Year
4
Number 104
May 18th
2003
4900 SHARERS are reading this issue of SHARE this
week
__________________________________________________________
Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single
candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never
decreases by being SHARED
__________________________________________________________
Dear SHARERS,
Long time no see: It´s not such a long time
but it looks as if it were. We were already missing you. We have been very busy
working on some really BIG projects. Any clue? You´ll have to be patient but not
for long : we will soon be telling you.
It´s been hard getting this issue of SHARE of
the ground. For a start both Marina and I were feeling a bit under the weather (
now that I say the weather this reminds me we´ve had the lousiest weekend in the
year so far: bleak, cold, rainy, depressing). A cold ( an ensuing flu?), I
guess. Then problems with our, otherwise efficient,
server. It´s
Love
Omar
and Marina
In SHARE 104
1.- E-mail and the acquisition of
English (Part One).
2.- Say the Word: Vocabulary on
Elections.
3.- One Intelligence or several?
4.- A Spa for the Soul.
5.- Course on Educational
Psychology and the Teacher of English
6- Why did the chicken
cross the road?
7.- Reference Books for
free.
8.- Talk on
“Catchphrases” in Banfield.
9.- Seminar on Family Law and
Successions.
10.- Spanish for Foreigners: Dictionary
of Argentinian Spanish.
11.- News from Laguna Larga,
Córdoba.
12.- The Edgar Allan Poe
Collection.
13.- ARTESOL Convention in
Tandil.
14.- Bs As Players June
Tour.
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1.- E-MAIL AND THE ACQUISITION OF
ENGLISH (PART ONE)
Our
dear SHARER Vera Lúcia Menezes de Oliveira e Paiva from Universidade Federal de
Minas Gerais has sent us this paper on the use of e-mail in the English
Classroom which she wants to SHARE with us all. Today we are publishing the
first part of it.
The
Role of e-mail in the Acquisition of English
E-mail
has affected every aspect of human communication, from dating to conducting
war…
(Sonia Arrison, director of the Pacific
Research Institute)
Abstract
This
article examines the role of e-mail in the acquisition of English as a foreign
language in the light of second language acquisition theories. Suggestions for
integrating e-mail in the classroom and the judicious use of the genre are
outlined before the presentation of some tools, such as discussion lists and
forum. In addition, this paper presents a review of international e-mail
projects available on the net, in order to give support to the conclusion that
electronic interaction is an efficient tool to promote language acquisition in a
foreign language-learning context.
E-mail,
the fastest way to send and receive electronic messages anywhere in the world,
has affected human communication and opened new windows for second language
acquisition (SLA). E-mail users connect themselves through a mail server, that
is, a computer, which works as a post office at an Internet provider, sending
one’s messages to their destinations and receiving and storing messages which
will be sent to their owners when required. There are some Internet providers
free of charge and most of them are web-based, which means that users must
connect to the World Wide Web to read their messages. The different e-mail
services have enabled people all over the world to communicate, making
intercultural communication a reality.
Acquisition
theories
As
pointed out by Kelm (1996) "our major objective in second language education
continues to be that of bringing individuals together so that they might
communicate across cultural and linguistic boundaries" (p. 19). My contention is
that e-mail is a unique tool for bridging the gap between English learners and
English speakers.
The
increasing use of e-mail in second language learning must be viewed in the light
of second language acquisition theories. Different theories have claimed to
explain how a language, different from one’s mother tongue, is
acquired.
Larsen-Freeman
and Long (1991) divide
According
to Larsen-Freeman and Long (1991), theories of
Although
there are, according to Larsen-Freeman and Long (1991), at least forty theories
of
1.
Nativist assumptions:
The
existence of language universals.
Ellis (1997) highlights the importance of Chomsky´s theory of Universal Grammar
for
2.
Environmentalist assumption:
The
closer a person is of the target-language group the more he or she will
learn.
According to McLaughlin (1987), "social and psychological distance influence
second-language acquisition by determining the amount of contact learners have
with the target language and the degree to which they are open to the input that
is available" (p. 111).
3.
Interactionist assumption:
Interaction
is essential to language learning.
Hatch (1978) says that "one learns how to do conversation, one learns how to
interact verbally, and out of this interaction syntactic structures are
developed" (p .404). Even though, the basic assumption in second
teaching has been the opposite – one learns structures and then uses them in
discourse – no one doubts that verbal interaction is an important factor in
language acquisition.
But
to what extent has the Internet been a useful tool as far as the learning of a
new language is concerned? It seems it fits any of the theories described above
as the learner can use meaningful language and keep close contact with the
target-language group, while interacting with native speakers or other language
learners.
E-mail
and language acquisition
E-mail
has had a huge impact on education, mainly in foreign language learning where
opportunities to interact with speakers of the target language were hardly found
before the Internet creation. Although most students have free e-mail accounts,
more and more schools today offer Internet access to their students.
Unfortunately, less privileged students are still apart from this efficient
communication technology, but I think we can hope that, in the near future,
every student will have access to the Internet tools.
