Nigel Caplan
@nigelc.bsky.social
Professor @ Univ of Delaware: ESL, education, linguistics. Focused on teacher-training for multilingual learners. Also SFL, ungrading, resisting AI. Newish books: ESSENTIAL ACTIONS and GENRE EXPLAINED. www.nigelcaplan.com
Sometimes my grammar lessons write themselves
A man in Pennsylvania had been cleaning a shotgun and placed it on the bed. Officers were informed that “a dog had jumped up onto the bed, causing the shotgun to go off, which openly struck the male.”
Dog Accidentally Shoots and Injures a Pennsylvania Man, Police Say
The man had been cleaning a shotgun and placed it on the bed shortly before it was fired. He received treatment at an area hospital.
nyti.ms
November 14, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Sometimes my grammar lessons write themselves
I've lived in DE long enough not to even blink at "a mysterious Delaware LLC & a horse named Gill." That's just called Friday here.
NEW: We’ve uncovered the first known example of taxpayer money flowing from DHS to businesses controlled by Kristi Noem’s allies and friends.
It’s part of a money trail that’s been shrouded in secrecy—and involves $220 million, a mysterious Delaware LLC & a horse named Gill.
It’s part of a money trail that’s been shrouded in secrecy—and involves $220 million, a mysterious Delaware LLC & a horse named Gill.
November 14, 2025 at 4:04 PM
I've lived in DE long enough not to even blink at "a mysterious Delaware LLC & a horse named Gill." That's just called Friday here.
TESOL's position statement on "AI" is, as usual, a day late and a dollar short. It fails to define its terms, nods vaguely to "limitations and biases", and presupposes that "AI can sharpen and enhance our learning experiences" despite all evidence to the contrary. www.tesol.org/media/myuncu...
www.tesol.org
November 14, 2025 at 12:37 PM
TESOL's position statement on "AI" is, as usual, a day late and a dollar short. It fails to define its terms, nods vaguely to "limitations and biases", and presupposes that "AI can sharpen and enhance our learning experiences" despite all evidence to the contrary. www.tesol.org/media/myuncu...
Excellent. The EU has a long, inglorious history of trying to regulate food and its language (cf straight bananas). Should cause chaos on Germany where vegetarian alternatives seem to be rigidly engineered to resemble the original. I drew the line at vegetarian cordon bleu
🍔🍔🍔
Our very own PhD student Elliot bush has published a piece for In Conversation titled: 'Is a Veggie Burger Still a Burger? A linguist Explains'
Read it here: theconversation.com/is-a-veggie-...
Our very own PhD student Elliot bush has published a piece for In Conversation titled: 'Is a Veggie Burger Still a Burger? A linguist Explains'
Read it here: theconversation.com/is-a-veggie-...
Is a veggie burger still a burger? A linguist explains
The shape of a burger is reinforced in our mental linguistic definitions every time we see a burger but there isn’t a straight-forward definition.
theconversation.com
November 12, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Excellent. The EU has a long, inglorious history of trying to regulate food and its language (cf straight bananas). Should cause chaos on Germany where vegetarian alternatives seem to be rigidly engineered to resemble the original. I drew the line at vegetarian cordon bleu
These are not the geniuses the media has made them out to be. If I steal your work, use it, and the throw it away, it's fine, right guv?
“authors & publishers who filed a lawsuit against the Sam Altman-led firm have secured access to internal Slack messages… discussing the mass deletion of a pirated books dataset… A NY district court ordered OpenAI to hand over the communications regarding data deletion”
futurism.com/artificial-i...
futurism.com/artificial-i...
OpenAI in Danger After Authors Suing It Gain Access to Its Internal Slack Messages
Authors and publishers, who are suing OpenAI, secured access to internal Slack messages and emails discussing the deletion of pirated books.
futurism.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:59 PM
These are not the geniuses the media has made them out to be. If I steal your work, use it, and the throw it away, it's fine, right guv?
Good. Spend it on people not tech
Billions of Federal Dollars Are Spent on Teacher Training. Less Than Half Goes to Tech PD: Less than half of districts direct federal PD funding to technology-related training.
Billions of Federal Dollars Are Spent on Teacher Training. Less Than Half Goes to Tech PD
Less than half of districts direct federal PD funding to technology-related training.
www.edweek.org
November 5, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Good. Spend it on people not tech
Reposted by Nigel Caplan
Ok friends, buckle up, it’s funny story time!
I’m teaching a unit where my students have to learn how to describe people in Spanish. We use famous people to keep it fun and interesting.
But because I’m old and out of touch, and I don’t know what celebs these young’uns know…
I’m teaching a unit where my students have to learn how to describe people in Spanish. We use famous people to keep it fun and interesting.
But because I’m old and out of touch, and I don’t know what celebs these young’uns know…
October 28, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Ok friends, buckle up, it’s funny story time!
