The Magazine for English Professionals - English Teachers ...

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ISBN 9771660650003 

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Journal 

The ETAS 

The Magazine for English Professionals 

Volume 25 - No. 2 

Spring 2008 

25th Anniversary

English for Specific 

Academic Purposes 

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Volume 25 - No. 2 

Spring 2008 

Publisher: 

ETAS, English Teachers Association, Switzerland 

Rue de l’Hôpital 32, CH-1400 Yverdon 

Publications Chair: 

Steve Lander, Basel 

Editorial Board: 

Frances Burkhalter, Eclépens 

Carol Gipson, Zug 

Nicola Martignoni, Quartino 

John Raggett, Cornaux 

Alison Taylor, Wil 

Diane Theobald, Biel-Bienne 

Lee Wennerberg, Berg 

Graphic Design: 

Angela Munson Pfenninger, Oberdürnten 

e-mail: layout@e-tas.ch 

Printer: 

KDMZ, Zürich 

ISSN: 1660-6507 

Price for non-members: SFr. 20.– 

Circulation: 1400 

Advertisements: 

To place an advertisement in ETAS publications, 

please contact ETAS Administration 

e-mail: office@e-tas.ch 

© Each article in this ETAS Journal is the property of 

its author(s) and may not be reprinted without prior 

permission of the author. Opinions expressed by 

contributors to this Journal do not necessarily reflect the 

policies of ETAS or the opinion of the ETAS Committee. 

Articles, letters and reviews are accepted on the basis of 

appropriateness and general interest to ETAS members. 

The publication of an article or advertisement does not 

necessarily constitute product or service endorsement by 

ETAS. The ETAS Journal team reserve the right to alter or 

edit for reasons of clarity or brevity. 

Index of Advertisers Page 

Bergli Bookshop 26 

Bergli Bookshop 26 

Bider & Tanner 8 

University of Cambridge ESOL 36 

Cambridge University Press 27 

Castle’s English Institute 19 

Flying Teachers 28 

Garnet Education 2 

Hull’s School 12 

Langenscheidt 15 

Macmillan 18 

Oxford University Press 17 

Pearson Longman 6 & 21 

Summertown Publishing 44 

Contents 

NEWS 

ETAS Organisation 4 

Editorial 5 

President’s Report 7 

Matopo Primary School, Zimbabwe: Teacher-to-Teacher Project 2007 22 - 23 

Teachers’ Future (ETAS Pension Scheme Update) 29 

SPECIAL Supplement: I/C: a new approach arising 

Editorial 8 

Bilingual Lesson Plan Focusing on Art in the Middle Ages 9 - 10 

Very Young Learner English Immersion 10 - 11 

My experiences with CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) 11 - 12 

Spring Fever: Content Based Activities for Springtime 12 - 14 

Immersion in Central Switzerland Proves Successful 

An interview with Renata Leimer 16 

Introduction to Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) 

at Schools in Europe 19 - 20 

REGIONS 

News and Events 24 - 26 

MEMBER MIX 

Language and Identity: a post-structuralist approach 30 - 32 

The tools of Systemic Functional Linguistics in the English Classroom 32 - 34 

English for Specific Purposes Special Interest Group (ESP SIG) 34 - 35 

Teaching in India? 35 

SERVICES 

Library Updates 37 - 39 

Library Order and Check-out Form 40 

Membership Administration 41 

ETAS Journal 24/3 Summer 2007 3

Editorial 

For me, what makes ETAS great is the 

people: its members. 

I know there’s a Special coming out; but I just 

can’t sit here and say nothing about the AGM. 

About how grateful I was for all the hard work 

that went into making it such a success and 

such a good time. Then there was the location. 

Isn’t Lugano a super place? It makes me 

realise what Italy would be like if only the 

Italians could run things. Then all the 

wonderful speakers, those giving the main 

presentations and those giving the workshop 

presentations. I wanted to go to all of them 

and I am certain that at whichever one I had 

gone to, I would have learned something. It’s 

a truism, I know, but it is the acquisition of 

knowledge that makes you realise just how 

ignorant you really are. 

But, for all that, as always, the best times 

were the bits in between. I’ve lived in 

Switzerland, now, for two years and been an 

ETAS member for nearly eighteen months. 

I went to last year’s AGM and I’ve been to 

a couple of other events since. At each one 

I’ve met some super people. So it was at this 

year’s AGM. Wherever you went, whoever 

you queued next to for something, stood next 

to at coffee, sat next to at lunch or dinner; 

whoever it was, was somebody interesting. 

Every one of them had a story to tell. 

This diversity of origins, experience and 

outlook, held together by our common 

profession, is reflected in this the Spring 

Edition of your Journal. You’ve read the 

Contents Page already, haven’t you? So you 

know what a fascinating mixture of articles we 

have. Some so academically learned that I 

had to sit with my index finger pointing to each 

word as I read it; others of a practical nature 

with ideas for, and assistance in, the classroom. 

Then there’s the news of our diverse activities, 

our special interests and our contacts with, 

and the help we give to, the world beyond 

our mountainous little island in the middle of 

Europe. 

It cannot be stressed enough just how grateful 

we are to all our contributors: for their time 

and effort so generously given. One feature of 

the Journal that we all take for granted is the 

photographs. Clark Stoppia is there at all the 

events, clicking away. Then, when the events 

are written up, they are brought back to life 

with his super pictures. Well, Clark thinks 

it’s time to develop other interests (develop 

– geddit? Only, I suppose you don’t do that 

any more in this Digital Age, do you?). So, we 

are in urgent need of a new photographer. 

Not only can we guarantee that you will get 

your photographs published but also, being 

the “Official Photographer” gives you the right 

to be ‘officially nosey’. “Hello, I’m the Official 

Photographer. Who are you? Where are you 

from? What do you do?” So, we have an 

advertisement telling you where and from 

whom you can get more details. 

Thank you also to all our advertisers, without 

whom the production of this Journal would not 

be possible. 

And finally, I really enjoyed standing in for 

Steve Lander to edit this edition of your 

Journal. But, no need to worry, folks, the 

professional will back for the next issue. And I 

must acknowledge that I would have found it 

an impossible task without the cheerful 

assistance of the Editorial Board (Carol 

Gipson, Diane Theobald, Frances Burkhalter, 

Lee Wennerberg and Nicola Martignoni), 

the help and advice from Amy Jost (Madam 

President) and the skills and professionalism 

of Angela Munson (Madam Vice President). 

My very grateful thanks to all of them. 

John Raggett 

NEWS 

ETAS Journal 25/2 Spring 2008 5

ETAS07.FH11 17.09.2007 10:44 Uhr Seite 3 

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President’s Report 

Nine years ago when I joined ETAS, I 

remember sitting in the audience in awe of 

the Committee on stage at the SIG Day in 

Wil. I was thrilled to have found a professional 

organization willing to produce two national 

events, along with many regional workshops 

every year – to say nothing of publishing 

Journals, running a lending library and 

offering loads of teacher training courses. That 

Saturday I met many of my current ETAS 

colleagues and friends: JoAnn Salvisberg, 

Alison Taylor, Donna Aebersold, Claire 

Jackson, Robin Hull, Rosemary Smeets, to 

name just a few. Additionally, I dragged a 

new friend, Angela Munson (who now serves 

as our Vice President), to that event. It was 

therefore with great pride that I accepted the 

position of President of ETAS at our 24th 

AGM in Lugano, sitting on stage this time 

looking out into an audience of friends, 

colleagues, role models, and language 

teaching gurus. 

After serving as ETAS Treasurer for four 

years, I feel as if I know most of the comings 

and goings of our Association. What I lack 

in experience will hopefully be compensated 

for by my enthusiasm and our two long-term 

ETAS members, Cindy Hauert (who has taken 

over the Treasurer role and has been an SC 

for years) and Steve Lander, who has been to 

nearly every ETAS event for the past quarter 

of a century and has served ETAS in many 

different roles, including serving as the Basel 

RC when I entered ETAS in 1999. They both 

joined the Committee in January (although 

Steve has been working as Publications Chair 

since August 2007) and complement a great 

group of Committee members, most of whom 

are now serving the second year of their 

first term. Jayne Herzog, our expert National 

Events Chair, joined the Committee two years 

ago and has agreed to stay on another term. 

She and Angela Munson (who has served as 

our creative Web Chair since May of 2006 

and as our DTP professional since July 2006) 

are the most senior members of the Committee, 

except, of course, for beloved Past President, 

Alison Taylor, who has served ETAS for 13 

years in various positions. 

With at least one year now under our 

collective belts, the Committee hopes to 

launch new ideas, manage our time more 

efficiently, and adapt to the changing landscape 

of English teaching in Switzerland. 

One challenge for me, personally, is writing 

these columns. A big difference you’ll notice 

between Alison Taylor and me will already be 

apparent if you’ve read my report thus far. 

Alison is a closet journalist. She’s an excellent 

writer (among other things!) and has always 

filled this column with clever words and just 

the right mixture of pleas and thanks to you, 

our members. Unfortunately I fall into that 

category of student who never gets around to 

writing their essays while preparing for exams. 

So please bear with me for the next few years 

as I struggle to put my thoughts on paper. 

What I lack in wordsmithing, I make up for 

with my gift of gab. Call me if you’d like to 

chat, give advice or suggest ideas. Interestingly, 

I just re-read Alison’s Editorial for the 

1st AGM Special, which she launched and 

organized (closet journalist strikes again!). 

In her article she mentioned, “As Editor, I 

had the task of ringing round for volunteers 

to write these reports – something I did not 

particularly relish because phoning is far from 

my favourite pastime, as neglected friends of 

mine will confirm.” See? We’re definitely not 

cut from the same cloth, but in our hearts we 

are both committed to ETAS, which is what 

truly matters. 

By the way, this year’s AGM Special is 

included in this mailing, in which you’ll find two 

articles written by Alison, and take a peek at 

the Editorial Board list in this Journal on page 

3; you might be surprised who’s listed there! 

Okay, back to what ETAS will be offering 

you in this issue of the Journal. First, I’d like 

to thank Steve Lander and his competent 

Editorial Board, especially John Raggett, for 

making my job easier by ever so smoothly 

editing and coordinating this, Steve’s third 

Journal. I can only imagine how much more 

difficult it would have been for me to write this 

first report if I had had to assist a new 

Publications Chair with his first Journal. 

Second, I hope you take the time to read 

Cindy Hauert’s report on the Teacher-to- 

Teacher Project on pages 22 and 23. She 

put together a moving presentation at the 

AGM, which unfortunately only a few people 

saw, about our current project in Zimbabwe. 

It’s a real nightmare what’s happening there 

and her efforts for the Matopo primary school 

have been laudable. Albert Einstein said, “The 

world is a dangerous place, not because of 

those who do evil, but because of those who 

look on and do nothing.” Please consider 

NEWS 

getting involved and helping this very worthy 

cause. 

Third, I encourage you to take the time to read 

what your colleagues have written about in 

this the first of our 25th anniversary publications. 

Claire Jackson informs us about the 

pension scheme on page 29, one of the many 

valuable services we provide to our members, 

and JoAnn Salvisberg compiled the Special 

Supplement from page 8 about I/C, which is 

the shortened form for Immersion/CLIL. Read 

it to find out all you need to know about this 

new and exciting aspect of teaching. 

Finally, I’d like to leave you with this last 

thought: “A community is like a ship; everyone 

ought to be prepared to take the helm.” 

Henrik Ibsen said that and my taking the role 

of ETAS President endorses that sentiment. 

I’m not an outstanding individual (or writer), 

but one who’s willing to take the lead for this 

very worthy community of ours. I hope that my 

term as your President will be a successful 

one for ETAS, its members, the Committee 

and me personally. I will certainly do my best 

and with the help of my predecessor, our 

Administrator and the Committee, I hope to 

welcome new ideas, celebrate our 25 years 

of history and establish new directions for the 

future and most importantly encourage you, 

our members, to become or remain active 

volunteers. And, yes, I hope we all have some 

fun, too! 

Amy Jost 

President 


SPECIAL Supplement I/C: a new approach arising 

Editorial 

Rather than seeing “a bad moon arising” as 

Credence Clearwater sang in the 60s, this 

Mini-Supplement offers an insider view of the 

new approach to language teaching: 

Immersion/CLIL. 

The Central Switzerland Region and 

Immersion/CLIL1 SIG members, as well 

as ETAS members at large, were invited 

to submit articles for this Mini-Supplement. 

Suggestions for content, based on research 

and/or practical, personal experience in the 

classroom, included: 

� a lesson plan they have used in a CLIL or 

Immersion class 

� the differences and similarities between 

CLIL and Immersion 

� which subjects are particularly suitable for 

an immersion course 

� the differences and similarities between 

CLIL or Immersion and a ‘normal’ ELT 

lesson 

We are very appreciative of those who 

contributed to this issue and are pleased 

to present you with their thought-provoking 

articles. 

The first contribution, submitted by Gabriela 

Pedrini, offers a detailed plan of a bilingual 

lesson she has taught in her classes in 

which she has masterfully combined English 

language learning within the content of art 

history. 

Focusing on Young Learners, Tania Erzinger’s 

article makes the case for immersion courses 

for teaching children English, highlighting the 

importance of implementing themes, songs, 

games and activities which appeal to their 

age, interests and understanding of the world. 

Illya Arnet-Clark shares her pre-writing 

experiences teaching 1st to 6th grade students, 

during which time she discovered that the CLIL 

(versus traditional) approach was not only 

more empowering and motivating, but better 

for encouraging learner independence. 

In her very timely article, Nina Lauder 

presents ETAS Journal readers with contentbased 

(CLIL) activities for the spring season 

which should appeal to the various types of 

learners in our classes, and a few excellent 

websites to explore for more resource 

material. 

8 ETAS Journal 25/2 Spring 2008 

ETAS member and Prorektorin of the 

Kantonsschule Lucerne, Renata Leimer shares 

her knowledge, experience and opinion of the 

Bilingual Matura (immersion) in a personal 

interview with Donna Aebersold. 

Lastly, we have the introduction to an article 

published by Eurydice, the information network 

on education in Europe, which describes 

the history and rise of CLIL in classrooms 

worldwide, particularly in schools in Europe. 

(See link at close of article to download the 

complete 82-page document.) 

Despite long being admired for successfully 

coping with the challenges of multilingualism, 

Switzerland has recently been challenged to 

reconsider its political position on education 

due to the rapidly growing importance of 

English. These articles offer readers a glimpse 

of how some of the newer methods and 

approaches are being, or could be, 

implemented in English language classes. 

JoAnn Salvisberg 

Teacher Development Chair 

1 Content and Language Integrated Learning

I/C: a new approach arising 

Bilingual Lesson Plan Focusing on Art in 

the Middle Ages 

General aims 

One of the most important aims of teaching 

history of art is to contribute to the students’ 

general knowledge about history, past 

civilizations, cultures and artifacts, in order to 

improve understanding of the contemporary 

society, their expressions and productions. 

The students should be able to develop 

sensitivity towards their culture as well as their 

society, thus undergoing a cultural enrichment. 

Additionally, teaching the history of art 

as a bilingual subject (Italian as L1 and 

English as L2) contributes to the students’ 

global development, widening their possibilities 

for international communication. 

Assumptions 

It is assumed that students have already done 

some reading exercises, know the past tense 

and have already followed art history lessons 

on Roman art and civilization and have some 

historical knowledge of the Middle Ages. 

Thus, these bilingual lessons with English 

texts should revise, strengthen and add artistic 

comprehension to the students’ previous 

knowledge. 

Communicative and linguistic aims 

To discover Medieval artistic production. 

To interpret, read in plenum, hear texts on 

the topic and fill in the missing information in 

groups. 

To revise past tense (especially irregulars) 

and sentence structure from a linguistic point 

of view. 

