Roy Cross's Blog

1. I’m not a very big fan of software like Flip Builder, but I am a fan of EL Gazette. Here’s a thought-provoking piece by Alice Rogers, Can we decolonialise TEFL? Ask flipping Flip Builder to take you straight to page 30! https://elgazette.com/elg_archive/ELG2109/mobile/index.html

2. “Who could have forecasted that internationalisation would transform from what has been traditionally considered a process based on values of cooperation, partnership, exchange, mutual benefits and capacity building to one that is increasingly characterised by competition, commercialisation, self-interest and status building?”, ask Jane Knight and Hans de Wit, the authors of this piece for University World News, What contribution has internationalisation made to HE? https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20181010093946721

3. Thanks to Ann for that last one, and thanks to Ian for this one from Times Higher Education (THE) by Anna McKie, How many international students is too many? https://www.timeshighereducation.com/features/how-many-international-students-too-many

“International students are too easily framed, both inside and outside the sector, as a problem or a burden. They’re not. They’re just an absolute gift”, says one interviewee. (You’ll need to register to read; doesn’t take long.)

4. And thanks to Ann for this piece as well, by John Claughton for the Independent Education Today website on The Teaching of Languages – https://ie-today.co.uk/comment/the-teaching-of-languages/

“The intelligent teaching of languages can address a number of key issues within the curriculum”, he says – if only more people here in the UK were listening.

5. And, finally, punctuation matters – a lot, says the UK Office for Students (OFS), who’ve written quite a serious report about commers and. Full. Stops; Assessment practices in English higher education providers: spelling, punctuation and grammar. PDF below. https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/assessment-practices-in-english-higher-education-providers/

1. It’s taken them a while, but the UK government is now legislating against ‘essay mills’ https://www.gov.uk/government/news/essay-mills-to-be-banned-under-plans-to-reform-post-16-education  I’ve no idea how easy they’ll be to get rid of, as they can operate from wherever round the world they want to, and they seem to have no shortage of customers!

2. The next run of the British Council Language Assessment in the Classroom course on FutureLearn starts on Monday, 18^th October https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/language-assessment Aimed at language teachers in secondary or high schools around the world, and anyone interested in understanding how language assessment works. Free – unless you want a certificate – and has previously been very popular.

3. University College London’s autumn series of applied linguistics ‘research events’ starts a week today, Wednesday 13^th October at 10:00 UK time with Gregory Hadley from Niigata University in Japan talking on Using Grounded Theory in Applied Linguistics Research.

More info, talk abstracts and registration all on this page https://uclappliedlinguistics.wordpress.com/research-events-2/

I need to find out what (a) ‘grounded theory’ is – help, Jim!

4. We all suffered from this week’s phobia, ablutophobia, when we were little, didn’t we?

5. And, finally, this one chimed with me, or rather the ten-year-old, still ablutophobic scholarship boy from the North of England version of me who went to a posh school in Kent. It took me a while to make all my fellow pupils see sense! https://www.the74million.org/article/analysis-clash-of-cultures-clash-of-privilege-what-happened-when-30-low-income-students-of-color-were-admitted-to-elite-prep-schools/

1. A treasure trove from NILE: Education for Sustainable Development – curated resources and teaching materials https://learning.nile-elt.com/d2l/le/lessons/6733/units/71909

You’ll need to register if you haven’t already done so, which also now gets you access to all the Ready to Run videos!

