Roy Cross's Blog

1. English Pronunciation For A Global World: An Introduction by Ee-Ling Low from Nanyang University in Singapore is the latest blog post on the OUP (Oxford University Press) website https://oupeltglobalblog.com/2022/03/09/english-pronunciation-introduction/#more-16326

Well worth registering on their site, I think – gives you access to lots of useful stuff, including their most recent ‘position paper’, on Using Technology to Motivate Learners, that I’ve presumed to download on your behalf, to encourage you to register in your own right – I hope that logic is good! PDF below. Other position papers here https://elt.oup.com/feature/global/expert/?cc=us&selLanguage=en

2. The first two of six episodes of Foreign Policy’s special podcast series in partnership with UNHCR on refugees and forcibly displaced people, Escaping Conflict and Healing the Body are now available https://foreignpolicy.com/podcasts/course-correction/ Less grey and male than some foreign policy podcasts (says a grey male).

3. Just in this afternoon, this one: The Center for Multilingualism in Society across the Lifespan (MultiLing) at Oslo University is hosting a public lecture by Maria Coady from the University of Florida on “Engaged Collaboration for Multilingual Student Learning” at 13:15 UK time next Wednesday, 6^th April. More info here if, like me, you’re not quite sure what to make of that title https://www.hf.uio.no/multiling/english/news-and-events/events/guest-lectures-seminars/2022/Maria_Coady.html and (mandatory) registration here  https://nettskjema.no/a/251664#/page/1

4. Why does it feel so good to use bad language? a CrowdScience show from BBC World Service https://youtu.be/q42-oUHUviM “We set out to explore the science of swearing, prompted by a question from CrowdScience listener Gadi. Psychological studies have shown bad language can relieve pain, or even make us stronger; we test out these theories for ourselves and try to figure out why certain words are charged with such physical power.”

I still remember the shock I felt back in 1979 when I first understood the literal meaning (which isn’t the whole story, of course) of what people were saying to each other on the tram in Zagreb, probably best translated as ‘Why don’t you go back where you came from?’

Here’s the CrowdScience home page, with lots of short videos on a wide range of topics that should go down well in class, I think https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04d42rc

5. And, finally, today’s poem for Ukraine is Wilfred Owen’s famous (here in the UK) sonnet, Anthem for Doomed Youth (PDF below as well.)

Anthem for Doomed Youth

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?

      — Only the monstrous anger of the guns.

      Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle

Can patter out their hasty orisons.

No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;

      Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,—

The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;

      And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

What candles may be held to speed them all?

      Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes

Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.

      The pallor of girls’ brows shall be their pall;

Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,

And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

Wilfred Owen

1. Something I missed on first publication, good and thorough and well worth an initial skim before returning to the bits that pique your interest, the EU Communities of Practice Playbook https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/9d18431e-1a88-11ec-b4fe-01aa75ed71a1/language-en

If it does what it says on the tin, that’ll do for me: “Communities of practice can bring groups with different knowledge perspectives together and can strengthen their capacity to work and learn creatively together while harnessing the collective intelligence in the organisation to deliver integrated policy work and overcome silo mentalities.” PDF below.

2. The Good Country Index – the end of the selfish state seeks to measure an individual country’s nett contribution to the world – what it puts in, minus what it takes out – and then ranks countries according to their nett contribution https://issuu.com/medauras/docs/gci_1.5_edition

Their preface makes it clear that they’re aware that not all readers around the world will buy in to their methodology. See what you think! (No PDF for this one, alas.)

3. The latest newsletter from TeachingEnglish arrived in my inbox this morning. Scroll right down this page if you’d like to subscribe for yourself https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/ and take a look at this one, Teaching pathways: Skills for remote teaching, in passing https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/teaching-pathways-skills-remote-teaching

4. This week’s phobia, alektorophobia, may not be one that many of us suffer from, but if you do, I could imagine it’s not much fun at all.

