“If…” – a picture book session for middle school English Learners


For this session, I have chosen the book “If… : A mind-bending new way of looking at big ideas and numbers”, written by David J. Smith and illustrated by Steve Adams, published in 2014. This picture book is suitable for older students with intermediate reading abilities. In it, the author uses a combination of engaging visuals and succinct text to help students conceptualize big numbers.

For example: “If the history of the last 3000 years were condensed into one month, Buddha was born on the 5th of the month and the computer was built on the 30th.” An image of an illustrated calendar puts this timeline in context. Or “If all the money in the world were a pile of 100 coins, North America would have 32 coins, Europe would have 34, South America 6, Africa 3, Asia 22, and Oceania 3”. This is accompanied by an interesting map showing the distribution of wealth relative to geographical area and population density. The book is 38 pages long, and covers topics such as the planets, species of living things, and life expectancy. I believe it is quite suitable for my students (grades 5-8), who can use it to engage with academic topics such as math, science and social studies. 

Why this book?


While creating a lesson plan for this book, I took into account the specific circumstances in which it will be used – a middle school class of English Learners in middle America. This environment creates some unique challenges and opportunities. For example, I might go to one of my specific classrooms, say Grade 6, and pull out 10 students who are in the multilingual (ML) support program. However, there is no guarantee that all 10 of those students are at the same level of language proficiency, since they are grouped together by age / grade rather than English ability. So some students might still be at the emerging level, while others have solid intermediate proficiency. Likewise, there will certainly be different learning styles, abilities and interests represented in my class: one student might be great at reading and writing, but hesitant when it comes to spoken production; another student may be dyslexic; a third might be extremely interested in math and science, but shut down when it comes to language arts and social studies. 

Another factor unique to ML programs in the American public school system is the requirement to focus on academic language. Many students already have functional social language skills; they can chat with friends and follow instructions to varying degrees. But the real need is to maximize academic language, help them understand core subjects and achieve on standardized tests.

Given the factor of such diverse student language abilities, it is an interesting challenge to choose one book suitable for an entire class. This is where scaffolding comes in. As described by Graves and Fitzgerald, scaffolding is a teaching technique in which the teachers “build structures” that assist the students in learning and carrying out tasks that would be otherwise too challenging for them to complete unassisted. The authors give the example of how a parent might teach their child to read over the years: first pointing to pictures in a picture book and saying the words aloud, next pointing to individual letters in CVC words and correlating the sounds to the pictures, and eventually encouraging the child to read simple words while still helping them to sound out the more advanced phonics (97). These activities provide support for the young child to engage with the text which would have been otherwise inaccessible to them because it is beyond their literacy abilities.

By properly scaffolding activities, I can create learning equity for my students. While individual students may bring varying levels of language proficiency and content knowledge to the text, a properly scaffolded lesson plan will ensure each student stays within the Zone of Proximal Development (Graves 98). In a school such as mine, in which the majority of students are coming from at risk communities, creating equitable opportunities is always a top priority.

An ecocritical perspective

According to Goga and Pujol-Valls, we may think of ecocriticism as an approach to literature which considers how the narrative and human characters interact with their physical environment, especially the natural world (3). The book I’ve chosen clearly lends itself to surface level Ecocritical Literature Conversations, as the main subject of the book is our galaxy, planet, natural resources, and human demographic statistics.

I’m interested in a deeper application of ecocriticism, – social ecology – which owes much to Murray Bookchin’s 1982 work The Ecology of Freedom: The emergence and dissolution of hierarchy. Here, Bookchin extends an ecological approach to social hierarchies. This work has been especially influential in the democratic federalist movement of modern Kurdistan (therefore having links to other autonomous movements such as those found in Catalonia, Hong Kong, Northern Ireland, and Palestine). Bookchin states:

“My use of the word hierarchy in the subtitle of this work is meant to be provocative. There is a strong theoretical need to contrast hierarchy with the more widespread use of the words class and State; careless use of these terms can produce a dangerous simplification of social reality. To use the words hierarchy, class, and State interchangeably, as many social theorists do, is insidious and obscurantist. This practice, in the name of a “classless” or “libertarian” society, could easily conceal the existence of hierarchical relationships and a hierarchical sensibility, both of which – even in the absence of economic exploitation or political coercion – would serve to perpetuate unfreedom” (3).

From an ecological consciousness, my goal as a teacher isn’t only to help students rethink their connection to the natural world, it’s to rethink their connection to their social and civic community and hierarchy. Therefore, I find it imperative to plan a decentralized and student-led lesson in which the teacher facilitates student-centered, project-based learning. For this reason I have included student-led (and translinguistic) activities at every stage of my storytelling session. 

The session plan


Pre-reading (15 minutes)

Instructions: While speaking both English and students’ native language, we look through the table of contents and ask which topics correspond to something they are currently studying in one of their other core subject classes. In groups of 2 or 3, students choose one topic, than go to that page, where they will skim for key vocabulary (guided by the teacher), and create a bilingual dictionary of the terms. If necessary, teacher may quickly pre-teach a concept (in English or Spanish) if it’s completely unfamiliar to the students.

Reading (15 minutes)

Instructions: During this time, the groups will rotate. One group will come sit with the teacher, where they will read the pages together. The teacher will read one paragraph out loud for the students, then a student volunteer will read one paragraph out loud. During that time, the other groups will engage in silent reading. For example, if there are 3 groups, one group will come read out loud with the teacher for 5 minutes while the other groups silent read, then rotate every five minutes.

When the teacher is reading aloud, they should consciously use expressive techniques (Ellis and Mourão, 25) using body language, vocal variety, directing attention to the relevant illustrations, asking questions, clarifying, and commenting.

Post-reading (15 minutes)

Instructions: Students will have 5 minutes to write in their notebook the key points of the pages they read. Then groups will take turns presenting their findings to the class. Students should connect it to something they are learning in their core subjects class (for example: “In Ms. Green’s class we are learning about the solar system. In my page I learned that Earth is like the size of a baseball but Jupiter is like the size of that big medicine ball [points to medicine ball in the classroom]”.)

Time permitting, students may draw a poster recreating some of the graphic representations of the text and numbers they have encountered.

