London Calling Stand-Up Comedy in Croatia at the HUPE ELT International Conference

Alfie Brown, Jeff Leach and Paddy Lennox surrounded by admirers after the show

This was the fist time that the Croatian Teachers’ Association, HUPE, had invited British and Irish stand up comedians to their annual conference and I suspect it won’t be the last.  It was the first time that I had experienced stand-up comedy at an ELT conference and as the final event after David and Hilary Crystal’s Shakespeare show, it put the icing onto HUPE’s 20th birthday cake and created more laughs than I can ever

Ksenija about to cut the birthday cake

remember at any other ELT event I’ve been to.

In fact David and Hilary Crystal, sitting on the front row, were immediately drawn into Jeff Leach’s routine as he teased them on whether they were a couple or not, imitated David’s Welsh accent, shared banter about Macduff and invited them to follow him on twitter.

Marinko, asking David and Hilary Crystal to follow him on twitter

“Are you on twitter Sir?…You are?..Will you follow me on twitter? That would make my year.  Look how cool he is, he was like …maybe.  I’ve got to be honest,I’ll see how many people I’m already following and if I can fit you in, I will.”

Jeff was our MC for the night and the 250 or so female Croatian teachers along with a few other teachers from Serbia, the Czech Republic, Macedonia, Hungary, Bosnia and Slovenia, the US and the UK,and maybe the few random men in the audience, were quickly seduced by his charm as he invited them/us to room 505 on many occasions throughout the evening, although it was rumoured that one teacher mentioned after the show that she herself was in room 505 and was worried about how many people would be knocking on her door later into the night!

Whatever the truth of the story, room 505 has now become legendary on Facebook amongst HUPE conference goers and can never be mentioned again without a big smile and many fond memories of a sex addict half Russell Brand and half Tin-Tin. Has anyone at any of HUPE’s 20 conferences ever got up in front of an audience and declared themselves to be a sex addict? It didn’t happen in any of the talks and workshops I’ve attended.

The Role of Stand-Up Comedy

I asked the guys about what stand-up comedy was all about two days later in Rijeka. Jeff started off by saying:

Jeff next to the Slovene harvest (Paddy's gag)

“Something that speaks directly to you, for me personally, empathising with a comic on stage, finding something what they’re saying inside yourself and making a personal connection and, like I say, just good laughter. You need to make people laugh, you can make them think but you wanna make them laugh first.” And Jeff at the end of the evening while still on stage said:

Interviewed on Rijeka waterfront

“Outside of being funny as well I guess it’s the idea of learning a bit more about English culture and about how we share stories over there and how that transposes to what you do in your classrooms every single day which we are grateful for, cos you teaching young people how to speak English better than us means that they can come and enjoy our comedy, so thank you…..” .

Paddy’s take on this:

“The grandest way we can justify what we do, and not that I want to justify what we do, is that you had the court jester,

All that coffee and chestnuts....

the only person given license to make fun of the king, we’re the ones who reflect what people are thinking, and might on the ground be thinking, that’s alternative comedy, it’s

The Role of Stand-up Comedy

observational stuff and poking fun at politicians…we’re kind of getting a little bit more political now…I don’t do political stuff though, its not my bag ..that’s the currency it has that makes it valid. It shouldn’t be racist or homophobic though.”

Teacher reaction

I asked a few teachers what they thought of having stand-up comedy at ELT conferences and these were some of the answers.

“Having stand-up comedy as a part of the social event at HUPE conference that was held in April this year was a real refreshment. Talking about social events at ELT conferences in general, this one really made a difference, and what’s more important, it provoked a very

Mirna and Paddy

enthusiastic response. It showed that introducing modern and not so mainstream forms of art at a “serious event“, such as a conference ,can be very exciting and inspiring. We all stepped outside our comfort zone, something a teacher must be ready to do. We all laughed at witty and cheeky humour, and laugher, as Jeff Leach said at one point is a “fantastically healing aspect of society“, it helps us bond, and it did so. What also crossed my mind was that stand-up comedians and teachers have quite a lot in common: establishing a relationship and developing rapport with the audience/students, the importance of both verbal and body language in doing so, mixing things prepared with spontaneity, “sharing stories, ideas and trying to empathize with each other“, creating both a relaxed and thought-provoking environment, which might ultimately result in a chuckle, giggle, laughter, belly laugh or a roar and  taking risks, that’s what we have in common as well. both stand-up comedians and teachers try and experiment a bit in order to find out what might work well with their audience/students.”

