mind-mapping for creative writing

Mindmaps are a great way to generate ideas - especially for a writing task:

How to Use a Mind Map for Writing: A Step-by-Step Guide

Use the Mind Mapping Method for Your Book Ideas | Elite Authors

The E L Gazette looks at how this can be sharpened:

Brainstorming techniques improve creativity in writing tasks, especially with additional structured guidance, according to a study by Hyun-Ju Kim, Stewart Gray and Christopher Lange

Mapping SCAMPERing - E L Gazette

With some practical guidance here:

.SCAMPER Technique – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle... or Reinvent-EN - Netmind

.

.

the good and the bad about duolingo - and the alternatives

If you're looking for something free and easy and convenient to learn a language, there's always Duolingo:

Jay Doubleyou: duolingo: free language-learning app

It works because it makes learning into a game:

Jay Doubleyou: gamification in learning

What works about it is that it focusses on input:

Jay Doubleyou: "focus more so on input & absorbing the language"

Which is what many say is the right approach:

Jay Doubleyou: to acquire a language you need lots of comprehensible input

But it's not perfect:

Jay Doubleyou: the limitations of language apps

You can make it part of a mix:

Jay Doubleyou: creating your own little online language course

Or you can improve it:

Jay Doubleyou: how to make duolingo work

Or you can simply walk away:

Duolingo Sucks, Now What?: A Guide

Now that the quality of Duolingo has fallen (even more) due to AI and people are more willing to make the jump here are just some alternative apps and what languages they have:

"I just want an identical experience to DL"

Busuu (Languages: Spanish, Japanese, French, English, German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Polish, Turkish, Russian, Arabic, Korean

"I want a good audio-based app"

Language Transfer (Languages: French, Swahili, Italian, Greek, German, Turkish, Arabic, Spanish, English for Spanish Speakers)

"I want a good audio-based app and money's no object"

Pimsleur (Literally so many languages)

Glossika (Also a lot of languages, but minority languages are free)

*anecdote: I borrowed my brother's Japanese Pimsleur CD as a kid and I still remember how to say the weather is nice over a decade later. You can find the CDs at libraries and "other" places I'm sure.

"I have a pretty neat library card"

Mango (Languages: So many and the endangered/Indigenous courses are free even if you don't have a library that has a partnership with Mango)

Transparent Language: (Languages: THE MOST! Also the one that has the widest variety of African languages! Perhaps the most diverse in ESL and learning a foreign language not in English)

"I want SRS flashcards and have an android"AnkiDroid: (Theoretically all languages, pre-made decks can be found easily)"I want SRS flashcards and I have an iphone"AnkiApp: It's almost as good as AnkiDroid and free compared to the official Anki app for iphone"I don't mind ads and just want to learn Korean"

lingory

"I want an app made for Mandarin that's BETTER than DL and has multiple languages to learn Mandarin in"

ChineseSkill (You can use their older version of the course for free)

"I don't like any of these apps you mentioned already, give me one more"

Bunpo: (Languages: Japanese, Spanish, French, German, Korean, and Mandarin)

#EDIT: Added a great resource for ESL and African languages that weren't found elsewhere

Duolingo Sucks, Now What?: A Guide – @ruhua-langblr on Tumblr

.

.

.

how to counter propaganda/paranoia/conspiracy theories... part three: reliable, evidence-based and non-partisan journalism

At the beginning of the year, we looked at the swirl of conspiracy - and what we might do about it.

Jay Doubleyou: how to counter propaganda/paranoia/conspiracy theories... 1: enjoy culture and the arts

And we looked at it again, with the help of expert Peter Pomerantsev:

Jay Doubleyou: how to counter propaganda/paranoia/conspiracy theories... 2: counter it with the same!

How to Win an Information War — a history lesson in effective counter-propaganda

What are other ways of countering propaganda, paranoia and conspiracy theories?

One obvious approach is education:

Addressing conspiracy theories through education: UNESCO guidance for teachers | UNESCO

To combat conspiracy theories teach critical thinking – and community values

There is the academic approach, for example:

Facing disinformation: Five methods to counter conspiracy theories amid the Covid-19 pandemic

And there is the talking approach - hoping it doesn't end in shouting:

How to talk to someone about conspiracy theories in five simple steps

But what about the current swirl of propaganda, paranoia and conspiracy theories?

UKRAINE/TAIWAN:

Liberal democracies and the free press can work together:

“Governments of authoritarian countries learn from each other and help each other. It is important for us as democracies to actively work together to hold accountable those who spread these narratives and to counter such narratives.”

How Ukraine and Taiwan can cooperate in the fight against disinformation Description - YouTube

Non-government organizations of Ukraine and Taiwan want to counter propaganda jointly | UACRISIS.ORG

DW envoy calls for media cooperation to counter propaganda, censorship - Focus Taiwan

AFRICA:

The rising influence of Russia in Africa’s digital space is harming the continent’s trust in democracy. Experts share their ideas on how to overcome this

Russia has ramped up its propaganda in Africa. Here’s how to counter it and how Europe can help - The Fix

How to counter lies and propaganda in war zones - SWI swissinfo.ch

Can Civil Society and Private Organizations Combat Russian Propaganda in Africa?

