We are starting today a new discussion at the Literature Media and Cultural Studies discussion group. From today till next Sunday we will be talking about travel literature and travel in literature. I think this is a fascinating topic because, unfortunately, very few of us can afford to travel around the world and opening a book is the cheapest and safest way of making up for our low travel mileage.
One of the seminars I’ve attended at the Open University this January dealt with the importance of getting your research to the ‘external’ audience. On of the possible channels to do that is to have an online website or blog which can be used to open the dialogue not only on the results of your research, but also on the process, creating an ongoing dialogue as the study develops. I think this is a quite interesting idea.
I already have my professional blog here and , even if the latest posts are all basically about reading, that is a much more eclectic space for all things ELT. Bookworms is my unpretentious literature blog where I just post the poems I like and brief comments on the books I read – very informal, very intimate. I also have a private learning blog, but that is for my own reflections and research issues. Therefore, another space was needed.
Considering that the big idea is to reach a broader readership, I thought that the perfect platform would be my blog space at the BC/BBC Teaching English website, where the Reading Group is also hosted. I have already posted there and the dialogue is open.
Now that MRes is over and the real PhD work started, I am doing some basic reading till the writing assignments start. I’m focussing on reading literature in language learning and computer mediated communication to start with, aiming at connecting these two main areas with English language teacher education.
This coincides with a major change in the ELT e-Reading Group, which is the base of my research project.
We have moved from enCompass to the ‘mainstream’ British Council/BBC Teaching English website. This will allow more teachers around the world to know about the Group and join us in the discussion of short stories and poems. I really hope more people will become members and post because it makes the discussion more interesting and enriching.
Join us at the ELT e-Reading Group at Teaching English
