Tuesday 28 June 2011

5 reasons why EFL blogging is a good idea


Which are my 5 reasons to try EFL blogging? Let´s see:

  • EFL blogging is a great way to enhance communication between and among students and teachers since it constitutes a new "window" to sharing.
  • EFL blogging entails me learning and being updated and... what could be better than that?
  • EFL blogging will give my students the opportunity to be authors and creators of their own learning process and that sounds very motivating!
  • EFL blogging helps everybody to develop an attitude towards responsible commenting on others' contributions.

Hope my reasons trigger your motivation to try EFL blogging!

Friday 23 January 2009

The greatest part of my learning experience: my daughter

My daughter helps me assert the saying: "when one teaches, two learn..." though I can not tell you who is the one teaching in this case :)

Reflecting upon teaching, learning and living

Reflections, comments, suggestions, anything that can help us make our way towards improvement and enhancement...

Some years ago, one of my teachers gave me an inestimable present that changed my life or at least that made me understand the precise and precious meaning of the phrase "life is to be lived now". She brought one of her favorite texts to class "If I had my life to live over" and shared it with all of her students. It was a present, her last present because then, she didn't have her life to live over I don't know if you've read it but if you haven't, give it a try. Well, this time it was somebody elses turn to give me pause for thought: Randy Pausch. If you want to nourish your soul, if you need something to affect your innermost feelings or even if you want to devote some minutes of your life to understanding the REAL meaning of life, then you should definitely give his last lecture a try. I´d like to share some of his words with you all and I hope you enjoy it, hope you share it and hope it can make a difference to you and maybe to your students. Randy Pausch said, "Somewhere along the way theres got to be some aspect of what lets you get to achieve your dreams. First one is the role of parents, mentors, and students. Find the best in everybody. Just keep waiting no matter how long it takes. No one is all evil. Everybody has a good side, just keep waiting, it will come out.".
Randy Pausch´s tips for profiting from life:
Get a feedback loop and listen to it
Anybody can get chewed out
Show gratitude
Don´t complain
Be good at something, it makes you valuable
Work hard
Find the best in everybody
And be prepared. Luck is truly where preparation meets opportunity.
"So today’s talk was about my childhood dreams, enabling the dreams of others, and some lessons learned. But did you figure out the head fake? It’s not about how to achieve your dreams. It’s about how to lead your life. If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself. The dreams will come to you.