what is vocal fry?

What indeed is 'vocal fry' - and why is it such a controversial thing?

Here are a couple of short videos:

🗣️ Vocal fry, a secret weapon or a bad habit? 🎤 - YouTube

Is Vocal Fry Really an Issue? - YouTube

Here's Wikipedia giving a summary: Vocal fry register - Wikipedia

But the point is that more of us are finding it annoying: What is vocal fry and when and how did it become a thing? : r/GreatBritishBakeOff

And it's been an issue for over a decade now: 'Vocal Fry' Creeping Into U.S. Speech | Science | AAAS

Finally, here's an excellent discussion from a couple of years ago:

Vocal Fry: what it is, who does it, and why people hate it! - YouTube

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shattering paradise - or, the difference between an 'economic migrant' and an 'expat'

As Gaby Hinsliff writing in today's Guardian suggests, influencers have sold the world a fantasy Dubai – and now it’s gone in a puff of missile smoke:

The city was portrayed as an aspirational place to live, but now those who moved there are realising the precarity that comes with being an economic migrant.

Who could have guessed that living a few hundred miles as the drone flies from Tehran might have risks? Certainly not the anonymous hedge funder who fumed to the Financial Times that “the trade was not that you were getting exposed to geopolitics”.

But if it’s hard to sympathise with the super-rich, as they discover that there are some things money can’t buy, then they are not the only Britons trapped in the Gulf. The deal Dubai offered economic migrants – which is what Britons seeking a better life in the Gulf are, much as some will hate the label – was a kind of real-life Truman Show: a sunny, shiny, sterilised low-crime haven for anyone itching to get rich or stay that way, sustained by stiff penalties for anyone publicly shattering its illusions.

Today's London Standard points out that influencers in Dubai have been warned they face prison for posting material about the conflict with Iran.

And earlier in the week, the Daily Mail's Guy Adams looked at The inside story of how the hollow Dubai dream has come crashing down... as expats are sent mysterious menacing warnings from the UAE government which hint all might not be as well as it seems.

Here we are looking at the world of the 'expat' - and a decade ago, the BBC was considering the difference between an expat and an immigrant:

The word expat is loaded. It carries many connotations, preconceptions and assumptions about class, education and privilege — just as the terms foreign worker, immigrant and migrant call to mind a different set of assumptions.

But what makes one person an expat, and another a foreign worker or migrant? Often the former is used to describe educated, rich professionals working abroad, while those in less privileged positions — for example, a maid in the Gulf states or a construction worker in Asia — are deemed foreign workers or migrant workers. The classification matters, because such language can in some cases be used as a political tool or to dehumanise — as the debate around the word “migrant” suggests.

It's not just 'semantics', it's also a question of law: Expat vs Immigrant vs Migrant vs Refugee vs Asylee Defined | American Visa Law Group

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the 'life in the uk' test: a critique

The British government has had in place for some years now its Life in the UK Test which, if passed, will enable people to become UK citizens.

There are lots of websites that ask if you “think you know Britain?” - and give you an example text to try out online. And when people who already have a British passport try it themselves, well, it's actually quite difficult, as with this journalist on the Daily Express realised last year: I took the Life in the UK citizenship test - it's not so simple.

Other commentators would say that the test is actually not relevant to life in the UK, with the Guardian recently suggesting: Forget Hadrian’s Wall. The UK citizenship test should ask about Corrie, bus queues and Greggs.

In fact, there is considerable criticism of the test.

In June 2022, the UK parliament's Lords Committee requested an urgent review of the Life in the UK Test:

The Committee found several problems with the Test:an official handbook full of obscure facts and subjective assertions (including offensive historical content),

• inaccessible test centres,
• poorly-phrased questions that trivialise the process, and
• costs that can be prohibitive for some, among others.

The Committee also stressed the need to reintroduce taught courses, known to promote social cohesion and gender equality, as an alternative for those who may find a test particularly challenging.

The Committee is astonished that the Government has not yet conducted its long-overdue review of the Test and of its associated handbook. The Committee calls on the Government to appoint an Advisory Group to conduct a review to be published by a set deadline.

Others feel very much the same, with this study from the Durham Law School asking The Life in the UK citizenship test:Is it unfit for purpose?:

The Life in the UK citizenship test was launched in 2005 and revised in 2007. The test must be passed by anyone applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) or naturalisation. Past editions were criticised for factual inaccuracies and their failure to include much information about British history and culture. The third edition was published in March 2013. It is a comprehensive departure in form and content from past tests that raises several serious concerns about the construction of the test. Its inability to meet its central goal as a test of knowledge about life in the United Kingdom renders it unfit for purpose and it is in need of urgent reforms. 

The UK Immigration Lawyers also ask:  Is the Life in the UK Test Fair? New Survey Raise Big Questions:

Our survey has exposed surprising gaps in historical and cultural knowledge among Brits. The findings raise questions about the fairness of Life in the UK Test for British citizenship or settlement applications.

