NovELTy November 2003 [antikvár]

EDITORIAL English language teaching has seen many changes in the past few decades. Methods have come and gone, new techniques have been introduced, and numerous research projects have been carried out in order to pave the way for further discoveries and improvements. The profession, I am convinced, has been experiencing the Golden Age. This is especially the case in Central Eastern Europe where probably no other subject matter has gone through such vibrant transformation than language teaching. Resources and expertise have poured to Hungary and other former Eastern Bloc countries. New publications have started up, conferences have been organised and networks have been created. Golden Ages, however, have a tendency to end. The end usually does not come with a boom or a bang. The process is much slower and sometimes goes unnoticed. It seems to me and some factors also signal that a new era has dawned upon us. An era where language teaching professionals have to turn inwards instead of expecting answers from others, an era where professional development comes from within the self and not from a training institution or outside organisation. This is an era where language teaching professionals have to face changes and challenges at all levels. Classroom teachers now deal with a new generation of pupils who are exposed to all the merits and pitfalls of a consumer society. Kids these days are more familiar with the 'heroes' of various reality shows than with the characters from Verne novels, let alone Shakespeare or Dickens. Therefore, teachers need new techniques and maybe new skills to reach them. They need new ways of motivation in order to cope with the indifference created by the shallow, but flashy TV shows. Teachers also have to realise that the job market has changed. A couple of years ago schools have been fighting for EFL teachers and fresh graduates hardly ever considered teaching as a career option. Now, teachers have to compete with each other for the few vacancies in schools, especially in larger cities and towns. This change will probably bring about a few changes within the inner selection mechanisms of the profession: the less capable or unqualified will find it hard to find work, which will result in raised standards and a better reputation for teachers. Higher education tutors also need to reconsider their curricula to meet the requirements of this new age. They no longer work with the top ten per cent of the students, the cream of cream. Nowadays, a lot more students enter higher education and their language level is sometimes not appropriate to cope with the requirements of the syllabus. A recent tendency is that students who enrol a second degree course do not have to take an entrance examination and as a result their English knowledge varies from beginner level to advanced. All these changes indicate to me that although the Golden Age is over, we have a new period which can be aptly called the Age of Challenge. This is reflected in the current