brexit's impact on uk language schools

The pandemic has been bad news for the teaching English industry in the UK:

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

Brexit is making things worse: 

Brexit news: Up to 40,000 jobs at risk as foreign pupils shun UK language schools | Evening Standard

Brexit bashes UK language schools | E L Gazette

With more from the Guardian:

Language schools for foreign students are being “devastated” by a combination of post-Brexit red tape and the impact of the pandemic, threatening the future of a £3.2bn industry, tourism leaders have warned.
A report by the Tourism Alliance said even though the government had ended Covid travel measures, ministers had imposed unnecessary restrictions on children from France, Germany and other EU nations. That has prompted a collapse in school group bookings and an estimated 80% drop in revenue across the industry this year, threatening 40,000 jobs, the Tourism Alliance said.
Until 2021, more than 1.5 million children came to the UK each year to study English or on organised school trips, accounting for about 11% of total annual tourism earnings. Before Brexit, groups of children could travel using identity cards under the List of Travellers scheme.
Now, every child must have a passport, and children with non-EU passports – including refugees – also need a £95 visa. Schools are opting to go to Ireland or Malta for English language trips, or not travelling at all.

40,000 jobs at risk as foreign pupils shun UK language schools | Languages | The Guardian

This was already happening three years ago:

Brexit 'hitting foreign languages in schools' - BBC News

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coffee caye - the latest micronation

Can you just 'make' a new country?

The new owners of a tiny private island off the coast of Belize have angered authorities by proclaiming it a “micronation”. A group of 96 investors crowdfunded the purchase of Coffee Caye, off the coast of Belize City, for $180,000 (£140,000) in December 2019, with the first groups of ‘residents’ arriving this month.

Crowdfunded private island sparks feud after owners claim it as ‘micronation’ | The Independent

With more here:

World’s first crowd-funded private island in Belize causes a storm over ‘colonial’ claim to be a micronation
The Principality of Islandia, a self-declared nation two thirds the size of a football pitch, has become a lesson in the challenges of trying to start your own tiny country

A group of investors who crowd-funded the purchase of a tropical island in Belize are facing controversy after declaring their slice of the Caribbean country a new micronation.
The dream of the first-ever crowdfunded private island, achieved in 2019 with the purchase of Coffee Caye off the coast of Belize City for $180,000 (£140,000), soon turned sour after the group renamed their 1.2-acre property the Principality of Islandia.
Declaring their sliver of mangroves, palm trees and sand to be the world’s newest micronation, the new owners quickly issued passports, crowned a co-founder as “prince” and designed their own flag, passport stamp and national anthem.
However, the reimagined Principality of Islandia, which is run as a business by two Britons and an American, has hit a nerve among many Belizians, underlining the challenges of trying to start your own tiny country.
As news of the self-declared nation spread around the former British colony in mid-March, Belize’s Prime Minister, John Briceño, condemned “stupid” investors who had already begun making day trips and camping overnight on the island.
Asked by a local reporter about the island, Mr Briceño replied: “We will never allow anybody to have their own country within this country… If you’re stupid enough to pay a lot of money to buy piece of land, good for you.”

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World's first crowd-funded private island in Belize causes a storm over 'colonial' claim to be a micronation

For more, here's their website:

Our New Island: Coffee Caye - Let's Buy An Island

Here's a list:

List of micronations - Wikipedia

Here's another example:

Sealand: A peculiar ‘nation’ off England’s coast - BBC Travel

And finally, a comedy from the 1940s on how a part of London declared independence:

Passport to Pimlico - Wikipedia

Passport to Pimlico (1949) - IMDb

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dual language and immersion

The latest from the EL Gazette looks at Dual language and immersion (DLI) programmes:

Dual language and immersion (DLI) programmes in the USA are now more prevalent than ever, as reported by Axios.com, with over 3,600 now operating, a jump from roughly 1,000 in 2010.
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By far the largest number are Spanish-English, with 2,936, followed by Chinese (312) and French (182). In all there are 27 such programmes, including a number in Native American languages. To be considered a DLI programmer, at least 50% of teaching must be in the non-English language. They are run in various ways. For instance, in some, native English speakers are also enrolled on the basis that they will learn the other language, while in others the total cohort might be native English speakers.
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Research has shown that school students who spent several years in DLI programmes achieved as well as and sometimes higher scores in all academic fields than their peers, and came away with the bonus of an additional language...

Two languages better than one | E L Gazette

Here's some recent research:

Dual-language immersion (DLI) programs — which provide both native English speakers and English learners with general academic instruction in two languages from kindergarten onward — are proliferating rapidly in the United States. Although precise counts of DLI programs are not available, recent estimates place the figure between 1,000 and 2,000 nationally, with substantial recent growth in Utah, North Carolina, Delaware, and New York City.
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This expansion appears driven by a number of complementary forces: a large increase in the share of U.S. schoolchildren who are not native English speakers; observational evidence that English learners in DLI programs academically outperform those in other programs; and demand from parents of native English speakers who anticipate the benefits of bilingualism in an increasingly global society.

