author Archives - LearnJam

In defense of meerkats

January 30, 2020February 25, 2014 by Laurie Harrison

Guest post by ELT publisher Janet Aitchison, in response to Steve Elsworth’s post, The monetary value of ELT authors.

Not all publishers think there is no place for writers in the digital future. The writers’ role and the means of remuneration will be different from what it was in the heyday of ELT publishing, no doubt, but any publisher worth their salt knows that however clever the software, however many bells and whistles it has, without well-written, motivating, fun content, students will not engage and will therefore not succeed.

Writing by numbers: The myth of coursebook creativity

January 31, 2020February 20, 2014 by Scott Thornbury

The second of a two-part series, by Scott Thornbury

Textbooks, generally speaking, don’t score high on the originality stakes. And for good reason.

Who ordered the McNuggets?

January 30, 2020February 13, 2014 by Scott Thornbury

The first of a two-part series, by Scott Thornbury

Learning linguistic items is not a linear process – learners do not master one item and then move on to another. In fact, the learning curve for a single item is not linear either. The curve is filled with peaks and valleys, progress and backslidings.

The Monetary Value of ELT Authors

January 31, 2020February 10, 2014 by Steve Elsworth

The world of ELT is becoming digital, and the age of the writer is over – or so we’re told. But is it? Steve Elsworth argues that publishers want to produce content on their own, but they don’t have the wherewithal. Will the future be the province of Boys With Toys? Will creativity be stifled by the Dead Hand of Publishing? And where is the small mammal that will revolutionise the teaching of ELT?