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Monday, January 5, 2009
Gelukkig Nieuw Jaar!
Hello everyone!
I have just returned to Seville from my holiday vacation to Holland- and I had the best time EVER! i seriously think this will go down as my favorite vacation to date- it was so much fun to hang out with janneke and her family. i also got to see my other dutch-iowa-going friend, aagje, but only for a day :(
some highlights include: 2 Christmases in Venray (a small town in South Holland), AMAZING FOOD (God bless Janneke's mom!), sweet presents (a dutch phrasebook, the Kite Runner (in Spanish), a moroccan scarf and Grandma's Boy DVD (a hilarious movie)), a trip to the Hertog Jan brewery, a visit to the Openluchtmuseum- a museum that shows you how the dutch lived back in the day, brief trips to arnhem and across the border to germany, hanging in nijmegen (a nice college town where janneke studies), a day trip to amsterdam (my favorite foreign city-beautiful!), new years in eersel with aagje and her family, and gezillig-ness.
and now, a few observations on the great country that is Holland:
- a charactaristicly dutch house (or any building for that matter) includes a very steep, narrow staircase that one has nightmares about falling down. i was absolutely amazed when janneke and her brother giel would just bound down the stairs so fast, whereas i would take each step carefully, slowly, trying not to break my neck.
-the people in holland are SO. freakin'. nice. I'm serious. I am always taken aback by the kindness of the dutch, no matter if it in the store, on the street, or at a party. it reminds me of iowa. i was absolutely delighted when on christmas eve in venray, almost everyone janneke and i encountered wished us a merry christmas. this is a big change from spain, where although people can become very warm once you know them, people are stone-faced on the street.
-it is mind-blowing the level of english the dutch have, especially people of my parents age and down. many speak a smattering of other languages as well. i truely believe this is because the dutch do not dub over foreign movies and television- they use subtitles. even for cartoons like the simpsons or family guy. this way, the dutch are trained at listening to english even at a very young age. it really puts americans to shame with their knowledge of other languages.
-though Dutch cuisine isn't world-renowned, there are some delicious specialities out there. appelfloppen (apple turnovers), snert (hot pea and sausage soup- it really is good!), pannekoeken (dutch pancakes- sweet and savory!) and patat met (french fries with mayonaise) are delicious. i am particularly parcial to dutch cheese (the old cheese, oude kaas, was my best friend and my enemy) and the beer is also good (hertog jan is an excellent beer if you ever get a chance to try it).
-everyone has a bike. i mean everyone. the country is so flat and makes it suitable for riding around town or the countryside. and get this- the most common crime in holland is bike theft!
-the bathrooms are quite interesting. the name "water closet" literally describes them. its often a tiny little closet with a toliet inside. no space for anything else.
-the legal drinking age in holland is 16. a 5 YEAR difference with the USA. janneke's younger brother Giel is 16, and it was crazy to see him drinking beers with us. but he never got out of hand at all. and you can't get a driver's license in holland until you're 18.
-speaking of legal, contrary to popular belief, marijuana isn't legal in holland, it's just tolerated. its sold in "coffeeshops" shops, that are advertised by that name or a cannibus leaf. they are not allowed to have advertisments saying "MARIJUANA!" or "POT HERE!" for example. the Dutch philosophy is to tolerate a soft drug like marijuana, in order to focus on combating harder drugs. interestingly enough, its more the tourists than the Dutch that frequent the shops. Maybe the "semi-legalness" of it makes it lose its excitment for its residents. hey, its not a system for every country, but it seems to work for holland and definitely falls within their country-wide philosophy of "tolerance".
-prostitution is legal in holland, which is crazy to me. I passed by two Red Light districts- one in Nijmegen and the famous one in Amsterdam. Even though I had been to Amsterdam 3 times before, i never saw the Red Light district before this trip. It is surreal. There are girls in lingerie, standing in windows, like mannequins. most of them looked very, very bored. as disgusting as some people may find this concept, my friend JJ explained it to me awhile ago very sensible terms- every country has prostitution, whether they hide it or not. By regulating it, the government can control it. The prositutes pay taxes like any other working citizens. interesting, huh?
