Given the current reality, the need for new approaches for teaching – especially in online/blended learning environments – is critical. More than ever before, schools around the world are shifting their focus and prioritizing the practice of social and emotional learning. The call for compassion has never been greater.
The Verbalists Education & Language Network has partnered with the world’s leading teacher training experts to deliver a series of free webinars and workshops which will help you build easily and effortlessly emotional learning into virtual, blended, or in-person environments. READ MORE
A while ago, I came across an interesting article published in The Guardian, entitled: Could language be the key to detecting fake news? The proliferation of deliberately misleading speeches, articles, websites and social media posts has led to many researchers trying to work out what the linguistic characteristics of fake news are. The article mentions that several researchers found that fake news may have in common the language they use – fake news articles use more words related to sex, death and anxiety, and overly emotional language is often deployed. The researchers noted that propaganda tends to use abstract generalities like “truth” and “freedom.”
But how accurate can artificial intelligence be in telling fact from fake? One would argue that as artificial intelligence becomes better in spotting fake news, so will bots in their editing of fake news in a way that helps to escape identification. A clever publisher of fake news will dress up the stories to suit the target audience.
Can the branding or reputation of a news source be an incentive to be honest or trustworthy? Perhaps. Apart from the fact that news companies are often government controlled, most are there to make a profit, which also raises another question: real reporting takes time and resources, while fake news can be produced almost free of charge.
Yes, we can evaluate one writing as to see if it is more informal than we would expect. We can also check if it contains lots of superlatives and emphatic language, however, still the best way to fight fake news is to be open-minded and diversify our sources of information. Regretfully, most people believe it, because they want to believe it. What matters now is not what is true, but what is believed to be true.
The Verbalists Language Network brings you active NEW YORK Program in partnership with KINGS EDUCATION, the world’s leading provider of English courses. The program is available all year round and is designed for students (age 16-25) who want to improve their English but still have plenty of free time outside of class. It’s very flexible and of great value! READ MORE
If you want to “parla Italiano” well, then you have to learn how to punctuate your words with the myriad hand gestures that are such an important part of Italians’ spoken communication. Those gestures convey subtle differences in meaning which can be hard to pick up on. One article in the New York Times claims that Italians use around 250 gestures daily. READ MORE
By now, you know that Canada is one of the most popular study destinations in the world for international students. But did you know that Canada is also actively seeking more immigrants and has a number of immigration programs designed to attract specific groups of immigrants who have Canadian education and work experience? Gaining a higher education diploma in Canada from an approved education institution is one way to qualify for Canadian permanent resident status.
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The nice thing about language is that it changes to reflect the times. The Internet has spawned lots of funny English words. Sometimes we also coin our own words and phrases for new things. Most of these new words are portmanteaus, which is the term that describes a word that’s constructed by taking some parts of two words, and making a new one. This is also known as a blend in linguistics.
Probably the best known portmanteau words are READ MORE
The Verbalists Education & Language Network invites to complete a British Council Teaching for Success MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) on the FutureLearn platform. There are three FREE courses available and if you are an English Teacher and working in the following countries: Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen – the British Council will even cover the cost of your certificate! Read More →
