2021-2023
Newsletter Archives

Welcome to our fall issue for 2023! Did everyone survive the summer heat? This edition contains: (1) an essay by Marc Amigone on 7 ways that we can help our students become global citizens, (2) an article by Anna Ito about a Black in America EFL unit she devised that introduces students to the experience of African Americans and (3) a description by Bethany Lacy of how she engages students with social issues using picturebooks. The first week of October is Banned Books Week. To mark this, we include a section on teaching about banned books with case studies, quotes and lists. This issue also features EuroClio history education guides, updates on Ukraine, teaching ideas on the UN, corruption, human rights, Nobel Peace Prize and random acts of kindness plus conference reports on JACET 2023 (Tokyo) and Shin-Eiken 2023 (Toyama). Have a great fall semester!

Welcome to our spring issue for 2023! This edition contains: (1) an article by Brent Simmonds on how to teach about inspiring African youth climate activists, (2) a description by John Guy Perrem of an EFL teaching unit he designed on the issue of homeless children; and (3) ideas from John Carlson of the organization Kid-Inspired Classroom (KIC) on how we can create peace in our language classrooms. Our special features include a section on Teaching about the Eurovision Song Contest, a description of a Tandem peace exchange project and an update on the Russia-Ukraine crisis. We also share conference reports from Kyoto, the US and Turkey plus new global education books. Have a great spring semester!

 Our long hot summer has come to an end as we start our fall classes around Japan. This newsletter contains: (1) an article by John Guy Perrem that describes a teaching unit he designed on peace and conflict in Northern Ireland and (2) a report by Chia Suan Chong on new trends in ELT based on recent winners of the BBC Elton Awards. Our two special features provide a variety of teaching ideas, activities and resources on (1) religious conflicts past and present and (2) gender violence around the world. We also include reports on this summer’s Pan-SIG and JACET conferences, a preview of sessions at the upcoming JALT 2022 convention in Fukuoka, an update on how the Russia-Ukraine conflict is impacting teachers and students plus a round-up of global education news. Have a great fall semester!

A new academic year has kicked off in Japan with many of us finally teaching face-to-face classes! This spring newsletter contains: (1) an article by Jennifer Green on differences between - and student attitudes to - Japanese and English profanity, (2) a report by Luke Draper on how sustainable development can be promoted through the use of literary texts, and (3) an article by Akihiro Saito on a creative project about language policy that he designed for his intercultural 
understanding course. Our special features provide teaching resources for (1) the Russia-Ukraine conflict and (2) Russia’s targeted assassinations of Putin critics. This issue also includes a report on the TESOL 2022 conference, summaries of articles on global education, book profiles plus a round￾up of all the latest global education news. Best wishes for a great semester!

    Happy Halloween! Welcome to our fall 2021 GILE Newsletter! This issue contains: (1) a feature article by Tamara Swenson that outlines a content-based unit she designed at Osaka Jogakuin University in which Japanese students research, discuss and select nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize, (2) a description by Keith Hoy about how he engages Japanese and foreign students in thinking about education in Japan, then comparing the international rankings of education systems in different nations, and (3) an insider report by GILE Treasurer Anthony Torbert about his experience of working as a volunteer for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo this summer. This edition also includes a preview of global issue sessions at the upcoming JALT 2021 conference, a master list of Nobel Peace Prize winners, resources for learning – and teaching – about volunteering and the Nobel Peace Prize and a round-up of recent global education news. Best wishes for a great fall semester!

   Our spring 2021 newsletter coincides with Japan’s cherry blossom season. It features: (1) a description by Risa Ikeda and Gretchen Jude of an EFL lecture that teaches Black history through music, (2) a report by Hitomi Sakamoto on teaching the Paralympics to children and (3) an article by Judith Kambara about a university EFL course she designed around the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Michele Steele, an active GILE SIG member, passed away in December 2020. As a tribute to her, we reprint here an EFL article she wrote about whistleblowers. Also included is a report on the recent TESOL 2021 conference, a special feature on Asian youth activists and lots of global education news.

