Roy Cross's Blog

Bit of a focus on spoken language this week.

1. Practical Advice on Teaching English Pronunciation for a Global World: Teaching Towards International Intelligibility is the title of a webinar by Robin Walker for Oxford University Press at either 09:30 or 17:30 UK time next Wednesday, 2^nd December. More info here https://elt.oup.com/events/global/Practical-Tips-for-Teaching-Pronunciation-in-the-English-Language-Classroom?cc=us&selLanguage=en

2. Two TeachingEnglish webinars in broadly the same area as Robin Walker’s above with colleagues from British Council Sri Lanka next Monday, 29^th November, one at 11:00 UK time and the other at 12:15 UK time, Teaching Early Years Online and Phonics for teachers of Early Years More info and registration here https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/teaching-early-years-online-phonics-teachers-early-years

I rather doubt that my colleagues in Colombo (or anywhere else) teach Received Pronunciation; here’s more on that topic, including a wonderful recording of Lady Silvia Beatrice Coke! https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/articles/received-pronunciation

3. Here’s the cover story from the new edition of Multilingual about the founder of the ‘language data network’ TAUS, Jaap van der Meer https://multilingual.com/issues/november-december-2021/jaap-van-der-meer/ I willingly admit to being slightly intimidated by seventy-nine-year-olds who “frequently bike 70 kms to work”, if ‘bike’ means ‘cycle’.

One of the other pieces looks at something I’d not heard of before – that’s unusual, I don’t hear you say! – the Inglehart–Welzel Cultural Map https://multilingual.com/issues/november-december-2021/inglehart-welzel-are-belgium-and-the-united-states-truly-cultural-neighbors/ Here’s the map itself https://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/photos/EV000190.JPG Click to enlarge.

Rest of the new issue here https://multilingual.com/issues/november-december-2021/

4. And, finally, I mentioned this FutureLearn course back in August, Multilingual Learning for a Globalised World but I think it merits another mention, as it’s available at present (in a self-access version) and a number of people have said they enjoyed doing it https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/multilingual

Tonight’s message is clearly fated: two events I was going to include are either cancelled or sold out! I’ve made enquiries about the sold out one.

1. All That She Carried – The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake by Tiya Miles is this year’s New York Times non-fiction book of the year https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/09/books/review-all-that-she-carried-ashleys-sack-tiya-miles.html (Can someone let me know that review is available to non-subscribers, please?)

The inscription on Ashley’s sack, which she was given by her enslaved mother Rose, was embroidered two generations later by Ashley’s granddaughter, Ruth, and reads as follows:

My great grandmother Rose

mother of Ashley gave her this sack when

she was sold at age 9 in South Carolina

it held a tattered dress 3 handfulls of

pecans a braid of Roses hair. Told her

It be filled with my Love always

she never saw her again

Ashley is my grandmother

Ruth Middleton, 1921

2. This one’s a bit niche – read the eligibility criteria carefully – a scholarship on an ALTE Introductory Course in Language Testing next March https://www.alte.org/Scholarships

ALTE https://www.alte.org/ is the Association of Language Testers in Europe, who “work together to promote the fair and accurate assessment of linguistic ability across Europe and beyond”.

3. I’m unsure how this story might be spun by conspiracy theorists. Maybe they’d say we should neither be vaccinated nor clean our teeth? https://theconversation.com/why-having-bad-oral-health-could-raise-the-risk-of-covid-169884

4. Bit of a stretch, this week’s phobia: daknophobia. It is actually one I suffer from, following an encounter with a friend’s Alsatian dog many, many years ago when visiting for tea. Rumour has it, clearly in shock, I said, “I’m awfully sorry. I think your dog has bitten me”.

5. And, finally, my favourite act from The Selector birthday show tonight was Yard Act https://youtu.be/UrO7MLlMiLg

Some of the guitar (and the politics) reminded me of another group from Leeds, Gang of Four; here’s two of their songs https://youtu.be/wmdUsiQ2qro  https://youtu.be/I_QJwR6D9d4

1. Here’s a report by the Chatham House think-tank here in the UK on COP26, with a 500-word summary of key findings and a link to the full report https://www.chathamhouse.org/2021/11/cop26-what-happened-what-does-mean-and-what-happens-next PDFs of both summary and full report below.

