Author Archives: roycross

Friday, 18th July (on the train from Norwich to Cambridge – or would have been, had Greater Anglia wifi been up to it!)

Posted on July 18, 2025 by roycross

Only one post this week, a bit longer than usual, as I got in a right tiz-woz over some work I had to do for NILE with French school teachers of English yesterday and today. On reflection, the Ted Hughes … Continue reading →

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Thursday, 10th July (Cambridge)

Posted on July 10, 2025 by roycross

An unavoidably vain attempt today to keep up with developments in AI and thinking about AI. 1. The New York Times recently ran an opinion piece by David Brooks, Are We Really Willing to Become Dumber?, about an MIT (Massachusetts … Continue reading →

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Tuesday, 8th July (Richmond)

Posted on July 8, 2025 by roycross

1. 100 Years of Mein Kampf is a programme that John Kampfner has just made for BBC Radio 4 https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002fj5g Here’s (part of) the blurb, to help you decide if you want to listen. I thought it was good. A … Continue reading →

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Thursday, 3rd July (Cambridge)

Posted on July 3, 2025 by roycross

A bit later than usual today as I’ve just got home from a splendid 30th birthday party for NILE in Norwich! 1. A recent post by Geoff Mulgan on his blog, Geoff’s Stack, In praise of plumbing: why British politics’ … Continue reading →

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Tuesday, 1st July (Richmond)

Posted on July 1, 2025 by roycross

1. This one from Anthropic will take some time to explore thoroughly, Claude’s language learning tutor, which offers “customized language tutoring based on your goals and proficiency” https://claude.ai/artifacts/inspiration/2af221b6-367f-4b4f-9fe9-25710f5f8feb A number of the languages I once (sort of) spoke are now … Continue reading →

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Thursday, 26th June (Cambridge)

Posted on June 26, 2025 by roycross

Three on politics to start with today. 1. An engaging series for BBC Radio 4 from David Runciman, Postwar, in which he tells the story of the 1945 UK general election which rejected Winston Churchill and the dawn of a … Continue reading →

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Tuesday, 24th June (Cambridge)

Posted on June 24, 2025 by roycross

1. Compare and contrast, if you will, the latest edition of Ethan Mollick’s Guide to AI … https://www.oneusefulthing.org/p/using-ai-right-now-a-quick-guide Interesting that Mollick very confidently declares: For most people who want to use AI seriously, you should pick one of three systems: … Continue reading →

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Thursday, 19th June (Cambridge)

Posted on June 19, 2025 by roycross

1. Here’s a piece by Johanna Alonso from Inside Higher Ed (IHE), The Handwriting Revolution https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/curriculum/2025/06/17/amid-ai-plagiarism-more-professors-turn-handwritten-work Five semesters after ChatGPT changed education forever, some professors are taking their classes back to the pre-internet era. A free account with IHE allows … Continue reading →

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Tuesday, 17th June (Richmond)

Posted on June 17, 2025 by roycross

1. This Thursday, 19th June, at 15:30 UK time there’s the last NATESOL event of this academic year, an interestingly different ‘special panel discussion’ with Robert Merrell from Manchester Adult Education Services and two adult ESOL learners, Rabia and Lul, … Continue reading →

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Thursday, 12th June (Cambridge)

Posted on June 12, 2025 by roycross

1. The June issue of HLT (Humanising Language Teaching) has just come out and is as good as ever https://www.hltmag.co.uk/jun25/ but I’m ashamed to say that I missed the April issue, which was a wonderful tribute to one of the … Continue reading →

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