Microblogging!

This week I learned about Twitter and how to microblog.  In the course of my learning, I came across some interesting articles that answered questions about Twitter and how to make it useful for my teaching.  On Langwitches blog I read a post that further explained hashtags to me and how they could be beneficial in the classroom.  One just has to put a number sign and follow it by the topic. (e.g. #pasttenseverbs)  I think that Hashtags could be very beneficial in the future if I choose to use Twitter in my classroom.  Langwitches post was http://langwitches.org/blog/2010/06/09/what-is-a-hashtag/

Another interesting post that I read was entitled "Free Technology for Teachers: Don't Eat Lunch Alone"  In this blog, Richard Byrne talks about the use of Personal Learning Networks to connect with colleagues.  As many people's schedules these days are very busy, the internet has become a social networking hotbed, but it is important to realize that it also is great for professional networking.  I think that I will try to stay connected to my professional learning network for insights into the classroom and teaching.

Teaching Pronunciation

I read an interesting blog post at Critical Mass ELT: Reflections on the World of English Language Teaching entitled It's all in the accent: Being critical how you teach pronunciation that focused on the issues that surround teaching pronunciation.  The author discussed accent prejudice and whose pronuncation students should seek to imitate.  This interests me as I have students with marked accents and some of them struggle to imitate the local regional accent.  Although I think that pronunciation is important for communication as I often have difficulty understanding students who have accents that differ from mine, I also think that accents are part of our identity.  I need to contemplate and discuss with my students the importance of pronunciation in communication but at the same time respect the fact that there are is not only one standard for pronunciation.