Graham Davies

I’m starting a new thread along the lines of the threads devoted to poems and novels that appear in another section of this forum. This one is entitled “Worst and best set books”. Looking back on my school and university days, I have come to realise that most of the books that I had to read for my A-level examinations in German and French and university examinations were absolutely awful – completely unsuitable for a 16—22 year-old and the kind of literature that I would never choose to read as a mature adult. Among these books there were a few that have left a lasting impression on me. I’m going to kick off the thread with: Worst: Kleist’s “Michael Kohlhaas” (an A-level set text). Impossibly difficult language and a theme that I have never been able to relate to. Best: Camus’ “La peste” (an A-level set text). Gripping story, difficult language but well worth the effort to read in the original French.

This is broadly in line with the theme of teacher humour: ways of making a staff meeting less boring. Apparently, all have been tried! 1. Spike the Chair's water jug with vodka. 2. Drop a bra and a pack of playing cards on the floor. Spend a long time picking up and sorting the cards. 3. If a computer is in the room set up a screensaver containing a series of photographs of Pamela Anderson, timed to kick in around 20 minutes after the meeting has started. 4. Tape a Christmas Card containing an electronic device that keeps playing "Jingle Bells" under the table. 5. Play "Bullxxxx Bingo": http://www.avigsidan.com/avigsidan/bb_bingo_en.html The above site explains the rules and shows a bingo card containing general bullxxxx terms. Any suggestions for a education version? See also: http://www.mailbase.org.uk/lists/linguanet...03-07/0241.html for more examples, all of which bar one have been tried.

There's a variation on the "How many teachers does it take to change a light-bulb?" joke: How many computer programmers does it take to change a light-bulb? None, it's a hardware problem! ... and more: http://maxx.linc.ox.ac.uk/~pilly/Jokes/Bad.../lightbulb.html

In what way is drawing attention to the cross-fertilisation between two closely-related subject areas insulting?

The best Irish joke (and this one is in very good taste) I ever heard goes as follows: An English builder is keen to implement the EU’s policy of job mobility, so he advertises a job in an international trade paper. Three applicants turn up: a Frenchman, a German and an Irishman. When the builder interviews them he points out that a basic knowledge of English is essential, especially of terms used in the building trade, so he has devised a little test. He asks each one of them the same question: “ Can you explain to me the difference between ‘girder’ and ‘joist’?” The Frenchman shrugs his shoulders, admitting that he does not understand the terms. The German also admits that he has no idea. Before the builder puts the question to the Irishman, he says “I know you speak English, but in the interests of equal treatment I have to ask you the same question as the other two: “What is the difference between ‘girder’ and ‘joist’?” The Irishman replies, “Sure, everyone knows that. Goethe wrote ‘Faust’ and Joyce wrote ‘Ulysses’.” I guess most people know that what the English call Irish jokes originated as Kerryman jokes in Ireland – and there are some very good ones.

Chris writes: Incipient senility, I guess, combined with trying to keep too many balls in the air at one time. I often forget what I have said and where I have said it. This worries me sometimes. Chris writes: I could never ignore my (loving) wife. You ignore a Belfast girl at your peril!

