Dear ELT Professional,
We would like to encourage you to participate in this important English Language Teaching event organised by UFRN Professors Orlando and Janaina:
I Jornada de Ensino de Inglês com Língua Estrangeira (JEAILE)
Venue: UFRN | Sala C4 – Bloco II
Time: 8.30 – 12:30
Information: especializacaodeingles@gmail.com
The PDF with the event’s programme is available here.
Looking forward to seeing you,
Fernando Guarany Jr President BRAZ-TESOL RN www.btrn.org www.braztesol.org.br
Dear Friends,
The end of 2011 is drawing near, but we still have time for one more ELT event in Natal:
Creative Ideas for Effective Language Teaching
DATE | 26 November 2011
VENUE | ESCOLA LÁPIS DE COR |Rua Amintas Barros, 2823 – Lagoa Nova Natal – RN, 59063-250 84 3231.2305 | http://www.lapisdecornatal.com.br/ | Google Maps: http://g.co/maps/6cmy6
PROGRAMME
14:00 – 14:15 | Opening
14:15 – 15:00 | Concurent Sessions 1 & 2
15:00 – 15:30 | Coffee Break
15:30 – 16:15 | Concurrent Sessions 3 & 4
16:15 – 16:45 | Raffle and Announcements
16:45 – 17:00 | Closing
SESSIONS
1. Classroom Management: Ideas to Promote Interaction in EFL Classes | Dyêgo Saraiva | Presentation
In this presentation, participants will be invited to reflect upon their practice concerning classroom management both in small and large groups. We will discuss effective ways of calling students’ attention, grouping for different tasks/activities, promoting more interaction, as well as other features of classroom management. In the end, participants will analyze a sample of a lesson plan having in mind what they were exposed in the session.
Dyêgo Saraiva holds a degree in Letras from UFRN (2007) and is a CELTA certified teacher. He is currently following a programme in ‘Especializaçao em Ensino de Lingua Inglesa’ at UFRN which should be completed in December 2011.
2. One to One 101 – What to Consider When Taking the First Steps into Private Classes | Rafael Freire | Presentation
Private one to one classes have always been part of any teacher’s life, whether going to students’ houses or having students over. Teaching one to one might sound easy and just like a hobby, but it really isn’t. It requires a lot of effort, research and hard work from the teacher. During this presentation, aimed at those who already teach or are taking the first steps into teaching private classes, I am going to quickly analyze and talk about the different aspects of teaching private students and one to one classes, covering a wide range of topics such as needs analysis, materials development, dress code and teacher behaviour, how to evaluate students using the Common European Framework (CEF), the role of the teacher, the advantages and disadvantages of one to one classes and I will also show an example of an “approach” I used with one of my students and myself when preparing for the TOEFL exam effectively.
Rafael Medeiros has been an EFL teacher for about 5 years. He is currently teaching regular classes at Yázigi Natal and private one to one classes at J&R – Serviços em Inglês: professores particulares, tradutores e intérpretes.
3. Teaching Young Learners: Some Simple and Effective Ideas | Daisy Kelly, Janaina Oliveira, Lucimara Patrício and Elaine Câmara | Workshop
Some people believe teaching kids is too chaotic to be theoretically explained, and that keeping their attention is really a herculean task. We however, would like to share some simple techniques which will show that we can not only go beyond playing in the classroom, but also keep kids’ attention in spite of their varied interests. Although teaching kids is no stranger to storytelling, songs, games and craft making, we would like to present a simple yet effective way of using them to prepare for a productive class, of which content will be better assimilated by the children.
Daisy Kelly, Janaina Oliveira, Lucimara Patrício are EFL teachers at ESCOLA LÁPIS DE COR BILÍNGUE and Elaine Câmara is an EFL teacher at ESCOLA MAPPLE BEAR.
