EFL/ESL Publishing

[newmod]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anybody knows how things work in this sector. I´ve been teaching EFL/ESL for about 4 years now to adults and business people and most of the material leaves them, and me, cold. I´d be interested in finding out what´s the best way to approach publishers.

All help most appreciated.

Cheers,
newmod

[expatbrat]

Wouldn't have a clue... sorry.

Are you thinking of doing a fun alternative text people could use with their tutors? That could work. Get your ideas together and go ask the people who publish these types of books to publish yours.

What's EFL? I'm guessing English as First Language - but then why would you need the guide?

[Zisel]

Do you have specialist knowledge in any particular field, like accounting, hotel management, optometry or anything? I’m assuming you do if you teach business English, but I ask because I recently finished
(Hallelujah! :snoopy: ) two textbooks for the specialist school I used to teach with. They have to print their own books because apparently there are very few available for their sector and in the local language (for translation exercises). So, you might approach commercial schools about writing books or supplementary material specifically for them.

Otherwise, I’d second what expatbrat said. Get together a book proposal, which I’d presume would have to be in Spanish, and send it to publishers who publish ESL books. The exact details are probably a bit different in each country, so you may want to check with some published authors where you are. Otherwise, you could always approach publishers in your native country and market the book in Spain.

<unsolicited advice>
You know what I bet there’s a need for? Listening activities, especially interesting/controversial ones read by native speakers, including those with non-Queen’s-English accents (Scots, Bostonians, even Dutch or Indians) and read at native speed with normal, not exaggerated, intonation. I don’t know about yours, but my students were always asking for more material like this. They can get reading material easily, but listening activities accompanied by well thought out exercises are in short supply.
</unsolicited advice>

What's EFL?
English as a Foreign Language, no?

Hope that helps a bit.

Good luck with your book,
Z

[expatbrat]

<unsolicited advice>
You know what I bet there’s a need for? Listening activities, especially interesting/controversial ones read by native speakers, including those with non-Queen’s-English accents (Scots, Bostonians, even Dutch or Indians) and read at native speed with normal, not exaggerated, intonation. I don’t know about yours, but my students were always asking for more material like this. They can get reading material easily, but listening activities accompanied by well thought out exercises are in short supply.
</unsolicited advice>




Usless info:
My hubs did the voices for this type of material when he was studying Chinese at a Beijing University. Hours and hours of reading ESL... With more Chinese currently studying English than there are currently native English speakers, it makes me smile to think of millions of people riding their bikes around town listening to walkmans and MP3 players, practicing hubs accent.