Fighting the “Couldn’t-Care-Less” Syndrome: Teaching English Counter-culturally.

Postmodern times appear to be dominated by social discourses which promote lack of commitment to long-term objectives, instant gratification and effortless success. Language education seems to clash with these ideas since learning a foreign language takes time and is often the result of hard work. In this social context, teachers find it difficult to motivate teenage students with a “couldn’t-care-less” attitude. This presentation will aim at discussing how language educators can teach English counter-culturally thus resisting the values of postmodernism, which seek to deskill learners and impoverish the educational system as a whole.

 

Magíster Mariano Quinterno

Mariano is a Profesor de Inglés, Instituto Superior del Profesorado “Dr. Joaquín V. González”, and a Licenciado en Educación, Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. He also holds an M.A. in Applied Linguistics to the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language, Universidad de Jaén, Spain. He is a lecturer in Lengua Inglesa III at Instituto Nacional Superior del Profesorado Técnico, Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. He lectures in Literatura Norteamericana and Lengua Inglesa I at Instituto Superior del Profesorado “Dr. Joaquin V. Gonzalez.” He is a teacher and researcher at Universidad Nacional de Lanús and a tenured teacher at Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires. He has co-authored the book “Construyendo puentes hacia otras lenguas: reflexiones sobre la enseñanza de lenguas extranjeras en la escuela media” (La Crujía, 2009).

 

 

Creating a positive classroom atmosphere

As most teachers today, we face the formidable challenge of motivating and keeping the attention and interest of very apathetic and unruly learners, keeping them reasonably organized and acceptably quiet in the classroom and, as if this were not enough, in our particular case, making ourselves understood in a foreign language.

We all know that there is not an infallible, “one size fits all” recipe for discipline, as every teacher and every group are different, still I firmly believe that there are certain kinds of professional conduct which are “negative” because they  promote misbehavior, as well as there are a number of techniques, strategies, and  tricks that can  help you boost discipline, attention and better learning.

In this talk, I intend to share with you my insights and practical tips accumulated over 42 years of classroom experience.

 

Doctor Omar Villarreal

Omar Villarreal is a Doctor in Modern Languages (summa cum laude) from Universidad del Salvador. He is a Licenciado en Ciencias de la Educación con especialización en Educación Formal (summa cum laude) and a Licenciado en Tecnología Educativa (summa cum laude) from Universidad Tecnológica Nacional.

He is also a Profesor en Inglés e Inglés Técnico graduated at Instituto Nacional Superior del Profesorado Técnico.

He is currently writing his dissertation for his Maestría en la Enseñanza de la Lengua y la Literatura at Universidad Nacional de Rosario. He is a tenured University Lecturer in the area of Applied Linguistics at INSPT-UTN and a lecturer in Didactics for ESP at UCALP.Omar has taught English at all levels: Kindergarten through University for 42 years now. He was the Director of Profesorado en Inglés e Inglés Técnico (INSPT-UTN) and Licenciatura en Lengua Inglesa (FRVM-INSPT) de la Universidad Tecnológica Nacional until his retirement.

 He was a Secondary School Head for more than 10 years. He was also Head of the School of English at Universidad Austral and Principal of Instituto Superior del Profesorado Modelo. He has lectured extensively in all Argentinian provinces as well as in Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and Perú. He was the President of the Organizing Committee of the Seventh and Ninth National Congress of Teachers and Students of English and chaired its Academic Committee in 2000, 2003,2005 and 2006.

 

 

Films In and Outside the Classroom; What a Way to Learn!

The Role of Films in the Teaching of EFL, a Practical View

Are EFL teachers and learners really making the most of this extremely useful tool to learn the English language that is to be found at home and almost everywhere outside the classroom? We will analyse elements of film, discuss features, think laterally, get creative and devise activities that should enhance our students’ learning process. This lecture will give you some hints and tools to help your students continue to learn the language … even when they think they are ‘just watching a movie’!

 

Magíster Sebastián Bianchi

Sebastián Bianchi is a Teaching By-Fellow at Churchill College, University of Cambridge, England, United Kingdom. After graduating in Argentina, he re-located to Great Britain and graduated with Honours as Master of Arts in Literary Studies (De Montfort University, Leicester, England) specialising in Scottish Literature. He conducts research and teaches Hispanic Studies at graduate and post-graduate level at the University of Cambridge. An avid writer, among his recent publications are the multimedia language programme Spanish At Your Fingertips (BBC Active), and Spanish B for the International Baccalaureate (Hodder Education).

