What could challange you?

Professor Dr. Vera Menezes, in one of her papers about Technologies and Second Language Teaching,  expresses some of the challenging that school, teachers and students are facing. Supported by Healey (2009), the researcher says that:

“Os propósitos dos parâmetros para os professores são: reconhecer a importância de se integrar à tecnologia no ensino; saber o que se espera deles em termos de conhecimento, habilidades e de implementação de currículo; entender a necessidade de aprendizagem continuada em suas carreiras profissionais; e ser desafiado a alcançar um nível maior de proficiência no uso da tecnologia na docência”.

In your point of view and according to your experience, what could the University do to challenge students in order to achieve and improve his/her technology proficiency for the teaching career?

Give you opinion, it can be very useful!!

Oliveira e Paiva, Vera Lúcia Menezes de -  A tecnologia na docência em Línguas Estrangeiras: convergências e tensões. Available online: http://www.veramenezes.com/endipe.pdf

Please, repeat after me / heɪt / . Now, that's ok!

According to Lima (2009, p. 77) “o professor não deve ter medo de corrigir, pois há sim o que corrigir na pronúncia dos nossos alunos. A questão é o quê e em que medida.”

 In your opinion, during a conversation class, for example, when a teacher must correct the mistakes in the students’ pronunciation?

Lima, Joceli Rocha. (2009). “Correção de pronúncia e a identidade do aluno de letras”. In: Diógenes Cândido de Lima (org.). Ensino Aprendizagem de língua inglesa: conversas com especialistas. São Paulo: Parábola Editorial, p.69-78.

My own method?

Talking about methods, methodologies and different approaches during the Second language teaching-learning process, Oliveira (2009, p. 145) believes that “ao criar seu próprio “método”, o professor deixa de ser um “técnico passivo” e passa a ser um “praticante reflexivo””. The author has found in Dewey (1997, p.13) another positive example, when an English teacher, facing a real class, observes what have happened and not just follow a previous curriculum. This teacher him/herself, in their opinion, is reflecting about the context and planing his/her own method.

Do you think a teacher can improve the classes organizing “his/her own method”?

What could be the do`s and don`ts for a teacher like this?

What’s the importance of being a reflective teacher?

OLIVEIRA, Adelaide P. de (2009). “Abordagens alternativas no ensino de inglês”. In: Diógenes Cândido de Lima (org.). Ensino Aprendizagem de língua inglesa: conversas com especialistas. São Paulo: Parábola Editorial, p. 141-149.

DEWEY, J. How do we think. Mineola; Dover, 1997.

Brazilian Public School System...

  

    Vilson José Leffa (2009, p.116-117), writing about the Second Language Learning Brazilian system, expresses that here, in our country, “o professor é incentivado a fazer de conta que ensina e os alunos a fazer de conta que aprendem. O que interessa, do ponto de vista político, é afirmar a inserção e não realizá-la”. The same problem is also emphasized, when Leffa points out that we don`t have guaranties about the minimum amount of time and the basic infrastructure in order to the effective second language learning.

       The Brazilian educational law, according to Leffa, is also “incapaz de romper o cerco que a própria sociedade, extremamente competente na criação de mecanismos de exclusão, monta para impedir o acesso do aluno pobre ao clube fechado dos falantes de uma língua estrangeira.

        Another educational researcher, Soares (1986, p.20) describes the public Brazilian school like “a school against the people, instead of school to the people”

         What’s your opinion about the current situation of the Brazilian public school system? 

    Is it possible to achieve an effective Second Language learning process in such situation?

    If your answer is affirmative, how does it occur?

LEFFA, Vilson (2009). “Por um ensino de idiomas mais includente no contexto social atual”. In: Diógenes Cândido de Lima (org.). Ensino Aprendizagem de língua inglesa: conversas com especialistas. São Paulo: Parábola Editorial, p. 113-124.

