IN_summer_2016

IATEFL Slovenia Magazine Summer issue 2016, no. 67

My bike Teaching young learners Improving reading literacy A twist on homework Memories from TopolĹĄica 2016 Celebrating with Matilda

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Using inclusive practices 1: Mixed ability classes

By Kevin Thomson This series of articles explores twelve professional practices that are important for the development of English language teachers.

‘Hello, my name is Jagjit Patel and I’m 35 years old. I live in Ahmedabad in India. My hobbies are dancing and cooking. I’ve got a pet dog called Charlie.’

Development in these practices moves through a series of key stages, from being aware of the practice to being able to help other teachers to progress. These articles will help you to develop your understanding, skills and confidence in these areas.

Useful vocabulary If your students come from different backgrounds it means they might come from different social classes, have a different family situation or have had a different kind of education, etc.

• Divide your students into groups of four and tell them they are going to find out about a mystery English teacher from another country.

range

A range of abilities is a variety of different abilities.

speech bubble

Speech bubbles are used in comic strips when a character speaks. They contain the words a character says.

• When they have finished writing the questions, give one student in each group a piece of paper with information about a teacher on it. Tell the student not to show the piece of paper to the rest of the group. For example:

to exploit

If you exploit your students’ different abilities, you make good use of all these abilities and turn these differences into advantages instead of disadvantages for your teaching.

background

It is important to recognise that the groups of learners you teach include students who are very different in many ways. Some students in the same class will have a higher level of English and some will learn more quickly than others. In addition, your students may come from very different backgrounds. Some may have special needs (they might be dyslexic, for example). Apart from this, your students will be interested in different things and have very different personalities.

When you plan your lessons, it is a good idea to include activities where students with different abilities work in small groups to make or do something. This will help you to exploit the range of different abilities, backgrounds and interests within your class.

• Tell the students they must write five questions to find information about the mystery teacher. They must ask about the name, age, city and hobbies of the teacher and ask if the teacher has got any pets.

Name: Elena Gonzalez

Age: 35

City: Valencia, Spain

Hobbies: Swimming, drawing, playing the guitar Pets: A dog called Duna • The students should ask the questions they wrote to the student with the information. For example, ‘What is your name?’ and ‘How old are you?’

• When they have finished asking questions, tell the groups that they are going to draw a picture of their mystery English teacher, with a speech bubble explaining who he/she is.

• Give your students a large piece of paper to draw and write on. The students should decide which two group members will work on the writing and which two will work on the drawing. They can decide this based on the different skills that the students in the group have got.

• When all the groups have finished their pictures, display them around the room and invite your students to walk around and read each other’s work.

Activity: Designing an activity for different abilities

Useful classroom phrases For the teacher • You four are going to work together in a group.

• I think you four will work really well together.

Imagine that you are going to do a listening activity using an audio recording from the coursebook you use with a class. Think of three different ways that you could do this activity for three different types of learners:

• You need to work together to do this activity.

1 Students working below the expected level

• Make sure everybody has a chance to speak.

2 Students working at the expected level 3 Students working above the expected level.

Activity: Mystery English teacher This activity will allow your students to work together to produce a picture and a short paragraph of written English. This will use some of your students’ different skills and abilities. Different students will be responsible for drawing, for sharing ideas for the picture and for writing in English. Try to be sensitive when making the groups so that there is a mixture of abilities and backgrounds in each one. Being inclusive as a teacher means that you promote the acceptance of different abilities and backgrounds.

• Draw a picture of yourself on the board with a speech bubble with information about you in it. For example:

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Key points to remember • Remember that your classes contain students who are very different.

• Plan some activities where students with different abilities and backgrounds work together in groups.

• These groups of students should sometimes do activities where they produce something, with students using their different skills.

• Plan your classes so that there are activities that are suitable for different levels of ability.

Over to you Meet with a colleague. Talk about how the students in your classes are different (level of English, how fast they learn, background, interests, special needs, etc.). Discuss what kinds of activities you could do to exploit your students’ different abilities.

To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si

To find more ideas for teaching English visit www.teachingenglish.org.uk

© British Council 2015

IATEFL Slovenia Magazine Vol. 16, No 67, Summer issue 2016 Published by: IATEFL Slovenia, p. p. 1677, 1001 Ljubljana Email: info@iatefl.si www.iatefl.si tel: 041 907065 IATEFL Slovenia President: Lea Sobočan Vice president: Sandra Vida IN editor: Dolores Malič Printed by: Design Studio, d.o.o.

Graphics: Petra Turk Articles, letters and other contributions should be addressed to IATEFL, p. p. 1677, 1001 Ljubljana Email: info@iatefl.si IATEFL Slovenia Board Members: Janja Čolić Dolores Malič Nataša Meh Doroteja Podgrajšek Lea Sobočan Sandra Vida

Dear readers, I sometimes think summer will never come…

It usually happens in the middle of February but then it feels like we turn around three times and it’s here, June’s here!!! J I hope your school year wasn’t too stressful and your holidays will last long (or will at least feel that way).

Thank you all for being a part of our community! I’m glad you participated in our events and helped us choose the new board members. If you have any wish to be more active, there is still time to tell us that. J Enjoy all the good things summer brings and forget all those things that weren’t your cup of tea this year - I’m sure next year your students will be more hard-working, will come up with less excuses for their behaviour and/or work and will lighten up your classroom most of the time… J

Cover-page photo: Dolores Malič ISSN 1855-6833

My bike, The results of the contest for the best bike-related poem by Teja Podgrajšek ...........................................

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Teaching English pre-school and primary school children by Petra Čebular ......................................................

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How to improve reading literacy at English lessons by Polona Jelen ................................................................

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IATEFL conference 2016 in Birmingham ................................................................................................

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Putting a twist on homework by Barbara Kragelj Jerič ..................................................................................

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Where inspiration was born – Memories from Slovenia IATEFL 2016 by Danny Singh . . .......................................

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Celebrating with Matilda by Sandra Kozorog- Košuta ...................................................................................

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Poročilo o tekmovanju v znanju angleščine za učence 7. razreda osnovne šole . . ...................................................

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Poročilo o tekmovanju iz angleškega jezika za učence 8. razreda osnovne šole v šolskem letu 2015/16 .......................

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Poročilo o tekmovanju v znanju angleščine za 2. letnike 2015/16 ...................................................................

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Poročilo o tekmovanju v znanju angleščine za 3. letnike 2015/16 ...................................................................

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Doživeti potovanje s Twinom ... ............................................................................................................

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My bike The results of the contest for the best bike-related poem

by Teja Podgrajšek In the fall of 2015 Poljane primary school launched a poetry competition on the topic of bikes. The deadline was 1 March 2016 and we were very happy to receive plenty of interesting poems from Slovenia and abroad. Our job of picking the best three works thus proved to be quite challenging. It was in fact so difficult that in the end we decided to choose five best and most original poems instead of only three as was originally planned. So, after a careful selection process our competition committee selected the following poems as the final competition winners. We hope you like all of them.

My bike – Tia Grbič Osnovna šola Oskarja Kovačiča, Ljubljana, Slovenia

MY BIKE

I ride my bike down a hill, What a thrill!

There is no better feeling, it is very appealing.

When it is just my bike and I My head is held high Looking at the blue sky Staring at the clouds wds.

Riding my bike through the cro

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My bike – Freia Verbinc OŠ Oskarja Kovačiča, Ob dolenjski železnici 48, 1000 Ljubljana

MY BIKE

My bike is my escape My bike is my freedom With it i can go where I want Wherever I belong It takes me away Far away To a light so bright That the sun seems pa le Where the world is wo rk Where you can be wh of art o you want Where you can do wh at you like Where your thoughts are heard And nobody tears them down My special bike takes me to the place Where I wanna be Where I‘m accepted Where people of all kin d Are brought together as one As one big community I‘m on a long ride With my bike Through my journey Places change People change To the community Without prejudice My bike is my escape My bike is my freedom With it I can go where I want Wherever I belong

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MY MAGICAL BIKE

BRIGHT RED BICYCLE

Far from the reality, Where everything’s so gray and cold, I run toward my dreams So shiny and warm.

All I´ve ever wanted Is a bright red bike.

I feel like I am haunted, I don´t want to hike!

Without loneliness and sadness, With everything a child could like, With a big smile on my face, I enjoy riding a bike.

t red, I want a bike that´s brigh . ped mo ly not an ug A moped is too noisy (and riding it is easy)!

It drives me everywhere, Below the rainbow, above the sky, To places beautiful, but unknown Where there’s nothing to fear and be shy.

