metaphors are easier to learn when put in context

The trouble with metaphors is that a lot gets lost in translation.

On the other hand, metaphor is everywhere - and is the stuff of language, whether it's the language of money... the language of religion... the language of love...

A lot of metaphors are also clichés - but, then, we all speak in clichés and as a language learner we want to know what people normally and regularly use. 

In the latest from Lexical Lab's regular blog by Hugh Dellar for teachers and students, we hear about Metaphors we live by: "a company is like a ship":

In their seminal 1980 book, Metaphors We Live By George Lakoff and Mark Johnson suggested that metaphors are a tool that allow us to use what we know about our physical and social environment to understand more – and to talk abut – abstract things like time, emotions, work and mental activity...

We could indeed go online and find lists of 25 metaphors about sailing and phrases and sayings that have a nautical origin - but, actually, having such language in an entertaining story-like piece means we are much more likely to understand it and so be able to remember it and use it!

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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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what is 'enshittification'?!

A recent piece in the New Yorker on The Age of Enshittification looked at an interesting word: “Enshittification” was named the word of the year by the American Dialect Society in 2023 and by Australia’s Macquarie Dictionary in 2024. The embrace of the term reflected a sense of collective frustration.

And a recent piece on this blog also looked at the term: 6-7 or parasocial or enshittification - what makes a good 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.”

Back to the very beginning and end of the New Yorker piece:

Sometimes a term is so apt, its meaning so clear and so relevant to our circumstances, that it becomes more than just a useful buzzword and grows to define an entire moment. “Enshittification,” coined by the prolific technology critic and author Cory Doctorow, is one of these. Doctorow came up with the phrase, in 2022, to describe how all the digital services that increasingly dominated our daily lives seemed to be getting worse at the same time. Google Search had become enshittified, showing ads and product links instead of relevant website results. TikTok had become enshittified, artificially “heating” specific videos so that some would go viral, inspiring copycats and goosing engagement while frustrating creators whose output didn’t get the same treatment. Twitter would soon become royally enshittified in its reincarnation as X, losing its status as a global town square, as it tipped into Muskian extremism and rewarded grifters and meme accounts over legitimate news sources. Spotify, iPhones, Adobe software, e-mail inboxes—it was hard to think of a platform or device that wasn’t seeing a decay in user experience. Wasn’t technology supposed to endlessly improve in the long run? ...

The book stops short of fully extrapolating enshittification to national politics, but the term is certainly also relevant in that realm. If the playbook Doctorow describes involves promising benefits to people only to erratically renege on, and degrade, existing services, then Donald Trump is the enshittifier-in-chief. Under his second Administration, scientific research, diplomacy, corporate watchdogging, and social services have all gotten worse. The beneficiary, of course, is largely Trump himself. Perhaps the worst outcome of enshittification is that it drives us to expect things to be bad, and to assume that they will only get worse.

Which is where the piece by the inventor of the word comes in, in a piece which Cory Doctorow wrote for the Guardian this week: Trump may be the beginning of the end for ‘enshittification’ – this is our chance to make tech good again - or: The US president is weaponising tech, but his tariffs and Brexit provide a surprising opportunity to gain back digital control of our lives:

We adopted laws – at the insistence of the US trade rep – that prohibit programmers from helping you alter the devices you own, in legal ways, if the manufacturer objects. This is one thing that leads to what I refer to as the enshittification of technology. There is only one reason the world isn’t bursting with wildly profitable products and projects that disenshittify the US’s defective products: its (former) trading partners were bullied into passing an “anti-circumvention” law that bans the kind of reverse-engineering that is the necessary prelude to modifying an existing product to make it work better for its users (at the expense of its manufacturer). But the Trump tariffs change all that. The old bargain – put your own tech sector in chains, expose your people to our plunder of their data and cash, and in return, the US won’t tariff your exports – is dead.

With lots more here:

Enshittification - Wikipedia

'Enshittification' is coming for absolutely everything | FT [February 2024]

What Is Enshittification? Definition, Effects, Mental Health Risk [November 2025]

What Does 'Enshittification' Mean And When Does It Happen? | HuffPost UK Life [November 2025]

Finally, for a look at this from two years ago when the term first came out, see this piece: Jay Doubleyou: controlling ai - part two: how chatgpt is ruining the internet:

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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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focussed listening for business english

How can we improve our listening skills for Business English?

Here's a good overview of the best business English listening strategies & exercises, including this list:

To help you improve your business English listening skills, we’ve compiled some practical tips and strategies that you can incorporate into your daily routine.

1. Practice active listening

Active listening involves hearing what is being said and paying attention to the speaker’s body language, tone of voice, and context. To practice active listening, engage with the speaker by asking clarifying questions, summarizing their main points, and providing feedback. You must also avoid distractions. No checking your phone or daydreaming! Focus on the conversation at hand.