-3 kisses is the customary greeting in holland (although a handshake is suitable for guy to guy). this is different from the spanish 2 kisses. man i love the kiss greeting. it's so much more elegant, don't ya think?
-i LOVE the dutch language! it sounds like a fairytale. i am absolutely delighted by the fun sounds of words like slagroom (whipped cream), aardapelen (potatoes) and
sinesappelsap (orange juice). i want soooo badly to speak dutch fluently. my announcing this usually gets strange looks from the Dutch, since not too many foreigners take a keen interest on learning their language (the Dutch are excellent linguists, and most can say such slang american slang words that keep you amazed for days). but i am absolutely determined to speak good dutch.....
- the country is beautiful. windmills, beautiful gingerbread houses, tulips (in spring though) and canals. it's a fantasy country!
if i think of more observations, i will add them (i shudda written them down!)
but seriously, if you are ever considering visiting the great and beautiful country of the Netherlands....DO IT! you won't regret it!
I have just returned to Seville from my holiday vacation to Holland- and I had the best time EVER! i seriously think this will go down as my favorite vacation to date- it was so much fun to hang out with janneke and her family. i also got to see my other dutch-iowa-going friend, aagje, but only for a day :(
some highlights include: 2 Christmases in Venray (a small town in South Holland), AMAZING FOOD (God bless Janneke's mom!), sweet presents (a dutch phrasebook, the Kite Runner (in Spanish), a moroccan scarf and Grandma's Boy DVD (a hilarious movie)), a trip to the Hertog Jan brewery, a visit to the Openluchtmuseum- a museum that shows you how the dutch lived back in the day, brief trips to arnhem and across the border to germany, hanging in nijmegen (a nice college town where janneke studies), a day trip to amsterdam (my favorite foreign city-beautiful!), new years in eersel with aagje and her family, and gezillig-ness.
and now, a few observations on the great country that is Holland:
- a charactaristicly dutch house (or any building for that matter) includes a very steep, narrow staircase that one has nightmares about falling down. i was absolutely amazed when janneke and her brother giel would just bound down the stairs so fast, whereas i would take each step carefully, slowly, trying not to break my neck.
-the people in holland are SO. freakin'. nice. I'm serious. I am always taken aback by the kindness of the dutch, no matter if it in the store, on the street, or at a party. it reminds me of iowa. i was absolutely delighted when on christmas eve in venray, almost everyone janneke and i encountered wished us a merry christmas. this is a big change from spain, where although people can become very warm once you know them, people are stone-faced on the street.
-it is mind-blowing the level of english the dutch have, especially people of my parents age and down. many speak a smattering of other languages as well. i truely believe this is because the dutch do not dub over foreign movies and television- they use subtitles. even for cartoons like the simpsons or family guy. this way, the dutch are trained at listening to english even at a very young age. it really puts americans to shame with their knowledge of other languages.
-though Dutch cuisine isn't world-renowned, there are some delicious specialities out there. appelfloppen (apple turnovers), snert (hot pea and sausage soup- it really is good!), pannekoeken (dutch pancakes- sweet and savory!) and patat met (french fries with mayonaise) are delicious. i am particularly parcial to dutch cheese (the old cheese, oude kaas, was my best friend and my enemy) and the beer is also good (hertog jan is an excellent beer if you ever get a chance to try it).
-everyone has a bike. i mean everyone. the country is so flat and makes it suitable for riding around town or the countryside. and get this- the most common crime in holland is bike theft!
-the bathrooms are quite interesting. the name "water closet" literally describes them. its often a tiny little closet with a toliet inside. no space for anything else.
