There’s a new kid on the block: EULEAP, a network of EUropean Lecturers of English for Academic Purposes. It’s not incorporated officially, simply coordinated technically as a Ning social networking site, and is open to anyone who is involved in teaching English (or in teaching in English!) in tertiary education: http://euleap.ning.com/
Martin Bradbeer (TH Wildau) and Nicola Fox (Oxford University Press) recently organized the first Berlin area conference for EAP, and this network is aimed at building good connections among those who met there and growing new ones, as well as preparing the follow-up event in Berlin for next year.
This network will probably need to become more formally established to allow for sponsorship and more organized administration. But that requires quite a bit of work. If it were to become an association, there’s the politics of having an independent or an IATEFL affiliated group. For the time being, I’m (just) the Ning moderator. Since I’m also the events coordinator at ELTABB and a member of the BESIG Online Team, I’m a bit worried about becoming active in yet a third association.
But I’m really happy that there are now open lines of communication in an area I want to become more at home in. So here’s wishing EULEAP a leaping start!