Welcome to our 2023 summer issue! This contains: (1) an article by Alexis Busso about
collaborative tasks that students do in her Current Topics class and (2) a look by Ellii blog writer Emily Bryson at six key language teaching trends to watch for in 2023. August 4th marks the day when Anne Frank was arrested by the Nazis back in 1944. To honor this brave young girl, Rome based educator Emiliana Rufo shares a powerful EFL unit she designed on Anne Frank and the Holocaust. Our conference reports focus on global issues at Pan-SIG 2023 in Kyoto and at this spring’s IATEFL conference in the UK. Special features include educational resources on climate action from TESOL’s ER-PLN, teaching ideas on current events plus exciting new books on global issue themes. Stay cool and have a great summer!

    Welcome to our first GILE Newsletter of 2023! This issue contains: (1) a description by Jeff Morrow of an English textbook he designed that has students study environmental issues, then design creative eco-projects; (2) a discussion by Margalit Faden about the need for English teachers to “decolonize” their curricula by including diverse content, views and voices, and (3) a report by Edward Escobar on a class simulation that has students create and manage their own countries as preparation for a high school English Model UN. Our special features this edition include an update on Russia’s brutal war on Ukraine, a preview of events for the coming year, a report on JALT 2022 in Fukuoka, a list of global calendars for 2023 plus a round-up of recent global education news. Please have a great spring break! 

As we come to the end of the spring semester, teachers and students in Japan are facing rising temperatures and a new wave of COVID infections. This summer newsletter contains: (1) an article by Jennifer Yphantides describing her work with Teachers for Ukraine, (2) a special report on a Global Peace Path project that bring students and refugees together, and (3) an article by May Kyaw Oo on how she teaches EFL students about global issues related to fast fashion. Our two special features provide teaching ideas and resources on (1) the shooting of Shinzo Abe and (2) abortion and the overturning of Roe vs. Wade in the US. This issue also includes a report on the IATEFL 2022 conference, book profiles plus a round- up of all the latest global education news. Good luck in surviving the rest of the summer!

    Happy New Year to all our GILE readers in Japan and around the world! Our first newsletter of 2022 contains: (1) an article by Hitomi Sakamoto about an iEARN project that had university students help Japanese schoolchildren design an English video for a global exhibition, (2) an article by Jason Pratt on teaching about Afghanistan with info on an Afghan support group that his students set up, and (3) an article by Yoshimi Ochiai on how to help students think critically about unconscious bias and EFL textbook images. Our special feature is a review of 2021 and a preview of events for the coming year. This issue also includes a summary of last fall’s JALT 2021 conference, a report on JACET 2021, global calendars for 2022, books on digital citizenship and the Winter Olympics plus a round-up of all the latest global education news. Best wishes for a great spring!

    Our summer 2021 newsletter comes out at the start of Japan’s o-bon holiday, just after the end of the Tokyo Olympics. This issue features: (1) a description by Greg Goodmacher of how he uses maps in his college classroom to raise students’ global awareness, (2) an essay by John Spiri on the need for language teachers and learners to resist the lure of polarized thinking, (3) a report by Richard Miller and Saul Takahashi on online academic exchanges that they arranged between students in Japan, Burundi and Palestine, and (4) an article by Brent Simmonds on ways to teach about this fall’s International Day of the Girl Child (October 11th). Also included are reports on the 2021 Pan-SIG and Shin-Eiken conferences, two special features (Teaching about the 2020 Olympics and Teaching about Maps and Geography) plus a round-up of all the latest global education news.

    Happy New Year to all our GILE readers in Japan and around the world! Our first newsletter of 2021 features: (1) an essay and appeal by Alan Maley on global issues, human nature and our tasks as teachers, (2) a review by Gillian Pelton-Saito of a US documentary on the multi-racial reality of US schools, (3) an article by Paul Capobianco on the need to prepare graduate students for a globalized world and (4) an article by Margalit Faden on teaching about justice systems. Also included is a special feature on the impact of the Trump Era on language, education, students and schools, a report on last fall’s JALT 2020 online conference, a preview of key events for the coming year, a list of global calendars for 2021 and a round-up of all the latest global education news.