Dear HLT Readers,

Welcome to the July/August issue of HLT. I am writing this editorial at the University of Kent in Canterbury, where the Pilgrims summer Teacher Training courses are held. We have just completed 4 weeks of the summer; there are 6 weeks to go, and, of course, there is the Pilgrims Conference. There are still a few places left, the pound is cheap, the weather forecast not too bad for England so book now.

2009 is a special year for Pilgrims as we celebrate our 35th anniversary as leaders in Humanistic Teaching and Teacher Training and the 10th anniversary of HLT. To celebrate these achievements we are holding a major one-week conference here in the UK this August: HUMANISTIC TEACHING IN THE 21st CENTURY 16-22 AUGUST 2009 UNIVERSITY OF KENT, CANTERBURY, UK This one week event includes: Five One-hour plenary sessions from some of the world's leading ELT experts - Michael McCarthy, Alan Maley, Jane Arnold, Tessa Woodward and Mario Rinvolucri. Three Four and a half-hour Workshop Cycles from experts such as Luke Prodromou, Adrian Underhill, Adrian Tennant, Bonnie Tsai, Hanna Kryszewska, Sheelagh Deller, Paul Davis, Chaz Pugliese, Tim Bowen, Gill Johnson, Mark Almond, Marie Delaney, Eleanor Watts and Christine Frank. Two 'Open' Seminars for networking and debating, three Evening Events and an end of Conference dinner. This conference not only gives you the opportunity to meet and work with the world's leading ELT experts, you will also be living with and networking with like-minded colleagues for a whole week. You really cannot afford to miss this opportunity! As expected, places are filling already so you need to book your place now! Visit www.pilgrims.co.uk/conference or contact: lizzie@pilgrims.co.uk

For more Pilgrims news read The Pilgrims Business English Centre: A Laboratory for Change by Mario Rinvolucri and do not miss the new courses we have designed for next year which you will soon be able to view on our website.

Also there is a new Pilgrims Facebook. It has just started so sign up and help us create a unique feature. If there are any glitches let us know.

As for this issue, you will find a lot of good stuff to keep you occupied, especially if your are on holiday. One area this issue is looking at is how students learn languages; see the two major articles: Modelling the English Learning Process of Foreign Students in Singapore: Thematic Analyses of Student Focus Groups by Sng Bee Bee, Anil Pathak and Stefan Karl Serwe, and Contemporary Understanding of the Reading Process and Reading Strategies Used by ESOL Learners While Reading a Written Discourse by Jacek Wasilewski.

In his article The Heart of the Matter: Towards a New Methodology for ESOL, Lou Spaventa looks at trends in ELT methodology. In Case Study: Teaching Special Needs Children, Weronika Stencel offers an insight into teaching SEN – Special Educational Needs learners, which is an eye opener, while in English to Chinese Translation: Eenie, Meeny, Miney, Moe …? Martin Wolff looks at the role of translation in teaching business English.

Two articles bring expertise from outside EFL and apply the theories to teaching English: How Do Rudolph Steiner’s Theories Apply to ELT? by Tony Cañadas and Autorhythmy - the Importance of Inner Pictures and Rhythm in Foreign Language Acquisition. Part 1 by Mihály Hevesi.

Another two articles look at the importance and role of teacher associations as a form of teacher development and growth: TEA, Teachers of English in Austria – Keeping an Association Alive and Well by Candy Fresacher and Portrait of a Professional Community in Hungary, a joint article animated by Uwe Pohl.
Of course, there are many practical classroom ideas. They are to be found in Using Different Forms of Drama in the EFL Classroom by Liubov Desiatova, The Alternative Way: Green Line 1 Klett Ernst Klett Verlag GmbH by Mario Rinvolucri, Listening Unplugged! by Nick Bilbrough, Off the Beaten Path: Paper Folding by Hall Houston, Dialogic Listening by Nick Bilbrough and Concordancing with Heart: Students Analyse Their Own Writing by Siân Morgan in the Corpora ideas section. In his article The Crystal Clear Waters of Mount Elbruz Michael Berman explores the potential of the Prometheus saga which can be found throughout the Caucasus.

There is a strong reaction to an article we published in the previous issue: My Considerations About D. Singh’s Article: Cultural Differences: England vs. Italy by Anna Maria Aiazzi. As I was putting together the previous issue I was wondering if I would get an article responding to Danny’s views. I had my own doubts. Well here is the reply. To view the original article go to the original article Year 11; Issue 3; June 2009. There are more readers’ voices and reactions in the Readers Letters section.

As for new publications there is great encouragement for everyone to publish: EFL Teachers Should Publish Their Own CD ROM: How I Became a Cambridge University Press Writer by Stephen Murrell. In recent years I can only cheer when teachers who experienced Pilgrims courses decide to publish books. I have watched Daniel Martin evolve from a teacher attending a Pilgrims course ( The Expert Teacher) to an HLT author, and then the author of a resource book on using the interactive board ( see: Year 11; Issue 2; April 2009). And then there is Susan Kaufmann who was on a Pilgrims course ( Skills of Teacher Training) who has had some major impact on teaching German through bringing out TT books with Langethscheidt. Publishing is in your hands, just get your act together. My own story how I started publishing and teacher training is similar and also Pilgrims related.
In the subject of publishing don’t miss Storytelling with Children Second Edition 2009: Some Notes for Reviewers From the Author by Andrew Wright who shares with HLT readers his secret ingredient for successful storytelling and makes it clear that the new edition is not a simple remake and facelift of the first one. An HLT review of the book is due to appear in the September/ October issue.

For your entertainment there are some poems written by teachers: The Teacher Like a Gardener! by Gabriela-Mirela Mihaescu, Language Users for Nonkilling: A Plea by Francisco Gomes de Matos, and Three Poems by Ian Mole, and a text in the Jokes section which I can see easily developed into a classroom activity.

Greetings and enjoy

Hania Kryszewska
HLT Editor
hania.kryszewska@pilgrims.co.uk