2003-2005
Newsletter Archives

Greetings to all for a great new year of language teaching and global education in 2006! Our main features in this issue include (1) an article on environmental education for childrens’ EFL by Renata Suzuki, (2) a description of a college English course designed around war protest songs by Louise Haynes and (3) a description by Marc Helgesen of how English speeches by Japanese learners can help to fight discrimination along with a sample student speech dealing with prejudice in Japan against gays and lesbians. Finally, we include a report on global issue presentations at the recent JALT 2005 conference in Shizuoka (Oct. 7-10), a special section on teaching about “socially-conscious sports stars” as well as a list of global issue calendars for the year 2006.

Special features this issue:                                                                        

• News from JALT and other language teaching organizations

• Conference Report: Global Issues at JALT 2005 (Shizuoka, Japan)

• A Student Speech on Discrimination     by Marc Helgesen

• Student Speech: Are They Really Abnormal? by Maki Onuma

• One Green Leaf: Eco-Songs for Kids by Renata Suzuki

•  War Protest Music in the EFL Classroom by Louise Haynes

• Special feature: Teaching about Socially Concerned Sports Stars

• News and information  /  Who’s Doing What?

• Global issue calendars for the year 2006

Our summer newsletter for 2005 comes out on the 60th anniversary of World War II (1945-2005) in the wake of the July G-8 summit. Included here are sections on Teaching about WWII as well as reports on Live 8 and the Make Poverty History campaign. Our featured articles this issue focus on (1) teaching global issues using photojournalism websites, (2) ideas about how political cartoons can be used in class to promote language skills, (3) political awareness and intercultural understanding plus (4) a special report on the Asian tsunami by an EFL teacher who did volunteer relief work in Thailand. Also included are a report on this spring’s TESOL 2005 conference plus books on global themes. Have a great summer!

Special features this issue:                                                                       

• News from JALT and other language teaching organizations

• Conference Report: Global Issues at TESOL 2005 (San Antonio, Texas)

• Intercultural Communication through Political Cartoons by Joan Kelly

• Global Issues through Photojournalism Websites by Greg Goodmacher

• Volunteering for Tsunami Relief in Thailand    by Lynn Gregory

• Special feature: Teaching about World War II

• Campaign Profile: Make Poverty History / Live 8 / One

• News and information / Who’s Doing What?

• Book Profiles: Reference Books on Global Themes

• Language teaching textbooks on global issue topics

Our fall 2004 newsletter brings you a rich variety of global education news, reports, articles and information. Our featured articles include reports on student awareness of global issues in Japanese high schools, a student EFL poster presentation project about global issue NGOs, and suggestions for how to celebrate Martin Luther King Day in your school this January. Conference reports this issue include an overview of the Peace as a Global Language (PGL III) conference held in Kyoto (Sept. 24-26) as well as a preview of global issues sessions at the upcoming JALT 2004 conference in Nara (Nov. 19-22). Also included are profiles of books on the United States and Iraq, a report on “who really won” the 2004 Athens Olympics and a list of global issue calendars to order for the year 2005. 

Special features this issue are:                                                                

• News from JALT and other language teaching organizations

• Conference Report: Peace as a Global Language (PGL III – Kyoto)

• Celebrating Martin Luther King Day at Your School by Susan Branz

• The 2004 Athens Olympic Games - Who Really Won?

• Conference Preview:  Global Issues at JALT 2004 (Nara)

• Awareness of Global Issues at High School Level by Steve Powell

• Student NGO Poster Presentations by Chisako Kusube

• News and information / Who’s Doing What?

• Book Profiles: Books on Social Issues, Iraq and the USA

• Global issue calendars for the year 2005    

Our 2004 spring newsletter includes a variety of topics. Our main article is a description of how EFL students in Japan designed an English homepage for a Brazilian charity as part of a college website design class. Our previous issue (#52) introduced a global education checklist for student learning. As a follow-up, we present here a “Global Education Checklist for Schools” which allows teachers to see how much of an international dimension their schools have achieved. Our featured topic is a special section on “Teaching about the Olympics” timed to coincide with the upcoming Olympic Games (Aug. 13 - 29) in Athens, Greece. This includes classroom activities, an Olympics Quiz and a list of resources to help you teach about this international event. Also included are a report on the recent TESOL 2004 conference in Long Beach and profiles of new books on global education topics. 

Special features this issue are:

• Abstracts of global education articles from language teaching journals

• News from JALT and other language teaching organizations

• Conference Report: TESOL 2004 (March 31–April 3 in Long Beach, USA)

• A Student Website for a Brazilian Streetchildren NGO by Anthony Robins

• Special feature: Teaching about the Olympic Games

• A Global Education Checklist for Schools

• News and information

• Who’s Doing What?