I want to pedal hard, Get out of my back yard. face The wind will blow into my race. h eac win I´ll , And, of course

Its red color turns into dragon’s scales And its wheels become fairytale wings With endless strength and power My bike can do unbelievable things.

e true, It would be my dream com . vu” jà Like a sense of “dé ng else, I want a red bike – nothi sense. any ke ma l wil e els Nothing

It makes me feel happy, full of joy To have my bike, my favorite toy, Not just the toy, but dear friend of mine, Always ready to go so clean and shine.

ill, I can’t wait to feel the thr l, kil to e tim ch I have so mu rush and ed spe the for it I´ll ride crush! my , I want it more than you

My bike – Gabriela Josipović Osnovna škola August Cesarec, Trg bana Jelačića, 32281 Ivankovo, Croatia

My magical Bike – Džejla Krdžalić Osnovna škola Kiseljak, Prvomajska 117, 75 211 Kiseljak kod Tuzle, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Congratulations to all the young poets!

l Majer Bright Read Bicycle – Danie tislave, Bra v ium náz 1. súkromné gym slava, Slovak Republic Bajkalská 20, 821 08 Brati

But there’s a time, the end of daydream, When rest is needed for this sweet team, After the ride, wonderful and wild, Two best friends need some sleep, the bike and the child.

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So, sleep well my shiny friend, Our rides will never end.

There’s too much world we need to see, Hands full of dreams, you and me…

MY BIKE This is a poem about my magic bike And about how it would be like.

Cycling is probably my favourite thing to do I like to cycle with my friends, too.

My magic bike would be blue And would take me wherever I wanted to.

It would take me to places far away from here It could make me disappear.

It could take me over the sea Before you say one, two, three.

It could probably fly, Fly high up in the sky.

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Teaching English pre-school and primary school children Teaching experiences by Petra ÄŒebular, Vitanje Elementary School An applause when you finish reading an English story.

A student’s hug at the end of the lesson. Students quarrelling who will participate in the next activity. A parent telling you how their child makes progress with speaking English. These are only small pieces of being-a- teacher-puzzle that give value to our profession.

I am an English teacher and I have taught in Primary school for 8 years. From the very beginning I have also taught younger students, firstly as an extra curriculum activity in the first triad, then we took part in a project Early teaching of English by using the method CLIL, for the last two years I also teach 2 groups of four and fiveyear-olds in the kindergarten and this year I have option-

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al subject in the first class. I must say that my teaching has changed a lot since the beginning and it has improved through all those years. I participated in different educational programmes about teaching younger students, most of them I found very useful and I must say that Tom Majer and Mateja Todorovski are my favourite teacher educators.

When I started teaching, I always used course books, books and workbooks for students, but now I tend to avoid them. I use some activities, songs, tasks‌ from the books from time to time, but I often adapt them to the students. I think each generation is different, concerning their pre-knowledge and ability to learn English language,

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so you must take that into consideration before choosing what to teach and how to teach. A great source for teaching material, especially English songs, is youtube. I often search for a song there and when I find the one I like, I don’t use a computer to play it in the classroom, but I sing it myself, often adapting some difficult vocabulary or perhaps changing the melody to the one that is familiar to the students. Then I think of how to act it out in most interesting way and think of various activities students can do while learning a new song. It is necessary to have a lot of visual support when teaching new vocabulary, so I often bring real objects into the classroom like fruit, vegetables, clothes, toys… or at least I bring pictures, then I use different activities to memorize new words, like; • Point to the correct picture or object when you hear the word, • Act out or mime what is in the picture, • Close your eyes and when you open them, say, what is missing, • One student says the word, others point it or act it out.

I do similar things with stories. I usually choose stories that are known to them in Slovenian language. Before reading the story, I pre-teach some basic vocabulary, then support the story with a lot of miming and acting, puppets or other visual support. After the reading I check the understanding of the story with the activities like: • I summarize the story, students put the pictures in the correct order or they try to act out the story • I read the story one more time and pause when elicit certain words from the students (usually the ones that were pre-taught before the story) Although we were taught to speak strictly in English even with younger students, I have to say it doesn’t always work in my class. What’s the point of doing an activity if students don’t understand the rules. Sometimes I have to explain the rules more than once even in Slovenian language. So the theory and practice doesn’t always go together.

I also think that it is more effective to teach the language at least two or three times a week for a shorter period of time, about twenty or thirty minutes. Students need a lot of input and repetition at the beginning. I constantly review and avoid introducing too much new vocabulary at a time. A few years ago I had English lesson in the second class once every two weeks and it was like teaching them the same thing all over again because they would forget all until the next lesson.

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My lesson in kindergarten lasts from twenty to thirty minutes, but when I finish, I am all sweat. I do a lot of moving, acting, singing, dancing, because younger students - technology generations, need a lot of action and quick changing of activities to stay motivated for learning and participation. So I keep my exercises short and fun because these students have short attention spans and are easily distracted.

One of my lessons in the kindergarten with the topic WINTER CLOTHES looks like that:

I always start with the same song, this year is GOOD MORNING SONG, also taken from youtube. We sing it together along with acting. It goes like that: Good morning, good morning, good morning, Clap your hands Clap, clap, clap, Stamp your feet, Stamp, stamp, stamp Spin around, Spin, spin, spin, All right!

After the song we usually revise some of the things that we have learnt in the previous lessons or sometimes we play a game DAY-NIGHT, used with different expressions (stand up, sit down, clap your hands, turn around, shout hurray, listen, smile, close your eyes…) and the one who makes a mistake is out of game. Students just love it.

Then I brought winter clothes in the classroom; shoes, hat, scarf, jacket and we learnt new words: • I pointed to a certain piece of clothing and pronounced the word, they repeated the word after me • I pronounced the word, they had to point to the right clothing • They closed their eyes, I hid a piece of clothing, they had to guess which one it was I sang a song PUT ON YOUR SHOES (youtube) and while singing I was dressing up.

Put on your shoes, your shoes, your shoes (jacket, scarf, hat) Put on your shoes, Let’s go outside, Hurry up, hurry up, Hurry, hurry up.

• With the second singing we sang and dressed together • With the third singing they took their own clothes and they were dressing up when they heard a certain piece of clothing.

• For the last time one student had to come in front and dress up in the correct order according to the song, others told him if he chose the right clothes.

At the end of the lesson I said I am in a hurry and I have to go now, so they told me what I have to wear since it was snowy and cold outside. We parted with a GOODBYE song.

Most of the time these young learners can be a real pleasure to teach because they do not feel pressured or stressed by their studies and approach everything with their innocence and enthusiasm. I do not feel the need to assign homework at this stage, but I track individual and class progress, so the students can realize what they have learnt. I encourage them to try their best and create a constructive learning environment where they don’t need to worry about making mistakes. At the end of the lesson I feel good about myself because perhaps I have encouraged some of them to develop an interest in learning English.

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How to improve reading literacy at English lessons

by Polona Jelen English teachers (like the other teachers) are aware that the problem of reading literacy appears also at English lessons.

We noticed that students do not read English books in order to participate at the reading competitions and have difficulties in written examinations where it is required to read a longer text and answer the questions. So two years ago we introduced the activity of summarizing English articles that offers students a range of activities and improves many skills. First we taught students how to write a good summary and then students created their own criteria about this task, which is not marked but contributes to their final mark at the end of the school year.

ing skills. Pupils like the activity because they can choose the article according to their interests and are aware that this is an obligation that must be fulfilled, because the final mark at the end of the school year reflects students’ work and effort during the whole year. The activity also covers all stages of the reading process. Pre-reading stage: students choose the article according to their own interests and knowledge, do scanning of the text, guess the topic from the title of the article and “read” images. Reading stage: they develop reading comprehension and identify main idea of the text. After-reading stage: summarizing in own words, giving the opinion, introducing new vocabulary, identifying the author and the sources.

Summarizing Students’ task: each month to read one article from English magazines (or online articles) appropriate to their age and pre-knowledge. They have to generate a main idea and write a brief summary of the article with their own opinion and explain and/or translate around ten new words from the article. Summarizing requires students to determine what is important in what they are reading and to put it into their own words. Then the teachers correct mistakes and give appropriate feedback. Why is it important to give a feedback?

Students must see immediately if their actions meet the target (detailed and timely feedback).

Analysis of the short survey At the end of the school year teachers carried out a survey among 8th and 9th grade students. Here are the key results.

76 % of students like reading English articles, especially because they see many advantages and because articles are interesting, educational and amusing. 83 % of students regularly do the task (reading and summarizing), mainly because it is their obligation and it is useful for their knowledge of English.

Students prefer reading about sports, music, film, animals and current events. And what is the most difficult thing at this activity? Most of them have problems with identifying the main idea and summarizing in own words. And improvements? Pupils think that they are improving reading comprehension, vocabulary and writing skills the most.

Students have to correct their writings and learn from the mistakes. Teachers have to put attention on students’ previous mistakes, so that they do not repeat them in next summary.

Students also have the opportunity to present their articles to their schoolmates as an oral presentation. At the beginning students had some problems how to write the summary, but with the help of the teacher’s comments and recommendations, they have learnt how to summarize in their own words. Students have to return their summaries of the articles to the teacher, who follows students’ abstracts folder (portfolio), which is returned to the students at the end of the school year. Teachers, students and parents can follow learners’ own progress. This activity is rich in several respects, offering students the opportunity to improve reading comprehension, written communication (summary and own opinion), improvement of vocabulary and speak-

Conclusion Students’ interest in reading English books is increasing, as they become more confident as well. The number of participants in the reading competitions is increasing.

