Our line-up for the 2014 JALT International Conference in Tsukuba

The MW-SIG has a wonderful programme lined up for the National Conference in Tsukuba this year. We are delighted to be sponsoring a featured speaker in conjunction with Macmillian and IPI.

UPDATE: Schedule for the Conference

Miles' 'Writing for ELT': Sat 22 at 13:20-14:20 in room 102
AGM: Sat 22nd at 15:35-16:35 in room 303.
Forum: Sun 23rd at 12:25-13:55 in room 301
Miles' Workshop: Sun 16:30-18:00 in room 101
Hope to see you all there.

Miles Craven is a world-renowned speaker and author of many international textbooks. For us, he will give two presentations. The first, "Writing for ELT: Nuts and bolts", describes the process of turning an idea into a finished product? Many writers have great ideas, but when they put their thoughts onto the page, the final result can be less than satisfactory. The workshop will look at the process of ELT textbook writing, overviewing all the stages involved in taking an initial concept through to a handover manuscript.

Miles' second event, "Skills and Strategies in ELT materials" argues for a stronger emphasis on skills and strategies in our writing.

Besides these, we also present our regular forum. This year on the topic of "Digital Technologies’ Impact on Materials Writers", five speakers from various segments of the industry will discuss key points in a field that is already changing the way writers approach their work and will undoubtedly give rise to many more controversies and disputes.

Writers are represented by Miles Craven. The publishing side gives us speakers from Macmillian, Darren Halliday, from ABAX, Hugh Graham-Marr, Perceptia, Paul Lewis. Dave Dolan is an expert in digitalisation of EFL books and will give us insights into the technical processes involved.

Finally, the MW-SIG board would like to encourage all members to attend our AGM. There we will discuss our plans for the future. Come along and get on board with a highly active and energetic team.