SHARE
An Electronic Magazine by Omar Villarreal and Marina Kirac ©
Year
5
Number 133
6500
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,
How are you all?
It´s been a long time since our last issue of SHARE. Many of you wrote to us
enquiring about our health or whether we had decided to quit writing SHARE.
Thank you for
your interest and your concern. There was nothing wrong at home only that Marina
and I have been very busy helping to organize the celebrations of the
30th Anniversary of the English Department of our College. A hard but
enormously satisfying task. Imagine what it means to Marina and I and to all the
members of the Organizing Committee getting in touch with teachers and
classmates we have not seen for so long ( in our case for more that two
decades!) and to think that our work is going to help about 300 graduates to
rebuild that silver bridge of comradeship with old teachers and friends. We are
toiling but enjoying every second of it.
And thank you
dear SHARERS for your unfailing support during the “virus storm” we all
suffered. Can we get a couple of things straight?
1.- SHARE has
never sent or will ever send attachments. So, if you ever receive a message
which is purported to be from SHARE, from me or from
2.- All the
issues of SHARE have certain distinctive characteristics. We never send messages
with only one line like “ incredible animals” or “foto galery” (in this latter
case, it should be said that our English is a tiny little better than that, or
is it?)
3.- We have
changed our e-mail addresses and the “netizen” addresses are
no longer operative. Please take note of our new addresses:
magazine@shareeducation.com.ar
Love
Omar and Marina
______________________________________________________________________
In SHARE 133
1.- Future
Directions for Fast, Stress-Free Learning.
2.-
The Advantages of Task Based Learning.
3.- An Interview with David
Nunan.
4.-
Report on an International Conference on Learning Styles.
5.- The
Practice of English Language Testing.
6.-
Tercera Jornada Bonaerense para Traductores e Intérpretes.
7.-
Second ELT Fair in the West.
8.-
Forthcoming OUP Event.
9.- Cuartas Jornadas ALPHA de Español para
Extranjeros.
10.- Word son
Words in Córdoba.
11.- Seven Times Effective Directors and
Coordinators.
12.- Seminario sobre Relaciones
Laborales.
13.- The
14.- The English Teaching
Clinic.
15.- Last Seats
for “On the Road” Performances.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.- FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR FAST, STRESS-FREE LEARNING.
Our dear SHARER Alicia Monterubio
from
Future Directions for fast,
stress-free learning on the right side of the brain*
By James J. Asher,
Ph.D.
A paper prepared for European educators at
the invitation of Alexei A. Leontiev, Secretary General of the International
Association for Collaborative Contributions to Language Learning in
Traditional left-brain approaches which we
all have experienced in thousands of foreign language classes (including English
as a Second Language) simply do not work. Perhaps a more charitable way to
express it is to say that production-driven approaches which attempt directly to
teach talking in a target language do not work well enough to continue the
effort. The evidence: 96% of students who voluntarily enroll in foreign language
classes "give up" after three years. Only 4% continue to achieve at least
minimal levels of fluency. More damaging: Not only do our students "give up" but
they are now convinced that they "cannot learn another language." After all,
they tried but the results were high-voltage stress and the humiliating
experience of failure.
What happened? The approaches seemed to be
sound and rooted in common sense. For example, we know from our high school
geometry that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. So,
let's proceed from A to B directly in a straight line. If you want to acquire
another language, then "listen and repeat after me!" "Memorize this dialogue"
and "Let me explain the grammar rule for the day." What could be more
transparent as an instructional strategy?
But it did not work. The laboratory
research and practical experience in thousands of foreign language classrooms
indicated that one human being cannot directly teach another human being to
talk. Apparently we are not biologically wired up to acquire a language in that
fashion. Leslie A. Hart would say that the traditional approach of "teaching"
children and adults to speak another language is simply brain antagonistic. The
approach does not fit our knowledge of how the brain
functions.
It sounds like pedagogical heresy. Of
course one person can directly teach another person to talk. It seems obvious,
but this belief turns out to be an illusion, a myth that has persisted
generation after generation with the fallout being a massive experience of
failure not only for students but also for instructors. If teaching students to
talk was successful then we would not have this situation in the USA: Of the
500,000 young Americans stationed in the military throughout the world, only 418
were judged to be linguistically competent to communicate in the language of the
host country. Japan and other Asian countries, where learning English is a
national craze, schools carry children through six years of English as a foreign
language. Still, only a few students break the fluency barrier to achieve
communication skills in English.
Recently, on a trip to
Dr. Cabello: "Not very. Parents are
frenetic to find a way for their children to acquire English. They spend a
fortune on private lessons after school. You see full page ads in the paper and
expensive television commercials for private language courses, especially for
learning English. This is probably true in the surrounding countries, as
well."
Asher: "And the
result?"
Dr. Cabello: "Well, you don't hear people
speaking English anywhere do you?"
Asher: "How do you explain
this?'
Dr. Cabello: "They use traditional
instructional strategies such as grammar-translation and listen and repeat after
me.
Asher: "All brain antagonistic approaches,
especially in the initial and even intermediate stages of language
learning."
Dr. Cabello: "Yes. These programs try to
ram the skill into the student through the left brain. It doesn't work but they
don't know what else to do. A few students can tolerate the stress and
eventually acquire enough skill to function in the target language but most do
not."
Asher: "Why do you think that
grammar-translation has held on so long ?
Dr. Cabello: "I think it is more
comfortable for instructors who are not native speakers of the target language.
They are off the hook. When they speak in the target language, they are anxious
that their pronunciation may not be perfect. So, to escape any criticism, the
safe approach is to ask the students to take out pencil and paper and start
translating. I don't think it is more complicated than
that."
A Brain Compatible
Instructional Strategy
...that works for most students who are
acquiring second languages, mathematics, and science.
Historically, school has played to the left
side of the brain almost exclusively from the third grade through the
university. In classrooms, the arrangement of chairs is in a pattern that is
comfortable for left brain instruction. Students sitting in rows and columns
face one direction to receive information that will be delivered in serial order
through verbal media either in speech or in print. Input is to half of the
brain-the left side. Students who are "academically gifted" can, on their own,
switch the information coming into the left brain over to the right brain for
complete processing to achieve meaning.
A classic example is a study by Jacques
Hadamard of how eminent mathematicians think. The stereotype is that these
professionals think in sharp symbols and equations-in other words, they are
processing information exclusively on the left side of the brain. But Hadamard
discovered that outstanding mathematicians think in visual and kinetic images.
One of the people in the study was Einstein who confided that he visualized
events in motion and he added that he felt that imagination was more important
in mathematics and physics than intelligence. Of course, visualization and
motion is processing information through the right brain. But school is
organized, unintentionally to be sure, to shut down the right brain.
For example, notice that as instructors we
give ourselves the advantage of using the right brain when we move about the
classroom in our delivery of information. Movement of our body makes information
flow from left to right and back again at lightning velocity. But we do not
accord our students the same privilege. They must sit and "pay attention" to us
as we move about the scene. We allow only limited movement from students as when
they move their arms to scribble a note or raise their hands occasionally to ask
a question. If you think back on all the classes you have attended, can you
recall any instructor in any grade from the first through the university who sat
with hands folded for 75 minutes and talked?
With the realization that the student's
body and the student's body movements are my best allies in helping students
internalize information, I always encourage my students in statistics courses to
move about the room frequently. "If it helps" I tell them, "please feel free to
get up anytime and walk out for a drink of water or to go to the restroom or
simply walk around the back of the room or move from one side of the room to the
other for a different perspective of the scene." Also, I reverse roles
continually to permit students the movement privilege bestowed upon teachers.
For instance, at the start of each class meeting, I will invite students to
present their work on the board so that everyone is continually moving to the
chalkboard to reverse roles with me. Incidentally, I usually invite students to
present their work in pairs rather than alone. This strategy neutralizes the
fear generated by the critical left brain that, "Oh, no. You have to go up to
the front of the room and speak in public!" Remember that the worst fear people
have is speaking in public.
