Sunday, December 17th, 2011

 Advanced 1

 Intermediate 12

 Intermediate 11

 Intermediate 9

Food project Presented by Basic 5 Saturday's class.

The following post presents the MP3 project developed in class by Intermediate 1 group 8-12.

Sunday, December 11th, 2011

Basic 11
Basic 12
Intermediate 1
Intermediate 6
Intermediate 7

Wednesday December 07th, 2011.

Intermediate 1

Sunday December 04th, 2011

• Lab Basics 6-10
• more exercises

Sunday November 27th, 2011.

• Basic 5
• Basic 4
• Basic 3 
• Basics

Christmas Spirit

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011

Intermediate 1

Sunday November 20th, 2011.

 Talk 1 II part

 Talk 1 I part

 Intermediate 12

 Intermediate 11

 Intermediate 10

 Intermediate 9

Sunday November 13th, 2011

• Listening puzzle
• Listening practice

Teaching English to Adults

Teaching English to adults is a challenge because the process is completely different as it s for children. The big difference is given by the expectations that the participants have.

When children are learning a language, they don’t care about the proper use of grammar or if the type of communication is categorized as formal or informal, they just want to solve the problem of not understanding what a person is saying and to be understood as well.

An adult is expecting something different because they want to use the language for communicating with an audience that doesn’t accept mistakes and proficiency is required. The problem comes in the             incapability of learning academic English level at once without crossing the barrier of understanding and being understood.

Adults because of their comprehension of the reality and the cost of learning a new language represents due to money and time invested in the process; want to move from beginner to advanced level in a month if it’s possible.

Of course the methodology applied to teach an adult has to be adequate for fulfilling the communication necessities mentioned above.

Due to the limited resources, accessibility and opportunities for practicing the language, the methodology involves the use of a lot imagination which is quite difficult to be developed in a country in which the majority of the population is not accustomed to read and reading the first step to develop imagination; the possibilities reduce for using the methodology.

Now because of the factors mentioned that limits the use of imagination, the undercover methods for imagination use are the best to apply at the time of teaching adults a new language. The undercover methods are also called content-based methods in which we use different situations related to normal life events. The situations that are presented in a content-based method oblige the students to use the language functions required to solve the problems presented at the situation. In the process of problem solving the student learns to use the grammar indirectly and then a simple review of the rules are necessary.

In a similar approach the process previously mentioned can be taught backwards by presenting the rules of grammar as functions to solve problems when a situation requires them.

Independently of method used to teach an adult a new language becomes a challenge for the actual and future generations, it requires a deep engagement and responsibility and becomes a very gratifying achievement at the end.

Sunday November 06th, 2011

Basic 10 

Basic 9

Basic 8

Basic 7 

Basic 6

Classes for Saturday November 05th, 2011.

Good morning students, I promised to tell you about the classes for this Saturday; everything is normal and we will have classes the complete day, so see you later!!!!!

Sunday October 30th, 2011

• Listening test 5
•  Listening test 4
•  Listening test 3
•  Listening test 2
•  Listening test 1

Saturday October 15th and Sunday October 16th, 2011

Dear students, due to the national emergency in our country the classes will be suspended for this weekend, please take care of yourselves and follow the directions of the authorities to handle this event safely. See you on the next weekend.

Sunday October 09th, 2011

Intermediate tests

Sunday October 02nd, 2011

Vocabulary Game

Intermediate 6

Intermediate 5

Intermediate 4

Basic 11

Basic 10

Sunday September 25th, 2011

Basics 6-9

Sunday September 18th, 2011

Basics 2-5 option 2

Basics 2-5 option 1

Sunday September 11th, 2011

 Talk 1

 Intermediate 9-10, Advanced 5

 Intermediate 8

For the ones who say: I don't have anyone to talk to!!!!!

talk to a robot

Lab Sunday September 04th, 2011

• Intermediate 7 part 2
• Intermediate 7 
• Intermediate 6 part 2
• Intermediate 6 
• Intermediate 5 part 2
• Intermediate 5
• Intermediate 4 
• Intermediate 4 part 2 
• Intermediate 3 part 2 
• Intermediate 3

Communicative-language teaching today tasks 14-16

Task 14

What problems does CBI pose for teachers?

As it was developed in the article, the biggest problem about the use of Content-Based Instruction is that whenever you are applying this teaching technique you cannot really assure that the students are going to get the language content or proper grammar, but you enable them to master in real life situations in which a proper response is required rather than using complex grammar structures.

What are some advantages and limitations of this approach in your opinion?

Proper student response in real situations, and contact to real language are the best advantages of the technique, but its limitation are focused in the inevitability of mistaking in grammar and limited simple language which are not good for students if in their real life application of the language are going to be exposed to written English that includes complex grammar structures and not everyday language.

Task 15

Do you make use of classroom activities that can be described as tasks in the sense described above?

Yes, when the level of the course allows it I normally perform activities that can be considered tasks for example:

·         Calling to a delivery service

·         Having videoconferences

·         Creating a research video

·         Creating a touristic documentary

·         Creating a music contest

What do you think are the characteristics of a good task?

·         It should contain an activity involving investigation

·         It must contain an activity involving interaction with another person

·         Have to be referred to a real world activity

·         It must contain different actions that enforce the acquisition of language in an oral or reading way

Task 16

Can you give other examples of each of the six types of tasks above?

·         Listing tasks. Students making a list of their favorite food for having a celebration.

·         Sorting and ordering. Students creating a list of the characteristics of a good teacher starting since the most important to the least.

·         Comparing. Comparing the teachers of primary school and high school.

·         Problem-solving. Students giving a solution of an actual problem in the country involving people’s interests.

·         Sharing personal experience. Students talking about the most embarrassing moment of their life.

·         Creative tasks. Students most design the perfect university campus.

Wendy and Cecilia

Hi Wendy and Cecilia, please add as a comment a simple paragraph introducing yourself and talking about what you do and how to say hello and good bye.

Basic 1 blog addresses

Hi students please in this post add your blog address as a comment

Basic 6 Exam

Can you tell me in few words. What can you do using the English Language in El Salvador?

English Today in El Salvador

Whenever we come to think about a language which is easy to learn and virtually fast to learned, English is the answer.
In countries like El Salvador, where the first language is a difficulty for its inhabitants, people who have the opportunity to learn and speak a new language, in this case English, have a big advantage in front of other people who don't.

Not only is used for communication but also in our globalized world, speaking English is a good source for having better earning expectations at jobs.