Mirna from Serbia.

Aneta and Alfie

“It was such a breath of fresh air to have a colorful threesome of comedians at an ELT Conference that I’m even considering they should become a staple at such gatherings! Jeff, Alfie and Paddy left their hearts on the stage at HUPE 2012, and I would be more than happy to see them perform in Macedonia very soon! Yet what we were all wondering about the next day before leaving for home was if anybody had entered Room 505 and left it in one piece!”

Aneta from Macedonia.

Daniela and Jeff

“Campaigns promoting products and services are trying to make us believe that innovation is everywhere. However, the reality does not often fullfil one’s expectations. Personally, I am a great fan of innovation of any kind whether in teaching, learning or in one’s personal life. I like changes. There are certain cases when an innovative idea is not promoted in advance but it turns out to be indeed revolutionary. And this is the case of including stand up comedy at ELT conferences. If performed with cultural awareness and sensitivity, as it was at HUPE conference, an innovative approach might gain a lot of fans. Stand up comedy at the HUPE conference was a bright and successful idea. I suggest it might serve as an inspiration for others not in the sense of copying but rather in the sense of enforcing creativity.”

Daniela from the Czech Republic.

“I liked it a lot. it was great having that amount of laughter after two days of learning through different kinds of workshops. And what I liked the most is how they, the comedians, prepared for their stand- up, making jokes about teachers, Croatians in general and they

Ana and Paddy

compared it to situations in England. So, we could, in a way, learn something as well. they connected with us, the audience, talking about their lives.”

Ana from Croatia.

Dubravka

“I think that social events at conferences are meant for fun after whole day’s sessions and serious stuff. I also think that our lives in general are getting more and more difficult in all respects, so we sometimes need to forget about everything and let things go. There are also some of us in our let’s say “golden age” and if we can forget about this fact for only a moment, we have done a wonderful thing…”

Dubravka from Croatia.

Lidija

“Laughing at someone’s jokes makes you live longer – so, why don’t we do it more often…Laughing at London Comedy stand up comedians makes you die laughing – not everyone can do that.That was an amazing evening that we’ll all remember for the rest of our lives. Seeing a couple of them doing it so easily and then hundreds of people laughing at them so hilariously made me forget everything bad in this world, at least for an hour or two. The jokes they just let out of their sleeves, their stories that made us love them just a bit, and, finally relaxed people and the whole atmosphere…”

Lidija from Croatia.

Marinko and Paddy

” Apart from bringing great fun to the conference, the stand up comedy is also very authentic as it brings language and cultural references from the native speakers. On the other hand, it was great to see comedians adapting their materials to the audience which reminded me of us teachers doing the same things in our classes. Also, comedy is often produced from the subtlety and intricacy of language and as a language teacher I really enjoyed some of the puns and witty remarks.”

Marinko from Croatia.

Irena

“It was great to see live English comedy. Everybody was having fun and it was good  to relax after hard work (teachers need that, too :)”

Irena from Croatia.

“Well, we heard genuine English humour and could test both our language & culture… Some people of my generation said it was too loud & too much dirty language… but, like always, degustibus… Most of the people liked one guy in particular, the ladies will remember the number of his room on their death bed! They were refreshing, genuine and every conference should have something like that!”

Višnja from Croatia.

Višnja

Ksenija getting some relaxation with Alfie and Jeff

“I think that people at the conference need relaxation after the whole day of working, sitting, listening…and there is no better way than LAUGHTER!!  People expect HUPE to be fun, and not only hard work…
So, that was the main reason for inviting them…Also, you know that we always try to have smething new at HUPE, so I BET it was really something BRAND NEW!! It was a bold thing to do but having guts paid off well!”

