Dear HLT Readers,

Welcome to the December issue of HLT. How the time flies… Another eventful year has gone by. In Pilgrims News you can read about Pilgrims teacher training courses, their professional and personal impact on teachers, teachers’ experiences and the Pilgrims ethos. 

There are also a lot of anniversaries to celebrate: 10 years of cooperation with Early Bird in the Netherlands, 20 years of HLT and 45 years of Pilgrims. The ELTForum will be a great way for us all to celebrate so reserve the dates…

There are some other deadlines to enter in your diary: 15^th December 2018 – the deadline to apply for the Bonnie Tsai Scholarship (for details check here) and  5^th February 2019 – the deadline for submitting your completed  Erasmus + application (for details check here). If you are successful, you can come to Pilgrims and experience one of our inspirational courses. J

I keep receiving emails with comments about the change in the organisation of the new HLT website. Indeed, it takes a while getting used to it. It took me a while, too. Also if your favourite text/s or your own text/s were published before August 2018, the links to them have changed, and are in the  http://old.hltmag.co.uk format . You will have to find the texts in the archive at http://old.hltmag.co.uk/prev.html and change the links in your records. I am really sorry about the inconvenience. I understand that whatever happened to HLT was the only way to save the archive while major changes to the site were taking place. The old system is not compatible with the new one so given the resources we have got this is the best we could do.

As for this issue there are over 25 articles to choose from, so let me just highlight some. The biggest number of texts focuses on being a teacher: The Good Teacher, the Metaphorical Tickle Trunk, and the Survival of the Fitter by Terence McLean, Why I Am and Am Not Just a Teacher: A Reflection on Teacher Identity and Classroom Emotion in Language Learning by Richard Pinner, Catalysts for Narrative Reflection from Other Fields by James W. Porcaro, The Power of a Successful Classroom… Principles to Live By by Lisa Ng, and  Language Policy: The Case of Hong Kong by Ivy Lai Chun Chun. The reflections and observations about being a teacher come from different countries and show different perspectives from which we can look at our profession.

Since Christmas is coming we have lesson ideas around this seasonal theme: Fairytale of New York – A Christmas Activity by Jamie Keddie, 10 Tips and Ideas for Your 'Christmas' Lessons from Etpedia, and Teaching a Classic American Short Story for Christmas:  O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi” by Bill Templer.

Readers interested in using technology will enjoy: Digital Self-access Materials for Inclusive Picture Dictation Games by Elisa Bertoldi, Power Points by Robin Usher, Meeting the Needs for Computer-based Testing at University Level by Carmen Argondizzo, Jean M. Jimenez and Ian Michael Robinson, and Language Learning Technologies: A Study by Letizia Cinganotto.

There are also articles for those who teach young learners creatively: Creativity and Student-made Materials in Elementary EFL Classes: A Reflection on Practice by Roxy Lee and Stewart Gray, Life is a Journey. A Creative Project by  Milka Hadjikoteva, and Poems as Creative Writing Activites for ESL Students by Mihaela Schmidt.

Don’s miss two sections in this issue of HLT: Publications with information on some exciting and inspiring new titles, and Golden Classics  with a contribution from Mario Rinvolucri.

Enjoy the December issue of HLT. The February 2019 issue will celebrate 20 years of HLT with contributions from friends and associates of Pilgrims and HLT. Until then…

 

Best

Hania Kryszewska

HLT Editor

Email: hania.kryszewska@pilgrims.co.uk