Can and can't

If you want to revise this topic with little children, the best thing is to show them pictures of different super heroes such as: Superman, Spiderman, Wonderwoman, Batman. Show them one by one and ask them: Can Batman fly?, Can Superman jump high? Can Wonderwoman run fast? Can Spiderman jump from one building to another one?. Then you can ask these and more questions about them. In the end children can draw a super hero and write sentences about she or he using can and can´t.

Alejandra Vecchiarelli

Conversation

One topic of conversation for intermediate students onwards may be to talk about the past, the present and the future. To begin the class, you may write PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE on the board, so they may write something about themselves. Students then read their sentences. Then they can copy these three categories on their folders or otherwise you can provide them with an answer sheet. They can write three or four questions in each category. For example:

PAST: Where were you when the Twin Towers collapsed?

PRESENT: What do you think should be done to prevent car accidents in Argentina?

FUTURE: What do you think will happen with our environment in ten years time?

Once they have finished writing them, they can work in pairs, then they can change partners to go on asking and answering questions.

While they are writing the questions they can listen to classical music or any type of music to concentrate and relax.

Alejandra Vecchiarelli

Environment

1)Our everyday lives and activities have an impact on the environment. We can determine how much of an impact we have by being responsible in the way we do things! Here are some of the simple things you can do to help our environment...

2)Wash the car on the lawn or at a car wash to stop soapy water going down the drains and into the sea!

3)Plant a native tree at home or in the community. These absorb CO2 and help to protect biodiversity

4)Turn off the tap while washing teeth your to save water!

5)Start a worm bin or compost for food scraps and garden clippings. This reduces the amount of waste going to landfill and will provide nutrients for the garden!

Internet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcWpkWBX04E

Text message SMS

What is a text message? It is a phone but without the need for instant input. As the number of characters per text is limited, language needs to be compact and abbreviated as much as possible. For example:

cul8r ( see you later)

Speak 2u l8r ( speak to you later)

On my way 2 u ( I´m on my way to meet you).

There are lots of abbreviations created every minute, every texter has a different style, and in some cases it is very common to adopt private codes.

Here are some abbreviations:

L8r------later

TOM------ tomorrow

CU-------- see you

BBFN------- bye-bye for now

ASAP-------- as soon as possible

4vr-----------forever

TKS----------thanks

B4------------before

Can you invent some more?

Alejandra Vecchiarelli

Teacher´s Magazine no 72

Feng Shui

A conversation class for pre-fce about Feng Shui turned out to be something very interesting where students were very enthusiastic and did not stop talking. That day, I remember it would have been wonderful to have more time because one hour and a half were not enough. I started it asking them if they had special places at home, if they felt a particular way. I also asked them if they considered the place we are could affect the way we feel and think. The second step was to listen to recorded material that dealt with the origins of Feng Shui, the chi ( that means energy), the benefits of feng shui. Why is the clutter so important, etc. They had to answer some questions about it. Then they read more about Feng Shui and according to the tips for the home they had to apply it to different pictures in a house.

Would you like to know more about Feng Shui? Here are some things to be considered:

..."-Mirrors lift energy and expand places, but need to be used with caution in bedrooms. They should never face each other because they bounce chi between them.

-Plants have healthy positive energy and can be used everywhere but not near the cooker. Here they can make the fire energy too strong.

-Crystals attract energy. They can also help with healing and your career. It is useful to hang them in the centre of a window..."

Alejandra Vecchiarelli

Speaking Extra Cambridge University Press

The poison word

You can play this game with intermediate students onwards. The idea is to communicate something for example: explain how to make pizza, explain how to whistle, tell how to plant a tree and many others things you want to include. You may have sample cards so each student takes one and he or she is going to explain what it appears on it. There are certain words that students must not say for instance: it, you, well, like. You will decide this or otherwise you can roll a die to determine that " Poison word" Students must speak during one minute without saying THE word, If they remain silent for more than 15 seconds they are disqualified. When the minute is over a signal is given and the speaker can stop.

Alejandra Vecchiarelli

A volcano erupting in the class

As some of my students studied weather disasters for example: tornados, hurricanes, drought, flood, earthquakes, volcanoes, we did an experiment in class. They learned about the different parts of them ( crater, cone, lava, magma, ash, crust and smoke).They also studied about the Vesuvius in Italy. The experiment consisted of building a clay volcano and watching it erupt with red food colouring some vinegar and bicarbonate of soda. Students were flabbergasted and so was I.

