Issue 56 Editorial & Contents

Editorial There is something of a ‘Big Brother’ feel to this issue of ETp, with two articles exploring what it is like to observe and be observed while at work in the classroom. In our main feature, Jeremy Harmer describes the experience of filming teachers teaching and reports that although they were initially wary, the teachers ultimately found this to be a useful and helpful exercise. Their insights into what they did during their lessons and what effect seeing themselves in the classroom has had on their teaching now provides useful resource material for other teachers. Daniel Barber looks at the experience of classroom observation from the point of view of both the ‘watcher’ and the ‘watched’, whether they are experienced teachers, inexperienced teachers, teacher trainers, teacher trainees or authority figures from teaching institutions. He suggests ways in which the observation process can be made more productive and less threatening for everyone involved. With Henry Emery’s article, we are watching the skies. He explores the increasing importance of very specific language teaching in a world where language precision can mean the difference between life and death for millions of airline passengers. Terry Phillips, too, reappraises the whole question of specialised English teaching in one of several articles which contribute to the alphabet soup that is ELT. Watch out for MI, BE, NLP, ESP, EAP and even ENOP! Helena Gomm Editor MAIN FEATURE FILMING AND BEING FILMED Jeremy Harmer reflects on teachers’ fear of being filmed and finds that it may be unfounded FEATURES FROM ENOP TO EAP Terry Phillips argues for a re-examination of the way we teach academic English GROUNDHOG TASKS Margaret Horrigan sees repetition as a chance to get things right TEACHERS AGAINST METHODOLOGY Simon Andrewes takes issue with criticism about teachers’ uptake of new ideas PROGRESS FOR THE PROFICIENT Christie Murphy has a way to satisfy high-level students POETRY REVISITED Andrea Storr shows that even low-level learners can enjoy a moving poem IMAGES 8 Jamie Keddie proposes some practical YouTube activities PLANE ENGLISH, PLAIN ENGLISH Henry Emery pilots his students towards more perfect communication TEACHING YOUNG LEARNERS NEARLY DRUMMED OUT Edna Collins relates her experience with a potentially disruptive pupil TELL ME A STORY! Jeanette Corbett shares some suggestions for storytelling BUSINESS ENGLISH PROFESSIONAL NLP IN BE Marjorie Rosenberg extends the use of Neuro-Linguistic Programming to the business English classroom BE THROUGH MI Monica Hoogstad finds the theory of multiple intelligences applies equally to business students TEACHER DEVELOPMENT WATCHING AND BEING WATCHED Daniel Barber wants to make observation rewarding for both observer and observed IMPROVING THROUGH INTEGRATED WORKSHOPS Emilce Vela describes a teacher training project TECHNOLOGY DO YOU SKYPE? Peter Travis celebrates the many opportunities that online communication offers WEBWATCHER Russell Stannard finds fun sites for all ages REGULAR FEATURES PREPARING TO TEACH ... Less, fewer, least and fewest John Potts ACTIVITY CORNER: THREE ACTIVITIES FOR FORMAL AND INFORMAL WRITING Jon Marks ENGLISH ONLY, PLEASE! 2 Rose Senior IT WORKS IN PRACTICE REVIEWS