from the annual gatherings of two Associates—GATE (Ghana) and SELTA (Sedhiou, Senegal). Without further comments from me, over to the reporters from these two TAs, and please enjoy the photographs too. And remember that we are hoping to see as many Associate Representatives in Harrogate as possible.

The 14th Annual National Delegates’ Con-ference of GATE the theme of which was ‘Improving the Standards of English in Ghana—The Role of the English Language Teacher’, was held at Ghanass, Koforidua, 2-7 September 2013. The theme also defines the ‘special purpose’ of the event.

Over 300 participants from all ten regions of Ghana gathered to experience five days of exciting learning, networking, knowledge-sharing and problem-solving encounters. The daily routine was as follows: morning devotion, breakfast, sessions, lunch, sessions, and supper. The official Opening Ceremony was conducted by the Hon. Alex Kyeremeh (MP and Deputy Minister for Education), the Deputy Eastern Regional Minister and the Chief of Effiduase.

Day 2

The first session could be described as an eye-opening lecture meant to give teachers of English the confidence they need to tackle the teaching of phonology and phonetics. Profes-sor G. A. K. Gogovi gave a very interactive, practical and insightful lecture in which he focused on the vowel and consonant sounds, and the stress patterns of English. He reiter-ated the need for teachers to consult a good dictionary whenever in doubt.

Mr Mark Krzanowski (the ESPSIG Jour-nal Editor-in-Chief and Lecturer in English, Linguistics and Teacher Training at the Uni-versity of Westminster, London) skilfully took participants through group discussions and brainstorming which were aimed at expos-ing participants to issues and abbreviations which are needed in the reading of literature in modern language teaching. Participants identified the meanings and the rationale for about 20 key abbreviations, inter alia ESP,

EAP, EGP, EFL, ESOL, ELF.

Mark also led par-ticipants to discuss the benefits of adopting either or both of the Communicative and Traditional approaches to teaching and learning English language. He also answered impromptu a number of questions from the audience related to ELT pedagogy (for example, the difference between writing as a product and writing as a process).

Later, Professor Yaw Sekyi Baidoo of the University of Cape Coast took his turn to talk about the teaching of summary and comprehension. He implored the participants to appreciate the difference between teaching reading comprehension and testing reading comprehension.

Ms Ivy Apreku, the English Lead of the Brit-ish Council in Ghana took delegates through a British Council designed ‘taster programme’ that was meant to showcase the language learning resources available on the British council website.

Day 3

Participants were led by Mr. Kofi Nti, Senior Lecturer at the Univer-sity of Cape Coast, in a discussion on the issues, approaches, problems solutions related to the teaching of grammar.

After lunch, Mr Kwabena Nyamekye of the CRDD also took the participants through a discus-sion of the issues of syllabus design, development and evaluation, the various components of the syllabus and how they are meant to influence

the teaching and learning of the English language.

Day 4

Mr Isaiah Adzigodie officially introduced IAT-EFL to GATE members and discussed with them the Continuous Professional Develop-ment (CPD) opportunities available.

Mr Seth Amoaku, an experienced exam-iner, later led delegates through a lecture on the issues concerning ‘Assessment of Stu-dents’ Essays and Comprehension’, and the demands of marking schemes and the need to teach students to be precise in answering questions.

A plenary session followed with a sharp and clear focus on the needs of GATE as an association. The delegates met as regional

A view of the delegates

Mark presenting

Inside IATEFL



Spotlight on the fourth edition of Sedhiou English Language Teachers Association ELD. Sedhiou, (CDEPS) 11 May 2013

The fourth edition of the SELTA English Lan-guage Day was held at the CDEPS of Sedhiou, an absolutely lovely city where you can enjoy the greenery of the Casamance region, and the culture and hospitality of the Pakao.

The ceremony officially opened with speeches from Mr Mohamed Fall, SELTA co-coordinator, Mr Mamadou Daffe on behalf of the Association of Schools’ Head Teachers, Mr Amadou Diaoune, General Secretary of the teachers’ union SUDES, with this year’s guest of honour, Mr Cheikh Faye on behalf of the Academy of Sedhiou, and Mr Cyprien Antoine Ballo, Deputy Governor in charge of Develop-ment, on behalf of the Regional Governor.

