I'm often daunted by the quantity of material in EFL available each new year and have often times, I must say, been led on by the well exercised pressure of getting updated on what's new by spending hard earned money on material that got stacked in my overflowing den. And, more than I would like to, I have felt that, what I often resorted to as classes and days passed by, were the materials that I had made, tested and liked. So, instead of going for a flashy new deck of laminated verb cards or newly pictured 'daily activities' posters, I try to spend the time that it would take me to browse through bookshops and catalogues brainstorming a set of cards/poster/materials that would benefit my students, bring fun to our class and the opportunity to reuse it as many times as possible in varied ways. And I'm glad to tell you that it has been working so well over time that I even felt encouraged to write about it!
So, next time I feel the urge for more material, by all means, I do go for it, but I first give myself some room for reflection on how to best apply the energy, the money and the use that I'll get out of it.
What about you? Have you also felt that less means more with the stuff you use in your teaching?
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Comments
You hit the nail on the head. The sheer number of new materials is overwhelming, not to mention the infinite numbers on the Internet. Of course, they make our lives easier, but there's just no way we could possibly digest, or indeed, pay for all that and go on teaching.
So, I did - still do - what you do, too (sounds more like a song than a sentence..).
Paradoxically, we might sometimes unconsciously bully ourselves into thinking that we should by no means stick to anything 'old' or avoid routine at all costs, which is, dare I say it, naturally supported by publishing marketing, too, so, it's a pleasure to have read your little reflection on this.
good luck with re-creating your own favourite "oldies" materials,
Marian
Hi Mi (and Marian too),
I guess I too have to agree with what you have stated as an opinion on the amount of money spent on new materials for the ELT classroom ... and I love the topic itself "less is more"! I really caught my attention there!
Reusing, in other words recycling the old materials at home for novel pruposes, activities and situations sounds too good to be true for me, as people know me to be a large spender! And to be honest, I really do want to spend money (sometimes I don't look at the price tag) on things that make me happy. One of those things is my work as a teacher, but in my country it's difficult to spend much money on ELT materials since there are few bookstores that sell ELT materials for the level I am at the moment teaching (English majors studying at University, who in their first year of studies are at the FC level). Don't misunderstand me, one can buy a variety of materials, but for me they seem to be limited. This is where online shopping comes into play!
Thus, I agree with the statement that we must first give ourselves more room for reflection on our energy and money of course, because it is through old teaching flashcards (and the like) that we become innovative by trying to implement them in our teaching in new ways. However in my case I am a slave to buying novelty in terms of ELT!
I'll try to be more stingy with my ELT money, and I'll tell you if it works out for me!
Best,
Aneta
Great to hear your views on the topic, Aneta! Where are you from, by the way? It really surprised me to hear of such scarcity in your neck of the woods. In any case, it is paramount that we stop to reflect upon not only the way we use the materials but also upon our practice as well. Don't you also get the feeling that great materials serve well in great hands? So, let's strive to get there!
Good lessons for you!
Best,
Mirela
OMG, this is so TRUE! İ am still trying to sell and give away books and materials İ once spent a little fortunate on and then hardly used. İt seems that İ get practically HİPNOTİZED in bookshops - İ get easily overwhelmed and completely weakened by new shiny textbooks, fancy extra things...
İ am fighting with my urges for book shopping. Well, it's sort of easy now when İ live in Oslo (a set of a textbook and activity book for learning Norwegian cost some 100 euro) Outrageous, right? but teaches you to be more creative