Welcome to the Web Site of the Materials Writers (MW) Special Interest Group (SIG) of the Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT).
教材開発研究部会 (MW) のウェブサイトへようこそ。教材開発研究部会は全国語学教育学会 (JALT) の分野別研究部会 (SIG)の一つです。


 

SIG Statement of Purpose
教材開発研究部会の基本理念

The Materials Writers SIG (MW SIG) was established for the purpose of helping members to turn fresh teaching ideas into useful classroom materials. We try to be a mutual assistance network, offering information regarding copyright law, sharing practical advice on publishing practices, including self-publication, and suggesting ways to create better language learning materials for general consumption or for individual classroom use.
教材開発研究部会 (MW SIG) は、メンバーが日々の教育の場で得た新しいアイディアを教材にしていく助けとなることを目的に設立されました。著作権に関すること、自費出版を含めた出版に関する実践的なアドバイス、広く一般学習者または特定の授業のためにどうしたらより良い語学教材が作れるか、といったことに関するアイディアを共有しお互いを高め合える部会であることが願いです。教材開発についてもっと知りたい、自分のアイディアを形にしたいという方、入会大歓迎です。一緒に活動しませんか。

Materials Writers SIG Constitution
SIG 教材開発研究部会 会則

Our constitution was ratified at our AGM at the 2011 JALT International Conference.
本部会の会則は、2011年JALT国際大会総会で承認されました。

BtK Archives

Year Issue Author(s) Title
2024 32(3) Rachel Patterson Corporate Climb! The Business English Board Game
2024 32(2) Joel Neff Letter from the Publication Chair
    John Carle PanSIG Preview
    Timothy Ang Musings on Marketing: Developing an ESL textbook...
    Joel Neff Chatterbot: Writing Ethical Vignettes for Research Purposes with ChatGPT
2024 32(1) Joel Neff Letter from the Publication Chair
    Andrew Lankshear Making a Move with LoiLoNote
    Stephen Bridge Conference Report: JALT2023
    John Carle Musings on Marketing: MW-SIG Table & Showcase
2023 31(3) Joel Neff Letter from the Publication Chair
    Marcus Grandon A New Look for Between the Keys
    Joshua Lee Solomon & Reik Jagno From Zero to Textbook in Ten Months: Self-publishing Materials for a Self-Access Learning Center
    Kinsella Valies with Geoff Carr, Josh Kidd & Bethany Lucy Conference Report: PanSIG 2023
    Josh Kidd & Miklos Juhasz Musings on Marketing: On Your Mark: From Conception to Publication
    Adam Murray Chatterbot: Prompt Revising for CEFR Levels
2023 31(2) Joel Neff Letter from the Publication Chair
    Makada McBean Word Association and the L2 Mental Lexicon
    John Carle Musings on Marketing: Creating a Digital Workbook
    Joel Neff Key Lesson: Introduce Yourself
2023 31(1) Todd Jay Leonard & John Carle Interview with Todd Jay Leonard: Three Decades of EFL Publication
2022 30(1) Joel Neff From the Publication Chair
    Sean Anderson Musings on Marketing
    R. Gregg McNabb The Business Side of Self-Publishing
2021 29(3) Joel Neff From the Publication Chair
    Brian Tomlinson Bringing the Coursebook to Life
    Sam Keith & Brian Cullen Basic Sound Engineering for Creating Listening Materials - Part 1
    Fiona Wall Minami The ELTons Part One: The Contender
2021 29(2) Paul Goldberg & Robert Dykes Interview with Paul Goldberg: His Work with Xreading
2021 29(1) Andy Boon & Robert Dykes Interview with Andy Boon: His Work with Graded Readers
2020 28(2) Robert Dykes From the Publication Chair
    Brian Cullen & Sarah Mulvey Balancing the Tortoise and the Hare of Creating Materials in the Time of Coronavirus
    Greg Goodmacher The Materials Adaptation Column: Developing Supplementary Materials and Exercises for Teaching about Food Content
    David Kluge Lessons Learned from Textbook Publishing Experiences Part 3: My Story
2020 28(1) Robert Dykes From the Publication Chair
    Brian Cullen Transitioning from Author to Publisher
    David Kluge Lessons Learned from Textbook Publishing Experiences Part 2: My Story
    John Carle A Guide to Independent Publishing for EFL in Japan
2019 27(3) Marcus Grandon & Adam Murray Shift key_