Before that, colleagues gathered on two professional development activities run by Abdou Dieng, CPI in Sedhiou, and Issakh Dramé from Alpha Molo Balde High School, respectively on ‘Using Multiple Intelligences to enhance learning’ and ‘Developing speak-ing skills in class’. Just as there was plenty of variety in the structure of the presentations, there was also a healthy mix of suggestions and reactions through the group discussions at the feedback level. These included ways • to help English Pedagogic Cells to take the

next steps in their own development, by being more organized;

• to assist schools to create sustainable local cells;

• to help improve the planning, organizing and promotion of pedagogic cells’ and English clubs’ events;

• to identify and share best prac-tices in the southern part of the country;

• to provide an opportunity for networking between pedagogic cells in the region; and

• to provide a springboard for post-seminar co-operation between schools and colleagues in general.

The event attracted teacher trainers and teachers from all over the southern area and made it a ground for a wide range of exchange of ideas and a platform for a critical analysis of newly established approaches in ELT.

The event was also filled with friendliness and enthusiasm. Everyone seemed to enjoy talking to each other and sharing expertise and know-how, and the atmosphere was smooth and enjoyable. Students took advantage of it to chat and have fun with their counterparts.

About 130 participating students came from 9 different schools (Amadou Mapathe Diagne Junior High School, Montagne Rouge Junior High School, Bloc village Junior High School, Koussy Junior High, CPEJ Private School, Djiredji Junior High School, Fode Kaba Dpumbouya Junior High School, Ibou Diallo High School and Sedhiou New High School). The CDEPS room was too small to contain the

big crowd that came from Sedhiou, its outskirts, and the neighboring villages and cities.

The first place in the Spelling Bee went to Idrissa Mané of Fode Kaba Doumbouya Junior High School, the second place to Mapathé Diagne Junior

High School, and the third place to Dially Coumba Kouyaté of Fodé Kaba Doumbouya.

The biggest attraction of the day was the English clubs’ performances on the theme: ‘Peace in Casamance, from dream to real-ity’. Fodé Kaba gained the top place on the podium for the second year in a row. They were followed by Ibou Diallo High School and the Sedhiou New High School respectively.

We are grateful to the distinguished trea-sure trove of the educational system that you are and for your invaluable support. I would like, on behalf of the whole SELTA member-ship, to seize this opportunity to thank you very much.

Strictly speaking, we know that SELTA is a fledgling association of EFL teachers. However, looking at the profile of our mem-bership, it soon becomes obvious that we are an association that represents a growing diversity of ELT professionals as a whole. We thought it might be useful to see some of the things this partnership can give us both.

As a young professional academic and pedagogic group, we hope to establish long-term cooperative relationship with you. We believe this will turn into a real everlast-ing partnership between SELTA and IATEFL, resulting in a very strong framework of learn-ing and sharing experience beneficial to the whole system.

For and on behalf of SELTA,Latsouck GUEYE

[email protected]

caucuses and deliberated on how the Asso-ciation in their respective regions should operate.

Day 5

Delegates started socialising more informally and embarked on an educational tour to interesting local places of interest, includ-

ing the Umbrella Rock, the Boti and the Aka Waterfalls in the Eastern Region.

Day 6

Participants left for their respective destinations well equipped and deeply refreshed with all the ‘arsenals’ needed for improving the standards of English. The 2014 conference takes place

in the Volta Region and we very much look forward to seeing you there.