2. Take plenty of notes

Another effective way to improve your business English listening skills is by practicing note-taking techniques. You can enhance your comprehension and retention of the information by jotting down key ideas, main points, and unfamiliar words. Some note-taking techniques include mind mapping and creating a database of useful phrases.

3. Record virtual meetings

Much like note-taking, recording virtual meetings is a great way of practicing your listening skills. You’ll have the video to refer back to if you miss something, and you can also relisten to the recording to pick up phrases your colleagues or clients use. You can also combine recordings with transcription software like Otter or Descript. This allows you to listen to the recording whilst reading along.

4. Attend English networking events

Networking events in English allow you to connect with like-minded professionals while gaining exposure to different accents and language styles. There are plenty of events worldwide, giving you a chance to practice and build your confidence outside of the office where the pressure’s off.

5. Listen to podcasts and YouTube videos

Try online resources, such as YouTube channels and podcasts, to supplement your learning. There’s plenty of content that focuses on business English, offering you an engaging way to practice your listening. More advanced learners might enjoy TED Talks, whilst beginners can find practice lessons like the one below...

When you build your listening routine, it’s important to ensure you’re listening to authentic materials. That way, you’ll be able to understand different accents and vocabulary used in a business context.
 Again, search for suitable content for your field. Entrepreneurs might enjoy the Diary of a CEO podcast, while the Dear HBR podcast is perfect for HR staff. If you’re a streaming junkie, shows like Succession and The Office can also provide light-hearted business English practice.

VIDEOS AND PODCASTS:

The British Council has some good lessons in B2 listening at LearnEnglish [as well as other levels]

And BBC Learning English - Business English is full of good quality courses and exercises.

Lectures from experienced business people can be found on the business pages of TED Talks.

And there are some fantastic YouTube videos - for example, Listening Practice to Improve Your Business English in 80 Minutes, where we hear lots of business phrases at normal and slower speeds.

But for authentic listening, you need to search for specific material, for example VAT and Financial Services and Sales Tax Vs. VAT. How they both work!

The question is how to listen, as there are many ways of listening - but using subtitles and slowing down the speed are very good ways to help focus on the language.

SHADOWING:

All the above audio material can be used to practice the shadowing technique - which is all about careful, focussed listening and which can be done on your own.

It's become much more mainstream recently - and many online tutors are giving tips on how to get the shadowing technique right

DICTATION:

Exactly the same audio material can be made use of at home - through practical dictation, with online texts and audio

And here's an extra place to go: Breaking News English Lessons at different levels and speeds to help you also with Business English Lessons.

USING AI BOTS:

Finally, we can do lots of practising your english speaking with chatgpt - and set things up to ask for all sorts of listening and conversation sessions.

Have fun!

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trouble at the british council

The British Council certainly has a reputation.

It is an online place to go for excellent resources:

Jay Doubleyou: class journals from the british council

Jay Doubleyou: as others see us - british council

Jay Doubleyou: music lessons from the british council

Jay Doubleyou: monthly lesson plans from the british council

And it is an institution to go to for accreditation:

Jay Doubleyou: private language schools: accreditation and protecting clients

Jay Doubleyou: what's the point of british council accreditation?

However, it is also part of the bigger circuit of language schools - which are all finding it an issue to recruit staff:

Jay Doubleyou: "there is now a massive shortage of tefl teachers across the world"

And if there is a shortage of employees, then the employees can start to get a bit difficult:

English Teaching Jobs in Thailand: High Demand and Competitive Salaries

Our new survey finds schools in England struggle to recruit language teachers | British Council

Here's a very critical piece on the state and status of the British Council today - as Educator and journalist William Grice shares his experience with teacher recruitment through the British Council:

This past summer, the Gazette covered how teachers at British Council Taiwan were considering a historic strike due to stagnant pay rates spanning 20 years. In response to the strike action, the British Council have said they believe their teacher package is ‘very competitive in the market and is reflected in our high teacher retention rates and new full-time applicant recruitment rates’. Despite this, one teacher in Taiwan claimed they could ‘make more as a teaching assistant at the local international school’.

Additionally, 100 teachers were left behind in Afghanistan to make their own way out following the Taliban takeover in 2021. Thankfully, nearly all of them have since left safely. These issues, however, are just the tip of the iceberg. My own experience with teacher recruitment and subsequent investigations revealed further challenges within the organisation...

British Council’s shared services in India: smart cost-cutting or cultural misstep? - E L Gazette

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what is 'merit'?

This is something most of us think is a good thing - but what is 'merit' exactly?

the quality of being good and deserving praise:

MERIT | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary

And what do we mean by 'deserving' what you get?

to have earned or to be given something because of the way you have behaved or the qualities you have:

DESERVE | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary

Most of us believe that 'merit' deserves recognition and should be rewarded:

In a meritocracy, the people are chosen who are thought to be the best.

Meritocracy - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

But do we really 'merit' or 'deserve' what we get?

Do you feel lucky? The answer, well known to psychologists, is that you probably don’t. You probably think you got where you are today through willpower and elbow grease. We chronically underestimate luck’s role, and this seems to get worse the richer we get; surveys show that the wealthiest are least likely to attribute their fortunes to, well, good fortune. They also seem to be meaner: one ingenious study found drivers of luxury cars were more likely to cut others off than those in cheaper vehicles.

It’s hardly surprising many such people oppose taxation and government spending: why should others get a handout if they didn’t need one? The ironic result is that they vote against the very policies that helped them get lucky to begin with. In a recent Atlantic essay, Robert Frank, an economist who has studied attitudes to chance, quoted EB White: “Luck is not something you can mention in the presence of self-made men.”

Yet to see this purely as a problem of the super-rich lets the rest of us off too easily. Anyone living in a highly developed economy in 2016 is already the beneficiary of stupendous luck – for example, not being born during the plague, or living in the modern-day Central African Republic (average life expectancy:about 50). Ponder that, and it’s easier to see why Buddhists speak of the incomparable luck of being born human at all. You might have been a battery hen, or a mayfly with a one-day lifespan.

Don’t think you’re lucky? Think again | Health & wellbeing | The Guardian

Jay Doubleyou: don’t think you’re lucky? think again

In other words:

Do Those on Top Deserve Their Success?

Many people who find themselves on the wrong side of growing inequality feel the system is stacked against them.
But who deserves to succeed?
Should we reward talent and hard work?
If so, what do we do about those left behind?
Do they deserve their fate, too?
And is talent, in fact, little more than luck?
Using a pioneering digital facility at Harvard Business School, Professor Michael Sandel is joined by 60 people from nearly 40 different countries.
Together they look for answers to these tough questions; questions which lie behind some of the biggest political stories of the moment.

The Global Philosopher - Do Those on Top Deserve Their Success? - BBC Sounds

Jay Doubleyou: meritocracy

Even the Financial Times is questioning this:

Architects of Meritocracy

Michael Sandel has written a book about this:

The Tyranny of Merit

And he makes a provocative statement:

Michael Sandel: 'The populist backlash has been a revolt against the tyranny of merit' | Michael Sandel | The Guardian

Here he is talking about this:

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Michael Sandel: The tyranny of merit | TED Talk

Jay Doubleyou: the tyranny of merit: we are not self-made or self-sufficient

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There are two new books out on this:

Inheritocracy | Biteback Publishing

The Art of Uncertainty by David Spiegelhalter review – a search for sense in probability and chance | Books | The Guardian

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On the radio:

Start the Week - Chance and fortune - BBC Sounds

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how to work as a teacher online

There has been a boom in teaching online since the pandemic - but it hasn't been "plain sailing" for teachers. 

Here's a very handy guide from the E L Gazette:

Teaching online can be difficult to break into if you don’t know where to start. Luckily, experienced teacher Mary Costello has got the answers you need!

Navigating online teaching - E L Gazette

Here's a very good overview of how to work as a teacher online:

How To Start Teaching Online (and make money working from home!) - YouTube

And here's a list of handy tips on how to make it easier:

How To Become an Online Teacher

Finally, here are a couple of educational marketplaces:

Becoming an educator on Outschool | Outschool Support

11 Legit Platforms to Teach English Online - A Way Abroad

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"there is now a massive shortage of tefl teachers across the world"

Three years ago, the ESL/EFL world was looking very bad:

Jay Doubleyou: "this has been a dire, dire situation for the industry since the pandemic started"

Then things began to pick up - but things were not perfect by any means:

Jay Doubleyou: "the shortage of teachers is matched only by the surge in student numbers"

And so, the industry has sought to address this shortage:

Jay Doubleyou: how to attract and keep your english language teachers

Some are doing very well:

Fabio Cerpelloni speaks to Hadar Shemesh about the importance of teacher recruitment and retention for her school, Accent’s Way English.

Seeing the person in front of you - E L Gazette

But even so, there are other shortages keeping back the industry:

Residential and homestay shortages stopped around 6000 students from enrolling in UK schools last year.

UK: schools restrict enrolment due to bed shortages - E L Gazette

The latest E L Gazette looks at this problem, which isn't going away. Here are a few excerpts from an excellent, longer analysis:

The teacher shortage: what’s it all about?

In the ongoing teacher shortage, Melanie Butler takes a look at what is driving practitioners both in and out of work.