World english and the native speakers

  

  Like World English, Rajagopalan understands “a língua falada hoje por quase um terço dos seres humanos nos quatro cantos deste planeta (com quase o mesmo número de pessoas aprendendo a língua ao redor do mundo), não faz sentido falar em falantes nativos... pertence a todos aqueles que dela fazem algum uso no seu dia a dia, por mais limitado ou restrito que ele seja (como consultar biografias, ouvir músicas, ler manuais de instrução etc.)”

     According to the author, “eles na verdade, terão de se adaptar à nova realidade e, em muitos caos, aprender novas formas de falar e ouvir.” Rajagopalan, 2009, p. 42.

    Therefore, the author expresses that native speakers have their place in the World English phenomenon, but, it’s not a preferential, because they are not the language owners.

  Taking into account the social practices and power relationship that are established in and through the language, do you agree with Rajagopalan about the English native speakers currently situation?

RAJAGOPALAN, K. (2009). “O inglês como língua internacional na prática docente”. In: Diógenes Cândido de Lima (org.). Ensino Aprendizagem de língua inglesa: conversas com especialistas. São Paulo: Parábola Editorial, p.39-46.

What are your goals?

   

   At UESB (Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia) the Literature and Foreign Languages teachers created a Center for Autonomy Second Language Learning, called CAALE (Centro de Aprendizagem Autônoma de línguas Estrangeiras- www.uesb.br/caale).  

   Cruz is a specialist and observing if that center, that was equipped 3 rooms, with computers and specially reading material, was able to develop autonomy students found out that the creation of a center itself couldn’t provide the students the ability of being autonomous. Therefore, the teachers should help the students in many ways, such as identifying their needs, encouraging them to develop the target-language using a specific biography, or using the center resources, like listening to music, singing, reading and also, helping them to plan the activities, so they can visualize their efforts results.

While you are blogging here with us, you are also learning English and how to teach it. So, we would like to propose a quick exercise. Let’s make a list about:

1-Your needs: what do you need to learn in a short, medium and in a long period of time?

2-Your goals: what are your goals about the English Language in a short, medium and in a long period of time?

Are you fluent?

“Mesmo a classe média que normalmente freqüenta cursos particulares de inglês durante 5/7 anos geralmente perde a fluência alcançada no curso depois que termina seus estudos”. Moita Lopes, 1996, p.131

MOITA LOPES, Luís Paulo da.  A função da aprendizagem de línguas estrangeiras na escola pública. In: ______. Oficina de lingüística aplicada. Campinas: Mercado das Letras, p.127-136, 1996.

In your opinion and according to your life experience: is it common to a person that have been studying English for such a long period of time (five to seven years, for example) to lose so easily his/her fluency?

Take a look at the students!!!

 English students from UFMT, Rondonópolis.

Students from FECILCAM, 
Campo Mourão- PR




Thanks a lot by you contribution!!




send you picture... so, we can post it!

Opinion examples to help you

To help, here are some examples of how express opinion, agree or disagree about something. Remember, these are just examples, and you have to comment using as much English as you can, avoiding translators programs :)

Opinion Examples

• In my opinion, a good English Language Teacher is someone who cares/ shares/ dares…

• Someone who cares about his/her own students and tries to give them everything new in English language…

• Someone who shares his/her own ELT teaching experiences with his/her colleagues and tries to cope with all new findings in ELT world…

• Someone who dares to teach English language effectively, efficiently…

• "I would say that a good teacher needs to be passionate about his/her tasks ahead.

• You need to understand the needs of your students, how they learn in order to help them in that process. You need trigger their curiosity and provide them with the necessary tools to continue learning".

Best regards,

Mercedes

How to disagree about someone's opinion:

• "I have to disagree with you, Hemant, because even the ads creators know those posters would just lead to raised eyebrows and laughter."

• "True, but the guy is very close to being fired as..."

• "I thought the same as you until I've started reading up on intercultural communications and such.. there were a few leads pointing at this direction, hence my question...

Giving your Opinion

• In my opinion / view...

