Alex Case replies to our call to “Build an Alternative to Harrogate”

Alex Case, creator of the most popular independent TEFL blog had this to say on the Alternative Conference:

Re the IATEFL stuff, saw your announcement on BELT Free (via a Google alert- gotta love and hate Google at the same time!- as I rarely go on BELT Free) and had a couple of ideas:

– Call it IAltTEFL (the letters don’t have to stand for anything, just as long as it’s like IATEFL but Alternative is understood)
– Make the theme “Themes that would never be allowed in IATEFL (or are at least seriously under represented)”, which should give people a bit of ideological space to express themselves in, as should hopefully the name. Should get something nice and offensive from Sandy (Sandy McManus) as well
– Ask bloggers to post one thing within that remit on every day of the IATEFL conference (either stuff they wrote themselves or guest pieces, or just comments on others’ IAltTEFL pieces), then have a Blog Carnival of those pieces to tie them together afterwards

As you suggested, very happy to lend my blog to the task. Organisational and networking talents you will have to find elsewhere though! Do you want to officially announce it here or there, and if there do you want me to write it or will you write a guest piece?

All fantastic ideas, Alex. We also working with TEFL networker, Karenne Sylvester, and the network she has created in order to generate more ideas.  Once things are clearer we will get in touch. Great to have you on board.