My blog is my Ph.D.. It really is and it allows me to explore, think, research, investigate, ponder, decry everything concerning my profession and education in general. Over the years I have typed and tallied thousands of comprehensive posts. 

2012 has come and gone, lots of blog posts have come and gone.  However, there are a number of them that need mentioning and which might be of use to teachers out there.

I've only picked a dozen from the hundreds - was difficult, each post valuable to me and something I give my heart to. 

Here are my top 12 posts in 2012. 

1. It's Not A Box:  Part 1  &  Part 2

- I describe a workshop I attended and the theory of Synectics. Materials provided for your own lesson. 

2. User Generated Content

-  I outline the nature of these materials and add some ideas for using this kind of authentic content with our students.

3. Gus The Bus Driver

-  I lost my favorite teacher in 2012. This is my tribute to him and all teachers who teach so personally and from the heart. So long Mr. Worth. 

4.  Extensive Watching

-  post on the EnglishCentral blog where I post regularly.  I describe the new skill of "watching" and take the classic description of Extensive Reading and remix it for the new digital age. 

5.Learning To Swear

-  I explore the nature of "identity" in language learning and how learning to swear is a badge of honor many language learners wear. 

6.What I Know Now But Didn't Know Then

-  I put it all out there, all the things I've learned as a language teacher over the past few decade's journey. 

7. Dogme Revisited

- I take a second look at Dogme and try to distill for me, what it really is while also rewriting the original manifesto to describe what a Dogme teacher would do. 

8.  Why Video Rulz and the Book Cools

- I take on the topic again of the new reign of video as a dominant media form, outlining the pros and cons of both video and text (book). 

9.Is School Necessary?

-  Here I dive into this issue and try to distill what school is really about / for.  A must watch video convinced me school despite its shortcomings, is still all we got to protect so many vulnerable children.

10.Authentic vs Educational

- I explore the narrowing divide between these two traditional materials in ELT. Now authentic can be controlled and used as a "learning" material. 

11.Issues In ELT and SLA

- I outline all the major issues and questions that teachers face - both practically/job wise and theoretically/research wise. 

12. Coming To A School Near You: Solitary Confinement

- Here I decry what is happening in schools in America and the compulsory/forced nature of schooling in general. We need to rethink things. 

And let's not forget throughout the year I was highlighting many, many practical resources for teachers and found on our community. Here are the most popular series of resources. 

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Gems Of EFL Classroom series    |     50 Lists / Tasks series   |   Number 1 Series   |    Featured Resource series

If you enjoyed this post, you may enjoy - My Best "Practical" teaching posts.