Roy Cross's Blog

1. The Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (KIX) Europe, Asia, Pacific (EAP) Hub https://www.norrag.org/kix-eap/  invite us to the final day of their 1^st KIX Education, Policy and Innovation Conference tomorrow, Thursday 28^th October, from 09:00 UK time.

Tomorrow is devoted to Teaching Quality and Learning https://norrag.zohobackstage.eu/KIXEPIC#/agenda?day=4&lang=en and Freda Wolfenden from the UK Open University will be giving the plenary talk.

2. A good long read on Wired of the current Facebook brouhaha, How to Fix Facebook, According to Facebook Employees https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-fix-facebook-according-to-facebook-employees/

I’m not sure ‘brouhaha’ is quite the right word there, though, for something so serious.

3. Brushing your teeth for two minutes has been the international gold standard for a long time now. The evidence base for two minutes, however, is perhaps not as strong as it was https://theconversation.com/is-brushing-your-teeth-for-two-minutes-enough-heres-what-the-evidence-says-169108

But there may well be no evidence base at all to my assertion that two minutes is the international gold standard …

4. Oikophobia does not mean what you might think – if you’re thinking of oiks, that is https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/oik

5. And, finally, a forensic piece by Jane Sunderland from Lancaster University on Gender, language and prejudice: Implicit sexism in the discourse of Boris Johnson https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/opli-2020-0022/html PDF below to ensure that everyone who wants to read this piece can.

“The main part of the article”, says Jane, “takes this further by exploring how certain insults to men draw on an understood prejudice against women. I illustrate this with a “telling case”: three naturally occurring examples of prejudicial, sexist language recently used by British prime minister Boris Johnson: big girl’s blouse, man up and girly swot. For all three to work, they draw on what we might call a discourse of “Women as ineffectual”. I conclude with a discussion of intentionality as regards this sort of prejudicial language use, what it is intended to achieve and how it can be resisted.”

Nothing to do with oiks, strictly speaking – I think.

Pre-COP week in Glasgow

1. This is without doubt where we should start today, the official COP 26 home page https://ukcop26.org/

Full of good stuff, for example this good clear explanation of the COP 26 goals https://ukcop26.org/cop26-goals/

Get your students to explore the site and report back?

2. This looks likely to be good: Sensations English, who’ve been nominated for an ELTon this year – https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/eltons-innovation-awards-2021-finalists – are running a COP26 Special Edition – Climate, sustainability and ELT – at 14:00 UK time, tomorrow, Wednesday, 27th October. Details and registration here: www.sensationsenglishwebinars.co.uk/

While you’re there, take a look at their Using Video in ELT series of four webinars: https://www.sensationsenglishwebinars.co.uk/index.php/past-webinars-series/

3. Next Tuesday, 2^nd November, at 10:00 UK time my British Council  colleagues in East Asia are bringing together teachers from Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam to share their best practice in integrating climate change issues into their classroom activities. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WaLEKjLTQAe4QUq8rUzoTw

4. The next ELT Footprint UK event, on Travel and transport part 2: offsetting and mitigation, is at 14:00 this Friday, 29^th October. More info here  https://eltfootprint.uk/events/ and registration here https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwkcuCgqjwoHtTmf2wsGDKnI_AmhEepT6T8

My own understanding is that although we won’t get very far with offsetting and mitigation, every little helps. In ELT Footprint UK’s words, “while we can take the train domestically and hold more online meetings, stopping flights is not an option for UK ELT right now”. Take a look over the fence into UK ELT?

5. And, finally, here’s a different side of Greta Thunberg https://youtu.be/Upccq5uVPkA

Only a quick double tonight: battling my first migraine for years!

1. Just enough notice, I hope, of Chris Farrell’s webinar at 14:00 UK time tomorrow, Tuesday 26^th October, for Eaquals: The Classroom in 2021: Challenges and Opportunities.

