Dear Members,

Before I present the �Word of the Day Competition�, I�d like to express my feelings.

I think that ESL Printables is an excellent website.  It makes a contribution of immense value to the knowledge of those who speak English, to the knowledge of Teaching, and to the knowledge of the World.

Knowledge brings clarity, because it emits a light in the darkness.

Knowledge brings wisdom, because it offers a solution in a world of confusion.

Knowledge brings freedom, because it opens a door into infinity.

Those of us who are privileged to be Members of ESLP owe a huge debt of gratitude to Victor for his care, his effort, and his dedication in organising this splendid site.  It allows all Members to exchange opinions and ideas about teaching, not just English, but numerous other disciplines too.

But ESLP is much more than this!

It is a dictionary, a grammar book, and a thesaurus all rolled into one.  If you tried to buy a copy, you couldn�t find one to compare with it.  If you found one, you couldn�t lift it, because it contains so much material.  If you could lift it, you couldn�t buy it, because there isn�t that much money in the world.  ESLP is a wonderful teaching resource --- it is a treasure-store!

But ESLP is much, much more than this!

It is a Club with three-quarter-of-a-million Members who are a mixture of teachers and students; parents and children; young and old; men and women; married and single; from every continent, country or class; from every race, region or religion; and from every known language, dialect or patois.  The Members have one thing in common --- they are all equal.  

But ESLP is much, much, much more than this!

It is an Internet programme which helps teachers solve educational problems; a magazine to read, relish, then relax; and a Private Message service which permits strangers at opposite ends of the earth to give each other an encouraging hug.  Indeed, for many lonely, troubled, weary Members --- it is a life-saver!

It is possible that many do not realise it, but numerous ESLP Members rely on this Club as their sole means of contact, comfort, and companionship with other people.  It is their ONLY opportunity to speak, to smile and to have a joke with another person.  I know, because they write and tell me so.  That is why the Caf� and the Forum are so important for chit-chat, jokes, and casual conversations.

In particular, the �Caption Competition� and the �Word of the Day Competition� are not only challenging language exercises, they are also a way of letting off steam and having a bit of harmless fun.  I have frequently been amazed at how many times Members have used Figures of Speech --- Alliteration, Metaphor, Simile, Onomatopoeia, Bathos, etc, to justify their explanation, AND they have combined their answer with humour.  (They say that, if you can recount a joke in a foreign language, then you can REALLY speak that language).

There are some rare people who think that one minute spent laughing is one minute of life wasted.  They are entitled to that opinion.  However, if a language-teacher, (of ANY language), suggests that humour is not a suitable topic for learning, that person has a great deal to learn about teaching.  Humour is an important part of life.  That is why, in my opinion, the Competitions are an important part of ESLP.

Whenever I see the name of the Winner of the Competition, I imagine a little school on a mountain-top, or in a tiny village.  I see the children run home and proudly announce to their parents: �MY TEACHER won the Competition�.

The more Members who participate, the more answers we have.  The more answers we have, the more fun it becomes.  The more fun it becomes, the more we laugh.

�It matters not whether you Win or Lose, but whether you play the Game!�

So, here we go!

The �Word of the Day� is �THAUMATURGE�.

Let�s have your definitions, please.  Sensible or stupid.  Clever or crackpot.  Witty or whatever.

Les Douglas

And A Happy New Year to Everyone.