Resumen Revista Ceta- nº3 y 4

Editorial

Este será el último editorial que redacte en mi condición de Presidente-Fundador de CETA. En la pasada reunión de la Junta Directiva tuve la ocasión de solicitarle a ésta mi jubilación gozosa --ya que no una retirada de la honrosa tarea que supone seguir sirviendo tanto a nuestra asociación como a sus importantes objetivos, que son los de todos nosotros--, así como la fortuna de lograr que los compañeros de junta aceptaran esta petición con generosidad y comprensión. También se aprobó por unanimidad mi propuesta de que el actual Secretario de CETA, y Profesor Titular de la Universidad de Córdoba, Víctor Pavón Vázquez, fuera nombrado provisionalmente nuevo Presidente de la asociación, hasta que la Asamblea General estuviera en disposición de pronunciarse al respecto. En este instante de la despedida, son muchas las emociones que quisiera compartir con nuestros socios. En primer lugar, no puedo acallar un sentimiento de satisfacción y gratitud si rememoro una vez más el provechoso camino recorrido en poco tiempo, durante el cual hemos sido capaces, entre todos, de poner en marcha un proyecto profesional de primera magnitud. La Asociación de Profesores de Inglés de Córdoba, aun siendo un organismo joven que apenas ha iniciado su andadura, posee ya una indiscutible entidad propia, que se cifra en un número significativo de miembros, una relevante experiencia en la organización de cursos, eventos y jornadas, así como un considerable tejido de relaciones institucionales. Ello se explica, fundamentalmente, por la aptitud, la entrega y la altura de miras de los socios y promotores de CETA, que han sabido aunar pareceres y voluntades hasta vertebrar un espacio común presidido por la colaboración y la buena armonía. Pero también tiene que ver, no lo olvidemos, con la excelencia intrínseca de nuestra disciplina académica y con el peso objetivo del campo laboral que representamos, al igual que con la necesidad real de que Córdoba y su provincia cuenten con el entusiasmo, el afán de mejora, los esfuerzos desinteresados y el acertado quehacer de una asociación especializada como la nuestra. Dicho esto, no puedo tampoco dejar de expresar mi ilusión y mi plena confianza en el futuro de CETA, que en esta etapa que sigue estará diestramente dirigida por Víctor Pavón y su Junta Directiva. Ciertamente se trata de compañeros que acumulan un caudal importante de conocimientos sobre la realidad del Inglés en todos los niveles de enseñanza, de capacidad de gestión, de honestidad personal y de vocación de construir, destrezas y talantes que nos serán de gran utilidad a todos los miembros de CETA a la hora de afrontar esta nueva etapa, que por fuerza será de potenciación y de nuevos avances. Por eso, me gustaría pedirles un apoyo activo a la labor del nuevo equipo de dirección, así como una creciente incorporación del socio a los muchos y apasionantes retos que se aproximan. Para concluir, y desde esta misma sinceridad, quisiera adoptar un registro más personal y subjetivo. De adolescente, me tocó conocer a un profesor que se guiaba por un principio singular, sobre todo para aquellos tiempos marcados por el autoritarismo (acaso lo contrario de la recta autoridad, de esa auctoritas tan imprescindible como confundida a veces). Para él, el buen docente era aquel que lograba hacerse prescindible (sí, digo prescindible y no imprescindible) tras haber cumplido su papel, función que no era otra que la de promover una adecuada emancipación en sus alumnos. Confieso que esa noción altruista -y creo que perspicaz-- de que el éxito consiste, justamente, en propiciar que otros se superen y nos sobrepasen a partir de lo que les enseñamos, me causó un hondo impacto, y que la he venido aplicando a lo largo de los años con buenos resultados. No sé si las personas más jóvenes, y, en especial, nuestras actuales autoridades en materia educativa, podrían encontrar en esta idea alguna inspiración. Mas a juzgar por lo que sugieren circunstancias como el fracaso escolar, la hostilidad intergeneracional y la crisis que evidencian los actuales modelos de enseñanza, es posible que estemos cometiendo en buena medida el error de confundir autoritarismo con autoridad, ya para dar por válidos patrones de instrucción más o menos demagógicos (impuestos, es verdad, por imperativo legal), ya para acabar de erosionar la figura del maestro que transmite con profundidad y exigencia sus posesiones más genuinas. Como resultado, habríamos abierto la puerta a una frustrante permisividad, a una cultura del victimismo, a una crasa trivialización de contenidos, las cuales, lejos de propiciar una emancipación fecunda basada en el desarrollo de la inteligencia, mantendrían a muchos alumnos en una situación de inferioridad, de insolidaridad mutua y de dependencia. Nuestra querida CETA, en cualquier caso, se me antoja un rotundo ejemplo de la virtus contraria, y no incurro en falsa modestia al afirmar que, en el futuro que ahora se abre, quedarán pronto superados los primeros logros. Por eso, a no dudar, procuraré seguir plenamente vinculado a sus tareas, actividades e inquietudes (y permanecer al día en el abono de mis cuotas), a fin de no perderme los muy prometedores acontecimientos que se atisban a la vuelta e la esquina.

