First half-year project: group 4

Students' projects: group 3

Students' projects: group 2

First half-year project: group 1

This is how students in 8th advanced worked. They chose different topics covered during the first half of the year. Here are some of the results. Congratulations to everybody and get ready for the second half.

Your teachers Susan and Pat

Task-based approach and multiple intelligences

Quería compartir con ustedes estos artículos publicados por la Prof. Liliana Galiano en el portal de Educ.ar/Lenguas Extranjeras
Me pareció una descripción simple y muy clara de dos conceptos con los que trabajamos a diario.
Espero que les resulten ineteresantes e inspiradores... en especial en esta época del año.

El Aprendizaje Basado en Tareas ( TBLT)
El Aprendizaje Basado en Tareas es uno de los métodos comunicativos que se siguen usando aunque no en forma general en la enseñanza de idomas extranjeros. Es una de las teorías más innovadoras en la enseñanza del Lenguas Extranjeras. Sostiene que el idioma extranjero se aprende mejor siguiendo un proceso diferente del que se conoce en el paradigma tradicional de instrucción: PPP: Presentación-Práctica-Producción.
En nuestro país el uso de TBLT en la enseñanza de Inglés no es general, sino que es utilizado por algunos institutos privados y en algunas universidades, grupos que se aventuran en este método comunicativo.
Condiciones Necesarias para el Aprendizaje de Idiomas
-Exposición a una rica variedad del lenguaje real y del mundo real al que están expuestos.
-Oportunidades para el uso real del idioma, para que experimenten y testen hipótesis, para que digan lo que quieren decir, en distintas circunstancias.
-Motivación para escuchar y leer, para procesar el significado del lenguaje y para usarlo en forma oral y escrita.
-Concentración en el lenguaje, oportunidades para reflexionar sobre el lenguaje y tratar de sistematizarlo.
-Exposición al IdiomaUso del Idioma
-MotivaciónAnálisis y Práctica del Idioma
-Concienciación de la Lengua
Algunos libros están basados en este nuevo enfoque, por ejemplo el Cutting Edge para el Inglés.
La conferencia de IATEFL ( Asociación Internacional de Profesores de Inglés como Idioma Extranjero) fue celebrada en Harrogate en Abril de 2006. Allí, Jane Willis, comenta sobre como adaptar los libros de texto al Aprendizaje Basado en Tareas:
'Deberíamos hacer tiempo para incluir tareas en nuestras clases de idioma; para adaptar nuestros textos a las tareas podemos seguir estos lineamientos:
-Partiendo del texto del libro, planear una tarea para dar a nuestros alumnos, teniendo en cuenta el lenguaje que van a necesitar y el producto al que queremos llegar.
-Explicamos claramente la tarea, dando el vocabulario necesario y cumpliendo las distintas etapas del proceso de las tareas.
-Buscamos feedback de nuestros alumnos, sobre el método utilizado.'
Otros linguistas en general consideran a TBLT como un enfoque más, y hacen la siguiente pregunta: ¿Nuevo paradigma o moda pasajera?

Atendiendo la diversidad de capacidades en nuestros alumnos en todos los niveles: Las Inteligencias Múltiples

Uno de los temas más interesantes para los profesores de Lenguas Extranjeras y Profesores en general es el de las Múltiples Inteligencias. A continuación se ofrece una completa descripción de cada una de ellas según la clasificación de su autor, el Dr. Gardner, y algunos modelos que incluyen ésta temática con el formato de tareas del Aprendizaje Basado en Tareas (TBLT), en el área lengua extranjera. Cabe destacar en esta introducción que esta teoría innovadora, aunque hace ya años que se ha estado implementando, se diferencia de la teoría clásica de IQ-Coeficiente Intelectual, lo que representa un nuevo paradigma de representación de la inteligencia humana. Otras corrientes prefieren hablar de distintos 'perfiles' de inteligencia en los individuos.

