The Feature Article written by Don Peckham discusses the much disputed issue of form-focused teaching in EFL. While the grammar-translation method is still extensively being used in Hungarian classrooms, few teachers have any information as to the effect or effectiveness of explicit grammar and vocabulary teaching. In his research, Peckham investigated the impact of instruction on students’ awareness of new grammatical and lexical forms and his findings show that the teaching of grammar and vocabulary items creates a higher level of conscious awareness in students than simply exposing them to the language does.

 Another much disputed issue, ethnocentric bias, is the topic of Magnuczné Godó Ágnes’ thought-provoking article. An experienced researcher and teacher of academic writing courses and discourse analysis, she subjects current comparative linguistic research practice and related pedagogical approaches to severe criticism. She puts forward a model, Pragmatic Multiculturalism, which promotes a non-judgmental tone in research and the acceptance of multicultural standards in international communication.

 Culture in foreign language teaching is the topic of Ryan James’ contribution as well. He gives a brief overview of the most salient issues involved and supports the points he makes with examples taken from practice. He puts particular emphasis on foreign culture experience and stresses the need for teachers to be culturally fluent in several cultures in order to be able to discuss differences. 

 In the My Classroom section, you will find some fun activities linking vocabulary and culture presented by Elekes Katalin. Her article is a fine example of how a book on 20th century words, originally bought as an interesting bedtime read, is irresistibly and inevitably turned into classroom material in the hands and mind of a creative teacher. 

 In the Book Reviews section several publications are linked to the topics of the main articles. The publications introduced focus on teaching academic writing, interference in various L1 contexts, British Studies, culture and interculturalism. To these are added an EFL/ESL methodology book, a new learners’ dictionary and a guide to the new TOEFL exam.

 We close the journal with the Information section as usual. What is unusual is the content and length of these parts. The IATEFL section includes the call for participation for the 12th IATEFL Hungary conference in Veszprém and the British Council section contains Peter Brown’s detailed report of the organisation’s wide-ranging activities. 

 Let us hope that you enjoy reading this issue of the journal and whatever your teaching context, you find something to add to your knowledge or to incorporate in your practice. That and nothing more has been our purpose as editors of novELTy. Now that the time has come to pass on the baton, it is hard to believe that three years have already passed since we took on this job in the fall of 1999. Looking back, it was a constant challenge, just as expected, but a rewarding one. We were pleased and encouraged by the supportive comments coming from our colleagues in Hungary and also from abroad. We even found the critical remarks useful, since they were living evidence of people reading the journal and caring about its content. What more could editors wish for?

 We would like to extend our thanks to all our contributors, to those whose articles have been published and also to those who are still working on a revised version. It is their effort and persistence that can keep a journal going. We are also greatly indebted to the dozens of colleagues who unselfishly acted as anonymous reviewers in the past three years. Finally, we would also like to express our gratitude to The British Council for sponsoring the publication of the journal, and to IATEFL-Hungary for their continued support. We hope that they will jointly find the most suitable candidates to continue our work in serving the cause of teaching, learning, and researching language and culture in the Hungarian world of EFL. 

Good-bye to all Readers and good luck to the new Editors,

Edit H. Kontra and Judit Kormos  Editors