Anticipated problems 

The text might be too complicated from a 

linguistic viewpoint, thus the students who 

are weak in English might be discouraged 

by it. For this reason, the teacher will leave 

adequate time to the students to first read the 

texts on their own using a dictionary; following 

that, the teacher will read in plenum the texts 

and clarify difficult words or/and concepts. 

Class dynamics 

Frontal and group work. 

My procedures. 

Classroom management 

The frontal form is initially employed for my 

introduction of the topic to the class as well 

as for the translations/explanations of parts of 

the reading. 

Lesson plan 

First of all, I elicit from the students what 

they know about the Middle Ages: I throw a 

soft ball to a student to ask him/her some 

information on the topic, then s/he throws it 

to someone else. This activity lasts about 5 

minutes, it’s a fun warm-up that starts activating 

and distancing the students’ thoughts from 

either the former lesson or the break they 

have just had and the students usually like it. 

Then, I write “Middle Ages” on the Overhead 

Projector (OHP) and with a spider-web drawing 

I connect all the information the students have 

said in the warm-up. 

In the meantime, I project some medieval artwork 

(4-5 pages) to see if they can add other 

data to the topic. I use images to brainstorm 

students’ knowledge, because some students 

remember better with speech and writing 

whereas others need visual images. Effective 

communication happens with the understanding 

and respect of another person’s 

preferred communication style (visual, auditory 

or kinaesthetic). If a teacher does not take into 

consideration these different communication 

styles, he/she risks a situation like the one 

illustrated: 

After this warm-up, I make an introductory 

speech about the Middle Ages, based on the 

information the students have brought up in 

order to create a tailor-made lesson which 

relates to their previous knowledge. In this 

way the students are more attentive and concentrated 

and often discover that they know 

more than they thought at the beginning of the 

lesson. At this point I distribute the handouts 

and give the class ten minutes to study the 

first reading about the Middle Ages. They 

are encouraged to use the glossary of terms 

(designed for this topical lesson) as well as a 

dictionary, and I simply monitor this 

SPECIAL Supplement 

activity so that they may become independent 

whilst reading an L2 text. Regarding the worksheets, 

it is important that one leaves enough 

space for the students to write in the answers 

and/or to add information next to the text and 

the images. 

Then, I ask each student in turn to read a 

sentence in plenum, sometimes adding further 

information or explaining difficult passages 

so that students understand the important 

issues to underline and to keep track of the 

topic, without getting lost. After this activity, 

I allow about three minutes for the students 

to underline the key words in the text. Then 

I enquire about the keywords in plenum and 

pose questions about the most important 

dates and events in the Middle Ages from the 

data I have written on their handouts. After a 

short discussion I tell the students to underline 

the key dates and events that they must know. 

Subsequently, the students work in groups for 

about ten minutes to describe the mosaics on 

their worksheets (which they have in color on 

the beamer), and, as an extra activity for the 

quickest groups, to describe the colors of the 

mosaic. This enables students to use their 

linguistic skills to do the most important thing 

when seeing a work of art for the first time, 

that is, description. This is essential in order 

to interpret and contextualise all artwork. 

Moreover, the extra activity keeps all the 

students occupied and takes a mixed-ability 

class into consideration as, in this way, the 

faster students do not have time to disturb the 

slower ones. 

Following that, I ask a group to read aloud 

their description to the class and I ask the 

other students if they agree and/or would like 

to add anything to the group’s description. 

This plenary activity reassures students about 

their way of observing and describing a work 

of art. Finally, I ask students to read about the 

Byzantine splendor individually. I leave them 

about ten minutes, then I read the text in 

plenum, so that they listen to a correct 

pronunciation and punctuation and I can add 

and/or explain the information in the reading. 

If there is time or in the next lesson, I divide 

the students into pairs and ask them to reply 

to a specific set of questions based on the 

text read previously on Byzantine splendor. 

This activity enables the students to recall 

that reading, because they use part of it to 

respond to the questions on the text. After the 

correction in plenum, I leave them another ten 



minutes to read the next text and set them to 

work in pairs to answer the questions. When 

I see that everybody has finished this reading 

comprehension activity, I read it aloud to the 

class, explaining important passages. After 

enquiring about the replies, I write the latter 

on a transparency so that they not only listen 

to the answers but they can also visualize it 

in writing and even check the spelling of the 

words. 

At the end of each topic I either leave some 

time in class or ask students to read the 

L1 text in their books which will give further 

explanations and extra depth to the lesson’s 

topic. Furthermore, I usually connect important 

international artwork with art production in the 

students’ region. For example, from the 

Middle Ages I speak about the oldest church 

in Switzerland: the Baptistery of Riva San 

Vitale on Lake Ceresio, thirty minutes by 

car south of Bellinzona. I have realized that 

students enjoy learning about their province, 

because they are better acquainted with the 

place of residence and in the long run they 

appreciate Ticino much more and its artistic 

productions. After this lesson, I move on in 

time and continue the discussion on 

Romanesque architecture and finally on 

Gothic architecture. 

Conclusion 

To be honest, students are usually not very 

happy at first about having bilingual classes 

of art history because they feel that it is more 

difficult and that there is extra work involved. 

Furthermore, they are discouraged when they 

must read a page in English, so I must do 

some introduction work to the text. However, 

they are reassured when we read about the 

same topic in their art history coursebooks 

written in L1. In summary, bilingual teaching 

involves a lot of extra work for the teacher, 

who must be aware of it and realize that it 

takes a lot more time to deal with a topic in 

class. 

Gabriela Pedrini 

Gabriela Pedrini studied at the University of 

Geneva and did a diploma in American Culture 

Studies at Smith College, Northampton, MA, USA 

in 1998-99. When she came back to Switzerland, 

she taught English in Geneva middle schools and 

also earned her MA in art history, and English. After 

she got married in Ticino, she started teaching 

English in a private high school in Lugano and now 

works in a vocational state school in Bellinzona and 


at SUPSI in Trevano. She is also an UCLES 

examiner for FCE and has also been ETAS RC 

Ticino for a few years, taking over from Paolo 

Jacomelli. 

Very Young Learner English Immersion 

According to advocates of English immersion, 

the most efficient way for children to learn 

English is to be exposed constantly (A 

Debate Loses Sight of What’s at Sake, 

Baynes, Lewandowska & Schuster 2007). 

Creating an English immersion program for 

very young learners (3-4 years old) can and 

and should involve a very communicative, 

hands-on style of teaching and learning. The 

young learners are immersed in an environment 

where they feel safe and are able to 

learn English in a way that is non-threatening, 

using a variety of themes, games, songs and 

techniques through use of multiple intelligences. 

According to Harmer it is the teacher’s role 

to activate the students’ schemata (The 

Practice of English Language Teaching, 

Jeremy Harmer, Longman 1991). This is 

something that is in its early stages with very 

young learners. Therefore, the themes, songs, 

games and activities for the students must be 

based on their understanding of the world. 

Annie Hughes has written that the very young 

learner will look for clues and will use anything 

around them to support this, i.e. materials, 

objects, realia, visual aids, gestures, 

pronunciation, interaction with other learners 

and even comparisons between L1 and 

L2. Therefore it is extremely important that 

the teacher is able to reach the learners at 

different levels. For example, just talking to 

the children is not enough. There should be 

a structured lesson for the learners and it 

should be managed in a way that the learners 

do not necessarily realize they are learning a 

new language. It needs to be fun and 

meaningful for these very young learners. 

A day that is structured the same every day 

is an integral part of making the very young 

learners feel safe and a wonderful way to 

recycle and extend language. If children have 

the same routine every day for example, 

entering the school, placing their snack in the 

snack box, taking off their coats and hanging 

them up, then taking off their shoes and 

putting on their slippers, the teacher and/or 

assistant are on stand-by, constantly using the 

language, “Snack in the box”, “Don’t forget to 

put your slippers on”, etc. Through this constant 

immersion of both hearing and doing the 

learners are able to create associations that 

will through time become second nature. 

Allowing the very young learners adequate 

time to play in this immersion environment 

gives them a chance to use feedback by ‘trying 

out’ language and then adjusting to his/her 

understanding according to the feedback (A. 

Hughes, 2004). That stated, it is also okay 

for the very young learners to play in their L1 

because they are still processing the L2 and 

in some situations are going to school with 

children that share the same L1. The 

teacher’s interaction during these play times 

can be as an observer but also as a playmate 

who in turn activates the English through 

playing, i.e. a game or a puzzle. 

Part of the everyday routine should include 

the circle time. This circle time includes the 

same structure every day, i.e. holding hands 

and saying good morning and the teacher 

greeting each child. A large chunk of the circle 

time will also be geared to the theme-based 

approach. It is said that a theme-based 

approach to teaching English is integral because 

it caters for different abilities of learner. 

It provides a wide variety of activities that 

extend and recycle language. It creates an 

opportunity for lots of practice and 

repetition. It helps to make the language 

learning process meaningful and purposeful. 

It helps to develop natural language skills 

in the target language (e.g. taking turns) (A. 

Hughes, University of York, 1994). 

Themes can be chosen in a variety of ways. 

Age and group appropriate books can be 

chosen by the teacher and graded for the 

very young learners’ needs. However, it is not 

necessarily a good idea to read the book to 

the learners in one sitting. Instead exploit the 

material by telling the story over a period of 

time, creating flashcards or games that would 

be relative to the story. Use gestures to tell


the story eliciting kinaesthetic learning or 

again by using the pictures to activate visual 

learning. Songs and chants reach the 

auditory learners. Crafts chosen that relate 

to the theme give the very young learners 

an opportunity to hear target language over 

and over again in a different situation. Also 

activities that are in some way related to the 

very young learner’s own life and experience 

again activate the schemata and make it more 

meaningful to them. 

Annie Hughes reminds the teacher when 

creating theme-based activities that teachers 

should keep it interesting for the children. 

Keep it challenging for the children. Make 

sure each activity is both meaningful and 

purposeful. This can be achieved by 

using ‘real’ language that the students will 

hear in their everyday lives and by the teacher 

making sure this language is recycled and 

that the language is heard over and over 

again in different situations. Lastly, always 

make sure the language is well supported. 

A very young learner attending an English 

playgroup where the learner is completely 

immersed in the language is not only gaining 

full access to that language but also insight 

into another culture. If this immersion is followed 

through and the learner continues to 

learn the language, ultimately the learner’s 

bilingualism will allow the learner to bridge 

gaps between other cultures. 

Tania Erzinger 

Tania Erzinger is the manager and teacher of both 

the English Playgroup and Kindergarten programme 

at the Fun-tastic English Club in Horgen. 

She has been working there for 4 years. She also 

helped set up the English part of the Kindergarten 

at TAZ Bilingual Day School Zimmerberg, Horgen 

in 2002-03. Her previous career was in 

advertising where she worked as a Creative 

Coordinator, Traffic Coordinator and Creative 

Headhunter which led to her first part-time 

teaching job at the Maryland College of Art, 

teaching Advertising Portfolio and Resumé Design. 

She began her full-time teaching career as a 

primary school teacher teaching both 2nd and 4th 

grade. She started off in very challenging inner city 

schools in both Baltimore, Maryland and South 

Florida. She has also been working as a freelance 

artist since 1997, exhibiting her work in Baltimore, 

Boston, North Carolina, Florida and Zürich. She 

holds a BA in English from Boston University and 

completed the CELTA in November 2007. 

My experiences with CLIL (Content and 

Language Integrated Learning) 

I was asked to write this article as the author 

of the English coursebook Young World, but 

instead I’d like to go back to my experiences 

before I began writing. 

I’ve been teaching groups of children from 

first to sixth grade for about ten years now. 

With the introduction of English in the primary 

schools, this has dwindled down to a single 

small group of fifth graders at present. 

For the younger groups I chose the topics 

and collected the materials. The topics for the 

younger children were related to everyday 

things and their interests with the intention of 

building up a foundation of vocabulary. 

As they grew older and more mature the 

topics changed. They became more interested 

in other cultures and began choosing the 

topics themselves. Sometimes ideas grew 

from a story we were reading. One example of 

this is when we read and dramatized the story 

of a boy who flew off on a camel with a friend 

and his little brother. We used the atlas to find 

the places they went to and then decided on 

where the pupils would go if they could fly 

away on a camel. These places were also 

located in the atlas and we collected all we 

knew about them, adding new information as 

well. A new story developed, including some 

of that cultural information, and was then 

acted out for the parents. 


Their interest in other cultures was nurtured 

and in the next couple of years we travelled to 

Scotland to visit Nessy, to the koalas in 

Australia, to the gold rush in San Francisco, 

we visited the dragons of China, and of 

course they also took each other on a tour 

through London. The pupils were very 

interested and read texts that I had found on 

the internet, most of them intended for native 

speakers. They were able to understand the 

sense of these rather complex texts and could 

interact with them quite independently by the 

end. 

During this time I was asked to try out a 

coursebook with one of my groups (third 

grade) to see if it would be appropriate for use 

in the Swiss school system. The course had 

well thought out elements, many interesting 

activities that supported cognitive development, 

and integrated use of a video. There 

were a variety of topics, but the approach 

was rather traditional and more language 

based than we had been using. Although it 

was appealing to the pupils, after a semester I 

felt that this class wasn’t developing as much 

as they had in the past within the same time 

frame. In the end, I wasn’t the only one who 

was happy to go back to the previous style of 

teaching and learning. 

Seeing the difference between the effects of 

using this coursebook and the results of the 

more content-based approach was a key 

experience for me. It influenced my later work 

as an author of the coursebook Young World. 

Although at the beginning of the languagelearning 

stage it is still important to build up 

vocabulary, much more can be achieved by 

tying language in with content and introducing 

pupils to new contexts and ideas. Instead 

of using the context as a vehicle for the 

language, focusing on the content and using 

the language as the vehicle will enrich and 

speed up the learning process. The content 

stimulates curiosity, desire to learn, and a 

reason to understand and use the language. 

The pupils are immersed in language and can 

make their own choices as to what they say 

and how to say it. 

Thus, it becomes clear that CLIL has more 

to do with just adding content to language. A 

CLIL approach uses language for acquiring 

knowledge and gives the learners intrinsic 

reasons for using the language. Implementing 

CLIL in language teaching can empower the 

learners and support learner independence. 



Through CLIL the language transforms itself 

into a network of ideas, meaningful and 

relevant to the learner. 

Illya Arnet-Clark 

Illya Arnet-Clark is an English teacher and teacher 

trainer. She has been teaching privately to children 

for over ten years. She is co-author of the early 

English coursebook series ‘Young World’ for Swiss 

primary schools. 

Hull’s School – Zürich’s downtown 

international school 

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just behind the Zürich Opera House. 

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info@hullschool.ch 

www.hullschool.ch 


Spring Fever: Content Based Activities for 

Springtime 

Spring is just around the corner and, as days 

get longer and flowers burst into bloom, the 

pupils in our class show newfound surges of 

energy. As teachers, we need to know how to 

tap into this energy and channel it accordingly. 

One of the ways we can do this is by bringing 

content and language learning together in 

springtime activities that appeal to different 

types of learners in our class. 

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World Organisation 

CLIL (Content and Language Integrated 

Learning) is a term with which teachers are 

becoming increasingly familiar. The basic idea 

of CLIL is to teach a non-language subject, for 

example, Science or Social Studies, through 

a foreign language, in this case, English. In 

doing so, the emphasis is taken off learning a 

language itself and placed on learning content 

through a foreign language. Research and 

feedback from teachers in a variety of settings 

has shown that this approach enhances the 

pupils’ educational experience while allowing 

them to receive additional exposure to English 

without requiring extra time in the curriculum. 

CLIL is currently being incorporated into 

educational contexts around the world in a 

variety of ways. In some cases, pupils are given 

small ‘doses’ of the content area in English 

whilst, in other settings, pupils are studying in 

full-fledged bilingual immersion programmes. 

Some educators make distinctions between 

hard CLIL, where limited concessions are 

made to reduce content and language load,


and soft CLIL, which are seen as being less 

demanding. 

