sanpasec.blogspot.com is the link to get to our school blog! It'll be edited by the A2 group. It's been opened by Vale Becker, and it's really exciting! Check it out, and get ready to receive invitations to have your students submit work to it.
English Department Project
I'd like us to get organized in order to make the blog popular. I really feel it's a great idea, easy to implement and motivating for everyone at school and Yerba Buena. Our challenge is to turn it into a sight where our students will feel reflected, and will therefore check it out even if they have not been asked by a teacher or because they need to complete an assignment.
Until we get there, it'll be up to us to make them start contributing to it. So here is a list of mini-projects you could plan to implement as soon as we get back from winter break:
Book review: especially for grades 7-9, students could write a review of any of the books they read in their SSR time. To do this, you could get book reviews from The New York Times as model of structure, contents, and style (click on it to go to their Book Review section). Students could then write their own reviews and include a picture of the cover of the book, or their own drawing or collage of pictures about it, or pics of a movie based on it, also get the first chapter if you can find the full text online (many books are published online, but I guess they won't be simplified versions). Make sure they annotate the bibliographical information correctly, and they finally submit their work to you as a class project. You can choose three to five pieces, make copies and distribute to everyone. In groups, following an agreed upon set of criteria, they will decide which (1 or 2) will be sent to the editors for publication in the school blog.
Article review: the same procedure can be implemented for the review of interesting articles. The range of topics can as broad as our students' interests! It would be nice to have an article review and a book review every single week. This means that more people will get published! AND this would add a 'global' taste to the blog.
Just about anything! Think of any class project as possible subject for a journalistic piece that could be shared with the whole school. Always keep in mind that, though academic, it has to be written in such a way as to attract the reader's attention. This could include interviews, research on any topic, etc. Go to the blog and see the sections it'll include. Examples that I can think of is the 7th grade video project. If you complete anyone, e.g. a commercial/an interview, pick the best one and submit it to the school blog for everyone at school to enjoy! If you are doing a role play on a book read in class, a picture of it could accompany a written review of the book. This week you could work on a film review, next time on a sports event in Tucuman, then maybe cover an important global event and discuss how the issue is presented in different countries, have your artistically inclined kids to draw cartoons that may depict some current event in Yerba Buena or Tuc or Arg or the world, make any event that attract our students' attention and make it a class project to get published, etc. etc. etc. The possibilities are endless. If you'd like to brainstorm together about how you could turn any class content into an interesting article for the school blog, just let me know we'll talk about it!
It would be nice if by the end of August each class you teach has produced a few pieces worth publishing. How about making this your monthly objective for August and leave it incorporated into your curriculum somehow? We'll definitely explore ways to keep this going - I strongly believe the possibility of getting published will add an exciting flavor to any class assignment. Let's talk about it! For more questions, doubts, suggestions, etc. just holler!
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
School Blog Project
I've already presented the idea of the school blog to my A2 students, and they like it. The following are the brief notes they sent me of our brainstorming session. We also thought that we could have an editor per class, i.e. one for each level, 7th through 2nd Polimodal. They would be collecting texts and keeping the journalist's eye on the news!
Another idea: a cell-phone picture contest: "Life at San Patricio" i.e. snapshots of moments in our school that portray who we are on a daily basis. Let's talk to owners or Parents Association or authorities or ANYONE who can provide the awards for the winners. Hey, let me know what you think of this! (leave comments!)
We could post:
- Interviews
- Research Projects (like the one we are doing at school for garbage treatment).
- Reviews on Books, Movies, events, etc.
- Polls
- Opinion columns
- Maps (including transportation to certain places).
- Literature, creative writing pieces
- News:
- Global
- Tucumán – Yerba Buena
- School:
- School week (Sports, Choreographies, etc)
- School trips
- Ceremonies
- Calendar
- School life
- CAS
Friday, June 15, 2007
Minutes of the Think-Tank Meeting June 14
Click HERE to go to our FAAPI blog! There you'll find our minutes and everything else related to our projects from now on!
