Asociación de Profesores de Inglés de Buenos Aires Asociación Civil sin Fines de Lucro Personería Jurídica c.7111 Res. 8524/79 CUIT 30-66211994-2
Newsletter 21 N o v e m b e r
From the President
2 0 0 4
Table o off content contentss • • • •
On this occasion, I find myself writing this letter right after the first meeting of the newly elected Executive Committee. I am extremely proud of having the opportunity of sharing my second year as a President with this distinguished team of committed professionals. This new period starts with a partially renewed committee, elected at the last AGM held on October 16 at UADE. After 4 years’ service in various positions, Laura Renart finally said good bye to the committee. We will all miss her good sense of humour and her invaluable contributions to our meetings; but fortunately, as she will still be working on the FAAPI Executive Committee, we will not miss our frequent contact with her. My special thanks to Silvia Rettaroli, our Treasurer, for having agreed to stay on the Committee for another two years and to keep on taking care of our incomes and expenses, among many other things; without her expertise and unflinching commitment, the work of the Executive Committee would be much harder.
From the President Annual Seminar report From the SIGs Invitation to APIBA annual toast • Ethics committee update • New APIBA committee • Discounts for members
Next, I would like to welcome Silvia Luppi, our new Vice-President, to the Committee. I have known Silvia both as a person and professionally for almost twenty years and I am certain that her contribution to the Association will be invaluable. Last but not least, my very warm welcome to María Fernanda Velázquez (Deputy Treasurer) and Silvana Garófalo (substitute member) for joining us; I am sure that their participation and enthusiasm will enrich our discussions and help us grow. The team is completed by Valeria Artigue, our hardworking Secretary; Litty Mora (member, currently in charge of keeping you informed of APIBA’s news); Corine Arguimbau (member, in charge of the organisation of events. Thank you, Corine, for your impeccable work!); and Cristina Banfi (substitute member, always keeping an eye on legal matters and giving me sound advice on countless issues).
• British Arts Centre (BAC) offers a
The active spirit of our last annual seminar pervaded at our last AGM and left us all with a feeling of enthusiasm and willingness to participate and help the association grow. We wouldn’t want to let this spirit die, that is why we invite you all to APIBA’s final toast at IES Lenguas Vivas (4th floor) to keep on thinking and talking about our future work while we enjoy a drink. The toast will take place right after the SIGS closing event. We hope many of you can join us at 2 p.m. and stay for the toast, but of course you are also invited to come to the toast directly at 5 o’clock, if you are not attending the meeting. APIBA is a professional association of English teachers, a group of professionals working towards a shared goal. Thus, APIBA is what its members make of it. APIBA needs increased participation from its members in its different activities. In two weeks we will have a chance to share our ideas in a more relaxed atmosphere than our AGM. Don’t let this opportunity pass by. We look forward to seeing you all on Saturday, November 13.
Prof. Sandra Revale
O f f i c e
H o u r s
Remember our office hours: √ MONDAYS 10.30-12.30 (Lib. Rodríguez; Sarmiento 835) √ WEDNESDAYS 10.30-12.30 (Lib. KEL; M.T. de Alvear 1369)
Di$count$ for Members 50% discount on their play tickets, and a 25% global discount for groups of students accompanied by an APIBA member. • The National Resources Centre and AACI’s General English Library offer 25% discounts on memberships • Julia Bowland's Escuela de Radio y Comunicación offers a 20% discount on all regular courses. Information available from www.bowland.com.ar To claim these benefits, bring along your membership card and your receipt for the current year.
End of the year toast APIBA´s committee invites you to its world-famous end of the year toast, which will take place on Saturday November 13, 5.30 PM , at IES en LV “Juan R. Fernández”, 4th floor. We will take this opportunity to discuss some aspects concerning directions and perspectives for our association. We will also raffle book tokens among present members. Don´t miss it!