En nuestra tarea diaria de enseñanza de lenguas, nos encontramos con que nuestros alumnos responden de manera muy variada a nuestra instrucción, en muchos cursos incluso, el número de alumnos que no alcanza los niveles deseados es mucho mayor que en otros. No importa cuanta ejercitación planeamos diariamente para nuestras clases, los resultados no acompañan nuestros esfuerzos.
Conocemos nuestras capacidades y conocimientos, y que hay muchos inconvenientes que se interponen entre lo que queremos enseñar y lo que los alumnos aprenden, también observamos problemas de dispersión, desconcentración, falta de interés y resistencia a aprender lo que les enseñamos.
Entonces es cuando debemos pensar en un cambio de técnicas para ensayar y probar cual es el más adecuado para nuestros grupos.
Una de ellas es la descubierta por el Dr. Howard Gardner, Profesor de Educación y de Psicología, en la Universidad de Harvard, Massachusetts y autor del Proyecto Zero en la Escuela de Educación para Graduados en Harvard.
El Dr. Gardner es el autor de la Teoría de las Inteligencias Múltiples (1983), que considera que el ser humano tiene distintas inteligencias que se desarrollan de diferente manera. Esta teoría no coincide con la teoría clásica de IQ o Coeficiente Intelectual, o se complementa con ella. Su autor prefiere que esta teoría sea considerada como una herramienta y no como un objetivo en sí mismo. También publicó varios libros de fama mundial, entre ellos: Inteligencias Múltiples, Desarrollo y Educación de la Mente y Tipos de Mente.
Definición de Inteligencia: ‘Una inteligencia es la habilidad de resolver problemas o de crear productos que son valorados en una o más culturas.’ H. Gardner
Distingue entre los siguientes tipos de habilidades:
Inteligencia Lingüística-------------palabras
Inteligencia Lógica-Matemática---números o lógica
Inteligencia Espacial----------------dibujos, fotos
Inteligencia Físico-Kinésica--------actividad física
Inteligencia Musical-----------------música
Inteligencia Interpersonal----------experiencia social
Inteligencia Intrapersonal----------reflexión
Inteligencia Natural-----------------experiencia con la naturaleza(Espiritual y Existencial, están en estudio.)
Click para leer los artículos completos con ejemplos y casos prácticos

NEW BLOG

As we enjoyed sharing information through blogs, this time we are posting our personal profiles, including some photos and family videos.

Click and join us!

Teacher´s comment:
This activity enhances students´motivation for writing tasks. Sharing personal information might be fascinating for some students but a nightmare for others. This individual and, at the same time, group task seeks to attract students into expressing themselves and telling others about their hobbies, friends, family or whatever they may think of.
For those who are shy, a screen will result less embarrassing. For those who are eager to tell their whole lives, they will have to think twice in order to organize the information into coherent paragraphs.
Finally, the "little lie" or false information they are asked to include is nothing but an excuse to calll them back to the blog after having posted their own profile and, of course, a reading comprehension activity.
I hope my students show interest in the activity and this idea becomes useful for all of us teachers too.
For further comments, ideas, suggestions, you may contact me at: jcastellion@gmail.com
Thre task follows the writing activity in Matrix Intermediate. Unit 2.

Some opinions on "Frankenstein-Laugh at your Fears"

I would like to share with my fellow teachers some of the opinions of the 2nd High Advanced students after watching the play. Aren´t they cute?

First, I really enjoyed the play, I laughed a lot and it was very amusing. It seems to me that the central objective was to entertain the children in order to they didn't get bored and to teach something to them.At first, I didn't like the idea of a "continuation" of the Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. I thought that it'd better to see the "real" story that preservs the original spirit of Shelley. But, in my opinion the continuation was a kind of an infantile version of the original that was done to "catch" some of the basic "teachings" that the writer wanted to put in her story and more that Shelley didn't mentioned like "laugh at your fears".The songs were excellent. My favourite was "The secret to life", I really like the rhythm!That was only my opinion
Publicado por Johanna Gueler and Florencia Herbstein

Well, I think that the play was excellent. I liked it very much (I love comedies!) and I enjoyed the huge difference between this story and the original one; this one is like a parody because it's more modern... with Igor falling in love of Miss Blotcher, and the coquette Elizabeth, the mistery of the word "laboratory" (the strange and strong sound), the apparition of Homero Simpson!! And the salesman of body parts.Also I liked all the songs. The best one for me was the last one: laugh at your fears, with the monster singing!
Publicado por Guillermo Mosse

The play was fantastic! I'd really enjoy it. The songs (laugh at your fears, body parts)and the characters (Igor, Dr.Frankenstein, Ema, Frankenstein -the monster-, Miss Blotcher, etc.)were awesome.
Publicado por Natalia Gluj.

