Dear HLT Readers,

Welcome to the August issue of HLT. There is a lot happening at Pilgrims and you can read about some of the developments in Pilgrims News August 2026 by Phil Dexter. Now that we are likely to be able to enjoy the benefit of Erasmus+ in the UK again, the article International Research on Teachers’ Perceptions and Attitudes Towards the Erasmus+ Programme by Jelena Kovačević and Vedrana Prkić is very topical and timely.

I would also like to  add some more elements to Pilgrims news and highlight two past events Pilgrims at IATEFL Brighton 2026, UK and the AI Panel Discussion with three panellists  Işıl Boy, Nik Peachey and Jamie Keddie. You can read more about the panel here  and read the AI guidelines compiled by Nick Peachey here.

As for the upcoming events there is of course our conference, which we cannot highlight enough. Check the full programme at Pilgrims Teacher Training Conference - An Update. Make sure you attend. We promise an inspiring and informative event.

The other upcoming events I would like to highlight are organised by Pilgrims friends and colleagues; they include IP International Publishers Conference, Thessalioniki 30th Aug., Athens, 5th/6th Sept. 2006 Greece, The 35th IATEFL Poland Annual International Conference, 18th–20th, 2026, at Vistula University in Warsaw, Poland, and Colloquium 2026 - 45th Annual International TESOL France Colloquium 20th-22nd November, 2026. Pilgrims trainers will be attending these conferences so if you attend too don’t miss the opportunity to have a chat with them.

Conference contacts and events are invaluable professionally and you get to see wonderful places like Warsaw, Athens, Thessaloniki or Paris) But above all you catch up on developments in the ELT field. For example, you get the taste of the   44th Annual International TESOL France Colloquium 2025 in the TESOL France section of HLT: Debunking the Myth by Adriana Bocu, Code-switching and Blogging in the EFL Classroom by Kari Stunnel, whose articles generated a lot of discussion, and From Cautious Certainties to Principled Practice by Gabriel Díaz Maggioli who was the keynote speaker. The articles were originally published in the Teaching Times 2025.

At conferences we make friends and rekindle contacts, but sadly with time passing we also lose these dear friends. In this issue we are saying Good-bye to Jill Hadfield a dear colleague, a friend and a prolific writer who has inspired generations of EFL teachers. In his article Six Creative, Quirky and Kind Jill Hadfield Activities Lindsay Clandfield gives you a taste of Jill’s style and her artistry.

Also, I have just received with some delay the news that Stefan Rathert died in June. He was a colleague, a friend and a perfect HLT host editor of the October 2024 issue of HLT.  In ‘his’ issue Stefan reprinted an ELTJ article he co-authored with  Zühal Okan on Writing for Publication as a Tool in Teacher Development. All about HLT.

As for this issue of HLT, you can read articles on teaching secondary learners: Correlation Between Inhibition and Speaking Performance Among Vietnamese ESL Teenage Learners: A Quantitative Study by  Nguyễn Ngọc Nguyên, and Active Citizenship in Secondary Education – Teaching Students to Engage, Think, and Act by Jelena Kovačević, and on teaching tertiary learners: Turning Input into Intake: TBLT in a University EFL Context by Aneta Naumoska and Biljana Naumoska-Sarakinska.

Issues related to technology in education are represented by two texts: In Class Use of Devices Versus Printed Material by Stephanie Ptak, and Developing AI literacy in Language Teacher Training, Anna Turula, while wellbeing and the spiritual by Elevating Well-being in the Language Classroom: The ELEVATE+ Model for Flourishing in ELT by Adelina Sánchez Centeno.

Our regular columns offer great articles: Eco Issues - Global Citizenship Education in the ELT Classroom by Matthew Hayes, EMBR.ACE - More Than Rested: Restoring the Self Behind the Teacher, Effie Kyrikaki, No Project - It's Just Business - A Surreal Short Film Against Modern Slavery by Judy Boyle, Psychology and ELT - The Power of Cute: The Importance of Using Puppies and Kittens in Class by Nick Michelioudakis, MATSDA -

Converting the Coursebook by Brian Tomlinson, and The Creativity Group - Where have the words gone?, Alan Maley, Losing my muse by Rod Bolitho, (2 poems by two TOEFLER poets on the same subject), What Do You See? by Jamie Keddie, My Road Unfolds as I Walk by Phuong thi Anh LE, and  Keeping Gaza Children’s Stories Alive by David Heathfield. I have mentioned the TESOL France column earlier in this Editorial.

There are many great lesson ideas in: When the Earth Comes as a Guest: A Lesson Outline Based on the Text-Driven Approach by Zerin Koyuncuoğlu and Ufeyra Hopurcuoğlu, Six Mnemonics for English Teachers: Help Them Remember Stuff by Lindsay Clandfield, English as a Medium of Instruction: Print-out Tools to Support EMI and CLIL Programmes from Oxford University Press, The Book That Inspired Me by Mario Rinvolucri, and Shall I Check my Email? and other Flow Charts found on Pintrest by Hania Kryszewska. Also, there are some great ideas in the To The Editor section.

Finally, publications; the first - The Wemsday Style Guide: A reference for English language and modern language materials writers by John Hughes and Katherine Bilsborough. It is a great source of knowledge on formatting and language standards for professional educators and self-publishing authors when  creating language-learning curricula, lesson plans, and textbooks. The second - Short Book Reviews by Hanna Kryszewska with an update on some intersting ELT publications.

Enjoy the August issue of HLT.

 

Hanna (Hania) Kryszewska
HLT Editor
Email: hania.kryszewska@pilgrimsteachertraining.eu