What is a PLN, anyway?
A good friend (and a great teacher) e-mailed me after my last post. “Great links,” she said. “But what’s a PLN?” A good reminder about why I try to avoid acronyms and jargon in...
Tagged: Professional Development
A 1.5 Million Yen Secret (by Steven Herder)
If you read Stories from the Front Lines of EFL, and thought, “I’d really like to be part of this project, but I’m not sure anyone would be interested in my story” then this...
Teaching in a Small Village in Poland (by Anita Kwiatkowska)
In September 2003 I got a phone call from my former primary school teacher offering me a part time job in the old primary school I started my education in. I felt extremely excited!...
When Did I Become a Teacher? (by Conchi Martínez de Tejada)
It’s difficult to pinpoint the precise moment when you become a professional in your area. Some will say it’s when you start your degree, others when you finish it still others will say it’s...
My Teaching ‘Journey’ in Greece (by Christina Markoulaki)
Imagine a persistent traveller who suddenly sees an ominous mountain in front of her obstructing her way. Determined to arrive to her destination, she climbs up the steep slope, ignoring the surrounding thorns and...
The Treasures of Teaching (by Joanne Sato)
Hi. I’m a British woman who has been living and teaching in Japan for thirteen years. I have lived in Fukushima (yes, THAT Fukushima) city for the last ten of those and work at...
The Blasted Oak (by Torn Halves)
This is the story of a sensitive soul who decided to teach English as a foreign language. Like other such souls she was acutely aware that the world is not as it ought to...
Classroom Management: stuff they didn’t mention in teacher training (by Marc Helgesen)
The way to become a teacher is to be a teacher. It is a truism in education that the way we become good teachers is through experience. The things we learn in certificate...
Fun, in practice
At the end of January, I wrote a post inspired by Volkswagen’s Fun Theory competition. (If you missed the original post, it’s here: The Fun Theory in Language Learning) As often happens, as soon...
Teaching: a love story
This Valentine’s Day, since all the chocolate in Japan goes to men, I’m enjoying spending some quality time with the longest (non-family) relationship in my life: teaching.