The Power of Movement in
Acquiring Another Language
By now most language teachers in the
The benefits of TPR are (a) rapid
understanding of the target language, (b) long-term retention lasting weeks,
months, even years, and (c) zero stress for both students and the instructor.
The principle of TPR is deceptively simple-it is simple to understand, but does
require skillful application to be effective.
The principle of TPR may be seen in the
interaction of adults and infants in intimate caretaking transactions. If you
observe carefully, you will witness in the caretaking experience a continual
conversation between adults and the infant. It is, of course, not the usual
conversation in which talk is uttered back and forth between two or more people.
It is a unique conversation in which the adult talks to the infant and the
infant answers with a physical response that is meaningful to the adult. For
example, the baby can be only days old and an adult will say, "Look at me. Look
at me." The baby turns its head in the direction of the voice and the adult
exclaims with delight, "She is looking at me!" Another person says, "Now look at
Daddy! Look at Daddy!" The infant turns in the direction of the voice and
smiles. I call these unique conversations in caretaking, "language-body
conversations." The adult speaks and the infant answers with a physical response
such as turning the head, smiling, crying, reaching, grasping, walking, etc.
Caretaking is a rich networking of language-body conversations that continues 16
hours a day for years.
During the period of birth to about two
years of age, there will be continual language-body conversations between
caretakers and the neonate, but the infant's talk will be limited to a few
single utterances that are distortions of such words as mother, father, water,
go, swing, drink, bottle, etc. However, the stunning feature of a language-body
conversation is that before even "mommy" or "daddy" becomes clearly articulated,
the infant demonstrates perfect understanding by physically responding to
complex directions from the adult such as, "Pick up your toys from the sofa, and
put them on the bed in your room." The infant demonstrates perfect understanding
of complex sentences even though the baby is barely able to utter a single
word.
The first achievement in language
acquisition is exquisite skill in understanding the target language. I call this
understanding comprehension literacy. Observations of infants show that most
babies internalize, through body movements, an intricate linguistic map of how
the language works before the infant is ready to talk. And when talk appears, it
will be fragmented, distorted, and primitive compared with a fluent
understanding of the target language. Furthermore, throughout the child's
development, production will lag far behind comprehension. Language acquisition
is clearly a linear progression with comprehension first, then production. Never
do we observe infants in any culture or in any historical period showing
language acquisition starting with production followed by
comprehension.
The phenomenon of comprehension followed by
production is so striking that it suggests a design in the brain and nervous
system with "biological wiring" programmed like this: Talk will not be triggered
until the infant has internalized enough details in the linguistic map. Clearly,
the triggering mechanism for production is comprehension literacy. Biological
wiring is not a metaphor, but has definite reference points in the brain as
suggested by Broca's Area (located in the frontal region of the left hemisphere)
which, if damaged, disturbs speech and Wernicke's Area (located in the posterior
region of the first temporal gyrus) which, if injured, produces impaired
comprehension of speech.
It is significant that the location in the
brain for speech and comprehension is distinctly different. For example, the
clinical literature has many case histories of brain injured patients who can
speak but cannot comprehend sentences uttered by others, and other patients who
can comprehend what is said to them but cannot speak. Future research with
high-technology brain scanning equipment will probably show that the infant's
brain first lights the circuitry in Wernicke's Area with intense
neuro-electrical activity that continues for many months before the circuitry in
Broca's Area becomes busy.
Incidentally, there is no evidence that the
"biological wiring" for language acquisition changes as the infant develops into
childhood and then adulthood. And, indeed, our experiments (Asher, 2000)
together with classroom observations of children and adults (Garcia, 2001)
suggest that a linear progression from comprehension to production is imperative
for most students (perhaps 95%) if they are to achieve multi-skill fluency in a
second language. The evidence is clear, however, that a "progression" starting
with production (teaching children and adults to talk, read or write) is an
illusion since it results in a success rate of only 4% (Asher,
2000).
Comprehension
Literacy
How to help second language
learners achieve it
If comprehension is a critical first step
in the language acquisition process to give students a "head start," then how to
proceed? Fortunately, several dozen books together with video demonstrations are
now available to guide language instructors step-by-step. I have listed many of
them in the references at the end of this article. If you choose to apply the
Total Physical Response to help your students achieve comprehension literacy,
then I recommend that you start with my book, Learning Another Language Through
Actions* which explains the theory, summarizes the research, answers the most
often-asked-questions about TPR, and then presents practical day-to-day lessons
for 150 hours of classroom instruction.
For additional practical lessons and
hundreds of valuable tips for a successful TPR experience with your students, I
recommend Ramiro Garcia's book, Instructor's Notebook: How To Apply TPR For Best
Results*. In the second edition of my book, Brainswitching: Learning on the
Right Side of the Brain*, you will find hundreds of practical examples that
demonstrate how to use movement (and other high-powered techniques to transfer
information from the left to the right brain. This switching from one side of
the brain to the other helps students achieve stress-free internalization of
"complex" concepts in mathematics and science. For more suggestions on how to
implement successful right brain teaching, see my book: The
Classroom
Applications
Infants acquire language during
language-body conversations with their parents. When students in the classroom
have language-body conversations with their instructor, they achieve
comprehension significantly faster than infants. Here is the reason: infants are
limited in their range of physical responses. School children and adults, by
comparison, enjoy a vast network of physical movements such as writing, cooking,
drawing pictures, driving vehicles, playing games, operating computers, riding
bicycles, and so on. Fluent understanding that takes years for infants to
acquire can be achieved by students in a fraction of the time using
TPR.
Here is a sample of a language-body
conversation in the classroom: We begin with what Dr. David Wolfe, a master TPR
instructor of French and Spanish working in the Philadelphia schools, calls the
"big eight"-that is single commands of stand, sit, walk, turn, run, stop, squat,
and jump.
Typically, the instructor will invite a
student to sit on either side and listen carefully to what the instructor will
utter in the target language (with no translation) and do exactly what they see
the instructor doing. (To further relax students, they are briefed that they are
to be silent and not attempt to pronounce any of the utterances they will be
hearing.) The instructions are, "Relax, be comfortable, listen, watch what I do
and do exactly the same thing. I will not ask you to pronounce any of the
utterances you will be hearing."
The instructor then says in the target
language, "Stand," and stands up motioning for the students sitting on either
side to rise. Then, "Sit" and the instructor with the students sits down. Next,
"Stand, Walk, Stop, Turn,..." etc. After hearing the commands several times and
acting along with the students, the instructor sits down and invites individual
students (including those observing in the audience) to perform alone in
response to the commands. The intent is to demonstrate to each of the students
that they have indeed internalized the strange utterances and understand them
perfectly.
From the "big eight," unending combinations
are possible to help students rapidly and gracefully internalize an intricate
linguistic map of how the target language works. Examples of combinations that
number in thousands of sentences starting with the "big eight" would be: "Stand,
walk to the chalkboard and touch the eraser."
"Walk to the door, open it, and ask, "Who
is there?"
"Run to the chalkboard, write your name,
and under your name, write my name."
"If I walk to the table, and pick up a
piece of paper, you run to the closet and get the broom."
Once understanding is
achieved and students begin to talk, then what?
Internalizing understanding of the
phonology, morphology, and semantics of a target language is not a trivial
achievement. It cannot be rushed. It will take time and patience. However, I can
promise that if you use the language-body conversations of TPR, students will
internalize the target language rapidly in huge chunks rather than word-by-word.
The success of this procedure is a heady experience for both the instructor and
the students. The instructor will feel enormous power and the students will feel
that something magical is happening to them.
I can also promise that as the process of
understanding through the body continues, at some point, each student will be
ready to talk. This readiness to talk varies from student to student. A few will
be ready almost immediately, others will not be ready for many weeks, but most
seem to be eager to talk after 10 to 20 hours of TPR instruction. It is
important to respect each student's decision as to when that person is ready to
talk.