References

Bookchin, Murray. (1982). The ecology of freedom: The emergence and dissolution of hierarchy.  Cheshire Books.

Graves, Michael F. & Fitzgerald, Jill. (2003). “Scaffolding reading experiences for multilingual classrooms”. In G.B. Garcia’s English learners: Reaching the highest level of English literacy. (pp. 96 – 124). International Reading Association.

Goga, Nina & Pujol-Valls, Maria. (2020). “Ecocritical engagement with picture book through literature conversations about Beatrice Alemagne’s On a magical do-nothing day”. Sustainability, 12, 7653; DOI:10.3390/su12187653

Murão, Sandy & Ellis, Gail. (1 Sept 2021). “Demystifying the read aloud”. English Teaching Professional, 136. Pp 22-25. DOI: https://www.modernenglishteacher.com/demystifying-the-read-aloud

Smith, David J. (2014). If…: A mind-bending new way of looking at big ideas and numbers. Kids Can Press. 

“You know what they say about assuming…”

When it comes to learning a foreign language, you’ve almost certainly heard some of these opinions: 

“Get them started learning young! Kids learn languages so much more easily than adults.” 

“You’re lucky that you grew up bilingual, it makes it easier for you to learn other languages now.” 

“The best way to learn a foreign language is to travel to a foreign country so that you can learn through immersion.” 

“In the Spanish class, you should only speak Spanish!” (or “English in the English class”, “French in the French class”, etc.) 

Statements like these are based in some widely-accepted assumptions about learning foreign languages which we can break down into two categories:

  1. some people are better at learning languages because ….
  2. the best way to learn a foreign language is ….

Let’s look more closely at these assumptions. 

Some people are better at learning foreign languages because …


“…. because they are young” or “… because they grew up speaking more than one language”. These beliefs are often repeated with an unspoken subtext: “I’m too old to learn a foreign language” or “I’m bad at learning foreign languages because I grew up monolingual”. The good news is that such assumptions are not supported by research. The age and background of the learner does not give special advantages or disadvantages when learning a foreign language, although it may influence which kind of learning techniques are most effective for the specific individual. (Read more about what the US Department of Education has reported on this topic here [Language Learning Advisor, 2024]).

As the professional polyglot Steve Kauffman encourages us, anyone can learn a language as long as they believe in themselves and like what they’re doing. “Learning is more important than remembering”, so if you put in the effort and follow some basic language learning techniques, there’s no reason why you can’t learn a language no matter your background (Lingosteve, 2012).

The best way to learn a foreign language is …


“…. is through immersion (therefore, we should only speak our target language in the foreign language class)”. This assumption is a bit more tricky. “Children learn through immersion”, the logic goes, “So if we just spend enough time surrounded by the language we want to learn, we’ll get it, too.” Unfortunately, it’s not so simple as that.

First of all, adult brains don’t work the same as children’s, so it’s not reasonable to expect everyone to learn through exposure like we did when we were still wearing diapers.

Second of all, this belief may actually be quite limiting. We all have a wide and individualized “linguistic repertoire” (Cogo, 2016), and the best way to learn should recruit that as a foundation to help us understand new grammar, guess the meanings of new vocabulary, and use context to achieve communicative objectives.

Think of it this way: it’s much easier for a child to learn to ride a bicycle with the assistance of training wheels. The training wheels aren’t “cheating”, they are just a supportive stage that helps the rider learn how to achieve an objective. Simply setting the child on a two-wheeled bicycle and pushing them down a hill is not likely to be an effective learning method any more than simply expecting to learn a language “through immersion” is likely to be effective without appropriate strategy and support. 

Listen to instinct, not assumptions

Like most of us, when I started my career in foreign language education, I came in with exactly those assumptions. But despite the assumptions, it quickly became obvious what worked in the real world (and in my real classrooms).

For example, I always had the assumption that we should “Speak English only in English class”, but it was obvious that if I spoke a bit of my student’s first language (Arabic, in that case), it helped me build connections with them. I could highlight differences and similarities in the grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary of their first language and foreign language. Of course, it also helped me build a rapport with the classroom. Students feel much more friendly and engaged when they know that language learning is a two-way street between themselves and the instructor. 

Furthermore, I noticed students instinctively shifted between languages depending on the context. I once observed a Lebanese student chat with his friends in English, answer the phone and talk to his mother in French, and then curse at someone in Arabic. Fast-forward to today when I’ve learned that there are loads of academic theories to explain and take advantage of this phenomenon: bilingual/multilingual pedagogies, plurilingualism, interlanguage theory, and translanguaging are some of the most prominent. However we label it, one thing is certain: a strict monolingual environment is unnatural in the context of learning a foreign language, and strictly enforcing a monolingual standard does more harm than good to the students. 

Conclusion: pedagogical advantages and social advantages

If we take some time to un-learn these assumptions about the best way to learn a foreign language, we’ll unlock some real advantages.

The pedagogical advantages are obvious – it seems there are just more modern and more effective methods to learn a foreign language than the old “language immersion” method most of us grew up with.

But the nuanced social advantages are perhaps more exciting. We’re unlearning limiting assumptions like “I’m too old to learn a new language”, and we’re creating a more equitable learning environment when we tell students that their linguistic background shouldn’t be suppressed, but rather respected and recruited. 

It’s an exciting time to be teaching and learning foreign languages. 

References

Cogo, A. (2016). Conceptualizing elf as a translanguaging phenomenon. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/74246313.pdf.

Kaufmann, S. – lingosteve (2012). Language learning – Does age matter? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLz9-jlJ-fA

Learning Language Advisor. (2024). Age and language learning. Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics Washington DC. http://www.language-learning-advisor.com/age-and-language-learning.html

Experimental Translanguaging in an English Foreign Language School in Istanbul


an interview with Professors ‘Sena’ and ‘Nur’

What is translanguaging?

“Translanguaging” is one of the most exciting concepts in the field of linguistics since Universal Grammar. First theorized in the 1980s by Welsh bilingual educator Ben Williams, it has really gained traction in the last 15 years, largely thanks to the Cuban-American professor of sociolinguistics and education, Ofelia García. Translanguaging has become a hip, cutting edge methodology in the tool box of the next generation of foreign language educators.

