@longr004

KS3 English Lead @BSB_Brussels. Trustee of @EngMedCentre. International Oracy Leader.

 Brussels, Belgium
englishandmedia.co.uk/blog/the-problem-with-subject-terminology-and-the-power-of-i-like
Joined June 2011
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289Media
I've been working on a resource for @EngMediaCentre for @PoetryDayUK - a very simple, easily do-able activity fuelled by some fabulous poems that take an unusual angle on the theme of 'Wonder'. If you're an English teacher, watch out for it on EMC website - up there by Monday!
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'Lived, not laminated' could be a mantra for so many things @MaryMyatt I'm concerned that Oracy may become 'laminated' - lots of proof of 'delivery', checklists, procedures, routines, assessment which can stymie vibrant, productive talk at the heart of the school & curriculum.
Mary Myatt@MaryMyattJun 19
Replying to @MaryMyatt
When it sits at the heart of curriculum thinking, everything shifts. A reading vision that is lived, not laminated. Free webinar Tues 23 June with Abbie Ing: Bringing the joy back into reading. Hope you can join us and you can book here: theteacherscollection.com/ha…
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I'm still seeing stuff on SM on teaching students fancy words, with words foregrounded as if they're the main point. Will using them deliver better grades? Good ideas & insights will, not complex vocabulary e.g. here's the advice to students from AQA Exam report 2024 1/
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This blog shares one teacher's bleak experience of a curriculum imposed from above. Emails from anxious, demoralised teachers come to EMC quite often & suggest that it's a growing problem that needs urgent discussion. If it's an issue for you, let us know. englishandmedia.co.uk/blog/h…

How English pupils are being silenced in lessons

An English teacher sets out how he is required to teach by his senior leaders - and what it is doing to students

englishandmedia.co.uk
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This is why, as some of us have endlessly argued, we have to treat education research with caution. Teacher judgement about own context & students matters. Classrooms are complex, messy organisms .Grand pedagogic claims, across the curriculum, are almost bound to be wrong.
nature
@NatureApr 1
A massive seven-year project exploring 3,900 social-science papers has ended with a disturbing finding go.nature.com/4bZ9khs

Half of social-science studies fail replication test in years-long project

Nature - Results from massive, ‘eagerly awaited’ initiative reinforce concerns about the credibility of science — but raise hope for solutions.

nature.com
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If there's one important thing I've said this week/year/decade it's this! We have allowed assessment (often not even valid, reliable or productive) to become a monster that has swallowed up education & taken its toll on both teachers & students.
Barbara Bleiman 🎓 Education is Conversation@BarbaraBleimanMar 23
Replying to @jotregenza
I know. I can’t believe how everything is shrunk to fit a massively disproportionate assessment & accountability regime. The answer to the ridiculous, weighty burden of assessment on teachers is simple. Do less of it! Don’t add in invalid & distorted assessment of Oracy!
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Replying to @helenrey @MaryMyatt @researchEDBrum
This is presumably the Sutherland et al Sussex study. At @EngMediaCentre we've been sharing this with teachers for a long while. Teaching more texts & teaching them at different levels of detail offers a wider range of textual experience. See the end of my LinkedIn comment below.
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I'm in contact with many AL teachers via EMC & as emag co-editor. Those who subscribe to emag are usually full of praise for what it offers them & their students! If you don't know it, here's a a little taste of it. And that's just the mag - the archive has 1000s of articles!
Barbara Bleiman 🎓 Education is Conversation@BarbaraBleimanFeb 9
Feb emagazine is now online and the print issue will be in schools in the next couple of weeks. It's chocabloc with great pieces. In this thread I'll give a taster of some of them. If you've not yet subscribed or re-subscribed, it's not too late! 🧵 1/ englishandmedia.co.uk/emc-ma…
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Here’s my new piece on Talk in English in the new National Curriculum - 10 key ideas to think about. englishandmedia.co.uk/blog/t…