Several
Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) researchers have reported the
benefits of using e-mail in EFL. Warschauer (1995, p. 2) states
that
e-mail
provides students an excellent opportunity for real, natural communication. Many
of our students – often even those living or studying in English-speaking
countries – lack sufficient opportunities for communicating in English. E-mail
can put students in contact with native speakers and/or other learners across
town or around the world in minutes and provide the authentic contexts and
motivations for communication that teachers are always trying to
supply.
Bosswood
(1997) reminds his readers that "conferencing via e-mail, or communication with
the classmates and teachers through networked computers, offers many
opportunities for language learning" (p. 71). Windatt et al (2000) claim that
"as a means of communication, the Internet allows students around the world to
interact with one another cheaply, quickly, and reliably, opening up the
classroom to the real world in a way which has never before been possible" (p.
6). Chapelle (2001) lists a number of studies which identified the benefits of
cross-cultural communication and other insightful reports on the use of e-mail
for language teaching can be found in several publications, such as Egbert et al
(1999); Debski and Levy (1999), Paiva (2000), Warschauer (1996, 1999),
Warschauer and Kern (2000), Warschauer et al (2000).
The
reading of such texts reinforces the thesis that electronic communication offers
the necessary conditions for language acquisition as the learner performs an
active role in the learning process, receives a huge amount of authentic input
and interacts in authentic situations. In addition the learner gets closer to
the target-language group in a faceless, non-threatening
situation.
Teachers
and learners can use e-mail for different learning purposes. Some of them are:
keypals, discussion lists, forums, e-mail projects,
etc.
Keypals
Many
EFL students have had the experience of corresponding with pen-pals, building up
friendship solely through letters. Those students will probably never meet their
pen-friends, but they will never forget how much they learned when exchanging
letters with people abroad. The Internet version of pen-pals or pen friends is
called keypals and is faster and cheaper than writing traditional letters. I
contend that exchanging e-mails with foreigners is one of the most interesting
and useful activities available for EFL learners. "The exchanges, whether
student-to-student or class-to-class, exemplify writing for communicative
purposes, especially when the keypals are from different cultures" (Bosswood,
1997, p. 71). Students from several countries can form groups to discuss various
issues, produce collaborative research and essays, and publish on the web. Kitao
and Kitao (1996:1)point out that
This
is a good opportunity to practice English but it is also an opportunity to learn
about other cultures and to share one's own culture. It is fun for students, and
it is a way that they can use the English that they are learning to actually
communicate. Students get excited when they receive replies to their messages,
and that motivates them to study English harder.
Numerous
sites help people to find keypals all over the world. One good example is IECC
(Intercultural E-mail Classroom Connections), a free public service, which was
created in 1992 by three professors from
IECC
has distributed over 28,000 requests for e-mail partnerships. (.…) IECC was one
of the first services on the Web to facilitate international pen-pal exchanges
between teachers and classrooms around the globe. (.…) IECC is dedicated to
helping teachers connect with other teachers to arrange intercultural e-mail
connections between their students. A new service, IECC-INTERGEN,
helps
teachers and their classrooms create intergenerational partnerships with
volunteers who are over 50 years of age. (available: http://www.iecc.org
)
Having
a keypal is just one possible use for e-mail in learning a language. There are
several ways for integrating e-mail in the classroom. Below I present some
suggestions:
A
class can have a correspondence exchange with another class in an English
speaking country;
Students
can develop joint projects (ex. publish an online newspaper) and tasks with a
partner in another country;
Teachers
can have students sign up for a discussion list;
Teachers
can use copies of e-mail as sources of authentic material to review vocabulary
and grammar in the classroom;
Students
can maintain early and continuous personal and professional contact with partner
teachers;
Teachers
can use e-mail as a feedback mechanism for learner
writing;
Teachers
can ask students to write online journals;
One
can reduce photocopies by sending handouts to students such as
Syllabi,
class schedules, lesson plans, and homework
assignments.
Teachers
can have students sign up for e-mail services which deliver daily or weekly
different pieces of information on the English language or learning activities.
Some examples are AWAD – A.Word.A.Day which sends a new word everyday followed
by examples with context. Old files can be found at
http://wordsmith.org/awad/awadmail.html. The address for subscription is
http://wordsmith.org/awad/subscribe.html; Churchill House's Phrasal Verb of the
Day [http://www.churchillhouse.com] which sends every day one phrasal verb
followed by a definition and sentences to exemplify its use. At the end of the
week an exercise with the phrasal verbs of the week is sent and you also receive
a message with the key for the exercise.
Teachers
can have students sign up for e-mail services such as Your Daily Inbox
[http://www.dailyinbox.com] which delivers daily different kinds of texts:
recipes, stories, jokes, proverbs, quotations, the day's top historical events,
helpful advice, a daily picture for reflection, etc. If the whole class is not
connected, the teacher can get any of those and share the service with the
students for different oral or written activities.
©
2003 by Vera Lúcia Menezes de Oliveira e Paiva.
