Job opportunity

Dear Friends,

We are pleased to share the following job opportunity with the local ELT community:

English Teachers

are invited to apply for a Language Consultant position!

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

BRAZ-TESOL RN July 2011 Event Report

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

July 2011 Event: Tips on How to Develop a Teaching Career

Dear ELT professional and BRAZ-TESOL friend,

We are happy to announce our July 2011 event:

TIPS ON HOW TO DEVELOP A TEACHING CAREER with Julian Kenny

JULIAN KENNY is a CELTA and DELTA tutor, Trinity examiner and a training consultant mostly working in Brazil, Angola and China. He is currently setting up a post-graduate diploma in trainer training.

Date: 15 July 2011

Time: 06:30 – 08:00 PM

Place: Cultura Inglesa Natal - Rua das Gardênias, 1805, Mirassol, Natal-RN, 59078-030

Registrations: to register, please send your name, phone number and institution to braztesolrn@gmail.com by July 13th, 2011.

This is a free event and we have only 40 seats available, so we will have to operate on a first-come first-serve basis (as soon as we reach 40 participants, registrations will close). We will kindly ask you to re-confirm attendance 24 hours prior to the event.

Fernando Guarany Junior

President

BRAZ-TESOL RN

www.btrn.org

www.braztesol.org.br

FREE English Course

As part of their CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) training course, Cambridge University ESOL and Cultura Inglesa Natal are offering a number of free vacancies for Elementary and Intermediate level students. The two-hour lessons start on the 4th of July and will take place in the afternoon from Monday to Friday for four weeks.

Candidates must contact Cultura Inglesa Natal for further information at (84) 3234.7784.

There is a forty-real fee to cover expenses with worksheets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bloomsday 2011 – James Joyce e a Cultura Irlandesa

Irish writer James Joyce is a conspicuous figure in universal literature, but do you know what Bloomsday is? Here’s what Wikipedia has to say:

“Bloomsday is a commemoration observed annually on June 16th in Dublin and elsewhere to celebrate the life of IrishwriterJames Joyce and relive the events in his novel Ulysses, all of which took place on the same day in Dublin in 1904. Joyce chose the date because his first outing with his wife-to-be, Nora Barnacle happened on that day, when they walked to the Dublin urban village of Ringsend. The name derives fromLeopold Bloom, the protagonist of Ulysses.”

A group of literature lovers – as well as Joyce lovers – is promoting the 25th Bloomsday celebration in Natal (RN, Brazil) throughout the month of June, 2011: “James Joyce e a Cultura Irlandesa.”

Prof. Ana Graça Canan, who is organising the event alongside Prof. Francisco Ivan, has kindly emailed us with the folder containing the event’s timetable. Please see below:

The evening of the 16th of June will be open to the general public.

This is a great opportunity to learn more about the life and work of one of the most important and brilliant writers in universal literature – it’s also an opportunity to make contacts, see old friends and have fun!

We at BRAZ-TESOL RN would like to congratulate Ana Graça Canan and Edilson Souza (two important BRAZ-TESOL RN founding members) as well as all the other people involved in this endeavour.

And to close, we leave you with some poetic words from the event’s folder:

Bloomsday 2011. Um projeto, um evento, um sentimento. O resultado de discussões, paixões, projeções, emoções. A união de alguns em prol de uma realização que nos faça transcender o comum, ultrapassar o fazer por fazer. A busca por um sentimento que nos leve mais longe, à procura de outros horizontes. Mais uma edição. A mais vibrante, a mais envolvente. Aquela que nos arremessou mais longe, nos fez ousar, explorar, pesquisar, navegar, buscar. A chance de sair da estagnação, da ‘paralisia moral’. Ser local e ser cosmopolita. Brasil e Irlanda; Natal e Dublin.

“If I can get to the heart of Dublin, I can get to the heart of all cities in the world. In the particular is contained the universal.”

Estabelecer laços, fazer contatos, abrir caminhos, conhecer culturas. Ruas em Dublin, reuniões em Natal. UFRN, Ulster University. Dubliners, Ulysses, Letters of James Joyce, Exiles. Recursos, emails, programação, exposição, palestras, filmes, mesa-redonda, leitura dramática, carta-convite, viagem. Palavras impregnadas de significados. Tempo dedicado a fazer sonhos virarem realidade. Inovar, extrapolar, ir, sentir, tocar, unir, internacionalizar, experimentar. Este é o espírito do Bloomsday 2011. Enjoy it! 

Fernando Guarany Jr

President

BRAZ-TESOL RN

www.btrn.org 

Member of BTRN featured in BRAZ-TESOL Newsletter.