I’m teaching a unit where my students have to learn how to describe people in Spanish. We use famous people to keep it fun and interesting.
But because I’m old and out of touch, and I don’t know what celebs these young’uns know…
I’m teaching a unit where my students have to learn how to describe people in Spanish. We use famous people to keep it fun and interesting.
But because I’m old and out of touch, and I don’t know what celebs these young’uns know…
Applies to teachers, researchers, conference presenters, too. Shaming sloppy work is a powerful tool and a glimmer of hope
October 21, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Applies to teachers, researchers, conference presenters, too. Shaming sloppy work is a powerful tool and a glimmer of hope
Yeah then search the list of books actually included in the anthropic settlement and find out just how far under the bus the Authors' Guild threw you
Just a reminder to check for your name in this list of books that OpenAI trained from. If your name is there, they probably owe you several thousand dollars.
OpenAI cried that if everyone eligible author files, the company will go bankrupt, so I'm alerting every author I have ever spoken to.
OpenAI cried that if everyone eligible author files, the company will go bankrupt, so I'm alerting every author I have ever spoken to.
Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI
Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.
www.theatlantic.com
October 14, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Yeah then search the list of books actually included in the anthropic settlement and find out just how far under the bus the Authors' Guild threw you
The only passive verb in this bizarre exchange is "was born". I guess he should have written "when my mother bore me." Unless this actually a subtle linguistic argument about whether "rid" in "get rid" is a past participle - thus better: "when the T*** administration rid the country of ...".
October 13, 2025 at 1:31 PM
The only passive verb in this bizarre exchange is "was born". I guess he should have written "when my mother bore me." Unless this actually a subtle linguistic argument about whether "rid" in "get rid" is a past participle - thus better: "when the T*** administration rid the country of ...".
He's so close to getting the point, isn't he?
Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry
Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry
Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.
buff.ly
October 8, 2025 at 7:03 PM
He's so close to getting the point, isn't he?
Just saw a great ad on here for my linguistics courses. Apparently "she landed on the ground" is passive voice but "she was thrown to the ground by federal agents" is not. Yes, it's lousy writing but the first is active and the second clause is actually psssive.
October 4, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Just saw a great ad on here for my linguistics courses. Apparently "she landed on the ground" is passive voice but "she was thrown to the ground by federal agents" is not. Yes, it's lousy writing but the first is active and the second clause is actually psssive.
I'm not a lawyer, just a writer whose work was stolen and an educator trying to do my job, but I wish they'd actually brought down Anthropic. We don't need "AI." We do need creators.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/o...
Opinion | I Sued Anthropic, and the Unthinkable Happened
www.nytimes.com
September 29, 2025 at 11:11 AM
I'm not a lawyer, just a writer whose work was stolen and an educator trying to do my job, but I wish they'd actually brought down Anthropic. We don't need "AI." We do need creators.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/o...
You mean it's not inevitable? Gasp.
Google backtracked after I tipped the Washington Post to how they were pushing AI functionality during exams. wapo.st/47OPRzL
Column | Teachers got mad about a cheat button in Chrome. Now Google’s pausing it.
Google quietly added a “homework help” button to the world’s most-used web browser. Educators say it makes cheating too easy.
wapo.st
September 18, 2025 at 4:07 PM
You mean it's not inevitable? Gasp.
I appreciate universities who tell me so clearly where not to send my son's tuition dollars. First major school to announce its education is 100% human will clean up. Come on, Delaware. After 250 years, it's time to be the first state again
“Beginning this year, all freshmen are required to take a course in generative AI and multiple workshops aimed at real-world applications to help them master the technology.”
Ohio State University launches initiative requiring that students study AI
Beginning this year, all Ohio State University freshmen are required to take a course in generative AI and multiple workshops aimed at real-world applications to help them master the technology.
www.cbsnews.com
September 18, 2025 at 2:04 AM
I appreciate universities who tell me so clearly where not to send my son's tuition dollars. First major school to announce its education is 100% human will clean up. Come on, Delaware. After 250 years, it's time to be the first state again
I needed a good laugh. It is not indicative of a "restrictive worldview" to describe this column as a steaming pile of narrow minded, linguistically flawed, old man shouting at the wind bullshit
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/14/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/14/o...
Opinion | Why Does Everybody Swear All The Time Now?
www.nytimes.com
September 14, 2025 at 12:48 PM
I needed a good laugh. It is not indicative of a "restrictive worldview" to describe this column as a steaming pile of narrow minded, linguistically flawed, old man shouting at the wind bullshit
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/14/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/14/o...
Happy hysterical ed reporting day, to all who celebrate. A few reminders about NAEP: it tests a sample of students, not all of them. Each student takes a part of the test, not the whole thing. The test is inconsequential to the student, teacher, and school. And it's not based on any curriculum.
