MaWSIG blog
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Latest posts
Writing digital ELT materials
In this post, Laura Broadbent and Billie Jago, who run Otterelt (a digital ELT agency providing digital content expertise and editorial services to leading publishers and educational institutions), summarise the presentation they gave at the MaWSIG Showcase at the...
Decolonising ELT materials: Challenging Western supremacy and processes of othering, using the example of Africa
In this post, Lena Hertzel summarises her presentation at the MaWSIG showcase during the IATEFL conference in Harrogate in April. In her talk, Lena focused on the problematic representations of Africa in ELT coursebooks, and offered guidelines for materials writers to...
Moving away from a one-size-fits-all approach when using prescribed ELT materials
In this post, Susanna Schwab from the Bern University of Teacher Education, who trains pre-service primary school teachers to teach English as a foreign language, summarises the main points of her talk at the IATEFL (2023) MaWSIG Showcase in Harrogate. Her talk...
Immersive learning experience design for language learning in virtual reality
With an increasing interest in virtual reality for education and the developments around the metaverse, Nergiz Kern is often asked by publishing and teaching professionals what makes good learning experiences in virtual reality (VR) and how to write lesson plans for...
I am not a taboo: LGBTQIA+ in the ELT classroom
In this post, Peter J Fullagar (he/him) writes about the workshop he led at the 56th IATEFL Conference in Harrogate (2023) as part of the MaWSIG Showcase day. I am one of the growing number of open LGBTQIA+ ELT professionals making noises about representation in...
The MaWSIG PCE Warm-up Webinars: Self-publishing
The first of our PCE Warm-Up webinar series, ‘Self-publishing ELT materials’, was led by Walton Burns. Based on his experience running his own indie publishing company, Walton guided the audience through the steps of self-publishing. Below are some of the questions...
Conference countdown: What do you do to get conference-ready?
The IATEFL conference and PCE days are approaching fast. Are you starting to think about it? If you are a freelancer involved in materials development, a conference is an ideal opportunity to promote yourself. After all, if we don’t tell people about our amazing...
MaWSIG meets TESOL Spain: The what, the why and the how of writing a teacher’s book
As part of our ‘MaWSIG Meets’ webinar series, Annie Altamirano of TESOL Spain led the webinar ‘MaWSIG meets TESOL Spain: The what, the why and the how of writing a teacher’s book’. This post answers some of the questions that emerged during her talk. Q: Over the years...
MaWSIG Showcase 2022: What I talk about when I talk about coursebooks
In this blog post, Julie Norton and Heather Buchanan (MaWSIG Coordinator) share a short video where they talk about the presentation they gave during the MaWSIG Showcase day at the IATEFL 2022 conference in Belfast. https://youtu.be/Iox-2dnzIj4 Julie Norton is...
Women in coursebooks now and then: how representation has changed (MaWSIG Showcase day 2022)
In this post, Elaine Hodgson writes about a study conducted by herself and Viviane Kirmeliene into the representation of women in coursebooks, presented at the 55th IATEFL Conference in Belfast (2022) as part of the MaWSIG Showcase day. When we consider our role as...
MaWSIG PCE 2022: What does a picture researcher do, and how has picture research changed over the last 15 years?
In the second post in our series Looking back at the MaWSIG PCE, Belfast 2022, Sharon McTeir shares a summary of her presentation. In my talk at the MaWSIG PCE in Belfast this year, I talked about the following aspects of my...
MaWSIG PCE 2022: Bridging a 30-year gap in materials writing
In our first post in the series Looking back at the MaWSIG PCE, Belfast 2022, Sue Kay writes about her presentation in which she shared an insightful account of her thoughts and experiences as she prepares to update and self-publish materials that she originally wrote...
Joining the MaWSIG Committee
In this series of three posts, we ask our new committee members to share their thoughts about why they chose to join the MaWSIG committee. The second post comes in the form of an interview with Heather Buchanan, Joint Events Coordinator (and soon-to-be MaWSIG...
Joining the MaWSIG Committee
In this series of three posts, we ask our new committee members to share their thoughts about why they chose to join the MaWSIG committee. The first post comes from Sandy Millin, Deputy Tech Coordinator. I've been a member of MaWSIG on and off since it first started...
Self-publishing in ELT: ensuring quality through the editorial process
The last decade has seen an explosion of self-publishing in the ELT world, which has created a multitude of exciting opportunities for teachers to become content creators and to produce more relevant, niche or localised materials. In a survey I conducted a few years...
MaWSIG PCE: Bring your ideas to life using mood boards – Colin Morton
This is the fifth of our summaries from the IATEFL MaWSIG Pre-Conference Event, which was held online on Friday, 18 June 2021. In his talk, Colin Morton looked at a key aspect of ELT publishing which is not often discussed: the role of mood boards in...