The activities that are suggested in this article 

can be used in the English class or in content 

area classes and can be led by either the 

language teacher or content area teacher. 

In most cases, the activities do not require 

extensive preparation and can be carried 

out with primary or lower secondary pupils. 

The activities can be used to start classes, 

as fillers, as lesson closers, or they can help 

introduce a new topic, or review activities 

once a topic has been covered. 

Spring isn’t spring without…. 

To kick off the topic of spring, write the 

sentence stem ‘Spring isn’t spring 

without….’ on the board. Give the pupils time 

to brainstorm appropriate answers. Encourage 

pupils to share their sentences with their 

classmates; then hand out paper for them to 

make a list or a poster with their ideas. 

Suggested answers might include, Spring 

isn’t spring without…. rainstorms, flowers, 

baby animals, sunny days, Easter, migration… 

Pairwork 

Pairwork activities in class make the use of 

language more meaningful and give pupils 

more opportunity to speak than in teacherled 

tasks. Pairwork activities for CLIL include 

labelling tasks such as each pupil having a 

labelled illustration with some words missing 

and they ask their classmates for the missing 

information. Also gap-fill tasks at sentence 

level, or general knowledge questions (see 

below). 

Baby Animals 

A – Ask your partner: 

What is a baby dog called? (pup/puppy) 

What is a baby bee called? (larva) 

What is a baby kangaroo called? (joey) 

What is a baby goat called? (kid) 

Baby Animals 

B – Ask your partner: 

What is a baby cat called? (kitten) 

What is a baby duck called? (duckling) 

What is a baby frog called? (tadpole) 

What is a baby pig called? (piglet) 

The Atmosphere 

A – True or False 

The Earth’s atmosphere is a layer of gases 

surrounding the Earth. (True) 

The Earth’s atmosphere is 40% nitrogen. 

(False, it is about 78%) 

The troposphere is the lowest level of the 

Earth’s atmosphere (closest to Earth). (True) 

The Atmosphere 

B – True or False 

The Earth’s atmosphere is retained by the 

Earth’s magnetic pull. (False, it is retained by 

gravity) 

The Earth’s atmosphere protects life on Earth. 

(True) 

The temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere 

varies with altitude. (True) 

Spring Music 

It is said that “music calms the savage beast”, 

hence springtime is a perfect time to bring 

music into the classroom. Depending on the 

age group and level of pupils, they can work 

on traditional songs, popular songs, or pieces 

of classical music that tie in with springtime. 

Younger learners enjoy songs such as “Rain, 

rain, go away”, “Itsy bitsy spider” or “Five 

green and speckled frogs” while older learners 

can listen to and discuss the lyrics from songs 

like “Big Yellow Taxi” (Joni Mitchell, 1988), 

“What a Wonderful World” (Louis Armstrong, 

1967) or “Beautiful Day” (U2, 2000). To 

develop music awareness, pupils can listen 

to classical music offerings such as “Spring” 

from Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” or the 

“Waltz of the Flowers” by Tchaikovsky. 

Fly Butterfly Fly! 

One way to bring colour and life to the 

classroom is to make butterflies. Pupils make 

butterflies from different coloured card then 

place a paper clip onto each butterfly. They 

hang the butterflies from the walls of the 

classroom using thread or string. Hand out 

magnets to different groups of pupils and help 

them make the butterflies ‘fly’ using magnetism. 

If done carefully, the butterflies will flutter and 

twitch without having the magnet actually 

touch them. 


Materials: 

coloured card, paper clips, thread or string, 

magnets 

Spring Symmetry 

The world of nature is full of examples of 

symmetry. Encourage pupils to look at 

different plants and animals and decide if 

they have lines of symmetry or not. Bring in a 

variety of leaves for pupils to look at. If they 

divide a leaf in half, they will find that one half 

often has the same shape as the other. 

Butterflies are also exceptional examples 

of symmetry in nature. Show a picture of a 

butterfly with its wings open and encourage 

pupils to think about how it is symmetrical. 

For instance, butterflies have an antenna 

on each side, they are the same shape on 

each side, and they have the same pattern or 

design on each side. Butterflies and beetles 

are examples of line (bilateral) symmetry 

while a number of flowers illustrate examples 

of rotational (radial) symmetry. Honeycombs 

formed by bees are examples of hexagonal 

symmetry in nature. Encourage pupils to find 

pictures or examples of symmetry in nature 

and to display them. 

Egg Quiz 

Many cultures around the world see the egg 

as a symbol of new life and hence associate 

it with springtime. A number of these cultures 

paint eggs with bright colours and give them 

out or hide them at Easter time. Find out 

how much pupils know about eggs by doing 

an egg quiz in class. Questions can include 

things such as, How many eggs does an 

average hen lay yearly? (approximately 

300), Which part of the egg is highest in 

fat? (yolk) or How old is the average hen 

when it starts laying eggs? (20 weeks). 

Older learners can research information on 

eggs and write the quiz questions themselves. 

Experiments 

Performing hands-on experiments in class 

encourages children to make observations 

and hypotheses, to take notes, and to come 

to conclusions. Some springtime experiments 

that can be carried out in class are: 

Spring Potato Pets: Younger pupils enjoy 

watching things grow. Time and space 

providing, pupils can make ‘potato pets’ (see 

illustration) and grow ‘hair’ on them using 



grass seeds or alfalfa seeds. Pupils cut a 

section of the potato (on what will be the 

animal’s back) and scoop out a few spoonfuls 

of potato. They draw a face on their pet, add 

toothpick legs, and then sprinkle seeds onto 

dampened cotton wool on the animal’s back. 

Place the pets in a safe, sunny place and 

watch their green hair grow. Pupils can make 

daily observations in their notebook or on a 

chart. 

Materials: 

beans or grass/alfalfa seeds, cotton wool, 

potato, toothpicks 

Tree Rubbings: Pupils can learn to identify 

patterns and textures in different types of tree 

bark by doing rubbings. Give each pupil a 

piece of paper and a crayon. Explain how to 

do rubbings, then take them outside to find 

two different types of trees and to do their 

rubbings. If children cannot leave the class 

during lesson time, this step can be assigned 

as homework. When they have done their 

rubbings, they compare them and observe 

distinguishing features on various tree barks. 

Materials: 

crayons, paper, different types of trees 

Rainbow Celery: To demonstrate how the 

stems of plants absorb water and carry 

minerals from the soil to the leaves, make 

rainbow celery in class. Cut the stalk of a 

piece of celery, but not the leaves. Place the 

leafy celery stalk in 10-12cms of water with 

food colouring and ask pupils to imagine what 

they think will happen. After several hours (or 

overnight), the coloured water should begin to 

rise up the stalks to the leaves. This 

experiment can also be done with white 

carnations. 

Materials: 

food colouring, three stalks of celery, knife, 

water, clear glass containers 


Spring Festivities 

A number of holidays around the world take 

place in spring. Pupils can research information 

on celebrations like Groundhog Day 

(February 2nd), Saint Patrick’s Day (March 

17th), Earth Day, Songkran Festival (April 

13th, Thai new year) or Holi (Hindu spring 

festival) and share their findings with their 

classmates. 

Websites 

There are endless resources online to help 

bring spring into the classroom. Some 

examples of web pages with activities include: 

www.primaryresources.co.uk/topic/topic. 

htm 

Topic, theme and cross-curricular resources. 

Section dedicated to Easter activities and 

lesson plans. 

www.dltk-holidays.com/spring/index.htm 

Spring crafts and printable colouring pages for 

young learners. 

www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/spring 

Springtime crafts and worksheets from 

Enchanted Learning. 

www.hunkinsexperiments.com 

Hundreds of experiments with food, light, 

sounds, clothes and more. Each experiment 

comes with an illustrated cartoon to help 

pupils understand procedures. 

Language teachers and content area teachers 

can use fast and easy ideas like these to 

bring language and content together in their 

classrooms. Using language as a vehicle to 

teach content offers pupils a change from the 

language-driven approach and enhances their 

learning experience. 

Have fun bringing spring into your 

classroom � 

Useful Resources 

Birdsall, Melanie: Timesaver Cross-Curricular 

English Activities, Mary Glasgow Magazines, 

London, © 2001 

Bowler, Bill and Thompson, Lesley: Timesaver 

British History Highlights, Mary Glasgow 

Magazines, London, © 2005 

Burwood, S., Dunford H., Phillips, D: Projects 

with Young Learners, Oxford University Press, 

© 1999 

Fried-Booth, Diana L.: Project Work, Oxford 

University Press, © 2002 

Lauder, Nina: JET: Projects Across the 

Curriculum, Mary Glasgow Magazines, 

London, © 2006. 

Marsh, D.: Using languages to learn and 

learning to use languages, Eds. D. Marsh & 

G. Langé, Finland: University of Jyväskylä, © 

2000 

Svecova, Hana: Cross-curricular Activities, 

Oxford Basics, Oxford University Press © 

2004 

Nina Lauder 

Holds a B.A. in Humanities from Bishop’s 

University, Canada. She has been teaching at all 

levels since 1990 and is involved in educational 

consulting and teacher training. She has given 

workshops all over Spain and has also recently 

led teacher-training workshops in Croatia, Turkey, 

Serbia and Poland. She is a materials writer for 

ELT and CLIL books and has published several 

articles. She currently works as a freelance author 

and teacher trainer. For more information: 

http://ninaspain.blogspot.com

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Immersion in Central Switzerland Proves 

Successful 

An interview with Renata Leimer 

Renate Leimer has been a teacher of English 

at the Kantonsschule Lucerne since 1996. 

During this time she began working on a 

project to form a bilingual Matura program. In 

2002 she became Prorektorin Obergymnasium, 

which included responsibility for the newly 

created bilingual Matura. I have come to know 

Renata as a committed, progressive and 

passionate educator. 

D.A. How many years has the Kantonsschule 

been offering the bilingual Matura and 

in what languages is it offered? 

R.L. The first pilot program began in August 

2002. It was offered in English and French, 

the French program being suspended in 2005 

due to too few applicants. 

D.A. Was the Kantonsschule Lucerne the 

first to offer a bilingual program in Central 

Switzerland? 

R.L. We were the first public ‘gymnasium’ to 

offer the program. Several private schools had 

this option. To my knowledge, we are the only 

public school in the canton of Lucerne 

offering a bilingual Matura. The Kantonsschule 

Zug started a bilingual program this 

school year. 

D.A. Why did the school decide to offer this 

program? 

R.L. There were several reasons. There was 

a teacher initiative. We also had positive experiences 

in immersive teaching projects and 

it was a positive addition to our school profile 

and innovations. Interest was shown by both 

students and parents, and qualified teachers 

were willing to put in the extra effort. We also 

had the support of the school administration 

and cantonal bodies (BKD). 

D.A. How were the subjects decided upon? 

R.L. The EDK (Erziehungsdirektorenkonferenz 

on the national level) guidelines state 

that at least two subjects must be taught in a 

second language encompassing a minimum 

of 600 lessons. This can only be attained if a 

subject with a significant number of lessons, 

such as math, is included. In addition, at least 

one subject must belong to the “Geistes- und 

Sozialwissenschaften” (history-economygeography). 

Math is fairly accessible as a 


subject taught immersively, while history is 

fairly demanding due to its rich vocabulary 

and rather text-oriented content: this results 

in a good mix of subjects taught in L2. We 

also have qualified and motivated teachers in 

these subjects. 

D.A. Do you see any expansion of subjects 

being offered? 

R.L. A future extension would be offering 

Physics and Biology in the 4th year (start 

2009). Parts of elective Economics and Law 

have been offered since 2004. 

D.A. This past fall saw the beginning of the 

Primary English Program in Canton Lucerne. 

How do you see the effect of this on future 

Kantonsschule students? 

R.L. By August 2011, the students coming to 

Kantonsschule Lucerne will have had 4 years 

of English and 2 of French. We are currently 

discussing the consequences this will have 

on our English curriculum and on the bilingual 

program. One option that we are considering 

is offering a bilingual program from the 1st 

year of the Kantonsschule. As for language 

teaching, the English (and the French) departments 

are also preparing for the intake of 

these students. 

D.A. Will all future Matura students be 

required to participate in immersion courses? 

R.L. In my opinion, the bilingual Matura will 

(and should) remain an option that is chosen 

voluntarily by students (such as the Schwerpunktfächer 

or Ergänzungsfächer). However, 

immersive teaching is very likely to appear in 

various subjects in the future, also in classes 

that are not enrolled in the bilingual Matura. 

Several subjects are working with English 

(and French) texts in their lessons – with good 

results. 

D.A. What are the prerequisites for students 

that are accepted into the program? 

R.L. Our students must be motivated. They 

also should have a high threshold for 

frustration. They must be persistent, have a 

great deal of stamina and the ability to live 

with insecurities. They need to have a grade 

point average of 4.5 in the first semester of 

the second year with a minimum of a 4.0 in 

Math and History. Should they not meet one of 

these criteria, they need the recommendation 

of the class teacher. A bilingual background is 

not required. 

D.A. What are the teacher qualifications? 

R.L. Profiles for teachers are a) mother 

tongue, b) bilingual, c) studied both subject 

and language, and d) subject qualification and 

subsequent language qualification. Teachers 

attend regular language courses or stays 

(especially non-mother tongue teachers). 

D.A. What have been the results of the 

program thus far? 

R.L. A study by Heidi Bürgi in 2003-2005 

showed that after just one year in immersion 

the students in the bilingual program wrote 

120 words compared to 90 in a control 

group. After a further year in the program the 

students improved a minimum of a half of a 

level (of the Common Reference Levels). The 

English language knowledge of immersion 

classes is a full level higher than that of the 

control group. 

D.A. What are the advantages of a student 

enrolling in the English bilingual Matura? 

R.L. First of all, there is the increased 

contact with the English language. Then there 

are the additional challenges offered both 

language-wise and subject-wise. Thirdly, there 

is the advantage of an increased awareness 

of language in general. 

D.A. It is my opinion that the bilingual Matura 

has many advantages. Its success is not in 

the number of graduates with a higher level 

of English but rather the confident student 

that emerges from the program. These are 

students that enthusiastically challenged 

themselves a bit further. The bilingual Matura 

provides an opportunity for curious, determined 

and independent learners. 

Interviewed by Donna Aebersold

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Introduction to Content and Language 

Integrated Learning (CLIL) at Schools in 

Europe 

Schools in which the teaching of certain 

subjects in the curriculum may be offered in 

a foreign, regional or minority language have 

existed in Europe for several decades. 

Before the 1970s, this type of provision was 

mainly available in regions that were 

linguistically distinctive (because they 

were close to national borders or used two 

languages, etc), or in the largest cities. It thus 

concerned very limited numbers of pupils 

who were growing up in somewhat unusual 

linguistic or social contexts. The aim was to 

turn them into bilingual children by enabling 

them to acquire proficiency in languages comparable 

to that of native speakers. Indeed, 

the terms generally used to denote this kind 

of provision are ‘bilingual’ school, education 

or teaching. During the 1970s and 1980s, 

development of this kind of provision has 

been influenced in particular by the Canadian 

experiment with immersion teaching. This 

first began as a result of English-speaking 

parents living in the province of Quebec who 

considered that proficiency in French was vital 

in a French speaking environment. They thus 

sought to offer their children an education in 

this language that would lead them to acquire 

significant language skills. 

Programmes for immersion teaching have 

been enormously successful in Canada. 

Support from the education authorities and 

the involvement of parents have undoubtedly 

been key factors in their success. 

These projects have given rise to a great deal 

of interesting research, especially from the 

teaching perspective. While it has gradually 

become clear that the Canadian experience 

is not directly transferable to Europe, it has 

nevertheless been valuable in stimulating 

research in this area and encouraging the 

development of a very wide range of experimental 

activity. 