 

 

Teaching Advanced Level Learners: key issues

As Alan Maley stated some years ago, with the global spread of English into new geographical areas and professional domains, the demand for higher-level proficiency is rising rapidly. English is becoming a near-essential factor in international social interaction, too. So “getting by in English” is no longer sufficient; hence, more and more students wanting to become proficient in English at advanced levels. But what do we mean by advanced learners? What do these learners need in order to move from one acquired level of competence to a higher level of linguistic competence? How can we teachers “stretch” our learners and help them improve their linguistic competence, which in turn, will enhance their communicative competence? How should we respond to student output and provide students with feedback that will help them to improve? These are some of the questions that we will try to answer together in this talk. Reference will be made to Demand High Teaching as proposed by Jim Scrivener and Adrian Underhill by discussing the demands it poses on both teachers and students, and its relevance when working with advanced level learners. References and bibliography will be included so that participants who are interested in the topic can read more extensively about the issues raised and discussed.

 

Magíster Teresita Curbelo

Teresita Curbelo is Academic Director at Instituto Cultural Anglo Uruguayo, where she also works as a teacher and teacher trainer. She teaches mainly advanced levels as is currently one of the Methodology tutors in the Anglo Diploma in TEFL. She is also a Cambridge DELTA (Diploma in Language Teaching to Adults) Module 2 Personal Tutor, a Cambridge English Speaking Examiner and Team Leader and has been trained as Cambridge English presenter. She holds the University of Reading MA in TEFL and has delivered talks and workshops on behalf of Instituto Cultural Anglo-Uruguayo in both local and regional conferences.

 

 

"Ten out of Ten: Ten Top Tips for Terrific Classes."

We teachers know that we want the best from our students and our students want the best from us, but there can be so much to take into account, what with the syllabus, the exams and the school processes. So how can we make the best of the time we have in class?

It’s within our power to turn this year into our best academic year yet, but, as we know, with great power comes great responsibility! Join us and explore how, with these ten top tips, you can change everyday classes into dynamic lessons that will get your students to enjoy their language learning and see their studies as something intrinsically motivating and entertaining, learning by enjoying. Come and help us share and celebrate your students’ success and ours as top teachers!

 

Alastair Grant B.A.

Alastair Grant is an English Teacher and Teacher Trainer at International House San Isidro. He holds an Honours Degree in English Literature and Philosophy from the University of Warwick in the UK, has completed the International House Certificate of Advanced Methodology and all modules of the Cambridge Delta.

Alastair organises and delivers sessions in teacher training both in-house and at local schools, institutions, and conferences, including the I.H. Director of Studies conference in London. His special interests are developing students’ receptive skills as well as studying Process Writing and Discourse Analysis.

 

 

Traditional and Innovative Testing for the 21st century

Traditional evaluation is often about finding a model that can work across time and space, that can be replicated. The most wide-spread models of traditional evaluation include summative and formative evaluations. In innovative evaluation, you avoid using a recipe that may force your students to fit your model and your prescription and you try different things until you find what works.

During this seminar we will work on testing and assessment evaluation as part of the learning and teaching processes and we will analyse different kinds of instruments that you can use with your students to give everybody a chance to show their strengths and weaknesses, so as not to just mark students’ work but teach them how to improve and help them understand the real value of tests.

 

Licenciado Gustavo M. Paz

Gustavo was awarded a Postgraduate Diploma in the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language (University of Reading, UK).  He graduated as a Traductor Público Nacional, Universidad de Buenos Aires and as a Profesor de Inglés, Instituto Superior del Profesorado “Dr. Joaquín V. González”. He also holds a degree of Licenciado en Educación, Universidad Nacional de Quilmes and a Certificate of Master-Practitioner in the Art of Neurolinguistic Programming as applied to Education, Resourceful Teaching Institute. He is a tenured lecturer in Didáctica Específica at ISP Dr. Joaquín V.Gonzalez and Instituto del Profesorado Sagrado Corazón, and English coordinator at CIBADIST (Distance Teacher Training College) and Head of the English Department at Limerick School. He has written the new English curriculum for secondary education for the Buenos Aires Province. He has co-authored the book “Construyendo puentes hacia otras lenguas: reflexiones sobre la enseñanza de lenguas extranjeras en la escuela media” (Editorial La Crujía, 2009).

 

 

Teaching WITH Writing

Writing usually plays an important role in our teaching. We choose textbooks with clear and well-graded writing schemes. We read on the latest trends in the teaching of this skill and devote long hours to it in our lessons; however, nothing seems to be enough. Students find it hard and boring. We find it over-demanding, even frustrating... In spite of this, no matter how difficult the teaching of writing may be, we should keep trying to get students to produce meaningful and accurate pieces. Why? Because the very act of writing helps them to connect ideas, clarify thinking, explore topics, and demonstrate understanding. Writing goes beyond the mere combination of words into sentences and these into paragraphs. It leads to student empowerment, to the development and brushing of soft skills, to learning for life, which means that we should not only aim at subject and verb agreement, verb patters, organization and so on. The modern concept of writing seems to be much broader than that.

Let us analyze the proposal. Is there a special approach to writing that follows this view? What are the right activities that lead to meaningful writing? What’s the connection between writing and XXI century competencies? How can we turn writing skills into life skills? How can we engage students?

