SHARE
An Ideas Page by Omar Villarreal and Marina
Kirac (c)
Year
2 Number
23 May
20th 2000
Dear SHARERS ,
I stayed most of the week at home.
Marina worked all week. I had to study for two examinations I had to sit for
this week. I did not suffer the terrible weather. My children were absent from
school on Tuesday and the provincial Minister of Education dediced schools
should remain closed on Wednesday. It was great to have them at home with me two
full days ( now it´s easy at 12 and 14 they can both look after themselves, at
least inside the house ).
It was good talking to them a lot
too. On television , we watched the sad, sad images of other Argentinians
suffering in the most adverse of circumstances. Some of them just a few
kilometres from our own home.
I told my children we had to
do something. We could not just sit down and watchm, complain or cry. We had to take positive action.
They got some of "their" money
and I cooperated with some of my money. We went to the
supermarket and bought a few things :
some boxes of cocoa and powdered milk and spaghetti and took them to our
church. We were sure they knew how to channel "our help". I know it was not
much and it was not very heroic. As Bob
Geldoff used to say " In our world of
plenty, we can spare a smile of joy" and we can do that too easily. If everyone
who could afford it just "gave" something... Maybe we do not need a
country of heroes. just a country of people who worry about their
neighbours and act accordingly.
In SHARE 23...
1.- Tales for the
Beholder
2.- Believe it or Believe it not
3.- A Change is good as a
rest
4.- The unbearable
Lists
5.- S.O.S. from a dear
SHARER
6.- Are Middle-Schoolers a blessing
or a nightmare ?
7.- Well deserved success for APIBA
SIG´s
8.- Two Messages from Susan.
9.- Maestria in Universidad Nacional de Tucumán.
10- Fifth Biennial Seminar in Paraná.
11- A "Linguistics"
Wisecrack.
12- Martin Iron or Mr Second Shadow
?
13- See you in Santa Fé !
(1) TALES FOR
THE BEHOLDER
A dear SHARER from West (not
the Wild variety) Cecilia Ramirez
de Ricci, cr@infovia.com.ar
has sent us this message and a poem from her book :
Dear
Omar and Marina,
I
hope you like this poem from my book , "Tales for the beholder" - Cuentos
sin dueño- ( It's a bilingual book of tales and poems for teens and/or adults)
my co-author is Patricia A. Arias. We have finished working on its activity book
and cassette (some poems and tales recorded by a great New Yorker: Fabián B.).
The
book is available from V.V.C. Books and SBS or by phone
:1540913373.
Here
is the poem, it is simply called "I" :
I
I
guess I finally found
what
I was looking for,
I
know who I am,
I
know what I want.
It
took me a long time
to
feel this fine,
I
cried many tears
I
wrote many lines.
I
found my place in the world,
it
may make some people laugh
but
it is right where I am,
I
just did not have it clear
enough.
This
place is no one's but mine
and
there is no finish line.
I
do not want to be a Queen,
I
do not desire to be a star.
I
just want to be myself
and
make others see
that
even if they do not agree
I
am happy being me.
I
have got what I deserve
because
I have worked hard to be me.
No
one will interfere with my life
because
I am the only "I".
Cecilia
says that she and Patricia will most gladly send samples of their workbook and
cassette to those SHARERS interested in their work . You can contact them
at 0220 4859714 or email them to cr@infovia.com.ar .
Work
on a follow-up to be called "More Tales for the Beeholder" is under
way
due
to the success of the girls´ first book.
Heartfelt congratulations to both of them !
(2)
BELIEVE IT OR BELIEVE IT NOT
A dear friend and most active SHARER from Catamarca, José
Luís García sends us this piece of historical information that will help clarify
an issue that might perhaps never worried you too much in the first place
:
There
are many stories related to the sinking of the "Titanic".
Some have just come to light due to the success of the
recent movie. For example, most people don't know that back in 1912
Hellman's mayonnaise was manufactured in England. The "Titanic"
was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera
Cruz, Mexico which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after
New York City. The Mexican people were eagerly awaiting delivery and
were disconsolate at the loss. So much so that they declared a
National day of mourning which they still observe today. It is known,
of course, as... "Sinko de Mayo".
