I had an interested first few days back from my vacation. First, i felt like my tummy was still churning from the numerous bus rides...and no food i ate sat well. Then, I had planning to do for the week following vacation. I needed to sleep. It was hard to get myself motivated, to unpack, and to get out of bed.
But thankfully i didnt have to go to school on Monday, or so i thought....Monday was reserved for a teacher meeting day. Our school would resume on Tuesday. I rested on Sunday and saved all of my work for Monday. I knew I would have sufficient time to complete what I needed to prepare.
But.
I received a call at 9 am Monday morning. The director (or principal) was asking why i wasnt at the meeting. The english professor i work with told me i didnt need to go. It didnt regard me. I can't understand much of the happenings of the school because im new and spanish isnt my first language. The other teachers treat me differently because i'm a volunteer. And I am different. I am not paid; I can only work 25 hrs a week; I have a life (one that is different from their culture and family life); and i speak a different language. The other teachers are intimidated to talk to me. Some even talk behind my back. Also, these meetings arent a part of my responsibility with the program.....so. I was a perturbed to get this call. (not to mention that i needed to convalesce and prepare my lessons)
Also, i thought it was unprofessional of the director to stop the meeting and ask Elisa where I was. Many people at school treat me like I am the daughter of Elisa, never talking to me directly but through Elisa. But out of respect, i made my presence at the meeting anyways.
When i showed up, I realized that the meetings are grounds for complaining. No one bothers to offer a solution. I dont have time for such grumblings, so i left. I would rather use my time preparing for my students. They are my priority.
And if i stayed, would i have understood most of the discussions? no. Would i have been able to offer input? unlikely.
After i left the meeting, I felt relieved. It took guts to show emotion, to not sit nicely against my will. The old Cori would have stayed because it was the "polite thing to do".
I did apologize to the director today for not staying. I explained how i was exhausted from my travels and she understood. She only wishes that I would make more of an impact on the school and the teachers. I agree with this, that I should be more actively involved in the school. I was spending my first month getting accustomed to teaching in a foreign country, speaking spanish, teaching 400 students a week, not having materials, discipline/classroom management, my schedule, ....what else......so i didnt have time to concentrate on the outer workings of my classroom.
Im sorry, but the issue of students running in the hall is the least of my worries.
I will try to make my english club leave a stamp on the school. From the director's requests, i will give my "taller" the project of labeling every item in the school. Also, she wants them to practice the "competitive dialogues", where 2 students can have a chance to win the school an award or trophy at the countrywide tournament in Santiago. These specific dialogues are affective only for pronunciation because the level is far too advanced for my students. I will try to incorporate these out of obligation, but it is better for them to practice dialogues made from our class vocabulary.
Speaking of homemade dialogues, I wrote one for our first week back at class. This conversation reviewed all of the vocabulary I taught for the 4 weeks prior to winter vacation. It was a hit. The kids got really into it. It was great to see that they could put their knowledge into practice.
I knew it would be difficult to make my students work today after a 2 week break. To encourage good behavior, I introduced the incentive: "mystery word". I told them that when i caught the entire class acting good (all participating, working hard, listening, etc) then they would receive a letter. The letters would spell a prize. So once they earned all of the letters, they would earn a prize.
I am a volunteer. I do not have money to buy even 400 pencils or 20 bags of candy! The mystery word was "PAPER".
So when i "caught them" all acting good (which is hard sometimes!), i would say "i like how you are working, you get a letter!" Then the class would learn how i expect them to work.
In the beginning of the class i gave the letters easily. Once they had 3-4 letters, it became harder to earn the rest. I have to say, my students have never been so eager to learn....
It was funny too to hear them guess what they thought the mystery word was:
"papas" (french fries) "party" "pizza" "pisco " (alcohol) haha. many more.
One class was able to earn the paper....fight. It was a riot. I let them fight for the last 5 min of class. Of course, i joined them.
And when it was time for the class to go, they whined and whined. I said, "ok, then help me pick up all the paper!"
They said, "Tia, mira!" (aunt, look!) and pointed.
