Alison Phipps

Alison Phipps

Alison Phipps is UNESCO Professor of Refugee Integration through Languages & the Arts; Co-convener of Glasgow Refugee, Asylum and Migration Network & Principal Investigator: AHRC RM Borders

Location Glasgow

Activity

  • Thanks to you and all the learners, we've learned a lot from your comments and reflections and questions too

  • thanks Vera, glad its making you think too - all your comments are really stimulating us as well

  • And research has also shown how important music is to learning languages

  • The philosopher Merleau Ponty said 'speech is a kind of singing!'

  • very good, critical point - thank you

  • Good luck with all that language learning Jess - very admirable

  • And if the life of society is important to the individual then that also shapes directions

  • Ahhhh yes - we cannot learn all the languages in the world, but what linguists have found is that if you learn one or two you begin to find that 'quite a few' becomes possible. In other parts of the world outwith Europe and North America multilingualism is the mother tongue and people are teaching and learning languages in everyday life, not through classes,...

  • I will use that quote - 'we shouldn't bound ourselves by the languages we are oppressed to learn" Thank YOU

  • Very interesting Irma

  • And it's amazing what happens when we let ourselves learn with love

  • Thanks so much for these comments The Ya Aung and for the way they have opened out your desire to learn ethnic languages of Myanmar.

  • that is a beautiful summary of the video Ariel

  • Thanks for teaching us so much about the different requirements in The Netherlands

  • yes - the social being is vital to being human

  • This is a really good summary and I love the comment about 'perfumed' - a nice play with the idea of hygiene.

  • Thanks Horia, interesting comments

  • Thanks - I know the musicians will enjoy this comment too

  • What was the surprise Carlos, that's interesting.

  • So glad you have been enjoying the Course Rosie and the ideas of power and influence. Do keep reading!

  • Tutors are so important for inspiring us and showing us a way of learning. I had the same experience in school

  • Yes - it's a requirement of the course platform - we have other online versions of the poem without them, but outside the future learn platform

  • These are really interesting reflections from Myanmar, The Ya Aung. Doing the activity helped me understand where power was located and who was served by it.

  • Thanks Mrs Yoko - it's lovely to have you back on the course and to receive your thoughtful comments. We often speak about your frog reflections - they are very precious to us in the team

  • very interesting points Mary

  • Nicely expressed - a dialect with an army!

  • Yes - that's correct. It's a strange place to be- a statue dominating the park but celebrating the massacre of thousands of Abassyians. At present there is a debate in the City of Glasgow about adding to the information about these old statues so people know the other side of the imperial story. Its an interesting set of issues which this raises

  • Is Latin really static? I'm not sure - its certainly got a lot of class kudos and associations with elitism in the UK context

  • I think its also important to remember that countries are never monolingual but full of many languages and dialects - Scotland has many official languages too - but its the idea of English which dominates

  • Yes - this is an important and often forgotten point

  • We also had a lot of fun putting the debate together so i'm glad you enjoyed it Jennifer

  • This is really interesting - thanks for sharing Jess

  • Yes, it's not an easy topic but it raises important questions of power and authority

  • I'm really enjoying this discussion about naming.

  • I think you will enjoy some of the sessions coming up in the next weeks

  • Beautifully expressed. Keep that passion

  • Yes- its very important to maintain the mother language and its one of the best advantages bilinguals have over other advantages for learning.

  • Yes - and this is a difficult political condition for those who don't work in English - and this is also a critique we have of this particular online course- that we have to operate in English mostly - its part of that monolingual conditioning Gramling speaks of

  • The critical component isn't about being bad at learning languages but the material and political conditions which make some more able to access language learning than others.

  • This is very important and David Gramling's work really helps you understand how different linguistic conditions come about in the world.

  • I like your curiosity about the languages of ancestors, Michael and also the heritage you are bringing in here.

  • Looking forward to introducing you to some of the new thinking around this area in future sessions

  • I hope so too

  • Thank you Mrs Yoko and welcome back to this course

  • What a thoughtful response. I like the idea of pattern here and image. What might be the image for your languages?

  • And yet also borders are closing to more and more people- there is an interesting paradox in what you are saying here Venus

  • Merleau Ponty, the French Philosopher said that 'speech is a kind of singing'

  • Magnificent diversity - that's a lovely way to describe multilingualism

  • Yes - I was reflecting earlier on the textures and even the colours of languages

  • Yes, and we must also think critically about the way many are prevented from cross borders. Before the Fall of the Berlin Wall it was difficult for many who had learned English to go to English speaking countries to speak English. Now we cross borders virtually and in entertainment, sometimes, though still with some restrictions but the face to face elements...

