Training Course For ELT Writers Series

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. Tips, checklists and practical tasks with detailed keys will guide you through the decisions you need to take and the pitfalls you need to avoid. The module provides an invaluable bank of question stems and rubrics that you’ll come back to time and time again. By the end of the module you’ll have everything you need to write your own watertight comprehension activities. This module forms part of the ELT Teacher 2 Writer training course. The training modules are designed to help you write better ELT materials, either for publication, or simply to improve the quality of your self-produced classroom materials.

What is Critical Thinking (CT)? What is a Critical Thinking approach? Why is it relevant and helpful in ELT? A buzzword in ELT materials-development, CT takes comprehension to another level. Encouraging students to read between the lines, separate fact from opinion, identify aims, etc, deepens their understanding and awareness of how an author has used language to convey a message or develop an argument. Thinking critically requires the student to engage more intensely and make the language more memorable. 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 module you will be able to identify appropriate CT activity types for different texts and write them. Paul then gives examples of activities that claim to fall into the category of CT, but actually do not. This module forms part of the ELT Teacher 2 Writer training course. The training modules are designed to help you write better ELT materials, either for publication, or simply to improve the quality of your self-produced classroom materials.

Sue Leather has been writing ELT Graded Readers for well over 20 years and in this engaging and informative module she shares her experience for others to learn from. Sue starts with an overview of the Graded Readers market which helps the reader of this module to think about who the target audience is. She then moves on to look at the preparation and research that goes into writing a Graded Reader, including tips for approaching publishers with your work. In the section entitled ‘The Skills of Writing’ Sue unpacks the skills required for crafting both an original Graded Reader and an adaptation of a classic, constantly reminding the reader to keep a balance between a good engaging story and an appropriate level of language input. She also includes a section on the drafting and editing stages which are so key to working with a publisher. Punctuated with tasks (with full commentaries) to get the reader thinking about the Graded Reader genre, this is a practical guide to writing for an interesting, and growing, sector of the English Language Teaching materials market. Sue’s enthusiasm for the genre is inspiring. This module forms part of the ELT Teacher 2 Writer training course. The training modules are designed to help you write better ELT materials, either for publication, or simply to improve the quality of your self-produced classroom materials.

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. The writer needs to address these criticisms at the same time as working within the bounds of what learners can realistically handle. In this ebook John Hughes takes a look at the theoretical and practical issues involved in writing audio and video scripts for ELT materials; provides helpful suggestions for writing them, applying techniques used by writers for theatre and film, and encourages the writer to think critically about their script writing. Punctuated with examples from published materials, tasks and accompanying commentaries, John shares his experience and tips for best practice for creating scripts your learners will want to listen to. This ebook forms part of the ELT Teacher 2 Writer training course. The training ebooks are designed to help you write better ELT materials, either for publication, or simply to improve the quality of your self-produced classroom materials.

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. He encourages the reader to think about the audience and their expectations. He then unpacks the process of writing a talk, going into considerable detail about the structure of the talk, the look of the slides, and some very useful technical tips for embedding audio and video. He then moves on to the nerve-racking business of delivering the talk. As well as flagging up pitfalls to avoid, Lewis also includes personal reflections and hard-learned lessons from some seasoned ELT practitioners to help us find our own voice and deliver the best talk we can. For anyone thinking about giving a talk in any context, this eBook is a must-read. This eBook forms part of the ELT Teacher 2 Writer training course.

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. What’s the best way to approach a publisher with an idea? What’s the publisher looking for? What happens once you’ve been commissioned and what happens to your manuscript once you’ve handed it in? These and many other questions are answered clearly and in detail from the publishers’ perspective. Janet demystifies the lengthy process of gathering information from the markets, producing a brief, commissioning authors and dealing with several drafts of a manuscript. She also describes different payment models you are likely to encounter when negotiating your contract. By the end of the module you will have all the information you will need to feel more confident when approaching a new publishing project. This module forms part of the ELT Teacher 2 Writer training course. The training modules are designed to help you write better ELT materials, either for publication, or simply to improve the quality of your self-produced classroom materials.

