| EDITORIAL |
| Concepts, principles and ideas structure the way we think and act both
in our teaching and in our everyday lives. We often internalise these principles
to such an extent that we do not even realise their influence on our actions.
In this case, principles become sub-conscious, and if we were asked to
verbalise them, we would not be able to do so. We can also misinterpret
concepts, and this can be reflected in our teaching, as well. Concepts
might gain new meanings with the advance of society and science. Therefore
it is worth revisiting concepts at certain points in one's career both
as a teacher and as a researcher. The articles in this issue of novELTy
are all meant to serve the purpose of making readers rethink certain important
concepts in language teaching and testing.
The feature article written by Heltai Pál revisits the often misused and abused concept of 'communicativeness' and two other issues related to it: authenticity and the use of mother-tongue. On the one hand, the author argues that the term 'authentic' should not be necessarily equated with 'communicative'. On the other hand, the paper provides ample evidence that the use of mother-tongue in test-tasks does not exclude authenticity and communicativeness. Arguments presented in Heltai Pál's article will hopefully help teachers and test-designers alike reconsider their views of communicative language learning and test tasks. Dávid Gergely's article shows the concept of quality control in language testing in a new light. The aim of the author is to show how principles of quality control established in Western-European countries and in the U.S.A. can be applied in a Hungarian, resource-poor context. Examples for post-hoc analyses of test results and the idea of item banking are worth considering in every institution where language tests are being developed. 'Teaching intelligence', the term invented by Peter Maingay, is a concept that we might be sub-consciously aware of. Reading the written-up version of Peter Maingay's plenary talk presented at the 10th IATEFL Hungary conference last year, can awaken teachers to things they do well and to the obstacles that get into the way of appropriate performance in class. The article also gives excellent ideas as to the development of teaching intelligence. In the My Classroom section two PhD students, Edwards Melinda and Csizér Kata describe the results of the analysis of two series of coursebooks as regards to how these books present conversations. Their findings seem to indicate that the input provided by course-books is not sufficient for creating pragmatic awareness, and they suggest several ways in which teachers can make up for this. In this issue readers can find a rich selection of book reviews again. The topics of books reviewed range from teaching and language awareness to research methodology. There is also a review of a new coursebook for teenagers and a revised edition of a well-known grammar practice book. As usual, this issue also closes with a conference report and useful information from IATEFL-Hungary and the British Council. By the time you receive the journal, there will be only a few days left
from this academic year. We hope that this year has been successful for
you, and we wish you happy summer holidays. See you in October in Nyíregyháza
at the 11th IATEFL-H Conference.
Edit H. Kontra and Kormos Judit Editors |