When I first read about Adam’s 12 from ’12 challenge to highlight our 12 best posts from 2012, I didn’t think it was something I’d do as I hadn’t yet written 12 blog posts. But after some lengthy calculations, I realised that if I counted my first ‘I’m here!’ post, this one would be my 12th! However, rather than use it to say “Go on, read my posts!”, I’ll instead highlight some of the posts that I’ve enjoyed on other blogs throughout the year.
So, for my 12th post, here are 12 posts that have stood out in 2012!
One post that particuarly stood out for me is P is for Postmodern Method by Scott Thornbury which emphasises the diverse and chaotic nature of language learning and the unrealistic claims made by coursebooks. Scott outlines an approach proposed by Michael Breen in 1999 “that aims exploiting diversity rather than taming it.” This, I believe, is a reassuring read which acknowledges the real challenges faced by teachers and learners in a way that we are then more able to deal with them.
Josette LeBlanc echoes these sentiments in her post The ‘Don’t Know Mind’ and Teaching pointing out that “we use the textbook, we plan a few speaking activities so students can practise the past tense, and of course, we expect our students to be able to use it. To our surprise, the reality is usually very different.” Perhaps we should, she suggests, try entering the classroom with a “don’t know mind”. We could go in, as she quotes Gil Fronsdal, “holding what we know lightly so that we are ready for it to be different.”
That we value diversity is a key point in Genevieve White’s post, In Praise of Introverts, where she encourages us to be aware of and to value the more introverted students. (While you’re there, have a good look around the rest of the blog. There are lots of useful and interesting posts.)
Our awareness of diversity, and our approach to it, is also raised in Tyson Seburn’s post Considerations of the LGBQT in ELT materials where he looks at how LGBTQ issues are portrayed in ELT materials and classrooms and urges us all to “be aware and consider what messages we and our materials send.” An important read!
Just as our learners – their needs and experiences – are diverse, so too are the contexts we work in and some of my favourite blog posts are those that describe actual experiences with learners. I always enjoy a peek at what others are doing. There are many good examples of these and they’re a real pleasure to read but two particularly worth a mention are A Multilingual Lesson from Sam Shepherd and I don’t like bananas, but I like banana chips by Kevin Stein. These are both really nice accounts of interactions in English language learning contexts where there’s space for the learner contributions and for things to go in unexpected but fruitful (sorry!) directions.
In dealing with diversity, we have to be ready to break the ‘rules’. There have been a lot of posts about this topic and one that I really enjoyed was Michael Griffin’s Doing it the right way in the subway station and in class, particularly the pleasure he got not doing it right in the subway station!
Another blogger who has a wealth of useful and informative posts is Rachael Roberts. In her post Mindfulness for Teachers, Rachael describes being mindful in the classroom as being “totally present in the classroom (or anywhere else), time goes very quickly and we are really in a state of heightened awareness, feeling alert and alive. Communication flows easily between us and others and everyone seems to be really focused on the experience of learning.” Sounds good, eh? Her post goes on to provide more information and tips about how to develop mindfulness in the classroom as well as your daily life.
There are many other blog posts with interesting and useful insights and tips for use in the classroom. Of these, I’ve selected three that have particularly struck me and stayed with me. Leo Selivan, in his Explaining the difference between (near-) synonyms post, reminds us that “with many near-synonyms the difference is purely collocational” a nice insight to pass on to learners to encourage them to pay attention to the company words keep. Following Kevin Stein’s Some Notes from a Real-Time Journal, I’ve started trying to incorporate the use of a Real-Time journal. I still need practice, but so far the notes I have made have been really useful. In Word of the Week and Other Ideas for Business English, Vicky Loras describes useful and engaging activities that could be easily transferred into other contexts.
Finally, just as I love reading about the experiences of teachers in the classroom, so too do I really enjoy reading about learners’ experiences. Again, there are many good accounts in blogs, but I have to highlight Ken Wilson’s Diary of a Language Learner. Ken’s posts are such a pleasure to read that, although he is already a very well-known blogger, I had to include him in this my very first blog challenge contribution!
Thank you to all the bloggers mentioned here for the posts that have caused me to think, reflect, try new things, and smile! (By the way, if any of these bloggers are new to you, be sure to look around the rest of their blogs.) Thank you also for all the others I’ve read throughout the year – the posts are such a great resource for practitioners around the world – but unfortunately there are just too many to mention. And, thanks finally to Adam for the challenge! 🙂
Carol Goodey 