In this workshop we will work together not only to find the answers to these questions but also to agree on clear and effective edition/ correction tips, on the use of music and visual aids as triggers and several other strategies.

Let’s go beyond the traditional concepts associated with the teaching of writing. Join us! You will take lots of practical ideas back to your classroom!

 

Profesora Alejandra Ottolina

Alejandra Ottolina is an experienced teacher trainer who has taught all levels in both private and public sectors. A graduate from Instituto de Enseñanza Superior en Lenguas Vivas “Juan Ramón Fernández,” Alejandra is Macmillan’s Academic Consultant and also Director of Studies at SANTA MONICA School of Languages, supervising the English department of schools and institutes in different provinces. Alejandra has lectured in Argentina as well as in neighbouring countries and has authored the teacher’s books of Insights 1, 2 and 3, Winners 1, 2 and 3, Phases 1, 2, 3 and 4, among others.

 

 

Play some music, play some games: The Importance of Play in Language Learning

In this workshop we will explore the possibilities of using games in combination with songs for the English class. There will be examples for all levels, adult learners in groups and one-on-one classes.

The workshop will be divided into 3 areas: grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation, all 3 areas having both songs and games as the base for the activities to use in class.

During the workshop we will reflect on the advantages and disadvantages of playing games with adults and the issues that usually boycott this kind of activities in the language class. We will highlight and analyse the opportunities and challenges of playing as well as (and often while) listening to songs and music.

At the end of the workshop participants will have the opportunity of sharing their favourite songs and their favourite games and the speaker will show them how to combine both in a meaningful activity to use as presentation, practice or revision of language content.

 

Magíster Hernán Guastalegnanne

Masters in Education, Modern Foreign Languages, from Kings College, University of London, Diploma en Lingüística aplicada a la enseñanza de español como lengua segunda o extranjera from Universidad de Buenos Aires and a certificate in Teaching Spanish as a Second Language, Teaching Languages for Business and On Line Teaching from International House World Organisation.

English teacher and Teacher Trainer at Universidad Tecnológica Nacional, Regional Avellaneda, content designer and tutor for the on-line Diplomatura en la Enseñanza de Español como Lengua Segunda o Extranjera and English teacher in various government organisations. Academic Coordinator for SEA, Schools of English Association, member of the academic committee for the Congreso Internacional de Turismo Idiomático I, II, III, IV and V.

Author of “48 Juegos para la clase de ELSE” a book on games for the Spanish class, and “Bueno, entonces…” a self study multimedia Spanish course for levels A1-A2, specially designed for the iPhone and iPod touch, and he has written several articles on language, language teaching and teacher training that have been published and are available on line. Founder of Diversión ELE, producer and distributor of games for language teaching.

 

 

Diving into Communication:  transparent and motivating activities to help your kids take a splash.

Who does not like relaxing with friends by a pool on a summer day? Everything looks colourful and bright from a deck chair, but we, teachers of English, have to teach in all kinds of weather and to all kinds of people (not just friends) and very often leave the comfort  of our (deck)chair to face the tough and unmotivating tasks of the textbook. Does diving into communication need to be so hard? In this workshop, we are going to explore transparent and friendly activities to help you (and your students!) take a safe and relaxing splash.

 

Licenciado Martín Villarreal

Martín Villarreal graduated as a Profesor en Inglés e Inglés Técnico at Instituto Nacional Superior del Profesorado Técnico-UTN. He is also a Licenciado en Lengua Inglesa (summa cum laude) from Universidad Tecnológica Nacional.

He holds the Certificado Universitario de Especialista en Lengua Inglesa from FRVM de la UTN and Certificado Superior de Especialización en Lengua Inglesa from INSPT- UTN  where he also got his Certificado de Profesor Especialista en Fonética y Fonología Inglesas (summa cum laude).

Martin is currently writing his dissertation for his Maestría en Marketing Estratégico at Universidad UCES and finishing his Maestría en Administración de la Educación at Universidad Torcuato Di Tella.

He was a secondary school teacher of English at Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires (UBA) and a Lecturer in Phonetics at St. Trinnean´s College of Education and is currently teaching at INSPT-UTN and Universidad Empresarial Siglo XXI, Oakhill Bilingual High School and Universidad Nacional de Lanús. He is the Executive President of SHARE Education and as from November 5th, 2014 a board member for Red Lide (Red de Liderazgo Educativo). He attended the International Visitors Leadership Program in the US on a scholarship from the Department of State of the US and in 2010 he finished (summa cum laude)  his Course on Critical Thinking in the Teaching of English as a Second Language in the Linguistics Department of the Universidad de Oregon, USA

 

 

Sale: Old fashioned idioms and phrases at very reduced prices

Have you ever thought that the English they taught us may , to a great extent, be outdated?