Chris raises several interesting points. Firstly, I’ve promised to shut up about IPR and copyright, so I’m not offering anything new from now on. My greyhound got a long walk today! Secondly, I don’t feel I am competent to offer the administrators of this Forum professional advice or help regarding IPR and copyright. Everything that I have mentioned is publicly available on sites maintained by professionals – and I have posted details of the relevant URLs in this Forum. From what I know of the background of the administrators of this Forum, they know what they are doing, and I am happy just to play a minor role as Moderator of the MFL section of this Forum – which has livened up a little bit lately – and to contribute to other sections that I find interesting. By the way, my second interest after MFL is English, which I taught as a foreign language for a period of around 20 years to students training to become translators and interpreters. ICT has been an interest of mine since 1976, which initially captured my interest as a translator and teacher of theory and critique of translation, after which I got interested in computer assisted language learning. I am now interested in a wide range of language-related topics, which is reflected in my personal annotated list of "Favourite Websites": http://www.camsoftpartners.co.uk/websites.htm Thirdly, Teachit will surely survive. The site looks good, it appears that Siobhain has things well under control, and she had done the right thing in seeking professional legal advice (expensive, as she says!) regarding IPR and copyright issues. As for the purpose of this Forum, I enjoy it as a general education discussion forum. Subject-specific forums are equally enjoyable, although I find that their contributors tend to focus somewhat too narrowly on their own subject area. I spread myself around a bit, although topics such as the JFK assassination leave me stone-cold, but I can choose to ignore such topics, while appreciating that they fascinate other people. I subscribe to the Linguanet Forum, which consists mainly of MFL teachers in secondary education. It goes seriously white-hot at times, e.g. when the GCSE results came out this summer, but it is also a fun forum, where topics such as (currently) Kennedy’s supposed blunder in referring to himself as a “jam doughnut” in his 1963 speech in Berlin come up for discussion: http://www.mailbase.org.uk/lists/linguanet-forum. Linguanet does offer practical advice too, but mainly in the form of answers to specific questions and problems that MFL teachers have. There is no reason why the Education Forum should not do the same – in fact it does, and I have learned a lot from this Forum. But posting materials for classroom use in a forum is fraught with problems – for the reasons that I have raised over and over again - and better left to dedicated sites such as Teachit and (for French) Linguascope (http://www.linguascope.com), which has an excellent resource sharing area. Linguascope is managed by Stephane Derône, a teacher of French who probably works all hours under the sun to keep his site going. This kind of service does not come for free – at least not indefinitely, as sooner or later people need to be paid to do the work. Linguascope was free at one time but it now operates a subscription service. I am hanging on by the skin of my teeth keeping the ICT4LT site going free of charge, but I am retired, have time on my hands and don’t need the money

Anders writes: Many thanks, Anders! I am, of course, aware that I do ramble on a bit and I've been admonished three times in this Forum for doing so - but that's water off a duck's back to a curmudgeonly old git of 62 years of age. I therefore promise to shut up, take my greyhound for longer walks and play more golf. In future, I shall just refer people to the Web page on copyright that I have created. It's continually updated, e.g. today: http://www.ict4lt.org/en/en_copyright.htm

I followed the link at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/thinki..._20040616.shtml which contained the following statement: “If the stereotypes are to be believed, men either don’t talk very much, or talk compulsively and competitively about sport, cars and their latest drinking exploits.” Coincidentally, I just posted John Betjeman’s “Slough” poem to the favourite poems section of this section of the forum. To quote three verses in the middle: But spare the bald young clerks who add The profits of the stinking cad; It's not their fault that they are mad, They've tasted Hell. It's not their fault they do not know The birdsong from the radio, It's not their fault they often go To Maidenhead And talk of sports and makes of cars In various bogus Tudor bars And daren't look up and see the stars But belch instead. Tudor bars are a bit passé now, but the rest is true. I know – I live in Maidenhead.

Cormack writes: You should spend some time in the company of my wife, Sally, who hails from Belfast, where jokes and swift repartee are part and parcel of everyday life and common to both sexes. I can't keep up with her! My sister-in-law (from Cork) also has a great sense of humour - and when the two of them get together... Doesn't Irish English just ooze humour anyway? I've just finished watching extracts from Victoria Woods' sketches in the top five comedians series on TV. She makes me laugh a lot, and I reckon she stands a good chance of winning. Dawn French is up there with her too. Maybe it's a cultural or regional thing.

I did that a good while ago: http://www.ict4lt.org/en/en_copyright.htm which was in response to numerous queries that arose in the course of producing and managing the ICT4LT site. In addition, in collaboration with two colleagues I am writing a document that contains a substantial section on copyright (written not by me but by one of my colleagues). This will be published later this autumn, probably at the website of the Centre for Information on Language Teaching (CILT). Sorry for the long rambles. It's not easy to be succinct when discussing this complex subject, and some of the anecdotes are not the kind of thing one posts at a website. Most of the rambles have been pasted in from the above two sources, which I thought would be more convenient. People tend not to follow up links to other sites in my experience. I have been admonished elsewhere for being a bore, so I promise to shut up, take my dog for longer walks and play more golf!