The provision of immersion teaching may take 

many different forms. It may be regarded as 

‘early’ or ‘late’ depending on the age of the 

children for whom it is intended. It may be 

considered ‘total’ if the entire curriculum is 

taught in what is termed the target language, 

or ‘partial’ if that language is the language 

of instruction for just some subjects. These 

different approaches are a reflection of the 

rich variety of linguistic and educational 

environments, as well as the varied ambitions 

and aims of pupils or their parents and the 

education authorities. 

The acronym CLIL (Content and Language 

Integrated Learning) started to become the 

most widely used term for this kind of provision 

during the 1990s. CLIL is the platform for 

an innovative methodological approach of far 

broader scope than language teaching. 

Accordingly, its advocates stress how it seeks 

to develop proficiency in both the non-language 

subject and the language in which this is 

taught, attaching the same importance to 

each. Furthermore, achieving this twofold 

aim calls for the development of a special 

approach to teaching in that the non-language 

subject is not taught in a foreign language 

but with and through a foreign language. This 

implies a more integrated approach to both 

teaching and learning, requiring that teachers 

should devote special thought not just to how 

languages should be taught, but to the 

educational process in general. 

Over and above these special considerations, 

CLIL and other forms of bilingual or immersion 

teaching share certain common features 

that many experts are fond of emphasising. 

In organisational terms, for example, CLIL 

enables languages to be taught on a relatively 

intensive basis without claiming an excessive 

share of the school timetable. It is also 

inspired by important methodological principles 

established by research on foreign language 

teaching, such as the need for learners to 

be exposed to a situation calling for genuine 

communication. 

In the context of the present survey, the 

acronym CLIL is used as a generic term 

to describe all types of provision in which 

a second language (a foreign, regional or 

minority language and/or another official state 

language) is used to teach certain subjects in 

the curriculum other than languages lessons 

themselves. However, it is important to bear 



in mind that CLIL type provision is itself a 

product of the historical background outlined 

briefly in the present introduction and that, as 

such, it possesses its own special methodological 

and organisational characteristics. 

The terms and expressions used in different 

countries to denote CLIL type provision (as 

discussed in this study) are contained in 

annexe 1. EU support for CLIL. For many 

years now, language teaching has featured 

prominently in Community recommendations 

regarding education (1). The promotion of 

linguistic diversity in education and training 

has always been an important consideration 

in planning the successful construction of 

Europe. Yet it was not until the 1990s that 

discussion of language learning in the 

European institutions led to realisation of the 

need to explore innovative teaching methods. 

This was to be reflected in the Lingua 

programme (2) which declared the importance 

of ‘promoting innovation in methods of foreign 

language training’. 

In this context, several initiatives have been 

launched by the EU in the field of Content and 

Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). 

One of the first pieces of legislation regarding 

European cooperation in CLIL is the 1995 

Resolution of the Council (3). It refers to the 

promotion of innovative methods and, in 

particular, to “the teaching of classes in a 

foreign language for disciplines other than 

languages, providing bilingual teaching”. It 

also proposes improving the quality of training 

for language teachers by “encouraging the 

exchange with Member States of higher 

education students working as language 

assistants in schools, endeavouring to give 

priority to prospective language teachers or 

those called upon to teach their subject in a 

language other than their own”. 

In the same year, in its White Paper on 

education and training (Teaching and Learning 

- Towards the Learning Society), the European 

Commission focused on the importance 

of innovative ideas and the most effective 

practices for helping all EU citizens to become 

proficient in three European languages. With 

reference to these ideas the Commission 

stated that “... it could even be argued that 

secondary school pupils should study certain 

subjects in the first foreign language learned, 

as is the case in the European schools” (4). 

The European programmes in the field of 


education and training have had a catalytic 

effect in developing different approaches to 

language teaching. Thus actions supported in 

the second phase of the Socrates Programme 

from 2000-2006 (5) have been established to 

provide for CLIL type provision. In the 

Comenius Action of Socrates, financial support 

is earmarked for mobility activities targeting 

“teaching staff of other disciplines required or 

wishing to teach in a foreign language”. Under 

the Erasmus Action too, financial support may 

be awarded for “joint development and implementation 

of curricula, modules, intensive 

courses or other educational activities, 

including multidisciplinary activities and the 

teaching of subjects in other languages”. 

In 2001, the European Year of Languages 

certainly helped draw attention to the fact 

that the promotion of language learning and 

linguistic diversity may be achieved through 

a wide variety of approaches, including CLIL 

type provision. In March 2002, the Barcelona 

European Council sought to boost language 

learning in calling for a sustained effort on the 

part of the Member States and the European 

Commission to ensure teaching of at least 

two foreign languages from a very early age. 

Following this request (together with that of 

the February 2002 Education Council), the 

Commission in 2003 launched its Action Plan 

2004-2006 (6). Under the Plan, CLIL provision 

is cited as having “a major contribution to 

make to the Union’s language learning goals”. 

A set of actions was drawn up to promote the 

integrated learning of content and language, 

among them the present Eurydice survey. 

At the May 2005 Education Council, the 

Luxembourg presidency reported on the 

results of the symposium entitled ‘The 

Changing European Classroom: The Potential 

of Plurilingual Education’ which was held a 

few weeks earlier in March. Among the main 

conclusions, the need to ensure that pupils 

and students are involved in CLIL type 

provision at the different levels of school 

education was emphasised, as was the 

desirability of encouraging teachers to receive 

special training in CLIL. 

Reference should also be made to other 

ventures that support CLIL type approaches. 

They include the European Label for 

innovation in language teaching and learning 

(awarded for the first time in 1998), and the 

European EuroCLIC network (classes 

integrating language and content), which 

consists of teachers, researchers, trainers 

and others interested in the implementation of 

CLIL and has been co-funded by the 

European Commission since 1996. 

The debate on CLIL throughout the European 

Union is very much alive. Fresh initiatives 

to promote this still novel methodological 

approach will be undertaken in the years 

ahead, probably within the next generation of 

education and training programmes (2007- 

2013). The deliberations of experts within 

the Group on Languages (set up under the 

‘Education and Training’ Work Programme up 

to 2010), as well as the circulation of information 

on good practice in the field of CLIL in the 

Member States, will certainly contribute to its 

development. 

****** 

Reprinted by permission from Eurydice* ‘the 

information network on education in Europe’. 

The complete 82-page document, Content 

and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) at 

School in Europe (2006) is available in seven 

different languages from the website portal: 

http://www.eurydice.org/portal/page/portal/ 

Eurydice/showPresentation?pubid=071EN 

* Eurydice is a European Unit set up by the 

European Commission in Brussels and National 

Units established by education ministries in all 

countries taking part in Socrates, the EU 

education action programme [Austria, Belgium, 

Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, 

Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, 

Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, 

the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, 

Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom].

ETAS_CH07.FH11 14.09.2007 15:10 Uhr Seite 1 

Probedruck 

C M Y CM MY CY CMY K 

Language Leader 

Purposeful and thought-provoking! 

factual and content-rich for serious-minded students 

systematic skills work and study skills 

lots of reading texts taken from a variety of authentic sources 

stimulating writing lesson and ‘scenario’ spread in each unit 

range of adult speaking tasks, e.g. discussions, debates, problem-solving 

For further information and sample copy requests please contact: 

Pearson Education Schweiz AG, Pearson Longman Verlag 

Chollerstrasse 37, 6300 Zug 

Telefon 041 / 747 47 47 Telefax 041 / 747 47 77 

E-Mail: mailbox@longman.ch 

David Cotton, David Falvey, Simon Kent et al. 

Elementary, Pre-intermediate, Intermediate 

and Upper Intermediate 

Coursebook with CD-ROM 

NEW 

All 4 levels 

available in 2008 

www.longman.ch


NEWS 

It was Thursday, October 4th, 2007, 2:35 in 

the afternoon. Our Land Rover, having carried 

us 1,250 kilometers from Johannesburg — the 

last 50 km over a rough, stony track — finally 

stood in front of Matopo Primary School, 

60 km south of Bulawayo in Zimbabwe. And 

we had a flat tire. 

While my husband Peter, aided by a Matopo 

teacher and closely supervised by a group of 

6th grade boys, dealt with the tire, I set about 

making sure that everything was ready for 

the big day tomorrow — the Matopo Primary 

School Teachers’ Workshop Day. 

A year of preparation had gone into the planning 

of the event. It all started on my last visit 

to the school in August 2006. At the time, I 

wasn’t even sure if ETAS was going to choose 

Matopo as its Teacher-to-Teacher Project for 

2007, but I rather off-handedly offered to run 

a workshop about teaching English for the 

Primary School teachers on my next visit, and 

before I knew it, the proposal had snowballed 

into a major event, with teachers from the 

surrounding primary and secondary schools 

also eager to participate. 

Thanks to ETAS support, we were able to 

organize catering for the event, which is quite 

a tall order in Zimbabwe these days as food 

supplies are extremely scarce. Denis Paul, 

our trusty on-the-spot go-between for the 

T-2-T Project, had to make forays to South 

Africa and Botswana to obtain most of the 

necessary items, while local gardeners 

pitched in with fresh produce. It was all 

delivered by donkey cart on the morning of 

the workshop. 

Matopo Primary School Headmaster Newman 

Ncube was in charge of invitations and 

organized transport for some teachers. As it 

turned out, several teachers came from as far 

away as 15 kilometers on foot in order to take 

part. Deputy Headmaster Patson Mpofu was 

busy behind the scenes as well, liaising with 

Denis and making sure everything would run 

smoothly. 

A big worry was the three parcels I had sent 

to Denis in Botswana, containing donated 

items such as bags, paper, pens and pencils, 

nametag lanyards and books for the school 

library. There was a customs glitch (a long 

story which I won’t go into here) and I wasn’t 

even sure if Denis had managed to get hold of 

the parcels in time for the event. I was really 

counting on those bags and nametags for the 

News from Matopo Primary 

Teacher-to-Teacher Project 2007 

workshop itself, and was also looking forward 

to the looks on the teachers’ faces when I 

produced all the goodies. In the end it was 

“just-in-time” delivery — Denis brought the 

parcels that evening and his wife Sandy, Peter 

and I stayed up late packing the bags, 

including the booklets I had had printed in 

South Africa for each teacher. 

Coming up with the workshop content was a 

major challenge. What to prepare? I would be 

working with a very diverse group of people, 

dealing with a different culture, and with 

virtually no infrastructure — in fact, I wasn’t 

even sure about the level of English of the 

participants. This is not exactly something 

you can do a Google search for. No published 

material was going to be suitable either. I was 

stymied. 

Finally, I worked out a rough draft of what I 

thought might be a workable concept and sent 

it to Newman and Patson for their approval. 

My idea was to present a wide variety of 

activities, none of which would require more 

than paper and pencil, then let the teachers 

work in small groups to figure out how they 

could apply them in their classrooms. To my 

amazement (and relief) it all worked like a 

charm. 

I started the ball rolling by asking the group 

“What is English?” They must have thought I 

was a bit dim and informed me that “It’s a 

language”. Yes, we all know that, I said, but 

what is English for you? Give me some 

adjectives, please. Then I started getting 

answers such as “English is difficult.” “English 

is interesting.” “English is important.” (Nobody 

said it was easy). After this ice-breaker I 

moved on to explain my goals for the day: to 

go light on the theory and spend most of our 

time exploring ways to liven up our English 

lessons without always having to rely on printed 

materials, which are scarce and expensive. I 

wanted them to realize that the ideas in their 

own heads, and those of their pupils, are their 

most precious resource. 

We played games, told stories, even drew 

pictures, while at the same time working on a 

few grammar points and talking about some 

down-to-earth topics such as letter writing. 

The teachers were so enthusiastic and 

motivated that the energy just filled the room. 

They especially liked activities which allowed 

them to get up, mill around and exchange 

ideas, and I was bowled over by the brilliance 

and originality of thinking they displayed. 

There was lots of laughter and noise and I 

sometimes thought the roof, which isn’t in a 

very good state anyway, might just lift off and 

fly away. 

However, it was the time that flew and as we 

completed the last activity, I drew breath to 

make a formal conclusion and to thank everyone 

for such a special experience. I’d hardly 

finished when the room erupted with singing, 

and everyone rose from their seats and began 

to dance. Before I realized what was 

happening, I was hoisted onto sturdy shoulders 

and carried around the room. They had even 

prepared gifts, some lovely examples of local 

wood carvings, which have pride of place in 

my living room at home. 

In short, the event was such a success that 

we’ve decided to repeat it this year. 

I’m so grateful to all ETAS members who have 

given donations and moral support during this 

project, and very pleased to have the chance 

to continue this year at Matopo Primary 

School. Things will sadly only be getting even

School, Zimbabwe 

Spring Update 

worse in Zimbabwe before they get better, so 

the school, the children and their teachers 

really need all the help they can get. They 

have proven that they can make the most of 

our generosity over and over! 

“I am exceedingly delighted that our English 

workshop became a reality and a great 

achievement in as far as international 

organization is concerned,” wrote Patson. 

He told about the many teachers and other 

professionals from Zimbabwe who are leaving 

the country “in search of greener pastures”. 

But, he continues, “As for me and my family 

we will press on, cling on, forge ahead and we 

will never surrender Zimbabwe. We will never 

settle for less and destroy the future of the 

children.” About the Teachers’ Workshop he 

wrote: “The knowledge and skills we learnt will 

nourish the pupils.” 

As you all know, the proceeds from the raffles 

at our national events go toward the Teacherto-Teacher 

Project, but did you realize that 

you can make a donation any time? The bank 

details are as follows: 

English Teachers Association Switzerland 

TEACHR TO TEACHER (that’s how it’s listed 

due to lack of character space) 

Zürich 

Postal Account/Post Finance 

Acct. Number: 17-653380-8 

IBAN CH18 0900 0000 1765 3380 8 

BIC POFICHBEXXX 

If you’d like to correspond directly with Matopo 

Primary School, you can send an e-mail to 

Patson at this e-mail address: 

matopoprimaryschool@yahoo.co.uk or 

patsonmpofu@yahoo.com 

NEWS 

(You may need to be a little patient to get a 

reply, as the infrastructure is not infallible.) 

Alternatively, you can write ‘snail mail’ to Mr 

Newman Ncube, Mr Patson Mpofu, Matopo 

Primary School, PB T-5391, Bulawayo, 

Zimbabwe. 

Sandy and Denis would also be willing to tell 

you more about life in Zimbabwe these days: 

shumbashaba@pauls.co.zw (and would 

appreciate your thanks). 

I’ve set up a blog about the Matopo Primary 

School project: www.matopoprimaryschool. 

blogspot.com Have a look! 

And if anyone has a great idea for the next 

Teachers’ Workshop Day at Matopo, I’d love 

to hear from you. 

Cindy Hauert 


Basel 

Workshop: From ‘hot seating’ to ‘still image’ 

– liven it up through drama! 

Presenter: Nicole Küpfer 

Date: September 2007 

Once again we were grateful to be able to use 

a classroom at the Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz 

in Kleinbasel to stage another 

drama and English teaching workshop led by 

Nicole Küpfer. 

We began with some warm-up exercises 

using drama techniques that were both 

instructive for learning how to begin our 

lessons as well as serving to loosen us up 

and prepare us mentally and emotionally. As 

we mimed different domestic activities such 

as gardening, cleaning and cooking this also 

formed the first part of a vocabulary learning 

sequence in preparation for close reading of a 

literary text. 

The text was Girl by Jamaica Kincaid that 

is written like an instruction manual for girls 

and young women on how to behave in their 

homes and society. At one level the text gives 

advice on everyday domestic activities, thus 

providing plenty of useful vocabulary that can 

be learned and mimed. However, the text also 

contains words and images unique to Antigua 

and as we read it more closely, we realised 

that it had very deep and emotional meaning. 

