Accordian to a recent survey, replacing words with the names of musical instruments often goes undetected. OK. That’s a terrible joke. But not a bad introduction. Keith Copley, author of the excellent article Neoliberalism and…
Posts By Paul Walsh
Where is the teacher solidarity?
I’m tired. I’m seeing tweets from TEFL academics and organisations about how we adjust our teaching. How we do better online. Stop. Just, please, stop. The reality? Most of us don’t know if our schools…
An Open Letter to the English Teaching Community in Chile
A 30 PESO PRICE HIKE ON THE METRO was the straw that broke the camel’s back. We all understand the reasons behind the nationwide protests in Chile. We see them in memes…
10 Things I Learned About Precarity
In August 2018 Richard Smith of the Centre of Applied Linguistics at Warwick got in touch to see if I’d be interested in writing a key definition of ‘precarity’ for the ELT Journal. So,…
The ELT Worker No. 4
We’ve been sent The ELT Worker No.4. It looks great and you can download it here. This issue contains: a receptionist blowing the whistle on what happens behind those shiny language school doors an activist…
Five steps to leave ELT
To kick off the new year and Blue Monday take a look at this article by Aileen Bowe: Five Steps to Leave ELT. The article is one of three in the second issue of ‘The…
Notes from below
We’re cross-posting this new initiative from the Notes from Below platform. ‘The ELT worker is a bulletin aiming to form an international network of English language teachers, build power from the grassroots, and change ELT!’…
I Am Literally a Bullied ELT Teacher
Prior to Donald Trump’s visit to the UK Ash Sarkar of Novara Media appeared on ‘Good Morning Britain’ and was bullied by host Piers Morgan. He criticized her for not demonstrating against Obama, presuming, incorrectly,…
The Well-Being Talking Shop
Pour yourself a glass of wine. Sit down. Put your feet up. It’s time to relax. Put some music on. Forget your worries: the classes, the planning and marking, the commuting. Take some time for…
Time to talk about … contracts
I signed a 6-week contract. One of the lead teachers said he didn’t need a contract as he was an ‘old hand’ and ‘had it on trust’ he’d have work through the summer. But he…
Supported by Unite ELT Ireland
Supported by TEFL Workers Union