Another favourite of mine of (naturally) of my Irish wife: The Lake Isle of Innisfree William Butler Yeats I shall arise and go now, and go to Innisfree, And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made: Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee And live alone in the bee-loud glade. And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow, Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings; There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon's a purple glow, And evening's full of the linnet's wings I shall arise and go now, for always night and day I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore; While I stand on the roadway, or in the pavement's gray, I hear it in the deep heart's core. It's a lovely place! In contrast, not far from where I live - in the land of Paul Brent (Ricky Gervais): Slough John Betjeman Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough! It isn't fit for humans now, There isn't grass to graze a cow. Swarm over, Death! Come, bombs and blow to smithereens Those air -conditioned, bright canteens, Tinned fruit, tinned meat, tinned milk, tinned beans, Tinned minds, tinned breath. Mess up the mess they call a town - A house for ninety-seven down And once a week a half a crown For twenty years. And get that man with double chin Who'll always cheat and always win, Who washes his repulsive skin In women's tears: And smash his desk of polished oak And smash his hands so used to stroke And stop his boring dirty joke And make him yell. But spare the bald young clerks who add The profits of the stinking cad; It's not their fault that they are mad, They've tasted Hell. It's not their fault they do not know The birdsong from the radio, It's not their fault they often go To Maidenhead And talk of sport and makes of cars In various bogus-Tudor bars And daren't look up and see the stars But belch instead. (YUP, THAT SUMS UP WHERE I LIVE!) In labour-saving homes, with care Their wives frizz out peroxide hair And dry it in synthetic air And paint their nails. Come, friendly bombs and fall on Slough To get it ready for the plough. The cabbages are coming now; The earth exhales.

I became familiar with these two poems on a visit to Middlebury, Vermont. Robert Frost used to have a summer cabin near Middlebury, which my wife and I visited. There's a restaurant called "Fire and Ice" in Middlebury. Nice memories! Fire and Ice Robert Frost Some say the world will end in fire; Some say in ice. From what I've tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To know that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice. Click here to here the poem read: http://hucklesby.f2o.org/tutorial10/cases/case2/rf.htm Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening Robert Frost Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound's the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.

As I said before in my earlier message, "Teachit looks like a very useful site!" It's a remarkable achievement to be able gather together so many resources and to disseminate them. And it's great that teachers can make a few extra quid for themselves in this way. This is how I got started as an author around 25 years ago, eventually building my income from such activities up to a level where I was able to accept an early retirement package in 1993 - although I continued to work part-time in HE until the end of 2001. Regarding the issue of understanding English grammar, this has an obvious spin-off into learning modern foreign languages. If the learner knows what an object is, then it is easier for the learner to understand that an object in German and Russian (and many other languages) appears in the accusative case. Obviously, you don't confuse the learner with complex grammatical metalanguage, but if the concept is understood it helps! The KS3 "Framework for Teaching MFL Years 7, 8 and 9" contains a glossary of grammatical terms based on the National Literacy Strategy "Framework for Teaching". There was much discussion about the precise terms to use, however, and it was clear that English language teachers and MFL teachers do not always use the same terms, compounded by the fact that there were glaring mistakes in the early drafts of the National Literacy Strategy documents. There has been a good deal of convergence in the meantime, and now we appear to be talking the same language! See: National Literacy Strategy: http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/literacy/ KS3 Framework for Teaching MFL: http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/keystage3...b/mflframework/ But having read the following article in The Guardian (5 Oct), one wonders for how much longer Modern Foreign Languages will continue to be taught to children beyond the age of 14: http://education.guardian.co.uk/egweekly/s...1319291,00.html

David writes: A pass in a modern foreign language used to be compulsory for entrance to university, regardless of the subject the applicant intended to study. To enter London University (where I studied from 1961 to 1968) you had to have an O Level in Maths, English and a Foreign Language – plus three other O Levels and two A Levels.

Chris writes: I'm not too keen on the nanny-state, but I do believe in upholding the law. It is quite clear from numerous emails that I have read in numerous discussion lists that awareness of copyright law in the teaching profession as a whole is at a very low level. I'm therefore delighted that the points I have made are getting through.

