SHARE
 
An Ideas Page by Omar Villarreal and Marina Kirac (c)
 
Year 2          Number 16       April 1st  2000
 
 
Dear SHARERS ,
 
This week our editorial comment will be much briefer than our usual very short editorials : Only to say THANK YOU to the old SHARERS for recommending SHARE to their colleagues. With the beginning of classses we have had an avalanche of requests for subscription and at this pace we wil soon be 2000, a figure we  had never thought of.
THANK YOU again to all of you : old and new SHARERS... dear all !
 
In SHARE 16...
 
1.- Jamie´s story
2.- A SHARER in Vancouver
3.- Teacher´s Certificate at ESSARP
4.- Children are smart !
5.- Messages : A little help from our friends
6.- Mail Pals requested 
7.- Father Pat´s Reminders 
8.- How to contact Lawrence Paros
9.- Jack Richards in Buenos Aires 
10- Roles and how we play them
11- Tools for Tomorrows
12- So you want to date my daughter ?
13- Oscars Night Again
14- New Teachers Centre
 
 
 
(1) JAMIE´S STORY
 
A very dear SHARER and NLP guru, Jamie Duncan  jamie@abaconet.com.ar sent us this message and a most lovely story :  

" Dear Omar, 

Attached is a story I found on the web which I would like to share with you and the readers. It is translated from Portuguese. It was originally sent to the on-line magazine 'Golfinho' (www.golfinho.com.br) by Clovis Vieira.

Keep up the excellent work !

Jamie "

Open up, Discover yourself, Love yourself

"Once upon a time there was a little princess (prince) who lived inside a rose.  The rose was in a country where it never rained.  Inside the rose, she/he heard the noises of life going on in the world.  She/he would become frightened by what she/he heard, imagining a whole load of terrible things!  There were the voices of children, of people passing nearby, of machines at work and of animals.

One night when sleeping she/he had a most beautiful dream in which friends and lovely animals and other elements of nature came to talk to her/him and tell her/him very important secrets to do with her happiness.  In the dream, she/he listened carefully to everything that was said and even without understanding it all, she/he knew that among these things there were some beautiful pieces of information that would change her life for the better.

The following morning, when she/he woke up, she/he noticed that a light shower had fallen during the night and that the rose was beginning to open.  Suddenly scared she/he did not even want to think about seeing what might be out there.  However, the opposite happened: everyone was so impressed by the open rose that they came over to greet it.  Children stopped playing, people rubbed their eyes, surprised, the sound of the machines ceased and the animals moved closer.  Realising that she/he was so loved, the princess/prince was also much impressed and began to meet and talk with the people.

That night, when the rose closed up so that she/he could sleep, all the outside sounds were by now well-known and no longer caused any panic.  From that day on, the dreams of the princess/prince brought deep revelations which were very important for her/his happiness.  And each time the rose opened, life outside was ready to receive the smile of the princess/prince and her/his confidence in life and in the future.

Thank you, Jamie for this excellent contribution.Just a reminder for all SHARERS : Jamie and Laura Szmuch are already running their Practitioner's Certificate course in NLP for teachers on Saturdays in Versailles, Capital Federal.Only a few places left, so hurry up , dear SHARERS ! : contact Laura Szmuch at (011) 4641-9068 or Jamie Duncan at (011) 4431-7582 or on  jamie@abaconet.com.ar

(2)  A SHARER IN VANCOUVER  
 
Maria Laura Rossi mlrossi@satlink.com , a dear old friend and SHARER who generously helped Marina and me a lot with her enriching workshops for teachers in the first years of our St.Paul´s Institute of Research in Education has just returned from Vancouver, B.C. Canada where she attended the Annual TESOL Convention. We asked her to write a few articles  about this event to SHARE with you :
 
" It's hard to put into words the mixed feelings such an event can produce. I'd rather explain myself first. TESOL 2000 held in Canada just ten days ago, has been the first "big"  TESOL convention I've attended. 
I should have said "the biggest" so far, as almost 7,700 participants from all over the world were present. Vancouver provided a harmonious, and rainy context to share, share and share. Plenary, discussion  and academic sessions, workshops ,editors, books among so many other things overwhelmed even the experienced  conference participant

Quality and quantity have both been present. The choice of what to attend was difficult but nonetheless interesting - over 800 presentations packed in 4 days plus Pre-convention Institutes and Educational Visits.  Every field in the teaching profession is considered and has its place: EFL, ESL, ESP, Materials Design, CALL, Video. Difficult to summarise a thick 300-page programme book!