Ksenija from Croatia.

London Calling Live

And here is some of the show for your enjoyment or to enjoy again:

Nino Bantić, a Croatian journalist working in London and the guy who brought the comedians to Croatia, believes that stand up comedy is an important part of British culture and well worth exporting. “When I was a student we were not

Nino Bantic, the driving force behind the whole event

only learning just the English language but about English culture, this language that is quite alive… but stand up  is also an important part of English and British and English speaking culture and I think this is a natural choice.”

What is obvious is that lots of people liked it at the HUPE conference and I think if you have a session after the stand up where people have a chance to talk to the comedians about stand up comedy then that would be an added attraction enriching and deepening the whole experience.

Rapport, Reflection, Risk, Respect, Empathy, Spontaneity, Humour and Hrvatska

The areas of developing rapport, spontaneity, empathising with your audience, respecting your audience, the role of humour and laughter, pushing back the boundaries and moving into areas which involve a certain amount of risk but which engage and involve people and getting people to consciously reflect more on everyday familiar things, but from a different perspective, are areas which we as teachers certainly share with stand-up comedians. And it may be that we have a lot to learn from each other, especially when we go to other countries and enjoy their hospitality.  And wasn’t it Lidija who said the more we laugh the longer we live?

Jeff captured us on camera at end of the gig and got us to do a Mexican wave. If you were there, click on the photo and see if you can find yourself and if you weren’t there click on the photo and see if you can see any of your friends. Can you spot the Welsh linguistics professor who’s still thinking about following Jeff on twitter?

Jeff's photo of us doing a mexican wave at the end of gig

Finally, this was the interview I did with Jeff, Paddy, Nino and Vince before their next gig in Rijeka. Am looking forward to the next ELT event with some stand-up comedy,these guys would,I’m sure,be definitely interested in bringing their wicked, playful,charming and engaging brand of humour to your conference at the mere drop of a glass of rakija,a bite of burek or a strong shot of coffee in one of those wee squirrel cups Paddy has grown to love so much, provided he doesn’t mix it with too many chestnuts.

Hvala za zve! Stand up ELT, comedians and teachers of the world unite, where will the next ELT comedy be…… Čakovec?

Mark x

#eurovisionchat

elt tweet eurovision
elt tweet eurovision

Last night was Eurovision again. Was fun tweeting last year and fun last night too. This is an edited transcript of the tweets just before and during the voting to give you a flavour of what a few ELT tweeters were getting up to last night.  Good to see people in a non ELT environment tweeting about non-ELT things.  Hope I’ve managed to capture some of the flavour of it in my eurovision roving role…….Greetings from a rainy Budapest!

marekandrews

so who’s gonna do the transcript then? #eltchat #eurovision

harrisonmike

LOL RT @marekandrews: so who’s gonna do the transcript then? #eltchat #eurovision

esolcourses

RT @marekandrews: so who’s gonna do the transcript then? #eltchat #eurovision Ha Ha! 🙂

Shaunwilden

@marekandrews I assumed you were the roving reporter so you’d do it 🙂 #Eurovision #eltchat

Marisa_C

RT @esolcourses: @bcnpaul1 @Marisa_C for the next hour, my tweets will be devoted to #eurovisionchat 🙂 let’s be very rude!

vickyloras

@annabooklover Bless you Anna,you’ve made my evening with your tweets : ))))))

Marisa_C

RT @RenataWilmot: Love the dress, love the boots, love the attitude! #eurovision great voice no song though

@bcnpaul1 or what can #eurovision do for ELT ? #eltchat

RT @suzelibrarian: They should have captured Bin Laden and made him watch this instead. #Eurovision te he he he he

marekandrews

long black boots, black gloves and a blank song..nice purple nebula #eurovision

i can, i will, i know eurovision for beginners #eurovision

TEFLPet

@SimonGreenall Lol I saw your Lena tweet and can only second it. Nobody in Germany likes Lena any more. Wish I could watch TV with U guys!

