Wishing you a Fruitful 2021!

Dear members,

It seems inadequate, even indecent, in these times to simply wish people a Happy New Year.

It smacks of more of the same, a repetition of past mistakes, a continuation of the past year’s events, a vicious cycle - whereas we are in desperate need of RENEWAL. New ideas, new ways of doing things, new thinking – some would say a new paradigm.

The ‘old normal’ is gone and buried, or so we are told. I think you’d all agree that the current ‘normal’ NEEDS to be buried, and fast! But the ‘new normal’ has yet to be constructed and we really need to be part of building it. Otherwise, others may be building in a way that suits them rather than us. These are not times to be passive and just sit back and let things happen!

I therefore wish you a few things that might be useful in both your personal and professional lives over the coming year.

First of all, I wish you plenty of DISCERNMENT to be able to understand the context that we’re in and what/where the opportunities and threats are. We are currently bombarded with information - and disinformation -and without this we can easily be deceived. And even with discernment it’s hard! But we need to see clearly enough so that we can understand where we might be able to flourish, how we can make a difference and what we need to do to become the best versions of ourselves.

To start with, here is Andrew Wickham’s report on the outlook for the training sector as promised.

Next I wish you CREATIVITY, tons of it! Because we may need to rethink what we’re doing, even re-invent ourselves to adapt to the new environment. Try to find out from your corporate clients and teaching establishments how they see things evolving over the coming year and how these changes may affect you. Get ahead of them and make your suggestions before they start imposing their new ideas without consulting you. There seems to be a bigger temptation to do this now that we’re all out of sight. School and corporate managements are looking to ‘optimise’ the situation and there doesn't seem to be much consultation going on. I advise you to be vigilant!

Dare I suggest that some of us might also benefit from a good dose of HUMILITY to accept to ask ourselves if the way we have been doing things for the past few decades is still adapted to the requirements of the current and future language learning environment? Forgive me for saying this, but, as in other professions, the more experienced we are as trainers, the more arrogant and sure of ourselves we can become. The very small percentage of language trainers attending events organised by ourselves and by TESOL France is witness to this fact. And we already know that this is going to be one of the major sticking points for the Quality Certification process! We won’t be able to go on paying lip-service to our own professional development for much longer. Anyone doing Qualiopi themselves or wanting to join Training People in the future will be concerned by this.

I therefore strongly encourage you to have a think about how you are going to develop your professional skills in the coming year.

To help you in this process, TLN will be offering a number of affordable training opportunities. This will include a new series of reflexions on learning & pedagogy – short, targeted discussions by Zoom with TLN members themselves and with professionals from other organisations. In convenient, bite-sized chunks, mostly recorded so that you can watch them later. With attendance certificates for those attending actively so that you can remain in compliance with the ongoing training requirement imposed on us all by Qualiopi.

It goes without saying that I wish you plenty of ENERGY and MOTIVATION to be able to work towards the goals you set for yourselves. Working on your physical well-being is going to be all the more important as we are likely to be condemned to the very sedentary (and unhealthy!) life of online training for the next few weeks/months. Some physical exercise, deep-breathing (check out Wim Hof!) will help boost both your energy and motivation – as well as your immune system.

I also wish you plenty of RESPECT.

Recently, there has been much arguing over a number of divisive subjects, and, frankly, it has not been pleasant to watch people hurling insults at each other on all the social media platforms. I have seen these arguments spilling over into discussion groups dedicated normally to language learning/training topics. I was gobsmacked to see the way that certain educators were capable of such disrespectful behaviour to their colleagues who held a different viewpoint.

In 2021 I would really like to see people being more respectful to others who don’t necessarily see things in the way they do. Remember that we are all looking at reality through a slightly different looking glass! Our individual opinions, our favourite media viewpoints, our favourite experts’ advice etc. are only perspectives and should be treated as such.

As trainers we have an important role to play in this regard. I recently heard a trainer say, “OMG, one of my students is a full-blown QAnon supporter! What am I going to do?!!!” Rather than seeing the fact of having a student with an unusual viewpoint in his class as an opportunity for an enriching debate, he saw it as a problem to solve! I would have loved to have that person in my class and I would have encouraged a respectful and enriching discussion on the subject. Instead of seeking consensus – or, even worse, imposing our own points of view - I think it is our duty as educators to be actively encouraging the healthy expression of opposing viewpoints in our classes rather than stifling debate as a lot of our media outlets are currently doing.

Above all, let’s be COMPASSIONATE towards all those who have suffered loss – loss of loved ones, loss of income, and, especially for young people, loss of a normal social life. And towards all those who seem to have given in to fear. There are many around us now (and some within TLN) who are afraid to leave their homes, afraid to see their friends and family, who cross the street when they see another human being approaching and who are generally afraid to live their lives, even within the restrictions currently imposed on us. It is very, very sad. Let’s reach out to them, while respecting their wish for a ‘safe’ distance, of course!

Finally, I wish you all the COURAGE to be true to who you are, both in your personal life and in your professional life. Be original, quirky, eccentric – whatever is really YOU! Don’t be put off by other people telling you what to think, what to do, what to like or hate, what to be angry or pleased about, what to fear or to hope for, which politician to growl at, which guru to follow etc, etc.

Instead, think for yourself, find your UNIQUENESS and run with it! Just looking at some of the most successful trainers/coaches in the business you can’t fail to notice that they are doing just that. Not everyone will like you when you do show your true colours, but many will and you will never look back. Don’t teach or coach in a particular way, just because someone else does it like that. Do it your own way. You will enjoy it more and so will your learners.

Being unique human beings and offering something that a machine can’t is indeed the ONLY way we are going to be able to remain ‘relevant’* in the future of training when (not ‘if’) AI moves in and takes over all the more mundane aspects of the jobs we are currently doing. We need to bear that in mind and start preparing for it now.

May your 2021 be fruitful and rich in learning!

Looking forward to connecting, sharing, learning and growing with you all in the near future!

Watch out for information on TLN training opportunities as well as an update on the Training People project coming soon!

All the best,

Claire Oldmeadow

Manager - The Language Network

* cf a talk by Yuval Noah Harari, “21 Lessons for the 21^st century”