My very simple "Me Manifesto" is as follows. The principles basically remain the same as in 1979 when I first started teaching in Madrid, Spain.
I would like:
To enjoy my job.
To help students achieve their aims and realise their dreams.
To do the best I can.
To give 100% and then some.
To listen to my students and take action.
To work not only for my students, but with them.
If you wish, why don't you take a few moments to reflect on your own personal ideals, and create a Me Manifesto as well? It could be as simple or as sophisticated as you like. :-)
It would be lovely if you were motivated to do this reflection.
If you read all the very interesting quotes in the comments section, you will see that I used the metaphor of a captain and a sinking ship. I wrote this comment before a particular incident regarding the stricken Concordia hit the news recently!!
I still stand by my quote: a good captain should always lead his crew by example.
Almost Infinite ELT Ideas, by Sandy Millin is an award-winning blog written for teachers, which contains a rich resource of pictures to be used as prompts for lesson ideas. Teachers are invited to adapt and use the images as they wish. (Almost) Infinite Ideas won the Tefl.net Site of the Month Award in May 2011.
Who Is This Man On A Roof?? I am very proud to say that one of my pictures, taken in Oxford during the summer, has been selected as a picture prompt for this week's activity, which is open to all teachers. Please go to the post "Man on a roof", and imagine how you would use the picture and then if you like, please write a few ideas in the comments box. It would be really interesting to know how you would exploit this image.
I have to confess, I was fascinated when I saw the sight for the first time. I literally did a double take whilst riding my bicycle along Broad Street (see image above) and almost toppled off it, because I couldn't believe my eyes! Who or what on earth was it on top of the roof??
So, without more ado, head over to Man on a roof right now to see what you think!!!
When you have done that, don't forget to bookmark (Almost) Infinite Ideas so that you can have a valuable resource of interesting photos to exploit with your classes.
How to take the perfect photo Chiew Pang from IASKU fame has recently written a guest post on ELTPics blog Take a photo and ...... outlining some great tips for taking photos! Have a read below, and then see how much better your photos will turn out!
A Photo I'm Quite Proud Of I took this photo today whilst sitting on the back of a big motorbike, which was travelling quite nimbly! I managed to catch the shadow of myself and K and I was thrilled it didn't come out too terribly blurred. You can actually see my shadow taking the photo. I'm still not quite sure how this photo came out like this, so I guess I was very lucky!!
Insert a picture of yourself or a pet into the Gallery section of a photo editing site such as Tuxpi,Photofunia, and then ask this question:
How did X get to be exhibited at the National Gallery, London?
Set a time limit of 5 minutes for students to come up with an inventive story either written or orally. The class gets to choose which story they like the best. This is a fun activity and works well as a filler / warmer / Invite students to photo edit a photo of theirs and get the class to imagine how they came to be in the particular situation. An example is below:
Fluffy has become a world-famous feline mega star after her StorybirdFluffy The Mouse Catcher sold millions of copies around the world! Her portrait is now hanging in the National Gallery and thousands of visitors are flocking to view it. Fluffy purrs contentedly when she explains her newly acquired superstar status: "I always knew it would happen one day!"
You can do the same sort of activity with a billboard poster:
Victoria - The Reclusive English Moggy
Image above edited with Dumpr and then screenshot taken.
Lesson Ideato practise Idioms / Expressions Write a paragraph based on an image of your choice such as the one above of Victoria, Fluffy's house-mate, and create a Wordle by copy pasting your paragraph. Try to include a few examples of idiomatic expressions as a review. Ask students to predict the main content of the short paragraph.
Can you guess some of the content from the words in the Wordle? Sample paragraph is below.
Sadly our English moggy Victoria has been completely overwhelmed by the presence of 5 Italian felines, which include the mischievous Fluffy, and she keeps them all at arms's length. She eats separately from the gang, and keeps herself to herself during the day. Whenever a little mischievous kitten approaches her to try to make friends, she stiffens, hisses and gives it a wide berth.