5. Today’s poem for Ukraine is To Whom It May Concern by Adrian Mitchell. Here’s a video of the young Mitchell reading his poem https://youtu.be/U3bVJAe8xVY and here’s him reading the poem later in life https://youtu.be/L31cJ4xE_3g There’s also a PDF below.

If you’d like to buy The Pity of War, Alan Maley’s anthology of poetry for Ukraine, and support charities working with Ukrainian refugees, you can do so here https://payhip.com/b/uPZO4

Blog version:

Climate stuff later in the week – the cupboard is shamefully bare this evening!

1. Short notice of this one, sorry: Donald H Taylor is leading a session for eLearning Africa at 13:30 UK time tomorrow, Wednesday 30th March, on Challenge and change – the African view of L&D in 2022. More info and registration here https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Rel2LfKMQu-62QVqeVii8A

“Last year, L&D globally was dominated by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. What has changed this year, as we emerge from its impact? The answer: everything has changed, and nothing has. Technology, expectations and much more has altered over the past two years, but organisational focus is still very much on delivering training, rather than helping people learn …”

2. If you missed Andy Hockley’s very well-received webinar for NATESOL last Saturday, From Teacher to Manager, you’ll find the recording here https://youtu.be/dh1s1vuGAWs

In his talk, Andy looked at some of the reasons why you might want to take on a management role, some of the skills that you will need, how you might acquire them, and some routes that you might take. He also looked at some of the challenges that you might expect to face in moving into management.

But please don’t all leave the classroom at once!

3. Universities are still the future of higher education says Tom Worthington in his blog post reviewing a report by Ernst & Young that suggests otherwise, Are universities of the past still the future?’ https://blog.highereducationwhisperer.com/2022/03/universities-are-still-future-of-higher.html EY report here https://www.ey.com/en_gl/education/are-universities-of-the-past-still-the-future and PDF below, so you can make up your own mind about the future value of universities.

4. My colleague Adam recognised last night’s poem for Ukraine, Refugees, instantly as one by Brian Bilston, ‘the poet laureate of Twitter’. Here’s another of Mr Bilston’s poems, on a much less serious topic

No, You Cannot Borrow My Phone Charger

Help yourself to whatever

you’d like from my larder;

my stilton, my sherry –

or my port, if you’d rather –

but, no, you cannot borrow

my mobile phone charger.

If you want I will read you

an ancient Norse saga,

or dance naked in public

to Radio Gaga,

but, no, you cannot borrow

my mobile phone charger.

Make me learn the speeches

of President Carter,

force-feed me quinoa

until I grow larger,

but, no, you cannot borrow

my mobile phone charger.

You can beg all you want

but I’m not going to barter

because, no, you cannot borrow

my mobile phone charger.

PDF below and here’s the piece about Mr Bilston in The Irish Times that Adam sent me where I found that poem https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/brian-bilston-the-poet-laureate-of-twitter-1.2600316

5. And, finally, here’s today’s poem for Ukraine, August 1968 by W H Auden, written in response to the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia. (PDF below, too.)

August 1968

The Ogre does what ogres can,

Deeds quite impossible for Man,

But one prize is beyond his reach,

The Ogre cannot master Speech:

About a subjugated plain,

Among its desperate and slain,

The Ogre stalks with hands on hips,

While drivel gushes from his lips.

W H Auden

1. The ICEPELL project – Intercultural Citizenship Education through Picturebooks in Early English Language Learning – have just produced a set of seventeen enchanting ‘ICEKits’, teaching packs around picture-books which promote citizenship topics https://icepell.eu/index.php/icekits/

PDF copies of #1, Perfectly Norman, and #3, Strictly No Elephants, below, to give you the idea.

2. The next webinar in UCL’s Academic Writing series, What can we do about academic integrity? with Mary Brooks, is this Thursday, 31^st March, at 16:00 UK time. More info and registration here https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/events/2022/mar/what-can-we-do-about-academic-integrity

“This event will be particularly useful for those interested in academic literacies, plagiarism and academic integrity.” At one level, we’re all interested in academic integrity, aren’t we?