MaWSIG PCE: 50 ways to avoid gap-fill fatigue
The second session of the day was a practical presentation by John Hughes on why we write gap-fill exercises, how we can write them more effectively, and how we can make them more interesting. Here’s a brief summary of John’s presentation with links at the end to...
MaWSIG PCE: Strategies to survive overwhelm
This is the third of our summaries from the IATEFL MaWSIG Pre-Conference Event, which was held online on Friday, 18 June 2021. In her talk, Rachael Roberts gave us some tips to avoid and deal with overwhelm – that feeling you can get when you’ve taken on too much....
MaWSIG PCE: Scope and sequence design – A top-down or grassroots approach?
This is the second of our summaries from the MaWSIG IATEFL Pre-Conference Event, which was held online on Friday, 18 June 2021. In her talk, Frances Amrani weighed up the pros and cons of a top-down versus a grassroots approach to scope and sequence design. This...
MaWSIG PCE: Covert syllabuses
On Friday, 18 June 2021, MaWSIG held its 2021 IATEFL Pre-Conference Event online. We were very happy to be able to offer a great line-up of presentations and networking events, and to welcome participants from around the world. The first session of the day was a...
Meet MaWSIG webinars: Re-inventing the green wheel
Katherine Bilsborough and Ceri Jones report back on one of the areas that provoked discussion in their webinar, Re-inventing the Green Wheel, which they presented as part of the Meet MaWSIG webinar series. On 15 January 2021, we led a webinar on the topic of writing...
Meet MaWSIG webinars: From general to specific – Materials for EAP vocabulary teaching
In this post, MaWSIG Joint Events Coordinator Clare Maas follows up on some of the questions that were raised in the Q&A session at her Meet MaWSIG webinar. The recording of the webinar is available here. The first few minutes of my talk are not included in the...
Understanding sources and permissions – a simple guide
In this post, Lottie Galpin shares her knowledge and experience as a writer and editor on the tricky area of sources and permissions. Something that often comes up when I’m working on ELT materials is the issue of sources and permissions. The ins and outs of what you...
Meet MaWSIG webinars: To be or not to be (tokenistic)
In this post, MaWSIG Coordinator Aleksandra Popowski summarises the talk she gave at the first in the series of our Meet MaWSIG webinars. According to the Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary, tokenism refers to ‘actions that are the result of pretending to give advantage...
Meet MaWSIG: Behind the scenes – Deputy Publications Coordinator
Next in our Meet MaWSIG series, Penny Hands, Deputy Publications Coordinator, tells us how she came to join the SIG. My MaWSIG story started back in 2013, when the SIG was founded. Our first get-together was at a drinks reception at the Liverpool IATEFL conference....
Meet MaWSIG: Behind the scenes – Events Coordinator
In our latest post in the Meet MaWSIG series, Katherine Bilsborough, one of the three Joint Events Coordinators, tells us how she came to join the SIG. Why did you take the plunge? I joined the MaWSIG committee as one of three Joint Events Coordinators in May, 2018....
Meet MaWSIG: Behind the scenes – Technology and Social Media
In our latest post in the Meet MaWSIG series, Jen Dobson, the Technology and Social Media Coordinator of MaWSIG, tells how she came to join the SIG. It's an honour to be a volunteer as part of the MaWSIG team. From university days, I've always been active on...
Dealing with distractions
In this guest post, Rachael Roberts looks at the reasons why it's so easy to get distracted, and offers some possible solutions. How easy do you find it to focus on your writing work? The answer to that question probably depends on two main factors: first, what...
Meet MaWSIG: Behind the scenes – Publications Coordinator
As the newest member of the MaWSIG committee, I still feel I’m very much a newbie – and really enjoying it. I joined the committee in September last year, when James Styring stood down from the role of Publications Coordinator, and I joined Penny Hands and Nick Tims...
Meet MaWSIG: Behind the scenes – SIG Coordinator
In our second post in the Meet MaWSIG series, Aleksandra Popovski, the coordinator of MaWSIG, tells how she came to join the SIG. When I first joined MaWSIG in 2016, it never occurred to me that I would one day be the Coordinator. I decided to join MaWSIG after...
Meet MaWSIG: Behind the scenes – Online Events
This is the first post in a new series of blog posts, Meet MaWSIG, where members of our committee will introduce themselves and talk about their work and experiences on the committee. We start with Clare Maas, Joint Events Coordinator. Our MaWSIG coordinator, Aleks,...
IATEFL Global Get-together 2020 – Inclusive ELT materials: Q&A
As part of the recent IATEFL Global Get-together held on 18–19 April, five SIGs came together to discuss the issue of inclusion in materials writing. The five SIGs were IPSEN SIG, represented by Dr Anne Margaret Smith, YLT SIG, represented by David Valente (also...