Professional as well as personal growth are mere words to round up this short overview. Next time, I'll be sharing something about the presence of Argentina in Canada.

Hope some others who attended can also share their own views."

Maria Laura, Head of Escuela de Lenguas Modernas in Olavaría,  has been very active lately. For the last two years she has been working on Games for EFL teachers, together with Monica Aparicio, a colleague from Tandil. They have designed lots of ready-to-use meaningful games, and have had the opportunity of presenting their workshop at TESOL 2000.

Says Maria Laura : "Hope I have more time to share from now on" . For our part we will be eagerly waiting for her next contribution about Vancouver.

(3) TEACHERS´CERTIFICATE AT ESSARP
 
Terry Cullen teachercert@essarp.org.ar writes to us to announce that ESSARP, English Speaking Scholastic Association of the River Plate, is launching its RP Teachers' Certificate . 

ESSARP Centre will be running the course in two distinct modes :

(a) The face-to-face mode available to teachers in Capital Federal and Gran Buenos Aires.

(b) A guided reading course at a distance, available to teachers too far away from the Centre to take part in the face-to-face mode.

The course structure is the following :

Year 1 - March to December:   Child Development

                                               Curriculum Theory & Practice

Year 2 - March to July:           Successful Classrooms

                                               Small-scale Research Project.

The course is open to all teachers, co-ordinators, Heads, etc., from Kindergarten to University, regardless of age.

The course will begin in March of each year, This year classes started on        Tuesday 28th March at 06:00 pm for the Tues/Thurs Group and on Friday  31st March 09:00 am for the Friday Group. But there are still a few vacancies left.

More in formation from The ESSARP Centre, Esmeralda 672, 7th Floor , C1007ABF Buenos Aires,  Argentina Tel: (0054 11) 4322 2480 - FAX: (0054 11) 4322 9203 e-mail : teachercert@essarp.org.ar

No doubt this Certificate Course will have the same high academic standards of the already famous ACP/ACT Courses offered at ESSARP. Our very best wishes of success to Terry and all the ESSARP staff.

 
(4) CHILDREN ARE SMART ! 
 
A young dear SHARER from Punta Alta, Sergio Bustos,
antiguasbaterias@yahoo.com writes to us about "The wisdom of kids". He quotes different answers from children to the "burning" issues of life and then goes on to make a final reflection of his own :
 
 
Question : What is the proper age to get married?
Answers :
 
"Eighty-four, Because at that age, you don't have to work anymore, and you can spend all your time loving each other." (Judy, age 8).
"Once I'm done with kindergarten, I'm going to find me a wife."
(Tom, age 5).
Question ; What do most people do on a date?
Answer : "On the first date, they just tell each other lies, and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date." (Mike, age 10).
Question : When is it okay to kiss someone?
Answers : "You should never kiss a girl unless you have enough bucks to buy her a big ring and her own VCR, 'cause she'll want to have videos of the wedding." (Jim, age 10).
"Never kiss in front of other people. It's a big embarrassing thing if anybody sees you. But if nobody sees you, I might be willing to try it with a handsome
boy, but just for a few hours."  (Kally, age 9).
Question; Is it better to be single or married?
Answers ; "It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need somebody to clean up after them."
(Lynette, age 9).
"It gives me a headache to think about that stuff. I'm just a kid. I don't need that kind of trouble."
(Kenny, age 7).
Sergio´s final reflection :  if kids are that smart at that age, what happens to them in the next decade?
 
 
(5) MESSAGES : A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS
 
Rosario Estrada < araz@netgate.com.uy> writes to us from Uruguay. Rosario is   Director of Studies at St Catherine´s School in Montevideo and Director General, International House-London Institute Uruguay and also Teacher trainer at Uruguay State Teacher Training College and at the London International Teacher Training Institute. Says she :
 
"The first thing I do on Sunday Morning is read SHARE !! You are doing a great great job, our congratulations from this side of the river. All the Best! "

A dear founding SHARER Adriana Echeverría, a Lecturer at Instituto Superior de Formación Docente de Bragado, <day@dataco23.com.ar> sends us this heart-warmer : 

"I´d like to thank you for all the SHARES you have sent me. I "SHARE" them with my pupils at the "Prof" and also with other teachers. They are great! I hope the first school year of the new millennium is full of peace and happiness for everybody" .

