Provocations of Light Light pierces through the dense environs, revealing a blurry entity, writhing, entrapped. Like a certain babe in the manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes, the conscious thing lies on the ground, motionless, seemingly considering options. Arms unseen, the outline hints at the form of a human being, and yet the overly large cranium…
Reflections on Blogging I’m not a writer, per se, but have written a diary ever since I was quite young. I do like to ruminate about things, to sit back, reflect and analyse my thoughts, so writing a diary suits me well. Fast forward to my arrival in China, and I began an online travel…
This week we delved into the language teacher identity through Varghese et. al’s work on Theorizing Language Teacher Identity. My Self- Identity: Social Identity Theory In terms of social identity as a NEST in China, I have been assigned a higher status (US being the highest) where there is constant debate about which accent…
Pre-Teaching experiences with Language Teachers – Strong role models at secondary school: my Latin teacher and all of my French teachers – NNFS teacher encouraged me to carry our my third year (of a four year ‘sandwich’ degree) industry placement in Paris. Pre-Teaching experience with TEFL – Weekend TEFL taster: the young, back backers didn’t…
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How can Creativity be Taught in the Foreign Language Classroom? Well, I made a simple video clip containing a collection of images which reflect the core ingredients outlined by Clarke in Creativity in Modern Foreign Languages Teaching and Learning: meaning, questioning, exploration, experimentation, adaptation, open-mindedness, insight, fearlessness, innovation, abandonment and enjoyment. These images could be…
In his article, Creative Writing for Language Learners (and Teachers), Maley (2009) highlights the value of creative writing to combine, intuition, close observation, and personal memories. According to James (2006), a learner can be creative with their language when they only have a little to play with. Within the confines of creativity there is a…
After reading Gill James article, Writing Creatively in Another Language, I feel inspired by all the possible activites that can be offered to differing levels of students: 1. Write a Haiku on any topic (five, seven, five syllable combination) The (beginner) learner, – confirms what they know about the language – gives some attention to the…
In order to develop a reflective approach to my language teaching, I’d like to share details of two of my weekly classes – Class 1: two 40 minute lessons per week About the Student: 121 with bubbly, 8 year Chinese girl. Course: Trinity 4 preparation (exam apparently booked some time in March) Issues (i) fatigue…
Revisiting the Gap between SLA Researchers and Language Teachers by David Block discusses gap or a mismatch between theories of SLA and practices, whereby the way in which we teach languages is often un- or ill – related to the findings of researchers in Second Language Acquisition. This topic resonates with me now as, just…