Andy writes: I don't see the problem and I don't see the danger. As editor of the ATW-approved (and completely free) ICT4LT website(clickable from the top of the Education Forum page), I have overseen the creation of the equivalent of 600+ pages of A4 of informatiion relating to ICT and learning and teaching foreign languages. It's all original stuff and the contributors were (a) paid fees for creating it and ( properly acknowledged as the authors. There is also a rake of original free stuff available at my business website. I practise what I preach. Piecing together a site containing chunks of other people's work without asking their permission is (a) extremely discourteous and ( probably illegal. It's this attitude that I am trying to discourage. As John Casey puts it in the document that I cited earlier, it's a matter of "getting the right mind-set". Newbie webmasters should read John Casey's document carefully. If you set yourself up as a publisher - and this is what you are doing if you set up a new website - you have to abide by the rules.

The effect of the government's policy is just what modern languages teachers predicted. Have a look at this depressing article in The Guardian Online (5 Oct 2004) http://education.guardian.co.uk/egweekly/s...1319291,00.html The points that struck me most were: 1. The sharp dip in the number of pupils taking a GCSE in languages. 2. The contradictory statements made by Stephe Twigg, MP. 3. The hypocrisy embodied in the word "entitlement". "Entitlement" is now a worsened word in my eyes. 4. The clear evidence that it is more difficult to get a good grade in modern foreign languages than in most other subjects, which leads headmasters into enouraging subjects other than modern languages in order to improve their performance tables stats. Stephen Fawkes of ALL sums it up: "Only last week, Denis MacShane, the minister for Europe, was talking up the value of modern languages, while the DfES is effectively sidelining them. It's hard to see the government putting its hands up and admitting it got it wrong, because that's not what governments do." On the positive side, it appears from the article that The Guardian's reporters read or get to know about messages in the Lingu@NET Forum. As the article puts it: "After the publication of the AQA GCSE results this summer, an online modern languages forum for teachers went white-hot. ' Has anyone out there had a disaster today with their GCSE results cos we have?' was one posting." You can read all about in it the Lingu@NET Forum archives: http://www.mailbase.org.uk/lists/linguanet-forum/ I would like to see this forum go white-hot in a similar way. Someone in government circles might actually listen to us if we create enough noise!

Andy writes: No, this is not my intention at all. My intention is simply to raise awareness of copyright issues and to prevent teachers getting into hot water and possibly becoming embroiled in legal actions against them or their employers. A new profession, the copyright bounty hunter, is emerging. Copyright bounty hunters use software packages to trawl the Web looking for breaches of copyright and then "shop" the offenders to the copyright owners in exchange for a substantial fee. Copyright bounty hunters are well established in the USA. There is also the possibility - and there are documented cases - where a disgruntled employee, student or parent might "shop" a teacher simply out of malice. A parent of a child at my local school reported the school (anonymously and behind their back) to the Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) for illegally distributing copies to children of a software program that I had written. The parent was stupid, however, and could have checked with me or the school that I had a financial agreement with the school whereby they were allowed to distribute copies of my software to children. However, it's not all bad news. Copyright legislation works in both directions. Under recent EU legislation, you will find that even as an employee or a free-lancer working under a contract where copyright is assigned to a third party, you still have certain "moral rights" with regard to anything you create, such as the right to be identified as the author of a work ("paternity right"), the right not have a work falsely attributed to you, not to have your work subjected to derogatory treatment ("integrity right"), and the right to ask for your name to be removed from unapproved versions of a work and to request that a notice be attached stating that the work is being issued against your wishes. This has important implications for authors. I often hear from teachers who complain about their work being incorporated anonymously into other works and amended without their consent. Now you can assert your rights! John Casey's guide, which I cited in my last message, clarifies the confused situation that has arisen as a result of everyone having the opportunity to become an author or publisher since the advent of the Web. The EU Directive that was incorporated in October 2003 into the amendments to the 1988 Act addresses the changed situation that has arisen as a result of the spread of electronic publishing.

