ABCI 2012 Latest Tendencies IV

This is the last of the post series with  the main points from some of the workshops from the ABCI conference I attended from the 12th - 14th of July 2012.

More details on this congress on :
http://www.abci2012.com.br/About.php

We're all in this together,  aren't we?    Jeremy Harmer

Staff room is one of the best places in the world.

The conversations make a teachers life worth living.

A conference is a huge staff room.

There are teachers who stopped growing and keep teaching the same way, are stuck in their own way.

Good teachers = good learners   :-)

The more we interrogate our practices the younger we stay in terms of methodology.

Conferences nowadays are live streamed.

In foreign lgg learning there's fear and desire. Fear usually hold us back.

He mentions the collaborative work of Twitter. This is a feature of 2012 onwards.

Internet media can be a huge staff room. (teacher sharing tools)

Teachers should use media to share success, but unfortunately very often we'd rather share failures.

The more we talk and share, the more we develop. By talking we articulate thoughts we didn't really think we had!

The idea of collaborative development (two teachers - understander,  talker) ?

The book group / book club model is a wonderful way of teacher sharing meetings. What would you do if... ?

Reflective peer observation is a great sharing practice which should be done as soon as possible. The whole point of peer observation is the observer, the person who can learn new things. The observer's purpose is selfish, but when there's a teacher meeting You can share the good stuff that happened. And everybody else does the same.

*Observation notice board : in a post it you advertise what your next class is going to be about and invite peers to go!

To be observed is a human right. How can you develop if you don't get feedback?

Teaching shouldn't be a solitary activity.

The problem with observations is the lack of focus, observers usually have a check list.

If you observe a class and everything goes well, you should have a goal to go further.

On the other hand, if things don't go welll...

Nowadays staff rooms are global.

In the end, everything goes back to the staff room.

That's why it should be a happy teacher's room, where people share. Teachers should get involved together and help each other. The teacher's community should get involved.

The strenght of the school is the strenght of the weakest teacher.

The whole purpose of this talk is : by sharing and talking to each other we can develop and take risks.

In teaching we have good times and bad times. There should be support.

 

Building students's confidence in Public Speaking -  Public Speaking Skills for teenagers and adults,

Christina Thorton, Jorge Reis  & Thiago Zwarg  ESU

ESU Mission : To bring together and empower young people of different cultures

In Brazil it was established in 1999

Supporters : CI, Saint Paul's,  HSBC & Pearson

25 scholarships were awarded

Comments on the competition rules (refer to ESU website)

Public Speaking Goals : Inform,  Delight, Inspire,  Move,  Teach  - That's what teachers already do in class

Motto : start early, start in class, start simple, start small

What is Public Speaking?  - Process of speaking to a group of people or audience or an individual in a structured , deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain.

Feedback is an essential point, also self assessment.

Public Speaking should be implemented to our lessons.

With Teenagers:

suggest subjects of interest, monitor progress, invite more outgoing sts to perform in class

With adults:

Suggest real life situations, show them the frame (introduction, arguments, conclusion), ask what a good speaker is like, monitor, discuss grid, perform.

Competitions at schools are highly recommended. Invite family members, set rules, provide  awards and certificates.

In ESU there is a theme for every year. Duration 5 minutes, questions from the audience and judges.

In October the theme is launched and then the rehearsals and coaching should start.

Corporate Students, are they any different?  Vania Furtado

- The company sponsors their learning

sts profile : time, overload, pressure

corporations : time, own rules, immediate results, they require customized reports

Teachers and Language Schools

Teachers - teaching adults, adapt, observe

Lgg school - flexibility, relationship (relate with the company), B2B(company to company)

Consulting Companies (CAMBI,Paradigm, Insigna, English Consulting)-  In between the school and the company (Each one works differently, have their own type of report and site, they level the students, there's a lot of negociation if there is disagreement on the level they should course)

What can be done in a scenery like this?

* Be proactive with this learner, antecipate the problems and set  a course of action (other dates for WT, support lessons) 

* Create a bond with the student

Facts

* Companies need students with good English

* Brazilian executives still don't master the lgg

* vagas.com   data: 19%  think they are fluent but only 9% actually are

* More adults are looking for English lessons

* They are multipliers - if they are happy, they bring more people to school

Long-term students?     Even if they quit for a job reason, they might want to come back.

Role people play in the service area (teachers, secretaries)

Antecipate what they want

If you offer good service= quality & profit

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