Vocabulary has gained its rightful place at the centre of modern language learning syllabuses, but how does a writer select which items to present and practise? Philip Kerr, an experienced teacher, trainer and coursebook writer, explains the importance of key criteria such as frequency, learnability and usefulness when choosing vocabulary items to focus on. Starting with an overview of theoretical and practical issues involved in writing vocabulary materials, he goes on to illustrate a wide range of practice activity types and also includes suggestions for dealing with the knotty issue of rubric-writing. Carefully constructed tasks are backed up with detailed commentaries which encourage readers to think critically about vocabulary materials in general. This module forms part of the ELT Teacher 2 Writer training course. The training modules are designed to help you write better ELT materials, either for publication, or simply to improve the quality of your self-produced classroom materials.

How to Write ESOL Materials by Kathryn Aldridge-Morris is the latest addition to ELT Teacher 2 Writer’s series of How To ebooks for ELT writers. The author considers the specific characteristics of a range 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 in all English-speaking countries, not just in the UK. There are activities and commentaries on developing resources for mainstream ESOL classes, ESOL museum resources, resources to support voluntary one-to-one ESOL sessions and prison ESOL. There are also sections on how to design online resources for learners with emerging digital literacies, and on creating materials that are inclusive. It’s an informal and practical guide to materials development that uses case studies, anecdotes and interviews with practitioners, as well as academic research, to suggest a plethora of creative ideas for writing materials for publication, and for the classroom. Along the way you’ll discover nuggets of information, such as what it means to be ‘ghosted’ in prison, how women ward off post-natal depression in traditional Palestinian culture and how you should respond if a Brazilian gives you a ‘yellow smile’. All royalties are being donated to the Refugee Council.

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. The importance of a good Teacher’s Book shouldn’t be underestimated – it’s the key to successful delivery of the student’s material, effective classroom management, and much more. Ros brings her experience of writing ESP Teacher’s Books, and breaks down the additional requirements for teaching situations where the teacher might not be a content expert in the students’ field of work or study. As with all the ELT Teacher 2 Writer modules, this ebook includes tasks, commentaries and a glossary of terms. This module forms part of the ELT Teacher 2 Writer training course. The training modules are designed to help you write better ELT materials, either for publication, or simply to improve the quality of your self-produced classroom materials.

Who better to write about planning a coursebook than Lindsay Clandfield, lead author of the award-winning Global series, and member of the author team for the successful Straightforward series? Lindsay describes different approaches to Coursebook planning, including his own highly individual method of writing different elements of a course on colour-coded Post-it notes, and moving them around until he’s happy with the result. Throughout this practical book, Lindsay constantly draws on his own experience, resulting in an engaging account of a potentially dry subject. Starting with an outline of different types of syllabus, Lindsay compares traditional and modern approaches, goes into more detail about what is involved in building a syllabus and sets up practical tasks which guide the reader through the thinking process involved in planning a syllabus. In his characteristically upbeat way, Lindsay ends his book with a look into the future, and makes the point that whatever the format of delivery, courses will still require planning. This book forms part of the ELT Teacher 2 Writer training course. The books are designed to help you write better ELT materials, either for publication, or simply to improve the quality of your self-produced classroom materials.

People sometimes think that writing is not as relevant as it used to be, because our students now spend so much time online that the traditional writing tasks and text types seem outmoded. However, although it is true that most people don’t handwrite as much as they used to, the growth of online activity means that we are generally writing much, much more than we did. So, writing is, in fact, a vital 21st century skill which needs to take a central role in any set of learning materials. In this eBook Rachael Roberts, experienced teacher and ELT materials writer, outlines the issues specific to creating writing activities. She describes a variety of tasks focusing on different aspects of writing, ranging from a focus on purpose and organisation to specific language features. She also provides step-by-step instructions for analysing and writing a good model text. Having examined how to write a series of activities and model texts, this practical eBook focuses on the logical staging of the activities, and concludes with a discussion of some considerations if you are writing for digital media. Throughout the eBook, practical tasks and task commentaries invite you to think about the issues highlighted and try out the activities for yourself. This eBook forms part of the ELT Teacher 2 Writer training course. The training modules are designed to help you write better ELT materials, either for publication, or simply to improve the quality of your self-produced classroom materials.

