Posts tagged elt
Do ELT course books still have a future?
May 25th
The answer to my question proved complicated, here are my presentation slides from the IATEFL Conference in Birmingham in April 2016, in which I revisited research into the future of the ELT coursebook that I started in 2010.
In my research I found printed coursebooks continue to be widely used, and the take up of digital alternatives has been slower than I predicted in 2010.
Teachers and students: online outside the classroom, offline inside the classroom.
[Publisher comment]
I also found that the publishing sector is struggling to make money from coursebooks and digital alternatives, as governments cut budgets, consumers expect content for free, and the result has been very challenging for people involved in the sector, particularly authors. There are some interesting developments and initiatives, but important pedagogical issues still need to be resolved.
IATEFL Election Update
Jul 15th
I was delighted to be elected as Chair of IATEFL’s Electronic Committee and look forward to working with committee members over the next 3 years. I will do my best to fulfil my election commitments:
• Review and streamline important online “customer journeys”
• Help SIGs with their websites and online coverage of SIG events
• Create a searchable archive of articles and videos from past events
• Help SIGs offer more webinars
• Continue to develop a network of conference and event bloggers
• Make all resources mobile friendly
• Use Social Media to generate more interaction with members as we are beginning to see on IATEFL’s Facebook Group (now 2000+ members)
• Extend access and interaction with Associates and the Wider Membership scheme.
I will work to ensure that our use of technology is flexible and responsive, so we can build a online presence and community that reflects the ethos of IATEFL and its members.
The Janus Moment in (BAL)EAP 2013
May 11th
Recently I attended BALEAP’s biennial conference at Nottingham University, which was a great opportunity to catch up with the world of English for Academic Purposes (EAP). I was there with Epigeum to meet potential clients and authors for its forthcoming English for Academic Studies courses. The conference theme was “The Janus Moment” in honour of the Roman god Janus, who presided over the beginning and ending of conflict, and thus war and peace. In this case, the organisers were less interested in war, more interested in the analogy of looking back at the development of EAP over the past 40 years, and also looking to the future with the growth of English as a medium of instruction in Higher Education, EAP is becoming an increasingly important area. The conference was busy, lots of participants and great sessions, which you can see from the conference programme, but I was only able to attend a few, More >
IATEFL Failure Fest
May 2nd
I’m ashamed to see how long it is since I last updated this blog, I’ve been busy on some very exciting e-learning projects, and working as a member of the IATEFL Conference committee. One of my highlights was working with Ken Wilson to organise the Failure Fest evening at the Liverpool conference, and reading the various reviews made me feel very proud. I was inspired to suggest the Failure Fest event after attending a similar event of that name organised by Nesta late in 2012, in which presenters shared their experiences of failure and learning in various educational contexts. You can see the video of our event at IATEFL Online.
Is there an app for getting language learners reading
Feb 14th
My Guardian Weekly article on the opportunity that mobile devices offer for graded readers is available in today’s issue. In the article I review the OUP “Bookworm” iPhone/iPad apps and discuss the opportunities and challenges that publishers face in making mobile versions of their graded reader titles.