Met Editor

Ben Moorhouse creates a buzz around learning English.

Engaging Language Learners in Contemporary Classroomsby Sarah Mercer and Zoltán Dörnyei CUP 2020 978-1-108-44592-4My intended reading list for 2020 included Engaging Language Learners in Contemporary Classrooms by Sarah Mercer and Zoltán Dörnyei. The curve ball of Covid-19 confinement in Morocco not only meant that there was a delay in my receiving this book, but it also had me scrambling to learn how to teach university English courses online whilst actually trying to teach online. These challenges were synthesised with what I now consider a prophetic voice calling out in this pandemic wilderness: Mercer and Dörnyei’s book. The book was...

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 suggests that the position of prepositions isn’t something about which to get overexcited.

Sue Rosenfeld recommends a minimalist approach.

Nha Vu, Emily Edwards, Sovannarith Lim and Chiem Khang Mai explain what is involved in doing a PhD in TESOL.

David Heathfield uses a Tunisian tale about a trickster who traps a rich man with a supposedly magic mouse, to show how students can retell tales in online breakout rooms.

Louis John Rogers wonders how specific we should be.

Patricia Barzotti investigates whether Cooperative Learning techniques can promote communication and collaboration in large classes.

In our main feature, Richard McNeff's tales of weeping, traumatised students, classroom equipment crashing down on teachers’ heads and quizzes scuppered by over-enthusiastic colleagues are enough to strike fear into the heart of anyone about to enter the classroom, thinking that they’ve got it sorted.

This article asks what machine translation means for the future.

Peter Viney shares his experience of writing an adapted graded reader.

Laura Hadwin explains how she uses graphic organisers to help her learners gain a deeper understanding of the meaning and structure of the literature they are studying.

Gems, titbits, puzzles, foibles, quirks, bits and pieces, quotations, snippets, odds and end, what you will.

How polite do you come over in your email correspondence? Benjamin Dobbs offers some useful insights into this important communication skill.

How can we encourage our learners to watch videos before and after lessons? Find out why this app is both engaging and motivating.