Thrive in ELT

Where are you on your ELT professional development journey? Do you know the direction in which you're headed? Do you know why you're going there?

There's a lot more to choosing PD opportunities than simply choosing. You need a personal PD plan – a plan that's created just for you, your preferences, and needs. A plan that's created by you.

In today's episode I share four important reasons why you need your own PD plan.

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Why do you choose to participate in professional development? To learn something new? To grow in a particular area?

Professional development is a necessary and beneficial activity you can, and should, participate in. But sometimes, it can pose problems that get in the way of taking part.

In this episode I talk about the problems that can keep you from saying yes to an opportunity or from even wanting to say yes. I also suggest several practical solutions so you can get past the issues and move forward growing in your role as an ESL/EFL instructor.

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Have you seen (and maybe even participated in!) more professional development opportunities than you ever imagined before 2020?

With all of the conferences, webinars, and available recordings, it can be easy to find yourself overwhelmed with deciding which ones to attend and even if you should participate.

In today's episode I'm going to share what my own professional development journey has looked like over the years and what you can do to take your next step toward growing as an ESL or EFL instructor.

You'll want a pen and notepad for this one – it's time to map out your own PD timeline and figure out where your unique place is in the ELT professional development experience!

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Textbooks. They can provide you with a foundation when teaching a new course, structure for lesson planning, and ideas for supporting activities. But you may have also felt bound by them at one point or another. In today's episode, I'm answering four questions I'm often asked when it comes to using ELT textbooks:

1. How is it possible for me to get through all of this?
2. Do I need to cover everything, or can I pick and choose what to use?
3. How do I know what I should use?
4. Do I have to use the textbook?

The answers lead to considering the purpose of textbooks and, finally, to helping you figure out if using textbooks in your English language courses is a hindrance or help.

If you're looking for age-appropriate materials for your students, be sure to download the free 12 Meaningful ESL/EFL Resources for Adult Instruction at this link >>> https://12resources.eltresourceroom.com or by going to today's show notes on my website.

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Your extended break was so good – you're rested and your brain isn't foggy. Why? Because there was no weekday alarm and you could enjoy that favorite hot beverage at a leisurely pace!

But a new semester is approaching and you're starting to feel a bit stressed and maybe even a little gloomy.

And it's not that you don't like what you do. In fact, you really enjoy it.

It's just that you know that alongside the satisfying moments comes busyness and ultimately, stress. When you start to dread going back to work or the classroom, it can be really hard to become motivated.

The good news is that you have control over how you react to these thoughts and feelings, and you can make an action plan instead. So today I'm sharing with you four things that will help you get motivated for a new semester.

These don't have to be completed in any particular order, and you can even decide if you want to try all four or just one.

I would love to hear how you're motivating yourself to get started in your upcoming semester, so let me know by connecting with me on social media or replying to one of my emails.

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What does it look like when you serve your students well? Is it well-planned, engaging lessons? Opportunities for students to practice with meaningful resources? Talking through questions and challenges both in and out of the classroom?

It's definitely all of these and more. But at what cost?

One of my core value statements in serving you is: Service to students and self must be balanced. This is not an easy thing to do!

While you're grateful for your role as an instructor in ELT, you're also exhausted and frustrated at times. Towards the end of a semester you may even find yourself less motivated and more forgetful.

These are not the conditions for serving your students well.

In today's episode I'm talking about the reason you need breaks – and not just the two-week holiday kind. Research shows that you need regular breaks for your mind and body.

After listening, I challenge you to make a conscious effort to find ways you can serve yourself so that service to your students remains valuable and uninterrupted.

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Do you ever ask yourself that question?

Following week after week of planning lessons – and then changing them – your teaching world comes to a screeching halt. You have no classes to prepare for or lessons to teach.

It's the transitional time between one semester and another. The odd part is that you can't stay in the past and you can't move toward the future without taking the steps to link the two.

So how do you do that? You focus on thriving.

In today's episode I share six steps to take you through this change in seasons.

Check out the full show notes at eltresourceroom.com/podcast/12-the-semester-is-over-now-what

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What has been your experience teaching academic writing in the ELT setting? What are the strategies you find yourself using over and over again?

In this episode I'll be sharing five tips to help you stay focused and keep moving forward in your academic writing instruction. I'll also share a not so uncommon experience of overwhelm -- starting something new or getting back into something you haven't done in a long time.

Be sure to check out the full show notes for links to the resources I mention in today's episode.

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What was your most recent gratitude-filled ELT moment? Where were you? What were you doing? Who were you with?

Being grateful when teaching can be difficult. Stress and exhaustion can set in, and sometimes the things we even enjoy doing -- like looking for supplemental resources and catching up on the latest issue of a professional journal -- can feel monotonous.

In today's episode I share with you some interesting findings I came across not long ago about the benefits of being grateful. I'll also tell you how I went from having mostly negative emotions to positive ones during the previous academic year.

While changes didn't occur overnight, I've seen a marked shift from January 2021 to today because of my efforts to take notice of everything I'm grateful for in my life -- including many things in my work life.

For the full show notes, visit www.eltresourceroom.com/podcast/10-gratitude-in-elt

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a rating and review in your podcast app.

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Where do you go to find reliable materials for your adult students? What's your process for choosing the right ones?

In today's episode I talk about the process for choosing the (so-called) best resources. But what really defines "best"?

As instructors, you and I don't want just "okay" or "pretty good." That's not going to serve our students or ourselves well. However, what's good for me might not necessarily be good for you. What's important is that you look at your unique situation: your students, your curriculum, and your expectations.

After looking at the steps of this process, I also walk you through an example of finding and selecting materials that support a specific objective in an advanced oral skills class I teach.

Wherever you like to search for meaningful resources, I hope that today's episode provides you with helpful tips and a practical model you can follow.

If you're looking for age-appropriate materials for your students, be sure to download the free 12 Meaningful ESL/EFL Resources for Adult Instruction at this link >>> https://12resources.eltresourceroom.com or by going to today's show notes on my website at eltresourceroom.com.

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