When i turned my back, they all got me. I WAS HIT with about 20 paper balls.
and i died laughing.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
my other half!
i miss Nicole because we were attached at the hip for two weeks straight! I was so lucky to have such a fun and amazing person to travel with. We sure had our good share of laughs...(check out her blog to hear more of our stories in detail)--->
After a long vacation, one usually returns home. However, i returned to my home away from home. Its weird to end your vacation and realize that you are still very far away. Its like when you think you woke up from a dream, but you only dreamed you awoke, and you are actually still asleep. The thought of this made me homesick.
i miss everyone dearly. Even though it may appear im having the time of my life, i still think about home often.
Fortunately, i have great friends like Nicole here to share my experience. And i am very grateful for my parents consistent phone calls and the few friends that drop me a line. much love to you all.
After a long vacation, one usually returns home. However, i returned to my home away from home. Its weird to end your vacation and realize that you are still very far away. Its like when you think you woke up from a dream, but you only dreamed you awoke, and you are actually still asleep. The thought of this made me homesick.
i miss everyone dearly. Even though it may appear im having the time of my life, i still think about home often.
Fortunately, i have great friends like Nicole here to share my experience. And i am very grateful for my parents consistent phone calls and the few friends that drop me a line. much love to you all.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
San Pedro de Atacama y La Serena
We made our stops to San Pedro and La Serena but our time was cut short, due to the extended stay in Peru.
San Pedro is a desert town but not the least bit deserted. It draws in tourists of Chile and Europe because of its salt flats, geysers, astronomical tours, and trekking/adventuring trips. Life in San Pedro reminds me of New Mexico, where beauty can be found under all the dirt.
We had a "lay over" in La Serena for 12 hours. Nicole and I met up with our friend, Warren for the day. We ate seafood, shopped (again!), and visited an archaeological museum featuring pottery of the Incas and one of Easter Island's carved stones.
San Pedro is a desert town but not the least bit deserted. It draws in tourists of Chile and Europe because of its salt flats, geysers, astronomical tours, and trekking/adventuring trips. Life in San Pedro reminds me of New Mexico, where beauty can be found under all the dirt.
San Pedro has its authentic parts: adobe buildings and dusty smiles. However, some of the city's production seems to enhance the culture, to bring in higher profit. For example, the city has a dance performance every day with a parade.
Many of the restaurants offer vegetarians dishes (and that's not because of the locals!) Some culture is lost when a city is gentrified, but the inhabitants of San Pedro seem to reflect a rare culture of its own, crawling with hippies, artisans, and adventure guides. The nightlife and restaurant spread is comparable to Santiago. I'm surely not complaining.
We rented bikes for 5 hours and rode out to the infamous "Valley de la Luna". The valley looks very much like I would imagine the planet Mars mixed with the sands of Arizona. My shoes are still full of sand.
We had a "lay over" in La Serena for 12 hours. Nicole and I met up with our friend, Warren for the day. We ate seafood, shopped (again!), and visited an archaeological museum featuring pottery of the Incas and one of Easter Island's carved stones. I am happy to be home in Curico. I have many showers and naps to catch up on!
Peru and its wonders
we made it!
Our climb upto macchu picchu
nicole asked them if they were playing with wood. They told us no, they were fixing their house "opps!!"
Girl on the side of the road selling crafts
CuzcoTuesday, July 24, 2007
Peru isnt for the weak
Nicole and I made our way to our long awaited destination: macchu picchu.
But it wasnt easy.
To get there, we had to pass through high hurdles.
1. 4 terribly exhausting bus rides that totaled to about 30 hrs on the road, For example, one overnight bus that felt more like riding a spinning amusement park ride for 10 hours (and nicole got sick). There was no heat or bathrooms. There wasnt space to stretch your legs. It smelt like vomit and berries, an awful combination. And we circled up mountains until the sun came up.
2. long ticket lines. Many rich europeans or chileans book their travel packages before arriving to macchu picchu. We didnt know how to book tickets in advance. We figured we could march right up to the ticket booth and buy two direct tickets, returning the same day. We ended up
with the last available option, and very expensive. 2way train ride for $100, leaving on sunday and returning on monday
3. money $$ To get to macchu picchu, one must take a train from Cuzco or another city to aguas calientes. You can only reach macchu picchu through aguas calientes. Aguas calientes is a city tucked between soaring, green mountains, much like those seen in the movie Jurassic park.
Its a really quaint town, but very touristy= expensive. We did the best we could to save money. We brought tons of food. We ate tuna sandwiches in the plaza. We stayed in a nice but affordable hostel. We didnt fall for tourist traps. We hiked up macchu picchu instead of taking a
$15 busride.
