End of School Year 2009

Dear Students,

Yesterday was our last BEC Vantage class. Today is our last FCE class. I always have mixed feelings about ending a course. We've shared learning and laughter, for which you'll certainly be missed. On the other hand, I am glad for your achievement. As you know, language schools are not obligatory in Argentina, so it makes a difference to see people choosing to stay in class, motivated in spite of being tired of compulsory school exams for some as well as office work for others.

I won't say something like: "Sadly the day has come for us to say goodbye..." because we are now connected in so many ways. I proposed a wiki and a blog, but some of you have surprised me with Facebook invites and even Twitter. You see, you've disrupted my online world this year. I welcome it.

Last week we had a wiki recorded conversation about self-assessment. Your responses are material for my reflection. I want to do better next time. First thoughts on some things you taught me this year:

-It is not easy at all to internalize the criteria for correction used by international exams. It is sometimes too abstract to picture in examples.

-When you write outside the exam rubrics, with freedom of number of words or wider choice of topic, you show your real voices. You can even make grammar mistakes a teacher would have thought you wouldn't make at this learning stage. I think these cannot go unseen or unheard in a language class.

-You like teacher's corrections. Even if there are many. Even if they make you tired of thinking.

-You like reading what other students have done in the past. You look for real models.

-You love investigating online. I've never seen so many hits to the online dictionary sites during class time.

Now not all learning comes from the things I've heard or seen from you. There has been a silence this year about past papers. Anxiety levels to practice strictly in exam conditions went down.I've noticed you are all more interested in specific questions you have. You seem to follow your own learning paths. This is not the case with online followers of this blog, who tend to ask for links to past papers and listening practice. I wonder if that is a difference between studying with a teacher or studying on your own. It makes me re-think my teacher role. What is a teacher there for anyway?

To end this letter/post... (snif, snif)

Thank you for participating so much. I am grateful for every anecdote you shared. Thank you for being so curious, alert and fun. It has been my pleasure to be your teacher.

Wishing you every success in exams and life,

Claudia

PS/ Do let me know how you did on your exams! I'll be looking forward to hearing from you.

To the online readers of this blog, please share your exam experience in the comments.

Pre-writing

Last week I asked my students this:

If you were writers, what would you write about?

I got some puzzled faces for an answer. At least, I got them to wonder.

Perhaps the word writer has an aura of profession that a few gifted people can pursue. This post aims at demystifying writing and -perhaps- bring it to your door.

Today 20th October is the 1st edition of the National Day on Writing. Clicking around their tips for writers, I came across this guideline called Determining What to Write About (pdf).

The guide is short and worth reading through. Here are three samples.

1) I find this advice very useful for writing stories for the exam. Some students focus a lot on big events worth telling, which only lead them to writer's block or the impossibility of doing so in roughly 140 words.

"Think about 'small moments' of life to expand and explore rather than creating large, involved stories"

2) The other complaint I hear from students and teachers who correct compositions is the predictability of the ending. When the story is too fantastic, we know the cliché closing line: abrupt waking up from a nightmare. You needn't try to be that original anyway.

"[...] Most of the time authors decide what to write about from examining their personal lives and interests or by examining the work of other authors and making parts of existing material into something new and different."

Notice that it must be new and different. That is what leaves plagiarism out.

3) The number one obstacle when learning to write for an exam is probably losing the pleasure of writing. You have to find a way to get into your writing. It's a personal road.

My favourite quote from the guide is definitely this one:

"Choosing topics or experiences that you care about will develop a sense of 'you' which only you can create."

So before I end this post, let me share new options for reframing my original question...

I should think of asking you:

What reading topics are so interesting that they make you lose track of time?

What are you keen on? What would you like to know more about?

What is your passion?

If you could share a bit of the learning you've made reading something you love, what would that be?

For more inspiration on pre-writing:

Developing Ideas for Writing from the State University of New York.

Study Guides and Strategies for more than just a pre-writing stage.

The guide at Purdue University for writing at advanced levels.

New questions for you (because I am curious):

Writing on paper or at the keyboard? Do you know that there are electronic versions of the exam? OK. That's for another post.

Do you identify with the opinion of the blog picture author?

"Call it brainstorming, prewriting, or jotting, this is what I usually do before I start writing. I think a lot better and faster with a pencil and a notebook than I do at the keyboard. Sometimes it's specific thoughts, other times it's free ideas. A lot of times I take a conversational tone with myself while taking notes."

Image credit

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeoliveri/685358132/

Formal and Informal Language

Formal and Informal Language

The point is this. You may write correctly and be out of place. We are not writing to pass a test (only). We write because we want to communicate; we want to get results or a reaction from the other person.