-the legal drinking age in holland is 16. a 5 YEAR difference with the USA. janneke's younger brother Giel is 16, and it was crazy to see him drinking beers with us. but he never got out of hand at all. and you can't get a driver's license in holland until you're 18.
-speaking of legal, contrary to popular belief, marijuana isn't legal in holland, it's just tolerated. its sold in "coffeeshops" shops, that are advertised by that name or a cannibus leaf. they are not allowed to have advertisments saying "MARIJUANA!" or "POT HERE!" for example. the Dutch philosophy is to tolerate a soft drug like marijuana, in order to focus on combating harder drugs. interestingly enough, its more the tourists than the Dutch that frequent the shops. Maybe the "semi-legalness" of it makes it lose its excitment for its residents. hey, its not a system for every country, but it seems to work for holland and definitely falls within their country-wide philosophy of "tolerance".
-prostitution is legal in holland, which is crazy to me. I passed by two Red Light districts- one in Nijmegen and the famous one in Amsterdam. Even though I had been to Amsterdam 3 times before, i never saw the Red Light district before this trip. It is surreal. There are girls in lingerie, standing in windows, like mannequins. most of them looked very, very bored. as disgusting as some people may find this concept, my friend JJ explained it to me awhile ago very sensible terms- every country has prostitution, whether they hide it or not. By regulating it, the government can control it. The prositutes pay taxes like any other working citizens. interesting, huh?
-3 kisses is the customary greeting in holland (although a handshake is suitable for guy to guy). this is different from the spanish 2 kisses. man i love the kiss greeting. it's so much more elegant, don't ya think?
-i LOVE the dutch language! it sounds like a fairytale. i am absolutely delighted by the fun sounds of words like slagroom (whipped cream), aardapelen (potatoes) and
sinesappelsap (orange juice). i want soooo badly to speak dutch fluently. my announcing this usually gets strange looks from the Dutch, since not too many foreigners take a keen interest on learning their language (the Dutch are excellent linguists, and most can say such slang american slang words that keep you amazed for days). but i am absolutely determined to speak good dutch.....
- the country is beautiful. windmills, beautiful gingerbread houses, tulips (in spring though) and canals. it's a fantasy country!
if i think of more observations, i will add them (i shudda written them down!)
but seriously, if you are ever considering visiting the great and beautiful country of the Netherlands....DO IT! you won't regret it!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Felices Fiestas!
Hi. Remember me? I'm that one chick who promised all her friends and family to diligently blog this year in Spain......and I seem to have gotten caught up in my own thang and forgot about that promise. I am dearly sorry...
So! Nothin' too new here. In exactly one week I leave for Christmas holidays to Holland! I was in Holland for Christmas last year to visit my dear friends Janneke and Aagje (two awesome chicks who studied at Iowa for a semester a few years back) and hang with them and their families. I had SO much fun last year and I am really looking forward to going back again. Actually, that is an understatement......I am positively freaking out with anticipation! Okay, maybe not freaking out, but everytime I think about it I give a celebratory fist pump in the hair. Hooray!
Home life is going good. My roommates are pretty awesome. Marco has been replaced by a Brazilian woman named Silvia. She is getting her doctorate in (get this) FLAMENCO. boo-yah! I've always wanted to learn the art of flamenco and now I have a professional dancer living with me. The girls of the house had our Christmas dinner before everyone goes off to their respective places for the holidays, and Silvia suggested going to a Cuban bar and restaurant to see a cuban salsa band. It was a lot of fun, but I realized a) i can't dance salsa, b) i want to learn how to salsa, c) i want to go to Latin America, namely Cuba. I guess I'll just add that to the bazillion places I want to go.....sigh....