To approach the cultural and emotional content, 

Nicole introduced some context-building 

activities by recounting a story. The girl in this 

single sentence ‘story’ went out in the evening 

and did not return home at the agreed time. In 

small groups, we role-played short dialogues: 

the parents at home awaiting the girl, the 

conversation when she finally gets home and 

the girl’s friends talking about what happened 

to her the next day. In this activity we began 

to identify with the girl and her family and 

friends. 

As we became involved in the role-playing 

process and watched each group’s interpretations, 

our imaginations seemed to be set free. 

We continued with a drama reconstruction 

cued by a piece of paper that represented 

a newspaper article. It was amazing what 

stories were visualized at this stage and at the 

depth of emotion and complexity of social 

issues that emerged. In an EFL classroom 

24 ETAS Journal 25/1 25/2 Winter Spring 2008 2007 

REGIONS News and Events 

this would also afford valuable practice in 

expressing feelings and discussing social 

issues. In our case, such topics as sexual 

morals, rape and general conflict were evoked 

and a further theme that could be exploited 

from this text is the islanders’ social unease 

towards tourists and tourism. 

The workshop demonstrated the wealth of 

possibilities that drama can offer to help 

students engage with a literary text and dig 

deep into all the emotional, cultural and social 

issues that it holds. Although the activities 

Nicole demonstrated were inspired by the text 

she used, the techniques could be adapted for 

different texts either literary or non-literary 

(such as newspaper articles). New and 

experienced teachers all benefited from this 

action-packed and emotion-packed workshop. 

Hazel Trepp 

RC Basel 

Workshop: Historical walking tour of Basel 

with Paracelsus 

Presenter: Mark Fletcher 

Date: 29th November 2007 

The idea of escaping pre-Christmas stress 

and taking a walk into Basel’s past appealed 

to a lot of members, their colleagues and even 

some language learners too. After meeting 

inside Bergli Books, we followed our guide, 

Paracelsus (aka Mark Fletcher) and were 

taken to places familiar and not so familiar. 

It was a very cold November evening so 

we walked briskly through the streets and 

alleyways of Basel. Occasionally Paracelsus 

stopped and drew our attention to places he 

remembered when he lived in Basel back 

in 1514. He also told us about his friends 

Erasmus and Holbein who also lived in Basel 

at the same time. Through our journey back 

in time and through the streets of Basel we 

got to know something about Paracelsus and 

his life. 

How many people enter Basel University at 

the age of 16? How many people can boast 

being banished from this city twice? At that 

time, people were not allowed to disagree 

with the bishops or university professors. First 

Paracelsus was sent away for necromancy (I 

had to look that up: it’s the practice of claiming 

to communicate with the dead in order to 

discover what is going to happen in the 

future). Then he introduced the use of opium 

and mercury in medicine and to prove what he 

thought of academia, he burnt books publicly. 

This was the cause of him being banished the 

second time. 

As we passed through the alleyways, 

Pfeffergässlein, Schneidergasse, Schlüsselgasse… 

we could smell the spices and hear 

the busy tradesmen at work. We tasted the 

Läckerli that has been produced in Basel 

since the 14th century. The original bakers 

belonged to the Saffron Guild - we passed in 

front of their building on the way to Cathedral 

Square where we also looked at some rich 

silk merchants’ wonderful homes. 

After the tour we retreated into a café, our 

guide put on his teacher trainer’s hat and 

handed out a handful of worksheets that the 

teachers eagerly set to work to try to complete. 

Mindmaps, word games, quizzes all served 

to solidify our knowledge and impressions of 

Paracelsus and life in our 16th century city. 

These worksheets were stimulating and fun 

and offered many ideas that could be exploited 

with students of different levels. Teachers and 

Swiss locals on the tour were impressed with 

our non-native guide’s research and preparation 

– and will never forget the symbolic book 

burning behind the cathedral. 

To end a most enjoyable evening, many 

stayed on for a relaxed meal together. All 

in all, this was an unusual and stimulating 

evening of activities: walking, talking, listening 

and even some attempts at writing limericks… 

thanks to the skilful leadership of a local hero 

and until now, little-known genius, Paracelsus. 

Perhaps some of us have also been inspired 

to take time out from classroom teaching and 

go for a stroll with our students around our 

town – there certainly is a lot we can teach, 

learn and practise. 

Hazel Trepp 

RC Basel

News and Events 

Bern/Neuchâtel 

Workshop: Producing Podcasts 101 

Presenter: JoAnn Salvisberg 

Date: 26th January 2008 

I am not a technology person. I’m a people 

person in a technological world, who is trying 

to adapt and cope with minimal feelings of 

inadequacy (Psych 101). Santa brought me 

an iPod so away we go……. 

The objective of this informative workshop 

was to give a brief overview to participants of 

the what, when, where, how and why of podcasting 

in the field of ELT. Basics were also to 

be presented on the planning, production, and 

promotion stages of this device for English 

teachers. A high goal but one well planned out 

and orchestrated by the presenter. 

In the lovely new facilities of BFB Biel-Bienne, 

we were able to download and start our 

own podcast programs utilising Podomatic. 

com Podcast sites that could be used for 

classes the following week were identified and 

amazingly so much of this information is free 

on the web. Grammar Girl’s quick and dirty 

tips http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/ 

was one such site along with http://weather. 

weatherbug.com/labs/weather-podcasts. 

html. Worksheets are also available for the 

teacher to download. 

With use of a headphone/microphone, the 

teacher can produce the material desired for 

language skill practice and audacity.com 

allows music to be added for a more 

professional, interesting touch. 

Thank goodness we were a small group 

and double thanks for JoAnn Salvisberg’s 

patience. We were given a CD of her Power- 

Point presentation and other helpful hints. 

This was followed later by a supportive e-mail 

with even more information. I for one felt 

this was worth a lot more than what we were 

charged: so, talk about value for money for 

ETAS members! 

You can hear the feedback of the participants 

on the ETAS blog site: 

http://etasblog.wordpress.com 

I found this very sophisticated, intimidating 

technology, but with such support around 

me I was able to enter a bit of the Brave 

New World of the 21st century with my 20th 

century dignity and self-confidence intact and 

restored. 

Thank you, JoAnn Salvisberg and Gabrielle 

Schiegg-Cleary, RC Bern/Neuchâtel, for this 

wonderful experience. Another big thank you 

to ETAS for helping me improve my teaching 

skills as well as to the participants of this 

workshop. 

Elizabeth Ulrich 

TLC, The Language Company, Baden 

For the latest information on 

upcoming ETAS events, visit our 

website at www.e-tas.ch 

REGIONS 

Forthcoming Event 

Workshop: Teaching Young Learners : 

Vocabulary Materials and Ideas 

Presenter: Graham Workman 

Date: Saturday, 26th April 2008 

Time: 9:00 -13:00 

Venue: BFB Biel-Bienne 

Cost: SFr. 40.- ETAS member 

SFr. 60.- guest 

Registration: Gabrielle Schiegg-Cleary 

bern@e-tas.ch 

Deadline: 19th April 2008 

Workshop: 

This 4-hour workshop will provide you with 

plenty of materials and ideas you can use 

for teaching vocabulary with your classes 

of young learners. The topic areas will be 

relevant for all young learners and the session 

will cover a wide range of classroom activities 

and teaching approaches. 

ETAS Journal 25/1 25/2 Winter Spring 2008 2007 25

Winterthur/Uster 

Workshop: Business English - 

Communicative Activating 

Vocabulary 

Presenter: Mark Fletcher 

Date: 6th November 2007 

This was definitely a very welcome first – an 

ETAS workshop held in Schaffhausen. 

Mark Fletcher, the well-known author of many 

activity books for the EFL classroom, aimed at 

showing us how to exploit handouts in more 

ways, or as he put it, “how to milk the cow”. 

In the first block we tried out different communicative 

activities that were more or less 

work-oriented. Let me just give you one 

example, The Channel Tunnel: 

The class was divided in two. Half the class 

26 ETAS Journal 25/1 25/2 Winter Spring 2008 2007 

REGIONS News and Events 

Your our special special English English English bookshop 

bookshop 

right right right in in the the heart heart heart of of Basel 

Basel 

temporarily became directors of the Channel 

Tunnel, the other half journalists who had to 

interview the directors in order to write an 

article about the tunnel. Each group first 

convened for some preparatory work using 

the same handout with some simple technical 

drawings of the tunnel but in the directors’ 

case, with the data, and in the journalists’ 

case, without the data. Mark then informed us 

journalists that the directors were on their way, 

arriving at the airport by helicopter and then 

being driven to our office by Rolls Royce, and 

that we should offer them a drink and make 

them comfortable but also be aware that 

they would only have about seven minutes to 

answer our questions. With this preparation 

we all slipped very easily into our new roles. 

When the time was up, Mark announced that 

unfortunately the Rolls was waiting to take the 

directors to their next appointment, lunch with 

the Queen. 

- the meeting place for the Swiss and 

international English-speaking community 

- novels, thrillers, books on world affairs, 

business, language learning and for children 

- on-line ordering of any book you want through 

www www.bergli.ch 

www .bergli.ch 

- Talk Parties, book discussion groups, readings 

and other events 

Bergli Bergli Bookshop 

Bookshop 

Rümelinsplatz 19, CH-4001 Basel, 

Tel.: 061 373 27 77, Fax: 061 373 27 78 

E-mail: info@bergli.ch www.bergli.ch 

Mark then followed this up by showing us different 

ways of exploiting the same material/ 

topic further: 

The teacher/director could give a talk about 

the tunnel, making it a listening and notetaking 

exercise. 

The Channel Tunnel could be replaced by 

some local project. Free material in English 

(including DVD) is available for instance for 

the new Lötschberg tunnel www.uvek.admin. 

ch 

Again, lots of ideas were presented in the 

vocabulary workshop. Let me just pick out 

work done with a Folkstone/Mark Fletcherspecific 

handout, a rough drawing of a 

landscape containing a shop, a seafood stall, 

a road, a theatre, the sea and a ship, plus 24 

nouns to match to each of the six areas. Such 

an easily home-made handout, adapted to the 

local environment (so in SH it would probably 

contain the categories Rhine and vineyard 

and somewhere the terms oriel window 

and square), could be used to introduce or 

consolidate locally relevant vocabulary for a 

guided tour of the city. 

Some further tasks with such a handout: 

Write three of the words on the back of the 

handout and find someone with 3/2/1 words 

the same as you. 

Write three words on the back of the handout. 

Now in pairs (first modelled by the teacher) 

tell your partner five things about a ‘pling’ 

(i.e. one of your words) and let your partner 

find out what a ‘pling’ is. 

The teacher gives the students a talk incorporating 

three of the words. Can the students 

name the three words after the talk? And then 

the students write a story incorporating three 

of the words and read it to the class. 

I hope I have been successful in at least 

hinting at the wealth of ideas that made this 

evening a very worthwhile and enjoyable 

experience. 

Thank you, Mark, for this inspiring evening. 

And thank you, Gillian, for bringing Mark to 

our region. Needless to say, I am looking 

forward to the next ETAS workshop in 

Schaffhausen. 

Naomi Schneider 

Klubschule Schaffhausen

New Cambridge Books… 

… for the updated 2008 First Certificate and CAE exams. 

• • • For updated exam from December 2008 

Student’s Book with answers 

Guy Brook-Hart 

Includes an official FCE exam paper from Cambridge ESOL 

The first session of the updated First Certificate and CAE exams 

will take place in December 2008. To ensure that you and your 

students have everything you need Cambridge University Press 

has lots of new material specifically designed for the new exams. 

Cambridge Books for Cambridge Exams… 

www.cambridge.org/elt/exams

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Teachers’ Future 

You may have already read about the ETAS 

new pension scheme in cooperation with 

Pension Fund Music and Education 

(established in 1978 and backed by AXA 

Winterthur – one of the world’s strongest 

insurance companies), or our loss of earnings 

and accident insurance, specially offered by 

AXA Winterthur for ETAS members. 

Available to all our members, individuals, 

schools, and even publishers, we offer very 

favourable rates. The more who join the 

scheme, the cheaper it is; a greater number of 

insured will likely result in lower premiums for 

all ETAS members, long-term. For insurance, 

the rate is determined by age, and the chosen 

delay (from 14 – 90 days of inability to work). 

Old age pension as well as insurance in case 

of death or disability in Switzerland is covered 

partly by the State Pension (and State 

Invalidity Insurance), and partly by occupational 

pension schemes, to which employers are 

obliged to contribute by law if you are earning 

more than SFr. 19,890.- in one employment 

(or in total per year). 

English teaching as a profession in Switzerland, 

for many of us, consists of several positions 

or contracts for several employers or clients. 

It has, until now, been difficult or impossible 

to join a 2nd pillar (occupational pension) 

scheme. The 1st pillar is the State Pension, to 

which we all contribute by law, either through 

our employer in the form of deductions from 

your pay, or, if you are self-employed, you pay 

the full contribution quarterly according to your 

declared income. 

The 2nd pillar is shared: contributions are paid 

50% by you and 50% by your employer – in 

an ideal world – but we are teachers, usually 

working for private schools, or freelance. 

Consequently, the 2nd pillar is missing in 

many teachers’ retirement plans. You may 

think it is too far off to be thinking about, but 

starting regular contributions already now 

makes a big difference to the sum available at 

your retirement. 

Some may rely on their partners’ retirement 

plans and, in many cases, that may be 

sufficient. But is it really enough for you both 

to carry on living in the manner to which you 

are accustomed? A relatively small regular 

contribution could lead to you being more 

comfortable in retirement. 

Pension Fund Music and Education offers 

ETAS members three different types of 

plan: four BV plans for mandatory cover (for 

employers to fulfill their legal obligation); three 

SE plans for the self-employed; and one MV 

plan for those with several employers and 

who are not yet part of a pension plan. The 

rates of contribution are determined by age 

and the plan chosen. Detailed information of 

all these plans, application forms, as well as 

an alphabetic glossary, are available in 

English online at www.musikervorsorge.ch 

In this regular column we will print some 

questions frequently asked by members. 

These questions and answers will be available 

on the ETAS website too, and we look forward 

to receiving all further questions. Several of 

you have already joined the pension scheme 

and/or the insurance. We would like to hear 

your comments and to share any advice you 

may have for those considering joining. 

This month we look at the following FAQs: 

What are vested benefits? 

This is a lump sum from a previous employer’s 

pension fund, deposited in a non-accessible 

account reserved for your retirement and 

earning minimal interest, which you can invest 

in your current occupational pension fund in 

order to improve your retirement pension. 2nd 

pillar accounts currently earn 2.75%, but the 

Pension Fund Music and Education offers 

3% interest. You can also make tax-relevant, 

one-off payments from your savings to your 

pension fund. 

Can I still join the pension fund if I am over 

60? 

You can join the pension fund until the age 

of 64 (65 for men) and make contributions 

until you are 69 (70). The longer contribution 

period (as well as interest) will increase your 

future annual pension. 

What are the advantages of being insured 

through the ETAS collective AXA Winterthur 

Insurance? 

ETAS has worked closely with AXA Winterthur, 

Bern and arranged cheaper premiums for 

schools and self-employed teachers who are 

ETAS members. 

AXA Winterthur in Bern has wide experience 

in working with professional associations and 

also works closely with Pension Fund Music 

and Education. 

NEWS 

How should I proceed? 

Find out about your current cover from your 

employer or your existing policy. 

Ask for an offer from AXA Winterthur, Bern. 

Only give notice on existing policies once you 

have written definitive acceptance from AXA 

Winterthur. 

Go to www.e-tas.ch for more information. 

Please address any questions to: 

Claire Jackson, member-services@e-tas.ch 


MEMBER MIX 

Language and Identity: a post-structuralist 

approach 

Discourse and identity 

Discourse is seen as a social practice framework 

both as “stretches of language in 

context” and “systems of knowledge and 

cultural frameworks” (SG, p. 13) and plays a 

central role in the process of identity formation 

and transformation. Equally, identity is 

understood as a dynamic element in a series 

of interconnected perspectives that locate 

one’s own position and meaning in the world 

and reflects how one is identified by others. 