This is not just the opinion of journalists, academics and lawyers, as Wikipedia notes in its piece on the Life in the United Kingdom test:

The test has been frequently criticised for containing factual errors,[1] expecting candidates to know information that would not be expected of native-born citizens[2] as well as being just a "bad pub quiz" and "unfit for purpose".[3][4]

In other words, if most British citizens were asked to complete this test, they would fail - which might question whether they should 'qualify' as being British citizens!

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how corrupt is your country?

It's possibly the case that concentrated wealth leads to concentrated power.

And it seems to be the case that concentrated wealth and power lead to corruption.

Looking at corruption and extreme wealth, corruption fosters extreme wealth, acting as a greasing wheel that contributes to this unbalanced economic process. Therefore, billionaires face incentives to perform these types of acts which tend to perpetuate the corrupt system. However, legal mechanisms are also significant determinants of extreme wealth.

The idea that 'power corrupts' has been around for a long, long time, as shown in this look at power and its corrupting effects: the effects of power on human behavior and the limits of accountability systems.

The latest figures from Transparency International has something to say about the state of the world today, with a report out today: CPI 2025: Findings and insights

Britain doesn't fare very well: Results published today show the UK's score has fallen to 70, down from 71 last year. This marks the UK's lowest point... The UK remains 20th in the global ranking for the third consecutive year, a significant decline from its top ten position back in 2017. Corruption Perceptions Index 2025: UK Corruption concerns risk becoming 'new normal'

The United States has done even worse: The United States is now tied with the Bahamas and is outranked by Uruguay, Lithuania and the United Arab Emirates... The ranking has been trending downward for the past 10 years. Last year, it took a hit when President Donald Trump paused investigations into corporate foreign bribery and cut enforcement of a foreign agent registration law and other moves, CNN reported. US slips to 29th place in global corruption perception index

The message is clear: Corruption is surging worldwide, threatening public trust, enabling organized crime, and weakening democratic institutions, Transparency International warned Tuesday in its 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). Experts say shrinking civic space and faltering accountability are fueling the problem, putting governance—and citizens—at risk. Corruption Threatens Democracies Worldwide, Transparency International Warns

How is your country doing?

Corruption Perceptions Index 2025 - Transparency.org

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academic freedom in the united states

This blog has looked at press freedom around the world - but what about academic freedom?

In the United States, they seem quite determined in banning books: the school curriculum and critical race theory.

Here's a report from the latest Philosophy Now magazine in their News: February/March 2026:

Philosophy Professor Banned from Teaching Plato’s Symposium

More than 200 courses at Texas A&M University have been flagged or cancelled as part of a review called by the system board into course content related to race and gender, according to academics who contacted Inside Higher Education and other publications. The scope of the review has extended well beyond contemporary material. Alongside feminist writers and queer filmmakers, foundational figures in Western philosophy have been targeted.

Philosophy professor Martin Peterson, scheduled to teach his usual course on Contemporary Moral Problems, was instructed by university leadership to remove several passages by Plato from his syllabus. In an email from department chair Kristi Sweet, Peterson was given a choice: either eliminate “modules on race and gender ideology, and the Plato readings that may include these,” or else be reassigned to a different course. This effectively banned him from teaching Plato’s Symposium, a canonical Socratic dialogue focused on the nature of love that also discusses issues relating to patriarchy, masculinity and the human condition. Peterson objected strongly, and as the dispute escalated he wrote: “Your decision to bar a philosophy professor from teaching Plato is unprecedented … You are making Texas A&M famous – but not for the right reasons.” Despite his protest, Peterson ultimately agreed to revise the syllabus, replacing the censored material with lectures on free speech and academic freedom. Rather than ignoring the incident, Peterson plans to incorporate it directly into his course material: “I’m thinking of using this as a case study and assign some of the texts written by journalists covering the story to discuss,” he explained. “I want [students] to know what is being censored.”

And here's the reaction from the press at the time:

Professor Replaces Banned Plato Texts With Article on Censorship

Texas A&M Removes Plato from Introductory Philosophy Class

Is Plato woke? Texas A&M professor speaks out after being banned from teaching the Greek philosopher | WUWM 89.7 FM - Milwaukee's NPR

A&M demands prof remove sexual orientation and race from his philosophy class - Dallas Voice

There's an intensifying kind of threat to academic freedom: Watchful students serving as informants

Here's an interview with the professor - and a comment that follows:

I taught Philosophy for forty years before my retirement; and Professor Peterson has, ostensibly been charged with "corrupting the youth" as was one of the charges levied against Socrates. Thankfully, he is not likely to be silenced in in the same way as Socrates. And I applaud the good professor's sense of Socratic restraint in his apologia. The real harm is done to his students, who have been denied the chance to have him guide them to favoring philos over eros, as Socrates argues in his speech. I taught The Symposium many times, and can say that my students' reading it--and in open dialogue about the many perspectives on love that it poses--was one of the most transformative classroom experiences for students that I can recall. I can only hope that Professor Peterson's accusers will come out of their cave, and see the light.