Thank
you José Luís and keep on SHARING your humour with all of us !
With
all due respect for the Mexican people, it must be clarified that 5th of
May
marks the Battle of Puebla Day.
(3) A CHANGE IS AS GOOD AS A REST
A
dear SHAREr a prestigious colleague from Uruguay, Prof. Jorge Suárez suarezj@adinet.com.uy , writes to
us to announce the Teacher Development Seminars he will teach during the Winter
Holidays in Uruguay . Says Jorge " A change is as good as a rest" and we fully
agree :
TEACHER EDUCATION
SEMINARS - JULY 2000
Two
three-day mini-seminars/workshops for practising EFL
teachers
Seminar 1: ( 3
sessions of 3 hours each)
Lexis and
Reading Comprehension in the ELT classroom – a look at practical
techniques for dealing with
the reading skill through lexical and semantic
theory.
Seminar 2: ( 3
sessions of 3 hous each)
Language, Sex and Gender – a sociolinguistic approach to
the language used by men and women, and ways in which the language refers to
them.
Methodology:
The seminars will involve discussing and analysing texts and experiences
related to each subject through awareness-raising activities that can provide
you and your students with a greater insight into aspects of contemporary
English language and ELT.
Dates and Time : Tuesday 5, Wednesday 6 and Thursday
7 July 2000
Seminar 1: 9 -
12.00 am Seminar
2: 2 - 5.00
pm
Venue: Colegio "La
Mennais" Aquistapace 1701
entre Rivera y Palermo, Punta Gorda , Montevideo, Uruguay Telephone: 600
5620
Transport: Buses along
Caramurú, Av Rivera and Av Italia
Enrolment: Bartolomé Mitre
1488 ap 402 11.004 Montevideo, Uruguay
Tel/fax: 915 4377
(answerphone) from 25 May to 30
June 2000
Fees: One seminar: Uruguayan $ 500 Both
seminars: Uruguayan $ 900
, in cash or in two
instalments
Method of Payment:
cash, cheque or deposit/giro to the following account
:
Jorge Suárez
Coyle - Cta. N° 1666002
- BankBoston -
Casa
Central
Zabala 1463,
Montevideo (not later than 39th June, 2000)
(4) THE
UNBEARABLE LISTS
Our dear old
friend Fabiana Constantino, sends us another "unbearable list". An example
of super condensed wit on :
THINGS YOU WISH
YOU COULD SAY AT WORK
I don't know what your problem is, but I bet
it's hard to pronounce.
How about never ? Is never good for
you ?
I'll try being nicer if you'll try being smarter.
I'm not being rude, you're just insignificant.
If I
throw a stick, will you leave?
Nice perfume. Must you marinate in
it?
I thought I wanted a career, turns out I just wanted
paychecks.
(5) S.O.S. FROM A
DEAR SHARER
Dear Postmaster SHARERS:
Thank you ever so much for the updated information on
congresses, lectures and workshops , for the poems and reflections
and for all your best wishes...
By the way... do you know or does anyone know a poem on
"ties"...
My request may sound unusual but my Seniors at
school will be given a new tie( to replace the usual one they´ve used for
years and to distinguish them from the rest of the students ). I am planning to
focus their attention not on the fact that we will be replacing a simple article
for another but on what this tie means and I really thought it would
be great to say something special on this occassion and may be find a poem
or short story that might relate to the occassion.
All ideas from SHARERS will be very much appreciated. Thank
you for your cooperation !
Thanks once again and I hope to hear from
you SOON!!!!!!!!!
Silvia Stier
I searched for a poem in the Net whole week and could not find
one. I remember there was a poem called "Old School Tie" in an old book by
Eckersley called "England and the English" (circa 1944) or in a book by
Molinelli Wells "My English Book" published in our our country also in the 40´s.
I´m not sure about this (maybe memory is playing an awful trick on me !)
Unfortunately, I have not kept either of these books. But maybe,
a SHARER can help...
Poem or no poem, isn´t it a good idea to give our
about-to-graduate from Secondary School students a "very special tie". I know
this is not a new idea and
that this is done with sweaters and the like, but it is nevertheless an
idea you might wish to suggest to your fellow teachers and staff.
