Two Teachers Talking™

David is the creator of many online tutorial videos, the Field Guide series, and the cohost of the MacPower Users podcast. Tony and Charles talk with David about his journey from engineer to lawyer to Mac nerd to educator. We discuss teaching tech, tech for teachers, and, of course Stoicism and arete.

Much is being written about students, ethics, and AI. What about teachers? What are the ethical issues regarding teachers and their use of AI? We do our best to determine where some of the lines are. (Yes, AI was used in preparation for this podcast.) Mentioned: Stephen Fry https://youtu.be/-Cw37g39g00?si=SyqZw4RduQUqSJW- Are you conscious? A conversation between Dawkins and ChatGPT https://richarddawkins.substack.com/p/are-you-conscious-a-conversation Eliza https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ELIZA https://eliza.botlibre.com/ Last month, we announced that instead of abruptly shutting down the podcast, we would transition to an irregular release schedule. We will only record and post a podcast when we have something we genuinely believe is worth sharing. To make it easier for you to avoid missing an episode, we are setting up a mailing list. When a new episode is released, we will send you an email notification. Just send a message to twoteacherstalking@gmail.com with the subject line “LEMME KNOW.” This will inform you whenever a new episode is released. And let your friends and colleagues know, too. If you've already asked to be added to the list, there's no need to ask again. Full notes can be found here: Two Teachers Talking: twoteacherstalking.com

The teacher gets the desks turned on him. Tony talks about the challenges he faces in his efforts to learn Spanish, with a focus on his use of Duolingo. Links Duolingo Duolingo Guides Duolingo Languages Supplemental Resources Full notes can be found here: Two Teachers Talking: twoteacherstalking.com

You've got a couple of students who have the hunger, the drive to learn. What tools can you recommend to help them up their game? Have a listen. Tools Mentioned Anki https://apps.ankiweb.net - free flashcard creation tool Citation Machine https://www.citationmachine.net - citation generator and more Claude AI https://claude.ai Duolingo https://www.duolingo.com Elicit https://elicit.com - Summarize research papers Einblick https://einblick.ai - chart generation ExplainPaper https://www.explainpaper.com - Upload paper, highlight text, and it explains stuff. Can customize explanations Heuristica https://heuristi.ca - mind mapping AI. Good for using to start out with topic or field Litmaps https://www.litmaps.com - create map/graph to read Lit reviews NextNet https://getnextnet.com - drug research OpenRead https://www.openread.academy/ - article searching Perplexity https://www.perplexity.ai Perplexity https://www.perplexity.ai PikToChart https://piktochart.com - creates infographics from text prompts Powerdrill https://powerdrill.ai - Uses your own data Scispace https://typeset.io - summarizing and reading includes conclusions Stapleton, Andy https://www.youtube.com/@DrAndyStapleton/videos - Teaching you the insider secrets of academia Tavily https://tavily.com - research agent creates research agent for a topic. Includes references and embeds links. Mainly for LLMs Zavala https://zavala.vincode.io/ - outlining tool (Mac only) Zotero https://www.zotero.org - research and citation tool Full notes can be found here: Two Teachers Talking: twoteacherstalking.com

Part two. The two old farts are in their rocking chairs on the front porch, watching the sun go down. Pull up a chair while they talk about the lessons they've learned and the wisdom they have accumulated over the years…and all the ways they've screwed up. Full notes can be found here: Two Teachers Talking: twoteacherstalking.com

The two old farts are in their rocking chairs on the front porch, watching the sun go down. Pull up a chair while they talk about the lessons they've learned and the wisdom they have accumulated over the years…and all the ways they've screwed up. They go so deep, it will be a two-parter. Full notes can be found here: Two Teachers Talking: twoteacherstalking.com

This month we wrestle with the smartphone controversy. What are the issues? What are the upsides? What is the most sensible way of dealing with this bit of tech in your classroom? Plus, a big announcement. Full notes can be found here: Two Teachers Talking: twoteacherstalking.com

We open the mailbag and field questions from listeners. Be sure to listen through to the end for the big reveal. Apologies for the audio not meeting our usual standards. 猿も木から落ちる! Full notes can be found here: Two Teachers Talking: twoteacherstalking.com

Digital Surveillance: Who's watching you and your students? We discuss some of the ways we are tracked daily, by both human and non-human agents.

