I was Teaching Resources Manager at the English Language Centre, Hove, from January 1991 to November 1996, when a fast-moving car jumped a STOP sign, knocking me off my moped and finishing my career.
The post involved general English Language teaching, maintaining the materials on the main intensive course, building up the self-access centre and supervising daily self-study sessions open to all our students.
The English Language Centre in Brighton & Hove first opened its doors in 1962 and I first taught at the school in summer 1978. From January 1991, in addition to general class teaching, I managed the ELC's first self-access centre open to all the school's students after their formal classes.
Rapid developments in educational technology meant that I had to procure new equipment for both the students and for resources management. Within a few years, schools exchanged machines such as the 64 K BBC Microcomputer for IBM-compatible PCs offering audio capabilities extending beyond the production of short bleeps.
My first English language teaching appointment was in 1973 in a boys' secondary school located in Tiaret, Algeria - a gateway to the Sahara Desert. I was recruited by Voluntary Service Overseas under the auspices of the British Council to work for the Algerian Ministry of Education, which had an ambitious plan to promote English to take the place of French as the principal European language for educational development.
The post in Tiaret was an interesting one, because many of my Algerian pupils were barely literate in any language and depended on spoken Arabic (Berber) dialect for their communication needs. There was little scope for writing on the blackboard or use of translation, since basic literacy teaching would have been impossible with so many pupils and we did not share a common language in which to translate. These limitations necessitated "a direct method approach" i.e. teaching oral English through oral English alone.
The 1970s saw significant developments in language teaching methodology. The training of teachers and curriculum developers gave added emphasis to the role of applied linguistics in language learning and teaching. Required reading now extended beyond phonetics, transformational grammar and grading and sequencing items for structurally-based language syllabuses to areas such as stylistic analysis, discourse function and semantics.
Speech Act theory was about to be popularized and applied to language teaching and course books adopting what came to be termed the Notional Functional approach were about to appear [see The Teacher's Book for Building Strategies, Brian Abbs and Ingrid Freebairn, Longman 1979].
The real advance in the 1980s and 1990s, was neither in the shambles that has come to be known as CLT [Communicative Language Teaching] nor in the fashion to dress up every piece of learning as a behavioural objective or task to be analysed ad infinitum.
By the time my teaching career came to an end in 1996, learner independence had really taken off and the advent of the Internet meant that a growing population of learners with home computers, based all around the world, could access reading and listening comprehension materials (e.g. newspapers and BBC radio broadcasts) from their homes. I was interested to discover that many teachers were producing special web sites to provide English language learners with new distance learning opportunities. Some sites (e.g. The Internel TESL Journal) maintain lists of resources, linking learners to web sites covering more aspects of English language learning than most teachers know!
I started my own site while recuperating in my parents' home from the collision which nearly cost me my life. During this four-year attempt to gain sufficient independence to return to my own home, it was important for my own self-respect that all the training and experience of previous years did not go to waste. Following a 4-week residential pain management course in 1998 at Unsted Park Hospital Godalming Surrey, where participants were encouraged to set themselves targets, I managed to teach myself sufficient HTML to design basic web pages. I received encouragement from the editor of the Internet TESL Journal, who invited me to submit quizzes and suggested ways I could improve the design of my web pages.
I already had fairly recent material to upload to my site since I had written First Time In England [ my graded reader for beginners ] and Prepare for Discussion [ a suite of materials for higher-level learners including themed crosswords ] during 1997. The need to reduce the clutter I had hoarded since the early 1970s gave new urgency to the task of reviewing all the materials I had collected as both learner and teacher. This offered scope for web pages on Teacher Training & TEFL methodology.
Education and employment
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Sep.69-Jul.72 |
London University External |
B.A. Eng, Econ & Fr. | |||
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Sep.72-Jul.73 |
Berkshire College of Education |
PGCE Junior/Middle Distinction | |||
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Sep.73-Jul.74 |
Lycée Polyvalent, Tiaret, ALGERIA (14-19 age range) |
EFL Teacher recruited by Voluntary Service Overseas | |||
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Sep.74-Jul.75 |
Oxford College of Further Education |
Lecturer in English & Mathematics to Pre-nurses | |||
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Sep.75-Jul.77 |
Mayfield Middle School, Walton-on-T. |
Head of French | |||
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Jun.78-Sep.80 |
The English Language Centre, Hove |
TEFL for varying periods | |||
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Sep.80-Jul.82 |
Fagersta AB Steelworks, Fagersta, SWEDEN |
TEFL/ESP and Cambridge courses Dip RSA TEFL | |||
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Sep.83-Sep.86 |
ELC, Hove |
TEFL | |||
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Swedish Folk High School |
Varying periods on Pensioners' Courses. | |||
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Sep.84-Jul.86 |
London University Birkbeck College |
M.A. in Second Lang. Learning and Teaching | |||
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Jan.87-Jun.87 |
INISEL Group (Electronics Company) Madrid, SPAIN |
TEFL/ESP | |||
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Jun.87-Dec.91 |
ELC, Hove |
TEFL | |||
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Jan.91-Nov.96 |
ELC, Hove |
Teaching Resources Manager (Main Intensive Course) |
Interests
In my more active years, I was involved in badminton, cycling, swimming and travel and social walking.