(6) ARE MIDDLE-SCHOOLERS A BLESSING OR A
NIGHTMARE ?
What are
Middle Schoolers?
What are middle schoolers?
I
was asked one day.
I knew what they were,
But what should I say?
They are noise and confusion.
They are silence that is deep.
They are sunshine and laughter.
Or clouds that will weep.
They
are swift as arrows.
They are wasters of time.
They want to be rich,
But cannot save a dime.
They are rude and nasty.
They are as
polite as can be.
They want parental guidance,
But fight to be free.
They are aggressive and bossy.
They are timid and shy.
They know
all the answers,
But still will ask "why".
They are awkward and
clumsy.
They are graceful and poised.
They are ever changing,
But do
not be annoyed.
What are middle schoolers?
I was asked one day.
They are the future unfolding,
Do not stand in the way.
Author
Unknown.
Isn´t it a great portrait of what our EGB Third Cycle ( and
beyond) students are ? Thank you Bernieh ! If you have not visited
Bernieh´s page :
http://bernieh.com.ar , you do not know what you are
missing !! Don´t tell us we
didn´t tell you !
(7) WELL DESERVED SUCCESS
FOR APIBA SIG´S
Some of APIBA SIG´s have already
had their first meeting and they haver met with expected and well deserved
success. Some of the biggest names in the Buenos Aires
ELT scene are coordinating the groups or participating in them !
Analía Kandel, APIBA SIGs Liaison Officer, apibasigs@hotmail.com the
right
person to contact for registration
or additional details, announces on behalf of
APIBA´s Executive Committe :
Timetable to June 17
SECOND MEETINGS
Language SIG
Co-ordinators: Viviana Myslicki - Daniel
Reznik
Date: Saturday, June 3 Time: 10 - 13
Venue:
Cultural Inglesa de Buenos Aires, Viamonte 1475, Buenos Aires
Agenda:
1. Organising Language Learning: What, Why, How, What for.
Short presentations by SIG members Silvana Cominelli, Magdalena Dacunto, Viviana
Myslicki and Analia Kandel followed by general discussion.
2. Exploring language through video. Analysis of the language
contents of three 10-minute video segments (sitcom, comedy, chat show). Video
material presented by SIG Members Patricia Negro, Flavia Lamborghini and Maria
Luisa Ghisalberti.
Methodology SIG
Co-ordinators: Silvia Luppi - Roxana Viñes
Date: Friday, June
9 -- Time: 18.30 - 21
Venue: Language Two School of English, Av
Gaona 1846, Buenos Aires
Agenda:
Main topic: Classroom
management issues. Each sub-topic will be introduced by a SIG member, and
followed by debate and discussion:
Sub-topic 1: Management
and leadership (Susan Hylliard);
Sub-topic 2: Report from
books (Ma. Angeles Rodríguez);
Sub-topic 3:
Contributions from the field of NLP (Andrea Rompatto);
Round-up: ELT News
(Mercedes Rossetti)
Literature SIG Co-ordinators: Valeria
Artigue - Alfredo Jaeger
Date: Saturday, June
10 -- Time: 10 - 12.30
Venue: SBS Palermo, Cnel. Diaz 1747, Buenos
Aires
Agenda:
Main topic: Why should we
teach Literature? Each sub-topic will be introduced by a SIG member, and
followed by debate and discussion.
Sub-topic 1: The Origins of Literature
(Martha D’Adamo and Pablo Toledo)
Sub-topic 2: Which Literature? (Valeria
Artigue)
Sub-topic 3: Language through Literature? Language and Literature?
Literature through language? (Marisa Vilaseco)
Sub-topic 4: Revamping the
Oldies (Alfredo Jaeger)
Participants will bring different types of text
(ancient, classic and modern) to put the theory discussed in the first part of
the session into practice.
Business
SIG Co-ordinators: Virginia López Grisolía - Alicia
Perera
Date: Tuesday, June
13 -- Time: 10.30 - 12.30
Venue: Interaction Language Studio,
Av. L.N. Alem 424 P.B., Buenos Aires
Agenda:
Content-based approach to the study of
Business language. Language Area: Economy. Basic terminology, graphs, the
business cycle, the three sectors of the economy, competition, government
spending, inflation, unemployment, taxation, economic theories.