Victoria's Daily Routine Ask your students to imagine the daily routine of their favourite pet or animal. Get them to write a few sentences using the present simple. In the past I have used the example below with beginners to practise present simple, and adverbs of frequency. Using images of animals is just a change from always using images of famous people. Young learners in particular find this activity fun.
Fluffy's Blog - World Premiere!!! Fluffy has agreed to star in her very own blog, which has been set up on Posterous Spaces. The title of her blog is The Hectic Life of a Fluffy Kitten. She may decide to change the name of the blog, so watch this space! It's been kept private for a few weeks while she got a feel for the blog space, but now she feels comfortable with it and I am delighted to feature it here on Janet's Abruzzo Edublog.
The very first post is entitled "Welcome to Fluffy's World!". I hope you enjoy following her adventures in Abruzzo.
Why set up a blog for Fluffy? Well, it is to showcase what can be done with a blog, and also to encourage all age groups from young learners to adults to see how much fun it can be to play around with a theme that you are passionate about. It improves literacy skills and writing skills and practises web tools in a fun context!!
I hope these ideas inspire you to try out some of the activities and have fun with editing your images!!
English Raven's Blogging Tips I have been following Jason Renshaw's fantastic posts on why blog with students, and the posts offer a more in-depth analytical argument for starting a blog. I hope you will be inspired to get your students to write a blog!
It's that time of year again when a decision needs to be made about which session to attend on the free TESOL Electronic Village Online sessions which begin on January 9th. There are more than 14 different topics to choose from this year, and each one looks unmissable!! Registration is taking place now until January 8th. Each session lasts 5 weeks and is action-packed full of practical projects and hands-on practice. This is an excellent opportunity for Continuous Professional Development (CPD) and the time for action is now if you can spare a few hours every week for the course interaction and work required.
It will be a fun 5 weeks and you will get the chance to collaborate with fellow educators from around the globe and discuss issues of common interest. The moderators are all highly skilled and experienced and you will gain a lot. You never know, it could be a life-changing experience!!
Since 2009 I have attended one session each year, and I can truly say that all the topics chosen have been so useful for me in terms of practical applications for classroom teaching and for professional development.
Read what Carla Arena, one of the moderators for EVO, has to say about these fabulous free online developmental opportunities.
There is so much else happening in 2012 in terms of CPD for teachers of EFL! Shelly Terrell from Teacher Reboot Camp has just written an indepth post on 20+ Free Professional Development opportunities, which are available for you to join now, or in the very near future. The choice is truly amazing!
2011 was a simple year, yet full of exciting, fabulous events. My current life in the Abruzzo countryside is a mixture of down-to-earth living and connecting with people from all over the world via the Internet.
Helping K carry logs chopped for firewood in our jungle.
A new olive tree, my Xmas pressie!!This 3-year-old olive tree cost 8 euros from our local garden centre, Rosa D'Oriente in Cepagatti. Dr Luigi very kindly selected this Leccino variety for me. The idea that this olive tree will be here in a hundred year's time, long after I am gone, gives me a good feeling. It should withstand all that nature will throw at it and it will survive to grow into a venerable tree, I hope!!
The happiness I derive from living amongst chickens, cats, dogs, falcons, the occasional wild boar, olive groves and vineyards is one that invariably transcends having the latest material goods. However, I have to confess, I do get the odd pang of desiring something, but I content myself by saying I can't have it NOW, but hopefully at a later date. This usually does the trick....
I know this solitary lifestyle could be transient, so I am making the most of it, and yet at the same time, trying to do my utmost to further my teaching career, whether virtual or face to face, which is now in its incredible 33rd year!!
Many Heartfelt Thanks to....
.......all the wonderful team at The Lake School of English, Oxford for their continued support. I enjoy teaching there so much, and the course participants are always so keen! Many best wishes to all the lovely staff, and teachers and students I have had the pleasure of teaching this year.
In addition, I would like to say a very special thanks to all the fabulous team at The Consultants-E for making this year very interesting and varied with the different online projects I have had the pleasure to have been involved in.
To everyone I know, via this blog or Twitter or other projects I have participated in this year, I would like to say a very, very BIG thank you to my PLN - Passionate Learning Network. I appreciate all the support and guidance that I receive. I hope I can give the same back to you, I really do.