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2.- SAY THE WORD: VOCABULARY ON
ELECTIONS
We would like to share with
you some basic vocabulary on “Elections” which may come in handy in your classes
these days. The electoral systems in
We hope you will find this
text useful for your lessons.
Adriana
Mizrahi and Viviana Myslicki
Vocabulary on
Elections
On April 27 Argentinians
went to the polls:
The polling process passed off
smoothly. Apparently, it was not marred by fraud, with party
overseers/supervisors/representatives/controllers (fiscales de
mesa) and polling station
officials/supervising officers (presidentes de mesa) ensuring that
the election was not rigged (fraudulenta).
However, supporters of one of the candidates who trailed third later spread rumours
of ballot-rigging, which
were not confirmed.
Having first checked that
their names were on the electoral
roll/ electoral register (padrón), citizens in every voting district went to polling stations (centros electorales,
e.g. escuelas). This time, since they were only voting for president, voters could not split the ballots (cortar boleta)
and there were no blanket lists
(lista sábana).
Once in the polling booth (cuarto oscuro),
they picked the ballot (paper) (papeleta/boleta) with the
ticket (fórmula) of their
choice –with the presidential candidate and his/her running mate (compañero de
fórmula), put it into an envelope that had previoulsy been stamped by
the the people presiding over
the polling station (mesa), and then sealed it. On leaving the booth,
they cast their ballot
(depositar la boleta) in the ballot box (urna). Polling was
heaviest after midday,
and decreased by four o’clock. Polling closed at six pm.
The press was not allowed to
reveal the results of the exit polls
(encuestas en boca de
urna) until a substantial number of votes had been counted at the official tally centre (centro oficial
de cómputos). In the evening, news coverage showed some of the candidates
surrounded by supporters and card-holding party members
(afiliados) at their party’s headquarters (oficinas
centrales, bunkers) after the election, celebrating the outcome of the
vote counting
(escrutinio).
As none of the candidates
scored a convincing win, securing/
polling more than 45 per cent of the vote/valid votes, or 40% of the
valid votes cast with at least a 10% margin/a 10% lead over the runner-up/ second place candidate, the two who scored most votes will now
fight/ go through to a
second round/ run-off .
Both of them made it
through, though election results showed these two
candidates were neck-and-neck.
One of these two candidates has already served two previous terms in the post; as for the other, he
has been heavily backed
by the incumbent president.
According to pollsters (encuestadores)/opinion polls (encuestas de
opinión), protest votes (votos
castigo) might run as high as 10% in the second round. They predict that a high number of voters are likely
to spoil their ballot papers
(anular sus votos) or cast blank votes/ballots (votar en
blanco). Now the electorate
seems torn between who to vote for and whether to vote at
all and abstain in protest.
Political scientists (politólogos) agree that one candidate is likely
to achieve/gain/score/pull off
(colloq.) a sweeping
victory.
On May 25, Argentina’s
caretaker/interim president will hand over power to his successor, transferring the
sash (banda
presidencial) and the ceremonial
staff (bastón de mando) to the president-elect, who will hold office / be in office for a
four-year period; that is to say, his term will expire in
2007.
A big “Thank you”, Viviana and
Adriana. We hope to be hearing much more from you!
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3.- ONE INTELLIGENCE OR
SEVERAL?
Our dear SHARER
Paula Aguirre from
New York Times February 17,
2003
Brain Scans
Reflect Problem-Solving Skill
By Erica Goode
Scientists have spent decades arguing
over whether intelligence is best conceived as a generalized ability or as the
capacity to excel in particular areas of mental, social or emotional
functioning.
The debate encompasses a variety of incendiary issues, including
whether I.Q. tests have any value, and it is likely to continue.
Meanwhile, a
new brain imaging study offers the first glimpse of how differences in the
ability to reason and solve problems might translate into differences in the
firing of neurons in the brain.
People who scored high on Raven's Advanced Progressive
Matrices, an intelligence test,
also showed more neural activity in specific brain regions while performing an exacting
memory task, the researchers found.
The matrices tap what experts call "general fluid intelligence," which studies
suggest is strongly influenced by heredity. Raven's test scores correlate highly
with scores on I.Q. tests and other
standardized measures of intelligence.
"To our knowledge, this is the first
large-sample imaging study to probe individual differences in general fluid
intelligence, an important cognitive ability and major dimension of human
individual
difference," wrote the researchers, led by Dr. Jeremy R. Gray, a
research scientist in the department of psychology at
Dr. Gray said the findings indicated that the
variations in test performances were mirrored by differences in brain activity
in the lateral prefrontal cortex, a brain region involved in working memory,
planning and goal-directed activity. The subjects who did well on the
intelligence tests also showed greater activity in several other brain areas,
including the anterior cingulate cortex and the cerebellum. The brain activity
was measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging.
Dr. John Duncan,
the deputy director of the Medical Research Council's Brain Sciences Unit in
Cambridge, England, and the author of a commentary with the journal article,
called the study "a significant
step" toward understanding the specific brain mechanisms that were recruited
into action by the kinds of problems found on intelligence tests.