If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, here’s a simple explanation:

Traditionally we have always thought of different languages as just that – different. You’re either speaking English or you’re speaking Spanish. This assumption has influenced the way language teachers and students approached learning a new language.

When you come in the Spanish class, speak Spanish only please! 

But of course, anyone who has spent a few days on the streets of an international metropolis can tell you that the lines between languages are not so much clear boundaries as a sliding spectrum. Think of the frequent usage of “Spanglish” from Texas to New York City. Languages are not discrete entities; they’re constantly flowing and interacting river corrientes of meaning. In any context where more than one language exists (basically every public space in the 21st century), each individual is part of a dynamic interaction with the community around them, recruiting their own multilingual spectrum to understand and communicate messages. 

Once we’ve acknowledged that, it makes sense to dramatically rethink how we approach teaching new languages. In the old days, the goal was to “learn proper English” (or French, German, etc.), which meant that eventually the learner would “speak like a native speaker” and not carry any marks of the other languages they know into the target language.

However, today language teachers are waking up to a new idea:

Encourage students to use every linguistic resource in their repertoire to achieve the objective of effective communication. The gloves are off now. This isn’t a closely regulated boxing match, this is a linguistic street fight with no rules. We can do whatever we need to get our message across, even if it includes Spanglish, sign language, and Google Translate.

There’s more to it, but that’s a simplified version of “translanguaging” in layman’s terms.

My search begins

I was curious to see if this exciting new methodology had made its way to the English foreign language classrooms here in my city of Istanbul, Turkey, so I reached out to the School of Foreign Languages at a top private university in Istanbul (who asked that they not be mentioned specifically). This university has a reputation for being progressive and international, and is one of the more expensive universities in the city. I was surprised and thankful for what I found there.

I reached out to the Director of the School of Foreign Languages and the Teacher Coordinator. They very graciously and kindly gave me the opportunity to interview two instructors of English as a Foreign Language: ‘Nur’ and ‘Sena’.

This is where I really lucked out: Professor ‘Sena’ completed her PhD in translanguaging at a Turkish university in the Turkish Thrace region, and Professor ‘Nur’ is currently conducting a pilot study as part of her Master’s degree thesis at a university in Istanbul about the impact of translanguaging pedagogy on EFL learner’s writing competence. I interviewed both of these educators to find out how translanguaging was making its way into the Turkish academic environment. 


Strict enforcement of English Monolingual Instruction (EMI)

Professor ‘Sena’ remembered, “When I first learned English in school, we didn’t even use our Turkish names. Everyone was Mr. and Mrs. Brown. Using Turkish in the classroom was a taboo. If someone caught you speaking Turkish in the English class, you had to drop one lira in the penalty jar.” In Turkey, starting in primary school EFL classes on through university level instruction, EMI (English Monolingual Instruction) is not only encouraged, but enforced. For example, when university students fill out their end of term Faculty Satisfaction Surveys, they are asked to report if one of their instructors ever used Turkish instead of English.   

I speculate that this has some interesting historical roots in the context of modern Turkish culture. Since the foundation of the republic in 1923, strict language controls have been enforced by the government as a way to solidify national unity and cultural identity, starting with a federally mandated shift from Arabic to Latin alphabet in 1928. In the first 10 years of the republic, the Turkish Language Foundation (TDK) was instituted with the goal to “protect its language from the oppression of foreign languages” according to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, father of the modern Turkish Republic (Anadolu Agency, 2015). For decades the TDK fought a battle to replace commonly used loan words with purely Turkish vocabulary. (Such policies are not unique to Turkey: the governments of France, Iceland and Quebec all have recent historical examples of official battles against loan words.) More recently, Kurdish language was prohibited from all use in public spaces as part of the long-running conflict between Ankara and Kurdistan. Although the ban on Kurdish was lifted in 1991, it has remained a controversial subject up until present times.

This historical context is relevant to explain the philosophy towards languages in this region: “language purity” is a means to create and enforce cultural unity and suppress dissent. Ironically, this attitude seems to be a two-edged sword, discouraging the use of Turkish language in certain academic environments within the country of Turkey itself (or “Türkiye” if you prefer). 

Translanguaging in a monolingual system

In such an environment, it was quite challenging for Professor ‘Nur’ to get permission to experiment with translanguaging methodologies in the classroom. Many administrators and colleagues in her department were open and interested in the idea, but they are literally not allowed to try it due to the constraints of national education standards from the Ministry of Education. ‘Nur’ had to cut through significant red tape just to get permission to speak limited Turkish in her classroom and use bilingual dictionaries (generally only English-to-English dictionaries are allowed). 

In this context, ‘Nur’ must be very precise and strategic about how and when she uses translanguaging. She is very clear with the students about when and why they are allowed to use other languages besides English during specific times and activities, and she still conducts half or more of her instruction time as “English only”. Rationing the usage of other languages in the classroom seems to have several positive benefits, including:

  1. Students are very conscious and deliberate about what communicative objective they are achieving.
  2. Students do not have the temptation to over-rely on their first language.
  3. Students also carry the bias that using their first language in the English classroom is somehow “wrong”, and might feel like they’re not being taught appropriately if they’re allowed to use their first language too often.

Professor ‘Sena’ echoed this sentiment, noting that “It’s all about context”; students should be aware when and why it’s appropriate or not appropriate to recruit specific linguistic resources. For example, it may be perfectly suitable to talk in “Turklish”, use body language and Google Translate to communicate with a taxi driver who doesn’t speak your language, but it would be quite inappropriate when delivering an academic presentation. 

Some concrete strategies Professor ‘Nur’ is implementing include:

  • parking lots: a specific desk in the corner of the classroom is a space where students can go to ask questions and get explanations in their own language from their peers
  • graphic organizers: such as Frayer Models and mind maps
  • color coded strips to highlight specific parts of speech and sentence structures (more details about how this works later in the article)
  • allowing students to use semiotics (like ad hoc sign language or emojis) and bilingual dictionaries

Professor ‘Nur’ was very clear that, while translanguaging methodologies may be used as the student learns a new concept or prepares to complete a task, the final goal is always output in English. 

As Professor ‘Sena’ does not have official permission to use other languages besides English in the classroom, she is much less explicit about when and how she uses translanguaging, but she does find ways. She may give time for partner work in which students can help each other understand concepts in any language they choose, occasionally distributes take-home resources in the students’ first language, and (scandalously) might not strictly enforce the prohibition against bilingual dictionaries.

