Alan Davies – författare

'A simply astonishing achievement. The quality, depth, emotional power and terrifying honesty of Alan Davies's story-telling take the breath away' Stephen Fry'This hugely affecting book is brave, insightful and, at times, funny about things it is hard to be funny about' Jo BrandThe story of a life built on sand. In the rain.In this compelling memoir, comedian and actor Alan Davies recalls his boyhood with vivid insight and devastating humour. Shifting between his 1970s upbringing and his life today, Davies moves poignantly from innocence to experience to the clarity of hindsight, always with a keen sense of the absurd.From sibling dynamics, to his voiceless, misunderstood progression through school, sexuality and humiliating 'accidents', Davies inhabits his younger mind with spectacular accuracy, sharply evoking an era when Green Shield Stamps, Bob-a-Job week and Whizzer & Chips loomed large, a bus fare was 2p - and children had little power in the face of adult motivation. Here, there are often exquisitely tender recollections of the mother he lost at six years old, of a bereaved family struggling to find its way, and the kicks and confusion of adolescence.Through even the joyous and innocent memories, the pain of Davies's lifelong grief and profound betrayal is unfiltered, searing and beautifully articulated. Just Ignore Him is not only an autobiography, it is a testament to a survivor's resilience and courage.Featured on the BBC Two Between the Covers programme on 6 November 2020

'Native speakers' and 'native users' are terms traditionally used to differentiate between speakers who have acquired a language from birth and speakers who have learnt a second language. This book highlights the problems associated with making such a clear cut distinction. By analysing a range of literature, language uses and proficiency tests, Davies argues that there is no significant difference between native speakers and native users, and emphasises the importance of the Standard Language. Whilst individual native speakers may vary considerably, the academic construct of the native speaker is isomorphic with the Standard Language which is available to both native speakers and native users through education. In this book, Davies explores the 'native user' as a second language speaker who uses language with 'native speaker' competence. This book will be of significant interest to students and researchers working in the fields of second language acquisition and applied linguistics.

The volume offers an explanatory account of the progress of academic language proficiency testing in the UK (and later Australia), from the British Council's English Proficiency Test Battery (EPTB), through the revolutionary English Language Testing Service (ELTS) to the present solution of IELTS. The three stages of academic language testing in the UK over the last 50 years move from grammar through real life to features of language use. At the same time, comparison of predictive validities suggests that all three measures account for very similar shares of the variance (about 10%) and that therefore the choice of an academic language proficiency test is determined only in part by predictive validity: other factors such as test delivery, test renewal in response to fashion, research and impact on stakeholders, and assessment of all four language skills are also important.

This Dictionary of Language Testing was written over a number of years by a group of researchers at the Language Testing Research Centre at the University of Melbourne. It contains some 600 entries, each listed under a headword with extensive cross-referencing. It is intended for those who may or may not have had experience in the field of language assessment but who do have a need for information. It is intended as a first stage in meeting that need, and intends to provide an orientation and, where appropriate, indicate where next to look.

This second edition of the foundational textbook An Introduction to Applied Linguistics provides a state-of-the-art account of contemporary applied linguistics. The kinds of language problems of interest to applied linguists are discussed and a distinction drawn between the different research approach taken by theoretical linguists and by applied linguists to what seem to be the same problems. Professor Davies describes a variety of projects which illustrate the interests of the field and highlight the marriage it offers between practical experience and theoretical understanding. The increasing emphasis of applied linguistics on ethicality is linked to the growth of professionalism and to the concern for accountability, manifested in the widening emphasis on critical stances. This, Davies argues, is at its most acute in the tension between giving advice as the outcome of research and taking political action in order to change a situation which, it is claimed, needs ameliorisation. This dilemma is not confined to applied linguistics and may now be endemic in the applied disciplines.The book has been updated throughout and provides an excellent introduction to the problems and issues that arise in the practice of applied linguistics. Key Features:*Surveys current issues in applied linguistics, including the concept of the Native Speaker and the development of World Englishes*Examines the influence of linguistics, cognitive science and philosophy on applied linguistics and makes a contrast with educational linguistics*Proposes that a key issue for the profession will increasingly be the tension between advice and action*Suggests that applied linguistics is a theorising rather than a theoretical discipline.Feedback on the first edition: 'Alan Davies' introductory text forcefully re-echoes the famous Edinburgh series in applied linguistics, which he contributed to in a major way.'Applied Linguistics'Every discipline coming

First Published in 2004. Volume 1, Numbers 2 and 3 in the Language Assessment Quarterly international journal. This special issue explores the question of why ethics needs to be looked at in social terms, which explains why ethics and professionalism are so closely connected. The authors of each article give examples of the kinds of dilemmas that a code of ethics can help to clarify with their own thematic focus.