 3. The first of three very informative blog posts on Neurodivergence and online learning through the pandemic from the Association for Learning Technology (ALT), What is neurodiversity? can be found here https://altc.alt.ac.uk/blog/2022/03/neurodivergence-and-online-learning-through-the-pandemic-what-is-neurodiversity-post-1-of-3/

The second, Studying in the home environment and adapting to assessment adjustments, is here https://altc.alt.ac.uk/blog/2022/03/neurodivergence-and-online-learning-through-the-pandemic-studying-in-the-home-environment-and-adapting-to-assessment-adjustments-post-2-of-3/

and the third, Recommendations from the Support Services perspective here https://altc.alt.ac.uk/blog/2022/03/neurodivergence-and-online-learning-through-the-pandemic/

Good suggestions for further reading at the end of each post, too.

4. I don’t often read Bloomberg pieces but quite often enjoy them when I do. Here’s their longish recent piece, on how Putin and Xi Exposed the Great Illusion of Capitalism https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-03-24/ukraine-war-has-russia-s-putin-xi-jinping-exposing-capitalism-s-great-illusion

“Unless the U.S. and its allies mobilize to save it”, say the authors, “the second great age of globalization is coming to a catastrophic close” – apocalyptic stuff.

5. And, finally, today’s poem for Ukraine is Refugees, by an anonymous author. Be sure to obey the instruction at the end of the poem! (PDF below.)

Refugees

They have no need of our help

So do not tell me

These haggard faces could belong to you or me

Should life have dealt a different hand

We need to see them for who they really are

Chancers and scroungers

Layabouts and loungers

With bombs up their sleeves

Cut-throats and thieves

They are not

Welcome here

We should make them

Go back to where they came from

They cannot

Share our food

Share our homes

Share our countries

Instead let us

Build a wall to keep them out

It is not okay to say

These are people just like us

A place should only belong to those who are born there

Do not be so stupid to think that

The world can be looked at another way

(Now read from bottom to top, please.)

1. Andy Hockley’s giving a talk for NATESOL at 10:00 UK time this Saturday, 26^th March, entitled From Teacher to Manager. More info and registration here https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScQjRH_0paVld6Oc_ovwQcolP4Vq6gFvBfEPXhwciJwfhziIw/viewform and home-made PDF of flyer below. NB! You need to register by 17:00 UK time

2. Alexandra Mihai’s latest blog post is Growing together: What’s the key to a successful learning community? She’s just moved to Yale University and has noticed that faculty learning communities feature much more prominently among faculty development activities at Yale than at the European universities she previously worked at. So, characteristically, she thoroughly researched these different approaches to community building and facilitation. Her usual excellent reading list. https://educationalist.substack.com/p/growing-together-whats-the-key-to?s=r  Scroll down the page for links to guest blog posts and other good stuff.

3. David Crystal had an online audience of 10,000 for his China TESOL masterclass last Friday on The Future of Englishes. He asked (and answered) the question, What are the consequences of the global status of English for the future development of the language? and reviewed statistics, historical reasons and trends affecting English world-wide, both formally (in relation to grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary) and functionally (in relation to cultural diversity). David also briefly considered the implications for language teaching. Recording here https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1BY4y1s71h Best enjoyed over a cup of coffee?

4. The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) here in the UK has just published the first report in their The Skills Imperative 2035: Essential skills for tomorrow’s workforce programme: What does the literature tell us about essential skills most needed for work? Here’s a blog post on their key findings https://nfer.ac.uk/the-skills-imperative-2035-what-does-the-literature-tell-us-about-essential-skills-most-needed-for-work/ and I’ve attached PDFs of both the full report and the executive summary below. One of those key findings is that “Problem solving/decision making, critical thinking/analysis, communication, collaboration, creativity and innovation are transferable skills which will be in high demand in the next 15 years and beyond as technology becomes more embedded in the workforce”.

