Tag Archives: language desire

Warning: Global English may harm your mental health

Posted on March 16, 2010 by Ingrid Piller

About ten years ago an overseas student from South Korea who was about to fail a unit I was teaching left a suicide note under my office door. She described herself as a “loser” who – in contrast to other … Continue reading →

Posted in Language & consumerism, Recent Posts | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Child pornography and English language learning

Posted on March 8, 2010 by Kimie Takahashi 高橋君江

“Child pornography and English language learning”?! Could there be a connection?! Difficult to believe but true – I’m referring to a best selling English phrase book for Japanese high school students, Moetan: English phrase book. Moetan’s storyline involves a smart … Continue reading →

Posted in Language & consumerism, Recent Posts | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

Korean beats French

Posted on December 14, 2009 by Ingrid Piller

If you could choose to learn a foreign language, which one would it be? And why? Such choices are usually constrained by what is on offer. However, someone must choose the offerings – e.g., language policy makers around the world … Continue reading →

Posted in Language learning, gender & identity, Recent Posts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

What has Western masculinity got to do with English language learning for Japanese women?

Posted on November 5, 2009 by Kimie Takahashi 高橋君江

For the last so many years I have been feeling sorry for Tourism Australia. Since their Paul Hogan (our one and only Crocodile Dundee) mega hit tourism campaign in the 1980s, they have been not so successful in getting the … Continue reading →

Posted in Language learning, gender & identity, Recent Posts | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments