Roy Cross's Blog

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.

1. Identifying authenticity in procedures of language analysis for the determination of origin (LADO) with the forensic linguist Yaron Matras is the title of the next talk in the University of Reading Applied Linguistics Research Circle series of weekly talks at 16:00 UK time on Tuesday, 22^nd March.

Full abstract below in PDF form; here’s a taster: “LADO (‘language analysis for the determination of origin’) is a procedure used by governments in Europe, the US and Australia to support the processing of applications for political asylum. It is based on the assumption that linguistic features are a reliable indicator of a person’s place of socialisation and so they can help verify a person’s claim to originate from a particular region, and hence their entitlement to refuges status based on international law. LADO practice, particularly the outsourcing of language analysis to private contractors, has been controversial.”

As usual, please contact Rodney Jones r.h.jones@reading.ac.uk for Zoom details.

2. Early notice of this one at 10:00 UK time on Wednesday, 30^th March, from the Centre for Research in Education in Asia at Bath University: Yongyan Zheng from Fudan University will be talking about Social mobility, multilingualism and language education.

More info and registration here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/development-in-education-in-asia-crea-2022-seminar-series-3-tickets-289985593717

3. Oxymoronic: Can you even attempt to decolonize English teaching? Is the title of J P B Gerald’s talk at 14:00 UK time on Monday, 21^st March – speaks for itself, I reckon! https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/oxymoronic-can-you-even-attempt-decolonize-english-teaching

Here’s JPB’s own site https://jpbgerald.com/

4. And, finally and heartbreakingly, from the Ukrainian poet Olga Bragina and translated by Elina Alter, There’s No Getting Out https://www.wordswithoutborders.org/article/march-2022-catalan-theres-no-getting-out-olga-bragina-elina-alter

1. The Association for Quality Education & Training Online (AQUEDUTO) https://aqueduto.com/  have recently published a report by Simon Borg on COVID-19 and the Shift to Online Teacher Education https://aqueduto.com/media/3ytfysdx/covid-19-and-the-shift-to-online-language-teacher-education.pdf “With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it quickly became clear that institutions worldwide were forced to transition to online-based teacher training programmes. With expert Simon Borg, we connected with teacher educators in nine different countries to learn how they responded to COVID–19 and the fast switch to OLTE (online language teacher education). The narratives are followed by a review of the key themes that they highlight, and the report ends with some reflections on the implications of the study for ELTE.” PDF below.

2. Also looking at teacher education, How should ITT (Initial Teacher Training) evolve to meet global needs? is the title of this article in the tes magazine (which no longer uses its full name, The Times Educational Supplement, or capital letters, to the confusion of people of my generation, but maybe that’s the point) https://www.tes.com/magazine/analysis/specialist-sector/how-should-teacher-training-itt-evolve-meet-global-needs

3. The eighth annual edition of the British Council’s Five Films for Freedom, the world’s first global, digital LGBTIQ+ short-film programme, has just launched, with films this year from India, China, Croatia, Panama and the UK.

More info here https://film.britishcouncil.org/about/work/fivefilmsforfreedom

the films themselves here https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdiB3YQ6fPnkd_z1AA8diFxRRRvk0bSQK

and a useful glossary of common LGBTIQ+ terms from The University of Technology in Sydney here https://www.uts.edu.au/partners-and-community/initiatives/social-justice-uts/equity-and-diversity-uts/gender-sexuality-5

Watch one a day for the next five days?

 4. And, finally, this week’s phobia is amaxophobia, something that I do not suffer from having just become the happy owner of a car for the first time in nearly twenty years – the opposite rather!

1. Early warning – and if I remember, I’ll remind you next Tuesday, too – of an event on 28^th March, starting at 10:00 UK time, The Climate Connection Global Knowledge Exchange https://www.britishcouncil.org/climate-connection/get-involved/global-exchange There’s a focus session on the Climate Action for Language Education (CALE) programme at 11:00 UK time at which Colm Downes will announce a number of exciting new CALE developments around World Earth Day on 22^nd April.

2. I don’t think this is too technical; I’m a little less sure, though, for how much of the world a heat pump is a viable option. NESTA have just published a range of reports into heat pumps and people’s attitudes (here in the UK) towards their use and cost https://www.nesta.org.uk/project/reducing-cost-heat-pumps/ PDFs of three of the NESTA reports below.

3. In part climatic, this year’s Cultural Heritage for Inclusive Growth Symposium starts in Nairobi tomorrow, with a focus on “Decolonization & Cultural Heritage in Africa”: more info here https://www.kbc.co.ke/the-cultural-heritage-for-inclusive-growth-symposium-begins-tomorrow/ and registration here https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Uum74kmSSv-mkkpv8ccy6g

4. Possibly not at all climatic but quite likely climactic is the next event in the China TESOL Master Class Online Series, David Crystal talking about The Future of Englishes at 12:00 UK time on 18th March. More info and registration here (and in the PDF below) https://tesol.i21st.cn/yanxiu/ – click on the English button if your Chinese is rusty! All welcome!

