Long-time readers of this blog might not be aware that I left Korea in 2019! Greetings from Ho Chi Minh City! A dear friend of mine is coming to Vietnam soon. We met online (RIP Twitter) about 10 years ago and I was lucky enough to meet her in Singapore one time. I was excited when I heard she would be coming here but then remembered that I will be out of the country while she is here as I will be giving some presentations in Indonesia. She will be doing some presentations here in Vietnam and she wondered if I could give some insights on Vietnam. Considering that my experience here has been q ..read more

I recently did some work for a teacher training center that I’d worked for in the past. I’ve worked for them many times over a period of many years.  Those of you who know me might know exactly which center it is. I will not name the place nor rehash my dealings over the years with this particular institution in this blog post. Here, I would like to briefly detail a recent experience that I had working with/for the teacher training center and share some thoughts that emerged from the experience. The course was delivered late last year. We can say in general terms the course was delivered ..read more

Around 10 years ago there was this group of guys (and, yes, it was all men) that always often presented about the same topic at events in the biggest TESOL organization in the country I resided in at that time. Frankly speaking, I can’t say that I went to many of these presentations. Part of the reason is that the topic didn’t really appeal to me back then. The other part is more personal. I thought these guys were sort of full of shit. In the esteemed words of my former college roommate DJW, “They weren’t dicks.” Yet their seemingly arrogant attitude caused me to think they were my my not typ ..read more

I had the idea earlier this year to do some more interviews on this here blog so I tweeted about it and encouraged people to get in touch. Pete Clements responded and wrote, “Don’t really know if I have much to say but happy to chat about ELT etc in a Google doc.” I assure you he had lots to say! I truly enjoyed the chat and wish we could do it in person! It was an honor to have him here and I hope that readers get as much out of it as I did.   Mike: Thank you for doing this. Can I get you a drink? What are you having? Cheers. Fancy some somaek? Go easy though, it’s been a while. St ..read more

I recently wrote on Twitter something like, “I’d like to do more interviews on my blog so get in touch if you are interested. (Note: please do get in touch if you are interested). I was thrilled with the responses I received so please ready yourself for some interviews this year. The first is with David Deubelbeiss, truly a man who needs no introduction. I was lucky enough to cross paths with him a few times when we were both in Korea. I hope that you will enjoy the interview! Mike: Hello and welcome! Can I get you a drink? What are you having?  David: Wheat beer, cold as hell. I learned ..read more

Some time ago a friend and colleague invented the term that serves as the title of this post. I thought it was a brilliant turn of phrase and it captured a lot for me in just four words. I’d like to dive into what the term means for me and share some thoughts on it. But first, the backstory. In a Northeast Asian nation famous for it’s pop music, spicy food, 12-step skincare routines, and fried chicken my friend was working as a teacher trainer. My friend (let’s call him TJ) is an experienced and skillful trainer who was working on a training course that was heavily based on reflection and exp ..read more

This time on ELT Rants, Reviews and Reflections we have a guest post and it’s one I am very excited about sharing. There are many reasons for this but two of the main reasons are the topic and the author. The topic is one that is important to me (and in fact part of the name of this very blog). The author is a friend and mentor who in fact helped me develop my own skills in reflection. As he notes below, this post will eventually be translated into Uzbek and used in training programs in Uzbekistan. We thought it might be interesting to share it here first. I liked how he was able to add some p ..read more

Well, can they? I have no idea but let’s start with a fictional mini-essay from a fictional personal trainer. I love my job. I really do. It gives me a chance to put my hard-earned knowledge and experience to use. I also enjoy helping people and I think I can be a positive influence. Of course it’s also great that I can often see the results of my work. Sometimes it’s quite dramatic and the changes come quickly. My work as a personal trainer is generally rewarding but it does sometimes leave me wanting more. My biggest frustration is when my clients waste their time and money. Specifically, i ..read more

A long time ago I worked in what was called an immersion program at a language school attached to a university in Seoul (a unigwon, as it’s sometimes known). This program lasted 20 weeks and students were there for something like 30 hours a week with 4-5 different teachers for 4-5 courses (with reading, writing, fluency focused speaking, “practical English,” and media English as courses that come to mind). With this schedule and system it was perhaps inevitable that burnout would be a factor for all involved. I remember teachers discussing how weeks 13-17 were an absolute slog and how students ..read more

“I am so embarrassed!” exclaimed Gayle (neither her name nor her English name), one of the strongest and most confident students in the class when we discussed the recently completed activity. I could empathize because I remembered hating it when I did it in a class as a student all those years ago. I’ve always had mixed feelings about the activity but I chose to use it the last 2 short (pre-sessional type) courses I’ve taught.  The main reason I chose it  was because it was a sort of fun reminder about the importance of following instructions and reading carefully. I thought it was ..read more