  • This is an important point Nika. Research has shown that its very important for everyone to have strong support for their mother or first language before learning others and alongside others too.

  • I do think this is very interesting in the video - the taste of a language and would about others senses that might be in play in a language. When I speak German it has a 'feel' too - a texture.

  • Alison Phipps made a comment

    It's wonderful to meet everyone - Bom Dia - ola - Selam - Salaam - Bonjour - Wezo - Failte - Guten Tag - looking forward to seeing your work from week one and discovering more of the wonders of multilingual learning in a Globalised World.

  • What a lovely comment and worth thinking about what the connection are between emotions and languages

  • Welcome to the course everyone Akwaaba! Its wonderful to see so many rich intercultural stories and biographies in this space already. Looking forward to following your discussions over the coming weeks.

  • And mine!

  • And to you - happy languaging

  • Those are some of my favourite texts! Great to have these added to the course Emma

  • thanks Tatiana, so glad you area enjoying the mix

  • Thank you so much for your participation and enthusiasm. Its lovely to have you on the course

  • So glad you are enjoying this Iman

  • Herzlichen Denk - thanks so much for this poem Mandy

  • Thanks Babs - we'll make sure he gets the praise!

  • so glad you enjoyed this and the readings. The monument I'm standing next to is a case in point - commemorating the slaughter of many in the name of Empire.

  • Carmen, what a lovely comment - and we had the very same feeling with you all.

  • Shona and Ndau

  • Thank you!

  • Thanks for joining us Jessica

  • how wonderful

  • I'll ask Gameli - its a great question!

  • Lovely!

  • Yes indeed - great participants - thanks for your participation Stephanie, we've really enjoyed the contributions you have made and those of everyone else

  • I hope that's a good sign - music can take you travelling

  • Ahh yes, the Puirt - mouth music!

  • Why not record it on sound cloud Francisco and we can hear your guitar too

  • Yes, I'm so glad the film makers left in the laughter!

  • Thank you - we are so glad you like it.

  • Thank you for saying this your way - Gracias tambien.

  • Of course!

  • Shukran Hafsa El Hamdulilah.

  • Yes, we were delighted when the team at IUG in Gaza shared this with us for our online course.

  • Thank you so much for this Stephanie - very interesting.

  • It is very enriching to read your comments and experience here. Thank you all

  • This is such a helpful post Trevor - thank you so much for bringing your expertise into the course for us all to share.

  • Richard and Susanne - I feel you are close to writing poetry in your reflections. These are really evocative pieces of creative writing which you have produced here. Thank you

  • Yes, its interesting how the two end up linked in your observation as well. I wonder if its because images invite cooperative approaches because we know there cannot be a 'right' interpretation.

  • Do reading Evelyn Arizpe et al's work for the ways they have used these books too - lots of interesting ideas for class work.

  • Do read up on Arizpe at al and the ways in which their work has been used in classes

  • All these seem really interesting possibilities Trevor - not just picture books but many formats

  • I've really enjoyed Winne the Pooh in Russian recently!

  • Oh yes - The Snowman and Mr Bean - both have been brilliant resources in my own teaching. One my learners used Mr Bean at Christmas and asked half the class to sit with back to the audience and half to describe in words what was happening on screen - we were helpless with laughter by the end of the session.

  • Miriam, I am enjoying hearing the distinct footprints made by your languaging heart in this course.

  • Thank Giuseppina, for your deep thoughts with this piece and for finding ways of using these words for yourself. Thank you too for recognising the artists - we will convey your thoughts to Tawona, Simon and Rhea so they know that their work has resonated with you.

  • Thank you for these very perceptive comments David, which clearly come from such an in-depth and personal knowledge too. I lovel your prase 'beyond being a curiosity'

  • good points susanne

  • Thanks, Mercedes, for sharing this.

  • That is a very perceptive reading of the poem Gillian

  • Marilyn Chandler Mcentyre has written a book called 'Word Tastings' about the taste of words - its worth a read Jessica.

  • what beautiful tasty, sweet comments Ella! Thanks for this

  • Thanks Nere, its great to have you with us for the course and to hear your reflections on Basque