There is now a massive shortage of TEFL teachers across the world; indeed, a massive shortage of teachers of any subject. Isn’t this just a simple example of the law of supply and demand: if the supply falls, the price you have to pay will go up? And in some places, the pay has gone up. In the UK, London, Brighton and Oxbridge hourly rates have risen quite sharply but to little avail – the teachers aren’t coming back.

In most of the rest of the world, salaries have barely changed in more than a decade. Take the British Council network: in the last year or so we’ve seen their teachers in Taiwan join a Union because their pay hasn’t changed in 20 years, teachers in Portugal went on strike claiming their pay had increased only 1% since 2009, while in Japan, staff came out over the Council’s failure, after two years of negotiations, to bring their pension rights into line with local law.

While teachers earn a reasonable wage, it is job security, not income, which is causing the problem. And it is the demand for secure jobs that is preventing experienced teachers from returning to the sector. In London, for example, many ex-TEFLers have shifted into working as teaching assistants where their ELT qualifications give them a head-start. Their pay – though low at around £500 a week – is guaranteed, and their hours are regular, from 8:30 to 15:30. Lesson planning and marking is minimal, and while most TAs are unpaid eight weeks of the school holiday year, they can easily get TEFL work in the school holidays.

When the owner of ELC Bristol – one of the six schools in the country to get a perfect score on inspection – set out to find his teachers, they had all found permanent jobs. They wanted to come back to teaching, but would not accept zero-hour contracts. He took the decision to sell ownership of the school to the city’s top not for-profit independent schools so he could offer them permanent jobs. For the results of this endeavour, read the case study at the bottom of this article.

Will language schools have to follow their lead? In the UK, they may have no option. If the Labour Party win the next election they have to ban zero-hours contracts unless staff choose them. After working for 12 weeks, workers must be offered a permanent job based on the average of all working time undertaken, and not just ‘teaching hours’.

The teacher shortage: what’s it all about? - E L Gazette

There are groups pushing for a better deal for teachers:

Employment Rights – TEFL Workers Union

And meanwhile, the news reflects what might be significant changes for the industry:

Labour’s ‘new deal for workers’ will not fully ban zero-hours contracts | Labour | The Guardian

Zero-hours contracts: Workers react to the ban - BBC News

Labour's plans to ban zero-hour contracts will be a disaster for small business - our firms will go under | The Sun

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ask yourself 'why?'

This is one of the most viewed TED talks:

How great leaders inspire action | Simon Sinek | TED - YouTube

And this is why:

Why is Simon Sinek’s TED Talk So Important? — Speeko - the #1 public speaking app

But, then, 'why' is at the heart of what he's telling us:

Start with Why - Wikipedia

Start With Why Book | Simon Sinek - Simon Sinek

We can also look at 'how':

How to Find Fulfillment at Work - Big Think

Here's a summary:

Start With Why-Book Summary. How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to… | by Teja Kancherla | Medium

But not everyone thinks 

As it stands, this method of finding one's WHY can only present a real danger for all those who choose it to define their reconversion and find themselves. It would also be a huge problem if it were offered to students who are often particularly influenced and gullible on this issue.

If it is about inspiring leaders and helping them recruit inspired and happy employees, fine! However, if it is used as a tool to define one's career path, to find one's way or to orient oneself, beware.

I also encourage you to read the negative reviews on Amazon of 1, 2 and 3 stars only where you will find a number of very pertinent criticisms.

Critical review of Simon Sinek “Find Your Why”, a dangerous method

Finally, it might not be such a bad thing to ask ourselves 'why?':

Thinking is such an energy-intensive task that most times we try to avoid it, content to live a zombie life. A study funded by Marks & Spencer showed that up to 96 per cent of people in the UK make decisions on autopilot, avoiding any active thinking and assessment.

Worse still, the study showed the most people find life and living so difficult that they switch into what neuroscientists call “zombie mode” (i.e. living on autopilot) the most when they are at home, environment which feels to them safe and predictable.

Always Ask Yourself “Why” You Do What You Do

And:

The Importance of Asking Why | Psychology Today

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what is a crypto city?

Sounds a good idea?

Some are still waiting for the idea to materialise:

Waiting out Bukele's 'Bitcoin City' on a Salvadoran beach

El Salvador: The American still waiting for ‘Bitcoin City’ - France 24

Some were sceptical from the beginning:

A golden city on the coast of the tropical Pacific. A metal walkway suspended above a verdant volcano. And a glossy marina that looks like it belongs in Monte Carlo rather than a near failed-state besieged by some of the world’s most violent criminals.

The detailed gilded model released this week of ‘Bitcoin city’ – the first ever dedicated cryptocurrency trading hub, to be built on El Salvador’s western shore and powered by geothermal energy from a volcano – is nothing if not spectacular.

