Newsletter No. 50 - October 2014 From the President Dear APIBA Members, I’m glad to get back to you on behalf of APIBA’s Executive Committee to share news and announcements for the months to come The highlights in the last two months since our previous newsletter are the 2014 FAAPI Congress organized by APISE in Santiago del Estero on Sep 1820 and APIBA´s upcoming ANNUAL SEMINAR to be held on October 4 at ISP J.V. Gonzalez, CABA They are both invaluable opportunities for graduate teachers and trainee students to get together in order to strengthen bonds, learn from each other and grow as professionals in the field of EFL. We have already announced that this second term is very busy in terms of top-quality academic events, the aim always being to ensure that our members get the best possible training sessions in ELT. Looking forward to seeing you all in our Annual Seminar. Read more about our exciting schedule for October and November in the following pages. Best regards, Virginia López Grisolía APIBA President presidente@apiba.org.ar
APIBA ANNUAL SEMINAR 2014
Haven’t you signed up yet? Here’s more information about the four extraordinary plenary sessions to be held as part of our Annual Seminar. So much has changed in the teaching approaches over the past decade! Get updated on the recent goings-on. Register NOW! Click here: https://eventioz.com.ar/e/apiba-annual-seminar-2014 Date: Saturday, Oct 4 from 8.30 to 6.00 pm Venue: ISP J.V. Gonzalez- Ayacucho 632. CABA
Instituto Superior del Profesorado “Dr. Joaquín V. González”
Schedule 1. GRAMMAR A taste of modern grammar: The present continuous as a combination of tense, grammatical and lexical aspect In the last decades the study of tenses, verbs and related categories has advanced significantly. Many aspects of how temporal notions are interpreted by speakers are now part of the training future teachers get and they help to explain some of the complexities that may arise in the foreign language classroom. The aim of this presentation is to bring them once again to the foreground by reanalysing such traditional labels as “Present Continuous” as the result of the interaction between lexical aspect, grammatical aspect and tense. The goal is to show how, although apparently complex, these notions can be construed by means of a framework which is pedagogical. Time: 9.00-10.30 Speakers: Prof. Graciela Palacio & Prof. Sergio Rodriguez 2. METHODOLOGY What’s in a Method? Deconstructing the ELT Agenda Trendy methods with appealing names are often introduced as universal solutions, valid for any teaching situation. The classroom is therefore deemed as a neutral arena with no anchor in a specific context. When these ready-made methods are implemented in real classrooms, they do not seem to yield the desired results. Why should we import methods which are concocted far from the reality of our classrooms? Why have certain methods been promoted while others have been discouraged in the last few years? This presentation aims at deconstructing the ELT agenda within the framework of Critical Applied Linguistics. We will discuss the implications of a contextualized approach to language teaching and suggest different ways in which we can take effective action to make our students’ learning experience more meaningful. Time: 11.00-12.30 Speakers: Prof. Mariano Quinterno & Prof. Gustavo Paz 3. LANGUAGE Once upon a time there was a class called Language... What has (not) been going on in the field of Language teaching at Teacher Training Colleges over the last ten years? At the end of the fairy tale that was Language, there was the prize of total command of the target language and native-like competence in all areas (lexis, grammar, pronunciation, intonation, etc.). However, little room was given to reflection on English as a global language, the interface between language and
culture, the mechanisms through which language sustains asymmetries of power and perpetuates stereotypes and gender roles, and the symbolic, historical and social nature of language in general. From a Bakhtinian perspective, language is shot through with intentions and ideologies, which renders any claim of “neutrality” untenable. Over the last 10 years approximately, the focus of Language classes at Teacher Training Colleges has shifted towards precisely a greater understanding of how language works in discourse, especially at advanced levels (Language III and IV). Attention has been given to the problematization of such categories as normal/abnormal, natural/unnatural, correct /incorrect, formal/informal, common sensical/absurd, reality/representation. How have we teachers profited from revisiting and questioning hegemonic discourses in class? What have been the drawbacks? What kinds of rethinking should we probably be doing? Time: 2.00-3.30 Speakers: Prof. Daniel Ferreyra Fernández & Prof. Fernando Mortoro 4. APIBA SIGS Presentation 5. LITERATURE How to teach vocabulary through poetry and not perish in the attempt Can intermediate and advanced students read poetry in English willingly and for pleasure? Can they write poems in English? The answer is a definite “Yes!” In this workshop we will be exploring ways to help our students engage with poems in an interactive process, enhance their understanding of figurative language and develop their intra-personal intelligence by becoming more aware of how poetic language activates different areas of our brain stimulating new connections and new learning. Time: 4.00-5.30 Speaker: Prof. Ricardo Cavallini 5.30 to 6.00 CERTIFICATES and RAFFLES
FAAPI 2014 by APISE Santiago del Estero We are just back from this year´s FAAPI congress and there so much to share with you. This has been the 39th edition of this unique ELT event in Argentina and the 1st Latin American Conference of Teachers of English. The theme of the Congress was “Teaching and Learning in the Post-methods Era” We had the chance to enjoy some interesting plenaries and workshops given by prestigious foreign and local speakers, such as Jim Scrivener, Claudia Ferradás, Graham Stanley, Dave Allen, Mario López Barrios, Darío Benegas, Gustavo Gonzalez, Veríssimo Toste and Mario Herrera among others. Thanks APISE for your work and dedication. It does show how much effort you have all put into it. This year´s congress will always be remembered as a highly professional and top quality language-training event. To make these unforgettable
days even more memorable and, as is always the case at FAAPI, we had lots of fun as well! This annual academic get-together has actually become a wonderful occasion we all look forward to as we meet time-honoured friends and colleagues from all over the country. We could very well quote at this point the famous the lyrics in the song ”That´s what friends are for”. That´s what FAAPI is also for! Here are some pictures for you to see for yourselves!!
For more pics, click here. And even more!
CELEBRATING SHAKESPEARE in November
IES Lenguas Vivas J.R. Fernรกndez and APIBA Playing (with) Shakespeare Shakespeare for Kids and Teens November 3rd from 6-8.30 pm Free of charge. On a first-come first-served basis More info coming up soon
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APIBA AWARDS to the BEST GRADUATING AVERAGE AT TEACHER TRAINING COLLEGE On September, Friday 26 we participated in the graduation ceremony at INS Lenguas Vivas S.B. Spangenberg, where we awarded Apiba´s Best Graduating Average Prize to the newly-graduated teacher Laura Palavecino. Lots of good luck and we sincerely wish you a successful teaching career in this new life you are about to embark on! Here´s a picture right after the ceremony with one of the teacher trainers at Lenguas Vivas S.B. de Spangenberg and Apiba member, Prof.Mónica Gandolfo, Prof. Laura Palavecino, the award winner and APIBA´s president, Prof. Virginia López Grisolía
APIBA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE President: Virginia López Grisolía Vice-President: Jorge Ghenadenik Secretary: Romina Nulhem Treasurer: Cecilia Cicolini Deputy Treasurer: Cristian Colucci Members: Diana Schcolnicov María Luisa Ghisalberti Laureana Moreno In accordance with legal regulations for “Asociaciones Civiles”, the APIBA Executive Committee is composed of elected Members of the Association (see APIBA Statutes, Article 8) who perform their duties pro bono.
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