As these factors are mutually reinforcing, 

identity has to be seen in relation to the social 

world. 

This view is central to a post-structuralist 

approach, where language is but one element 

of the ongoing social process of meaning 

making and identity formation. For sociolinguists 

the introduction of practice theory 

and in particular of the community of practice 

model has provided “a useful alternative to 

the speech community model where the focus 

was primarily on language”. By extending the 

speech community model it has become 

possible to explain identities as “the outcome 

of positive and negative identity practices 

rather than as fixed social categories” 

(Goodman et al. in Language, Literacy and 

Education, p. 139). Social categories like 

class, gender or ethnic groups are not intrinsic 

labels of identity residing within individuals, 

but are experienced by people “as more or 

less salient aspects of who they are through 

their experience in different interactions and 

dialogues, across different contexts” 

(SG, p. 48). 

Community of practice, identity and hybridity 

The concepts of communities of practice and 

discourse community have underpinned much 

research into language and identity. In particular 

Eckert (cited in SG, p. 51 and Bucholtz, 

2003, p. 146) and Bucholtz’s (2003) studies 

show how individual identity is constructed in 

collaboration with others in and around these 

communities of practice. It could be argued 

that the ETAS Journal or the Open University 

online conference qualify as a community of 

practice in as much as positive and negative 

identity practices (what we are and what we 

are not) are played out by people of multiple 


backgrounds and interests but with a common 

identity as professionals sharing similar 

interests. We use appropriate discourse. We 

are a discourse community or community of 

practice. 

As mentioned above different communities of 

practice can be involved in identity formation 

(in formal and informal educational contexts) 

with potential for ‘hybridisation’. 

Hybridity is not new and can be an opportunity 

to bridge, for example, home and school or 

different communities of practice with 

interesting implications for learning within 

or across these differences. Hybridity and 

diversity can be viewed not as problematic 

but rather as important cultural resources in 

children’s (and adults’ - author’s note) 

development (Cole cited in Gutierrez et al., 

2003, p. 172). However, teachers may not 

always “recognise nor have the training 

necessary to see diversity and difference 

and the resulting hybridity as resources for 

creating new learning spaces. Although such 

an understanding can inform practice in any 

learning community, it can be particularly 

productive in ethnically, racially and linguistically 

diverse learning communities where 

difference as a resource is not an organising 

principle of instruction” (Gutierrez et al., 2003, 

p. 172). 

Just like the Sola and Bennett and Kamberelis 

and Scott (SG, p. 57) reports about teachers 

endeavouring to bridge the disjunction 

between the influential discourses and 

ideologies in pupils’ home communities and 

those of the school or college by encouraging 

students to bring the voices of their community 

into the classroom, so Gutierrez et al. (2003) 

see in what they call “third space” the 

potential “for reconfiguring what counts 

as institutionally approved knowledge and 

language use, thus drawing on a fuller range 

of teacher and student resources than is 

possible in either the ‘official space’ or the 

‘unofficial space’. This reconfiguring provides 

new possibilities for student positions and 

identities” (SG, p. 57). “Utilising multiple, 

diverse and even conflicting mediational tools 

promotes the emergence of third spaces, 

or zones of development and thus expands 

learning” (e.g. Estrom cited in Gutierrez et al., 

2003, p. 172). 

Intertextuality and the dialogic nature of 

identity 

Identity is fluid and is often constructed jointly 

through talk (Mercer, 2000). In Bakhtin’s 

words it is “dialogic” (SG, p. 53). It is 

dialogically orientated in two directions, 

towards the past and towards the future. What 

he means is that meaning is constructed and 

emerges not simply from an individual 

utterance but by the position of the utterance 

itself. In fact “the utterance is itself a response, 

explicit or implicit, to other utterances, either 

in the current conversation or in the past and 

every utterance is always shaped in 

anticipation of its own possible response in 

the future” (SG, p. 53). There is another layer 

of intertextual connection which contributes 

to meaning making (intertextuality being the 

relation invoked explicitly or implicitly between 

one text - spoken, written, multimodal, etc. 

- and another). Moreover, the process of 

meaning making is catalysed through what 

he calls the “electric spark” when the speaker 

and the listener connect. For instance, an 

explanation or a concept only acquires 

meaning if the listener ‘metabolises’ it into 

active, responsive understanding (SG, p. 54). 

It is the process of internalisation and active 

appropriation that create the link that provides 

meaning and the basis for language in identity 

formation. 

Dynamic tensions and sites for struggle 

Different kinds of identities may be tried out 

and negotiated in different contexts, and 

language variety and style may be salient to 

people’s identities. As a multilingual and 

multicultural person I have often had to 

negotiate multiple identities which were 

mediated by language. At a macro level 

these were played out in different European 

countries and in different languages with 

great potential for conflict among the multiple 

centripetal and centrifugal forces (see below). 

At a micro level personal relationships were 

often a site of struggle for conflicts between 

different identities that emerged and merged 

within me. In fact I am very familiar with the 

powerful tool for meaning making provided by 

code switching. 

Language and identity represent “an arena 

of ongoing cultural conflict, struggle, choice 

and decision-making” (SG, p. 63). Not only 

are these struggles non-unitary within a given 

community, they are also volatile and changeable 

within personal domains, in space and 

time. For trans-migratory groups, the politics

of identity and difference is played out 

invariably in everyday “dilemmatic choices 

and negotiations” (Honig cited in Rassool, 

2000, p. 391) which paradoxically, also 

provide the basis of agency for changes and 

hybridisation within the migrant as well as the 

host communities. The dialogical interplay 

between cultures, people’s needs, wants 

and desires, and wider power processes, is 

altering the nation-state from within whilst, at 

the same time, it is also redefining the cultural 

and socio-political terrain (Rassool, 2000, 

p. 392). 

A connection may be found with Bakhtin’s 

idea (SG, p. 52) of language as involving a 

constant, dynamic tension between centripetal 

and centrifugal forces. Centripetal forces 

which produce authoritative discourses which 

are relatively fixed and often associated with 

political centralization and a unified cultural 

‘canon’ can come into conflict with centrifugal 

forces which lead to the diversification of 

language and the fragmentation of cultural 

and political institutions. At their most extreme, 

these centrifugal forces are associated with 

what Bakhtin calls “inwardly persuasive 

discourse”, which accompanies everyday 

experience and is intensely interactive and 

contemporaneous. The conflict is played out 

by the centripetal forces of schools, authorities 

and communities (religious, migrant, etc.) 

and the centrifugal forces of personal and/or 

community experience and the day-to day 

concerns of people and students. 

Tension and struggle often resolve in finding a 

voice which implies taking up a particular 

ideological position within the struggle between 

centripetal and centrifugal forces (SG, p. 52). 

As voices represent other people’s words 

and intentions they are never neutral. Words 

have associations with particular genres and 

discourses and are, as Bakhtin puts it, overpopulated 

with other people’s intentions (SG, 

p. 53). He called the many-voiced quality of 

language “heteroglossia”. Contexts which are 

saturated with ideologically loaded words and 

overpopulated with other people’s intentions 

are a site of continual struggle for identity. 

My own experience confirms the above, as 

over time I have appropriated and elaborated 

voices to help me find my own identities 

and to date they remain multiple. Over time, 

awareness of them and the playing out of the 

tensions and conflicts have helped me situate 

them and make them more interactive/ 

inclusive rather than isolating/exclusive. 

Identity and second/other language learning 

I would now like to look at language and 

identity in a second language learning 

context. Norton (2000, cited in SG, p. 62) 

argues that second language acquisition 

theory needs to recognize that questions of 

identity are crucial for second language 

learning. In line with a post-structuralist 

outlook, Norton argues further that identity is 

“non-unitary”, a “site of struggle” and “changing 

over time”. Second/other language learning 

is a need often associated with geographical 

mobility, with immigration and with the use of 

English as a ‘lingua franca’. 

While Mercer uses Vygotskian ideas to argue 

that teacher-pupil dialogues construct “common 

knowledge”, post-structuralists would argue 

that they also construct the identities of 

‘teacher’ and ‘student’, and the practices and 

procedures of schooling (SG, p. 49). As 

teachers we take on different identities 

depending on what type of class we are 

teaching. This is probably particularly true in 

the ELT world, as the spectrum of learners 

covers in-company professionals, immigrants, 

people in search of employment, leisure 

travellers and so on, encompassing different 

identities with different linguistic needs. 

The context shapes the teacher’s identity in 

terms of approach, language, material used, 

personal presentation, i.e. clothes and so on. 

I am very aware of the different identities I 

embody in my own profession. 

Language vs. social practice as outlined by 

Bucholtz (2003, p. 144) is also reflected in 

methodologies of language teaching where 

the emphasis has shifted to the contingent, 

the local, the practice, and away from a topdown, 

central and categoriseable approach. 

Here interaction is extended from a linguistic 

concept to other forms of mutual engagement 

– that is, including all non-linguistic aspects 

of social activity. Community of practice quite 

literally reincorporates language into the 

physical self (echoing Bourdieu’s concept of 

hexis – Bucholtz, 2003, p. 142). However, 

there are tensions played out at this level too. 

On the one hand, there is greater attention to 

local identities and communities of practice, 

and on the other, the emergence of a different 

form of imperialism. Morris-Di Boscio (2006) 

raised the following interesting questions: “By 

teaching academic writing to EFL students, 

MEMBER MIX 

could we in fact be changing the way they 

think? And is the way you think not part of 

your identity? So we must be then changing 

their identities into more Western ones. And is 

that not imperialistic?” 

In fact English as a world language is opening 

up new circuits of cultural imperialism via 

mass communication practices such as cable 

and satellite television and predominance on 

the internet of English as a world language 

(Rassool, 2000 p. 396). Pennycook (1998, 

cited in SG, p. 62) suggests inequalities 

between Anglophone communities and 

second language learners are also deeply 

encoded within the discourse of ESL teaching 

and within the textbooks used with learners. 

“From a Foucauldian point of view, all these 

uses of authoritative voices are part of the 

more diffuse, institutional processes, through 

which power reaches into the very grain of 

individuals, touches their bodies and inserts 

itself into their actions and attitudes, their 

discourses, learning processes and everyday 

lives” (Foucault cited in Maybin, 2003, p. 164). 

This area of work and study is receiving 

increasing professional and academic attention, 

and critical literacy and (paradoxically?) ELF 

(English as a lingua franca) can be seen 

as powerful tools to counter this potential 

‘danger’. 

Conclusion 

Bucholtz (2003, SG) identifies the shift from 

treating identity as a set of fixed attributes to 

seeing it as a more fluid, contested, ongoing 

social process (contextualised in communities 

of practice) … (and focuses on) the performances 

of identity and the struggles over it, 

which are achieved through language (SG, 

p. 51). 

Similarly, Baktin (SG, p. 52) stresses that 

internalisation is not a neutral process. When 

people internalise voices and dialogues, 

they are also internalising cultural and social 

aspects of the institutional order and in this 

sense, “the history of the process of the 

internalisation of social speech is also the 

history of the socialisation of children’s (and 

adults’ – author’s note) practical intellect” 

(Vygotsky cited in Maybin, 2003, p. 163). This 

is an arena in which the conflicting roles of 

English language teaching/learning and the 

role of English as a global or world language 

are played out. 


Language and discourse play an important 

role in identity formation and transformation, 

and a post-structural approach recognises the 

ideological dimension of language and the 

fact that notions of identity, and particularly 

language identity, are tied up with broader 

social structures and historical processes 

and that the concept of identity is inextricably 

implicated within multidimensional discourses 

of ‘self’, ‘being’ and ‘belonging/otherness’, of 

past and present; of rootedness and displacement 

(Rassool, 2000). 

Nadia Marzocco 

References 

MEMBER MIX 

Bucholtz, M. (2003): Why be normal?: language 

and identity practices in a community of nerd girls 

in Goodman, S., Lillis, T., Maybin, J. and 

Mercer, N. (eds.): Language, Literacy and 

Education: a reader, Stoke-on-Trent, Trentham 

Books/The Open University, pp. 141-158 

Gutierrez, K.D., Baquedano-Lopez, P. and Tejeda, 

C. (2003): Rethinking diversity: hybridity and 

hybrid language practices in the Third Space in 

Goodman, S., Lillis, T., Maybin, J. and Mercer, 

N. (eds.): Language, Literacy and Education: a 

reader, Stoke-on-Trent, Trentham Books/The Open 

University, pp. 171-187 

Maybin, J. (2003): Voices, intertextuality and induction 

into schooling in Goodman, S., Lillis, T., Maybin, 

J. and Mercer, N. (eds.): Language, Literacy 

and Education: a reader, Stoke-on-Trent, Trentham 


McKinney, C. (2003): Developing critical literacy 

in a changing context: the challenges of ‘critique’ 

in South Africa in Goodman, S., Lillis, T., Maybin, 

J. and Mercer, N. (eds.): Language, Literacy and 



Mercer, N. (2000): Words & Minds – How we use 

language to think together, London, Routledge, 

pp. 2, 105-1180 

Morris-Di Boscio, C: E844 online conference rlc5 

rlc5 TMA04, 28 July, 2006 

URL: http://webfc1.open.ac.uk/ E844 -2006 rlc5 

TMA04 

Ramanathan, V. (2003): English is here to stay: 

a critical look at institutional and educational 

practices in India in Goodman, S., Lillis, T., Maybin, 

J. and Mercer, N. (eds.): Language, Literacy and 



Rassool, N. (2000): Contested and contesting 

identities: conceptualising linguistic minority rights 

within the global cultural economy, in Journal of 

Multilingual and Multicultural Development, Vol. 21, 

no. 5, pp. 386-398 (online) 


Accessible from: 

http://www.multilingual-matters.net.libezproxy. 

open.ac.uk/jmmd/021/0386/jmmd0210386.pdf 

SG - Open University Study Guide (2004): E844 

Language and Literacy in a Changing World, Milton 

Keynes, UK 

The tools of Systemic Functional 

Linguistics in the English Classroom 

Introduction 

“Using discourse analyses through systemic 

functional grammar theory, teachers can make 

explicit to learners the patterns of language 

choices made by native speakers for specific 

writing purposes” (Er, 2001, p. 229). 

Field, tenor and mode form the register 

variables which are the result of language 

choices and it is by analysing these elements 

that students’ language problems can often 

be identified and addressed. Problem areas 

may “stem from unfamiliarity with the culturally 

expected schematic structure, or from a lack 

of technical vocabulary for the field, or from 

inexperience of the textual linguistic choices 

that are needed for a sophisticated ‘written 

mode’” (Painter, 2001, p. 178). Having 

identified these areas, the writer could then 

be helped by his/her awareness being raised 

through specific activities, role models and 

practice exercises. The instructional cycle put 

forward by Gibbons (Study Guide, pp. 98-99) 

which consists of different stages, i.e. focusing, 

recognition, guided practice, application and 

evaluation, provides an excellent method for 

achieving this goal and monitoring and 

scaffolding improvement. 

This paper seeks to analyse and comment on 

a text (see Appendix 1) produced in response 

to the prompt: ‘Do you agree or disagree with 

the following statement? A zoo has no useful 

purpose. Use specific reasons and examples 

to explain your answer’ (Open University 

PAG, 2007, p. 17) by looking at it through 

the lens of the three components of register, 

namely Field (what the text is about), Tenor 

(interactants and their roles and relationships) 

and Mode (channel and medium of communication) 

and their meta-functional components 

of the language system, i.e. ideational, 

interpersonal and textual elements (Painter, 

2001, p. 178). 

