Dear Colleagues,

Teaching devices are really all around us. Even those mundane items, such as receipts, metro maps, museum and cinema tickets, or even our favorite wrapping paper and recipe can lend themselves well to being  used in a language class. It is for decades that language teachers have used various devices, other than books, to enhance student motivation and improve their learning.

In this double issue of the newsletter you can find out what devices our colleagues use. Some of them may remind you of the ones you haven’t used for a long time or inspire you to try them out.

As it is almost two months till the new issue is out, take your time and get indulged in other colleagues’ stories. Then, write your own and share it with us as somebody will undoubtedly find it motivating.

The winners of the CUP quiz prizes are: Svetlana Gavrilović, Vesna Novičić and Brankica Skorković. Congrats!

Enjoy the newsletter and the holiday season.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,

Editorial team

To the Editor

We would hereby like to thank all the contributors and encourage them, and all of you, to continue making our newsletter and magazine fantastic as it is!

You can take part, as well, and share your thoughts with us! Send us your comments and suggestions – here are some guidelines to help you:

1.What are your favourite sections of Newsletter / MELT and why?

2.What do you think about this issue?

3.Any further comments or ideas regarding Newsletter / MELT?

The editors are happy to receive all your suggestions and articles at melt@elta.org.rs

Read the guidelines and fill in the form.

A Word from the Editors
Why am I an editor (MS Word 124KB)

Towards Better Understanding 2 in Zrenjanin
By Maja Jerkovic, Secondary Medical School, Zrenjanin
TBU2 has kicked off this year's round with a seminar held in an entirely new facility, Secondary Medical School in Zrenjanin. The presenters were Ljiljana Posa and Nada Ciraković.
Read the whole article (MS Word 28.5KB)

Global Skills for Local Needs
IATEFL Hyngary 19th Conference, Budapest, 2-4 October 2009
(Or, Proud to be a Teacher)
By Sladjana Sretenovic-Jovanovic, ELTA representative at the 19th IATEFL Hungary Conference
I should have written this account sooner, I know, but I have waited for my impressions to ‘cool off’ a little because I wanted to be objective. Why wouldn’t I be objective, you may ask. Well, there are several reasons.
Read the whole article (MS Word 1.03MB)

Oxford University Press Day in Belgrade
By Ljiljana Posa, Vocational school “Wood Art“, the Faculty of Physics, Belgrade
The traditional Oxford University Press Day, organized by The English Book, took place at the Sava Centre on 14th November,2009. In the opening ceremony Žarko Obradović (Minister of Education), Andrew Glass (Director of British Council in Belgrade) and Prof. dr Gordana Korać (Head of English Department at the Faculty of Philology, Belgrade), greeted about 700 English language teachers from Serbia.
Read the whole article (MS Word 30KB)

Science, an Essay by Luka Milicevic
by Mirjana Savic-Obradovic, the High School of Mathematics, Belgrade
The following is an explanation how the essay ''Science'' by Luka Milicevic, the High School of Mathematics, Belgrade, came to be
Read the whole article (MS Word 29.5KB)

Science fair 2009 – Journey through the UK
By Milica Dosev-Stojanovic, Grammar School, Leskovac
This year Grammar school in Leskovac celebrated an astonishing 130 years of existence. For that special occasion the graduates organised a science fair with a variety of presentations about different subjects.
Read the whole article (MS Word 204KB)

Eulogy for Dr David John Hatch
By Alison Laing, November 2009
Wine, women, song...and books! The four keys to David's life!
Read the whole article (PDF file 416KB)

Take a look at a list of Partner Associations' Annual Conferences and Upcoming Events in 2009/10 (PDF file 91.2KB)

Teaching listening
By Maja Colic, Undergraduate student, Faculty of Philology, Belgrade
Listening is a receptive skill, other being reading. Receptive skills are the ways in which people extract meaning from the discourse they see or hear. While extracting meaning people not only deploy a range of receptive skills, depending upon our reading or listening purpose, but we employ our previous general knowledge as well, often referred to as schema.
Read the whole article (MS Word 28KB)

Cuisenaire Rods
By Zorica Jovanovic, Kontext Language School, Valjevo
Invented in 1931 by a primary school teacher and musician Emil - Georges Cuisenaire for teaching arithmetic, the rods named after him were initially expected to be a ‘mathematics keyboard’. His method was based on the assumption that children had capacities to learn basic mathematical concepts through manipulation of the rods, similarly to mastering the basics while learning to play the piano.
Read the whole article (MS Word 25.5KB)

Tense Chart as a Teaching Device
By Nada Nestorovic, Grammar School, Backa Palanka
Throughout 39 years of my teaching I noticed very often that my students appeared to  have a sort  of scattered  knowledge of grammar. In my opinion it is because of the concepts of textbooks. The subject matter is presented to students in the form of small sections called units and this is how every coursebook, i.e. syllabus functions.
Read the whole article (MS Word 832KB)