Russia's strategic play in Africa: assessing hybrid expansion tactics. Ukraine in Flames #652 - YouTube

Russian influence operations have expanded from the CAR to Mali and other countries in the Sahel region. African influencers are amplifying Kremlin propaganda and disinformation.

The African influencers amplifying Kremlin propaganda - The Global Jigsaw, BBC World Service - YouTube

RIOTS IN THE UK:

Elon Musk has clashed with United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer on X, accusing the British leader of discriminatory “two-tiered” policing as authorities scramble to clamp down on violent far-right riots against Muslims and immigrants that have rocked the country for a week.

Why is there a spread of violent far-right protests in the UK?

Why is Elon Musk clashing with the UK government over far-right riots? | News | Al Jazeera

Musk is only important in the political narrative as ministers allow him to be. A statement by Downing Street this week backed away from the idea of revisiting censorship laws, which is a sensible response. Walk on by.

Britain won't win a free-speech fight against Elon Musk

Elon Musk’s X is closing its operations in Brazil while keeping the service available in the country, according to posts Saturday from the social-media platform. The announcement marks the latest step in a showdown between the world’s richest man and Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is spearheading efforts to combat fake news and hate speech in Latin America’s largest economy.

Elon Musk’s X is closing Brazil operations amid legal fight | Fortune

Elon Musk has no easy way out of his fight with the European Commission, which is investigating whether his social-media site X breached rules designed to limit illegal content and disinformation. The billionaire is facing determined adversaries in the relevant Commissioners Thierry Breton and Margrethe Vestager, who have a new legal tool. Musk may eventually conclude that pulling the plug makes sense.

Elon Musk’s best move in EU fight may be an eXit | Reuters

Now, more than ever, people need to be able to turn to reliable, evidence-based and non-partisan journalism.

UK riots: five essential reads on what triggered a week of violence

.

.

.

to acquire a language you need lots of comprehensible input

Over the years, this blog has looked at Stephen Krashen's ideas on 'acquiring' rather than 'learning' a language - through getting lots of 'comprehensible input':

Jay Doubleyou: krashen and second language learning

Jay Doubleyou: how to acquire a language in one year - and not 'to learn a language'!

Jay Doubleyou: "focus more so on input & absorbing the language"

It's something which educators are still very enthusiastic about.

This is a clear and simple summary of the Krashen approach:

How To Master Any Language: Comprehensible Input - YouTube

Here's an excellent overview of what 'the acquisition method' is all about - with personal experience and some great notes:

How to Learn a Language: INPUT (Why most methods don't work) - YouTube

Speaking is actually not the priority - as this polyglot notes:

How I Learn To Speak Foreign Languages Without Talking To People | Polyglot Language Learning Tips - YouTube

Here's a nice presentation to finish things off:

Stop forcing output and embrace input as the way of Language Acquisition! In this video Jeff Brown, professor, polyglot, and part-time stand-up comedian talks about the pitfalls of too much output and the benefits of input.

It's all about Input! - YouTube

.

.

.

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

.

.

.

reduce, reuse, recycle your language teaching (and learning!)

We can literally recycle in the language classroom.

Writing in the latest issue of the E L Gazette, teacher Stephen Tarbuck offers his ideas to reuse scrap paper in the classroom:

Reduce (prep-time), Reuse (activities), Recycle (paper) - E L Gazette

The Comprehensible Classroom looks at a whole lot of things to help us 'reduce, reuse, recycle' when teaching. Here are the headings:

Reduce waste

In the area of language teaching and language acquisition, I see two big categories of waste reduction: we can reduce linguistic waste and we can reduce wasted time.

...

Reuse what's working

The brain craves novelty, and so we often feel the need to try all the things and have a completely fresh lesson every day. Of course, injecting novelty in your curriculum by trying out new activities and introducing your students to new games is part of what we do, but so is sticking with what is working. Here are some strategies and activities that I use over and over and over and over!

...

Recycle content

Repeated exposure to information and language forms improves both processing and confidence. I've shared some of my favorite ways to recycle content in the past (check out this post!), and I'll share a few favorites here, too:

...

The Comprehensible Classroom | Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - Stick with…

Reusing/recycling is always a good thing - if done well:

Recycled Readings for English Language Teaching

.

.

what english sounds like

There is a video from Liverpool going viral - of a baby babbling away not actually speaking anything but with perfect pronunciation - if you can understand the accent that is:

Me and my friends baby. Viral Scouse Baby. Scouse baby babble. - YouTube

The point being that we need to mimic the sounds of any language we learn - just like a baby.

Here's another look at what English sounds like:

How English sounds to non-English speakers - YouTube

Jay Doubleyou: how english sounds to non-english speakers

And another:

Adriano Celentano - Prisencolinensinainciusol - YouTube

Here's another look at these:

What Does English Sound Like To Non-English Speakers? | QI - YouTube

It's all about mimicry:

Language Learning Like A Pro With The Mimic Method - YouTube

Learn Languages With The Mimic Method! - Interview With Idahosa Ness - YouTube

How Fast Can You Learn a New Language? - YouTube

.

.

.