It is cold here. Well, not IOWA cold, but I can definitely see my own breath in the morning when i walk to school. Today it was about 15 degrees Celcius, which would be in the 50's in Fahrenheit. basically it was a sevillian blizzard, without the snow. everyone had on their big fluffy down coats and knit gloves and fleece scarves like it was nobody's business. i have to admit that my body has adjusted to seville temperatures, and a day of 15 celcius feels FREEZING to me now. but, this is mainly due to the fact that andalucian houses at much colder inside than it is outside. they are constructed to be a refuge from the ridiculously hot summer months (high ceilings and marble floors) but they so unbelievably cold in the winter. And since we don't have central heating in our apartment, we have little tiny space heaters in each of our rooms. Mine radiates little heat, and i have the biggest room in the house. needless to say i am constantly in layers. (My warmth has greatly improved, however, since our shower has been fixed and has hot water for more than, get this, 2 minutes!) Anyway, most homes don't have central heating but have small space heaters in every room, plus a brasera (is that the name in spanish? i think so) in the dining room. It is a special table with a heater at the bottom near the floor. then a very long, heavy tablecloth goes over the table so when the family is eating or sitting at the table they can just put the lower half of the body under the tablecloth and keep warm that way. we have a huge brasera in the teacher's lounge at school that can sit more than 10 people. if you aren't sitting in the teacher's lounge with your legs in the brasera, it is deathly cold, and you must wear a jacket and scarf around the building, in the halls. once last year it was so cold that i crawled entirely under the tablecloth and laid under the table in a heat for a few moments, but just for jokes.
our annual christmas dinner with the professors is on thursday, followed by an afterparty at a club. i am so excited since last year it was HILARIOUS to see my fellow coworkers go crazy on the dancefloor!
and something that seems to be a bit of a tradition during christmas at work is to drink anise liquor. at WORK. all week. no joke, there are a few bottles on top of the brasera at school. spain is crazy. i personally find it to taste awful, like cherry cough syrup, which just gives me bad memories of my mom forcing that disgusting liquid into my mouth when i was sick. ugh.
the kids are doing great. i love them so much, they are so great. they applause for me after every lesson. i mean i thought that they would stop doing it after the first month, but they still do it everyday. today i got some real "oohs" and "ahhhs" from my powerpoint presentation on Natural Disasters. I talked about hurricanes and tornadoes and floods and wildfires, and for the floods and tornadoes i showed pictures of the occurences in iowa. and the kids went NUTS. they were asking so much questions and were so fascinated by everything. be reminded that tornadoes generally do not occur in europe, so for me to talk about a tornado warning like its nothing was, for them, UNREAL. the lesson was so successful that they actually groaned with lament at the end of the slideshow. cha-ching!
alright, more later. i will be posting some pics of christmas in seville in the next few days.....stay posted.
Happy Holidays!
So! Nothin' too new here. In exactly one week I leave for Christmas holidays to Holland! I was in Holland for Christmas last year to visit my dear friends Janneke and Aagje (two awesome chicks who studied at Iowa for a semester a few years back) and hang with them and their families. I had SO much fun last year and I am really looking forward to going back again. Actually, that is an understatement......I am positively freaking out with anticipation! Okay, maybe not freaking out, but everytime I think about it I give a celebratory fist pump in the hair. Hooray!
Home life is going good. My roommates are pretty awesome. Marco has been replaced by a Brazilian woman named Silvia. She is getting her doctorate in (get this) FLAMENCO. boo-yah! I've always wanted to learn the art of flamenco and now I have a professional dancer living with me. The girls of the house had our Christmas dinner before everyone goes off to their respective places for the holidays, and Silvia suggested going to a Cuban bar and restaurant to see a cuban salsa band. It was a lot of fun, but I realized a) i can't dance salsa, b) i want to learn how to salsa, c) i want to go to Latin America, namely Cuba. I guess I'll just add that to the bazillion places I want to go.....sigh....