"The fact
remains," Dr. Duncan wrote, "that standard intelligence tests do measure
something important." But he added that it might take "50 years of research or more" for
scientists to really understand what was happening and how different brain
systems worked together.
In
a study published in 2000, Dr. Duncan demonstrated that on positron emission
tomography scans, the lateral prefrontal cortex lights up, indicating increased
activity, when people solve problems like those on I.Q. tests. But he noted that
some other studies, using other types of mental tasks, had found reduced brain
activity in the lateral prefrontal cortex in people who did well on the
tasks.
"This, too, is plausible if you think that people who are having
trouble are spinning their wheels to solve the problem and don't achieve as
much," he said.
The new study, however, supports Dr. Duncan's findings of
increased activity and extends that work.
The findings, Dr. Gray said,
suggest that fluid intelligence involves the ability to stay focused and keep
new information in mind in the face of distraction.
In the memory task, the subjects were
presented with a series of words or pictures of faces on a computer screen and
asked to quickly identify whether each was the same as that presented three
screens before. In some cases, the subjects were shown words or faces that had
appeared two, four or five screens before, complicating the assignment.
It was in these more difficult cases
that the subjects with high scores on the intelligence test performed more
accurately and showed greater brain activity than those with lower
scores.
Dr. Gray likened the
task to trying to remember a 10-digit phone number while listening to an
interesting conversation. "Presumably, people of higher intelligence should be
able to resist that
distraction and to retain the phone number in what
psychologists call working memory."
But the increased brain activity in
people who performed well could also represent other mental activities, like
inhibiting incorrect responses and reducing or monitoring conflicting
perceptions.
Dr. Gray said he and his colleagues were still debating whether
intelligence was best thought of as an innate general ability or as the ability
to succeed in different domains. "You could spin it both ways."
Several
researchers, including Dr. Robert Sternberg at Yale and Dr. Howard Gardner at
Harvard, have argued that the notion of general intelligence has little value and that it
makes more sense to measure people's strength or "intelligence" in different
types of activities.
But Dr. Earl Miller, a professor of neuroscience at the
Picower Center for Learning and Memory at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, said, "The idea that performance on a task that's supposed to tap
into general intelligence can predict real differences in activity in the brain
lends support for the idea that there is a general
intelligence."
© 2003 by
New York Times.
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4.- A SPA FOR THE
SOUL
Our dear
SHARER Laura Smuch has sent us all this tempting invitation. Read
on:
A Spa for your
Soul
The questions most of us ask
ourselves are: "How can I communicate better with my students, produce better
material, earn more money, be happy and productive, "survive" the different
crisis in our country and the world?
I feel we can't do all that
....without burning out. We can't do much to change a situation
directly. The only wise thing we can do is to start becoming aware
of ourselves. When we improve our intrapersonal communication we are more prepared to
communicate with others on a deeper level.
This winter I will be offering
a three-day course for you,
the person inside the
teacher. Together we will explore the ways in which being a fulfilled human being influences all
the roles we have: teachers, parents, neighbours, husbands, wives, partners,
lovers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, customers, writers, trainers,
researchers, friends,....
Of course we will discuss classroom application
where appropriate, especially what we can do when our students need the sort of
love and care we ourselves need
and don't know where to find.
Students are exhausted and stressed.
What about teachers? Most of them are worn-out, too. That's why I think a
good idea is to give ourselves the time and permission to explore the internal
resources we have to tap into our potential to live the life we choose to have.
"A Spa
for your Soul" will be three days to stop and reflect, gain insights, energy and inspiration for the rest of the
year.
Come, join me in this "retreat" in the quiet neighbourhood
of
These are some of the
topics we will cover:
· Time
management
· Living a mindful and
soulful life
· Finding joy in our
activities
· Gratitude
· Respect
for ourselves and respect for
others
· Examining our beliefs and
values
· The "inner
spa"
· Small
indulgences
· Being
present
· Simple
kindnesses
· Goal
setting
· Discovering your
passion
· Abundance
· Meditation,
visualisation, relaxation
techniques
· Looking after your
body
· Developing your
intuition
Use these holidays for yourself!!
Very limited vacancies –
If you want more information, you can reach me at
Lauraszmuch@aol.com - 4641-9068
Laura
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5.- COURSE ON EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
AND THE TEACHER OF ENGLISH
Our
dear SHARER Liliana Martinez has sent us this
announcement:
Our ten-session course this
year, addressed to teachers at all levels, is on Educational Psychology and the
teacher of English. Each session deals with different key issues in learning and
teaching examined in the light of recent psychological
developments.
Weekly sessions
(all of them conducted by Liliana R Martínez M.A.)
from May to July, will take
place on Saturdays from
Attendees will be awarded –
upon successful completion –a certificate from the Dirección General de
Enseñanza de Gestión Privada del Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires.
Fees: Whole course (ten sessions)
$130 – or two payments of $75
Each of the first eight
sessions can be attended separately. Single session $20
All the sessions will be held
at Gateway , Rivadavia 5551 ,Caballito, B Aires.