• Language teaching textbooks on global themesBook Profiles: Global Education Books for Language Teachers

This fall newsletter marks the 51st issue of our Global Issues in Language Education Newsletter. Our featured topic this issue is “Teaching about the United Nations.” This includes ideas for classroom activities, a United Nations quiz and a list of resources (books, videos, posters, websites) to help you teach your students about the UN. Our main articles explain how to use the UN Cyber School Bus website for language teaching and how literature can raise student awareness about global issues. Also included are a class activity on global proverbs, a report on the PGL II conference (Tokyo, Sept. 27-28), a preview of the JALT 2003 conference (Shizuoka, Nov. 21-24), profiles of key books about the United Nations and a list of global education calendars to order for the year 2004. 

Special features this issue are:

• News from JALT and other language teaching organizations

• Conference Report: Peace as a Global Language II (Tokyo)

• Feature: Teaching about the United Nations

• Conference Preview: Global Issues at JALT 2003 (Shizuoka)

• Global Issues with the UN Cyber School Bus by Greg Goodmacher

• Teaching Global Awareness through Proverbs by Vivian Chu

• Global Issues Through Literature: Victor Hugo by Olivier Urbain

• News and information about global education

• Who’s Doing What?    Reports from the field

• Book Profiles: Key Resources on the United Nations

• Global issue calendars for the year 2004

This spring newsletter comes out as the world hovers on the brink of a US-led invasion of Iraq. The main theme of this issue is “war and peace” with articles on (1) a US-Iraqi pen-pal exchange program, (2) an article about teaching English and human rights to the military in Africa and (3) a reprint of Mark Twain’s classic story “The War Prayer.” We also feature articles on charity English classes, volunteerism in EFL and a report on the recent 2002 PGL “language and peace” conference in Tokyo as well as peace quotes, websites, books and education statements linked to the current US-Iraq crisis.

• Announcements: Peace education certificate, Books for Burma, World lesson

• JALT Global Issues SIG Officers / Donating textbooks / Recycled paper

• Abstracts of global education articles from language teaching journals

• News from JALT and JALT’s Global Issues Special Interest Group

• News from other EFL associations: TESOL, IATEFL, TSR, PGL II

• Conference Report: Peace as a Global Language II (Sept. 28 – 29, Tokyo)

• Sample Statements on the US – Iraq Crisis by Education Organizations

• Serving the World as an English Teacher by Adam Beck

• Volunteerism: Education Beyond the Classroom by Karen Mattison Yabuno

• Teaching English & Human Rights to the Military in Guinea by Jessica Newby

• The Graduation Pledge of Social Responsibility

• US and Iraqi Students Exchange Letters of Peace by Leah Wells

• Famous Peace Education Texts: The War Prayer by Mark Twain

• Internet Comments and Resources on the US-Iraq Crisis

• Language teaching textbooks dealing with global issue topics

• Book Profiles: Key Reference Books on War and Peace

• News & Appeals: Palestine appeal /    New peace education certificate in Japan

• Global education materials available from the Global Issues Network

• Coming Events Calendar / Global Issues in Language Education Network

Our three key themes for this fall 2005 newsletter are “peace stories,” “social activism” and “Hollywood celebrities.” Our main features include (1) an article about using peace stories in the language classroom by peace educator Charles Kowalski and (2) ideas from global educator Sophi Hronopoulos about how to design EFL materials on social issues. Conference news includes a report on the recent Linguapax Asia 2005 symposium, an update on the PGL IV Peace as a Global Language conference (to be held from Nov. 11-13 in Kyoto) and a preview of global issue sessions at this fall’s JALT 2005 conference in Shizuoka (Oct. 7-10). Finally, we include a special section on “teaching about socially-conscious celebrities” plus a profile of a new United Nations global issues video series hosted by movie stars such as Michael Douglas, Angelina Jolie, Richard Gere and Meg Ryan.

Special features this issue:                                                                        

• Announcement: Peace as a Global Language Conference (Nov. 2005)

• Conference Report: Linguapax Asia 2005 (June 11 Tokyo, Japan)

• Teaching With Peace Stories in the Classroom    by Charles Kowalski

• Conference Preview:  Global Issues at JALT 2005 (Shizuoka)

• Designing Materials on Social Activism by Sophi Hronopoulos

• Special feature: Teaching about Socially Concerned Celebrities

• Profile: New United Nations Video Series on Global Issues

• News and information from the field of global education

Our first GILE newsletter of 2005, scheduled for January, is now here in March – due largely to my being a guest speaker on Japan’s “Peace Boat” along with travels to India, Kenya, Egypt and Singapore. Apologies to all our subscribers for the long delay! Articles in this issue include a report on an English “world peace camp” plus an essay by EFL expert Marc Helgesen on his trip to Vietnam and the social issues (poverty, street children) he encountered there. In the aftermath of the December tsunami, our special feature deals with how to teach about natural disasters. This includes classroom ideas, teaching resources, quotes and thoughts about media coverage of disasters in the “Third World.” Conference reports include a look at global education sessions at the JALT 2004 conference and the 10th Linguapax congress in Europe. Also profiled are language textbooks on global themes and a new book series for young people on global citizenship. 