MaWSIG Panel webinar: Making materials that reflect the realities of marginalised groups
On 23 February, 2020, we held the last webinar in the MaWSIG meets series. Our three speakers, Heloisa Duarte, Varinder Unlu and Adam Scott, analysed a range of ELT materials to highlight ways of making diverse learners and their realities more visible. They focused...
Making good materials for everyone, everywhere, no matter how much money they have: Q&A
In this blog post, Margarita Kosior and Linda Ruas answer questions that were raised in the Q&A section at the end of the MaWSIG meets Global Issues SIG webinar. The webinar was held on 25 January, 2020. You can find a recording of the webinar here. Linda...
Taking control of your workload instead of letting it control you
In our third and last post of three reporting on sessions at the ELT Freelancers’ Awayday conference held in Oxford in January, Claire Hart talks about how freelance writers and editors can take control of their workload. The theme of the conference was ‘Raising our...
Ideas for ‘Raising our Game’
In our second post of three reporting on sessions at the ELT Freelancers' Awayday conference held in Oxford in January, David Baker and Fiona MacKenzie share some insights from a survey they recently conducted. The theme of the conference was ‘Raising our Game’, and...
Reconnecting with your inner teacher
In this post, James Styring summarises a talk he gave at the ELT Freelancers’ Awayday, an annual conference for editors of ELT materials held in Oxford, UK, on 25 January 2020. The theme of the conference was ‘Raising your Game’, and in the first of three reports from...
Moving away from exams dominance in YL materials: Q & A
In this blog post, Wendy Arnold and Shelagh Rixon answer some of the questions that were raised at the MaWSIG meets YLT SIG webinar, Moving away from exams dominance in YL materials. The webinar was held on 15 November 2019. You can find a recording of the webinar...
Making Business English materials that reflect learner realities: Summary and Q&A
In this post, John Hughes shares a summary of his MaWSIG meets BESIG webinar, Making Business English materials that reflect learner realities, and follows up on some of the questions that were raised in the Q&A section at the end. The webinar was held on 6...
MaWSIG in Malta: The Three Es of Materials Writing
In our third post from the Malta ELT conference in October 2019, Aleksandra Popovski discusses the purpose of ELT materials. In my plenary at the 8th ELT Council Malta Conference, I talked about the purpose of ELT materials, i.e. the three Es of...
Making materials on topics that are excluded from mainstream coursebooks: Q&A
In this blog post, Ilá Coimbra and James Taylor follow up on some of the questions that were raised in the Q&A section at the end of the MaWSIG meets TDSIG webinar: Making materials on topics that are excluded from mainstream coursebooks, which was held on 11...
MaWSIG in Malta: This post will make you gay (or your materials anyway)
In the second of our mini-series of blog posts following the 8th Malta ELT conference, Tyson Seburn explores the representation (or lack of representation) of LGBTQIA2 themes in published ELT materials. This post was first published on Tyson’s blog, 4C in ELT, on 31...
MaWSIG in Malta: Where do you get your ideas from?
In the first of our mini-series of blog posts from the 8th Malta ELT conference, Rachael Roberts explores where materials writers find inspiration. The Malta ELT conference was held over the weekend of 18–20 October 2019. The author Neil Gaiman once said: Doctors are...
Introducing the Malta MaWSIG mini-series
Over the weekend of the 18–20 October, two members of the MaWSIG committee, Aleksandra Popovski and Jen Dobson, took part in the 8th ELT Malta conference, where both the Materials Writing SIG (MaWSIG) and the Inclusive Practices and Special Educational Needs SIG...
IATEFL MaWSIG PCE 2020 – Practical tools and tricks of the trade: sharing our expertise
We are delighted to announce our line-up of expert authors, syllabus-creators, designers and editors for the 2020 pre-conference event at IATEFL in Manchester. We’ve organised a day packed with practical advice from experts in all areas of ELT materials writing. There...
So many Englishes webinar: Q&A
In this blog post, Karen Spiller follows up on some of the questions that were left unanswered in the Q&A section at the end of the recent joint TESOL Association MWIS and MaWSIG webinar: So many Englishes! What does this mean for writers and publishers? The...
Hidden identities and silenced voices
Following our customary August break, David Valente kicks off the new blogging season with a thought-provoking reflection on hidden identities and silenced voices in published English materials for primary learners. If any primary-aged child learning...
Writing in Japan
In the third and final blog in our mini-series of posts from ELT writers based in non-Anglophone countries, Marcos Benevides shares his perspective as an EFL teacher, writer and innovator based in Tokyo. As an economically developed nation that invests heavily in...
