Wednesday 13th, October. The moment came for me to say “goodbye” to all those students who made me feel so comfortable for more than a month; it was the end of the practice period.
When I started Workshop IV this year I thought that it was going to be the most difficult workshop we had ever had and that planning every single lesson would represent a daunting task. Contrary to my expectations, the practice period turned out to be a challenging but invaluable experience. It was just necessary to get started with the plans and to get to know the students a bit each lesson. Then things started flowing naturally.
During the month I spent at Normal I I learned a lot of things. Surprisingly for me, I´ve discovered that I feel quite more at ease working with adolescents than with kids. Teenagers allow one to be ironic, to mock at them and at yourself freely –without hurting their feelings, of course-, to carry out a systematization with the certainty that they have or they haven´t understood. Teenagers are more challenging and more demanding than children in terms of explanations and justifications. If you don´t know whether, say, the passive voice is clear for them or not don´t worry: they´ll immediately let you know. Teenagers usually value the effort one makes to prepare handouts, to take photocopies, to find interesting topics and to correct homework. Perhaps they don´t express it, but be sure that they know that one prepares the lessons if one does so, they know that we go to bed late, they know that we will explain things twenty times if that is necessary and they know that, in our case, we are trainees who want to make the most of our period in their class and that we want to graduate in order to see our dream come true.
The last lesson was highly emotive. I was about to burst into tears at all times. Everything went as planned and fortunately no one missed the lesson. I had prepared lots of funny activities for them to enjoy the lesson and to unwind, but without forgetting that it was an English lesson. I tried to leave an imprint in their lives, so I showed them Susan Boyle´s video (see previous post) and I also read a story for them. As a gift, I had prepared cards with a chocolate for each of them. It was so funny to make them shut their eyes before receiving the gift! They were very anxious and they couldn´t wait to open their eyes. While keeping their eyes closed some even hypothesized that the class teacher and I were going to carry out a massacre! After opening their eyes they were so pleased to see a little gift on their tables! They were thankful, as well and some even told me that they were about to cry.
When I asked them to give me feedback in a sheet of paper, they wrote the most rewarding things one could ever read. It was great to discover that even the laziest ones had enjoyed all my lessons and that they have learned. In fact, one of the boys told me that he would never forget me because it was with me that he passed the first English test in his whole life. I guess that this is one of the most precious prize for a teacher, isn´t it?
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
Monday, 4 October 2010
A clear example
Merryl Goldberg was one of the main presenters at F.A.A.P.I. She broke the ice by playing the saxophone and then she also invited Harmer to play with her. After a bit of music she started with her speech. Hers was one of the presentations that I liked the most, since she gave lots of concrete examples of how to include art within the four walls of a classroom.
I had never listened about her and hence, I hadn´t expected such a presentation. She seemed to be a very active and efficient woman, at least on stage, and I guess she must be like that in the classroom, too. She not only gave lots of practical examples but also made each of us feel part of her presentation as well.
At one point in her presentation she gave a list of the ten basic things that enable both teaching and learning. One of the key points she mentioned was CONFIDENCE. And she showed us this Susan Boyle´s video to exemplify what she meant:
I had never seen that video before and I didn´t know that the jury and the audience laughed at this singer in her first appearance. In fact, I hadn´t heard much about her or about her music. As if she knew she was going to win the contest, this woman showed everybody how important confidence in oneself is. Maybe she was quite conscious of the great voice she had, but anyway, confidence was paramount. She didn´t panic on front of such an audience, she didn´t feel nervous and she didn´t tremble! –Or at least it didn´t show!
At the moment in which the judges gave her feedback they were all right: Susan Boyle turned out to be a great surprise. It is really nice to listen to each of them apologizing and to listen to the audience clapping. I think that it is a clear example of how cynical about and prejudiced against people society can be. The video should leave each of us wondering why we pass on judgement before even listening or getting to know each other. And obviously, we should understand that we can do whatever we want to do if we are convinced and determined to fight for our dreams.
This week I´m finishing my practice period at Normal 1 and I´ll show this video to my students, not only because they will understand everything that people in it say, but also because I want to leave an imprint on them. I want them to remember me, my lessons and my teachings. And I hope I can still confidence in them to achieve all their dreams and to understand that, as the slogan claims, “impossible is nothing”.
I hope you can apply this video to your lessons as well! Enjoy it!
I had never listened about her and hence, I hadn´t expected such a presentation. She seemed to be a very active and efficient woman, at least on stage, and I guess she must be like that in the classroom, too. She not only gave lots of practical examples but also made each of us feel part of her presentation as well.