More info here https://www.eaquals.org/eaquals-events/event/chris-farrell-the-classroom-in-2021-challenges-and-opportunities/

and registration here https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Np_I0jOESaSI3B2Ip5m1Og

Chris will be looking at “the contrast between the realities of the ELT classroom in the pre-Covid context and the situation as it is now”.

2. Proof that vaccination works in this New Scientist article – but perhaps nonetheless not enough proof for those of us that don’t want proof, sadly? https://www.newscientist.com/article/2294250-how-much-less-likely-are-you-to-spread-covid-19-if-youre-vaccinated/

1. No fewer than five MOOCs to review over the weekend, three for teachers https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/language-assessment

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/teaching-english-great-lesson

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/english-in-early-childhood

and two for learners

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/workplace-english

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/explore-english-language-culture

2. Here’s the latest ELT position paper from Oxford University Press – possibly ever so slightly more controversial than previous papers? – on English Pronunciation for a Global World https://elt.oup.com/feature/global/expert/pronunciation?cc=global&selLanguage=en You need to register to download and I recommend you do so. PDF below just in case.

3. Three thinkpieces with strong views on the future of education to accompany a cup of coffee or tea over the weekend:

first, courtesy of the WONKHE blog, the recent Alun Francis social mobility report for Policy Exchange  https://wonkhe.com/wp-content/wonkhe-uploads/2021/10/Alun-Francis-paper-for-media.pdf

“There are evidently many examples of unfairness and inequality, but if social mobility is going to improve, policymakers are going to achieve little if they remain locked into a discussion about elites, and policy focusses only on who becomes part of it. They have to ask harder questions about the supply of opportunities and how they can be extended to a wider variety of people” (PDF below)

second, from Sol Gamsu for the Open Democracy website, https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/elite-educators-have-milked-system-long-enough/

“As the pandemic deepens inequality between children, it’s vital to dismantle the system that gives state schools no chance against private peers.”

and third, from Christopher Such’s Primary Colour blog, https://primarycolour.home.blog/2019/10/06/the-fundamental-unaddressed-issue-of-education/

“As all foundation stage and key stage one teachers are acutely aware, children arrive at school with a vast range of experiences and abilities. There is an overwhelming difference between a child who has just turned four from a challenging family background and a child who is about to turn five from a supportive family background.”

4. There’s free talks from the LSE on a number of interesting topics over the next few weeks, including China’s role in the world, USA-Europe relations, climate, and corruption. Have a browse over the weekend! https://www.lse.ac.uk/Events/Search-Events

5. And, finally, John Agard reading his own most famous poem, ‘Listen Mr Oxford don’. A real treat if you don’t already know it – and a real treat if you do! https://youtu.be/Ywy-Tthdg7w

A quartet of webinars plus a survey today ….

1. Researching multilingualism multilingually: insights, reflections and future directions is the title of the next talk in the University of Reading Applied Linguistics Research Circle’s series of weekly talks, by Tracey Costley and Colin Reilly from the University of Essex at 16:00 UK time, next Tuesday, 26^th October. PDF of flyer below and, as usual, if you’d like to attend, contact r.h.jones@reading.ac.uk

2. Next Wednesday, 27^th October, at 12:30 UK time, in the UCL Centre for Applied Linguistics Seminar Series, Ernesto Macaro from the University of Oxford will be talking about Language Learning Strategies: Theorising the transition to English Medium Instruction Contexts. More info and registration here https://forms.gle/R6i5XoWQDRAiivFV8 and abstract here https://uclappliedlinguistics.files.wordpress.com/2021/09/macaro-abstract-1.pdf

“Although there have been decades of theorising on language learner strategies, together with the practical application of strategies research through strategy-based instruction, there is very little theory and research on the strategies that students deploy when they are learning content in an English Medium Instruction (EMI) context.” PDF of abstract below.

