SHARE
 
An Ideas Page by Omar Villarreal and Marina Kirac (c)
 
Year 2          Number 17       April  8th   2000
 
 
Dear SHARERS ,
 
Tonight we have a fancy dress party at home. It´s the Queen´s birtyhday . Well, not really. It´s Marina´s birthday. Well it isn´t either. Let me explain this bit about the Queen´s birthday. Marina´s birthday is on December 31st,
not a very appropriate date for birthday celebrations. Marina insists that
a birthday should never be celebrated before it is due and after 31st...you know what January is like in Buenos Aires : everyone just vanishes into thin air. So she always chooses one day for the official celebration. Just like the
Queen. Well,for our two sons and me Marina IS the Queen ! 
Here is a present I know for sure Marina is going to like.
It is a message from a faithful friend and devoted SHARER, Susana Bosso, susanabosso@citynet.net.ar :
 
" Hello Omar and Marina,

This is just to tell you that your SHARES are worldwide famous. There was a
Congress in Rosario this week and two of your beautiful stories were told by the lecturers at the end of their talks.- The last one, Teddy's made some
teachers cry.
Good for you two and please continue sending us the SHARES every Sunday ! "

When you can touch people´s hearts, can you hope for a better present ?
So, Happy Birthday, my love !
 
In SHARE 17...
 
1.- Your attitute to life makes a difference
2.- For Directors ( present and future! ) 
3.- Coisas Boias 
4.- From "our reporter" in Vancouver
5.- Adam and Eve
6.- Bernieh helps and tells a joke 
7.- Book Reviewed 
8.- Teaching Values : Workshops in Ramos Mejia
9.- Our Real Riches 
10- Are you coming to the Book Fair ?
11- Coincidences
12- New Committee for the Federation
13- Learner Independence
14- Apiba Methodology SIG
 
 
(1) YOUR ATTITUDE TO LIFE MAKES A DIFFERENCE 
 
An enthusiastic SHARER , Andrea Davies andru@adinet.com.uy sent us this beautiful poem from Uruguay. Thank you, Andre from this side of the river.
Your capacity to SHARE does make a difference !
 
The Difference
 
I got up early one morning
and rushed right into the day.
I had so much to accomplish
That I didn´t have time to pray.
Problems just tumbled about me,
and heavier came each task,
"Why doesn´t God help me?" I wondered.
He answered:  "You didn´t ask"
I wanted to see joy  and beauty
but the day toiled on, gray and bleak:
I wondered, why didn´t God show me.
He said: "But you didn´t seek"
I tried to come into God´s presence
I used all my keys at the lock.
God gently and lovingly chided,
"My child, you didn´t knock"
I woke up early this morning
and paused before entering the day.
I had so much to accomplish
That I had to take time to pray"
 
Author Unknown
 
(2) FOR DIRECTORS ( PRESENT AND FUTURE ! ) 
 
Well-known teacher educator,Laura Lewin from ABS International,
 
" Dear Omar
 
On Saturday, May 13, 2000,  we  are delivering  Coordinating Successfully , a practical seminar for English teachers and coordinators or directors (present or future ones!) at ABS International, Guemes 4252 Buenos Aires.
It covers different topics including recruiting teachers, training and induction, observation of classes, motivating, and dealing with the difficult employee, among other interesting topics. 
For further information, please contact us at 4832-3000 or at lewin@einstein.com.ar
 
Pats on your shoulder for your newsletter!
 