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Tomorrow Friday: Teaching EGB3 English conference
I've told most of you but, just in case: At Anglo - whole day conference - 4 presenters. Check the poster at Faculty Room at school.
Interesting Talk on Saturday
Prof. Luis A. Gonzalez will present 'Reviewing Changes' and it sounds interesting! The aim is "to show how the English language has developed in recent years and to demonstrate that those changes mean we need to learn new terms and colloquial expressions. Although modern lexical items are highly specific to the place thwy are used, the main reason we seek to enrich our vocabulary is so that we can communicate fluently with other speakers of English, be they native or non-native speakers. We have to remember that today we speak not just of English but of 'Englishes'. In Great Britain there is a tendency to reject some of these changes in the language and so we have to make the differences between modern use and old usage quite clear. The new focus on broadening knowledge is part of a wider attempt to learn how to use Standard English correctly, improve our written English and help us to speak the English as it should be spoken."
If you'd like references on the presenter ask me (it's long to type!, but he seems to be really good!)
Venue: Colegio Nueva Concepcion
Date: Saturday June 16
Time: 10am-12pm
Registration: San Francisco - 422-8822 or sanfrancisco_tuc@arnet.com.ar
LIMITED VACANCIES
If you'd like references on the presenter ask me (it's long to type!, but he seems to be really good!)
Venue: Colegio Nueva Concepcion
Date: Saturday June 16
Time: 10am-12pm
Registration: San Francisco - 422-8822 or sanfrancisco_tuc@arnet.com.ar
LIMITED VACANCIES
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
SCHOLARSHIPS!
| 31-05-07 | |
 |
|
U.S. Embassy Buenos Aires Offers Scholarships for EFL Teachers for Two Week Study Program in United States
The U.S. Embassy is offering ten scholarships for EFL teachers to participate in a two week study program in Austin, Texas. The objective of the study program is to strengthen English teaching skills; to learn new ideas regarding pedagogy and methodologies using U.S.-content teaching materials; to foster a better understanding of the U.S.; and to establish ongoing connections between English teachers in Argentina and the U.S. In addition to this program, the U.S. Embassy will sponsor selected participants’ attendance at the TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) Symposium and the 7th Southern Cone TESOL Convention in Buenos Aires.
PROGRAM DATES: July 12, 2007 Buenos Aires, TESOL Symposium: “Teaching English for Specific Purposes” July 13-14, 2007 Buenos Aires, 7th Southern Cone TESOL Convention July 14, 2007 – July 27, 2007 Austin, Texas, Texas International Education Consortium
BENEFITS: Participants will receive: - Hotel accommodation (double occupancy) - Daily meals and incidentals allowance - Round trip air fare from city of origin - Health insurance - A laptop to be used in your English teaching work
REQUIREMENTS: Degree in English from a 4-year college or university 3-5 years English teaching experience Valid passport Argentine citizenship Excellent English Strong commitment to teaching Under 45 years old A follow-up activity upon your return to Argentina to share what you learned in the U.S. with your colleagues.
Preference will be given to candidates with no previous travel to the United States. Grantees will not be allowed to take their families with them to the United States during the program.
APPLICATION PROCESS: The application deadline is Tuesday, June 19, 2007. Interested candidates should fill in the attached form and email it to ExchangesBA@state.gov with the subject line “TIEC 4.” Finalists will be announced on Tuesday, June 26, 2007. Selected candidates will be interviewed as part of the selection process. |
Click HERE to get more info and the form to apply.
HOPE YOU TRY TO GET ONE!!
Friday, June 8, 2007
We're news!
Check out the article that Luciana Poliche wrote about our use of blogs! She was here last Wednesday and today she published her report on www.quorumtuc.com.ar, a news website from Tucuman. She also has a blog, muchachademanosfrias.blogspot.com. Click HERE and/or HERE to go to the article!
