Instituto Superior de Formación Docente y Técnica n° 55

25th Anniversary

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT WEEK  

 

«True teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross, then having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own.» — Nikos Kazantzakis

 Overview

 The English teacher training college at I.S.F.D y T N° 55 opened in 2004 catering for the local needs for graduate teachers of English with solid knowledge of both the English language and teaching strategies with a view to improving the quality of English learning both in primary and secondary schools in the area.  Since then, the number of students has been increasing steadily and there are already many graduate teachers working in the local schools.

 The aim of this Department Week is to offer not only students but also teachers of English – both graduate and non-graduate- the possibility to come into contact with our different projects, workshops and presentations delivered by several specialists.

In this way, we seek to open our doors to all those interested in the English teaching career hoping that the events organized for this special event will come up to your expectations.

 

 

 

English Staff

 

 

Monday, 24th October

Venue: I.S.F.D y T. N° 55 (Belgrano  y Estrada, Escobar)

Registration: send an email to gracielammartinez@yahoo.com.ar, or personally at the English department of I.S.F.D. every day from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Opening words by the head of the I.S.F.D y T. N° 55,  Lic. Laura Walker

6 p.m.:                 

Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary – 8^th edition: Choose it, Use it, Love it

This new Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 8th Edition has one more reason to love it – Its digital and video links help us approach new vocabulary in different, less traditional and more effective ways. This presentation will familiarize us with this version of a very reliable dictionary and will teach us how to exploit all its potential. Don’t miss it!

7:30 p.m.: Room A:

Let’s Experience CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning):

Interest in alternative methods of language instruction and thus of understanding foreign cultures has been very great at all times in history. At present, we are facing the challenge of improving our communication skills in the target language in  science, art, technology,  etc. as we live in an international global society (where the ‘Globish’ language  is English). CLIL may prove a useful method. Learn about it, its main characteristics and its potential effectiveness in secondary school teaching.

Mara de Lamadrid, Teresita Olmedo, Valentina Benseñy are 4^th year students at the institute and they are also teaching in both primary and secondary. They have carried out research on the subject of CLIL. They are willing to share it with us!

 A thematic approach to song lyrics in classwork

We all know that songs are one of the tools which are highly motivating in classes. This presentation will bring in a new insight into the use of songs for the purpose of teaching. Let´s give a careful look at lyrics to exploit all their potential!

Natalia Ortega Pedros, Silvana Lopez, Silvia Gelosi are current 4th year students at the profesorado and have prepared this talk for their didactics course. Let´s ‘listen’ and learn!

7:30 p.m. Room B: 

Warm-ups: An essential step in the English class

Warm-ups help your learners put aside their daily distractions and focus on English. If they haven’t used English all day, for instance, they may take a little while to shift into it. This workshop, in charge of 2^nd year students, focuses on the presentation and discussion of different warm-up activities for primary school. Come and make your own suggestions! 

Let’s deal with creative interactional games which will stir our students’ minds. Be ready to relax and have fun!

Learning through games can be possible if considerations are made. Making our class ‘eclectic’ can be a bit risky but also very challenging. This workshop will define ‘informed eclecticism’ and will suggest ways of implementing it in the primary and secondary schools. Students from 3^rd year ‘Prácticas’ are in charge and will share their knowledge and experience with us.

 

Tuesday, 25^th October

6 p.m:

ETIMag (English Teaching Interactive)

ETIMag is a magazine which combines both a monthly publication on paper and a website offering support for teachers. Articles on methodology as well as loads of ready-to-use material ranging from games to grammar and skills both printable and photocopiable can be found in both formats. Profesora Patricia Salvador, its Editorial Director, graduated from Instituto Superior de Lenguas Vivas “Juan R. Fernández” and specialised in Didactics at Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. She will be presenting the magazine. Enjoy games, prizes and raffles.

 

7 p.m.

Contemporary Colloquial English as Heard on TV Sitcoms and Soap Operas by Oriel Villagarcía

When watching TV sitcoms and soap operas, we are likely to come across lots of expressions we seldom find in books or deal with in language classes. This workshop highlights the substantial gap between the language the student is exposed to in most textbooks and colloquial, conversational English.