Warm regards,
 
Laura "
 
 
Probably most SHARERS know Laura will be conducting this seminar once again by popular demand. Coordinating Successfully is a real success !
By the way, have you visited Laura´s web page ? www.abs-international.com.ar
 
 
(3) COSAS BOIAS 
 
A dear SHARER from sunny Brazil, Renata Oliveira Guimarães, redeacris@uol.com.br  has sent this message with sound advice for a happy life :

INSTRUÇÕES PARA TODA A VIDA

1. Leve em consideração que grandes amores e conquistas envolvem grande risco.
2. Quando você perde, não perca a lição.
3. Siga os três R's:
* Respeito a si mesmo
* Respeito aos outros
* Responsabilidade por todas suas ações
4. lembre-se que não conseguir o que você quer é algumas vezes um grande
lance de sorte
5. Aprenda as regras de maneira a saber quebrá-las da maneira mais apropriada.
6. Não deixe uma disputa por questões menores ferir um grande amigo.
7. Quando você perceber que cometeu um erro, tome providências imediatas
para corrigí-lo.
8. Passe algum tempo sozinho todos os dias.
9. Abra seus braços para mudanças, sem abrir mão de seus valores.
10. Lembre-se que o silêncio é algumas vezes a melhor resposta.
11. Viva uma vida boa e honrada. Assim, quando você ficar mais velho e pensar no passado, poderá obter prazer uma segunda vez.
12. Uma atmosfera de amor em sua casa é o fundamento para sua vida.
13. Em discordâncias com entes queridos, trate apenas da situação corrente.
Não levante questões passadas.
14. Compartilhe o seu conhecimento. Esta é uma maneira de alcançar a imortalidade.
15. Seja gentil com a terra.
16. Uma vez por ano, vá a algum lugar que você nunca esteve antes.
17. Lembre-se que o melhor relacionamento é aquele em que o amor mútuo
excede o amor que cada um precisa do outro.
18. Julque o seu sucesso por aquilo que você teve que abrir mão para
consegui-lo.
19. Entregue-se total e irrestritamente ao amor e a cozinha.
 

(4) FROM "OUR REPORTER" IN VANCOUVER

Today "our official reporter" in the TESOL 2000 Convention in Vancouver, British  Columbia, Canada,  Maria Laura Rossi, mlrossi@satlink.com , tells us about the Argentinian presence in the Convention.

"As I stated in my previous comment, TESOL 2000 provoked mixed feelings.  I was totally overwhelmed at first , to which I'd like to add  isolated and proud later on. Quite contradictory as it might seem - isolated among so many participants?- that's just how I felt  when finding out in the huge map of the world that teachers from Comodoro Rivadavia had travelled, or while reading in the Program Book that there were sessions I had no idea of, presented by many other Argentine colleagues. Mixed contradictory feelings again. Proud of living and working so far south and a bit sad when running into Argentines  along corridors or  rushing at breaks.  

However, we did have an opportunity to meet at their  sessions.  This year, ESPers must have missed Liliana and Patricia Orsi , committed expert convention-goers, who unfortunately couldn't make it to Canada in March.  Their discussion session on ESP in Latin America  had to be co-ordinated by Mercedes Rossetti and myself. Hope we did our best!

Congrats restless Mercedes ! Besides receiving an Award for Professional Development,  she conducted three crowded presentations one after the other on Thursday morning, "Training  EFL teachers in hard circumstances" , " The Internet as a Training Medium" and the above mentioned one on ESP.

Addressing EFL /ESL in the business setting was discussed by  CasoC  specialists on Business English, Ana Alvarez De La Fuente, Maria Elena Levalle and Alicia Lopez accompanied by John Scmidt, from USA

Monica Aparicio's days as presenter-participant were fully-booked , leading a discussion session on the use of movie clips in topic-based lessons, later repeated as a demonstration with over-100-people audience, to end up with Make Your Own Games",  our joint workshop. Scheduled for the very last convention day, Saturday afternoon, and contrary to what we had expected, around seventy people turned up to share great hands-on  variations on games, to participate actively and give us even greater enriching feedback! (As you see, I have no granny! )

Another busy bee , Alejandra Pron from ICANA - accompanied by five-month-old-smiling Maria and babysitting husband L -  talked about "Implementing task-based  instruction in EFL settings" and shared her views as a member of a colloquium developing NNS educators' perspectives on teacher preparation. Mabel Gallo's name was found among panellists from Latin America and USA,  who developed their  perspectives  on program administration issues.