In turn, our teachers were most probably taught the English they knew by people who had been born during or immediately after the Second World War.

We might be speaking (or writing) the English that Marty Mc Fly would have spoken in the 1950’s had he really had the chance to go back into the “future”!

The big problem is that the English that our students will need when they go out into the real world has nothing to do with the English of the 50’s or the 80's.

In this presentation, I will show you how to keep your English  up-to-date and provide practical examples of “English we should stop teaching” and brand new English

that our kids will probably be using in the next years to come.

 

Profesor Especialista Mariano Damián Nastri

Profesor en Inglés e Inglés Técnico and Licenciando en Lengua Inglesa (abd)

from Universidad Tecnológica Nacional.

University Assistant Lecturer in Language III and IV at Universidad Tecnológica Nacional.

Primary and Secondary School teacher at various educational institutions.

He has specialized in in-company EFL teaching training professionals and executives for more than 10 years.

 

 

Kindergarten: Teaching English using magic. You can do it too!

Many things are magical to very young children; even things that we take for granted, as adults, may seem magical to a child. Teachers can captivate the interest and curiosity of their very young learners by bringing magic into their lessons. Being able to attract, focus and retain a child's attention is one of the most important aspects of teaching; hence, magic is at the service of the teacher as a classroom management device. Easy magic tricks, optical illusions, magic art and magic science activities can stimulate the affective domain, be used as attention grabbers and serve as vehicles to reinforce vocabulary and language development.

 

Magíster Sarah Hillyard

Sarah Hillyard graduated as “Profesora de inglés” from Asociación Argentina de Cultura Inglesa and Profesorado Daguerre and holds a Masters Degree in Teaching English to Young Learners from the University of York, U.K. She has taught English in Kindergarten and is currently the Kindergarten Deputy Head at Florence Nightingale School. She has also taught at Secondary level and has been tutor of "Children's Literature" at Instituto Nacional Superior del Profesorado Técnico, Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. She spent two years travelling as an actress with "The Performers" (TIE). She now develops workshops and has published articles focussing on teaching English to very young learners.

 

 

Using your teen students’ mobile phones in your speaking and writing lessons.

Can smartphones be used as teaching aid in your EFL lessons? Although many schools will disagree on the use of the students' mobile phones in the English classroom, it cannot be denied that there is a growing number of advocates of this new technology-centric approach. This presentation will explore one of the most controversial trends in education today: the use of the students' smartphones as tools for effective teaching. It will include practical activities and useful tips to make your lessons more challenging.

 

Profesor Especialista Alejandro Manniello

Alejandro Manniello is a Profesor en Inglés from St. Trinnean's College in San Isidro. He has been teaching English for sixteen years at primary, secondary and tertiary levels and is currently a virtual campus coordinator and classroom teacher at a secondary school in Greater Buenos Aires North. Past Coordinator of the English Section at Colegio San Juan Bosco. He has vast experience in the area of ICTs in Education and  was awarded the distinction of 'Outstanding Teacher' by Rotary International. He is currently writing his dissertation for his Licenciatura en Lengua Inglesa at Universidad Tecnológica Nacional.

 

 

50 Shades of Words: uncovering the hidden meanings and uses of words

My aim is to put a twinkle in your eyes, bring music to your ears, put a smile on your lips and warm the cockles of your heart. To this end we will touch upon some areas of the amazing lexicon of English such partitives, collectives, similes and blends among others and we will wonder at the versatility of language as a system. Consider the following: a flock of sheep designates a number of them. Still, what do you call a large group of women? We talk about a pinch of salt, but what word indicates a small amount of perfume? We may refer to something being as white as snow. What words would we use to complete these phrases: as ugly as, or as sure as? We know that the word brunch is the result of combining breakfast and lunch, but where does chortle come from? Sometimes in the course of our reading we come across  words which look almost the same as in Spanish. Can you tell whether divagate, vespertine, obnubilate, and inutile belong to the English language? What’s special about words such as nicotine, ritz and silhouette? Some words have multiple meanings: can has at least six. But guess which word, as a verb, is listed in a well known dictionary as having forty four entries? Next, which words give you trouble? Which words do you find extremely useful? Which are the latest words you have learned? Does the word uxurious have a positive meaning? Come and join me on this delightful journey and explore the sometimes anfranctuous but fascinating paths of the English language. I can’t promise I will change your life, but I can assure you that if you are a language lover we will have a whale of a time

 