Oriel Villagarcía, Profesor en inglés Magna Cum Laude, Univ. Nac. de Tucumán, British Council and Fulbright Scholar, post graduate studies, University of Texas, M.A., University of Lancaster. Certified Administrator of the Myer Briggs Type Indicator, Florida, USA. Master Practitioner of NLP, Certificate of Completion, NLP University, Santa Cruz, California. He has taught at the Univ. Católica de Salta, Univ. Nac. de Rio Cuarto, and Univ. Nac. de Santiago del Estero. He was on the Advisory Panel for the MACMILLAN ENGLISH DICTIONARY, First Edition.

 

Wednesday, 26^th October

The English Department offers Theatre in English for our school students. Everybody is invited to come!

Profesora María Luján Graciano is a graduate teacher from the I.S.P ‘Joaquín.V. González’ and has been one of the first teachers at the institute. She is currently an oral language and culture teacher at the institute and usually prepares performances with her students. This time they will be put on at the Seminari theatre. Not to be missed!

  

6 p.m:

Licenciatura en Inglés: how much do we know about it?

After graduating from teacher training college teachers often wonder whether a ‘licenciatura’ is a convenient way of furthering studies.

Profesora Paola Gonzalez, graduate teacher from ISFDyT Nº 55, currently engaged in her Licenciatura at Universidad Tecnológica Nacional , will  tell us about the course and will share her own experience with us. Ideal for graduate teachers who would like to broaden their knowledge of the English language.  

Our Experience in England

Learning a foreign language for many years may prove quite a hard and exhausting experience. Living that foreign language and its culture, its history and literature and interacting with its people will certainly make up for the effort.

Jesica Fenara, Mara de Lamadrid  (both current students at ISFDyT Nª 55) and Profesora Laura Derylo (graduate teacher from the same college) will tell us about their experience in England. They will take us on a tour of the country visiting its most important cities and its amazing countryside. They will tell us how they actually “lived” the language they have been studying for so long and what they felt when they could actually come into contact with so many aspects of the English culture which they had only read about in books or seen in films. Unmissable!

An overview of some aspects of SLA

SLA (Second Language Acquisition) is the study of the way in which people learn a language other than their mother tongue. As never before, people have had to learn a second language, not just for pleasure, but often as a means of obtaining an education or securing employment. In times of the “global village” and the “World Wide Web” communication between people has expanded far beyond their local speech communities.

Prof. Mariela Mazzulli, graduate teacher from ISFDyT Nº 55, currently teaching both at primary and secondary level, will deliver a presentation dealing with some of the most important issues concerning SLA. Essential concepts which no present-day teacher of English can ignore.

7:30 p.m:          

Literary contest: POEMS and SHORT STORIES

Award- giving ceremony                         

Writing is not only a means of developing linguistic skills but it is also a tool to deepen our understanding of the world around us and to boost creativity, two essential assets in a professional teacher. Students at ISFDyT N°55 write extensively in English throughout the course of studies. We thought this anniversary offered a perfect chance for those students who wanted to write ‘just for fun’. Join us to give them a clap!

(Stories written by students from the I.S.P.D y T. N° 55)

 

6 p.m:

New Classroom Trends? Let’s face the challenge together!

 

In a fast-changing world, meeting our students’ growing needs has become a new challenge for all of us teachers. A challenge we can’t afford to face alone. It’s collaborative work between students and teachers all along. Let’s see how we can adopt what our students like and adapt it to meet our teaching needs.

 

Gustavo González, graduated as a teacher of English at I.S.F.D. N° 5 in Pergamino and holds a postgraduate degree from UBA, the National University of Buenos Aires. He’s currently attending a postgraduate diploma course on Education and New Technologies at FLACSO (Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales). He has been in the ELT field since 1993, working as a teacher, school coordinator, teacher trainer and presenter.

 

8 p.m: CLOSURE