New year, new start!
MaWSIG
January 8, 2026
17:00 UK time
To celebrate the start of 2026, MaWSIG would like to invite you for an hour of online networking. It’s a chance to get to know your colleagues and get ready for a new year of writing great materials.
From Practice to Purpose: Creative exam material adaptations
Marcela C. Danowski
January 21, 2026
11:00 UK time
Exam preparation courses often rely heavily on coursebooks and repetitive mock tests, leaving little space for creativity, engagement, or meaningful language use. In this webinar, we’ll explore how to adapt existing exam-focused materials to design richer learning experiences without losing sight of the skills students need for success.
I’ll share practical strategies to transform typical reading, writing, listening, and speaking tasks into opportunities for critical thinking, creativity, and authentic communication. Using real examples , we’ll see how small shifts in instructions, task design, or topic framing can foster deeper learner involvement while still aligning with exam rubrics.
Whether you're a teacher, writer, or editor, this session will offer hands-on ideas for making exam prep more purposeful and learner-centered — all while working with the materials you already have.
Bio
Marcela Cecilia Danowski is an English Language Educator, Teacher Trainer, and Conference Presenter based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She holds a BA in English Language, diplomas in Phonetics, Educational Management, and Curriculum Accommodations, and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Neuropedagogy. With over two decades of experience across primary, secondary, and tertiary levels, Marcela supports educators in designing more meaningful and engaging learning experiences. Marcela has presented at numerous national and international conferences and contributes articles to academic journals. Her work focuses on integrating critical thinking, creativity, and purposeful learning into English language teaching, particularly within the context of exam preparation. She is passionate about helping teachers rethink how they use existing materials to promote deeper understanding while meeting exam goals.
Marcela Cecilia Danowski is an English Language Educator, Teacher Trainer, and Conference Presenter based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She holds a BA in English Language, diplomas in Phonetics, Educational Management, and Curriculum Accommodations, and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Neuropedagogy. With over two decades of experience across primary, secondary, and tertiary levels, Marcela supports educators in designing more meaningful and engaging learning experiences. Marcela has presented at numerous national and international conferences and contributes articles to academic journals. Her work focuses on integrating critical thinking, creativity, and purposeful learning into English language teaching, particularly within the context of exam preparation. She is passionate about helping teachers rethink how they use existing materials to promote deeper understanding while meeting exam goals.
Beyond the Score: Writing Exam Prep Tasks that Stick
Elena Kapshutar
February 6, 2026
16:00 UK time
Much of our work as ELT writers involves developing tasks that prepare learners for specific exam formats, often with strict requirements around level, timing and structure. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the materials we create have to be bland, generic or easily forgettable.
In this session, I’ll explore how we can design listening and speaking exam preparation tasks that not only meet assessment goals but also leave a more lasting impression on the learner.
Drawing on recent examples from work on a C1-level high-stakes exam preparation materials, I’ll look at some specific ways to frame prompts, scripts and interactions so that they invite engagement, reflection, or a more personal response, without compromising the demands of the exam. The focus will be on practical and adaptable techniques that help make exam prep materials clearer, more memorable, and more human.
Bio
Dr Elena Kapshutar is a writer, editor and assessment specialist with a PhD in linguistics and over 15 years of experience in ELT as a teacher, examiner and teacher trainer. Most of her work focuses on exam preparation materials for a range of UK- and Europe-based publishers. She currently works across several platforms, languages and formats, including digital content. Based in Canada as a permanent resident, she is open tocollaboration on projects around the world.
Dr Elena Kapshutar is a writer, editor and assessment specialist with a PhD in linguistics and over 15 years of experience in ELT as a teacher, examiner and teacher trainer. Most of her work focuses on exam preparation materials for a range of UK- and Europe-based publishers. She currently works across several platforms, languages and formats, including digital content. Based in Canada as a permanent resident, she is open tocollaboration on projects around the world.
Self-Publishing ELT Materials
Dorothy Zemach
February 24, 2026
18:00 UK time
The rise of ebooks and print-on-demand paperbacks has made self-publishing possible for individual authors. Find out how to assess your work and ideas for self-publishing viability, and then learn what is involved in bringing a book to fruition. We’ll cover different ways self-publishers create covers, handle art and audio, arrange for editing and proofreading, and address marketing and sales. I’ll include best practices and commonly accepted conventions for 2025-2026.
