Letter 1

Happy year of the rooster. Just love this Rooster with Attitude!

C. G.

Letter 2

ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING NEWSLETTER
March 2017

Activities, Handouts and Lesson Plans

March is the month of St. Patrick's Day in countries that have large contingents of people with Irish ancestry. Try this activity from ESL Holiday Lessons to teach about the story of St. Patrick and why this holiday is celebrated each year. For your more advanced classes, you can use this National Geographic article about why there are no snakes in Ireland (and why this isn't actually because of St. Patrick). You can also use this article to introduce the concept of metaphors.

Websites, Videos, and Publications

Reading out loud is a useful way to help your students improve their speaking as well as their vocabulary and pronunciation. LizLovesBooks is a YouTube channel dedicated to reading out loud. It is a great resource for your classroom work or for homework.
TESL Canada has released a new special issue of the TESL Canada Journal entitled Refugees in Canada: ESL for Resilience and Empowerment.
With all the talk in the news and culture of "Fake News", American TESOL has put together a collection of resources to help you teach your students about news, fake news and fact checking. And here is a great article from the New York Times on the same topic of identifying fake news.
UNESCO has released a comprehensive Multilingual Education Resource Kit for language educators worldwide teaching in a multilingual context.

Professional Development Webinars and Conferences

TESL Peel, Halton and Etobicoke will be hosting their conference Unleash Your Creativity, on April 29th, 2017, in the Mississauga campus of Sheridan College. For more information, please visit the TESL PHE website. Don't forget to prepare for TESL Canada 2017 Conference: Celebrating Canada's 150th. The conference will run from June 8th to 10th, 2017, at Sheraton-on-the-Falls, Niagara Falls, Ontario. For those of you who like to plan ahead and take advantage of early bird rates, the registration for the conference is open. If you have any questions about the conference, please contact conference@tesl.ca.

The Language Program Management Corner

Your School's Smart Phone Policy
Smart phones and mobile devices have challenged traditional thinking about what does and does not belong in a classroom. Initially most schools had strict policies banning cell phones and mobile devices from use in the classroom. There was a good reason for this; smart phones and mobile devices can be distracting for students. Students text their friends or surf the internet instead of doing their work. The power of modern smart phones changes this argument quite a bit, however. We are now at a point where we have to start asking if having access to smart phones in the classroom is now a benefit rather than a distraction for students. We can't tell you what to do in your particular school context. However, we can present you with the pros and cons of each side of the argument so that you can make an informed decision.

Pros of Smart Phones in the Classroom
Students having easy access to the internet can reduce their need for other digital access tools, such as a computer lab. Schools and classrooms with limited numbers of student computers could see a reduction of competition for these resources if students are able to use their smart phones in the classroom.
Access to email and text messaging can help your students coordinate group projects with ease.
Having quick internet access can help students solve relatively easy questions that they may have without asking the teacher.
There are more and more high quality resources available on the internet that can be used in your classrooms.

Cons of Smart Phones in the Classroom
You can't necessarily trust your students to be productive when they have the freedom to use their smart phones. While having them can be very helpful, it can also be a significant source of distraction and can actively reduce their learning time.
Emphasizing smart phone use can disadvantage those who don't have or can't afford their own smart phone and/or the data plan required to get the real benefits from their device. As smart phones become more accessible, this will become less of an issue but it is still something to keep in mind.
Many schools have internet censorship and firewalls to prevent students from accessing inappropriate materials. If students are using smart phones in the classroom, then you would not easily be able to stop students from browsing the less appropriate corners of the internet during class.
As you can see, there are good and bad points on both sides of the argument. It is important to have a clear policy in your school and to get all of your teachers on the same page for this issue so that you can have one unified way to implement your policy.
Adapted from: www.edutopia.org/blog/how-manage-cell-phones-classroom-ben-johnson

The ACE PD Exchange Video of the Month

This month's featured video is: Managing Change in Your Language Program
It goes without saying that the world is constantly changing at an increasingly fast rate. Learning to keep up with this rapid change is one of our biggest challenges as managers today. In this video, we're going to explore some concepts, frameworks and strategies that can help you, as a manager, successfully implement and manage change, both inside your organization and outside your organization. Check out a sneak peek of the video below or click here to access the full video and accompanying handout if you're already a member of the ACE Professional

Development Exchange.
If you're not a member, click here to sign up or learn more about the features of the site here.