Computers SIG
Co-ordinators: Nora
Lizemberg - Pablo Toledo
Date: Saturday, June
17 -- Time: 10 – 12.30
Venue: SBS Palermo, Cnel. Diaz
1747, Buenos Aires
Agenda:
Main Topic: Why use
computers to teach English?
Sub-topic 1: Advantages
and disadvantages of CALL
Sub-topic 2: The effect
of computers in SLA
Sub-topic 3: Presentation
of material and some key concepts by SIG Member Angela
Cosentino.
FIRST MEETING
History / Civilisation SIG
Co-ordinators: Cristina Bardeci - Paula Lopez
Cano
Date: Thursday, 8 June -- Time: 19 to 21
Venue:
IES en Lenguas Vivas "J.R.Fernandez", Av. Carlos Pellegrini 1515, Room 17
(Edificio Matriz), Buenos Aires
Pre-enrolment is not essential, but it is desirable. If at
all possible, those interested in participating in SIG meetings please e-mail apibasigs@hotmail.com to confirm their
attendance. Those who can't confirm, please come
anyway.
Did yu know APIBA will be hosting FAPPI 2001 in Buenos Aires ?
For information on APIBA, e-mail President Dr. Cristina Banfi apiba99@yahoo.com
FAAPI 2002 ? In heart of Argentina : Córdoba . Contact
Cordoba´s Association Dr. Mario López Barrios lopez@powernet.com.ar
(8) TWO MESSAGES FROM SUSAN
Our Dear friend and SHARER, Susan Hylliard writes to us :
"Dear Omar,
I wanted to let you know for SHARE that Claudia Rey has had her paper
accepted for presentation at:
The International Symposium
Reading Pictures: Art, Narrative and
Childhood
1-4 September 2000,
Homerton College, University of Cambridge England, UK.
and will speak on " Reading between the Pictures:
Teaching Reading Strategies with Picture Books." on Saturday 2 September
2000 10.45 to 12.45.
I think we should all be extremely proud of her and send our best wishes
and congratulations for a successful presentation."
Claudia is a graduate from Instituto de Enseñanza Superior en Lenguas
Vivas "Juan Ramón Fernandez" where she is currently
lecturing. She is a talented and respected young ELT professional with
plenty of classroom experience. We join Susan in congratulating her
and wishing her the very best in her presentation in Cambridge.
But Susan has something else in store for all our SHARERS. a beutiful poem
for reflection :
THE AVERAGE CHILD
I don´t cause teachers trouble
My grades have been O.K.
I listen in my classes
And I´m in school every day
My parents I´m average
My teachers think so too
I wish I didn´t know that
Cause there´s lots I´d like to do
I´d like to build a rocket
I´ve a book that shows you how
Or start a stamp collection
Well no use in trying now
Cause since I´ve found I´mm average
I´m just smart enough you see
To know there´s nothing special
That I should expect of me
I´m part of a majority
That hump part of the bell
Who spends his life unnoticed
In an average kind of hell.
First presented at 1979 Natinal PTA Convention by Michael Buscemi, Quest
International .
Lots of food for thought for us teachers, don´t you think ? Thank you,
Susan !
(9) MAESTRIA IN UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE TUCUMAN
In a previous issue of SHARE, we stated circulating information about
the Maestria en Didáctica de las Lenguas 1999-2000 organized by the
Facultad de
Filosofía y Letras de la Universidad Nacional de
Tucumán. Here are more some details :
Comisión
Académica
Directora:
Prof. Silvia E. Helman de Urtubey
Comisión
de Estudios y Admisión
Prof.
María Virginia Babot de Bacigaluppi
Dra.
Elisa Cohen de Chervonagura
Mag.
Lucrecia D'Andrea de Mirande
Secretaría
: Prof.
María Luisa Paz
Cuerpo
docente y de asesoramiento
académico
Prof.
Irma Bijout de Azar, U.N. La Plata
Dra.
Liliana Cubo de Ceverino, U.N. Cuyo
Mag.
Estela Klett, UBA
Dra.
Edith Litwin, UBA
Prof.