More information about the conference at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set =oa.622534194446076&type=1

Isaiah K. AdzigodieKinbu Senior High School, Accra

[email protected]

The audience in Senegal

A performance

Inside IATEFL



Coming events2014

March6–9 Slovenia

IATEFL Slovenia 21st International Conference, Terme TopolicaVisit: https://www.facebook.com/events/526990700704763/

13–15 UAETESOL Arabia 20th International Conference & Exhibition, Dubai‘Methods and Means in ELT’Visit: http://tesolarabia.org/conference

April 11–13 Bulgaria

BETA 23rd Bulgaria Annual International Conference, Blagoevgrad‘The English language classroom: Can research meet practice?’ Proposal deadline: 12th January 2014 Contact: [email protected] or visithttp://www.beta-iatefl.org/annual-conference/conference-call/

25–26 AustriaTEA 13th Biennial International Conference, Vienna"New Trends in ELT”Contact [email protected] or visitwww.tea4teachers.org

25–27 AlbaniaELTA National Conference, Tirana“Teaching & Learning English - a Challenge in the World Work Market” Contact [email protected] or visitwww.eltaal.org

25–27 CroatiaHUPE 22nd Annual Conference, OpatijaContact [email protected] or visitwww.hupe.hr

30– Brazil 14th BrazTESOL International Conference, Joao Pessoa‘Emerging Identities in ELT’Visit: http://braz-tesol.org.br

May23–25 Cyprus

IATEFL YLTSIG and CyTEA joint event, Nicosia‘Early Years Conference: Language Learning 2–6—International Perspectives on Early Years Plurilingualism’Visit: www.iatefl.org

30–31 TurkeyIATEFL LASIG, Istanbul‘Learners and Teachers as Companions on the Road to Autonomy’Visit: www.iatefl.org

31 KoreaKOTESOL Conference, Daegu‘Change in the classroom: Principled Pragmatism’Event link: http://koreatesol.org/nc2014CallForPresenters

Submissions for the calendar are welcome and should be sent to [email protected] and copied to the Editor at [email protected]. It is helpful to follow the format in the calendar above, and also to include submission deadlines for papers for potential presenters. So that we receive your announcements in time, please check Voices (p.1) for the copy deadline and the publication month of each issue.

Publications received The Editor has received copies of the following publications:

SIG Publications

• Independence, LASIG Newsletter, October-November 2013, Issue 59 (ISSN: 1026-4329)

• TTEdSIG e-newsletter, November 2013 (ISBN1026:4396)

• C&TS, YLTSIG Newsletter, Autumn 2013 (ISSN: 2073-5774)

Associates Publications

• ELTAS e-News, Stuttgart, Germany, Winter 2013 (No ISSN)

Publications from Teachers’ Associations or special interest groups received will be acknowledged in this column and should be sent to the Editor at PO Box 3182, Pewsey, SN9 5WJ, United Kingdom.

Please send only items published wholly or partly in English, which should be received by the deadlines detailed on the contents page of this issue. All further enquiries to [email protected] .

DON’T FORGET

2–5 April 2014

48th Annual International IATEFL Conference

and Exhibition 1 April 2014

15 Pre-conference events

Harrogate, UKSee www.iatefl.org for more information and

important deadlines

June13–14 Austria

BESIG Summer Symposium, Graz‘Putting the research to work: research, practical applications and materials in Business English’Booking: 1 March – 4 June 2014Visit www.besig.org

27–29 UKNATECLA National Conference 2014, SheffieldEvent link: http://www.natecla.org.uk/content/568/National-Conference-2014

August21–23 India

ELTAI 9th International and 49th Annual ELTAI conference, Jaipur‘English: From classes to masses’Submission deadline: 31 May 2014 Contact [email protected] or visitEvent link: http://www.eltai.in/Conference.html

September12–14 Poland

23rd International IATEFL Poland Conference, Lublin‘Innovation and technology in foreign languages teaching: methodology, psychology, IT’Submission deadline 1 May 2014Contact: [email protected] or visit www.iatefl.org.pl

26–27 AlbaniaELTA Regional Conference, Lezha“Teaching and Learning English for Fun: Challenges and Solutions”Contact [email protected] or visitwww.eltaal.org

October23–26 China

CELEA 7th International Conference on ELT in China, Nanjing ‘Localization and individuation: Reforms and reserach in China’s ELT’Event coordinator: China English Language Education AssociationEvent link: http://www.celea.org.cn/2014/english/

