Dear HLT Readers,

Welcome to the August issue of HLT. For many of you it may be holiday time but for some it may be time of professional activity and development, like attending our summer  teacher training courses. Pilgrims trainers are very active at this time of the year delivering courses like the ones in Segovia, Spain. You can read more in Pilgrims Teacher Training in Segovia, Spain, 2024, by Phil Dexter, DOS of Pilgrims summer programme.

We are also getting  ready for conferences among others ECO: NEILAC Conference on Language, Ecology and Culture,  IATEFL Poland, TESOL France and the ELTOC Conference.

Also, those of you interested in materials writing may get inspired and take part in The MATSDA Materials Writing Competition 2024.

Now let’s move to the articles in this issue; from the Creativity Group, our regular contributors, we have the article called  Candles in the Dark by Lu Orza and Raja Jarrah. It shows how we can  celebrate the culture and creativity of young learners of English in Gaza and show solidarity in this time of extreme suffering. This is a fantastic example showing the impact that young learners of English such as these children in Gaza can have when they share their stories with the world. Note you can all join in.

From human suffering and plight we move to the main theme of this issue of HLT. ECO Issues as an HLT initiative started in HLT in April 2024. More of our ideas were published in June 2024. In this August issue you can find a road map, various activities and programmes offered by the British Council, presented in Climate Action in Language Education, by Alison Devine. Whereas in Green Standard Schools by Jonathan Dykes you can read about one such initiative and programme.

The are also two ECO lesson ideas: Inspirational Stories: Bringing Environmental Activists into the Classroom by Margit Szesztay, and English Coaching on the Subject of Global Environmental Issues by Emmanuelle Betham.

In the Humour section (Funny or Unfunny by Hanna (Hania) Kryszewska) you can read the author’s views and observations on whether cartoons about ECO issues are really funny and entertaining. When thinking about it, a quote from N. Gogol springs to mind: “What are you laughing at? You are laughing at yourself.” In the Poems section there is an ECO poem Let’s Regenerate! by Jocelyn Wright, while in the Golden Classics section you can find ECO songs: Climate Singing by Jeremy Harmer. I know that for some it may be a surprise to meet Jeremy as a music man.

Don’t  miss the Publications section with reviews of four publications: Introducing a New, Free-to-access E-textbook Based on the Sustainable Development Goals by Sue Robbins, Rhymed Reflection: Review of Francisco Gomes de Matos’s Book by Dat Bao, Leadership for Sustainability. Saving the planet one school at a time from Crown House Publishing and 50 Ways tHumanizing a Language Assessment Courseo Be a Greener Teacher  by Christpher Graham.

The Letters section in this issue could be called this time ECO News as there are  six inspiring letters with valuable information on ECO issues. Don’t miss it!

Apart from ECO issues there are other subjects touched upon in this issue of HLT such as: writing (Quelling the Monster: Calming Writing Anxiety in the English Language Writing Classroom, by Jimalee Sowell), evaluation of levels and testing (Developing and Validating the Level Descriptors for English as a Second Language Curriculum in Sri Lanka by W. A. M. Chapa Welagedara, S. A. D.Samaraweera, G. K. Verosha, The CEFR in Practice: Teachers’ Perceptions by Jean M. Jimenez, Ian M. Robinson, Ida Ruffolo, and Humanizing a Language Assessment Course by Vahid Nimehchisalem), well being (Social and Emotional Learning for Teachers: Enhancing Well-being and Classroom Success by Elly Setterfield), teachers’ experiences (Teaching ESL in Rural Hungary by  Joe Macpherson, and Lessons Learned Teaching Abroad Part 3 by Stephen Mullen) and many other.

Enjoy the August issue.

Hanna (Hania) Kryszewska

HLT Editor

Email: hania.kryszewska@pilgrimsteachertraining.eu

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