Again, this readiness cannot be forced by
the instructor; it will appear spontaneously and when students begin to talk, it
will not be perfect. There will be many distortions, but gradually, production
will shape itself in the direction of the native speaker. Whether production
will be accent-free is a function of age. Before puberty, the probability is
extremely high that the student will be accent-free, but after puberty, the
probability is almost certain that the individual will have some accent no
matter how many years the person lives in the foreign country. (For more on this
important issue, see Asher, 2000, and Garcia, 2001).
What can be done to
accelerate the development of production
As language-body conversations continue,
the student internalizes more and more details about the phonology, morphology
and semantic structure of the target language. This internalization process
proceeds in a kind of linguistic zero-gravity because the student seems to float
in a weightlessness state. Each move seems effortless. The language code
imprints at a rapid rate with an ease that gives the illusion that nothing has
happened. When the internal linguistic map is imprinted with enough detail, talk
is released analogous to the spontaneous appearance of speech in infants. As
with the infant, speech is distorted, fragmented, and develops in slow-motion
compared with the flashing speed the student has been internalizing
comprehension.
Speech appears in "role reversal" after
about 10 to 20 hours of TPR instruction. At this point, the instructor invites
students who are ready, to assume the role of the instructor and utter commands
to direct the behavior of fellow students and the instructor. In a search to
accelerate the develop of production- that is, talking, reading, and writing, an
experienced TPR instructor of Spanish, Blaine Ray, has successfully tested with
his level 1 high school and college students a storytelling technique which he
calls, Look, I Can Talk*. This is a student textbook, now available in English,
Spanish, French, and German, in which students listen and watch as the
instructor tells an illustrated story in the target language using familiar
vocabulary. Gestures are used to cue different words in the story such as a
whistle and a slap on the thigh for dog and rubbing of the thumb and forefinger
to represent money. Then, using gestures, each student is invited to retell the
story in their own words to another student.
After that, each student writes the story
using their own words. Rapidly, story by story, students are amazed to discover
that they can express themselves in speech, reading and writing. You can order
for your level 2 students, Look, I Can Talk More!* in English, Spanish, French,
and German and for level 3 students, Look, I'm Still Talking*. Todd McKay has
written and pretested for eight years a series of student books entitled, TPR
Storytelling: especially for students in elementary and middle school*. (For
more details on these books, see the pages in the back of this
book.)
Why most students experience
success with TPR
As a hypothesis, it may be that most
students are more right-brained in processing information. If so, then "school"
as it is usually conducted, would not foster successful learning experiences.
Hence, any instructional strategy that has built-in brainswitching should be
successful with most students for first trial learning, long-term retention, and
zero stress. Of course, that is exactly what TPR offers.
We have observed in the typical school
population that students with a painful history of difficulties coping with
academic content presented through the left brain, excel in language classes
that apply TPR. For the first time in their school experience, these students
achieve at the same level as the "A" students-the "smart kids." Ironically,
these students who have "difficulty" learning are often "written off" by school
administrators as "unteachable with low academic aptitude," and hence unprepared
for the demands of foreign language classes. After all, they can't cope with
classes in their native language, so how can we expect them to manage classes in
a foreign language?
There is another powerful advantage to
brainswitching instructional strategies especially in school where confinement
restricts movement both physically and psychologically. Space is diminished to
the territory around one's desk and left brain instruction draws the circle of
space even tighter around the individual with the constraint of sitting in a
chair, focusing attention and minimal body motion.
With TPR, space expands rather than
contracts. Students are in motion using their bodies to respond to directions in
the target language. There is instant success followed by nonstop assimilation
of the target language. The interaction among students can continue for hours
after the TPR class is over. Students can play with the target language using
utterances to direct each other:
"Pass the ball to
me."
"Come here!"
"Throw the ball to
her!"
Stand over here!"
Walk forward three
steps!"
Another exciting application of TPR is
using the target language in coaching sport's activities. For example, all
coaching for soccer could be in Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, or any other target
language-because there is instant understanding with directions such as, "Pass
the ball to Luke." "Stretch your arms like this to block the pass." "Jump
higher!" Students not only improve their skill in a sport but as an additional
bonus, acquire another language in the process.
Of course, this strategy of coaching in
another language applies to instruction in any vocational skill. A cooking
class, for instance, can be done in French as easily as English or Japanese,
because directions are transparent to the trainees.
Application to teaching
mathematics and science
Skillful brainswitching from left to right
and right to left is brain compatible instruction that reaches most students.
For example, it is not enough to tell students (which is left brain input).
Telling is the favorite mode of input from instructors. Code words for telling
include "cover the chapter," or "explain" the concepts.
For example, ask a few people to give you
the first thoughts that come into their minds when you say, "algebra." Typical
responses are: pain, confusion, equations, unknowns, headache, tension, Xs and
Ys. It is apparent from national test scores that "requiring" a course in
algebra is not the equivalent of "acquiring" skill in algebra. Requiring is not
the same as acquiring.
Algebra is a fundamental skill one needs to
operate in higher mathematics, yet few high school graduates feel comfortable or
proficient in using this powerful language. Not only do most graduates have zero
competency, but they can see no value in this activity. It is perceived as an
academic obstacle one must somehow hurdle to graduate. It is beyond the scope of
this paper to explore the value of algebra except to hint that algebra is closer
to theology than to engineering, an insight known for hundreds of years by
spiritual teachers and the great philosophers. The reason, of course, is that
the exquisite patterning of mathematics contradicts the randomness hypothesis of
human existence. For example, the concept of evolution cannot explain the
patterns within mathematics that fit together with a perfection that defies all
"laws" of probability.
Consider this simple metaphor suggested by
the prolific science writer, Isaac Asimov: If you shuffle a new deck of cards
only once, how many times must you shuffle to return the cards to their original
arrangement? The answer is that it will require billions of shuffles to get the
cards back into the original sequence. If you disturb the arrangement of 52
items, it takes billions of trials to retrieve the initial pattern. In algebra,
there are hundreds of items which fit together with astonishing perfection;
hence to achieve that fit by randomness would require not billions of shuffles,
not trillions of shuffles, but so many shuffles that we do not have an
appropriate word in any language.
We attempt to explain the intricate
biological patterns of human, animals, plants, and even galaxies as the
end-product of billions of years of imperceptible changes. But what about
mathematics? There was no evolution. The labyrinth of patterns was discovered
rather than invented. The patterns are there without an explanation of how they
came to be.
But, let's return to the task of "learning"
algebra. I can share a brainswitching strategy that helps all students
internalize a simple model of algebra that is rich in meaning and enables them
to perform successfully. It involves asking the students to stand up. I ask them
to relax, move so that they have room between themselves and the person on
either side. Then, I tell them that I know the picture they have as to what
algebra is (because they just told me). "Now, let's compare that picture with
the picture in my head. Algebra to me is like flying an airplane. Everybody
extend your arms out from your body like this" and I demonstrate. "Notice that
the plane is flying level. The object of algebra is to fly the plane level. You
will know that the plane is level because the equal sign will light up on
display panel in the cockpit."
"Now notice how your airplane maneuvers
when I turn the wheel like this" (and I turn the imaginary wheel to one
direction). As I turn the wheel, students will automatically lower one arm and
raise the other to represent that their planes are making a turn. Next, I say,
"What will happen if the plane continues in this
direction?"
A student will volunteer, "We will crash
and burn!"
"That's right!" I respond. "Quickly, tell
me what to do."
Another student will exclaim, "Turn the
wheel in the opposite direction."
I do so, and the "wings" of the planes in
the room move to a level position. "Ah, now we are safe again. The plane is
flying level. You can put it on automatic pilot, take out your lunch, and
relax."
"Let's make another turn," and we go
through the maneuver in the opposite direction. "Notice that anytime you make a
turn, the plane is in danger until you turn the wheel back to level the wings.