Upcoming webinar26 April 2014: Ron Carter: Internet English: the

changing English language and its implications for teaching

The most up to date version of the calendar can be found on our website,

http://www.iatefl.org/events/

3 May

November14–15 Albania

ELTA Regional Conference, Berat“English and Employability” Contact [email protected] or visitwww.eltaal.org

21–24 JapanJALT 2014 40th Annual International Conference and Exhibition on Language Teaching and Learning, Tsukuba‘Conversations across borders’Visit: http://jalt.org.conference

Inside IATEFL


Other [email protected]

Special Interest Groups (SIGs) Business English (BE)http://www.besig.orgCoordinator: Marjorie Rosenberg

[email protected] Editor: Julia Waldner

[email protected] Coordinators: Cornelia Kreis-Meyer

[email protected] and Andrzej Stesik [email protected]

Treasurer: Bethany Cagnol [email protected]

Development Coordinator: Akos Gerold [email protected]

Website Coordinator & BESIG Online Team Coordinator: Claire Hart [email protected]

BESIG Online Team: Justine Arena [email protected]; Matt Halsdorff [email protected]; Michelle Hunter [email protected]; Pete Rutherford [email protected]; Mercedes Viola [email protected]

BESIG Editorial Team: Roy Bicknell [email protected]; Kristen Acquaviva [email protected]; Vicky Loras [email protected] and Lynn Nikkanen [email protected]

English for Specific Purposes (ESP)http://espsig.iatefl.org/Joint Coordinators: Aysen Guven and

Prithvi Shrestha [email protected] Editor-in-Chief (Professional and

Academic English): Mark Krzanowski [email protected]

Assistant Editors: Andy Gillett [email protected]; Bernard Nchindila [email protected]; Nadezhda Yakovchuk [email protected]

Editorial Advisers: Ruth Breeze [email protected] and Modupe Alimi [email protected]

Membership Secretary: Jeremy Day [email protected]

Web Manager: Semih Irfaner [email protected]

ESP Reporters: Tawanda Nhire Nelson Antonio [email protected] and Marcos Koffi Ngoran [email protected]

Members-at-Large: Kevin Knight [email protected], William Nash [email protected], Rosinda Guerra Ramos [email protected] and Sam Thompson [email protected]

English for Speakers of Other Languages (ES(O)L)http://esolsig.wordpress.com/Coordinator: Caroline Okerika [email protected] Newsletter Editors: Genevieve White

[email protected] and Elaine Williamson [email protected]

Reviews Editor: Ryan SimpsonWebsite Manager: Malu SciamarelliCommittee Members: Michelle Bagwell,

Pauline Blake-Johnston, Janet Golding and Philida Schellekens

Global Issues (GI)http://gisig.iatefl.org/Coordinator: Margit Szesztay [email protected] editors: Dana Radler

[email protected] and Xiaobing Wang [email protected]

Web Content: Wolfgang Ridder [email protected]

Webinars: Dennis Newson [email protected]’ Organiser: Lindsay Clandfield

[email protected] Networks: Roy Cross [email protected]: László Hajba

[email protected] List Moderator: Iqbal Dhudhra

[email protected] List Animator: Bill Templer

[email protected] Autonomy (LA)http://lasig.iatefl.orgJoint Coordinators: Leni Dam and

Lienhard Legenhausen [email protected] officer: Katja Heim

[email protected]: Christian Ludwig

[email protected] officer: Jo Mynard

[email protected] Officer: Anja Burkert

[email protected] organisers: Marcella Menegale

[email protected] and Pili Uceira-Diez [email protected]

Editorial team: Natanael Delgado [email protected] and Irena Subic Jelocnik [email protected]

Leadership and Management (LAM)http://lamsig.iatefl.org/Coordinator: Jenny Johnson [email protected] Editor: George Pickering

[email protected]: Loraine Kennedy

[email protected] Website & Discussion List Coordinator:

Andy Hockley [email protected] members: Andy Curtis

[email protected] and Maureen McGarvey [email protected]

Literature Media and Cultural Studies (LMCS)http://lmcs.iatefl.org/Coordinator: David A. Hill [email protected] Editor: Alan Pulverness

