by Jarek Krajka
Maria Curie-Sklodowska University
Lublin, Poland
jkrajka@batory.plo.lublin.pl

This is the new January issue of "Teaching English with Technology," a free quarterly electronic journal for teachers of English interested in using computer technology in their teaching. The Journal deals in particular with the Internet, communication tools, using language learning programs and other software, in relation to general English as well as English for Specific Purposes. Now, in January 2003, it will be a good idea to sum up the two years of the Journal's existence, recollecting the beginnings, as well as giving some idea on the development of TEwT in the second year.

"Teaching English with Technology, a Journal for Teachers of English" was started by a group of enthusiasts from IATEFL Poland Computer Special Interest Group. My idea to start publishing a Journal like that was supported by other SIG members during the IATEFL Poland National Conference in Cracow in 2000.

The first January issue mainly consisted of contributions written by the undersigned, as well as my fellow teachers and trainees. After the announcement about the Journal on the international discussion lists such as TESLCA-L and NETEACH-L I received as many as 150 messages from people willing to receive the Journal. Finally, the first issue was published on the Web at the same URL it is accessible today, namely at http://www.iatefl.org.pl/call/callnl.htm. The archive section of the Journal website ("Previous Issues") consists now of all previous eleven issues, available as .html websites, as well as downloadable .html and .pdf versions.

Due to my announcements on discussion lists, listing the Journal in Web directories and recommendations given by readers to their fellow teachers, the number of subscribers receiving the Journal as email attachment is now over 700, with more than 1,000 hits on the Journal website each month. So far, the Web version has been visited over 25,000 times, which is definitely a substantial proof of its popularity.

It needs to be said at this point that during these two years and 12 issues of existence, there has not been a single penny involved in the making of the Journal. It is distributed entirely for free, all people make the work voluntarily, and the contributors are not commissioned nor paid for their submissions. This phenomenal existence would not have been possible without devotion and engagement of the people involved in the making of TEwT: Jozsef Horvath, the co-editor, giving me support and valuable input in the most difficult starting period; Maria Jose Luzon de Marco, another co-editor, who started and built the Journal in the area of ESP; Guo Shesen, the co-editor, sharing the technical knowledge with readers; Wojciech Korput, the Journal webmaster, working hard to publish and maintain the Web version. At this moment, I would like to thank the above mentioned, as well as numerous Journal contributors and supporters, for their enormous help, as well as kindly request their assistance in the future.

The new issue, as always, is international in its character, with contributors from Spain, the United Arab Emirates, Poland, Malaysia, and broad in scope, covering such areas as evaluating Internet resources for ESP ("Defining Effectiveness for Business and Computer English Electronic Resources" by Alejandro Curado); customizing standard office applications for language learning ("Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks: Effective Use of the Word Processor in ESL Classrooms" by David Hughes); managing learning with specialized management systems ("Using a Coursework Management System in Language Teaching" by Abdullah Mohd Zin, Saadiyah Darus, Md. Jan Nordin And Abd Malik Md Yusoff), authoring tools online ("Making Web-Based Quizzes in an Instant" by Jarek Krajka); Internet activities ("Web-Based Simulations for ESP" by Maria Jose Luzon Marco); and, as usual, ready-made lesson plans for the classroom ("Online Dictionaries" by Marcin Jonik and "The System of Education in Great Britain, United States and Poland" by Jolanta Czarniakowska-Filipek).

It is hoped that the Journal readers will find it interesting to read the articles.