Monday 28 October 2013

So thankful! #Goal 15

Last night I was thinking who I should thank for my education and inner evolution. You may think I would start by thanking all my teachers at school or my professors at the university. I am sorry but I will disappoint you. I am not going to go through the typical procedure. I truly tried to bring a teacher to my mind but I failed. I don't feel that there was an educator who inspired me or built my confidence.I agree that most of them did their job professionally and taught me all the necessary material and skills to move on but that was as much as they could. I am thankful to my parents who offered me the best education!  

Who I really believe that I should thank are all of you: the educators at conventions, at webinars, on social media! With most of you I may not even meet face to face but all your comments and encouraging words keep me moving and developing. I feel that we share common ideas and look at the future full of hope! You inspired me to set new goals and share my thoughts!

So, simply keep inspiring! 

Sunday 27 October 2013

Update my Digital Footprint #Goal 19


Reading Shelly Terrell's post I realized that I haven't updated my bio in several social media networks. I have an account in  FacebookTwitterabout.meLikedinGoogle+. I must admit my favourite one is Facebook since it was my first and oldest account in a social media network. Then I tried Twitter but I must confess that I don't visit it much as I find it too impersonal. My husband does not agree with me where he has over 5,000 followers!!! I guess men want brief and fast posts... As for Google+, it is quite convenient since I can share my blog posts directly by just a click. It is also connected with my gmail account and I get informed instantly whether there are comments on any of my posts.
Likedin is just for professional reasons and I can't say that it is the right means for me to promote my work. However, I find many colleagues there and I like that I can list specific teaching skills. They are well organized and promoted. My about.me account is directly connected with my Facebook account which is very handy and I think there is no harm if you register in different social media. It is a way to show your work and promote your goals.
Shelly also suggests Flavors.me and Vizify but I will pass for the time being because I have no more time to spend on social media and I get stressed when I cannot keep up. But I have them on my mind.
Keep posting and sharing! You never know what opportunities are waiting around the corner!!!


Thursday 17 October 2013

Do I dare to dare them?

Having read Shelly Sanchez Terrell's post I dared to take the challenge and share my dream with you. For the last two-three weeks I have set my mind on a project about spreading literature into the world. My inspiration was Theodora Papapanagiotou who aims at cultural exchange and I really enjoyed participating in her project. Then, at some point, I posted poems of Greek writers both in Greek and English. That was the sparking! I started thinking how I can span my students, the English lesson and the world... And that was it!

The idea started growing in me. We chose three Greek literary works ( two poems and a text) and ever since we work on them. The participants are primary school pupils, high school students and freshmen. Their levels are A1+, B2 and C2 respectively. The reaction of the students? It couldn't be better! I haven't seen them so involved in a procedure before. They spontaneously loved the idea!

What are they gaining? 
The list could go on endlessly: they do research, scan texts, highlight the main information, talk about meanings, language treasures, emotions, write down their thoughts, compare the original text with the translated one. And all these in English! What more could a teacher ask for?

What am I gaining?
Well, first of all, I dared to take the challenge; there is more work from my part. I have to sit down and interpret the texts, do my own research, read analysis of experts.
I dared to dream big and be determined to make it true! Will I succeed? Does it really matter? I will have inspired my students, I might have contributed just a little bit in their development, not just linguistically but mentally as well. And if I manage to get English teachers around the world to be involved in the project and share their national literary treasures, that would be my best achievement... so far.

Sunday 13 October 2013

Think out of the box

Sunday evening, just a few hours left before a new week begins.

All day long I was thinking about the project I have started with my students about literature exchange around the world. I admit that this new idea stuck in my mind gave me new perspectives about teaching. I do not stay in the traditional way. I try to get my students involved, show them that there is so much they can gain from working on a literature piece.

Their gleaming eyes, their broad smiles are worth the attempt. I feel that I have inspired them, made them think out of the box. It is a challenge for me to arouse feelings, emotions in them by asking questions. I can't accept as an asnwer that they feel nothing when they read a poem or a text. It means they do not make an effort.

As for English teaching you can imagine how much they learn and practice. They talk about the topic, do research and scan English websites, write down paragraphs, intepret context and the list goes on.

What have I learnt? I have worked on new ways of thinking. It is much easier to come up with new ideas and how I can fulfill them. It is much easier to come closer to my students, share thoughts and enthusiasm