Field 

As mentioned above, the text clearly belongs 

to the genre of exposition and the writer puts 

forward arguments in favour of zoos. The 

chain of vocabulary (e.g. zoo, animal lives, 

sense of smell, dog, people, free time, family, 

have fun, reduce stress, benefit) allows the 

reader to clearly identify the field. The 

arguments in favour of zoos are then 

developed into ‘benefits from animals’ and 

‘benefits for people’. However, the lexical 

range is rather limited as repetition often 

occurs, i.e. ‘learn animal lives, a lot of benefit, 

having fun’. The writer could benefit from 

activities that present synonyms or words/ 

expressions with the same meaning and then 

be asked to do gap-filling or substitution 

exercises to improve his/her lexical range. 

Tenor and Modality 

“Modality plays a vital role in the construction 

and distinction of persuasive and opinion 

texts” (Gibbons and Marwick-Smith, Study 

Guide, p. 98). While the writer makes a very 

good attempt at using modality to express 

his/her opinion without being over-emphatic, 

in for example ‘…you would not have fun’, 

‘You could be reduced your stress’ (ignoring 

the incorrect use of the passive), ‘…you 

would see many kind of animals...’ or ‘A family 

can be happy going to the zoo’, its use is 

inconsistent and there is a good number of 

examples where the lack of modality makes 

the statements sound very categorical and 

where the reader might question its 

universality. Examples of this can be found in 

‘Zoo gives people a lot of benefit’, ‘…learning 

animal lives give to people a lot of benefit’, ‘In 

the world, the zoo gives family having fun’. 

The writer could be guided through exercises 

where he/she is asked to turn categorical 

statements into less over-emphatic ones by 

using modals and at the same time be made 

aware of cultural aspects in the area of giving 

opinions.

Mode – Nominalisation and cohesion 

The genre of exposition belongs mainly to the 

‘written mode’; this means organising ‘spoken 

text’ into exposition, highlighting its theses, 

setting forth the arguments and possibly 

summing up (Martin, J.M., 2001, p. 220). 

Inherent in this process is the use of 

language of abstraction and linking words 

such as ‘first’, ‘however’, ‘similarly’, ‘finally’. 

In the text, the writer seems to have been 

introduced to the use of clear paragraphs to 

structure the text but the lack of conjunctively 

related units gives it a disjointed feel. There 

are no clear signposts with the exception of 

the concluding paragraph. If the writer had 

signposted the paragraphs with ‘first’ and 

‘secondly’, the overall structure would have 

sounded more coherent and easily identifiable 

by the reader. 

Moreover, the perceived lack of cohesion is 

reinforced through the use of mainly single 

clauses and simple sentences. The student 

could be helped by being made more aware 

of how to link sentences into clause complex 

structures. This is an aspect that the student 

could be encouraged to develop further, as a 

basic understanding seems to be there. This 

is shown for instance in ‘If you go to zoo you 

would see many kind of animals and have 

fresh air’. Activities could include joining 

sentences using pronouns or linking devices 

and then incorporating these into the 

reformulation of their original piece of writing. 

Abstraction is generally obtained through 

nominalisation. There are examples of 

nominalisation and impersonal pronouns 

to distance the writer from the reader as 

would be expected in this genre. In fact it 

would seem that the student has had some 

exposure to it as shown in ‘By learning animal 

lives you get a better understanding...’ and ‘... 

Going to the zoo…’. A simple activity where 

the student has to turn verbs into nouns and 

then rewrite the sentences accordingly would 

expose him/her to this language feature. 

Identifying this structure in sample texts and 

then reproducing their own would also help 

them focus on this construction and language 

use. 

Tenor and mode would also justify the use 

of the passive voice, thereby distancing the 

relationship between reader and writer and 

complying with the written style for this kind of 

generic production. Activities where students 

turn active sentences into passive ones could 

serve the purpose of focusing on language 

structure as well as levels of formality and 

differences between written and spoken 

modes. 

If we now turn to referencing, the text 

presents a number of problems. “Reference 

is the system for tracking participants through 

a text. It constitutes an important grammatical 

resource for maintaining text cohesion. 

Grammatically, it is realised largely through 

pronouns and definite/indefinite article 

systems” (Er, 2001, p. 235). The sentence ‘By 

having fun with family…’ would sound better 

with the inclusion of ‘your’ (your family) as 

done in the second part ‘you give you family a 

lot of fun’. 

There are examples of errors with homophoric 

reference. This occurs where “reference 

assumes membership of a shared context 

of culture” (Er, 2001, p. 235). An example of 

homophoric reference can be found in ‘If you 

don’t go to zoo…’ and not ‘the zoo’. However, 

in the following sentence the student uses the 

correct homophoric reference ‘…in the zoo…’. 

The student could be helped fine-tune these 

aspects of writing. 

Mode – Theme and Rheme 

Another area that could be developed 

concerns thematic development through the 

analysis of Theme and Rheme patterns. “If 

the Theme is the signpost for a speaker or 

writer’s point of departure, then each Rheme 

is the temporary destination. Usually the bit of 

the message that the writer or speaker 

considers interesting or important comes in 

the Rheme … many texts are signposted 

by placing elements from the Rheme of one 

clause into the Theme of the next, or by 

repeating meanings from the Theme of one 

clause in the Theme of subsequent clauses” 

(Butt et al., 2000, p. 142). 

The writer makes an attempt at providing 

thematic continuity. However, he/she tends 

to use more Theme-Theme patterns than 

Theme-Rheme ones. “Fries (1983, p. 124 

cited in Er, 2001, p. 232) makes the point that 

this type of thematic progression … is more 

likely to be found in narrative-type texts… 

Academic texts, on the other hand, correlate 

with thematic progression which shows a 

high incidence of cross-referential links from 

the Rheme of one sentence to the Theme of 

MEMBER MIX 

the next”. The above can be exemplified by 

the clauses ‘Learning animal lives is really 

interesting. By learning animal lives you get 

a better understanding their lives’ or ‘…dogs 

have good sense of smell. They usually help 

people to find lost people’. A similar situation 

is presented in the clauses ‘If you go to zoo 

… fresh air. Zoo is Natural Park so it doesn’t 

have air pollution’. Both clauses are supported 

by the same Theme and this gives the 

impression of the text lacking in the development 

of ideas. “Checking for effective thematic 

progression and drift in their own texts can be 

one of the earliest editing skills student writers 

are taught” (Butt et al, p. 157). Students could 

work in pairs or groups and through a soft introduction 

to metalanguage identify why a text 

may be difficult to read (thematic progression, 

signposting, etc.) and edit it to make it more 

easily accessible. 

Conclusion 

Through the lens of the three components of 

Register it was possible to identify some of 

the writer’s strengths and weaknesses. He or 

she seems to operate within the schematic 

structure required by the genre of exposition: 

statement of position, elaboration of arguments, 

reinforcement of statement of position. The 

field includes a clear chain of vocabulary but a 

limited range of Process/Participant/ 

Circumstance. The tenor is expressed using 

the declarative mood (appropriate for the 

genre) but the inconsistent use of modality 

and a limited use of attitudinal language for 

appraisal create an ‘uneasy’ relationship with 

the reader. Lastly, the student seems to show 

some difficulty with Theme-Rheme patterns 

and the marked absence of cohesive devices 

give the text a rather disjointed feel. 

All these areas could be addressed 

successfully in the classroom with activities 

that explicitly develop the writer’s awareness 

and competence. 

Nadia Marzocco 

References 

Butt, D., Fahey, R., Feez, S. and Yallop, C. (2000): 

Using Functional Grammar, An Explorer’s Guide, 

Sydney, Macquarie University 

Er, E. (2001): Text Analysis and Diagnostic Assessment 

in Burns, A. and Coffin, C. (eds): Analysing 


MEMBER MIX 

English in a Global Context, London, Routledge 

Martin, J.M. (2001): Language, Register and Genre 

in Burns, A. and Coffin, C. (eds): Analysing English 

in a Global Context, London, Routledge 

Marwick-Smith and Gibbons (2001), Exploring the 

use of a systemic Semantic Description in Burns, 

A., Candlin, C., Hall, D., Hewings, A. and Mercer, 

N. (eds): Study Guide, UK, The Open University 

Open University Project and Assignment Guide, 

2007: E841 Teaching English to Speakers of Other 

Languages Worldwide, Milton Keynes, UK 

Painter, C (2001): Understanding Genre and Register: 

implications for Language Teaching in Burns, A. 

and Coffin, C. (eds): Analysing English in a Global 

Context, London, Routledge 

Appendix 1 – Text 

People have free time with family. Some of 

family travel to other cities or countries. Other 

families go to park and zoo. Zoo gives people 

a lot of benefit. I Disagree with a zoo has no 

useful purpose because people can learn 

animal lives and have fun in the zoo. 

Learning animal lives is really interesting. 

By learning animal lives you get a better 

understanding their lives. A dog, which is best 

friend to people, helps people a lot of things. 

For example, dogs have good sense of smell. 

They usually help people to find lost people. 

If people go to the zoo they would know more 

animal’s lives and they can get their help. 

In my opinion, learning animal lives give to 

people a lot of benefit. 

In the world, the zoo gives family having fun. 

By having fun people can reduce stress and 

get energy. If you go to zoo you would see 

many kind of animals and have fresh air. Zoo 

is Natural Park so it doesn’t have air pollution. 

You could be reduced your stress and having 

fun. If you don’t go to zoo you would not have 

fun. By having fun with family in the zoo you 

give you family a lot of fun. 

In conclusion, Going to the zoo give people 

a lot of benefit like learning animal lives and 

having fund with family. This mean you should 

go to find out beneficial zoo. A family can be 

happy going to the zoo. 

Note: The text was taken from http://www. 

wayabroad.com/chinese/twe/essays/todaystopic.cfm 


Nadia Marzocco has been professionally active in 

the ELT world for over 16 years. She has held 

positions in the private and public sectors, has 

taught adults from all walks of life in the UK, Italy 

and Switzerland and now works for Scuola Club 

Migros Ticino. She has a multicultural and 

multilingual background, which is what sparked her 

early interest in languages, people, literacy and 

identity. She completed her MA in the Geography 

of Third World Development in 1995 and, after an 

academic break, is currently studying for her PhD 

in Education (Applied Linguistics). She also enjoys 

life outside the ELT environment. 

Do you like taking photographs? 

Would you like to have your photos published? 

ETAS needs someone to take photographs at 

national events like the SIG Day and AGM. 

If you are interested, please contact Steve 

Lander (publ@e-tas.ch or Tel: 061 693 0086.) 

English for Specific Purposes Special 

Interest Group (ESP SIG) 

In the year 2000, on the cusp of a brave new 

millennium, linguist Dave Allan predicted that 

there would be an increase in the demand for 

‘specialist Englishes’. So he might be pleased 

to know that that very demand has called into 

being ETAS’ latest specialist English group - 

the ESP or English for Specific Purposes SIG. 

Teaching ‘specialist English’ is not really 

like teaching any other kind of English. Your 

students probably already have a high level of 

English and they know more about their 

specialist subjects than you ever will. So 

what’s left for the teacher to do? 

Good question. 

Basically, the ground rules for teaching 

‘specialist English’ are the same as teaching 

general English. The students want to be able 

to communicate with native speakers or, even 

more likely these days, with other speakers 

for whom English is a second language. What 

distinguishes specialist English from general 

English is that the students need to be able 

to communicate effectively in a particular 

professional niche. He or she is learnèd in 

their subject in their own language, now they 

need to be able to exercise their expertise in 

suitably elegant English. In other words, the 

students are the experts. All we have to do 

is to equip them with the right set of English 

language tools to enable them to get on with 

the job. 

Sounds easy, right? 

Well, yes and no. To some extent it depends 

upon your own background but to a greater 

extent on your willingness to learn. For in 

reality, particularly in the beginning, teaching 

a specific English can be very challenging. 

Perhaps, for example, you’re teaching 

medical English but can never be quite sure 

that the materials you’ve designed really 

give the students what they need. Or you’ve 

embarked upon teaching a class of young 

engineers but are starting to worry whether 

you’ll ever get the hang of thermo dynamics or 

the finer points of metal fatigue. And as if that 

wasn’t enough, different professionals have 

different ways of thinking: your students may 

be grappling with concepts familiar to them 

but utterly foreign to you. 

On the other hand, perhaps you’ve been

teaching financial English or legal English or 

English for academic purposes for years and 

have built up considerable knowledge in your 

specialist subject. You’ve grown to understand 

the world through the eyes of your students. 

And now you are willing to share your hardwon 

wisdom with teachers new to the field. 

And that’s exactly where this special interest 

group comes in. The aim of the English for 

Specific Purposes SIG is to give support 

and encouragement to members who teach 

English to specialist groups ranging from 

aviators to zoologists; to match teachers with 

less experience to those more experienced, 

and to provide a forum where teaching tips 

can be passed on, new material recommended 

and ideas exchanged. 

I don’t pretend to be an expert in any of those 

fields - not even in my own specialist subject, 

English for lawyers. But I do know what it’s 

like to feel somewhat overwhelmed when 

faced with the challenge of teaching ESP and, 

equally, what it’s like coming across other 

teachers in the same boat willing to give a 

hand. So look out for the ESP SIG events at 

the new improved SIG Day in September, and 

be sure to sign up. 

ESP teachers of ETAS, unite! This is the SIG 

for you. 

Alison Wiebalk 

Alison was born in the UK but lived in many 

different countries before arriving in Switzerland 

with a growing family. Shortly thereafter she started 

to teach General English at home before branching 

out into teaching Business English in-company. 

In 2004 she began to specialise in legal English 

and has since given workshops and legal English 

teacher training sessions in Germany and 

Switzerland. Alison teaches legal English freelance 

and at a college of further education in Zürich. 

After graduating with a BA in English literature and 

linguistics and an LLB from Macquarie University in 

Sydney, Australia, Alison went on to gain a 

doctorate in international law from UNISA in 

Pretoria, South Africa. With some 15 years’ 

teaching experience under her belt she completed 

the CELTA in Zürich, attended an intensive legal 

English teacher training course in Cambridge and 

became a founder member of EULETA (the 

European Legal English Teachers Association). 

Special Interest Areas: 

English literature, the law, legal, academic and 

other English(es). 

MEMBER MIX 

Teaching in India? 

In 2005 ETAS supported an English-medium school for tribal and Dalit (previously “untouchable”) 

children outside Hyderabad, India. Perhaps you read the reports from the school written by ETAS 

member Sarah Emch-Jones. The school is run by the HATI charity, which is based in Zürich and 

was set up by Dr Asif Mirza, who is himself originally from Hyderabad. Now we are looking for 

volunteers to teach children from Lower Kindergarten (age 4) to 10th Class (age 16) and/or train 

teachers. We need: 

� qualified teachers of English, maths or science subjects 

� qualified teacher trainers to raise teachers’ awareness of methodology 

� native speakers or non-native speakers with Proficiency level 

� to stay for at least one month 

If you are interested, and in good health, very flexible and keen to work in a demanding but very 

rewarding environment, then please contact 

sarah.emchjones@gmx.net 

and we will arrange an interview for you. Board and lodging is provided for you in India, but you 

will need to pay for your flight. We’re looking forward to hearing from you. 

If you would like to write a book review for the ETAS Journal and earn the review copy, 

contact Nicola Martignoni at bookreview@e-tas.ch 


Library Updates 

RECENT ACQUISITIONS 

SERVICES 

Number Title Description 

Author(s) / 

Editor(s) 

Publisher Category 

2187 500 Activities for the Resource book with practical ideas and activities for Read C. Macmillan Resource Books 

Primary Classroom teaching English to primary-aged children. The activities 

are grouped according to type (storytelling & drama, art 

& craft, reading & writing, etc.) and can be taught with no 

or minimal resources. 

2007 

2188 700 Classroom Provides a huge repertoire of practical, classroom-tested Seymour D. & Macmillan Resource Books 

Activities 

supplementary activities, organised into 4 sections 

(conversation, functions, grammar, vocabulary). Can be 

used to support any ELT course- coursebook 

book from elementary 

to upper-intermediate and beyond. 

