Women support women
"Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women." - Maya Angelou
I know: there is nothing more cliché (and cheesy) than starting a text with a famous quote. But, as always, Maya Angelou is right. And this could not be more accurate in the current ELT context. If women in ELT - and in any other professional field - are where they are today, it is because there are women standing up for ourselves. Initiatives such as The Fair List and Gender Equality in ELT have helped our community become more aware and vigilant to the gender balance of conference speakers, authors, course book writers and other leading roles in our industry. Although there has been some improvement in providing women with more opportunities to thrive in ELT, many challenges still remain - we strongly recommend an article by Nicola Prentis on the challenges for women in ELT that can be accessed here.
To celebrate this year's International Women's Day, we'd like to share and highlight the work of women who have enriched our field with their invaluable contributions, helping other women develop. We'd also like to encourage teachers and teacher trainers around the world to keep supporting the work of women in ELT. This is a short list - please leave more recommendations and suggestions in the comment section, and we'll add them to our post.
Blogs and businesses run by women in ELT
ELT Training, by Jo Gakonga
ELT Training offers support for trainees and novice English language teachers. Don't forget to also check ELT Training YouTube channel.
ELT Teacher 2 Writer, by Sue Kay, Karen White and Karen Spiller
T2W is an e-book publisher that provides materials to teachers who would like to transition from the classroom to ELT writing. They also host a database for writers.
Reflective Teaching Reflective Learning, by Lizzie Pinard
Lizzie shares her knowledge on a VERY wide array of ELT-related topics - I don't think there's anything you can't find in her blog!
ELF Pronunciation, by Katy Simpson and Laura Patsko
A blog containing resources for those interested in pronunciation and listening for ELF. It looks like it hasn't been updated in a while, but it's still a great place for information and content in this area.
Amplifica, by Carla Arena and Samara Brito
Amplifica's aim is to provide a community of practice where teachers exchange ideas on innovations in teaching
ELT Playbook, by Sandy Millin
ELT Playbook is a compilation of tasks that help novice teachers reflect upon their practice and work on their professional development.
Karin blogs about, by Karin Heuert Galvão
Karin blogs about current topics in ELT
ELT Resourceful, by Rachel Roberts
A blog about current issues in ELT, ELT materials and loads of downloadable resources.
Close Up, by Ceri Jones
A very comprehensive blog with Ceri's reflections on ELT, as well as practical ideas and activities. It looks like it hasn't been updated in a while, but it's worth taking a look!
Elaine is a prolific writer and contributes immensely with the academic community by sharing her articles and publications.
Bilingual Teacher Training, by Janaina Marques
Offers training and solutions to mainstream schools in the context of bilingual education. Teachers can also include their CVs in a databank for recruitment.
ELT Think Tank, by Tatiana Gomez Ramirez
A website that offers training and resources for teachers interested in developing professionally.
Teach-in Education, by Emma Louise Potter
Consultancy in teacher training and education.
Informed Teachers, by Raquel Gonzaga
Raquel blogs about EdTech and inclusion in ELT.
#ELTChat, moderated by Marisa Constantinides, Sue Annan and Fiona Price.
A hashtag that promotes opportunities for interaction and professional development through Twitter.
Instagram accounts, Facebook groups and pages and other social media:
Maha ESL Training, by Maha Hassan
ESL Training is a Facebook community aiming at teachers' professional development.
EVE is an organisation created to recognise both gender and ‘non-native’/‘native speaker’ parity in keynotes and plenaries in ELT Conferences worldwide.
Women in ELT (for women only)
A group where women in ELT can network, share resources, discuss anything that relates to being a woman in ELT.
Lilian posts ideas for the YLEs classroom
Dani is a maker and posts lots of creative ideas for the classroom. She's also a very talented artist.
Language schools
The Secret Garden, by Lucy Crichton
The Secret Garden is a school that teaches English through art, drama, yoga, cooking, gardening and encourages children and teenagers to become caring and aware citizens.
English Corner, by Alessandra Machado
A very special thanks...
Reading lists and recommended bibliography of courses like the CELTA and the DELTA are still a male-dominated area. However, I put together some of the books that were helpful when I did my diploma and this is what I saw:
This has made me wonder if, as a trainer myself, I have been actively encouraging trainees to read and use methodology books written by women. So I decided to come up with a list of books and materials that were extremely helpful for my professional development. Again, feel free to add more suggestions in the comment section:
The Grammar Book Diane Larsen-Freeman and Marianne Celce-Murcia
Planning Lessons and Courses: Designing Sequences Of Work For The Language Classroom
Tessa Woodward
Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching
Diane Larsen-Freeman and Marti Anderson
English for the Teacher
Mary Spratt
Assessing Young Learners
Penny McKay
Teach Business English
Sylvie Donna
Children Learning English
Jayne Moon
A Course in English Language Teaching
Penny Ur
Affect in Language Learning Jane Arnold
Designing Language Courses: A Guide for Teachers Kathleen Graves
How to Teach for Exams Sally Burgess and Katie Head
I hope this posst was helpful and that these lists keep growing. Please send us your suggestions! And happy International Women's Day to all women in ELT :)
www.twitter.com/whatiselt
Andreia Zakime is an Academic Coordinator at Cultura Inglesa São Paulo, a CELTA tutor and one of the co-founders of What is ELT?