It is cold here. Well, not IOWA cold, but I can definitely see my own breath in the morning when i walk to school. Today it was about 15 degrees Celcius, which would be in the 50's in Fahrenheit. basically it was a sevillian blizzard, without the snow. everyone had on their big fluffy down coats and knit gloves and fleece scarves like it was nobody's business. i have to admit that my body has adjusted to seville temperatures, and a day of 15 celcius feels FREEZING to me now. but, this is mainly due to the fact that andalucian houses at much colder inside than it is outside. they are constructed to be a refuge from the ridiculously hot summer months (high ceilings and marble floors) but they so unbelievably cold in the winter. And since we don't have central heating in our apartment, we have little tiny space heaters in each of our rooms. Mine radiates little heat, and i have the biggest room in the house. needless to say i am constantly in layers. (My warmth has greatly improved, however, since our shower has been fixed and has hot water for more than, get this, 2 minutes!) Anyway, most homes don't have central heating but have small space heaters in every room, plus a brasera (is that the name in spanish? i think so) in the dining room. It is a special table with a heater at the bottom near the floor. then a very long, heavy tablecloth goes over the table so when the family is eating or sitting at the table they can just put the lower half of the body under the tablecloth and keep warm that way. we have a huge brasera in the teacher's lounge at school that can sit more than 10 people. if you aren't sitting in the teacher's lounge with your legs in the brasera, it is deathly cold, and you must wear a jacket and scarf around the building, in the halls. once last year it was so cold that i crawled entirely under the tablecloth and laid under the table in a heat for a few moments, but just for jokes.
our annual christmas dinner with the professors is on thursday, followed by an afterparty at a club. i am so excited since last year it was HILARIOUS to see my fellow coworkers go crazy on the dancefloor!
and something that seems to be a bit of a tradition during christmas at work is to drink anise liquor. at WORK. all week. no joke, there are a few bottles on top of the brasera at school. spain is crazy. i personally find it to taste awful, like cherry cough syrup, which just gives me bad memories of my mom forcing that disgusting liquid into my mouth when i was sick. ugh.
the kids are doing great. i love them so much, they are so great. they applause for me after every lesson. i mean i thought that they would stop doing it after the first month, but they still do it everyday. today i got some real "oohs" and "ahhhs" from my powerpoint presentation on Natural Disasters. I talked about hurricanes and tornadoes and floods and wildfires, and for the floods and tornadoes i showed pictures of the occurences in iowa. and the kids went NUTS. they were asking so much questions and were so fascinated by everything. be reminded that tornadoes generally do not occur in europe, so for me to talk about a tornado warning like its nothing was, for them, UNREAL. the lesson was so successful that they actually groaned with lament at the end of the slideshow. cha-ching!
alright, more later. i will be posting some pics of christmas in seville in the next few days.....stay posted.
Happy Holidays!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
After the Election
Yesterday was the first day I had classes since the election. As soon as I walked into my classroom the kids started chanting, "O-BA-MA! O-BA-MA!" and clapping wildly. I thought it was pretty funny. And one of more eccentric students in the class kept on whispering, "yes we can" throughout the lesson. oh, those kids!
its a bright, sunny morning in sevilla. i think i'm going to go outside and enjoy the day.
its a bright, sunny morning in sevilla. i think i'm going to go outside and enjoy the day.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Tips and Tools for Teaching Private English lessons
I will now pass on some useful things I have learned by giving private English lessons:
- The first lesson should be a get-to-know-you session. I give them a piece of paper and tell them to think of any 7 questions to ask me about myself and write them down, and I do the same for them. It's a nice activity to break the ice and you end up learning some interesting things about your student and vice versa. Plus, you can help correct their grammar and spelling mistakes.
- I have started a system where I have a separate notebook for everyday of the week, and I divide the notebook into sections, one section for every student I have (I have a lot of students). When I plan my lessons for each student, I write down exactly what I am going to do, and afterwards I follow up with notes. This is a great system because it avoids repeating lessons and you can see the progress of each student as time passes.