University  of Morón was represented by Graciela Malevini, who took part in an Academic Session discussing critical issues from several international EFL perspectives.

Last but not least, I would like to mention an in-progress session I was very really proud to conduct, as it represented a seven-month online team-work on the design of an ESP Teacher Training course for South American practitioners. Our team was formed during an online workshop prior to the Southern Cone TESOL Convention organised by ARTESOL and held in Buenos Aires last August. As this ambitious project is still under constructions, contributions are most welcome. (Sorry for the "goat" but we do appreciate suggestions !)  

Argentina participated actively in TESOL 2000. However,  I do believe there was something missing, which can be solved for coming conventions. I would have  liked my country 's presence to be even more strongly felt, both as regards participants and presentations.  It  would have been rewarding to be supported by colleagues showing what we're actually doing down here. I believe in joint efforts to maximize resources, in order to raise a whole coherent voice that would  reflect how our country is dealing with the EFL field.

I would like to encourage colleague teachers to submit proposals of what they have found useful for their classes . Every single issue IS of real interest for the development of our profession, and discussing it and getting feedback from other voices both enriches us individually and helps enrich the ELT profession in our country as well.  

SHARE will have its share ! I hope we can get in contact before events, planning either face-to-face meetings or using this medium to exchange ideas and experiences. Sharing is , from a very personal viewpoint, the only way that leads to personal as well as professional growth. 

Let's sit down to write and share with the world the best Argentina can offer !"

Maria Laura is a teacher educator and materials developer, apart from teaching  Language and Literature at Escuela de Lenguas Modernas in Olavarria, her home town. We know how busy she is. This make us even more grateful for her  generous contribution to SHARE. A big THANK YOU to a dear friend from old and now an active SHARER.

(5) ADAM AND EVE

A great SHARER and better friend Elida Beatriz Messina, ,ebmessi@overnet.com.ar  sends us this contribution that shows that women will always be women... even in Paradise :

" When Adam stayed out very late for a few nights, Eve became upset.
"You're running around with other women." she charged.  "You're being
unreasonable," Adam responded. "You're the only woman on Earth."
 The quarrel continued until Adam fell asleep, only to be awakened by someone poking him in the chest.  It was Eve.  "What do you think you're doing?"
Adam demanded.   "Counting your ribs.", replied Eve. "

(6) BERNIEH HELPS AND TELLS A JOKE

Bernardo Humberto Banega (h) buck@mail.pccp.com.ar answers Leonor Silvestri´s request for e-mail pals :

" Hi, Leonor ! Greetings from Flores !

I saw your posting in SHARE 16 : " ...  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 ."

Maybe you would like to check "Intercultural E-Mail Classroom Connections",
see: http://www.iecc.org

This is a free service to help teachers link with partners in other countries
and cultures for e-mail classroom pen-pal and project exchanges. IECC was created in 1992 and today more than 7650 teachers in 82 countries are
participating in one or more of the IECC lists : 

* IECC (teachers seeking partner classrooms for international and cross-
           cultural e-mail exchanges).
* IECC-HE (teachers seeking partner classrooms for e-mail exchanges with  institutions of higher education).
* IECC-INTERGEN
(intergenerational e-mail exchanges).
* IECC-PROJECTS ( announcements or requests for help with specific
classroom projects that involve e-mail, internationally or cross-culturally).
* IECC-SURVEYS ( students and teachers post requests for assistance
on projects, surveys, and questionaires).

I'm subscribed to IECC-HE, and I can assure you the audience is truly nternational, intercultural and intergenerational :-)

Hope this (and God) helps.

Bernardo. "

Have you visited Bernardo´s web page ? You do not know what you are missing: http://bernieh.com.ar . Plenty of resources and links for the ELT specialist.