INTERVIEW: Texas professor censored over Plato curriculum speaks out | The College Fix

What about academic freedom generally in the United States?

Examining threats to academic freedom in America and the world | Harvard Kennedy School

University of North Carolina moves to define academic freedom

40 strikes on academic freedom in 2025: Is US higher ed losing its nerve? - The Times of India

Explained: Why US universities are rejecting Trump’s controversial higher education compact

How University Governing Boards Can Protect the Independence of Colleges and Universities - Center for American Progress

5 growing threats to academic freedom - Yahoo News UK

And elsewhere?

Academic Freedom Index

How to protect your university against authoritarianism | THE Campus Learn, Share, Connect

Academic freedom under threat for more than 50% of world’s population - Index on Censorship

The UK ranks sixty-fourth in global academic freedom ranking, marking steady decline - Committee For Academic Freedom

But perhaps we should define the term first!

Academic freedom - Wikipedia

Committee For Academic Freedom - Homepage

What Is Academic Freedom — and Why It Matters Beyond the University - YouTube

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the lexical approach with the lexical lab

This blog is very keen on the lexical approach - which involves seeing language working in terms of chunking and which can really help us understand how to learn a language.

The excellent lexical lab has lots of online resources on offer - but the founders Hugh Dellar and Andrew Walkley also put on courses at their HQ: English Teacher Training in London - Upgrade Your Teaching Skills.

With more from their latest newsletter We made it through the longest month:

One of the things that has helped me get through this dreary days is looking forwards to brighter things to come – and I'm clearly not alone as we've already had our first few bookings for the TEACHING LEXICALLY course we'll be running in north London this summer. Over two weeks in July, we look at the theoretical view of language that underpins the lexical approach and then unpack the implications of this view for classroom practice.

And there's more in their newsletter, which looks further at the lexical approach and, following from that, the communicative approach:

Finally, here's an excellent overview of some of the most recent large-scale studies into the degree to which AI is helping or hindering education. A word of warning: it makes grim reading for the hardcore tech evangelists out there.

And here's a great video on the way Gen-Z online slang owes a huge debt to the linguistic creativity of Black America.

Oh, and here's a piece on the degree to which what are often thought of as 'Americanisms' have permeated everyday English here in the UK.

Finally, if you get a chance to watch this wonderful BBC drama, do so. It's based around a guy with chronic OCD who's opted to teach Philosophy in a prison. It's warm, human, hard-hitting, very funny and highly original.

Also, in light of the recent appalling events in Iran, this documentary about female singers inside the Islamic Republic seems particularly pertinent.

To finish, don't forget their great Blog.

Enjoy - as both teachers and learners of English!

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bridget riley, artist

At 94, the British artist Bridget Riley has a lot of work to show - and she has two shows on at the moment: Exhibition Bridget Riley Point de départ | Musée d'Orsay in Paris and Bridget Riley: Learning to See | Turner Contemporary in Margate, an hour from London on the coast.

Bridget Riley | Check it out from the DISD Library | DI Library | Flickr

Here's a super documentary on Bridget Riley - Painting the Line (BBC):

With exclusive behind-the-scenes access, seldom-seen footage from the archives, insights from admirers, experts and contemporaries including Tracey Emin, Michael Craig-Martin and Martin Freeman, and a revealing interview by Kirsty Wark, this is the story of a true visionary of British art. 

Bridget Riley has been challenging our perception through painting for over 60 years, with radical work that has transformed how we look at art and invites us to feel with our eyes. With simple black and white geometric shapes, repeated curves of colour or an array of muted dots, Riley’s work moves, shimmers and - in some cases - unsettles. 

At the age of 90, Bridget Riley shows no signs of stopping. Her paintings command millions at auction, she has won prestigious awards and honours, and continues to innovate, paint, publish and exhibit around the world. BBC cameras have filmed with Riley over the past few years in two of her studios, on the cliffs of Cornwall, where she spent the Second World War, and at the National Gallery in London during the installation of her enormous mural there in 2018. 

In a rare and revealing interview with Kirsty Wark, Riley dispels the numerous misconceptions which have followed her throughout her career. Many consider her as a poster girl for the Swinging 60s, while others hail her as a titan of abstract art. However, Riley considers herself a traditional painter who has merely picked up the baton from those who have gone before her, such as Leonardo da Vinci, Monet, Cezanne and Matisse.

Finally, here's the Bridget Riley | Homepage

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yinka shonibare, artist

The future is African whether in language [Nigeria is the third largest country when it comes to English speakers] or music or politics. 

But also when it comes to art - with an exhibition happening at London's Tate Modern on Nigerian Modernism

As a review on the BBC says, Nigerian Modernism gets recognition, as "a transfer of the old ideas, old items, old technologies, old thought into a different, modern time". It is "projecting the present, and showing the way towards the future".

