Welcome to Issue 39!

Welcome to issue 39 of the IH Journal and our first edition of 2016. It’s been the usual busy start to the year for everyone involved in teaching and we’re no different. We have a larger than normal issue for you this time and there have been some changes to the Special Interest Columns, so read on to find out what we’re up to.

This special edition of the IH Journal has a strong focus on writing and publishing ELT materials and includes a take-away supplement (remember them?) with all you need to know.  We’ve included a cross-section of the industry and so paint a reasonably complete picture of different aspects of ELT writing. Many teachers, and I was certainly one when I started in ELT, see publishing materials as only the ‘big publishers’ and the same names again and again; however, the field is much wider than this suggests and printed general English coursebooks are only a part of the whole industry. With this mind, Laura Phelps (full-time freelance writing), Ros Wright (specialist materials writing) and Julie Pratten (e-books and self-publishing) offer insight and advice into different areas of the market. We also have Neil Wood from Oxford University Press and Kirsten Holt form Macmillan Education answering teachers’ questions with detailed guidance on how to become a published writer and more. Last but not least, IATEFL PronSIG Coordinator Wayne Rimmer offers advice on creating pronunciation materials.

As well as bringing you insider advice on the world materials publishing in this edition, we have also seen some changes to the Special Interest Columns. Our aim with these columns is to offer expert opinion and ideas from specialists in each field and so I am delighted to welcome Jamie King (Teacher Training and Development), David Petrie (The Examinator) and Maureen MacGarvey (Academic Management) to the IH Journal fold. Sandy Millin now focuses on the best of the internet, and of course Kylie Malinowska and Shaun Wilden remain with YLs and Technology respectively. On a personal note, I am very happy to be collaborating with such an experienced team and hope that you find these columns are stimulating as ever.

In the last editorial, I mentioned we were looking for more contributions for our Younger Learners section and we were not disappointed! Kylie offers advice on how to work with VYLs, with more on classroom management from Yvette Phipps.  Katy Simpson introduces the world of Phonics and how it can be adapted for children learning English. Maria Conca looks at developing YLs’ speaking skills and Shay Coyne examines parental objectives in teaching YL classes. With teaching YL being such a large part of the global ELT market, I hope we can continue to include such a rounded YL section with each issue.

Finally, with twenty-two contributors overall, I cannot thank everyone individually here. Without such a good response to the call for papers, the hard work of everyone writing for us this time and the dedicated behind the scenes work from Alison Sturrock, we would be unable to publish work of the quality we once again include. I thank everyone who has written for this edition and encourage readers to do the same through contacting authors of articles you particularly appreciate.  I hope you enjoy reading this issue and please do get in touch if there is something you would like to see in a future edition or if you would like to contribute to either the IH Journal Blog or to the Journal itself.