So it was much more rewarding when we reached the park. Nicole and I began our hike at 5 am. Thankfully we drank mate tea before our climb up the mountain, because we had to pass through the clouds. The area around macchu picchu has the most beautiful view i have ever seen in my entire life. I kept on blinkly in amazement,.... thinking that i would suddenly awake from a splendid dream.
The wait and pain was worth it. We conquered macchu picchu.
(and took many brillant photos to share when we return)
We will make our way back towards home tonight, stopping at one rural town in the desert to relax and see more of God´s splendors in San Pedro.
But it wasnt easy.
To get there, we had to pass through high hurdles.
1. 4 terribly exhausting bus rides that totaled to about 30 hrs on the road, For example, one overnight bus that felt more like riding a spinning amusement park ride for 10 hours (and nicole got sick). There was no heat or bathrooms. There wasnt space to stretch your legs. It smelt like vomit and berries, an awful combination. And we circled up mountains until the sun came up.
2. long ticket lines. Many rich europeans or chileans book their travel packages before arriving to macchu picchu. We didnt know how to book tickets in advance. We figured we could march right up to the ticket booth and buy two direct tickets, returning the same day. We ended up
with the last available option, and very expensive. 2way train ride for $100, leaving on sunday and returning on monday
3. money $$ To get to macchu picchu, one must take a train from Cuzco or another city to aguas calientes. You can only reach macchu picchu through aguas calientes. Aguas calientes is a city tucked between soaring, green mountains, much like those seen in the movie Jurassic park.
Its a really quaint town, but very touristy= expensive. We did the best we could to save money. We brought tons of food. We ate tuna sandwiches in the plaza. We stayed in a nice but affordable hostel. We didnt fall for tourist traps. We hiked up macchu picchu instead of taking a
$15 busride.
So it was much more rewarding when we reached the park. Nicole and I began our hike at 5 am. Thankfully we drank mate tea before our climb up the mountain, because we had to pass through the clouds. The area around macchu picchu has the most beautiful view i have ever seen in my entire life. I kept on blinkly in amazement,.... thinking that i would suddenly awake from a splendid dream.
The wait and pain was worth it. We conquered macchu picchu.
(and took many brillant photos to share when we return)
We will make our way back towards home tonight, stopping at one rural town in the desert to relax and see more of God´s splendors in San Pedro.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
2 girls and 4 bags.
Nicole and i embarked on our journey at 5pm on Saturday. We both packed 2 backpacks full of clothes, food (ie peanut butter, fruit etc), and toiletries. Of course we tried to pack light, but we have determined after walking many hours with our bags on, you can never pack light enough!
We caught a 2 hr bus ride to Santiago and sat in the terminal to eat a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Then we slept the entire way on our bus to Copiapo.
When we arrived in Copiapo we lugged our baggage around the city. Every time we arrive in a city, nicole and i must either locate a hostel (if we are staying the night), find a custodia (pay to watch your bags) if you have lay-over time, or find another bus to take us to our next destination. It has been an adventure thus far..not having many things planned in advance. Sometimes it works out miraciously and other times we have to be more patient or lug our baggage around for hours...grudgingly searching.
Copiapo had more difficult times. There were many weddings in town on this monday (because it was a national holiday),so many of the hotels and hostels were completely booked. We walked for about an hour searching for a hostel. We gave up at one point and sat down in a park to eat yet another peanut butter sandwich. After breakfast, we went to a convenient store for coffee. There we met a nice man in the convenient store. We had also spoke with a guy earlier in a hostel. Both men carried words of wisdom about the area. Nicole and i decided to move on to another city, after speaking with a few natives about what there is to do in the area. We have been quite lucky at meeting people.
First we usually ask a question, which leads to a lengthy conversation, but inevitably, we bring up our "story" which works wonders for us: We are volunteer teachers here living in Chile but currently on vacation. Chileans love this and will do anything to help us. We are at a major advantage over other travelers, because we follow advice of the naties instead of the travel books. Also ability to understand spanish has made traveling very easy for us.
With the advice to stay in another city, closer to the beach and cheaper, we chose to stay in Caldera. Although, with making reservations ahead of time, we walked around another hour looking for a place to stay (or most importantly, to keep our things so we could walk around freely). It got pretty exhausting walking around with my two backpacks. I determined that the easiest way to walk was with my larger bag on my back and my smaller on my front. I now know what it feels like to be pregnant! I now have extreme empathy for expecting mothers...
