English for teachers: 2009

30.11.09

A commercial

One of the most important formats to get information in the Consumer Era are TV and radio commercials.

TV and radio commercials may be seen as a persuasive structure to make us buy a product. Sometimes they provide ample information about the product; on some other occassions they use our feelings to impel us to buy with appealing images and sounds (i.e., luxury, sex, power, attractiveness, etc.).

Your task now is to produce and record a 30-seconds TV commercial. As with the previous video clip, you can use the technique you prefer: still images, stop motion or drama.

Once you finish your video clip, upload it to YouTube.

The deadline is December 21st.

Here are our commercials

Good job!

5.11.09

Your own blog

Our second task is to create a blog. Visit Blogger and create your own blog: choose your favourite look and layout! Remember to add links to your mates' blogs!

Now, you must start writing your first posts. To begin with, try to adjust your ideas and your text to your English level; keep it simple and clear, although you should take some risk on every post: a new word, a new expression can work! Then, writing is not a linear task, but a cycle: think, draft, edit, draft, edit,...

Your blog must include three posts, at least: your own personal introduction (including a description of yourself - practise here!!), a problem or issue that worries you and a plan to solve it. By the way, posts do not include just text, they also have images, videos and links; so, do not forget to include these complements in yout post. Here you can find two different examples:

Finally, comments are also an important element of the blogosphere. So, pay a visit to your mates' blogs and write comments on their posts. At least one comment in each blog is expected from you.

The deadline to finish your blog is November 30th.

Notice: Please, take your time but be honest! Don't use automatic translators (which produce very poor texts, sometimes with plenty of mistakes). You can use dictionaries or other resources, but make the effort of writing it yourself.

This is the list of blogs you made:

Good luck!

1.10.09

What's the word on the street?

Sesame Street Muppets teach children all around the world the meaning of "words" in a very famous podcast in video (or videocast): What's the word on the street? You can find more information here.

Choose one word and prepare your own videocast to explain its meaning. Study how Sesame Street does it, prepare a script with the images and the dialogues and the LIGHTS, CAMERA and ACTION!

When you finish recording and editing your video clip, upload it to YouTube.

The deadline os November 4th.

Good luck!

Notice: You can find the video clips at What's the word on the street? If you prepared a clip but you cannot find it uploaded, please tell me. Only the video clips uploaded to YouTube and this website will be assessed.

30.9.09

Our Facebook Group

This post is to remind you about our Facebook Group. It is called "Inglés como Idioma Extranjero y su Didáctica" and it can help us be in contact and share images, links and stories. Feel free to participate - better in English than in Spanish!!

Come on, join us!!

Best wishes!!

29.9.09

Portfolio Europeo de las Lenguas

El Consejo de Europa difunde, a partir de 2001, dos documentos importantes para la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de lenguas: el Marco Común Europeo de Referencia para las Lenguas y el Portfolio Europeo de las Lenguas (PEL)

El PEL es una herramienta de reflexión y evaluación de tus experiencias lingüísticas e interculturales. Está formado por tres elementos: Pasaporte, Biografía y Dossier.

El Pasaporte pretende mostrar de manera concisa quién eres en relación con las lenguas; la Biografía es más narrativa y nos permite profundizar en tus experiencias de aprendizaje y uso de las lenguas así como tus experiencias interculturales a lo largo de la vida. Finalmente, el Dossier recoge tus prácticas discursivas en las lenguas que consideres.

Ahora, al comienzo de nuestra asignagura, vamos a utilizar el PEL para autoevaluarnos:

Descarga el Pasaporte y autoevalúa tu competencia comunicativa genérica.

Saludos

English for teachers