BBC English by TV – Walter and Connie, Slim John and Follow Me

Writing about web page https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/al/research/collections/elt_archive/resources/tv

by Richard Smith

On this new Warwick ELT Archive page you'll find information about 1960s–1980s English by TV programmes, and links to YouTube videos of episodes or extracts where available. For a snapshot of BBC English by Radio and Television production in 1977, see BBC Handbook 1977, pp. 62–63.Link opens in a new window

If you're in the UK, you can listen to a radio documentary – Do You Speak English?Link opens in a new window– about BBC English by radio and TV, first broadcast on January 11th 2025.

As the documentary makes clear, the series listed below were very popular outside the UK. The stars of Walter and Conniewere greeted as celebrities on overseas visits, while Follow Meis said to have been watched by 500 million people in China when it was broadcast there from 1981 onwards.

Richard Smith : 12 Jan 2025 04:09 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

History of English Language Education in China: Textbook Bibliographies and Catalogue

Writing about web page https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/al/research/collections/elt_archive/resources/china/

by Yi Zhang

New resources on the history of English language education in China have been added to the Warwick ELT Archive website (HELE-China). These include three working bibliographies of Chinese ELT textbooks and a catalogue of books in the Warwick ELT Archive collection.

The working bibliographies cover: ELT textbooks before 1949, primary school ELT textbooks (1949–2000), and middle school ELT textbooks (1949–2000), documenting major series used in China across different periods.

The collection catalogue contains important donations from Bob Adamson and Simon Smith alongside materials from the existing Archive. While still limited, the collection is expanding and currently has books spanning from 1934 to 2023. (Donations of books beyond those currently listed are warmly welcomed.)

The Warwick ELT Archive’s China collection is being developed by the History of Language Learning and Teaching Research Circle, a group at the University of Warwick led by Prof. Richard Smith. Supported by funding from the A.S. Hornby Educational Trust, the project seeks to map and selectively digitise resources relevant to the history of English language education in China while fostering research in this field.

Yi Zhang : 08 Jan 2025 19:46 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Newsletter review of 2024 activities

Below is the front page of our newsletter review of 2024 Warwick ELT Archive activities –click here for the full version

Richard Smith : 31 Dec 2024 11:31 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Supporting ELT historical collections elsewhere

Writing about web page https://italy-elt-archive.unimi.it/

Here at the Warwick ELT Archive, we have a developing commitment to supporting collections of historical ELT / English Language Education material elsewhere, in the contexts closest to the practices they relate to. So, for example, in February this year, Prof. Richard Smith helped launch the Dr Michael West Study Centre at the Government Teacher Trainers' College in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where West was Principal from 1920 to 1932:

(more photos here: here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1111269466447827/posts/1132919054282868/)

Aside from compiling a bibliography with links to digitised versions of some of West's publications (see also warwick.ac.uk/elt_archive/halloffame/west/works/) – which those looking after the Study Centre were then able to download and print for consultation on site – Richard also donated a set of his books compiled in 2003 for Routledge, Teaching English as a Foreign Language, 1912–1936: Pioneers of ELT, which contain original works by Percival Wren, Horace Wyatt, Harold Palmer and Lawrence Faucett as well as West; the Introduction to Volume III (on West) and the Volume V Introduction (on the 1934–35 Carnegie Conference which West organized) are also now available online.

Later in the year, in July, we welcomed Emanuela Tenca from the University of Milan, where she is working as a research assistant with Profs. Luciana Pedrazzini and Andrea Nava on the development of the Italy ELT Archive, a collection of materials for Italian learners of English in the 20th century. Emanuela gave a well-received talk on the development of the Italy archive, with Luciana also participating online. The talk was also open to members of our Friends of the ELT Archive Facebook group, which all are welcome to join.

Via these discussions, the Italy ELT Archive project is providing us with new ideas about online presentation of digital and digitalised material, just as we may ourselves have provided some initial inspiration for the Italy project. Now we are looking forward to the official opening of the Italy ELT Archive in September, and looking forward also to ongoing collaboration with researchers there as well as in Bangladesh and elsewhere.

Richard Smith : 27 Aug 2024 16:58 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

English as a Barbarian Language: Prof. Bob Adamson’s talk about Chinese textbooks

by Xi Li

On May 8th, 2024, the HoLLT Research Circle had the honor of hosting Prof. Bob Adamson, author of China’s English: A History of English in Chinese Education and Visiting Professor at the University of Nottingham Ningbo, for a public talk at the University of Warwick titled "English as a Barbarian Language". The lecture provided a historical overview of changes in English textbooks in China.

In his talk, Prof. Adamson shared his experiences teaching English in China, using them as a springboard to discuss the evolution of English education, especially the English textbooks, in the country. He explored the impact of different ideologies on English education in China, focusing particularly on characteristics and trends in the compilation of English textbooks since the establishment of the People's Republic of China.

Prof. Adamson's talk sparked enthusiastic responses from attending students, leading to extensive discussions on topics such as the history of English education, English textbooks, and teacher-research. Following the public talk, Prof. Adamson visited the ELT Archive, where he engaged in deeper discussions with HoLLT Research Circle members on these subjects, greatly enriching their understanding. He also donated some books for our developing historical collection of Chinese school and college English.