I found us a small residencial. A "residencial" is a home, more or less, with an extra room. Someone rents one room in their house and you are welcome to share their kitchen and bathroom. Of course it was the cheapest way and also, the only option we had. We couldnt walk another step at this point, so we ignored the stank of poodles and smoke in the house and dropped off our things.
Then, we went on to explore the city, and an amazing beach spot: Bahia Inglesia. Bahia Inglesia is probably the most photographed beach in Chile. It has white sand and turquiose waters, if the sun hits the water just right. Nicole and i went on a long, romantic walk around the beach and climbed rocks on the shore. The beach was practically unoccupied. (its dead season) I have never felt so at peace with the world. i am very amazed at how many of the shorelines in Chile, no matter how beautiful, are undeveloped. In the USA, there isnt one plot of land on the beach unclaimed.
After a nice day at the beach, we concluded our evening at a hip, octogon shaped restaurant for cafe con leche. And because there were no more collectivos or taxis coming to the beach at that hour, we had to "hacer dedo" back to our residencial!
I melted into sleep after lugging around the extra weight all day and after many hours on the bus. Apparently Nicole couldnt sleep a wink. She woke me up in the middle of the night screaming in frustration. She couldnt sleep because the house smelt like a huge cigarette, the tv was blaring in another room, and she was freezing. She was surprised i could sleep though all of this! haha. Of course, i wanted to quickly leave in the morning. The hostel ended up being a more comical experience, instead of a pleasant one. The house was too dirty and the water in the shower too cold...
We spent the next day traveling to Chanaral and arrived around 4pm. We wanted to visit this cute park with penguins during the day, but skipped out to save money. (sometimes people wont budge when we attempt to bargain) But our bus didnt leave for Iquique until 10 pm, so we had to find something to do to fill the time and something to do with our bags! Somehow, Nicole and I entertained ourselves for about 6 hrs in this teeny city. When we are bored we either pass time by eating or walking, and chatting. We both love to talk.
We spent another long night on the bus. This bus ride had "unexpected turns". I awoke to a man forcing us out of our seats to another bus. Then, when on the second bus, we had problems with the engine or something and another bus had to swing by and pick us up. We finally made it to Iquique after many hours of traveling and then decided we didnt want to stay. The buses had soured our moods. And the cloudy weather didnt help. We hadnt made plans for the city, thus decided to continue on to Arica, the border town between Peru and Chile.
It was the best decision we made yet. We had a nice bus ride to Arica. The bus played 2 movies and fed us. We were smiling when we hit Arica, especially when we saw the sunny weather.
Good thing i had researched a few hostels before the trip. I found a hostel online in Arica and we set out on another long, pregnant hike to our temporary home. It was worth the walk though. We slept in a warm room, had hot showers, free breakfast, watched tv in bed and met many other travelers, all for only about 10 US$. We were very happy campers this morning.
Nicole is presently on a run. And when she returns, we will be going to Tacna for the day. Tacna is the first major city when you cross into Peru. It is known for cheap shopping, well cheap things in general. I hope to try some peruvian ceviche. Tonight, we will return to our hostel for a bbq and to watch Chile in a futbol match.
We are awating more information about the "forgotten city" or Machu Picchu. There is a possibility that we might not make it there because the bus drivers are on strike in Arequipa, a city we must pass to get to Cuzco. Also, the Inca trail is booked, thus we have to find another way up. We have our fingers crossed. We are so close...what a drag it would be if we couldnt see it!
We caught a 2 hr bus ride to Santiago and sat in the terminal to eat a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Then we slept the entire way on our bus to Copiapo.
When we arrived in Copiapo we lugged our baggage around the city. Every time we arrive in a city, nicole and i must either locate a hostel (if we are staying the night), find a custodia (pay to watch your bags) if you have lay-over time, or find another bus to take us to our next destination. It has been an adventure thus far..not having many things planned in advance. Sometimes it works out miraciously and other times we have to be more patient or lug our baggage around for hours...grudgingly searching.