Certainly when it comes to art and culture, there are all sorts of adventures in art at the British Museum - from Status Symbols (1200 - 1400 AD), Ife head to The First Global Economy (1450 - 1600 AD), Benin plaque - the Oba with Europeans to The World of Our Making (1914 - 2010 AD), Throne of Weapons.

Another place to go for art in London is the Royal Academy and its summer exhibition - and back in 2014 it was British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare at the Royal Academy.

Ten years later, and Shonibare was a gorgeously recognisable artist, although some critics say he's simply doing the same thing.

Judge for yourself in a new BBC documentary: In My Own Words - Series 2: Yinka Shonibare - BBC iPlayer [and a comment about being an artist at 25:50]

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cornelia parker, artist

From the Science Museum we looked at how art and nature interact:

discover how we have questioned our relationship with society, our bodies, the environment and found patterns in nature, as we continue to interpret and explore the world around us.

Another way of looking at the world could be how we see sheds - those little huts in the garden where we leave and forget lots of stuff:

or perhaps you prefer your sheds to explode...

which takes us to a reconstructed barn

A good place to see art in London is the Royal Academy summer exhibition. 

There is some great art happening, including from Yinka Shonibare, artist - whose work, as with many artists, is interesting to be seen next to others...

Including Cornelia Parker, also at Tate Britain in London - and New Zealand's City Gallery reopening with a bang with a major Cornelia Parker exhibition.

Cornelia Parker's 'Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View’ (1991). SUPPLIED / Courtesy Tate Collection

These are brilliant ideas from Cornelia Parker - giving us Art from Destruction as seen in this recent video.

Finally in a new documentary from the BBC, In My Own Words, Cornelia Parker looks back over her extraordinary life and career.

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6-7 or parasocial or enshittification - what makes a good word of the year?

How do we add new vocabulary in English dictionaries? 

The problem is that the UK does not have an official language - nor does it have an official dictionary.

So, it's really a matter of choice as to what is put into dictionaries - or, rather, a matter of choice of those out there who are using the English language.

Looking at the online dictionary.com, it asks and answers the question: How Does A Word Get Into The Dictionary?

This is one of the most common questions we get—and it’s a great one.

The answer involves one of the most misunderstood things about dictionaries, so let’s set the record straight: a word doesn’t become a “real word” when it’s added to the dictionary. It’s actually the other way around: we add words to the dictionary because they’re real—because they’re really used by real people in the real world.

In other words, our lexicographers add a word to the dictionary when they determine that:

• It’s a word that’s used by a lot of people.
• It’s used by those people in largely the same way.
• It’s likely to stick around.
• And it’s useful for a general audience.

All four of these points are important. Our lexicographers look for use not just by one person, but by a lot of people. Of course, many words have different shades of meaning for different people. But to be added to the dictionary, a word must have a shared meaning (that is, it must communicate a widely agreed-upon meaning from one person to the next). If everyone used a word in a completely different way, we wouldn’t be able to give it a definition, right?

But what about how dictionaries claiming that x is 'word of the year'?

It's probably about marketing: getting the name of the dictionary out there. And it works! 

The Daily Mail says the internet is divided as Dictionary.com unveils its 2025 word of the year - or as The Independent tells us, ‘6-7’ is named 2025 Word of the Year: Here’s what it means...

Alternatively, as reported in the E L Gazette, the Cambridge Dictionary names parasocial as the Word of the Year.

This social media and Gen Z/Alpha derived vocabulary was critiqued in last year's choice, as reported in the Guardian: ‘What many of us feel’: why ‘enshittification’ is Macquarie Dictionary’s word of the year:

“The gradual deterioration of a service or product brought about by a reduction in the quality of service provided, especially of an online platform, and as a consequence of profit-seeking.”

Take your pick!

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how government policies on migration impact language schools in the uk

It seems rather too easy for governments to bring down 'migration' numbers by bringing down the number of foreign students - and this is having an effect.

In May of this year, the future of English language schools were in limbo after Starmer's visa crackdown:

English language schools fear they will go bust following the Government’s visa crackdown. Monday’s immigration white paper called for a review of short-term student visas, a route allowing those 16 and over to study an English language course in the UK for a duration longer than six months but no more than 11 months, over discrepancies in rejection rates. The review has left uncertainty for the ELS sector over fears it could be scrapped or severely restricted.

At the time, the UK government put together a press release, that its immigration white paper is to reduce migration and strengthen border - and at the same time it put together its evidence for the policy in its Student route evaluation (wave 2):

In May 2024, the Government introduced several policy changes designed to limit the number of student arrivals in the UK. The Home Office is keen to build an evidence base on the Student route to inform future policy and underpin assessments of economic impact.

