Category Archives: Articles

Adults, Articles, Books

eBook Sales Still Rising

 

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Though many reports show a decline in eBook sales over the past two years, self-publishing doesn’t seem to have met the same fate. “Successful self-published authors aren’t rare at all”, says Mark Dawson. That said, with only a 2% market share in print, self-publishing is almost wholly dependent on digital sales, which are in an apparent decline. The Publishers Association (PA) reported that between 2014 and 2015 there was a 2% decline in digital sales. So how is self-publishing faring today?

The first thing to bear in mind while looking at the data is that the PA’s numbers do not take into account Amazon imprints or self-published sales. Their market share has actually continued to grow even with the decline in digital sales, so the overall figures are misleading. Early figures from 2016 show that the growth of self-and amazon-published sales might be in proportion to the market’s overall shrinkage.

The self-publishing sector also has access to a diverse selection of routes to readers. Mark Dawson, an expert online marketer, uses multiple sales platforms: Amazon makes 60% of his sales, Apple 20%, and 10% is via other outlets. “I’m agnostic on how books are delivered”, he says.

Source: “Self-publishing in digital still on the rise”, Mark Dawson, London Show Daily, P.30

#backtoschool, Articles, Secondary Learners, Students

A Teacher Centered Approach

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According to the classical model, it’s the teacher’s job to do the teaching and the student’s job to do the learning. But most modern experts agree that ideal classroom interaction involves a two-way process, where both the students and the teacher try to adapt to each other’s goals and procedures.

For instance, the teacher may first initiate an activity, but should then observe the students’ reactions. He should intervene and join those students who are having trouble. If this intervention doesn’t help the problem, then he would change the activity altogether. This negotiation sustains motivation in the classroom.

The student is “an active participant assuming partial responsibility for his own progress”. This means that the student must, first of all, make efforts to acquire the knowledge imparted by the teacher. But on an advanced level, the student seeks to share responsibility for his education with his teacher by keeping him informed about his progress through feedback.

Source: Peter Medgyes, “A ‘teacher-centered’ approach”, The Non-Native Teacher

Adults, Articles, Writing

Latin American Writers in Demand

 

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According to Bernat Fiol, a representative of SalmaiaLit, American and European publishers have been showing a lot of interest in Latin American authors lately. “I think special attention is being paid to young writers of a marked literary character who offer their vision of reality but also contribute new perspectives on Latin America’s literary tradition”, he claims.

As evidence of this interest, SalmaiaLit has revealed that it has sold the rights to a number of Latin American writers’ works, notably F.G. Haghenbeck’s novel The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo, which was translated into 15 languages and sold well in a number of countries. Another translation that’s in the works is of “El desierto y su semilla”, a modern classic.

Laurence Laluyaux, an agent at Rogers Coleridge and White in London, has also seen a “distinct interest” in Latin American writers lately, especially in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, markets that were usually seen as far too difficult for such books. She says that this new development can be explained by the “international fatigue when it comes to English-language literature”. It seems that readers across the world are willing to break out of their comfort zone and explore new and original novels. According to Laluyaux, there’s now a “definite strong interest in form as well as content” of Latin American books.

Source: “Is Latin America The Next Literary Hot Spot?”, Adam Critchley, Publishing Perspective, Spring 2017, p.8

Adults, Articles, Books

Polish Writing Finds Popularity In The West

 

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In a recent interview with Publishing Perspective, Dariusz Jaworski, the director of the Polish Book Institute, shared his views on the emergence of Polish writing in the West.

“Political changes in our country and Poland’s accession to the European Union have resulted in an increased influx of Poles to the UK, allowing them to contribute to the local culture”, he claims. “Polish literature has a grand tradition, emblemized by four Noble prize winners: Sienkiewicz, Reymont, Miłosz and Szymborska…We also have interesting contemporary literature, authors who have won some of the most prestigious literary prizes for fiction, such as Olga Tokarczuk”, he adds.

As for the most exportable genres of Polish literature, Jaroslaw thinks that “nonfiction, science fiction and fantasy, and crime novels have been the most popular.”

Source: “Poland’s Sci-Fi, Nonfiction, and Crime Find Readers in the West”, Jaroslaw Adamowski, Publishing Perspective, Spring 2017, p.7

Adults, Articles, Teachers, Training & Conferences

The Juggernaut Called English

 

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Today, English is the primary language for international communication. At this point in time, more people speak English than have ever spoken a single language in the history of the world. It’s the dominant language in business, banking, industry, commerce, transportation, tourism, sports, diplomacy, advertising, music and so on. We even measure the relative development of a nation in terms of its access to science through English.

Today, English doesn’t belong to any one culture, but instead carries the cultural heritage of all the people and communities who use English every day. But, despite all that, the demand for English is far above the supply. Though governments pour resources into giving its citizens better access to English, there is still more work to be done. There are probably not enough native speaking teachers to help satisfy this demand, and that’s where non-native speaking teachers must step in.

