1. Two videos from different parts of the Cambridge University Press and Assessment website: one with lots of bad jokes https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9-5oT15dxc81MI-pUui3Ww and another with the recordings of this year’s Cambridge Academic English Conference https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-oYKB0D9-E1h_pS8HguC3aVLWyzYHahn

2. Out this week, the second episode of the TeachingEnglish podcast from Chris Sowton and Kris Dyer, How can I make my teaching gender fair? https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/british-council-teachingenglish-episode-2-how-can-i-make-my-teaching-gender-fair

PDFs of transcript and episode notes below, plus – experimentally, as I’m not sure how well it will travel – the audio file of the podcast itself.

3. Here’s the recording of Susan Dawson and Gary Motteram’s webinar last year on Teacher professional development through WhatsApp-based communities of practice in challenging contexts https://africa.teachingenglish.org.uk/skills/webinars/professional-development-whatsapp-challenging-contexts PDF of slides below. One of the big learning points from the PRELIM 1 project was just how much you can do with WhatsApp compared to other delivery options such as Zoom.

4. Thanks to colleagues in South Asia for this one from the Brookings Institution, Using classroom simulators to transform teacher preparation https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2021/11/17/using-classroom-simulators-to-transform-teacher-preparation/

“One of the few clear implications from existing teacher education research is that new teachers need chances to practice key skills; they also need feedback on how to improve.” This article describes how the University of Virginia has developed a range of digital simulations that provide new teachers with that extra practice and feedback.

5. And, finally, this week’s phobia: athazagoraphobia. I nearly forgot!