This is a corner for reflecting, studying, commenting, exchanging, and interacting on topics related to the teaching and learning of a foreign or second language.
“The good teacher discovers the natural aptitudes of his pupils and develops them by stimulating and by inspiring them. The true chief grows the men who follow him” (Stephen Neill)
Two years ago I launched PETsNet that stands for Peruvian English Teachers Network. This
name was chosen in the spirit of NING Platform that empowers educators to
create academic and social networks.
PETsNet is engaged in Language Teacher Education,
Teacher Training, Professional Development, Personal Learning Network, ICT in
Education, and aims to inspire, innovate, empower, & transform the professional
development of English teachers nationwide and worldwide.
Over two years, hundreds of English teachers visited
and/or joined PETsNet, and I have gladly met colleagues from all over Peru and abroad.
A great deal of their professional experiences and contributions are published on
PETsNet Ning. I think that most of PETsNeters have reached the conclusion that working
together for the common good is a must.
The Two Year Anniversary of PETsNet marks a
significant point in my PD’s improving, and provides a testament to the success
of the purposes of PETsNet. Up to now, PETsNet has grown to 550 members
including novice and experienced English teachers from different schools,
language centers, institutes, universities, etc.
I always had dreams for PETsNet, but I never realized
what could actually happen in a relatively short period of time. I try to do my
best, but I couldn't do it alone. Finally, I am truly grateful for all the solidarity
and support from all users of PETsNet.
I would like to share this post with you. It was published on PETsNet in February, 2012 to celebrate the 1st anniversary of this academic and social network. Enjoy it:
PETsNet which stands for Peruvian English Teachers Network
was born in February 2011. This was out of the recognition that
challenges in the teaching and learning of English in Peru and
worldwide.
In an effort to realize our objective of
inspiring, innovating, empowering, & transforming English teachers
professional development.
In celebrating our 1st Anniversary I wish to extend our gratitude to all active Members, Peruvians and foreigners, for their commitment and support. Likewise, I wish to extend further our gratitude to our Featured Members for their collaborative contributions.
On behalf of PETsNet, I salute you all PETsNeters for the commitment, resilience , and friendship rendered.
This post reports my replies to a Needs analysis survey that was carried out before starting the ELT Upgrade Workshop: Critical and Creative Thinking. The survey was conducted to find out teacher educators’ background knowledge, experiences and perceptions about Critical thinking.
What are the 5 key words that describe your understanding of critical thinking (CT)? Reflect, inspire, innovate, empower, & transform
What is the state of inclusion of critical thinking in English language teaching in your country? According to the Peruvian National Curriculum, English teachers
should develop in the students specific communicative competences that
imply to enhance a great amount of CT activities that are suggested in
that official document:
Further information at page 359 of: http://ebr.minedu.gob.pe/des/pdfs/dcbsecundaria.pdf
Is CT a necessity or a luxury in ELT in your country? It is a must, but a “luxury” for those teachers that have not
developed their own CT yet. I think that if teachers are not trained by
critical thinker trainers, it would be complicated to develop CT in
their students.
How is it used? (what types of approaches, strategies, activities are used to enhance critical thinking, for example) English teachers must do communicative activities that are most
related to developing CT, such as: Infer information from media related
to their personal interests; Analize oral texts from media taking into
account the pitch, tone, intonation; Utilize verbal and non-verbal
language and specific expressions to start and keep a conversation.
Is this general state similar or different from that of the program in which you provide Teacher Training/teacher development? What is referred in the Curriculum differs a lot from what teachers
do in the classrooms. I mean the majority of them in public schools. I
insist teachers must be trained in developing critical, creative, and
problem solving thinking during the course of the initial teacher
programs. Stop lecturing.
What critical thinking is already in place in your program, ie, how do you/your colleagues/your teacher trainees use CT? I think that Initial teachers programs should achieve specific objectives, at least. I stated these specific objectives:
At the end of the course of Didactics of TEFL the trainees should be able to:
Distinguish the different approaches and methods in TEFL.
Apply the theoretical foundations in real teaching situations.
Elaborate lesson plans.
Manage teaching skills and techniques.
Select and utilize a variety of techniques of evaluation and testing.
Demonstrate effective practice in the use of ICT
Are there gaps in CT in your program (in CT in ELT classrooms that your colleagues are likely to experience)? The main gap is: Most teacher students had not being trained in
developing their CT in previous course before pursing Didactics of TEFL
Looking forward to reading your answers, comments, etc.