For further details, please
contact us at 4432-0950 (office
hours: 9-12 /15-20)
May 24th What the learner brings
to the learning situation
May 31st The learner and
motivation
June 7th How the learner
learns
June 14th
What the teacher brings to the teaching-learning situation
June 21st How the teacher can
promote learning
June 28th
Tasks in the language classroom
July 5th The learning context
July 12th Final Written
Evaluation
July 19th Integrative Discussion
of the written evaluation.
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6-
WHY DID THE CHICKEN CROSS THE
ROAD?
Our dear SHARER Tamara Piacentini from
contribution:
Q: Why did the chicken
cross the road?
ERNEST
HEMINGWAY To die. In the rain. Alone.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. I envision a
world where all chickens will be free to cross roads without having their
motives called into question.
GRANDPA In my day, we didn't ask why
the chicken crossed the road. Someone told us that the chicken crossed the road,
and that was good enough for us.
BARBARA WALTERS Isn't that
interesting? In a few moments we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the
first time, the heart-warming story of how it experienced a serious case of
molting and went on to accomplish its life-long dream of crossing the
road.
JOHN LENNON Imagine
all the chickens crossing roads in peace.
ARISTOTLE It is the nature of
chickens to cross the road.
KARL MARX It was a historical
inevitability.
VOLTAIRE I
may not agree with what the chicken did, but I will defend to the death its
right to do it.
RONALD
REAGAN What chicken?
CAPTAIN
KIRK To boldly go where no chicken has gone before.
FOX MULDER You saw it cross the road
with your own eyes! How many more chickens have to cross before you believe
it?
SIGMUND FREUD The fact
that you are at all concerned that the chicken crossed the road reveals your
underlying sexual insecurity.
BILL GATES I have just released
eChicken 2003, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your
important documents, and balance your checkbook - and Internet Explorer is an
inextricable part of e-Chicken.
ALBERT EINSTEIN Did the chicken
really cross the road or did the road move beneath the chicken?
BILL CLINTON I did not cross the road
with THAT chicken. What do you mean by chicken? Could you define chicken,
please?
GEORGE W. BUSH We
don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the
chicken is on our side of the road or not. The chicken is either with us or it
is against us. There is no middle ground here.
MOHAMMED ALDOURI
(
SADDAM HUSSEIN This was an unprovoked
act of rebellion and we were quite justified in dropping 50 tons of nerve gas on
it.
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7-
REFERENCE BOOKS FOR
FREE
The
following is a reproduction of an e-mail to Peru´s ELT list. We thought our dear
SHARERS might want to take advantage of this offer as
well.
Dear Colleagues,
I'm
writing to let you know that two Methodology books are available for free by
entering the following web page: www.richmond.com.ar
Once in the page it
takes a few seconds to load. Then, click on the blue square. Next, click on
RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS where you will find the following two
books:
Developing Resources for Primary (for primary school
Teachers)
and
The Mixed Ability Class (for secondary school
Teachers)
Each book consists of 95 pages and graphics so you might need a
bit of patience when downloading, particularly with Developing Resources for
Primary since it hasn't been divided into chapters to download.
Best of luck to you all
Mario
Escobar
-------------------------------------------------------------
8.- TALK ON “CATCHPHRASES” IN
BANFIELD
Our dear SHARER Lidia Oleiro has sent us this
invitation:
Talk:
A language talk - "Catchphrases -
What's The Catch?"
Details:
"Believe it, or not",
catchphrases appear EVERYWHERE in the English language and as more and more
authentic material is being used, it is inevitable that catchphrases will appear
on a very regular basis. They all play a very important part in communication.
This talk takes a look at some of the most popular and used catchphrases in
order to give an insight view into how catchphrases work.
Organised
by: Stapley Educational Services
& Windsor Language Services
Venue:
Date: Friday
23rd May - Time:
Registration: Windsor Institute -
011-4202-6421 - lidia@windsor.com.ar
Online Registration at - www.stapley.com.ar Fee:
$15,00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9.- SEMINAR ON FAMILY LAW AND
SUCCESSIONS
Our
dear SHARER and friend Martha Ortigueira has an announcement to make:
El Centro de Graduados en
Lenguas Vivas de la UCA dictará el siguiente seminario sobre Derecho
Angloamericano
21 y 28 de junio: “Family Law and Successions”
a cargo de la Dra. Silvia
Elena Kenny de Cavanagh.
Abogada y Profesora Titular de Práctica Profesional
I y II y de Derecho Angloamericano en la Carrera de Traductor Público de Inglés
de la UCA.
Master in Comparative Jurisprudence de la New York University.
Integrante de la Junta Directiva de la Corporación de Abogados
Católicos.
Está dirigido a traductores públicos de inglés y a abogados con un
nivel pos-intermedio/avanzado de inglés.
El seminario se dictará en inglés y
se ilustrará con documentos tales como sentencias de divorcio, convenios
matrimoniales y testamentos en inglés y en español y una declaratoria de
herederos tipo.
Horario: de 9 a 13: 30 hs.