We are proud to announce that our dear friend, Alberto Costa, has recently been featured in EL Teacher in the Spotlight, a section of the national BRAZ-TESOL Newsletter. Alberto is an experienced teacher, trainer and conference speaker. He delivered the keynote speech at BTRN’s launch event at IFRN in June last year.

In the interview, Alberto gives interesting answers to vital English Language Teaching topics, such as professional development,  opportunities and DREAMS. We have made the interview available on PDF here.

Enjoy!

Fernando Guarany Jr

President

BRAZ-TESOL RN

www.btrn.org

BrazTESOLNewsletter_Spotlight

Classroom Language Teacher Programme 2011

After a very successful start in 2010, BRAZ-TESOL RN is pleased to announce that the second group of the British Council’s Classroom Language Teacher Programme starts next Monday, the 17th of January 2011. So, if you’re a teacher who is interested in starting the New Year sharpening your teaching skills, come join us. Please follow the link below to British Council’s Teaching English website and find all the information (in Portuguese) needed to register for the course:

Classroom Language Teacher Programme – Natal/RN, 2011 [click here]

Above: the group of teachers who completed the first Classroom Language Teacher Programme in Natal last December.

Above: Francislí, Patricia Rezende, Jurandir, Patrícia Guedes, Daisy – some of the trainees who completed the first Classroom Language Teacher Programme.

lassroom Language Teacher Programme

Oportunidade de Formação para Professores de Inglês em Natal, RN.

A Associação de Professores de Inglês BRAZ-TESOL e o Conselho Britânico estabeleceram parceria para disponibilizar cursos práticos de formação de professores de inglês em todo o Brasil. Em Natal, a segunda turma do Classroom Language Teacher Programme está prevista para ocorrer de 17/01/2011 a 28/01/2011.

O Classroom Language é um curso prático para professores que objetiva o desenvolvimento das habilidades dos participantes para ministrar aulas de inglês ao mesmo tempo em que promove a reflexão sobre a didática do ensino do idioma.

O curso utiliza a experiência do grupo como ponto de partida para o aprimoramento das técnicas para ensino do inglês. O Classroom Language tem um perfil dinâmico com muitas atividades de interação entre os participantes. Durante as oficinas, os professores terão a oportunidade de discutir questões teóricas sobre ensino e aprendizagem de idiomas bem como realizar atividades práticas sobre como ministrar a aula.

O curso é composto por 10 oficinas, com duração de aproximadamente 3 horas cada.  Nelas são abordados os seguintes tópicos:

1.    Iniciando e concluindo uma aula (Starting and finishing a lesson);

2.    Apresentando conteúdo novo (Presenting new language);

3.    Dando instruções (Giving instructions);

4.    Fazendo perguntas (Asking questions and eliciting);

5.    Administrando a aula (General classroom management language);

6.    Corrigindo os erros dos alunos (Correcting learners);

7.    Desenvolvendo a confiança no uso do inglês durante a aula (Developing confidence in using English in the Classroom);

8.    Pronúncia (Pronunciation);

9.    Oferecendo um modelo adequado e claro de expressão oral aos alunos (Giving an accurate, clear spoken model for students);

10.  Usando a língua materna na aula de inglês (Using L1 in the English Classroom).

Modalidade: presencial

Período: 17 /01/2011 a 28/01/2011 – 10 sessões das 18:00 às 21:00 de segunda à sexta-feira.

Número de Participantes: Entre 15 e 20.

Local: ProEnglish – Rua Olinto Meira, 1145, Barro Vermelho, Natal, RN – Tel.: (84) 3211-4260

Google Maps: bit.ly/proenglishnatal  (localização aproximada)

Investimento: R$ 200,00 (parcelamento disponível por cartão de crédito).

Inscrições: O primeiro passo para confirmar sua participação no curso é enviar um email para fernando@guarany.net com as seguintes informações: Nome, Data Nascimento, RG, CPF, e-mail 1, e-mail 2, função, endereço residencial, CEP, cidade, UF, fone residencial,  fone comercial, celular, empresa ou instituição.

Caso o participante ainda não seja membro efetivo do BRAZ-TESOL, receberá uma solicitação de pagamento no valor de R$ 58,00 (cinquenta e oito reais) referente à sua afiliação. Em seguida, receberá uma solicitação via PAGSEGURO no valor de R$ 200,00 (duzentos reais) referente ao valor do curso. Nesse momento o participante poderá escolher a melhor forma de pagamento e parcelamento.

Mais informações: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/train/classroom-language

Highlights of the One-day Event

The one-day event held on October 23rd at FAL was a real blast! Mirroring the success of the launch event, with a crowded venue and top-notch workshops, this second event of the local Braz-TESOL Chapter proved that our ELT community has lots to celebrate!