Despite the official obstacles to translanguaging, it happens naturally all the time. ‘Nur’ gave this example: an Iranian student, living in Istanbul, studying English as a foreign language. As she observes him taking notes, sometimes he writes in Farsi, but when he’s doing group work with his classmates, he writes in Turkish, but when he’s listening to a grammar lecture, he takes notes in English. Nobody taught him to do that or gave him permission. It’s just his default setting. 

Translanguaging best practices for instructors

Through trial and error, both professors have discovered a few best practices for using translanguaging. ‘Nur’ finds translanguaging to be more useful at the emerging levels and believes it should be gradually reduced as the students progress to more advanced proficiency. She is also very clear about explaining her theory of practice to the students at the beginning of the course, so the students know the justification and application of the method. By doing so, she goes beyond just allowing students to use bilingual dictionaries; she invites them to explore their own inner grammar and cognition and “learn how to learn”.

‘Sena’ noted that it’s not necessary but quite useful if the instructor understands some of the students’ first language, which she learned through experience during her student teaching placement in Spain. There, even a B1 level of Spanish gave her a great advantage as an EFL teacher compared to her colleagues who didn’t speak any Spanish. If the instructor has knowledge of the student’s first language, it can help them understand the grammar challenges a specific student might face, as well as simply build rapport with the learners. 

Benefits of translanguaging

I asked both professors what benefits they had observed. The effect of translanguaging can be broken down into two areas:

  1. a more efficient pedagogical method which creates better speakers of the target language
  2. a change in perspective which delivers deep human benefits in the way students understand their own mind and the diverse cultures around them

Here’s an example of the second area:

Earlier I mentioned that Professor ‘Nur’ uses color coding exercises to explain how grammar works. ‘Nur’ puts two sentences on the board, one in Turkish and one in English.

“Yesterday, I ate in my house.”
“Dün evimde yemek yedim.”

She highlights “ate” and “yedim” in red. This is the past tense verb. Students will notice it comes at different places in the sentence (English is an SVO language, Turkish SOV).

She highlights 1st person possessive adjective “my” in blue, then preposition of place “in” in yellow. She draws an arrow to the noun “house”, which they modify.

Then she highlights the 1st person possessive infix “-im-“ with blue and the suffix of place “-de” with yellow. Students note they are connected to the base noun “ev”. In this way, students grasp that Turkish has an agglutinating structure while English has an analytic structure.

The benefit is that students, often for the first time, become cognizant of the rules of grammar in their own language as well. (This is a common phenomenon among foreign language learners. Personally, I never really thought about verb conjugation or possessive pronouns in English until I learned Spanish). By doing so, students gain new insights into how they organize the world on a subconscious level, and how that might be different from native English speakers. They don’t just learn a language, they learn to learn, and learn about themselves in the process. This, in turn, develops inter-cultural fluency.

Regarding the first area:

If translanguaging is really a measurably more effective way to create better foreign language speakers, then it’s hard to draw a definitive conclusion at this time re: the efficacy of the pilot study for two reasons:

First: it has only recently been tried at an experimental level and the data is still being collected and analyzed.

Second (and more complicated): how student success is currently measured and defined might not be the best way to prove or disprove the functionality of translanguaging.

For example, Professor ‘Sena’ shared that, in one assessment, students work in pairs to prepare and perform a role play. Students have a few hours to work together to create and practice the role play, and then perform it for the instructor. The grading rubric for this assessment specifically mentions that students will lose points if the instructor hears them using any language besides English during the preparation stage.

Professor ‘Nur’ mentioned a broader challenge across the department. “Of course we try to use communicative teaching and collaborative tasks as much as possible, but in the end, our students’ success is measured by if they pass the standardized proficiency exams”, she said. Therefore, both professors noted the necessity to rethink how assessment is conducted. “Objectives are key”, ‘Sena’ said, “So if the student can complete the objective, why should they be penalized if they used another language to get there? One language isn’t superior to any other”. 

Rethinking success, rethinking language

Translanguaging has obvious and well-documented advantages for creating communicative competence, especially in our age of unprecedented globalization and super-diversity. It’s nothing new really. Academicians have simply found a fancy term to identify what taxi drivers and corner store owners have done since the Stone Age. But for translanguaging to effectively thrive in the classroom, two things must happen:

First: we must rethink how we assess student success and measure progress.

Second: we must recognize that no language belongs to any one culture (especially English as the 21st century global lingua franca). Like Professor ‘Sena’ said, “Nobody owns English. It’s everyone’s language. We aren’t all Mr. and Mrs. Brown anymore.”

As a Mr. Brown myself, I find that quite inspiring. 

References

Anadolu Agency. (2015, July 15). Playing with words: Turkey’s language watchdog. Daily Sabah. https://www.dailysabah.com/feature/2015/07/15/playing-with-words-turkeys-language-watchdog

Native English vs. English as a Lingua Franca

History has seen many lingua francas come and go – Koine Greek, Latin, Sanskrit, Old Church Slavonic or the Mediterranean Lingua Franca from where the term gets its name. Today different regions of the world still use lingua francas to facilitate communication between cultures. Mandarin, Urdu and Malay allow millions of people from different parts of the world to share a common language and conduct business across borders. However, the 21st century has seen the rise of perhaps the first truly global lingua franca in history – English.

According to Professor David Crystal, a language becomes a lingua franca for one reason. Put simply, the speakers of that language hold power – political power, scientific power, economic power or cultural power. Learning that language allows people from outside cultures to access that power by accessing education, technology and business opportunities from the dominant culture.

As the language becomes widely used by non-native speakers, it evolves in some predictable ways. Today, there are about 5 non-native speakers of English for every 1 native speaker. Professor Jennifer Jenkins has observed how the rules and usage of the language are changing. According to Jenkins, people who use English as a Lingua Franca may consciously choose not to use certain grammar (such as verb tense and conjugation) or pronunciation (such as the sounds of /θ/ and /ð/). 