2. Climate change and teacher professional development is the title of the British Council Education Exchange webinar at 16:00 UK time on Wednesday, 13^th October with Matt Larsen-Daw https://www.britishcouncil.org/education/schools/education-exchange-digital-events/climate-change-professional-development

Matt’s the Education Manager for WWF-UK and has lots of good stuff on his own website https://www.wwf.org.uk/get-involved/schools/cop26 Two examples of materials below (intended for students whose first language is English rather than a foreign language, I think, so don’t pay too much attention to the age of pupil suggested)

3.  An accessible piece on the role pancakes play in nuclear fusion from The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/10/11/can-nuclear-fusion-put-the-brakes-on-climate-change

4. And, finally, The Cactus That Came Back from the Dead, from the Canadian magazine The Walrus https://thewalrus.ca/the-cactus-that-came-back-from-the-dead/ “If a cactus can want anything, Mammillaria tezontle likely wants to be left alone …”

1. Rose Aylett and Martyn Clarke from NILE will be reflecting on Learning Partnerships: Lessons from PRELIM for Eaquals at 14:00 UK time this coming Friday, 8^th October. More info here https://www.eaquals.org/eaquals-events/event/rose-aylett-martyn-clarke-learning-partnerships-lessons-from-prelim/ and registration here https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Y5QICsOUS8mJ0Sob641Ccw

You can find a copy of Rose and Martyn’s report on PRELIM 1 below, including reports on all twenty partnership projects: from Afghanistan, Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Georgia, Guinea Bissau, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Palestine, Serbia, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zambia!

2. We’ll be formally announcing PRELIM 2 tomorrow. It’s again a partnership between English UK, IATEFL and the British Council, and will again be managed for NILE by Rose and Martyn. This time round, though, it’ll be offering no fewer than forty partnership grants. IATEFL are offering three webinars this Wednesday, 6^th October, at 09:00, 14:00 and 21:00 UK time (to ensure everyone around the world has the chance to attend) to explain how an English teachers’ association applies.

Please note that an association does not need to already be an Associate of IATEFL in order to apply; we very much hope, though, that the experience of PRELIM 2 will encourage associations that aren’t yet IATEFL associates to apply!

The joining details are the same for all three sessions: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/5463972657?pwd=dXkvbm5rcXJjYzVSeVZBejdCMzRhQT09 Meeting ID: 546 397 2657  Passcode: 944064

3. Very short notice – sorry! – of an event at 12:00 UK time tomorrow, Tuesday 5^th October, to mark the 60^th anniversary of the DAC – Development Assistance Committee: more info here https://www.oecd.org/dac/development-assistance-committee/dac-60-years/ and registration here https://meetoecd1.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7caDdJ4SSEWXGf2Ek2mmhA

The DAC’s best known and most widely-used work is their list of countries worldwide eligible for ODA – Official Development Assistance. PDF below.

4. One of my favourite travel writers, Iqbal Ahmed, has just returned to Kashmir for the first time since the pandemic started. Here’s his Postcard from the High Himalayas https://coldstreampublishers.com/postcard-from-the-high-himalayas/ Wise, quiet observation and never in your face!

5. And, finally, you (and your students?) have only 525 episodes of the BBC Radio 4 programme ‘Great Lives’ to choose from, including Sitting Bull, Maria Montessori, Chinua Achebe, Xuanzang, Frida Kahlo, Donna Summer – and my childhood hero, Billy Bremner!

Programme home page here https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qxsb

and all 525 episodes here https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qxsb/episodes/player

1. Thanks to my colleague Skinder for this one: Chimamanda Adichie’s speech at the opening of the Ethnographical Gallery  of the Humboldt Forum in Berlin last week. I’m not sure the Humboldt team quite got what they bargained for in this most eloquent questioning of their gallery’s right to exist https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1Cxhq0gF6E Do try to find time to listen – twenty minutes very well spent.