Elsa Palou de Carranza, U.N. Río Cuarto
Dra.
Magdalena Viramonte de Abalos, U.N.Córdoba)
Dr.
Gerardo Alvarez, Universidad Laval, Quebec, Canadá &
Universidad de Concepción, Chile
Dra.
Marta María Barallo de Rengel, Universidad de Nebrija,
Madrid
Dr.
Roberto Ibañez,Universidad de Hamburgo,
Alemania
Dr.
Marc Souchon,Universidad de Franche, Compté, Besançon,
Francia
Dra.
Alicia Velázquez Bellot, Siemens AG, Frankfurt,
Alemania
Cursos 2000
Sociolingüística
aplicada a la Enseñanza de la Lengua
Dra.
Elisa Cohen de Chervonagura.
Duración:
30 horas - 12 al 16 de
junio.
Curriculum
y Rol Docente
Mag.
Clotilde Yapur
Duración:
30 horas - 20 al 23 y 30 de junio.
Diseño
Curricular
Mag.
Lucrecia D’Andrea de Mirande y Mag.. Rosa Perea de Otrera
Duración:
30 horas - 24 al 29 de julio 2000.
Adquisición
de las Lenguas Materna y Extranjera
Dra
Martha Baralo de Rengel.
Duración:
30 horas - 21 al 25 de agosto.
Seminario
de Investigación ( conducente al Proyecto de la Tesis de
Magister)
Dra
María Soledad Alonso de Rúffolo
Duración:
40 horas - 5 al 8 y 19 al 22 de setiembre .
Fonética
y Fonología Contrastivas
Prof.
Fanny Díaz Cancellieri.
Duración:
30 horas - 14, 15, 16; 28, 29 y 30 de septiembre; 5, 6, 7 de octubre
Evaluación
de los Aprendizajes en Lengua
Prof.
Alicia Villagra de Burgos
Duración:
30 hors - 16 al 20 de octubre
Psicolingüística aplicada
a la Enseñanza de la Lengua
Dra.
Constanza Padilla de Zerdán.
Duración:
30 horas - 20 al 24 de noviembre.
(10)
FIFTH BIENNIAL SEMINAR IN PARANA
Ing. José Maria Virgili, Director of
Ciclo de Licenciaturas Facultad Regional
Avellaneda de la Universidad Tecnológica
Nacional has appointed Omar Villarreal to represent the Ciclo de Licenciaturas
FRA-UTN at the Fifth Biennial Seminar and Second Regional Congress to
be held in Paraná from Thursday 8th through Saturday 10th of
June.
Omar will present his paper "Cognition,
Learning and the Construction of an
Educational Technology from a Vygotskian
Perspective"
This event organized with the unifying
theme of Teaching with the Brain in Mind is
sponsored by San Diego State University, California, USA
For
enrolment and further information, telephone 0343-4315018 or e-mail
the organizers at americaneng@infovia.com.ar .
(11) A
"LINGUISTICS" WISECRACK
"A linguistics professor was lecturing
to his class one day. "In English," he
said, "A double negative forms a
positive. In some languages, though, such as
Russian, a double negative is
still a negative. However, there is no language
wherein a double positive
can form a negative."
A voice from the back of the room piped up, "Yeah,
right." "
So far the joke as it was published.
Now "yeah, right" is without doubt (?) a double positive ? What are its
implicatures ? Is it correct to say that what the student meant was " no, there
isn´t" or "Yes, you are right there isn´t one" ?
(12)
MARTIN IRON OR MR SECOND SHADOW ?
Last Monday was the Martin
Fierro Night organized by APTRA. Did you know of the existence of a parallel
prize "The Worst in Argentinian Television 1999" ,
it´s called "Premio Don Segundo Sombra" and you can e-mail your ballots to
the periodismo.com. This year more than 5,000
people voted in a period of two months. And the Winner is....
