Where to start? January obvs…

‘The big one’

At the start of the year I was deep into a project with Pearson International, writing the 2^nd Edition of their IGCSE English as a Second Language coursebook. I’ve written about the experience of being ‘Lead Author’ here if interested. This work continued through to May.

I put a lot into that project. I really cared about the resource as it would be a key text for my own learners. I wanted to give them more than just a run-of-the-mill coursebook. Then again, every writer starts out with such intentions I’m sure!

Just content?

I learnt a lot during that project, especially about how weird the name ‘Just Content’ is when that packager got involved. I couldn’t work out if that meant ‘just’ as in ‘only’ content, like ‘that’s all we do, nothing more, nothing less’. And you’re just content with it, like, it’s not great, but… Or, given we had a whole unit on DEI (or EDI, or DEIJ), perhaps they meant ‘just’ as in ‘fair’ content. These thoughts occupied at least a day of my work on that project.

Blog posts

Also during that project, I continued my materials writing conversations blog posts, and started a short blog series about an ELT materials writer called Geoff. Complete coincidences, I promise. Genuinely. No, really.

My favourite to write was the one on brief (scope) creep…

Job searches

I’ve gone back into the classroom after a year of freelancing. I researched, wow, must have been 30 or more schools, did lots of interviews. During the search I was in regular contact with Adri Szlapak, IATEFL YLSIG Coordinator and EAL guru. She’d just got a job at St Joseph’s Institution International School in Kuala Lumpur. They advertised for a High School EAL Lead (with Adri the Elementary one) and I was like ‘IMAGINE LEADING ON EAL WITH ADRI!’. And I got the job. So far, so good!

Spoiler alert

Why was I in regular contact with Adri about all things EAL? Well, we’d been working on an EAL-related resource that we were going to self-publish through our respective blogs. That’s changed – watch this space.

Leading on EAL

I’m leading a small EAL department in my school. All the staff are new, and we are in place to tighten up the provision at all stages of the EAL journey. I came in with an idea for what that provision should look like, which was typically ‘naïve Pete’ as I didn’t have a handle of the context yet. I’m still trying to find a balance in many areas: meeting stakeholder expectations, finding avenues for impact, getting senior leaders on board (1 definitely, 1 80% yes, 1 was on the fence but coming round I think, 1 is a Sith Lord), trying to mask my social awkwardness (hmmm), etc.

The students are great, colleagues really nice, role is demanding but fun, CPD at the school is good! My kid is enjoying it at the school too – he’s learning Mandarin there, while my wife and I are trying to cover the Bahasa Melayu, so we can integrate a bit more here in Malaysia.

Bell course on EAL Coordination

I took an EAL coordinator course through the Bell Foundation earlier in the year. Here’s the review if interested.

Mentorship in MENA

I worked with TransformELT earlier this year on a mentorship programme for teachers in the MENA region. It was pretty cool as, after delivering an initial webinar and setting the cohort off on a task, the rest of the mentoring was done via a WhatsApp group. A relaxed dynamic – I gained a lot from it and hopefully some of the cohort did too. Incidentally, TransformELT are a joy to work for/with – highly recommended.

Regrets

Hatriqa have offered me work twice this year. I’m just too busy at present. That’s a real shame – If you like football, write ELT materials, and are currently teaching, get in touch with Mark Bailey for opportunities.

I also recommend Ellii too, as always.

Books reviewed

I haven’t done a book review since April! Wow. Busy busy. A good book I’ve read on language teaching this year was the Conti and Smith book on memory. I reviewed Walkthrus too by Caviglioli and Sherrington which is pretty useful in parts.

Social media

I’m not that active on X now. Was going to delete my account completely, but I’m clinging on just to lurk re: threads about things like ‘Direction Instruction’. As with Karl Millsom at Rebel Teacher Network, I’m increasingly confused by just how polarized the ‘direct instruction vs inquiry’ discussions have become. The only contribution I can make to those discussions is that ‘Project Follow Through’ sounds like a very bizarre name for a study.

Teacher Phili

Longtime ELT blogger Phil Longwell has been sharing a cancer diary recently. Brave and informative posts. All the best Phil for your recovery.

That’s it. Have a great festive season everyone, and best wishes for the new year!

Categories: General, reflections

Tags: author, elt, international schools, materials writing, tefl