The activity became a routine, so we do not have to force students in doing this task, but they monthly show the willingness and desire to read English articles, which makes us (teachers) very happy. They have less problems in reading comprehension and in writing tasks in the exams. Students are also starting to think about their own learning progress, which is a part of formative assessment. We will definitely continue with the activity because it brings good results and is encouraging. We believe this is one of the ways to improve reading literacy in English.

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There were 3 highlights among the plenaries - David Crystal with his amusing new-words-every-teacherneeds-to-know-about speech, Silvana Richardson knocking down the walls of native-speakerism and the brilliant storyteller Jane Blake. If you want to do yourself a favour, take the time to see the recordings of their plenaries. You can find them at http:// iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2016.

IATEFL conference 2016

in Birmingham was the 50th of its kind. As such, many believed it was a must and the expectations were accordingly high. Similarly, when I mentioned Birmingham as the venue, many warned me not to expect too much as it is just another modern city, but without too much character. The reality was somewhere in the middle with conference, superb as ever, but not because it was the 50th and with Birmingham as the city far exceeding my expectations.

Apart from this, I saw that what used to be THE thing 3 years ago, was now legitimised by putting it in a coursebook so if I look at what THE things were this year, it most probably means they will be mainstream and a must in 5 years time.

One of these things was how to achieve more tolerance among different kinds of people and ensure we include everybody in our teaching. Perhaps the most interesting session was therefore named: »That's so gay! Towards a Queer Sensitive Teacher Education«. Another, still hot, subject is how to deal with digital distractions that students so often succumb to. Perhaps the best advice in all areas is to choose your battles carefully. Not everything is worth your nerves and sometimes a change is just a step away – but you need to walk in the right direction 

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If you think you need more professional development and Birmingham online is not enough, you can also check out – or perhaps even contribute to– efltalks.com.

That should be enough until March 9th, when our next conference is on, because professional development should not only be continuous, but also face to face and outside of the sessions.

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Putting a twist on homework

by Barbara Kragelj Jerič The term homework combines the words home and work. It is meant for the students to do it by themselves and at home.

It means individual work.

I have almost given in to an uncomfortably high number of students regularly not doing their homework when I realized I could solve two of my biggest problems at once. I can now proudly say I have found the way to assign homework the way that changes the statistics significantly in favour of the students who do it, do it on their own, do it on time, and do it accordingly. In addition, I have gained an incredible amount of productive class time.

I used to think there was mainly one point to homework: to provide students with exercises to reinforce the knowledge acquired at school. Today, I know that by assigning homework I actually teach several skills: • Students acquire the feeling of responsibility for their obligations (pay attention to the instructions, make sure they understand them and can fulfil them).

• Students learn to manage their time.

• Students take responsibility for the quality of their work.

• Students learn the material (imagine, this is the last skill on my list).

The amount of time I had spent on homework was devastating and, needless to say, time is precious in the classroom. Besides the homework related activities (planning it, doing everything necessary prior it, assigning it, checking it thoroughly), students taking notes on new material can be an extremely consuming part of a lesson, too. Fortunately, about a year ago, I thought of an alternative type of homework that has solved the two issues for me: it has improved the statistics on homework and it has awarded me with a considerable amount of class time (take away the copying off the board and checking the quality of homework in class and you get the picture).

In September 2014, I created a blog that has ever since served as a notice board for my students. This is a spot where I post all the materials relevant to the classes I am teaching. They may vary from vocabulary lists to notes on grammar, exercise sheets, etc.

Consequently, the most common homework assignment I have been setting is copying off the Internet. By doing that, students prepare for the next class rather than practice something we had already done. Sometimes I ask them to copy certain materials from the textbooks because my students do not own them. (I have to emphasize photocopying and printing is not allowed.)

Although this may sound like a waste of students’ time, I have found several advantages to this type of homework: • Nobody can claim they were unable to do the work because of lack of knowledge.

• Students can write at their own pace (and consequently make fewer mistakes).

• Students seem more pleased to do their homework simply because the Internet is involved.

• By doing their homework and listening to the explanation in class, students are exposed to the same idea twice at the very introduction of a new topic.

• Students are encouraged to follow their notes during the explanation, check their quality and improve them accordingly.

• Students, who usually do well at English, find it a challenge to get the grip of things by themselves.

• The fact that the students bring their notes to class simply gives me a lot more time to spend on the explanation and thorough sample learning, guided studying and additional explaining.

• The students practice spelling, writing and improve their fine motor skills by hand writing.

• The dyslexic students may be given permission to print certain materials, but that has to be done in agreement with me.

Figure 1: a screenshot of the 6th class page showing a list of links to materials students are asked to copy

To be honest, I do encounter technical difficulties from time to time, mostly the Internet accessibility. Not all of my students can work on-line at home and I do my best to help them. Students are always allowed to use the Internet (homework regarding) during the extended hours for commuting children. Some students regularly attend the computer room on certain hours. Some prefer to help themselves via friends, relatives, and neighbours.

However, if it all fails, I provide them with a printed copy of the material and lend it to them.

I see homework as a child’s personal activity in which he is left to himself. This is his unique chance of working by himself on something completely controllable and thus learning not only the materials in question, but also - and probably even more important - how to do things by himself.

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Where inspiration was born – Memories from Slovenia IATEFL 2016

by Danny Singh Danny Singh, born and raised in London, but now based in Rome, gives creative English language lessons and teacher training courses all over Italy and abroad. He also offers stimulating monthly presentations on language related issues at Rome’s biggest international bookshop and is visible on web TV www.inmagicartwebtv.eu with a series of interactive English video lessons.

He is author of two books, “I was a happy man...then one day I came across Laughter Yoga” and “Learning English through the mind and the body”. He regularly attends Pilgrims TT summer courses as a Guest Speaker.

Website: www.laughnlearn.net e-mail: singh_danny@hotmail.com

Menu • Introduction • International Evening • A long Friday • One happy family • The final hurdle • Don’t stop me now • Homeward bound, well almost

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Introduction This was my third IATEFL Slovenia conference. The first one in 2013 was held during a very cold March, where snow, rain and hailstones were a serious hazard to any form of travelling. My first impression had been walking up the hill towards the hotel in Topolsica and seeing several smiling people jumping up and down in an outdoor swimming pool.

Peter Dyer, the great drama teacher had been present at the conference, so it was an opportunity to catch up with him again. When he’s around, you are never in your comfort zone! In 2014 meanwhile, the weather was far warmer and the highlight of that conference was winning the pub quiz with an excellent team around me. I had missed the 2015 conference, as I was putting the finishing touches to my first book, “I was a happy man, then one day I came across laughter yoga”. As a result, I was quite excited about returning to what is undoubtedly one of my favourite conferences.

International Evening I got to the Topolsica hotel in good time for dinner after a journey which had begun early in the morning with a train journey from Rome up towards Trieste and then over the border into Slovenia. I’m well aware that like most people, I tend to over-eat at conferences. I was also extremely hungry after my long journey, so I had to think rationally and not get too emotionally involved with the food. In the end, I ate quite a lot, but not excessively.

The evening began with an international evening, where we were asked to bring along something typical of our country.

This had only been introduced the year before, so it was my

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first experience. Each table had the name of a country and on it you could find an assortment of products representative of that country. The Serbian and Croatian tables were covered in food and drinks, as well as a few souvenirs. The smaller countries all had representatives proudly exhibiting something; Macedonia, Kosovo, Bosnia, then there was Slovenia of course, Hungary, Austria and Slovakia. England had some teabags, marmite (you either love it or hate it), some Cadburys chocolate which I brought and a model size, black cab.

I drank some amazing Hungarian sweet wine, a Croatian digestive, a Macedonian red wine and a few other drinks, tasted various culinary delights which presented themselves, though I have no recollection either of what they were, or of what happened afterwards. I was in no condition to go to the treasure hunt in the swimming pool, but all in all, I was aware that it had been a great evening.

A long Friday On Friday morning, I began by attending a plenary by Ken Wilson on strategies for teacher-student communication. I had met Ken Wilson for the first time at the TESOL Northern Greece conference in March 2015. Like the other speakers on that occasion, he was an excellent storyteller. During this plenary however, I had the feeling that maybe I had heard some of this before. Indeed, thinking about it afterwards, it is quite plausible that I had heard the whole plenary before in Greece. However, I only recalled about 25% of it.

That’s not surprising! The plenary in Greece was at the end of the weekend, when I was shattered and moreover, as Grant Kempton said in his plenary at the HUPE conference in Opatija in 2014, on average, we only remember about 10-15% of what we hear at conferences. That’s why it’s actually useful to attend the same plenary or workshop two or three times. I felt as though I had understood what Ken was trying to communicate much better this time.

After this revelation, I went to Margarita Kosior’s workshop on learner autonomy. Before she began, she recounted her complicated journey, which involved three flights to get to Ljubljana from Thessaloniki in Greece and then of course find her way to Topolsica. Her workshop was about learner

autonomy and although I already knew a lot of the points she mentioned, it indirectly helped me with a couple of issues I had in the final touches I was making to my new book, “Learning English through the mind and the body”. The workshop finished with a lovely video showing a project that her students had put together.