3. Next Thursday, 28th October, at 16:00 UK time, in the National University of Ireland’s CALM (sic) webinar series, Sarah Berthaud from the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Galway will be talking about Bilingual language use and acquisition: Motion event description by English-French sequential and simultaneous bilinguals More info and registration here https://nuigalway-ie.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vOxPS6MhSES-agA1xc3TAg

“Motion is an ubiquitous daily human activity and described regularly in language. However, the way motion events are described varies cross-linguistically.”

 4. At exactly the same time, alas, next Thursday, 28^th October, 16:00 UK time, John O’Regan from UCL will be giving a talk related to his recent book, Global English and Political Economy, exploring the historical emergence and hegemonic dominance of English, offering an overview of arguments that challenge this hegemony and discussing their implications for those who support academic writing in higher education. More info and registration here https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/events/2021/oct/political-economy-english-capitalist-world-system

Professor O’Regan “locate(s) the origins of the ascent of English in the sixteenth century and the rise of a capitalist world-economy. It is from the sixteenth century that the die is set for English to become the dominant language in the world.”

Maybe there won’t be too much overlap between the Berthaud and the O’Regan audiences?

5. And, finally, a survey from the European Centre of Modern Languages (ECML) on Enhancing language education in cross-border vocational education where extra-European participation is positively welcomed. It’s open till 10^th November and is directed at people engaged in language education who live and/or work in a border region. The aim of the survey is to help prepare a manual for teacher educators, teachers and their students with an interest in promoting language learning in cross-border vocational education and training. Survey and more info here https://crossbordervocationaleducation.questionpro.com

1. Several new posts since I last paid a visit to Alexandra Mihai’s blog, The Educationalist https://educationalist.substack.com/ – on student motivation, refreshing your teaching, exploring co-teaching and on teaching and learning support, all with Alexandra’s characteristically high-quality reading lists. Try the one on co-teaching? https://educationalist.substack.com/p/the-power-of-two-exploring-co-teaching

Also, if you work in a university, Alexandra invites you to contribute to her research by completing this survey on Media and Learning Online – structurally supporting teaching and learning https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PJNQM3B More info at the bottom of the blog post on student motivation https://educationalist.substack.com/p/10-ways-to-keep-your-students-motivated

2. The IATEFL YLT (Young Learners and Teenagers) SIG have pulled out all the stops for their thirty-fifth, emerald anniversary conference. Thirty-five sessions spread over the (long) weekend of 5^th to 7^th November, all free. More info and registration here https://yltsig.iatefl.org/emerald-anniversary-webcon-2021/

3. Some of you might find this analysis by David Kernohan on the Wonkhe blog of how exactly the UK government’s plans to outlaw ‘essay mills’ might work, How will new laws on essay mills work? a bit nerdy; I didn’t – but there might be a reason for that! https://wonkhe.com/blogs/how-will-new-laws-on-essay-mills-work/

4. There’s a bit of me that thinks we should all suffer from a mild dose of this week’s phobia, plutophobia ….

5. And, finally, here’s the winning story in the recent BBC National Short Story Competition, All the People Were Mean and Bad by Lucy Caldwell https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/oct/19/lucy-caldwell-wins-bbc-national-short-story-award-for-masterful-tale Scroll down a bit for the story itself. I enjoyed it!

1. NESTA is the UK’s innovation agency for social good https://www.nesta.org.uk/ and climate and the environment is – unsurprisingly enough – one of the main strands of their activity. Next Tuesday, 26^th October, at 13:00 UK time sees the start of their series on Making the Switch to Cleaner, Greener Homes https://www.nesta.org.uk/feature/sustainable-future-event-series/

Last year they held another event focussed on greener homes, recorded here  https://www.nesta.org.uk/feature/stories-change/ The summary of the event states baldly: “It’s a big task. According to the Energy Systems Catapult, the average household (in the UK) needs to bring its heating-related emissions down from roughly 2,745 kg of CO2 per year today to just 138 kg per year by 2050.” That’s a drop of 95% by my reckoning. Their website is well worth exploring.