Charles again talks with his daughter, this time about university graduation, future plans, how it feels to set out on a new phase in life, and some of the things learned while studying to become a teacher. Full notes can be found here: Two Teachers Talking: twoteacherstalking.com

As a non-Japanese English teacher in Japan, there are a million ways to shoot oneself in the foot…or worse. We look at some of the pitfalls that lie in wait when dealing with administration, staff, colleagues, and students. Full notes can be found here: Two Teachers Talking: twoteacherstalking.com

It's week three, and the course you so painstakingly crafted over the break is, well, tanking. We talk about what you can do to reboot. Never give up. Full notes can be found here: Two Teachers Talking: twoteacherstalking.com

We talk a little about last month's podcast, and then it's WELCOME TO RETIREMENT for Charles. Sayonara lectures, student workshops, expectations, predictions, adjustments - it's a packed episode, even without an April Fool joke. Full notes can be found here: Two Teachers Talking: twoteacherstalking.com

Japan vs. Mexico. No, not the flop sport where players can't use their hands. We talk with Prof. Alison Kitzman, now at Arkansas State University, Querétaro, about the differences and similarities in teaching English to students in Japan and in Mexico. There are surprises. And dogs. ASU - Queretaro https://astate.edu.mx/ Kindai University https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kindai_University Full notes can be found here: Two Teachers Talking: twoteacherstalking.com

A discussion on traditional and new forms of cheating, motivations for cheating, how to deal with cheating (with or without institutional support), and a perhaps overly optimistic hope of prevention. Bonus links: - All the Times Students Thought They Got Away With Cheating but Were Very, Very Wrong https://www.weareteachers.com/bad-cheating-stories - 19 Stories From Teachers Who Caught Their Students Cheating In Incredibly Extra Ways https://www.pupperish.com/students-caught-cheating Full notes can be found here: Two Teachers Talking: twoteacherstalking.com

Instead of a look back at 2023, we examine how teaching English in Japan has changed since we stepped off a plane and into a classroom many years ago–and what hasn't. Happy New Year! 明けましておめでとうございます！ Full notes can be found here: Two Teachers Talking: twoteacherstalking.com

In a pre-holiday frenzy, we tackle three not-so-mini-topics: - Syllabus preparation - Grading preparation - About that winter break Happy holidays, everyone! Full notes and past episodes can be found here: Two Teachers Talking: twoteacherstalking.com

Charles talks with his former student Taishi Watanabe about teaching English, and what it's like returning to school after working. Mentioned: Hattie, J. (2003). Teachers make a difference: What is the research evidence?  Australian Council for Educational Research Melbourne. Lukianoff, G., & Haidt, J. (2015, August 11). The Coddling of the American Mind. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/09/the-coddling-of-the-american-mind/399356/ Haidt, J. & Lukianoff, G. (2019). The Coddling of the American Mind. Penguin Books. Full notes can be found here: Two Teachers Talking: twoteacherstalking.com

We take a second look at AI and ChatGPT, how they're changing our teaching worlds, and suggest some ways to ease adaptation. Be sure to take a look at the list of works we used to create the podcast (on website). Appearance on the list is no indication of endorsement, and quality of the items is all over the map. Some educators asked for their ideas exhibit little understanding of what AI and GPT are. We can learn from that, too. My short list: Ferlazzo, Mills and Goodlad, Mollick, Qamar, Shipper. Full notes can be found here: Two Teachers Talking: twoteacherstalking.com

Tony and Charles struggle with that question and discuss the best ways to reach our students. It's not simple. Mentioned, previous episodes: - 154 Desirable Difficulties - November 2022 - 130 Learning Styles - November 2020 - 118 Great Expectations Revisited - January 2020 - 60 Great Expectations - March 2015

We discuss the value of mixing it up - using diverse deliveries, approaches, methods, activities, tasks, media, teachers. See also: 154 Desirable Difficulties and 130 Learning Styles.

