Wine-Themed ESL Textbook Hits the Market

A new textbook is helping Moravian winemakers and other wine lovers learn English

Elizabeth Zahradnicek-Haas

Written by Elizabeth Zahradnicek-Haas Published on 18.02.2016 14:54:59 (updated on 18.02.2016) Reading time: 1 minute

Late last year we reported that English proficiency in the Czech Republic was at an all time high – but a Brno-based ESL teacher realized that one important sector of the population still needed some niche instruction: the winemakers of Moravia.

Australian expat Mike Mazey, an English teacher and wine educator, says that it was his time spent working in a Moravian winery where no one spoke his native tongue that prompted him to move to the country and start offering lessons.

“I found that I really enjoyed the satisfaction of helping students learn their subject and this has continued to be my main occupation for the last 10 years. However, my heart kept calling me back to the wine industry.”

Mike Mazey/Photo: WineWords FB
Mike Mazey/Photo: WineWords FB

What began as series of English lessons with a focus on “wine English” for area oenologists, viticulturists, vintners, and sommeliers, morphed into WineWords, a textbook designed for non-native speakers of English at the intermediate
level. 

Language-school owner and wine enthusiast Pavlína Megova co-authored the book along with forty wine producers from sixteen countries who contributed to chapters on everything from varieties of wine to wine sales and tourism.

And while the target audience is professionals, the book is helpful for  “Anyone wishing to communicate about wine as a wine lover,” say its creators.

To use this text in your classroom, see www.winewordsthebook.com.

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