September 9, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Happy hysterical ed reporting day, to all who celebrate. A few reminders about NAEP: it tests a sample of students, not all of them. Each student takes a part of the test, not the whole thing. The test is inconsequential to the student, teacher, and school. And it's not based on any curriculum.
Good. This deal is good for Big Tech and lawyers. As a member of the class, I say no deal. Run these "AI" vultures into the ground.
Judge Alsup doing Judge Alsup-like things, rejecting the Anthropic settlement in its current form. news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/anthr...
Anthropic Judge Rejects $1.5 Billion AI Copyright Settlement (1)
The federal judge overseeing Anthropic PBC’s proposed $1.5 billion copyright settlement is concerned class lawyers are striking a deal behind the scenes that will be forced “down the throat of authors...
news.bloomberglaw.com
September 8, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Good. This deal is good for Big Tech and lawyers. As a member of the class, I say no deal. Run these "AI" vultures into the ground.
This is a well balanced piece, but I think we can actually find consensus (well, Haidt can't b/c its not in his self interest): we need to divest from most ed-tech because many reasons while still teaching digital and media literacy. Just doing it more on paper. www.tes.com/magazine/tea...
Is Jonathan Haidt right about smartphones?
In ‘The Anxious Generation’, Haidt makes the case that social media and smartphones have ‘rewired’ today’s teenagers, but his critics say the evidence tells us something very different - and that bann...
www.tes.com
September 4, 2025 at 12:16 PM
This is a well balanced piece, but I think we can actually find consensus (well, Haidt can't b/c its not in his self interest): we need to divest from most ed-tech because many reasons while still teaching digital and media literacy. Just doing it more on paper. www.tes.com/magazine/tea...
Trinity understands the assignment
Opinion: We are lecturers in Trinity College Dublin. It is our responsibility to resist AI
Opinion: We are lecturers in Trinity College Dublin. It is our responsibility to resist AI
Even if all the known issues were magically resolved, we would still not want our students to use GenAI
www.irishtimes.com
September 4, 2025 at 10:37 AM
Trinity understands the assignment
Funny how the tech hypists are so close to understanding: yes, if every "AI" company followed the law in collecting training data, they would be unable to develop their products and make $$$ (exactly, they shouldn't); if every author sued, they would destroy these predators (we should)
Thanks for the reminder!
August 27, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Funny how the tech hypists are so close to understanding: yes, if every "AI" company followed the law in collecting training data, they would be unable to develop their products and make $$$ (exactly, they shouldn't); if every author sued, they would destroy these predators (we should)
Friends don't let friends accept bad deals. Authors, including academic authors, register for the class action and demand that the case go to trial and bring down Anthropic and these other predatory corporations. authorsguild.org/news/anthrop...
Anthropic AI Class Action: Important Information for Authors - The Authors Guild
Earlier this summer, a federal court in California issued a major ruling in Bartz v. Anthropic, one of the copyright class action lawsuits involving AI. The court held that a trial should occur over w...
authorsguild.org
August 27, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Friends don't let friends accept bad deals. Authors, including academic authors, register for the class action and demand that the case go to trial and bring down Anthropic and these other predatory corporations. authorsguild.org/news/anthrop...
I don't understand why the Authors' Guild would give these corporations a lifeline. They broke the law. They are harming people. They are wrong. We are right. Take them down. Reject the deal.
NEW: A major AI copyright legal showdown just took a huge twist today. Facing a class action on behalf of book authors that could've seen it pay over a TRILLION in damages for alleged piracy, Anthropic has agreed to settle instead: www.wired.com/story/anthro...
Anthropic Settles High-Profile AI Copyright Lawsuit Brought By Book Authors
Anthropic faced the prospect of more than $1 trillion in damages, a sum that could have threatened the company’s survival if the case went to trial.
www.wired.com
August 27, 2025 at 11:59 AM
I don't understand why the Authors' Guild would give these corporations a lifeline. They broke the law. They are harming people. They are wrong. We are right. Take them down. Reject the deal.
Yes, this. As a wonderful Professor of medieval French literature used to tells, we need to beware of the modern tendency to patronize the middle ages. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/o...
Opinion | The University’s Best Weapon Against A.I.: The 14th Century
www.nytimes.com
August 26, 2025 at 10:50 AM
Yes, this. As a wonderful Professor of medieval French literature used to tells, we need to beware of the modern tendency to patronize the middle ages. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/o...
Come for the cultural criticism. Stay for the ethno nationalism.
KPopped: the bizarre musical duel where South Korea’s hottest stars make the Spice Girls look like dead weight
KPopped: the bizarre musical duel where South Korea’s hottest stars make the Spice Girls look like dead weight
This battle of the bands-style show teams western pop artists with K-pop stars to retool their songs. And it isn’t exactly flattering to the likes of Boy George, Vanilla Ice and TLC
www.theguardian.com
August 23, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Come for the cultural criticism. Stay for the ethno nationalism.