EDITOR'S MESSAGE

by Jarek Krajka

Maria Curie-Sklodowska University,

Lublin, Poland

jkrajka@batory.plo.lublin.pl

English for Specific Purposes has earned a prominent position over the recent years. There are more and more students whose language needs and interests are so clearly defined that this poses a true challenge on the teacher as far as the selection of materials is concerned. Of course, ELT publishers have acknowledged this market need and one can come across a plethora of titles and materials for this sector. Business English is one of the most popular "purposes", and this is the reason why the current issue of Teaching English with Technology – A Journal for Teachers of English has been devoted exclusively to various aspects of enhancing Business English instruction with computer technology. It is hoped that in the future there will be similar issues covering systematically other areas of language teaching as well.

The contributions in the current issue, interestingly enough, are written almost exclusively by Polish authors, thus, the issue can also be regarded as a state-of-the-art in the Polish ICT-for-ELT, as the editorial team has issued invitations to contribute to academic researchers, teacher trainers and practicing teachers, grouped in IATEFL Poland Computer Special Interest Group, The British Council Poland ICT Project for EFL Teachers Support Group and educational institutions.

The lead article, by Malgorzata Rzeznik and Anna Drzewinska, entitled "Business English for IT Students in the E-Learning Format", makes a thorough overview of different aspects of e-language-learning, using the example of a Business English course designed and run by the authors at one of private colleges in Warsaw.

In the Lesson Plans section, Miroslawa Podgorska in her lesson plan "Company Profile" and her husband Marek Podgorski in his lesson plan "President's Message" provide the interesting ideas on the skilful implementation of the Web in Business English instruction, with the emphasis on writing skills. On the other hand, TEwT's constant contributor, Rachel Ellis, presents the readers with another instant lesson, this time destined for advanced learners of Business English.

Jarek Krajka, the humble undersigned, in his contribution "Multimedia in Teaching Business English", writes on how educational software of different kind (electronic dictionaries, coursebook-related programs, skill-specific programs, fully developed language courseware) can be implemented in a Business English course, giving examples of language tasks for a sample coursebook, Marketleader Intermediate.

The Journal features the Book Review section, with the evaluation of The Internet and Business English by Barney Barrett and Pete Sharma, reviewed by Edyta Frelik. The title sounds like a must to read and use by BE teachers, which is put to test in the review.

Finally, Katarzyna Karska-Menet reviews one of many sites that could be used in teaching Business English with the Net, namely http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/business/

It is hoped that this wide array of computer-assisted possibilities will satisfy at least some of the needs of Business English teachers all over the globe.

I wish you good reading.