1. OUP (Oxford University Press) now run four editions of their ELTOC (English Language Teaching Online Conference) a year, and the next one is this coming Friday and Saturday, 17-18^th March. There are four four-hour sessions – you can dip in and out – covering a wide range of topics, with the first session starting at 09:40 on Friday. Full programme and registration here https://elt.oup.com/feature/global/eltoc/?cc=gb&selLanguage=en and (colourful) PDF of programme below

2. Of direct use to teachers of Economics and English for Economics but also useful for the rest of us when we next come across an economics term we’re not sure we understand, The A to Z of Economics from The Economist, promises “economic terms, from ‘absolute advantage’ to ‘zero-sum game’, explained to you in plain English” https://www.economist.com/economics-a-to-z

I wouldn’t want to bet too much on my being able to explain ‘zero-sum-game’ correctly …

3. The most recent episode of the TeachingEnglish podcast – How can peer-led training and mentoring support teachers’ development? – investigates an activity I’ve always felt to be both highly effective and an indication – where it flourishes – of a healthy institution or organisation. You’ll find more information and downloads here (plus PDFs below) of notes on the episode, transcripts in English and Arabic, and activity booklet here https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/professional-development/podcast/teaching-english/how-can-peer-led-training-and-mentoring-support (There’s also a download of the audio file, which I’ve not included.)

Earlier episodes in the series here https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/professional-development/podcast/teaching-english

4. You probably need to be a little bit of an ‘aid nerd’ to read this ICAI review of UK aid to India in full, so you’ll find a PDF of only the executive summary below, in addition to the full report and the literature review (which is a BIG file). With an amber-red rating of the programme’s efficacy, ICAI continues to live up to the ‘I’ in its name, and long may it do so https://icai.independent.gov.uk/review/uk-aid-to-india/review/

5. And, finally and exceptionally, something you have to pay for: Fault Line  – Writings for Turkey and Syria, a collection of poems from 34 poets around the world, edited by Alan Maley, created to raise money for victims and survivors of the earthquake which struck Turkey and Syria on February 6, 2023, at 4:17 a.m. https://payhip.com/b/vnewZ

Has illustrations for each poem generated by AI, prompted by a line or verse from the poem.