2. Here’s a brand-new podcast from Chris Sowton and Kris Dyer for TeachingEnglish: Episode 1 is How can I integrate global issues into my teaching? Links to podcast, transcript and teacher’s notes all here https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/british-council-teachingenglish-episode-1-how-can-i-integrate-global-issues-my-teaching Direct link to podcast here https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/TEBC_Episode_1_low.mp3 and PDFs of both show notes and transcript below.

3. Richard Everitt asked me last week what does the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) in Cambridge do, when we were sitting just around the corner from it. I think he knows the answer – the clue is in the name.

Here’s a film they’ll be showing and discussing at 14:00 UK time this Thursday, 25th November, Utuqaq https://fieldofvision.org/utuqaq ‘Utuqaq’ in the Greenlandic language, Kalaallisut, means “ice that lasts year after”, “ice with a memory”. I think the discussion will be online and I’ll post the link once I’ve found it, but the film speaks – beautifully – for itself.

Here’s the SPRI site too, for Richard’s benefit https://www.spri.cam.ac.uk/

4. And, finally, here’s one of Selector Radio’s ‘green sessions’, Louis VI performing ‘Orange Skies’ https://youtu.be/XlKqFlKnN0g

Selector Radio is celebrating its 20^th anniversary at 17:00 UK time tomorrow, when it will be live here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObJ0EEIdqlo

1. Next Monday, 29^th November, sees the launch of TESOL Graphics, an ‘online repository of infographic summaries of secondary research in TESOL’. More info and registration here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tesol-resources-for-teachers-online-website-launch-tickets-166146343185

I take this to mean quick, at-a-glance, visual summaries of research: look at it once and get the gist, without having to read the research. I think that’s a good thing …

2. Let’s talk about diversity in the classroom! is the title of Alexandra Mihai’s latest blog post https://educationalist.substack.com/p/lets-talk-about-diversity-in-the, which offers not only a list of ten challenging questions to help us explore our unconscious biases but also a list of ten tips to help us incorporate diversity into our teaching meaningfully. Plus her usual excellent list of references!

3. Here’s a ready-made discussion for a class of older students https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/21/icu-is-full-of-the-unvaccinated-my-patience-with-them-is-wearing-thin

4. And, finally, I’d forgotten all about this section of the TeachingEnglish site https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/resources/secondary/stories-poems Stacks of audio, video and print stuff:

try Francesca Beard https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/francesca-beard-chinese-whispers

or China Mieville https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/king-rat

1. I hadn’t realised that registration for this series of three workshops curated by Swansea University closes next Monday, 22^nd November – sorry! Our first years in academia: Managing applied linguistics research alongside teaching and other tasks.

Registration and more info (in quite small print) here https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfa4H9jBhlgLiG8HazG6XlVrp6rHVlQBlGZz5w9eXdSKabLCA/viewform

2. Do you tell your students not to use Wikipedia? Why? https://academicmatters.ca/students-are-told-not-to-use-wikipedia-for-research-but-its-a-trustworthy-source/

3. Do you understand what this paragraph is about? “Despite the multi-receiver sets, the spread option is a run-first scheme that requires a quarterback that is comfortable carrying the ball, a mobile offensive line that can effectively pull and trap, and receivers that can hold their blocks. Its essence is misdirection.” I wasn’t sure!

All will be explained here ‘Why background knowledge about the world can increase reading comprehension – even for facts you can just Google’ https://www.banterspeech.com.au/too-many-stories-not-enough-facts-free-tips-and-resources-to-boost-your-childs-knowledge-and-reading-comprehension-skills/

4. This was such a disappointment! This year’s European Poetry Festival in London is all face-to-face, with nothing at all online https://www.europeanpoetryfestival.com/ It’s all free, but I don’t think that’s quite right. I’ve been well and truly spoilt by my lockdown experience. And I realise that London is not where most of you are going to be next week, either: I’m just indulging myself by complaining!