Magíster Oriel Villagarcía

Profesor en inglés Magna Cum Laude, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, British Council and Fulbright Scholar, post graduate studies, University of Texas, M.A., University of Lancaster. Certified Administrator of the Myer Briggs Type Indicator, Florida, USA. Master Practitioner of NLP, Certificate of Completion, NLP University, Santa Cruz, California. He has taught at the Universidad  Católica de Salta, Universidad  Nacional de Rio Cuarto, and Universidad  Nacional de Santiago del Estero. He was on the Advisory Panel for the Macmillan English Dictionary, First Edition. He has contributed language articles for the e-newsletter English And Fun and language notes for ETI Mag. In the past few years he has devoted a large part of his time to the study of mind-body therapies and he is a certified practitioner of massage, Breema, reflexology, and Jin Shin Jyutsu. He is also an Instructor of Esferodinamia Terapéutica. He has studied Taoism with Mantak Chia, healing with Barbara Brennan, shamanism with Alberto Villoldo in the USA and Chi Kung/QiGong with Mario Schwartz and Ruben Arana (Argentina) Luke Chan (USA) and Vlado Rashev (New Zealand). He is familiar with and has practiced different kinds of meditation such as TM, Primordial Sound, Sahaj Samadhi, Vipassana and Kundalini Yoga.

 

 

A Story a Day… Storytelling for all purposes

Storytelling is a key tool to reach students’ minds, hearts and souls. It entails a focus on sensory image by the storyteller and the simultaneous transfer and activation of imagery by the listeners. This is achieved not only through the choice of appropriate words, but also through the powerful use of nonverbal language.

In this workshop, participants will be invited to consider the impact of Storytelling in the EFL classroom, both from a linguistic as well as from an interpersonal social perspective.  Pros and cons will be discussed.

Then, participants will have access to certain guidelines in order to implement Storytelling in the EFL classroom.  Taking a specific story as a springboard, participants will explore and experience several strategies to tell a story in an appealing way, including the challenge of bridging linguistic gaps. In this way, presenter will demonstrate how several tales may cater for diverse ages and levels. The following “staging” tips for character creation will be tried out: body posture, physicality traits and voice techniques.

Participants will take part in a couple of Storytelling activities and narrative games to put into practice before, during and after telling a story in class.

 

Profesora Fabiana Parano

Fabiana Parano is Profesora en Inglés (Instituto Superior Argentina 2000) and a storyteller. She has majored in Storytelling at Estudio de Narración Oral Ana María Bovo and at Escuela de Narración Oral Ana Padovani. She has done intensive training as Clown, the Art of Mimicry (Mimo teatro Escobar-Lerchundi), Physical Theatre and the Use of Masks on Stage (Estudio Belisario, Marcelo Savignone).

She teaches Storytelling in the Classroom at Instituto de Enseñanza Superior en Lenguas Vivas “Juan Ramón Fernández” and at Escuela de Maestros (ex CePA , Ministerio de Educación, C.A.B.A.). She has also taught Pensamiento Narrador 1 at Estudio de Narración Ana M. Bovo.

Her experience includes telling tales to all kinds of audiences (children, adolescents and adults) as well as training teachers in the Art of Storytelling and its application in a foreign language situation. To this end, she has delivered workshops and presentations throughout the country and abroad.

Fabiana has written Stories in Motion, A Teacher’s Resource Booklet for the Beginning Storyteller and Stories to Build Emotional Literacy. She has created the following story-shows that combine storytelling and acrobatics, which she performs at schools, fairs and institutes: Stories, Twirls & Swirls, The Bullying Clown and Monkey’s Birthday Surprise.

 

 

The Power of Words: Developing and Consolidating Vocabulary in the intermediate classroom.

Words have power. Words can define who we are and how we see the world. Words can hurt and words can heal. Words can express dreams, convey ideas and create realities.

For these reasons, I believe our students need and deserve to enrich their English vocabulary, to refine it, so that they can express precise meaning with confidence and flexibility.

Let us help our learners progress beyond the “Intermediate Plateau” and become more effective, subtle and idiomatic English speakers.  In this talk, we will share resources and explore a variety of practical ideas to help them achieve this.

 

Traductora Silvana Giménez Amadeo

 Silvana Giménez Amadeo holds a translation degree, Traductor Literario y Técnico Científico en Inglés from I.E.S. en Lenguas Vivas “Juan Ramón Fernández”.  She has also attained the Certificate in Advanced Methodology, issued by International House Teacher Training Institute and the DELTA 1 Cambridge Teaching Award.

Silvana has recently completed a course on Critical and Creative Thinking with Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Programa de Neurociencias y Educación at  Escuela de Educación de la Universidad de San Andrés.

Silvana teaches First Language English and Thinking Skills at Middle School level at Florida Day School, where she is an educational tutor. She also teaches English Language at Colegio Mallinckrodt Martínez, secondary school.

She has been training students for PET, FCE and CAE for nearly 20 years and she has been a Cambridge International Examiner since 2008.

 

 

SEL (Social and Emotional learning): the real impact in your classroom

We educate to offer our students the skills they need for life. But Are the tools we are offering them enough to prepare them for this world? The objective of this workshop is to analyse and open our traditional educational mind-set,  and establish the connection between the development of 21st century skills and a more holistic approach to Education. Research has proved that the human complexity in terms of knowledge acquisition goes beyond the traditionally accepted intelligences, suggesting that the development of both emotional and spiritual intelligences are root to frame such a change of educational paradigm.