After a well-deserved coffee, I made off to Luke Meddings workshop on pronunciation. He promised in his notes that he would bring in a few regional accents, which he did. He also imitated the Queen and Elvis Presley among others.

This workshop was quite entertaining and emphasised the fact that as teachers, we should be prepared to make a fool of ourselves occasionally.

Before the lunch break, I went to a short workshop done by Barbara Kragelj Jeric on learning by standing up and moving. This was exactly what I needed myself, not only because I am a very kinaesthetic person, but also as I was suffering from sciatica, which is both literally and metaphorically, “a pain in the ass”. She had us doing all kinds of singing and dancing, which was just my cup of tea. She also gave us some alternatives to sitting badly on chairs, which was highly interesting.

After the lunch break, I went to Karen White’s workshop on how to do numerous activities with just one piece of paper.

Karen is based in Austria and I remember her giving us a great workshop on students with dyslexia back in 2013. We left this workshop with hundreds of ideas of what we can do with just one piece of paper.

I decided at this point to take a break from workshops, so as not to suffer burnout before Saturday arrived. After another coffee break, I decided to go to Sharka Dohnalova’s workshop. I was used to seeing Sharka give us playful activities for children at kindergarten. However, this was about bringing history into the lesson with participants trying to solve the riddle of the story. As I was the only male at this workshop, I was obliged to be a volunteer; the father of the girl who was going to be married into a foreign county. I survived that experience, but decided on another break before the final plenary of the day, Thom Jones entertaining us with his story

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entitled, If music be the food of love, wrap the guitar in lettuce and throwing biscuits at hungry-looking teachers who had one eye on their watches and the other on the canteen.

After the evening meal, there was the customary pub quiz. I managed to insert myself into a team with the potential for winning, or so I thought and although we gave it everything we had, we weren’t quite able to get into the top three. As usual, there was some excellent beer provided by a local company, making the evening loud, if not victorious!

One happy family Saturday morning began with a plenary by Sharka. It dealt with the idea of teaching something that you are not good at, thereby helping you to understand the plight of learners who may not find the subject too easy. Geography was the subject she chose and most of the participants were in difficulty, although the subject was extremely interesting.

After this session, I would have liked to go to Ken Wilson’s workshop entitled, Is anyone listening? I hope someone was, however, on this occasion, I wasn’t! I had to prepare my materials for my workshop presentation. It was called, Mother Europe, the title of an article published in the summer 2014 issue of In magazine. The title was based on a Slovenian film of the same name, which I had seen at the Rotterdam film festival earlier that same year.

I had copies of the article to hand out, copies of my first book, “I was a happy man...” and some laughnlearn t-shirts.

But more importantly, I had four special guests arriving for the workshop. They duly arrived in good time. Petra Seliskar the director of the film, Terra, the nine-year old girl, who was the main actress in the film alongside her mother, Brand Ferro the half-Cuban, half-Macedonian cameraman and last, but not least, the two year old Nil, who was running around in circles, consuming large quantities of chocolate from sympathisers on the bookstands and looking up at surprised teachers from under their feet. In short, one happy family!

I told my story of how I came across the film, my interpretation of it, a film dealing with the problem of borders im-

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posed by political powers, but made audience-friendly by having the true story seen and told through the eyes of a five year old girl. I showed one of the three trailers available on you tube and asked the audience to describe what they considered the most notable changes since the dismantling of Yugoslavia. This was quite animated as there are both positive and negative consequences, but naturally enough, when you are involved in the dismantling of your country, feelings can run high.

I then allowed Petra to give her version of the film and finally at the end, participants could exchange contact numbers with Petra. As this film is educational, it lends itself well to teachers and my suggestion was that if anyone wanted to watch it, they should have it relayed to their classes, thereby killing two birds with one stone, not only being able to watch it, but also to use it in their lessons for discussion. I made sure that all members of the family got a round of applause for their attendance and participation and I then went for a coffee with them in the hotel bar, where the two year old Nil insisted on feeding me cream from his cake.

The final hurdle After removing all the cream from the contours of my mouth and using a cup of coffee almost as a mouthwash to ensure all traces of cream were cleansed from my tongue, I made my way to Mike Harrison’s workshop on drawing. This was a session where our stimulus came essentially from sounds and images, the use of the senses. This certainly assisted my imagination and I had some great pictures in my head, though putting them down on paper was not so easy, as I am not famous for my drawings, but as a lot of my students, especially the younger ones, do like drawing, I left this session with a fistful of ideas.

After another break from workshops and a much-needed coffee, I attended Luke’s plenary, which dealt with using natural resources as materials for our lessons; cafes, buildings, trees, the sky, much as I do with my English in the City courses, which are all located outside the classroom. Luke mentioned a book which I personally regard as one of the worst language-learning books ever written, English Gram-

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mar in Use, a book where you read the instructions, do the exercises, but still do not understand either the concept, or how to use it in real life communication. This reminded me of the importance of finishing my second book, Learning English through the mind and the body, before the end of March.

The final session of the day was either going to be out of this world, or a horrific experience, as it lasted for ninety minutes. I decided to take the plunge and was surprised to discover how few people bothered to attend this session. This workshop was being done by an ex-teacher, Dr Apolonija Klancar, who is now working as a full-time therapist. The session which was predominantly practical, made us analyse our senses and different symptoms that we have relating to our balance, vision, hearing and movement. She gave us some simple exercises to guide us through these potential difficulties, so that we could experience the therapeutic benefits and explained how she uses them with kids.

Don’t stop me now The final evening served up something that I hadn’t experienced before, no high quality beer unfortunately, but miming songs without actually singing them. These performances would also be judged by the public. Initially, I wondered how we could possibly judge a song that wasn’t sung, but then it transpired that in order to gain votes, you were encouraged to dance and move as much as possible.

can still visualise both of them dancing around to this great song. It was a shame that there could only be one winner, but the runner-up will certainly be remembered for his great performance.

Homeward bound, well almost One of the many things that I enjoy about the Slovenia IATEFL conference is the small gift that we find in our carefully prepared bags. In 2013, I received some pills, or at least they looked like pills, but they were in fact sweets, an alternative to laughter yoga as a form of medicine. In 2014, I was given an original-looking whistle and this year 2016, I got a pack of IATEFL cards to use with my students.

On Sunday morning, after consuming pancakes for the last time until the next conference, I departed on my long journey, homeward bound. A drive to the coast before picking up a train to Rome. However, when in these parts, it would be a sin not to make a short stop at Trojane, famous home of Slovenian doughnuts. So I did, and as the sun shone brightly and I stood there consuming one blueberry and one apricot doughnut, the dodgy marking in the pub quiz, the controversy of the raffle ticket winners and the culinary delights left over from the international evening which had not appeared at the coffee breaks as promised, were all but a distant memory.

Several volunteers had the courage to go up and perform, some better than others of course, but all part of the fun.

There were some great performances with crazy songs, but eventually it came down to the final two contestants, who I have to say were definitely the best of the bunch. While in the early stages of the evening, you could choose the song that you wanted to mime and dance to, the semi-final and final song was chosen by the person who had the audacity to organise this event.

The two contestants were Jaka Cresnar and Biljana Makuljevic and the song was one of my favourites, Don’t stop me now, by Queen. Even more than a month after the event, I

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Celebrating with Matilda

by Sandra Kozorog- Košuta Last year, as we were commemorating the 100th anniversary of the First World War at our school (i.e., Simon Gregorčič Primary school in Kobarid), the teachers decided to join forces and work on a common project, the First World War. There was the same red line at all school subjects and with all generations of children, but everybody was doing something different. For instance, art students were making poppy blossoms while in home economics they were trying to find out what the soldiers on the fronts were eating.

They researched recipes and made some of the dishes.

The fifth grade students dramatized one of the battles, whereas another class discovered photos of what Kobarid looked like during the war. Another very interesting contribution was a dramatization of how children were playing with each other during the war, what songs they were singing, and how they were helping their parents on the farms.

World War. For ten weary weeks he kept himself alive whi­­le the corpses around him piled higher and higher.

He remembers that terrible day, that hell, as he calls it, when they were ’butchered as lambs at the slaughter’… ‘in that mad world of blood, death and fire’.

Finally, he was hit by a shell and lost both his legs.

My colleague and I decided to work on the Celtic song entitled ‘And the band played Waltzing Matilda’. First, we made our students listen to the original song, which is a kind of Australian anthem. It features a tramp who is camping by a brook, but one day he steals a sheep. Three policemen arrive, but the tramp, rather than submit to capture, commits suicide by drowning himself.

