For now, just one.
First day in the jungles of Puyo. Hiked way up to the ¨Mirador¨for a breathtaking view of the rivers and jungle below.Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Mom and Dad come to Ecuador!!
Coming soon...Lots to say and pictures to share.
First day in the jungles of Puyo. Hiked way up to the ¨Mirador¨for a breathtaking view of the rivers and jungle below.
First day in the jungles of Puyo. Hiked way up to the ¨Mirador¨for a breathtaking view of the rivers and jungle below.
Wrapping up Semester One
I´m an English Teacher??
So, I made it. I came into this teaching program in Ecuador as a college graduate with a BS in Graphic Communication with no official training in how to teach English at University level. The first couple months were hard and I questioned my ability to teach almost every day. Lesson planning took me hours and despite all the hard work, lessons still didn’t run as smoothly as they had been planned. But, and I can’t quite pinpoint when this happened, I became a Profesora de Ingles, for real. My lesson planning time became shorter and shorter. I built up a confidence that allowed me to walk into the classroom without every minute and every detail planned and, amazingly, these were the best days of class. I definitely still had some horrible days as a teacher where I questioned my ability to be in the position I was in, but as the semester came to an end, I truly believe that my students learned from me. They put aside my fears of their hatred for my classes by asking if I would be teaching the next level and I know it was not for the reason of avoiding my classes because on the last day, one of my students said to me “ Miss, it would be really great to have you again.”
The class that really pulled through and proved they had learned was my level eight conversation class. They had never been my favorite and I struggled in the beginning to facilitate a class primarily filled with speaking practice that was entertaining. Getting some of the students to speak was like pulling teeth and this was the final level of the entire English program!
As the class neared its end I decided to really put my students on the spot and make them realize their ability as English speakers. The last unit I designed for the course was centered on the idea of a debate and all it entails. My students learned to recognize and use common statements for agreeing and disagreeing and then were warmed up to the task of a debate by performing mini debates in small groups. I borrowed a brilliant idea from Bryce to divide groups into three smaller groups. One group stands for Agree, the second for Disagree, and the third group represents a jury which then decides the verdict (who wins the debate). We started off small and I gave them simple arguments such as “ It is better to have a job where you work overtime and make lots of money or to have a part-time job where you make little money but have much more time to spend with your family.” They loved the mini debates more than I had anticipated and I looked forward to the grand finale of the entire class debates.
For the final I split the class into three groups. Each group had to come up with a debate topic for the final debate day. The chosen debate topic would then be discussed between the two other groups and the group that created the topic would serve as the jury. I gave the groups complete freedom to choose topics and stressed the fact that debates are not limited to serious topics and that funny and simple topics were welcome as well. Well, my class decided to get themselves involved in some serious debates and created more work for themselves than I had planned by choosing the following topics: Abortion should be legal in Ecuador, The use of Euthanasia should be permitted in Ecuador, and Gay Marriage should be allowed in Ecuador.
Based on the topics of choice I worried for the big debate day in which I would be grading each student on his or her performance as part of the final grade. As soon as the first debate began I realized I had not enough faith in my students. They absolutely blew me away and it was obvious they had put real time and effort into preparing for what turned out to be three intense, intelligent and impressive debates. I knew they were good when I found myself subconsciously agreeing with a team to which, in actuality, I disagreed with the statement. I will never forget this last day of debates with level eight. My students showed me just how hard they were willing to work for my class and made me realize just how rewarding it can be to see
students demonstrate the knowledge and skills I have helped them achieve.
So, I made it. I came into this teaching program in Ecuador as a college graduate with a BS in Graphic Communication with no official training in how to teach English at University level. The first couple months were hard and I questioned my ability to teach almost every day. Lesson planning took me hours and despite all the hard work, lessons still didn’t run as smoothly as they had been planned. But, and I can’t quite pinpoint when this happened, I became a Profesora de Ingles, for real. My lesson planning time became shorter and shorter. I built up a confidence that allowed me to walk into the classroom without every minute and every detail planned and, amazingly, these were the best days of class. I definitely still had some horrible days as a teacher where I questioned my ability to be in the position I was in, but as the semester came to an end, I truly believe that my students learned from me. They put aside my fears of their hatred for my classes by asking if I would be teaching the next level and I know it was not for the reason of avoiding my classes because on the last day, one of my students said to me “ Miss, it would be really great to have you again.”
The class that really pulled through and proved they had learned was my level eight conversation class. They had never been my favorite and I struggled in the beginning to facilitate a class primarily filled with speaking practice that was entertaining. Getting some of the students to speak was like pulling teeth and this was the final level of the entire English program!
As the class neared its end I decided to really put my students on the spot and make them realize their ability as English speakers. The last unit I designed for the course was centered on the idea of a debate and all it entails. My students learned to recognize and use common statements for agreeing and disagreeing and then were warmed up to the task of a debate by performing mini debates in small groups. I borrowed a brilliant idea from Bryce to divide groups into three smaller groups. One group stands for Agree, the second for Disagree, and the third group represents a jury which then decides the verdict (who wins the debate). We started off small and I gave them simple arguments such as “ It is better to have a job where you work overtime and make lots of money or to have a part-time job where you make little money but have much more time to spend with your family.” They loved the mini debates more than I had anticipated and I looked forward to the grand finale of the entire class debates.