 
An enthusiastic SHARER, Fernanda Bauer fernanda_bauer@hotmail.com writes to us :
 
"Dear Omar and Marina,
 
"Thank you for answering my e-mail. I am very happy to be a SHARER. By the way, I have a little phrase to share with you. I read it in the corridors of the school where I work, and it says: "Children´s minds are like parachutes: they only work if they are open."
I like it and I hope you like it too. I love reading your SHARES.  Thank you for sharing all the information you get."
 
 
(6) MAIL-PALS REQUESTED
 
Dear Omar, Marina and SHARERS,
 
This year I'd like to organise a web around my teenage English students
so if you know or have or meet someboy who is from 12 to 18  from any other country I'd like you to let me know so that both, any of my students and myself
can be in touch . Well, They don't have to be native speakers, just teens
who want to write in English

I'll really appreciate this. THX A MIL'
 
Colegio San Isidro Labrador, Beccar - Province of Buenos Aires
 
 
(7) FATHER PAT´S REMINDERS
 
 
"The" original SHARER and founding "mother" this List, Elida Messina,
ebmessi@overnet.com.ar sends us all this gift this week : a simple list of simple reminders simply to make life happier :

R E M I N D E R S

Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one so that when we finally meet the right person, we will know how to be grateful for that gift.

When the door of happiness closes, another opens, but often times we look so long at the closed door that we don't see the one which has been opened for us.

The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch and swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had.

It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives.

Don't go for looks; they can deceive. Don't go for wealth; even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright.

Find the one that makes your heart smile. May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trails to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, enough hope to bring you joy.

Always put yourself in another's shoes. If you feel that it hurts you, it probably hurts the other person, too.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past, you can't get on well in life until you let go of past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

Be blessed and comfort someone else with these words. May God Bless you and those you love, and keep you safe,

Father Pat

(8) HOW TO CONTACT LAWRENCE PAROS
 
In our last issue we reproduced a column from  Lawrence Paros´s List "A Word with You" on NITWITS. We hope you enjoyed it. Only we forgot to tell you how to subscribe to his list . Simply visit his site   http://www.wordwithyou.com
Lawrence has also published a two volume "Best of AWWY" which you can get from the site at "The Book" or by simply clicking on here:
http://www.wordwithyou.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.10.exe/online-store/scstore/shophome.html?E+scstore. (There is a charge for the books)

(9) JACK RICHARDS IN BUENOS AIRES

Cambridge University  Press announce their Annual  Academic  Seminar with Dr Jack Richards, one of the leading figures in the field of Applied Linguistics today. Dr Richards lecture on METHODS IN THE NEW MILLENIUM  will be followed by a question and answer session

Dr Jack Richars, the celebrated co-author of "Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching" , will focus his talk on  the broader approaches that have survived from the 1970 - 1990 era of methods and approaches, the newer approaches ( Competency-Based Instruction, Cooperative Learning, Task-Based Instruction, Content Based Instruction) that have appeared lately and will analyze the reasons for the rise and fall of methods and the factors that are likely to shape directions for language teaching in the new millenium.

Date: Saturday April 15th, from 9 am to 1.30 pm

Venue ; Salon de Actos, 2º piso, Facultad de Ciencias Economicas, UBA , Avda Córdoba 2122

Registration : 011 4322-5040 / 4328-7648 (CUP) or cup.argentina@sion.com (write JACK RICHARDS in ‘subject’)

A unique opportunity that should certainly not be missed !

(10) ROLES AND HOW WE PLAY THEM 

A new SHARER from Montevideo writes to us :

Dear Omar,

I work at the Alianza Cultural Uruguay - EEUU and hanging on the bulleting board was SHARE .I devoured the l4 pages and l loved it !  Let me tell you also that I attended your lecture "Colours of the Wind" at the Alianza Conference on Quality in Education last year and I also loved it . Now, Let me share this with you and all the SHARERS :

" Whenever I am disappointed with my spot in life, I stop and think about little Scott. Scott was trying out for a part in a school play.  His mother told me that he had his heart set on being in it, though she feared he would not be chosen. On the day the parts were announced, I went with her to collect him after school. Scott rushed up to her, eyes shining with pride and excitement. "Guess what, Mum," he shouted, and then said those words that remain a lesson to me:  "I have been chosen to clap and cheer".
 