A serious and moving Q and A session followed. So to cheer the students up, we sang the original song again, and before we parted company, I gave them an assignment. They could choose to write a haiku on the topic, a soldier’s letter from the front, or a letter from someone back home who was longing for a brother, son, husband, beloved…to come home safe again. The student contributions were awesome! Here are just a few of them that prove how mature our teenagers can be.

ry 1915

18th Janua

! e you will Hi Mathew e OK. I hop ’r u yo e p o h family Me and my nd read it. r grandfaa er ews but ou n e get this lett th t o g ere quite w if you ago. We w s k ee I don’t kno w o e anyone away tw n hardly se ere is ca u ther passed yo e g the villa Now th depressed. In are staying at home. people and Afterwards, the students found another but different verle o p outside. Peo us disease that killed tw you can see sion of the song written by The Pogues. The Pogues are a s io a g o ta S n . co sick also a Celtic punk band that released the song entitled ‘And the are getting ls u left a few a yo im n w a o n e k th I o . ls d a sa rm d Band sang Waltzing Matilda’ in 1984. It describes war as worried an boring here on the fa people are ter so gruesome nonsense and criticises those who glorify it. The in is w it ’s t soon. It s ago, bu d s en th n r o a m w is ngle song is a heart-breaking account of an elderly man who had u. I hope th ns are bad. Every si without yo io it been crippled at the battle of Gallipoli during the First d n co the and I know p with fear. we will u e k and I hope er tt day we wa le is th to end I am going soon. We miss you. you hear from To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: e, Monica Lovwww.iatefl.si As my group has always been fond of songs and singing, we first worked on the original folk song, with the students having to fill in the missing words first and then discuss it. The song seemed to get stuck in their minds as they would just sing it on and on and on.

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To make the impression even stronger, I showed them some photos of the battle and its devastating effects.

That hit the jackpot! The students were speechless. They were stunned. After a long silence, we started discussing the absurdity of war, the grief it brings to our lives, and the devastating effects such things have on those who manage to survive.

Dearly be loved, Tonight, o nC join my m hristmas Eve, my th oughts are ates who a re singing filled with you.

Christmas carols, but memories of you. It’s Everythin la instead, I d g has chan ecided to w te and I should ged since I I think it rite this lett left you, m doesn’t eve er for y fam n fe We’re high in the mo el like Christmas an ily, behind and join untains. It I could be ed the arm ’s snowing ymore. I really miss ho y. Honestly you. and it’s qu , breath, we me with you. But y ite cold. In ou know w are given times like an opportu hat they sa shoulder, this y: »Life is nity you a gift. Wit , I wish I don’t giv r best lies ahead«. A to be and to do be h every sin tt eu nd with » gle best« I me er. No more lookin to my face p. Even in the toug g over you an you, m hest times , and keep r y fa y s o mily. You me going. u’re the so Please, do a u I’m doing n’t worry about me, this for yo rce of happiness tha re the reason conversati u. My cou I’m fine. A t b ons with m rings smil ntry, t nig e y And reme mber: you mates so I’m not fee hts like this, we usu my friends and you . li all will be alw n to worry a ays on my g lonely at all. Plea y have late night bout. se, pray fo mind, eve r n though Yours sinc I have a m me! erely, Gigi illion thin gs

ce, Somewhere in Fran 15 19th November, 19 we might not Dear family, all of you because r fo r te let is th g e conditions I’m writin at the frontline, th e er H n. ai ag r he see each ot here because it is ere is mud everyw well, so are pretty bad. Th ing cold out here as ez fre s It’ e. tim e me raining all th ould you please send C u. yo r fo t es qu re I have a small uld use a tin or warm sweater? I co a d an s ck so of ir a pa meals are minute. cause the military be , ell w as od fo of two , I’ve made know anybody here ’t dn di I gh ou th Even nd men. very brave and ki e coming so friends with a few off ere’s a big ensiv th at th id sa ls ra Our gene e and more – fles are firing mor the cannons and ri t all night. all day and almos d too much please do not be sa Last, but not least: e people way life goes. Som if I die. That’s the e on. for the others to liv e di to ed ne y pl sim rge ts of love, your Geo Best wishes and lo

Boom fall Bomb die rs solide wins y m e en . 9.b Matic R

e Sing one more tim Shot... I fell. and I look in the sky ilda at M g in tz sing Wal e. tim e one mor Ana K., 9.b

Fight

Can I fight.

Could I fight.

Will I still able to fight.

Urša, 9.b

Soldier A soldie r Waiting sits still. for the A dove enemy. flies ov er.

Hana V. 9 .b

Bloody rain There is blood an d death every w here.

Shells raining from the sky.

Jan Manf, Domen, 9.b

Hoping for peace the early Tortured souls of ng for peace. pi ho departed are Katarina, 9.b

om g, eed tin r f h g fi n for are dow All s r g in ide Sol d run s, . o e blo r fac edom i e e th or fr f all .b S., 9 Ana

War as War w s i War ill be.

War w šper, 9.b Saša Ga

War

Death is coming

Tear, blood and sweat, bullets around flying, death is coming.

Tenej, 9.b

War started, war ended, people live, people die.

Hana C., 9.b

Dear moth e

r!

After quit ea It is Chris long time I’m writ ing to you tmas Eve. I am in a a with some small ditc gain. other solid h to ers. It is v scared. Th gether ery ee position. I nemies are somewh cold here. We are ere close to t is Christm our very, very a much. I w s tomorrow and I miss you ould like There was to be a of friends terrible battle a few with you. of mine d days ago. ied A tired. We don’t know . We are hungry, ch lot illed and how long hope there we will su w rvive. We small can on’t be any battles to dle, we pra yed and sa morrow. We lit a What abo ng Holy n ut igh Please, sen you? Did you mak e a walnu t tonight. d me a lett t roll? er and let is anythin me know gn if there I really ho ew at home. pe this wa r I wish to ends soon . com I wish you e home and see ou r farm ag a Merry C ain. hristmas a nd a Hap Bye, Math py new ye ew ar.

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Poročilo o tekmovanju v znanju angleščine za učence 7. razreda osnovne šole Letos je petič zapored potekalo tekmovanje v znanju angleškega jezika za 7. razrede. Tekmovanje je bilo organizirano na dveh ravneh, šolski in državni. Šolsko tekmovanje je potekalo 29. januarja 2016, državno pa 24. februarja 2016. Vsaka šola je lahko na državno tekmovanje prijavila največ tri skupine. Tudi letos smo vsa priznanja (bronasta, srebrna in zlata) podelili na državni ravni.

priznanje je tako letos osvojilo 88 tekmovalcev, srebrno 60 tekmovalcev, zlato priznanje pa 16 tekmovalcev.

Učenke in učenci iz skupin, ki si delita prvo mesto (Zala Hostnik, Nika Škornik in Sara Žafran z OŠ Slivnica pri Celju ter Kari Čepon, Ambrož Tacar in Rok Zoppe z OŠ dr. Vita Kraigherja) za nagrado prejmejo izlet v Gardaland, ki ga tudi letos podarja agencija Alpetour.

Letošnje tekmovanje smo naslovili OUR DREAM SCHOOL. Učenci so torej predstavili, kakšna je njihova sanjska šola. Osredotočali so se na različne vidike: zgradba, oprema, lokacija, učitelji in učenci, urnik, hrana, aktivnosti, ipd. Prav zanimivo je bilo videti, kam vse jih je popeljala domišljija! Od šol brez ocen in šol na nenavadnih lokacijah, do sodobno opremljenih superšol, čarovniških šol in še in še…

STATISTIKA NA KRATKO: • Število sodelujočih šol: 55 • Število izdelkov, ki smo jih prejeli za državno tekmovanje: 96 • Število vseh tekmovalcev: 422 • Število bronastih priznanj: 25 skupin (88 tekmovalcev) • Število srebrnih priznanj: 17 skupin (60 tekmovalcev) • Število zlatih priznanj: 5 skupin (16 tekmovalcev) • Število mentorjev: 61

Na državno tekmovanje smo prejeli skoraj sto izdelkov, ki jih je oblikovalo 331 tekmovalcev iz vse Slovenije.

Tudi letos so bile skupine sestavljene iz dveh do petih članov, mentorji pa so izdelke objavili na spletnem odložišču. Prispele izdelke je tekmovalna komisija ocenjevala glede na naslednje kriterije: vsebino oz. sporočilno vrednost, slovnično oz. jezikovno pravilnost, bogastvo besedišča in pravopis, pravilno izgovorjavo in gladkost, strukturo izdelka, ustreznost njegove dolžine ter splošni vtis.

Za bronasto priznanje je bilo treba osvojiti 73 % točk, za srebrno 84 % točk ter za zlato 94 % točk. Bronasto

Vesna Gros,

koordinatorica tekmovanja

Vse izdelke si lahko ogledate na povezavi, ki je objavljena na spletni strani društva IATEFL Slovenia (www. iatefl.si).

V imenu tekmovalne komisije in sponzorja Alpetour vsem tekmovalcem iskreno čestitam za njihove dosežke, mentorjem pa se najlepše zahvaljujem za njihovo sodelovanje in povratne informacije. Vabim vas, da se nam ponovno pridružite prihodnje leto.

Sandra Vida, podpredsednica društva

Sponzorj tekmovanja:

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Poročilo o tekmovanju iz angleškega jezika za učence 8. razreda osnovne šole v šolskem letu 2015/16 V šolskem letu 2015/16 je Slovensko društvo učiteljev angleškega jezika Iatefl Slovenia organiziralo sedmo tekmovanje iz znanja angleškega jezika za učence 8. razreda osnovne šole. Pravilnik in Razpis tekmovanja v tekočem šolskem letu sta bila objavljena na spletni strani društva Iatefl Slovenia, tekmovanje pa je bilo sistemsko podprto in izvedeno preko prenovljenega strežnika Dmfa, Infoserver.