    Barbara Hoskins Sakamoto Mandates, Myths, and the Bananarama Principle
2019 27(2) Robert Dykes From the Publication Chair
    Adam Murray From the Coordinator
    Marcus Grandon From the Treasurer
    Lindsay Wells From the Program Chair
    Forrest Nelson From the Membership Chair
    Niall Walsh & Brian Cullen Creating Effective Learning Activities for Returnee Students
2019 27(1) Matthew Keighley From the Publication Chair
    Greg Goodmacher The Materials Adaptation Column: Adapting Tourism Related Materials for ESL / EFL
    Forrest Nelson Promoting Collaborative Learning with any Textbook Using a Teacher-Created Study Guide
    David Kluge Lessons Learned from Textbook Publishing Experiences Part 1: My Story
2018 26(2) Matthew Keighley From the Publication Chair
    Lindsay Wells  From the Program Chair 
    Adam Murray From the Coordinator
    Forrest Nelson From the Membership Chair
    Marcus Grandon From the Treasurer
    Brian Cullen Writer's Point: Confusion, Agony and Ecstasy
    John Spiri Putting it all together: Making your teaching materials into a textbook
2018 26(1) Kaunapawa Nangula  From the Publication Chair
    Lindsay Wells  From the Program Chair 
    Greg Goodmacher The Materials Adaptation Column: Adapting Songs for English Education
    Travis Holtzclaw Local Notes: Interview with Chris Elvin
    Brian Cullen Writer's Point: CLIL and the use of Content as a Context for Language Teaching
    Gregory Strong Some Principles in Writing Fiction for Graded Readers
    Steve Paton Self-Publishing a Textbook: Reflections and Advice
2017 25(2) Kaunapawa Nangula  From the Publication Chair
    Forrest Nelson  From the Membership Chair
    Lindsay Wells  From the Program Chair 
    Adam Murray  From the Coordinator
    Greg Goodmacher  The Materials Adaptation Column
    BtK Staff Local Notes: Interview with Travis Holtzclaw
    Brian Cullen Writer’s Point: Uniting Multiple Perspectives in Material Writing
    Aileen Bowe Task-based Speaking and Listening Assessment  
    Richard Miles A Systematic Approach to Oral Presentation Assessment 
    Allan Goodwin The Structure and Writing of Creative Advertising Media for the ELT Classroom  
2017 24(3) Jim Smiley From the Publication Chair
    Greg Goodmacher From the Programs Chair
    Adam Murray From the Coordinator
    Greg Goodmacher The Materials Adaptation Column
    Travis Holtzclaw Local Notes: Interview with Yukie Sato
    Hugh Graham-Marr Approaching a Publisher: A publisher's perspective
    R. Gregg McNabb Professional level self-publishing in Japan
    Barbara Hoskins Sakamoto Designing ELT Materials for Young Learners
    Richard Miller Materials Writing to Enhance Your Teaching Career
2016 24(2) James Essex From the Publication Chair
    Adam Murray From the Coordinator
    Greg Goodmacher From the Program Chair
    MW-SIG Local Notes: Interview with Yukari Kusuda
    Richard Walker Confessions of a collaborator - Part 2
    Kinsella Valies Be our Guest: A midterm assessment project
2016 24(1) MW-SIG From the Publications Team
    Adam Murray From the Coordinator
    Greg Goodmacher Report from the Program Chair
    Marcos Benevides Text and Context: Innovating the Coursebook
    Geoffry D. Hinton Neo-Liberal Arts Studies for EFL, and a general model for communication and self-expression
2015 23(1) James Essex From the Publication Chair
    Jim Smiley Co-ordinator's column
    Loran Edwards Starting from scratch: A beginner's publishing tale
    Richard Walker Confessions of a collaborator - Part 1
    Jim Smiley Differentiated instruction through tiered rubrics
2015 23(2) James Essex From the Publication Chair
    Jim Smiley Co-ordinator's column
    Greg Goodmacher Material design presentation