ShellTerrell

@theteacherjames who you rooting for? hear Belgium entry just funny !

theteacherjames

I like Iceland. Buy one get one free. #jokefortheBritish #ELTeurovision #eurovision

Marisa_C

RT @Mazi: Spain please sing in Spanish and not English #eurovision Super !

thornburyscott

Spanish! #eurovision

Shaunwilden

@thornburyscott Well spotted 🙂

annapires

Son won’t let me watch #eurovision, but I’m enjoying following PLN tweets. You guys are hilarious! 🙂 So who are the favourites so far?

TEFLPet Am deeply ashamed that they made Lena compete a second time. She has no talent, just good looks

SimonGreenall

Serbia. now this is my kind of music. 70s #eurovison

marekandrews

so this is my tip, uplifting, celebratory, hairspray inspired or not who cares?#eurovision

Shaunwilden

Oo hang moldova maybe your vote isn’t secure, this Serbian number is quite boppy #Eurovision

ozsolmaz

What’s that Serbia? I expect Balkan countries to have a touch of ethnicity in their music. This is not Serbia! #eurovision

TEFLPet

@vickyloras Don’t fret about Greece 😉 We all know that the rest of the Greek population can sing.

thornburyscott

Full marks to Serbia #eurovision

esolcourses

RT @fionamau: RT @SimonGreenall: Serbia. now this is my kind of music. 70s. Not too bad ] yep. Agree

thornburyscott

Since when has English been all triphthongs? #eurovision

Marisa_C

RT @josepicardo: Gosh watching the serbian entry is making sicker than a prezi #eurovision Now THAT’s an elt comment! 😀

Serbia's Prezi

Serbia's Prezi

SimonGreenall

Went to Tblisi once. As I remember it was just like this. #eurovison

theteacherjames

Georgia, like Limp Bizkit, with the accent on the limp. #ELTeurovision #eurovision

Shaunwilden

I’m voting for moldova, the cones edge the 60s #Eurovision

Marisa_C

@SimonGreenall #eurovision what do u expect wiv this ELT crowd? We all have very bad taste 😀

esolcourses

@TheEngTeacher @bcnpaul1 @Marisa_C this year’s #eurovision chat poll is now open… who would you like to vote for? 😉

Marisa_C

I ain’t voting for anyone #eurovision; I refuse about 10 hours ago via TweetDeck

thornburyscott

Well, if it’s about looks, then it’s Sweden closely followed by Greece #eurovision

thornburyscott

On the other hand, if it’s about modal verbs then it’s UK #eurovision

theteacherjames

@Shaunwilden Respect to you and your fine taste in music / comedy. #Eurovision #ELTeurovision

SimonGreenall

“@bethcagnol: #eurovision” Don’t agonise, vote Moldova and catch up later. trust me.

ericbaber

So I missed #eurovision; that’s 2 or whatever hours of my life I had that you lot will never get back! (Mind you, eurovision vs ironing…)

SimonGreenall

“@ericbaber: So I missed #eurovision ironing. Lucky! I just kind of feel grubby.

esolcourses

RT @Shaunwilden: @ericbaber 2 hours with a bottle wine, cheesy music and loads of PLN pals def beat the ironing 🙂 #Eurovision

marekandrews

1 Serbia 2 Moldova 3 Italy…….not that that will be the result though. #eurovision

bethcagnol

Slovenia still has my vote. #eurovision. Iceland was like watching the British version of “The Office” sing musical theater.

thornburyscott

Don’t want bang on about it but only France, Spain and Serbia sang in their own language #eurovision

cgoodey

@thornburyscott So did Ireland and UK 😉 #eurovision

thornburyscott

Yes, and Ireland too I guess. #eurovision

SimonGreenall

@thornburyscott:but only France, Spain and Serbia sang in their own language #eurovisionso, 3 course book markets left. Excellent.

