I love this peeling away of non-essentials

American Anne Thomas has been teaching English in Sendai for a decade. These are edited extracts of an email she sent to family and friends this week to let them know she was alive and a blog entry she wrote.

The 'last frontier' of Arnhem Land

AS SOMEONE working in Arnhem Land before the federal government's intervention, Sinem Saban said she found its focus on paedophilia and abuse didn't match "the reality on the ground".

IN SHORT

LOST BOY By Brent W. Jeffs Bantam, 242pp, $34.95 HOW WE LIVE AND WHY WE DIE By Lewis Wolpert Faber & Faber, 240pp, $39.99 LANCE ARMSTRONG By John Wilcockson John Murray, 383pp, $35 THE MOTHER OF MOHAMMED By Sally Neighbour Melbourne University Press, 358pp, $34.99

Language Cure In Nt Schools Could Be Fatal

It is sad to see Julia Gillard giving public backing to the ill-conceived decision of the Northern Territory Education Minister, Marion Scrymgour, to institute something close to an "English-only" program in the territory's schools that have "two-way" programs using indigenous language as well as English.

Have English, Will Travel

Your native tongue could be your passport to a world of adventure. CAREER choice can take an individual well outside the region in which they have been born and raised  and even outside their homeland.

Filter

Exercise for slackers, English takes on the undead and profit at a click.

Life Of Caring Moulded By Jesuit Teaching

WILLIAM JOSEPH QUILTY PHYSICIAN 12-1-1930 - 16-1-2008

Teachers' Pay Is Only A Small Part Of The Picture

Karin Wiese's views on teachers (Letters, February 12) reek of snobbery. I have seen good, bad, intelligent and average teachers at every level of the education system. The best and brightest are not in it because they want money or social standing, but because they love children and learning. By all means pay teachers better, but money and social standing cannot buy altruism, and that is what underlies great teaching.

The Literacy Wars: Why Teaching Children To Read And Write Is A Battleground In Australia

The Literacy Wars: Why Teaching Children to Read and Write is a Battleground in Australia Ilana Snyder Allen & Unwin, $32.95

Australian Teachers High And Dry In Japan

THOUSANDS of young foreigners teaching English in Japan were left jobless and in danger of expulsion from the country yesterday after embattled language school giant Nova shut its 925 schools and sought bankruptcy protection from creditors pursuing 43.9 billion yen.

Teachers Face Expulsion In Schools Shutdown

THOUSANDS of young foreigners teaching English in Japan were left jobless and in danger of expulsion from the country yesterday after the embattled language education giant Nova shut its 925 schools and sought bankruptcy protection from creditors pursuing 43.9 billion yen ($420 million).

Hurdles Just 'the Nature Of Teaching'

SCIENCE teacher Leela Holland is on her fourth short-term contract in two years. As far as she can tell, it's the nature of teaching when you're starting out.

English: Ticket To The World

WHEN you're qualified to teach adults English in overseas countries you have access to a satisfying job market - particularly if you want to use your skills in China or Thailand, two countries currently in need of English teachers.

Adventure In Language

Teaching English in Japan is becoming a vocal experience, writes Carolyn Jones.

A Thousand Languages, All Of Them English

As English continues its spread as the medium of global convenience, native speakers no longer enjoy a linguistic advantage.