Thinking Ahead - Talk in the New National Curriculum

Thoughts about the potential for using talk effectively in secondary English ahead of the new National Curriculum

englishandmedia.co.uk
Barbara Bleiman 🎓 Education is Conversation@BarbaraBleimanFeb 10
Brand new! A series of short thought pieces by @EngMediaCentre staff, on the CAR & National Curriculum reform process for English -on overarching issues, Language, Media & media literacy, Talk, Drama and Assessment. englishandmedia.co.uk/blog/e…
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Some teachers/school leaders/educators say 'every minute counts', require 'SLANT' & carve up lessons into tight segments, down to the last minute. Think-pair-share is crammed into a few minutes with a 'go!' instruction & no reflection time. What's the response to this research?
Barbara Bleiman 🎓 Education is Conversation@BarbaraBleimanJan 31
Anyone else hear Joseph Jebelli on Radio 4 this am? So interesting! A brain science corrective to the 'every second counts' bombardment of young people's brains in some versions of 'science of learning' & current trends like SLANT. Staring out the window may help you learn more!
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The wave of agreement for this set of tweets is very encouraging to me. It confirms my view that English teachers are striving for something richer, more ambitious, creative, flexible, responsive & authentically 'English' than inflexible booklets that every teacher 'delivers'.
Barbara Bleiman 🎓 Education is Conversation@BarbaraBleimanJan 23
Replying to @BarbaraBleiman
I do think, in English, we've lost the sense that a teacher might *ever* be able to go into a lesson with just a text (a poem, next chapter of a novel, a short story), read it & discuss it with very light, supportive resourcing e.g. some great prompts for talk. Great lessons 4/
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Three years on, the system that led to Ruth Perry’s death is functionally the same: high-stakes grades, fear-driven inspection, no independent route for complaint. Dangers formally warned about — and ignored. Death must never be the price of accountability. Do not forget Ruth.
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Excellent Insta video by the brilliant writer @SarahCrossan for #nationalyearofreading instagram.com/reel/DTDUWhtCP…
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I’m so proud of @EngMediaCentre & the work of my colleagues who have done so much over the past year to support secondary English & Media teachers, advocate for the subject & promote really great, inclusive & high quality versions of it, in the face of significant challenges!
English & Media Ctr@EngMediaCentre19 Dec 2025
2025 has been a very busy year here at EMC. We supported thousands of students and teachers through our courses, conferences and resources this year and hope for more of the same in 2026!!
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And an absolute DOOZY it is too!
Neil Phillipson 🇺🇦@Phillipson7014 Dec 2025
My blog: 'In the age of oracy, we neglect dialogue at our peril...' is available on the @OracyCambridge substack oracycambridge.substack.com/…
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A really interesting & valuable report from @PearsonSchools in their ´Let’s Talk English’ series, on the canon & contemporary literature. I was delighted to be asked to write the foreword. pearson.com/content/dam/glob…
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This thread seems to be attracting attention again over the past few days. If you're thinking about oracy education & school policies, it's worth doing so on the basis of sound linguistic understanding of the differences between speech & writing.
Barbara Bleiman 🎓 Education is Conversation@BarbaraBleiman19 Oct 2025
The ‘sentence’ is a written construct, not a spoken one. Making students talk ‘in full sentences’ can be stilted & impede thought. Hedges, filllers, backtracking etc all support thought. Better surely to say ‘tell me more!’ or ‘develop that idea a bit’. You could have students 1
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My responses, below, to Katherine Birbalsingh’s crossness about the ‘made-up word Oracy & her claims that her school doesn’t ‘do’ it.
Barbara Bleiman 🎓 Education is Conversation@BarbaraBleiman28 Nov 2025
Replying to @Miss_Snuffy
The word oracy came into the language in the 1960s to express a set of ideas about teaching children to talk well, how to best develop classroom talk & teach 'about' talk, just as the word 'diktat' came into the language in the 1920s, from German, to express a new set of ideas.
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Did you know you can book for single days or sessions, some online, some face to face OR a termly or annual v good value package for your whole department? Lots are now doing these packages. Worth taking a look at what’s on offer!
English & Media Ctr@EngMediaCentre12 Nov 2025
EMC SPRING COURSE PROGRAMME! Take a look at the exciting package we've put together for next term with lots on offer for specialist of English + Media across all key stages. 26 courses to choose from! englishandmedia.co.uk/course…
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Absolutely this! The ‘grammar as choice’ pedagogy.
English & Media Ctr@EngMediaCentre18 Nov 2025
Replying to @EngMediaCentre
There’s strong theory and growing evidence that contextualised grammar teaching helps students understand how grammatical choices shape meaning—beyond rote rules. For a nuanced exploration of the issues (Myhill et al) click here: buff.ly/C58CgzW
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