I have managed to convince (through all sorts of very creative coercive techniques, like saying "please?") several great people to do interviews for the English Raven blog. Here's a sneak preview for you (with the people here listed in the order their interviews will appear on the blog):
1. Andrew Wright, an elder statesman of ELT and the man who collocates with pictures, games and stories/storytelling in our field;
2. Barbara (Hoskins) Sakamoto, my favourite lady on Twitter - but most other people probably know her as one of the talented geniuses behind the Let's Go superstar series for young learners;
3. Dean Stafford, an old colleague and a veteran teacher of young learners in Korea, tells us about his experience and challenges teaching in the public elementary school sector there;
4. Egbert van Keulen, one of the founding partners at the Myngle online language learning sensation, gives us some insights into online language teaching options with Myngle;
5. Les Kirkham, the new Associates' Representative with IATEFL, talks about what IATEFL is doing to become a more global association for teachers (an interview which is the direct result of a certain island owner in Second Life taking mild offense to my post here cheekily proposing that IATEFL might be better named EATEFL...).
The first two interviews there have been completed and are now in the editing stage, while the three following that are ongoing and happening as I type (I'm actually pausing at stages during this very posting to cast new questions at all three of them! ~ risks of multi-tasking?).
And the future? Well, a really cool dude in ELT (Lindsay Clandfield) has agreed to do an interview at some stage for the blog (I'm hoping he'll pass on the antidote to his Six Things hypnotic state that has me paranoid about any listing that falls between the numbers 5 and 7).
I'm also rather hopeful of snaffling Ken Wilson, Alex Case, Sean Banville, Larry Ferlazzo, Sherry Terrell, Burcu Akyol, Sara Hannam, Marisa Constantinides (if she agrees not to spank me... too much) Cotter Hue - as the start of a rather lengthy wishlist, anyway (and once I can get them to forgive me for putting their names on the list to start with without asking them first...).
I'm even more open to volunteers! If you're involved in TEFL in some way, don't hesitate to put your hand up for an interview with the Raven (and bear in mind I like interviewing anyone in the TEFL world, irrespective of experience, publications or dubious status as someone Jeremy Harmer or Scott Thornbury would deign to talk directly to in Twitter - "teachers at the chalkface" especially welcome to apply!).
:-D