Writing in Portugal
In the second of our mini-series of posts from ELT writers based in non-Anglophone countries, Vanessa Reis Esteves shares her perspective as an EFL coursebook writer based in Portugal. The Portuguese are generally thought to love football, ‘fado’ (a typical...
Writing in the Middle East
In the first of a series of posts from ELT writers based in non-Anglophone countries, Gary Pathare lifts the lid on writing for the most elusive of markets. What makes the region unique? The fact that this series of blog posts (about writing in specific regions)...
How to create interactive online tasks
The last of our summaries from the MaWSIG Showcase at IATEFL in Liverpool 2019 comes from Jill Hadfield. In this post, Jill outlines the principles behind creating effective and motivating online tasks and proposes a six-step procedure for teachers to follow when...
Integrating soft skills into materials for early years
This week will see the end of our run of summaries from the Forum on Research informing materials writing at the MaWSIG Showcase at IATEFL in Liverpool 2019. In this penultimate post, MaWSIG’s own Jen Dobson explains why soft skills are essential in materials for...
An evidence-based re-evaluation of second language listening pedagogy
Our posts this week all come from the Forum on Research informing materials writing at the MaWSIG Showcase at IATEFL in Liverpool 2019. In today’s post, Dr Jane Ward and Associate Professor Colin Campbell discuss a new approach to teaching and materials design for L2...
Corpus and CLIL: a possible integration?
Our posts this week all come from the Forum on Research informing materials writing at the MaWSIG Showcase at IATEFL in Liverpool 2019. In today’s post, Andréa Geroldo dos Santos shares her research findings about the extent to which corpora should be used in the...
Materials design in English teacher education: a neglected and dumbed-down craft
Every year, the Special Interest Groups within IATEFL are invited to curate a day of talks related to their area of special interest. At MaWSIG’s Showcase on 4 April in Liverpool this year, our choices included four talks that formed part of a Forum on Research...
Adapting museum education resources for language learning
In our third post written by speakers at the MaWSIG Showcase at the annual IATEFL Conference on 4 April in Liverpool, Sylvia Karastathi discusses how we can use museum resources to open new doors in materials development. Within a new communicative landscape where...
IMAGINE
In our second post written by speakers at the MaWSIG Showcase at the annual IATEFL Conference on 4 April in Liverpool, Rob Howard encourages us to put dreams into practice by becoming successful independent authors. Using the old philosophical question of ‘If a tree...
What (SLA) principles are reflected in your classroom materials?
Every year, the Special Interest Groups within IATEFL are invited to curate a day of talks related to their area of special interest. At MaWSIG’s Showcase on 4 April in Liverpool this year, we shone our spotlight on eight fascinating talks. The first four were part of...
How graded readers are commissioned
To end our series of posts covering the MaWSIG-LitSIG joint Pre-Conference Event in Liverpool on 1 April 2019, and following on from yesterday’s blog about how to write graded readers, Andrew Dilger and the OUP ELT design team designed a poster showing how Oxford...
How to write graded readers (a.k.a. Get paid to write fiction)
For the penultimate post in our series covering the sessions at the MaWSIG-LitSIG joint Pre-Conference Event in Liverpool on 1 April 2019, Christien van Gool has summarised the last talk of the day: Helen Holwill and Nicola Prentis spilling the beans on writing graded...
Shakespeare for language and literature students: choosing texts and extracts
In the seventh of our posts covering the MaWSIG-LitSIG joint Pre-Conference Event Creative Arts and Materials Writing in Liverpool on 1 April 2019, Christina Klein Wolf and Edward Wolf describe how they design materials for teaching Shakespeare in the classroom. The...
Five leaves from the books of great writers
In the seventh of our posts covering the MaWSIG-LitSIG joint Pre-Conference Event Creative Arts and Materials Writing at IATEFL in Liverpool on 1 April 2019, Cheryl Palin shares five highlights from her fascinating talk about taking inspiration from past masters. If...
The art of it all: paintings to inspire your materials
In the fifth of our posts covering the MaWSIG-LitSIG joint Pre-Conference Event Creative Arts and Materials Writing in Liverpool on 1 April 2019, Hania Krystyna Bociek discusses the importance of bringing art into the classroom and how she creates materials to make...
Ali and the Long Journey to Australia
To start our second week of blogs covering the MaWSIG-LitSIG joint Pre-Conference Event in Liverpool on 1 April 2019, we’re publishing a poster designed by Michelle Worgan. Michelle was the winner of a competition organised by MaWSIG and GISIG (the Global Issues SIG)....
Teachers Doing It For Themselves
In the third of our posts covering the MaWSIG-LitSIG joint Pre-Conference Event in Liverpool on 1 April 2019, Alan Pulverness describes a project that enabled teachers to use literature in classrooms at all levels. BritLit was a British Council project devoted to...