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Nurturing Our Students' Sense of Self and Community
Our Workshop Proposals for this year's FAAPI
Below you will find the four proposals we sent in to participate in this year's FAAPI. Though my name's not listed, I'll be presenting with or supporting each of the teams. I'd like to say I'm proud of the response and enthusiasm shown by the Department members interested in taking part of this venture. You have also put in the necessary amount of work to finalize the requirements, such as writing papers, abstracts, and biodata, revising them endlessly, and meeting on several occasions to fine tune each project. I also appreciate the interest and contribution of those of you who, even when you won't be presenting, offered your material and expertise to support the effort of the project teams. Regardless of whether our proposals get accepted -and they'd be missing some great stuff if they don't!- your predisposition to further our professional stance is commendable.
Note: The rationale for the first workshop serves as theoretical foundation for the other three.
1. A Critical Approach to Selecting Cultural Content
Presented by Janine Cook, Adela Tineo
Abstract:
We will explore ways to promote our students' sense of self and community by sharing activities and projects that will help kids express their own meaning, and appreciate both the essential humanity in the universal values of L2 texts, and the cross-cultural differences from a critical viewpoint. Some of the activities revolve around podcasts, student-made radio programs, English language learner DJ, creative writing assignments, reading for pleasure techniques, songs, portfolios, class yearbooks, and self-disclosure activities.
Summary:
When we face the task of designing a course tailored to our students' needs and sociocultural context, we tend first to determine the level of proficiency of the students, and then select the textbook that will go along with it. With these two simple steps, most of our work seems to be done in terms of curriculum development. Some more enthusiastic teachers usually try to add readers and other 'extra' activities. This configuration is sound in terms of its consideration of the students' linguistic proficiency, the number of class hours in the program, and the appropriate sequence of linguistic development in all four skills, usually provided by the textbook. However, there's a whole dimension that goes largely ignored: What is the cultural content of our class and how is it to strengthen our students' knowledge foundation?
One of the basic tenets of teaching and learning a foreign language is to acquire an added perspective to our view of the world. Cultural awareness is paramount to the acquisition of other languages. However, when it comes to English, this simple statement takes on a kaleidoscopic dimension. As a lingua franca, English is nowadays the language of communication in the international community. Indeed more people speak English as a second or foreign language than the number of people who do so as their first language. It is also a second official language in a number of countries, such as Singapore and India, and the chosen language in the business and entertainment world. It is estimated that over 80% of what gets published on the Internet is in English. On a different level, English has also been the predominantly colonial language in the last two centuries. In addition, such long standing influence of English-speaking hegemonies has led to a quite intricate sociopolitical environment in each country of the periphery. Issues of power, identity, assimilation, imperialism, ownership, and international conflict, as it was our case with the Malvinas War, have determined the way citizens of countries in the periphery view and relate to this language. In this context, the English teacher can become a means to strengthen our subordination to the dominant culture or the facilitator in a nurturing process of our students' identity formation, critical thinking, and global awareness.
Podcasts, student-made radio programs, English language learner DJ, creative writing assignments, reading for pleasure techniques, literary circles, songs, production of expository and journalistic texts, portfolios, class yearbooks, self-disclosure activities are some of the material we expect to share.
This workshop will explore ways to promote our students' sense of self and community. We will share activities and projects that will help kids express their own meaning and appreciate both the essential humanity in the universal values of authentic texts of the target culture, and the cross-cultural differences that make us aware that their view of the world is not and need not be universally shared. Cultural diversity means there is no right or wrong, superior or inferior cultural perspective. This critical approach guides us to find a balance between contents that deal with the individual, the local culture, the Anglophone culture, and the global community. As a result, we can redefine the nature of English as an academic subject and our own role and relevance as English teachers in 21st century Argentina.