The object in algebra is always to fly the plane level."
Now the students have internalized a model
in motion that I can refer to in any algebraic maneuver. For example, in y - y =
x, I will comment that the plane is flying level because the equal sign lit up
on the display panel of the cockpit. But I want to turn the wheel by eliminating
a minus y. "Tell me how to do this."
Someone will advise me to, "Add y to the
left side."
"Fine," I respond, "but show me with your
body how the plane is flying" and the student will move one arm straight up in
the air and the other sloping down. "Are we in danger of crashing?" I
ask.
"Yes," a student
responds.
"Quickly," I urge, "turn the wheel the
other way to level the wings. What must I do?"
A student will help me with, "Add y to the
right side."
The cockpit display now reads: y = x + y.
The plane is flying level. We are safe until we make another algebraic
maneuver.
The Future of
TPR
The most exciting application of TPR may be
in
References
Asher, James J. Learning Another Language Through
Actions*, Triple-Expanded Sixth Edition, Year 2000. Sky Oaks Productions,
Inc., P.O. Box 1102, Los Gatos, California, 95031.
Asher, James J. The
Demonstrates how students of all ages enjoy
fast, stress-free learning on the right side of the brain for any subject or
skill. Sky Oaks Productions, Inc., P.O. Box 1102, Los Gatos, California,
95031.
Asher, James J. "Year 2000 Update for the Total Physical
Response, known worldwide as
TPR." You can read this article on the web at:
www.tpr-world.com
Asher, James J. "Year 2001 Update for the Total Physical
Response, known worldwide as
TPR." You can read this article on the web at:
www.tpr-world.com
Cabello, Francisco. The Total Physical Response in First
Year*. (Can be ordered in English, Spanish, or French.) 2001, Sky Oaks
Productions, Inc., P.O. Box 1102, Los Gatos, California,
95031.
Garcia, Ramiro.
Instructor's Notebook: How To Apply TPR For
Best Results*. Fifth
Edition, 2001, Sky Oaks Productions, Inc.,
Krashen, Stephen D. "TPR: Still a Very Good Idea." Novelty,
Volume 5, Number 4. December 1998.
Márquez, Nancy. Learning with Movements*:
Total Physical Response English for Children, 1999. Sky Oaks
Productions, Inc., P.O. Box 1102, Los Gatos, California,
95031.
Márquez, Nancy. Apprendiendo con Movimientos*: Método TPR
Español, 1999. Sky Oaks Productions, Inc., P.O. Box 1102, Los Gatos,
California, 95031.
Márquez, Nancy. L'Enseignement Par Le
Mouvement*, 1999. Sky Oaks
Productions, Inc.,
McKay, Todd. TPR Storytelling: Especially for Students in
Elementary and Middle School*,
2001. Available in English, Spanish, or French. Sky Oaks Productions, Inc.,
Ray, Blaine and Contee Seely. Fluency Through TPR Storytelling*. Sky
Oaks Productions, Inc.,
Ray, Blaine. Look, I Can Talk!* (level 1). Look, I Can
Talk More!* (level 2). Look, I'm Still Talking!* (level 3). Available in
English, Spanish, French, or German. Sky Oaks Productions, Inc.,
Schessler, Eric J. English Grammar Through Actions*.How to TPR
50 grammatical features in
English. Sky Oaks Productions, Inc.,
Schessler, Eric J. Spanish Grammar Through Actions*. How to TPR
50 grammatical features in
Spanish. Sky Oaks Productions, Inc.,
Schessler, Eric J. French Grammar Through Actions*. How to TPR
50 grammatical features in
French. Sky Oaks Productions, Inc.,
Seely, Contee TPR Is More Than Commands At All
Levels*. Sky Oaks Productions, Inc.,
Silvers, Stephen M. Listen and Perform: TPR for Elementary and
Middle School Children*. (You can order this book in English, Spanish or
French.) Sky Oaks Productions, Inc.,
Silvers, Stephen M. Listen and Perform: Teacher's
Guidebook*. Sky Oaks Productions, Inc.,
Silvers, Stephen M. The Command Book: How to TPR 2,000
Vocabulary Items in Any Language*. Sky Oaks Productions, Inc.,
Wolfe, David and G. Jones. 1982. "Integrating Total Physical Response
strategy in a level 1 Spanish class." Foreign Language Annals
14:273-80.
Woodruff-Wieding, Margaret S. and Laura J.
Ayala. Favorite Games for FL-ESL Classes*. Sky Oaks Productions, Inc.,
© Copyright 2001 by James J. Asher,
Ph.D.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.- THE ADVANTAGES OF TASK
BASED LEARNING.
Our dear SHARER Richard Frost has
sent us this article on TBL and the plan for a demonstration
task.
A Task-based
approach
By Richard Frost, British
In recent years a debate has developed over
which approaches to structuring and planning and implementing lessons are more
effective. This article presents and overview of a task-based learning approach
(TBL) and highlights its advantages over the more traditional Present, Practice,
Produce (PPP) approach. This article also links to the following activity:
“Planning a night out”.
Present Practice Produce
(PPP)
During an initial teacher training course,
most teachers become familiar with the PPP paradigm. A PPP lesson would proceed
in the following manner.
* First, the teacher presents an item of
language in a clear context to get across its meaning. This could be done in a
variety of ways: through a text, a situation build, a dialogue etc.
* Students are then asked to complete a
controlled practice stage, where they may have to repeat target items through
choral and individual drilling, fill gaps or match halves of sentences. All of
this practice demands that the student uses the language correctly and helps
them to become more comfortable with it.
* Finally, they move on to the production
stage, sometimes called the 'free practice' stage. Students are given a
communication task such as a role play and are expected to produce the target
language and use any other language that has already been learnt and is suitable
for completing it.
The problems with
PPP
It all sounds quite logical but teachers
who use this method will soon identify problems with it:
* Students can give the impression that
they are comfortable with the new language as they are producing it accurately
in the class. Often though a few lessons later, students will either not be able
to produce the language correctly or even won't produce it at all.
* Students will often produce the language
but overuse the target structure so that it sounds completely unnatural.
* Students may not produce the target
language during the free practice stage because they find they are able to use
existing language resources to complete the task.
A Task-based
approach
Task -based Learning offers an alternative
for language teachers. In a task-based lesson the teacher doesn't pre-determine
what language will be studied, the lesson is based around the completion of a
central task and the language studied is determined by what happens as the
students complete it. The lesson follows certain stages.
Pre-task
The teacher introduces the topic and gives
the students clear instructions on what they will have to do at the task stage
and might help the students to recall some language that may be useful for the
task. The pre-task stage can also often include playing a recording of people
doing the task. This gives the students a clear model of what will be expected
of them. The students can take notes and spend time preparing for the
task.
Task
The students complete a task in pairs or
groups using the language resources that they have as the teacher monitors and
offers encouragement.
Planning
Students prepare a short oral or written
report to tell the class what happened during their task. They then practice
what they are going to say in their groups. Meanwhile the teacher is available
for the students to ask for advice to clear up any language questions they may
have.
Report
Students then report back to the class
orally or read the written report. The teacher chooses the order of when
students will present their reports and may give the students some quick
feedback on the content. At this stage the teacher may also play a recording of
others doing the same task for the students to compare.
Analysis
The teacher then highlights relevant parts
from the text of the recording for the students to analyse. They may ask
students to notice interesting features within this text. The teacher can also
highlight the language that the students used during the report phase for
analysis.
Practice
Finally, the teacher selects language areas
to practise based upon the needs of the students and what emerged from the task
and report phases. The students then do practice activities to increase their
confidence and make a note of useful language.
The advantages of
TBL
Task-based learning has some clear
advantages
* Unlike a PPP approach, the students are
free of language control. In all three stages they must use all their language
resources rather than just practising one pre-selected item.
* A natural context is developed from the
students' experiences with the language that is personalised and relevant to
them. With PPP it is necessary to create contexts in which to present the
language and sometimes they can be very unnatural.