    Daniel Jenks Student-centred topic choice in reading materials
    Keith Ford Making checklists material for maintaining academic tone in EFL student writing
    David Chapman How to keep successful games for a long time
    John Campbell-Larsen From research to classroom
2015 23(3) Jim Smiley From the Publication Chair
    Adam Murray Co-ordinator's column
    Melodie Cook Gender Bias in ESL/EFL Textbooks: 10 years later
    Brien Datzman Gender representation in a modern EFL textbook
    Jim Smiley Applying the Bechdel Test to EFL textbooks in Japan
    James Essex PanSIG: Past and Future
    MW-SIG AGM Minutes
2014 22(1) Allan Goodwin Using copywriting training in an EFL writing course
    Cameron Romney Typeface recommendation
    Chie Kawashima Pragmatic features in ELT textbooks for beginners
    Jim Smiley From the Editor
    Jim Smiley Word clouds and text revision
    Miles Craven What type of writer are you?
    Nate French Message from the Co-ordinator
    Travis Holtzclaw Using Eiken vocabulary lists to ensure socially relevant materials
2013 21(1) Azusa Sato Programme Chair Column
    Brian Cullen & Sarah Mulvey Approaches to Material Writing
    Eric Lerstrom From the Editor
    Eric Lerstrom Taking a Trip
    Greggory Wroblewski A Guest from Overseas
    Jim Smiley Creating Classroom Audio using Online Sources
    Nate French Co-ordinator’s column
    Nate French Reward Probability and Uncertainty
    Nate French Variable Sentence Response
    Noboru Sakai Word Calculation Game
2013 21(2) Andrew Reimann Teachers as Writers
    Eric Lerstrom From the Editor
    Gregory Paul Glasgow & Daniel Leigh Paller Language-in-Education Policies and MEXT-approved EFL Textbooks in the New Course of Study.
    Neil Hefferman & Michael Delve A Learner-centered approach to curriculum design
    Richard Miles Impromptu Presentations
    Todd Jay Leonard So You Want to Publish an EFL Textbook?
2013 21(3) Jim Smiley MW-SIG Programme for JALT 2014
    MW-SIG MW-SIG AGM Meeting Minutes
    Nate French Message from the Co-ordinator
    Scott Petersen Treasurer's Report
    Travis Holtzclaw Membership Report
2012 20(1) Brian Cullen Writer’s Point
    Cameron Romney Co-ordinator's column
    Cameron Romney Two Presentations
    Darrell Wilkinson Student-centered activities in mixed-level classes
    Dave Dolan Thoughts on Digital Publishing
    Jim Smiley From the Editor
    Jim Smiley Material Writers Development Project
    Jim Smiley Publisher Profile: Fine Line Press
    Jim Smiley The Anatomy of a Page in a Single Typeface
    Kazuyoshi Sato et al. Focus-on-Form Instruction and Student Learning
    Matthew Coomber Promoting interaction through materials design
    Michio Tajima et al. On demand self-publishing
2012 20(2) Brian Cullen & Sarah Mulvey Writer’s Point
    Cameron Romney Co-ordinator’s column
    Greg Goodmacher Educational materials and activities of the Asian Youth Forum
    Gregg McNabb Self Publishing: My Story
    Jim Smiley Education Value System
    Jim Smiley From the Editor
    Jim Smiley Publisher Profile: Perceptia Press
    Marc Helgesen et al. Ode to Myriad Pro
    Richard Miles Using News Stories in the Classroom
    Simon Capper Quizlet--and how it helped my Bedside Manner
    Victoria Boobyer #ELTpics
2012 20(3) Brian Cullen & Avril Haye-Matsui NeuroELT: Incorporating the Findings of Neuroscience into EFL Materials
    Clive Langham A MEXT-authorized Textbook
    Diane Nagatomo Striving toward writing gender-balanced EFL textbooks
    Don Maybin My Route to Publishing
    Gerald Muirhead World News report from VOA
    Jim Smiley From the Editor
    Mark Helgesen Notes from the Apocrypha
    Nate French Co-ordinator’s column
    Scott Petersen Shopping Story Listening
2011 19(1) Asako Kajiura Eco-friendly Cooperative Housing Activity
