Futurologists have predicted the extinction of minor languages to make way for dominant world languages such as English. But in that process a new family of languages is being created, one of ‘mutually unintelligible Englishes.’
This workshop looks at what is already happening to our linguistic environment, how this affects the language our learners call ‘real’, and the problems created by the word ‘native’. By considering the value of noticing and collecting language from a landscape where English is neither the first nor the official language, we’ll see new classroom ideas that aim to improve not just our learners’ lexical and grammatical resource, but by considering the context, help them with their pragmatic competence.
Speaker bio: Andreas is a full-time teacher at the Berufliche Schule für Medien und Kommunikation in Hamburg, where he also manages the Cambridge Examinations Centre Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. He is a teacher trainer, author and the founder of Teachers 4 Schools e.V. (t4s.info). He is passionate about pragmatics and travels extensively, observing and recording the language of the environment. Beginning his career in Spain in the 90s, Andreas has taught in Portugal, Switzerland, Lithuania, France and for the last ten years in Germany. His former students range from aircraft designers, cardiologists and politicians, to six-year-olds.
When: Saturday, 9 November 2019 from 10am to 1:30pm
Where: Die Neue Schule, Sigmaringer Str. 35, 10713 Berlin
Cost: Free for members; €10 for non-members.
Registration: Members can register on the Ning
Non-members can email events@eltabb.com