Aranceles: Asociados activos /
Estudiantes: $50 - Graduados de Lenguas Vivas: $60
Abogados: $70
Inscripciones:
Por
teléfono: 4338-0775 -Por mail: gralen@uca.edu.ar
Cerrarán la fecha
anterior a la realización de la charla o seminario siempre y cuando no se haya
cubierto el cupo con anterioridad a dicha fecha.
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10.- SPANISH FOR FOREIGNERS: DICTIONARY OF
ARGENTINIAN SPANISH
The following is
a reproduction from Despacho informativo viernes 16 de mayo de
2003
By Ing. Eduardo Cosso - Secretaría de Extensión Universitaria
Cultura y Comunicación Social
Rectorado de la Universidad
Tecnológica Nacional
Título: El habla
de los argentinos ya tiene diccionario propio
Creo que decir 'se bajó
Menem', es un argentinismo", dice Susana Anaine, la subdirectora del
Departamento de Investigaciones Filológicas de la Academia Argentina de Letras.
Lo dice leyendo "se bajó Menem" de una hojita de cuaderno garabateada. Así
empieza el camino por el que muchas palabras han ido a parar al Diccionario del
habla de los argentinos, que se acaba de publicar.
Del habla de los
argentinos, sí, que es castellano, pero ese castellano que cualquier argentino
sabe que no le entenderán los hispanohablantes de otras latitudes.
La
Academia acaba de sacar un diccionario entero con esas palabras, un diccionario
donde figuran "miguelito" (y es un clavo, no un chico), "mersa", "mielero" y
"hacer la pera". Un diccionario que sabe —y explica— qué es un "escrache", y
puede "cachar" perfectamente lo que se dice sin ser ningún "bocho". Que mira por
dentro a los que hablan y sabe lo que es "romperse el alma", "pisar el palito",
"irse a los caños" y "andar seco". O "ponerse el lompa", "piantarse de la casa"
y salir para el "cacerolazo".
Lo hicieron entre once personas, investigadores
de la Academia, un poco en la Academia misma —entre fichas, un par de
computadoras que una empresa donó y que ya están lejos de ser nuevas, libros,
libros, libros— y otro poco en la calle. Con las orejas paradas, con la tele
prendida, con Internet, con los reality shows, con los diarios y las revistas.
En todas partes el castellano de la Argentina vive y cambia. Lo difícil es
pescarlo.
"Usamos nuestro olfato de hablantes. Alguien trae una palabra o una
frase, la investigamos, tratamos de ver si se usa —y cómo— en otras partes,
buscamos ejemplos de su aparición en los medios o en algún libro, si nos parece
que forma parte del habla de los argentinos, hacemos una definición y la pasamos
a la Comisión de Habla de los Argentinos. Ahí se revisa, se acepta o se rechaza,
se modifica, ése es el camino", cuenta Anaine.
¿Todas las palabras merecen
estar en un diccionario? "Nos fijamos que la palabra tenga un uso reconocido en
una comunidad y que no sea una de esas palabras al viento, que pasan y se dejan
de usar. A veces esperamos, a ver qué pasa con una palabra", dice Anaine. Y esta
redactora lo comprueba. Otra investigadora se acerca y le habla a Anaine de
"corralito". ¿Se va a seguir usando? Suponen que sí, pero quizás como
"rodrigazo", para contar algo del pasado, algo puntual. Quizás, entonces, tenga
que ir a la enciclopedia y no al diccionario. Se sigue estudiando.
Las que no
se saben si durarán, quizás no. Las que ya casi no se usan, en cambio, seguro
que sí. "Es parte de la utilidad del diccionario, así se puede saber de qué se
trata una palabra que puede aparecer en un texto y ya no se usa". El diccionario
lo indica: desusado, dice, antes de explicar uno de los significados de
"amurar": "dejar a alguien abandonado". El ejemplo es cantado: "Percanta que me
amuraste/en lo mejor de mi vida". Desusado y de Cuyo: "Catarato": agente de
policía.
"Tomamos en cuenta el uso más difundido y no a alguien que marque el
buen uso", dice Anaine. "Miramos en Internet, si ponemos una palabra en un
buscador y aparece muchas veces, entendemos que se está usando, pero tampoco
damos como válida una palabra sólo porque aparezca en Internet".
¿Pero todas
las palabras que se usan merecen estar en un diccionario? ¿Incluso las que,
bueno, no se dicen a la hora del té? "Si se usan, sí", dice Anaine. "Lo que
hacemos es indicar el nivel de uso: pueden ser coloquiales, las que se usan en
cualquier conversación informal, o vulgares, que son esas palabras que caerían
mal en esa misma conversación". Lo sabe una nena que se arregla la pollera y el
nivel de lengua para entrar a la Dirección de la escuela. Lo saben los que
cargan de palabras "vulgares" un cantito, para agredir. Los hablantes lo hacen,
el diccionario lo describe. Hay muchos ejemplos. Entre las coloquiales:
"amueblado": hotel donde se alquilan habitaciones para citas amorosas; "andar
como bola sin manija": hallarse desorientado; "descular": desentrañar,
comprender el funcionamiento de algo.