Such modifications to the language may first seem “wrong” to native speakers and prescriptivists, but a more nuanced view is that as long as there is communicative competence (i.e. the users of the language are able to clearly communicate the message) one needn’t be so judgmental about using the language “properly”. For example, if someone says “Yesterday I go to the park”, the rules of grammar tell us this is not correct, but functionally it is clear what happened and when.

Therefore, as English evolves for international usage, we may expect to see a move away from “speaking like a native” as the gold standard of language proficiency. In my view, this has two clear benefits. First of all, students will have more confidence to use the language they know in the way they know to express themselves without feeling shy or embarrassed because their English isn’t perfect. Second, there will be more opportunities for non-native English teachers in an industry which has for years unfairly hired teachers based less on their qualifications and more on their passports.

Despite these benefits, I also wonder about a potential drawback to such language evolution. If vocabulary and grammar become simplified, over time the language may lose it’s ability to convey nuance and accuracy. This is another type of language death in which the language doesn’t disappear but instead changes from a precise scalpel to a dull butterknife, losing the idioms, dependent clauses and subtle connotations which give it color, efficiency and exactness. But perhaps that’s unavoidable and not to be mourned. After all, nobody complains that Latin has evolved from a living breathing language to an academic lingua franca to a few fossilized remnants of scientific terminology over the course of a millennium. Without it we just communicate in ways that are different, but not necessarily worse.

But what about those who want to learn English as a tool to communicate with native speakers or explore the various countries and cultures where it’s the first language? After all, the United States is still the third largest country in the world by population and the unstoppable soft power of Hollywood, rock and roll and Coca-Cola show no signs of losing influence in the upcoming decades. Many still dream of moving to the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. For such learners, a watered down English as a lingua franca may not be sufficient to fully immerse themselves in the target culture. For this reason, I don’t see the demand for “native speaker English” disappearing any time soon.

There’s another reason that, as a teacher, I’ll still be teaching for the detailed accuracy of “proper” grammar and pronunciation – it’s what my clients and students expect. In academic circles and European regulatory bodies there may be a realization and acceptance that English is most useful as a lingua franca independent of its native speaker shackles, but my students still pay me to correct them when they forget to conjugate a verb or mispronounce a vowel sound. For the time being, I’ll continue to provide that service.

Leadership and Management Business English Course for Tech Professionals

Business English for Leadership and Management Course from Language Leaders
Image courtesy of Freepik

In today’s fast-paced and globalized business world, mastering Business English is essential for anyone in leadership or management roles. As industries continue to evolve, particularly with the rise of digital transformation in regions like Saudi Arabia, professionals must communicate effectively in English to lead diverse teams and oversee complex projects. Whether you’re a software engineer in Riyadh or an IT manager working on remote work initiatives, clear and effective communication is key to ensuring success.

Introducing the Business English for Leadership and Management Course

In my “Business English for Leadership and Management” course, we focus on the skills that matter most to professionals. For example, understanding how to write clear technical documentation is critical when leading teams in the tech industry. At the same time, improving your ability to communicate in situations like project management meetings or when discussing mistakes in CV writing with potential hires is vital.

Language Leaders is the only company that offers specialized Business English for Tech courses focusing on the Riyadh region. Currently we serve around 50 students, so course availability is limited, but you are recommended to send an email or book a free trial class if you’re serious about advancing your international opportunities in your tech career.

Develop Communication and Language Skills

One student turned to Simeon when he had the chance to receive a promotion to Technical Solution Senior Manager at a large international technology company. “My promotion was dependent on passing the ITEP Business exam to show I had the English skills needed for the work environment. Simeon’s class gave me the language skills I needed to pass the test and receive the promotion.” 

Through this course, you’ll also develop your communication skills, enhancing your ability to engage with clients, manage remote teams, and work across borders. This is more than just language learning; it’s about preparing for leadership in a digital, global workplace.

If you’re curious about my course, here I will give you a complete outline and short description of the topics covered. If you would like to join me for a free trial class, just send me a DM.

Course Overview

Unit 1 – Knowing Your Leadership Style

Practice using adjectives clauses to give opinions and feelings as you decide what leadership style you would use to manage a team and discuss the leadership style of Bill Gates. Discuss the three main leadership styles: authoritarian, participative and delegate. 

Unit 2 – Building Your Staff

Practice using comparative structures to discuss resumes and CVs and talk about staffing decisions. Learn specific prepositions that accompany common vocabulary related to the topic as you practice filling a position. Discuss the steps to fill a position, and learn the difference between a resume and a CV. 


Unit 3 – Motivating Your Team 

Use conjunctions “because”, “since” and “as” to discuss positive, negative, internal and external motivations in the context of a managing a project that is behind schedule. Learn how to inspire an unmotivated employee as we discuss what motivates you. 

Unit 4 – Resolving Conflict

Learn to use the imaginary past to resolve a conflict at work between two employees. Learn some idioms often used to talk about conflict in the workplace, and practice which specific prepositions should follow certain words. 


Unit 5 – Project Management 

Practice the future continuous to explain a project timeline and plan a project. Discuss the five stages of project management: defining, planning, creating, checking and closing, and learn common collocations related to stages, resources and timelines. 


Unit 6 – Delegating 

Use polite expressions to delegate a to-do list to various employees and include your expectations for each task. Additionally, learn some collocations related to expectations. Discuss the benefits of delegating and tips for delegating effectively.

Unit 7 – Giving Feedback 

Learn useful phrases to give constructive criticism on employee performance in a performance review. Learn the dos and don’ts of giving feedback, and talk about the difference between direct and indirect communication. 


Unit 8 – Managing Change 

Practice paired conjunctions to discuss the positive and negative impacts of change and deal with change resistance as you practice announcing a new change to your employees. Learn the difference between verb and noun forms of commonly used vocabulary.


Unit 9 – Problem Solving
Use the second conditional to give advice to address problems. Learn useful problem solving questions to identify and analyze the problem and come up with and implement solutions. Discuss inspirational quotes from Duke Ellington and Albert Einstein.

Unit 10 – Virtual Leadership
Learn “be going to” and “will” to predict the future of working remotely, discuss the dos and don’ts of virtual meetings, and talk about virtual challenges. Additionally, learn to describe data of infographics related to working from home.