Worst Female TV Host
(conductora):
Jimena Cyruinik -
Versus
Araceli Gonzalez- Fort
Boyard
Catherine Fullop -
Metroshow
Worst Male TV Host
Roberto Giordano -
Desfiles 99
Baby
Etchecopar - El
Angel
Marley -
Teleshow
Worst
Actress
Karin Cohen-
Margaritas
Florencia de la Vega -
Margaritas
Anabel Cherubito -
Margaritas
Worst
Actor
Florencia de la Vega -
Margaritas
Adrían Suar - Por el
nombre de Dios
Juan Carlos Calabró -
Campeones
Worst Embarassment of
the Year
Exit Polls - ( encuestas
a boca de urna)
Fat Man Overboard (Gordo
al Agua)
Carlos Avila - from T y
C. "tipsy" on Martin Fierro Prizegiving Night
Worst
Programme
Telefé Noticias -
Telefé
Margaritas-
Azul
Salvajes - Azul
Perdidos en el Espacio-
América
Atorrantes 99 -
Azul
We could use this list to
practice contrast between BEST and WORST. You can ask the students to recall
what the BEST one was and to "vote" for the
WORST one in each
category. Then you disclose the list to them. Additional points are awarded for
perfect matches. Sequences of BAD-WORSE- WORST can also be
practised like : Marley was bad, but
Baby Etchecopar was worse. Roberto Giordano was the worst one of them
all.
(13) SEE YOU IN SANTA FE
Early on in the morning
of May 25th I will be travelling to Santa Fé for the
Congrees on Professional
Development organized by the Universidad Nacional del Litoral. These are
the times and venues for my presentations :
1.- The Teaching of English in Argentina : The Tragedy and
the Glory.
Officially
representing Instituto Nacional Superior del Profesorado Técnico de
la Universidad Tecnológica Nacional
Friday 26th - 12:00 hours - Room 9 -
Facultad de Ingeniería Química -
100 participants
The
"STARTING OVER SYNDROME “(SOS) has
haunted the teaching of English in our country for years and it still
does ! Year after year, we teachers seem to be condemmed to start afresh
with every new group.
In
this presentation participants will take a quick round tour down memory lane
examining the predominant sets of beliefs, achievements and shortcomings of ELT in our country
over the last 25 years and will critically evaluate some of the latest
"promises" and “illusions “
2.- Teaching 40 in 40 minutes : Just
a question of strategies ?
Macmillan Heinemann ELT
Friday 26th - 20:00 hours - Room 9 Facultad
de Ingeniería Química
Is it a just a question of possessing the
right teaching strategies or the necessary conservation instinct ?
How to make the most of those 40 minute
lessons with students in the last three
years of Secondary School.
Reading across the curriculum might be just
one of the many possible answers. This practical demonstration will be
illustrated with concrete examples of applications from the different
"modalidades" of Educación Polimodal.
I have been browsing the Congress site and
having a look at the list of participants. Impressive ! And also how many
familiar names. I can hardly wait till Thursday to meet so many friends
again !
____________________________________________________________________________
Another issue of SHARE is coming to an end, but we
would not like to say goodbye without first repeating of plea in the editorial.
If you are somewhere cozy at home, at the office at the school or college
reading this : thank God for that. Other people are suffering out there and as
we said before ; we can all do
something for
them.
So, we can say
goodbye now with this beautiful poem
that Silvia Cristina Della Vedova
<silviadv@infovia.com.ar>
from Villa Mercedes, San Luís sent to us :
WHAT DO ANGELS LOOK
LIKE?
Like the little old lady who returned
your
wallet yesterday.
Like the taxi driver who told you that your
eyes
light up the world, when you smile.
Like the small child who showed
you the
wonder in simple things.
Like the poor man who offered to share
his lunch
with you.
Like the rich man who showed you that it
really is
all possible, if only you believe.
Like the stranger who just happened to
come
along,
when you had lost your way.
Like the friend who touched
your heart,
when you didn't think you had one.
Angels come in all sizes and shapes,
all
ages and skin types.
Some with freckles, some with dimples,
some with
wrinkles, some without.
They come disguised as friends, enemies
teachers,
students, lovers and fools.
They don't take life too seriously, they
travel
light.
They leave no forwarding address, they ask
nothing in
return.
They are hard to find when your eyes are closed,
but when
you
choose to see, they are everywhere you look.
So, open you eyes and count all
your Angels-
for you are truly blessed
!
BE
AN ANGEL TO THE ONES IN NEED AND BE BLESSED !
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