2. Acting, learning and Personal Growth
Presented by Alina Teran Griet, Elvira J. Llobeta, Silvia Granado
Abstract:
This presentation aims to explore the use of drama in the classroom as a source to promote learning on the cognitive, socio-cultural and psychological levels. When planning a class, it's important for teachers to consider the social environment that surrounds their students as well as the inter-relationships among them as these aspects are reflected on each individual performance as a learner. The choice of material should consider thematic units to be discussed in class that are connected and relevant to students' reality. This sometimes implies that teachers should adapt this material in order to cater for their students' needs. Through drama activities, students may develop a receptive mind that, as Mandell and Wolf state, can make students "participate enthusiastically, stop and think about what is going on, be a good audience, concentrate and stay focused, keep open to new ideas..."
Drama activities can help students to acquire the language almost unconsciously. As Burke and Sullivan explain, role-play and improvisation techniques are helpful to encourage students to use the language and use it effectively and in context. Furthermore, as regards phonetics and phonology, students who practise drama skills in the classroom seem to evidence more confidence and fluency in the language. Learners are exposed to language used in context, sometimes more complex than the one usually presented in textbooks: therefore, they undergo a process which implies not only the understanding and interpretation of a text, but also the challenge of finding suitable gestures and sounds to perform it, while exercising their memory skills. Thus, the text is internalized not only grammatically, but also phonologically, taking the vocabulary, rhythm and intonation necessary into account to perform the text properly.
Learners are motivated and they are not aware that they are exercising the language: they are carried away by the enjoyment of doing a pleasurable activity. As a byproduct, the class tends to become a less formal environment in which they can all walk around and interact with each other. Students have the opportunity to develop their own creativity even from the early stages of learning. Jan Mandell and Jennifer Wolf state that "when adolescents create and act in their own plays, something more than a production and performance results."
In our workshop, we intend to share our experience including the research and implementation of a variety of drama activities designed as bridge between language learning and personal growth. We have worked on long-term projects to produce a longer play and a musical, and have also incorporated drama related activities in other lesson plans not related to the longer projects. Adopting a novel or a short story from an English-speaking community as material for dramatization and role-play deepens the students' understanding of the characters' motivation and inner drive, characteristics that portray their culture. Furthermore, when adapting the plot to our own environment, students are encouraged to change any part of the original action to make it fit their local issues and their own personal interests and attitudes. This process makes them aware of cross-cultural differences and strengthens their sense of identity. We are therefore not only teaching the language and communication skills but providing strategies that will give students tools to relate to other members of the community, explore their own personalities, enhance their critical thinking and promote global awareness. "The power of arts can lead to a real passion for justice and courage to question." (Wolf & Mandell, 2003)
3. Video Production and Other eProjects Made Possible
Presented by Omar H. Reinoso, Alicia Prebisch
Abstract:
We will show how students of favourable as well as constrained English language learning contexts can make a video production in which they practice all four skills in a motivating learning environment. We will also share a variety of stimulating activities with a high level of student involvement that aim at using popular electronic gadgets, available to most students, to enhance their learning experience. The projects and activities stimulate students' intelligences, imagination and creativity, while promoting critical thinking and cultural awareness.
Summary:
The objective of this workshop is to present video production as a tool to allow our students to explore a variety of topics that interrelate the target culture with their own in a motivating entertaining environment for both students and teacher. This type of project encourages students to seek the improvement of their linguistic skills not just to get a passing mark but to improve the quality of the project outcome. On the other hand, teachers can assess their progress on different levels beyond the mere improvement of their English skills, such as the students' attitude, level of commitment and work ethic. In the process of adapting a target-culture text to video production, the teacher connects students with distant places and promotes greater awareness of their own identity in the process of discussing similarities and differences between the fictional characters of their L2 reading and the reality of their L1 culture.