Dual-Language Immersion Programs Raise Student Achievement in English | rand.org

It's not only in Spanish;

BPS offering Kindergarten Mandarin Dual Language Immersion for ’22-’23 – WRBI Radio

And there are some great teacher resources:

Bilingual and Dual-Language Teacher Preparation Programs - Language Magazine

The Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA): Immersion Education

Dual Language Immersion Program » Dual Language Teacher Resources

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self-awareness

Most of us are not self-aware:

“According to our research” says organizational psychologist and researcher Tasha Eurich, “with thousands of people from all around the world, 95 percent of people believe that they’re self-aware, but only about 10 to 15 percent really are.” 

There is only one approach that I’ve seen really work in my 18 years of coaching and training people to improve their personal leadership through self-awareness: anonymous 360 feedback.

Why Most People Lack Self-Awareness and What to Do About It

Not everyone agrees:

360 degree feedback surveys | SurveyMonkey

The problem with anonymous 360-degree feedback

Are Anonymous Reviews Destructive?

Here's a list:

1. You think you’ve earned all your successes

• Without luck, I wouldn’t have gotten anything.

2. You play the victim card whenever you receive feedback
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3. There’s always drama when you’re with others

• Maybe you should learn how to be a bit more compassionate, or be more kind to others?
• Spend your energy focusing on positivity rather than negativity.

4. You find it hard to say “I don’t know”

• Luckily, self-awareness is a skill that can be improved:
• You can journal for self-awareness
• Self-awareness can be taught
• Here are 4 ways to improve your self-awareness

5. You have a compulsive need to control everything

• stop trying to control

6. You never change your mind about something

• How to keep an open mind

7. You feel the need to talk (all the time)

• "You never really learn much from hearing yourself speak." George Clooney
• the Spotlight Effect. According to the Wikipedia page, it makes people "believe they are being noticed more than they really are".

8. You gossip

• steer the conversation in a more positive direction

9. You focus on short-term happiness too much

• Delayed gratification is the resistance to the temptation of an immediate pleasure in the hope of obtaining a valuable and long-lasting reward in the long-term. Wikipedia
• 8 Secrets Of Self-Discipline (Benefits And Tips)
• 4 Real Ways To Stop Running Away From Your Problems

10. Most of the things you say are negative or criticizing

• Negativity Bias 
• In a study published in the British Medical Journal, scientists have found that happiness can effectively spread through your social ties such as your friends, family, and neighbors.

11. You go out of your way to prove your own right

• Reactance: It’s a common habit in humans to push back against someone who challenges what you do.

11 Signs You Lack Self-Awareness (And How To Recognize)

Here's another list:

15 signs you're more self-aware than you may think

Here's an interview:

A psychologist explains why we’re probably all delusional and how to fix it - The Verge

And finally, a list of a few good habits: 

Here are four habits of highly self-aware people that you can use to become more self-aware yourself.

1. They’re curious about their own mind
2. They take feedback seriously

3. They listen a lot more than they talk.
4. They don’t judge themselves for how they feel

4 Psychological Habits of Highly Self-Aware People | by Nick Wignall | Personal Growth | Medium

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why are native english-speakers "the world’s worst communicators"?

It seems that so-called 'native speakers' of English are very, very bad at communicating:

Decades of research show that when a native English speaker enters a conversation among nonnative speakers, understanding goes down. Global communication specialist Heather Hansen tells us that's because the native speaker doesn't know how to do what non-native speakers do naturally: speak in ways that are accessible to everyone, using simple words and phrases.

Why Nonnative English Speakers Actually Speak The Best English : Goats and Soda : NPR

And from the BBC:

“A lot of native speakers are happy that English has become the world’s global language. They feel they don’t have to spend time learning another language,” says Chia Suan Chong, a UK-based communications skills and intercultural trainer.

“But… often you have a boardroom full of people from different countries communicating in English and all understanding each other and then suddenly the American or Brit walks into the room and nobody can understand them.”

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“It's the native English speakers that are having difficulty understanding and making themselves understood.” Non-native speakers generally use more limited vocabulary and simpler expressions, without flowery language or slang. Because of that, they understand one another at face value.

Native English speakers are the world’s worst communicators - BBC Worklife

Here's a classroom activity based on that piece - an activity for 'non-native' speakers looking at 'native' speakers!