5. Two bits of listening, one to exult in and one not to exult in: Frank Vignola and Ken Peplowski play ‘Tiger Rag’ https://youtu.be/9MUwb3eNZzE and a New Yorker piece (text and audio versions) on ‘How Putin’s Oligarchs Bought London’ https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/03/28/how-putins-oligarchs-bought-london

6. Today’s poem for Ukraine is Pax Axe, by George Jacobs and Roshni Nagaria

Pax Axe

When bad threatens and arises

Good often appears and surprises.

When greed rears its consuming head

Generosity may find ways to spread.

When anger vehemently lashes out

Kindness can find the courage to shout.

When bullies convene and bullies attack

Compassion could be mirrored back.

When cowardice is known and expected

Bravery, instead, can be selected.

When seeds of hope we seek and spot

Let us not utter words of ‘cannot’.

When we unite to nourish the seeds

We, together, meet people’s needs.

When we post and stream hopeful news

We trust our fellows with power to choose.

When we join hands in another’s parade

We offer to them our support and aid.

When we challenge pain, hurt, and sorrow

We sow and nurture good for tomorrow.

With these shared words, perhaps we can see

Even an axe can morph into a tree.

1. A collaboration between the universities of Bristol in the UK, Dodoma in Tanzania, and Ketebe in Ethiopia: Theory, Practices and Policies for ‘Late Exit’ Transition in the Language of Learning and Teaching: A Literature Review. ‘Late exit’ transition here means switching from L1 to the new language of learning and teaching later in one’s school career http://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/education/documents/bristol-working-papers-in-education/working-paper-bowden-barrett-2022.pdf PDF below

and UKFIET blog post about the literature review here https://www.ukfiet.org/2022/additive-not-subtractive-transitions-perspectives-policies-and-practices-for-multilingual-education/

“A recent World Bank report estimates that 370 million learners in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) complete all or part of their basic education using an international/European/former colonial language (L2) as the official language of learning and teaching (LOLT). This is a major factor undermining educational quality and equity worldwide …”

2. The next event in Birmingham University’s MOSAIC Group for Research on Multilingualism Seminar Series is Delinking from the Coloniality of Language in Southern Educational Settings with Carolyn McKinney from The University of Cape Town. More info and registration here https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/education/research/mosaic/events/carolyn-mckinney-delinking-coloniality-language.aspx and PDF of flyer below.

Carolyn’s presentation will explore “the challenges of the coloniality of language as well as of describing languaging in education settings of the South. It will show how colonial language ideologies continue to exclude African language resources and multilingualism in African languages from formal education settings”.

3. News of a successful campaign to save the Hawaiian language from extinction https://www.civilbeat.org/2022/03/a-new-center-could-help-save-native-languages-from-extinction/ 2,000 people spoke Hawaiian in 1983; 25,000 now speak it. Does Barack Obama, I wonder?

4. News of a similarly successful campaign to encourage the learning of the Towa language in New Mexico, including a photo of a rather fine butterfly dance https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/we-dont-want-to-lose-the-language which was made possible by a federal government decision in 2016 to allow language programs to teach in their native languages and no longer require English as a medium of instruction.

5. And, finally, today’s poem for Ukraine: Again, by Claudia Ferradas (PDF below.)

Again

Again,

the texture of my grandfather’s land

is being torn apart.

Born Ukrainian,

he was Polish when he reached Argentine shores,

a refugee

with children and a wife

whose nationalities were a question mark.

I was born into a home that sounded like a symphony.

Ukrainian, Yiddish, German, Polish.

I could not tell one language from the other,

just knew that they all hurt.

We learnt to travel light,

always ready to pack and get away,

to wonder how much pain you could take with you,

respect silence, smell fear.

I did not dare ask questions

about the number burnt on Grandpa’s arm.

Memories bled.

Vodka tasted like metal on your temples.

We thought it was all past,

a past of wolves and snow,

but we can hear again the wild dogs howling.

Again,

Old Europe weaves its uncertain tapestry

murmuring excuses

as it cuts the thread of wasted generations,

and Grandpa is fighting in the streets again

under a different name,

aware that frontiers are as fluid

as the blood that thaws its way across the snow

only to reveal

the bones beneath.