The grandiose project is the brainchild of the troubled Central American nation’s headline-grabbing populist president, Nayib Bukele, arguably now the world’s foremost cryptocurrency evangelist after foisting Bitcoin as legal tender on his largely bewildered compatriots last year. In September, every El Salvadoran citizen was given $30 worth of Bitcoin in a government issued crypto wallet – although many reported that the money mysteriously disappeared from their accounts.

Meanwhile Bukele, a 40-year-old former businessman and marketing executive with a serious Twitter habit and a penchant for wearing baseball caps backwards, has risked the ire of the International Monetary Fund, who say he is taking gratuitously ‘large risks’ with El Salvador’s precarious economy.

With the world’s highest murder rate, ravaged by mara street gangs, cartels funnelling cocaine from the Andes up to the United States, and an annual per capita GDP of just £3,000, you might think that Bukele had more pressing — and realistic — priorities than turning the region of La Union, an impoverished rural backwater on the Pacific Coast where Bitcoin city will be built, into the epicentre of the highly volatile crypto-revolution.

The madness of El Salvador’s Bitcoin city | The Spectator

Here's a further look:

Blockchain City | Crypto Documentary | Blockchain Technology - YouTube

There is a lot of interest, of course, from the tech and finance sectors - but how much of this is hype?

Definition of Bitcoin City | PCMag

Crypto millionaires building their own cities in Central America | MIT Technology Review

New, futuristic 'blockchain cities' are just castles in the air - Blockworks

AI generated art with the terms “solar punk cityscape, smart city, crypto city, network state”

Here’s my working definition, informed by Vitalik’s blog post on Crypto Cities, Balaji’s book The Network State, and my own experience studying and working in urban planning and city government:

A crypto city is an IRL (in real life) city with a government that uses crypto technology to operate and govern.

The word “crypto” in front of “city” doesn’t give any hints about the physical design or master plan of the city in real life. It is not associated with any particular city style like new urbanism or towers in a park, but refers mainly to the operation and governance of a city. In this definition, crypto is not short for cryptocurrency, but cryptography, which is the underlying technology that gives us both blockchains and cryptocurrency.

What is a Crypto City? - by Nicholas Bonard - Crypto Cities

There's even a game:

CryptoCities

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controlling ai - part three: china controlling ai

We are clearly in a 'propaganda war' - and the likes of the Chinese government are doing very well - thanks in part to the use of technology:

How China uses search engines to spread propaganda | Brookings

TikTok Has Pushed Chinese Propaganda Ads To Millions Across Europe

The Chinese government isn't too keen on a free media:

Jay Doubleyou: china, the bbc and disinformation

Jay Doubleyou: press freedom around the world

A reason given for the authoritarian model in China is its history:

Still, the goal, the aim, the ideal was the ineffable stillness of immobility. When in 1368 the new Chinese emperor inaugurated a native (Ming) dynasty to replace the defeated Mongol invaders, he ascended the throne in Nanjing. He wanted rather to immobilize the realm. People were to stay put and move only with the permission of the state—at home and abroad. People who went outside China without permission were liable to execution on their return...

Jay Doubleyou: the great divergence

For centuries, the Chinese government has proritised stability:

The Life of Confucius: Stability in a Time of Change

Which meant that it lost the technological advantage it had enjoyed for centuries before:

Jay Doubleyou: the great divergence

It is now trying to catch up:

China’s Gotion High-Tech, Fudan University Set Up Battery Research Center

China Focus: China launches ultra-high-speed next-generation Internet backbone-Xinhua

ASPI’s critical tech tracker updates: China’s lead in advanced sensors is overwhelming | The Strategist

But for all its techonological investments, mainland China scientists have never won a Nobel Prize: 

In a 2004 paper, researcher Cong Cao argued that China’s inability to win a science Nobel was due to a combination of poor investment, the lingering effects of the Cultural Revolution, and the Confucian norms of behavior.

Why Hasn't China Won a Nobel in Science Until Now? - JSTOR Daily

There are many reasons for China’s failure to win the prestigious award. An education system enslaved to rote learning and test scores is one. Zheng Yefu, a sociologist at Beijing’s Peking University, insists that no matter what university you study at – Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard or Yale – you have no chance of winning a Nobel Prize for science if you have spent your first 12 years in a Chinese school. An exaggeration perhaps but the premise of his argument is sound: individuality, curiosity, imagination and creativity are simply expunged by the Chinese education system.

China isn’t creative enough to win a science Nobel

Yes, the mainland Chinese education system is about 'rote learning' - and certainly not about independent thought:

Jay Doubleyou: panic in the west over educational achievements in the far east

Jay Doubleyou: rote learning

I can be argued that the focus of the Chinese government's investment in technology is about control.