New Year’s Resolutions
By Maja Jerkovic, Secondary Medical School, Zrenjanin
The end of a year in December or the beginning of a new one in January, when students get back to school, could be an ideal time to reflect upon the past year and do an activity that will not only help them practice writing in English but will also have a strong educational value.
Read the whole article (MS Word 30KB)

Real tale from a Dreamland
By Marija Pejatovic, Oxford School
Once upon a time there was a young teacheress who was supposed to travel to a dream land. All alone… For the first time…
Read the whole article (MS Word 23.5KB)

A Strange Day
By Marta Minic, 6th grade, Modern English School, Belgrade
I thought I heard a boom, From upstairs, from my room. The burglar was a kangaroo, that escaped from the zoo.
Read the whole poem (MS Word 21KB)

Beelzebub’s Poem
By Vanja Sarkovic
Swaying wind, In my arms, Growing tall, Dark and frightening, Figures, Come close, But still I stand.
Read the whole poem (MS Word 21KB)

They Came from Kitra 4
By Tamara Rajkovic, Nis
Last year we used Friends 2 as our coursebook. In the book there are three parts of a science fiction story entitled “They came from Kitra” (Kitra being a new planet).
Read the whole poem (MS Word 22.5KB)

A Bookstore Report... with a Twist!
by Tamara Sumarac, Vanja Sarkovic, Vesna Todorovic, Darko Vasic and Jovan Damjanovic
all of them the students of IId class, The High School of mathematics in Belgrade) on the occasion of visiting a newly-opened bookstore ’Delfi’ at SKC. Their homework assignement was to write a report about the event. They did it their way. Hope you’ll like it too. Their teacher certainly did!
Read the whole article (MS Word 32KB) and download the Report (PDF file 156KB)

Recipes for kids
By Maja Hadzic
Here are two easy and tasty recipes suitable for children to make. Of course, the elders should help and monitor.
Read the whole article (MS Word 25KB)

Brain Teasers
For enhancing students’ motivation
By Andrea Rac, Secondary Vocational School of Agriculture and Food Processing, Sombor
Type of activity: small group, guessing game, Main objective: making questions and enhancing students’ motivation, Age: 9-15
Read the whole article (MS Word 32KB)

Keys to a Successful Coursebook
Interest and Clarity
An interview with Tom Hutchinson
By Maja Hadzic
Best-known among Serbian English language teachers as the author of Project coursebook series, Tom Hutchinson has remained and ELT authority for years. Read about his motivation in writing, his personal professional challenges, his three main principles, and many other things.
Read the whole article (MS Word 42.5KB)

In Memory of Dr David Hatch, the first editor-in-chief for the English Language Teachers' Association [ELTA] of Serbia.
An interview by Irena Miladin
We would like to express our deepest gratitude to Dr David Hatch for taking his precious time to help create our Newsletter, setting it on its feet and making it one of the best in the region.
Read the whole article (MS Word 47KB)

English in Mind
Puchta/Stranks
Cambridge University Press
Written for teenagers, English in Mind creates an inspiring experience for secondary students. The choice of texts and exercises, as well as attractive design is perfectly matched to students’ interests, age and ability.
Watch an exclusive preview of the video and photostories' characters from the second edition of English in Mind, coming in Februrary 2010.

http://www.youtube.com/CambridgeUPELT#p/search/0/mPPS2U688vI

Beginner to Elementary, Pre-intermediate, Intermediate, Upper-intermediate, Advanced

Written for teenagers, English in Mind creates an inspiring experience for secondary students. The choice of texts and exercises, as well as attractive design is perfectly matched to students’ interests, age and ability. Flexibility and support are offered in the form of photocopiable activities and tests in the Teacher’s Resources Pack, ‘EiMTV’ DVDs, Workbook CD-ROMs and the extensive free worksheets, tests, wordlists and resources on the website. Each level of the course provides 80-90 hours of work with the possibility of extension.

Key features:

•Imaginative and appealing topics - such as wonders of the world, reality TV and global issues engage teenagers' interest and motivate them to learn.

•Projects and writing tasks allow students to build up their own language portfolios, developing learner independence and giving students a practical use for the language.

•'Culture in Mind' sections give students an insight into different aspects of culture throughout the English-speaking world.

•'Fiction in Mind' in level 3 and 'Literature in Mind' in levels 4 and 5 provide further reading practice.

•Teacher's Resource Pack with extra photocopiable activities and tests gives teachers lots of support and flexibility.

•Entertaining photostories give students a feel for contemporary spoken English.

•'Study Help' and 'Skills Tips' sections in the Workbook give learners extra support and guidance.

•A strong focus on grammar and vocabulary provides a solid basis for effective language learning.

Components:

The weblinks for each unit of English in Mind provides opportunities to explore topics of particular interests further

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