Here I go again!

Hey, there! 

Here I am! After a while I'm back. I've decided to start blogging again because very soon I will be travelling to the USA to be part of the FLTA program in Monmouth, Illinois. I am back to tell you how I got to be a Foreign Language Teaching Assistant and how I feel about it. 
But before starting, I think you should know something. From now on, you will probably read entries both in Spanish and in English depending on my current mood. So, get used to it! ;) 
As for today, this is the last thing I'm going to say in English.

Bue, empecemos...

ANSIEDAD. 

Felicidad, miedo, nervios, ansiedad, ansiedad y más ansiedad. ¿Por qué tanta ansiedad? Es que hace un mes  finalmente me confirmaron que fui seleccionada para trabajar como asistente de idioma en EEUU. Locura. Hace un mes me confirmaron y hace un mes que no paro de comer. Ansiedad. 

Hace un mes que espero más novedades. Hace un mes que espero que llegue agosto. Hace un mes que espero que NO llegue agosto. Como se darán cuenta, las sensaciones son encontradas. Estoy feliz por la gran oportunidad, por la gran aventura que me espera; y estoy como loca por todo lo que dejo acá, en casa. 

Hace un mes me enteré que voy a pasar 9 meses de mi vida en la ciudad de Monmouth, Illinois. Voy a trabajar como asistente de idioma español, voy a cursar materias y me voy a cagar mucho de frío. 

Mi vida va a girar entorno a Monmouth College. (Pueden apreciar la estrellita en el mapa para saber en donde queda.)

PUEDE FALLAR.

La espera fue tediosa. Desde el momento en el que recibí el mail de Fulbright a fines de diciembre del año pasado diciendo que me habían seleccionado, me transformé en un manojo de ansiedad. Peor fue cuando nos dijeron que por más que Fulbright Argentina nos haya elegido no necesariamente podíamos irnos a EEUU. Puede pasar que ningún college o university te elija. Puede pasar de todo. Puede fallar, como decía Tusam. 

Al final, no falló. Monmouth College me eligió. Pude conocer a mi supervisor, a una profe y a un grupo de alumnos que a principios de junio vinieron para Buenos Aires de paseo. Pobre de ellos. Los exprimí a preguntas. Cómo es la ciudad, cómo es el college, qué hacen en el tiempo libre, cuánto dinero se gasta en general, hace mucho frío, etc, etc, etc.

Si, hace mucho frío. 12 grados bajo cero en pleno invierno. Mucha nieve, por supuesto. No tengo ropa, fue lo primero que pensé. ¡Oh, si! Cualquier excusa es buena para comprar ropa. 

LA ESPERA.

Como alguna vez le dije a alguien, siempre estamos esperando algo. Ahora estoy esperando que me llamen para la entrevista en la embajada para sacar la visa. Estoy esperando la reunión en Fulbright para desagotar la cantidad de preguntas que tengo en este momento. Estoy esperando que se me ilumine el coco para poder armar algo interesante, original, copado para llevarles a los alumnos. Esperando. 

UN NUEVO CAMINO.

Y para finalizar, como ya se habrán dado cuenta, este viaje le da un vuelco inesperado a este blog que empezó como un assignment para el Taller de Herramientas Informáticas para el profesorado. Durante los próximos meses voy a dejar de lado las clases en inglés y voy a usar este blog para contarles sobre los preparativos, el trabajo en el college, la vida diaria en Monmouth, mis hazañas como "embajadora cultural de Argentina" y la aventura en sí misma. A través de este blog, les voy a contar qué efecto tiene un poco de Buenos Aires en Illinois, y viceversa. ;)

¡Hasta la próxima!

Tongue-twisters

Hi everyone!

Here are some tongue-twisters to practise  pronunciation. 
A tongue-twister is a sequence of words that is difficult to pronounce quickly and correctly. Even native English speakers find the tongue-twisters on this page difficult to say quickly. Try them yourself. Try to say them as fast as possible, but correctly!

Have fun!

A proper copper coffee pot.
Around the rugged rocks the ragged rascals ran.
Long legged ladies last longer.
Mixed biscuits, mixed biscuits.
A box of biscuits, a box of mixed biscuits and a biscuit mixer!

 *

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper.
Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled pepper?
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper, Where's the peck of pickled pepper Peter Piper picked?

 *

Pink lorry, yellow lorry.
Red leather, yellow leather, red leather, yellow leather.
She sells sea-shells on the sea-shore.
The sixth sick Sheik's sixth sheep is sick.
[Sometimes described as the hardest tongue-twister in the English language.]

*
 Swan swam over the pond,
Swim swan swim!
Swan swam back again -
Well swum swan!
*
 Three grey geese in green fields grazing.
  *

We surely shall see the sun shine soon.

When English teachers snap!!! XD

Enjoy!

Do schools kill creativity?

Hi!

This is a very interesting TED talk given by Sir Ken Robinson. The question whether schools kill creativity or not is an exciting way to trigger debate among students, teachers and, why not, parents.

"In Sir Ken Robinson's 2006 speech at the Ted conference in California entitled ‘Do schools kill creativity’, he is critical of the current system of education in the United States. He asserts that it has for too long wrongly rewarded students for a very exclusive and limiting set of skills and for the future it will not service. He accuses the current system of ruthlessly squandering the creative potential of children. He puts forward the case that in this new era of information technology, creativity will become as important as literacy and we should treat it with the same status."

This question has travelled around the world. What do you think about it? What would you do to reverse this?

I Heard You Twice the First Time!!!

Ok. This phrase may have crossed our minds more than once during a lesson. There are times in which we are tired and we answer to our students' questions a little less effusively than usual.
Here's a book for Tired and Bewildered Teachers trying to have a break!

I Heard You Twice the First Time – Poems for Tired and Bewildered Teachers by Kalli Dakos.

 Meet the teachers who struggle with stress, failure, difficult students and a lack of time to “enjoy the joy” in their classrooms. Laugh with the teacher who is bewildered by the endless changes in her profession, and finally, meet the teacher who arrives at the Pearly Gates and asks the most important question of all:

Were my years in school
Worth all that work and time?

Join author Kalli Dakos on a poetic journey that will rest your teaching soul and inspire your career!

Here is one of the poems from the book:

Definition of Teachers

Astronauts,

Exploring

The far reaches

Of the universe

Inside of students.

Engineers,

Designing Spaceships

Strong enough

To carry children

On their journey

Through life.

Scientists,

Studying

The minds

And hopes

And dreams

Of the earth’s

Most precious resource.

For further information about the author, you can visit her website http://www.kallidakos.com/

Regards,



Vicky.

Miss Representation: You can't be what you can't see.

Hello everyone! 

This is an activity on a documentary called Miss Representation. The film exposes how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in the United States.
It is very interesting to watch this documentary with teenagers and young adults as a way to raise awareness on this topic.
Even if the documentary deals with this issue in the USA, you can create another speaking activity in which the students have to analyse the topic by discussing how women are depicted in their own countries.

 
The questions are targeted to advanced students of English. You will also find an exercise on vocabulary items and expressions mentioned in the documentary.

You can download the worksheet from here and the vocabulary exercise from here.

Enjoy!

Welcome!

Hello everyone!

Welcome to Learning English in Argentina! This is a blog that is dedicated to the teaching and learning of English as a Foreign Language in Argentina. Here you will find interesting material for discussion in class, activities, woksheets, lesson plans and anything that comes to mind on the teaching and learning of English and the language itself.

Enjoy!