ESL Blogs

Why English Language Teachers Should Blog

I have been blogging with English language learners for about six and a half years. Before MyEC, I had blogged on other platforms; however, I quickly realized that blogging with EnglishClub members would be different than blogging alone. Blogging in this community has taught me that all English language teachers should have a blog that they share with their students and their colleagues. 

Blogging with your English learners can help you discover their weak points. When your students blog or write comments on your post (or the posts of their peers), you can discover confusing words and common errors that learners need to work on. Then, you can use your blog to challenge or prompt your learners to focus on these points. I do this through MyEC's monthly writing challenges and EC's weekly writing prompts. 

English language teachers can also discover the interests of their learners by blogging. The more you get to know your learners, the more interested they will be in your classes and lessons. I've learned so much about the MyEC members through their blogs and mine.  Members on MyEC have shared their passions for poetry, drawing, photography, and travel. I've learned which members are parents and which ones are working on academic studies. This helps me design new lessons and challenges for learners around the world.

Blogging helps teachers (and materials writers like me) try out new ideas and activities before using them in a classroom or lesson plan. I often look at the number of views and comments I receive on my blog posts. What worked well and was popular? What was too difficult or too confusing. If you think of your blog as a sandbox, you will never stop experimenting. 

Finally, blogging is a great way to share the wealth. When you attend a professional development  session, or if you hear about a new tool, textbook, or program that you think is great, why not share it with other teachers or learners? A blog is an easy way to promote the ideas and resources that have made you a better teacher. You can also promote and share tips that work well for your students.

As the old saying goes, the best way to learn is to teach. By teaching about blogging and writing, I am becoming a better blogger (and writer) myself. All English language teachers and materials writers can benefit by blogging with learners. I can't think of a better way to learn.

Thanks to all of the MyEC bloggers who teach me something new every day. Keep blogging!

PS. It's June 5, and this is blog #99! We must all keep blogging to reach our June Blogging Goal. Will you write a new blog post today?