You can also see what they have been working on by visiting our blog Frankenstein

FRANKENSTEIN

Hi! This time we are inviting you to visit our brand new blog. Welcome to Frankenstein...

Very soon, on October 25th, THE STAGE COMPANY is visiting our school to put on "Frankenstein- laugh at your fears", a musical based on Mary Shelley´s classic.


Join us in our tasks and get to know one of the best-known characters in English literature!

We are reading Matilda

The Second High Advanced students at Yatay are reading Matilda, by Roald Dahl, and have also enjoyed the movie.

We invite you to share some of the activities we are carrying out.
Visit our blog: wearereadingmatilda Hope you all like it!

The Simpsons are everywhere so... why not in our classes?

1. Opening Sequence from The Simpsons.
Put these sentences in the correct order according to what you remember!

The family running to the sofa in front of the television
Homer leaving and driving home from work
Marge at the supermarket
Bart writing on the blackboard
Lisa playing the saxophone
Bart on his skateboard

2. Look at these pictures. What are the Simpsons doing?

Complete the sentences. Look at the example:

The Simpsons are watching TV.














Lisa ..................................

Marge ............................

Homer ........................

Lisa .....................................

Bart .........................................

All the family ................................

The Simpsons .............................

Homer ....................................

Homer ........................

Homer .......................................

Homer ................................

Maggie ...................................

The family
Draw a family tree for the Simpsons. Include: Homer Simpson, Marge Bouvier, Bart Simpson, Lisa Simpson, Maggie Simpson, Abraham Simpson, Patty Bouvier, and Selma Bouvier.






Now write sentences using these words: MOTHER, FATHER, SISTER, BROTHER, SON, DAUGHTER, CHILDREN, WIFE, HUSBAND, GRANDFATHER, PARENTS.

Example: Bart is Homer´s son.
..................................................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................................

4. Analyzing Characters from The Simpsons
For each character, complete the information. Use these words:

Magazine
Ignorant
Family
Shoes
Behaviour
Wrong
Tall
Dress
Lazy
Ridiculous
Blue
Jazz
Saxophone
Nuclear power plant
Often

Homer:
Homer works in a ......................................
The advice he gives his children is often ....................... and ..........................
Homer is ................. and ..........................

Marge:
Her hair is exaggerated: very .................. and ........................
She always wears pearls, a ........................., and nice ............................
She worries about the family’s morality and the children’s ...........................
She is ............... reading a ..................... called Fretful Mother.

Lisa:
Lisa is the moral center of the ..................
She listens to ........................... and plays the ..........................

Now, in pairs, choose ONE main character and TWO additional characters and write 3 sentences about each. You can choose from the list:

a) ...............................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................

b) ..................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................

c) ......................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................


Main Characters
Simpson, Bart
Simpson, Homer
Simpson, Lisa
Simpson, Maggie
Simpson, Marge

Additional Characters
Bouvier, Patty
Bouvier, Selma
Burns, Charles
Flanders, Ned
Flanders, Rod
Flanders, Todd
Itchy the Mouse
Krusty the Clown
Scratchy the Cat
Simpson, Abraham
Skinner, Seymour
Smithers, Waylon
Szyslak, Moe
Van Houten, Milhou

Springfield
Describe the picture. Start like this:

Springfield is a ........................................ in ......................................... .

The Simpson family ...................................... here.

In Springfield there is ............................................................., .................................................................. and ..................................................................

There are ............................................... and ........................................................... near Bart´s school.
The Simpsons house has got ............... ................................................................., ..................................., ............................. and ......................................................... .

I like ....................................................... but I don´t like .................................... .