Language BLANK literature: from conjunction to preposition
In the second of our posts covering the MaWSIG-LitSIG joint Pre-Conference Event in Liverpool on 1 April 2019, David Crystal explains why for him, language and literature are not opposites but in fact two sides of the same coin. For me, the enjoyment and study of...
The MaWSIG-LITSIG PCE 2019: Creative Arts and Materials Writing
For those unable to attend the MaWSIG-LitSIG joint Pre-Conference Event in Liverpool on 1 April 2019, and to refresh the memories of the 95 people who did, MaWSIG is publishing several posts over the next fortnight recapping each session. To outline what’s in store...
Writing ELT material for learners with dyslexia
Awareness of the need to provide materials that cater for students with dyslexia is growing – but how do we do that properly? One size does not fit all, as Jon Hird explains. A longer version of this is going to appear in the ETAS Journal, Summer 2019 special...
The ‘What about …’ webinars Q&A: Leo Selivan
In the last webinar Q&A post in the ‘What about …’ series, Leo Selivan follows up on some of the questions that participants asked during his recent webinar, What about writing vocabulary activities? You can watch a recording of his webinar here. If you attended...
Taking a leaf out of the books of great writers?
Cheryl Palin gives a few clues as to what she’ll be talking about in her Pre-Conference Event talk at IATEFL, 1 April 2019, Liverpool (UK). See who else is talking at the joint MaWSIG-LitSIG Joint PCE here. Tickets are available here. Whose advice will be featured in...
How to Write Graded Readers (a.k.a. Get Paid to Write Fiction)
Helen Holwill and Nicola Prentis preview their talk How to Write Graded Readers (a.k.a. Get Paid to Write Fiction), which they’ll be giving at the Pre-Conference Event at IATEFL, 1 April 2019, Liverpool (UK). See who else is talking at the MaWSIG–LitSIG Joint...
Creating theater materials for English learners
Alice Savage and Walton Burns give us a taste of what to expect from their Pre-Conference Event talk at IATEFL, 1st April 2019, Liverpool (UK). See who else is talking at the joint MaWSIG-LitSIG PCE here. Tickets are available here. In real life, people do not just...
The ‘What about …’ webinars Q&A: Dr Elaine Hodgson
In the penultimate webinar Q&A post in the ‘What about …’ series, Dr Elaine Hodgson follows up on some of the questions that participants asked during her recent webinar, What about writing Teachers’ Guides? You can watch a recording of her webinar here. Look out...
Listening materials: training, not testing
In our first blog of 2019, Sheila Thorn addresses the challenges of writing ELT classroom materials to accompany authentic recordings. I have been writing classroom materials to accompany authentic recordings for most of my ELT career and I am delighted to share some...
The ‘What about …’ webinars Q&A: Dr Catherine Walter
In the last ‘What about …’ webinars Q&A post of the year, Dr Catherine Walter follows up on some of the questions that participants asked during her recent webinar, What about writing grammar activities? You can watch a recording of her webinar here and you can...
The ‘What about …’ webinars Q&A: Henning Rossa and Karoline Wirbatz
In this post, Henning Rossa and Karoline Wirbatz follow up on some of the questions that participants asked during their recent webinar, What about creating CLIL materials? You can watch a recording of their webinar here. In their answers, Henning and Karoline discuss...
The ‘What about …’ webinars Q&A: Vicky Saumell
In this post, Vicky Saumell follows up on some of the questions that participants asked during her recent webinar, What about creating technology-enhanced materials? You can watch a recording at http://iatefl.adobeconnect.com/pilne01kpmil/. In her answers, Vicky links...
The art of task construction
Following Brian Tomlinson’s recent blog post about principles in materials development, Fiona Aish and Jo Tomlinson (no relation), set out the principles that they follow in designing and creating a task. Of all the myriad things that we teachers do, one is that we...
The ‘What about …’ webinars Q&A: Brian Tomlinson
In this post, Brian Tomlinson follows up on some of the questions that participants asked during his recent webinar, What about principles in materials development? You can watch a recording of the webinar here. The questions and answers are thought-provoking and...
Motivation and the freelance writer/editor
In the third of a series of summer blogposts on the MaWSIG website, we have a post by writer and editor Tania Pattison about staying motivated. It’s almost 4 p.m., and I haven’t done any work yet today. I’m sitting at my computer trying to motivate myself to work on a...
Getting into materials writing
In the second of a series of summer blogposts on the MaWSIG website, and following up on last month’s blogpost ‘Adventures in self-publishing’, teacher and writer Clare Maas outlines some ideas for getting started in writing. At our recent annual conference at Oxford...