At one point in her presentation she gave a list of the ten basic things that enable both teaching and learning. One of the key points she mentioned was CONFIDENCE. And she showed us this Susan Boyle´s video to exemplify what she meant:
I had never seen that video before and I didn´t know that the jury and the audience laughed at this singer in her first appearance. In fact, I hadn´t heard much about her or about her music. As if she knew she was going to win the contest, this woman showed everybody how important confidence in oneself is. Maybe she was quite conscious of the great voice she had, but anyway, confidence was paramount. She didn´t panic on front of such an audience, she didn´t feel nervous and she didn´t tremble! –Or at least it didn´t show!
At the moment in which the judges gave her feedback they were all right: Susan Boyle turned out to be a great surprise. It is really nice to listen to each of them apologizing and to listen to the audience clapping. I think that it is a clear example of how cynical about and prejudiced against people society can be. The video should leave each of us wondering why we pass on judgement before even listening or getting to know each other. And obviously, we should understand that we can do whatever we want to do if we are convinced and determined to fight for our dreams.
This week I´m finishing my practice period at Normal 1 and I´ll show this video to my students, not only because they will understand everything that people in it say, but also because I want to leave an imprint on them. I want them to remember me, my lessons and my teachings. And I hope I can still confidence in them to achieve all their dreams and to understand that, as the slogan claims, “impossible is nothing”.
I hope you can apply this video to your lessons as well! Enjoy it!
Friday, 1 October 2010
F.A.A.P.I. 2010
To tell you the truth, I went with no clear idea on mind of how the congress was going to be like. I knew that some of the people –Harmer, to be more specific- we´ve been reading to throughout these years were going to attend the congress and to give speeches, but I had not expected to enjoy the three days in Córdoba as I did.
Jeremy Harmer, then, gave an incredible speech during which I thought I was looking at and listening to a poet. He was amazing, really! The energy with which he spoke was really contagious and he managed to make everybody feel eager to participate. There were some moments during his presentation in which I felt like a like child, listening at everything he was saying, laughing, shouting and staring open mouthed at him. Among one of the various things he shared with us, here is an example of a “diamante” poem he showed:
Imagine! Most of us were women, so everybody started shouting. As he knew quite well that that was going to happen, he immediately started laughing and make us read this poem:
I am one of those creatures who love collecting brochures and who like entering raffles, so imagine that F.A.A.P.I. was Wonderland for me! It was a pity I didn´t win anything, but I enjoyed filling in each blank space I could. I also enjoyed a lot browsing at books, buying stickers and sealings which who knows when I´ll use them.
It goes without saying that I couldn´t enjoy the presentations more! When attending speeches, I remembered the Pecha Kuchas we have been doing in class. It was great to see slides and to feel that I was ready to do the same sort of presentations those people were doing. Some of the presentations were boring, even as regards design, as the colours were just black and white, or the pictures were not the ones I would have chosen. Those things made me fully understand the importance of everything we are doing in class. As future teachers we must learn how to stand in front of a crowd, how to speak in public, how to design a presentation and how to teach others to do so. I could feel the need of changing tones and of designing and using techniques that could motivate and engage the audience while one is speaking.
I loved those presentations in which the speaker didn´t have a sheet of paper in hand! That was a clear sign of how confident and how well-prepared they were for their presentation. Not to mention how efficiently they handled the overhead projector and how professionally they moved from one topic to the other one, making plenty of connections in the audience´s minds so that there were not loose ends left by the end of their speeches.
Apart from the technicalities and the abilities of each speaker, I found the contents of most presentations extremely interesting. Herbert Puchta mentioned that “mirror neurons” have been discovered, and that those neurons are the ones that, for instance, make one yawn while someone else is doing so. In the same way, those neurons are the ones we are supposed to activate during our lessons so as to make everybody feel eager to participate and eager to learn.
It goes without saying that I couldn´t enjoy the presentations more! When attending speeches, I remembered the Pecha Kuchas we have been doing in class. It was great to see slides and to feel that I was ready to do the same sort of presentations those people were doing. Some of the presentations were boring, even as regards design, as the colours were just black and white, or the pictures were not the ones I would have chosen. Those things made me fully understand the importance of everything we are doing in class. As future teachers we must learn how to stand in front of a crowd, how to speak in public, how to design a presentation and how to teach others to do so. I could feel the need of changing tones and of designing and using techniques that could motivate and engage the audience while one is speaking.
