[Kieran]

Hi Anthony,

Thanks very much for your great answers!

1 How serious do you think the factors mentioned in the article are to embedding a culture of empathy in language education?
Very serious. I would say discrimination and mental health being the most pressing factors. It depresses me to think about the working conditions in our discipline. I have been through this – I worked for 1 year and a half for an abusive big name language center in Paris (Inlingua). The contract we had out there was the same they gave seasonal migrant workers (you basically commit to blocking your schedule on a regular basis in exchange for a minimum yearly number of hours). Luckily, I now work full time for a center that was founded by a teacher and who understands our struggles. But, when I look around I often think about changing career path.

Discrimination, mental health and working conditions are all factors which hinder the development of empathy. Thanks for sharing your experience of poor working conditions in the profession. I think many of us have had similar experiences. These poor working conditions contribute to the devaluing of the professional and poor mental health among many teachers.

As for PARNSHIPS, there are some coursebooks dedicated to taboo issues. One of them is: https://www.amazon.com/Taboos-Issues-Photocopiable-Lessons-Controversial/dp/1899396411

‘Taboos and Issues’ is an excellent resource book.

Another is co authored by Luke Meddlings I believe (something with 50 recipes…)

I know this one too. ’52’ is by Luke Meddings and Lindsay Clandfield and proposes 52 ‘subversive’ activities, one for each week of the year. Here’s a link:

52

2 Can you think of any other factors which may hinder embedding a culture of empathy in language education?
Yes, pressure from learners: many come into the classroom with unrealistic expectations. They think that learning means you teaching them.

Absolutely. This is a great point. Students with unrealistic goals add to teacher stress. Many students want to achieve a high level of English without being willing to put in the work necessary to do so.

Thanks again for your excellent responses, Anthony.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Anthony,

Thanks very much for your evaluation of the projects.

1 Which of the social justice projects mentioned in the article are of particular interest to you?
Hands up project, ESL Footprint, and the New Internationalist

These three projects are all great with excellent teaching resources.

2 Many of the project have teaching material related to social justice. Which material would you like to try with your students?
In the Hands up Project, I would use many of the short stories and plays if I had young learners.

Yes. The short stories and plays at the Hands up Project are excellent to use with younger learners.

In the New Internationalist, I would use the articles.

The graded New Internationalist articles are excellent.

Thanks again for your great evaluation, Anthony.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Émilie,

Thanks very much for your great evaluation of the projects.

1 I’m interesting in the **Hands Up Project** – I had the chance to participate to a workshop that ****Nick Bilbrough presented in Athens and I was impressed by how storytelling has an impact on these children.

This was at the Image Conference, right. It is an excellent project and Nick is a very good storyteller.

2 I would like to use the teaching materials from the No project. The themes of the lesson plans are very well defined and I could adapt it for French.

The NO Project teaching resources are superb. I’m happy to know they would work in French classes too.

3 Definitely, I think we (French teaching industry) should be inspired by these project connecting the use of the language with these universal values. I admire the actions of the ELT footprint and will talk about it.

Good to know these project could be an inspiration to the French teaching industry.

Thank you Kieran for this topic and discoveries.

You’re very welcome!

Thanks again for your great evaluation, Émilie.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Émilie,

Thanks very much for your great evaluation of good and bad listener characteristics.

Yes completely. These points are making clear the “what” to say. I think the “how” is also important : you can communicate a lot withe the tone of your voice and para-verbal details.

yes. How you say something and parakingustics are both vital.

2 So true – we often use this high-risk answer just because we want to help and make them feel ok… because learning a language can be so uncomfortable. I don’t remember who said that learning a language is a bit like hugging a cactus – you can never get entirely comfortable… and so we have naturally this attitude of **reassuring** !

Yes. I think we quite possibility use these high-risk strategies more as language teachers as we want to reassure our students. I love the hugging a cactus analogy!

When I think of the classroom, often, when we ask a question and that we expect an answer, we tend to say “OK/Um-humm” which means “I heard your answer but it is not the one I expect. And the students understand it for sure ! This could be a bit dangerous.

