The official website of educator Jack C Richards

Review in RELC

Marilyn Nesta Lewis and Marie Alina Yeo review Teaching and Learning in English Medium Instruction in RELC Journal.

The authors’ modest subtitle, An Introduction, could suggest that the book would appeal only to those who know little about the topic. Yet, as this review aims to show, in fact, its contents would be helpful to teachers at various stages of their EMI teaching journey. It would also be useful for teacher educators, researchers and administrators
involved in this growing phenomenon.

Link to full review…

Special Issue of Language Teaching Research Quarterly

Positive Book Review

Reviewers give a very positive review of Richards and Pun Teaching and Learning in English Medium Instruction

Richards and Pun’s experiences of EMI in various contexts make this book an engaging read for anyone in the field. With its broad coverage and in-depth treatment of essential topics in EMI, this volume is indispensable reading for EMI researchers, classroom teachers, EMI policymakers and administrators, as well as students on TESOL teacher training programs.

Link to full review…

Piano Recitals at Tiromoana

Piano recitals by 4 student pianists to be held at Dr. Richards Gisborne residence in July, August, September and October 2022 featuring Tony Yan Tong Chen, Ben Kennedy, William Perry and Otis Prescott Mason.

Tony Chen Lin & Long Nguyen at Tiromoana

A recital in Gisborne on the 3rd July 2022 by pianist Tony Chen Lin and bassoonist Long Nguyen:

WEBER Bassoon Concerto in F major, Op.75
SCHUMANN Kreisleriana Op.16
ELGAR Romance for Bassoon and Piano, Op.62
TANSMAN Suite for Bassoon and Piano

New Series of Professional Books

Professor Richards has been invited to contribute to a new series of practical professional books for teachers of English in China. The series is being published by Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, the educational publishing division of Beijing University of Foreign Studies and the largest university press in China. The series editors for the books are Professor Guoxing Yu (Bristol University) and Professor Peter Gu (Victoria University, Wellington). The title and contents of Professor Richards’ book are:

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Closing the Jack C Richards Decorative Arts Gallery

The reasoning behind my decision to close down the Jack C Richards Decorative Arts Gallery at The Tairāwhiti Museum, Gisborne

 On 23 December 2011 the Museum and I signed an agreement that the museum trust would build an extension, to be known as ‘the Richards Gallery’ to be funded by Jack Richards at a cost of some $350,000.

The agreement stated that the gallery would primarily be used for the purpose of housing and displaying objects on loan from Jack Richards’ collection, but also items from the Museum’s own collection and touring exhibitions. The agreement also specified that items from the Richards collection would be displayed in a different section of the gallery from items from the museum collection. The MOU states:

“The museum may exhibit items other than Jack Richards collection for up to four months each year in the general exhibition component of the gallery”.

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Sponsored Activities in Support of Music and the Arts 2021

  • January: Recitals by Samuel Woosol Jeon – 17 yrs old (piano) & Christine Yesol Jeon – 13 yrs old (cello) at Tiromoana.
  • March: Piano recital by Lixin Zhang, at Waikato University, Hamilton.
  • April: Piano recital by Tony Yan Tong Chen at Tiromoana.
  • April: Piano recital by Jian Liu at Tiromoana.
  • July: Vocal recital by William King (baritone) at Tiromoana.
  • July: Concert by students from the Waikato University School of Music – at Tairawhiti Museum, Gisborne
  • Further events to be confirmed

Other activities:

  • Scholarships for students in the Toihokura Program in Contemporary Maori Arts
  • Patron of the Gisborne International Music Competition                                  
  • Support for the Tairawhiti Arts Festival 2021
  • Grant to the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation to support New Zealand musicians
  • Sponsorship of a CD to be recorded by pianist Tony Yan Tong Chen for Rattle Records
  • Jack C Richards Travel Scholarship, provided to all finalists in the Chamber Music New Zealand School Chamber Music Competition

Activities in Support of Musicians

Dr. Richards was active in support of musicians and cultural activities in 2020. Primary among these activities were:

  • Sponsorship of piano recitals by two New Zealand musicians whose studies overseas were disrupted due to the Corona Virus
  • September 6th, Piano recital by Tony Chen at St Andrew’s Church, Wellington
  • October 20th, all Chopin recital by Lixin Zhang at St Andrews Church, Wellington.

A series of house concerts were also organized at Tiromoana in Gisborne:

  • August 30th: Piano recital by Nicholas Kovacev.
  • September 6th: Recital by Will King (baritone) and Nicholas Kovacev at Tiromoana
  • October 20th: Piano recital by Liam Furey
  • November 22nd: Pianist Ya-Ting Liou performed Beethoven’s Diabelli Variatios

Support for other cultural activities included:

  • Support for the Tairawhiti Arts Fair, Gisborne (October)
  • Support for renovations of the kitchen at Tairawhiti Museum, Gisborne
  • Support for the Gisborne International Music Competition (November)
  • Grant to the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation to support New Zealand musicians in the UK
  • Sponsorship of a concert to honour New Zealand composer John Psathias (December)
  • Sponsorship of the New Zealand Classical Guitar Competition (December)
  • Sponsorship of a CD to be recorded by Tony Chen for Rattle Records (December)