Message from Mario welcoming the New Editor
From the March 2006 Issue HUMANISING LANGUAGE TEACHING has a new
editor, Hanna Kryszewska .
Hanna (prefers to be called Hania) is a rare TEFLER in that she is both a clear university based intellectual and a down-to-earth methodologist with a marvelous choreographic imagination. Hanna is all set to carry HLT from its first seven years of "childhood" into its "young adult" period. You will find the magazine changing and developing in ways it could not have done in my hands. Any editor gives shape to their magazine by limiting it, which is why periodic changes of editor are essential. To find out more about Hanna all you need do is to read the many things she has written in HLT over the past seven years.
Hanna, I lift a glass of the best Polish vodka to your success as editor over the next few years.
Message from Hania
I have said "Yes". I have decided to take over from Mario and now editing HLT is in my hands. ",Overpowering", "Daunting task", "You are a brave woman" were some of the words I heard from my friends, some congratulated me. I have to say that I am looking forward to being in my new role, and what I have experienced so far has been very encouraging. Keeping in touch with nice people, following developments in ELT and writing are the things I thrive on. Some might rightly think: Hania is so different from Mario. Indeed : a woman, a non-native speaker of English and a lecturer with a full time academic job. However, we two, Mario and myself, have very much in common and I suppose this is why Mario has chosen me to follow him. (If anything, this is a daunting task in my book. Taking over from Mario.) We both are passionate about teaching and new ideas, we love writing including letter and e-mail writing and we love challenge. So here I am.
Mario, thank you for everything you have done to give HLT its present role, voice and shape. I can only promise that I will do my best to keep up your brilliant work. I wish you all the best in the many projects you have in mind and I hope you will remain a regular contributor to HLT. I lift a glass of the best wine to you.
Messages from HLT Readers
Editorial note: Usually your letters are published in the Readers Letters section. However, this is a very special hand-over issue of HLT so I have decided to publish some readers' letters to Mario and myself in this section. They express a strong sentiment, sum up the 7 years of HLT under Mario's leadership and in some way map out the future.
Dear Hania,
Congratulations to you! HLT is a great source of inspiration and support
to many of us teachers, and we wish it continued success under your
leadership. I've been a long-time subscriber of HLT and a one-time
contributor. I will try to be a better contributor in the future.
Change is all around us now, and particularly noticeable as April
approaches. We see its inevitableness in the days growing longer, plum
blossoms appearing and graduations being planned. So, as much as some of
us would like some things never to change, to keep the eternal
springtime of the HLT with Mario, we know it, too, must change.
Yes, changes can be hard, but there is a richness in the unsettlement
that change causes. It gives reason to reflect on the value of what we
are letting go. It's good to be grateful and appreciative. So, I'd like
to thank Mario for his hard work, and his generous mind - always willing
to share his ideas. The way he can float ideas and connect people is
really amazing. Also, I want to thank him for his boundless energy in
seeking the truth about teaching and learning. Finally, I want to thank
him for the child in him that is still expressed in his writer's voice -
his humor, his freshness, and his refusal to conform just for the sake
of it.
Maybe I'm expressing the feelings of other teachers, as I remember the
beginnings of HLT. Seven years ago it seemed to be created out of
nothing but dreams. A small magazine suddenly materialized in
cyberspace, connecting teachers around the world with a "Pilgrims"
experience and it was wonderful! It takes a lot of courage to sculpt a
new project out of nothing!
Sending best wishes for continued growth in HLT,
All the best,
Alice Svendson
Tokyo, Japan
Dear Hania,
I don't know who you are, but if Mario has selected you to take over,
you must be special! (…)
Claire Ozel,
twice contributor and a great fan of Mario's.
Welcome Hania!
With so many dehumanizing notions by school administrations, it is nice to know that one group is countering this cancer. Welcome aboard. Be ready for a struggle, but the fate of so many is at stake.
All the best of luck in your new post,
Harold Surguine
(co-author of Coast to Coast;
EFL teacher in the Paris region)
What's in this issue?
In this issue you will find both articles submitted to Mario or commissioned by me. I can assure that I will do my best to please contributors who have submitted their articles to Mario and I hope they will eventually see their articles published in HLT. Mario has handed over to me a substantial body of articles, letters and addresses. I have already contacted some of you either touching base or asking for articles, or both . If you are among those whom I have not contacted yet, it means I will soon. Also if you would like to take the initiative or you are new to the magazine and you think you would like to publish in HLT please write to me at hania.kryszewska@pilgrims.co.uk.
In the present issue of HLT in major article 1: Personalising Language, Silvia Stephan shares her insights and ideas regarding humanistic classroom practice. She writes about the importance of relating to the learners' experiences, the choice of topics, materials and how to tap into their inner selves and emotions.
Major articles 2 and 3 develop the role of a 'humanistic' classroom and they take a look at the classroom atmosphere, learner motivation and humanism from a different perspective. Paul Bress in his article Creating Happiness and Well-being in TEFL focuses on ways of making our learners feel good in our lessons and puts personalisation, which Silvia writes about, into a broader context.
Anna Turula in The Relationship between Language Anxiety and What Goes on Between the People in the Classroom presents results of her research on what causes language anxiety, an anxiety which can seriously hamper learning. Basically Anna and Paul look at the same problem from different angles. There will be more on language anxiety in the next issues as Elaine Horwitz, quoted in Anna's article, has promised a contribution.
But angst or no angst there is probably no classroom in this world without some sort of discipline problems which may affect the overall classroom atmosphere. In her article : Channelling Negative Classroom Behaviour into Positive Learning in the EFL Classroom, Elzana Habte-Gabr offers some great ideas and tips. Humanism and discipline can go together, we can even talk about humanistic discipline.
