How Blogging Can Make You a Better Teacher

Lindsay Clanfield wrote: "So, my question is... could you tell me if blogging has improved your professional life and indeed made you a better teacher? What do you get out of it?"

My blog emerged from questions I received from some EFL teachers abroad. After giving detailed responses to several, I noticed that questions began to repeat, hence I came up with posting my responses to a blog for the benefit of multiple respondents. Becoming a Better EFL Teacher was then born back in October of 2005.

The blog provides both online and offline resources for teachers and often includes press releases, links to other blogs and websites and guest posts from EFL professionals worldwide. It’s main purpose still continues to be responses to questions from in excess of 3700 EFL teachers and readers each month from more than 136 countries around the globe. My ELT blog was ranked in the top 100 language-related blogs worldwide last year.

Preparing and writing posts for this blog has caused me to write and publish three language-learning-related books. One of them entitled, “If You Want to Teach English Abroad, Here’s What You Need to Know”, I give away free on request to any teacher or prospective teacher who e-mails me and asks for it. At this time I’ve sent out hundreds of copies of the free e-book and it still continues to be popular.

The blog also improves me professionally since I need to keep abreast of new techniques and trends in ELT and foreign language learning such as “Pecha Kucha” which almost no one’s heard of here in Colombia. I get countless e-mails, comments, questions and ideas from EFL professionals from around the globe, a few of whom even came to visit Colombia as a result of my blog post information. I post readings for my Santiago de Cali University EFL learners and my EFL Teacher Training post-graduate studies students too. This blog also resulted in several ELT-related speaking engagements and conference invitations along with an on-going article writing post at an authority website online.

Blogging about EFL and some of its many aspects has helped me in more ways than I could list. I encourage more EFL teachers to try it for themselves and their foreign language learners if they truly want to see growth in their professionalism and foreign language teaching and learning skills.


Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, author and speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 100 countries. Get your FREE E-book, “If you Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's What You Need to Know" by requesting the title at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com Need a blogger or copywriter to promote your school, institution, service or business or an experienced writer and vibrant SEO content for your website, blog or newsletter? Then E-mail me for further information.