It’s been a good long while since I started this blog and in the meantime I have finished a Trinity DipTESOL and am close to finishing a MA Applied Linguistics & TESOL with Portsmouth University. My Dip was great for the phonology stuff I picked up, and OK for teaching practice (Trinity don’t let you use strong CLT approaches like Dogme or Task-Based Language Teaching with a Focus on Form. You are supposed to teach discrete language points). My MA has been great for access to ideas I might never have come across and, well, library access.
But next steps, Marc? Isn’t the title of this blog Freelance Teacher Self Development? It is. And there will be self-driven development. There are irons in fires and action research projects to fire up.
I have some bits and bobs to send to journals, but I think it would be kind of interesting and perhaps useful for the field of language teaching to have a bit of teacher-based research for teachers, on the internet, gates open, widely participated in. I know peer-review is all the rage, but I think that if we make our mistakes in the open, people can see the limitations of what gets done as well as any merits, and so it’s less a case of the Emperor’s New Clothes but more that jumper that was under some others at the back of the drawer. It’s not something everyone would necessarily be all ‘Wow! Amazing!’ about but perhaps ‘I don’t know if this would work in my setting but nobody would die if anything ended up disappointing me.’ I am a born salesman, I know.
So, here’s the bit I am kind of thinking about: after logging five random lessons starting in October 2017 with the same class, did you teach intonation? Why (not)? If so, how (explanation of method, explicit, differentiated or whole class, etc.) Blog your stuff and we can make it big.
Marc, why intonation?
I like phonology a lot and I’m just finishing something that I needed to think about lot of segmental phonology so suprasegmental is almost a break.
Marc, I want to do something about something else.
That would be fantastic. Let me know because I would be super interested in reading about it.
This is such a stupid idea. People don’t have time.
Maybe. How about people who have the time and want to do it, do it?
Anyway, hit me up in the comments.
A sum up and an invitation
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Congrats on your MA – I don’t know if I should wait until you’re officially completely done with it or if close to finishing counts? Congratulations anyway. 🙂 Looking forward to reading about teaching intonation – this is an area I’ve never focused on much, so I’m sure there’s a lot I’ll find out.
I count it as done, pass or fail. I am so tired!
I am also looking forward to finding out more about intonation. That’s another benefit.
And thanks, by the way Vedrana.
Congratulations, Marc! Like most of my languages, I self-taught English (unlike French, which was taken very seriously and I have an MA in it, but my English is better). As a teenager, I would sit down with a tape recorder and learn the intonation of the sentence: “That was a good match. John! – Yes, but the referee was an idiot!” I can recite that perfectly if you like. Anything you have on intonation will be greatly appreciated!
I would love to hear that. Who was talking to John Moston is my question!
I look forward to sharing all I get, Kamila. Thanks.
I admire you a lot, Marc. And congrats on nearing the end of your MA! Let me know if I can do anything as someone teaching World Literature.
I am sure that there’s something, Tesal. Cheers! You’re much too kind.