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This month let’s meet Edward FARRINGTON, Professor of Rhetoric & Debate at IÉSEG, Lille campus.

With more than 700 professors, including 200 permanent professor-researchers, IÉSEG offers to its students a high-quality learning experience, based on 4 key elements: an active, interdisciplinary learning process, focused on the acquisition of competencies, offered through customized curricula.

Each month, “Faculty in the spotlight” invites you to meet one of the School’s professors who presents their vision of teaching, their methods for transmitting their expertise and passion to students and shares their best memories and stories at IÉSEG.

Edward, can you tell us a bit about your background and your area of expertise? 

I have always been interested in theatre and politics and 15 years ago, I began my adventure in public speaking and linguistics. Did you know that about 75% of the world’s population is afraid to speak in public? This fear is called glossophobia, and I realized it affected pretty much all of us.  To further pursue my curiosity in this field, I decided to do a Master’s in Language Acquisition and Theory at the University of Sussex, in the United Kingdom.  I will soon be doing a PhD in rhetoric and composition, where I will notably focus on understanding how politicians connect with the public and finally solve the million dollar question of what is more important in a speech: le fond ou la forme?   

What subjects do you teach at IÉSEG?

I teach subjects in the Grande École Program, such as: “English for Business” (where we’re looking at types of leadership and language acquisition), and two others that I coordinate: “English for Debating”, and “Rhetoric & Debate”. 

I’ve built the “English for Debating” course around the framework of how the French Debating Association (FDA) works. It is a very structured debating format where you’re marked on several elements but the two major ones are: argument (the ability to structure, originality of research and ownership of language) and star quality (we’re looking for the “je ne sais quoi”). In the course ‘Rhetoric and Debate’, students learn theory related to rhetoric, explore rhetorical devices that help to make your speech more compelling and study modern-day Sophism.  These courses encourage students to be adventurous and confident, thus potentially becoming the next new business talent.

All the courses are interconnected and the skills are transferable, and that’s why I love it so much! On an extra note, every year IÉSEG participates in a higher education tournament, where prestigious French institutions compete as well.  We’ve been victorious against ENS, La Sorbonne, Centrale, ENSTA and many more schools. I’m very proud of this achievement. 

What do students say about you, Edward? 

According to the feedback forms, students say that I’m structured, demanding but always smiling…! I believe I am a very committed professor and coach, and students feel that too. I feel a sense of commitment and responsibility to make the best version of the students. I have been nominated twice for the Excellence Teaching Awards, which I think shows that students appreciate my teaching.  

What pedagogical methods do you use?

In my opinion, a balance between discipline and fun really expedites the learning process. I am not there to lecture people, I consider myself as a facilitator allowing students to explore language and all its aspects.

There are two things, which I find particularly important in learning: competition – as it makes the students bring out the best version of themselves when they compete with each other –   and constructive feedback, focusing on formative and summative styles. I tend to adopt a “laugh and learn” approach, which creates a cooperative learning atmosphere, where students feel at ease. Thanks to this cooperative atmosphere, amazing things can happen!  

What do you like most about being a professor at IÉSEG?

I think IÉSEG is a very modern school, which gives professors the opportunity to create courses and cross boundaries between different departments. It allows us to blossom, explore, and be curious about other fields. I also feel connected to IÉSEG’s values and its mission to empower changemakers. I enjoy going along to various student events related to rhetoric, such as How I Met Your Startup and IÉSEG’s Got Talent, to support the students. 

In your opinion, what does your international background bring to the School?

I was born in Canada and moved to England when I was 3 years old. I’ve been living in France for 10 years now, and I joined IÉSEG in 2018. I carried out all my studies in the UK and I like to bring the ‘English flair’ during my classes so that students can experience a different way of learning.

An anecdote? 

Everyday is an anecdote and that’s why I love this job!  As I tend to blush easily, I think I will keep certain anecdotes private for now 😊