Episode 016: I Can't Be Bothered with Vowels - a podcast by Stephanie Axe and Jean Dempsey

1. English is spoken in many countries – so which is the “right” English?

• English has official/special status in 75 countries (2 billion speakers)
• Numbers and their implications: more non-native speakers than native speakers (probably…)
• ESL students from English-speaking countries: what does that say about us (the ESL programs)?

2. Grammar snobbery

• There’s a time and a place to get it right (formal vs. informal English)
• Prescriptive grammar vs. descriptive grammar
• Privileges: education, class, race, L1 vs. L2, ability
• Language evolution

3. Sources:

• LinkedIn Group: English Skills and Language: Discussion: “India is the single largest English speaking population on Earth. Do you agree?” (discussion started by GB Singh, 8/18/14)
• “FAQs The English Language” – British Council (http://www.britishcouncil.org/learning-faq-the-english-language.htm)
• “Why Grammar Snobbery Has No Place in the Movement,” from 5/2/14 (http://everydayfeminism.com/2014/05/grammar-snobbery/)

1. PowerPoint, taboo?
2. Pros

• Visual aid – especially helpful to visual learners
• Keeping the lesson on track/organized
• Accessible (can be saved in Bb and referred back to later)
• Interactive (sometimes… depends on who made it!)
• Student use

3. Cons

• One-way learning/teacher-centered classroom
• Inhibits organic discussion
• Visual pollution/over-saturation of slides
• “Overly formal” vibe
• Over-simplifies the material (reduces critical thinking)

4. Tips

• Guy Kawasaki’s 10, 20, 30 rule – 10 slides, 20 minutes, 30-point font
• Keeping it simple – but not simplifying the material
• Make it interactive (to avoid “one-way learning)
• Spice it up!
• Set expectations (i.e., students shouldn’t just sit and copy from the slides)
• Take breaks

5. Sources:

• “Does PowerPoint Help or Hinder Learning?” by Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Teaching Professor Blog (http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-professor-blog/does-powerpoint-help-or-hinder-learning/)
• Blog post from Guy Kawasaki, December 30, 2005 (blog.guykawasaki.com)

1. The downside of being an adjunct

• Lower pay
• No retirement plan or benefits
• No job certainty/guarantee
• No/less input to department decisions

2. “Adjunct Faculty Loan Fairness Act”

• Student debt is a problem for most people, but adjuncts (who have less job certainty and low pay) have an especially hard time paying off their loans
• 2007 – Congress created PSLF (Public Service Loan Forgiveness), to offer loan forgiveness to people in public and non-profit sectors
• Many adjuncts don’t qualify for PSLF because you have to work an average of 30 hours a week/year, and adjuncts don’t always get enough hours
• The Adjunct Faculty Loan Fairness Act would allow adjuncts to access PSLF, regardless of hours worked

3. Sources:

• “Adjunct faculty exploring unionization,” by Koran Addo, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/adjunct-faculty-exploring-unionization/article_5691bb7b-08b7-5f36-9e48-c52544c840c8.html)
• “Big News: Sen. Dick Durbin Introduces Adjunct Faculty Loan Fairness Act,” from Adjunct Action (http://adjunctaction.org/2014/07/big-news-sen-dick-durbin-introduces-adjunct-faculty-loan-fairness-act/)

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