Bernhard Dietz Guerrero

Resumen de Colaboraciones y Artículos

Enda Francis Scott is a responsible for the development and implementation of internet and multimedia material in English Language Seville and is currently finishing an M.A: in the area.

The long term impact of internet on language teaching.
Enda Francis Scott

Sometimes, there are so many articles, so many stories, so many references to multimedia and the “dot com” business that it is tempting to consider it as little more than the present fashion which, like Generation X, will eventually disappear without a trace to be replaced by something more exciting in the media’s eye. To an extent, for various reasons, the initial enthusiasm has already been tempered with doses of realism: internet companies are no longer mines of gold; internet access, though growing still has not reached all centres of education; internet access can still be slow and at times expensive. Nevertheless, it is equally clear that the internet already forms part of the fabric of modern society and that it will not simply disappear. The challenge indeed is to explore and understand what role it plays and will play in different aspects of society. This is true for education in general and particularly for language teaching.

Through internet, language teachers and learners now have access to what in Spain is often the most difficult resource in the teaching process: authentic language and communication. Having relied, in the past, on cassettes, text books, the occasional article from an authentic source, the occasional video, language teachers and students now have direct access to authentic English through the internet. This can take many forms, from communication via email or chat to reading news, gossip or football results. As technology improves this initial text or written based usage is rapidly expanding into multimedia with real time audio and video becoming increasingly available and feasible as the time such information takes to download continues to diminish with faster connections. Already, access to the net can supplement text books to some extent with up to date material either copied from the internet and used as a photocopied handout or by students accessing the internet directly in their language class. From email exchanges to simple reading the potential is already beginning to be explored.

This internet use in teaching is natural in a context where students and teachers are used to more and more contact with computers in all aspects of daily life. A growing number of teachers and students frequently have their own email accounts, often chat and surf the net regularly. In a short period of time the services the internet incorporates have come to form part of our everyday lives. This will continue to expand in time until access and use of internet services will be as normal as having a telephone in the home. It has, however, been pointed out before that, while the telephone changed personal communications, very few classrooms have a phone line: might the internet not be equally difficult to adapt to the classroom? As a counter point it must be remembered that philosophers initially debated the use of writing for educational purposes. We may be in the same situation. Internet may be as important an innovation in education as writing was, and in the future language learning without the access to internet may appear as obsolete as classrooms without books, paper and pens.

What is important to remember is that the internet ultimately does not provide easy solutions or ready-made lessons. Plugging students into the internet will not automatically mean learning is taking place. Indeed, to an extent it can be said that the internet does not even provide information, rather raw data and it is the processing and use of this data which provides something useful. This is the challenge for teachers and learners. Internet provides access to language, authenticity and often heightens motivation, but much of the language found on the internet has not even been generated by native speakers: it may be full of errors. Moreover, the internet provides access to an enormous range of data much of which isn’t suitable for classroom use for a variety of reasons. Overall, be it email, chat or surfing, the internet provides a range of material and freedom of expression which in turn requires responsibility and on a practical level in class, supervision and well designed tasks in order to obtain maximum benefit. Not surprisingly, perhaps, this challenge can appear so demanding it is sometimes tempting to unplug, to return to our textbook and do some nice orderly grammar exercises.

