I have entered into the world of Twitter this morning. I MUST do this, to engage with the academic community, to share and disseminate my EdD research, to help me increase the validity of my study and to broaden my PEN. I need to recognise and face my anixeties about doing this.
Identifying my fears
I joined Twitter in 2009. I follow over 200 people and have over 700 followers. This does not look like the profile of someone with Twitter-phobia. I had been an on- off-lurker for a long time up to the intial lockdown of March 2020, but lockdown sent me into full hibernation mode where I couldn't bring myself to even open Twitter let alone contribute. Prior to lockdown, my occassional jaunts into Twitter would find me struggling with the Noise, frustrated with having to plow my way through retweets and public 'private' conversations. Which made me question what I wanted to contribute. I certainly didn't want to add to this Noise, yet how else to use this space?
I am entering year 3 of my EdD. The networking opportunites of Twitter are so obvious and I know I need to overcome these fears.
Facing my fear: CELTA-imposter syndrome.
As I write this, by bio reads:
FE. Teacher Education. ESOL. Embarking on an EdD. All views my own.
Not a single mention of CELTA. How can this be when the main questions I'm interesting in answering is How do trainee-teachers learn to teach through peer observation on their Teaching Practice on a part time CELTA? and What do trainee-teachers and the CELTA tutors professionally notice as they engage in while-observation and post-observation discussions of Teaching Practice?
My professional identity sits firmly within FE, I have felt the shift from being an ESOL teacher to being a Teacher Educator, and this is reflected in my bio as well as in the Twitter circles I find myself in. The pleasures of Twitter are when you are conversing with people that you know, have met, know a little about their (professional) backgrounds. I know very few CELTA people. I only deliver one part time CELTA a year, within a large FE college, and I feel quite a CELTA-fraud. Which is nuts, because year on year we get great feedback from the traineees, from the assessor and (despite how very hard work it is!) I do love teaching the CELTA.
Why I love the CELTA
Well, what's not to love! It is a great course, it is intensive, and challenging and in a short time trainees learn a lot, and I think a large part of this is because of the Teaching Practice, hense my research interest. It is also one of the very few ways to get some subject specific training for ESOL in the UK. We market the course for this duality, it is a passport to adventures across the globe and a starting point for teaching ESOL in the UK, and with the demise of the DT(E)LLS, there aren't many ESOL-specific courses out there any more. It also means the college can offer free ESOL classes to asylum seakers, providing much needed classes for those with no recourse to public funds.
Coming out of my shell
I am setting myself an intention to network more. Embrace the fears. Limit the Lurking.
