1. An older piece (2019) from The Conversation that I chanced upon the other day, Why are so many languages spoken in some places and so few in others? https://theconversation.com/why-are-so-many-languages-spoken-in-some-places-and-so-few-in-others-116573

Before you read the piece, why do you think it is that far more languages are spoken in tropical regions than in temperate areas?

2. Thanks to (proud teacher) Beth Erling for this one from (talented student) Anita Ghoreshi, Translanguaging and the Need for New Pedagogical Practices https://magazine.tedxvienna.at/2022/03/08/translanguaging-need-for-new-pedagogical-practices/

It’s a very useful survey. I had no idea that the term translanguaging was first used by Cen Williams to refer to “pedagogical practices in which English and Welsh were used for different activities and purposes”.

3. No fewer than four webinars in the course of the next week that may be of interest:

i) a School Education Gateway event with Ilse Derluyn from the University of Ghent and Helen Cowie from the University of Surrey at 15:00 UK time tomorrow, Friday 22nd April, Supporting the mental health and well-being of refugee children in school More info and registration here https://www.schooleducationgateway.eu/en/pub/teacher_academy/webinars/refugee-children-well-being.htm

ii) an event jointly organised by the National Association for Language Development in the Curriculum here in the UK (NALDIC) and the UK Chartered College of Teaching at 16:00 UK time on Monday, 25^th April, Linguistic Challenges of EAL: Normalising Difference in Teacher Education with Linda Harklau from the University of Georgia in the USA and Angela Scarino from the University of South Australia. More info and registration here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/linguistic-challenges-of-eal-normalising-difference-in-teacher-education-tickets-302563354137

iii) a Bath University Centre for Research in Education in Asia research seminar with Viniti Vaish from the National Institute of Education in Singapore at 10:00 UK time on Wednesday, 27^th April, Linguistic Distance and Translanguaging More info and registration here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/development-in-education-in-asia-crea-2022-seminar-series-4-tickets-289996185397 PDF of abstract below.

iv) a UCL Centre for Applied Linguistics research seminar at 12:00 UK time on Wednesday, 27^th April with Chris West from Verbal Identity (“widely regarded as the leading verbal brand consultancy in the world”), What just happened to brand language More info in the flyer below; registration here https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdF20NOKEbJyXrid5p2P0rzowZJ-pV9f6yetTPzLDG3vJF3ZA/viewform

“There are more than 115 million companies in the world today. How many ever said anything you could remember?”

4. The European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML) in Graz launched a new website today: Supporting the (linguistic) integration of refugees from Ukraine https://www.ecml.at/Resources/SupportingthelinguisticintegrationofrefugeesfromtheUkraine/tabid/5558/language/en-GB/Default.aspx Stacks of stuff, and clearly more widely applicable.

5. And, finally, a discussion of Marcelo Bielsa’s magical, recently-ended spell (pun intended) as manager of Leeds United and Pied Piper to the whole city of Leeds https://youtu.be/QqjGc2gKQtY Listen for the accents if you’re not into football!