Absolutely. I think it’s very common for teachers to ask a question and to have just one answer in mind, and then not accept any answers which are not exactly the one they want!

3 I love the idea behind “I just feel the same” as we can express feeling about learning a language. But before using this activity, I would go for “the listeners” : what a beautiful idea to think about who is listening to you well in your life and who you like to listen. I found this reflection powerful. The “good/bad listeners” activity could be as well a nice initial reflection to open a cycle on listening.

Yes. We don’t often reflect on good and bad listeners we’ve encountered in our lives, and this type of reflection is rewarding.

Great ideas Kieran, thank you !

You’re very welcome!

Thanks again for your great evaluation, Émilie.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Émilie,

Thanks very much for your great analysis of the article and videos.

1) The video is giving concrete examples and situations. We learn as well that a good listener is helping others to clarify their thoughts and finding the reason behind their problem.

The article gives us information on research and quotes from expert and is taking the perspective of a teacher. The video is targeting “all” listeners. To be a good teacher listener is as well something specific as it is part of the student-teacher relationship.

A very good summary of the similarities and differences between the article and video.

I keep as well from the video that good listeners welcome vulnerability, make the other feel at ease with it.

Yes. Vulnerability and putting the other person at each are both vital.

Non-verbal communication : the school of life did not mention it, but I found it important.

Non-verbal communication is essential to active listening.

Love the reference on Socrates and Aristotle, and that there are no book with title “The listener” ? It made me smile. It is so true… we put the light in the society and schools mainly on how to speak.

It’s curious that we don’t give much importance to listening when it’s such a vital life skill.

2) I appreciate Carl Roger’s style. He uses silence (something that we are not at ease in society). He is so truly present…. and patient. His posture forward says everything. He is checking that he is well understanding by paraphrasing.

Yes. He uses silence beautifully and is truly present throughout.

What I keep in mind is that the art of active listening is empowering for the one who is speaking/the student.

Absolutely. Active listening does empower both the listener and speaker.

Thank you for this topic Kieran !

You’re very welcome!

Thanks again for your great analysis, Émilie.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Émilie,

Thanks so much for your thoughtful response to the question.

Thank you for this lesson Kieran ! Very interesting the paragraph on the etymology of empathy and its translation in German and English.

You’re very welcome. The etymology of the word empathy is really interesting, isn’t it?

– Do you think the governments of Canada, Australia and Singapore were right to add the fifth skill of viewing to their English language curricula? Why or why not? Definitely ! We need to have the tools and strategies to read images in our society.

Absolutely. As communication is increasing multimodal and visual in nature, we need to be able to read images.

– Do you agree that that traditional four skills are not sufficient to describe the type of communication taking place nowadays? Why or why not? Yes – we and our students are mainly “consumer” of all this visual work, which means passive. By working on this in our classed, we can grow attention, and make them become active viewers, being able to appreciate and evaluate everything they see. The next step is to make the student creator of this multi-modal texts as you encourage it in the viewing guides for example.

Absolutely. This move form passive consumer to active viewer and creator of images is vital.

– What do you think of the videos which show the viewing frameworks in action in the classroom? I think that it is always a lot more interesting to SEE the frameworks at work and in action. ?

Yes. The videos help us to see how these seemingly abstract framework can actually be used by classroom teachers.

– Which framework do you like the most? What do you like about it? I love the See, Think, Wonder that I have been using for two years. What is incredible is that it is working for all ages, from kindergarten to university ! Fostering so many reflections but in such a SIMPLE way…

I’m delighted to hear you’ve been use this routine for a couple of years and that it’s working so well with so many different types of students.

***

1. I AM THINKING OF the topic of human rights and freedom FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF the woman.
2. I THINK… that it is my right to demonstrate my opinion, and that I am not afraid of facing other’s opinion. And I think that the best way to display a reaction and “show teeth” is to smile.
3. A QUESTION I HAVE FROM THIS VIEWPOINT IS How long will it take and how can I make people really listen to me to understand my perspectives ?

This is a great use of the routine.

Thanks again for such a thoughtful and insightful response to the Activity, Émilie.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Émilie,

Thanks very much for your great analysis of the short films.

Thank you for these 7 short-movies Kieran !

