1. The 2^nd ‘Decentring ELT’ conference will be held on 10^th and 11^th March next year, and the call for papers is now open. More info on both the conference itself and the ‘decentring’ concept here https://www.hornby-trust.org.uk/decentring-elt and in the first PDF below. You’ll find a brief report on the 1^st ‘Decentring ELT’ conference, including links to video recordings of the conference sessions, on the same page or in the second PDF below.

As the Hornby Trust website puts it, “The world of ELT has been characterised by a hegemony of ‘global’ or ‘centre’ ELT approaches and materials developed outside the teaching contexts in which they are expected to be used. However, these approaches and materials (‘frames for action’) are not necessarily appropriate to and do not recognise teachers’ and other insiders’ experience and expertise in those contexts.”

2. It’s that time of year again! Next Wednesday, 30^th December, sees the (increasingly less hegemonic) annual ELTons awards ceremony for innovation in ELT, hosted this year by Michael Rosen. You’ll find all the finalists, who will all have their fingers and toes firmly crossed till Wednesday evening, listed here https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/eltons-innovation-awards-2022-finalists and you can watch the ceremony from 17:00 UK time next Wednesday on the TeachingEnglish Facebook page here https://www.facebook.com/TeachingEnglish.BritishCouncil

3. At 14:00 UK time this Saturday, 26^th November, Anna Hasper and Jonathan Hadley, the authors of ‘Supplementary Activities for English Language Teaching: Large Classes and Low Resource Contexts’ are presenting the second event in TransformELT’s series on ‘Teaching English to large classes’. More info and registration herehttps://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/teaching-english-to-large-classes-part-2-tickets-470938508757 You can download a PDF of Anna and Jonathan’s book here https://www.britishcouncil.com.sn/en/programmes/education/english-connects/teachers-resources/supplementary-activities and it’s also attached below, just in case.

4. There have been times recently when it has seemed that the UK is falling apart at the seams. Opinions differ as to why that might be. ICAI, the Independent Commission for Aid Impact, however, continues to exemplify the UK’s ability to look at itself critically. Their latest report, UK aid to Afghanistan, “examines the relevance, coherence and effectiveness of the UK’s aid investment in Afghanistan since 2014” https://icai.independent.gov.uk/review/uk-aid-to-afghanistan/review/ ‘Not great’ is their verdict, alas. PDFs of report and literature review below.

5. And, finally and poetically and wholly less depressingly, a conversation between Edward Mendelson, the world’s foremost Auden scholar, and Sam Leith of The Spectator https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcast/edward-mendelson-complete-poems-of-w-h-auden/ And here’s the poem that Edward says makes him cry every time he reads it, River Profile https://allpoetry.com/River-Profile Requires and repays a second and third reading!