For the final I split the class into three groups. Each group had to come up with a debate topic for the final debate day. The chosen debate topic would then be discussed between the two other groups and the group that created the topic would serve as the jury. I gave the groups complete freedom to choose topics and stressed the fact that debates are not limited to serious topics and that funny and simple topics were welcome as well. Well, my class decided to get themselves involved in some serious debates and created more work for themselves than I had planned by choosing the following topics: Abortion should be legal in Ecuador, The use of Euthanasia should be permitted in Ecuador, and Gay Marriage should be allowed in Ecuador.
Based on the topics of choice I worried for the big debate day in which I would be grading each student on his or her performance as part of the final grade. As soon as the first debate began I realized I had not enough faith in my students. They absolutely blew me away and it was obvious they had put real time and effort into preparing for what turned out to be three intense, intelligent and impressive debates. I knew they were good when I found myself subconsciously agreeing with a team to which, in actuality, I disagreed with the statement. I will never forget this last day of debates with level eight. My students showed me just how hard they were willing to work for my class and made me realize just how rewarding it can be to see
students demonstrate the knowledge and skills I have helped them achieve.
It´s been a long time but life is still funny...
Tommy Hilfiger, the Real Deal
Top clothing designers are really popular in Ecuador or rather the knock-off versions of top designers’ famous designs and logos. So long as you own an embroidery machine in Ecuador, you are entitled to produce your own version of Tommy (the favorite by far), Juicy, Polo, whatever. American brands are admired in Ecuador as many other American traditions have made an impression on culture here. It´s very trendy to wear shirts with sayings (written in English) on them. This was, and maybe still is, a popular trend in the U.S. but even more so here. The shirts often read typical things such as “ I love my boyfriend,¨¨What do you think you’re looking at?” and my personal favorite “ Cool is a girl’s best friend” (proudly worn by a mid-30’s student of mine).
Backstreet’s Back
Yet another American influence on culture here is music. English music is just as popular as the latest and greatest Latin pop and reggaton. However, the English hits here are about 10+ years old hits in the States. While walking through the Hiper Market (picture the Wal-Mart of Ecuador) I can’t help but hum along with popular hits of the 90’s blaring from the loudspeakers. I’m taken back to middle school days with the sounds of Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears (old day, not new), Boyz to Men, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston.
Would you like cola with that?
Ecuadorians LOVE soda. Meals are always accompanied with little glasses of soda. Now, this may not be so different from the likes of people back home but there is one big difference in the preference of sodas here. Ecuadorian soda flavors consist of apple, orange, strawberry, and bubblegum (not actually titled with this flavor but once determined by a friend of mine as resembling the taste of bubblegum). Of course, Coca Cola is as popular as ever as in any country anywhere.
I can’t talk about the importance of soda in the life of an Ecuadorian without mentioning the most important drinking device of the tiny paper-thin plastic cup also known as the “vasito.” Though larger plastic cups do exist, they are hard to come by and, in reality, I think the people here prefer the tiny little cup. When I say tiny, I’m talking 4oz tiny. Two gulps tiny. And the plastic is so thin; you can easily crush the entire vasito in one hand with one slight squeeze. Maybe the fun of the vasito is having to refill it five times before your thirst is quenched. Who knows.
Top clothing designers are really popular in Ecuador or rather the knock-off versions of top designers’ famous designs and logos. So long as you own an embroidery machine in Ecuador, you are entitled to produce your own version of Tommy (the favorite by far), Juicy, Polo, whatever. American brands are admired in Ecuador as many other American traditions have made an impression on culture here. It´s very trendy to wear shirts with sayings (written in English) on them. This was, and maybe still is, a popular trend in the U.S. but even more so here. The shirts often read typical things such as “ I love my boyfriend,¨¨What do you think you’re looking at?” and my personal favorite “ Cool is a girl’s best friend” (proudly worn by a mid-30’s student of mine).
Backstreet’s Back
Yet another American influence on culture here is music. English music is just as popular as the latest and greatest Latin pop and reggaton. However, the English hits here are about 10+ years old hits in the States. While walking through the Hiper Market (picture the Wal-Mart of Ecuador) I can’t help but hum along with popular hits of the 90’s blaring from the loudspeakers. I’m taken back to middle school days with the sounds of Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears (old day, not new), Boyz to Men, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston.
Would you like cola with that?
Ecuadorians LOVE soda. Meals are always accompanied with little glasses of soda. Now, this may not be so different from the likes of people back home but there is one big difference in the preference of sodas here. Ecuadorian soda flavors consist of apple, orange, strawberry, and bubblegum (not actually titled with this flavor but once determined by a friend of mine as resembling the taste of bubblegum). Of course, Coca Cola is as popular as ever as in any country anywhere.
I can’t talk about the importance of soda in the life of an Ecuadorian without mentioning the most important drinking device of the tiny paper-thin plastic cup also known as the “vasito.” Though larger plastic cups do exist, they are hard to come by and, in reality, I think the people here prefer the tiny little cup. When I say tiny, I’m talking 4oz tiny. Two gulps tiny. And the plastic is so thin; you can easily crush the entire vasito in one hand with one slight squeeze. Maybe the fun of the vasito is having to refill it five times before your thirst is quenched. Who knows.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
