That's my avatar at an ESL teachers' resource/forum called Waygook.org. I never once ever even heard of this website in my four years as a high school English conversation teacher in Korea. During my initial months after being transfered to an elementary school, I really foundered for materials that would be accepted by my three co-teachers.
The materials left behind by the previous NETs left a lot to be desired, as far as I was concerned, but conversation/task-based/cultural education activities didn't seem to thrill my cos. And I have to say the prevalence of "bomb games" on the waygook.org website doesn't thrill me, either.
Nonetheless, waygook.org came to the rescue! There are lots of great materials available here--you have to become a member to access them, but it's free, so that's alright. I would urge anyone for whom it is appropriate to sign up. And start downloading!
Eric, a dear old director friend of mine from the theatre department at USC once said, "I've never seen a play so bad I couldn't steal something from it!" I have always thought of the classroom as a bit of "theatre", and I attended every teacher's conference with an eye to what I could steal from even the most boring presentation. What is an internet site like Waygook.org but a continuous online teacher's conference?
If a desription or idea looks remotely useful, DL it, then worry about putting it to use later on. I'm sure I've DLed hundreds of files I never saved, much less used or adapted for use. It's all about your individual style. The same goes with the materials I've added to waygook.org--the Christmas Quiz Game PPT I put up recently has over 500 downloads so far, but I bet it won't actually be used in 500 classrooms across Korea.
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