Adventures in self-publishing
In the first of a series of summer blogposts on the MaWSIG website, teachers Lucy Holmes and Sharlene Matharu describe how they identified and filled a gap in the market. Who are you? Sharlene: We’re both teachers at the Lake School of English in Oxford. I’ve worked...
MaWSIG Pre-Conference Event, IATEFL 2018: Writing for the World
At IATEFL in Brighton this year, MaWSIG invited five speakers to talk at our Pre-Conference Event: Writing for the World. Read on for summaries of their talks by Damian Williams, Lizzie Pinard and Julie Moore. The five talks were: Marek Kiczkowiak: ELF and materials...
Should ELT writers refuse to write for certain markets?
There is now a greater awareness of the need to write for specific groups of learners; this is the theme of the upcoming MaWSIG PCE in Brighton. However, Paul Davies explores here the ethical dilemma writers face when asked to compromise their principles by writing...
Writing for learners with special educational needs
The MaWSIG PCE in Brighton features five talks on Writing for the World. Here, Romulo Neves introduces his talk on materials writing for learners with special educational needs. Writing for the ELT world is such a demanding task, especially if we take into account the...
Can resources meet all learner needs?
The MaWSIG PCE, to be held on 9 April in Brighton, features five writers speaking on different aspects of Writing for the World. Here, Julie Day previews her talk on materials writing for ESOL classes. More information about the PCE is available here. The ideal of...
Writing as a non-native English speaker in Brazil
In this post, Luiz Otávio Barros shares his experiences of writing ELT coursebooks as a NNES based in Brazil. This blog concludes Part I of our mini-series on writing ELT materials for different markets around the world. We will return with Part II in six months’...
Living and writing in Spain
Our series on writing ELT materials for different markets around the world now takes us to Spain, where Amanda McLoughlin shares her experiences. I came to Spain almost 20 years ago as a recently qualified and very naïve EFL teacher and settled in the cold and rainy...
Writing ELT materials in Morocco
This blog post is the latest in our series of posts on ELT materials writing around the world. Here, ESP writer Moundir Al Amrani looks at the state of ELT materials writing in Morocco. After reading some of the other blog posts about writing ELT materials in...
Germany 1:0 England – ELT Publishing in Deutschland
This post is the second in our series on working in ELT materials development around the world. Here, Clare Maas describes the situation in Germany. In Germany, there are just a couple of key local publishers (e.g. Cornelsen, Klett) who dominate the market alongside...
ELT publishing: Can the UK learn from the Canadian example?
This is the first of a series of blog posts in which ELT materials writers around the world share their thoughts on writing in specific countries. Here, Tania Pattison describes her experiences writing for a major publisher in Canada. The MaWSIG blog has recently...
Making the most of distraction
Our last post of the year is by Nick Beare, who discusses the use of distractor activities to help with problem-solving in writing. Most of us feel that getting distracted when we work is not a good thing. A quick search on Google throws up dozens of articles on the...
Pronunciation in coursebooks
In this blog post, Jonathan Marks explores the writing of materials designed to teach pronunciation. Coursebooks are a powerful influence on teachers’ professional awareness and practice – even, perhaps, for a lot of teachers, the most powerful agent of teacher...
And what about the research?
Our latest blog post is by Penny Ur, who discusses the need for materials writers to pay attention to research on language learning. I’ve just read Katherine Bilsborough’s blog entry ‘ELT materials writing: More on emerging principles’. I really enjoyed it and learned...
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
In this blog post, Jill Florent details her extensive experience of the evolution of ELT publishing – from process to product and working relationships. Manuscripts, typewriters and paste-ups Since my publishing career began in the late 1970s, I’ve seen a lot of...
If you want to write a gamebook … go to paragraph 400
When I was seven years old, I came across the most amazing thing. On the cover, it said, ‘A fighting fantasy gamebook in which YOU become the hero!’ It was The Warlock of Firetop Mountain by Ian Livingston and Steve Jackson, a gamebook where you played the role of an...
In my day, things were different! An old buffer* writes …
Our latest blog post is by Ken Wilson, who shares his thoughts on how the ELT materials writing world has changed over the last few decades. The MaWSIG blog features guest posts by members – please get in touch if you would like to write for us. I've been involved in...
Designing undergraduate course materials collaboratively
This is the latest of several previews of talks to be given at the upcoming ELTAM−MaWSIG conference in Skopje, Macedonia, on 30 September, 2017. Here, Mira Bekar introduces her talk. For more details about the event, click here. When I heard about the ELTAM−MaWSIG...
Materials writing for social justice: Mary and Max (2009) in the EFL classroom
This is the latest in our series of previews of talks to be given at the upcoming ELTAM conference in Skopje, Macedonia, on 30 September, 2017. Here, Elena Ončevska Ager discusses film as an inspiration for materials writing. For more details about the event, click...
