"Imported Teacher", the British Council's new campaign in Thailand As a language educator in Thailand my in-box is always full of invitations to conferences devoted to ASEAN and English language…
Carla Hackett, Neukölln Hipster (Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cood/6065684573) Recently, I asked my German-speaking, Berlin-based daughter Nanna whether she was able to understand our English-speaking neighbour when he talks with his daughter, Nanna’s…
Bangladeshi manager speaking English and subtitled in British educational video "How fair is fashion?" The other day I watched a show about global textile production. How fair is fashion? by…
Underneath the zipped Asian face a Western face emerges: an English school's ad in Bangkok (unrelated to the school in the blog post). Photo by Olan Sawangnuwatkul Thailand is seeing…
Pompei Restaurant, Karachi (Source: fcpakistan.com) A few days ago I had an Alice-in-Wonderland experience. Having lived all my life in Karachi, I had until then never heard of the Pompei…
Gay men, English and desire in Bangkok I have recently begun working on my MA thesis on sexuality and second language learning at the Graduate School of English, Assumption University…
Eurovision Baku 2012 (Source: i3.mirror.co.uk) This year’s Eurovision Song Contest has come and gone with Sweden crowned the winner for 2012, also taking the title of Australia’s unofficial winner (over…
Recently, I had occasion to visit a toy store in Isfahan to buy a present for my seven-year-old cousin, who had invited me to his birthday party. Grand, impressive and…
Many things have changed in Australia since I first came here in the mid-1990s. One of these is a noticeable increase in displays of national ardour: for instance, there is…
Persian translation of English or Persian? مترجم: بهنام کیماسی معنای ماشین نوشته یِ انگلیسیِ رویِ این اتومبیل چیست؟ این یکی از سوال هایی بود که من در دومین کارگاه آموزشی…
English belongs to everyone? The claim that “English belongs to everyone who uses it” has continued to gain more and more cultural cache, at least in global (English) academic circles.…
Ever since I left my native village in the Bavarian Forest more than 25 years ago, I have been returning for regular, even if infrequent, visits. Over the years, there…
It is now widely agreed that human beings have moved into a phase of modernity in which they have to tackle the extreme dynamism in modern institutions and provide an…
English and ASEAN Ever since I arrived in Bangkok in 2011, I’ve being witnessing the amazing spread of English fever. At the national level, Thailand is wholeheartedly invested in the…
Mi-Cha Flubacher, Alfonso Del Percio and Alexandre Duchêne (Institute of Multilingualism, University/PH Fribourg), are inviting papers for the thematic session "The legitimate speaker in a transforming political economy" (Session ID…
Pretty much everyone I know wants to learn English or improve their English – with the exception of those who consider themselves native speakers, obviously. What is more, everyone I…