- I have a lot of students who are children, and I have learned that that best way to get them to learn (especially the ADD variety) is to bribe them. Yes, that may should bad, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I have a point system where students earn points through succeeding in activities or using a certain catch phrase that I taught them. After they reach a certain amount of points, I bring them a small 'gift' from the United States- gum, stickers, chocolate, etc. The kids go WILD over the idea.
- I think success in teaching parcially lies in thinking back to when you were a student and what you thought was interesting to learn. I remember when I started learning Spanish I was very interested in slang words and cultural aspects. So for many of my students I give them a slang word of the week (examples: cool, awesome, what's up?, etc) and they have to use it in a sentence to me, unprovoked, the next time I see them. And I give them a point.
- For young children learning vocabulary, I always have success with the game of memory. I simply make sets of cards with pictures of the vocabulary words on them and use them to play memory, only they must say the vocabulary word on the card when they flip it over. If they can't think of the vocabulary word, they lose their turn. You can also use these cards to play "go fish".
- Games in general are important for successful classes with children. You must incorporate fun in the lesson because it (DUH) makes them want to learn.
- One particular lesson that was a success was a lesson i did with 3 little boys about food tastes. I made flashcards for words like "this tastes....salty, sour, sweet, bland, tasty, crunchy, creamy, bitter, etc." I also taught them how to say "yucky" and "yummy". Then I blindfolded each of them and I fed them various types of food (sour candy, yogurt, bread, crackers, etc.) and they had to describe it using the words we used. they LOVED that lesson!
- It helps to be a little crazy. No one likes a boring, monotone teacher. Being animated and enthusiastic will rub off on the students and make your time a lot easier. My lessons are filled with a lot of laughter and joking, thus associating English with fun. I attribute pretty much all my success with students on this fact.
-A very important tip: find something that each student does well and praise them for it and constantly complement their ability when they get it right. When a child hears "good job! you said that PERFECTLY!" they have a look of accomplishment on their face that makes them want to try even harder.
- If you are teaching English in Europe, be aware that the English that most people learn is British English, so your American accent might take a bit getting used to for the students. Americans tend to change "t" into "d" in pronounciation (example- pretty, beautiful, little, letter, etc). It would go a long way if you try to pronounce it with a "t" as to not confuse them (although I explain that Americans pronounce it differently just in case I slip up one day).
- you could spend entire classes on reviewing the alphabet (most Spanish students hear the English "a" and write "e", the same for "e" and "i") or numbers ("sixty" and sixteen" sound the exact same to them). In fact numbers are really important and you should spend time going over them. Numbers were something I avoided learning fluently for a long time in Spanish, but I realized that they were very important to language fluency.
- I truly believe that language learning comes down to 2 things- memorization and imitation. Try to work on these things with your students and you will be a successful teacher.
Here are some great internet resources for planning your private English classes:
MEC English- this website has lots of free flashcards, worksheets and games to print for teaching younger children
Taiwan Teacher- lots of activity and game ideas
ESL Flow - this website has a whole host of worksheets, lesson plans, games, teaching tips and much more for elementary and intermediate students. Great website!
ESL Lesson Plans to Download- this website was created by someone who worked as an English Assistant in France (the Auxiliar's French sister program). They took a lot of time to post all of their created ESL lesson plans, mp3s of pronounciation and much more. Some of the worksheets have French directions, so you'll have to change that into Spanish, but its a really great tool.
to be continued....
- The first lesson should be a get-to-know-you session. I give them a piece of paper and tell them to think of any 7 questions to ask me about myself and write them down, and I do the same for them. It's a nice activity to break the ice and you end up learning some interesting things about your student and vice versa. Plus, you can help correct their grammar and spelling mistakes.
- I have started a system where I have a separate notebook for everyday of the week, and I divide the notebook into sections, one section for every student I have (I have a lot of students). When I plan my lessons for each student, I write down exactly what I am going to do, and afterwards I follow up with notes. This is a great system because it avoids repeating lessons and you can see the progress of each student as time passes.