Students need to communicate and work with each other and they also need to connect and interact with their community because they often have to search beyond the classroom for learning resources usually making use of new technologies. Many of our students find working with these technologies interesting and creative. A class-made video production is one way of adopting media that spur students' interest and enthusiasm. As a classroom project, it teaches study skills while enhancing the acquisition process. Students research the content for their videos and subsequently learn the information through script writing. The project taps on their creative reservoir to collaboratively determine scenes while visualizing the entire film. It also tends to favour improved self- esteem by providing youths with a recognized medium for broadcasting their views and ideas. As each student is part of a production crew and responsible for meeting the group's set goals, the project promotes cooperative learning. It also induces transparent learning because they enjoy themselves and it encourages process thinking because video production requires extensive planning.
Regarding the challenges of video production, it is time intensive, requires much planning, usually extra work, and, on top of that, it sometimes creates chaos in the classroom. However, the level of enthusiasm and motivation of the students far outweighs such constraints, especially when the outcome becomes the token of a most memorable experience they had in their English class. On a different note, video production in the classroom can be carried out not only in favourable language learning contexts such as bilingual or private schools, but also in constrained ones in which the teachers have few hours to teach a foreign language with students' limited literacy skills and equipment availability.
Language is an integral part of video production. Ideas need to be translated into words and images in the shape of written scripts then interpreted by spoken word and dramatization. Furthermore, it also allows for interdisciplinary projects with other areas of the curricula like Literature, Natural Science, Social Science and Arts. Students may film scenes of a novel or the whole of it, dramatize of short stories, poems, songs or films, also work on Reading Rainbow-style book reviews and oral presentations in science labs. Creative writing is encouraged and interpreted through video projects when they gather news about their own community, on local issues that present problem-solving challenges, and when they focus on cultural histories through the documentary genre.
4. WEBLOGGING our Way to Self-exploration and Global Awareness
Presented by Andrea C. Galvan, Alina Teran Griet
Abstract:
One of the limitations EFL teachers often face is their students' and their own lack of exposure to authentic material and interaction with native speakers in real situations. On a general basis, a curriculum mostly based on the use of a textbook poses further limitations on truly authentic communication.
One way to counteract this drawback is the introduction of pedagogic tools provided by the Internet. Collaborative learning, supported by the use of e-mail, chat exchanges and discussion forums - which represent the first-generation web tools - has proved to be efficient as a source of authentic material and interaction.
With the recent advent of weblogging in the world of web publishing and journalism, we propose its use for the students' development of reading and writing skills. More importantly, weblogs foster self-exploration, critical thinking, and fluid communication with the larger community. We have found this tool effective not only in the cognitive process, but also as a means to get students to reflect about themselves as individuals, and their place in the world.
What is a weblog?
It's a web-based writing space, similar to an online journal which is dynamic, chronological, and continually updated with the accumulation of writing and other content - such as comments from readers, pictures, movie clips, podcasts and links to other websites. Blogs can be personal or group production, kept in privacy or published to a wider audience with a common interest. Keeping a blog is a truly communicative activity, since the entries are not produced for the audience of a teacher, but published to be read by a community of peers and, if so desired, by the general public on a global scale.
This process fosters critical thinking and thoughtful writing, as well as extensive reading and research in the target language. As a result, reading comprehension, vocabulary expansion, and writing production improve considerably. The possibility of interaction with members of other communities broadens the individual's mind and enhances understanding, acceptance and appreciation of other cultures.
Blogs are easy to create. We do not need to become a tech whiz to use them. We'd like to share different ways in which blogs can be incorporated into our daily teaching. You'll be able see three uses of this technological device: the teacher's blog, the class blog, and the student's blog. Examples from our personal experience will be the core of the presentation, and will include a slew of activities to achieve the aims of linguistic development, cultural awareness, and critical thinking. Beyond the development of cognitive processes, the goal is the amelioration of authentic interaction, exploration of self, discussion of global issues, in a stimulating and fun virtual environment.