* The students will have a much more varied
exposure to language with TBL. They will be exposed to a whole range of lexical
phrases, collocations and patterns as well as language forms.
* The language explored arises from the
students' needs. This need dictates what will be covered in the lesson rather
than a decision made by the teacher or the coursebook.
* It is a strong communicative approach
where students spend a lot of time communicating. PPP lessons seem very
teacher-centred by comparison. Just watch how much time the students spend
communicating during a task-based lesson.
* It is enjoyable and motivating.
Conclusion
PPP offers a very simplified approach to
language learning. It is based upon the idea that you can present language in
neat little blocks, adding from one lesson to the next. However, research shows
us that we cannot predict or guarantee what the students will learn and that
ultimately a wide exposure to language is the best way of ensuring that students
will acquire it effectively. Restricting their experience to single pieces of
target language is unnatural.
For more information see 'A Framework for
Task-Based Learning' by Jane Wills
Task based
speaking
Richard Frost, British
This is a speaking lesson on the theme of
planning a night out that uses a listening exercise to provide language input.
* Preparation and materials
You will need to record two people planning
a night out on the town
* Pre-task (15-20min)
Aim: To introduce the topic of nights out
and to give the class exposure to language related to it. To highlight words and
phrases.
o Show sts pictures of a night out in a
restaurant / bar and ask them where they go to have a good night out.
o Brainstorm words/phrases onto the board
related to the topic; people / verbs / feelings etc.
o Introduce the listening of two people
planning a night out. Write up different alternatives on the board to give them
a reason for listening e.g. (a) restaurant / bar (b) meet at the train station /
in the square. Play it a few times, first time to select from the alternatives,
second time to note down some language.
o Tell them that they are going to plan a
class night out and give them a few minutes to think it
over.
* Task (10min)
o Students do the task in twos and plan the
night. Match them with another pair to discuss their ideas and any similarities
and differences.
* Planning (10min)
o Each pair rehearses presenting their
night out. Teacher walks around, helps them if they need it and notes down any
language points to be highlighted later.
* Report (15 min)
o Class listen to the plans, their task is
to choose one of them. They can ask questions after the presentation.
o Teacher gives feedback on the content and
quickly reviews what was suggested. Students vote and choose one of the nights
out.
* Language Focus (20min)
o Write on the board fives good phrases
used by the students during the task and five incorrect phrases/sentences from
the task without the word that caused the problem. Students discuss the meaning
and how to complete the sentences.
o Hand out the tapescript from the
listening and ask the students to underline the useful words and phrases.
o Highlight any language you wish to draw
attention to e.g. language for making suggestions, collocations etc.
o Students write down any other language
they wish to remember.
Note: You can go on the planned night out
with your students. This can make it even more motivating for them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.- AN INTERVIEW WITH
DAVID NUNAN
Our dear SHARER Kate Dallys wants to SHARE
this interview with all of us:
Dr. David C. Nunan is a world
renowned linguist and specialist in the field of TESOL. An acclaimed author of
many teacher training textbooks as well as coursebooks, Professor Nunan has also
served on a number of executive, academic and editorial boards. He is currently
serving as President of TESOL
(Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages), and teaches at Newport Asia Pacific
University and Hong Kong
University. He resides in
On Teaching
ELT: How has ELT changed since you started in
the profession?
DN: When I started teaching, we were in the grip of
audiolingualism. So the biggest change I experienced was the impact of
communicative language teaching, which began to have an impact in the mid-1970s,
and is still going on today.
How do you find ways to motivate yourself as a
teacher, lecturer, and researcher?
I love what I do, and when you love what
you do, then you are automatically motivated. I sometimes stop and think "Gee,
they actually PAY me to do this!"
On Research
Over the past decade, there has been a shift
towards the idea of student independence when they learn English, and
substantial research has been done on 'learner-centered' approaches to teaching.
Is this the way English is going to be taught over the next decade?
This
really depends on the context. In some contexts, the degree to which you can
foster independent learning is restricted by either cultural factors or the
prior learning experiences of the students. Learner-centeredness is more of an
attitude that an approach. Also, I would not say that learner-centeredness is
necessarily synonymous with independence - although in most situations it
is.
How much of your work time involves academic
research? What avenues are you currently pursuing and why?
About one-third
of my work time involves academic research. Currently, I am involved in two
projects. One of these looks at the impact of new technology on learning
outcomes. The other is looking at how learner conceptions of language and
learning change as a result of exposure to learner-centered
instruction.
In your experience as a professor to candidates
for the Master-level TESOL/TEFL courses, what generally separates a 'good'
thesis/dissertation from an 'excellent' one?
The excellent dissertation has
a degree of creativity and originality that is generally missing from the 'good'
dissertation.
On
Textbooks
How long do you spend on research and writing
for any course textbook?
It generally takes around four years, although my
new series for younger learners, Go For It, took seven years, and involved
writing eight drafts.
What aspect of the writing process is the most
time-consuming?
Rewriting successive drafts as a result of feedback from
teachers who pilot the materials. I have to achieve a compromise between my
ideas and what teachers and learners are ready to accept.
Both your course series 'Listen In' and 'Speak
Out' have been described by the publisher as "Made for
I think that the basic concepts apply to most EFL
situations - e.g. don't overload the students with lots of new vocabulary and
grammar, don't ask learners to come up with language that they haven't been
specifically prepared for etc. The biggest difference is in terms of the topics,
the contexts in which the language is taught, and the overall 'look' of the
materials.
Your latest course textbook, 'Go For It!', is
aimed at middle and high school students. What motivated you to write a course
for such a group?
I wanted to see whether my ideas on learner-centered
instruction and task-based learning could be made to 'work' with low-proficient
learners in the 10 - 15 year old age range.
On Presenting
How often do you give presentations at
conferences every year? How long do you give yourself to plan and research for
the presentation?
I average around forty presentations at international
conferences each year. That doesn't mean a have 40 different presentations. I
usually have around ten new presentation each year, and offer these to
conference organizers or whoever invites me. So, in August, I gave around 26
presentations in five Latin American countries over a three week period.
However, there were only around six different topics that were dealt
with.
You gave a presentation at the JALT'99
Conference titled 'ELT in the New Millennium'. Will technology play a major role
in language learning?
Technology is already having a big impact in
some situations, but it will be many years I think before every learner has
access to technology.
On TESOL
What has been TESOL's biggest contributions to
the ESL/EFL world?
I think it's done a great deal to professionalize the
EFL/ESL world. It provides wonderful professional development opportunities
through the annual convention, the TESOL academies, etc.. In the field of
research, it has established the TESOL International Research Foundation. Within
the
What are your goals in your term as TESOL
President?
I wanted to do more to internationalize the association. Being
the first President to run the organization from so far away from head office
has been a real challenge.
On Leisure
Away from the educational field, how do you
spend the remainder of your time? What hobbies do you engage in?
What time?
I receive up to 400 TESOL-related email every 24 hours - and these can take me
up to six hours to deal with!. Actually, if I get any free time I like to paint
- I'm an enthusiastic, but VERY amateur, watercolor
artist.
How's life in
No, life goes on - at
breakneck speed!
© 2004 by ELT News. The Web Site for English
Teachers in
------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.- REPORT
ON AN INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON LEARNING STYLES
Our
dear SHARER Liliana Geranio from Universidad Autónoma de Entre Ríos has sent us
this preliminary report on a Congress she attended in
1er. Congreso Internacional de
Estilos de Aprendizaje (1er informe)
El Congreso se llevó a cabo en la ciudad de
Madrid, los días 5, 6 y 7 de Julio. La sede del mismo, fue el edificio de la
Facultad de Humanidades de la UNED. (Universidad de Educación a
Distancia).