Native English speakers are the world’s worst communicators — English Language Inbox

Because 'non-native' speakers have a real problem understanding 'natives':

With a couple of videos:

Why Is It So Difficult to Understand Native Speakers? - Ouino Languages

Why You Can't Understand Native English Speakers | Go Natural English

Why it is so hard to understand native English speakers

Finally, here are some tips for the native speaker on how to communicate better:

Native English speakers are the world’s worst communicators – South Coast Herald

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what is a native speaker teacher of english?

Last month, a teacher of English at a private language school won a court case:

“Germany’s highest labour court decided in 2017 that the term native speaker constitutes discrimination as it indirectly relates to somebody’s ethnic origin,” her lawyer, Patrick Mustu, told the Gazette. “For our case, the question left was whether a language school could justify it because of the nature of the job. “

A winning argument | E L Gazette

There are a lot of issues around 'who makes the best English language teacher'.

Unfortunately, there are issues around race:

Native English speakers who are of Asian descent or candidates with Asian looks will NOT be consideredNative English speakers (Caucasians ONLY) from the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand and Canada need apply

Who is a native speaker of English?- eChinacities Answers | answers.echinacities.com

This paper argues that the English Language Teaching (ELT) industryoften does not treat all speakers of English as equal in its hiring practices.Rather, it gives preferential treatment to White native speakers of English.
Racism in the English language teaching industry | Ahmar Mahboob - Academia.edu

Jay Doubleyou: what is a 'native speaker' of english?

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

There are more Nigerians who speak English than British:
Can a Nigerian be classified as a Native English speaker? - Yahoo! Answers
Nigerian English - definition and examples of Nigerian English

And 'Indian English' is becoming a rival to American English:
Indian English - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Indians beat English at their language - Times Of India
India's New 'English Only' Generation - NYTimes.com

Jay Doubleyou: what's a 'native speaker' of english? part two

But who's language is it anyway?

The bottom line is that we need to start thinking past who owns English, and what a desirable accent sounds like, and recognise that language proficiency is much more than accent. Likewise, teaching proficiency is much more than the language background of a teacher. The best teacher is the one that understands teaching and learning, speaks the language of the school with mastery (disregarding accent) and loves their job.

The myth of the 'native-speaker' teacher

Jay Doubleyou: who owns english?

Finally, do 'native speakers' speak the best English?

Jay Doubleyou: do the english speak english the best?

Jay Doubleyou: why do scandinavians speak such good english?

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facing up to your imperial past: the dutch

The Dutch are a very nice people:

‘Somehow, Dutch people have this smile built in’ - DutchNews.nl

But they also have a dark past:

Netherlands' Refusal to Remove Statues Speaks to Sense of Historical Victimhood

The dark history of slavery and racism in Indonesia during the Dutch colonial period

They are now facing up to this:

Bitter Orange: The Dutch face up to their past

PM Mark Rutte has apologised for atrocities in Indonesia, but some are still nostalgic for days of empire
Something long overdue is happening in the Netherlands. After decades of denial, during which pride in its explorers and conquerors has trumped regret at what was done to indigenous people, the country is beginning to grapple with its colonial past.
The reckoning began with Black Lives Matter and the Dutch role in the slave trade, but has now moved on to what was once the Netherlands’ prize colonial possession, the vast Indonesian archipelago, which it dominated for more than three centuries.
It was as recently as 2006 that a Dutch prime minister praised the can-do mentality of the Dutch East India Company that colonised and exploited Indonesia. But now the Netherlands is prepared to face up to what the prime minister, Mark Rutte, last month called the “shameful facts” of systematic atrocities committed by Dutch troops in its last, bloody, colonial campaign, the attempt between 1945 and 1950 to quell Indonesian independence.
Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum is known mainly for its Rembrandts and other masters of the Dutch Golden Age, an economic and cultural flowering in the 17th century partly funded by colonialism. It is now showing an exhibition on Indonesia’s independence struggle, called Revolusi!

Bitter Orange: The Dutch face up to their past - The New European

Here's a radio report on the exhibit:

New Dutch exhibition examines Indonesia’s independence | WTOP News

With more on what the museum is showing:

Looking Back on a Colonial Struggle, a Museum Stirs New Disputes - The New York Times

An Eye-Opening Rijksmuseum Show Confronts a History Long Downplayed in the Netherlands: Its Brutal Colonial Rule of Indonesia | Artnet News

How the Dutch are facing up to their colonial past - BBC Culture

On the other hand, it means there's a fair amount of multiculturalism in Holland:

Amsterdam's Multicultural Pubs | Mirza Softić's Page

(20+) Indonesians living in Holland | Facebook

Indonesian Area in Amsterdam? - Amsterdam Forum - Tripadvisor

Our story - The Indo Project

First- and second-generation Dutch wonder whether they'll ever be considered locals | The World from PRX

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