The event kicked off with the local president of the chapter, Fernando Guarany, introducing the local board to the participants and stressing the importance of local teachers from all segments getting together to promote training and development in Rio Grande do Norte. After a brief review of the launch event, he thanked everyone and invited them to make a difference, rounding off with a quote by Annie Frank: “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”

How do you approach pronunciation in your classes? Is pronunciation teaching the same thing as teaching the phonemic script? Is it possible to teach pronunciation using a top-down approach? How can you raise learners’ awareness of pronunciation features such as stress, rhythm and intonation?  These were some of the questions underlying the workshop given by Marcelo de Cristo, coordinator of the local pronunciation SIG. The participants were given ideas and suggestions of activities that could be used as the starting point for pronunciation work from very early levels.  Marcelo wrapped up his workshop by underlining that pronunciation work should not be restricted to work with the phonemes, minimal pairs, or sentence drills; but that it can be taught more meaningfully using a top-down, supra-segmental approach, much in the same way it’s done with grammar and vocabulary. Click here to download the session slides in pdf.

After a delicious coffee-break, Edilson Souza, professor and researcher at UFRN, delivered a very inspiring workshop, at the heart of which lay his invitation for teachers to think about how they assign topics for writing activities in the classroom. After a quick introduction to the topic of the workshop, the participants were divided into two groups (self-selected/teacher assigned) for hands-on practice followed by a wall display of the work produced. Edilson then invited the groups to discuss their findings before presenting the preliminary results of the study he has been conducting with university students in Natal. Some interesting discussions were generated on how much learners are able to produce when they are asked to choose a topic for their own writing in contrast with teacher assigned topics and the reasons which would explain such a difference.

A chapter with no rivalries, good relationships between its members, whose board members are drawn from a broad selection of sectors, and who welcomes collaboration. These were some of the features of a strong chapter raised by Roddy Kay, president of the Pernambuco Chapter of the Braz-TESOL, in his talk on the sustainability of a local teachers´ association. Roddy gave an impressive overview of the evolution of EFL schools over time, pointing out some of the facts/events that shaped the ELT community in northeast Brazil. The overview shed light on how teachers’ associations evolved as well. He gave participants some sensible suggestions on how to efficiently plan events, select venues, and on how to deal with the problems and challenges which our local chapter is likely to face. His talk was particularly useful since we are planning to have a conference for 300 people next year! Click here to download the session slides in pdf.

After each workshop, The QUAQ – Quasi Actors Quartet, directed by Steve Barlow, a member of our board’s advisory council, and formed by the teachers Ana Beatriz, Marcelo Durigan, Karinne Guedes, Steve Barlow, Fiona Porpino, Dyêgo Saraiva and Fernando Guarany, with special participation of Roddy Kay, entertained the participants with two humorously amusing sketches, the first of which depicted a couple on what was supposed to have been a ‘romantic’ trip to Italy and the second brought participants to a psychiatric clinic where a quirky doctor (played by Roddy) ‘helped’ his patients (one of which was an unusually-looking Superman!) to solve their ‘identity’ problems. The two sketches sparked some great laughs and are well worth of an encore! Check out the video of the second sketch on YouTube! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCb6UC6w7-k

A description of this event could not finish without a thank you note to the event’s sponsors: Cultura Inglesa and ProEnglish; and supporters: Oxford University Press, Richmond, Livraria Bookline, Pearson Longman and Cambridge University Press for all their efforts and unconditional support without which this event would not have succeeded. Special thanks must be given to the people at FAL, for their openness in letting us use their venue and to Ercília Dâmaris and Nelson, two dedicated teachers who volunteered to help with the organization of the event.

Braz-Tesol RN – One-Day Event – October 2010

Hi everyone!

Poster do Evento

The Braz-TESOL RN Chapter would like to invite you to take part in our next One-day Event to be held on October 23rd 2010 at FAL Unidade 1 (Av. Alameda das Mansões, 2110 – Candelária, por trás do Carrefour).

Event Timetable

14:00-14:10 – Opening / Announcements
14:15-15:30 – Self-selected or Teacher Assigned topics? (Edilson Souza)
15:40-16:00 – Coffee Break
16:01-16:45 – Stress, Rhythm and Intonation: The Beat and Tune of English (Marcelo de Cristo)
16:50-17:30 – Sustainability of Local ELT Associations (Roddy Kay)
17:35-18:00 – Sketches – The QUAQ – Quasi-Actors Quartet

Clique no link abaixo e faça o download do poster do evento (em PDF) contendo a descrição dos workshops e mais informações sobre os palestrantes.

BRAZ-TESOL RN – ONE-DAY EVENT – OCTOBER 2010

Entrada Franca. Vagas limitadas. Interessados favor enviar seus nomes, emails e telefones para o email braztesolrn@gmail.com para efetuar a reserva da vaga.

Join us! We hope to see you there!