Below you will find the four proposals we sent in to participate in this year's FAAPI. Though my name's not listed, I'll be presenting with or supporting each of the teams. I'd like to say I'm proud of the response and enthusiasm shown by the Department members interested in taking part of this venture. You have also put in the necessary amount of work to finalize the requirements, such as writing papers, abstracts, and biodata, revising them endlessly, and meeting on several occasions to fine tune each project. I also appreciate the interest and contribution of those of you who, even when you won't be presenting, offered your material and expertise to support the effort of the project teams. Regardless of whether our proposals get accepted -and they'd be missing some great stuff if they don't!- your predisposition to further our professional stance is commendable.
Note: The rationale for the first workshop serves as theoretical foundation for the other three.
1. A Critical Approach to Selecting Cultural Content
Presented by Janine Cook, Adela Tineo
Abstract:
We will explore ways to promote our students' sense of self and community by sharing activities and projects that will help kids express their own meaning, and appreciate both the essential humanity in the universal values of L2 texts, and the cross-cultural differences from a critical viewpoint. Some of the activities revolve around podcasts, student-made radio programs, English language learner DJ, creative writing assignments, reading for pleasure techniques, songs, portfolios, class yearbooks, and self-disclosure activities.
Summary:
When we face the task of designing a course tailored to our students' needs and sociocultural context, we tend first to determine the level of proficiency of the students, and then select the textbook that will go along with it. With these two simple steps, most of our work seems to be done in terms of curriculum development. Some more enthusiastic teachers usually try to add readers and other 'extra' activities. This configuration is sound in terms of its consideration of the students' linguistic proficiency, the number of class hours in the program, and the appropriate sequence of linguistic development in all four skills, usually provided by the textbook. However, there's a whole dimension that goes largely ignored: What is the cultural content of our class and how is it to strengthen our students' knowledge foundation?
One of the basic tenets of teaching and learning a foreign language is to acquire an added perspective to our view of the world. Cultural awareness is paramount to the acquisition of other languages. However, when it comes to English, this simple statement takes on a kaleidoscopic dimension. As a lingua franca, English is nowadays the language of communication in the international community. Indeed more people speak English as a second or foreign language than the number of people who do so as their first language. It is also a second official language in a number of countries, such as Singapore and India, and the chosen language in the business and entertainment world. It is estimated that over 80% of what gets published on the Internet is in English. On a different level, English has also been the predominantly colonial language in the last two centuries. In addition, such long standing influence of English-speaking hegemonies has led to a quite intricate sociopolitical environment in each country of the periphery. Issues of power, identity, assimilation, imperialism, ownership, and international conflict, as it was our case with the Malvinas War, have determined the way citizens of countries in the periphery view and relate to this language. In this context, the English teacher can become a means to strengthen our subordination to the dominant culture or the facilitator in a nurturing process of our students' identity formation, critical thinking, and global awareness.
Podcasts, student-made radio programs, English language learner DJ, creative writing assignments, reading for pleasure techniques, literary circles, songs, production of expository and journalistic texts, portfolios, class yearbooks, self-disclosure activities are some of the material we expect to share.
This workshop will explore ways to promote our students' sense of self and community. We will share activities and projects that will help kids express their own meaning and appreciate both the essential humanity in the universal values of authentic texts of the target culture, and the cross-cultural differences that make us aware that their view of the world is not and need not be universally shared. Cultural diversity means there is no right or wrong, superior or inferior cultural perspective. This critical approach guides us to find a balance between contents that deal with the individual, the local culture, the Anglophone culture, and the global community. As a result, we can redefine the nature of English as an academic subject and our own role and relevance as English teachers in 21st century Argentina.
2. Acting, learning and Personal Growth
Presented by Alina Teran Griet, Elvira J. Llobeta, Silvia Granado
Abstract:
Our project includes the research of a variety of drama activities designed as bridge between language learning and personal growth. We are not only teaching the language and communication skills but providing strategies that will give students tools to relate to other members of the community, explore their own personalities, enhance their critical thinking and promote global awareness. “The power of arts can lead to a real passion for justice and courage to question.”
