This blog celebrated its third birthday last month. I have been publishing new posts only sporadically in the past year or so, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not writing anything anymore. In fact, I’m currently working on a publication that I hope many English teachers will find useful. It’s a collaborative project with a group of amazing ELT professionals, and I look forward to sharing more details about it in a few months’ time.
Even though there have been few updates on the blog, the website still keeps receiving new visitors through search engines. The problem is that things change fast: links stop working, videos get taken down, fees increase, professional development courses are retired, etc. How does one deal with that?
Since I know how annoying it is to find inaccurate information online, I decided to go through all 70 articles on the blog in order to update them if needed. In addition to making some necessary changes in terms of content, I’ve corrected a few embarrassing mistakes. The spelling and grammar check on Google Docs is a great tool that finds more issues than Microsoft Word, and I wish I had found out about it earlier.
If you’ve just stumbled upon this website, I invite you to explore it and read some of the older posts linked below. This blog deals with a variety of both teaching and non-teaching topics and I hope you find some useful information here. There shouldn’t be any major inaccuracies in the articles, but if you spot anything that needs to be updated or changed, feel free to let me know.
Blog posts on teaching
• No Spanish in the classroom?
• The curious case of native speakerism in Colombia
• Helpful advice from my CELTA tutors
• There is no magic bullet
• Review: Learn English with Ricky Gervais
• My Delta M2 LSA: Are we the baddies?
• My issue with the one-size-fits-all approach
Teaching qualifications
• The importance of going beyond CELTA
• Cambridge Delta FAQ
• Tips for passing Delta Module One without taking a preparation course
• Tips for passing Delta Module Two
• My bumpy ride with Delta Module Three
• RIP Cambridge Train the Trainer
• Tips for getting a CELTA Pass A
• The importance of TEFL qualifications
Work-related posts
• Main takeaways from my first year of freelancing
• My four-year experience with Centro Colombo Americano
• All work and no play? No, thanks!
• My experience working as a volunteer teacher in Colombia
• Back to work
• 379 days and counting
Job search tips
• TEFL career advice
• How to apply for a TEFL job in Colombia
• Do references matter?
Observation
• Would you like to get feedback on your teaching?
Useful resources
• ELT Concourse is a priceless resource
• Six ELT talks raising important questions
• Six talks worth watching
Book recommendations and reviews
• Michael Lewis: The English Verb
• Scott Thornbury: Beyond the Sentence
• John Field: Listening in the Language Classroom
• Mike Long: Second Language Acquisition and Task-Based Language Teaching
• Gary Barkhuizen: Language Teacher Educator Identity
• All of the Above
• The Owl Factor
• English, please!
• 100+ Professional Development Tips for Post-CELTA Teachers
Social media and blogging
• Six ELT blogs worth following
• Webinar: How to use Web 2.0 for professional development
• Using social media as an English teacher
• The best of LinkedIn
• How to follow blogs
• Blog anniversary
• My most visited blog posts
• What a weird year!
Interviews
• Luis Clavijo: Professional development is a must
• Sandra Gaviria: Lesson observation doesn’t need to be a stressful experience
• Cristina Hernández: We need to consider the social aspect of learning English
• Martin Higgins: The best institutions are in Bogotá
• Lee Mackenzie: Nothing prepares you for telling teachers they have failed a lesson
• Jennifer Soto: We need to adapt to this new reality
• Ndana Chibanda: ELT in Colombia is a mix of fun and hard work
Life in Colombia
• Everybody wants to live in Medellín
• Let’s talk about money
• FUTURITY: Teachers on the move
• My experience with learning Spanish
• All roads lead to Medellín
• How to rent an apartment in Colombia
Travel tips
• Valle de la Samaria: Colombia’s hidden gem
• A few tips for visiting La Guajira
• Cañón del Combeima provides a good reason to visit Ibagué
• Amazing hike to Laguna de Iguaque
• Recinto del Pensamiento is a great place to visit
• Adventurous hike to Chorro de las Campanas
• How to hike to Cascada Ipachanaque
How to obtain:
• employee visa
• partner visa
• resident visa
• cédula de extranjería
Overview of the 2022 visa reform
• Digital nomads are welcome in Colombia