Bernieh (he maintains his nickname requires an aspiration at the end (? ! ) )sends us a joke he acknowledges to Dawn Sardes, from Cumberland County Public Library, Fayetteville, USA : 

A Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her five
and six year olds. After explaining the commandment to "honor thy father
and thy mother," she asked: "Is there a commandment that teaches us how to
treat our brothers and sisters?"
Without missing a beat one little boy (the oldest of a family) answered,
"Thou shall not kill."
 

(7) BOOK REVIEWED 

A new SHARER, Marisa López, mlopez@fra.utn.edu.ar  writes to us :

"Dear Omar and Marina:

Thank you very much for sending me SHARE ! Congratulations on your idea !!!!  It is fascinating to see how many people can generously get together and definitely  SHARE views , opinions, emotions, etc. with other colleagues. I'll be looking forward to opinions from Vancouver, since in the group where I work, three coordinators attended the TESOL Convention and made a presentation on "Contrastive Analysis". They have already told us about it, but I would like to have some other colleague's objective opinion !
 
A contribution I can make at the moment is a recommendation on a book for teachers of English who want to brush up their training on how to teach Listening Comprehension.
As we all know, the training of Listening Comprehension in our classes is, no doubt, indispensable, and, at the same time, a hard task to carry out efficiently. In our country , exposure to the language is little, sometimes only during the class and in situations which may happen to turn out artificial if not properly dealt with. We, teachers of English as a second language need to resort to strategies, techniques for the development of  Listening Comprehension in a profitable way.
In the book "LISTENING IN LANGUAGE LEARNING" by Michael Rost (Longman), you can find interesting information about this skill, a serious  theoretical study and research on the subject. It is thoroughly analysed and thought provoking as a result !
 
Omar and Marina, thank you again for SHARE ! Let's keep in touch.
Regards,
Marisa "
 
Thank you Marisa. No doubt your contribution is most welcome. We WILL keep in touch ! 
 
(8) TEACHING VALUES :  WORSHOPS IN RAMOS MEJIA 
 
A dear friend, Ricardo Sampedro, Educhange@infovia.com.ar  sends us this invitation for all SHARERS : Following on the great atmosphere we all enjoyed during our first social values workshop this February, Bridge English and Education for a Change want to invite you to the following SOCIAL VALUES sessions : 
 
Saturday 15th April - 9:30 to 13:00 hours 
 
The Consumer Society and the Media - where do our students stand ?

An analysis of this powerful communication vehicle to understand how many of the stereotypes and perceptions of your students - and ours - are shaped by the mass media. Classroom activities to exploit these issues in your English language class.

Saturday 29th April - 9:30 to 13:00 hours  

Cultural Diversity, Understanding and Valuing others

Understanding and valuing cultural diversity in all forms are the first steps towards a more equitable society where tolerance and solidarity have a central position and discrimination is kept at bay. Hands on activities to promote cultural awareness.

Speaker : Ricardo Sampedro - graduate from IES en Lenguas Vivas. Formerly Educational Representative and Teacher Educator with  Oxford University Press. Currently Coordinator of the organization "Education for a Change".

Venue :  Bridge English, Avda Gaona 1810, Ramos Mejia 

Registration : Bridge English 011- 4654-8945 or Education for a Change 011- 4982-2409 .  Fee : $ 15 per session.

Ricardo is a specialist in social values and their application in the school setting. A much needed subject these days. We hope Ricardo the very best of success !

(9) OUR REAL RICHES

 
A dear and very active SHARER from Rosario, Bethina Viale, velvia@ciudad.com.ar  sends us this wonderful story for reflection. In her own words "with Lots of love". We thank her "with Lots of love " too !

"One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the 
country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people can be.  
They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be 
considered a very poor family.
On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"
"It was great, Dad."
"Did you see how poor people can be?" the father asked.
"Oh Yeah" said the son. "So what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.
The son answered, "I saw that we have one dog and they had four."
"We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end."
"We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night."
"Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon."
"We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight."
"We have servants who serve us, but they serve others."
"We buy our food, but they grow theirs."
"We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them."
With this the boy's father was speechless.
Then his son added, "Thanks dad for showing me how poor we are."
Too many times we forget what we have and concentrate on what we don't have. What is one person's worthless object is another's prize possession. It is all based on one's perspective. Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks to God for all the bounty we have been provided by Him, instead of worrying about wanting more.  Take joy in all He has given each and every one of us, especially our friends."
 