This presentation aims to explore the use of drama in the classroom as a source to promote learning on the cognitive, socio-cultural and psychological levels. When planning a class, it's important for teachers to consider the social environment that surrounds their students as well as the inter-relationships among them as these aspects are reflected on each individual performance as a learner. The choice of material should consider thematic units to be discussed in class that are connected and relevant to students' reality. This sometimes implies that teachers should adapt this material in order to cater for their students' needs. Through drama activities, students may develop a receptive mind that, as Mandell and Wolf state, can make students "participate enthusiastically, stop and think about what is going on, be a good audience, concentrate and stay focused, keep open to new ideas..."
Drama activities can help students to acquire the language almost unconsciously. As Burke and Sullivan explain, role-play and improvisation techniques are helpful to encourage students to use the language and use it effectively and in context. Furthermore, as regards phonetics and phonology, students who practise drama skills in the classroom seem to evidence more confidence and fluency in the language. Learners are exposed to language used in context, sometimes more complex than the one usually presented in textbooks: therefore, they undergo a process which implies not only the understanding and interpretation of a text, but also the challenge of finding suitable gestures and sounds to perform it, while exercising their memory skills. Thus, the text is internalized not only grammatically, but also phonologically, taking the vocabulary, rhythm and intonation necessary into account to perform the text properly.
Learners are motivated and they are not aware that they are exercising the language: they are carried away by the enjoyment of doing a pleasurable activity. As a byproduct, the class tends to become a less formal environment in which they can all walk around and interact with each other. Students have the opportunity to develop their own creativity even from the early stages of learning. Jan Mandell and Jennifer Wolf state that "when adolescents create and act in their own plays, something more than a production and performance results."
In our workshop, we intend to share our experience including the research and implementation of a variety of drama activities designed as bridge between language learning and personal growth. We have worked on long-term projects to produce a longer play and a musical, and have also incorporated drama related activities in other lesson plans not related to the longer projects. Adopting a novel or a short story from an English-speaking community as material for dramatization and role-play deepens the students' understanding of the characters' motivation and inner drive, characteristics that portray their culture. Furthermore, when adapting the plot to our own environment, students are encouraged to change any part of the original action to make it fit their local issues and their own personal interests and attitudes. This process makes them aware of cross-cultural differences and strengthens their sense of identity. We are therefore not only teaching the language and communication skills but providing strategies that will give students tools to relate to other members of the community, explore their own personalities, enhance their critical thinking and promote global awareness. "The power of arts can lead to a real passion for justice and courage to question." (Wolf & Mandell, 2003)
3. Video Production and Other eProjects Made Possible
Presented by Omar H. Reinoso, Alicia Prebisch
Abstract:
We will show how students of favourable as well as constrained English language learning contexts can make a video production in which they practice all four skills in a motivating learning environment. We will also share a variety of stimulating activities with a high level of student involvement that aim at using popular electronic gadgets, available to most students, to enhance their learning experience. The projects and activities stimulate students' intelligences, imagination and creativity, while promoting critical thinking and cultural awareness.
Summary:
The objective of this workshop is to present video production as a tool to allow our students to explore a variety of topics that interrelate the target culture with their own in a motivating entertaining environment for both students and teacher. This type of project encourages students to seek the improvement of their linguistic skills not just to get a passing mark but to improve the quality of the project outcome. On the other hand, teachers can assess their progress on different levels beyond the mere improvement of their English skills, such as the students' attitude, level of commitment and work ethic. In the process of adapting a target-culture text to video production, the teacher connects students with distant places and promotes greater awareness of their own identity in the process of discussing similarities and differences between the fictional characters of their L2 reading and the reality of their L1 culture.
Students need to communicate and work with each other and they also need to connect and interact with their community because they often have to search beyond the classroom for learning resources usually making use of new technologies. Many of our students find working with these technologies interesting and creative. A class-made video production is one way of adopting media that spur students' interest and enthusiasm. As a classroom project, it teaches study skills while enhancing the acquisition process. Students research the content for their videos and subsequently learn the information through script writing. The project taps on their creative reservoir to collaboratively determine scenes while visualizing the entire film. It also tends to favour improved self- esteem by providing youths with a recognized medium for broadcasting their views and ideas. As each student is part of a production crew and responsible for meeting the group's set goals, the project promotes cooperative learning. It also induces transparent learning because they enjoy themselves and it encourages process thinking because video production requires extensive planning.
