henry

Last month, I posted The Best Three Sites On The Web For ESL/EFL/ELL/ELT Teachers.

I’ve since interviewed the people behind each of those sites, and will be publishing them over the next few weeks. Last week I published my interview with David Deubelbeiss, the founder of EFL Classroom 2.0

Today, we’ll hear from Michelle Henry from Ressources Pour Le College En Anglais:

LF: Can you share a little about yourself — where you teach and how and why you initially became interested in English language education?

Michelle Henry:

I taught in high schools and had classes with adults. Now I have been retired since 2007.

From the start I had very good results at school, I considered language as a game. I got correspondents and could go to England every year.

At first I wanted to be a doctor, like my father, but he refused, saying that it was too difficult for a woman. I have always wanted to help people. So I turned to what I had always liked: English, and decided to become a teacher to try and convince my students it was a rich, interesting and useful language.

LF: When and why did you begin sharing online resources for English Language Learners and teachers?

Michelle Henry:

Fourteen years ago, teachers began to receive help with computers and work with WORD. We discovered the internet and how to link it with WORD. I started a list of useful links for me and my students and began to write webquests.

Then I was noticed by an inspector who liked what I was doing. He appreciated my first webquest about The White House. He asked me to work for the Regional Education Authority of Nancy-Metz, find links for high school teachers and create webquests (in addition to teaching). So I created a site and wanted it to be welcoming with pictures, varied and helpful for learners and teachers. I also created a site for primary teachers with a colleague.

Since my retirement, I have kept my site for which I received the European Language Label in 2010. It was thus recognized as an effective and reliable tool for teachers and students.

LF: How do you find all the great resources you share on your site?

Michelle Henry:

I am a member of several lists of teachers on the internet, so I can see what they are interested in and I look for corresponding links and create worksheets.

I have also subscribed to sites I appreciate for their seriousness, their ideas and efficacy.

Some teachers send me their creations: worksheets, interactive activities and games, webquests, etc.

I am interested in lots of domains and want to keep up-to-date with the news, so I spend a lot of time every day looking for interesting and motivating links. I try to put myself in the students’ shoes and wonder what they will like, what will touch them and encourage them to deepen and talk about a subject.

I wish the sites will lead to thoughts, communications and debates. I hope that the teachers will feel like creating a lesson, using videos and podcasts and talking about a subject with their students.

LF: What are your future plans — for yourself and for your site?

Michelle Henry:

This work is a passion and I can’t stop looking for new ideas. As long as I can help, I will continue.

I have created a second site: the presentation will be clearer and the pages will be smaller for the browsing to be more pleasant.

LF: Is there anything I haven’t asked that you’d like to say?

Michelle Henry:

I receive lots of encouraging mails from around the world and I appreciate the teachers’ comments. They tell me I save them a lot of time.

I also thank you for choosing my site among The Best Three Sites On the Web for ESL/EFL/ELL/ELT Teachers. It is great to have such enthusiastic support.

LF: Thanks, Michelle!