This was the response from the ELT/ESOL sector: Breaking: UK Graduate Route reduced to 18 months under immigration white paper and Why ESOL Funding Must Address UK's Language Learning Crisis

With more from the wider press: Skilled visa rules, deportations and higher fees: what’s in the immigration white paper | Immigration and asylum | The Guardian

The latest news this week in the E L Gazette looks at how UK political shifts are impacting the English Language sector:

At the Labour Party conference, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced a plan to consult on new, tougher conditions for migrants seeking permanent residency, including learning English to a high standard. This proposal is expected to sharply increase demand for ESOL courses and accredited language testing, as failure to meet these standards may mean migrants are not automatically entitled to remain in the UK...

Speaking to The Times last week, Chancellor Rachel Reeves also advocated for an “ambitious” youth migration deal with the European Union (EU) to boost the economy. The scheme could allow EU nationals aged 18 to 30 to stay for two or three years, a move seen as a major opportunity for the ELT sector.

So, is this 'good news' for the ELT/ESOL sector?

Here's more analysis from the wider media: Migrants told to learn English, avoid crime, and volunteer to stay in Britain, Home Secretary to say | LBC

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clichés, pragmatics and how we use language to connect us beyond the actual words used

What is the purpose of language? Do words carry meaning? Is language communication?

These are questions Michael Rosen looks at in his excellent weekly programme on BBC Radio 4 - and this week, it's: Word of Mouth - It's not what you say, it's how you say it - BBC Sounds

Michael Rosen on the linguistic comfort food of clichés, pragmatics and how we use language to connect us beyond the actual words used. Derek Bousfield explains how words do more than carry meaning: context governs what we say and how it’s understood. Dr Bousfield is Reader in Pragmatics and Communication and Co-Director of The Manchester Centre for Research in Linguistics and co-author of Talking in Clichés: The Use of Stock Phrases in Discourse and Communication.

They look at Pragmatics - how we say things beyond what they literally mean - for example "How are you?" is not asking about your health/problems: Jay Doubleyou: pragmatics: it ain't what you say it's the way that you say it

Language is not literal! Especially in conversation, which is guided by culture and context.

Language is non-direct - for example: "Why don't we have a coffee some time?" is not making a specific arrangement to meet. Another example: "We'll see how it goes" means I don't agree with you but I don't want to talk about it any more. 

The British love understatement or litotes - which are codes to build rapport.

There is the world of clichés - and comedians such as Peter Kay enjoy playing with them. We use them all the time to connect people -  and that "we are all on the same page", to use a cliché.

We live by metaphors: Metaphors We Live By - Wikipedia [metaphor is a tool that enables people to use what they know about their direct physical and social experiences to understand more abstract things like work, time, mental activity and feelings.] and Metaphors We Live By: George Lakoff and Mark Johnson - YouTube [Lakoff and Johnson argue that metaphors aren’t just poetry, but a fundamental part of our brain conceptual system. That is, they’re central to the way we perceive ourselves, others, and the world.]

A favourite example from Prof Bousfield is 'literally': Urban Dictionary: literally

And a favourite from Michael is 'the bottom line': BOTTOM LINE definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary and What does ‘bottom-line’ mean here? : r/EnglishLearning

The word 'cliché' comes from French: Cliché - Wikipedia

To finish this look at the programme, here's Derek Bousfield's book: Talking in Clichés: The Use of Stock Phrases in Discourse and Communication: Amazon.co.uk: Bullo, Stella: 9781108458139: Books

For decades, social perspectives, and even academic studies of language, have considered clichés as a hackneyed, tired, lazy, unthinking and uninspiring form of communication. Authored by two established scholars in the fields of Systemic-Functional Linguistics and Discourse Studies and Pragmatics, this cutting-edge book comprehensively explores the perception and use of clichés in language from these complementary perspectives. It draws data from a variety of both written and spoken sources, to re-interrogate and re-imagine the nature, role and usage of clichés, identifying the innovative and creative ways in which the concepts are utilised in communication, interaction, and in self-presentation. 

Observing a rich, complex layering of usage, the authors deconstruct the many and varied ways in which clichés operate and are interdependently constructed; from the role they play in discourse in general, to their functions as argumentative strategies, as constructs of social cognition, as politeness strategies, and finally as markers of identity.

And here's a look or two at clichés:

What is a cliché? Check out this list of examples.

SUPER IMPORTANT EXPRESSIONS | Clichés in Spoken English - YouTube

See also:

Jay Doubleyou: pragmatics

Jay Doubleyou: juergen habermas: communicative rationality and deliberative democracy

Jay Doubleyou: ambiguity is everywhere in englsh

Jay Doubleyou: behaviourism >>> krashen... pinker... skinner... chomsky

Jay Doubleyou: small talk, phatic communication and the games people play

Jay Doubleyou: english is not transparent

Jay Doubleyou: writing with register: a lesson in using different levels of 'politeness'

Jay Doubleyou: what is 'politeness' and how can we teach it?

