5 more fantastic EFL blogs for tips and advice

Welcome back to our series of fantastic blogs we recommend for new EFL teachers. You seemed to love our first blog, so we couldn’t wait to start scouring the web for more top blogs from fantastic TEFL-ers. If you’re new to the industry, want to develop your skills or can’t wait to get to know some like-minded people, take a look at this week’s serving. From personal journeys of language learning to the day-to-day problems of teaching, we’ve got it all. Enjoy!

Screenshot from eltexperiences.com

#1 Martin Sketchley / eltexperiences.com / @eltexperiences

Martin has got lots of teaching experience in the UK and much further afield. He has lots of experience with young learners in particular, and currently works as a teacher trainer for young learner teachers, among many other things. His blog features a whole host of posts but recently Martin has been creating video lessons – some aimed at learners of English and others just for TEFL teachers, for example Nine ways to teach vocabulary. These videos will be particularly useful if you’re a new teacher looking for different, creative ways to do things!

Blog highlight: If you’re interested in TEFL online, have a look at Martin’s video about getting an online job. He’ll talk you through the equipment you need and how to get started. You can also watch some of Martin’s live lessons and see an online lesson in action!

Screenshot from emmaslanguagejourney.wordpress.com

#2 Emma / emmaslanguagejourney.wordpress.com / @emmita_j

Emma is a Delta-qualified teacher who has worked in Poland and the UK. Excitingly, she recently started a job as a teacher and teacher-trainer in Chile. She’s interested in helping students become more confident using English and how we can build our confidence as teachers too. Emma’s blog focuses on all aspects of teaching and learning – from her blog about desert island methodology books (which books would you take to a desert island?), mental health in English Language Teaching and Emma’s own language learning goals.

Blog highlight: Emma writes a letter to herself looking back to the start of her EFL teaching career. This is a really lovely blog, which might be especially interesting if you’re a brand new EFL teacher off to start your own adventure. Emma’s letter covers some of the things she wishes she’d known, from lesson planning to travel.

Screenshot from teachinginspainblog.wordpress.com

#3 An Englishman and a Greek / teachinginspainblog.wordpress.com / @lenouloupan

With 6 years of teaching experience between them, an Englishman and a Greek have written a blog detailing their lives travelling and teaching together. They aren’t teaching in Spain at the moment but have been living and teaching around the UK. They write about the positives and negatives of EFL teaching with brutal honesty and humour, on subjects from exploring Spain to the traits of bad language schools.

Blog highlight: The experience of feeling appreciated on World Teachers’ Day is a really touching and emotional post. As teachers, it’s natural to develop connections and friendships with students and it’s easy to experience sadness and loss when students leave the school. This blog summarises these feelings in a moving anecdote.

Screenshot from teacherphili.wordpress.com

#4 Phil Longwell / teacherphili.wordpress.com / @teacherphili

Phil has lots of experience teaching in countries all over the world – from China to Saudi Arabia to Vietnam. He has an MA in ELT and has spent time working as an ESOL teaching assistant as well as teaching refugees and asylum seekers. His blog has lots of posts that are summaries of Twitter’s famous #eltchat. Each week, ELT professions discuss a different topic – join in on Wednesdays at 7pm UK time and tweet your views, expand your network and pick up some practical ideas for the classroom. Phil often writes the round up for these conversations. In addition to this, Phil also writes a lot about mental health in ELT and he’s presented about this at conferences and on webinars.

Blog highlight: Phil spoke at the English UK Academic Conference. He looked at mental health conditions affecting ELT professionals and whether management recognise this in their staff. We like this blog because it highlights some of the great conversations happening within the industry around mental health.

Screenshot from materialssupport.wordpress.com

#5 Corinne McAlary / materialssupport.wordpress.com / @MatsSupport

Corinne is a Delta-qualified teacher, currently teaching English in Italy. She’s interested in developing resources, SEN teaching and teacher training. Her blog contains lots of resources for the TEFL classroom to help your students to develop their skills. There are lots of useful lesson plans and activity ideas for different levels and ages of learner. From fun Halloween crafts projects for kids to advanced level lessons on topics such as subcultures and voluntourism, Corinne’s blog has plenty to get your teeth into.

Blog highlight: Corinne has a series of ‘start of term staples’ – perfect for new teachers who aren’t sure how to get started on the first week of term. We love the honesty and tone of her blog and the activities she includes will be useful for seasoned teachers who fancy a change too.

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We hope you enjoy this second instalment of fabulous EFL blogs. If you’ve got some great recommendations or if you’ve got your own blog you’d love to share, get in touch with us!