Dear HLT Readers,
Welcome to the new issue of HLT, jam packed with ideas and inspiration. But first of all let’s talk about your plans for next year, summer to be precise.
It is now time to sign up for grants and scholarships for next year. You will find some useful tips in: Comenius 2.2 Scholarship application deadline: JAN 15th 2010. If you want to find out what the Pilgrims courses are like and what to expect read: Pilgrims, the Ultimate Choice by Zsuzsa Lindner and Pilgrims Progress – A Homage by Fiona James. The authors attended Pilgrims courses and they share their enthusiasm with you. There are also some more memories from the Pilgrims Conference this summer in: Pilgrims 35th Anniversary Conference 16th - 22nd Aug 2009 and in "How- are- you- today?" Teaching or Getting Back Home from Pilgrims 35th Anniversary Conference by Clem Laroy. Unfortunately to attend the next conference you will have to wait some years.
Coursebook writing and developing materials feature very prominently in this issue of HLT. Three major articles are devoted to this subject: The Importance of Affect in Teaching and Coursebooks for Young Learners in Chile by María Teresa Sepúlveda L., Gender Stereotypes in Selected EFL Course Books by Petra Jesenská and WEB 2.0 in the EFL Class by Cristina Arnau Vilà. You will find more on the subject in Cross Currents: Critical Pedagogy, ESP and Materials Writing by Neil Mcbeath. In her article Corpus-based Evaluation of Test Items’ Linguistic Authenticity, Ilana Salem looks at the kind of writing and materials development probably most teachers do, namely testing.
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Winner of IATEFL ‘Cactus to Conference’ scholarship announced
Cactus TEFL is thrilled to announce Fiona James as the first winner of its new IATEFL ‘Cactus to Conference’ scholarship.
The scholarship, created for newly-qualified TEFLers with less than three years experience, enables one lucky EFL teacher to become a member of IATEFL and to attend the IATEFL annual conference, with £400 provided towards accommodation and travel costs . The scholarship also gives the successful applicants the coveted opportunity to be published in IATEFL publications and on the Cactus website.
“I feel very honoured to have been given this opportunity,” comments Fiona James. “Whilst all EFL teachers are eligible for IATEFL membership, in reality it is not often something that a newly qualified teacher can afford. I am really looking forward to taking every opportunity to explore, learn from and share my experiences with my future students and colleagues.”
Fiona is also delivering a workshop at the conference, on Friday 9 April, considering choices in the classroom.
For further information, please visit www.cactustefl.com or call 0845 130 4775
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Another area this issue of HLT looks at classroom practice and the art of teaching. Take a look at: Is Educational Technology Killing or Liberating Our Souls? by Simon Buckland, The Heart of the Matter: On Reading and Non-Readers by Lou Spaventa, The Elements of a Good Lesson - A Psychological Perspective by Maita Cilia Nichols, and The TEFL Teacher, The Cyber-bully, The Closet Racist by Neil McBeath.
In the Student Voices section you can read two interesting texts which are written by practising teachers, yet they are written from a learner’s perspective: The Type of Course I Want in Italian by Reynold Harrs and Teach Relations, Not words: Psycho-drama in Building Positive Group Dynamics by Nina Shvaikina. The texts offer a new perspective and a fresh look at classroom practice.
In this issue there are many practical ideas for the classroom: Teaching of Weather Forecasts and Seasons by Multiple Intelligences in EFL/ESL Classrooms by Gökhan Bas, Death by Questions by Mark Fisher, Al Wahda Mall by Malika Khelifa, Just My Luck: A Fun Film For Secondary School Students by Carme Porcel Cano, Golden Oldies by the lateChris Sion and Off the Beaten Path: Mindful Learning by Hall Houston. I am sure you will them useful for your classes.
If you want to know what is happening in the publishing market, books already published or about to be published take a look at: In A Faraway Land by Michael Berman, Sacred Places also by Michael Berman, and Short Book Reviews by Hanna Kryszewska.
For your entertainment there are poems: Poetry by Yves Ditroy, translated by Chaz Pugliese, Mirror by Muhammad Iqbal and Beauty by Adnan Tahir Qureshi, as well as something amusing and thought provoking in the Jokes section: A Stunning Senior Moment (found on the net by Cécile Marit).
Enjoy!!!
Hania Kryszewska
HLT Editor
hania.kryszewska@pilgrims.co.uk
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1st International Conference
CREATIVITY and INNOVATION in LANGUAGE STUDIES - CILS
Università della Calabria - Italy
December 14th - 16th, 2009
http://cmceproject.unical.it/cilsconference/index.htm
The 1st International CILS Conference, promoted and sponsored by the CMC_E Project (www.cmceproject.it) , an initiative funded with the support of the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Union, highlights the value of Creativity and Innovation in Language Studies as a key factor for the development of personal, professional and social competences.
In particular, CILS speakers, coming from many different EU countries, Canada and Taiwan will face the issues of:
- Creativity, Cultures and language usage;
- Creativity, Cultures and language usage in the Arts;
- Creativity and Technology;
- Language Creativity in business settings.
The Conference celebrates the relevance of Creativity and Innovation in Language Studies (CILS) as a means of fostering intercultural communication and promoting closer links especially between SMEs and Universities.
The CILS Conference, which will be held at the end of the European Year 2009 of Creativity and Innovation, aims at highlighting the relevance of such concepts which Education at any level, in any sector and any time should continuously stimulate
Dates
December 5, 2009 - Registration closes
December 14-16, 2009 - Conference
The Conference will very likely be offered in web streaming on www.unical.it
Conference Fee: 120 euros
The CILS Conference participates in the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009.
http://create2009.europa.eu/
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