Tekmovanje je bilo izvedeno na šolski in državni ravni, šole so na šolsko raven tekmovanja lahko prijavile neomejeno število tekmovalcev. Šolska raven tekmovanja je potekala na temo The world of Slovene Literature, za državno raven pa je bila izbrana tema The World of Literature in English.

Na šolski ravni, ki je potekala v ponedeljek, 21. 10.

2015, je tekmovalo 3731 tekmovalcev, na državno raven pa se je glede na kriterije iz Pravilnika uvrstilo 356 najboljših tekmovalcev šolske ravni, tekmovalo jih je 350.

Na šolski ravni so tekmovalci lahko dosegli bronasto priznanje, v kolikor so dosegli vsaj 80% točk in bili uvrščeni med najboljših 500 tekmovalcev. Podeljenih je bilo 392 bronastih priznanj.

Državna raven tekmovanja je potekala v ponedeljek, 23. 11. 2015, in sicer na regijskih šolah organizatorkah.

Letos je tekmovalce gostilo 13 šol gostiteljic oz. organizatorjev, ki so sprejeli izziv priprave in izvedbe državne ravni tekmovanja v svoji regiji. Vsem organizatorjem velja pohvala in zahvala za trud ter podporo našemu tekmovanju, tako tistim, ki ste se z nalogo spoprijeli prvič, kot tudi vsem večkratnim organizatorjem.

Na državni ravni je bilo skladno s Pravilnikom društva in krovnim pravilnikom podeljenih 47 zlatih ter 44 srebrnih priznanj. Vrednotenje tekmovalnih nalog je

Barbara Dvornik,

koordinatorka tekmovanja

potekalo v tednu po opravljeni državni ravni s strani članov Državne tekmovalne komisije in izbranih ocenjevalcev. Uradni rezultati so bili objavljeni skladno s krovnim pravilnikom do 7. 12. 2016 z upoštevanim rokom za ugovore.

Na državni ravni so bile podeljene tudi posebne nagrade tekmovalcem, ki so dosegli najvišje število točk, oziroma so se izkazali pri pisanju spisa na temo Shakespeare and I. Prvo mesto je z doseženimi 85 točkami dosegel Luka Peršolja iz OŠ Venca Perka, Domžale pod mentorstvom mag. Tine Preglau Ostrožnik. Nagrade so prejeli še Brina Vukovič iz OŠ Prule pod mentorstvom Pine Hu za drugi najboljši dosežek v točkah, ter Arnesa Kuduzović iz OŠ Trbovlje pod mentorstvom Tjaše Navratil, Morena Olić iz OŠ Brežice pod mentorstvom Mateje Kovačič in Ana Sušin iz OŠ Vižmerje-Brod pod mentorstvom Janje Strojin za najboljše dosežke pri daljšem pisnem sestavku.

Vseh pet tekmovalcev je prejelo glavne nagrade, ki jih je prispeval glavni sponzor tekmovanja, potovalna agencija Twin, in sicer potovanje v London. Prejemnikom zlatih in srebrnih priznanj pa je agencija STA drugo leto zapored omogočila brezplačno pridobitev ISIC izkaznice, s katero tekmovalci uveljavljajo mnoge popuste in ugodnosti.

Vsem tekmovalcem čestitamo za osvojene dosežke, njihovim mentorjem in učiteljem pa za vložen trud in pripravljenost za sodelovanje. Vaša podporo tekmovanju društvu omogoča, da ohranja in nadaljuje vizijo širjenja znanja in zanimanja za učenje angleščine ter zagotavlja množičnost ter dostopnost tekmovanja slovenskim osmošolcem.

Prijeten zaključek šolskega leta ter nasvidenje spet v jeseni.

Sandra Vida, podpredsednica društva

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Poročilo o tekmovanju v znanju angleščine za 2. letnike 2015/16 Slovensko društvo učiteljev angleškega jezika IATEFL Slovenia je v šolskem letu 2015/2016 že sedmo šolsko leto zapored uspešno izvedlo tekmovanje za dijake 2. letnikov srednjih šol. Razpis, pravilnik tekmovanja, navodila za tekmovanje in kriteriji za ocenjevanje so bili objavljeni konec julija na spletni strani www.iatefl.si, prav tako pa so bili vsi dokumenti poslani članom IATEFL Slovenia po elektronski pošti.

Število priznanj po kategorijah

Tekmovanje je potekalo na dveh ravneh, in sicer je bilo na posameznih šolah najprej izvedeno šolsko tekmovanje (16.

11. 2015), nato pa so izmed prijavljenih izdelkov šole poslale najboljše na državno tekmovanje (7. 12. 2015).

Najbolje so se odrezale naslednje šole oz. skupine dijakov (prva tri mesta v posamični kategoriji):

Letošnja tematika tekmovanja je bila »SHAKESPEARE REVISITED«, saj smo želeli tudi s tem tekmovanjem počastiti praznovanje 400. obletnice Shakespearove zapuščine.

Določen je bil žanr posnetega prispevka, in sicer so morali dijaki posneti žanrski film, kar jim je dalo precej možnosti za uporabo lastne domišljije, prav tako pa so morali prav tako malce pobrskati po literarnih delih in opusu velikega pisca. Predpisanih je bilo tudi po 10 besed v posamezni kategoriji, ki so jih morali dijaki smiselno uporabiti v posnetem prispevku. Besede so bile naslednje: KATEGORIJA A / C: LEGACY (N), RAVINGS (N), HONOUR (N), PRUDENT (ADJ), WEARY (ADJ), POIGNANT (ADJ), AVENGE (V), BESTOW (V), SCARCELY (ADV), UTTERLY (ADV) KATEGORIJA B / D: CONCERN (N), PLOT (N), LEGACY (N), LOYAL (ADJ), WISE (ADJ), PETTY (ADJ), LOATH (V), AWAIT (V), UNWILLINGLY (ADV), HONESTLY (ADV) Kriteriji pri izbiri najboljše skupine (tako na šolski kot na državni ravni) so bili naslednji: pravilnost uporabe podanih besed, ustvarjalnost/domiselnost pri uporabi podanih besed, jezik, izgovorjava, informativnost prispevka, splošni vtis in tehnična izvedba.

Državnega tekmovanja se je udeležilo 9 šol, in sicer je v 21 skupinah tekmovalo skupno 100 dijakov. Diskvalificirani sta bili dve skupini. Dijake in dijakinje je potrebno - kot vsako leto - znova pohvaliti za izvirnost, ustvarjalnost in izkazan vpogled v Shakespearova dela, ki so ga izrazili v posnetih prispevkih. Vsekakor je potrebno izpostaviti tudi njihov trud pri pripravi besedil kot tudi pri rekvizitih, prostorih itd., ki so jih pri snemanju uporabljali, saj so zelo potrudili tako s kostumografijo kot z izbiro prostorov. V vsem tem se znova kaže velika zagnanost, motivacija za predpisane tematike, kar tudi nam kot pripravljalcem potrjuje, da delamo v pravi smeri in da dijaki na takem tekmovanju radi sodelujejo, kar so znova dokazali tudi letos.

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Priznanje zlato srebrno bronasto skupaj

A 2 3 7 12

B 1 / 1 2

skupaj 3 3 8 14

KATEGORIJA A: Gimnazija Poljane s posnetkom Shakespeare's Prodigy (Uroš Miličević, Tim Jaklič, Domen Cirar, Gal Krajnčič, Žiga Brüfach), mentor: Emil Lokar Gimnazija Brežice s posnetkom Shakespeare High (Sara Rožman Atelšek, Jan Krajic Tomin, Martina Olić, Gala Margita Štiglič, Žana Florjanič Baronik) mentorica: Mateja Raušl Gimnazija Poljane s posnetkom The Taming of my Wife (Nika Dobrilovič, Ula Urša Cujnik Juhart, Katarina Martina Schwartzbartl, Nika Gornik) mentor: Emil Lokar KATEGORIJA B: GRM Novo mesto - center biotehnike in turizma, kmetijska šola in biotehniška gimnazija s posnetkom The Rose of Destiny (Lidija Češek, Sara Praznik, Tjaša Coter, Sergeja Sever) mentorica: Zvijezdana Cujnik Srednja šola za strojništvo, mehatroniko in medije Celje s posnetkom The Running Man (Nika Cene, Urška Klenovšek, Kaja Martini, Hana Ocvirk, Ana Škoda), mentorica: Marijana Marinšek Srednja šola za strojništvo, mehatroniko in medije Celje s posnetkom Shakespeare Man (Žan Kopše, Jure Čuvalo, Žiga Rajh, Primož But, Taja Turk) mentorica: Marijana Marinšek Letos nam zaradi nesodelovanja sosednjih držav žal ni uspelo izvesti še mednarodnega nivoja tekmovanja, ampak upamo, da ga znova izvedemo v prihodnjem šolskem letu. Naj na koncu še enkrat iskreno čestitamo vsem sodelujočim, vsem mentorjem pa se najlepše zahvaljujemo za pomoč pri izpeljavi tekmovanj. Prav tako se najlepše zahvaljujemo British Council-u za sponzorsko podporo, s katero smo najboljšim dijakom lahko zagotovili odlične nagrade – ogled predstave Hamlet Globe to Globe gledališča Shakespeare's Globe iz Londona, ki so jo obiskali skupaj z mentorji v ljubljanski Drami 17. aprila 2016.