- I have a lot of students who are children, and I have learned that that best way to get them to learn (especially the ADD variety) is to bribe them. Yes, that may should bad, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I have a point system where students earn points through succeeding in activities or using a certain catch phrase that I taught them. After they reach a certain amount of points, I bring them a small 'gift' from the United States- gum, stickers, chocolate, etc. The kids go WILD over the idea.
- I think success in teaching parcially lies in thinking back to when you were a student and what you thought was interesting to learn. I remember when I started learning Spanish I was very interested in slang words and cultural aspects. So for many of my students I give them a slang word of the week (examples: cool, awesome, what's up?, etc) and they have to use it in a sentence to me, unprovoked, the next time I see them. And I give them a point.
- For young children learning vocabulary, I always have success with the game of memory. I simply make sets of cards with pictures of the vocabulary words on them and use them to play memory, only they must say the vocabulary word on the card when they flip it over. If they can't think of the vocabulary word, they lose their turn. You can also use these cards to play "go fish".
- Games in general are important for successful classes with children. You must incorporate fun in the lesson because it (DUH) makes them want to learn.
- One particular lesson that was a success was a lesson i did with 3 little boys about food tastes. I made flashcards for words like "this tastes....salty, sour, sweet, bland, tasty, crunchy, creamy, bitter, etc." I also taught them how to say "yucky" and "yummy". Then I blindfolded each of them and I fed them various types of food (sour candy, yogurt, bread, crackers, etc.) and they had to describe it using the words we used. they LOVED that lesson!
- It helps to be a little crazy. No one likes a boring, monotone teacher. Being animated and enthusiastic will rub off on the students and make your time a lot easier. My lessons are filled with a lot of laughter and joking, thus associating English with fun. I attribute pretty much all my success with students on this fact.
-A very important tip: find something that each student does well and praise them for it and constantly complement their ability when they get it right. When a child hears "good job! you said that PERFECTLY!" they have a look of accomplishment on their face that makes them want to try even harder.
- If you are teaching English in Europe, be aware that the English that most people learn is British English, so your American accent might take a bit getting used to for the students. Americans tend to change "t" into "d" in pronounciation (example- pretty, beautiful, little, letter, etc). It would go a long way if you try to pronounce it with a "t" as to not confuse them (although I explain that Americans pronounce it differently just in case I slip up one day).
- you could spend entire classes on reviewing the alphabet (most Spanish students hear the English "a" and write "e", the same for "e" and "i") or numbers ("sixty" and sixteen" sound the exact same to them). In fact numbers are really important and you should spend time going over them. Numbers were something I avoided learning fluently for a long time in Spanish, but I realized that they were very important to language fluency.
- I truly believe that language learning comes down to 2 things- memorization and imitation. Try to work on these things with your students and you will be a successful teacher.
Here are some great internet resources for planning your private English classes:
MEC English- this website has lots of free flashcards, worksheets and games to print for teaching younger children
Taiwan Teacher- lots of activity and game ideas
ESL Flow - this website has a whole host of worksheets, lesson plans, games, teaching tips and much more for elementary and intermediate students. Great website!
ESL Lesson Plans to Download- this website was created by someone who worked as an English Assistant in France (the Auxiliar's French sister program). They took a lot of time to post all of their created ESL lesson plans, mp3s of pronounciation and much more. Some of the worksheets have French directions, so you'll have to change that into Spanish, but its a really great tool.
to be continued....
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Today is the day
Even though I'm an ocean away from the biggest presidental election to happen in recent history, don't think that I'm removed from it all. Oh, quite the contrary. Today I have been reminded all around me that today is THE DAY. Today at school in Brenes I was constantly stopped in the hall by professors, who squeezed my arm and said "Today is your day. How are you feeling?" My students started chanting "O-BA-MA! O-BA-MA! O-BA-MA!" I said, "Yes! Please, let OBAMA WIN!" I then added, "if McCain wins, I might just stay in Spain forever." So then they started chanting "MCCAIN! MCCAIN! MCCAIN!"