Copiapo had more difficult times. There were many weddings in town on this monday (because it was a national holiday),so many of the hotels and hostels were completely booked. We walked for about an hour searching for a hostel. We gave up at one point and sat down in a park to eat yet another peanut butter sandwich. After breakfast, we went to a convenient store for coffee. There we met a nice man in the convenient store. We had also spoke with a guy earlier in a hostel. Both men carried words of wisdom about the area. Nicole and i decided to move on to another city, after speaking with a few natives about what there is to do in the area. We have been quite lucky at meeting people.
First we usually ask a question, which leads to a lengthy conversation, but inevitably, we bring up our "story" which works wonders for us: We are volunteer teachers here living in Chile but currently on vacation. Chileans love this and will do anything to help us. We are at a major advantage over other travelers, because we follow advice of the naties instead of the travel books. Also ability to understand spanish has made traveling very easy for us.
With the advice to stay in another city, closer to the beach and cheaper, we chose to stay in Caldera. Although, with making reservations ahead of time, we walked around another hour looking for a place to stay (or most importantly, to keep our things so we could walk around freely). It got pretty exhausting walking around with my two backpacks. I determined that the easiest way to walk was with my larger bag on my back and my smaller on my front. I now know what it feels like to be pregnant! I now have extreme empathy for expecting mothers...
I found us a small residencial. A "residencial" is a home, more or less, with an extra room. Someone rents one room in their house and you are welcome to share their kitchen and bathroom. Of course it was the cheapest way and also, the only option we had. We couldnt walk another step at this point, so we ignored the stank of poodles and smoke in the house and dropped off our things.
Then, we went on to explore the city, and an amazing beach spot: Bahia Inglesia. Bahia Inglesia is probably the most photographed beach in Chile. It has white sand and turquiose waters, if the sun hits the water just right. Nicole and i went on a long, romantic walk around the beach and climbed rocks on the shore. The beach was practically unoccupied. (its dead season) I have never felt so at peace with the world. i am very amazed at how many of the shorelines in Chile, no matter how beautiful, are undeveloped. In the USA, there isnt one plot of land on the beach unclaimed.
After a nice day at the beach, we concluded our evening at a hip, octogon shaped restaurant for cafe con leche. And because there were no more collectivos or taxis coming to the beach at that hour, we had to "hacer dedo" back to our residencial!
I melted into sleep after lugging around the extra weight all day and after many hours on the bus. Apparently Nicole couldnt sleep a wink. She woke me up in the middle of the night screaming in frustration. She couldnt sleep because the house smelt like a huge cigarette, the tv was blaring in another room, and she was freezing. She was surprised i could sleep though all of this! haha. Of course, i wanted to quickly leave in the morning. The hostel ended up being a more comical experience, instead of a pleasant one. The house was too dirty and the water in the shower too cold...
We spent the next day traveling to Chanaral and arrived around 4pm. We wanted to visit this cute park with penguins during the day, but skipped out to save money. (sometimes people wont budge when we attempt to bargain) But our bus didnt leave for Iquique until 10 pm, so we had to find something to do to fill the time and something to do with our bags! Somehow, Nicole and I entertained ourselves for about 6 hrs in this teeny city. When we are bored we either pass time by eating or walking, and chatting. We both love to talk.
We spent another long night on the bus. This bus ride had "unexpected turns". I awoke to a man forcing us out of our seats to another bus. Then, when on the second bus, we had problems with the engine or something and another bus had to swing by and pick us up. We finally made it to Iquique after many hours of traveling and then decided we didnt want to stay. The buses had soured our moods. And the cloudy weather didnt help. We hadnt made plans for the city, thus decided to continue on to Arica, the border town between Peru and Chile.It was the best decision we made yet. We had a nice bus ride to Arica. The bus played 2 movies and fed us. We were smiling when we hit Arica, especially when we saw the sunny weather.
Good thing i had researched a few hostels before the trip. I found a hostel online in Arica and we set out on another long, pregnant hike to our temporary home. It was worth the walk though. We slept in a warm room, had hot showers, free breakfast, watched tv in bed and met many other travelers, all for only about 10 US$. We were very happy campers this morning.
Nicole is presently on a run. And when she returns, we will be going to Tacna for the day. Tacna is the first major city when you cross into Peru. It is known for cheap shopping, well cheap things in general. I hope to try some peruvian ceviche. Tonight, we will return to our hostel for a bbq and to watch Chile in a futbol match.