Designing teaching materials to confront modern-day slavery
This is the next of several previews of talks to be given at the upcoming ELTAM−MaWSIG conference in Skopje, Macedonia, on 30 September, 2017. Here, Margarita Kosior and Despoina Sarantidou introduce their talk. For more details about the event, click here. According...
More than a bit of fun: creating engaging and useful video-based materials
This is the second of several previews of talks to be given at the upcoming ELTAM−MaWSIG conference in Skopje, Macedonia, on 30 September, 2017. Here, MaWSIG Coordinator Rachael Roberts introduces her talk. For more details about the event, click here. You’ve probably...
Shortcuts to effective materials writing
This is the first of several previews of talks to be given at the upcoming ELTAM−MaWSIG conference in Skopje, Macedonia, on 30 September, 2017. Here, MaWSIG Publications Coordinator James Styring talks to author John Hughes talks about his presentation. For more...
ELT materials writing: More on emerging principles
Here, Katherine Bilsborough offers new insights on a theme she first discussed on the MaWSIG blog last autumn – the topic of principles for materials writers. The MaWSIG blog features guest posts by members – please get in touch if you would like to write for us....
Schema raising through storytelling and anecdotes
Our latest blog post is by Chris Mares, who shares his experiences writing short stories for use in class. The MaWSIG blog features guest posts by members – please get in touch if you would like to write for us. Throughout my career I have always found there to be a...
The trainee material writer’s perspective
In the previous blog post, MaWSIG interviewed Jane Spiro about training teachers on the Oxford Brookes MA module in materials development. In this follow-up post, we hear from two teachers who took the course. They talk about their experiences of learning to write...
Training teachers to write materials on an MA TESOL
In this post, John Hughes meets Jane Spiro, a lecturer on the MA TESOL at Oxford Brookes University and TESOL programme leader until 2016. John interviews her about the new module in ELT Materials Development. The MaWSIG blog features guest posts by members – please...
Upcoming webinar: How to publish your own materials − from writing to publishing to marketing
In this post, Nik Peachey introduces his upcoming webinar with MaWSIG. I had been thinking about writing a book for years. A few times I put together proposals for books and expectantly sent them off to publishers, only to be disappointed. Even more times I started to...
Optimising the author–editor relationship
This week’s blog post is the second in our series of posts based on talks given at the MaWSIG PCE in Glasgow. Here, Penny Hands shares the results of her research into the relationship between authors and editors. The MaWSIG blog features guest posts by members –...
How to be a lean, mean writing machine
The 2017 MaWSIG Pre-Conference Event was held in Glasgow on 3 April. This post, by Daniel Barber, is the first write-up of several talks given in the PCE. Here, Dan talks about the process of writing and describes his experience of working with a coach to increase his...
MaWSIG Pre-Conference Event – summary on Sandy Millin’s blog page
Blog posts by the MaWSIG Pre-Conference Event speakers will be appearing on our site in May, but for those of you who weren’t able to attend the April 2017 PCE, this post by MaWSIG member Sandy Millin is a brilliant recap of the day’s talks.
The story of a reader: 16 years, 5 publishers, 1 book!
Our latest blog post is by Richard MacAndrew, who urges readers not to lose hope if a project takes a while to find a publisher. The MaWSIG blog features guest posts by members – please get in touch if you would like to write for us. Seventeen years ago I started...
Writing for a specific sociocultural context
Rhiannon Sarah Ball describes her approach to writing materials for NGOs. At a time when ELT is dominated by learning technologies, solutions, outcomes and meta-tables, it’s easy to forget that sometimes education can’t be measured. Working with ELT in...
Writing Business English materials to promote gender equality
Following last week’s blog post on Writing to promote gender equality, we turn our attention this week specifically to writing Business English materials. Claire Hart shares her experiences working with Business English materials and outlines the shortcomings she...
Writing to promote gender equality
This blog post is the first of two pieces on the topic of gender equality in materials writing. Here, Emily Hird discusses the need for awareness of gender issues in materials writing and gives some advice to writers. The MaWSIG blog features guest posts by members –...
Questions from the MaWSIG Meetup in Trier, Germany
Our latest blog post is a piece by Clare Maas, in which she describes the MaWSIG Meetup she hosted in Trier, Germany. The MaWSIG blog features guest posts by members – please get in touch if you would like to write for us. Please also contact us if you are interested...
How not to write … ‘really rotten materials’
This post is an abridged version of an article by Peter Viney. It first appeared in Modern English Teacher in July 2006 and was subsequently posted on Peter’s own website. It was a reply to an article in MET by Neil McBeath, ‘How to Write Really Rotten Materials’, in...