marekandrews

@SimonGreenall Hungarian sang in both Hungarian and English

ericbaber

Moldovia gets my vote, definitely!! Like the Pogues with a bit extra on top from what I can tell from clips #eurovision

bethcagnol

@SimonGreenall You gave GOT to be kidding me. Moldova?? Really?? #eurovision

Shaunwilden

@bethcagnol On c’mon they got cones on their – cones, who wouldn’t vote for cones #Eurovision

The now famous Moldovan cones

The now famous Moldovan cones

bethcagnol

@Shaunwilden Well, you have a point. Cones made Madonna famous. #eurovision

to make her hair do that? I want one for my #IATEFL conference talks! #Eurovision

SimonGreenall

“@ericbaber: @SimonGreenall Have a good wash and I’ll pop round with the iron 🙂 really? Thanks!

ericbaber

‘twould appear my PLN agrees that Moldovia is the way to go. Wonder what that says about Moldovia, me, or my PLN… #eurovision

thornburyscott

@fionamau oops! Yes, and Ireland too I guess. #eurovision

ericbaber

“@bethcagnol: Where did the girl from Georgia get the fan to make her hair do that? I want one for my #IATEFL talks! #Eurovision” Noted.

theteacherjames

@ericbaber Moldova is the only choice, it’s clear to everyone I think 😉 #eurovision

lauraesol

#eurovision will we be political this evening then

Marisa_C

I can’t even be bothered to find out who won #eurovision

Marisa_C

Lots of boring strategic voting now #eurovision

Shaunwilden

No way Cyprus gave Greece 12 points, well that’s a surprise #Eurovision

Marisa_C

Cannot believe Greece is in the lead #eurovision

annabooklover

Our interpretation of Greece leading: they are voting us out of mercy…#eurovision

@ozsolmaz Definitely!I meant whyyyy are they actually giving us points,it was a terrible song : ))))

harrisonmike

I think they should use First Past The Post for #Eurovision, right?

ericbaber

So pleased Graham is giving us his views on presenters’ hairstyles. That means a lot coming from him. #eurovision

annabooklover

@Shaunwilden Greek people are praying too Shaun! #eurovision

lauraesol

#eurovision is she a bridesmaid

bethcagnol

Hm…Kate Middleton’s plan B.

harrisonmike

@ericbaber Only watched #Eurovision when Wogan commentated. Not really interested without his dry observations…

bethcagnol

I can’t believe France has 25 points. #eurovision

brad5patterson

@esolcourses @fionamau im lost. What’s this eurovision stuff ? Something else 2 look forward 2 ? 😉

vickyloras

Is Greece actually fourth? Unglaublich! With that song?!? #eurovision

ericbaber

@harrisonmike Never really watched at all! Still haven’t, come to think of it. Why am I watching the vote?! PLN pressure?! #Eurovision

annabooklover

It was great watching with all of you! Good night everyone! #eurovision

SimonGreenall

“@bethcagnol: OMG. UK voted for Moldova. You guys must have a thing for cones. #eurovision” We have a lot of motorway cones.

harrisonmike

@ericbaber Personally, thanks to Twitter – no need to watch #eurovision or England football matches!

bethcagnol

Jak mogłes mi to zrobić? Poland didn’t vote for France. 😉 #eurovision

lauraesol

#eurovision thats it. Lost the will to live. The best rubbish isnt winning

theteacherjames

@bethcagnol We have a sense of the ridiculous. It’s what we do. #eurovision

bethcagnol

Dude, that guy from Sweden has a fabulous American accent. #eurovision

bethcagnol

@theteacherjames Oh Lord. When is taste ever a factor in voting for #eurovision contestants?

theteacherjames

@bethcagnol Tell that to the rest of Europe! #eurovision

Britsmiles

Predictable and boring. Goodnight all

chiasuan

@harrisonmike Was the UK entry Blue? I thought it was Jedward, judging by the comments on Twitter…

harrisonmike

@chiasuan Jedward were for Ireland.