Here’s a good piece from artnet exploring some of the issues https://news.artnet.com/art-world/humboldt-opens-controversial-museums-2011360

And here’s a TED talk by Chimamanda Adichie that nearly 29 million people have watched, The Danger of a Single Story https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en

2. A very rich resource from the History of Language Learning and Teaching (HoLLT) project for anyone interested in the history of our profession https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/CLAS/Research/Modern-languages-research-groups/Learning-from-the-past/Language-Teaching-Learning-from-the-Past.aspx

There are short (ten-minute) introductory videos on each of the five units: Differentiation and diversity; What does it mean to teach culture?; Grammar: “The art of speaking well”?; Target language and (m)other tongue use; Making the case for languages – Policy and advocacy

3. Leiden University have pulled off quite a coup with the first webinar in their new series on Language Policy and Practices in the Global North and South at 12:00 UK time next Wednesday, 6^th October – Bernard Spolsky, no less, eighty-nine-years-young, talking on Can language repertoires be managed? PDFs of the abstract of his talk and the full series programme below, and registration for the whole series of webinars here https://universiteitleiden.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5Atf-CrrDIpHtTalMQ7CV6Kbm9DRFJtOmPh

“In spite of valiant efforts by activists and linguists”, says Professor Spolsky, “it seems that language is no more easily managed than climate and disease”.

4. On which note, here’s a story about a school in London whose leadership might benefit from listening to Professor Spolsky next Wednesday https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/sep/30/oh-my-days-linguists-lament-slang-ban-in-london-school

5. And, finally, another good ‘un from Skinder: Kefaya and Elaha Soroor perform Jama Narenji https://youtu.be/gM60A7YK5mg

1. First of a number of webinars today is the first in Swansea University’s Language Research Centre webinar series at 13:00 UK time next Wednesday, 6^th October, a talk by Wataru Suzuki from Miyagi University of Education in Japan on Languaging in second language learning and teaching: Theory and research.

More info on this talk and the others in the series in the PDF below, and registration for the whole series here https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScDiHlbj9KZZvfUHTuJR1VV3IOdSmwJV_1JnqOmCn8uF8Mzyw/viewform

2. Next Tuesday, 5^th October at 19:00 UK time sees the first in Dublin City University’s webinar series on ‘Aspects of multilingualism in Education’, Sanna Pakarinen from Åbo Akademi in Finland talking about Multilingualism and student identity in Swedish immersion in Finland and in Irish immersion in Ireland.

More info in the PDF below and registration here https://dcu-ie.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcocO2sqjsuGdc-K0S-GROV6QxOEmZOc7R0

3. A little earlier next Tuesday, at 13:00 UK time, Hywel Coleman from Leeds University and David Fero from SCI Taratung will be giving a talk in the University of Reading Applied Linguistics Research Circle’s weekly series, on Accessing health information: Linguistic human rights in Indonesia.

“Linguistic human rights – for example, the right to be educated in one’s own language and the right to use own’s own language in law courts – have been discussed for at least a quarter of a century. Implementation, though, has been sporadic.”

More info in the PDF below; to register, send an e-mail to Rodney Jones at Reading r.h.jones@reading.ac.uk

4. Also from Indonesia, a report on English as Medium of Instruction (EMI) in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Indonesia by a team from Institut Teknologi Bandung, Atma Jaya Catholic University, Diponegoro University Semarang and Leeds University which strikes a similarly admonitory tone to the publications I included on Monday https://www.britishcouncil.id/sites/default/files/the_state_of_english_as_medium_of_instruction_in_heis_in_indonesia_full_report_final.pdf

Film of the launch event here https://youtu.be/hMp54kZ-jWA and PDFs below of both the summary and the full report.

5. And, finally, here’s those clicks that got crowded out by all the whistles on Monday, a lesson in how to pronounce Zulu clicks with Sakhile Dube: https://youtu.be/WHHGOYu6Fl0

1. Colleagues in Egypt are holding their 2nd Back to School Online Conference this Friday and Saturday, 1^st and 2^nd October starting at 09:00 UK time each day. More info here https://www.facebook.com/events/384327823230334/

registration here https://bit.ly/Back2School_2021

and programme here https://www.britishcouncil.org.eg/sites/default/files/back_to_school_online_conference_2021_flyer.pdf

Speakers from around the world: Mexico, Georgia, India, Egypt, Algeria and Spain! PDF of programme below, too.

