After 20 years of teaching academic writing to both native speakers and English language learners, I can attest that at some point, just about everyone asks me why, or even whether, grammar matters. There is more than one way to define grammar. Linguists – the people who study language – define “grammar” as a description […] … learn more→

We all know the word argument. By argument, we usually mean that people have some kind of quarrel. People take opposing positions about something and then each proceeds to try to convince the other(s) that they are right. When arguments are heated, participants aim to demolish all objections and perhaps even the people who make […] … learn more→

Léa, Nina and Jules have been in first grade for 2 months already. Today, their mistress tells them that they are going to discover a new sound. The teacher writes the letter “s” on the board, turns around and asks the children “What does this letter sound like?” “. Immediately, a small hand is raised. It’s Léa’s. It is quickly followed […] … learn more→

At the end of November 2020, the Ministry of National Education launched the 30 minutes of sport per day operation at school in order to fight against children’s sedentary lifestyle. An important problem already before the Covid-19 epidemic, and that the periods of generalized confinement made even more glaring, as first scientific studies have shown . Beyond this measure, and the […] … learn more→

The year 2020 may prove to be pivotal in the history of U.S. public education. Many children have gone missing from school completely since March, and millions more are struggling with wholly inadequate online learning experiences. Lower-income and minority children are particularly hard-hit. The pandemic has exposed and exacerbated deep inequities across our public schools. Merely restoring school budgets to their […] … learn more→

As the wintry months turn icy, the winds of a new intellectual Cold War are sweeping across UK universities. Having blown across the wider cultural and political landscape for some time, these winds are starting to bite on campuses, with the recent debate at the University of Cambridge over whether staff must be “respectful” of […] … learn more→

I’ve been thinking about academic writing and blogging again. I’ve been wondering what we might learn from thinking about the writing that bloggers do. Academic blogs are not all the same. They can be categorised in various ways. I’ve been thinking about categorising blogs as “action” – focusing on what they seem to want to […] … learn more→

As after the Charlie Hebdo attacks , the assassination of Samuel Paty gave rise to its share of proposals to strengthen the teaching of secularism at school: the president of the “Republicans” group in the National Assembly, Damien Abad, in particular demanded the establishment of “courses on the values ​​of the Republic and secularism” , sanctioned by a compulsory test for the […] … learn more→

When abstract metrics are used to measure teaching excellence and graduate outcomes, often with very little granularity, it is worth dwelling on moments that remind you of the real purpose and impact of a university education. My own recent reminder to look beyond the bureaucratic statistics on student satisfaction and graduate employment came while supervising […] … learn more→

A love for reading can be hugely valuable for children. The benefits of leisure reading include increased general knowledge, a positive impact on academic achievement, enhanced reading ability and vocabulary growth. Indeed, research suggests that time spent reading for pleasure could be a key indicator for the future success of a child – even more important than their family’s socio-economic status. It […] … learn more→