A Truth Universally Acknowledged

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that…” –quoting Jane Austen’s opening line of Pride and Prejudice – adolescents have developed a strong negative attitude to writing. So, I find myself invariably squeezing my brains to figure out how I can make writing more appealing, more authentic, more creative for my FCE students. In Unit 4 of FCE Result, they are asked to produce a review of a film. 

Therefore, I thought it’d be far more motivating and engaging to start with a class discussion of films in general – different kinds, films they’d seen or would like to see, films they would or wouldn’t recommend at all. They worked in groups, exchanged opinions, agreed or disagreed about the messages sent by some films they discussed and, most importantly, they naturally used loads of meaningful, thematically related language. The final step of the activity would be, of course, writing the review. 

I do not know if they had a good time while writing it at home. I choose to think they did. Anyway, if it was half as much as the fun they had while discussing the movies in class I believe the task was successfully accomplished. 

Teacher: Laura Lupo
Class: FCE `G´ and FCE Cultural Norte

Diogenes and the Wise Man

Last month we read the short story Diogenes the Wise Man, by James Baldwin and that  inspired us to talk about who we would have liked to be if we weren´t ourselves. The result of this debate made us realize that we all had had a mentor that had made a difference in our lives.

The topic coincided with a unit of the course book entitled INSPIRED. Throughout the pages of this unit, we read and discussed about where people might take or might have taken - Leonardo Da Vinci, for instance- their inspiration from.

Therefore, at the end of the unit, we decided to write about our personal “Muses” -or sources of inspiration- that would lead or have already led us to become an improved version of ourselves.

We would like to share them with you.

If I weren’t myself, I would be Norberto Pelizza.  He was in charge of the discipline at my boarding secondary school.  I admire his wisdom, simplicity and availability.  Unluckily, he died due to cancer two years ago.

Jeremías Brandi

 
A person who has really inspired me since I was a child is my godfather.

He is a fantastic and talented journalist who has based his whole life on growing in his job but also making a family. I can remember several times that he gave me life tips on what to study at university and “how to get on well with my sister,” as well as politics and geography.

He is such a great and adorable father, son, husband, uncle and of course, godfather, that I’d like to be like him in my future.

Aranza Castillo

Who inspires me?

Someone who inspires me is my pet, Ramona.  She is still a puppy, and she is cute and easy-going, so she transmits me her quietness and makes me feel comfortable when I’m with her.  She also inspires me because I’m certain that she trusts me.  Besides, when I finish working with whatever I’m doing that needs inspiration, she knows I take her to the park, so it’s convenient for her to stay with me and looking at me as if she were insisting me on finishing.

Ayelén Calvet

 
At school I’ve learnt a lot of things: mathematics, languages, history, etc. Unfortunately, there are very few teachers that can teach you these kinds of things and, at the same time, make you learn how to manage in life.

I was fortunate to have one these teachers. My inspiration nowadays is called Laura, and she is my teacher of Language. She is a gorgeous woman, extremely friendly and tolerant person that cares more about our moral and good manners than about our marks. Laura always places being a good friend, companion and student first. There’s no need to be rude to be respected. It’s a question of knowing what to say and how to say it. Always with good manners and education.

Lucía      

 

Many writers have inspired me but one in particular: Eduardo Galeano.  I find him original, creative and extremely witty.  Through his writing I could know about him.  I love his simple way of expressing controversial issues like religion, politics, gender, etcetera.

Thanks to Galeano’s influence I can say that now I am more tolerant and respectful of others’ beliefs.  I really consider myself and open-minded person.

Also when I ponder on about myself, on how to be, I realize that the feeling of freedom I have, has been influenced and fed by this great man.

Teacher: Patricia Zorio

Class: FCE 'L'

Exam Classes Online

With a project launched in 2011 for the implementation of Exam Classes online,  we have escalated from First (FCE), to Advanced (CAE) and this year into Proficiency (CPE). We are currently offering all three courses online.