Charles talks once more with an elementary education major at a university. They talk about her experiences working with a resource teacher, dealing with tech that doesn't work, and an upcoming summer school teaching gig.

While Charles recovers from his bout with COVID, Tony interviews one of his former Osaka University students, Rin Takahashi, in Querétaro, Mexico. What's she doing there? Taking a year off and traveling around the world.

We can confirm that, yes, there are classes that are just BAD. For most of us those are few and far between, but we've all had one - or will.What can you do when it's your turn? There are things you can do, and there are elements beyond your control. We hash it out.

We look at another teacher movie: Stand and Deliver (Ramón Menendez, 1988). Based on a true story of success at an inner-city Los Angeles high school. Related: - Episode 60 Great Expectations, March 2015 - Episode 118, Great Expectations Revisited, January 2020 - Jaime Escalante Forever https://youtu.be/mX0jKFd0KEk

158. Dead Poets Society This month we are going to make some folks angry. We look at one of the landmark teaching/teacher movies and conclude…well…have a listen. If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended, That you have but slumbered here While these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, No more yielding but a dream, Gentles, do not reprehend: If you pardon, we will mend: And, as I am an honest Puck, If we have unearned luck Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue, We will make amends ere long; Else the Puck a liar call; So, good night unto you all. Give me your hands, if we be friends, And Robin shall restore amends. ― William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

Well, maybe it's the time of year Or maybe it's the time of man I don't know who l am But you know life is for learning Joni Mitchel, “Woodstock” The days are short, temps are cold, energy is low, tempers may be short…several icons to us older folk already have passed as the new year begins. And if you read the news… Oh, yeah, and that pandemic thing. Lots of us - teachers and students - are DOWN. Let's just say the word. Depression. As a teacher, you're more vulnerable than most. How does it hit us and what can we do about it when it does? Links: Teachers - The forgotten frontline of the pandemic: https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/news/teachers-the-forgotten-frontline-of-the-pandemic/ Mental health of teachers, teens takes big COVID-19 hit: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/mental-health-teachers-teens-takes-big-covid-19-hit Japan - for you or someone you know Tokyo English Lifeline - 03-5774-0992 - 9 AM to 11 PM JST every day Crisis Text Line - "HELLO" to 741741 Online Chat - : https://telljp.com/lifeline/ (hours vary) USA National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - 1-800-273-TALK (8255) Crisis Text Line - "HELLO" to 741741 Online Chat - : https://988lifeline.org/chat/ Other Countries International Suicide Prevention - : https://findahelpline.com/i/iasp

The sky is falling! Or, so you'd think from the reaction to Open AI's public release of its ChatGPT "thing.” Tony and Charles try to make sense of what it is and what it isn't and how it will and won't change what we do in our teaching and in our students' learning. It's our goodbye to 2022 and our hello to 2023. Pedals down. Happy new year! あけましておめでとう！今年もよろしく！ Links: What is ChatGPT?: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/what-is-chatgpt/473664/ Lemme look: https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt/ Human this Christmas: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/20/opinion/chatgpt-writing-ai.html The College Essay Is Dead: Nobody is prepared for how AI will transform academia: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/12/chatgpt-ai-writing-college-student-essays/672371/ Samples of ChatGTP Output: http://tony-silva.com/t3/miscfiles/chatgtpoutput.pdf

It's holiday time for lots of people, and for most of them/us, that means buying gifts…and hopefully receiving, some, as well. Here's our brainstorm session of gifts for the teacher in your life. As for your favorite podcasters, cash will do nicely.