4. Portfolios: The Development of the Four Skills in Multimodal Activities | Patrícia Guedes | Presentation
The presentation introduces the concept of a portfolio, followed by background information on how the project started. I will then describe how the project was to affect the main areas it involved, namely homework and assessment. Next, I will show some samples of students’ work and their feedback on the project. Finally I will present numbers concerning students’ participation and the changes to be made for the following semester. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions at the end of the presentation.
Patrícia Guedes has 10 years of experience in English teaching, holds an ICELT and is particularly interested in the use of multimodal activities in ELT.
REGISTRATIONS
To register, please send your name, phone number and institution to braztesolrn@gmail.com by 25 November, 2011 (Friday). This is a free event and we have a limited number of seats, so we are forced to operate on a first-come first-serve basis (as soon as we reach the maximum number of participants, registrations will close).
For further information, please contact Ercília Dâmaris via braztesolrn@gmail.com
All the very best,
Fernando Guarany Jr President BRAZ-TESOL RN www.braztesol.org.br www.btrn.org “Together we’re stronger”
Hi, everyone.
Many thanks for celebrating with us yesterday at UFRN.
As promised, here are the slides for Janaina Weissheimer‘s, Andrea Zielke‘s and Fernando Guarany‘s presentations.
Janaina Weissheimer netlearning | Andrea Zielke | Fernando Guarany DOGME ELT Simplified
We are currently writing a report and preparing a photo gallery which should be posted soon. So, be on the lookout!
Cheers,
Dyêgo Saraiva | BTRN Helper
Dear friends,
To celebrate BRAZ-TESOL’s 25th Anniversary, we have organised a special event for the ELT community:
TALKS
Netlearning: Beyond the Wow! Factor
Times have changed and electronic media dominate students’ lives as part of an increasingly connected world. In this context, teachers who don’t help students develop a whole new repertoire of skills and practices seem to be doing them a disservice. This talk aims at reflecting on the impact of new media on foreign language teaching and learning, more specifically, video games, wiki technology, podcasts and mashups. Some of the issues discussed in light of digital technology are: collaborative learning; collective intelligence; active engagement, and the new roles that both teachers and learners perform. The talk provides opportunities for participants to examine ways of thinking about new media associated with their use and implications for foreign language teaching and learning.
Janaína Weissheimer is Professor at the Foreign Languages and Literatures Department at UFRN and permanent member of its Post-Graduation Programme on Language Studies. Her main areas of interest are cognitive aspects of SLA (Second Language Acquisition), bilingualism, and technology-mediated foreign language learning and teaching. She taught at Cultura Inglesa in Porto Alegre and Salvador for over 17 years and is a Cambridge Oral Examiner.
Dogme ELT: A Pedagogy of Bare Essentials
In his 2000 article ‘A dogma for EFL’, author Scott Thornbury argued that real communication in the language classroom was being buried under an avalanche of materials (course books, photocopies, CDs, DVDs, etc). He suggested it was time for a change. It was time to focus back on the people in the classroom through ‘a pedagogy of bare essentials,’ later named Dogme Language Teaching. In this session participants should gain a bird’s eye view of the three pillars of Dogme. Through a conversational style participants will have the opportunity to discuss and reflect on the key principles of this ‘approach’ and what it has to offer.
Fernando Guarany is an ELT enthusiast and a frequent conference speaker. He works at Cultura Inglesa Natal as a teacher and Cambridge ESOL examiner. He has delivered both online and face-to-face teacher training for the British Council for a number of years. His main interests include practical applications for academic theories, continuing professional development (CPD) and online distance education. Fernando is co-founder and current president of the BRAZ-TESOL RN chapter. He’s on twitter: @fguarany
Programme
14:00 | Opening: Welcome and BRAZ-TESOL’s Mission by Ana Graça Canan (UFRN);
14:15 | A warmer by Wadson Correia (Cultura Inglesa/UFRN);
14:30 | Netlearning: Beyond the Wow! Factor by Janaina Weissheimer (UFRN);
15:20 | Coffee Break
15:40 | Professional Development: A teacher’s account by Andrea Zielke (Yázigi);
16:00 | Dogme ELT: A Pedagogy of Bare Essentials by Fernando Guarany (Cultura Inglesa);
16:50 | Closing.
