Training Course For ELT Writers

How does a writer select which vocabulary items to present and practise in ELT materials writing? Philip Kerr explains the importance of criteria such as frequency, learnability and usefulness when choosing items to focus on. Issues are illustrated with activity types and tasks are backed up with commentaries to encourage readers to think critically about vocabulary materials in general.

No two English learners have the same requirements in the world of ESP. This book guides you through identifying what those requirements are, how to source and select authentic materials relevant to the students’ needs and write activities that improve their performance in English.

How often do writers get the chance to find out what goes on behind the scenes at the publishers’? Here we give you a rare chance to do just that. In this module Publishing Director Janet Aitchison draws on her experience of working at a senior level for several ELT publishers, and with many ELT writers, to give a comprehensive account of how ELT publishing works.

There’s more to writing ELT reading and listening comprehension activities than meets the eye! This module, written by experienced author Caroline Krantz, deconstructs and demystifies the process of writing the full range of great comprehension activities that really work.

What is Critical Thinking (CT)? What is a Critical Thinking approach? Why is it relevant and helpful in ELT? Paul Dummett gives examples of activities that promote a CT approach and makes suggestions for matching activity types with language levels. By the end of this book you will be able to identify appropriate CT activity types for different texts and write them.

In this engaging and informative module Sue Leather shares her experience for others to learn from. Starting with an overview of the Graded Readers market, she moves on to look at the preparation and research that goes into writing a Graded Reader, the skills required for adapting a classic and crafting an original, and tips for approaching publishers with your work.

Between them, Mike Sayer and Ros Wright have written numerous Teacher’s Books, so who better to demystify the process? In this module the role of the Teacher’s Book writer is examined, along with a detailed breakdown of all the essential elements that need to be included in an excellent Teacher’s Book.

EAP is a challenging area to write for, requiring a fine balance of academic input and English language analysis. In this book, experienced EAP author and teacher Julie Moore unpacks the craft of writing materials that are adapted to your teaching style, your students and your teaching context, looking at each skill in turn, and providing a thought-provoking read and practical guidance.

How are exam preparation materials different from general English language teaching materials? How can a writer construct exam-type tasks that test students’ abilities in the four main skills, as well as grammar and vocabulary? These are two of the questions Roy Norris answers in this book, sharing his wealth of experience gained over more than a decade of ELT writing.

If you teach English in a corporate context, or are a writer looking to create bespoke materials for specific clients, this module is for you. Drawing on twenty years of experience of writing language training materials for use in a corporate context, Even Frendo explores the issues that are unique to corporate training.

We are living in a video age – and so are our students. In this ebook Kieran Donaghy and Anna Whitcher help the materials writer choose appropriate video for the ELT classroom, and discuss criteria for selection such as syllabus fit, language level, length, relevance and task potential. Once a great video has been chosen, they’ll show you how to write a variety of activities to exploit it.

Who better to write about planning a coursebook than award-winning writer Lindsay Clandfield? Lindsay describes different approaches to coursebook planning, drawing on his own experience, resulting in an engaging account of a potentially dry subject. With practical tasks to guide the reader, Lindsay looks into the future, and makes the point that whatever the format, courses still need planning.

Audio and video scripts in ELT materials are often criticised for their lack of authenticity, overload of target language, dull characters and non-existent plot lines. In this ebook John Hughes shares his experience and tips for best practice for creating scripts your learners will want to listen to.

Worksheets are great! Teachers and students love them! They can be up-to-date, controversial, targeted to meet the needs of your students and lots of fun. But what makes a good worksheet? Experienced worksheet writer Karen Richardson takes you on a lively journey through the worksheet-writing process from having an idea to seeing the finished product.

In this title the author considers the specific characteristics of ESOL teaching and learning settings, and explores the implications of these for the development of learner-centred resources. The main approach to materials development takes the context-specific needs of learners as the starting point, and will be relevant to ESOL practitioners working with refugees and migrants.

Rachael Roberts, experienced teacher and ELT writer, outlines the issues specific to creating writing activities. She describes a variety of tasks focusing on different aspects of writing and provides step-by-step instructions for analysing and writing a good model text. She then moves on to focus on the logical staging of activities and some considerations for writing for digital media.

As ELT professionals, we may well be called upon to give talks at conferences, something which is way outside the comfort zone for many of us. In this practical eBook, experienced author and seasoned speaker Lewis Lansford has addressed the issues around preparing and delivering talks and webinars, encouraging the reader to think about the audience and their expectations.

Writing for Primary is creative and fun, but no easier than other types of material. Kath Bilsborough provides essential background information about the particular challenges of writing for this age group – an age when children are developing their cognitive skills at the same time as they are learning English.

Sarah Cunningham shares her experience of writing speaking activities. She guides the writer through identifying the purpose of the speaking activity, finding appropriate topics for the target audience, stimulating interest in the topic, providing a reason to communicate, making rubrics clear, providing key language or a model, and avoiding problems that could bring the activity to a halt.

In this ebook, John Allison's aim is to provide a set of practical activities that he would have welcomed when he started out as a materials writer. Through a series a carefully-constructed tasks, John shows how to create material that is relevant and appropriate for the Business English context, while keeping the balance between being serious and fun.

In this book Fiona Mauchline examines the many challenges involved in writing successful material for the secondary classroom. Including practical suggestions, tasks with commentaries, Fiona considers the implications of the development of the teenage brain on the writer's choice of activities and topics. A rich resource for anyone wishing to write better secondary materials.

Pronunciation is the super-power of ELT! Whether you’re writing for your own classes or for publication, this eBook will guide you in choosing an activity type, writing clear rubrics, staging the activity and extending it for homework or self-study.

Inductive or deductive? Descriptive or prescriptive? Comprehensible input or pedagogical grammar? Graham Burton and Diane Hall explain the differences between these terms and delve into the approach favoured by most ELT coursebooks. This practical book examines the most suitable approaches for different learning scenarios and examines what constitutes best practice for writing grammar materials.

CLIL materials are typically used in bilingual and international schools where school subjects are taught in the target language. This is an area of ELT that is difficult to publish global materials for and throws up a different set of challenges for the ELT writer. This book provides published examples, writing guidance, reflective tasks and a checklist to evaluate the CLIL materials