5. And, finally, online poetry from both sides of The Atlantic:

three videos about Hannah Lowe’s poems about teaching and learning in London https://youtu.be/BPFW6ndCup8 https://youtu.be/djWKP6ad5Ew https://youtu.be/TDIvDtas_aI

and later today, at midnight UK time, readings by the members of the Board of Chancellors of the Academy of Poets in the USA – they look less grand than they sound! https://www.crowdcast.io/e/gather-in-poems/register?mc_cid=1214368b0f&mc_eid=9b48fa0432

1. Good notice of this UCL Linguistics Circle event at 10:00 UK time on Wednesday, 1^st December with Emma Dafouz from Universidad Complutense de Madrid in Spain: Approaching English-medium Education in Multilingual University Settings through the ROAD-MAPPING framework. Registration here https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSekK5qQul9drCT3NuFO5JRw2Ks-9y5ayj4iaaGTB8ZM585P2A/viewform and more info in the attachment below.

ROAD-MAPPING is a very clever acronym … explained in brief here https://globalenglishes-emi.network/interview-with-emma-dafouz-and-ute-smit/

2. Even better notice of this NILE Insights event on Bilingualism at 16:00 UK time on Thursday, 2^nd December, so you can register – and submit difficult questions in advance! More info and registration here https://www.nile-elt.com/products/InsightsBilingualism

NILE are confident that, “If you are a teacher of English, a learner of other languages or just a language lover you might have asked yourself this question: what makes someone bilingual?” – tune in to find out the answer(s).

3. The best possible notice of this whole-day symposium on EMI in emerging contexts hosted online by the EMI Research Group at the University of Oxford on Thursday, 9^th December, so you can make arrangements to attend. More info and registration here http://www.emi.network/emi-symposium-2021.html Round the world in seven hours!

4. Five free events from the Hay Festival featuring Matt Haig, Steven Pinker, Bill McKibben, Siri Hustvedt and Damon Galgut, who’s just won the 2021 Booker Prize with his novel, The Promise: https://www.hayfestival.com/c-218-winter-warmers.aspx

5. And, finally, two pieces of music that (some of) you might not have expected me to like https://youtu.be/J2uxc01fUXU  and https://youtu.be/5UMCrq-bBCg

1. First, a blog for Cambridge University Press and Assessment (never to be acronymised, I’m reliably informed, as it sounds like a lollipop) by Chris Sowton celebrating Paulo Freire https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2021/11/09/what-freire-can-teach-about-teaching/

Blog home page here https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/category/blog-type/

2. … and second, a blog for Pearson by Jeanne Perrett  https://www.english.com/blog/10-free-worksheets-values-inspired-by-disney/  including 10 free worksheets to teach values inspired by Disney characters that might be fun.

That said, I can well remember the ‘fun’ we had a few years ago when a colleague decided to develop materials inspired by a young man whose initials are H and P, but I’d expect Pearson to have got it right on copyright!

Blog home page here https://www.english.com/blog/

3.Thai blogs are like London buses – don’t think I need to explain, do I?

Here’s Richard Watson Todd’s blog summary of a forthcoming ELTJ article on The languaging curriculum https://sola.pr.kmutt.ac.th/homesola/index.php/the-languaging-curriculum/

and here’s the accompanying website for the ‘hobby course’ https://solatlc.wixsite.com/languaging/hobby-course which repays the investment of a little time.

4. Dorian Gray did not suffer from eisoptrophobia – or did he, maybe?

5. And, finally, another letter from The Times, this one bemoaning the decline of the apostrophe, attached below.

1. I’ve mentioned Dave Reay before. He and I worked together when I was in Edinburgh and I certainly recognise him in this sentence, “Reay is probably enthusiastic about a lot of things …”, from this article in The Guardian the other day, ‘Carbon is my thing’: the climate geek trying to erase his footprint’. He’s bought his own farm on the Mull of Kintyre, with the intention of repaying his and his wife’s lifetime carbon debt https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/04/carbon-climate-geek-trying-to-erase-his-footprint-aoe

2. How can schools go carbon neutral? is the title of this Education Exchange webinar from the British Council at 16:00 UK time tomorrow, Wednesday 17^th November, during which we’ll hear from educators around the world about the innovative ways they are reducing carbon emissions with the involvement of pupils and the wider school community.

More info and registration here: https://www.britishcouncil.org/education/schools/education-exchange-digital-events/how-schools-carbon-neutral

3. I don’t apologise for mentioning The Conversation yet again. Here’s a really good collection of post-COP reflections https://theconversation.com/uk/cop26

plus, at 17:00 UK time this Thursday, 18^th November, they’re convening a panel discussion with climate change experts reflecting on the summit and on what needs to happen next. on You can join on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/148546898646992/posts/1983774578457539/

More info in the PDF below.