The following publication is probably what we have needed for a long time. It has only just come to my attention. It answers most of the questions surrounding copyright in the context of the development of e-learning materials. The publication appears at the Legal Information website of the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), which is funded by the UK further and higher education funding councils: Casey J. (2004) Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in networked e-learning: a beginners guide for content developers: http://www.jisclegal.ac.uk/publications/johncasey_1.htm The publication is described as follows at the above website: "This guide aims to provide a user-friendly introduction to IPR issues for e-learning content developers and managers. It is intended to act as a point of entry to the field of IPR in e-learning that will provide a good foundation for building expertise in the e-learning developer community. It deals with the basic aspects of IPR, especially copyright, in e-learning content development, with an emphasis on reusing third party materials to create new resources. The guide has been written by an e-learning content developer who has had to deal with these issues in practice. The style of the guide is practical and approachable with many useful tips and observations but it also provides a sketch of the wider issues. It also provides flow diagrams, templates, case studies and further sources of information and guidance." Another interesting note: "The right of John Casey to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended)."

Following up an earlier exchange on copyright issues, the following publication is probably what we have needed for a long time. It answers most of the questions surrounding copyright in the context of the development of e-learning materials. The publication appears at the Legal Information website of the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), which is funded by the UK further and higher education funding councils: Casey J. (2004) Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in networked e-learning: a beginners guide for content developers: http://www.jisclegal.ac.uk/publications/johncasey_1.htm The publication is described as follows at the above website: "This guide aims to provide a user-friendly introduction to IPR issues for e-learning content developers and managers. It is intended to act as a point of entry to the field of IPR in e-learning that will provide a good foundation for building expertise in the e-learning developer community. It deals with the basic aspects of IPR, especially copyright, in e-learning content development, with an emphasis on reusing third party materials to create new resources. The guide has been written by an e-learning content developer who has had to deal with these issues in practice. The style of the guide is practical and approachable with many useful tips and observations but it also provides a sketch of the wider issues. It also provides flow diagrams, templates, case studies and further sources of information and guidance." Another interesting note: "The right of John Casey to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended)."

Don't count on publishers getting it right either. A colleague of mine has just taken the TES to task for publishing an article (17 Sep) on adverbs in which there were several mistakes, resulting from confusion about the difference between a particle of a phrasal verb and a preposition forming part of an adverbial phrase. As a Germanist, this is the kind of mistake I can spot immediately. (My colleague is also a Germanist).

Matt asks: Personally, I don't use it. I just know people who do. I have a thing about VLEs in general. I don't use any and probably never will.

John writes: You don't have to set MailWasher to bounce emails You just set it to delete the rubbish without bouncing it. The choice is yours. I usually view all subject lines and sender addresses, however, before I hit the "process mail" button. I am in business and it's just possible that a genuine enquiry from a customer might get zapped, so I can't afford not to see what's coming in. But I don't find MailWasher takes up time. When my email boxes were hit by a spam storm in July/August - 500-1000 per day -I simply set MailWasher to hide all incoming spam and viruses and to zap the lot automatically. No problem! No time wasted or lost.

Andrew writes: More or less the same process that gave rise to the ICT4LT website: http://www.ict4lt.org. It was basically my idea (I am a retired teacher). The idea was wrapped up in a funding bid to the European Commission, who obviously liked the idea and gave us half the fundng that we needed to get the project off the ground, with a completely free hand to determine the contents of the website. The original contributors to the site were mainly practising teachers and advisory teachers in three different countries, whom we were able to pay consultancy fees (at the EC's modest rates of around 300-350 euros per day) to write the materials. The outcome is a huge bank of information about using ICT in teaching and learning modern foreign languages at secondary and HE level - we would like to add a section on Early Language Learning sometime. The site and printed accompanying materials were launched in December 2000. I now spend around 3-4 hours per week (free of charge) updating the English language version of the materials and checking the 1000-plus links that the site contains. Updates and new contributions have been made made by the orginal and new contributors at regular intervals (free of charge). It's a labour of love and, because the site was created with European taxpayers' money, we do not charge for access, although we do make a modest charge for the CD-ROM of the site because there is an unavoidable production cost. The website is hosted (free of charge) by the University of Hull. Interestingly, government agencies such as BECTA completely ignore the existence of the ICT4LT site (try doing a search at the BECTA site), even though it is probably the largest resource of this type anywhere on the Web and has achieved wide international acclaim and received very positive reviews. The site averages around 600 hits per day. All the UK government sponsored initiatives in this area have achieved far less than we have achieved. I welcome new contributions, but I am afraid it has to be a labour of love as we run on zero funding now.