Pete Sharma Associates

Exciting developmenst in the world of electronic dictionaries. Longman have ‘raised the bar’ with their latest offering, which is on DVD-ROM. It took Barney and myself a while to load it, and we are keen to explore it! More anon when we have had a play….

I’ve been having a start-of-year clean out and came across a piece of paper with the address of the Changing Minds website. I had clearly found and used this resource some time last year to provide a learner with some advanced negotiating language but then filed the piece of paper away somewhere “safe” and forgotten about it. I’ve just had another look to remind myself of why I had found it interesting.

The website has a large collection of very short essays on persuading people and, as is clear from the title, changing their minds. What is interesting for the English language teacher and learner is the example phrases the writers suggest you use to achieve your ends as well as general tips on what sort of language is persuasive.

As always, it is a website you can use for providing language and inspiration or something you can recommend to the learner to use outside the classroom or after their course.

Delighted to announce the launch of the new Pete Sharma associates’ website.

Please visit it for more information on Pete Sharma associates Ltd. and our training courses. Best.

The latest CALL review is now available on the Learning Technologies website. You will need your LT SIG password to access the magazine.

There are articles on  a range of topics including M-Learning, Blended Learning theory and practice and games in language learning. Enjoy!

We have just mailed out the latest Newsletter. It contains articles on BESIG Bonn, the latest electronic dictionary from CUP and news about PSA (Pete Sharma Associates).

If you have subscribed, but have NOT received a copy, please check your spam. Otherwise, drop us a mail and we’ll send you the link to the pdf.

There is also new content (PowerPoint presentations and Mindmap) in the extra content section of our website. Remember, only subscribers have access to this content. It is free and easy to subscribe!

Feel free to forward the Newsletter mailling to friends and colleagues throughout the ELT world! Encourage them to subcribe too. Happy reading!

I’m enjoying life as a reviewer, even though my garage is now heaving with books I’ve reviewed over the years. Just been looking at the CD-ROM at the back of Oxford Word Skills, the new practice book by Ruth Gairns and Stuart Redman. It’s very simple and intuitive, and offers lots of extra practice. One exercise where students correct grammar is both useful and innovative. Not sure why the book is called Oxford Word Skills, tho’. Must be something to do with the publisher (OUP), and not that it can only be used in the city of the dreaming spires. The mini book review will be in the March EL Gazette…

I’ve just reviewed a new compilation of articles from International House World Organisation, called: Best Practice in Language Teaching: An IH Perspective. The last section consists of five articles on Technology, including Gavin Dudeney’s excoriating attack on multimedia courses, Michael Carrier on e-learning and an article on the IH Campus. The other two articles are ‘Acessing the digital mind’ and Future perspectives’. Of interest. More articles are available on the IH website.

Hello and Happy New Year (albeit a little late)

Here’s a little piece of video to kick start 2009.

For those you who enjoyed Pete’s Wacky Office e-lesson from November, you can supplement it with this short report from the BBC about Google’s campus about its response to the credit crunch and one or two ideas that it may introduce in the next twelve months.

The programme for this exciting event in February is now available on the conference website.