2. From a possibly surprising source, the Chartered Insurance Institute here in the UK, some good clear guidelines for Inclusive Language, which has become complicated and hazardous territory, https://www.cii.co.uk/media/10120292/inclusive-language-guidelines.pdf to help you avoid unintentionally reinforcing stereotypes, excluding or patronising people, or causing discomfort or offence. PDF below.

3. Don’t even think of reading the next item if you suffer from this week’s phobia, ranidaphobia!

4. The Bell Foundation produce some excellent free resources. Here’s a recent set on the life cycle of a frog with activities to support learning and understanding of the topic and develop vocabulary associated with it https://www.bell-foundation.org.uk/resources/detail/the-life-cycle-of-a-frog/

More resources here, including Chicken Coop Maths, Types of Angles and Minibeasts https://www.bell-foundation.org.uk/resources/

You’ll need to register, but it’s well worth doing so. Frog lesson material PDFs below.

5. And, finally, proof that this is how we should all start the day, it seems https://theconversation.com/cold-showers-are-said-to-be-good-for-you-heres-what-the-evidence-shows-167822

I’ll give the thirty-second variation a go tomorrow morning!

1. There’s now a YouTube version of all The Climate Connection podcasts with subtitles, which will make them accessible to an even larger audience, I hope https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvCfA99qTst_6OFwglDJmJmKZ4My_jCQ7

2. The next ELT Footprint UK https://eltfootprint.uk/ event is at 14:00 UK time this coming Friday, 1^st October: Attracting environmentally conscious students  More info here (scroll down a bit) https://eltfootprint.uk/events/ and register here https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0tdOupqj0oE9Z8-QC06omPuG4Oi0da7cqQ

I think participants from outside the UK may have an interesting perspective to contribute on what exactly an ‘environmentally conscious’ student looks like in different countries around the world.

3. Twelve new Climate Action in Language Education (CALE) lesson plans here on a range of topics for all ages (and proficiency levels) from Young Learner to Adult: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/climate-action-language-education-lesson-plans

Try this one on plastic waste https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/buy-use-toss PDFs of lesson plans and worksheets below.

4. Good notice of the next online CALE course, looking at integrating climate action in the English language classroom, which starts on 19^th October https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/climate-action-language-education Nine hours in total and includes live tutorials.

5. And, finally and non-climatically, a webinar this Thursday, 30^th September at 21:00 UK time from my colleagues in Latin America on The benefits of teacher development for your daily work and career plans – just in case you were in any doubt about said benefits! More info and registration (for the whole series) here https://americas.britishcouncil.org/new-ways-of-teaching/events/the-benefits-of-teacher-development-for-your-daily-work-and-career-plans

1. The first of no fewer than three sneak previews today of new publications on English Medium Instruction/Education in Higher Education, all with a gentle admonitory tone, my colleague Ann Veitch’s British Council  ‘perspective paper’ on English in higher education – English medium.

Ann’s introduction is admirably clear: “English, driven by geo-political forces (…) plays a central role in HE, particularly internationalised HE, around the world. EMI has rightly been labelled a phenomenon which is ‘unstoppable’, and it is this reality which must be addressed. British Council work in English is based on the beliefs that English provides young people with skills for employability, better access to networks and personal and professional opportunities. It follows that we do not protest or resist the existence of EMI in HE; nor, equally, do we promote ‘more’ EMI. This would often mean endorsing the poor policy and implementation which lead to many of the negative impacts outlined above. British Council work in the area of EMI is intended to promote better quality EMI which improves or, at the very least, maintains outcomes for students, content lecturers, language specialists, institutions and educational systems.”

PDF below.

2. The second sneak preview is of Global mapping of English as a medium of instruction in higher education: 2020 and beyond. A team led by Heath Rose from Oxford University surveyed the introduction and expansion of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) in higher education (HE) in 52 countries eligible for Official Development Assistance, in order to shed light on the whys and wherefores of EMI provision in many countries which are relatively less resourced and have been under-researched over the past decade with regards to EMI in HE.

