The Non-Native Teacher by Peter Médgyes 3rd edition

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Celebrating that I have in my hands the third edition of The Non-Native Teacher, a book I read back in 1994 when it was first published and which many of my then student teachers will surely remember. Thank you so much, Peter Médgyes and Susan Holden for this present. And thank you Enda Scott for bringing it all the way from Glasgow!

Cambridge Global English 9

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Just arrived! My latest production for Cambridge Global English Teacher’s Resource 9. 



The ‘native factor’, the haves and the have-nots

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 …and why we still need to talk about this in 2016. Plenary by Silvana Richardson


It is often claimed that much has changed in the field of English Language Teaching since 1983, when Peter Medgyes first described the struggle of ‘non-native’ teachers for visibility and due recognition. But has it? Away from academic circles, where the discourses that equated the ideal teacher with the ‘native speaker’ have been interrogated and critiqued, how has the situation really changed for the professional teacher of English whose first or home language is a language other than English?In this talk I will draw on research studies, anecdotal evidence and my own and my colleagues’ personal experiences to examine the state of equality and social justice in ELT with reference to the so-called ‘non-native speaker teacher’ thirty years on. I will look at how the logic of the market is used to justify current discriminatory recruitment practices that still perpetuate theview that a(n unqualified) native speaker is preferable to a qualified and professional ‘non-native teacher’.I will reflect on the impact of the native-speaker bias and its dominance on developments in English Language teaching methodology, and how this dominance seems to have affected the emergence of context-appropriate pedagogies. Finally, I will address the ‘second best’ view of the ‘non-native teacher’ and its impact on their own construction of a legitimate professionalidentity and on their confidence in themselves as teachers, users and experts of an-other language.

http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2016/session/plenary-silvana-richardson

http://static.cdn-ec.viddler.com/js/arpeggio/v3/embed.html?videoId=f8373189&autoplay=0&disableseek=0&disablebackwardseek=0&disableforwardseek=0&loop=0&nologo=1&hd=1&player=arpeggio#embedId=undefined

Trinity College 4th Language Education Forum, Madrid

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On 5thand 6th November, the Trinity College London team in Spain, organized the 4th Language Education Forum in Madrid with the support of Trinity College London, the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport and the Centro de Innovación e Investigación Docente.

The Forum opened on Thursday 5th November with the lecture “Examining Washback: What do we know and what is there left to explore?” by Dr Dianne Wall from Lancaster University. Dr Wall started by defining key concepts such as washback, high-stakes exams and their impact on education. She then presented current views on general and language education and how research had developed in the last twenty years. She discussed some critical issues for teachers, exam developers, educational authorities and the testing communities giving examples of her own experience in different countries. Finally, she analysed the challenges that lie ahead and the implications they hold for language education.

Birgit Strotmann,  former  TESOL-SPAIN Vice-president, and I, in my capacity as President of TESOL-SPAIN, attended the lecture and the cocktail that followed. 

The Forum continued on Friday morning with a presentation by Dr. Dianne Wall, from Lancaster University, entitled “The best laid plans of mice and men …” Factors affecting long-term examination impact”. Dr. Wall’s presentation focused on the wider impact of educational assessment on society, using as an example the thorough English examination system reform that took place in three Eastern European countries after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
     
A round table followed, moderated by Neus Figueras Casanovas (Universidad de Barcelona). The Forum attendees included representatives from Ministerio de Educación,  Conserjerías de Educación of different autonomous communities,  several universities, ACLES, Escuela Oficial de Idiomas, British Council, Macmillan Education Iberia, IBG Global Centre, Círculo de Calidad Educativa CICAE, and TESOL-SPAIN, among others. The event was opened by Sarah Kemp, CEO Trinity College London, Violeta Miguel Pérez, Directora CNIIE, MCED, and Barry Lynam, Trinity College National Consultant for Spain and Portugal.



The landscape of learning theories

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This is a useful infographic of the landscape of current learning theories which can help inform how to support learners engage effectively in the learning process. 

A profile of the modern learner

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I found this infographic in The Learning Renaissance and, being a teacher, I think it is very interesting to see how it represents the way that modern learners interact with the internet and how it might be considered to have eroded their ability to focus on learning effectively, as well as opening up new learning vistas.