John Hughes Interview: ELT Materials Writer Maestro

English Language Teachers (ELT): Under The Covers

ELT Under The Covers Podcast Interview #26 with John Hughes. @JohnHughesELT is an award-winning ELT author with thirty years of experience in teaching and teacher training. He is the author of the coursebook series Life for National Geographic Learning, the methodology book Critical Thinking in ELT, A Practical Introduction to Teacher Training in ELT, and numerous more. * Develop your writing skills with John's 10-week course at www.writingeltmaterials.com which starts at the end of September. * Check out his YouTube channel called ‘The A to Z of writing language learning materials’ which includes interviews with authors at https://www.youtube.com/@writingeltmaterials @writingeltmaterials The best way to contact John is on Linkedin at linkedin.com/in/johnhugheselt #JohnHughesELT #MaterialsWriter #CoursebookWriter __________________________________________________________________________________ Video Chapters: Chapter 1: Introduction 00:00 - 00:14 Chapter 2: Early Career and Inspiration 00:15 - 04:00 John's teacher origin story Transition from a different career to teaching Volunteer teaching with refugees in London Chapter 3: Teaching and Developing Materials 04:01 - 08:00 First teaching job in Poland Developing interest in creating teaching materials Experiences in teaching business English and working with companies Chapter 4: Authentic Materials and Teaching Methods 08:01 - 12:00 Use of authentic materials in teaching Evolution of teaching methodologies in ESP and Business English Chapter 5: Teaching Refugees and Asylum Seekers 12:01 - 16:00 Discussion on teaching refugees and asylum seekers Challenges with outdated curriculum and exams Chapter 6: International Teaching Experiences 16:01 - 20:00 Teaching in the US and differences with the UK system Observations on diversity and inclusion in US educational materials Chapter 7: Transition to Course Book Writing 20:01 - 24:00 Initial experiences with course book writing Collaboration with publishers and development of writing skills Chapter 8: Writing for Different Audiences 24:01 - 28:00 Challenges of writing for a global audience Importance of teacher feedback and collaboration Chapter 9: Materials Writing and Teacher Training 28:01 - 32:00 Running a training course in materials writing Importance of understanding teaching methodologies and materials development Chapter 10: National Geographic Learning Collaboration 32:01 - 36:00 Collaboration with National Geographic Learning Use of authentic images and videos in course books Chapter 11: The Role of Generative AI in Materials Production 36:01 - 40:00 Discussion on the impact of generative AI on materials writing Ethical concerns and future outlook Chapter 12: Conclusion 40:01 - End Final thoughts and reflections on teaching and materials writing Closing remarks and thank yous __________________________________________________________________________________ Check out more: ✔ Teacher Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXsBOoTKZz76OWuCuYZnCQRJfjWtrTrKC ✔ Explanation, Analysis & Example of Teaching Methods here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXsBOoTKZz75i6auCa17LUt2k_JAOQLkr