Nasvidenje do prihodnjega leta!

Jasna Šebez koordinatorka tekmovanja

To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si

Sandra Vida podpredsednica društva

Poročilo o tekmovanju v znanju angleščine za 3. letnike 2015/16 Slovensko društvo učiteljev angleškega jezika IATEFL Slovenia je tudi letos izvedlo tekmovanje za dijake 3. letnikov na dveh ravneh – regijski in državni. Regijsko tekmovanje je potekalo 1. 2. 2016 na sedmih regijskih šolah (Gimnazija Nova Gorica, Gimnazija Jesenice, Gimnazija Murska Sobota, II. gimnazija Maribor, Gimnazija Bežigrad, I. gimnazija v Celju in Grm Novo Mesto – Center biotehnike in turizma. Državno tekmovanje je potekalo 14. 3. 2016 na Gimnaziji Bežigrad. Razpis tekmovanje smo na naši spletni strani objavili konec julija 2015. Razpis je vseboval podatke o strukturi tekmovanja in tipu nalog.

Na regisjko tekmovanje se je prijavilo 654 dijakov iz 79 šol oz. šolskih centrov. Tudi letos je tekmovanje potekalo v 4 kategorijah – A1 (splošne gimnazije), A2 (mednarodni oddelki in dijaki, ki so več kot eno leto bivali na angleško govorečem področju), B (strokovne šole) in C (angleščina kot drugi tuji jezik). Na državno tekmovanje se je skupaj uvrstilo 111 dijakov. Naloga s področja kulture je bila letos v vseh kategorijah na temo Shakespearja in njegovih del Much ado about nothing (kategoriji A1 in A2), ter Romeo and Juliet (kategoriji B in C), v čast 400. obletnici Shakespearjeve smrti.

Na državnem tekmovanju so se najbolje uvrstili naslednji dijaki (navajamo najboljše dijake v posamezni kategoriji).

Kat.

1.mesto

2.mesto

3.mesto

A

LAVRA DEBELJAK Gimnazija Škofja Loka Mentorica: Mateja Prevodnik Mayland

ANJA ALEKSANDRA ADAMIČ Gimnazija in SŠ Kočevje Mentorica: Ana Mihelič

TADEJ MEDVED Gimnazija in SŠ Rudolfa Maistra Kamnik Mentorica: Katja Balantič

A2

JAKOB TIMOTEJ STOJANOV KONDA Gimnazija Bežigrad Mentorica: Maja Petričič Štritof

MARTIN OŽBEJ FLERIN MAVER Gimnazija Bežigrad Mentorica: Maja Petričič Štritof

ALJA GRLICA II. gimnazija Maribor Mentor: Emil Pečnik

B

PATRIK KERN Elektrotehniško-računalniška strok. šola in gimn. Ljubljana Mentorica: Lea Sobočan

SERGEJ MOSORKA Sr. šola za gostinstvo in turizem Celje Mentorica: Ines Senica Rudnik

BRUNO ČEFERIN Elektrotehniško-računalniška strok.šola in gimn. Ljubljana Mentorica: mag. Romana Šivic

C

EVA ROTAR Gimnazija Franca Miklošiča Ljutomer Mentorica: Liljana Kosič

LUKA ŽNIDARIČ Gimnazija Franca Miklošiča Ljutomer Mentorica: Liljana Fijavž

LUKA ANTOLIN Gimnazija Franca Miklošiča Ljutomer Mentorica: Liljana Fijavž

Ostali rezultati so objavljeni v sistemu DMFA. Skupaj smo podelili 20 zlatih priznanj. Spodnjo mejo točk za srebrno priznanje je določila Državna tekmovalna komisija. Skupaj smo podelili 43 srebrnih priznanj. Preostalih 48 tekmovalcev prejme bronasto priznanje.

V petek, 10. junija 2016, je v prostorih Britanske ambasade v Ljubljani, v sodelovanju z British Council potekala podelitev nagrad najboljšim dijakom v posameznih kategorijah. Zmagovalce je sprejel namestnik ambasadorke g. Paul Jancar, ki jim je podelil nagrade in z njimi poklepetal. Dijaki so dokazali, da jim sporazumevanje v angleščini resnično ni tuje in so brez problemov debatirali o Sloveniji, Veliki Britaniji, svojih načrtih in željah za prihodnost. Vsem dijakom, ki so se udeležili letošnjega tekmovanja čestitamo za sodelovanje na tekmovanju. Zahvaljujemo se tudi mentorjem, regijskim organizatorjem za pomoč pri izvedbi regijskega tekmovanja in ga. Karmen Goršak za izvedbo državnega tekmovanja na Gimnaziji Bežigrad.

Nataša Meh Glavni sponzor tekmovanja: koordinatorica tekmovanja

Od leve proti desni: Lavra Debeljak (Gimnazija Škofja Loka), zadaj Sandra Hlebs (British Council), Eva Rotar (Gimnazija Franca Miklošiča Ljutomer, Jakob Timotej Stojanov Konda (Gimnazija Bežigrad), Paul Jancar (Deputy Head of Mission at British Embassy in Ljubljana), Nataša Meh (IATEFL Slovenia), Patrik Kern (Elektrotehniško-računalniška strok.šola in gimn. Ljubljana) in Maja Petričič Štritof (Gimnazija Bežigrad).

To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si

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Doživeti potovanje s Twinom ...

Pri Twinu se trudimo, da bi v največji možni meri ustregli našim potnikom (tako tistim, ki z nami potujejo prvič, kot tudi vsem, s katerimi odlično sodelujemo že leta). Ker za vsako skupino želimo organizirati nepozabno ekskurzijo ali izlet, znamo prisluhniti vašim morebitnim željam in naredimo vse, kar je v naši moči, da vam ustrežemo pred samo izvedbo in seveda med samim potovanjem. Zavedamo se, da je strokovnost tista, ki mora biti na prvem mestu, zelo pomembne pa so tudi malenkosti, ki dodajajo piko na i in iz potovanja naredijo doživetje. Vedno smo veseli, ko nam udeleženci izleta posredujejo svoja mnenja, saj smo zaradi le-teh v prihodnje lahko še boljši.

Spoštovani, dandanes bi morala biti dobra organizacija in vodenje skupine učencev v London nekaj samoumevnega, pa temu ni nujno tako. Zato še s toliko večjim zadovoljstvom pišem to sporočilo, saj smo se na izletu od 12. do 15. Marca 2016 imeli zares prelepo.

Mislim, da vreme sicer ni bilo plod vaše organizacije (too good to be true), ampak še to je ‘štimalo’.

Pohvala agenciji Twin in vodički Špeli Šinigoj za enkratno doživetje od učencev OŠ Prebold in njihovih spremljevalk Vesne Kumer in Nuše Gorjanc!

Brez dvoma bomo vaše stranke tudi ob našem naslednjem izletu v London.

Lep pozdrav, Nuša Gorjanc, 16. 3. 2016

Pozdravljeni!

V imenu sku pin - Dublin iz O e udeležencev izleta Lon do Š Stražišče K ranj, se zahva n Robertu za p ljujem onovno odli čno vodenje ki sta bili prv (kolegici, ič z njim, sta re kli, da si težk o predstavljat vodnika). Ž a boljšega elim vam še mnogo tako potnikov, ko za d ovoljnih t smo bili m i, za spomin prilagamnek pa aj fotografij, za katere vas jih lahko po prosim, če sred Najlepša hva ujete Robertu. la za vso org anizacijo ter uspešno sod upam na elovanje tud i vbodoče.

Lep pozdrav !

Darja Mihel ič, 26. 2. 20 16

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Spoštova ni, celotni a genciji in voditelju izrekam po Robertu ki so jo im hvale za odlično e k e od 16-20 li naši otroci (Lo skurzijo, ndon-D .2.2016. ub Odličen odlično vodenje program lin) itd. , Ob tej p riliki vas pr od kmet ije na Irs osim še za konta kem kjer kt morda se so o sami kda j tja vrne troci bili, mo.

Hvala va m in vse dobro še naprej.

Lep pozd rav Erika Ko hek, 22.

2. 2016

uspešno sodeluje s turistično Center Oxford že leta zelo e so predvsem učitelji tujih agencijo Twin. Naše strank fleksibilnost in jezikov, zato so zanesljivost, slovnih partnerjih velikega prilagodljivost pri naših po nciji Twin in tako v vsako pomena. To smo našli v age zadovoljni in v pričakovanju novo šolsko leto stopimo skupnih projektov. čju naših uveljavljenih Sodelujemo tako na podro jezikih kot v okviru bralnih tekmovanj v tujih telje angleščine v Sloveniji največjega dogodka za uči jne stranke, vsako leto - OUP konference. Zadovol tih in pripravljenost številčnejši odziv pri projek vanih situacijah so to, kar prisluhniti tudi v nepričako jo elovanje s turistično agenci nam ves čas kaže, da je sod Twin odlična izbira.