5. And, finally and at very short notice, the March ViVEXELT Symposium, on Sharing synchronous online ELT practice through a Virtual Exchange with a keynote by Robert O’Dowd from Universidad de León on Virtual Exchange and its role in Teacher Education is tomorrow, Wednesday 16^th March, at 12:50 UK time. Full details in the PDF below; registration (but absolutely no information!) here https://coventry-ac-uk.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMvceiqrjwjEty28LYBLK6c5zRXRRM5zzC- The ViVEXELT (Vietnam Virtual Exchange for English Language Teaching) project is a collaboration between Coventry University in the UK and Hanoi University of Science and Technology in Vietnam https://vivexelt.com/

1. Eaquals have a webinar at 10:00 UK time tomorrow, 15^th March with Elena Deleyto La Cruz & Thom Kiddle on Using authentic video in language teaching and learning – why, what and how? https://www.eaquals.org/eaquals-events/event/using-authentic-video-in-language-teaching-and-learning-why-what-and-how/ At risk of giving offence to Thom, I’m intrigued by Elena’s plan to ‘show how a very simple interactive learning structure can provide the means for autonomous video-based learning’.

2. The 120^th issue of BAAL News has just come out https://www.baal.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/BAAL-News_Winter_120.pdf PDF below as well. An interesting interview with David Crystal looking back over BAAL’s history: he organised their first ever event!

3. FOLLM, the Forum on Language Learning Motivation, have a webinar at 09:00 UK time next Monday, 21^st March, in partnership with the Department of English and Communication of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, with Jean-Marc Dewaele from Birkbeck College and Stephen Ryan from Waseda University on Novel Insights into Motivation and Emotions Research More info here https://follmresearch.wordpress.com/ and registration here https://www.polyu.edu.hk/pfs/index.php/819474?lang=en

4. And, finally, The Guardian won the best short film BAFTA award last night for its documentary film, The Black Cop https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2022/jan/19/the-black-cop-a-police-officers-story-of-racism-remorse-and-resistance-documentary

A variety of reading for the weekend …

1. Free online till 24^th March, Intercultural and Transcultural Awareness in Language Teaching by Will Baker in the Cambridge Elements in Language Teaching series https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/intercultural-and-transcultural-awareness-in-language-teaching/15F00F50FE93E3D583C22D4600CA1C54# PDF below just in case that’s easier.

Pedagogical Translanguaging by Jasone Cenoz and Durk Gorter remains free to download https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/pedagogical-translanguaging/67802C1E5AE4A418AE3B8E2DEFBAD30A

and details of the other books so far in the series here https://www.cambridge.org/core/what-we-publish/elements/language-teaching

2. One for us men to read over the weekend? Gender Equality in Higher Education: Maximising Impacts – “an in-depth analysis of how gender inequality is reflected, reinforced and challenged in higher education worldwide” https://www.britishcouncil.org/gender-equality-higher-education-maximising-impacts PDF copies of both full report and summary below.

3. No prizes for guessing what a number of the articles in this month’s issue of International Affairs directly or indirectly focus on https://academic.oup.com/ia/issue/98/2 PDF of this month’s Editor’s Choice article, Rethinking strategy and statecraft for the twenty-first century of complexity: a case for strategic diplomacy,by Jochen Prantl and Evelyn Goh, below. All open access except the abstracts curiously!

4. This one’s a bit of a rant, but a readable one: Hope for the Future by Audrey Watters, ‘Ed-Tech’s Cassandra’ https://hackeducation.com/2022/03/08/hope

5. And, finally, unschooling https://www.thenationalnews.com/lifestyle/family/2022/02/28/what-is-unschooling-meet-the-families-who-have-shunned-the-formal-education-system/ and a family who live in a bus (not a shoe) https://www.worldschoolingnomads.com/

1. One week today, Thursday 17^th March, at 09:00 UK time sees the next event in the Universitas Negeri Jakarta’s Zoominar programme: Kathleen Heugh from the University of South Australia will be talking about The Role of Local, Regional and International Languages in Multilingual Education to Achieve Equality and Inclusion. Zoom meeting ID 927 4818 6553 and password PASCAUNJ.

Kathleen’s rubric reads as follows: “The focus is on the relationship between literacy and learning to read and write and using reading and writing to learn. For most students in the world this means literacy in a minimum of two languages, usually three, and often four. I discuss the research data, what we know now, and how we can achieve what is necessary for all students. I discuss, with practical examples, how to ensure that all students and teachers know how to translate knowledge in one language into another language and how they learn how to work with translanguaging and transknowledging.”

2. The next event in the Eaquals Plurilingual Webinar Series is tomorrow et c’est en français: «Il était une fois un conte qui… voyageait» avec Katia Ioannidou et Natacha Madentzoglou. Cliquez ici pour vous enregistrer https://www.eaquals.org/eaquals-events/event/katia-ioannidou-matacha-magentzoglou-il-etait-une-fois-un-conte-qui-voyageait/

3. Here’s the archive of the TESL Canada Journal https://teslcanadajournal.ca/index.php/tesl/issue/archive There’s a number of articles in Vol. 36 No. 1, which was a special issue on Language and Higher Education, on translanguaging and plurilingualism https://teslcanadajournal.ca/index.php/tesl/issue/view/159 and the journal generally pays a fair bit of attention to languages in education.

4. And, finally, time for a spot of Punglish at long last, I think. Here’s Daljit Nagra talking about his retelling of the Ramayana: https://www.wordswithoutborders.org/dispatches/article/the-joy-of-cultural-mixing-daljit-nagra-on-retelling-the-classic-ramayana-i