[email protected]: Amos Paran [email protected] and Marketing: VacancyDiscussion List Moderator: Chris Lima

[email protected]: Carel Burghout [email protected] Technologies (LT)http://ltsig.org.ukJoint Coordinators: Nicky Hockly and

Paul Sweeney [email protected] / [email protected]

Outgoing Coordinator: Graham Stanley [email protected]

Newsletter Editor: Natalya Eydelman [email protected]

Who’s who in IATEFLPatron: Professor David Crystal, OBE, FBA

Advisory CouncilAs Patron: David CrystalAs Editor of the ELTJ: Graham HallIndividual members: Herbert Puchta,

Catherine Walter and Adrian du Plessis

Board of Trustees President: Carol ReadVice President: Eric BaberTreasurer: Amos ParanSecretary: Zeynep UrkunMembership Chair: Gary MotteramSIG Representative: George PickeringAssociates Representative: Les KirkhamElectronic Committee Chair: Caroline Moore

Committee MembersConference: Eric Baber (Chair), Burcu Akyol,

Louise Atkins (Head Office), Bethany Cagnol, Carol Read, Glenda Smart (Head Office), Alison Medland (Head Office), Alison Wallis (Head Office), Poppy White (Head Office) and Ros Wright

Finance: Amos Paran (Chair), Andy Curtis, Colin Mackenzie and Glenda Smart (Head Office)

Publications: Carol Read (Chair), Roy Bicknell and Martin Eayrs

ElComm: Caroline Moore (Chair), Louise Atkins (Head Office), Eric Baber, Mike Harrison, Heike Philp, Paul Sweeney and Mercedes Viola

Membership: Gary Motteram (Chair), Victoria Boobyer, Tilly Harrison, Marjorie Rosenberg and Shaun Wilden

Conference Selections Editor: Tania Pattison [email protected]

Voices Editor: Alison Schwetlick [email protected]

IATEFL Representative on the ELTJ panel: Carol Read

IATEFL Representative on the ELTJ Management Board: Catherine Walter

IATEFL Scholarship Working Party (SWP): Eryl Griffiths (Chair) [email protected], Sophie Ioannou-Georgiou, Patrick McMahon, Felicity O’Dell, Amos Paran and Adrian Tennant

Head Office Executive Officer Glenda Smart: [email protected] Executive Officer Louise Atkins: [email protected] Finance Officer Kay Cox: [email protected] & General Administrator Eleanor Broadbridge: [email protected] Organiser Alison Medland: [email protected] Deputy Conference Organiser Poppy White: [email protected] Development Officer Alison Wallis: [email protected] Officer Vicky Barnett: [email protected] Membership Officer (Maternity Cover) Natasha Cleary: [email protected] & General Administrator Linda James: [email protected]

Inside IATEFL



ASOCOPI (Colombia)[email protected] (Sudan)[email protected] (Czech Republic)[email protected] (Finland)[email protected]://www.suomenenglanninoppettajat.fiATEI (Iceland)[email protected]/fekiATEL (Lebanon)[email protected] AVEALMEC (Venezuela)[email protected]://avealmec.org.ve/AzerELTA (Iran, Islamic Republic Of)[email protected] (Azerbaijan)[email protected] (Belarus)[email protected]/kel/teachers/belnate.htm

BELTA (Bangladesh)[email protected]/BELTA (Belgium)[email protected] (Bulgaria)[email protected] (Burkina Faso)[email protected] (Benin)[email protected] (Brazil)[email protected] (Cameroon)[email protected] (China)[email protected] (Cote D’ivoire)[email protected] (Congo, The Democratic

Republic Of The)[email protected] (Estonia)[email protected]

Associates are now listed by name with email and web contact details. In cases where Associates were in the process of signing or renewing their Associate agreements at the time of printing their names may not appear in the list below. In case of doubt please contact IATEFL Head Office. Modifications to contact details in this list should be sent to Head Office.

