Last month I visited
the lovely city of Buenos Aires and had the most wonderful time. I saw the ad
about the Conference in the Facebook Group: ESL/EFL Preschool Teachers and I
was lucky enough to get a space. It was really full, maybe 250 teachers were
there.
Check it out, they have an electronic, independent and a FREE magazine. There are 243 magazines posts just waiting for you to download. What a wonderful contribution with nice articles and interesting topics for everyone. All of them created by Omar Villarreal and Marina Kirac, both from Argentina.
Semiplenaries:
1.
Games for the little ones. Dr. Fernando Armesto.
2.
Understanding how very young children learn . Dr. Omar Villareal.
He presented the processes of cognitive and affective
development of children in kindergarten and primary school.
Her presentation: Young children
starve for play, movement and fun. This awareness can make teachers think they
need to become an inexhaustible source of entertaining activities and exciting
material. They may also perceive they need to train their throats to lead
tasks in the highly demanding atmosphere of the first grades. However,
teaching young children can become teachers’ most rewarding job when they
discover how to bring magic, make-believe and authentic care into the classroom.
She
brought her toolbox and it was delightful seeing all the things that she has
for teaching: a bag, a smash device, a ball, a puppet, and more things. It reminded me of the one I had during my
most active teaching years.
She
listed all the kids needs (below) and when those needs are met then there is
enthusiasm for learning. Keep this in mind !
From
his presentation:
Learning with computers implies that the computer is a
tool to solve problems where students must gather, organize, and analyze
problems. This approach supports constructivist teachings and the idea that
technologies are cognitive tools that can be used to expand on student learning
(Reeves, 1998).
He
then presented a large list of all resources found on the web that can be
included in your lesson planning.
5.
Creating the magic through drama . Susan Hillyard
Her presentation: Educational
drama, with its emphasis on games, play and fantasy, offers the young learner a
holistic way of acquiring the foreign or second language through appealing to
all five areas of the developing child: social, physical, intellectual,
creative and emotional. In addition it allows the teacher to develop her own
professional skills and her enjoyment of the teaching-learning process.
She sang
beautiful songs with a lovely British voice.
Stands:
Most of their
awesome material are in CD, DVD format, with lots of worksheets to print and
use in class. They also carry posters. Don´t miss their web page, it includes a
magazine with lots of free resources. You will spend a long time reading and
surfing through her site.
2.
ALL Alternative Language learning. English for babies, preschool and kids. I never
thought of teaching babies ! Teaching 3 year olds were difficult, imagine
babies. Then would be interesting to try.
3.
Fun Class: resources for teachers. She had a
huge diversity of resources, mainly puppets, felt items, flashcards, stickers, etc.
She was of the queen of the stands. I had trouble taking a glance at her
products. Creator: Lorena Acosta (English Teacher)www.funclass.com.ar
A Play to end the
Conference. Peter's Adventures by On the
Road Theatre Company. It is an educational
theatre company that performs at Schools in Argentina, promoting the Language
through Arts and serving as a multi-level stimulus for English
students. They are also on Facebook.
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