Vulgares son aquellas que no se suelen
escribir en el diario. Por ejemplo —esto es una excepción—, "Dar bola": prestar
atención; "Cachucha": órgano sexual de la mujer; "Cagar": perjudicar a alguien.
Las vulgaridades, por supuesto, pueden estar en textos consagrados, como Don
segundo sombra, de Ricardo Güiraldes. De ahí la Academia toma el ejemplo para
definir "pedo". "te vi'a zapar de culo en el bañadero 'e los patos pa' que se
te pase el pedo", dice. La definición —cualquier argentino lo sabe— es
"estado de ebriedad, borrachera".
El idioma dice lo que dice y dice las
intenciones de quien habla. Por eso, en el diccionario se avisa si una palabra
es despectiva. Es el caso de "bolita": natural de Bolivia. De "ortiva": soplón,
batidor.
Claro que no alcanza con poner "piantavotos", con poner "entrevero",
o "de cuarta", o "rigorear" o "tira", no alcanza con poner todo el Diccionario
del habla de los argentinos para escribir un texto que suene argentino. Eso
dicen algunos escritores. "Palabras las hay, y muchas —dice la poeta Diana
Bellessi— pero me parece que se trata, particularmente, de un tono, de una
disposición de la sintaxis, eso que yo llamo encontrar la frase, o la llegada de
la frase en algún momento del poema que reúne todo lo demás a su alrededor, y
que se siente venir del habla, el habla argentina o el habla del pago. Por
supuesto que el voseo y su consecuente alteración verbal también anclan
territorialmente el idioma, y todos los localismos, las palabras indígenas, las
contracciones (ha'i de tener, por ejemplo) y el lunfa urbano."
Leopoldo
Brizuela, Premio Clarín de Novela 1999, opina: "Tengo la certeza, como lector y
escritor, de que hablamos y escribimos otro idioma que el que se escribe, sobre
todo, en Castilla. Me cuesta tanto trabajo leer el 'castellano' como leer en
otro idioma. Además, siento que este idioma nuestro no se caracteriza tanto por
sus palabras propias como por una austeridad, que los españoles suelen
confundir, en un resabio de mirada imperial, con pobreza. Una austeridad, en
fin, que tiene menos que ver con lo dicho que con los silencios, o mejor, con el
silencio, con la experiencia del silencio. Quizá porque en nosotros perdure el
trauma de todo inmigrante: hallarse en una playa extranjera y comprender que hay
muchas, muchísimas más cosas que palabras, y que siempre las habrá —perder la
seguridad imperial en el poder del lenguaje—. En la literatura, quien escribe
por primera vez esa lengua es Borges. Si se quiere, escribimos en lengua
Borges".
Este trabajo, el que hoy se publica, empezó a hacerse en 1998, pero
tuvo como base el Registro del habla de los argentinos, una publicación anterior
de la Academia y la impresionante colección de fichas en las que se registran
palabras desde la década del 60.
Por supuesto, un diccionario argentino
registra palabras de origen quechua —como "chucho", "machar", "pampa" y
"chúcaro"—, de origen guaraní —como "mamboretá" y "matete"—, de origen araucano
—como "mallín"— y de origen francés, como "galocha". Y sin duda, muchos
italianismos, que son como una marca en el orillo de la argentinidad: "A veces
—dice Anaine— ponemos palabras que se usan también en países vecinos. Entre las
que son exclusivas de la Argentina hay, sobre todo, italianismos".
Ejemplos
varios: "¡Minga!": voz que expresa negación, falta o ausencia de algo;
"Minestrón": sopa de verduras con fideos o arroz y legumbres; "Pelandrún":
Pícaro, astuto.
No es definitivo, no está completo, no es una foto acabada
del habla argentina, "pero en algún momento teníamos que terminar". La gente de
la Academia, que hoy preside Pedro Luis Barcia, y en particular la gente del
Departamento de Investigaciones Lingüísticas y Filológicas —Francisco Petrecca y
Susana Anaine— abrieron una dirección de correo electrónico para quienes quieran
discutir alguna definición o aportar una palabra: diah@aal.universia.com.ar .
Y como siempre, por dudas del lenguaje, funciona el Servicio de Atención de
Consultas Telefónicas, de 13.15 a 18.45 al 4802-2408.
De allí saldrán mejoras
para la próxima edición, que será en dos años. Posta.
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11.- NEWS FROM LAGUNA LARGA,
CÓRDOBA
Our dear SHARER
Silvana Cornatosky from Interlink
writes to
us:
Interlink is pleased to invite you to the English Seminar:
“Some practical activities to teach listening and speaking in the
classroom”.
Lecturer:
Patricia Lauría de Gentile
Jefa
de Trabajos Prácticos de Didáctica Especial II y Observación y Práctica de la
Enseñanza II del Profesorado de Inglés de la Facultad de Lenguas
(Córdoba).
Place: Las Cañas – Catalina Rodríguez 129 – Laguna
Larga.