My two favorite fellow political analysts, Jorge and Puri (who work at the school cafeteria and make the best cafe con leche EVER) were ready to discuss the day as I ate my ham and tomato toast. Jorge and Puri and I have been relentlessly, obsessively talking about politics since last October. Everyday we get into engrossing and passionate discussions over american politics- so I was really excited to talk to them. We were all nervious but pretty sure that Obama will win.
The election obsession didn't stop there. On my way home from a private english lesson I stopped in a bodega for some jamon and a beer. I struck up a conversation with an old man behind the bar, who wanted to be reassured by me that Obama would win. "We really like Obama over here in Spain", he said. After that I stopped by my neighborhood corner shop to talk to the owner with whom I have a good repoire. He told me that he's very worried about the economic crisis. In just three months his morgage has gone from 700 euros/month to 1200 euros/month. He sadly told me that he will have to look for another job to pay for the payment increase, and said that ultimately he will have to close the shop I have come to know and love over this past year. As I left, he raised a fist in the air and said, "GO OBAMA!"
And that's not all. Four of the major cable t.v. stations are boasting full, all-night coverage of the US elections LIVE from Washington D.C. Everyone's talking about it. It's a big deal to all of us. As the neighborhood shopkeeper said, "Tonight the world will change."
So it goes to show that even if it is AMERICA'S election, it still affects everyone in this increasingly interconnected world. Tonight, all the eyes of the world will be on the 50 states.
So, here's to today (and for me, TONIGHT.....its 8pm already here)..... and may change be just ahead.
My two favorite fellow political analysts, Jorge and Puri (who work at the school cafeteria and make the best cafe con leche EVER) were ready to discuss the day as I ate my ham and tomato toast. Jorge and Puri and I have been relentlessly, obsessively talking about politics since last October. Everyday we get into engrossing and passionate discussions over american politics- so I was really excited to talk to them. We were all nervious but pretty sure that Obama will win.
The election obsession didn't stop there. On my way home from a private english lesson I stopped in a bodega for some jamon and a beer. I struck up a conversation with an old man behind the bar, who wanted to be reassured by me that Obama would win. "We really like Obama over here in Spain", he said. After that I stopped by my neighborhood corner shop to talk to the owner with whom I have a good repoire. He told me that he's very worried about the economic crisis. In just three months his morgage has gone from 700 euros/month to 1200 euros/month. He sadly told me that he will have to look for another job to pay for the payment increase, and said that ultimately he will have to close the shop I have come to know and love over this past year. As I left, he raised a fist in the air and said, "GO OBAMA!"
And that's not all. Four of the major cable t.v. stations are boasting full, all-night coverage of the US elections LIVE from Washington D.C. Everyone's talking about it. It's a big deal to all of us. As the neighborhood shopkeeper said, "Tonight the world will change."
So it goes to show that even if it is AMERICA'S election, it still affects everyone in this increasingly interconnected world. Tonight, all the eyes of the world will be on the 50 states.
So, here's to today (and for me, TONIGHT.....its 8pm already here)..... and may change be just ahead.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Dogs like me
Yesterday a peculiar thing happened to me. As I was leaving the institute in Brenes and walking towards the train station, i noticed that a little, cross-eyed dog was following me. I would turn around every minute or so and there he would be, about 10 feet back, acting nonchalant. I even tried to cut through streets to see if he would follow me, and sure enough he did. I eventually starting cracking up with laughter because this crazy eyed, ugly little dog followed me for 10 minutes up to the train station! when i got to the parking lot of the train station another dog was there, so cross-eyed dog backed off. But then the other dog started following me! As I boarded the train and waved to the dog staring at me from the platform, I realized why I was so popular....I had a pork sandwich in my bag and they must have smelled it.
That cross-eyed dog was pretty funny, though.
The End.
That cross-eyed dog was pretty funny, though.
The End.
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