“OK, let's make this a little harder,” says Duo the Owl to us every day. We take a look at how some counter-intuitive practices can improve learning by tricking the brain to try harder. No, we're not neurologists. But we have a podcast. Sans Forgetica - YouTube: https://youtu.be/CEXzSehu5HM Sans Forgetica - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sans_forgetica Why Making Learning More Difficult Improves Your Skill Development - Erik Hamre: https://hamre-erik.medium.com/desirable-difficulty-why-you-should-make-learning-more-difficult-on-purpose-c65223046d6b

Charles talks with Nerida Rand to find out how a background in improvisation plays out in the classroom. Nerida was an exchange student in a Japanese high school in the 80's and has been back in Japan as a teacher since 1997. She teaches in the Graduate School of International Social Sciences at Yokohama National University as well as being adjunct faculty at Keio SFC. When school's out she's acting, improvising, and translating plays.

We discuss the why, how, and what of music in the classroom - as well as music for the teacher. Mentioned: Radio Paradise: https://radioparadise.com/player Misheard lyrics: https://bit.ly/t3lyrics

A bit tweaked at the end of the semester? I guess we were, too, so off we go on a lightning round session of time saving and emergency pull-stuff-out-of-your hat ideas. Mentioned: Socrative: https://www.socrative.com Google Forms: https://www.google.com/forms/about/ (does not require Google Classroom) Teachers for Ukraine: https://www.teachersforukraine.org Bonus link: - NYT - 145 Picture Prompts to Inspire Student Writing: https://tinyurl.com/nytpicprompts

We talk about teaching reading and all the ingredients that get baked into that. Why, what kind, how…all of it. Correction: only 55% of web content is in English, not 75% as I stated in the podcast. Mentioned: Episodes 73 and 77, the Paul Nation Interviews: http://twoteacherstalking.com Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China, Jung Chang: https://amzn.to/3QQCdkG "Why English?": http://tony-silva.com/eslefl/whyenglish.html

Plagiarism, again. Why the problem is so difficult to solve in Japan. Culture, society, comprehension, and plain old delinquency, the teacher is up against all of that in this fight. Mentioned in the podcast: Two Teachers Talking Podcast http://www.tony-silva.com/t3/index.html October 2021 - 141 Does everyone understand? Are there any questions? September 2014 - 54 Plagiarism

It's a new school year in Japan, and very likely, most of your classes are now again face to face, or, at least, mask to mask. Things are returning to “normal.” Or are they? What is the new normal? How have the last two years changed you, your students, your teaching, their learning, and our academic universes?

Another year begins. Instead of talking about how, we discuss some of the whys. Why teach English? Why teach foreign languages? Why English?: http://tony-silva.com/eslefl/whyenglish.html Go Abroad: www.goabroad.com/articles/language-study-abroad/why-is-it-important-to-learn-a-foreign-language Decision making: How Knowing a Foreign Language Can Improve Your Decisions, Catherine Caldwell-Harris: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/foreign-language-improve-decisions/ Lead With Languages: https://www.leadwithlanguages.org/why-learn-languages/top-ten-reasons-to-learn-languages/

Tony and Charles talk about last months' discussion with Professors George Trescott and Nathanael Rudolph on what's involved in program coordination. Then, the discussion turns to Tony's departure from Japan and his landing in Mexico.

Charles sits down with George Truscott and Nathanael Rudolph to discuss the art of Program Coordination. Approaches, philosophies, goals and outcomes, staff management, limitations, liabilities, and juggling all the balls.

Treading carefully into 2022, we first look back at Episode 143 (Teaching While Black in Japan) and two years of COVID Era Teaching. We then pull out our cloudy crystal balls for a look at the future.

Three very special guests join us to discuss being a black educator in Japan: hiring (and leaving), student interaction, staff interaction, peer interaction, teaching materials, stereotypes of the English teacher…and, most importantly, how we can improve things. Avril Haye Matsui is an educator, activist, researcher, and Ph.D. candidate, studying the status and roles of black women in ELT. You can view one of her JALT presentations here: The Changing Face of ELT: Black Women in ELT, https://youtu.be/8nO3fLcq-OQ Rachel Patterson serves as the Assistant Academic Director and instructor at the Berlitz-ELS program at the Kindai University Faculty of International Studies. Her focus is on teacher training and development, study abroad, and formal assessment. She lives in Nara and spends her free time gardening, studying Japanese, and wood burning. Professional Development Through Language Conferences: https://bit.ly/PDTLC-RP Davina Robinson is an educator, narrator, and singer living in Osaka. Tony and Davina go waaaaay back. https://davinarobinson.com

We all dream about it. What's yours look like? But, remember the old adage…be careful what you ask for. Make your list and let's compare notes.