Here's a dark satire on social control: this is about the near future, but it's already happening in China:

Black Mirror S03E01 Airport scene - YouTube

The problem, then, is that the Chinese government wants the technology to develop, but in a very controlled way:

“It is the first time that [authorities in China] find themselves having to do a trade-off” between two Communist party goals of sustaining AI leadership and controlling information, said Matt Sheehan, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

One person close to the CAC’s deliberations said: “If Beijing intends to completely control and censor the information created by AI, they will require all companies to obtain prior approval from the authorities.” But “the regulation must avoid stifling domestic companies in the tech race”, the person added...

China to lay down AI rules with emphasis on content control

China faces a problem familiar to dictatorships throughout history: how to strike a balance between growth-boosting innovation, which thrives in a free society, and the paranoia of an authoritarian state. Its leader, Xi Jinping, wants the country to become a hyper-advanced economy. His government is aggressively promoting the commercialisation of high technologies it likes, from electric vehicles to quantum computing.

At the same time, it is tightening the screws on those it disapproves of. In 2021 it regulated a booming online-tutoring industry into oblivion almost overnight, apparently out of fear that high tuition fees were making children’s education so expensive that Chinese were put off the idea of parenthood. On December 22nd the government took a wrench to the video-gaming industry, introducing rules to, among other things, limit how much players can spend on in-game purchases—and so how much developers can make. The market value of Tencent, one of China’s most innovative firms that also has a big gaming business, tumbled by 12%.

China is shoring up the great firewall for the AI age

It's getting competitive:

China's tightening grip on AI puts other nations at risk - Nikkei Asia

In the race for AI supremacy, China and the US are travelling on entirely different tracks | Manya Koetse | The Guardian

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how to attract and keep your english language teachers

Language schools really struggled during the pandemic - and have taken time to build themselves up again:

Jay Doubleyou: "this has been a dire, dire situation for the industry since the pandemic started"

It has not been made easier by there not being enough teachers:

Jay Doubleyou: "the shortage of teachers is matched only by the surge in student numbers"

The latest E L Gazette looks at how more teachers could be attracted to the industry - and how they could be kept for longer:

In a world where EFL teachers are in short supply across the Anglosphere, a language school in Bournemouth, UK, has come up with what is, in this industry, an unusual solution: combine a teaching role with other work and offer them a permanent, salaried, year-round position at more than they can earn stacking shelves at a supermarket for the national average working week of 37.5 hours.

How one English school succeeds in recruiting and retaining staff - E L Gazette

Supportive schools make teachers happier and more effective. School climate is a stronger predictor of teachers’ enjoyment than self-efficacy or wellbeing, according to a recent study... But the biggest predictor overall was perceived school climate, suggesting that a co-operative and supportive working environment is the best way to promote teaching competence, wellbeing and enjoyment.

EFL teachers’ enjoyment - E L Gazette

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how are student numbers doing for the elt industry?

The EL Gazette looks at travel trends for English language learners, post-COVID

Uneven recovery across destinations in 2023 continues as the ELT Travel sector emerges from the pandemic crisis, shaped by new trends.

Looking back at the now seemingly distant past, 2022 brought mixed recovery. The return to English language student mobility was built around three main challenges: capacity issues, such as teachers, accommodation, flights, as well as visa application workload; ongoing restrictions in key markets; and increased costs.

On the move - E L Gazette

Things are better in the UK, but still not as good as earlier:

UK ELT: Student numbers and weeks up in 2022 but still below pre-pandemic levels

The situation looks a little better Down Under:

Partial recovery for Australia's ELT sector last year, 2023 looking strong - StudyTravel Network

In the meantime, Malta is doing very well:

Record student weeks for Malta's ELT sector in 2022 - StudyTravel Network

This of course is connected to Brexit - although the UK might be having more French schoolchildren:

UK's ban on French EU ID cards officially lifted by Home Office

UK confirms France group travel concessions, industry calls for expansion - StudyTravel Network

Finally, there is the largest sector to consider:

Chinese students: border opening releasing study abroad demand

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the teacherpreneur

Here's a question - and an interview:

How can a teacher stretch their limits outside the traditional teaching box?

As more and more people turn away from traditional work to the so-called “gig economy,” Brad Carty – author, educator, and “teacherpreneur” – tells us all about his books, his work, and his journey through turning skills and knowledge from mere gigs to successful business endeavours.

The rise of the teacherpreneur - E L Gazette

Here's more from EducationOnline at Kansas University:

What is a Teacherpreneur?

There is a new brand of teacher that is bridging the gap between the traditional classroom teacher, the administrator and the educational policy maker: the teacherpreneur. In the past, most schools have relied on a hierarchy that separates the people who create schools’ educational policies (administrators) from the people who actually deliver the education (teachers).