You’re very welcome!

– The **surprise** effect

Yes. The surprise or native twist does help to foster empathy.

– The big role of **music** : it is making the message more explicit and touches our deep feelings

Definitely. If we watch these films without the music, they don’t have the same dramatic impact nor do they make us feel so much empathy for the characters.

– Everything that has an impact on the **rythm** : close-ups, camera moves, colors, crescendos of music, contrasted feeling, the unexpected

Yes. All of these elements impact on our empathy.

– The plot that enable to transform a personal story into something **universal**. For me “universality” is synonymous to empathy in a way.

Absolutely. This universality is vital. I think in language learning materials there is far too great an emphasis on differences and how people are different and not enough focus on commonalities and what we share.

Thanks again for your great analysis, Émilie.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Émilie,

Thanks very much for your great evaluation of the Extensive Viewing framework and guides.

1. The seven-stage framework is giving valuable autonomy to the students regarding comprehension skills. It is giving them strategies to diminish as well the fear of not understanding. The classroom time with the teacher can focus on the oral activities and sharing of experiences and perceptions. Love the structure of the guide.

Excellent analysis of the framework.

One question : are the students watching the movie alone at home, or it is planned in the course ? I would prefer letting each student watching it alone, but I am wondering if all movies are easily accessible to the students. How do you do as a teacher ? Are the students buying the movie ?

Very good questions. Just as in Extensive Reading where students read at home, Extensive Viewing requires students to watch the films and TV series at home. This is a fundamental part of Extensive Viewing. Students view what they want, where they want. Classroom time is spent on analysing and interpreting the film. All of the films i write guides for are on streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO, etc. This means that most students have access to them. The main problem with implementing Extensive Viewing programmes was that students didn’t have access to films in the L1. This is no longer the case in many parts of the world.

Such a clear and good work, this framework Kieran !

I’m delighted you like the framework 🙂

2. The extensive viewing guide of Little Miss Sunshine is fostering reflection and empathy through the topics of differences, diversity and mental health issues. It explores as well the themes of what should/should not be success & family. The guide is asking different questions on each members and their relationships.

This is a very good choice. The diversity of characters makes it an excellent film for analyzing the characters and this fosters empathy.

The extensive viewing guide of A beautiful mind is fostering empathy and light on the topic of mental illness. Through the questions and study of the main character, the student can “go in his mind” and almost understand things from its perspective.

Another good choice. Yes, this film does allow students to explore the theme of mental illness through analysing the character of the protagonist.

Thanks again for your great evaluation, Émilie.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Émilie,

Thanks very much for your great evaluation of extensive reading and the extensive reading books.

1 I would maybe go for “Turtles” because I found it in French and I think that the topic of mental health issues has to be more addressed in classrooms. And through the story of a story character and empathy fostering activities, it is going to be easier to talk about it.

I’m delighted this book is in French too! I completely agree with you about the need to address mental health issues in the language classroom as they are still sadly a taboo topic. You’re absolutely right this type of book makes it easier for us to introduce the topic of mental health in the classroom.

2 I don’t have the experience yet, but I would like to use “Les Misérables” in graded readers version to foster empathy. The character of Jean Valjean… the most beautiful example of the redemptive power of compassion and love I think !

I can see a graded version “Les Misérables” working really well with students. Stories of redemption are very powerful.

3 It is the same for French language teaching… First of all, I think that it is because the teachers are not themselves “reader” or consider it as a difficult activity for lg learning, that they have not experienced by themselves the concept of extensive reading and that they dont know which books to choose to start with. Another “fear” is that the student are more autonomous and we/the educative systems are not used to it ?

This is a great analysis. Yes, if the teacher isn’t an avid reader, they are unlikely to propose extensive students to their students. I completely agree with you about some teachers being afraid of giving students more autonomy.

After this lesson, I want so much to start to implement extensive reading for me and my students ! And I think I would like first to experiment for myself, as an English language learner. Do you know any ready-program of readings or a Reading extensive class I could follow myself ? Or maybe I could start by reading the 7 books you mentioned Kieran.

I think it’s a brilliant idea to try out Extensive Reading as an English language learner! Unfortunately, I don’t know of any ready-made programs or classes. Extensive Reading programs are normally organised att schools and universities, especially in Japan and South Korea. However, reading the seven books i recommended would be a good start.

And I have another question : when would you rather do the extensive reading ? During the class or as a homework at home ?

This is a good question. Extensive Reading should be done for homework not in class.

if you’d like to find out more about Extensive Reading here are links to a talk titled ‘Bringing Extensive Reading into the Classroom’ by Richard Day – a leading ER expert.

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydj-UaRjhXQ&ab_channel=TheErfoundation

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMKS4I7BHuE&ab_channel=TheErfoundation

Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZMUMjBh_FQ&t=14s&ab_channel=TheErfoundation

Thank you for this lesson again !

You’re very welcome, Émilie :-).

Thanks again for your great evaluation, Émilie.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Émilie,

Thanks very much for your excellent answers.

circle of view points : interesting to implement it as a “routine”, an habit. It enables the student to use it alone as well. The activity can be used as well with students having difficulty by seeing other’s perspective. It is making it explicit. It could be used to dig into a topic. I did it for example on a unit on “old age”. I ask the student to think the topic from this specific perspectives : what would say an historian on the topic ? An economist ? A politician ? A priest ? etc.

Very good analysis of this routine. i really like the way you used it on the topic of old age with your students. At Project Zero of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where these routines are developed by teacher-researchers, they recommend making these routines part of the classroom culture and practise, so that they do in effect become ‘habit’s as you point out.

Empathy fostering questions : I love it because you are approaching the novel or film from an affective perspective and not only objective. and this will impact a lot more the students.

Definitely. This affective approach can have a much great impact on students.

Readers empathy workshop : What a great idea is this workshop ! Because 1) students make connections with their own life, 2) they share, 3) and you make them imagine what’s next so that they dig even more in the novel/story.

You’ve summarised the benefits of this routine very well.

Character questions : interesting and important – thank to these questions, students are invested to take position with what they are reading. They are becoming active reader !

Yes. These questions really do help students become more active readers as we are moving away from asking what happened to why it happened which is much more challenging for students but ultimately much more beneficial.

Empathic roleplay questions : yes, roleplay, such a common activity in the language classroom could be upgraded by asking the student to work on his character feelings more deeply.

Yes. Roleplay in the language classroom is an excellent activity but rarely do we give students a chance to really get into their character. These questions help them to do this.

Thank you for all the ideas Kieran !

You’re very welcome, Émilie 🙂

Thanks again for your excellent answers, Émilie.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Émilie,

Thanks very much for your great answer!

Hello everyone ! Implementing literature in my classe is something I wanted to do for a long time, but have not had the tools and time to do so. Thank you for this very interesting topic. This could be one of my “challenge” for this coming semester.

I’m happy this Topic has given you some of the tools to implement literature in your classes. I think it’s a good thing to give yourself challnges as a teacher as you means you’re always learning and innovating your teaching practice.

These is the (French) book I could use and that I’m thinking about spontaneously :

– Petit pays (Small country) by Gaël Faye – the novel is set in Bujumbura, the capital of the child-narrator’s paradise, Burundi, the “small country” abutting Rwanda, Zaïre (today’s DRC). The narrator is the son of a French expatriate father and a Rwandese refugee mother, born and raised in Burundi during the years leading up to the genocide in Rwanda and the concurrent tragedy that unfolds in Burundi, during the novel’s diegesis from 1992 to 1995, and necessitates their expatriation to France.

This sounds like an excellent book to use with your students.

Thanks again for your excellent response.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Anthony,

Thanks very much for your great evaluation of active listening.

1 Do you agree with the six things active listeners do? Can you think of any other things good listeners do?
Yes. It’s perhaps easier to think of BAD interactional skills that teachers do a lot and that relate the inability to listen actively: 1) echoing (repeating what they just said), 2) cutting learners off to move on to the next “grammar point” (using “Okay” to end the conversation), (3) asking closed questions.

I think it’s an excellent to also focus on what these bad interactional habits of teachers.

2 Do you agree with the six “high-risk” responses bad listeners do? Can you think of any other things do listeners do?
Yes. Speaking too much. Repeating the same stories or anecdotes. Wanting to control the discussion.

These are really good examples. I think many people do these things.

3. Download the Active Listening activities below by clicking on the icons. Evaluate each activity. Which do you think would work best with your students? Why?
I would do the one on being a good listener.

Being a good listener is an excellent activity.

Thanks again for your great evaluation, Anthony.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Anthony,

Thanks very much for your great evaluation of the active listening videos and article.

1 What similarities and differences are there between the advice given in the video and the article?
Similarities: 1) not interrupting, 2) not trying to give advice, 3) genuine interest in the person…
Differences:
1) the article refers more to the teacher student relationship, 2) different references (ie, Aristotle and Carl Rogers)

An excellent summary of the similarities between the video and article.

2 Watch this video of a counselling session between Carl Rogers and Gloria, and this other video of a counselling session between Carl Rogers and Richie. In what ways does Carl Rogers listen actively?
C.R is leaning forward, his body language translates into a listening posture. He is not interrupting. He is re-casting what the patients are saying. He is showing he is listening with verbal cues “mmm, mmm”. He is not giving them a lecture.

This is a really good analysis of what Carl Rogers does to be such a good and active listener.

Thanks again for your great evaluation, Anthony.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Anthony,

Thanks very much for your great answers!

Do you think the governments of Canada, Australia and Singapore were right to add the fifth skill of viewing to their English language curricula? Why or why not?
Yes, it’s part of the aesthetic education. Education is more than mental knowledge. Education is also a sensory experience that educates our tastes and our affects (Cf, importance of taste in classical education – ie, in Goethe).

Excellent answer. I really like what you say about education also being a sensory experience that educates our tastes and our affects.

Do you agree that that traditional four skills are not sufficient to describe the type of communication taking place nowadays? Why or why not?
The four skills are very much logo-centric: they are about language signs. But in primitive art for example, we see that communication also takes place through artefact creation. In modern time, we also need to be able to decrypt images.

Another excellent answer. I completely agree with you that in the modern age of the image we need to be able to decrypt images.

What do you think of the videos which show the viewing frameworks in action in the classroom?
They are excellent.

Yes. The videos really help us to see how they seemingly abstract frameworks can be applied in the classroom.

Which framework do you like the most? What do you like about it?
See, share, wonder, because it’s simple and effective.

Yes. It is very simple and effective.

2 Practise the Circle of Viewpoints Routine. Look at the photograph and brainstorm a list of different perspectives and then use this script skeleton to explore each one:

I AM THINKING OF… the protest … FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF… the girl

I THINK… that I (the girl) is not afraid, or intimidated by the man. My parents fought hard to make it in this country, and I have a right to be here.

A QUESTION I HAVE FROM THIS VIEWPOINT IS… how can people be so stupid?

Great application of the framework.

Thanks again for your excellent responses, Anthony.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Maria Penya,

Thanks very much for your excellent answers.

Avoiding addressing differences only makes them more different and harder to tackle. We should be able to talk openly about differences but society is more and more polarised and feels oversensitive to certain topics.

Great point. Avoiding certain topics doesn’t make them go away, it just makes them much harder to handle and leads to more polarisation in society.

Definitely, feeling stressed out and undervalued. We need tons of moral energy to teach if we want to give our best.

Yes. Feeling stressed and undervalued make it much more difficult for teachers to feel empathy for their students.

Also, the lack of knowledge of what we teach. Let’s say my friend moves abroad because her husband has a good job opportunity in another country. She’s a nurse, but she can’t work as a nurse there so she decides to teach Spanish, which is her mother tongue. Of course she speaks perfect fluent Spanish, but she has never studied the language and she has no pedagogy skills, so she will feel insecure and her teaching won’t be good, no matter how native she is. Didn’t she study 4 years to be a nurse? Why does she think teaching is different?

Definitely. This is a brilliant example. Many people think you can just teach your native language without any studies or training. It’s incredibly annoying and leads to the devaluing of the profession.

Thanks again for your excellent answers, Maria Penya.

All the best,

Kieran

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