Associates (as of February 2014)

Finance Officer: Sophia Mavridi [email protected]

Discussion List Moderator: VacantWebmaster: Pete Mackichan webmaster@ltsig.

org.ukJoint Events Coordinators: Burcu Akyol

[email protected] and Shaun Wilden [email protected]

Online Events Coordinator: Heike Philp [email protected]

Community Manager: Vicky Saumell [email protected]

Committee Member: Pete Sharma [email protected]

Materials Writing (MaW)Coordinator: Nick Robinson [email protected]: Byron Russell Membership Coordinator: Jill Florent Social Media Coordinator: Karen White Events Coordinator: Sophie O’Rourke Deputy Events Coordinator: Rachael Roberts Publications Coordinator: Hans Mol Deputy Publications Coordinator: Emily Green Publications Editor: Lyn Strutt Pronunciation (Pron)http://www.rdg.ac.uk/epu/pronsigCoordinator: Wayne Rimmer [email protected] Editor: Robin Walker

[email protected] List Moderator: Alex Selman

[email protected]: Jane Setter [email protected] Officer: Piers Messum

[email protected] (Res)http://resig.iatefl.org/Coordinator: Richard Smith [email protected] Organizer: Miroslaw Pawlak

[email protected] List Moderator: Atanu Bhattacharya

[email protected] Manager: Ana d’Almeida

[email protected] Coordinator: Sarah Brewer

[email protected]

Membership Secretary: Sandie Mourão [email protected]

Mentoring Coordinator: Mark Daubney [email protected]

Newsletter Editors: Ana Inés Salvi [email protected]; Gosia Sky [email protected]; Richard Smith [email protected]

Outreach Coordinator: Harry Kuchah [email protected]

Public Relations: Deborah Bullock [email protected]

Recording Secretary/Elections Officer: Shelagh Rixon [email protected]

Scholarships Coordinator: Larysa Sanotska [email protected]

Teacher-Research Updates Coordinator: Paula Rebolledo [email protected]

TESOL Liaison: Sarah Mercer [email protected]

Treasurer: Siân Etherington [email protected]

Teacher Development (TD)http://www.tdsig.orgCoordinator: Anthony Gaughan [email protected] Coordinator: Mojca Belak

[email protected] Editor: Catherine Mitsaki

[email protected] Manager: Huseyin Demirel

[email protected] Website Content Editor: Barbara Roosken

[email protected] without Portfolio: Willy Cardoso

[email protected] and Sinéad Laffan [email protected]

Testing Evaluation and Assessment (TEA)http://tea.iatefl.orgCoordinator: Judith Mader [email protected] Editor: Judith Mader

[email protected] Coordinators: Carol Spoettl

[email protected] and Zeynep Urkun [email protected]

Webmaster: Carel Burghout [email protected]

AAELTA (Ethiopia)[email protected] (Algeria)[email protected] (Korea, Republic Of)[email protected] (Czech Republic)[email protected] ANELTA (Angola)[email protected] (Mexico)[email protected] (Peru)[email protected] (Portugal)[email protected]

Coordinating Committee Members and Committee Members can be contacted by emailing [email protected]

The Editor of Voices can be contacted by post at PO Box 3182, Pewsey, SN9 5WJ, United Kingdom or by email

at [email protected] staff, SIG Coordinators and Local Associations

can be contacted directly at the addresses above.In a large organisation like IATEFL people are always on the move and contact details can rapidly become out of date.

Please email [email protected] if you find any errors or omissions in these listings.

ELTA (Serbia)[email protected]://www.elta.org.rsELTA Albania [email protected] (Afghanistan)[email protected] (Germany)[email protected]/main/index.phpELTAF (Germany)[email protected] (India)[email protected] (Macedonia)[email protected] e. V. (Germany)[email protected] (Germany)[email protected] (Germany)[email protected]

Membership Secretary: Dave AllanDiscussion List Moderator: Doris Froetscher

[email protected] Teacher Training and Education (TTEd)http://ttedsig.iatefl.orgCoordinator: Birsen Tutunis [email protected] Editor: Gabriel Diaz Maggioli

[email protected] List Moderator: Gospel Ikpeme

[email protected]: Kalyan Chattopadhyay

[email protected] & Membership Officer: Burcu Tezcan

[email protected]