We are awating more information about the "forgotten city" or Machu Picchu. There is a possibility that we might not make it there because the bus drivers are on strike in Arequipa, a city we must pass to get to Cuzco. Also, the Inca trail is booked, thus we have to find another way up. We have our fingers crossed. We are so close...what a drag it would be if we couldnt see it!Wednesday, July 11, 2007
El Viaje.
Nicole and I are preparing to make our trek across Northern Chile
and Southern Peru for winter vacation.
Our itinerary is as follows: (as we pretend to be the guys on "motorcycle diaries")
1. Copiapo
2. Iquique
3. Peru: Tacna, Arequipa, Cuzco (Machu Picchu, fingers crossed!)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machu_Picchu
http://www.mp360.com/
4. Arica
http://www.arica.cl/
5. San Pedro de Atacama
http://www.sanpedroatacama.com/galeria.htm
6. La Serena
7. Santiago
8. Mi casa en Curico
We are traveling backpacker-style, via buses, for 2 weeks. We will be either sleeping on overnight buses (since Chile is a stretch!!!) or in hostels. We will be eating wonderful seafood (ceviche) on the beach, attending cultural festivals, shopping for cheap trinkets on the streets of Peru, watching the sunset over geysers (and other natural phenomenons), hiking through national parks, taking pictures that embody Chile's distinct history (ie. churches) and seeing one of the soon to be "wonders of the world".
That is, if everything goes as planned. Most likely, it won't. I will fill you in when i can!
xoxo
and Southern Peru for winter vacation.
Our itinerary is as follows: (as we pretend to be the guys on "motorcycle diaries")
1. Copiapo
2. Iquique
3. Peru: Tacna, Arequipa, Cuzco (Machu Picchu, fingers crossed!)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machu_Picchu
http://www.mp360.com/
4. Arica
http://www.arica.cl/
5. San Pedro de Atacama
http://www.sanpedroatacama.com/galeria.htm
6. La Serena
7. Santiago
8. Mi casa en Curico
We are traveling backpacker-style, via buses, for 2 weeks. We will be either sleeping on overnight buses (since Chile is a stretch!!!) or in hostels. We will be eating wonderful seafood (ceviche) on the beach, attending cultural festivals, shopping for cheap trinkets on the streets of Peru, watching the sunset over geysers (and other natural phenomenons), hiking through national parks, taking pictures that embody Chile's distinct history (ie. churches) and seeing one of the soon to be "wonders of the world".
That is, if everything goes as planned. Most likely, it won't. I will fill you in when i can!
xoxo
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Waving and Spinning for the Beatles
I experimented with the radio in my classroom this week.
Listening activities are essential for learning a language, as well as conversation practice.
I chose the song "Goodbye Hello" by the Beatles to introduce a lesson on "saludos" or greetings in English. Doing listening activities through music is a great way to connect the students' interests with learning, since most students listen to music that is in English anyways. Also, its easy to add in movement through dance, singing (a great memorization strategy), and vocabulary instruction. And try to teach 6 classes of teenagers in a row...when its raining outside! If you think you wont get a headache from trying to conduct a lecture type lesson, you are wrong! haha, the only way to keep them out of trouble, is to keep them moving...and all of my classes were very active during this lesson!
1. Give instructions: a purpose for listening. The students would be listening for 2 words: "hello" and "goodbye". When they heard "hello", they were instructed to wave at me. When the students heard "goodbye" in the song, they spun around. Otherwise, they might listen to the entire song without understanding anything. This way they can concentrate on a few words. (I naturally do this when I am listening to Spanish. I listen for "important words" to confer meaning of a sentence.)
2. Make sure they understand the directions. Sometimes the students don't know what to do but they don't tell you so. They pretend like they understand. Then when the activity starts, they are confused. Its best to have them repeat what they will be doing. "What words are you listening for?" "What will you do when you hear them?" This way, i know that the reason they aren't waving or spinning: because they are either shy (most likely the reason) or they cant pick out the words "hello" and "goodbye".
3. Play the song and watch them. This is my time to evaluate their listening ability in English. I can quickly see what students hear the words. Though, some of the classes where timid until I modeled and did the motions with them.
4. Show the lyrics. I wrote the lyrics on a transparency for an overhead projector to share with the class. I translated other words and explained the meaning of the entire song.
5. Play the song and students look at lyrics. This time, I pointed to the words and sang along. Most of the students chimed in.