APIB A BA
Annual
Seminar
The Teachers of English who have attended our seminar have had the enormous pleasure of listening to tremendous speakers who delved into the topic of Language & Culture in ELT. Analía Kandel made a wonderful presentation of D. Reznik’s dissertation on The Interface Between Language & Culture in Reading Comprehension. She made Daniel’s point clear – in order to achieve linguistic proficiency it is necessary to develop not only communicative competence, but also ‘cultural awareness’ and ‘cultural competence’ since, in Halliday’s words, ‘language and culture co-evolve’. Beatriz Pena Lima helped us understand how Pragmatics can reveal incredible changes in characters such as Scrooge in Dickens. By analyzing Scrooge’s words in the light of the Politeness Approach and Grice’s Co-operative Principles, we perceived, from a pragmatic stance, how Dickens with a few deft strokes characterized this man’s nature and even his change of heart. Claudia Ferradas Moi made us explore the notion of ‘cultural awareness’ through the joint analysis of lovely poems full of meanings and a short story in a most engaging manner. At some points the discussion got even spicy despite the time of day! The audience experienced ‘how’ a text means by reading literature through who we are. Pablo Toledo made us aware of how the ELT industry we are immersed in can affect our profession and even our perspectives and attitudes towards teaching. He highlighted that teachers even ‘feed’ this amazing multi-million dollar industry unaware of what they are doing. He presented amazing facts and figures of this industry which were actually thought-provoking. After a touching speech by Prof Juan Ferretti in remembrance of Prof Daniel Reznik, APIBA president Prof Sandra Revale presented a plaque to Prof Delia Malamud and Prof Susana Groisman, who received it on behalf of the I.S.P. Dr. Joaquín V. González. Prof. Analía Kandel handed a book dedicated to members of Daniel’s family, as a gift from APIBA. Furthermore, participants enjoyed poster presentations and many of the eighteen concurrent workshops presented by highly committed teachers who were eager to share their experiences with colleagues and trainees. Last but not least, we loved watching ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ which was magnificently acted out by The Performers.
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As another year is coming to an end, APIBA is proud to announce that the SIGs are celebrating its 5th birthday . Back in April 2000 Analía Kandel, the Liaison Officer, set them in motion. Since then, some of them have changed names, some have joined other SIGs , some new ones have been created, but the spirit is the same: an atmosphere of work, study and comradeship that makes them a unique study and sharing experience. This year there has been a Phonology SIG, a Language SIG, an Applied Linguistics SIG, a Second Language Teaching SIG (with branches in Lomas de Zamora and Bernal ), a Literature & Cultural Studies SIG, a Critical Theory & Literary Studies SIG (in La Plata) and last but not least a Computers SIG. All of them have worked well and hard and now it is the time to see what they have dealt with during this busy and active 2004 . We are inviting you all to our Closing Event that is taking place on Sat. November 13th at the ISP “Juan R. Fernandez” Lenguas Vivas at 2PM to have our last meeting of the year and learn about the projects for 2005. If you’re already a SIG member , don’t miss it and if you’re still hesitant , come , join us and get ready for 2005!!!
Ethics subcommittee One of the most important roles for a professional association like APIBA is to set standards of professional ethics to regulate the relationship amoing members, among members and their students and among members and the community at large. This is the reason why APIBA set up an Ethics subcommittee two years ago, in order to start working towards the writing and approval of an APIBA Code of Professional Conduct. The subcommittee has prepared the first draft of the Code of Conduct, and the APIBA Committee would like to submit it to the opinion, discussion and reviewing of its members. We will upload the draft to our website, so that all members can read it. It will be posted very soon, so the next time you visit our website don´t miss the opportunity of downloading it and sending us your opinion!
