This article first appeared in Modern English Teacher in 2016 and was adapted from my book with Lindsay Clandfield, ‘ETpedia…
Do-it-yourself materials writing and self-publishing
This article first appeared in Modern English Teacher, 23 (2), April, 2014 so it’s a little dated in parts but still…
The inexact science of adapting an authentic reading text
Most teachers and materials writers use written texts from a variety of authentic sources. A CLIL or EAP teacher, for…
Working ‘with’ the course book, not ‘for’ the course book.
In the past I’ve given talks to teachers about how to use my course book ‘Life’ effectively with students. One…
Creating crosswords
Here are some tips on creating crosswords and writing the clues. You can also use three of the crosswords shown…
Planning the aims of your material
A ten-minute talk in which I share some ideas on planning goals, aims and objective so that the writing process…
Creating board games
Here’s a 5 minute video tip on writing and creating board games. After you have watched you might also want…
What is ETpedia Materials Writing?
I wrote ETpedia Materials Writing with Lindsay Clandfield. Here’s what the publisher Pavilion ELT says about it on its website:…
Ten ways to analyse an authentic text
The ability to take an authentic text and be able to turn it into something which you can use for…
Writing a realistic script
Balancing a script for audio or video with real features of speech and the need for the level to be…
ETpedia Materials Writing Book Review
The following book review of ETpedia Materials Writing was written by Brian Brennan and first appeared in Modern English Teacher Issue 28…
A checklist for writing teacher’s notes
If you want teachers to use your materials in class, then write a set of notes to accompany them. Here’s…
How will other teachers use your materials?
When you write materials for your own lessons, you can easily adapt them but when you write for other teachers,…
Using online text checkers
Analysing the level of the vocabulary in a text and using online tools to help you with this.
The voice of the teacher’s notes
Anyone who has used a coursebook has probably used the accompanying teacher’s book. It’s the how-to guide that lets you…
