Vanessa Clark After a degree in modern languages and my postgraduate studies in education in the UK, I ran away to Munich 'for one year' and stayed for eight years as an English teacher and later as a Director of Studies. My classroom experience with adult learners in Germany and my teacher training role there is what I've found most useful in writing Compass, as a good coursebook must be designed with both learners and teachers in mind. I now teach EFL back home in the UK and keep my connection with Germany through my work for Langenscheidt ELT.

Viv Midlane I've been an English Language Teacher since 1982, and taught in Greece, Belgium, Italy and the UK. I've also worked in a 'wide variety' of other fields including working to develop technology to help disabled people in their day to day lives. This included teaching DJing skills to profoundly deaf teenagers. I returned to University in my 40s to take a Masters degree in English Language Teaching and Educational Technology, and am 'thinking about' taking a PhD one day. Now I work as a writer, teacher and examiner. In my spare time I go sailing and hill walking and play harmonica and guitar in blues and rock bands around Manchester.