Richard Smith : 21 May 2024 23:57 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Louis Alexander (1932–2002) – an EFL syllabus and materials master craftsman

Writing about web page https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/al/research/collections/elt_archive/halloffame/louis_alexander/biography/

There are many practical insights about EFL syllabus and materials design in this recorded lecture / memoir by L.G. ('Louis') Alexander, recorded in 1981 and digitised for the Warwick ELT Archive.

Probably the only author of language learning materials to have had a bust erected in his memory (above is a photo of it taken recently for us by Zhang Ao* in the garden of the Beijing publisher FLTRP), Louis Alexander entered the Guinness Book of Records in 1977 for having sold the greatest number of copies of any book by an individual author in one year (The Guardian, 9 July 2002). The popularity of his New Concept English (Longman, 1967) series in China seems to have been the main reason for this entry, though his subsequent series Look, Listen and Learn (1968–1971), Target (1972–74) and Mainline (1973–81) all additionally enjoyed great worldwide success. Alexander also co-authored the influential 'communicative' Council of Europe syllabuses The Threshold Level(1975) and Waystage (1977). A full account of his career can be found in the Warwick ELT pages dedicated to his achievements.

* Thanks, Zhang Ao, and Zhang Yi for arranging this!

Richard Smith : 09 May 2024 21:42 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

HERstory of ELT – new project

Writing about web page https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/al/research/collections/elt_archive/halloffame/women/

A group provisionally called 'Women in ELT History' (WELTH) held its first meeting at the IATEFL conference in Brighton on 17th April. We agreed to meet monthly online from now on to carry out research into the history of women in TEFL, beginning with a focus on oral history of recent times (1980s-1990s). Group members are Julie Norton, Richard Smith, Alessia Cogo, Miriam Schwiening, Carol Waites (all pictured, L to R below), Heather Buchanan, Sandy Millin, Xi Li (not pictured). This builds on a suggestion for collaboration with Warwick ELT Archive at last year's IATEFL conference - download ppt here. We hope to share our findings, in particular about the c. 1985–c. 1995 'Women in TEFL' / 'Women in EFL Materials' initiative at next year's IATEFL conference in Edinburgh. Some insights into the history of women in EFL are already on this web-page.

Richard Smith : 18 Apr 2024 19:30 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Recent donations relating to Iraq (1955) and Bangladesh (1966)

Some interesting donations received into the ELT Archive the last few days - two pamphlets with prescriptions for English teaching in Iraq from 1955, from Martin Wedell, and the report of a 1966 conference on ELT in Bangladesh, received from Henry Widdowson. This kind of donation of rare material is very welcome. Thanks Martin and Henry - you are now enrolled in our list of donors here!: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/al/research/collections/elt_archive/!

Richard Smith : 17 Apr 2024 12:34 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Stop Press! Hornby Trust grant to the ELT Archive

Writing about web page https://www.hornby-trust.org.uk/decentring-elt

The A.S. Hornby Educational Trust has awarded a grant of £12,000 to the ELT Archive for 20023/24. This is supporting further cataloguing of the collection, with a focus on books published in the 1980s, selective purchasing of materials, processing of donations and digitisation of some items, liaison with researchers in Europe and South and East Asia, oral history work, and initiation of a Friends of the ELT Archive network.

Previous recent grants from the Hornby Trust have enabled the bulk of the collection to be catalogued (see latest catalogue here). Work connected with the ELT Archive has increasingly been aligning with the Hornby Trust's 'Decentring ELT' initiative, with recently embarked-upon projects involving support for research into English language education history in Bangladesh, China and India, initiatives to incorporate history into teacher education, and histories of marginalized groups and practices, including work by women in TEFL generally.

Richard Smith : 18 Feb 2024 12:31 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Nature and history of educational linguistics: Discussion of a recent article by Jason Anderson

Writing about web page https://doi.org/10.1515/eduling-2023-0009

By Xi Li

On the afternoon of January 24, 2024, the weekly meeting of the HoLLT Research Circle in the Warwick ELT Archive featured Dr. Jason Anderson presenting his recently published research article (available via the link below), titled ‘Reimagining educational linguistics: A post-competence perspective’.

Jason critically delved into the historical foundations of educational linguistics, contending that its inception within a Chomskyan ‘competence model’ has contributed to a noticeable gap between applied linguists and language teachers. His article advocates a transformative framework that acknowledges literacy and pluralist orientations, underscores the importance of flexibility, and puts forth a diverse research agenda, aiming to enhance the relevance of educational linguistics in global educational contexts.

Following Jason’s compelling presentation, members engaged in a dynamic discussion, exploring topics such as the historical evolution of educational linguistics, the historical trajectory of competence in applied linguistics, and the ensuing impact on language teaching methodologies.

Jason Anderson’s article is available from Educational Linguistics, open access through the following doi link:

Anderson, J. (2023). ‘Reimagining educational linguistics: A post-competence perspective’. Educational Linguistics. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1515/eduling-2023-0009

Xi Li : 29 Jan 2024 18:48 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem