MWIS Newsletter editor and committee
During the Open Meeting of the Materials Writers Interest Section (MWIS) of TESOL in Salt Lake City on April 10, the group selected Deborah Lazarus as the new editor of the MWIS Newsletter. She has organized a committee of members to help with the publication of the newsletter. These committee members are Lise Regan, Alison Rice, Tay Lesley, Christy Turner, Sherry Litwack. Potential contributors to the MWIS Newsletter can contact Deborah at deblazarus@yahoo.com.

Vocabulary teaching & learning at TESOL 2002
At TESOL in Salt Lake City, the Academic Session for TESOL's Materials Writers Interest Section focused on a variety of issues in the learning and teaching of vocabulary. Handouts for the sessions are available in the attached description of the session.

Writer's block analyzed & overcome
Cynthia Schuemann discusses our rituals as writers--and how we face and overcome writer's block.

Research & materials writing
Keith Folse considers research on the effects of different types of activites on student learning--and provides a selected bibliography on the teaching and learning of vocabulary.

Web list of articles on textbooks
Pat Byrd has developed a web-based list of research articles and other scholarly materials about textbooks. The articles include discussions of how textbooks are used, how they are written, how they are selected for use in classes and programs, and how they need to be changed. Contributions to the list are welcomed. Please send the full reference to patbyrd@mindspring.com.

Community college ESL teachers sought for Web-based research project
Cynthia Schueman, Pat Byrd, and Joy Reid are conducting a web-based research project to seek detailed information on the attitudes and practices in textbook use among community college teachers in the U.S. MWWR readers are invited to share the address for the site with interested teachers. Additionally, the research design and process might be of interest to other writers who need to find information about classroom practice. Click here to go to the site. Questions about the project can be emailed to patbyrd@mindspring.com.