2011 19(1) Brian Cullen Writer’s Point
2011 19(1) Curtis Kelly Kelly's Rules of Thumb for Getting Published
2011 19(1) Curtis Kelly Responses to Curtis Kelly's article
2011 19(1) Greg Goodmacher From the outgoing coordinator
2011 19(1) John Honisz-Greens How to Control Vocabulary Input to Aid Student Fluency and Vocabulary Acquisition, part 2
2011 19(1) Roger Barnard The Long and Twisting Road
2011 19(1) Sean Bermingham Getting Work as a Freelance Materials Writer
2011 19(2) Brian Cullen Writer's Point
    Jim Smiley Making a class handout booklet
    John Spiri Self-publishing
    Keith Barrs Reconceptualising English in the Japanese Language as an L2 Lexical Resource for Teachers and Learners
2010 18(1) Bob Morrison Writing for Writing: Implementing a Genre Approach in Materials Design
    Katherine Thorton Materials for self-directed learning: getting students involved
    Thomas Lockley How Global Issues made Compulsory Language Lessons Compulsive
2010 18(2) Brian Cullen Writer’s Point
    Jared Baierschmidt Materials Development Case Study: “Could” versus “Was Able To” Self-Study Worksheets
    John Honisz-Greens How to Control Vocabulary Input to Aid Student Fluency and Vocabulary Acquisition
    Scott Petersen Introducing Quia
2009 17(1) Ben Shearon Collaborative Materials Generation: Class Profiles
    Damian J. Rivers Communicative Vocabulary Building Through Culturally Appropriate Materials
    Dougherty, King, Lieb, Mano Bill Balsamo's Legacy: A Quartet of Lessons from a Master
2008 16(1) Allan Murphy Expressions
    Jamar A. Miller Direct instructional model lesson plans part 2
    Jim Smiley Gentle inspiration: an interview with Kevin Cleary
    John Daly Toot your own horn
    Miles Craven Considerations in materials design and development
2008 16(2) Greg Goodmacher A Review board game based on shinkeisuijaku
    Kristofer Bayne New Tomlinson
    Richard Walker Improving the worth of Criterion with corpus-informed materials
    Simon Cooke Introducing writing to Japanese high-school students
2008 16(3) Greg Goodmacher Students Becoming Writers of Teaching Materials
    Jim Smiley The Missing Piece: A look at language modification
    Marc Helgesen Working Together
    Simon Cooke Toot Your Own Horn
2007 15(1) David Lisgo Computer-generated Crosswords for Use in University False Beginner Classes
    Eric M. Skier & Miki Kohyama Editing MAYA: Managing a Dialogic, Collaborative, and Humanistic Approach to an Anthology Project
    Kristofer Bayne A Report on Publishing-Related Sessions at JALT2005, Part 3 of 3
    Tim Newfields An Interview with Allen Ascher
2007 15(3) Jamar A. Miller Direct instructional model lesson plans part 1
    Jane Nakagawa Writers Conference report
    Kristofer Bayne Toot your own horn
    Robert Long The Writers' Cooperative
2006 14(1) Greg Goodmacher Reflections on a Survey of Materials Writers in Japan
    Jim Smiley Classroom Materials: One Teacher's Story
    Kristofer Bayne Publishing-Related Sessions at JALT2005, Part 2 of 3
    Marc Helgesen  Comprehension Questions
2006 14(2) Brian Cullen Textbook Design for Scientific English
    Daniel Droukis Preparing Materials for Athletes
    Jacoba Akazawa Writing English Texts for the Japanese Market
    John Nevara  Getting Feedback: Having Materials Peer-Edited
2006 14(3) Gerry Lassche Conceptualizing Authenticity: Discussion of 4 Case Studies
    Jim Smiley Semantic Distance as a Predictor of Linguistic Difficulty
    Jim Smiley  Open Source Freebies
    John Nevara  Making your own Class CD
    Marc Helgesen Notes from the Apocrypha
    Simon Cole Reflection on Producing a Writing Textbook
2005 13(1) Brian Cullen & Kevin Quinn Writing the Winning Entry
    Cameron Romney  With Serifs or Without?
