Both of us are teachers, teacher trainers, and researchers at the Department of English Applied Linguistics at Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest. We are both honoured and pleased to have been entrusted with the job of taking novELTy into the next millennium, the more so since IATEFL Hungary will celebrate its 10th anniversary in the year 2000. Following in the footsteps of the previous editors, we aim to sustain the high quality of the journal and ensure that novELTy continues to be one of the most important written forums for teachers and teacher-educators working in the field of ELT in Hungary.

From now on, novELTy will be issued three times a year, in February, May and October. While retaining the original format and style of the journal, we would also like to introduce some new features. We are starting a new section called ‘Student Research’, which includes research papers or theoretical articles  written by students in teacher training institutions (e.g. summaries of outstanding theses, award winning papers). We would also like to publish issues devoted to particular themes. Topics will cover research in teacher education, Internet in language teaching, English for Specific Purposes, and discourse, grammar and phonology in foreign language teaching, but we would be happy to receive your suggestions. Another new section will be ‘Hot Issues’, which will serve as a forum for discussions initiated by an introductory article. The discussion of a topic  might continue over the three issues for a year. Possible ‘Hot Issue’ topics are the future of ELT training and INSET programs, but further suggestions are welcome.

We have several other ideas as well, yet no matter how committed we are and how hard we work, our job cannot be done without your contributions. We hope to receive your submissions on research in any area of Applied Linguistics or EFL Methodology. For the Teaching Tips section we welcome ideas directly applicable to the language classroom. novELTy also publishes solicited and unsolicited book reviews and reports of events, conferences and workshops. You will find the Contributors’ guidelines at the back of this issue.

In this issue

The October issue focuses on teacher education. Our guest author, Dick Allwright,  contemplates the possibility of ‘developing’ teachers. Our student researcher, Czárl Bernadett, draws our attention to learners on the periphery in pair- and group-work activities. In the Regional Outlook section, Trevor Shanklin, a former visiting instructor in Hungary, takes us to Montenegro on a short visit of training sites and trainee minds before and after the war in Yugoslavia. Bajner Mária’s teaching tips give practical ideas and advice on using literature in the language classroom. A detailed book review helps the reader see the merits and the shortcomings of the new English-Hungarian, Hungarian-English Dictionaries published by Akadémiai Publishers. Several people report on conferences and summer courses, while the Events Section provides plenty of information on upcoming events. Peter Brown, the new Assistant Director, introduces the British Council and its aims and activities in Hungary.

We would like to thank to all of those who have contributed to this issue and wish you all a very pleasant read. 

Kontráné Hegybíró Edit and Kormos Judit Editors