4. And, finally and non-climatically, because it’s tomorrow and sounds interesting, the next in the Leiden University Centre for Linguistics series of webinars, Gijsbert Rutten talking on Language planning in Europe in a historical perspective at 12:00 UK time tomorrow, Wednesday 17^th November. Registration link here https://universiteitleiden.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5Atf-CrrDIpHtTalMQ7CV6Kbm9DRFJtOmPh and more info in the PDF below.

I had expected to be reporting live from the ELTons awards ceremony in London today but was knocked for six by the side effects of my Covid booster jab yesterday. So, here’s what I’ve learnt from the online version of the ceremony.

This year’s winner of the ELTon for digital innovation is CIELL comics https://ciell.eu/learning-resources/

The winner for the ELTon for innovation in learner resources is Fiction Express https://en.fictionexpress.com/

The winner of the ELTon for course innovation is Our Languages https://www.standfor.com.br/our-languages/

The winner of the ELTon for local innovation is the Facebook Live Team Teaching for the Palestinian English Curriculum and The Hands Up Project (United Kingdom) with UNRWA (Gaza) https://www.facebook.com/watch/917350095017969/2699904443633234

The winner of the ELTon for innovation in teacher resources is Teaching English to Pre-Primary Children https://www.klett-sprachen.de/teaching-english-to-pre-primary-children/t-1/9783125013995

Lots of truly global co-operation there! There were entries from 55 different countries this year. You can find all the finalists here: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/eltons-innovation-awards-2021-finalists  

There were two outstanding achievement ELTon awards this year:

1. N S Prabhu, whose name is perhaps less well known than it should be but whose influence has been (and is still) felt in classrooms right around the world, not least as the champion of task-based learning https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Task-based_language_learning

2. The A S Hornby Educational Trust, 60 years young this year, who need very little introduction to most of the readers of this message and with whom I’ve worked closely and most enjoyably for much of my own career https://www.hornby-trust.org.uk/

And, finally, by way of something completely different, this popped into my inbox today: Stephen Fry will give this year’s MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) annual lecture tomorrow, Tuesday 16^th November at 18:30 UK time https://www.lords.org/mcc/the-club/cowdrey-lecture I’m not quite sure what to expect but I’ll tune in to find out!

1. Dip your toes into The Language & Power Podcast, which focuses on some of the language in and around COP 26 in Glasgow? https://languagepowerpodcast.org/

2. Good stuff from Dee Rutgers and colleagues at Cambridge University on how multilingual students perform compared to their monolingual peers, Multilingualism, Multilingual Identity and Academic Attainment: Evidence from Secondary Schools in England https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/students-who-self-identify-as-multilingual-perform-better-at-gcse

 Here’s the whole article (‘a bit technical’, Dee says; PDF below, nonetheless!) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15348458.2021.1986397

and here’s the website of the MEITS (Multilingualism: Empowering Individuals, Transforming Societies) project within which the research was conducted https://www.meits.org/

Another article from the Education team in Cambridge looks more specifically at the UK’s national failure to learn languages https://www.educ.cam.ac.uk/facultyweb_content/news/cultivating-multilingual-identities-could-reverse-crisis

3. Here’s a short video introduction to the UNESCO Futures of Education Report: Reimagining our futures together https://youtu.be/j8aXSTN71MY and below you’ll find copies of both the full report and the executive summary.

“Our world is at a turning point. We already know that knowledge and learning are the basis for renewal and transformation. But global disparities – and a pressing need to reimagine why, how, what, where, and when we learn – mean that education is not yet fulfilling its promise to help us shape peaceful, just, and sustainable futures.”

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4. And, finally, you don’t need to be a graduate of Sydney University to listen to the talk by Daniel Kahneman that they’re hosting at 23:00 UK time on Tuesday, 16^th November. Registration here https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xGMwGzk9RDWdEDYz7VMLCg

Kahneman’s previous book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, was a huge success worldwide. His new book, Noise, is “an exploration of systemic flaws in human judgment and offers a simple process for how people and organisations can make better decisions”. We’d all better listen to his talk, then!