    Daniel Droukis An Interview with Steven Gershon
    Kristofer Bayne Publishing-Related Sessions at JALT2005, Part 1 of 3
    Marc Helgesen Notes on the MW-SIG Contest
    Thompson Publishing Tips for Getting Published
    Thompson, Cambridge, and Longman Asia ELT Author Guidelines for Submitting Proposals
2005 13(2) Daniel Droukis & Kiyoshi Yukitoki On Becoming a textbook writer
    Jim Smiley Little Sentences, Big Meanings: Forwarding a Theory for Activity Instructions
    Kris Bayne  More for a Materials Writer's Bookshelf
    Michiyo Masui  Creating Telephone Conversation Templates
    Simon Cooke An Appraisal of 'Home-Grown' Materials in the English Conversation Classroom
2004 12(1) Jim Smiley My Share: Snappy Ideas!
    John Adamson The Globalisation Debate in Business English: Exploiting the Literature
    Tim Newfields People in Materials Writing: An Interview with Marc Helgesen
    Trudie Heiman  4 Routes to Self-Publishing: From Finished Manuscript to Printed Book
2004 12(2) Daniel Droukis  A Partner in Materials Writing: MATSDA
    Daniel Droukis  Arguments in favour for the Adaptation of Published Pedagogic Materials
    Jim Smiley Improving Document Readability
2003 11(1) Daragh Hayes Problems, Problems
    Greg Goodmacher Developing Web-Based Materials for English Study with Hot Potatoes
    Jim Porcaro Housing
    Judith A. Johnson Instructional Design--One Teacher's Method
2003 11(3) Daniel Droukis  People in Material Writing: Susan Iannuzzi and Deborah B. Gordon, TESOL Material Writers Co-chairs Elect
    Jim Smiley Review: Many Faces of Love by Joseph Falout
    Kenneth Beigel JALT2003 Conference Feature: What about Using Conversation Templates in Class?
    Melinda Kawahara Using Storybooks
    Tracy Terrell Franz JALT2003 Conference Feature: The Online Writing Class and F2F Classroom Applications
2002 10(1) Chris Elvin Task Support for Aural Decoding of Large Numbers
    Daniel Droukis  American Signs in the Classroom
    P. Charles Brown  The Newspaper: A Materials Writer's Gold Mine
    Thia Jackson-Maki  Lesson Plan for Marvin Gaye's What's Going On?
2002 10(2) Christopher Weaver Going to Press: Some Important Considerations When Putting Your Textbook into Print
    Joseph Cronin Self-Publishing an English Language Textbook
    Kenneth Beigel JALT2003 Conference Feature: What about Using Conversation Templates in Class?
    Kristofer Bayne Hedging and Hoping: The Addressee in Textbook Rubrics
    Marc Helgesen & Brenda Hayashi Student Learning Strategy Handout
2002 10(3) Daniel Droukis  Writing Material for the Airline Industry
    Simon Howell The Beach: A Movie Lesson Plan
2001 9(2) Daniel Droukis  Using Books Which Emphasize Questions Over Dialogues
    Graham Bathgate & Allan Murphy Write for Japanese Students
    John Small Creating an Interactive Movie Review
2001 9(3) Joseph J. Falout Helpful Non-L2 Classroom Material Web Sites
    Joseph J. Falout Super Tic--Tac--Toe