Claudia Ferradas

1. Here’s the first in a series of four podcasts on the final days of the Soviet Union and Putin era Russia from The Rest is History team of Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland https://open.spotify.com/episode/0auxUb9EcE6Ot0SP4y2pko?si=JMq57nyLQNSoAZU6_s4GIg

Their avowed intention is to ‘interrogate the past’ and ‘de-tangle the present’. “They question the nature of Greatness, why the West no longer has civil wars and whether Richard Nixon was more like Caligula or Claudius. They’re distilling the entirety of human history, or, as much as they can fit into about fifty minutes.”

Full, rich archive of all 166 episodes to date here https://open.spotify.com/show/7Cvsbcjhtur7nplC148TWy

2. First of two pieces to do with the London Underground today: Children’s Lives in Second World War Britain, a photo archive of the experience of children forced to interact with the adult realities of the Second World War

Children’s Lives in Second World War Britain

3. My grandmother used to talk about her lunch ‘repeating’ on her. Mine has been repeating on me today, evidence that I do not suffer from this week’s phobia, alliumphobia.

4. I mentioned Poems on the Underground https://poemsontheunderground.org/ the week before last and had intended to follow up more quickly. Judith Chernaik has kindly let us have ten copies of each of a recent set of six poems:

And Suddenly It’s Evening by Salvatore Quasimodo, translated by Jack Bevan https://poemsontheunderground.org/and-suddenly-its-evening-2;

My Father by Yehuda Amichai, translated by Stephen Mitchell https://poemsontheunderground.org/my-father;

For the House Sparrow in Decline by Paul Farley https://poemsontheunderground.org/for-the-house-sparrow-in-decline;

All Souls’ Night by Frances Cornford https://poemsontheunderground.org/all-souls-night;

Diary by Katrina Naomi https://poemsontheunderground.org/diary;

To — by Percy Bysshe Shelley https://poemsontheunderground.org/to

Let me have your choice of up to three poems and your postal address by WhatsApp or e-mail or message on my blog and I’ll send them to you just as quickly as I can.

Photo of one example poem below – they frame very nicely!

5. And, finally, today’s poem for Ukraine: Lessons of War by Alan Maley (PDF below as well.)

Lessons of War

In the course on war

For complete beginners,

The first lesson teaches

In war there are no winners.

What may first look like victory

Soon tastes like defeat,

When conquering territory

Leaves only dust to eat.

The conqueror’s instant rapture

Soon fades when they fail to capture

The souls of the defeated –

And find their own souls depleted.

So everyone loses when it comes to war:

It’s really difficult to see what war

Could conceivably be for …

Alan Maley

1. Green Action ELT https://green-action-elt.uk/ are running a session at 14:00 UK time this Friday, March 25^th on Taking your English language lessons outdoors.

More info here https://green-action-elt.uk/events/

and registration here https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwucO6urD4tH933mA3c1VxDxDOH2psYaexQ

Here’s their archive of recordings of past events https://green-action-elt.uk/events/#past-events

2. Harry Waters wears a flat cap and runs the Renewable English website https://renewableenglish.com/home Have a rummage around for the free stuff:

here’s the materials section https://renewableenglish.com/s1%3A-lessons-and-materials

and here’s the lesson on plastics https://youtu.be/v1JUSwtjxRY

3. Climate change may devastate the Middle East, says The Brookings Institution. Here’s how they think governments should tackle it https://www.brookings.edu/blog/planetpolicy/2022/03/14/climate-change-may-devastate-the-middle-east-heres-how-governments-should-tackle-it/

4. It’s not climate but it is tomorrow, Wednesday 23^rd March, at 14:00 UK time: the latest OECD webinar, Engaging boys and girls in learning: Creative approaches to closing gender gaps, will be reporting on recent OECD research showing “that girls and boys reported different feelings when it came to their learning: the boys were more likely to be bored than the girls, whilst the girls felt less confident than the boys”.