2. FutureFest is also a NESTA initiative, but surprisingly difficult to find from the main NESTA website, so here it is https://futurefest.org/#login

You need to register but once you’ve done so, there’s a host of video material available to you, including Louis Theroux on Is the World Getting Weirder? and Elif Shafak on Did Optimism Ruin the World? And Can Pessimism Save It? Climate is also one of the main themes of Future Fest.

3. This one’s not climate as such: it’s about teacher agency. A sense of one’s own agency, though, is what a teacher needs in order to engage with climate issues. Language Teacher Agency by Jian Tao and Xuesong (Andy) Gao has been published online in the Cambridge Elements series by Cambridge University Press, and is available free for the first two weeks for reading and download, via the following link: https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/abs/language-teacher-agency/4DE8552461A959E17B8A7A5BC63FEB09 PDF below for convenience.

4. Slightly heavy going, maybe, this piece on The future of vehicles from the Centre for Science and Policy at Cambridge University. Give it to your more advanced students and ask them to précis it!  https://www.csap.cam.ac.uk/Research-Policy-Engagement/spotlights-blogs/future-vehicles/

People do still do précis, don’t they?

5. And, finally and less heavy going, here’s what’s often claimed to be the most popular song in the world https://www.jazzonthetube.com/pete-seeger-and-guantanamera/ Be sure to watch the video!

1. Learnit has a number of good podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-learnit-podcast/id1518322612

Try Byju Raveendran on his eponymous EdTech company, Byju’s https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/12-byju-raveendran-byjus-one-most-valuable-edtech-companies/id1518322612?i=1000497453349

or Laura McInerney on the Teacher Tapp app she co-founded https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/30-laura-mcinerney-co-founder-teacher-tapp-what-we/id1518322612?i=1000528295330

What, if anything, should we make of the fact that the Indian cricket team are sponsored by an EdTech company, Byju’s, whereas the England team are sponsored by a ‘used car marketplace’, Cinch, I wonder?

2. The next lecture in the Leiden University Centre for Linguistics Language Policy and Practices in the Global North and South series is To speak or not to speak: Issues of language revitalization in Mexico by José Antonio Flores Farfán from Mexico’s National Centre for Social Anthropology Studies & Research (CIESAS) at 15:00 UK time on Wednesday, 20^th October.

More info and abstract here (also below) https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/events/2021/10/to-speak-or-not-to-speak-issues-of-language-revitalization-in-mexico and registration here https://universiteitleiden.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5Atf-CrrDIpHtTalMQ7CV6Kbm9DRFJtOmPh

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3. Language Cert are offering an online event for teachers (not to be confused with a webinar, please), Empowering teachers in the brave new digital world of ELT, with Nicky Hockly and John Hughes at 14:30 UK time this Wednesday, 20^th October.

More info here https://www.languagecert.org/en/about-us/events/2021/languagecert-teachers-online-event and registration here https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/1816343063052/WN_dnSAjoH8Q4eJFXebsbzTpA

4. And, finally, in five daily episodes, starting today (but all available on BBC Sounds already), Bernardine Evaristo’s new book, Manifesto (read by Bernie herself) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0010nfd/episodes/player

Piece about the book in The Guardian here https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/oct/13/manifesto-by-bernardine-evaristo-review-a-rallying-cry which ends with a great quote!

1. I’ve mentioned the OASIS database from York University before https://oasis-database.org/?locale=en OASIS stands for Open Accessible Summaries in Language Studies (so, no, not quite a true acronym) and its mission is to make “research on language learning, use, and education available and accessible to a wide audience”.