La UNED. se encuentra en un barrio tranquilo de
Madrid. Cuenta con varios edificios cada uno para sus respectivas carreras. Cabe
destacar, el edificio de la biblioteca, que consta de 8 pisos y está al lado del
edificio de Humanidades. Este último, consta de varios pisos, es moderno, con
tres cafeterías, un salón con capacidad para 500 personas y está
climatizado.
El Congreso fue inaugurado por el Dr, Arturo de la
Orden Hoz, de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid y la Dra. Catalina Alonso, de
nacionalidad argentina, investigadora de la UNED.
Me llenó de orgullo escuchar, a lo largo de las
sesiones del Congreso, con el respeto que se nombraba a nuestro país y a sus
docentes e investigadores.
El Congreso
Se entiende por estilos de aprendizaje, a la forma
en que cada uno tiene de aprender. Los estilos son propios de la categoría
Natural.
Se caracterizan por manifestaciones exteriores, el
tratamiento de la información y del conocimiento y están determinados por la
personalidad.
Existen varias teorías sobre los estilos de
aprendizaje, cada una de ellas, correspondiente a diferentes autores que se han
dedicado a este tema. Entre ellos, podemos nombrar a: Keefe, Dunn Dunn Price,
Money y Munford, Kinsella y Sherak, Gardner, etc.
La teoría de Money y Munford, es la más
usada. En ella los estilos se dividen
en:
a- Activo: aprenden actuando.
b-
Reflexivo:
aprenden de y para el problema.
c- Teórico: aprenden deduciendo, reformulando.
d-
Pragmático:
interés por la aplicación, preferencia por lo funcional, toman decisiones desde
lo útil.
Cabe destacar, que los estilos están en estrecha
relación unos con otros. No existe el estilo puro, vale decir, nadie es
puramente activo o reflexivo o teórico o pragmático.
Veamos ahora, la taxonomía de las actividades para
cada uno de los estilos.
a- Activo: describir, identificar, dibujar, recortar, expresar, indicar. Son los típicos animadores, improvisadores, descubridores, participativos.
b-
Reflexivo:
distinguir, ordenar, interpretar, relacionar.
c- Teórico: deducir, reformular, predecir.
d-
Pragmático:
aplicar, transferir, experimentar, resolver, practicar.
Así como existen distintos estilos de aprendizaje, también podemos decir que existen distintos estilos de enseñanza. Ellas son:
a- Abierto
b- Formal
c- Estructurado
d- Funcional
Para saber el estilo de aprendizaje que utiliza
cada uno, existe el Cuestionario Money-Alonso de Estilos de Aprendizaje, llamado
“CHAEA”. Este cuestionario ha sido diseñado para
identificar el estilo de aprendizaje preferido por cada uno. No es un test de
inteligencia ni de personalidad. No hay límite de tiempo para contestarlo, pero
no ocupa más de 15 minutos hacerlo. En él, no hay respuestas correctas o
incorrectas y es útil en la medida en que cada uno sea sincero en sus
respuestas
Liliana Geranio ligeranio@yahoo.com
-----------------------------------------------------------
5.- THE PRACTICE OF
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TESTING.
Our
dear SHARER Susan Cantera writes to us to announce a Seminar that Omar will
conduct in
“New
Ways to Opportunity” School of English takes pleasure in inviting you to
a seminar by Omar Villarreal, which
will be given on Saturday 18 September 2004 in La Plata , Buenos
Aires.
The
Practice of English Language Testing
In
this Professional Development Seminar, Lic.Villarreal will address the main
methodological principles and the latest trends in the field of
testing from a predominantly practical
perspective.
*
How to test and mark Speaking, Writing,
Listening,
*
Is it possible to make testing realistic and enjoyable? How to construct
your own tests.
*
How to test students of different Age Groups: Children, Adolescents and
Adults
Lic.
Omar Villarreal
Profesor
de Inglés e Inglés Técnico – Instituto Nacional Superior del Profesorado
Técnico. Licenciado en Ciencias de la Educación (UCALP) Licenciado en Tecnología
Educativa (FRA-UTN). University
Lecturer in the Area of Applied Linguistics at Universidad Tecnológica Nacional
and in Language I and IV at ISFD Nro 41. Lecturer
in Didactics of ESP at
Licenciatura en Inglés Universidad Católica de La
Plata. He
has lectured extensively in all Argentinian provinces as well as in
Date:
Time:
Venue: Salón Residencial Blanco de *Il Tetto”
Avenida 7 Nº 2047 e/ 511 y 512 Ringuelet -
For enrolment contact:
“Best” Bookstore 48 Nº 630, 7 y 8 Local 13
Galería Mayo (0221)424-7226
“The House” Bookstore 6 Nº 1093 e/ 54 y 55
(0221) 421-4396
“New Ways To
E-mail: scantera@netverk.com.ar . Website : www.ways.5u.com
Fees : $20 Teachers $15 Students
Certificates of Attendance will be
given.Fantastic raffles are included.
------------------------------------------------------------
6.- TERCERA
JORNADA BONAERENSE PARA TRADUCTORES E INTÉRPRETES.
Our
dear SHARER Silvina Garcia Calabria from Colegio de Traductores Públicos de la
Zona Norte has an invitation to make:
III Jornada Bonaerense para
Traductores e
Intérpretes
"La Traducción Especializada, un
valor agregado"
Organizan: Círculo de Traductores Públicos de Zona
Norte,
Círculo de Traductores Públicos e Intérpretes de
Zona Oeste, Círculo de Traductores Públicos del Sur y Círculo de Traductores
Públicos de La Plata
Sábado
25 de septiembre de 2004
Martín
y Omar 339 - San Isidro - Buenos
Aires - Argentina
Dirigido a: Traductores, Intérpretes, Estudiantes
y Docentes de ambas carreras
Paneles de expertos en distintas áreas de
especialización
"Los
traductores y el asesoramiento técnico-legislativo"
Dr.
José Pérez Nieves, Abogado y Traductor Público de Inglés. Subdirector de la
Dirección de Información Parlamentaria de la H. Cámara de Diputados de la
Nación
"La
traducción dentro del proceso legislativo"
T.P
Delia Cammisa, Jefa del Departamento de francés de la Dirección de Traducciones
de la Biblioteca del Congreso de la Nación. Coautora del Diccionario Bilingüe de
Terminología Jurídica español-francés.
"La
traducción contable en los grandes estudios"
Proyección de entrevista a la Cdora. Sandra
Menéndez, Gte. del Depto. de Comité Técnico para América
Latina
y
Centroamérica de importante estudio de auditoría
"El
corrector: restaurador de textos"
Trad.
Mariela Ansaldo, Correctora de textos en el área de educación a distancia de la
Universidad Católica de Salta, Subsede Buenos Aires
"La
traducción desde la óptica de una escritora"
Profesora Mercedes Sabarots, Escritora y Profesora
en Letras
Talleres simultáneos por idiomas y
especialidades
Inglés: "Hedging in Technical & Scientific
Translation". Trad.
Alejandra Jorge, Traductora Literaria y Técnico-Científica profesora
del IESLV y de la UNC (Univ. Nac. del Comahue).
Alemán: "Für Mediziner oder für Patienten? -
Besonderheiten der fachtechnischen Übersetzung".
T.P.
Margarita Stecher, Profesora de
alemán en la Fac. de Cs. Ecs. de la USAL, Profesora en la Goethe Schule,
profesora en el IESLV, presidente de la Asoc. Civil de Docentes de Idioma
Alemán.
Francés : "Notions Générales sur la Traduction de
Brevets d'Invention". T.P. Violeta
Tramutola, Egresada de la UBA; miembro de la Comisión de Ejercicio de la
Profesión del CTPCBA. Especializada en el tema de patentes desde el año 2000. Con la colaboración de las
TT.PP. María C. Nieves y Alejandra Lucero Frigerio. Las tres profesionales
forman parte del Grupo de Trabajo en lengua francesa del CTPZN, presidido por
Nieves.
Italiano: "La Pronuncia dell'Interprete
d'Italiano". Prof. Maria E.