Special features this issue are:                                                                

• News from JALT and JALT’s Global Issues SIG

• News from international language teaching organizations

• Conference Report: Global Issues at JALT 2004 (Nara, Japan)

• Vietnam – Learning from Children by Marc Helgesen

• Special feature: Teaching about Natural Disasters

• Conference Report: 10th Linguapax Congress by Felix Marti

• Shodoshima World Peace Camp by Nate Maddox

• News and information / Who’s Doing What?

• Book Profiles: New Book Series on Global Citizenship    

Our summer newsletter deals with two August topics. For Japan, August has three key dates linked with World War II: August 6 (Hiroshima Day), August 9 (Nagasaki Day) and August 15 (the end of the war). To mark this, we include an article by Tim Allan describing peace education activities he’s done with his Japanese students in Nagasaki. The other big event is the 2004 Olympic Games and this newsletter should arrive on your doorstep in the middle of these. Our last newsletter (#53) ran a set of teaching activities to help you prepare for this. In this issue, we present an “Olympic Worksheet” to help your students view the games from a global perspective. Also in this issue are reports on the PAC 5 conference and the 4th Asian Youth Forum (AYF) in Russia. Check out our previews of the Peace as a Global Language conference (Kyoto) and International Cooperation Festival (Tokyo) and attend these, if possible!

Special features this issue are:  

• Abstracts of global education articles from language teaching journals

• News from JALT and other language teaching organizations

• Conference Report: PAC 5 (June 24 – 27, 2004 in Vladivostok, Russia)

• Special Report: The Fourth Asian Youth Forum (AYF 4)

• Conference Announcement: Peace as a Global Language (PGL III – Sept. 2004)

• Special feature: Teaching the Olympics II (with a student worksheet)

• The Original Ground Zero: Peace Education in Nagasaki by Tim Allan

• News and information  / Who’s Doing What?

• Language teaching textbooks on global themes

• Book Profiles: Resource Books for Teaching about the Olympic Games

Our first newsletter of 2004 covers a variety of global issue topics. Our main article this issue is a description of a Model United Nations (MUN) attended by EFL students in the Middle East. This issue also includes a unique “global education checklist” designed to measure students’ learning and to help teachers add a global dimension to their curricula. Our featured topic is a special section on teaching about “International Women’s Day” timed to coincide with the annual celebrations for this event on March 8. This includes ideas for classroom activities, a Women’s Issues quiz and a list of resources (books, posters, websites) to help you teach your students about the on-going struggle for women’s rights and gender equality. Also included are a report on JALT’s 2003 language teaching conference last fall and a profile of a new series of visual data books on global issue topics. 

Special features this issue are: 

• Announcements of global education spring events

• Abstracts of global education articles from language teaching journals

• News from JALT and other language teaching organizations

• Conference Report: Global Issues at JALT 2003 (Shizuoka, Japan)

• EFL Students at a Model United Nations by Esther Lucas

• A Global Education Checklist for Student Learning by Fred Czarra

• Special feature: Teaching about International Women’s Day

• News and information / Who’s Doing What?

• Language teaching textbooks on global themes

• Book Profiles: Visual Data Atlas Series on Global Issues    

This summer 2003 newsletter marks the 50th issue of the Global Issues in Language Education Newsletter. By chance, it also marks the 50th birthday of its editor! Our first newsletter, Issue #1, was printed way back in 1990 when the concepts of global education and teaching global issues were quite new in the language teaching profession. Now, with more than a decade of work behind us, an increasing number of language teachers around the world are involved in helping their students become both fluent language learners and active global citizens. As JALT Global Issues SIG Chair and GILE Newsletter editor, I’m proud of the work our group has done and of the contribution this newsletter has made. With this 50th anniversary issue, I’d like to thank all those who have supported the GILE Newsletter over the past 13 years and look forward to working with you all on the next 50 issues as we and our students continue to work towards a world free of war, poverty, prejudice and pollution, and a world of tolerance, peace and international understanding. 

Special features this issue are:

• News from JALT and other language teaching organizations

• Conference Report: TESOL 2003 (March 24 - 29 in Baltimore, USA)

• Conference Announcement: Peace as a Global Language (PGL II – Sept. 2003)

• The Peace Project: Overcoming Intolerance by Stephaney Jones-Vo

• Global Unity through Proverbs, Metaphors and Storytelling by Vivian Chu

• Who’s Doing What?  /  News and Information

• Language teaching textbooks dealing with global issue topics

• Book Profiles: Key Resource Books on Global Topics