theteacherjames

Boooo! Booooo! Boooo! Stop voting for your neighbours! #justjealousbecausenobodylikesus #Eurovision #ELTeurovision

chiasuan

@harrisonmike Oh I see. Who’s winning now? Is Blue or Jedward any way near the top? Is Blue doing better than Jedward?

harrisonmike

@chiasuan No idea, sorry! #amblogging =)

ericbaber

Hey, one of them is called Eric! He gets my vote. Don’t know what country he’s from though #eurovision

bethcagnol

Someone once told me that the Italians are the French in a good mood. #eurovision

theteacherjames

Only one country not speaking English I notice, quelle suprise… #ELTeurovision #Eurovision @bethcagnol

bethcagnol

@theteacherjames Yeah! What’s up with that!?!? #HeyFranceStopMakingMeLookBadonTwitter!

bethcagnol

Hey wait a sec…she looks a heck of a lot like the Duchess of Cambridge. #eurovision

bethcagnol

Two “pity points” from Portugal to France. #eurovision

SimonGreenall

“@bethcagnol:… looks a heck of a lot like the Duchess of Cambridge. #eurovision” Still can’t help thinking Duchess of Cambridge is a pub.

SimonGreenall

# Be still my beating heart. Oh no, it’s OK, it’s Dusseldorf.

lauraesol

#eurovision why cant the uk win. I want to go.

thornburyscott

Something heartwarming about this show of solidarity between neighbours, given usual mutual antipathy #eurovision

fionamau

@SimonGreenall What did Azerbaijan sing? I saw it but don’t remember it. Was it the one about Ever Nasty Love?

patjack67

#eurovision Time for Ireland to leave the Euro

theteacherjames

6 points Ireland? Thanks for nothing. #ELTeurovision #Eurovision

lauraesol

@fionamau @SimonGreenall who cares now?

lauraesol

@Amandalanguage i love eurovision

Amandalanguage

@lauraesol me too … Loving all the kitsch n weird votes

vickyloras

Ooooh Switzerland last…ouch #eurovision

ericbaber

Didn’t realise Azerbaijan was in Europe.

Azerbaijan, the most Eastern part of Eastern Europe

Azerbaijan, the most Eastern part of Eastern Europe, coloured grey on the Western shore of the Caspian Sea

SimonGreenall

“@fionamau: So…… What’s the capital of Azerbaijan? …….” easy. Erm.

annapires

@fionamau Baku. Googled it. 😉

patjack67

Well done Azerbaijan!

theteacherjames

If #Eurovision proves anything, it’s that the UK has no friendly neighbours. Even the Irish don’t like us that much.

ericbaber

Erm… They can’t sing #eurovision

CeciELT

@SimonGreenall Reading the tweets…. will definitely plan to watch it next time…too funny! #eurovision

chiasuan

Just saw a summary of Eurovision on the news!

theteacherjames

@Jonny_1988 @vickyloras @TheEngTeacher @bethcagnol @thornburyscott @ericbaber @ShellTerrell Respect to the remaining ELT #eurovision viewers

SimonGreenall

#eurovision That’s it, all over for this year. Thank you to my PLN for your company. I really must get a life.

theteacherjames

@vickyloras Yes, it was more enjoyable than most of the songs!

vickyloras

@theteacherjames Hi James!That was fun again this year…missed a couple of people but it was good : )

ALiCe__M

RT @fudgecrumpet: Wikipedia crashes as everyone tries to work out where the hell Azerbaijan is.

charltonbrooker

Right. I’m off. So night night. Can you imagine how shit Eurovision would be if it was good?

Terry Wogan  and Political Voting

terry  wogan and political voting

terry wogan and political voting

Finally, Graham Norton was the host of Eurovision last night in Britain, I was watching the Hungarian coverage so I didn’t get to see him but Terry Wogan used to do it in Britain and then gave it up because of what he saw as “political voting”.

In 2008 on his retirement from eurovision he said this.

