In case you're wondering ...Gymnopedie is basically a one-man show at the moment. I am head of a small teacher training department for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in a university. I have been teaching for almost 30 years and involved in EFL for about 20 years and working with computers in language education for 10 years. My recent claim to fame is winning first prize in the British Council's award for innovation in English language teaching publishing, the ELTON.
I keep my university part of my life separate from my Gymnopedie life by using a pseudonym, Calvin Corvidian. |
I'm CalvinHaving a birthday on February 29th, Calvin is much younger than he looks. He is one of many foreigners living in Brno, the capital of Moravia. His raison d’être is writing gay stuff: there is a book of short stories called Those Czech Boys; a soon to be completed novel, a drafted novel, and a completed but unpublished first novel from twenty-five years ago, which was probably called Gymnopedie. In the virtual world of the 21st century, Calvin has a blog at gymnop.blogspot.com as well as gay e-learning courses in English as a Foreign Language linked on the blog.
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Say hi to Gymnopedie
It doesn't matter how nice the closet is, it still is not a nice place to be. Gymnopedie is a site for gay, non-native speakers of English who would like to improve their language knowledge and skills. In Gymnopedie's e-learning courses, you dont have to pretend to be straight. Ýou do not work with teaching materials that expect you to lead a white, middle-class, Euro, christian, heterosexual lifestyle. Unlike every English as a Foreign Language course book that has ever been produced, this is a site where gay people can work with gay texts while interacting with gay people in a gay-friendly environment. Gymnopedie also aims to be a safe learning environment: bad people can be found all over the web. We do our best to keep such people away.