Weekend walks in the south of England
My favourite local territory for walking was East Sussex: Brighton to Rottingdean, Ditchling Beacon or Falmer to Lewes, Lewes or 'Rottingdean (via Telscombe Village)' to Southease, Lewes to Glynde, Southease to Firle (where a good pub lunch awaits you at The Ram Inn or on to Alfriston, Alfriston via Wilmington to Polegate, Berwick via Arlington (the little church and the pub with the garden where one can stop for lunch) to Michelham Priory, the circular from Exceat via Friston Forest and back over Seven Sisters via Cuckmere Haven.
As a student in Bournemouth, I got to know the heart of the New Forest - walking between Brockenhurst and Beaulieu or Lymington. From Lymington, there was a ferry to Yarmouth on the west side of the Isle of Wight leading to some of the best little bays on the island. West of Bournemouth was Sandbanks, the National Trust's Brownsea island, Studland, Harry's Point, Swanage, Corfe Castle and Wareham (where you could take the train back to Bournemouth).
Walking holidays in Britain
For walking holidays in Britain, I loved the Peak District, the villages of Edale, Hope and Castleton with the challenge of Kinder Scout. I also loved North Wales, in particular, the Conway Valley and the walks around Llanrwst, Betws y coed, the challenge of Snowdon, the charm of the narrow gauge steam railway from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog and both the natural beauty and the craftsmanship within the grounds of Portmeirion.
I love islands. I had a lovely holiday on the Orkney Islands after returning from Algeria. The Youth Hostel in Stromness was a converted theatre. All the girls / ladies slept on the stage behind the curtain and the boys / men slept in the auditorium. In the mornings, the warden would strike a few keys on the piano to get us up. In Kirkwall, the capital of the Orkneys, the Youth Hostel was wired for sound and the warden would broadcast Scottish pipe music to raise everybody from their slumbers.
In June 1996, I revisited Guernsey and Sark (where I had spent holidays as a child) in the company of my Spanish friend. The main change on Sark, which is car-free, is the considerable number of tractors carrying tourists' luggage to their hotels. Guernsey has a good stretch of coastal path, especially along the southern edge of the island. The south is well forested, the east has the beauty of St Peter's Port and the west has good stretches of sandy beaches - which are ok when the weather's good.
Holidays in Spain
After 1987, I spent most of my holidays in different parts of Spain together with my Spanish friend. We made three visits to Menorca. Our favourite patch is Binibeca in the south-east. I loved the fact that so many of the beaches (calas) could only be reached on foot or on one of the many bicycles available for rent. Our favourite beach (after Binibeca) was 'Cala de Pregunda' in the north.
Menorca can be windy in the off-season, so in winter months we have opted for holidays in the Canaries. I prefer the greenery of northern Tenerife (picturesque villages like Taganana) to the charcoal of Lanzarote, though 'Playa del Carmen' is bliss if you can avoid the time-share touts. What disappoints me about Lanzarote is the separation of the tourist complexes from the places where local people live and work. So many of those working in the tourist complexes are flown over from the mainland that you wonder who the island really belongs to. A tour of the capital, Arecife, emphasizes the differences in the standard of living of the visitors and the locals.
However, Tenerife (like Menorca and Guernsey) has agriculture of its own and is not solely dependent on the tourist economy. The tour operators which collect "all-inclusive" fees from holiday-makers before they travel, offer small benefit to the locals unless employment opportunities filter through to them. Unfortunately, many of the locals would not be able to afford English language classes in the UK and would find it hard to gain entry to many jobs in the tourist industry.
My last holiday before my accident was on the Spanish Costa Brava in Blanes. Roads can be avoided by taking the small boats which ferry you from bay to bay. This way it is possible to bypass overdeveloped tourist locations such as Lloret and to relax in charming bays like Santa Cristina. This part of the Costa Brava has some peaceful and delightful Botanical Gardens offering excellent cliff views - the antithesis of the kind of tourism one will find in LLoret de Mar. There are charming gardens in Blanes (Fundacion Carlos Faust: Jardin Botanico 'Mar i Murtra') on the steep hill leading to the castle. Views of the castle dominate the town, though some mobile phone company has been permitted to erect a hideous mast right next to it.
My other time-consuming hobby was film and video production. In 1964, I exchanged my Scalextric collection for a standard 8mm cine camera and projector. In 1994, when kodak standard 8mm film stock became difficult to obtain, the ciné camera was replaced by a camcorder. I have good archives of my overseas postings in Algeria and Sweden on 8mm ciné film and made a good camcorder record of the self access centre at The English Language Centre. From late 1982 to 84, I was lucky enough to attend evening courses in Television Production given by Ken Whittington at the Centre for Continuing Education at The University of Sussex. We made a documentary on the theme of drink. Bob Gunnell from the staff of Radio Brighton was one of our production team. He and some other members of the team interviewed members of the public at The Shepherd and Dog - a country pub in Fulking Sussex (I was responsible for sound i.e. holding the mic!).