I loved those presentations in which the speaker didn´t have a sheet of paper in hand! That was a clear sign of how confident and how well-prepared they were for their presentation. Not to mention how efficiently they handled the overhead projector and how professionally they moved from one topic to the other one, making plenty of connections in the audience´s minds so that there were not loose ends left by the end of their speeches.
Apart from the technicalities and the abilities of each speaker, I found the contents of most presentations extremely interesting. Herbert Puchta mentioned that “mirror neurons” have been discovered, and that those neurons are the ones that, for instance, make one yawn while someone else is doing so. In the same way, those neurons are the ones we are supposed to activate during our lessons so as to make everybody feel eager to participate and eager to learn.
Jeremy Harmer, then, gave an incredible speech during which I thought I was looking at and listening to a poet. He was amazing, really! The energy with which he spoke was really contagious and he managed to make everybody feel eager to participate. There were some moments during his presentation in which I felt like a like child, listening at everything he was saying, laughing, shouting and staring open mouthed at him. Among one of the various things he shared with us, here is an example of a “diamante” poem he showed:
Man
Brilliant, perfect
Working, learning, earning,
Speaking, speaking, speaking
Furious, exhausted
Woman
Brilliant, perfect
Working, learning, earning,
Speaking, speaking, speaking
Furious, exhausted
Woman
Imagine! Most of us were women, so everybody started shouting. As he knew quite well that that was going to happen, he immediately started laughing and make us read this poem:
Man
Stupid, rude
Sleeping, eating
Trousers, underpants, knickers, shirts
Working, sporting
Clever, beautiful
Woman.
Stupid, rude
Sleeping, eating
Trousers, underpants, knickers, shirts
Working, sporting
Clever, beautiful
Woman.
In this case we all stood up and just clapped and cheered!
That was by far the best example of an effective presentation I had ever seen.
That was by far the best example of an effective presentation I had ever seen.
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
Presenting: a rewarding experience!
I had never thought I was going to present using the Pecha Kucha format. In fact, I had never heard about it before this year so it was a totally new world for me. When we had to decide on the dates for the presentations I plucked up the courage and I enrolled for the first day. I didn´t want anyone to “steal” my ideas and I didn´t want to be influenced by others´ either!
Once I chose a topic, I searched for the pictures. I spent a couple of hours doing so because I wanted my presentation to be both touching and humorous, and it was very difficult to find pictures which were funny if the topic was chaos. After selecting the pictures, I decided how to organize them in a logical and clear way. I wanted others to understand the presentation or to have their own interpretations of it, without even listening to my voice. Finally, I plunged into the presentation itself.
It was the first time I was going to use Power Point and hence, I asked for a little help at home. After learning how it worked, I moved the slides, I wrote titles, I rotated them and I chose the colours. I was really engaged in the process!
Before the day of the presentation I rehearsed what I was going to say. I wrote some guidelines just to organize my thoughts at the moment of speaking and I tried not to look at them, as I didn´t want to be glued to the paper while speaking and, to tell you the truth, I cannot speak properly in public if I have a paper in hand. I practiced a couple of times and I predicted possible mistakes or slips I could have at the moment of the presentation.
When that moment came I was a bit nervous and I felt my knees were shaking. However, I just need to start talking. Seeing my classmates´ faces looking at the pictures and seeming engaged and surprised by each slide made me relax. My voice was trembling at some points but I was feeling that everything was going as I had expected. Time flew during the presentation and when it finished, the round of applause was highly rewarding.
Fortunately, most classmates said they fully enjoyed the presentation and they said they had not expected to find under the title “chaos” all the topics I had included. While this was rewarding, it was also rewarding to learn how to use Power Point, to put my thoughts into words in a meaningful and concise way and to make a presentation using Pecha Kucha. In fact, I would try it again!
If you want to see my Pecha Kucha, click here!
Once I chose a topic, I searched for the pictures. I spent a couple of hours doing so because I wanted my presentation to be both touching and humorous, and it was very difficult to find pictures which were funny if the topic was chaos. After selecting the pictures, I decided how to organize them in a logical and clear way. I wanted others to understand the presentation or to have their own interpretations of it, without even listening to my voice. Finally, I plunged into the presentation itself.
It was the first time I was going to use Power Point and hence, I asked for a little help at home. After learning how it worked, I moved the slides, I wrote titles, I rotated them and I chose the colours. I was really engaged in the process!