“The elephant in the room was our singer Andy Abraham’s colour. East of the Danube, they won’t be voting for any black singer any day soon. Those who care about the contest will have had it up to here with the blatant political voting from the former satellites of the USSR that awarded this year’s event to Russia, and the even more scandalous lack of votes for the UK entry.”

Eastern European diplomats in London denied that racism had played any part. Irena Dimitrova, Bulgaria’s cultural attaché, accepted that there were very few black people in Bulgaria but insisted that race was not a factor. She said: “We are a very serious country when it comes to our music. We are very well educated musically and we like black music.” Eerik Marmei, the deputy head of the Estonian embassy in London, said: “I would say the accusation of racism is totally rubbish.”

I  despair at much of the coverage of “Eastern Europe” in the British media, and have been teaching courses on “Eastern Europeanness in the Media” in my university in Budapest for a while now and one student wrote her MA thesis on it. Comments like this from Wogan, a senior and popular media figure, only serve to deepen prejudice. Wogen is actually Irish and should know better about stereotypical depictions, particularly in the light of the experience of his own country.

The Real Politics of Eurovision

In 1968 Franco bought votes to win the competition to bring it back to Spain, in 1970 after Dana’s victory in Amsterdam she was flown from Dublin to Derry in an Irish plane into “UK” airspace on the island of Ireland for the first time and Nicole won for Germany in Harrogate in 1982 with a song called “ein bischen Frieden” a little peace at a time of heightened tension in Europe with Cruise Missiles and the Falklands War. The whole thing was started in 1956 to unite broadcasters in Western Europe but also to strengthen Western Europe against Eastern Europe. In 1961, the year the Berlin wall went up Eastern Europe started its own song contest in Sopot Poland on the Baltic coast.

In 1998 in the town of my birth Birmingham, the Israeli transvestite Dana International won and the Birmingham promoter of the event gave the first rows to the Lesbian and Gay community, since then Eurovision has been a very important event in the LGBT calendar transcending both national and nationalisitc boundaries.

Check out this programme for more on all of this, an excellent history of Eurovision.

One of my friends wrote to me yesterday on facebook saying: “I’m a bit mystified regarding your current Eurovision obsession!”

Well, it is a big European cultural phenonemon and apart from being a lot of fun, it also reveals values, beliefs and prejudices which make it worth having a look at. I did a bit on it in class last week looking at who votes for who and why and this is a great tool to work with.  Roll on next year, really enjoyed the craic last night and if the UK want to win with a boy band they’d better ask Take That.

understaning eurovision voting patterns
Understanding eurovision voting patterns

The Alternative Vote, Intercultural Education,the ELT Classroom and the Happy Casual Cat

Yes or No

Yes or No

Today only the second ever referendum will be held in the history of the British state.  It is also the first time the result will be binding on the government.  I remember the first one when we had to vote on whether Britain should continue to be a member of the European Union or the European Economic Community as it was known in 1975.  I was at school at the time, just turned 18 but remember nothing about learning about it in the classroom.

Referendum Question

nice pic that was passed around on twitter today via @andrewbloch

nice pic that was passed around on twitter today via @andrewbloch

Based on the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition agreement, the referendum is to be a simple majority yes/no question as to whether to replace the current First Past the Post (FPTP) electoral system used in general elections with the Alternative Vote (AV) system. The question posed by the referendum is:

At present, the UK uses the “first past the post” system to elect MPs to the House of Commons. Should the “alternative vote” system be used instead?

NO to AV or YES to fairer votes?

NO to AV or YES to fairer votes?

In Wales the question on the ballot paper will also appear in Welsh.

Ar hyn o bryd, mae’r DU yn defnyddio’r system “y cyntaf i’r felin” i ethol ASau i Dŷ’r Cyffredin. A ddylid defnyddio’r system “pleidlais amgen” yn lle hynny?