Meet the panelists
The online event on 18th February at 1600 GMT is a chance for you to ask a panel your materials development questions. You can add your questions here. Here are details of the four panelists: Vanessa Reis Esteves Vanessa Reis Esteves has been teaching EFL in Portugal...
Online event in February
To find out more about the panelists and how to put your questions to them, click here.
The MaWSIG PCE, Glasgow, Monday 3rd April 2017
We're pleased to announce the speakers and sessions for our pre-conference event in Glasgow in April. You can register for the PCE and conference here: http://conference.iatefl.org/my_conference.html Nuts and bolts: practical considerations for the ELT materials...
The MaWSIG eBook 2016 is coming soon to all members!
Members will be receiving a copy of our annual eBook compendium in the next few weeks. It brings together 2016’s guest blogs from this website in one smart volume. So you know what to expect, here’s an extract from the foreword to the book by James Styring, our...
Year-end reflections … and a few resolutions to start the New Year
In this final post of 2016, Tania Pattison reflects on her year as a freelance ELT writer and editor and looks ahead to 2017. The MaWSIG blog features guest posts by members – please get in touch if you would like to write for us. For those of us who are freelance...
MaWSIG at BESIG on Storify
Whether you missed the MaWSIG strand at BESIG Munich conference, or you want to relive every moment once again, MaWSIG's events co-ordinator Rachel Daw has compiled every tweet here for you to enjoy:...
Writing teacher resource materials
In preparation for the MaWSIG strand of talks at the next BESIG conference (click here for full details and registration), we’ve invited each of the speakers to give us a preview of their session. These previews will be appearing here until the Conference. John...
How to get started making awesome YouTube videos for your students
In preparation for the MaWSIG strand of talks at the next BESIG conference (click here for full details and registration), we’ve invited each of the speakers to give us a preview of their session. These previews will be appearing here until the Conference. Christina...
Practical writing tips for veterans and novices
In preparation for the MaWSIG strand of talks at the next BESIG conference (click here for full details and registration), we’ve invited each of the speakers to give us a preview of their session. These previews will be appearing here over the next three weeks. Mandy...
How to write like a lawyer or a marketer
In preparation for the MaWSIG strand of talks at the next BESIG conference (click here for full details and registration), we’ve invited each of the speakers to give us a preview of their session. These previews will be appearing here over the next three weeks. Jeremy...
Emerging principles for ELT materials writers
In this post, Katherine Bilsborough discusses the need for principles in materials writing and outlines some of her own principles and those of others. The MaWSIG blog features guest posts by members – please get in touch if you would like to write for us. Put your...
A massively different way of writing: making a MOOC
This post is by Genevieve White, who describes her experience writing a Massive Open Online Course, or MOOC, for the British Council. The MaWSIG blog features guest posts by members – please get in touch if you would like to write for us. Since setting out as an ELT...
Writing for a regional market
In this post, Canada-based writer Tania Pattison describes her experiences writing an EAP coursebook for a specific regional market. The MaWSIG blog features guest posts by members – please get in touch if you would like to write for us. Three years ago I received...
The learners that publishers forgot
This month Kathryn Aldridge-Morris outlines the specific language-learning needs of refugees and asylum seekers. The MaWSIG blog features guest posts by members – please get in touch if you would like to write for us. Around June, online ESOL forums start buzzing...
New Journal
MaWSIG is planning to publish an annual peer-reviewed academic journal entitled ELT Materials Review. The journal will seek to publish fair, well-researched, pedagogically informed reviews of English Language Teaching materials and empirical or theoretical articles on...
Where to start writing ELT materials
In this post, Moundir Al Amrani, a writer from Morocco and OUP/MaWSIG scholarship winner, shares his thoughts about getting started in materials writing. The MaWSIG blog features guest posts by members – please get in touch if you would like to write for us. As a...
An authoring tool wishlist
This month’s post is by Phil Bird, who imagines the perfect authoring tool for digital content. The MaWSIG blog features guest posts by members – please get in touch if you would like to write for us. An authoring tool wishlist It takes a skilful writer to produce...
Gaga’s grandma and garden clippings – or choosing themes for teens
This month Fiona Mauchline looks at writing for teenagers and the topics they prefer. The MaWSIG blog features guest posts by members – please get in touch if you would like to write for us. You have your new coursebook or project outline, or you want to design...
The voice of the teacher’s notes
This month we're pleased to publish a second guest post from John Hughes, who looks at ways to help teachers to use your materials. The MaWSIG blog features guest posts by members – please get in touch if you would like to write for us. The voice of the teacher’s...
MaWSIG at BESIG, November 2016
This year's BESIG Conference in Munich, Germany, will include a MaWSIG thread. Thank you for all the proposals we have received. The conference runs from Friday 4 November to Sunday 6 November and there will be a Materials Writing workshop or talk during every...