Episode 78: World Cup, Jim Cummins, and Critical Thinking

(TEFLology Podcast)



* Fascinating.  I had no idea that Ned Ludd wasn't a real person.  But I looked it up on Wikipedia, and it turns out this is correct.

* Regarding the question of whether Google Translate is going to put us all out of business---I've been teaching in the developing world (Cambodia, Vietnam) and the big reason people learn English here is because they want to be able to study abroad.  I think this is something that Google Translate is going to be able to replace anytime soon.

* Critical Thinking--I agree with the TEFLologists completely on this.  For years now, I've also been annoyed by the use of "Critical Thinking" as a buzzword in ELT.  For precisely the reasons the TEFLologists mention.  Not only in Japan, but also in Cambodia and Vietnam, the buzzword is often used in ELT to imply that Asians have no critical thinking skills, and need to be taught critical thinking by their Western English teacher.