This book is the first collection of scholarly essays to treat the topic of antisemitism in Canada, a complete history of which has yet to be written. Eleven leading thinkers in the field examine antisemitism in Canada, from the colonial era to the present day, in essays which reflect the saga of the nation itself. The history of the Jewish community, its struggles and its fortunes is mirrored in the wider history of Canada, from Confederation to the present. The contributors cast light on Canadian antisemitism through a thorough examination of old and new tensions, including Anglo-French, east-west and Jewish-Ukrainian relations. Attitudes to Jews in pre-Confederation Canada, French Canada from Confederation to World War I as well as the interwar years, and in twentieth-century Ontario and Alberta from 1880-1950 are illustrated in various chapters. Of particular interest are the examinations of such well-known figures as Goldwin Smith, the greatly admired liberal historian of Victorian Canada, Adrien Arcand, the would-be Führer from Quebec, and James Keegstra and Ernst Züdel, of more recent notoriety. Analyses are also provided of Nazism and Canadian Protestantism and Jewish-Ukrainian relations since World War II. This is a complex and contentious subject; yet, to understand the ideas and forces that have sought to undermine the Jewish presence in Canada is to understand the dangers that threaten any democratic society, and thereby to guard against them. This compelling collection of essays offers intelligent, readable accounts of an area of Canadian history about which we know too little.

'Native speakers' and 'native users' are terms traditionally used to differentiate between speakers who have acquired a language from birth and speakers who have learnt a second language. This book highlights the problems associated with making such a clear cut distinction. By analysing a range of literature, language uses and proficiency tests, Davies argues that there is no significant difference between native speakers and native users, and emphasises the importance of the Standard Language. Whilst individual native speakers may vary considerably, the academic construct of the native speaker is isomorphic with the Standard Language which is available to both native speakers and native users through education. In this book, Davies explores the 'native user' as a second language speaker who uses language with 'native speaker' competence. This book will be of significant interest to students and researchers working in the fields of second language acquisition and applied linguistics.

The Handbook of Applied Linguistics is a collection of newly commissioned articles that provide a comprehensive and up-to-date picture of the field of Applied Linguistics. Provides a comprehensive and current picture of the field of Applied Linguistics.Contains 32 newly commissioned articles that examine both the applications of linguistics to language data and the use of real world language to ameliorate social problems.Valuable resource for students and researchers in applied linguistics, language teaching, and second language acquisition.Presents applied linguistics as an independent discipline that unifies practical experience and theoretical understanding of language development and language in use.

Starting to Read ECGs

​​​The ECG is one of the most widely available diagnostic tests used in clinical practice today. This book is intended to build upon the topics covered in Starting to Read ECGs: The Basics thus allowing the reader to enhance their previous knowledge. Additional topics covered include a detailed look at calculating cardiac axis, an area often considered difficult to grasp, and alternative methods such as the various ways the heart rate can be calculated, the different criteria for determining LVH. Technical details about specific cardiac conditions, how to interpret pediatric ECGs, and the effect of medical devices on the ECG will also be discussed. Plentiful diagrams, tables and colour images used throughout to illustrate complex points in a simple and easy to understand way. The key facts section at the end of each chapter highlights the most important information and summary tables are provided to allow the book to be used as a quick reference guide. Each chapter will contain a mind map for revision and to aid dyslexic learners, practice questions and a few practice ECGs to consolidate the readers knowledge.The book tells the practitioner what they need to know clinically and doesn't assume any prior knowledge. It is ideal for junior doctors and clinicians, nurses, paramedics, students and health care professionals involved in the recording of 12-lead ECGs.

This is the story of a birding odyssey, following the authors' quest to smash the world record for the number of species seen in one calendar year.Most people dream of packing in their humdrum city life, selling up and heading off into the unknown for a life of adventure. For Ruth Miller and Alan Davies this dream became a reality, albeit with a twist; they decided to pack in their jobs, sell their house and take on the ultimate birder's challenge.This book is the story of their great expedition, searching for birds from Ecuador to Ethiopia via Argentina, Australia and Arizona. We follow this birding odyssey as they ratchet up the species and the stamps in their passports, sharing in amazing birding experiences such as monkey-hunting Harpy Eagles in the Brazilian rain forest, seedsnipes in the Peruvian highlands and lekking bustards in South Africa, all leading to the ultimate question - will they break the magic 4,000?Written in an accessible style, this book will be of great interest to birders, readers of travel literature, and to people who simply enjoy a good adventure!

