GUEST POST: 5 Sources for Finding Great Language Teaching Ideas

Each week in January I’m featuring insights on the blog from some ladies with great ideas from my PLN.

This week, Maris Hawkins helps answer the question, “How do you find awesome educators and ideas?“

Maris is a native of Virginia Beach, now living in Maryland with her husband, two-year-old son and black lab. She’s a former Navy wife who has taught high school in California, elementary grades 1-6 in Virginia, and middle and upper school in Maryland. Maris also studied art history in college and loves to read and cook.

I am one of those people who read a blog, then find another blog and find another one until I have read for an hour or so! I typically have many tabs open (currently six) to hold everything I want to read or want to implement in my class.

So I decided to post my ramblings (and tech wanderings) in a blog.

Inspired by my favorite non teacher blogs like Cup of Jo and Iowa Girl Eats, each Friday I post my favorite posts that I read each week. 

This leads me to the great list of HOW I find blogs to read!

1. PINTEREST

My first love will always be Pinterest. I found the Creative Language Class there! Many times, I will also find old posts from some blogs that I may have missed or forgotten. It is helpful to follow group boards such as Spanish Learning to expand your network of pinners.

2. BLOG ROLLS

I also use the blog rolls from many sites, which are typically on the side column of a blog. I actually found some of my blogs from Laura’s site alone (I like how her list updates with all of the newest posts)!  Mike Peto also has a great list of all of the blogs, and Sara-Elizabeth has a post of blogs to watch each year.

3. FACEBOOK

Recently, I have started using Facebook to research more about teaching. The regional conferences such as Central States and Southern Conference post a ton of material! I also suggest following different blogs on Facebook as many times they share more material there as well as their blog.

4. INTERCOM

I subscribe to InterCom through the Center of Applied Second Language Studies. This weekly email gives me a new list of blog posts to read in the Language Corner as well as information on the topic of the week such as using analog games or heritage learners and intercultural competence.

5. TWITTER

Finally, I find different sources on Twitter. I will say that this is my least used form of social media except on Thursday nights (#langchat!) But, when I do check in, I usually find something great to use such as Elena Lopez’s Christmas commercial activities.

I hope that these allow you to find new resources and blogs for you; however, I would suggest to start with one new platform. It can easily be overwhelming to try to use all of them at once. Happy reading!

If you want to stay tapped in to the best language teaching resources, be sure to watch Maris’ blog on Fridays. You can also connect with @MarisHawkins on Twitter or through Facebook!

Stay tuned for more guest posts this month from our online PLN!