Source: Peter Medgyes, “’The juggernaut called English”, The Non-Native Teacher

Articles, Students, Teachers, Training & Conferences

The Other Side Of The Deck

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Though we talk often about learners and their roles, it’s just as important to pay attention to the teachers themselves. According to Hoyle’s and Harmer’s lists, there are a number of roles ascribed to the teacher in a general educational setting:

  • A representative of society (teachers morals)
  • A judge (gives marks)
  • A resource (conveys knowledge)
  • A helper (provides guidance for student difficulties)
  • A referee (resolves conflicts)
  • A detective (catches rule breakers)
  • An object of identification (has traits that students imitate)
  • A limiter of anxiety (helps students with impulses)
  • An ego-supporter (helps with students’ self-confidence)
  • A group leader (establishes group climate
  • A parents surrogate (acts as object of bids for attention)

Knowing one’s role can be very motivational as a teacher, which is why it’s important to be familiar with these kinds of lists.

Source: Peter Medgyes, “Teacher-centered and learner-centered approaches”, The Non-Native Teacher

Adults, Articles, Students

Using Video In Class

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Many teachers agree that images, still or moving, are very important to teenagers today. It’s how they access the wider world and learn more about it, it is how they share funny gags and stories with friends, and also it is an integral part of their lives. So, what better way to get students to be more active in class than to incorporate some video material?

The videos do not have to be long, either. Many teachers think that screening long and meaningful videos in class are a great idea, but most teenagers today are used to far shorter videos, on the order of 3-5 minutes. Showing more amateurish, relatable clips in class will get the students involved a lot more, especially if they can easily make their own versions of them.

You could even organize a couple of mini-projects, get your students to grab their smartphones and take a few pictures and videos! Set them out to document examples of English being used around them. They will quickly realize just how widespread the language is. For a lot of learners, English is removed from their everyday lives, so this is a good opportunity of breaking them out of their bubble. It will be even better, to ask them to record videos of their own. They don’t have to be well thought out, just relevant and interesting. Good luck!

Source: Goldstein, Ben; Jones, Ceri “Bringing the World into your Classroom” Cambridge University Press, 4 April, 2017, P2

Adults, Articles, Students

Online Work

 

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Many teachers think that just because their students are always on the internet, they’ll be happy to do any online work. This is not quite true. Teachers still need to take into account the level of challenge and the content itself. Students have high expectations of what they access online, because they’re used to incredibly engaging and interactive content. Therefore, teachers have to take a number of steps to make sure that online language learning environment motivates their students.

First of all, the content needs to be personalized and contain topics relevant to the students. Next, the environment needs to be stimulating by being challenging. The teachers also have to assess their online work on time, giving their students incentive to complete it. Finally, learners need to be trained to appreciate the value of particular online to achieve their goals.

Source: Thirau, Caroline “Blended Learning myths: busted!” Cambridge University Press, 4 April, 2017, P4

Articles, Professionals, Students

Audio Book Sales Growing Fast

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Audiobooks have become the fastest growing segment of the trade book publishing market. According to the latest numbers from the US-based Audio Publishers Association (APA), audiobooks made $1.77 billion in sales in North America in 2015, up by ⅕ from 2014. “And that’s just in North America”, adds Michele Cobb, executive director of the APA. “Worldwide, audiobooks are continuing to grow, too. It’s an exciting time to be in our industry.”

Though audiobooks have been around for a long time, recent technological advances have made them far more popular than ever before. “In 1987 you could only put so much material onto each record or onto each cassette or onto each CD,” says Cobb. “In a digital world, the file can be as large as you want, so you don’t need to worry about abridging any of the materials. You can carry an entire book with you. You have access to a larger amount of materials in a very easy-to-use format.”

In response to high demand, audiobook production is on the up. Available titles grew from 7, 00 in 2011 to more than 35, 00 in 2015, according to the APA, and there’s now a wide choice of books instead of just bestsellers.

Source: “Audiobooks make noise”, Christopher Kenneally, London Show Daily, P.26

Articles, Books

J.K Rowling Top Bestsellers List

 

 

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J.K. Rowling, the author of the famous Harry Potter series, has taken the bestseller lists across the world by storm with her new book Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. It has charted in the top three in nine of the 10 Nielsen territories bestseller lists (February 2016 to February 2017).

The book generated the most sales in the United States, with 4.4 million copies sold. That said, one in every 45 Britons bought a copy in the eight months after its release, a striking figure for a medium-sized country. The Cursed Child makes up about half of Rowling’s UK value and 65% of her US volume. It helped drive up the sales of the original Harry Potter books as well. Her screenplay for Fantastic Beasts and Where to find them also sold well (370,724 copies in the UK and 690,336 units in the US).

The top 10 selling authors for the UK are mostly British, with only one American (James Patterson). The Americans, in reverse, only have two Britons (Rowling and Paula Hopkins). Yet, Rowling topped both lists.

Source: “Rowling rules the roost”, Kiera O’Brien, The Bookseller Daily, P.10