• Generally speaking, I think...

• Personally, I haven’t the faintest idea about / whether... (starting with this expression may be interpreted as off-hand and could suggest that you have nothing else to say!)

• To my mind...

• I’d just like to say...

• As far as I’m concerned...

• I’m quite convinced that...(only use this expression to express a very strong opinion!)

• To be quite honest / frank...

• If you ask me...

Examples of disagreement

• I wouldn't do that. I would...

• But if we...

• I'm afraid I have to disagree with you.

• Don't get me wrong,

• Even so, if...

Partner Universities in this project

UESC- Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz- Bahia

http://www.uesc.br/











UFV- Universidade Federal de Viçosa

http://www.ufv.br/

UFMT- Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso

http://www.ufmt.br/

FECILCAM
Faculdade Estadual de 
Ciências e Letras de Campo Mourão
http://www.fecilcam.br/

These are the Professors/Researchers involved in our project

From UFV:
Dra. Ana Maria Barcelos

http://buscatextual.cnpq.br/buscatextual/visualizacv.jsp?id=K4796276T1

From UESC:
Dr. Rodrigo Camargo Aragão

http://buscatextual.cnpq.br/buscatextual/visualizacv.jsp?id=K4770329A9

From UFMT:
Dr. Danie Marcelo de Jesus

http://buscatextual.cnpq.br/buscatextual/visualizacv.jsp?id=K4730325Z6

From FECILCAM:
Dra. Maria Izabel Rodrigues Tognato
http://buscatextual.cnpq.br/buscatextual/visualizacv.jsp?id=N844658

Me. Marileuza Ascencio Miquelante, 

http://buscatextual.cnpq.br/buscatextual/visualizacv.jsp?id=N841929

Daiane da Silva Lourenço, 

http://buscatextual.cnpq.br/buscatextual/visualizacv.jsp?id=K4247398A7

These are the students!!!

UFMT- Rondonópolis

FECILCAM- Campo Mourão- PR

Do you know me?

Hi everybody!!!

That's a special space for our participator. Here you can tell about your experience as a "Letters Course" student in your University.

How did you choose this course?

How have you felt about studying English?

How long have you being studying this language?

Do you like it?

Briefly, tell a little bit about your experience. Everything about  learning and teaching English is important here.

Thanks!!

Rules to our blog

How we work in a collaborative space, it`s important to organize the way we are going to share our opinion and post our comments.

So, these are some good rules to improve our discussion.

1- First of all, you have to tell your experience about as a "Letters Course" student in your region and in your University. For that, we've created a especially post called "Do you know me?", that is located in a gadget to the left of the page. So, go there and make a comment about yourself.

2- Every Sunday we are going to post a new topic to discuss about. It's very important that every participator do a weekly comment (from Monday to Saturday), in order to created a social network and have an interesting experience with our group.

3- Every participator can discuss any topic, giving his/her opinion and reflecting based in your own experience, or according to your readings, your beliefs, or your observation. Remember this is a collaborative learning experience, that`s why your contributions are going to give you the opportunity to be a better professional and, in addition, it will be a good way to practice English, significantly.

4- Become our follower!

Thanks!!

Função Clara????

“Se não houver uma função clara, um objetivo claro, para a aprendizagem, não se pode justificar a manutenção de uma língua estrangeira no currículo das escolas públicas”

 Luciano Amaral de Oliveira. (2009, p.22)

OLIVEIRA, Luciano Amaral (2009). “Ensino de língua estrangeira para jovens e adultos na escola pública”. In: Diógenes Cândido de Lima (org.). Ensino Aprendizagem de língua inglesa: conversas com especialistas. São Paulo: Parábola Editorial, p. 21-30.

Do you think most of English teachers in Brazil have a common and clear aim when they enter in an English class?

What is the main objective in the English classes, in Brazil, especially in the public school?

That's our inauguration post!!!! Nice to meet everybody!!

Newest post!!!!