We’re just getting geared up for meeting the new students! Some have already arrived, and we look forward to meeting the others at 10am in Charteris land 5.2 on Wednesday 15th.

If you’re still travelling to Edinburgh – hurry up cos this beautiful sunny weather may not last much longer!

The timetable for freshers’ week is on http://tesol-edinburgh.pbworks.com/Induction-week

Last in the series for this academic session:

April 22^nd 2.30pm Godfrey Thomson Hall

John Corbett (Department of English Language, Glasgow University)

Can teachers of English as a Foreign Language and English as a Lingua Franca use an online corpus of contemporary Scottish English?

Michael Burke (Associate Professor in English, Rhetoric & Pedagogy Head of the Academic Core Department Roosevelt Academy, Middelburg)

Rediscovering classical rhetoric: An ancient tool for successful undergraduate learning in the Dutch liberal arts and sciences

Summer graduations for 2009 will take place on 6th July

Questions about graduation (including what you have to do if you will not be at the ceremony but want to graduate “in absentia” can be found on http://www.registry.ed.ac.uk/graduations/graduation_FAQ.html

link to graduation dates and information

A series of one-hour talks + discussion

• Guest speakers all experts in their fields
• State-of-the-art topics in language study, language learning and language teaching
• Of relevance to postgraduates (MEd TESOL, MSc Language Teaching, MSc Education Language, MSc Applied Linguistics, PhD and EdD) and staff with an interest in language teaching

• for all postgraduates (MEd TESOL, MSc in Language Teaching, MSc in Applied Linguistics, PhD, Ed D) and staff with an interest in language teaching;

First lecture in the series

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November 5^th 2.30pm    Patersons Land G21

Brona Murphy (TESOL, University of Edinburgh)

‘I just don’t really kinda want to go there’: hedging and practical application in the classroom’I just don’t really kinda want to go there’: hedging and practical application in the classroom

This paper examines hedging in a 90,000-word spoken corpus of Irish English. The study examines this linguistic phenomenon by using quantitative and qualitative corpus-based tools and methodologies such as relative frequency lists, concordances as well as details of formulaic strings including significant clusters. The study highlights how insights into the form and functional diversity of hedging in this spoken corpus can inform teaching and classroom materials.

A series of one-hour talks + discussion

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· for all postgraduates (MEd TESOL, MSc in Language Teaching, MSc in Applied Linguistics, PhD, Ed D) and staff with an interest in language teaching;

The date for submission of abstracts for the BAAL conference has now passed, and soon the timetable of events will be published. The conference is on 6-8 September 2007. This would be a great opportunity for graduates of TESOL to come back to Edinburgh! We could have a reunion!

See the website for more information about the conference: http://www.baal.org.uk/conf2007/index.htm

If you’d like more information about the conference, or presenting a paper, get in touch with Joan Cutting joan.cutting@education.ed.ac.uk.

If you’d like to let us know that you’re coming (to arrange a social event), get in touch with Ruby Rennie: ruby.rennie@education.ed.ac.uk

The summer graduation ceremony will be on Friday 29th June, at 11am.

All the graduation information is on the website: http://www.ed.ac.uk/events/graduations/ 

If you are planning to come to Edinburgh for the graduation ceremony, please get in touch – we are hoping to have a small  social even on Thursday 28th for those who are here.

You can find the University calendar (the dates of terms/semesters and the official holidays) on

http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/semesters/academicyear0708.html

The next IATEFL conference will be in Aberdeen, from 18th to 22nd April. It promises to be a great event, with speakers and delegates from all over the world. It is very likely that at least a few people will be graduates from MEd/MA TESOL – do you want to meet up at some point if you are here for the conference?

Let us know and we can arrange something!

The next BAAL conference will be in Edinburgh, in September 2007. This would be a great opportunity for graduates of TESOL to come back to Edinburgh! We could have a reunion! The call for papers is already out – see the website for more information: http://www.baal.org.uk/conf2007/index.htm

If you’d like more information about the conference, or presenting a paper, get in touch with Joan Cutting joan.cutting@education.ed.ac.uk.

If you’d like to let us know that you’re coming (to arrange a social event), get in touch with Ruby Rennie: ruby.rennie@education.ed.ac.uk

As many of you will know, Gillies Haughton was unwell for some months last year. Since the summer 2006 he has been back at work and doing well, but unfortunately the condition has recurred and he has to go back into hospital this week.

We wish him all the best and hope for another speedy recovery.