In this workshop, I will develop the origin and rationale behind 21st Century skills, as well as develop with the teachers practical tools to foster emotional intelligence in the classroom. I will introduce international research and study cases on the proven positive impact of introducing these skills in the classroom.

 

Licenciada Mónica Rodríguez Salvo

Monica is a “Profesora Nacional de Inglés”, IES “Victoria Ocampo”, Concepción del Uruguay, Entre Rios. She is also Traductora Pública Nacional from UMSA (Universidad del Museo Social Argentino), and holds a degree as “Licenciada en Dirección de Recursos Humanos”,  Universidad de Belgrano. As teacher trainer, she has delivered professional development courses on methodology, assessment, ICT in the classroom, Emotional Intelligence, etc both in Argentina and Uruguay.  She has developed courses and materials for teacher training courses, and currently works as Academic Consultant for Pearson Education Southern Cone. Speaker at ARTESOL 2014, FAAPI 2012, FAAPI 2014, Advice Summer Seminar 2014, etc.

 

 

Powerful Literary Tools for life-long enjoyment and learning

Setting, Character, Theme – we have taught and been taught these literary concepts countless times, but how meaningful is our understanding of them? How meaningful is the way in which we transmit them to our students? Using ideas developed by Michael W. Smith and Jeffrey D. Wilhem (2010) as a springboard and drawing examples from popular fiction such as the film The Hunger Games, this presentation attempts to rethink these concepts and provide classroom strategies to deal with them in a way that can foster not only literary appreciation but also lifelong learning.

 

Licenciado Gabriel Rojo

Gabriel Rojo is a Licenciado en Lengua Inglesa and Profesor en Inglés e Inglés Técnico from Instituto Nacional Superior del Profesorado Técnico (Universidad Tecnológica Nacional). He teaches Didactics and Technical English at INSPT, as well as being an assistant teacher in Language I. In 2013 he was awarded a scholarship from the U.S. Embassy for a Young Adult Literature and ESL Methods Program at Michigan State University. He is the author of 2 nonfiction books and a short fiction compendium.

 

 

You do not need to be an expert to turn your classroom upside down with technology

We often hear teachers say: “How can I teach with technology? I can barely turn my own PC on!” “I don´t know anything about computers, so I keep them outside my classroom”. Remarks like these hide some basic facts about the use of technology in EFL/ESL classrooms: (1) technology is much more than computers, it includes from mobile phones to satellites (2) you do not need expert computer science knowledge in order to create an engaging technology enhanced or technology based EFL/ESL programme that will change your classroom for good.

 

Profesora Jennifer Verschoor

Jennifer Verschoor graduated as Traductora Pública y Literaria and Profesora de Inglés from the Universidad del Museo Social Argentino. She specializes in online teaching, mobile learning and training via virtual learning environments. Recently completed her Maestría en Entornos Virtuales from the Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral. She has extensive experience as a teacher trainer in both face-to-face and online. She obtained scholarships from WorldCALL, Norwich Institute for Language Education , The Consultants-e and IATEFL. Currently, she is working as a teacher trainer for the British Council, English Speaking Scholastic Association of the River Plate, and Programa E-ducadores validated by Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. She is the co-author of "My first digital journey" an e-book for young learners published by The Round.

 

 

Using what is in their heads: rediscovering Thinking Skills in language learning.

Nowadays, there is a great emphasis on the process of learning, on investigation and problem solving, on reading for meaning, on the use of reasoning in writing, on study skills and on developing autonomous ways of learning. Teaching practices are changing and the focus is on teaching children how to think, to reason and to solve problems. This is said to be possible if teachers develop practices that foster the use of thinking in the classroom.  If teachers give students the opportunities to work out their own thoughts, they will their put ideas into words. Students should have the opportunity to use their thinking.

It is known that children are taught different kind of skills, that is to say, they learn social, physical, expressive and linguistic skills. A skill is “the ability to do something well, especially because you have learned and practiced it” why not teach them thinking skills at the English lesson as well?

 

Magíster Noelia Tarquini

Noelia is a Profesora en Disciplinas Industriales, especialidad  Inglés e Inglés Técnico from Instituto Nacional Superior del Profesorado Técnico de la Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. She is also Licenciada en Gestión Educativa from Universidad CAECE and has a Master of Arts in teaching English as a Foreign Language (TESOL), University of Jaén, Spain. She has already delivered lectures in Share 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013. She has been a teacher of English in Educación Primaria and a coordinator at Cardenal Copello School, Victoria. She has taught many subjects for the IGCSE exam and other international exams at Colegio Carmen A. de Marin. At present she is the secondary school coordinator at Cardenal Pironio, Grupo Educativo Marin , Nordelta

 

 

