Interview

Christina Gitsaki & Richard Taylor

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On Writing (cont'd)

So from first conceptualisation of the course book to its final release, how long did it take?
RT: Two and a half years with a little less than two years of straight contact with the publisher. We worked everyday, weekdays, night-time, weekends, and holidays.

What were the major changes made during and after testing the course content with your students?
CG: We always paid attention as to whether the materials were clear enough for the students, whether they had enough direction and guidance to complete the tasks, and what problems they would face in carrying out each of the culminating projects in each unit. We would then revise the materials and test them again.

RT: I was working at a vocational Junior college while Christina was working in a University, so we had the chance to pilot the materials with both kinds of students. That was a very helpful approach.

What feedback have you received from teachers?
RT: A popular response was "That's the book I needed last year!".

CG: Teachers want to use Web resources for teaching English, but usually they are held back by the amount of time it takes to design Web-based activities and the uncertainty of what it would be like to let students surf the Web and access authentic material. After attending our presentations teachers usually tell us that they feel a lot more confident about using the Web for teaching English and that they are happy to have a book to guide them and their students.

What advice would you give to the prospective course writer?
CG: Start out by making yourself available to review books that are coming out on the market. Publishers are always looking for reviewers. It gives an idea of how books are written.

Do some market research yourself and see what other books are similar to yours. Will you have any competition? What will make your idea stand out?

What really would help would be to give the publisher a clear picture of what you want them to produce. If the publisher can see what you see, and they are interested, then they will co-operate with you to produce something. But if it's hard for the editor or publisher to figure out what you are trying to create, then they are not going to spend a lot of time trying to understand what you are trying to say.

If they don't understand immediately, then things won't happen. The sample unit really has to grab them. It has to be clear and it has to be accompanied by a rationale. To really attract the big publishers you have to convince them 'why' it is a good idea to publish your manuscript.

On the Internet

Finally, do you think the market for Internet-based ELT materials will be big in the coming few years?
CG: We believe that the Internet is here to stay. It is not a fad and soon it will become even easier to access the Web. For example, these days you do not even need a computer in order to surf the Web and send e-mail. Since our students will be spending a lot of their time surfing the Web, why not teach them how to take advantage of this resource for practicing their English. "Internet English" does exactly that; it teaches students how to use the Web as a tool for exposing themselves to English.

Web resources are the real thing and they are bound to be motivating and appealing to students. So we think that soon there will be a lot more Web-based ELT materials, covering special areas, such as business English, writing, ESP, and offering teachers and students a lot more choice of materials.

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