Dear HLT Readers,

Welcome to this very special issue of HLT: this is our 10th Anniversary. HLT started in February 1999. It is also three years since I took over from Mario Rinvolucri, one of the founding fathers of HLT and the first editor. How the time flies!

First over to Mario…

When HUMANISING LANGUAGE TEACHING first appeared in early 1999 we were thrilled to have 300 people come to the magazine in a week. Hanna Kryszewska is now editing a periodical that receives an average of 4000 visitors per day. She has led the magazine to major expansion and success.

HUMANISING LANGUAGE TEACHING today offers you a massive archive of the thoughts and feelings of teachers from around the world who want to place their students at the centre of the process, who feel that teaching is subordinate to learning and who feel that the learner is their main concern and that the subject, the English language, a secondary one.

HLT will become stronger and stronger if you come forward and write for it. Do you want your thoughts to be read by thousands in 2020? If so, then contact the editor: hania.kryszewska@pilgrims.co.uk

Mario ( Rinvolucri) (HLT's previous editor)

So what have been the developments in the 10 years of HLT as I see it? The magazine has grown a lot over the years, both the database of articles and the size of each issue. In this period of 10 years HLT has had contributions from approximately 600 authors, many of whom have published more than once; some have become regular contributors such as Lou Spaventa, Michael Rundell, Monica Hoogstad, Simon Mumford and, of course, Mario Rinvolucri and other Pilgrims trainers: Chaz Pugliese, Sheelagh Deller, Bonnie Tsai, Simon Marshall, Adrian Underhill, Sally Farley, just to name a few. The authors come from about 70 different countries. Overall the HLT database contains around 1600 articles. HLT has now an established reputation in the EFL world, it has an ISSN number, is part of the DOAJ network, and we issue contributor’s certificates which are recognised by many ELT institutions and universities. The quality of HLT is recognised by pre-service and in-service teachers and EFL professionals, and it common that HLT gets 3000 visits a day in the form of page views (e.g. 27th Jan 2009) but there can be even 6000 such visits (e.g. 30th Jan 2009). HLT subscribers’ list, that is the list of our regular readers is close to 17 000 and it is growing all the time!

What I love about HLT is that, thanks to Pilgrims, the current issue of HLT as well as its complete archive are available free of charge to all readers; we don’t have to look for funds or sell advertising space to cover our costs. Basically we enjoy blue sky EFL and blue sky humanism. Perhaps this is why these days more and more authors are willing to contribute to HLT and the readership is growing steadily. What an achievement in the days of commercialisation! Perhaps this is why readers and authors appreciate HLT.

I would like to thank a few people: Mario Rinvolucri for launching the magazine, for giving it its current shape, for handing it over to me, for being a formidable article scout and for being a kind spirit watching over the magazine and my editorial ventures. I would also like to thank Jim Wright, also a founding father of HLT, whose support and positive attitude are vital to the existence of HLT. Also big thanks to Antoni Ruszkowski for putting the magazine on the web and mopping up various glitches in the working of the magazine; thank you to Paul Davis for all those last minute proofreading sessions, and, of course, a big thank you to all the authors and readers without whom the magazine would not exist.

In the future we hope to introduce some changes in HLT, so be patient with us and don’t be surprised if things take a new shape. Also, I have to say, our spirit is strong but the financial and human resources sometimes limit the workings of the magazine and our ambitious plans. The most important thing is that the magazine carries on into the next decade as a unique professional resource.

We hope you will be able to join us and to celebrate our 10th Anniversary at the Pilgrims Conference, 16th – 22st August 2009 University of Kent in Canterbury. There you can meet many passionate teachers, trainers and authors. It is an event to look forward to and worth coming to in the summer. Why don’t you combine a holiday visit to the UK with an unforgettable professional experience.

Also you may want to experience one of Pilgrims new summer courses or go for what Pilgrims is famous for: humanism and creativity ( see the article The Creative Teacher, by Bonnie Tsai)

HLT is a truly international magazine. In this issue you can enjoy articles from all over the globe: China - China EFL: Programming Human Robots by Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff, Iran - When an EFL Teacher Takes the TOEFL by Mandana Arfa Kaboodvand, Brazil - Know Thy Student!, by Cesar Elizi, Turkey - Bringing External Situations into the ELT Classrooms Through Dialogues by İsmail Çakır, Slovakia - Authenticity of Communication in the Language Classroom, Adriana Pčolinská, Spain - The European Credit Transfer System: Enhancing Creativity in Teachers and Students, María Luisa Pérez Cañado, Colombia - Dealing with False Cognates between Spanish and English in Teaching Finance in an EFL Context by Pablo Moreno Alemay just to name a few.

In this issue we have also many practical ideas for the classroom: The Stagger Lee Project by Simon Andrewes, Humanising Decontextualised Grammar by Daniel Martín del Otero, EMO-TIONAL Verb Cards - Ideas for Teaching Vocabulary by Daniela Tomatis, Spoken Grammar: Go with the flow by Roger O' Keeffe, Off the Beaten Path: Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats by Hall Houston and many others.

Then there are articles about the teaching profession and the relationship between the teacher and the students: Student Teachers by Duygu Serdaroglu, Learner and Teacher as Fellow Travellers: A Story Tribute to Jack Whitehead by Jane Spiro, The Mick Jagger of the English Verb by Stephen Murrell, Heart of the Matter: Beginner's Mind by Lou Spaventa and Bewitched by 25 Students by Agnese Bartoli.

Agnese used to work together with Hugh Cory. The summer of 2008 they submitted their articles for publication in HLT. Hugh’s article talks about teaching in Burma: Critical Thinking, Simon Says, for Burma. Sadly Hugh is no longer with us and his friends say good-bye to Hugh in Remembering Hugh Cory.

As for publications do not miss a collection of poems: Family Images: Poems from an Oxford summer, 2008, Movement in EFL an article introducing a new book by Peta Mason Gray and Mario Rinvolucri, and the unique writing project: Alex Writes Books in which Andrew Wright and Alexandra Wright give us a glimpse of the world of an autistic child.

Enjoy the issue and a wonderful professional decade with HLT.

Hania Kryszewska
HLT Editor
E-mail: hania.kryszewska@pilgrims.co.uk

PS. You can meet a number of Pilgrims trainers at the IATEFL Cardiff Conference. Also there are some interesting special interest groups (SIG’s) you may wish to join, for example the GISIG at IATEFL