Unit 11 – Company Culture
Practice complex conjunctions for cause and effect to design and describe your own company culture by analyzing the examples of Google, X and Spotify. Learn common collocations to describe values, satisfaction and expectations, and discuss the four main styles of company culture: clan, adhocracy, market, and hierarchy.

Unit 12 – Cross-Cultural Management 

Use business idioms to give advice to a new employee, talk about cultural differences and communication styles. Use new vocabulary to talk about taboos and norms in your culture and discuss some common characteristics of American business culture as you practice welcoming a new employee to your company.

Growing Software Engineer Management Careers

One student found the last unit specifically helpful. She is a Software Apps Engineering Senior Manager for a well known web services provider, and frequently finds herself navigating the cultural differences between her American colleagues based in California and the expectations and communication styles of her home culture. “Simeon gave me useful insights into why my American coworkers act the way they do and what to expect from them.”

Simeon Brown leads the course. He has taught in Arabia since 2013 and began Language Leaders in 2018 to better serve Saudi tech professionals. With a true love and connection to Saudi culture, he brings his unique teaching style, using techniques such as task based learning and neurolanguage coaching. His motto is “Education gives people skills, and skills give people opportunities.” Simeon is from Wisconsin, USA and has received degrees from Arizona State University as well as UIC Barcelona. 

An Essential Course for IT Professional Training

The “Business English for Leadership and Management” course is designed to equip you with the tools you need to succeed in today’s dynamic workplace. As global collaboration and AI tools continue to shape industries, strong language skills will empower you to leverage new technologies and effectively guide your team. This course can help you avoid common language mistakes in the work environment and should be an essential part of IT professional training.

Get in touch to try the class for free today.

Business English for IT Course in Riyadh: Essential Skills for Software Engineers

Image courtesy of Freepik

In today’s fast-changing tech world, mastering Business English isn’t just a bonus—it’s crucial. Whether you’re pursuing IT jobs in Saudi Arabia or driving digital transformation, strong communication can make all the difference. My “Business English for IT” course, tailored for professionals in Saudi software companies, helps you avoid common language errors and thrive in remote work settings. This 17-unit course is ideal for software engineers and those aiming to boost their English communication in the IT industry.

Language Leaders is the only company that offers specialized Business English for Tech courses focusing on the Riyadh region. Currently we serve around 50 students, so course availability is limited, but you are recommended to send an email or book a free trial class if you’re serious about advancing your international opportunities in your tech career.

One student, a product manager in a software development company, told how Simeon’s unique teaching techniques helped her. “I work with international clients, but I had trouble understanding them because they are from France and speak English with a thick foreign accent. Simeon’s technique made me study the unique elements of the French accent and actually start speaking myself with a French accent. This helped develop my ear and now I understand my clients much better.”

The course covers essential vocabulary, grammar, and communication skills for software developers. You’ll practice real-world scenarios like discussing client needs, assigning tasks, and explaining code, while enhancing your pronunciation and communication on platforms like Slack. By the end, you’ll confidently handle any team interaction.

Throughout the course, you’ll gain the technical and general language skills needed to handle professional challenges, from disagreements to mentoring. Customized activities for meetings, conferences, and social interactions will enhance your confidence in any work environment.

If you’re curious about my course, here I will give you a complete outline and short description of the topics covered. If you would like to join me for a free trial class, just get in touch.

Unit 1 – Giving a Professional Introduction
Learn how to introduce yourself or another person, how to describe your role and background, and give compliments. Learn to use pauses effectively when speaking. 


Unit 2 – Interviewing
Learn to describe work experiences by giving background information, describing a problem or challenge, and describing how you solved the problem. Learn how to add details about ideas with the word “which”, and practice word stress. 

Unit 3 – Getting Set Up
Learn how to talk about cause and effect and pronounce numbers in the context of discussing with an HR representative how to log in to PeopleSoft. In addition, learn to complain!

Unit 4 – Discussing Needs and Services
Learn to use infinitive clauses so that you can describe ideas and explain services in the context of building a financial services app. Continue practicing with word stress. 

Unit 5 – Giving a Quote
Learn to give estimates and describe quotes in the context of hiring a content writer as a consultant for your app. In addition, learn idioms with the word “talk”. 

Unit 6 – Describing Software
Use relative clauses to describe software like Slack and Trello. Describe ideas you have for a financial planning app and decide which features to include. 

Unit 7 – Assigning Work
Learn to make polite requests with two clauses by assigning tasks to consultants. Also learn idioms with the word “touch”. 

Unit 8 – Describing Code
Practice using the passive voice by describing the basics of Python. Explain how statistics are calculated. 


Unit 9 – Describing Layouts
Learn useful phrases to describe layout features, where things are on the page and mention different specs for web development. 


Unit 10 – Adding Features
Learn to pronounce compound nouns when describing functions. Also learn to simplify technical descriptions when writing comments.


Unit 11 – Leading Meetings
Learn how to describe sprints and different meetings in sprints, give an overview of a meeting, and assign tasks to team members. 


Unit 12 – Asking for Help
Learn to politely ask for help before explaining your programming problem and practice helping a sales representative make a website.  


Unit 13 – Raising Issues
Learn to use expressions of uncertainty to politely describe issues with code, report script, and mobile page navigation. Also learn how to use collocations and the ways “throw” and “catch” are employed in software development. 


Unit 14 – Responding to Feedback
Learn to agree, disagree and give suggestions politely by sharing ideas about web development and work on a customer records management API. Practice word stress.


Unit 15 – Attending a Conference
Learn how to politely decline an invitation in both business and social situations, such as meeting with a sales representative or meeting with colleagues after work. Learn how to stress negative words. 


Unit 16 – Mentoring New Colleagues
Learn useful phrases for mentoring in the context of giving advice to a junior software engineer about merging code and what to wear in a formal office setting. Learn how to pronounce unstressed words. 


Unit 17 – Hosting Business Clients
Learn useful verb patterns (expressions with infinitives, present participles, or base forms) and practice making requests, suggestions or invitations to a visiting client. Practice recognizing technical and general words, and finally discuss the useful skill of making small talk.  