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learning english through british classical music

We can of course work on our English though pop music:

Jay Doubleyou: pop videos for learning english

Jay Doubleyou: the music of west africa

Jay Doubleyou: using songs in the esl/esol/tefl classroom

But what about learning English through classical music?

It doesn't seem to be a good choice:

Why is England called the land without music? - Quora

But there are some great British composers who wrote and continue to write in English.

Here's an overview:

Jay Doubleyou: british music

It includes these genres:

Jay Doubleyou: folk music

Jay Doubleyou: new versions of traditional christmas carols

How about this - not British but much in English [try from 23 mins]

Between the Ears - The Thousand Voices of Cathy Berberian - BBC Sounds 

And how about this!

A Ticket to Ride - YouTube

Or the original if you prefer:

The Beatles - Ticket To Ride - YouTube

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the huge variety of films in english

This evening at the BBC Proms ["the world's greatest classical music festival"], the music of the "classic period" of Hollywood is being celebrated - including that of what has been voted the best film ever [Vertigo] and certainly the most iconic horror-thriller [Psycho] by composer Bernard Herman: BBC Radio 3 - BBC Proms, 2025, Classic Thriller Soundtracks

Vertigo - official 60th anniversary trailer - YouTube

Psycho Official Trailer 1960 HD - YouTube [or the full trailer: Psycho (1960) Theatrical Trailer - Alfred Hitchcock Movie - YouTube]

Psycho is part of the film genre film noir

Top 10 Film Noirs - YouTube

There are many different kinds of film out there: what's your favourite film genre?

And, yes, it can be difficult to put a film into one compartment: Fight Club: how many film genres in one film?

Especially those 'big films': blockbusters don't have to be stupid

If we really want to improve our English language, perhaps we need to go for quality: Shakespeare

Four Versions of the Witches from Macbeth - YouTube

But there is more than American and British film when it comes to the English language:

Australia: Picnic at Hanging Rock is just as unsettling and relevant 50 years on - ABC News

PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK - 4K Restoration Trailer - YouTube 

Nigeria: the English-speaking world: West Africa and Jay Doubleyou: Nigeria making an impact on America

MAID OF LOVE TRAILER - (Showing 5TH of September by 6:00 pm WAT) NIGERIAN MOVIES 2025 - YouTube [plus subtitles!]

India: English-language Indian films - Wikipedia

Gandhi (1982) Trailer - YouTube and SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE - Trailer - YouTube and Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011) Movie Trailer HD - YouTube

Finally, yes we can improve our English through film! how to learn english from movies

But be careful with those subtitles! how watching films can help your english

Here are some personal recommendations: 20 Great Films That Will LEVEL UP Your English — Podcast for Learners - YouTube and My 5 Favorite Movies for English Fluency - YouTube and 10 Great MOVIES To Learn English - YouTube

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to debunk: "to disprove a myth that is a grossly exaggerated or foolish claim"

'to debunk' is an interesting verb:

to show that something is less important, less good, or less true than it has been made to appear: "debunk a myth": "The writer's aim was to debunk the myth that had grown up around the actress." DEBUNK | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary

If you debunk a widely held belief, you show that it is false. If you debunk something that is widely admired, you show that it is not as good as people think it is. DEBUNK definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary

To debunk something is to take the bunk out of it—that bunk being “nonsense.” (Bunk is short for the synonymous bunkum, which has political origins.) Debunk has been in use since at least the 1920s, and it contrasts with synonyms like disprove and rebut by suggesting that something is not merely untrue but is also a sham—a trick meant to deceive. One can simply disprove a myth, but if it is debunked, the implication is that the myth was a grossly exaggerated or foolish claim. DEBUNK Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

There's a lot of grossly exaggerated [over-the-top, blown out of all proportion, bigger than it really is] and foolish [very silly, not at all smart] claims being made...

In politics: 'All of us have a responsibility to debunk myths targeting refugees' | The National and Seven common tropes used to deny Gaza’s famine, debunked by an expert | The Telegraph

When it comes to conspiracy theories: 4 Ways Oncologists Use Social Media to Debunk Myths and Dispel Misinformation and Moon landing conspiracy theories, debunked | Royal Museums Greenwich

Even in sport: Debunking Outlandish Stances on Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence

The scientist, researcher and writer Emma Monk has been debunking since the Covid pandemic:  I now split my time between working as a Research Scientist in the Biotech industry and debunking spurious misinformation online.  Science — Emma Monk

For example, from 2022, she was interviewed by the BBC: Social media and some news outlets have spread claims this week that only around 17,000 people have actually died of Covid. We debunk. More or Less - BBC Sounds

Last year, four years on from Brexit, she debunked the myths around what happened since then in several iconic industries: How fishing was gutted by Brexit, Brexit and farming and It's time to face the music - four years on from Brexit - West Country Voices.

