Everyone seems to post their “Top-whatever-of-the-year” lists in January, but I didn’t get around to that at the New Year so I wondered, why not do it in July instead? I think we may have a bit more capacity for perusing resources in the summer as opposed to the post-holiday slump, anyway.

So in case you missed some of these posts from TESOL Outside the Box during the past year, here’s your chance to catch up and file away a few ideas for your next class session!

Somewhat to my surprise, last month’s post, Planning a Guest Q & A was my top-performing post of the year! In this edition, I share my friend Heather Johnston’s idea to interview an “expert” as a follow-up to a listening activity. Check it out to find lots of practical ideas for how you might adapt this idea to your own teaching context and your specific learners’ interests.

I absolutely loved putting together my Ice Cream post in August of last year! In this edition you’ll find a ready-to-go vocabulary presentation, a role-play, conversation prompts, and ice cream-themed podcast and video recommendations. Perfect to keep in your back pocket for a hot day that feels more like summer than fall (you know you’re going to have a few of them!)

Your Teaching Legacy was the edition I wrote after my dad—a teacher of over 40 years—passed away at the beginning of this year. I share lessons we can learn from someone who left a lasting impression on dozens if not hundreds of former students.

It was hard to narrow down the contestants for this category because most of my posts are heavy on practical resources and ideas! In the end, I had to go with Personality, the September edition. This gives you a ready-to-teach lesson complete with listening activity, transcript, quiz, and lots of conversation/writing prompts.

This is one of a growing library of listening lessons I have created for my own use, and am now considering making available to other teachers. If you enjoy this lesson and are interested in using more lessons from my listening library in your classes, just reply to this email and I will consider you for my pilot program!

Just in case you’re a faithful TESOL Outside the Box reader and have already pored over all these recommended posts, I have a new podcast discovery to share with you! The Motivated Classroom from Dr. Liam Printer was recommended by someone I follow on LinkedIn, and the first episode I listened to—”Is input alone enough?” (Episode 138)—was excellent. For me, this discussion landed right in the sweet spot of theory and practice, and I will definitely be listening to more episodes. It may end up joining my list of Podcasts for Teaching Inspiration. Check it out and see what you think!

That’s all for this July edition, folks! Enjoy your summer (for my Northern Hemisphere neighbors) and rest and recharge to the max so you can keep being the amazing teacher you are!

Bethany