In the most tangible sense, that hierarchy separates the two physically, with teachers in the classroom and administrators in an office. However, it also separates them by purpose, with administrators envisioning educational policies and teachers implementing them directly. The teacherpreneur changes this history of compartmentalization by stepping outside the classroom to affect multiple realms of education. A teacherpreneur becomes involved in educational leadership, writes their own curricula, researches educational philosophies, educates other teachers and even works to reform official educational policies.

Multi-Tasking: Exploring Other Careers without Leaving the Classroom

Most teachers enjoy working with students, but in the past, those who have had dreams of making a greater impact on the educational frontier at large were required to leave their positions to pursue career opportunities in administration or the private sector. That is no longer the case, and these teacherpreneurs who choose to pursue teaching and policy making at once can take on this hybrid role by working simultaneously both inside and outside of the classroom. Teacherpreneurs have the ability to work in the classroom part time, while their schools and improving educational policy in the remainder of their time. The Center for Teaching Quality illustrates successful examples of this approach through numerous case studies and offers additional resources innovation in your classroom and beyond.

What is a Teacherpreneur?

With lots more here:

Teacherpreneur: 5 Excellent Career Moves for Teachers!

Educational Consultant Jobs: Transitioning Out of the Classroom

The secrets to becoming a teacherpreneur....all of them do this! - YouTube

TeacherPreneur - YouTube

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translating with an accent

What should a translations sound like?

They should certainly reflect the original - which will included dialect and accent:

Translation is a tough enough discipline at the best of times, but when accents and dialects are factored in it becomes a real test of a linguist’s skills. So anyone hoping to use free software to translate something where accents are involved should give up now!

You may think that producing translations where the source includes a variety of dialects is something you’ll rarely be called upon to do, but everything from classic works of literature to Disney films makes use of accents as a way of fleshing out characters. By simply wiping all accents out, and making all of the characters speak a standardised version of the target language, the translator significantly alters the way the character is perceived by the reader.

Accents and Dialects: A Thorny Issue for Translators | Language Insight

Nelson Mandela famously said “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” That’s exactly why businesses need to consider regions as well as languages by using a localised translation service and dialect translator when translating content.

Translating Dialects And Interpreting Accents - Global Voices

Lost sales opportunities. Lost depth of character. Miscommunication between two people who, in theory, speak the same language. Glossing over differences between accents and dialects can be a recipe for disaster in all sorts of situations.

Would all of the characters in Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn be as good if their dialogue was blankly rendered into standard American English? Would a misused dialect word instantly kill off your chances of connecting with your new target audience?

Accents and Dialects in Translation

Much has been said about translation’s challenges, joys, and nuanced politics of choice – of the decision-making it necessitates. Perhaps not many people think simultaneously in two (or more) languages, two cultures, two texts as intimately as a translator. In the course of engaging with the rewarding art of translating a text – and translating a reader, as the writer, poet and translator A K Ramanujan saw it – I found myself struck by thoughts on language and specifically on literature in India, far more than I wanted to be, some days. These evolving, shape-shifting metaphors and ideas started with an untethered phrase: ‘to translate with an accent’...

I submit to you this: could we as translators cultivate a practice of translating with an accent? And editors and readers process it and read it, respectively, while noticing said accent? I understand this is a tricky premise to begin with, for the lines between foreignisation and domestication are constantly shifting, the blurriness between the choices blurred further by the translator’s own language, experiences, and so on. But what if we could find a way to retain a phrase here, a word there, to remind the reader that the text comes from another language; that, in reading an unfamiliar word, they have just learnt something new, have learnt a word which they might never use themselves but whose meaning, should they see it again, they might remember? In doing so, in my case, Kannada gains another reader. It goes without saying that there is a fine balance to be sought, between keeping some source language and ensuring a reader in English (in this case) is not met with an impenetrable target text. Here is where I shall argue that we, as various parties in this transfer between cultures, should, instead of trying to contort the source language to fit the English idiom, look for ways to stretch English so that it too can speak somewhat with the accent of the original language. Because, devoid of the musicality with which retained accents enrich the translation, we would remain separate languages and cultures, condemned to bear the burden of the proper in our unaccommodating, un-elastic cultural lives.

Working in the English language as an Indian with many languages is a process in negotiating with its politics every other day. Decolonising the mind, and then our outer worlds, and therefore our culture is but a lifelong attempt. In the meanwhile, though, I wonder if perhaps we could see the English language, in this context, for its elasticity. Language is meant to stretch this way and that; when an elastic band snaps back in place, it often no longer retains its perfect round shape. When we speak with an accent, write with one, translate with many, the palimpsest of language loses not much, but stretches across the artificiality of bridges and borders. Like that only, as we would say here in India.

To Translate with an Accent – PEN Transmissions

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what are 'stakeholders' for any business

What are 'stakeholders' for any business?

A stakeholder is a party that has an interest in a company and can either affect or be affected by the business. The primary stakeholders in a typical corporation are its investors, employees, customers, and suppliers.