On the Waterstones Best Books of 2025 List'Davies has done it again, damn him. Irritatingly good. Maddeningly funny. Annoyingly fine.' STEPHEN FRY'Emotional, entertaining and startlingly honest. I was totally engrossed.' AMY LIPTROT, author of The Outrun.'Really honest and really funny' Lorraine KellyFollowing Just Ignore Him, the bestselling memoir of his traumatic childhood, White Male Stand-Up is what happened next to Alan Davies.It's the story of how he threw himself into the joyous and idealistic world of stand-up comedy, leading to a television career, but how echoes from the past, and the thought that everyone might prefer it if he disappeared, saw him repeatedly dismantle everything around him.With a cast of well-known comedians, actors, agents and producers, Alan awkwardly navigates his life from the camaraderie of the comedy circuit via life-changing fame as TV's Jonathan Creek, to the unwelcome realisation that most people know him from a bank advert and think he's had a perm.Often very funny and always honest, this very personal memoir is a rich tale of uplifting highs and painful lows, of success and excess, and the dangers of both. How Alan Davies survived it - and very nearly didn't - is the compelling tale of White Male Stand Up.

On the Waterstones Best Books of 2025 List'Davies has done it again, damn him. Irritatingly good. Maddeningly funny. Annoyingly fine.' STEPHEN FRY'Emotional, entertaining and startlingly honest. I was totally engrossed.' AMY LIPTROT, author of The Outrun.'Really honest and really funny' Lorraine KellyFollowing Just Ignore Him, the bestselling memoir of his traumatic childhood, White Male Stand-Up is what happened next to Alan Davies.It's the story of how he threw himself into the joyous and idealistic world of stand-up comedy, leading to a television career, but how echoes from the past, and the thought that everyone might prefer it if he disappeared, saw him repeatedly dismantle everything around him.With a cast of well-known comedians, actors, agents and producers, Alan awkwardly navigates his life from the camaraderie of the comedy circuit via life-changing fame as TV's Jonathan Creek, to the unwelcome realisation that most people know him from a bank advert and think he's had a perm.Often very funny and always honest, this very personal memoir is a rich tale of uplifting highs and painful lows, of success and excess, and the dangers of both. How Alan Davies survived it - and very nearly didn't - is the compelling tale of White Male Stand Up.

This book examines the nexus between religion and politics, considered in one of its most controversial aspects. The starting point is the 2001 attack on the United States, which a Canadian commentator ingeniously described as the 'passion of America'. This designation suggested an interesting inquiry into other so-called national passions: the notion of the Christ-nation crucified by evil powers because of its higher virtue. . . . This motif is explored by analysing five modern nationalisms that have employed Christian symbolism in this manner: Poland, France, Germany, Ireland and Palestine. The author investigates the way in which fundamental Christian concepts are distorted and corrupted in the process, and points to the inherent dangers of this form of political self-glorification. Poets, philosophers, novelists and preachers have all played a major part in promoting the idea of the Christ-nation at certain times, mostly in the nineteenth century but also today. Famous examples are Adam Mickiewicz in Poland, Victor Hugo in France, the patriotic Lutherans during the First World War in Germany, Patrick Pearse in Ireland and certain Palestinian nationalist poets today. . . The clash of cultures, religions, nationalisms and civilisations in the world today is ever more strident. The passion narratives of the five nations are interwoven with historical circumstance in order to cast light on the endurance and power of the narratives, to arrive at a final critique and 'tract for the times'.

On the morning of Wednesday 21 December 1910, 889 men and boys travelled the two 434- yard-deep shafts at Hulton Colliery, also known as Pretoria Pit, situated in Over Hulton, north of Atherton, Lancashire. Sunk in 1900, the colliery was plagued with emissions of gas, particularly after roof falls. By 7.50 a.m., the day shift was below ground, motivated to put extra effort into their work in the lead-up to Christmas. An explosion of methane gas occurred followed by a more powerful coal-dust blast. In the main section of the mine affected, 342 men and boys died, one in the deeper workings. Three survived from the main explosion district, one of whom died in hospital. A rescue man also died in the attempted recovery operation, making the death toll 344. Another 545 miners in the rest of the mine survived, although badly gassed. The Home Office Inquiry concluded that the explosion resulted from a gas ignition after a roof fall damaging a miner's oil safety lamp. The disaster was the third largest in British coal-mining history and might have been the second largest in Europe. As 2010 is the centenary various events are planned and a new monument is to be erected close to the church at Westhoughton, which lost 145 men and boys. This study brings together more images than any previous work, many not previously published. Transcribed sound recordings from those alive at the time, including a survivor, and press accounts add to the variety of source material.

Linguists, applied linguists and language teachers all appeal to the native speaker as an important reference point. But what exactly (who exactly?) is the native speaker? This book examines the native speaker from different points of view, arguing that the native speaker is both myth and reality.