And lately, she's been looking at the hottest topic there is at the moment: immigration: Are small boat migrants really 24 times more likely to go to prison? Spoiler alert: no. But here’s how the media got suckered by bad data and worse assumptions. - West Country Voices

Here she is being interviewed this week by Ian Winwood in The New World: Emma Monk, the one-woman debunking machine:

On the last day of July, Emma Monk happened upon a story which claimed that asylum seekers are 24 times more likely to end up in prison than people who are born in Britain. Arching a quizzical eyebrow in the direction of this (ahem) arresting figure, Monk, a 46-year-old scientist from the New Forest, ran the numbers. Mining data and government statistics, with empirical certainty, she discovered the claim was hokum...

And for more:

Jay Doubleyou: brexit: and fishing rights... and selling fish

Jay Doubleyou: comparing: all sorts of categories

Jay Doubleyou: russia, ukraine and the war on culture

Jay Doubleyou: the psychology of lies and why we fall for them

Jay Doubleyou: fake news

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new vocabulary in english dictionaries

ADDING TO DICTIONARIES

The E L Gazette has just let it be known that more than 6,000 new words have been added to the Cambridge Dictionary

Here's their latest blog entry: New words – About Words – Cambridge Dictionary blog

Their rivals do the same, for example, the new word entries from Oxford.

But how do they decide what goes into their dictionaries?

This is a piece from the Guardian looking at how new words are born from 2016:

As dictionary publishers never tire of reminding us, our language is growing. Not content with the million or so words they already have at their disposal, English speakers are adding new ones at the rate of around 1,000 a year. Recent dictionary debutants include blog, grok, crowdfunding, hackathon, airball, e-marketing, sudoku, twerk and Brexit.

But these represent just a sliver of the tip of the iceberg. According to Global Language Monitor, around 5,400 new words are created every year; it’s only the 1,000 or so deemed to be in sufficiently widespread use that make it into print. Who invents these words, and how? What rules govern their formation? And what determines whether they catch on?

Shakespeare is often held up as a master neologist, because at least 500 words (including critic, swagger, lonely and hint) first appear in his works – but we have no way of knowing whether he personally invented them or was just transcribing things he’d picked up elsewhere.

Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing program - and can helpfully 'correct' or suggest words for the writer. In a piece from a couple of years ago, it asks who decides what words are added to the dictionary? - both as a general question but also with an eye on its product.

The Oxford dictionaries are the most authoritative - and so we should ask how they decide if new words should enter the dictionary.

NO ACADEMY IN ENGLISH

The history of how the Oxford language was put together shows ... how to put a dictionary together! Here's a look from someone interested in languages (including French!): The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester – My French Quest

The point is that there is no 'official authority' when it comes to determining what is 'correct' in the English language: it's all about recording what is actually used by English speakers.

That's why the English doesn't language have an academy.

Here's a linguist's discussion on the fact that the English language does not have an official Academy

And here's a historical look at why the British said No Thanks to the Academy.

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ambiguity and humour

Humour is everywhere, just as ambiguity is everywhere.

There are lots of academic studies on ambiguity in humour, for example: The ambiguity of humor, Ambiguity, jokes, and trick questions - Society for Linguistic Anthropology and The usage of ambiguity-based humour in EFL classrooms.

Here's a professional linguist by day, and stand-up comedian by night: Where Humor Hides in Language | Emily Sabo | TEDxUMDearborn - YouTube

Here's a good overview of ambiguity - whether funny or not: Ambiguity in Language: Funny but Deadly - YouTube

Can you make up your own examples of these types of ambiguity: Humorous Examples of Ambiguity - Four Linguistic BRAIN Hacks! - YouTube

Let's have a look at some examples from comedians...

Ethnically Ambiguous - YouTube [is it OK to make jokes about yourself?]

Aamer Rahman (Fear of a Brown Planet) - Reverse Racism - YouTube [this is not ambiguous!]

“Evil Genius: Needlessly Ambiguous Terms” — That Mitchell and Webb Look - YouTube [is indirect language always ambiguous? are euphemisms always ambiguous?]

The Prawns Are Off | Fawlty Towers | BBC Comedy Greats - YouTube [this is polite language, but not ambiguous!]

The Two Ronnies Four Candles HD - YouTube [can you think of any more homonyms and homophones?]

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different types of humour

There is British humour:

Jay Doubleyou: what are the elements of 'british humour'?

There is German humour:

Jay Doubleyou: british vs german humour

There is Norwegian humour:

Ättestupa Norsemen - YouTube

But are there really separate senses of 'national humour'?

Jay Doubleyou: there is no such thing as 'national humour'

Perhaps it's more fun when we laugh at each other:

Spain is laughing at British tourists 'stampeding' to sunbeds in viral video

Brits sprint for sunbeds at Magaluf hotel pool | LOVE THIS! - YouTube

1994 Carling Black Label Beating The Germans To Sunbeds Advert - YouTube

Can humour save the world?

