A plea for help

Posted in Blogging, ELT Blogging, Professional Development by

Hi everyone!

It´s been a while since my last visit here, because after the vacation I was in vague feelings about how to stop being still at the seaside in my thoughts and start working. I hope I´ve returned. And I need your help.

In early October I´m going to participate in an internal event for English teachers in the company where I work. With our Curriculum Manager Olga Sergeeva we have discussed the possibility for me to present there and here we are: I am going to be presenting the topic which has become the most important for me over the last months. Blogging. I’ve been doing it since March ’15 and this is probably the most outstanding thing that has ever happened to me. With my teaching reflections being posted here I also have some responses from real teachers worldwide (e.g. ELT Flash Mob) who support me in my ideas and practical things.

I do believe, blogging considered as a process of self-development is very successful for most of the teachers I know. But it does not only deal with self-development, I believe. But what else? For finding answers to this question I need to analyze three specific things related to blogging. Here they are:

  1. Why do English teachers blog?
  2. Why do English teachers read ELT blogs?
  3. What ELT blog is your favourite one and why?

So, my plea for help goes to real English teachers, my followers or those who are interested in answering. If you leave a comment to my post with answers to these questions above, it would be just wonderful! Lots of thanks!!!
I hope they will be very helpful at the preparation stage and I’m sure I’ll gain new ideas and I’ll share them with you.

Thanks for reading!

Hope to hear from you!

21 thoughts on “A plea for help”

  1. I blog to share what I think is useful, in the hope for dialogue. To have someone develop one of your ideas further is so useful.

    I read loads of blogs to get ideas or different perspectives. My favourites are Rose Bard, Mike Griffin, Anna Loseva, Hana Tícha, Dreamreader.net, Kevin Stein and so many others.

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  2. Hi Anna,

    There were some interesting ideas on why English teachers blog (among other things) over on Zhenya Polosatova’s blog around the beginning of the year – yes, I’ve just checked and she wrote two posts (Blogging Habits 1 & 2). The comments might be useful as well.

    One of the reasons I do it is to have a sort of record of some of the things I’ve tried out and how these developed (or did not). My last post about assistant online moderators is an example. One of the reasons I read other blogs is because, teaching online as I currently am, I don’t have as much of a chance to talk to my colleagues (in my department) f2f as before.

    I don’t have a favorite blog, but I find that I prefer posts that describe personal experiences. I’m much less likely to read a post on, say, five ways to teach the present perfect.

    Good luck with the presentation!

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  3. Hi Anna,
    I’m fairly new to the wonderful world of ELT and here are my thoughts 🙂
    1. I blog to learn more about my new profession but also to have an outlet for my love of writing. My blog is also partly about Berlin, the city which I moved to in April, so I blog to talk about things I discover here, too
    2. I read other blogs to hear other (more experienced!) teacher’s opinions and to try out new ideas.
    3. I read many, many blogs, but some of my favourites are Sandy Millin’s, Joanna Malefaki’s, Film English, Mike Griffin, Fab English Ideas, Anthony Ash’s blog…and lots more besides! I also used to work in academic publishing, so love the Scholarly Kitchen to keep up with my former profession in case I decide to return to it 🙂
    Hope that helps!

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  4. Hi,

    Best of luck with the presentation.

    1. I blog for lots of reasons. The main one is to keep up my enthusiasm for teaching. Sharing with, and being part of the EFL community helps with that.

    2. I read blogs to find out what other teachers do. I like to read teachers thoughts on different underlying beliefs in teaching and also to find resources.

    3. I have lots. Tyson Seburn’s is great…the first one I came across. For EAP Jennifer Macdonald is good. I like Nathan Hall for reflective stuff. Hugh Dellar and Scott Thornbury have good blogs and ELT jam is good. Evidence based efl is also excellent.

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  5. Hi Anna!
    Congrats on your blogging! I have started blogging in 2011 but have been on and off for some time. I have been very lazy for a long time now even though I have so much to share, but can’t find the time due to some other obligations. My answers:
    1. I started blogging as I wanted to improve my writing skills as a non-native English teacher and to tell you the truth I still fear of others remarks, but, on the other hand I do think I really improved and I like sharing the things I do in my classes or about the projects I do or a new web tool I have been experimenting etc.
    2. Why do we read blogs? Well, because we want to get some new lesson ideas, teaching ideas, see what others are doing, get some support from PLN, learn about new methods etc.
    3.Oh my, I have lots of favourites and I usually have them as a BlogRoll on my own blog, but let me share few: English with a Twist by Shanti, Shelly Sanchez Terrell’s Teacher Reboot Camp Arjana Blazic’s blogs (she writes one in CRO, one in English) – am reading both,Sandy Millin’s blog – great stuff – I have learned a lot from her, Marisa Constantin, Sue Waters and some others that have been mentioned above in previous comments, Sylvia Guinan’s blog and so on and so on. If I continue I will probably spend a lot of time on your blog just writing all the great blogs.