We know that Japanese students' English comprehension is overrated, even by those of us who know that their listening comprehension is overrated. But that's not it, or, at least all of it. Join us in a deep dive on impediments to understanding and how maybe, just maybe, we can make things better. Mentioned: Grant Wiggins, Understanding By Design: https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Design-Grant-Wiggins/dp/1416600353 Gary Larson, The Far Side Comic Strip, “What they hear”: https://desertdemocrat.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/gary-larson-far-side-cartoon-what-we-say-to-dogs-blah-blah-ginger.jpeg

Thoughts and comments on teaching pronunciation and the interview with Prof. Alison Kitzman in Episode 139. Then, a brief discussion of how computer translation may require a reset on how English, or any foreign language, is taught. Mentioned: My Cousin Vinny, Two Youths: https://youtu.be/NdCijCUj8w Perfect English in an incomprehensible essay: http://tony-silva.com/download/badessayannotated.pdf DeepL Translator: https://www.deepl.com/translator English Language Statistics: http://tony-silva.com/eslefl/whyenglish.html

Prof. Alison Kitzman of Kindai University talks to us about the what, why, and how of teaching English pronunciation in Japan. Included free: cicadas and a very bad Eliza Dolittle impersonation. Mentioned: Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning, Peter C. Brown: https://www.amazon.com/Make-Stick-Peter-C-Brown-ebook/dp/B00JQ3FN7M/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=make+it+stick&qid=1627252684&s=digital-text&sr=1-1 Stress in the Speech Stream, Dr. Wayne Dickerson: https://www.amazon.com/Stress-Speech-Stream-English-Teachers/dp/0252060962 “The ‘Cornfield Test': A Study into the ‘Katakana Effect',” Alison B. Kitzman Lenneberg's (1967) Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_period_hypothesis My Fair Lady: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Fair_Lady_(film) My Cousin Vinny: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Cousin_Vinny

You know how you're “supposed” to conduct and manage your classes, assignments, and grading. Sheer work volume—classes per week, students per class—often makes that ideal impossible. So, how do you get it all done and still maintain quality and sanity? With great difficulty and effort. And some tech.

Approaching mid-semester, an odds and sods SITREP. What can we learn and apply going forward this year, including a report from Tony on the world of retirement. Mentioned: Compleat (sic) Lexical Tutor: https://www.lextutor.ca

Two heads, too many cooks...when does it make sense to sit down and hash things out and when is it better to just go it alone? Mentioned: Modular Press - Charles' new textbook and materials publishing portal. https://modularpress.org The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering, Fred Brooks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mythical_Man-Month Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert M. Pirsig https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_and_the_Art_of_Motorcycle_Maintenance

Maybe you don't know whether you'll be teaching online or in the classroom. Maybe you know. Maybe you think you know. If the past year has taught us anything, it's to be prepared for the unexpected. We try to help you cover all the bases. Good luck this year, folks.

Game Over: Tony has retired I made it. My last class was February 10, my contracts expire 3/31/20. I'm retired. 🍾 🥂 Charles and I talk about what this means. I used to teach: http://tonysensei.net Personal: http://tony-silva.com Also, for the record, after some of those last classes, I cried like a baby. I will miss teaching way more than it sounds on the podcast. When it's your time, don't be too proud or think you're too tough to seek out some counseling to ease the transition. Just sayin'. It's as big a step as it looks.

The self-sabotaging student. There's nothing so creative, resourceful, and frustrating as a student set on his or her own failure. You can't win them all.