Simeon Brown leads the course. He moved to Riyadh in 2013 and has worked in the Middle East since then, beginning Language Leaders in 2018 to better serve Saudi tech professionals. With a true love and connection to Saudi culture, he brings his unique teaching style, using techniques such as task based learning and neurolanguage coaching. His motto is “Education gives people skills, and skills give people opportunities.” Simeon is from Wisconsin, USA and has received degrees from Arizona State University as well as UIC Barcelona.

Get to know Simeon Brown, an American English teacher who is the lead teacher of the Business English for Tech Course and founder of Language Leaders.
Simeon Brown is the founder of Language Leaders and teaches the Business English for Tech Course

This course offers essential skills for software engineers in Riyadh and beyond. Through IT professional training, you’ll learn to avoid mistakes in business communication and navigate remote work effectively. By mastering digital literacy, you’ll confidently lead projects and offer valuable guidance, especially in mentoring professionals. Whether you’re introducing yourself, assigning tasks, or mentoring a junior colleague, this course has you covered.

Basic words and questions about family and relationships in English: How to talk about your relatives when you meet someone new

Check out these vocabulary words and phrases if you are a beginner who wants to talk about family and relationships.

If you study basic English, you must learn how to talk about family members and relationships. Many basic English courses focus on young learners, so this post will share useful phrases for adults who want to talk about their family when meeting someone new.

Names of Family Members in English

  • Grandfather
  • Grandmother
  • Father
  • Mother
  • Husband 
  • Brother
  • Sister
  • Brother-in-law
  • Sister-in-law
  • Son 
  • Daughter
  • Aunt 
  • Uncle 
  • Nephew
  • Niece
  • Cousin

Short Questions and Answers for Adults to Talk about Family 

  • Are you married?
    • Yes, I am. / No, I am not. 
  • What’s your husband’s / wife’s name?
    • His name is George. / Her name is Ruth
  • How long have you been married?
    • We’ve been married for 22 years. 
  • What does your (husband / wife) do?
    • (He / She) is a dentist. 
  • Do you have any kids?
    • Yes, I do. / No, I don’t. 
  • How many kids do you have?
    • I have three kids.
  • How old are they? (How old is your son / daughter?)
    • She is 20. / He is 8. 
  • What are their names? (What is his / her name?)
    • Their names are George, Ruth and John. 
  • Do your children all live with you?
    • Yes, they do. / No, my daughter lives away at university. 
  • What do they like to do? / What does he / she like to do?
    • My oldest daughter is married. She and my son-in-law like to travel. My son likes to play guitar. My youngest daughter likes to play basketball. We all like to spend time together. 
  • It sounds like you have a very close family.
    • We do. On the weekends, my sister and brother-in-law usually come to our house with their kids. I love to play with my nieces and nephews. They say I am their favorite uncle / aunt. 
  • It sounds like you have a great family.
    • We’d love to have you visit us sometime. 
  • Thank you, where do you live?
    • We live in an apartment in the city center. / We live in a house in the suburbs. 

Any relative through marriage is your in-law. My wife’s parents are my mother-in-law and father-in-law. If my children get married, their spouse is my son-in-law or daughter-in-law.  My wife’s siblings are my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. If my brother or sister is married, their spouse is also my brother-in-law or sister-in-law. 

If my brother or sister has kids, the child is my niece (if she is a girl) or my nephew (if he is a boy). 

The children call me uncle if I am a man, and aunt if I am a woman. In English, uncle and aunt is the same word if it is an older or younger sibling on your mother’s side or father’s side – they are all simply your aunt and uncle. This is different from many languages which have different words for father’s older brother, father’s sister, mother’s sister, mother’s younger brother, and so on. In English it is all simply aunt and uncle.

5 Most Famous Places to See in Istanbul

Istanbul is full of amazing places to visit, but here are the 5 most famous places you can’t miss. Maybe some of you who have traveled to Istanbul will disagree with me, and maybe my choice of number 5 will surprise you a bit, but I’ve traveled a lot, and I’ve not only traveled but actually lived in Istanbul for years, so I think my choices for the top 5 are simply obvious.

1. Hagia Sophia

The Hagia Sophia is the symbol of mystical Istanbul. The oldest icon of the city, it was the largest cathedral in the world for almost 1000 years, although it spent some of those years not as a cathedral but as a mosque. The building is filled with symbols – golden angels, mythical figures, intricate Islamic calligraphy, the names of God – which have been at times revealed or covered depending on the prevailing religion and politics of the time. Most interesting is how the building itself is a permanent fixture of the city but always changing as a symbol. It changed from a cathedral to a mosque when the city was conquered by the Turks. It changed again from a mosque to a public museum when the secular Republic was founded. In recent years it has been re-designated as a mosque and active place of worship as the Turkish government and public become increasingly Islamic. In this way, it is a perfect symbol of the city. Like the sea at the heart of the city, the Hagia Sophia is always changing but always the same. At the time of this writing the Hagia Sophia is open 24 hours. I suggest visiting late at night, if possible, to feel the quiet spirit of peace and contemplation the holy site was originally intended to give.

2. Blue Mosque

The Blue Mosque is the symbol of artistic Istanbul. Outside, it is the most outstanding example of Ottoman architecture. The architecture style is based on the patterns of the most famous Turkish architect, Mimar Sinan (although the mosque was built after his lifetime).  Inside, the mesmerizing patterns and colors of the Iznik tile work are a feat for the eyes. Iznik tile is the class blue and white patterned painted tile with motifs of kaleidoscope motifs of feathers and flowers. Many English speakers call this the Blue Mosque, although its proper name is the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. Like the Hagia Sophia, this mosque is an active place of worship which means it’s free for entrance. I suggest visiting as early as possible in the morning to avoid the crowds and enjoy the sensation of massive space inside the mosque. The morning light illuminating the tile work through the mosque’s 260 windows rewards the early bird.

3. Topkapi Palace

Topkapi Palace is the symbol of historical Istanbul. Topkapi Palace is a museum of museums, a collection of collections, a huge complex with building after building, room after room filled with clothes, manuscripts, weapons and armor, jewels, and religious artifacts. This giant palace complex was built shortly after the Turks conquered Constantinople. It’s impressive from the outside but, like Blue Mosque, it’s what’s inside that takes the breath away. I suggest allowing most of the day to visit Topkapi Palace. You won’t want to hurry and you will certainly be tired by the time you’ve seen as much of it as possible.