At this level, you need to understand the difference between:

• correct language
• appropriate language
  

In a nutshell, when you are correct, your sentences are well formed. You are making use of good grammar. When you are appropriate, your choice of words and expressions adjust to the effect you want to make on a given person in a specific situation.

Sounds complex?

For example, it is not the same to ask "where do you live?" at a job interview or at a bar when meeting friends.

Watch this (just 25 seconds).

See? It is very different.

The style, the register, can vary in a not-always linear scale going from very formal to colloquial.

What can be somewhat difficult is for a non-native speaker of a language to become sensitive to those differences in a variety of contexts. To get that 'feeling' of a language, some people say it is necessary to live in the country where English is spoken.

I'd say, not necessarily.

Here's why. To get that grasp on a language, you have to become perceptive to situational variables. It is not enough to say, "I've heard it. So it exists." It is vital to hear it in context.

So how do we learn this?, you ask.

Build context to what you hear. Learn "When to say it".

OK. But how?

Every time you see films, or travel, or read in English pay attention to the following:

1. Who is speaking? What is his relationship with the other person? (Friend? Boss?)
2. Where are they speaking? (At the office? At home?)
3. What is the purpose of the conversation? (To get a job? To invite to a party?)

You need to attach this information to the language you want to learn. It's crucial.

Now, please do not expect a clear line to divide everything. A letter of application is formal by definition. However, if you want to get a job as a DJ, you would not be so formal as to get a scholarship from a university. There are degrees. Nothing is final in a language. But there are patterns you can -with time- distinguish.

It is this attitude to listening for context that will teach you more than trips. And practice of course! So let's go...

Some links:

Here are a couple of downloadable pdf worksheets (with answers) from the BBC.

These are a collection of handouts and exercises detailing characteristics of formal and informal writing.

The Corpus Wiki has a page to enlarge on all this.

http://www.corpus.wikispaces.com/register

Related post: English Grammar

Tandem Learning

Finding your Learning Mates

I often hear the question...
Where can I practise my language skills with native speakers of English?

I can almost see you nod.

Using Skype, it is very easy to contact anyone to have a chat without being worried about your landphone bill. So first things first, get yourself a Skype account.

Avoid fatal mistakes.
Not everyone who speaks English likes being requested contact details in Skype just for the sake of practice. I'd say it is best to choose like-minded people first. People who are after the same objectives you have. Let's say, potential online friends.

Guess what...
People with like-minded ideas tend to get together somewhere in cyberspace. Key words to google here are
Tandem Language Learning

What is that?
Simply put,

I remember many years ago my then boss (and also my teacher of Greek) talking about something called tandem learning.The basic idea was that students learning each other's language could team up, taking turns to speak in their own language, then swop to the language they were learning. So, for example a Greek student would spend the first half of the lesson chatting or working with a German learning Greek and then in the second half of the lesson they would swop roles." From Teacher Dude's wiki.

Now you wonder if you can learn like this. Well, it is important to give your expectations a reality check.

It is not a formal class. So don't expect the other student to give you detailed grammar explanations of your mistakes. That's what teachers are for, right?

Why is tandem learning valuable?

Two things:

1)It is a unique chance to get first hand knowledge of the target culture. It is amazing to discover how different things can be in another country. It can help you see yourself for what you are: a global citizen.

Collaboration and sharing. That what it is. Both partners should benefit equally from the exchange. You'll have to negotiate!

2)It is an autonomous learning experience. You decide when, how long, what about. You are responsible for your own learning, your goals, materials and methods.

Some tips

Here's a great site to help you plan your lessons. You get the same topics and questions in 10 different languages, so you can easily organise the bilingual halves of the lesson.

It would be super if you decided to create a blog to record the experience. Take a look at this post from Carla Raguseo's and her Spanish and English Exchange.

Nice, don't you think?

OK. Now that you got it, let's find a learning mate!


Sites to get started

eTandem
Language Learning in Tandem
TandemCity
Friends Abroad
My Language Exchange
Language Exchanges
Polyglot
Palabea

Highly recommended
Livemocha

Kan Talk is a place to choose topics to talk about, then the people. Yet, tandem learning needn't be just a conversation project, it could also be about writing. Like this.

One last thing....
Remember to protect your privacy. If you do not do this with your teacher helping you, do give those sites a good look first.

Happy learning!


Image credits Tandem by laRuth http://www.flickr.com/photos/laruth/458677778/ Two tandems by miichan http://www.flickr.com/photos/miichan/2360658674/