Letter 3

Jamie's Sunday Post – edition 9

Quick reminder: The funding application deadline for my summer course at NILE (Video and Image in Language Teaching) is February 2nd. Here is a list of frequently asked questions about how it works. As always, feel free to get in touch if you have any other questions.

Hello there!

What is your favourite fruit? Without a doubt, mine is mango.

Here is a thought experiment for you. If you are teaching, you can try this with your students.

First of all, it helps if you love mangoes as much as I do. If not, what's wrong with you? If you are not a big fan of mangoes, then perhaps you can imagine that we are dealing with some other fruit with similar mango status (melon, pineapple, papaya, etc.).

OK, what I want you to do is answer this simple question: What is the most that you would pay for a good mango?

I should point out that there are no unusual circumstances here. We are not considering a survival situation in a post-Trumpalyptic world, for example. The mango in question is very much a luxury item. However, it is – without doubt – the best mango that you will ever eat.

So what would you pay for it? $10? $15? More? Less?

Now hold that figure in your mind. What I want to do now is persuade you to raise your price. In order to do this, I am going to provide you with more information about the mango on offer. Are you ready?

Taste: The mango is perfectly ripe and incredibly sweet. It is quite simply the most delicious mango that you have ever tasted.

Variety: It is an Irwin mango – a variety that was developed in the USA and is popular in Japan, Australia, and Taiwan.

Size: It is quite a large mango. Personally, I could eat it all in one go. But I am a greedy pig. I think that most people would make it last for a day or two.

Aesthetics: The skin is a beautiful sunset red and the flesh is dark yellow.

Cultivation and care: The mango is grown in such a way that the sun hits all sides. This means that it is red all over – much like a newspaper (boom boom!). There are no green or yellow patches. In addition, each mango is grown in its own special net. The net catches the fruit gently when it falls off the branch naturally.

Texture: The mango is smooth and fiberless. It is very juicy.

Presentation: This is quite cool: the mango comes in a presentation box and the box is gift-wrapped.

Identity: This mango is an experience. And since no two experiences are the same, the fruit has a unique serial number pressed (debossed) into its skin.

So, have you changed your mind? Would pay more for it now? If so, how much more?

The mango was featured in a video by a fruit-loving man called Jared Rydelek. Jared travels the world and uploads videos about strange places and exotic fruit. In his YouTube channel description, he writes:

Why fruit? Finding exotic fruit that is unavailable to the rest of the world is a bit like a treasure hunt. Finding something I never knew existed is a thrilling experience whether or not the fruit actually tastes good. Some of the fruits I find are tasty, some are disgusting, some are dangerous to eat, but all of them are interesting.

After introducing, describing, and reviewing the special mango, Jared tells us that he would pay $20 for it.

Was that higher or lower than the figure that you chose? I would guess that it was higher. You see, there was an important piece of information about the mango that I didn't give you. Watch the video and you'll find out.

Now let's move from mangoes to a type of cognitive bias called anchoring.

Let me explain: Most people would not pay $20 for a mango. That would be crazy. And I am guessing that the figure that you chose was less than that. But in the video, that is the figure that Jared said he would pay for the item. And my guess is that his figure was high because he had some information that I did not give you – the price of the mango ($80).

Prices are often arbitrary. A product's price does not necessarily reflect its value. Unfortunately for consumers, our ability to value a product objectively will be severely influenced by the price tag. And I believe that we just witnessed this in the video – Jared claimed that he would pay $20 for a mango because it was priced at $80.

Being aware of the price of something hinders our ability to value it objectively. And this is fundamental in retail and marketing. You might pay $90 for a pair of jeans when you know that they had been priced earlier at $180. And you might have considered that $90 was a bargain. But was it really? Were the jeans actually worth $180 in the first place? It is difficult to say because you didn't value the jeans for what they were. You based your decision on the anchor price of $180. It's a trick. And a very effective one. And we are all susceptible to it.