My turn at directing came when I hired the Hove Arts Centre for one evening and got Roy (a former Black & White minstrel who was Landlord of The Brunswick Pub in Holland Road Hove) to assemble the local Edwardian Society. Roy performed some music hall songs - A little of what you fancy does you good, Down at the old Bull & Bush and other numbers related to the topic "drink" to the accompaniment of his pianist (only the base player from the regular trio at The Brunswick Pub was absent). The audience seated in the theatre and dressed in their Edwardian costumes provided an enthusiastic chorus, swaying to and fro, perfectly capturing the atmosphere of the Good Old Days - the BBC TV programme on which the sequence was modelled. We had a presenter who launched into a string of superlatives to introduce Roy and his pianist and each of the musical hall numbers they performed. In late 1982, I was also involved with Gavin Dutton of the 'BBC's Open Door Team' in a Television Programme (broadcast on BBC2 in 1983) focussing on the problem of 'unemployment' in the south of England, especially among youth, women and men over a certain age. I also attended evening classes in video production at The Art College, Brighton Polytechnic - now belonging to Brighton University.
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Musical interests I play the piano and guitar and attended the Singers' Club in London during its heyday, with Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger. Ewan MacColl died in October 1989 while undergoing a heart bypass operation. I have remained in contact with Peggy Seeger, who has returned to live in the United States. In 1998, Oak Publications brought out a 364 page book of her songs: The Peggy Seeger Songbook US ISBN 0.8256.0320,X or UK ISBN 0.7119.6291.X distributed by Music Sales Corporation 257 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010 USA or Music Sales Limited at 8 / 9 Frith Street, London W1V 5TZ England. Peggy has also finished editing The Ewan MacColl Songbook, now published. |
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Preparing materials for Language Learning & Teaching
My interest in writing materials for language learning and teaching really started in late 1976. I was a member of a group of Middle School Teachers who set out to produce audio-visual materials in an attempt to motivate pupils who did not enjoy their French lessons. I spent my autumn half-term in France. My French colleague from my earlier posting in Algeria, Joel Boismoreau, who lived in the walled town of Guerande (Loire-Atlantique) in Britanny, took me to a wine-making village and helped in the photography of the wine-making equipment, the vineyards and the cellars, many of which had been given over to the cultivation of mushrooms.
The team of French Teachers selected 35mm slides based on my excursion to the village of Le Puys Notre Dame and also on shots we had taken of life in a French family. A firm in Plymouth converted the sequence of slides into a filmstrip and several copies were made. I supplied a tapescript for the filmstrip and other members of the team worked on the production the main coursebook which was called Flamme - Val de Loire. I attended a meeting (after I had left my post as Head of French) to promote the materials. We got several orders straight away because we were all experiencing the same problems in trying to motivate captive 8-13 year-old learners who did not really want to learn French.
After I left my French-teaching post, I spent a number of months in Brighton working on a manuscript entitled Preparing Children For France based on the school visits I had led to Boulogne. It drew the interest of Longman, The Boulogne Chamber of Commerce and an Educational Tour Operator, but it was judged to be too "Boulogne-centred" to draw a large market. I took the view that it was far better to take children to accessible French ports where Anglo-French history had much in common than to bus them hundreds of miles to the south of France - where the main thing parents are being asked to pay for is petrol.
Family
My father Basil Power designed Vacuum Pumps for Edwards High Vacuum (now part of BOC International) based in Crawley. He participated actively in World Development issues and Amnesty International. The interests of my late mother, Lorna Power, extended to peace campaigning and participation in Adult Educational classes in world literature. The family home was often a venue for meetings of a social/political campaigning or literary nature.
My younger brother Donald, who worked for five years under the auspices of CIIR as a lecturer in microprocessing & digital electronics in the University of Managua (where he was made an honarary professor), has just left NEC in Reading where he has been working as a software-writer for mobile phones since the mid 1990s. He is married to Fabiola Barahona Quintana, who specializes in the measurement of lizards' bones.
My older brother Richard Power is a senior researcher and lecturer in the Faculty of Mathematics and Computing at the Open University in Milton Keynes in the UK. The main objective of his research is to allow people to produce high-quality technical documentation in languages they do not know. He also has a web site concerned with predicting patterns of life in the future. Richard's other web pages describe:
- his research - symbolic authoring, knowledge editing, layout and style, multiple document types, generating from patient records and posing queries to a digital science teacher
- his publications
- his personal history where there is a link to our family ancestors.
My niece Katherine Power is a freelance journalist, offering content-writing for the Web, proof-reading/editing and Italian to English translation. Katherine now edits an online magazine at www.ethicalpleasures.com which explores the idea of using science to promote happiness and well-being. The aim of www.ethicalpleasures.com is to encourage intelligent debate, rather than promote a specific position. The content spans a variety of subjects - including philosophy, psychology, health, technology and futurology.