Alejandra Vecchiarelli

Family Members

Little children like and identify with cartoons. Once again, I had to focus on this topic, so I asked them to describe their favourite family on TV: The incredibles?, The Simpsons? The Adams?, The Flinstones? Children were willing to work with their favourite characters and account for their choices. They talked about them saying good and bad qualities of all of them. In the end, with recorded material they had to identify some of The Simpsons voices.

Alejandra Vecchiarelli

And in your case, what is your favourite cartoon family?

Analysing famous paintings in class

I want to share with you one of my most remarkable projects done in class. My students had been studying art. So I brought material to learn different techniques, such as: Cubism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Surrealism. Having seen them all, they were supposed to analyse different famous paintings by Picasso, Van Gogh, Dali, Degas and Monet. They had to distinguish the different classification according to the style used in each case. They ended up the project by bringing A PAINTED SHREK using one of the styles. Some students brought a Cubist Shrek and some others a surrealist one. It was a different class and we enjoyed it a lot.

Alejandra Vecchiarelli

Big Brother and reported speech

Some years ago when I was working at a bilingual school I had to focus on communication. I included many aspects of it such as, body language working with Mr.Bean videos in class, sign language( what deaf people use to communicate), braille, tv, radio, internet, etc, etc. It was the year 2007 and Big Brother was on every tv set at home. All the children were talking about that and they knew every detail about the programme. As a project and included in a test I downloaded material about Big Brother 2002 US, the names of the characters, , family members,their jobs, etc. They were fascinated to read more about a different Big Brother and in a different country with a different culture. Students had to read some direct speech and turn it into reported speech in the test. In this way, they not only learned, but also were very enthusiastic as the test was not the typical one. It was a real success!

Alejandra Vecchiarelli

The art of teaching English

We all know that teaching anything we want to is not as easy as everybody may think. Especially, when we want to teach a foreign language. There are a number of things we have to bare in mind: It is not the same to teach little children, adolescents or adults, but anyway in each case we have to adquire certain skills in order to succeed in becoming good at our jobs. The first thing to take into account is to know our students. If we have a very small group that is easier, if this is not possible very soon, it will take more time, but in one case or the other one we will realise that not all of them like the subject, not all of them have a flair for languages and not all of them will learn it at the same period of time. Having learned something about them ,we have to include activities that all of them like. Games are a really good ally and we want to use them in context. Then, remember that a good teacher needs to be sympathetic towards students problems an have a bit of humour. We have to be patient in many aspects because we will feel disappointed if they do not learn what we think they should. In this case remember they need time. Studying English does not mean boring things to do and to remember as it used to be in the past. As a process, it needs immersion in the language and to be able to speak as soon as possible. I does not matter if it what they have to say is very easy , it will take time yes, but in the end it will be the result of effort, enthusiasm on the part of the student and a great challenge on the part of the teacher. That is why I consider it art!

Alejandra Vecchiarelli

Una leyenda árabe

Cuenta la leyenda que dos amigo viajaban por el desierto. En un determinado punto del viaje discutieron y uno le dio una bofetada al otro.
El otro, ofendido y sin nada que decir, escribió en la arena: " Hoy, mi mejor amigo me pegó una bofetada en el rostro".
Siguieron adelante y llegaron a un oasis donde decidieron bañarse. El que había sido abofeteado y lastimado comenzó a ahogarse y su amigo lo salvó. Al recuperarse tomó un estilete y escribió en una piedra: " Hoy, mi mejor amigo me salvó la vida".
Intrigado el amigo preguntó:
-¿ Por qué, después que te lastimé, escribiste escribiste en la arena y ahora en una piedra?
Sonriendo el otro amigo respondió:
- Cuando un gran amigo nos ofende, debemos escribir en la arena donde el viento del olvido y el perdón se encargaran de borrarlo y apagarlo, pero cuando nos pasa algo grandioso, debemos grabarlo en la piedra de la memoria del corazón donde viento ninguno de todo el mundo podrá borrarlo.