Date and Time:
May, Friday 23rd.
Certification: Certificates of Assistance will be
submitted.
Information and resgistration: INTERLINK – San Nicolás 730 – Tel. (03572)
481173 – Laguna Larga.
Fees: $ 15 . You can register by phone: (03572) – 481173 or by mail:
interlink@arnet.com.ar
Sponsor: Librería
Blackpool and Longman -
Longman books will be raffled.
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12.- THE EDGAR ALLAN POE
COLLECTION
Our
dear SHARER Ximena Faralla announces:
On
the Road Theatre Company
May 23rd
-
The Edgar Allan Poe Collection
Three stage versions of his most famous
stories:
The
Fall of the House of Usher
The
Red Death
The
Pit & the Pendulum
Adapted by Ximena Faralla & Julián
Vidal
Music by Julián Vidal
Directed by Ximena Faralla
Cast
: Matías Roberto - Veronica Taylor - Inés Vrlijack - Nicolás Pueta - Lucas R.
Tsolakian - Mercedes Ponte
at "The Playhouse" -
Ticket : $7
Book
your seats now! - 4568-7125 - info@ontheroadonline.com
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13.- ARTESOL CONVENTION IN TANDIL
Our dear SHARER Vivian
Morghen, ARTESOL President sent us this reminder:
Dear
Colleague,
Argentina
TESOL –ARTESOL- is pleased to announce the 17th ARTESOL Convention,
to be held on June 27 - 28, 2003 at Universidad del Centro de la Provincia de
Buenos Aires, Tandil, Buenos
Aires, Argentina. The ARTESOL Convention is open to all
members of the English Language Teaching community.
Argentina
TESOL is an affiliate of a worldwide association of Teachers of English to
Speakers of Other Languages, TESOL, whose mission is to improve the teaching of
English all over the world. TESOL and its 90 affiliates provide information and
counsel on the latest pedagogical advances for the acquisition of the English
language through courses, seminars, conferences, publications, and
study-trips.
Other
professional activities during the Convention include plenaries, concurrent
sessions, and exhibition of the latest publications in ELT. If you would like to
be a presenter at the Convention, please complete the attached Call for Participation -Proposal Form
and either fax it or email it to ARTESOL by
The
17th ARTESOL
Convention is an excellent opportunity for EFL teachers throughout the
country to gain insight into the state of the art of our profession on a
national basis. Therefore we ask you all to help us make this event as
enlightening and fruitful as possible.
Please
find the registration form in www.ShareEducation.com.ar in the
NEWSBOARD secction and send it to
ARTESOL , Maipú 672 (1006)
Let’s
all meet in Tandil,
Warmest
wishes,
Vivian
Morghen
ARTESOL
President
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14.- STORYTELLING IN YOUR
SCHOOL.
Our dear friend and SHARER
Celia Zubiri sent us this invitation to her plays:
Please for further
information(unless otherwise stated) contact: Reservas: (011) 4812-5307 /
4814-5455 - thebap@thebsasplayers.com
or thebap@arnet.com.ar
MARTÍNEZ - TEATRO DE LA
CAPILLA - Ladislao Martínez 539
THURSDAY 5/6
10 AM -CHEERS FOR GOOGIE
2:30 PM-CHEERS FOR GOOGIE
CHACABUCO - CINE TEATRO
ESPAÑOL - Pueyrredón 35
TUESDAY 10/5
Sales Reepresentative: Isabel Alcalde >
02352-430270
JUNÍN - TEATRO LA RANCHERÍA -
Chacabuco 40
WEDNESDAY 11/6
Sales Representative: Silvia Terroba > 02362-423352
> agrimaggi@infovia.com.ar
PERGAMINO - COMPLEJO "LA
OPINION PLAZA" - San Nicolás y Julio Roca
FRIDAY 13/6
9 AM -QUASIMODO, THE HUNCHBACK
11 AM -SCHOOL TIES
WEDNESDAY 18/6
TRES ARROYOS
(Teatro y programación a confirmar)
TUESDAY 24/6
PUNTA ALTA (Teatro a confirmar)
WEDNESDAY 25/6
BAHÍA BLANCA (Teatro a
confirmar)
WEDNESDAY 25/6
THURSDAY 26/6
11 AM -SCHOOL TIES
CORONEL SUÁREZ (Teatro a confirmar)
FRIDAY 27/6
Sales representative in Punta
Alta, Bahía Blanca & Coronel Suárez:
Academia Juan XXIII > Ana
Antonia Giner > 0291-459648
anaginer@infovia.com.ar / acingles@infovia.com.ar
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Today
we want to say goodbye with three proverbs that our dear SHARER Sandra Damazzo
from
If you ever need a helping
hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm.
Yiddish Proverb
The best memory is that which
forgets nothing but injuries. Write kindness in marble and write injuries in the
dust.
Persian Proverb
One moment of patience may
ward off a great disaster; one moment of impatience may ruin a whole
life.
Chinese Proverb
HAVE
A WONDERFUL WEEK!
Omar
and Marina.
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