This would be a mistake and ultimately probably impossible. It is difficult to see how the power and resources provided by the internet can be ignored long term. What is crucial, however, is the equally important question of how best to use these resources. The internet by itself will not teach; computers and programmes remain useful tools in the hands of experienced teachers or indeed in the hands of motivated and enthusiastic learners. The challenge is to develop the skills necessary to exploit them to their full potential. This is an area sometimes ignored in favour of developing basic computing skills. These are short term problems. Increasingly, teachers and students will automatically acquire essential IT skills in the same way most people learn to drive. The challenge will be, not technically how to use computers, but how to take the data the internet provides and model it into lessons, into material which can be used to forward the process of language teaching and acquisition. Long term, useful manipulation of internet material may be second nature for all those involved in education but for the short to middle term what is essential is investment not just in hardware but in teacher development: the internet provides lots but it is the exploitation of the data by trained professionals which will make the difference and turn the internet into a powerful tool in the teacher’s arsenal. Another burden on the teacher? Perhaps, but one that pays off, one that cannot be ignored.

Part 2 of this article will look at practical issues and steps in incorporating internet into classroom material and usage.

Recycling Clothes Vocabulary with Children
Rachel Pearson is a teacher at International House, Córdoba

Introduce the activity by miming an imaginary washing line across the classroom. Open an imaginary washing machine, take the clothes out and carry them in a basket over to the line. Take the clothes out of the basket and peg them on the line, then trace the outline of the clothes with one finger, in slow exaggerated movements.

By this point the children should have guessed what you’re doing and they should put their hands up to offer an answer. Insist on them asking a question ‘Is it a jumper?’ rather than simply ‘jumper’. This can be done by holding up four fingers: (1- Is, 2- it, 3 - a/an, 4 -whatever the clothes are). When a child guesses correctly he or she then takes your place by the basket of clothes and hangs up the next thing

. ‘Trousers’ and other plural clothes require a different question ‘Is it a pair of trousers?’ etc. These can be introduced after the children are familiar with the game.

‘I forgot’ song (To the tune of ‘Frere Jacques’)

This song can be accompanied by actions such as looking in line one, tapping the forehead in line two, putting your hand up in line three and taking an imaginary pencil in line four.

Where’s my pencil? Where’s my pencil?
I forgot! I forgot!
Can I have a pencil? Can I have a pencil?
Thanks a lot. Thanks a lot.

Also try with other items from a pencil case (e.g. rubber, ruler, pencil sharpener).

Revising Vocabulary for the Family

Allocate each corner of the classroom or playground for ‘Mummy, Daddy, Brother and Sister’ and the centre of the room for ‘Baby’. Ask the children to point to each corner as you shout out the words to check their understanding. You can use words like ‘Mum and mother too so the children recognise all variants.

The game consists of the teacher saying simple sentences including one of the words (e.g. I’ve got two brothers, My mummy’s got black hair, my brother is very clever). When the children recognise which word had been said they run to the corresponding place. (In large classes a few children can be selected or they can point to the areas).

After a few trial runs if a child runs to the wrong place, or if they are very slow to get there, they are eliminated from the game and take on the role of sentence giver. Remarkably they do this automatically, producing full sentences happily.

Rachel Pearson 2001

Appraisal Of The Last Ceta Conference: Practical Approaches into the New Millennium Inmaculada Alonso Pedraza
Sandra Pérez Osuna

For the second time, the Jornadas CETA were held in Cordoba with the same excellent organisation, fruitful collaboration on the part of students and naturally, the supreme quality of conferences and papers that characterised the I Jornadas. With the title of Practical Approaches into the New Millennium, a great number of professionals dealt with different, innovating aspects of teaching which are necessary in order to offer students and teachers of the new millennium a modern perspective of Teaching English as a Second Language. On the 20th and 21st of April, 2001, English teachers of Primary and Secondary education could assess the results of the work carried out by their colleagues as well as have a look at the latest published material.

Undoubtedly, satisfying the interests of such a sizeable and critical audience is not an easy task at all. However, most of them agreed that the sessions were incredibly useful and original, as they showed on the evaluation sheet they filled in at the end of the Jornadas.

The opening session, “Humanismo en las aulas” by Isabel Agüera, served as an excellent guide of how to be a teacher and a human being at the same time. By telling many of her interesting anecdotes, Isabel succeeded in communicating what the key role of any teacher should be: teaching every single student, regardless of their capabilities. In order to do so, it is essential to get to know and always show interest in them. It was, no doubt, the most adequate start in relation to the title of the Jornadas, since it implies that in the New Millennium, teachers will not only have to be able to handle the new technologies, but they will also try not to forget their human side while working.