Pictures and information from: http://www.thesimpsons.com/index.html and http://www.thesimpsons.com/characters/

Creativity

Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson challenges the way we're educating our children. He champions a radical rethink of our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence.



Sir Ken Morrison makes an entertaining (and profoundly moving) case for creating an education system that nurtures creativity, rather than undermining it. With ample anecdotes and witty asides, Robinson points out the many ways our schools fail to recognize -- much less cultivate -- the talents of many brilliant people. "We are educating people out of their creativity," Robinson says.

Cooking marathon projects

Susan

Soporte técnico medieval

Para reflexionar acerca de las brechas tecnológicas con cierto humor.

Exchanging experience

Dear Colleagues:

A wonderful chance to get in touch with teachers all over the world keen on tapping pros and cons of using blogs as a useful tool in the English class.
There goes an address there are thousands more!!!!!

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/talk/questions/blog.shtml

Shrek Karaoke Dance Party!

Watch the Shrek video, do the exercises and print them.
1) Listen and complete with the following words: before, try, bit, never, everybody, found, gonna, know, go, personal, swamp, dance, through, lost.

Hi ……………………………! and welcome to the Shrek in the ………………………………karaoke ……………………………………party!
I'm ……………………………… take things down a little …………………with one of my ……………………………………favorites.
Don’t …………………………………… changing, to ……………………………… and please me,
You've ………………………………… let me down …………………………………hhmmmmm.
I made it ………………………………the wilderness! You ……………………………… I made it through.
Didn't know how ………………………………I was until I ……………………………………you.

2) Put the sentences in the correct order
You other brothers can't deny,
with an itty bitty waist
Staying alive, staying alive
Who let the dogs out, who, who, who, who
and a round thing in your face you get
It's fun to stay at the Y M C A.
Ha, ha; ha
Yeah! I like big butts and I cannot lie
Do you really want to hurt me... Aw. Oh, oh, oh, oh
When a girl walks in
Do you really want to make me cry
ha, ha, ha, ha
It's fun to stay at the Y M C A
Feelings, who let the dogs out, who
who, who, yeah, who

3) Write the words in the correct form.
I ……………………………………… (isda) get up and …………………………… (cdnae) to the music
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom
…………………………………………………. (bveeodyry) now
Dance to the music
Oh, yeah
All we need is a ……………………………………. (mmreurd)
for ……………………… (eppole) who only need a beat yeahhhh
…………………………… (rbake) it down, Green girl
Thelonius my man
I’m gonna have ………………………………… (osme) bottoms
So that the dancers just won't …………………………… (dieh)
You ………………………………… (akte) it Shrek
You …………………………………… (htimg) like to hear my organ
I said a ……………………………… (edir), Sally ride
I can't see me loving …………………………………… (bnooyd) but you for all my …………………………… (file)
Dance to the music ,dance to the music
Shrek you ain’t dancin ………………………………………… (tey)
Dance to the music
Oh yeah!
Dance to the music
…………………………………… (nwo) that’s how I like it
Dance to the music
Everybody
Dance to the music
Dance to the music
Dance to the music
Pinocchio you wanna ……………………………………… (hcwat) that nose man
ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha

Susan and Pat

Creating a Writing Course Utilizing Class and Student Blogs

Creating a Writing Course Utilizing Class and Student Blogs Andrew Johnsonchompjp [at] mac.comRitsumeikan University (Tokyo, Japan)
Weblogs, or blogs for short, were created as a tool for people to create online journals without the need of any programming experience or knowledge. Although not originally intended for use in EFL classes, blogs have immense potential as an extremely valuable tool for the teaching of second language writing. By utilizing free blogging services on the Internet, teachers are capable of creating and storing online supplemental materials for students, post class notes for student review, and give general feedback to the class as a whole and individually. Additionally, students are able to submit assignments online. Taught in a computer room with Internet access, a writing class utilizing blogs that allows students to actually write in class on a computer can be created. The objectives of this paper are 1) to show other teachers how to set up a course using blogs at ‘Blogger' (a free blogging service) and 2) to discuss the advantages of blogs for both teachers and students. The ideas presented are based on a graduate level science writing course taught in the spring of 2003.

http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Johnson-Blogs/

Education Quotes by famous people

You can find other witty and wise quotes right HERE.