Using the front pages of newspapers in the classroom

The press has been very active in the campaign and these are some of the front pages of the British newspapers today. It is part of British culture at election times that editors of newspapers are never shy of directing their readers in the direction of who or what to vote for. Analysing front pages of newspapers on significant days is a great task for students in the ELT classroom and today’s papers provide engaging learning opportunities for noticing and compare and contrast activities. How much space is devoted to AV? What is the newspaper’s position? Which other issues are highlighted on the front pages and why?

SAY NO TO AV
SAY NO TO AV
VOTE NO TO STAND UP FOR DEMOCRACY
VOTE NO TO STAND UP FOR DEMOCRACY
WHY YOU MUST VOTE NO TO AV TODAY
WHY YOU MUST VOTE NO TO AV TODAY
VOTE NO
WHY IT IS VITAL TO VOTE NO TODAY
VOTE YES
YES FOR LABOUR AND AV
Super Thursday and the stake are high
Super Thursday and the stakes are high
British Newspaper Circulation Figures
British Newspaper Circulation Figures

It is only “The Independent” that puts the views of the three party leaders on the front page of its newspaper.

According to David Cameron, the British Prime Minister:

Cameron and AV

Cameron and AV

“It would be wrong for Britain, it is obscure, it is unfair and I believe it would be a backward step for our country”

According to NickClegg, Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Democrats  ” If

Clegg and AV

Clegg and AV

you want something a bit fairer , a bit better, which makes all politicians work a bit  harder for your vote then vote yes”

And according to ED Miliband, leader of the Labour Party

“In the 10 minutes it takes to vote you could change British politics for the better.”

Miliband and AV

Miliband and AV

Over 85% of newspapers sold today in Britain support the continuation of the present system and against AV. My own views are well represented by Caroline Lucas, the only Green MP in Britain

The Green Case for AV

“The Green party has been fully supportive of the Yes Campaign, on the basis that it represents a step towards strengthening our democracy – and because we think it’s right that MPs, who will need to secure at least 50% of the vote to be certain of winning, will have to reach out more widely to keep voters’ support.

The current first-past-the-post system was designed for a different age, when 95% voted for the two main Westminster parties; at the last election this fell to 65%. Today, as there is ever greater pluralism in our politics, it’s clear that we need a reformed voting system that delivers fair representation.

To my mind, there is no doubt that AV is an improvement on FPTP, which will give the public a greater voice, reduce the likelihood of safe seats and tackle the cynicism of large-scale tactical voting.

While it’s no secret that many of us would have preferred a system of proportional representation, that option is not on the ballot paper. We should not let the best be the enemy of the good.

Whichever way you look at it, a “No” vote would be interpreted by this government as a vote against change. It would maintain the status quo and set back the campaign for wider constitutional reform by at least a generation. From a democratic perspective and from an environmental one, this is a setback we can ill afford.”

Caroline Lucas, fair(er) votes are worth fighting for

Caroline Lucas, fair(er) votes are worth fighting for

An integral part of intercultural education in ELT

The arguments for and against a change in the electoral system can be found here.  An analysis of the front page of the British newspapers today along side the circulation figures might be an enjoyable and creative task in some ELT contexts.  As a part of citizenship and media education in Seconday Schools, both inside and outside Britain, this kind of comparative, contemporary and critical approach to  intercultural education has long been part of  British Studies projects within the British Council since the projects were launched in Eastern and Central Europe after 1991. It is also something I work on in the Applied Linguistics Department at ELTE, the university I teach in in Budapest.

Politics in class?

Some people argue that doing this kind of thing is being too political, however it can be argued that it is just as political not to do it. If it is desirable to have a well-educated society, then education for citizenship, part of which is knowledge of the electoral system, is an educational responsibility which all schools are faced with. Critical reading within a critical media programme within English language lessons with 17/18-year-old students is one place where this could and maybe should happen.

A cat-friendly explanation of the Alternative Vote System

And if you are still not sure about the AV system then this video will help you to decide how to miaoooooow and how we will have much happier kitties in the future. The dog has always won very easily in the past without actually having to put too much effort into it.

Education for citizenship for cats and humans alike, all stand to benefit

Education for Citizenship

Education for Citizenship