Young Learners and Teenagers (YLT)http://www.yltsig.comCoordinator: Hans Mol [email protected] Coordinator Teens (T/YL):

Dennis Newson [email protected] Coordinator Young Learners (VYL/

YL/T): Janice Bland [email protected] coordinator Very Young Learners

(VYL/YL): Caroline Linse [email protected]&TS Newsletter Editor: Niki Joseph

[email protected] & Design: Charles Goodger

[email protected] & Sponsorship:

Kalyan Chattopadhyay [email protected] Events coordinator: Graham Stanley

[email protected] Events Support: Christina Giannikas

[email protected] Events support: Gemma Fanning

[email protected]

Inside IATEFL


English Australia sueblundell@englishaustralia.com.auwww.englishaustralia.com.auETAG (Georgia)[email protected] (Israel)[email protected] (Switzerland)[email protected] (Argentina)[email protected] (Russian Federation)[email protected] (India)[email protected] (Kyrgyzstan)[email protected] (Cote D’ivoire)[email protected] (Ghana)[email protected] (Gabon)[email protected] (Cuba)[email protected] (Guinea)[email protected] eV (Germany)[email protected] (Croatia)[email protected] Chile [email protected]://www.iateflchile.clIATEFL Hungary [email protected] Peru [email protected]://sites.google.com/site/iateflpe/IATEFL Poland [email protected] Slovenia [email protected] UKRAINE [email protected]://www.iatefl-ukraine.org.uaIETA (Indonesia)[email protected] (India)[email protected] (Turkey)[email protected] (Japan)[email protected]://jalt.orgKATE (Korea, Republic Of)[email protected] (Korea, Republic Of)[email protected]/KOTESOL (Korea, Republic Of)[email protected]://www.koreatesol.org/KSAALT (Saudi Arabia)[email protected] (Lithuania)[email protected]://www.lakmaonline.lt

LATE (Latvia)[email protected] (Russian Federation)[email protected] TALEN (Netherlands)[email protected] (Morocco)[email protected] (Haiti)[email protected] (Mali)[email protected] (Malta)[email protected] (Germany)[email protected] (Malaysia)[email protected] MELTA (Mozambique)[email protected] (Mauritania)[email protected] (Morocco)[email protected] (MSSUA) (Czech Republic)[email protected] (United Kingdom)[email protected] (United Kingdom)[email protected] (Nepal)[email protected]/NETA (Namibia)[email protected] (Egypt)[email protected]://niletesol.org/web/index.htmlOmELTA (Russian Federation)[email protected]://omelta.omsk.edu/Qatar TESOL [email protected] (Romania)[email protected] (United Kingdom)[email protected]://www.satefl.org.uk/SATEIL (South Africa)[email protected] (Denmark)[email protected] (Senegal)[email protected]/site/

englishlanguagecellSLATE (Sierra Leone)[email protected] formerly LMS (Sweden)[email protected] (Niger)[email protected] trainerSPELT (Pakistan)[email protected] (Russian Federation)[email protected]

TEA (Austria)[email protected] (Indonesia)[email protected] (Tanzania, United Republic

Of)[email protected] CANADA [email protected] Arabia (United Arab

Emirates)[email protected] France [email protected] Greece [email protected]://www.tesolgreece.orgTESOL Iraq [email protected] [email protected] Macedonia-Thrace N. Greece [email protected] Spain [email protected] Sudan (Qatar)[email protected]://www.tesol-sudan.org

In a large organisation like IATEFL people are always on the move and contact details can rapidly become out of date. Please email [email protected] if you find any errors or omissions in these listings.

TESOLANZ (New Zealand)[email protected] (Togo)[email protected] TESOL (Thailand)[email protected] (Bangladesh)[email protected] (Uzbekistan)[email protected] (Venezuela)[email protected] (Russian Federation)[email protected]://yakuttesol.blogspot.co.ukYARTEA (Russian Federation)[email protected] (Zimbabwe)[email protected] (Zimbabwe)[email protected]

d IATEFL Voices 237

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