More info and registration here https://meetoecd1.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vqvQCUlhR-6V_iIhmc6Vrw

5. And, finally, today’s poem for Ukraine: Nothing I can Say, by Michael Swan (PDF below, too.)

Nothing I can Say

A woman and three children

under a bridge,

her hand clapped over

the little one’s mouth.

The sound of boots

on the road

coming closer.

Nothing I can say

will change anything.

Michael Swan

1. Two chances this week to hear Emily Bryson’s talk for National Geographic Learning on Accessible learning: small changes for an inclusive classroom: 17:00 UK time on Wednesday, 23^rd March, and 10:00 UK time on Friday, 25^th March.More info and registration (and recordings of earlier events in the series) herehttps://www.ngl-emea.com/voices-launch-hub-webinars

and a taster-teaser from Emily here https://www.facebook.com/ELTNGLEurope/videos/335071378676497

“Every learner is different. It is essential to adapt our lessons to support each individual, make them feel valued and give them a voice. Making small changes to our teaching practice can have a big impact on learning.”

Attendance certificates, lesson plans and a copy of the student’s book all on offer!

2. Here’s the latest episode of the TEFLology podcast, Accessibility and Inclusivity with Judit Kormos from Lancaster University https://teflology.libsyn.com/113-accessibility-and-inclusivity-with-judit-kormos Well worth a trawl through the archive of the previous 112 episodes! https://teflology.libsyn.com/

3. Evidence to support my own impression that stuff you Google doesn’t stick: Easily accessible but easily forgettable: How ease of access to information online affects cognitive miserliness by Esther Kang https://doi.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fxap0000412 You may be able to get access to the full article through your school or university library?

4. And, finally (and initially), the first in a daily series of poetry about what’s happening in Ukraine, courtesy of Alan Maley and his friends: today, two short poems from Jill and Charlie Hadfield. PDF below, with the photo behind Jill’s poem.

Not Again?

The horror of war:

each generation forgets

what their parents learned.

Charlie Hadfield

Children of War

Outside the Polish station

A line of empty pushchairs

Waiting to be filled.

At the bombed-out hospital

All the waiting pushchairs

That never will be filled.

Jill Hadfield

Reading, listening and watching for the weekend

1. I enjoyed the latest Learnit podcast, which is an interview with Valerie Bridges, Superintendent of Edgecombe County Public Schools in North Carolina in the USA about Giving Students a Voice in their Education https://www.spreaker.com/user/12493435/45-dr-valerie-bridges-superintendent-edg There’s something about natural authority such as Dr Bridges’s that’s very compelling.

2. Maybe not such a surprise that a report commissioned by FutureLearn should emphasise the key role of online learning, but The Future of Learning Report for 2022 is interesting, nonetheless https://www.futurelearn.com/info/thefutureoflearning

One finding is that over 40% of people plan on starting (what the report calls) ‘a side hustle’ alongside their full-time job; another that 75% of people take the opportunities for lifelong learning offered by prospective employers into account when choosing a new job. PDF below.

3. Thoughtful stuff by Emiliana Vegas from the Brookings Institution‘s education team, Education technology post-COVID-19: A missed opportunity? https://www.brookings.edu/blog/education-plus-development/2022/03/11/education-technology-post-covid-19-a-missed-opportunity/

“While technology has transformed most industries—from air travel, to finance, to health care—it has yet to do the same in education,” says Emiliana. PDF below.

4. So, How are you using your materials? (Well, I hope!) We can find out at 09:00 UK time tomorrow, Saturday 19^th March, when Hanoi Pedagogical University and International House London will be reporting on their materials development project with junior secondary school teachers in Vietnam. Register here https://bit.ly/3gZlmeO and PDF of flyer below.

5. And, finally, a whole free issue of EL Gazette to explore, including (as two random Cross choices) “I ain’t done nothing wrong…” on double negatives and a review of Chris Sowton’s book, Teaching in Challenging Circumstances https://elgazette.com/elg_archive/ELG2202/files/downloads/ELG2202%20Feb%20Issue%20479.pdf PDF below in case that’s easier – hope it’s not too big a file.