Small bite 3-minute tasks: how to play and learn English in and outside the classroom

The grab-and-go trend is growing in many current scenarios: we exploit flexi-time to take bits of work home, answer emails and keep up with trends on the go and even replace whole meals by snacks. Our fingertips manipulate not only finger-food but also vast amounts of information. No matter the treat, one thing is for certain: we love nibbling. Though learning may still call for long comprehensive intensive lessons, new dynamics have entered the SLA and other educational fields in the form of small bites. Attention spans are dropping at the same time technology is advancing, spearheading this change in our habits which looks like anything but a passing fad. Micro learning or learning in nibbles, nuggets or small bites trims out the facts and leaves only key facts and relevant information; it entails low time commitment on the part of the learner, small chunks, low  effort and narrow topics – but is complex as a whole. Mark Twain has been credited with saying, “If I had had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.”

In this 60-minute workshop we will carry out 3-minute (and shorter) activities and explore procedures to design them both for class and as takeaways. Snacking is here to stay.

 

Licenciada Cecilia Sassone

Cecilia is a Profesora de Inglés from the Instituto de Enseñanza Superior en Lenguas Vivas “Juan R. Fernández” (1999) and a Licenciada en Lengua Inglesa from Universidad de Belgrano (2010). She holds three diplomas from Universidad Tecnológica Nacional/Net-Learning: “Experto universitario en la implementación de proyectos de e-learning”, “Experto en e-learning 2.0/3D para la enseñanza de idiomas” y “Experto en e-learning con Moodle y recursos de código abierto” (2010-2013). She has worked as an e-moderator with the British Council for its teacher training courses in learning technologies. For over 17 years she has delivered the Workshop on Games, Music, Crafts and Technology at the I.E.S. en Lenguas Vivas “Juan R. Fernandez” and has lectured in different schools, institutions and conferences nationwide (IATEFL, FAAPI, AEXALEVI, SHARE). In her 16 years’ experience in schools she has taught IGCSE Enlgish as a First Language, BEC, Literature and Composition. She has over 25 years’ experience coordinating, designing and delivering business and ESP courses to adults and executives in national and multinational companies, having designed and developed in-company self-access language learning programmes in a few of them. For the last 23 years she has been deeply engrossed in her research on adult language learning, which has shaped her postgraduate studies and resulted in the subsequent birth of her “Spiderweb Method®” for adult language learning.

 

 

Speak straight to your learner’s heart

Whoever has worked in a classroom has likely undergone the frustrating experience of not being listened to at one point or other. This experience can be either irritating or inspiring.  It is the classroom management skills teachers have and their awareness of the learners’ needs that can make the difference.

In this workshop, tools provided by both non-verbal classroom management and non-violent communication approaches will be explored. Participants will leave the workshop loaded with proven skills and tips they will be able to experiment in their next classes.

 

Licenciada María Marta Suárez

Licenciada en Lengua Inglesa, Universidad Tecnológica Nacional – Buenos Aires) is an ELT teacher, teacher trainer and a coach (Empathic Livelihood Program). Her teaching experience includes large classes at state run schools and universities to small groups in company and at her own language school in Buenos Aires. She has also taught abroad to multilingual groups at Cluny Hill College in Scotland. She has worked in Methodology-related subjects at different teacher training colleges in the city of Buenos Aires (ISP J.V. Gonzalez; ISP Comenius; ISP Sagrado Corazón) and delivers teacher development on-line courses to teachers in different countries. She has been a teacher trainer and a presenter at conferences in Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Spain and Uruguay. Her artistic background and her studies of Non-violent Communication have given her the tools to develop a holistic methodology (ALL Method®) and design the material to apply it to teach learners of all age-groups. Today, her star creation –ALL English for Babies®- is being applied in seven countries in Latin America and Europe.

 

 

Creative Teachers + Creative Students = Better Learning

This session will explore the current issues regarding creativity in education, especially for teaching and learning a language. What is creativity? Who can be considered creative? What are the barriers to creativity? Is a creative teacher enough to promote creativity in students? How can we create the right atmosphere for creativity to arise? We will debate this and I will then share my experience of different tips and strategies for promoting creativity in the classroom. I will share a variety of tasks that include personalization, literature responses and creative language practice by showing examples of my own students´ work, some of which make use of technology.

 

Licenciada Vicky Saumell

Vicky Saumell holds the following degrees: Traductor Literario y Técnico Cientifico (AACI), Licenciado en Tecnologia Educativa (UTN) and a Diploma in the Theory and Methodology of TESOL (Eurolink and the College of Teachers). She is co-author of Teacher Development Interactive: Preparation for the TKT (Pearson), series consultant for English in Common (Pearson) and technology consultant for Kid’s Box (CUP). She teaches New Learning Environments for the Master’s in ELT at Universidad de La Sabana, Colombia. She is the coordinator of the EFL department at Instituto San Francisco de Asís in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is also a freelance author and a presenter at professional development conferences, especially on the integration of new technologies for language learning.

