1. Clint Eastwood is an astonishing 94 – ninety-four! – years old today. Here’s The Guardian’s list of his twenty best films https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/may/30/happy-94th-birthday-clint-eastwood-his-best-films-ranked

Thirty-two years on, I need to get round to watching Unforgiven!

2. Free to download until 6^th June from Cambridge University Press, Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Developmental Education by Matthew E. Poehner & James P. Lantolf https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/sociocultural-theory-and-second-language-developmental-education/0E29C88DDF3A3FE95F1FCDEAAC9153A8

Sociocultural Theory (SCT), as formulated by Russian psychologist L. S. Vygotsky nearly a century ago, is distinct among traditions in the field of second language (L2) studies in its commitment to praxis. According to this view, theory and research provide the orienting basis for practice, which in turn serves as a testing ground for theory (Vygotsky, 1997). This Element offers a synthesis of foundational concepts and principles of SCT and an overview of two important areas of praxis in L2 education: Concept-Based Language Instruction, which organizes language curricula around linguistic concepts, and Dynamic Assessment, a framework that integrates teaching and diagnosing learner L2 abilities. Leading approaches to L2 teacher education informed by SCT are also discussed. Examples from studies with L2 teachers and learners showcase praxis in action, and emerging questions and directions are considered.

3. Tobias Carroll’s monthly The Watchlist of novels in translation for Words Without Borders is always wonderfully eclectic. Here’s this month’s https://wordswithoutborders.org/read/article/2024-05/the-watchlist-may-2024-tobias-carroll/

4. Something of a paradox here? Gaelic schools thrive while native language declines https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c722dewd93vo

5. And, finally, semi-colons from Toby Litt this time [colon] https://awritersdiary.substack.com/p/on-semi-colons