Over the years, ideas about how to teach the English language have ranged from grammar-translation to the audiolingual method to suggestopedia to the communicative approach, to name just a few.  As the beliefs and approaches have changed, so too have the methods used to teach people and the material they have been taught.  The two feature articles in this issue illustrate that very well.  Kim Bradford-Watts describes a program in Japan for prospective Japanese pre-school and kindergarten teachers that offers them training in the English language and in methods of teaching English.  On the other end of the teacher education continuum—from the teaching of children to the training of adults--Barbara Siennicki provides readers with a description of an in-service program in Canada that develops the skills of teachers through on-site and virtual instruction.  Both articles show how current English language training has adapted to meet the needs of teachers.

For a change of pace, three book reviews are included in this issue of the journal.  The first, by Ruth Wajnryb, is a review of a book that is a collection of papers presented at a symposium in Scotland on the teaching of English to speakers of other languages, and deals with what trainers need to know in order to be effective teacher educators.  Kirsten Schaetzel offers two book reviews; one is a review of a book about teaching pronunciation that uses games to make the subject interesting, and the other is a review of a book about using drama to develop teachers’ skills.  Each review is yet another example of how the teaching of English has developed over the years.

On a final note, I am pleased to announce that, starting with the 2004 issue, “Nexus” will become a peer-reviewed journal.  I will continue to review articles and the two new peer-reviewers (more may be added later) are:  Susan Prior, who has a master’s degree from Teachers College, Columbia University, USA, and currently works at the Adult Learning Center in Methuen, Massachusetts, which provides ESL instruction to adult immigrants.  She has taught in China, and in the US she has also taught in university IEPs and in an elementary school.  Susan has given several presentations at professional conferences and has written curriculum for adult education programs.  Kim Bradford-Watts, whose article is included in this issue, is the other peer-reviewer; she has a master’s degree from Macquarie University, Australia.  She teaches at universities in Japan and has presented at many conferences there; she has also taught students of different ages and proficiency levels in private classes in Japan.  In addition, Kim has published several articles in journals and has held editorial positions with a number of ESOL publications.  I extend a warm welcome to both peer-reviewers!

Feedback is always welcome, and if you change email addresses, please let me know so I can update your subscription.  The next issue of “Nexus” will be published in November 2004, and the deadline for submitting articles is June 20, 2004.  How to obtain the guidelines for submission as well as subscription information can be found at the end of this issue.  Enjoy the journal. 

Table of Contents

1) EFL Teacher Training for Trainee Nursery and Kindergarten Teachers in Japan, by Kim Bradford-Watts

2) A Mixed-Mode In-Service Teacher Training Program, by Barbara Siennicki

3) Book Review: Learning to Train: Perspectives on the Development of Language Teacher Trainers, Edited by Ian McGrath; reviewed by Ruth Wajnryb

4) Book Review: Pronunciation Games by Mark Hancock; reviewed by Kirsten Schaetzel

5) Book Review: Dramactive: Book 1 by Madonna Stinson and Debbie Wall; reviewed by Kirsten Schaetzel