Learners of English are often reluctant to open their mouths and speak, and in turn, teachers around the world worry about trying out speaking activities in their class in case they grind to a halt. Who better then than Sarah Cunningham, co-author of Cutting Edge, to share her experience of writing speaking activities in this book. Sarah focuses on setting the students up to succeed. In order to do this, the writer has many things to consider: 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 potential problems that could bring the activity to an untimely halt. An Activity Bank doubles up as a reference as you work through the tasks in the book, and as a useful list to refer back to when you’re writing your own speaking activities. This book forms part of the ELT Teacher 2 Writer training series. The series is designed to help you write better ELT materials, either for publication, or simply to improve the quality of your self-produced classroom materials.

CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) 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. Is the syllabus driven by the language or the subject? How can you support the linguistic demands without watering down the subject content? How can assessment avoid penalising students who are good at the subject, but weaker at English? Once you can answer these questions, you’ll be able to develop materials that, according to recent research, help learners not only outperform their non-CLIL peers in English, but also in science, maths and even in their mother tongue. This book provides: - dozens of illustrative examples from published CLIL materials. - guidance on liaising with other departments. - reflective tasks and suggested answers. - a checklist to evaluate the CLIL materials that you’ll create. This book forms part of the ELT Teacher 2 Writer training course. The course is designed to help you write better ELT materials, either for publication, or simply to improve the quality of your self-produced classroom materials.

In this book Fiona Mauchline examines the many challenges involved in writing successful material for the secondary classroom. Before getting down to practical suggestions and ideas, of which there are many, Fiona provides much food for thought in the form of a fascinating look at the teenage brain and the different stages of cognitive development. She then considers the implications of this on the choice of topics and types of activity that work best for this age group. A rich resource for anyone wishing to write better secondary materials.

Writing for Primary is, as you may imagine, creative and fun. But don't make the mistake of thinking that primary materials are easier to write than more ‘dense’ materials for teenagers or adults. This is not the case, and multi-talented author 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. Variety is important for young learners and Kath provides a useful list of activities that work well for primary. She then goes into detail about writing stories, games and songs. Tasks throughout the book give you a chance to write your own activities and compare them with Kath’s published materials. This book forms part of the ELT Teacher 2 Writer training course. The training modules are designed to help you write better ELT materials, either for publication, or simply to improve the quality of your self-produced classroom materials.

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. He starts with a guide to the kind of issues that writers/trainers need to discuss with the client at the beginning of a project and stresses the importance of understanding the particular needs and expectations of a company. He goes on to describe techniques for researching discourse practices within a company: for example, recording and transcribing, work shadowing, interviews and anecdote circles. He then shows how to interpret the data gathered, and feed it into the writing process. With the help of practical tasks and case studies of materials-writing projects Evan Frendo has been involved in, this module provides an invaluable guide to producing corporate training materials that will teach the employees the English they need, and delight all the stakeholders. This module forms part of the ELT Teacher 2 Writer training course. The training modules are designed to help you write better ELT materials, either for publication, or simply to improve the quality of your self-produced classroom materials.

John Allison is well-placed to share his expertise in the Business English teaching and writing world. He has been teaching Business English for longer than he cares to admit, and he is the author of two editions of the best-selling course ‘The Business'. In this ebook, his aim is to provide a set of practical activities that he would have welcomed when he started out. 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.

Pronunciation is the super-power of ELT! So say Laura Patsko and Katy Simpson, co-authors of this eBook which sets out to give teachers and materials writers the tools for writing pronunciation activities, both receptive and productive. Laura and Katy remind us of the importance of integrating pronunciation into any set of materials, making it a routine part of a lesson rather than a special occasion, or add-on. The authors also emphasize the need to vary pronunciation activity-types, and provide clear instructions for writing a range of different activities that go beyond ‘listen and repeat’. 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. Finally, the ‘Useful Resources’ section at the end will be of invaluable help to all materials writers.