6. Play the song with lyrics up and do motions again. This time, I added motions for many the other words in the song. All of the students sang along and copied my motions. This was the most rewarding part of my week: to see that the students were understanding the meaning of the words through my motions, to hear their correct pronunciation and to see their exuberant faces! (Like they had never had this much fun in school. ever.) At times, it made me so happy I almost shed a tear.
I wish i had a video camera to show them off! They were having so much fun! And learning! :)
Listening activities are essential for learning a language, as well as conversation practice.
I chose the song "Goodbye Hello" by the Beatles to introduce a lesson on "saludos" or greetings in English. Doing listening activities through music is a great way to connect the students' interests with learning, since most students listen to music that is in English anyways. Also, its easy to add in movement through dance, singing (a great memorization strategy), and vocabulary instruction. And try to teach 6 classes of teenagers in a row...when its raining outside! If you think you wont get a headache from trying to conduct a lecture type lesson, you are wrong! haha, the only way to keep them out of trouble, is to keep them moving...and all of my classes were very active during this lesson!
1. Give instructions: a purpose for listening. The students would be listening for 2 words: "hello" and "goodbye". When they heard "hello", they were instructed to wave at me. When the students heard "goodbye" in the song, they spun around. Otherwise, they might listen to the entire song without understanding anything. This way they can concentrate on a few words. (I naturally do this when I am listening to Spanish. I listen for "important words" to confer meaning of a sentence.)
2. Make sure they understand the directions. Sometimes the students don't know what to do but they don't tell you so. They pretend like they understand. Then when the activity starts, they are confused. Its best to have them repeat what they will be doing. "What words are you listening for?" "What will you do when you hear them?" This way, i know that the reason they aren't waving or spinning: because they are either shy (most likely the reason) or they cant pick out the words "hello" and "goodbye".
3. Play the song and watch them. This is my time to evaluate their listening ability in English. I can quickly see what students hear the words. Though, some of the classes where timid until I modeled and did the motions with them.
4. Show the lyrics. I wrote the lyrics on a transparency for an overhead projector to share with the class. I translated other words and explained the meaning of the entire song.
5. Play the song and students look at lyrics. This time, I pointed to the words and sang along. Most of the students chimed in.
6. Play the song with lyrics up and do motions again. This time, I added motions for many the other words in the song. All of the students sang along and copied my motions. This was the most rewarding part of my week: to see that the students were understanding the meaning of the words through my motions, to hear their correct pronunciation and to see their exuberant faces! (Like they had never had this much fun in school. ever.) At times, it made me so happy I almost shed a tear.
I wish i had a video camera to show them off! They were having so much fun! And learning! :)
Monday, July 02, 2007
Vamos a carretar en Santiago!
Nicole and I went to Santiago this weekend. My father met a guy from Chile when he was on a business trip in Brazil and gave me his contact information. I emailed the business friend of my father, Andres, and found out that he had a daughter my age named Gloria. So before I went to Santiago, I emailed Gloria. I wanted to meet her and hang out with her for a her hours....but a few hours ended up being the entire weekend!Gloria and her father were amazing. They treated Nicole and I with unrelenting hospitality. This time in Santiago was a breeze for us. We didnt have to figure out the metro system, we didnt have to look for places to eat, nor did we have to spend money on a hostel room. It was an authentic and charming experience. I got to see the "middle-upper class" side of Santiago. Not that it was better, just cleaner and more expensive.
Gloria studied culinary arts and cooked us a beautiful peruvian dish. Also, we felt very very comfortable in her father's bachelor pad apartment. It reminded me of what I would imagine an expensive Manhattan apartment to look like: with modern art, high quality furniture, fancy wine, etc. And his apartment had a breathtaking view of the Andes mountains.
Gloria took good care of us for sure. She made us meals, took us around the city in her car, accompanied us shopping, introduced us to her friends, and brought us to my favorite area of Santiago: Bellavista (the art district). We were able to see a funky brazilian band play live!
It was nice to go out and feel young again. I have been very responsible and teacher-ly lately. I mostly hang out with elderly people (at my house) or teenagers (at school), so it was refreshing to see people my age! Also, I feel like I have yet another Chilean family ....in Santiago!
I have my 2 week winter vacation right around the corner. Nicole and I still need to figure out our plans...northern chile? peru? argentina? wherever we go, ...here we come!
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