4. Galata Tower

If there is one single icon of Istanbul, it is the Galata Tower. In a city so massive and crowded, it’s hard to find a center (imagine arguing if the center of New York City was in Manhattan or Brooklyn!) However, the Galata Tower makes a clear case that the Beyoglu neighborhood is the center of this metropolis. Don’t miss the opportunity to climb the tower for an unbeatable 360° view of the city. I especially suggest visiting this location if you’re traveling with a romantic partner. One local legend says that if you kiss the person you love at the top of the tower, it will bring good luck and longevity to your relationship.

5. Bosphorus Ferry

The Bosphorus Strait is the heart of Istanbul. Cold and dark in her beauty, the sea is more than just the blood running through the city’s veins, it’s the skeleton giving her form and structure, literally and figuratively. The Bosphorus is a natural beauty covered in industrial traffic. There are many Bosphorus cruises available, and they are certainly enjoyable, but to get a true experience of the city I suggest taking the public ferry from the European to the Asian side and back again. By experiencing how the Bosphorus becomes part of public transport, you will get a delicious taste of daily life in Istanbul.

11 Vocabulary Words for Classical Architecture

As an English teacher, I love to teach ESP. In this context, I don’t mean “ESP” as in “extra sensory perception” like seeing ghosts or predicting the future. I wish! Instead this “ESP” means “English for specific purposes”. This is when an English course focuses on specialized vocabulary or communication skills needed for a particular area of study or profession. Think about all the special words you need to know if you are a dentist or doctor or engineer, or the unique way that lawyers communicate, and even all the unique language knowledge you need just to pass your university chemistry or physics class! Because of the examples I just mentioned, I usually teach ESP to adults, although sometimes younger learners need ESP when it is time for them to learn math or science (think of specialized vocabulary words like “multiply”, “fraction”, “numerator” and “denominator” which an elementary student must learn in maths class). 

I love teaching ESP because it gives me a chance, as an English teacher, to have a view into the specialized knowledge of many other professions – I’ve taught ESP to archeologists and architects, physicists and physicians! As a matter of fact, I just finished a fascinating unit about classical architecture with an upper-intermediate student. We read about the Taj Mahal and the Florence Cathedral. As you can imagine, we found a lot of specialized language in these articles, so here’s my list of 11 vocabulary words you must know when talking about classical architecture. I’ve categorized the words as upper-intermediate level, which are words you should know if you want to get a 5.5 or 6.0 on your IELTS exam, and advanced vocabulary, which are words you should know if you want to get a 6.5 or 7.0 on the IELTS. All definitions are courtesy of the excellent resource, the Cambridge Learners Dictionary.

classical architecture vocabulary:
upper-intermediate (B2 level or 6.0 on IELTS) 

  • dome – a curved, round roof of a building 
  • monument – a building or other structure that is built to make people remember an event in history or a famous person
  • cathedral – the largest and most important church in a particular area
  • concrete – a hard substance that is used in building and is made by mixing sand, water, small stones, and cement (= grey powder that is mixed with water and becomes hard when it dries)
  • iron – a dark grey metal used to make steel (=very strong metal) and found in small amounts in blood and food (formula Fe)
  • bricks – a small, hard, rectangular block used for building walls, houses, etc
  • structure – the way that parts of something are arranged or put together

advanced (C1 level or 7.0 on IELTS)

  • marble – hard, smooth stone that is often used for decoration
  • crane – a large machine used for lifting and moving heavy things (don’t confuse it with the bird of the same name!)
  • reinforced – something that has been made stronger (learn this as a collocation: “reinforced by something”)
  • pinnacle – the highest or best part of something (learn this as a collocation also: “pinnacle of something”)

How to beat the heat

“Walking with donkey, it is 3 or 4 days from Abu Dhabi to Ruwais.” I struggle to keep my face straight. I moved to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this year, and I expected it to be the modern paradise everyone sees in pictures of Dubai. Instead, I find myself in the middle of the desert, two hours from anywhere, in a small city of 20,000 people sitting on top of an oil field, a camel race track, and not much else.


It’s a broiler of a habitat. UAE is literally one of the hottest countries in the world. Daytime temperatures sit at 95-115° for 9 months of the year, with heat waves jumping up to 120°. The miles of empty sand are otherworldly – in fact several Hollywood productions have come to this area to film fantasy worlds for films such as Star Wars and The Matrix. The nearest water is 50 miles away in the Gulf, the temperature of a hot bath, and salty enough to raise your blood pressure just by looking at it. This desert receives only half as much annual rainfall as Death Valley.

Modern technology only reached this region in my lifetime – 20 or 30 years ago. And now I am talking to a man who lived here in the times before highways connected the wide Empty Quarter Desert of Abu Dhabi, UAE.


Every weekend I drive into the city, and every weekend I pick up hitchhikers, sometimes one, sometimes a pair, sometimes my little Toyota is packed to the brim with half a dozen bearded men sitting on each other’s laps like an Arabian clown car. They work on the oil fields and appear like ghostly mirages, standing on the road in between sand dunes, miles from anywhere, waiting for a ride. I always stop if I’ve got an extra seat. 


This hitchhiker is different. My average hitchhiker is in his 20s, from India or Pakistan, and doesn’t speak much English. This man is in his 50s, from Africa, and speaks great English. He tells me he’s been in the country since the 1970s, before development. He amazes me with the details of his life – only visiting his family back home once every 5 or 10 y ears, living in a tent and traveling by donkey as he and others like him built the oil fields and apartment complexes. He’s from Somalia, and has built a very successful life for his family working this way.

“How did you survive this heat?” I ask him. He gives a small laugh. “We just sat, brother” he tells me. “No working in the hot times. We made our camp in some palm trees. We put sheets in the trees and put little water on the sheets. The sheets block the sun. The water makes cool air. Sometimes a small wind comes. When the small wind comes, it is like heaven. All day we sat, waiting for the small wind.”

I continued to drive and drive, always in motion. Listening to the stories of strangers. Eventually I left Arabia and moved to Europe. I  continued like that, always in motion, meeting new people and listening to new stories, for 10 years and over half a dozen countries. In my next installment we may fast forward to Spain, Croatia, or Istanbul. Wherever it is, let’s hope it’s somewhere a bit cooler.