From that moment on, people attending the Jornadas could choose between two different groups of talks: those about primary education and those about secondary education. Regarding papers on primary education, they all had motivation as their main topic, with the aim of improving the learning process from different perspectives, though. These papers turned out to be the ones that people enjoyed the most.

In her talk “Drama Techniques in the Primary Classroom”, Mª Jose Lobo, professor of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona who has taught students of primary and secondary education, offered a number of ingenious ideas about the way we can put into practice efficient drama techniques (mime and gestures) in order to stimulate the process of learning in primary education students. Her original presentation really attracted the attention of the audience, who greatly appreciates those resources that allow them to introduce innovation in their classes. In line with this idea, Fiona Dunbar presented her work titled “Personalisation in the Primary Classroom” in which she suggested a very clever way of motivating children by making use of their egocentricity. It consists or “personalising” their participation in class by focusing activities on one of children's favourite topic: their own lives. As an example, Fiona showed many of the works done by her own pupils, where they had had to express on the Second Language their own experiences related to Easter, summer holidays or just talk about one object they possessed and that they considered priceless. This way, she succeeded in having her students feeling at ease when using English at the same time that they learnt to tell their experiences in that language.

In “Poetry for school learners”, Antonio Roldán Tapia introduced us to a relatively new area of teaching English as a Second Language: using poetry in the language classroom. By means of different activities, he was able to overcome the difficulty associated to this kind of text and show its practical applications.

Tammi Santana, in “Using stories for the very young” proposed an imaginative set of ideas about the use of stories in the English classroom. The pragmatic approach of her presentation and the useful material she supplied aroused the audience’s interest. “Lexis and Comprehension for young learners of English” by Ramón Palencia dealt with the importance of introducing English to students of primary education through lexical structures and extra-material.

With regards to the papers concerning Secondary Education, it should be emphasised those ones dealing with a common topic in this new age we are living: a technology-based era. Under titles such as “Las Nuevas Tecnologías para la enseñanza y aprendizaje de idiomas” or “Computer in the EFL Secondary Classroom”, these papers looked like some of the most appealing ones because they dealt with a still difficult aspect to be tackled by the teacher. In “La nuevas tecnologías para la enseñanza y aprendizaje de idiomas”, Fernando Rubio introduced us into the school reality of new technologies, whereas he encouraged us to use them by showing their application in numerous class situations. From the use of the mobile phone to the portable computer, Fernando Rubio offered us a wide range of very interesting and easy activities to be done. In the case of Isabel Pérez Torres and her paper “Computers in the EFL Secondary Classroom” it should be mentioned her amazing work in the Internet area as well as in its application in the classroom. The ideas and activities she proposed turned to be extremely useful. She gave a master class about how to benefit from the endless number of websites related to EFL. In both papers, it must be pointed out the long list of websites we were given because of its great usefulness when designing our teaching materials.

In “Un Proyecto europeo en el Aula de Idiomas”, José Segovia informed us about how to carry out programs of introduction to the target culture in an EU setting. There is no doubt that this information is very useful because it could be used as a guide and stimulus for those teachers who don't dare to take the final step in order to develop one of the most motivating projects for a secondary pupil.

In “Hacia una lectura creativa en la clase de lengua extranjera”, Javier Ávila emphasised the role that mental image plays when waking up students´ creativity in order to get a more meaningful learning. To do so, he proposes the reading as a process used to stimulate this creativity in the classroom. With the collaboration of the people present, Javier Ávila carried out a practical exercise by reading a poem which was supposed to inspire the listeners to create another one on the basis of the suggestions originated from the first poem.

Jane Arnold closed the II Jornadas with the lecture "Affective Learning and Teaching". This was about the importance of emotional aspects in a foreign language classroom. Jane Arnold emphasised the students´ need, no matter their age, to receive recognition for their effort. Jane brought forward data which reflected the improvement observed when pupils´ progress is stimulated affectively. She ended in the fact that the emotional aspect must be always taken into consideration as an extra-component rather than an opposition, of the cognitive aspects dealt with in the classroom in order to take benefit from the learning process.

On the other hand, and to be absolutely objective and fair in this evaluation, we must also mention the suggestions collected with the purpose of improving future Jornadas. These are an increase in the number of lectures; to make them practical rather than theoretical; to use English as the language of the lecture; to get a balance in the number of primary and secondary papers offered; and to validate the Jornadas. Some other comments referred to the overlapping in the timetable of several lectures, which “forced” those present to choose and so, attend just one from three.

