La escuela de Sísifo

This week's main content was "Knowing the subject", and I think this is a very sensitive issue for all teachers, not only English teachers. In this course, the participants' comments showed it: Many teachers feel insecure about their own knowledge of the language. In my experience, some teachers' antidote for their lack of confidence is a mixture of keeping their classes in a "safe zone" (teaching only what is in the textbook, staying at very basic levels, not challenging the students, nor themselves), and most of the times end up teaching the same class over and over again, which eventually will become in a boring and bitter experience, for both the teacher and the students. Challenging our own knowledge, getting out of that safe zone, is one of the teacher's most important duties. In order to do that, the British Council suggests scanning the students' previous knowledge. This can provide the teacher with a starting point in designing and pla...

México, según  esta nota del Foro Económico Mundial, ocupa el séptimo lugar en diversidad lingüística, con 289 lenguas. El INALI ha catalogado las lenguas de México gracias a la expedición de la Ley General de Derechos Lingüísticos de los Pueblos Indígenas (PDF descargable aquí)  Lo interesante será ver cómo harán que se cumpla esta ley, cuando garantiza, entre otras cosas, que el Estado "adoptará e instrumentará las medidas necesarias para asegurar que los medios de comunicación masiva difundan la realidad y la diversidad lingüística y cultural de la Nación Mexicana.", sobre todo después de la prohibición  explícita y tácita que se vino llevando a cabo hasta el año pasado. Sin embargo, esto no fue un impedimento para que las comunidades indígenas encontraran el modo de hacerse escuchar, gracias al sofware libre y a la internet, como en el caso de la Asamblea de Indígenas Migrantes de la Ciudad de México . Otra garantía de esta ley es que  "Las autoridades feder...

This week's purpose was to understand our learners , starting by getting to know their motivation . So, according to Carl Roger's theory, there are two types of motivation: I've always thought Carl Rogers is a fine name for a middle aged country singer. I thought it was a very good idea to include these two questions, because sometimes teachers are detached from their students and their processes, forgetting all about when they were students themselves, and even saying things like "I come here 'only' to teach my class". Next, it was about rapport. Although teachers are not supposed to intervene in their students' lives, it's important to have a healthy relantionship with them. I sometimes think that schools have come so artificial that are characterised as "special" or "diferent" environments, that they give the impression to be out of reality. When a teacher shouts to their students is not only wrong, but it is not the ...

Sólo diré "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously."

I'm taking this MOOC on Future Learn , which has become one of my favourites resources for the purpose of updating my teaching techniques and general knowledge about English and Education. This one is from the British Council , and I signed up for it months ago (actually, if I hadn't read an email reminding me the starting date, I would've totally missed it --but that's one of the advantages of this platform). Absent-minded as I am, I had registered for the first part of the program, but I didn't start it. I will, I swear. Today is the begining of week 3, so I have to speed up the posts regarding this course, since I've found it very interesting and useful for me and I'm sure many teachers could benefit from it. Since it is now available only until May 29 due to the platform new policy, I'll summarize the first to weeks in two different posts, unless there's something I want to discuss separately. These are the general contents of the course...