Pandolfi. Profesora de Fonética de
la UMSA.
Informes y reservas: info@traductoreszonanorte.org
Lunes
a viernes de 9 a 17 h.: 011-15 5
333 3683 / 011 4 314-
4964
Martes
y viernes de 9 a 12: 011 4732-0303
------------------------------------------------------------------------
7-
SECOND
ELT FAIR IN THE WEST
Our dear SHARER Cecilia Ramirez de Ricci
has sent us details about the ELT Fair she is organizing in the West.
Second ELT Fair in the
West
Venue: Centro
Cultural de San Antonio de Padua- Volta between Noguera and
Directorio. A block from the
railway station.
Date: September 18th. From
Program:
Originally from BREEMA, an ancient bodywork
system, these principles can show us how to make the student-teacher
relationship, and consequently the learning-teaching process more rewarding and
joyful. This session will help you discover why.
By Prof. Oriel
Villagarcia M.A.
First degree, Univ. Nac. de Tucuman with a
Magna Cum Laude distinction. Fulbright and British Council Scholar. Post
graduate studies at the
ART is a rich and stimulating resource that
will enable us to develop our creativity as teachers and learners. It’s a
trigger for creative writing, speech, imagination, improvisation, movement, and
vocabulary...
A different way to incorporate knowledge.
ART will encourage our students and us to engage our right brain.
By Susan Cocimano:
Trained as a Drama Teacher and
Psycho-dramatist. She specialises in Drama, Creativity and Psychodrama in
Education. Teacher Trainer and former Head of English at secondary level, she
designs and conducts Drama and Creativity workshops for teachers and for all
those interested in new answers to old questions.
More about her in: www.crearcreate.com.ar
There will be a game and the winner will
get a basket full of their products
Songs are short and self-contained texts
which provide fun, break down barriers reducing anxiety in second language
learners and encourage harmony within the self and the group. Why not make the
most of them through successful exploitation of the
lyrics?
By Prof. Adriana
Fernández.
She is a graduate Teacher of English for
Primary Level from I.S.P. “Joaquín V. González” and a graduate Teacher of
English from I.S.F.D. “R. Rojas”. She has been in the teaching
profession for over 20 years. She also attended Methodology courses in
An overview of hands-on
current resources: humour, songs, films, TV programmes a 45-minute presentation to introduce the
use of these resources
By Prof. Alicia López Oyhenart. A graduate
of the ISN Joaquín V. González, she specialized in English for Special Purposes
at
More about her work: www.e-teachingonline.com.ar
The use of games, stories, music and
game-like activities for the development of linguistic and communicative
competence within a coherent and realistic EFL programme.
Lic. Omar
Villarreal
Profesor de Inglés e
Inglés Técnico –Instituto Nacional Superior del Profesorado Técnico de la
UTN.Licenciado en Ciencias de la Educación con especialización en Educación
Formal – Facultad de Humanidades de la Universidad Católica de La Plata.
Licenciado en Tecnología Educativa – FRA Universidad Tecnológica Nacional.
Post Graduate studies in
Educational Research (MA Universidad Nacional de Córdoba). Author of: Top Teens
More about him in: www.shareeducation.com.ar
There will be stands with information
about:
------------------------------------------------------------
8.- FORTHCOMING
OUP EVENT
Our dear SHARERS from
Date: Saturday, September
4th.
Time: 9:00 to 13:30 hs
Venue: Instituto Colegio del Carmen, Paraguay
1766, Ciudad de Buenos Aires
Active reading lessons for the
readers of the 21st Century
by
Silvia Luppi
A reader is a book containing simplified
language that is used to help you learn the language. A reader is also a person
engaged in text. Both come in different levels and sizes. Both have been in
constant evolution. What can new readers offer teachers? How can we bridge the
gap between our learners’ culture and the printed word of fictional texts?
In this session, we will look at different
kinds of readers (both human and paper) and share a variety of activities to
make their encounter in the classroom possible, effective, useful and
fun!
Dictionarising
by
Laura Renart
Dictionaries have for ever been silent company
in our EFL classes. Some teachers may feel they can’t live without them whereas
others may find themselves reluctant to use them on the grounds of difficulty,
inaccessibility and child-unfriendly characteristics. The time may have come to
put them to other uses and turn them into sources of learning and fun. Together,
we’ll see various ways to use dictionaries creatively, adaptable to all
ages.
Confirm your attendance on 4302-800, ext.222
or at
callcentre.ar@oup.com
------------------------------------------------------------
9.- CUARTAS
JORNADAS ALPHA DE ESPAÑOL PARA EXTRANJEROS.
Our
dear SHARER Maria José Gassó has sent us all this
invitation:
Cuartas
Jornadas Alpha de Español para extranjeros
11 de septiembre, 2
de octubre y 6 de noviembre de
2004
1) Jornada de
capacitación en ELE/septiembre. Sábado 11 de septiembre, de 9:00
a 18:00
Desarrollo de las
prácticas ligadas a la oralidad (comprensión y producción
oral)
2) Jornada de
capacitación en ELE/octubre. Sábado 2 de octubre , de 9:00 a
18:00
Desarrollo de las
prácticas ligadas a la escritura (comprensión y producción escrita).
3) Jornada de
capacitación en ELE/noviembre. Sábado 6 de noviembre, de 9:00 a
18:00
Desarrolo de la
competencia gramatical, a partir de las prácticas de comprensión y producción
oral y escrita.
Informes e
inscripción:
Sarmiento 1419,
Departamento "A" (1er. piso) (y Uruguay) Ciudad de Buenos
Aires
Tel: (54 11) 4373-0767 Email: informes@centroalpha.com.ar
Aranceles:
Si se inscribe en
las actividades de los tres sábados: $300
Si se inscribe en
las actividades de dos sábados: $250
Si se inscribe en
las actividades de un sábado: $150
Vencimiento de la
inscripción:
La inscripción a las
actividades del sábado 11 de septiembre vence el 3 de
septiembre
La inscripción a las
actividades del sábado 2 de octubre
vence el 27 de septiembre
La inscripción a las
actividades del sábado 6 de
noviembre vence el 25 de octubre
Si se inscribe en
las actividades de dos o tres sábados, debe formalizar su inscripción en la
fecha de vencimiento del primero de ellos.
CENTRO
ALPHA
Español para
extranjeros
Capacitación en
enseñanza de español
Sarmiento 1419,
Departamento "A" (1er. piso)
(C1042ABA) Ciudad de
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Tel: (54 11) 4373-
0767
E-mail: informes@centroalpha.com.ar
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10.-
WORDS ON WORDS IN CÓRDOBA.
Our dear SHARER María Teresa
Fernández,
Information
Assistant with the British Council in
Words on Words 2004 in
Tuesday 31 August
Facultad de Lenguas, Universidad Nacional de
Cordoba
Avda Velez Sarsfield 187,
0830-1030-
Moving boundaries: change and innovation in
current British children's and adolescent fiction by Professor Kim
Reynolds. Professor Kimberley Reynolds specializes in children's literature
studies and is the Director of the National centre for Research in Children's
literature. Her research and teaching specialisms include children's literature,
children's reading and the nineteenth century novel.
1100-1200 -
An Introduction to Ian
McMillan by Isabella
Entwistle. Isabella has BA (Hons) Literature and a Post Graduate Certificate in
Education from the
1200-1300 -
I talk for a
living by Ian McMillan.
Described as the 'Shirley Bassey of performance poetry' by the Times Educational
Supplement, Ian has been a poet, broadcaster, commentator and a programme maker
for over 20 years. The last 12 months have seen him exploring language and
communication with schoolchildren, students, teachers, education policy makers,
politicians and a host of public services and corporate businesses, in every
conceivable location.