Stacks of stuff on every linguistic subject under the sun in OASIS. Try a search for ‘effectiveness of teaching’: https://oasis-database.org/catalog?utf8=%E2%9C%93&locale=en&search_field=all_fields&q=effectiveness+of+teaching

2. I think I played with Lego as a child. (I’ve just checked that it wasn’t invented only fifty years ago.) The LEGO Foundation – funded from the profits on plastic bricks – promotes the development of all children everywhere through ‘playful learning’ https://www.legofoundation.com/en/

They’ve just published a report https://www.legofoundation.com/en/learn-how/knowledge-base/learning-through-play-increasing-impact-reducing-inequality/ on reducing inequality through play, of which they claim “this review expands both the geographic breadth and the scale of this evidence and explores the use of play in early childhood classroom and home-based educational interventions that have demonstrated causal impact on learning and the closing of achievement gaps.”

Their CEO, Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen, was interviewed recently by ECW https://ecw.exposure.co/qa-lego-foundation I like the phrase ‘playful learning’! PDF of both summary and full reports below.

 3. A reminder, neither polite nor impolite, that if you’d like to attend BBELT for free next year, you need to submit your paper proposal by 7^th November: https://www.britishcouncil.org.mx/en/events/bbelt-2022-connecting-teachers-empowering-learners

‘Polite reminders’, especially faux-polite reminders drive me mad …

4.And, finally, two bits of longer reading for the weekend.

The first, an accessibly technical piece on algorithms and the Facebook whistle-blower, Frances Haugen from the Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/10/05/1036519/facebook-whistleblower-frances-haugen-algorithms/

Second, an Alun Francis piece on social mobility for the Policy Exchange thinktank that concludes that the solution is NOT just about getting disadvantaged pupils into elite educational establishments – well, not here in the UK at least! “There are evidently many examples of unfairness and inequality, but if social mobility is going to improve, policymakers are going to achieve little if they remain locked into a discussion about elites, and policy focusses only on who becomes part of it. They have to ask harder questions about the supply of opportunities and how they can be extended to a wider variety of people.” https://wonkhe.com/wp-content/wonkhe-uploads/2021/10/Alun-Francis-paper-for-media.pdf PDF below.

1. Multilingualism and Speech and Language Therapy is the title of Mirjam Blumenthal’s talk for the European Speech and Language Therapy Association next Thursday, 21^st October at 17:00 UK time. More info and registration here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/multilingualism-and-speech-and-language-therapy-tickets-178912140027

“After a short introduction about bilingualism in child language acquisition, this webinar focuses on diagnostic work with multilingual children. Multilingual children need assessment in all the languages they speak/understand, ideally in all language aspects. Diagnostic instruments in many immigrant languages are rare, though.”

2. Also next Thursday, 21^st October, but at 15:00 UK time is the next ECML webinar, on a Roadmap for supporting the language(s) of schooling. More info and registration here https://www.ecml.at/Resources/Webinars/tabid/5456/language/en-GB/Default.aspx

“If you would like to find out about the benefits of a whole-school approach when it comes to the language of schooling, as well as tips on how to engage all stakeholders in your school community, then this webinar is for you.”

3. Mike Mena’s The social life of language website is a bit different: see what you make of it! https://www.sociallifeoflanguage.com/

Mike’s latest video investigates whether bilingualism/multilingualism gives people an economic advantage, and do bilinguals get better jobs and paid more?  https://youtu.be/ee9HoQS97_k

You can find all his videos on his YouTube channel here https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7H1rLtG-2UOOVk_sD6uBUA

4. Here’s a piece from Monday’s HLT magazine on English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI): Developing Online and F2F Support Strategies at Verona University by Sharon Hartle and colleagues https://www.hltmag.co.uk/oct21/english-as-a-medium-of-instruction

“What emerged was a shifting of focus from lecturer linguistic competence to a concern for learner needs and what was innovative was the interest in combining traditional classroom practices with digital ones.”

5. And, finally, explore some of Canada’s indigenous languages here https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1621448126309/1621448142223

And here’s an article on Truth and Reconciliation: Preserving and revitalizing Indigenous languages by Jacquelyn LeBel which gives a bit of the background https://globalnews.ca/news/8231012/truth-and-reconciliation-indigenous-languages/