Emociones Tóxicas de Bernardo Stamateas

Momentos de introspección

Quienes no han pasado por este período en sus vidas?, por miles de motivos, es un momento que nos lleva a estar mas con nuestros pensamientos y sentimientos. Por muchas razones a veces tenemos que parar y empezar de cero, lo que implica ver donde estamos

y hacia donde nos dirigimos. No es nada fácil ya que en esos momentos nos sentimos vulnerables y cada desafío nos parece inalcanzable. Lo bueno es en estos períodos incorporar cosas que nos hagan bien para cuando volvemos al ruedo estar en condiciones de poder dar lo mejor y sentirnos que somos quienes queremos ser.

Alejandra Vecchiarelli

La intuición

..." Todo ser humano tiene intuición, aunque se manifiesta en el grado en que cada cual es capáz de responder a ella. Crece con la fe y la confianza, y se cierra y se oculta en sus recesos cuando dudamos de su veracidad y realidad. Lo que llamamos "originalidad" proviene de la intuición que transmite a la mente consciente una percepción de verdad superior a las que el intelecto es capaz de percibir por si mismo, y el resultado es el genio..."

Serie de lecciones de Raja Yoga de Yogi Ramacharaka

Tips to become better at the art of listening

..." If you are speaking and the person you are having a conversation with has not said something within the past 60 seconds, there is a good chance you have lost her and it´s time to stop talking so much.
Resist the temptation to interrupt. Catch yourself just before you do so and pay more attention to the content of what the other person is saying to you.
If appropiate ( that is, in a business setting), take notes. Few things more readily show the other person in a conversation that you genuinely wish to learn from what he has to say than pulling out a notepad and making notes while he speaks.
After the other person makes her points, rather than inmediately responding with your opinion, reflect on what you have just heard. Saying something such as, " Just to make sure I understand you, you are saying....?" and doing so with complete sincerity will bring you much closer to the people you interact with every day of your life..."

Who will cry when you die? from Robin Sharma

Psicoanálisis

..." El paciente no sabe que sabe. Para responder a esta pregunta hay que aceptar que existe un saber no sabido, un saber que no es accesible a la conciencia: un saber inconsciente. Sin embargo, a pesar de esa sensación de extrañeza y desconocimiento, el sujeto debe sospechar que algo tiene que ver con eso que le pasa..."
..." El cuerpo físico, atravesado por las marcas del discurso, se independiza de la biología y toma lugar propio ligado a lo simbólico de manera indisoluble. De allí que cada sufrimiento emocional se va a ver reflejado en el cuerpo y que, recíprocamente, cada acto que se ejerza sobre éste, ha de marcar- para bien o para mal-, el modo de desear o de sufrir de un sujeto..."
..." Un paciente no es un ser libre. Por el contrario: es alguien que se encuentra sujetado. Sujetado a su historia, a su inconsciente, a deseos de otros, pero sobre todo, sujetado al lenguaje, a la palabra..."

Palabras Cruzadas de Gabriel Rolón

Tomarse al otro en serio

...." Tomarse al otro en serio, poniéndonos en su lugar, consiste no solo en reconocer su dignidad de semejante sino tambien en simpatizar con sus dolores, con las desdichas que por error propio, accidente fortuito o necesidad biológica le afligen, como antes o después pueden afligirnos a todos. Enfermedades, vejez, debilidad insuperable, abandono, trastorno emocional o mental, pérdida de lo más querido o de lo más imprescindible, amenzas y agresiones violentas por parte de los más fuertes o de los menos escrupulosos....Una comunidad política deseable tiene que garantizar dentro de lo posible la asistencia comunitaria a los que sufren y la ayuda a los que por cualquier razón menos pueden ayudarse a si mismos...."

Etica para Amador de Fernando Savater

La afectividad

El mundo afectivo:

La afectividad:

1) Es una experiencia personal: El individuo la vive. No es pues, algo que le cuentan o de lo que es informado por una tercera persona, sino un sentimiento que él mismo protagoniza. Esto es lo fundamental.
2) El contenido de la vivencia: Es un estado de ánimo que se manifestará a través de las principales expresiones afectivas: emociones, sentimientos, pasiones y motivaciones. Esas cuatro categorías internas encierran las formas de experimentar la afectivdad.
3)Toda vivencia deja una huella: y el impacto de dicha experiencia, un rastro, una especie de vestigio en la personalidad. La signifacación del mismo dependerá del tema, la intensidad y la duración. Según estas tres notas, asi será el curso posterior de la vivencia.

" El amor inteligente" de Enrique Rojas