Hi Hania,

I noticed the current HLT issue includes a piece on code-switching and blogging in the EFL classroom, which made this especially timely. I built Type Switch, a lightweight native macOS utility that reduces the interruption caused by changing keyboard input languages.

It can help teachers work more smoothly across lesson plans, research, student feedback, email, and other multilingual digital materials.

You can find the app here:
https://apps.apple.com/app/type-switch/id6737172560

Best,
max.babenko@typeswitch.net

Dear Pilgrims / HLT Team,

I hope this email finds you well.

I am writing to kindly ask if you could forward the message below to Mario Rinvolucri. It concerns his historical research and documentation of Greek shadow theater (Karagiozis) in Greece during the late 1960s.

Thank you very much for your assistance.

Sincerely,

Panagiotis Polymeros 

Dear Mario Rinvolucri,

I hope this message finds you in good health and spirits.

I am reaching out to you because of your invaluable work and research on the Greek shadow puppet theater (Karagiozis) during your time in Greece, particularly around the late 1960s.

I am currently conducting a study on the documentation of Karagiozis performances from that era, with a specific focus on the summer of 1969. I am trying to trace any surviving archival materials from those studies—specifically photographic records and a rumored 30-minute film of a performance recorded during that period (which is also connected to the academic work associated with the Milman Parry Collection at Harvard).

As someone who was deeply involved in documenting this art form at the time, your insights would be incredibly precious to my research. I would be deeply honored if you could share any recollections you might have about these recordings. Do you happen to remember if such a film was indeed produced, or if any photographic archives from your work during that period are still accessible?

Any guidance, memories, or advice you could offer would be of immense value to preserving this chapter of Greek cultural heritage.

Thank you so much for your time, your dedication, and your pioneering contribution to the study of Karagiozis.

With academic respect and warm regards,

Panagiotis Polymeros

Dear Panos,

Thank you for your message. I am sorry to say that Mario passed away over a year ago. 

We all keep him in our hearts and his spirit lives with us. 

Kind regards

Phil Dexter

Why we do what we do: We love inspiring and moving people

so that they can inspire and move others.

26 years in the classroom and these 5 books did the most 'damage' in my professional career - in a good way of course 😉

Not all at once. Some hit early in my career while others took me a while to fully grasp and absorb. One I didn’t fully understand until I tried to teach it to someone else.

That’s actually what #TBL4T started from. Taking these ideas seriously enough to build a course around them.

Which book did that for you?

Booklist:

1. A Framework for Task-Based Learning - Jane Willis

2. Common Ground: SLA Acquisition Theory Goes to the Classroom - Florencia Henshaw and Maris Hawkins

3. Doing Task-based Teaching - Dave and Jane Willis

4. Challenge and Change in Language Teaching - Dave and Jane Willis

5. Activities for Task-Based Learning - Neil Anderson and Neil McCutcheon

Leo Gomez