This way, the Jornadas concluded having as one of its most positive aspects the dealing from several lectures of the introduction and application of new technologies in the EFL classroom. Undoubtedly these are topics members from CETA are quite interested in. In the same way, the Jornadas were used as a perfect setting to present very attractive and innovative ideas and projects. Finally, we have to thank once again the good work done by all those students who get involved in going on successfully a project that we all expect and hope to keep it up in next Jornadas.

Neuro-Linguistic Programming
Francisco Rodríguez Vazquez

Francisco has worked for International House and Pilgrims. He holds the RSA Dtefla (pass with distinction in practical) and is particularly interested in Neuro-linguistic Programming having given a number of seminars in this area.

Neuro-linguistic programming is something I came across about four years ago and it has influenced the way I think and act both in and out of the classroom. In this paper I propose to give you an outline of what exactly it is, touching on the principles and ideas on which it is based, and some practical ideas which can be used in the classroom.

NLP is in effect a model of excellence based essentially on experience and observation. It isn´t, and never has claimed to be, a scientific theory. In fact, it isn´t a theory at all but an approach to life, learning and communication. NLP was born out of a study carried out by an American professor of Linguistics called John Grinder and a Psychology student called Richard Bandler. They set out to discover what was the difference that made the difference between everyday people and very successful people. They particularly looked at their ways of thinking, their beliefs and the language which they used to express their beliefs. This grew to become NLP and its implications are far more reaching than initially thought.

So, what exactly does Neuro-linguistic Programming mean? ‘Neuro’ refers to the information in our nervous system. It describes how we experience the world through our five senses and represent it in our mind through our neurological processes.

‘Linguistic’ refers to the language we use. This represents and reflects at a deep subconscious level how we experience the world. It is very powerful in that by changing the way we say things we can change our behaviour and generally our way of thinking.

‘Programming’ is concerned with the programmes that we run in our minds. In order to save time and effort in checking every piece of information we receive, we run programmes in our minds that we have run before and therefore react in similar ways.

NLP rests on four pillars, these are the fundamental concepts which run through all that is NLP and supports everything. You could say they are the mind of NLP. These are: Outcomes; Rapport; Sensory Acuity; and Flexibility.

Outcomes

Do you know exactly what you want from life? Or from your next class? Or from a student? When preparing an activity or a range of activities, do you know what you want the students to achieve from the lesson and therefore from doing the activities? In NLP, outcomes is somewhat the same as goals or results. Knowing exactly what you want will help you achieve it. In addition to this, knowing or thinking about the consequences of your outcomes will also help you decide whether it is what you really want. Most people go through life thinking they know what they want, but thinking is very different to knowing. Those that know tend to succeed in life. Here is something you can try and notice the difference it makes. Next time you are faced with a goal which you want to achieve, be it what you want your students to get out of an activity you are going to do in class or what you want your next career move to be, think about what you will achieve by reaching this goal and then ask yourself what that will give you or your students. Then ask yourself again what that will give you or how it will make you feel. Continue doing this until you reach a point when you clearly know what your motivations are or you realise that you don´t want to do it after all.

Rapport

This is fundamental throughout NLP. Rapport is at the heart of successful communication, whether it be conscious or subconscious. Without it, communication breaks down and conflict can arise. With it, you are more likely to achieve your outcomes. It doesn´t only concern having rapport with other people but also being in rapport with yourself. Know yourself and feel good about yourself. Setting time aside for things you enjoy doing as a reward for all your hard work is one thing that can help and they are many other things you can do which you are aware of but may not do!

One way of improving rapport between yourself and students is by simply finding out what they like doing outside the classroom or what they are interested in and then allow them to tell you about these things at the start of the lesson regardless of whether it is connected to what you are going to cover in the lesson or not. You could always look for articles on the internet related to their interests and give it to them to read at leisure. I wouldn’t even bother focussing on the articles in the lessons as I feel this makes the whole effort of finding the article more personal. Listening more to your students and commenting on the content of what they are saying as oppose to the language they used or the mistakes they made helps build the teacher-student relationship, just as one would when meeting someone new in a social context. The same can be done in writing tasks. Focus on the content and comment on this as well as the language. It’s quite surprising how many teachers don’t really know their students because they are too concerned with getting them through a course and therefore only show an interest in students’ lives when it is connected to the language point they are covering. “...

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