Regarding the challenges of video production, it is time intensive, requires much planning, usually extra work, and, on top of that, it sometimes creates chaos in the classroom. However, the level of enthusiasm and motivation of the students far outweighs such constraints, especially when the outcome becomes the token of a most memorable experience they had in their English class. On a different note, video production in the classroom can be carried out not only in favourable language learning contexts such as bilingual or private schools, but also in constrained ones in which the teachers have few hours to teach a foreign language with students' limited literacy skills and equipment availability.
Language is an integral part of video production. Ideas need to be translated into words and images in the shape of written scripts then interpreted by spoken word and dramatization. Furthermore, it also allows for interdisciplinary projects with other areas of the curricula like Literature, Natural Science, Social Science and Arts. Students may film scenes of a novel or the whole of it, dramatize of short stories, poems, songs or films, also work on Reading Rainbow-style book reviews and oral presentations in science labs. Creative writing is encouraged and interpreted through video projects when they gather news about their own community, on local issues that present problem-solving challenges, and when they focus on cultural histories through the documentary genre.
4. WEBLOGGING our Way to Self-exploration and Global Awareness
Presented by Andrea C. Galvan, Alina Teran Griet
Abstract:
We do not need to become a tech whiz to create a blog. We’ll share different ways to incorporate blogs into our teaching. The focus will be on three uses: the teacher’s, class, and student’s blog. Examples from our personal experience will be the core of the presentation, including a slew of activities to foster linguistic development, cultural awareness, and critical thinking. The goal is the amelioration of authentic interaction, exploration of self and the larger community in a stimulating and fun virtual environment.
One of the limitations EFL teachers often face is their students' and their own lack of exposure to authentic material and interaction with native speakers in real situations. On a general basis, a curriculum mostly based on the use of a textbook poses further limitations on truly authentic communication.
One way to counteract this drawback is the introduction of pedagogic tools provided by the Internet. Collaborative learning, supported by the use of e-mail, chat exchanges and discussion forums - which represent the first-generation web tools - has proved to be efficient as a source of authentic material and interaction.
With the recent advent of weblogging in the world of web publishing and journalism, we propose its use for the students' development of reading and writing skills. More importantly, weblogs foster self-exploration, critical thinking, and fluid communication with the larger community. We have found this tool effective not only in the cognitive process, but also as a means to get students to reflect about themselves as individuals, and their place in the world.
What is a weblog?
It's a web-based writing space, similar to an online journal which is dynamic, chronological, and continually updated with the accumulation of writing and other content - such as comments from readers, pictures, movie clips, podcasts and links to other websites. Blogs can be personal or group production, kept in privacy or published to a wider audience with a common interest. Keeping a blog is a truly communicative activity, since the entries are not produced for the audience of a teacher, but published to be read by a community of peers and, if so desired, by the general public on a global scale.
This process fosters critical thinking and thoughtful writing, as well as extensive reading and research in the target language. As a result, reading comprehension, vocabulary expansion, and writing production improve considerably. The possibility of interaction with members of other communities broadens the individual's mind and enhances understanding, acceptance and appreciation of other cultures.
Blogs are easy to create. We do not need to become a tech whiz to use them. We'd like to share different ways in which blogs can be incorporated into our daily teaching. You'll be able see three uses of this technological device: the teacher's blog, the class blog, and the student's blog. Examples from our personal experience will be the core of the presentation, and will include a slew of activities to achieve the aims of linguistic development, cultural awareness, and critical thinking. Beyond the development of cognitive processes, the goal is the amelioration of authentic interaction, exploration of self, discussion of global issues, in a stimulating and fun virtual environment.
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