Chris Walklett

Biography

I have been working for this Department at the University of Essex since summer 2003, which at present is over 22 years. During that time, I have taught on and led various modules in this department, first as ELTC, then as International Academy and now as Essex Pathways Department. At present, I am lecturing on and module leading IA139 (Post War Britain Identity, Culture, Conflict and Change), IA147 RADS for Psychology (AKA academic skills for psychology students) and joint module leading IA138 (Knowing your World from Language to Politics) I have many areas of interest, including UK cultural change, particularly between the 1960s and 1990s. Outside this and in the field of TESOL/Linguistics, my area of expertise is employing music and songs in teaching. I hold a BTEC National Business Diploma, a BA Honours in Literature and History (2:1) – my dissertation being on the late, great Iain Banks, a CTEFLA teaching certificate, a postgraduate teaching diploma (Dip TESOL) and an MA TESOL (Merit), which added some further theoretical knowledge to my practical experience. My MA dissertation was on the use of songs and song lyrics in EFL course books. I am currently studying for a PhD exploring the link between songs and protest. I have been teaching for over 30 years, including in the UK, Belgium, Brazil and Greece and given conference talks/papers/workshops all around the UK and Ireland and in countries including the Netherlands, Malta, Slovenia, Italy, Spain, Moldova and Macedonia. In June 2015, I was invited to give a Ted X Talk at the University of Essex on the place of song lyrics in the canon of English literature. I have had articles published in a variety of fields, including assessment and culture/social English, and I have also had articles published in IATEFL Voices, IATEFL Selections, INFORM, Humanising Language Teaching Magazine amongst others. and in 2019 was the plenary speaker for Aschehoug, one of the leading publishing houses in Norway / Denmark. I have given many in-house lectures to a wide number of students on subjects that include British culture, British music history, the link between music and criminology, and genealogy – I am an experienced genealogist who has traced his family tree back eight generations. I have externally examined/validated for the University of Winchester am an experienced examiner who has worked for all major examining bodies, including Cambridge, IELTS and Trinity College, London. I am a published author featured in New Ways with Teaching with Music (TESOL International Association) and 20th Century Skills (Express Publishing), to name but two. I am also the author and creator of the highly successful Teaching Tracks series of books. I have recently finished a novel (writing as Chris Foster Tolley) entitled Trip ’89, due for an autumn 2025 release date. Qualifications  PhD candidate  MATESOL University of Essex,  Diploma (TESOL) University of Brighton,  Certificate TEFL, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge  BA Honours (History & Literature) Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge  B/TEC National Diploma in Business Studies. Suffolk College, Ipswich,

Qualifications

• MATESOL University of Essex,

• Diploma (TESOL) University of Brighton,

• Certificate TEFL Anglia Ruskin University,

• BA Honours (History & Literature) Anglia Ruskin University,

• HN Diploma Business Studies Suffolk New College,

• Cambridge BA (Honours) 1996. Literature & History joint Degree - 2:1 Suffolk College

• B/TEC National Diploma in Business Studies. Suffolk College, Ipswich,