 

 

Tech Tools to make Classroom Learning and Homework Easier

The pace at which technology evolves in our modern information-driven world can seem nothing short of overwhelming.  The way we communicate, interact and understand the world around us seems to change moment to moment. In today’s high-tech learning environment, it would be unfair to limit students to traditional methods. Encouraging students to relate their classroom experience to outside interests and activities makes developing language skills more relevant. The ultimate goal when incorporating ICT in the classroom is to provide all students no matter what their abilities, strengths and needs, with opportunities to fully engage in their learning and become active members in their education. The integration of technology into the regular experience for all students provides a rich learning experience and in the end will provide almost limitless learning opportunities, limited only by the teacher’s and student’s imagination.  This workshop aims at sharing innovative ICT projects that have proved useful and effective in developing English language learning skills and which have turned classroom and homework into an enjoyable learning experience.

 

Profesor Alfredo Bilopolsky

Alfredo Bilopolsky  Profesor de Inglés e Inglés Técnico from Instituto Nacional Superior del Profesorado Técnico de la Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Kindergarten, Primary  and Secondary School English Coordinator at Escuela Scholem Aleijem. He is also ICT coordinator. He has delivered workshops on Teaching Young and Very Young Learners in different conferences in Argentina. He has taught General English to young children, teenagers and adults at prestigious ELS’s in the city of Buenos Aires. He is co-author of the Video "Descubriendo en Inglés". He is an Assistant Lecturer in Didactics II and Residencia Pedagógica at Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. He has completed a postgraduate course in ICT and education at Universidad CAECE.

 

 

Padres- Escuela ¿Cómo enfrentar una relación conflictiva?

Que la relación padres-escuela viene sufriendo un sostenido deterioro en las últimas décadas es un dato incontrastable de nuestra realidad, que afecta fuertemente las condiciones de educabilidad de nuestros alumnos. Los papás innegables aliados nuestros en épocas pretéritas han pasado a ser en muchos casos, cuestionadores y  cuando no, directamente agresores.

Padres y maestros son despojados de su autoridad,  lo que sólo puede superarse mediante un saber hacer. ¿Es posible revertir esta situación, o mejorarla? La Doctora Silvia Germani ofrecerá un análisis de los factores intervinientes que favorezca abordajes posibles de este aspecto de la convivencia escolar.

 

Doctora Silvia Germani

Médica - Universidad  Nacional de La Plata.

Medica Especialista en Psiquiatría y Terapia Familiar – Ex-Residente de la Provincia de Buenos Aires.

Master en Minoridad y Familia – Universidad Nacional de Lomas de Zamora.

Perito Médico Psiquiatra del Juzgado de Familia de la Provincia de Buenos Aires.

Becaria del Ministerio de Salud de la Provincia de Buenos Aires.

 

 

¿Educación en los VALORES? Menos de ciencia y más de conciencia

Por todos lados los sentimos nombrar… en diversos lugares leemos que les hacen referencia… en cada escuela se habla del tema… pero, en concreto, ¿a qué nos referimos cuando hablamos de VALORES? La sociedad avanza, la sociedad cambia, el mundo es más tecnológico, pero aun así, parece que los humanos cada vez somos menos humanos. ¿Qué nos está pasando? ¿Por qué estamos como estamos? ¿La respuesta está en los valores? ¿Por qué son importantes? Y principalmente, ¿qué son, entonces, los VALORES?

 Lo cierto es que si alguien nos garantiza una respuesta exacta, muy probablemente estemos siendo víctimas de una estafa intelectual. Por eso, esta charla pretende ser un breve disparador de ideas. Vamos a aproximarnos a un tema tan profundo y complejo como lo es el de los “valores en el mundo actual”, tratando de entender qué son, pero sobre todo, aportando puntos de vista prácticos sobre cómo transmitirlos en el aula y en la vida.

¿Qué son? ¿Por qué hay que transmitirlos? ¿Pasan de moda? ¿Se nacen o se aprenden? Todo esto y mucho más será abordado por un panel de especialistas de muy variadas disciplinas:

Lic. Gabriel Salcedo

Escritor, educador y productor de contenidos en temas referidos a la familia,

la adolescencia y los vínculos. Conferencista en diferentes países. Licenciado en Teología; Orientador Familiar.

 

 

Lic. Claudio Grecco

Máster en Psicología y adicciones; psicoterapeuta de niños, adolescentes, adultos y familia; docente universitario; conferencista nacional  e internacional

Lic. Carmen Sicardi

Asistente Social; becaria del Departamento de Estado de los Estados Unidos; fundadora y directora de “Jóvenes en Acción”; integrante de REAL

 

 

 

Prof. Cesar Debarbieri

Profesor de educación física; especialista en familia y adolescencia; líder juvenil y motivador