Urška Ravnjak d Direktorica Centra Oxfor

Spoštovani Twinovci!

Spoštovani! čudovito valjujemo za Iskreno se zah Bruselj in za let v Pariz in iz an ir iz an rg o k je bil res o vodstvo. Ro čn li d o t o k č ve za učence in lično je skrbel d O . n te ra k en in vedno tivno energijo h ponujata zi o p jo o sv s jih , ki ji ritegnil v čare dobro voljo p lj.

Pariz in Bruse rav la in lep pozd Še enkrat hva evalke Eva, teljice spremlj Učenci in uči .2016 argareta, 29.2 Matejka in M rca Črnomelj OŠ Mirana Ja

Pozdravljeni!

Da se ne bomo oglašali samo, kadar gre kaj na robe in hitimo kr itizirati.

Rada bi vas pohv alila.

Za nami je še ena eksk urzija v London z vami in mislim, da lahko uporabim ka r kolegičino poimenov an je zanj, brez da bi pretiraval: film sko potovanje. Ažurna in prijazna komunikacija, nenehn a fleksibilnost, brezhibn a organizacija in odlična vodiča Damj ana in Robert so samo nekateri dejavniki, ki so dijakom in spremljevalcem Gimn azije Franca Miklošiča Ljutomer pr ičarali nepozabno doživ etje. Ob prihodu v Ljutomer so dijaki kar žareli in starši so lahko že z njihovih obrazov preb rali, da je bila izbira te ekskurzije prava odločitev. Zarad i vsega naštetega je agen cija Twin že nekaj časa sinonim za naše vsakoletno potov anje v London.

V imenu dijakov in ko legic spremljevalk se va m iskreno zahvaljujem za čudovit o ekskurzijo in se že ve sel im našega ponovnega sodelovanja.

Lep pozdrav, Saša Pergar, Gimnazija Franca Miklošiča Ljutom er.

Otroci iz sežans ke gimnazije so se vrnili iz Lond Hvala vam za kv ona. aliteten in zanim iv izlet. Moja hč je bila z vsem v i Tina glavnem zadovo ljna in pohvalila vodiča. Najbolj je tudi so mu bile punc e hvaležne, da jih peljal v »fast food je « s svežimi send viči in solatami (ker je pizzerija prvi dan napove dovala bolj slab hrano). Tudi ho o tel z zelo udobni mi posteljami in bogatim zajtrko m si je zaslužil sa me superlative.

In ja, hvala za do daten dan, še ta ko jim je bilo prekratko.

Hvala vsem skup aj.

Dragi Twinovci! , Čestitam Vam za 20-letnico delovanja in Vam želim m izmo optim z in no uspeš no, zagna , da delate tako vneto se bi da , želim ekipi v Vsem do penzije in še naprej.

Vam zdravje okrepilo, um še poostril, živci ojekleneli in in da bi z enakim zanosom, ljubeznijo, vztrajnostjo j! napre še ustvarjalnostjo pripravljali programe Čestitke!

Pavla Štepic

Vesela mama

av in hvala za fenomenalne Vsem Twinovcem lep pozdr u. Tokrat se je v Londonu vodiče na vsakem potovanj osebnostjo, znanjem, izkazala Špela, ki je s svojo dala bitko malce kislemu glasom in motivacijo napove i črti. Nazadnje se je celo vremenu in zmagala na cel ubilo vojno. Skratka deževno vreme vdalo in izg s.

Superguide in Superlondre Marcel Talt Lah Oš Šentvid pri Stični iences SORRY – for any inconven anything wasn’t ok PLEASE – do forgive us if hing you have done for us!

THANK YOU – for everyt SŠOM Maribor

Pozdravljeni, zelim se zahvaliti za cu dovit izlet v London, katerega sem se z druz ino udelezila 21.01.2016.

Organizacija je bila vrh unska. Vse pohvale.

Nasa vodicka, gospa Sp ela nas je s svojim vodenjem ocarala. Z ne vsiljivo prijaznostjo, profesionalnostjo, si je pridobila naso pozornost in avtoriteto 41 ljudi, mladih in starejsih in vse se je od vijalo tako tekoce in lahkotno.

S spostovanjem.

Macesic Sulterer Zvon ka, 1. 2. 2016 23

TWin odlični izleti!

Turistična agencija TWIN se s kulturno-izobraževalnimi potovanji ukvarja že 20. leto. Ker v Veliko Britanijo potujemo pogosteje kot večina ostalih slovenskih organizatorjev potovanj, ponujamo odlično in preverjeno izvedbo.

Naše cene tudi že vključujejo javni prevoz in obvezne vstopnine. Cene so odvisne predvsem od termina odhoda in vaše fleksibilnosti pri odhodu.

Zemljemerska ulica 12 1000 Ljubljana Tel.: 01 280 28 20, 040 187 830 e-pošta: twin@siol.net www.twintur.com

Zakaj s Twin-om v London: 1 2

3

4 5

Pogosti in redni, zagotovljeni odhodi v London. Twin organizira šolska potovanja v London že 20 let, v povprečju imamo na mesec vsaj 3 zagotovljene odhode v London.

Odlično vodstvo. Pri Twinu se zavedamo, da je odlično poznavanje običajev in turističnih znamenitosti Londončanov le prvi korak k odlični izvedbi. Naši vodniki imajo dolgoletne izkušnje pri vodenju šolske mladine, zato odlično poznajo vse sestavine programa, saj jih sami pripravljajo. Tudi zato je vodenje/izvedba toliko bolj fleksibilna glede na želje skupine.

Naj še omenimo, da boste v Sloveniji težko našli vodnike, ki v London vodijo tako pogosto kot Twinovi vodniki.

Nastanitev, ki presega običajno turistično kategorijo. Pri Twinu se zavedamo, da je dober spanec pomembna sestavina izleta. Vsi naši hoteli so hoteli s 3* in pri večini udeležencev presežejo njihova pričakovanja. Kot specialist za London lahko zagotovimo vsaj en bogat angleški zajtrk (običajnih zajtrki v Londonu so skromni kontinentalni).

Nikoli naknadno ne spreminjamo pogojev. Naša cena je vedno znana že ob prijavi in se nikoli ne spremeni zaradi spremembe cen dobaviteljev, goriva oz letalskega prevoznika.

6 7

Vsaj 183 osnovnih in srednjih šol je že potovalo z nami. Z nami zelo malo šol potuje samo enkrat. Če želite neobvezujoče vzpostaviti stik z organizatorjem na eni od šol, ki je že potovala z nami, vam bomo z veseljem posredovali kontakt.

Ponujamo 3-dnevni program, kjer za izvedbo ni potrebno delovnika.

Več informacij na www.twintur.com ali na 040 187 830 ali v poslovalnici na Zemljemerski ulici 12 v Ljubjani.

Osmisliti učenje je osnovna naloga vsakega učitelja in ni boljšega načina, kako priljubiti angleščino, od tega, da učence popelješ po svetu. V današnjih časih to ni enostavno. Šole in učitelji se bojijo odgovornosti, mnogi starši pa ne zmorejo ali znajo otrok odpeljati sami. Ni bilo lahko pred 15 leti prvič sesti na avtobus in se podati z agencijo, o kateri nismo vedeli ničesar, na večdnevno potovanje v Veliko Britanijo. Bilo nas je strah pred odhodom, a takoj ko smo se podali na pot, smo vedeli, da je bila odločitev prava.

Po tistem, ko smo prvič potovali s TWinom, smo vedeli, da nas ne bo več strah. Lani smo že desetič odkrivali Evropo in vsakič smo se vrnili ne samo zadovoljni, ampak tudi hvaležni za TWinovo strokovnost, prijaznost, ustrežljivost ... Hvaležni smo celotni ekipi in nikoli ne bi izbrala druge agencije, saj sem prepričana, da niti cenovno niti strokovno potovanja ne bi mogla biti ugodneje in bolje izpeljana.

Vedno ponudimo kakšno dodatno storitev – brezplačno. S program zagotavljamo minimalni obseg storitev oz. ogledov, vendar nikoli ne izvedemo samo Ta ekskurzija je postala stalna praksa naše šole in učenci komaj minimalnega obsega – vedno, pri vsaki skupini dodamo čakajo, da bodo dovolj stari, da se je bodo lahko udeležili. Nam, nekaj posebnega, kar ni zapisano v programu. Prav tako v spremljevalcem, pa je v neizmerno veselje, ko jih opazujemo, kako naših programih nikoli ne zapišemo “če bo čas dopuščal”, kajti polni vtisov in lepih doživetij še dolgo pripovedujejo o potovanju. vse naše programe vedno v celoti izvedemo. In ker si London zelo pogosto ogledujemo, poznamo tudi optimalno 24 To be up-to-date with what is going on, visitKsenija our website: Tripkovič,www.iatefl.si OŠ Selnica ob Dravi zaporedje ogledov brez nepotrebnega hitenja.