Date | Saturday, 8 October 2011
Time| 14:00 – 17:30
Venue| UFRN |Bloco 2 |Sala i16
Registrations| to register, please send your name, phone number and institution to braztesolrn@gmail.com by 5 October, 2011. This is a free event and we have only 60 seats available, so we will have to operate on a first-come first-serve basis (as soon as we reach 60 participants, registrations will close). We will kindly ask you to re-confirm attendance 24 hours prior to the event.
For further information, please contact Ercília Dâmaris or Patrícia Guedes via braztesolrn@gmail.com
All the very best,
Beatriz Guilherme
First Vice-President
BRAZ-TESOL RN
Dear Friends,
We are pleased to share the following job opportunity with the local ELT community:
We are an International Publisher looking for professionals who:
have strong interpersonal skills;
have commercial awareness;
are enthusiastic and energetic;
function well in teamwork;
are results-oriented;
have a driving license and availability to travel.
Please send your CV to curriculos.envio@gmail.com
All the best,
Fernando Guarany Jr President BRAZ-TESOL Natal RN www.braztesol.org.br www.btrn.org
Hi, teflers!
Not even the showery night in the typically sunny Natal was able to hold over 30 teachers (including a dear colleague from Manaus, Duanes Santos) from attending our July 2011 event, Tips on How to Develop a Teaching Career. International teacher and trainer Julian Kenny engaged the audience by drawing out their understanding and beliefs about professional development. Having worked in a number of countries all over the world, Julian was able to share his experience about different contexts, challenges and opportunities for ELT professionals to continue developing throughout their careers. The indispensability of a reflective teaching practice was one of the key areas in the session. Participants discussed about the importance of keeping track of their improvements and agreed that a portfolio is a good way to do so.
“If there’s been no change to your CV in the last 12 months, you’re probably not developing.”
Another important point was that nobody but teachers themselves should be responsible for their own development. Teachers shouldn’t wait for top-down institutional decisions to be made about their development, but must constantly seek opportunities to become more effective in what they do. By so doing, their careers will be more enjoyable, they will have more professional opportunities and guarantee their employability.
Professional Development shouldn’t only be seen in terms of formal courses, seminars, conferences, etc. Informal sessions or chats with fellow teachers also go a long way in helping teachers to reflect and develop. Julian suggested a monthly meeting at which members could share their ideas and best practices. Pecha Kucha nights would be another possibility. Here’s an example of one with Jamie Keddie:
For the first time we attempted to broadcast a live session online. The recording is available here. Thanks to Dyêgo Saraiva for helping us with this.
Several photos were taken and we created a Photo Gallery on our Facebook page here.
We’d like to thank everyone for their presence and active participation, Cultura Inglesa for offering us their excellent venue and sponsoring the certificates. Many thanks to Ercília Dâmaris and Patrícia Guedes for their help organising the event and welcoming participants. Special thanks to our Board and Founding Members: Ana Graça Canan (UFRN), Edilson Souza (UFRN), Beatriz Guilherme (ProEnglish), Marcelo de Cristo (Free Lance Trainer), Fiona Squires (Cultura Inglesa) and Steve Barlow (Cultura Inglesa).
Very special thanks to Julian Kenny who, after a long day’s work running a CELTA course, went the extra mile to grace us with a thought-provoking session.
As president of BRAZ-TESOL Natal Chapter, I strongly believe that we can’t wait for policies regarding English Language Teaching to be changed upside down any time soon. However, with humble initiatives such as this event, we are able to send a powerful message to our communities and the powers that be: change is possible and it starts with each one of us working together to make a difference wherever we are!
Together we’re stronger!
Fernando Guarany Jr President BRAZ-TESOL Natal RN www.braztesol.org.br www.btrn.org