Jay Doubleyou: humour can save the world: a saudi, an indian and an iranian walk into a qatari bar...

Jay Doubleyou: what is a 'native speaker' of english? the issue of race...

Jay Doubleyou: european jokes about the british

Jay Doubleyou: brexit: and punctuation

Jay Doubleyou: a history of dissent and satire

To finish:

BBC Radio 4 - Funny in Four - The best European jokes about the British

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real-world language learning

LEARN ENGLISH IN THE UK! 

Now that the UK and Germany have committed to a school group travel arrangement after English UK secured visa-free travel for German school groups, there are now more opportunities for face-to-face learning in an English-speaking environment.

But how important is so-called real-world language learning?

LEARNING A LANGUAGE AS A LIFE-LEARNING SKILL:

A new campaign has been launched to make it a reality for young people:

The core message of the campaign is to create FOMO (fear of missing out) among young people, especially Gen Z. It positions language travel not merely as academic study, but as a transformative life experience. This includes making memories, building global friendships, and experiencing diverse cultures first-hand, directly contrasting with online-only learning. The strategy involves a global movement primarily on TikTok and Instagram, platforms where the target demographic is most active. The goal is to make language and educational travel a trending topic, drawing inspiration from successful destination campaigns.

The organisation ALTO is a global platform for leaders and decision makers within the language and educational travel industry - and ALTO launched its student social media campaign earlier in the year.

Here's more from the study travel industry, as ALTO launches its campaign:

Industry association ALTO has launched a new global social media campaign inviting students to share their experiences of studying abroad and inspire a new generation of language travellers. The ALTO #PassportToPeople campaign was described as a "a global call to celebrate real-life language and educational travel".

ALTO Where Leaders Meet said, “Aimed at encouraging language learning, international friendships, and meaningful cultural exchange, the campaign is designed to inspire a new generation to embrace the life-changing power of travel and studying abroad.”

The association is asking students to capture and share their personal moments, and to post brief, compelling videos or photos on TikTok or Instragram with the #PassportToPeople hashtag to “contribute to a collective story of connection, courage, and cultural discovery”.

REAL-WORLD LANGUAGE LEARNING:

The idea behind getting young people to the UK to learn English and getting them to personalise and directly share their learning experiences is that it's not only more fun but more effective to interact.

As one blogger says, real-life learning is about connecting language to the world:

As a passionate advocate for learner-centred language teaching approaches, I firmly believe that connecting language learning to real-world topics and contexts is the key to learner engagement and fostering life-long learning. If we can show our students how the language they are learning connects to their own everyday lives, and not only that, but also give them opportunities to discuss important topics that they care about, we are setting them on the path towards making English a natural part of their daily life.

The Oxford Uni Press agrees that it's all about bridging the gap - and how real-world connections make learning more meaningful - although this piece is about pushing a new book...

And interestingly, the 'unreal' world of AI is suggesting why real-world applications matter in language education

But to finish, here's another teaching blog looking at how to use real-life scenarios for language learning:

From birth, we naturally absorb the language around us, using it to express thoughts and interact with others. This process, called language acquisition, occurs in real-life situations where understanding is essential. Similarly, you can use real-life scenarios for language learning. Because, when learners engage with the language in authentic, meaningful contexts, it helps them understand and remember it better. This approach builds a stronger vocabulary and grammar foundation. Which helps you to transition from theoretical knowledge to practical, everyday use, making the language feel more intuitive. In this article, we’ll dive into how you can use real-life scenarios to learn a foreign language and boost your confidence while travelling or moving abroad. Let’s get started!

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to what extent does your class determine what you do with your life?

Class is a funny thing:

Jay Doubleyou: learning to use the appropriate register @ fawlty towers

Class is also a very serious thing:

Jay Doubleyou: america and class

Jay Doubleyou: class is the big issue in the united kingdom: part three

Jay Doubleyou: bad service is a class issue in the uk

To what extent, then, does class determine what you do with your life? And there's a lot of academic study on this:

How social class is reflected in our Psychology | BPS

The psychology of social class: How socioeconomic status impacts thought, feelings, and behaviour - PMC

If we look at how many working class people make a career in 'the arts' (painting, theatre, cinema, writing), then that's quite something:

Huge decline of working class people in the arts reflects fall in wider society | Culture | The Guardian

Working class creatives at ‘lowest level in a decade’ | Equity

Class inequality in the Creative Industries is rooted in unequal access to arts and cultural education - Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre

Nevertheless, some creative people do make it - and the story of one such painter has just been told on BBC radio:

BBC Sounds - The Secret Painter by Joe Tucker - Available Episodes

The story has really captured the art world:

The Secret Painter — Eric Tucker, the unknown artist compared to Lowry

The extraordinary story of the secret painter discovered in his eighties

The Secret Painter by Joe Tucker review – art for art’s sake | Autobiography and memoir | The Guardian

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