Andrea Davies andru@adinet.com.uy
 
Thank you for your kind words and for SHARING, Andrea !!
 
(11) TOOLS FOR TOMORROW : AN INNOVATIVE ADVANCED 
       LANGUAGE COURSE
 
Asociación Ex Alumnos del IES en Lenguas Vivas "Juan Ramón Fernandez"  
announces its Tools for Tomorrow 2000 : Treading the Boards, an advanced language course based on the development of Expressive Skills, tutored by Susan Hillyard.

This is a fortnightly interactive workshop focusing on the theme of CHANGE
AND GROWTH. Stimulus material will be the lived and living lives of the
participants, as well as  videoclips, songs, art, music, poetry, realia, short stories and articles.

Registration is now open for the course to start on April 15th. For further
information, please contact course coordinator Leonor Cozzolino, phone or fax: (011) 814-0545. E Mail: aexalevi@ssdnet.com.ar 
This traditional and dynamic association in the field of ELT in our country has its own Web Page: www.aexalevi.org.ar . Have you visited it ? 


(12) SO , YOU WANT TO DATE MY DAUGHTER ?
 
Our dear friend Lorena Lara  lorenalara@arnet.com.ar sends us this contribution we are sure we are going to enjoy. Thank you , Lore and keep on
SHARING your humour with us all !

APPLICATION TO DATE MY DAUGHTER

Note: This application will be incomplete and rejected unless accompanied by a complete financial statement, job history, lineage, and current medical report from your physician.

1. What is your name, age, social security number, IQ and boy scout rank?

2. Do you have one male and one female parent?  ____ If "No", explain :

3. Do you own or have access to a van?  ____

4. A truck with oversize tires?  ____

5. waterbed?  ____

6. Do you have an earring, nose ring, or belly button ring? ____

7. Do you have a tattoo? ____

*If you have answered YES to #3, #4 or #5, discontinue application and leave immediately.*

8. In fifty words or less, what does LATE mean to you?

9. In fifty words or less, what does DON'T TOUCH MY DAUGHTER mean to you?

10. In fifty words or less, what does ABSTINENCE mean to you?

11. Church/Temple you attend: ____________________________

12. How often do you attend: ____________________________

13. When would be the best time to interview your mother, father and priest/rabbi? ____________________________

14. Please fill in the blanks:

If I were shot, the last place on my body I would want wounded would be my ____________________________

If I were beaten, the last bone I would want broken would be my _________________________

A woman's place is in the ____________________________

The one thing I hope this application doesn't ask is ___________________________

When I meet a girl, the one thing I always notice about her first is ____________________________

*Note: If answer to last question begins with "T" or "A", discontinue and leave premises - keeping your head low and running in a serpentine fashion is advised*

What do you want to be IF you grow up?

I swear that all the above information is correct to the best of my knowledge under penalty of death, bodily harm, dismemberment, torture or mental abuse.

Signature of applicant _________________________________

Signature of father _____________________________________

Signature of mother ____________________________________

Signature of priest/rabbi ___________________________________

Signature of State Representative _________________________

Thank you for your interest, and it had better be genuine and non-sexual. Please allow 4-6 years for processing. You will be contacted in writing if approved. If denied, please never apply again. Don't call me, I'll call you.

  

(13) OSCARS NIGHT AGAIN
 
Last Monday was Oscars Night again and the AcademyAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded the coveted Oscars again .
Now the language curio-collectors and the History-trivia fan (or the nostalgic !)
just a few notes about Uncle Oscar :

A look back at Oscar's roots.  It all started in the year 1927. For the 1927/28 and 1928/29 Awards, this category was known as 'Outstanding Picture,' for the 1929/30 through the 1940 Awards, it was known as 'Outstanding Production,' for the 1941, 1942 and 1943 Awards, it was known as 'Outstanding Motion Picture'; for the 1944 through 1961 Awards, it was known as 'Best Motion Picture'. For the 1927/28 through the 1950 Awards, the award went to the production  company or studio that produced the winning film. For the 1951    Awards through the present the award goes to the producers credited on the film.

Academy Awards through history (this year it was the 72nd Awards !!)