In the world of negotiation, there is a school of thought that says that the first price to be mentioned will set the actual figure that parties eventually agree on. This is the anchoring effect.

In the case of the mango, it was all speculation of course. I have no idea how much you said that you would pay for the mango. But I would be interested to know so feel free to drop me a line. And if you are teaching and want to try this with your students, perhaps you could set up the following experiment:
Ask students how much they would pay for the best mango in the world.
Create a worksheet in which students have to match the words in bold (taste, variety, size, aesthetics, etc.) with the descriptions that follow them. Importantly, for one half of the class, tell them the price of the mango ($80). For the other half of the class, don't.

Find out if students who know the mango's price would pay more for it than those who don't.

Let me know how you get on.

Letter 4

Hi
It's logo time –

Last week I gave you the following puzzle: These logos have two things in common. They are also opposites of each other. Can you explain?

The answer lies with the Rubin Vase effect. I'm sure you know it – there are two possible ways to see the vase: as a solid object (i.e. a vase) or as a profile of two people facing each other. In situations like this, one form will usually be dominant over the other. And it is impossible to 'see' both of these forms simultaneously.

Both the FedEx and Carrefour logos exhibit the Rubin Vase effect. The FedEx logo has an arrow hidden between the E and the x. The Carrefour logo has the letter C in between the two arrows. So the answer is as follows:

The logos are opposites of each other because whereas the FedEx logo has an arrow hidden in letters, the Carrefour logo has a letter hidden in arrows.

And what do they have in common? Well, as mentioned above, they both exhibit the Rubin Vase effect. But they are also both involved with arrows which face in different directions.

The Carrefour logo contains arrows which point to the left and to the right. This is pretty clever because carrefour is French for crossroads.

The FedEx logo contains just one arrow. It points from left to right – this is the reading direction for Westerners. For the intended audience, left to right is a progressive direction. It is the direction that we would expect from a logistics company.

Upon investigating this, I have learned that there is an alternative FedEx logo in certain Arabic countries that reverses the arrow. (Arabic uses a right-to-left writing system.) However, I have only seen the image below on blogs about design. I know that I have a few susbscribers in Arabic speaking countries. (Hello!) I would be interested to know whether or not this alternative FedEx logo is common.

Well, I hope that was worth the wait!

Have a lovely weekend and a great week beginning.

Jamie :)

Letter 5

Beyond linguistic proficiency

Proficient so many language users are
Their linguistic expertise has taken them far

In search of deeper knowledge they can go
If in their communities a new Literacy they sow

Peacefully they will learn to communicate
In ways that human communicative dignity will elevate

They will learn to love one another communicatively
and will learn to build a local/global citizenship creatively

They will learn to see the world as a Life-supporting unity
Politically diverse but committed to the good of Humanity

They will learn to see Peace,nonviolence,and nonkilling as interconnected
To global cooperation and harmony their interactions will be directed

Language users can go well beyond a commendable linguistic proficiency:
They can also learn to nurture a much-needed Global Peace Literacy !

xxx

The 10 C´s of Communication: A Checklist for (Self)Evaluation

Francisco Gomes de Matos, a peace linguist. Co-founder and president of the Board, ABA Global Education, Recife, Brazil

Letter 6

Hello Hania

I've recently become a bit obsessed with 'mis-images' – a type of comical miscommunication that often takes place in the language classroom.

• Exhibit 1: "My flat has a very small chicken."
• Exhibit 2: "I often work in coffees."
• Exhibit 3: "At the weekend, I went to visit my big fathers."
• Exhibit 4: "I am scared of The Beatles."
• Exhibit 5: "My favourite Hobbits are reading and cooking."

To celebrate my obsession, I have created a video and also a lesson plan on the subject. The lesson plan includes 12 illustrations by my very own artistic father.

Click here to see the video and Lesson plan on Lessonstream

If / when you click on the link, read through carefully. You might see the competition which is discretely hidden in the text. Let's see if we get any takers ....

Thanks for reading. I hope you are enjoying the week as much as I am in a cool, rainy Barcelona.

Jamie :)