Habemus committee! At the last AGM, APIBA members voted for the members of the committee that will run our association for the next two years. The committee has already had its first meeting (this people never rest!), and is made up of the following people. All hail the brave ones! President:
Sandra Revale
Vicepresident:
Silvia Luppi
Treasurer: Reserve Treasurer:
Silvia Rettaroli Fernanda Velázquez
Secretary:
Ma. Valeria Artigue
Members:
Isabel Onetti de Mora Ma. Corina Arguimbau Silvana Garófalo Cristina Banfi
Reserve members:
Qualified E n glish teacher anted serv ice En teacherss w wanted service To satisfy the need for graduate teachers of English, APIBA has designed a “Qualified English Teacher Wanted” service for those institutions who are aiming at advertising their vacant positions If as an APIBA member you are interested in receiving information about the vacant positions that are advertised through this new service, please complete the form below and send it by email to info@apiba.org.ar .
Name: .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. Surname: ............................................................................................ DNI: .................................................................................. Address: .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... Telephone number: .................................................................. Fax number: ......................................................................... Email account: ............................................................................................................................................................................................. Degree: ............................................................................................................................................................................................ Awarded by: .................................................................................................................................................................................................. Year: ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................
New English section at Librería Rodríguez MEMBERSHIP
FORM
2004
Librería Rodríguez is opening its new English books section on the first floor of its Sarmiento branch. You can drop by when you visit APIBA´s office!
(Please
feel
free
to
make
copies)
From APIBA Statutes: Artículo 5º.- De los Asociados.- Se establece una sola categoría de socios. Estos deberán poseer título docente en la especialidad, expedido por: a) las Universidades nacionales, provinciales o privadas; b) los Institutos Superiores del Profesorado nacionales, provinciales o privados.- En todos los casos los títulos deberán ser los reconocidos por el Ministerio de Educación de la Nación para la impartición de la asignatura en las escuelas nacionales.- Son requisitos para ser socio de esta Asociación: 1º.- Que la solicitud haya sido aceptada por la Comisión Directiva de la Asociación. 2º.- Que el socio abone regularmente la cuota mensual1 que determina la asamblea. 1 La cuota de APIBA se abona anualmente. Ver monto al pie.
I would like to (re-)apply for membership of the Association of Teachers of English of Buenos Aires Name:____________________________________________________________________________________________________ I.D. Number (DNI/LE/LC): _____________________________________________________________ Address: Street / No: _______________________________________________________________ Town: _________________________________________
Post Code: _________________
Telephone Number: ______________________ Fax Number: ______________________________ E-mail Address: ____________________________________________________________________ Degree: _________________ Awarded by: ________________________________ Year: __________ Work at: ________________________________________ Position: __________________________ Please tick [ v] and complete as appropriate: 1) I am already a Member of APIBA
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Members need only pay outstanding dues from 2001 to the present as APIBA declared a Moratorium on unpaid dues up until and including 2000. 2) I am applying for Membership of APIBA for the first time
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New members have to pay dues for the current year, submit a photocopy of their degree and two passport-sized photographs. These can be submitted by hand to any Executive Committee member or mailed to the APIBA office. Remember that this is an initial step and that the application procedure is concluded when all the material is submitted and once the APIBA Committee have accepted the application.
2001 Dues ($50) 2002 Dues ($50) 2003 Dues ($50) 2004 Dues ($50) 2005 Dues ($50) Before April 30th, 2005 ($30) After April 30th, 2005 ($50)! Voluntary Contribution TOTAL AMOUNT
$______ $______ $______ $______ $______ $______ $______ _________________ $______
Send/Bring cash or a cheque to the APIBA Office: M.T. de Alvear 1369 (KEL S.A.), C1058AAU Ciudad de Buenos Aires (please enquire about office hours) or deposit total amount at any branch of Banco Francés, Cuenta Corriente Especial en pesos 017-041719/2. IMPORTANT: Please write your full name on your deposit slip in BLOCK CAPITALS and fax it to (011) 4326-3927 with this form. By signing below you affirm that you have read APIBA Statutes and agree to be bound by them. Date: ______________________________ Signature: ______________________________________ For information about APIBA: E-mail: info@apiba.org.ar Web: www.apiba.org.ar Tel/fax (011) 4326-3927 (Librería Rodríguez) ! except new members who pay $30 all the year round.