(10) ARE YOU COMING TO THE BOOK FAIR ?

If you are you can take participate in the Third International Cycle on Foreign Language Teaching in the 26th International Book Fair, from the Author to the
Reader. This is the programme of the Cycle as Fundación El Libro,   fund@libro.satlink.net,
announced it :


Thursday April 20

8:30 - 10:00 : Accreditation and Opening Ceremony

10:00  11:30:

Plenary : Bilingualism and cognition. Recent research in language acquisition
Ranka Bijeljac-Babic, Poitiers University, France

12:00  13:30:

Plenary : Reflection in the foreign language teaching/learning process
Fredricka L. Stoller, Northern Arizona University, USA

14:00  17:00:

Plenary : Communicative environments and precommunicative tools in               contemporary foreign language teaching
Jose Carlos de Almeida, Campinas University, Brazil
             
Plenary : Practitioner's pedagogical experience as linguistic policy
Joao Antonio Telles, State University of São Paulo, Brazil 

Friday, April 21

10:00  11:30:

Plenary : Language teacher education for autonomous learning
Martin Muller,Fribourg University, Switzerland
              
12:00  13:30 

Plenary ; Rational and affective aspects in language teaching: foreign language teaching methodology from a humanistic point of view
Gianfranco Porcelli, Milano Catholic University, Italy 

14:00 :
Conclusions

N.B. : All plenaries will have simultaneous interpretation and will be followed by round table discussions with the participation of distinguished teachers of different languages . 

Venue : Sociedad Rural Argentina (SRA) Avda Sarmiento 2704 - Buenos Aires Registration Fundacion El Libro
Hipólito Yrigoyen 1628 5th floor (1089) AAF Buenos Aires, Argentina
Phone: (54-11) 4374-3288
Fax: (54-11) 4375-0268                         

Fees : $15.
Visit Fundación El Libro Web site: http://www.el-libro.com.ar !

(11) COINCIDENCES

We are happy to publish another interesting bit from a very dear friend and regular contributor to SHARE : Lorena Lara , lorenalara@arnet.com.ar

Here's a little part of US history which makes you sit up and go hmm...

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.
Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.
The names Lincoln and Kennedy each contain seven letters.
Both presidents were particularly concerned with civil rights.
Both presidents´wives lost children while living in the White House.
Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.
Both Presidents were shot in the head.
Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy.
Kennedy's secretary was named Lincoln.
Both were assassinated by Southerners.
Both were succeeded by Southerners.
Both successors were named Johnson.
Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.
John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln, was born in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald, who (alledgely) assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939.
Both assassins were known by their three names.
Both names are comprised of fifteen letters.
Lincoln was shot at the theater named "Kennedy".
Kennedy was shot in a car called "Lincoln".
Booth ran from the theater and was caught in a warehouse.
Oswald ran from a warehouse and was caught in a theater.
Booth and Oswald were both assassinated before their trials.
 
(12) NEW COMMITTEE  FOR THE FEDERATION

Last Saturday 25th March in the city of Córdoba, the Annual General Meeting of the Argentine Federation of Associations of Teachers of English (FAAPI) elected the Committee for the period 2000-2002
 
President:                      Doctor  Mario Lopez Barrios        - Córdoba
Secretary:                     Prof.    Cristina Senín                 - Salta
Treasurer:                     Prof.    Blanca Rípodas                 - Córdoba
Members:                      Doctor  
Cristina Banfi                  - Buenos Aires
                                     Prof.    Irma Larrinaga                 - Salta
Deputy
Members:           Prof.     Nora Séculi                     - Rosario
                                     Prof.     Marcela Alvarado            - Bahía Blanca
Rev.
de Cuentas:              Prof.     Cristina Thomson              -  Buenos Aires
                                     Prof.     Analía Kandel                   -  Buenos Aires