British Council
Marcelo T. de Alvear 590 -
Piso 4 - C1058AAF- Buenos Aires - Argentina
T +54 (0)11 4311
9814
F +54 (0)11
4311 7747
teresa.fernandez@britishcouncil.org.ar
www.britishcouncil.org.ar
--------------------------------------------------------------
11- SEVEN TIMES EFFECTIVE
DIRECTORS AND COORDINATORS
Our dear SHARER Oscar Molina from
Acuarell has sent us this announcement:
How do you perceive and act
regarding productivity, time management, positive thinking, proactive
development (acting with initiative rather than reacting) negotiation,
communication skills, and assertiveness?
True success in organizations
encompasses personal and professional growth but in the last few years many of
these symptoms have been affecting educational institutions:
Defensive communication and only reactive responses.
Lack
of team work and proper coaching abilities.
Lack of definition between
what is important and what it’s urgent - Poor time management.
Absence of adequate negotiation skills.
Insufficient sources of motivation for the staff.
Not
clear or inexistent definition of objectives.
Inappropriate evaluation systems.
Seven
Times Effective by
Lic. Nancy Cortell
This workshop will provide you
with the tools for a change in your perception and interpretation of how your
organization works. It will help you to identify the focus areas to empower your
organizations and to allow them to operate in more effective and encouraging
environment.
Focus areas:
* Proactive empowerment
* Time management
* Definition of objectives and
mission statement
* Empathic communication
* Negotiation skills
* Synergy and coaching
* Performance
standards
The workshop will be divided in 2
sessions of 4 hours each one
August 21st and 28th from
Venue: SBS Book Services - Avda.
Coronel Diaz 1747 –
Fee: $ 60 before August
20th
For further information please
contact to
ACUARELL Capacitación
Registro C333 – DGEGP – Secretaria de Educación
Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires
Tel. 4827-5235 info@acyf.com.ar –
Website: www.acyf.com.ar
--------------------------------------------------------------
12.-
SEMINARIO SOBRE RELACIONES LABORALES
Our dear SHARERS at SEA - Asociación de Centros de
Idiomas – announce:
Seminario : Relaciones
Laborales.
Disertante: Dr. Juan José Del
Río
Dirigido a Directivos y Propietarios de Centros de
Idiomas
Temas:
Contrataciones del personal
1. Relación de dependencia. Caracteres típicos.
2. La figura del profesional
independiente a la luz de la normativa actual.
3. Servicios a través de
honorarios profesionales.
Cuestiones a considerar.
4. Personal en relación de
dependencia. Contratos de trabajo
vigentes y de aplicación.
5. Análisis de cada supuesto
6. Consecuencias que surgen de la aplicación de cada contrato en
particular.
7. Formas a respetar
8. Suplencias. Su instrumentación.
9. Marco de la Ley 13047.
El Consejo Gremial de Enseñanza Privada.
LEY 25561: Incremento de
indemnización
1. Situación actual
2. Vigencia. Casos no incluidos en la
normativa
Asignaciones no remunerativas. Decreto 392/03
Situación actual
Disertante: Dr. Juan José Del
Rio
Abogado y Procurador de la UBA. Asesor Letrado de
SEA - Asociación de Centros de Idiomas. Ex miembro del Consejo Gremial de
Enseñanza Privada. Asesor de Asociaciones de Establecimientos incorporados y no
incorporados.
Día y horario: viernes 3 de septiembre de 2004 -
9:00 a 13:00
Lugar: Viamonte 371 - Ciudad de Buenos
Aires
Aranceles:
Socios SEA Desde el 28/08/04 $160.-
No Socios
$ 200.-
Inscripción: Tel / Fax (011) 4516-0427 -
E-mail: info@seaweb.org.ar
Viamonte 371, Ciudad de Buenos
Aires
--------------------------------------------------------------------
13-
THE
Our dear SHARER Celia Zubiri invites all
SHARERS to the performances of her company in Escobar:
Teatro Municipal Tomás
Seminari - Mitre 451 - Escobar
Jueves 7 de
Octubre
9:00hs.
Pretenders
11:00hs.
Master
Cat
14.30hs.
Hercules
17:00hs.
Pretenders
Entrada: $6
Reservas: 4812-5307 /
4814-5455
thebap@thebsasplayers.com /
thebap@arnet.com.ar
Ante cualquier duda
sobre los niveles de las obras o actividades, pueden dirigirse a nuestra
página web: www.thebsasplayers.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------
14- THE ENGLISH TEACHING
CLINIC
Our
dear SHARERS Martha Crespo and Cristina Speranza write to us:
Feedback
– Enseñanza de Inglés Presenta: The English Teaching
Clinic
* Do
you know how to plan a lesson so that it is not a mere succession of
tasks?
* Do
you know how to make your lesson an experience that goes beyond learning grammar
and vocabulary?
* Are
you fully aware of the extent to which you are responsible for your students’
performance? Are you ready to face the challenge?
*
What makes a lesson become a here-and-now experience?
*
What kind of materials will do the trick?
*
Students can rely on their group for support? Is there anybody, any support
group that lends you an ear when you are having trouble with your students or
your syllabus?
Clinic:
an occasion on which a professional person gives advice and training. This is
what the English Teaching Clinic is all about. A coaching clinic for young (and
not so young) English teachers.
New
dates.
Second
Teaching Clinic.
*
Session 1 Saturday, August
28
Grammar
with a twist: personalized grammar, awareness-raising activities, grammar
dictation, using questions creatively
*
Session 2 Saturday, September
18
Session
3 Saturday, September
25
Materials
potpourri: jokes, stories, poems, comics, mini-sagas, lateral thinking problems,
paintings and photographs
*
Session 4 Saturday, October
9
How
to put it all together
Fees:
60$ (Sessions1+2+3+4), 20$ each session
Description:
Each session will consist of a 2-hour training Workshop+ a 30-minute Counselling
Session. Participants will be able to put forward problem areas in their
everyday teaching practice to be discussed by the group and may e-mail their
problems in advance to better organize the Counselling
session
25
vacancies.
Lecturers:
Martha Crespo, Cristina Speranza
Enrolment:
at least 7 days in advance.
Venue:
Feedback - Güemes 3915. Time: From 9 am to
Information:
4831 0532 - feedback2@arnet.com.ar
- www.feedbacknet.com.ar
--------------------------------------------------------------------
14- LAST SEATS FOR “ON THE
ROAD” PERFORMANCES
Our dear SHARER Ximena Faralla invites us
to enjoy two plays by her company:
Aladdin
Join Aladdin and Jasmine in their search
for what is essential but often invisible to the eye. Mostly enjoyed by ages
Date: Wednesday, September 1st -
Time:
Ticket: $6
Hänsel &
Gretel
Enjoy our yummy 30 minute play for
kindergarten and EGB 1. Mostly enjoyed by ages
Date: Friday, September 17th -
Time:
Ticket: $5
All shows written, adapted and directed by
Ximena Faralla
All music & songs by Julián
Vidal
All shows at "UPeBe Theatre" - Ciudad de la
Paz 1972, Belgrano.
Limited seats! Bookings & info:
4568-7125 / info@ontheroadonline.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you remember the quotation we ended our last issue with?
“If
there’s righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in the character. If
there’s beauty in the character, there will be harmony in the home. If there is
harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation. When there is order in
each nation, there will be peace in the world.”
Well,
our dear SHARER Cecilia Barle ceciliabarle@yahoo.com found
it was Confucius who had written it.
In
turn, she sent us this beautiful quotation by Mahatma Ghandi:
The things that will destroy us are:
politics without principle;
pleasure without conscience;
wealth without work;
knowledge without character;
business without morality;
science without humanity,
and worship without sacrifice.
HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK
Omar and Marina.
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announcements in this electronic magazine are also absolutely free of charge. We
do not endorse any of the services announced or the views expressed by the
contributors. For more information about the characteristics and
readership of SHARE visit: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/ShareMagazine
VISIT
OUR WEBSITE : http://www.ShareEducation.com.ar
There you can read all past issues of SHARE in the section SHARE ARCHIVES.
------------------------------------------------------------------------