I started this blog in 2013. I created it to share some of my ideas with colleagues and students of English, and as my contribution to all the good stuff out there on the internet. I wanted to give something back to the ‘Great River’ 😉

In the first years, many posts were written on individual course topics, and on thoughts related to language learning and teaching as they came up in courses and discussions. In addition, I wanted to share my thoughts on first and second language aquisition, on aspects of bilingualism, on language and thinking (how the way we talk about things, how categories, metaphors, words influence the way we ‘see’ things) – topics I have always found interesting during my studies until today.

Much was written in the first three years, my page on the Verb Structure Circle being my most important project at the time. After that, the topics of diet, health and nutrition took priority for a while when I started teaching English to groups of dieticians.

Then the pandemic struck and my blog gained new significance. All my classes had gone online and my blog became an invaluable tool of support. It became my ‘room’ for collecting, creating and sharing material.

Eventually the two posts ‘Useful lesson links’ could retire to page status (Useful Lesson Links ; Useful Lesson Links 2.0 ). They are still a loosely structured treasure trove of information and an archive of the past- the recent past, even though it doesn’t always feel like that. I am also leaving the updates here from 2023 and 2020, it’s just interesting to go back and read about how things felt then and shortly after…

Basically, my blog has retained its original purpose: to share thoughts, tips and topics and aid me in my teaching. Every once in a while, I add new things and restructure a little; changing categories and pages in order to make it as useful as possible. Some posts are more specific to teaching, others more to issues of learning, and a vast majority are general interests, often related to current topics. The general interest topics also sometimes include lesson suggestions. 

Recently I have added some information and links to tools for own language material creation. Quizlet, for instance, offers ‘Learning by flashcards’. On this page you find various card sets for literally loads of topics, but you can also create your own flashcard sets; something I started doing extensively when I started teaching German to a complete beginner (PBucht | Quizlet ).

Other platforms (like Sporcle or Triviamaker) allow you to create your own quizzes. Textactivities is another page that offers tools for individual lesson material creation – see post Online Resources and Tools for Language Teachers.

Sometimes I go back to older posts, the oldest ones indeed from 2013. I tend to leave them as they are, occasionally adding updates. Sometimes the links need to be renewed or current developments added. In other words, there is always something to do and I keep enjoying doing it (even if traffic is low :-).

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Update March 2023

As already mentioned elsewhere, the pandemic feels over, some functionalities of this blog have become obsolete and I am in the process of editing more basically. Some categories have been deleted, changed to the page section or renamed. Most lesson related posts are now to be found under Things to talk about, most language related topics and activities are under Language Issues: observations, reflections and practice. Older posts from the beginnings in the mid-2010s have been marked as such.

Update June 2020

We have been online now for three months. As noted below I commented on my experiences in brief posts over the first 13 weeks. Then things slowed down or rather just rolled on. I got the hang of this online teaching thingy and – believe it or not – have come to like it. It has quite a few good aspects to it and not having to drive is just one of them, even if quite essential. Once the technical side of things got clarified and glitches and disturbances figured out, meetings focussed on topics and participants cooperate impeccably. I’m basically quite happy.

Update March 2020

Due to the Corona Virus, the majority of my English classes have been cancelled. We, my colleagues and me, are trying to provide some online meetings and are still in the process of finding the best ways of doing things. I’m learning a lot in the process. Sometimes just little things like: are the problems we are having due to a problem concerning the programme or is it the busy lines. I had never really cared about online teaching, or online meetings before and had not intended to any time soon.

And to tell the truth, I still believe that real life is better than virtual life, but that’s not an issue at the moment. And since nobody knows how long this crisis will last, I will have to continue on my Online Communication Quest.

I will keep a little diary of my progress in form of regular posts. If not for anybody out there then at least for myself for future reference.

                                                                 

Update 2019

The regularity of my posts had slowed down after three and a half years, as I had been working on my pages.

The most important part of this website for me are the pages about English verb grammar, especially my concept of The Verb Stucture Circle that you find underneath the telephone box. I sometimes use it to give a concise overview of the English verb structure system, commonly called tenses.

Learners of English interested in the overview can skip the introduction that is mainly meant for fellow teachers.

Another important page is my gallery, which seemingly has nothing to do with language learning, or the issues focussed on on this blog. However, in advanced classes we talk about everything and so art is also a topic that comes up occasionally. And many insurance companies either have their own art collection or support art. Thus discussions on art – sometimes heated ones – erupt sometimes.

Talking about meaningful things is one of my most important principles and especially followed in upper-intermediate and advanced classes, and what people do outside their jobs is sometimes surprising. Painting and drawing (as well as playing music) are endeavors people pursue besides sport, reading, watching TV (or rather streaming) etc.

So I have updated my gallery to show in class. I have ‘posted’ sketches and photos to demonstrate and explain how I find ideas and create. This is a new class activity as not only I am shy about my creative endeavours. (But in one of my classes we broke the ice and started sharing.)