    In my experience: “Great bloggers find you somehow and you just need to follow them! 🙂

    Good luck with your presentation and happy blogging!

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  6. 1. I have only written a guest blog so far but I can see the future will make this an increasingly important way to share expertise.
    2. Reading blogs helps with tips, gives links to other blogs and teaching resources and links me with colleagues I may never otherwise have the chance to meet.
    3. I do not have a favourite yet, but I will keep on reading and making choices as to who to read more from based on how much I use what I read.

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  7. Hi Anna

    I was brought to your post by some misunderstanding on Twitter, and I am glad I was! Earlier this year I wrote a post about blogging, not that it is amazing or very helpful, but it presents some thoughts I had/have on the topic. Here –> https://annloseva.wordpress.com/2015/01/12/a-very-interesting-post-about-blogs-bloggers-and-their-blogging/. You can find the link to aforementioned post by Zhenya in there.

    Also, this could be of help – https://annloseva.wordpress.com/2014/01/19/7-thoughts-on-blogging/.

    Good luck to you! It was fun to make connections and find out that you work with Olya Sergeeva)) Her blog is great. One day I will update my list of Russian bloggers, there are many more I know now than I did half a year ago (including yours).

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    • Hi Anna 🙂
      Many thanks for stopping by!
      Olga was a great support when I decided to start blogging. As for me, her blog is the first I saw, so now it’s an ideal ELT one for me.

      Thanks for links, I’ll study them.

      Have a nice weekend!

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  8. Hi Anna,

    As promised, here are my replies. 🙂
    1. I think I first started to blog because that helps me think. For instance, when I post a lesson plan, I really concentrate on the materials that I’m uploading and always improve them a whole lot. Also, like others mentioned here, the blog is a great database of all the materials and ideas – very convenient. And another reason is that we’re working in a distributed school, and putting ideas online is a great way to share them with my colleagues from EPAM.
    2. I really love reading other blogs – really enjoy reading personal stories and other people’s perspectives and thoughts, and also I get quite a few ideas while reading someone else’s posts.
    3. There are lots! If I have to choose, I’ll go with Rachael Roberts, Svetlana Kandibovich and Tekhnologic.

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      • 🙂 Actually, this is something that I forgot to include in my first comment: for me the most rewarding aspect of blogging is seeing people respond to and further develop your ideas. I normally write about things that I currently find very challenging, and both the concentration of writing and other people’s comments always through new light on the issue.

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  9. Hi Anna!
    I blog because firrt of all I enjoy writing. I like sharing my views and seeing what other ppl think. I learn alot and it also pushes me to try new things and push myself a bit more. I have also connected with loads of teachers so that is another reason to keep going!
    I read other blogs to learn. I get ideas from blogs and I try them out. Bloggers also inspire me cause we all know how much I love chains!
    I read a lot of blogs. I like Sandy’s , Hana’s,Vedrana’s blogs and so many more! There are so many teachers who are great bloggers. I like bloggers who show me who they are.
    Good luck with ur studies and happy blogging!
    Joanna

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  10. Hi, Anna! 🙂
    Why do English teachers blog?
    I started blogging because I wanted to develop my writing skills as well as becoming better at communicating my teaching journey. Another reason always have been to keep track of what I am doing. In the past, when I didn’t blog my ideas and thoughts got lost in time. Now, I have them documented. By writing it for an audience, my fellow teachers, it forces me to be organize my thoughts and experiences. When I used to just write to myself, I still do most of the time anyway, I never found the time to organize my notes.
    Why do English teachers read ELT blogs?
    I read blogs for all sort of reasons. For one, I’m interested in what teachers around the world is experiencing, their success and struggles. I love learning something new from my PLN and have conversations about many things in ELT and education. Reading my PLN blogs helps me connect to them as we were just in the staff room sharing our latest lessons and ideas. But my favorite ones…
    What ELT blog is your favourite one and why?
    …. are the ones where teachers reflect on their experiences. Good or bad, they remind us that more than theory, we need to remember what is real and doable.

    🙂 All the best in your presentation!
    Rose

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    • Hello Rose,
      Thanks for this informative and instructive comment. I see, many teachers write because they don’t want ideas to get lost, so that was one of my reasons to start.
      As for struggles, I do believe, we also need to write about things that are really difficult or did not work, probably it’ll be useful for others.

      Thanks a lot!
      Have a nice day!

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