Before the day of the presentation I rehearsed what I was going to say. I wrote some guidelines just to organize my thoughts at the moment of speaking and I tried not to look at them, as I didn´t want to be glued to the paper while speaking and, to tell you the truth, I cannot speak properly in public if I have a paper in hand. I practiced a couple of times and I predicted possible mistakes or slips I could have at the moment of the presentation.
When that moment came I was a bit nervous and I felt my knees were shaking. However, I just need to start talking. Seeing my classmates´ faces looking at the pictures and seeming engaged and surprised by each slide made me relax. My voice was trembling at some points but I was feeling that everything was going as I had expected. Time flew during the presentation and when it finished, the round of applause was highly rewarding.
Fortunately, most classmates said they fully enjoyed the presentation and they said they had not expected to find under the title “chaos” all the topics I had included. While this was rewarding, it was also rewarding to learn how to use Power Point, to put my thoughts into words in a meaningful and concise way and to make a presentation using Pecha Kucha. In fact, I would try it again!
If you want to see my Pecha Kucha, click here!
Scientific developments...in paintings!
When the moment came to choose a picture related, in some way or other, to science, I first thought it was going to be an easy and quick task to solve. However, I googled “famous paintings” and “science paintings” and nothing convinced me at all. I wanted to find a picture which made me immediately think of scientific development. After looking at dozens of paintings, I found this one, the one I talked about in class.
The picture was painted by Lorena Bonillo, a Spanish artist, and even though it imitates the original, still haven´t found the name of the artist who originally painted it. Maybe it is a very abstract painting, but I think that it can be interpreted in many ways. In fact, I sustain that the multiplicity of forms (squares, triangles, circles, arrows, irregular lines and rectangles) shows the multiplicity of advances that have been made in the scientific world and in all life spheres. In addition, some of the circles seem to portray the Milky Way or, to be less specific, the universe; and this makes me think of Astronomy, one of the oldest sciences in history. And look at the arrow. Its position seems to indicate a progression, as if science was going to go on advancing, without a clear final destination.
This other picture also portrays scientific development. It is a miniature painted by the British Frank Forsgard Manclark, who belongs to the Society of Limners (limnings=miniatures), and the name of this work is “Aeromaximum”.
Aren´t the car and the plane among the most amazing and useful inventions? If it hadn´t been for these means of transport, trade wouldn´t have been as quick as it is now. Furthermore, lots of cities have flourished after the invention of the car, as it has been easier to visit them and to build factories there; and hundreds of small towns have been connected to bigger ones and their inhabitants haven´t been isolated any more. If travelling wasn´t as easy as it is now, then many scientific developments wouldn´t have been possible. In Medicine, for example, it is easy to take drugs for experiments from one country to another, and it is possible for scientists to spread their word when they go on a business trip to different countries.Communications have been improved as well. Nowadays, it is very common to buy a newspaper that was printed in the States, in the U.K. or in Buenos Aires. But this couldn´t have been possible without cars, vans, lorries and planes.
Of course these vehicles have their flaws (they are made by humans after all), but all the same, their relevance for the present cannot be denied.
Tuesday, 31 August 2010
And what about this World Cup?
We all know the World Cup is over. And in fact, it had been over even before the championship finished! During those three weeks that the Argentinian team enjoyed in South Africa everybody seemed to be a sports fan. Unfortunately, we aren´t sporty at all!
Not everybody knows that the Hockey World Cup is taking place here, in Rosario, only a few kilometers away from home. And who knows that the Basketball World Cup is also taking place these days? We have to watch the news or to be too sporty to know that. It´s really a pity that these sports don´t take as much attention as football takes. If they were more promoted we could see a lot of children engaged in more sports other than football.
If you think about it, it´s very strange to see people wearing the Argentinian t-shirt while “Las Leonas” are playing a game. And the world doesn´t stop to watch a single match. This is obviously the result of the way in which the media deal with all issues. If the press pays little attention to the hockey or the basketball World Cups, then society won´t pay attention to these competitions either.
Apart from that, have you heard about the games´ fees? I´ve heard that each ticket doesn´t cost more than $95… isn´t that too cheap if we take into account that you are paying to see the best hockey players in action? Besides, compared to the high fees that are paid for each football championship, the hockey fees are too undervalued.
Clearly, what´s happening nowadays in sports reflects what we are as society. We are people who let ourselves be deceived by the media. And we usually don´t realize that those who practice a sport which isn´t football are also professional people whose job is to play certain sports (hockey, if we stick to the topic in this post) and who also make a lot money out of them. I think that, although you may not be a sports fan or you may not like sports, it´s time we acknowledge that there is another world in sports apart from football.