So, 2011 is nearly over and it's time for a few reflections!!!
Blog ChallengesI took part in 6 blog challenges! Thank you to each and every challenge organiser. It was a pleasure to be a part of the EFL community. Below are links to the original blogs, which hosted the challenges.
The Year of Webinars and E-Conferences
I continued to attend and present at international webinars and Virtual conferences. I feel immensely happy that I participated in them and I still can't believe it's true!! My trusted and faithful laptop has taken me on a rollercoaster virtual ride and I was in 7th heaven!! Thank you to all the organisers of the following events!
Connecting Online 2011 Virtual Round Table Reform Symposium 2011 The Year of Firsts!
I tried out quite a few new tools for the first time and you can see which ones in the Tagxedo below. You can find out how I got on with them by searching for the labels on the sidebar.
Scoop.it My Scoop.it web curation site on Comics and Cartoons was begun in July 2011 specifically to house the links and resources connected to my Reform Symposium online webinar on Fun with Comics and Cartoons in the Classroom. I would like to say thank you to all my fellow "Scoopers" for suggesting new comics and cartoon sites and posts to add to this growing collection, which I hope is useful in some way! In particular, the BookChook blog has very kindly suggested lots of materials to add, and I appreciate this collaboration very much!
The Comics and Cartoons Scoop.it site is doing very well! It now has 100 followers, and has had 2,000 page views, with 1,200 visitors! I am delighted by this,and would like to thank everyone involved in making this particular project such a great success. I don't plan to curate other topics for the moment, as I already follow quite a few topics anyway. However, I don't know what 2012 will bring, so it will be interesting to see what happens in this area.
Electronic Village Online 2011
I attended a 5-week course in January 2011 on Digital Storytelling and learned so much from my lovely tutors and fellow participants. What I gained from the course helped me to produce my very own digital story called "An Idiomatic Love Story". This formed the central part of my first ever presentation at IATEFL Brighton 2011. You can find all the materials I created here. The Year of SEETA Courses!
I attended 4 marvellous free online courses via SEETA and I had 4 of the best tutors in the world as moderators! Interacting with fellow teachers from around the globe was also amazing. If you would like to read my feedback on each of the courses below, please look under the label SEETA in my blog Sidebar!
IASKU
A special mention to Chiew from IASKU blog for the fantastic interviews that he is recording with teachers from all over the globe. It was a huge honour for me to be interviewed by him during the summer. Click here to view all his guest interviewees.
ELTChat
I would like to say a big thank you to all the fab moderators and team of ELTChat, held every Wednesday at noon and 9pm UK time. They are doing stirling work in givng teachers from all over the world the chance to discuss pedagogical matters of great interest. I hope to be a more active member in 2012!! To find out more, click on the ELTChat wiki link here.
QR Codes
Writing a blog post on QR codes was one of my most researched topics this year and has led me to be curious about how they will impact on the future of learning. Already I can see that they are playing a big role in a lot of areas such as marketing a product, for example. Recently, I have read a piece on Motorcycle News quoted as follows: "BMW is now incorporating QR codes into the camouflaging used on disguised road-going prototypes, so sharp-eyed and curious onlookers can use their smartphones to scan the codes and go to an official website to find out exactly what they have just seen."
I have discussed the use of QR codes with my hubby K, and I think I have imparted a curiosity in him to find out more about their use. I am thrilled that he has taken on board some of the ideas. He is now busily researching ways to deal with such codes in his industry, high level motorbike training. He's already experimenting with a QR code for his blog home page.
To the left, you can see a photo I took of K riding home on his motorbike after testing out the new road surface!! It passed the test, thankfully. You can see the same photo here.
Wallwisher Resolutions for 2012
I'd like to invite you to add your wishes for 2012!! Hope they will all come true!! Just double click on the Wallwisher to post a stickie and add your wish or resolution.
My very simple "Me Manifesto" is as follows. The principles basically remain the same as in 1979 when I first started teaching in Madrid, Spain.
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