Perhaps an ultimate solution to the issue of discipline is not to go into the classroom at all and still learn and teach English. In her article: Away from Hustle and Bustle… Phone Classes in Brazil, Susan Marcus presents an innovative idea which you might try out.
Finally, it is always important to find out what students feel and experience their end, hence two ideas for getting feedback : Tribal Democracy by Caroline Hislop and Haiku for Getting Feedback by Hanna Kryszewska.
Continuing the topic of stress, fear or anxiety in the classroom, what springs to mind is testing and assessment. Christophe Ruehlemann in major article 3 : Rating and Writing: Two Sides of a Coin? presents the results of his research into the effectiveness of assessment. The role of assessment, fair criteria and school rules are also touched upon by Béatrice Boufoy-Bastick in her article The Dark Side of ESL Assessment. She writes about an administrative mishap and reflects on its consequences; a mishap which actually yielded data for mini research. Food for thought…
The good news is that we keep revising and reforming the ways we assess and test not only the learners. After all teachers are tested as well. In her article The TKT - Teaching and Knowledge Test, Clare Harrison introduces us to a new professional test for teachers. Some time ago a colleague in Poland shared her recent discovery with me and showed me some samples of the TKT test. Both of us were impressed and we were inspired to revise our ways of pre-service testing. I am very happy to be able to present some information about the TKT test in this issue. Who knows? Perhaps one day you may administer or take a test confirming your or other people's teaching qualifications. It is teacher friendly …
On the subject of teachers themselves, in this issue three authors share with us their own stories or stories of other teachers. Lou Spaventa in his article: The Heart of the Matter tells us the uplifting story of Santiago Jacksson, while Bianca Tino shares her own story with us in A Baby Teacher at 47 Also I would like to welcome a voice from 'the other side' which is not 'from down under' or 'from the grave'. In fact it is a voice from the other side of the English Channel. In her article English from the Other Side Elizabeth Anne gives us a French perspective on teaching English.
But, of course, there are students voices too, this time from Turkey and Slovenia. They write about their trips into new realms, journeys of discovery so to speak. In A Voice from Turkey Çigdem Nakilcioglu discovered the world of disability and blind people and in Never Tired of London a group of Slovenian students discovered London.
In this issue you will find 5 articles aimed mainly at young learners. In Meaning from Words and Meaning from Visual Design, Andrew Wright gives us, as usual, useful tips on drawing and layout. (Almost 25 years ago Andrew taught me on a British Council course in Nottingham how to draw stick-people. In those days they were stickmen but now we are politically correct. So many years later my students and trainee teachers marvel at the way I can draw anything. Drawing a safety pin is my forte! Thank you Andrew.)
Relating to the YL topic there are some NLP based Activities for Pupils with Different Learning Styles from Songul Erdogan. More tips come from Luciana Floripa in Hands Outand Tatiana Kistanova in Finger Games.
As for teaching children and culture, or social behaviour, you will find article on using metaphor to overcome barriers and prejudice when working with children. Literature for Children - Working With Metaphorsby Eliana Pacheco Ferreira brings us back to well-being in a class or group on a social and cultural level.
NB. There will be some more Young Learners' focus in HLT. I hope Carol Reed will write something for us soon. So dear Greek Reader ( see: Readers Letters) do not feel concerned any more. .
There is something you will enjoy no matter how old you are, that is playing with colourful rods, holding colourful rods, moving colourful rods, learning with colourful rods ( Oh, well …. and some charts and a pointer to complete the kit). In Book Preview John and Suzana Pint present a sample of their book Discovering the Silent Way. Don't miss the words of Caleb Gattegno himself.
In Corpora ideas I would like to welcome Paul Davis who shares his ideas on using the Corpus in a very simple and practical way. He offers a pedestrian approach in Naïve use of a Corpus: A Tale of Three Tries. Those who find concordances and the lot overpowering, may get inspired and will be encouraged to use the Corpus after all. We hope to get more ideas along similar lines. However, Michael Rundell's fan club will be happy to hear that Michael will again contribute soonish…. And there are some more authors ready to share their ideas on DDL - Data Driven Learning.
Last not least, in this issue we have contributions from a 'first timer' and 'an old boy'. The 'first timer' is Kasia Kuzma in Poetry Writing Competition and Teacher Writes Poetry . The 'old boy' or rather 'old boys' feature in Get your Students to Tell You a Story. I am very happy to welcome Mario as a contributor to my first issue of HLT. I am sure his strong humanistic voice will be with us on a regular basis. The ideas and recipes presented in the article on story telling are the more precious as they come from this absolutely unique duo: John Morgan and Mario Rinvolucri. John is no longer with us but his ideas keep inspiring.
I hope you will enjoy reading this issue of HLT.
Hania
Happy 20th Birthday!!!
This year The Teacher Trainer Journal (TTTJ) is celebrating its 20th Birthday. The journal has been relaunched with new features and with a new design. Take a closer look! Tessa Woodward, who has been editing TTTJ since the very first issue, will continue to edit the magazine maintaining its superb quality. You may be pleased to read that there are plans for HLT and TTTJ to tighten cooperation. You can be an HLT reader and a TTTJ reader and a contributor all at the same time. Once again Happy Anniversary TTTJ.
Thank-you note
I would like to thank:
Mario Rinvolucri for entrusting me with his 'HLT baby' and his generous support,
Paul Davis for his encouragement and help,
Jim Wright and Simon Marshall for their insights and long phone calls,
Mary Ganesan who puts up the HLT on the web and puts up with me,
All of you who responded to my new role in such a positive way,
Last not least…
Julia and Maria, my daughters, who did not mind me not cooking a few dinners and being a preoccupied Mum.
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