When I choose a question to reflect on from my journal, I don't always feel like writing a long response. Sometimes just a sentence or two will do. At first, I struggled with this. It felt like I had to get a minimum amount of words on the page to make it worth it. Then over time I realised that the value of the reflection isn’t measured in length, it’s measured in the impact that it has on me.

For this reflection, I'm delighted to welcome Jo Szoke. Jo is a teacher trainer, online and AI teaching specialist, educational consultant, and teacher implementing coaching methods. Her book with Zsófi Menyhei, “AI Literacy in the Language Classroom”, published by Delta Publishing, is available now. You can find her blog at Short and Simple English. Lots more prompts like this are found in A Reflection Journal For Teachers - available as a pdf or in print at…

It’s time for the latest prompt from my new book “A Reflection Journal For Teachers”. This time, the prompt is “How do I respond to failure?” and here’s my answer… I was speaking to a colleague once and he asked me how l dealt with lessons that went completely wrong. I didn't really know how to respond because I felt that never really happened to me.

For this reflection, I'm delighted to welcome Jeremy Harmer. Jeremy is a teacher, teacher trainer, speaker, facilitator in the world of English as a Foreign Language. Among his books are The Practice of English Language Teaching, How to Teach English, & Essential Teacher Knowledge (all published by Pearson), Jeremy Harmer’s 50 Communicative Activities (published by Cambridge University Press & Assessment). His latest booked is…

Lots more prompts like this are found in A Reflection Journal For Teachers - available as a pdf or in print at taylormadeenglish.com/reflect. I wonder about this. I have demonstrated over many years that I have a serious commitment to teacher development, and not just my own but of the entire teaching community. I think the root of this is my belief that education is the most important aspect of any society, and teachers are the heart of it.

I remember when I was a kid I was asked at scout camp to keep a diary. We were given a specific time to sit down and write about our day. I literally stared at the paper and my brain shut down. I couldn’t think of anything to write. So when I first heard about journal writing as part of the teacher development process, I always resisted as I thought that it wasn’t for me.

I’ve been attending Pilates lessons twice a week for some time now. The studio I go to offers various time slots and instructors, but over time, I’ve settled on two favourites: Maureen and Elise. Reflecting on why I gravitate towards them has led me to think about two aspects of teaching. Maureen is extroverted, outgoing, funny, and chatty, and I enjoy her personality even though she’s very different to me.

Image by Hans from Pixabay I've been using social media as a form of professional development for about as long as social media has existed, so I always have a lot of thoughts about the way that we use it professionally as well as personally. Like a lot of people, I have a love-hate relationship with it nowadays because while there are things that I still enjoy about it, I haven't been entirely happy with the landscape for quite a while.