Bio
Dorothy Zemach holds an MA in TEFL from the School for International Training in Vermont, USA. After teaching ESL for over 25 years, she now concentrates on writing and editing materials and conducting teacher-training workshops. Her areas of specialty and interest are teaching writing, teaching reading, academic English, testing, and humor. A prolific textbook author and editor, in 2012 Dorothy founded a micropress, Wayzgoose Press, that publishes educational materials as well as fiction and literary non-fiction. She teaches a 6-week course in self-publishing for ELT professionals every summer.
Dorothy Zemach holds an MA in TEFL from the School for International Training in Vermont, USA. After teaching ESL for over 25 years, she now concentrates on writing and editing materials and conducting teacher-training workshops. Her areas of specialty and interest are teaching writing, teaching reading, academic English, testing, and humor. A prolific textbook author and editor, in 2012 Dorothy founded a micropress, Wayzgoose Press, that publishes educational materials as well as fiction and literary non-fiction. She teaches a 6-week course in self-publishing for ELT professionals every summer.
From global to local: Writing materials teachers can actually use
Patricia Ibiapina
March 27, 2026
15:15 UK time
How can we write materials that truly support teachers working in underserved contexts? In this webinar, I will share insights from mentoring primary school teachers in Ladakh, India, where pupils learn English as a second language but have little exposure to it beyond the classroom. Many teachers had limited methodological training, so the success of lessons depended heavily on the adaptability and clarity of the materials provided.
Drawing on this experience, I will explore practical strategies for materials writers to make their work more accessible and impactful across diverse contexts. We will look at ways to:
- Embed cultural relevance while ensuring global intelligibility.
- Design flexible tasks for large and mixed-ability classes.
- Build in teacher support without overloading the page.
Participants will leave with practical takeaways for creating context-responsive materials that empower both teachers and learners.
Bio
Patricia Ibiapina is an experienced English teacher, trainer, and speaker based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She has been teaching English since 2006 and has extensive experience leading curriculum development, material design, and teacher training projects worldwide. Patricia has worked in higher education in Dubai and Angola, where she designed a full English programme syllabus, and she currently mentors teachers in India, supporting them in creating and adapting materials for young learners in resource-limited classrooms. She is also a Global Assessments Online Examiner for the British Council and regularly delivers workshops and talks at international conferences, including BrazTESOL, the ELT Council, and Cultura Inglesa Teaching Development. Her professional interests include materials writing, teacher development, and the role of context in shaping effective classroom resources. Patricia is passionate about empowering educators to adapt and design materials that are both practical and inclusive.
Patricia Ibiapina is an experienced English teacher, trainer, and speaker based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She has been teaching English since 2006 and has extensive experience leading curriculum development, material design, and teacher training projects worldwide. Patricia has worked in higher education in Dubai and Angola, where she designed a full English programme syllabus, and she currently mentors teachers in India, supporting them in creating and adapting materials for young learners in resource-limited classrooms. She is also a Global Assessments Online Examiner for the British Council and regularly delivers workshops and talks at international conferences, including BrazTESOL, the ELT Council, and Cultura Inglesa Teaching Development. Her professional interests include materials writing, teacher development, and the role of context in shaping effective classroom resources. Patricia is passionate about empowering educators to adapt and design materials that are both practical and inclusive.
You, the editor: Avoiding common task design pitfalls
Luiz Otávio Barros
May 26, 2026
13:00 UK time
Designing language learning tasks is not just about creativity; it also means following certain principles that are rarely addressed in teacher training courses. Since many of these principles only become clear through feedback from others, I’ll share some of the editorial feedback I’ve received over the years to show how to recognize and avoid common task-design pitfalls. With examples from different proficiency levels, I’ll demonstrate how small tweaks in wording, sequencing, or layout can make a big difference in learning outcomes.
Participants will take on the role of editor as we look at flawed samples (including some generated by AI!), try to spot the problems, and discuss possible fixes. They will leave the session with a checklist of red flags and some practical self-editing strategies they can use when creating their own materials.
Bio
Luiz Otávio Barros (MA Hons. in Applied Linguistics, Lancaster University) has been teaching, training teachers, designing language courses and writing ELT materials since 1990. Luiz Otávio has written dozens of coursebooks, including the best-selling Personal Best, published by Richmond. His latest release is The Academic Writing Lifesaver, available on Amazon.
Luiz Otávio Barros (MA Hons. in Applied Linguistics, Lancaster University) has been teaching, training teachers, designing language courses and writing ELT materials since 1990. Luiz Otávio has written dozens of coursebooks, including the best-selling Personal Best, published by Richmond. His latest release is The Academic Writing Lifesaver, available on Amazon.