2. My Personal Learning
Network Growth
Since I started my PLN back in September I have
definitely increased the number of people that I am
following on Twitter. Most of this has occurred through
following one person and then seeing who else
recommends to me for following. As I have followed more
language learning enthusiasts, I have been directed to
even more of them. This is how I see a PLN developing
because it start off very small but then a network
develops of like minded people. I went from following 20
people to over 70 now. The number will continue to grow.
3. Three Twitter Feeds in my
PLN
• Michael Erard
• About World Languages
• Fluent in 3 Months
These sources are people/organizations that I
follow on Twitter and who help shape my PLN
because they are professionals in the
language industry who over top-notch advice
and insight on language topics. I will give a
brief description of each as to why they are
highlights in my Twitter PLN.
4. • Michael Erard is the author of the best selling book Babel
No More, which traces the stories of the world’s most
succesful language learners. Besides being an author he
continually posts on language subjects such as
pedagogies and language families, which really intrigues
me as a teacher because besides just teaching Spanish to
students I also want to share facts to them about the
linguistic world and why language matters as a subject.
Erard’s knowledge allows me to contextualize my subject
area and give an in-depth analysis of the language
learning process.
5. • AWL is a site for language nerds such as myself
because it is constantly tweeting factoids about
various world languages that I would not
otherwise be aware about. It always provides a
link with its Tweets so I can visit the source and
learn more on a given subject. Once again this
site just provides a greater context for language
teachers, which should make a classroom much
more interesting to be in.
6. •
Fluent in 3 Months, run by Benny Lewis, is the world’s most popular
language learning blog that has over 400,000 hits per month. The
reason the author info says “homeless” is because Benny has been
traveling for 10 years non-stop on language learning adventures
and offers multiple tips along the way. He is a great blogger to read,
not only on language learning but life in general. Once I seen how
regular a guy he is and how much fun he has in this process it has
really inspired me to be an inspiration to my own students. This is
done through passion and enthusiasm towards one’s subject. The
main reason I follow Fluent in 3 Months is to follow that example.
7. PLN Interactions
• Being Twitter allows me to interact with people within my PLN
and I will continue to do this on the many ideas that I have for
teaching. As can be seen from my three examples, language
learning/teaching is a big occupation of mine that I am
continually interested in and some may even say obsessed.
Being on Twitter allows me to quickly find these fellow
obsessionists who are constantly exploring new ideas in the
field. Recently I have discovered a language teaching pedagogy
called Total Physical Response (TPR). When I return to
Lloydminster this Spring I will be teaching my Adult
Conversational Spanish class at the community college and
want to implement this pedagogy. I’m hoping over the next few
months to get in touch with teachers on Twitter who have used
TPR to see what is the best strategy in its implementation. This
will be a very practical use of having the PLN, which will
ultimately enhance my teaching and benefit my students.
8. Conclusion
• That is my PLN Multimedia Reflection
for Module 12 and the last Module for
EDU 210. I have displayed the benefits
of a PLN with examples of who I am
following and how I want to interact
within it. Hope you enjoyed it!
