The need to communicate in different modes and languages has become even greater and more immediate with the rapid developments and spread of information technologies in our everyday lives. English as a global language in particular is in a key position of enabling people to keep in touch, do business and/or travel in this ever-globalising "new world." Thus, teaching and learning English have critical importance.

Despite this critical positioning, instruction-related problems encountered by English-language teachers in Cyprus and their colleagues all over the world cannot be ignored.

As Savignon (2005) reports, there are not only problems in pre-service teachers' understanding of the buzzword "communicative language teaching- but also difficulties when these teachers attempt to transfer communicative teaching strategies to actual classrooms.

In this respect, "Pains and Gains: New Trends in ELT" will provide a platform for discussing newly emerging methodological as well as practical issues and suggesting solutions in the teaching and learning of English as a second/foreign language. The submission deadline has been extended until 02 May.