Met Editor

Stephanie Hirschman makes Shakespeare’s plays accessible to her students, using a video of The Taming of the Shrew, worksheets and online materials. Includes photocopiable materials. 

Authenticity in Materials Development for Language LearningEdited by Alan Maley and Brian Tomlinson Cambridge Scholars 2017 978-1-4438-7950-7 This book consists of a series of papers edited by Alan Maley and Brian Tomlinson, and stems from the MATSDA and University of Liverpool Conference on Authenticity and L2 Materials Development in June 2016. The chapters are designed to be of use to many and diverse readers, including teachers, materials developers and researchers, and the book’s aim is to be ‘academically rigorous’ but, at the same time, easily accessible.The book begins with an Introduction by Brian Tomlinson, and then has 14 chapters on...

Now in its fourth edition, how has such a popular title been improved since the third edition in 2005?

Vanessa Reis Esteves reviews Focus on Vocabulary Learning by Marlise Horst.

Richard Ostick champions an approach that puts lexis at the centre of learning.

John Potts charts the intricacies and idiosyncrasies, the contradictions and complications that make the English language so fascinating for teachers and teaching. In this issue, he discusses the way language ages.

Alan Marsh stages some successful vocabulary rescue strategies.

Michael Rundell examines the arguments.

Anita Rao Mysore and Felicia Lincoln help ELLs keep up to speed. 

Paul Bress takes a lively look at a speech function that may misfire.

Pictures play an important role in our lives – and our teaching of English. Some of the first books we encounter as children are largely made up of pictures, and we retain our love of the visual as we grow older.When we reach James Porcaro’s age, we may have the ability to look back at the bigger picture of our professional lives to see those aspects that have given our teaching the most meaning. In our main feature, James reflects on his 50-year career in education, and identifies seven facets that have had the most resonance for him.Jonathan Lee...

Daniel Barber and Duncan Foord advocate shifting the focus in the classroom away from teaching towards greater learner independence. In the second article of their series on learner coaching, they look at coaching learners in reading and listening.

Ee Loon Chwa explains how he brings texts to life.

Chris Payne reviews the research on testing and finds that as well as being a means of assessing what students have learnt, tests actually enhance and contribute to learning.

Helena Gomm reviews A Syllabus for Listening: Decoding