Anne Frank:
Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.

Annie Sullivan:
Children require guidance and sympathy far more than instruction.

Aristotle:
All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth.

Ralph Waldo Emerson:
Life is a succession of lessons, which must be lived to be understood.

Richard Bach:
Learning is finding out what we already know. Doing is demonstrating that you know it. Teaching is reminding others that they know just as well as you. You are all learners, doers and teachers.

Tapping oracy

Dear colleagues

I am sending you some activities to lighten up the chores of everyday teaching.
Pull your socks up and add some pep to them!!!!!!

http://eltnotebook.blogspot.com/search/label/Teaching%20Speaking


" A teacher who is attempting to teach, without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn, is hammering on a cold iron." - Horace Mann (1796-1859)

Student-centered classes - A study at Yale University

"If the child is not learning the way you are teaching, then you must teach in the way the child learns" - Rita Dunn


A study at Yale University with 3rd through 8th graders, has shown again that instruction involving analytical, creative and practical methods of instruction combined, beats the traditional rote, memory-based teaching technique. Students were divided into two groups, one given a traditional memory based approach and one with the three above mentioned techniques blended. In performance-based and memory based multiple choice tests, the blended method was superior. Let's hear it again for student-centered classrooms.
~~ The Journal of Educational Psychology (Sept. 1999) includes a great study by Reeve and Bolt (Sept 1999) on student-centered classrooms and the teaching styles they exhibit.
The teachers who use these teaching methods effectively are what the researchers call "Autonomy-supportive" teachers as opposed to "relatively controlling" teachers.
The study documented exactly what these autonomy-supportive teachers do in their classrooms.

AUTONOMY- SUPPORTIVE TEACHERS :

**listened more,
**held the instructional materials less,
**resisted giving solutions,
**supported the student's intrinsic motivation,
**verbalize fewer directives,
**ask more questions about what the students wanted to do,
**respond more to student-generated questions,
**volunteer more perspective-taking statements.

In addition, this study substantiated previous studies' claims on the ADVANTAGES OF STUDENT-CENTERED INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS.
Research shows that students in these types of classes are:

** more likely to stay in school,
** more likely to show greater perceived academic competence,
** show enhanced creativity,
** show a preference for optimal challenge,
** show greater conceptual understanding,
**show more positive emotion,
**have higher academic intrinsic motivation,
** better academic performance,
** higher academic achievement.

Mindmapping by Tony Buzan

The human brain is very different from a computer. Whereas a computer works in a linear fashion, the brain works associatively as well as linearly - comparing, integrating and synthesizing as it goes.Association plays a dominant role in nearly every mental function, and words themselves are no exception. Every single word, and idea has numerous links attaching it to other ideas and concepts.

Mind Maps™, developed by Tony Buzan are an effective method of note-taking and useful for the generation of ideas by associations. To make a mind map, one starts in the center of the page with the main idea, and works outward in all directions, producing a growing and organized structure composed of key words and key images. Key features are:

Organization
Key Words
Association
Clustering
Visual Memory - Print the key words, use color, symbols, icons, 3D-effects, arrows and outlining groups of words
Outstandingness - every Mind Map needs a unique center
Conscious involvement

Mind Maps are beginning to take on the same structure as memory itself. Once a Mind Map is drawn, it seldom needs to be referred to again. Mind Maps help organize information.
Because of the large amount of association involved, they can be very creative, tending to generate new ideas and associations that have not been thought of before. Every item in a map is in effect, a center of another map.
The creative potential of a mind map is useful in brainstorming sessions. You only need to start with the basic problem as the center, and generate associations and ideas from it in order to arrive at a large number of different possible approaches. By presenting your thoughts and perceptions in a spatial manner and by using color and pictures, a better overview is gained and new connections can be made visible.

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~charles57/Creative/Mindmap/
Watch a video about Mindmapping with Tony Buzan