 
Our new president, Dr. Mario López Barrios is a graduate teacher of English and German from Escuela de Lenguas de La Universidad Nacional de Córdoba and is a Ph.D in Applied Linguistics from the University of Kassel, Germany. He was formerly a Lecturer in Language and Research Methods at Universidad Nacional de San Juan and is currently a Lecturer in Methods for English and
German and Research Methods and a Researcher at Escuela Superior de Lenguas de La Universidad Nacional de Córdoba.
 
We congratulate the new authorities and wish them all the greatest success in their very diffucult task for the benefit of all the ELT community of our country. At the same time, not without a sweet sorrow we say goodbye to the
previous committee that under the leadership of our dear friend Prof. Cristina
Thomson de Grondona White so faithfully served the interests of the Federation
for two consecutive periods 1996-2000. 
 
New Contact Details for FAAPI :
 
Address: Antártida 3628 - Barrio Matienzo - RA-5010 Córdoba - Argentina
Phone:    0351-4840656
Mail:     lopez@powernet.net.ar
Webpage: http://sunsj.unsj.edu.ar/faapi/faapi.htm 
 
 
(13) LEARNER INDEPENDENCE         
 
A dear friend and SHARER, Susana Trabaldo bridge@sminster.com.ar  writes to us with a recommendation and a piece of reflection :
" While reading Learner Independence SIG  www.iatefl.org/lisig/lihome.htm ( which I recommend all SHARERS to browse) , I came across "Experiences of a learner training course"  by Mónos Katalin  (a teacher from Hungary) which I found most interesting.  She refers to a proverb and two quotations which demonstrate that Learner Independence is far from being new:

"Give a man a fish and he eats for a day.  Teach him how to fish and he eats for a lifetime." (ancient proverb)

"One repays a teacher badly if one remains only a pupil." (Nietzsche)

"It must be the first and central task of any student to become independent and learn to be his own teacher. The true teacher must always be trying to work himself out of the job." (John Holt)

I think we need to keep these ideas in mind if we want to be good teachers.  How do we put this into practice?  Through upgrading schemes and reskilling ourselves.  Innovative teacher training is the key to the kind of education our students need, don´t you think so ?

Susana is herself a very active teacher and an example of upgrading and reskilling. She is a graduate from IES en Lenguas Vivas and a Licenciada en Administración de la Educación Superior from Universidad de La Matanza and is currently working towards her M.A. in  "Enseñanza y Aprendizaje Abiertos y a Distancia" from UNED, Spain 

(14) APIBA METHODOLOGY SIG


Analia Kandel, Liaison Officer for APIBA Special Interest Groups (SIGs ) apibasigs@hotmail.com , writes to us to announce 
the details of the first APIBA Methodology SIG meeting :

Co-ordinators: Roxana Viñes and Silvia Luppi

Date: Friday, April 28th   Time: 6.30 to 9 pm

Venue: Language Two School of English - Av Gaona 1846, Buenos Aires

Agenda: 

(a)  Introduction of SIG, Co-ordinators and members.               
(b)  Presentation of SIG Internal Rules (c) 
Exploration of interests and needs (d)  Organization of following SIG event

Fees:  APIBA members / teacher trainees: None / Non-APIBA members: $10 per session

Please confirm attendance on <apibasigs@hotmail.com>

How to become a member of APIBA ? e
-mail <apiba99@yahoo.com>

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

Pity, we have to say goodbye for now.
But sometimes it is nice to say goodbye to friends so that you can say "hello" and kiss and hug next time you meet.
 
A BIG BEAR HUG TO ALL OF YOU
WITH OUR BEST WISHES FOR A WONDERFUL WEEK !

Omar and Marina

 
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