1999               American Beauty 
1998               Shakespeare in Love 
1997               Titanic
1996               The English Patient 
1995               Braveheart 
1994               Forrest Gump
1993               Schindler's List
1992               Unforgiven 
1991                The Silence of the lambs -
1990               Dances with wolves 
1989               Driving Miss Daisy 
1988               Rain Man 
1987               The Last Emperor 
1986               Platoon
1985               Out of Africa
1984               Amadeus 
1983               Terms of Endearment 
1982               Gandhi 
1981                Chariots of Fire 
1980               Ordinary People 
1979               Kramer vs. Kramer 
1978               The Deer Hunter
1977               Annie Hall 
1976               Rocky 
1975               One flew over the cuckoo's nest
1974               The Godfather , Part ii
1973               The Sting
1972               The Godfather
1971                The French Connection 
1970               Patton 
1969               Midnight Cowboy 
1968               Oliver !
1967               In the heat of the night 
1966               A man for all seasons 
1965               The Sound of Music 
1964               My Fair Lady 
1963               Tom Jones 
1962               Lawrence of Arabia 
1961                West side story 
1960               The Apartment - billy wilder
1959               Ben-Hur 
1958               Gigi 
1957               The Bridge on the River Kwai 
1956               Around the world in 80 days 
1955               Marty 
1954               On the waterfront 
1953               From here to eternity 
1952               The greatest show on earth
1951                An American in Paris
1950                All about Eve
1949                All the king's men - robert rossen
1948                Hamlet
1947                Gentleman's agreement
1946                The best years of our lives 
1945                The lost weekend
1944                Going my way
1943                Casablanca 
1942                Mrs. Miniver
1941                 How green was my valley 
1940                Rebecca
1939                Gone with the wind 
1938                You can't take it with you
1937                The life of Emile Zola.
1936                The Great Ziegfeld 
1935                Mutiny on the Bounty
1934                It happened one night
1932/1933       Cavalcade 
1931/1932        Grand Hotel
1930/1931        Cimarron
1929/1930       All quiet on the Western Front 
1928/1929       The Broadway Melody 
1927/1928       Wings

By the way, what do you think of using this material for the practice of cardinal and ordinal numbers ( e.g. the 58th Academy Awards, in 1955 ), Simple Past Tense (Which film won...? Did "Rain Man" win ... ? When did "Chariots of Fire"... ? Which film was...? In what year was... ?) or Passive Voice (When was...? Which film was...? Was "The Goddfather, Part ii... ? "

(14) NEW TEACHERS´ CENTRE

Ms Susan Hillyard has opened , in partnership with Ms Alicia Ghiorzi, a new centre for Teacher Development : Centre for Education and Lifelong Learning (CELL) at Sarmiento 1975, Olivos. (Telephone : (011) 4797-2775). Congratulations to Susan and Alicia and our best wishes for success !

---------------------------------------------------------------------

As it has almost become customary we would like to end this issue of SHARE with the words of a dear SHARER. This time we chose this moving message from Ana Heredia Herrera, a Lecturer from Universidad de Tarapacá in Arica, Chile, aheredia@uta.cl  not only because of what it means to us but also because of how much it can help us all to reflect about what things are really important in our lives :

Ana Heredia Herrera, a Lecturer from Universidad de Tarapacá in Arica, Chile,
aheredia@uta.cl  writes this moving message to us : 
 
Estimado amigo Omar,
 
Esta idea tuya y de tu esposa me parece fantástica. Me he deleitado con sus comentarios y con los de sus seguidores. En estas fechas hemos estado muy ocupados tratando de echar hacia adelante nuestra Reforma Educacional. Es asi que hemos iniciado este año un nuevo Plan de Estudios de Formación del Profesorado. Estoy tratando de salir un poco de toda esta avalancha de cosas para poder concentrarme y poder tambien contribuir con algun comentario o pensamiento a tu maravillosa revista electronica. Tu sabes Omar que soy una amante de las cosas sencillas de la vida y soy una agradecida de Dios por todo lo que me ha dado: una profesion que amo, una vida tranquila que aquilato, unos
amigos que atesoro y, por sobre todas las cosas, un hijo que adoro. Esta
idea de "compartir" nuestras inquietudes, intereses y comentarios me parece increible. Felicitaciones a ti y a Marina. Salud Amigos !

 

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK  !

Omar and Marina

 
If a friend wishes to receive this page tell him or her to send an e-mail to us with his or her details.
 
We love to hear from the people wih whom we SHARE but for subscription purposes NAME and CITY are enough. All other details are welcome. 
 
We do not endorse any of the services announced in this page.