We are living in a video age – and so are our students. In 2014, 300 hours of video content was uploaded to YouTube every minute. Video has become so widely accepted as the optimum medium for getting information, that YouTube is the second largest search engine. This module looks at how we can use this ‘medium of choice’ to teach English. With such an embarrassment of riches, the question ‘Where do I find video?’ has been replaced with ‘How do I choose appropriate video?’ Kieran Donaghy and Anna Whitcher lead you through this minefield, providing essential guidance on how to choose exploitable video for the purposes of writing video activities for the ELT classroom. They share their knowledge of the best sources of high-quality video and discuss criteria for selection, such as syllabus fit, language level, length, relevance and task potential. Once you’ve chosen a great video, they’ll show you how to write a variety of activities to exploit it. Kieran runs the award-winning website Film English, and is also the founder of The Image Conference. Anna is an ELT writer, editor and video producer. This module forms part of the ELT Teacher 2 Writer training course. The training modules are designed to help you write better ELT materials, either for publication, or simply to improve the quality of your self-produced classroom materials.

Inductive or deductive? Theoretical, descriptive or prescriptive? Comprehensible input or pedagogical grammar? Graham Burton and Diane Hall explain the basic differences between these terms and delve more deeply into the approach favoured by most coursebooks. This practical guide walks you through the most suitable approaches for different learning scenarios and examines what constitutes best practice for writing grammar presentations and practice materials. This book provides: •a theoretical overview of grammar and the different positions taken by ‘grammar experts’ on its role in language learning. •an exploration of the factors you need to consider when deciding what approach to take. •descriptions of numerous resources that the grammar writer needs to refer to. •detailed checklists covering the characteristics of good grammar presentations and practice, and different activity types to explain form and use. •practical tips for writing rules, explanations and rubrics. •tasks that encourage you to test out what you’ve read and detailed commentaries that provide further hints and insights. This book forms part of the ELT Teacher 2 Writer training course. The course is designed to help you write better ELT materials, either for publication, or simply to improve the quality of your self-produced classroom materials.

What do ‘inclusive materials’ look like in the context of ELT? This practical and informative book examines four main considerations (identity, representation, media and voice) before discussing the two basic approaches to writing inclusive materials: usualization and disruption. Tyson leads you to understand the differences between these two approaches by digging into their defining aspects and providing examples, reflective tasks and a rich resource of useful links for further reading. By the end of this book, you will have developed a principled approach to creating inclusive materials as well as an ‘inclusive lens’ to critique published materials. This book aims to: - define what it means to be inclusive in the context of marginalized groups and why this is important for everyone. - raise awareness of factors that impact our ability to create inclusive ELT materials authentically. - establish guidelines and approaches for materials writers. This book forms part of the ELT Teacher 2 Writer training course. The course is designed to help you write better ELT materials, either for publication, or simply to improve the quality of your self-produced classroom materials.

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. Sections on worksheet genres, rubrics, level, timing and copyright issues show you what goes into writing different kinds of worksheets. These issues are exemplified through carefully selected published worksheets. Practical tasks with detailed keys and tips help you to write your own worksheets to the same professional standards. By the end of the book you’ll have all the tools and information you need to write worksheets that really work. This book forms part of the ELT Teacher 2 Writer training course. The course is designed to help you write better ELT materials, either for publication, or simply to improve the quality of your self-produced classroom materials.

There are many good reasons to use authentic texts in your ELT materials: authentic texts are usually more engaging for the learner and crucially they show language as it is really used in the real world. In this book, best-selling ELT author, Sue Kay, speaks from her own experience of teaching and writing general English materials to guide you through the stages of choosing a topic, selecting a text and then adapting it for your learners. This book aims to: - identify the key features of authentic texts that can sometimes be inadvertently lost in the process of adaptation for the ELT classroom. - teach you simple strategies for adapting and simplifying authentic texts without losing the engagement factor. - introduce you to corpus-informed tools that will help you identify word frequency and strong collocations, and make you a rigorous writer. This book forms part of the ELT Teacher 2 Writer training course. The course is designed to help you write better ELT materials, either for publication, or simply to improve the quality of your self-produced classroom materials.