Not everybody knows that the Hockey World Cup is taking place here, in Rosario, only a few kilometers away from home. And who knows that the Basketball World Cup is also taking place these days? We have to watch the news or to be too sporty to know that. It´s really a pity that these sports don´t take as much attention as football takes. If they were more promoted we could see a lot of children engaged in more sports other than football.
If you think about it, it´s very strange to see people wearing the Argentinian t-shirt while “Las Leonas” are playing a game. And the world doesn´t stop to watch a single match. This is obviously the result of the way in which the media deal with all issues. If the press pays little attention to the hockey or the basketball World Cups, then society won´t pay attention to these competitions either.
Apart from that, have you heard about the games´ fees? I´ve heard that each ticket doesn´t cost more than $95… isn´t that too cheap if we take into account that you are paying to see the best hockey players in action? Besides, compared to the high fees that are paid for each football championship, the hockey fees are too undervalued.
Clearly, what´s happening nowadays in sports reflects what we are as society. We are people who let ourselves be deceived by the media. And we usually don´t realize that those who practice a sport which isn´t football are also professional people whose job is to play certain sports (hockey, if we stick to the topic in this post) and who also make a lot money out of them. I think that, although you may not be a sports fan or you may not like sports, it´s time we acknowledge that there is another world in sports apart from football.
Saturday, 28 August 2010
Our future is in their hands... My God...
Last Sunday night I came across “El Imbatible” at Susana Gimenez, while zapping. Though this programme may not be interesting at all, I can say that I found it really… worrying! Yeah, worrying. The quiz involved children between nine and twelve years old. While I started watching it, I was expecting to listen to correct answers or at least reasonable ones. However, the contrary occurred. I could listen to the most unthinkable answers to even very basic, simple sentences. To mention but a few examples, a girl answered that Egypt´s capital was Nigeria; a boy said that three hens and two pigs made twenty four legs! Maybe it may sound funny… but I think this is funny peculiar, not funny ha ha at all! Going on with the examples, another boy didn´t know that there exists a hymn to Sarmiento and, to cap it all, another boy answered that, if a car had to go along a 50 km distance at a 100 km/hour speed, then it would arrive at the destination in 5 hours! Can you believe it?
After watching the programme I realized that the same generation which usually competes in this quiz is the one that will govern us in the near future. Worse still, I realized that this same age group will be our students in a couple of months. Considering that the children who participate in this quiz are generally those students with the highest marks in their school, then it is undeniable that the educational system is in crisis.
We are going to be teachers in a short time (at least I hope so!) and we cannot be unaware of such deficiencies. If students do not handle knowledge or skills proper of their native language almost proficiently, then can we expect them to be excellent in English? Of course I don´t mean to say that ours is a losing battle, but it will surely be an uphill one. We cannot expect to teach just English, but we´ll surely have to teach them other contents and we should be ready for this. Sometimes a whole lesson can be altered if our students lack background knowledge to do an activity or to understand a listening or a reading text and hence we need to breach that gap between what they know and what they don´t.
I believe we should start worrying about our students´ knowledge. But worrying shouldn´t be seen as something negative in this case; on the contrary, it should be seen as positive. If we worry about it, then we will help them to learn better, more and even more efficiently. The best thing we can do for our students is to be ready to help them to learn, not only English but anything that they may not know, don´t you think so?
After watching the programme I realized that the same generation which usually competes in this quiz is the one that will govern us in the near future. Worse still, I realized that this same age group will be our students in a couple of months. Considering that the children who participate in this quiz are generally those students with the highest marks in their school, then it is undeniable that the educational system is in crisis.
We are going to be teachers in a short time (at least I hope so!) and we cannot be unaware of such deficiencies. If students do not handle knowledge or skills proper of their native language almost proficiently, then can we expect them to be excellent in English? Of course I don´t mean to say that ours is a losing battle, but it will surely be an uphill one. We cannot expect to teach just English, but we´ll surely have to teach them other contents and we should be ready for this. Sometimes a whole lesson can be altered if our students lack background knowledge to do an activity or to understand a listening or a reading text and hence we need to breach that gap between what they know and what they don´t.
I believe we should start worrying about our students´ knowledge. But worrying shouldn´t be seen as something negative in this case; on the contrary, it should be seen as positive. If we worry about it, then we will help them to learn better, more and even more efficiently. The best thing we can do for our students is to be ready to help them to learn, not only English but anything that they may not know, don´t you think so?
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