Taken from: Deanna G. Hochstein. 2012. ELT Upgrade Workshop: Critical and Creative Thinking. RELO Andes - US Embassy. Lima, Peru
The International Teacher Development Institute is putting together a series of iTDi Blogposts highlighting the work of some great educators around the world. I was kindly invited to answer a questionnaire of challenging questions. It was a great occasion for expressing my thoughts related to my ELT professional career. Hope it may serve as reference framework for novice and experienced EFL teachers.
[...] I am really an ambitious and critical educator who tries to be outstanding. I think that a well-prepared English teacher must be aware of the principles, theories, approaches, methods, techniques and strategies in language teaching and learning. For this reason, I am extremely passionate about teaching pre- and in-service teachers how to discover, create, plan, utilize, and integrate teaching methodologies and strategies in their EFL lessons. English teachers must acquire an array of strategies to address and meet the students’ learning styles, expectations, and [...]
A forum for professionals in the field of English Language Teaching, the convention promotes the discussion of practical and theoretical issues related to the teaching of English to speakers of other languages. It is a unique opportunity for BRAZ-TESOL members and international colleagues to get together, present their work and reflect on their practice.
Carla Arena, one of the most innovative Brazilian ELT representative, will present a workshop talking about digital curation. Here we are her flyer:
Attending international conferences, such as the 30th VenTESOL Annual Convention 2012 , is one the most rewarding achievements throughout my professional career. I have been very fortunate to have been accepted to give workshops, talks and demonstrations in Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Cuba, and now in Venezuela.
This year I am going to give a demonstration session of "Using ICT in Language Teacher Education" which "...will demonstrate how MOODLE virtual classroom can be adjusted and used in Language Didactics course.." (Victor H. Rojas 2012)
In addition, I am looking forward to attending workshops, meeting colleagues from Venezuela and other countries, and
sharing professional experiences and ideas in the field of ELT and TESOL worldwide.
I'd like to invite you to check out the Program at a Glance.
30th Annual Convention of Venezuelan Teachers of English
(VenTESOL)
(Pearl Edition)
"An Affirmation of Excellence"
VenTESOL, one of the most prestigious TESOL association, is
celebrating its 30th anniversary. They are proud to announce that the 30th
VenTESOL Annual Convention is going to be held on May 25th and 26th, 2012 at
the World Trade Center (WTC) in Valencia, Carabobo State, Venezuela. The theme
of this Convention is “An Affirmation of Excellence”.
In addition to the academic program, the attendees are
invited to take advantage of two professional opportunities, such as the Pre-convention
institutes, which offer hands-on professional development at the VenTESOL
convention. PCIs will be taken place on May 23rd and 24th, 2012 from 8:00 am to
4:00 pm at FUNDACID. The workshops have been designed and led by experts in the
field of ELT. Likewise, the 1st International English Book Fair will be held from 24 to 26
May at the WTC with many publishing houses such as Cambridge University Press,
Universal Text (National Geographic Learning, Cengage), Longman Pearson,
Macmillan Venezuela, Oxford UP, Richmond, US Embassy, British Council, EF
Education First, etc.
The day came with great expectation after lots of preparation, the 46th Annual International IATEFL Conference is on the move.
The day before the official opening ceremony, I could surf the IATEFL Gasgow Online and watch what was happenning in the meantime. For example, the Online Team was setting up the Studio, where IATEFL associates, presenters, guests, etc. are being interviewed successfully. We can find a huge amount of photos at the Photo Media page.
The Glasgow Online Live Channel gives us the most meaningful chance to meet (virtually) IATEFL presenters and participants through the live transmission of plenaries and interviews. At the same time we are watching the presentations, we can chat simultaneously with peers from different part of the world who are following live streaming video synchronously. You feel being part of live IATEFL.
Throughout the Glasgow IATEFL Conference will be broadcasted live each day from Glasgow Online studio. An all video interviews will be available for us to access freerly. The first live interview was for Eric Barber, then I have embeded it below. Enjoy it!
I have just been accepted as an IATEFL Glasgow Online Registered Blogger to report on the Annual IATEFL conference 2012. I am so excited to share with you, colleagues from Peru and abroad my comments of the conference.
The 46th IATEFL Annual Conference starts this Monday and the online coverage has already started. We encourage you to visit the Glasgow Online website.
Glasgow Online provides teacher audiences worldwide with an opportunity to share ideas with colleagues before, during and after the conference. Last year, I was part of those more than 50,000 teachers all over the world spent over 15,000 hours watching video.
Clic on my badge on the right column and be part of the conference.
