Congratulations to HLT Magazine for playing a leading role in the advancement of language pedagogy over the last quarter of a century !

Since its beginnings, HLT Magazine lived through the unfortunate transformation of language education from a craft into a commodity. As a response to this negative environment, HLT Magazine has proved a breath of fresh air with articles focused on the reality in the classroom situation where creativity is still the key to inspirational teaching and to successful learning. In other words, the publication has kept alive the dwindling respect for the values of pedagogical craftsmanship.

HLT Magazine is published by Pilgrims Teacher Training (which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year). It derives the name Humanising Language Teaching (HLT) from the strong belief among Pilgrims trainers that education cannot be standardised and packaged into a one size fits all; teachers should avoid pedagogic formulae in all its forms, and create or access individualised content that’s adapted to the individual learning styles of the pupils in front of them. The archives of HLT Magazine are a treasure trove to help teachers access imaginative tools to motivate their students and transform their relationship with the language.

Over many years, I have witnessed the evolution of ELT from an artisan sector dominated by educationalists passionate about pedagogy, to a commercially driven industry penetrated by the corporate world. Within this more standardised environment, HLT Magazine is proving a beacon of sunshine with its core purpose centred around steering language teaching towards the subject rather than the object. In other words, how do we, as teachers, direct our educational approach towards the development of the learner rather than the achievement of a syllabus?

What makes HLT Magazine unique is the multeity of content: it touches on all aspects of language teaching and language acquisition. By announcing events of interest to language teaching professionals in different parts of the world, the magazine plays a not so insignificant role in creating connections between like minded people. It also encourages personal development by listing CPD opportunities; the techniques and materials give teachers content for experimenting in the classroom. In short, HLT Magazine is a formidable bank of ideas and creative resources for the ELT community worldwide.

The emphasis on promoting articles to outline the principles of inspiring students is in total contrast with present day mindset in the education systems around the world which are dominated by a total reliance on syllabi and perpetual assessments associated with league tables.

HLT Magazine will continue to play an important role in the world of ELT in the next 25 years, despite or by virtue of AI, time will tell, by keeping its focus on the all-important H: humanistic teaching!

Pilgrims and the readers of HLT Magazine send their warmest thanks to Hania

 for editing this wonderful publication 

over all these years.