However, with the increasing attention on corporate social responsibility, the concept has been extended to include communities, governments, and trade associations.

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What Are Stakeholders: Definition, Types, and Examples

Here's what the BBC for schools has to say:

Business stakeholders - Business stakeholders - Edexcel - GCSE Business Revision - Edexcel - BBC Bitesize

With more from Wikipedia:

Stakeholder (corporate) - Wikipedia

How true/cynical is this description?

Meaningless term used in meetings by powerful bureaucrats to subdue dissenters while gaining respect, cooperation, and sympathy from sheeple. The word performs multiple functions at once: 1) it conveys a farcical title upon attendant sheeple, giving them a false sense of self-importance for which they feel thankful to the bureaucrat; 2) it conveys a false sense of empathy, causing attendant sheeple to view the bureaucrat favorably; 3) it gives the bureaucrat the appearance of magnanimity, which in turn makes the bureaucrat seem reasonable and dissenters unreasonable.

Urban Dictionary: Stakeholder

It's all very well, but how do you engage your stakeholders?

What is Stakeholder Analysis? | Definition and Overview

How to Create a Stakeholder Strategy

Then there are specific areas - such as branding:

Identify the Brand Stakeholders | aytm

The key stakeholders you need to involve in your brand

How to Build a Brand That Connects to Every Stakeholder - Article - DAIS

Brand stakeholders: Who they are and how to interact with them

Finally, if you consult your stakeholders:

Why Companies Are 'Debranding' - YouTube

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how brands evolve

What is brand evolution?

Brand Evolution in the Digital Age: Challenges and Opportunities

How do brands evolve?

Chris Moody on How Brands Evolve - YouTube

What are the choices?

Rebrand vs Brand Evolution: Which is Better for Your Brand?

Advertising and brands are very much connected:

The History of Advertising in 60 Seconds - YouTube

Here's more from the early days about the creation of a brand's identity - as suggested by an advertising agency in Madison Avenue, New York in the 1960s:

Mad Men 11 Lucky Strike - YouTube

With more on Lucky Strike here:

Jay Doubleyou: propaganda, public relations and manufacturing consent

Edward Bernays 1: Torches of Freedom - YouTube

Here's a very controversial ad - identifying the company with a modern protest movement:

Gillette's 'We believe: the best men can be' razors commercial takes on toxic masculinity - YouTube

Gillette #MeToo ad: Does being 'woke' pay off? | DW News - YouTube

Brands have always tried to tap into the culture of the time:

Study: Brand evolution a must in pro-pop culture landscape | Regent's University London

Prof says why Understanding Branding is Demanding - in Spoken Word and Rhyme - YouTube

Here's a critical look at the process:

How Apple and Nike have branded your brain | Your Brain on Money | Big Think - YouTube

Funnily enough, it "includes paid promotion":

Watching videos with paid product placements, sponsorships and endorsements - YouTube Help

Finally, how are brands evolving now?

Why Companies Are 'Debranding' - YouTube

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english for effective on-line business meetings

Here are some sets of very useful phrases for meetings in English:

The Language of Online Meetings - English 4 Business

Leveling Up Your Business English: Top Phrases Used in Online Meetings

Here's a very good introduction - with video:

Must-Have English Phrases for Online Meetings [Professional English]

Must-Have English Phrases for Online Meetings | Business Vocabulary - YouTube

And here's a nice interactive video showing how it can be done:

Business English for your work meetings and Zoom calls - English lesson - YouTube

There are lots of great videos out there to help you do a business meeting in English:

How To Make Small-Talk At A Business Meeting - Business English - YouTube

HOW TO SPEAK UP IN ZOOM MEETINGS - get noticed and recognized! - YouTube

3-Minute English to GET HEARD in Business Meetings - YouTube

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can't buy me love?

Two different Beatles songs:

The Beatles - Can't Buy Me Love - YouTube

Money - The Beatles (LYRICS/LETRA) [Original] (+ Video) - YouTube

It's evertywhere!

4 Best Beatles Songs About Money

Hidden Money Messages in 12 Popular Beatles Songs | Wealth of Geeks

Beatles business: Still making money, 50 years on

Some questions:

How much money makes you happy? We ask an expert | Social trends | The Guardian

This is how much money you need to be happy, psychologically | BBC Science Focus Magazine

BBC Radio 4 - Money Box - How much money do you need to be happy?

Do You Really Need Money To Be Happy?

Here's How Much You Need to Be 'Happy' in Different Countries

A couple of videos:

How Much Money Do You Need To Earn To Be Happy? - YouTube

What Is Considered A GOOD SALARY In Germany? - YouTube

Finally, money can't buy me love!

Money can't buy me love! Personality is more important than finances when it comes to dating | Daily Mail Online

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