All I want for Christmas is…
This is a post I have been thinking about for ages. I wanted to write it in June, and then again in November but here I am writing it just a few days before Christmas. At one stage in the planning process the idea was to base it on “The Twelve Day of Christmas” but cooler heads prevailed. I do think “Eeeee-Bee-EEE-Efff-Ell!” would have been good in the the place of “Five Golden Rings” but, alas we will never know. Aside from the Christmas thing the idea is simple, it’s just a list of some blog posts I’d like to read someday. Please skip down to the end of this post for apologies, explanations, and legalese.
It feels a bit greedy to ask others to write something for my amusement and I hope it is not taken in such a light. It feels especially greedy to be hoping for posts when we have already seen a miracle in the return of The Secret DOS to the ELT blogosphere with four new posts since retiring. Welcome back and thank you!
What follows are my potentially greedy thoughts about blog posts I’d like to see.
All I want for Christmas is to read…
- the unveiled version of Geoff Jordan’s task-based syllabus (mentioned here).
- Kevin Stein’s thoughts about being a homeroom teacher and how it similar and different to what he expected and how all of this fits into his views on the role of the teacher. Wow, I really am demanding.
- anything at all from Sophia Khan. Her three-part series on “How to (not) make students cry” was fantastic and touching. (Here they are: 1, 2, 3)
- something by Newbie CELTA Trainer (AKA Matthew Noble) on the realities of teacher training and how it matches (or doesn’t match) his previous expectations and hopes.
- similarly to the previous, behind the scenes thoughts by Sandy Millin from a CELTA course.
- a report on one lesson in the life of EBEFL (Aka Russel Maybe) on what he did in one class and why he did it.
I also wouldn’t mind seeing an impassioned defense of Multiple Intelligences or Learning Styles or something like that. - something on nerdy English and editing questions (and related insights) that have been on Anne Hendler’s mind.
- Alex Grevett on studying Korean. Also, maybe KLF and/or ELF.
- thoughts on activities, culture, holidays and language learning by Ann(a) Loseva.
- if, by chance, David Harbinson has something brewing on another challenging conversation I’d sure love to see that.
- a piece (from anyone!) on why teaching critical thinking skills is surely part of our job as ESL/EFL teachers.
I’d also like to see a post on why it is not our job. - a post, or many, on the “‘native speaker’ experiment” in South Korean public schools and what it looks like from the inside.
Apologies, caveats, warnings, and so on
It’s always weird when singling out a few people. Sorry about that for both those mentioned and not mentioned.
There is no real pressure to write anything requested here. Really.
There is no time frame suggested.
This list is mostly just for fun and to share some blogs and ideas.
My sincere apologies will be offered if people have already written something similar and I have missed it!
If I suggested an idea to you it is not because I think you have been negligent in your duties as a blogger.
Thanks for reading and happy holidays!
ELT Rants, Reviews, and Reflections 
Hi Mike,
I’m very flattered to get a mention on your list; thanks. Happy holidays to you too.
What an awesome idea Mike! I’ll make your list, my christmas list too. 🙂 🙂 🙂
Mike – you are fab. Thanks for the mention and the encouragement. Am embarrassed to be among a list of such interesting bloggers, who also blog much more than 3 times a year, but it definitely gives me something to aspire to…
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for the blogging gifts you have shared since I wrote this post. Very enjoyable indeed. Merry Belated Christmas to me!
Hi mike! (Interesting spelling of my name there)
Always happy to dance for your amusement like the soulless puppet I am. 😉
I like all your ideas. I’m gonna go for number 11 part 2 tho first as that’s been on my mind for some time.
Hope you have a fantastic Xmas. Any chance of running into you next year I wonder?
Hi Mike,
Thanks so much for including me on this list, and you’ll be happy to hear that a blog post should be on the way in the next couple of days, or maybe even tonight if I get my packing done quickly! I’ve missed blogging a lot, and have a big long list of things to write about – be careful what you wish for, as you might just get it!
Have a great Christmas,
Sandy
Hi Mike,
Very happy to be nudged. A very excellent Christmas present. And I will, eventually, be writing just that post. Probably in the next 4 or 5 years. While I’m pecking along on that, I will have all of these other posts to read which you are helping to usher into the world.
Thanks for a great year.
Kevin
I think I kind of did number 11 the other day without realising it – http://stevebrown70.wordpress.com/2014/12/21/death-of-the-subject-specialist-education-in-a-postmodern-world/
I hadn’t seen that the Secret DOS was back. Thank you!
KLF is a radical beast I enjoy poking. Not seeing it as the next big thing though.
Hi Mike! Just came across this (late, I know – I’m a less than disciplined blog follower/reader!) and noticed #4…coming up then. Coming up! 🙂
Matthew!
Thank you for writing this post:
https://1000wordsweekly.wordpress.com/2015/03/07/merry-belated-xmas-mike-tt-realities-hopes-expectations-or-lack-thereof/
It was even a better gift than Castle Grayskull all those years ago.
Thanks all for the comments here. My apologies for not responding earlier.
(It seems the Secret DOS’s return to blogging was just a short one, though).
Here, by the way are my (admittedly lame) excuses for not doing a good job on comments for a long time:
https://eltrantsreviewsreflections.wordpress.com/excuses-for-why-i-was-so-atrocious-at-responding-to-comments/
Thanks all for commenting and reading, in reverse order.