As EMI develops (unstoppably?) in ODA recipient contexts, the survey recommends more research in a number of areas, including into “whether EMI is able to (combat) a potential Matthew Effect, such as by raising university reputation, or whether it contributes to new, local inequalities. There is a need for critical research examining the effects of EMI with respect to local socio-cultural factors and local student needs, including whether EMI is being implemented in the most appropriate way in terms of maintaining educational standards and ensuring quality of education”.

PDF below and more on the Matthew Effect here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_effect

3. Third, and yet more tightly focussed, written by a team led by Andrew Linn from the University of Westminster, is Current practice in English-medium education in higher education: Case studies from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, which takes a more detailed look at EME practice in four countries.

One of the report’s more sombre (and tentative and elegantly expressed) findings is the suggestion that those involved in EME in HE should be aware of “the possibility that EME serves to perpetuate existing global and societal divides. English, in other words, may act as a propeller of existing geopolitical and societal stratifications, accumulating privilege where privilege already exists and exacerbating challenges where challenges already exist”.

PDF below.

4. And, finally, some clicks and whistles! First, the whistles:

the ECML poster I shared two weeks ago made mention of the Silbo whistling language from La Gomera in The Canary Islands, and here’s a piece from The Guardian last year about how Silbo has been re-imagined as the language of the Bucharest Mafia in Romanian film director Corneliu Porumboiu’s new film https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/may/07/sing-like-a-canary-the-whistling-consultant-who-taught-romanian-noir-gangsters-a-tune

Second, a short video on Silbo which gives you a chance to hear it ‘spoken’ https://youtu.be/C0CIRCjoICA

Third, an interesting long read from last weekend’s Observer on the possibility that all speech began as whistles, which ironically makes no mention of Silbo https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/sep/25/could-whistling-shed-light-on-the-origins-of-speech-aas-shepherds-language

Nor does it mention Kuş dili, the Turkish ‘bird language’ https://youtu.be/l117wfB0g3o

I’d better keep the clicks till next time, I think!

1. Ample notice, I hope, for you to make your choice from the wide range of TeachingEnglish events on 5th October in celebration of World Teachers’ Day 2021; more information and registration here https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/world-teachers-day-2021

2. Free for only one more week, pretty much the whole of this year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival/events?event_date=on-demand

I’ve got my eye on Ian Rankin’s account of his completion of the novel William McIlvanney left unfinished when he died https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival/whats-on/ian-rankin-william-mcilvanney-the-last-word

3. William Dalrymple is always good value. At 14:00 UK time next Thursday, 30^th September he’ll be in conversation with Roddy Gow of the Asia Scotland Institute on Afghanistan – Doomed to repeat the mistakes of past wars Note, please, the absence of a question mark in that title. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/afghanistan-doomed-to-repeat-the-mistakes-of-past-wars-tickets-177104774147?aff=odeimcmailchimp&mc_cid=4ee11458e4&mc_eid=f8a3764e5b

4. UK National Poetry Day is only two weeks away now. Here’s a selection of ‘permissions-cleared’ poems for use in the classroom (or on the bus home) https://nationalpoetryday.co.uk/poems/

Try The Lady’s Yes by Elizabeth Barrett Browning? https://nationalpoetryday.co.uk/poem/the-ladys-yes/

5. And, finally, with the warning that these are not meaningful questions: Who speaks English best in Latin America? Who speaks English best in Africa? Who speaks English best in Asia? Who speaks English best in Europe? Sweden, apparently! https://www.elgazette.com/who-speaks-english-best/

Here’s the original piece from the Bulgarian news service Novinite that caught the EL Gazette eye, which contains a number of interesting hyperlinks (Do we still say hyperlinks or am I showing my age again?) https://www.novinite.com/articles/211006/7+Best+English+Speaking+Countries+in+Europe