Training teachers to be
writers
eltteacher2writer.co.uk
facebook.com/ELTT2W
IATEFL 2014
@ELT_T2W
How to register
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Who are we?
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Publishers registered to use
the database
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British Council CPD
Framework
Stage
1 Starting
Description
Trainee teacher of ESOL on an initial training course / Not yet qualified ESOL teacher / Volunteer
ESOL tutor / School teacher moving into ESOL sector
2 Newly qualified
- Qualified ESOL teacher in the first or second year of practice
- Recently trained EFL or school teacher with no experience within ESOL contexts
3 Developing
- Experienced EFL or school teacher without experience within ESOL contexts
- ESOL teacher beyond the newly-qualified stage, who needs to consolidate subject knowledge
and teaching skills; and deepen
4 Proficient
- Experienced ESOL teacher with evidence of further training and all-round competence, active
in keeping up-to-date professionally
- May have wider responsibilities, e.g. curriculum management and enrolment and assessment
5 Advanced
- Highly experienced ESOL teacher who is capable of advising other teachers on the quality of
their teaching
- Often has wider responsibilities and a specialist role, e.g. mentoring other teachers, working as
an external examiner
6 Specialist
- Sector expert who advises on policy and practice, experienced teacher trainer
- Likely to have specialisms, e.g. management, materials writing, early literacy and
methodology
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Non-ELT writing courses
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Journalism
Fiction
Poetry
Travel writing
Food writing
Historical fiction
Children’s books
Biography
Non-fiction
Self-help
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Guess the course!
Genre 1
Genre 2
• Pitching to publishers and the
joys of freelancing
• Shooting on location (or
borrowing a photogenic
kitchen)
• Working with stylists, props
and home economists
• Recipe writing for
professionals
• A practical guide to the right
lighting, lens and camera
• Cutting through spin and
cultivating sources
• Secret tools for using the
internet for in-depth research
• Interviewing under fire: How
to make contacts, and get
them to speak in difficult
circumstances
• Unlocking freedom of
information laws in Britain and
abroad
• How to unearth stories - and
prove them on television
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GENRE: ELT
• Core skills
• Market-specific
• Component-specific
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CORE
MARKET
COMPONENT
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Task 1: How ELT
publishing works
1 Publishing companies decide what type of materials they
are going to publish years in advance.
2 The best way to get published is to write a complete
manuscript and send it to an ELT publisher.
3 It is essential to have a Linguistics degree or DELTA if you
want to become a writer.
4 Publishing companies invest heavily in market research and
use the results to inform the materials they publish.
5 It doesn’t matter if a writer delivers a manuscript after the
deadline – there’s always room built into schedules to
accommodate this.
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What makes a good rubric?
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Rubrics checklist
• Make sure that the language of the rubric is less
complicated than the language that is being presented or
practised.
• Stick to a small set of words for your rubrics.
• Use the same rubric for all activities of the same type.
• If an activity can only be explained with a very long rubric,
it’s probably the wrong activity.
• Stage the parts of the rubric very carefully. Think hard
about which parts of the rubric should come before the
main body of the exercise, and which should come after.
Remember, too, that’s it’s sometimes a good idea to break
an activity down into two or more activities.
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Rubrics
1 In a recent survey, Finland and South Korea came top of the list of the best schools in
the world. Compare the photos. Talk about:
• the classrooms
• the students
• the atmosphere
2 Describe the people in the photo. Example: A is tall. B has got blue eyes.
3a What makes a good party? In pairs, put the ideas below in order of importance.
decoration food and drink furniture lighting music people a theme
3b What is the best or worst party you’ve ever been to? Tell your partner.
4 Write a profile of a company you know well. Use the profile above as a model.
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Examples of good rubrics
Rubrics that come before the main body of the exercise:
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Match the words in the box to the definitions.
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Complete the sentences with a word from the box.
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Label the picture with the words in the box.
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Match the pictures with the words in the box.
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Look at XXX. Match the words in bold to the definitions below.
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Match the words from column A with words from column B.
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Replace the words in italics with a word from the box.
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Choose the correct words to complete the sentences.
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Complete the sentences with the correct word.
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Complete the words by putting vowels (a, e, i, o, u) in the spaces.
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Put the words in the box into three groups.
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Put the text in the correct order.
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Complete the sentences in column A with a phrase from column B.
Rubrics that come after the main body of the exercise:
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Use a dictionary to check your answers.
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Listen to the recording to check your answers.
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Work in pairs. Compare your answers to exercise 0.
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Work in pairs. Ask and answer the questions in exercise 0.
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Work in pairs. Do you agree or disagree with the sentences in exercise 0?
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Change the sentences in exercise 0 so that they are true for you.
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What makes a good story for a
graded reader?
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Which is the better story?
Here are two possible story ideas:
1 A previously powerful, elderly king retires from office.
He trusts two of his three daughters, because they sound
convincing. The daughters strip him of all his authority
and degrade him.
2 A previously powerful, elderly king retires from office.
He goes to live with his eldest daughter and her husband,
and lives out his days playing with his grandchildren.
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Graded reader
checklist
THE SKILLS OF WRITING
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Language and story
Drama and premise
High stakes
Conflict and choice
Action
Characters
Dialogue
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NOT
What is a critical
thinking activity?
• A discussion activity that asks you if you
agree or disagree with something
• A pure comprehension activity, such as
labelling statements as true or false,
according to the text
• Identifying facts in a text and organising
them into a table or putting them into a
certain order
• Discussing the literal meaning of words or
phrases
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General comprehension vs
critical thinking
General comprehension
Critical thinking
• Ask comprehension questions
to identify the ideas presented
• Ask questions about the
meanings of certain items of
vocabulary
• Ask students to discuss if they
agree with the ideas
presented
• Get students to do a role play
based on the topic
• Ask why the author presents
these ideas
• Ask why the author chooses
certain items of vocabulary
• Ask if the author supports
his/her ideas with accurate,
relevant and fair evidence
• Ask students what an
alternative, reasonable
position could be
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Critical thinking activity
types
• Identifying the writer’s/speaker’s aims and whether they were
achieved
• Identifying the main argument and sub-arguments
• Evaluating whether the evidence provided supports these arguments
• Understanding the assumptions behind an argument
• Separating fact from opinion
• Inferring meaning
• Analysing how the organisation of a text affects its impact
• Recognizing different language techniques
• Comparing ideas in a piece of discourse
• Identifying what is missing or is superfluous
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Task 4: Critical thinking
1 Often a final paragraph gives a conclusion. Is that the function of the final paragraph
in this text? Or does it have another function?
2 The author argues that money is a poor motivator. Do you agree with her? Tell your
partner.
3 Look at these statements and say if they are true or false according to the text.
4 The author gives a detailed description of how a Camera Obscura works. Does he do
this a) to explain how the results are achieved? b) so you can make one yourself? or c)
to compare it with a modern camera?
5 Read the article and write down the events before, during and after the fire in the
correct order.
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Writer’s toolkit: style sheet
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Writer’s toolkit: template
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Writer’s toolkit: permissions
grid
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How to find us
www.eltteacher2writer.co.uk
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Twitter @ELT_T2W
IATEFL 2014