Popova M. 2005 

3100 ABC of Common 

Grammatical Errors 

6418 Academic Writing - from 

paragraph to essay 

Practical reference book for learners and teachers of 

English as a second or foreign language. Provides 

intermediate and advanced learners with easy access to 

the information they need in order to correct their errors. 

For intermediate-level students who are preparing to 

study, or are already studying, in an academic 

environment and need to improve their writing skills. 

1237 An A-Z of ELT Fully cross-referenced, alphabetical guide to ELT. 

Explains grammatical, phonological & lexical terms, 

describes language teaching techniques and theories, 

suggests ways of teaching common grammar points, 

etc. 

1238 Beyond the Sentence - 

Introducing discourse 

analysis 

Introduction to discourse analysis. Examines the 

features and functions of different types of texts and 

shows how to incorporate them into language teaching. 

1239 Blended Learning "Using technology in and beyond the language 

classroom." Ideal companion for any teacher interested 

in the use of technology in the language classroom. 

Provides a practical overview of the different 

technologies available. 

10243 Business Builder - 

Modules 1-2-3 


Modules 4-5-6 


Modules 7-8-9 

10104 Business English 

Handbook (Advanced) 

6424 College Writing - from 

paragraph to essay 

3101 Destination B2 - 

Grammar and 

Vocabulary 

Intermediate Teacher's Resource Book. Activities for 

language development and skills training. Modules 1-2- 

3: Social English, Telephoning, Job interviews. 



6: Discussions and meetings, Business correspondence, 

Business reports. 



9: Presentations; Company, products and customer 

relations; Negotiations. 

Comprehensive book of business language for learners 

of English at upper-intermediate or advanced level. 

Provides intensive vocabulary input and practice + 

optional writing and speaking activities. (+ CD) 

Designed to take university-level students with an 

intermediate ability in English as a second language 

from paragraph writing through essay writing. Covers: 

generating ideas, organizing, drafting, reviewing and 

revising. 

Grammar and vocabulary practice book for all students 

preparing to take any B2 level exam (e.g. Cambridge 

FCE). Wide range of exercise types, including those 

found in FCE Use of English. (SB, no key) 

3013 Discover English "Language awareness for teachers." This book will help 

you to understand and explain common problems in 

English. It suggests motivating and practical activities 

which lead to learning. For teacher training seminars or 

self-study. (3rd ed.) 

Please remember to quote the Catalogue Number 

when ordering a book. Thank you! 

Turton N. D. Macmillan 

2007 

Zemach D. E. & 

Rumisek L. A. 

Macmillan 

2005 

Thornbury S. Macmillan 

2006 

Thornbury S. Macmillan 

2005 

Sharma P. & 

Barrett B. 

Macmillan 

2007 

Emmerson P. Macmillan 

2007 


2007 


2007 


2007 


Rumisek L. A. 

Mann M. & 

Taylore-Knowles 

S. 

Bolitho R. & 

Tomlinson B. 

Macmillan 

2003 

Macmillan 

2006 

Macmillan 

2005 

Grammar and 

Language Practice 

Writing Skills 

Methodology and 

Linguistics 


Linguistics 


Linguistics 

English for Special 

Purposes: 

Business English 


Purposes: 



Purposes: 



Purposes: 



Grammar and 


Grammar and 




SERVICES Library Updates 





Author(s) / 

Editor(s) 


10109 Email English Based on hundreds of real e-mails, Email English deals Emmerson P. Macmillan English for Special 

systematically with key language for constructing 

2004 

Purposes: 

effective and convincing e-mails in English. It will help 

you to write effective and convincing e-mails, whether for 

work, study or other purposes. 


10246 Essential Business Helps students improve both their grammar and Emmerson P. Macmillan English for Special 

Grammar Builder Business English vocabulary. For students studying at 

2007 

Purposes: 

elementary to lower-intermediate level. For the 

classroom or self-study. (with CD) 


15490 ETAS Journal 

Special Supplement: Explorations in ELT. Lander S. (Ed.) ETAS ETAS Journals 

Winter 2007 

Vol. 25 No. 1 

2007 

16003 IATEFL 2007 - Summaries of the plenary addresses, symposia, 

IATEFL Journals and 

Aberdeen Conference presentations, workshops, conference reviews, etc. With 

2008 

Magazines 

Selections 

DVD containing archived materials from various 

sessions in Aberdeen. 

10247 In Company – 

Fast-paced, multi-level Business English course for Clarke S. Macmillan English for Special 

Elementary 

professional adults. Develops key language skills 

2007 

Purposes: 

through activities that reflect the real world of modern 

business. (with CD) 


10102 In Company – Test CD This CD of editable tests accompanies the In Company Hughes J. Macmillan English for Special 

series. Contains placement tests, quick progress tests, 

2005 

Purposes: 

mid-course tests and end-course tests for each of the 4 

levels of In Company (Elementary, Pre-intermediate, 

Intermediate, Upper-Intermediate). 


11105 KET Testbuilder Designed to help students improve their exam 

Dymond S., Macmillan Key English Test 

performance and increase their language competence Kenny N. & 2005 

Examination Books 

for success in the KET exam. With 4 complete tests and 

answer key. (SB, 2 CDs) 

French A. 

1142 Learning Teaching Practical introduction to teaching English as a foreign Scrivener J. Macmillan Methodology and 

second language. Invaluable resource for teacher 

training courses. Helps you understand the basic 

principles of working in a language classroom, shows 

how to plan successful activities, etc. 

2005 

Linguistics 

5226 Move - Elementary Five-level course for adults and young adults. Flexible Bowler B. & Macmillan Coursebooks 

modular approach with practical, everyday topics and 

plenty of practice and review material to build students' 

confidence. (Elementary / SB, CD) 

Parminter S. 2007 

5227 Move - Pre-intermediate Five-level course for adults and young adults. Flexible Maggs P. & Macmillan Coursebooks 



confidence. (Pre-intermediate / SB, CD) 

Quintana J. 2006 

5228 Move - Intermediate Five-level course for adults and young adults. Flexible Holman A., Macmillan Coursebooks 

modular approach with practical, everyday topics and Milne B. & 2006 


confidence. (Intermediate / SB, CD) 

Webb B. 

5229 Move - Upperintermediate 

Five-level course for adults and young adults. Flexible 



confidence. (Upper-intermediate / SB, CD) 

5230 Move - Advanced Five-level course for adults and young adults. Flexible 



confidence. (Advanced / SB, CD) 

5076 New Inside Out - 

Beginner 

5077 New Inside Out - 

Elementary 

Five-level course for adults and young adults, built 

around structured work on grammar and lexis, planned 

speaking tasks, and motivating reading and listening 

texts. (Beginner / SB, CD) 

Five-level course for adults and young adults, built 

around structured work on grammar and lexis, planned 

speaking tasks, and motivating reading and listening 

texts. (Elementary / SB, CD) 

Kay S., 

Hird J. & 

Maggs P. 

Robb Benne R. & 

Hird J. 

Kay S. & 

Jones V. 

Kay S. & 

Jones V. 

Macmillan 

2006 

Macmillan 

2007 

Macmillan 

2007 

Macmillan 

2007 

Coursebooks 

Coursebooks 

Coursebooks 

Coursebooks

Library Updates 



6434 Paragraph Writing - 

from sentence to 

paragraph 

Takes students from sentence formation to paragraph 

writing through a process approach. This develops 

students' paragraph writing skills and encourages them 

to become independent and creative writers. (American 

English) 

11211 PET Testbuilder Designed to help students improve their exam 

performance and increase their language competence 

for success in the PET exam. With 4 complete tests and 

answer key. (SB, CD) 

1166 Sound Foundations Systematic and practical approach to helping students 

improve their pronunciation. Covers pronunciation 

systems, why sounds change in connected speech and 

how stress and intonation affect meaning. With many 

practical activities. New 3rd ed., with Audio CD. 

5010 Straightforward - 

Beginner 


Elementary 

5011 Straightforward - Preintermediate 


Intermediate 

5013 Straightforward - Upper 

Intermediate 

1167 Teaching Practice - A 

handbook for teachers 

in training 

Multi-level course for adults and young adults. Based on 

observation of what good teachers do in the classroom, 

Straightforward is transparent in structure, pragmatic in 

its methodology and varied in its content. (Beginner / 

SB, CD) 




its methodology and varied in its content. (Elementary / 

SB, CD) 




its methodology and varied in its content. (Preintermediate 

/ SB, CD) 




its methodology and varied in its content. (Intermediate / 

SB, CD) 




its methodology and varied in its content. (Upper- 

Intermediate / SB, CD) 

Handbook for EFL teachers in training (planning 

lessons, presenting and practising new language, 

working on skills, managing classroom activities, 

correcting and giving feedback, …). 

10110 Telephone English Deals systematically with the key language for making 

essential phone calls for everyday life and business. 

Includes key vocabulary and expressions, telephone 

etiquette, and strategies for successful business calls. (+ 

CD) (+CD) 

11025 Tips for IELTS All the information you need for the IELTS exam. 

Contains a test-by-test analysis of how to tackle specific 

types of questions, increase speed & accuracy, avoid 

common mistakes, etc. 

6435 Writing in paragraphs Takes students from sentence formation to paragraph 

writing through a process approach. This develops 

students' paragraph writing skills and encourages them 

to become independent and creative writers. (British 

English) 

Author(s) / 

Editor(s) 


Islam C. 

SERVICES 



Luque-Mortimer 

L. 


Macmillan 

2005 

Macmillan 

2005 

Underhill A. Macmillan 

2005 

Clandfield L. Macmillan 

2007 

Clandfield L. Macmillan 

2006 

Kerr P. Macmillan 

2005 

Kerr P. & 

Jones C. 

Kerr P. & 

Jones C. 

Gower R., 

Phillips D. & 

Walters S. 

Macmillan 

2006 

Macmillan 

2007 

Macmillan 

2005 

Hughes J. Macmillan 

2006 

McCarter S. Macmillan 

2006 


Islam C. 

Macmillan 

2006 


PET Examination 

Books 


Linguistics 

Coursebooks 

Coursebooks 

Coursebooks 

Coursebooks 

Coursebooks 


Linguistics 


Purposes: 


Tests and Exams - 

General 



________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Catalogue No. Title Return by (please leave blank) 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

If any of the above items are not available, please send me the following instead: 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Name and Address: 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Tel: Fax: E-mail: 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Date: Signature: 


SERVICES 

� I am an Infrequent User and have enclosed SFr. 6.– in stamps 

� I am a Priority User and have paid into the ETAS postal account 

no. 80-43533-3, Zürich 

� SFr. 30.– for 6 lots 

� SFr. 60.– for 12 lots 

(Up to 3 items, plus accompanying books and/or cassettes/CDs, may be ordered at any one time.) 

I’ve enclosed a self-addressed adhesive label 

Please send me the following items from the ETAS library for 23 days: 

Please return to: ETAS Administration, Rue de l’Hôpital 32, CH-1400 Yverdon 

Tel: +41 (0)24 420 3254, Fax: +41 (0)24 420 3257, e-mail: office@e-tas.ch, website: www.e-tas.ch 

Library Order and 

Check-out Form 

How to use the ETAS Library 

� All current members of ETAS with an address in Switzerland can use the ETAS mail-service library. 

� You can order books in two ways: 

1) As an Infrequent User, you fill in the printed Library Order and Check-out Form (see above) and return it to ETAS 

Administration with SFr. 6.– in stamps (to cover postage costs) and a self-addressed adhesive label. 

2) As a Priority User, you pay for postage costs in advance - SFr. 30.– for six lots or SFr. 60.– for twelve lots - into 

the ETAS postal account. You can then order books online (www.e-tas.ch, click on “Services” then “Library”) or 

by using the paper form as in 1) (but you don’t need to send stamps). 

� Ordering books online is reserved for our Priority Users. 

� One order consists of up to 3 items (including any accompanying books and/or cassettes/CDs). In case some books are out on loan, feel free to give additional titles. The first three 

items that are available will be sent to you. 

� If a book you wanted is out on loan, a form will be sent to you enabling you to reserve the missing book, should you still require it. The book will then be sent to you when it is 

returned to the library. 

� Books can be borrowed for up to 23 days. 

� To request a renewal, please contact ETAS Administration before the return-by date, quoting the title, catalogue number and return-by date of the borrowed items. If the books 

have not been reserved by another reader, you will be given a new return-by date. 

� Personal viewing is possible by appointment. 

� The full list of items is available on our website (www.e-tas.ch). An update with recent acquisitions is in each ETAS Journal.

Membership 

Administration 

Membership: I/we apply for membership in the following category: 

� Individual Member: � Switzerland SFr. 95.- per annum 

� EU SFr. 120.- per annum 

� Overseas SFr. 145.- per annum 

� Institutional Member: SFr. 190.- per annum 

� Associate Member: SFr. 420.- per annum 

Payment: 

SERVICES 

Old Address New Address valid as of: _____________________________ 

Full Name _______________________________________ Full Name _______________________________________ 

Address _______________________________________ Address _______________________________________ 

_______________________________________ _______________________________________ 

Telephone _______________________________________ Telephone _______________________________________ 

E-mail _______________________________________ E-mail _______________________________________ 

ETAS Region _______________________________________ ETAS Region _______________________________________ 

Please return to: ETAS Administration, Rue de l’Hôpital 32, CH-1400 Yverdon 

Membership Application Form 

Membership year: 1st July - 30th June. Membership contracted between July and December = full fee, between January and June = half fee 

� I/we have paid SFr. _________ into the ETAS postal account: Zürich 80-43533-3 

� I/we have paid SFr. _________ into the ETAS bank account: 

642165-10 Credit Suisse, CH-8058 Zürich/Flughafen 

� Please send me an invoice (for Institutional and Associate Members only) 

Full Name _______________________________________________________________ 

Address _______________________________________________________________ 

_______________________________________________________________ 

Telephone ____________________________ Fax ____________________________ 

E-mail _______________________________________________________________ 

Date/Signature _______________________________________________________________ 

Change of Address Form 

Please help to keep our records up-to-date by notifying us before you move! 

Individual Members Only: 

Please indicate which ETAS Region you wish to join 

(tick only one): 

� Baden � Basel � Bern/Neuchâtel 

� Central Switzerland � Geneva � Graubünden 

� Lausanne � Solothurn/Olten � St. Gallen 

� Ticino 

� Zürich 

� Valais � Winterthur/Uster 

Please indicate which ETAS Special Interest Groups 

(SIGs) you wish to join: 

� Business English � Drama & Literature 

� ESP � Examinations, Testing 

& Assessment 

� Immersion/CLIL � Learning Technologies 

� Research � School Management 

� Teacher Development � Teacher Training 

� Teen � Young Learners 

� I do not wish my name to be passed on to EFL publishers 

� Please send information on the ETAS occupational pension fund 

� Please send information on the ETAS loss-of-earnings & 

accident insurance 

For queries please contact: ETAS Administration, Rue de l‘Hôpital 32 

CH-1400 Yverdon, T: +41(0) 24 420 3254, F: +41(0) 24 420 3257 

e-mail: office@e-tas.ch, website: www.e-tas.ch 


42 ETAS Journal 25/2 Spring 2008

The 12 SIG Coordinators 

and the Baden Regional Team 

proudly invite all ETAS members 

and guests to 

ETAS 

SIG DAY 2008 

― a day of professional 

development 

with a personal touch 

September 20th 

in Baden 

Full programme to be sent in 

June 

Be sure to register before 

leaving for summer vacation! 

In 2009 ETAS is celebrating! 

We are holding our 

25th ETAS 

AGM & 

Convention 

in the beautiful alpine city of 

Chur 

17th & 18th 

January 2009 

You won’t want to miss the 

bumper weekend we are 

planning, so put the date 

in your diary now! 

Upcoming 

ETAS NATIONAL EVENTS

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