By going online, ARCI gives advanced learners the opportunity to pull down time and distance barriers, 24/7/365. Students decide when to access their virtual classrooms and from where they connect. All our courses have a real-time speaking component to develop oral skills under the guidance of a class teacher. The syllabus is exactly the same as in face-to-face classrooms, with the same coursebook and support materials. Our courses are taught by experienced teachers who cater for the needs of our students and use made-to-measure digital materials. We combine the best aspects of face-to-face and online teaching.

FCE, CAE and CPE develop the language competence and abilities needed to sit Cambridge English Language Assessment exams (University of Cambridge). Students can choose between the paper-based and computer-based exam format.

THE ARCI ADVANCED TEAM

Trial by Jury

 

 Trial by Jury in the USA 

In December 2012 the Chamber of Deputies of Buenos Aires Province passed a bill on Trial by Jury. Therefore, Buenos Aires will be the first province in Argentina to apply the system of trial by jury. The jury will be made up of ordinary citizens, and it will deal with major penal crimes in public and oral hearings.

Córdoba has had a mixed system since 2005. In this province juries consist of lawyer jurors as well as ordinary people. 

Last April 9th my pupils and I had the opportunity to have a friendly talk with an American citizen, Sandra, who very kindly accepted our invitation to come to our Legal English class to talk on the subject of Jury Trial and tell us her own personal experience as a juror in the USA on more than one occasion. No doubt, a unique chance for all of us. 

Here is a summary of what we learnt on the topic: 

*A jury is formed from 12 jurors who are chosen by the defence * Jurors come from different social, educational, and religious backgrounds 

*The system of trial by jury is used in criminal and civil cases except for family ones 

*The purpose of the jury is to find the defendant’s guilty or innocence 

*If you can vote, you can be a juror 

*A juror can do any types of job except for any related to the law. 

*The State pays the juror 15 dollars a day. He/She can't be fired from their jobs and their employer must continue paying them their salary during the trial 

*They have to be in court for about 8 hours a day 

*During deliberation they examine all the proof and make a decision. The decision is taken by the majority 

* A juror can be summoned to serve once every 6 years 

* If you have a social security card and you`re a USA citizen, you can get a notice to serve as a member of a jury

* Cases can be as short as one day or as long as a few years 

* If a juror doesn’t show up for jury duty, he/she will be visited by the police at his/her house, and can be forced to go to court * Jurors are not excused from jury duty until a verdict is reached 

* To reach a verdict, the majority must agree 

Teacher:Claudia Saldaño
Class:ILEC

Kids Get to FCE

Reading for pleasure is an activity that is commonly taken for granted. Although many readers are initially interested in developing their reading skills for very practical reasons, reading for pleasure provides an ideal opportunity to introduce them to a range of experiences that cannot be explained in words. If this skill is fostered as from a very early age, it may result in many advantages for the future of the students.

Inspired by this introduction, my FCE Adults´ students decided to develop a reading project with an ambitious aim in mind - letting the small ones experience the pleasure of enjoying a short story simplified and read for them.

From the range of different short stories proposed by our Area Coodinator, we pondered on the different options, eager to find the most appealing one for the kiddies, taking into account different aspects such as the level of cognitive complexity, the motivational interests of the stories and the degree of difficulty from a linguistic perspective.

Having evaluated all these aspects and after extensive discussions, we finally concluded that the most appealing story would be “The Shepherd’s Daughter” by William Saroyan. We developed a simplified version which we considered appropriate for the level of students attending 3rd and 4th Year Kids and prepared a Powerpoint Presentation to make the story more visual for them.

On November 14, we invited these two classes and offered this project as part of their End-of-the-Year Party. Our classroom was soon filled with smiling kids with anxious eyes and broad smiles ready to enjoy the performance. The story was vividly read by some of my FCE students while others were in charge of the slides and some follow up questions to check understanding, plus a final Hangman to consolidate the correct spelling of the new vocabulary.

Everything resulted in great success and the kids’ motivation and excitement left us all with the certainty that reading stories to the little ones is a pleasure that cannot be compared to many fun activities our present world can provide. Definitely, if a child can be motivated in learning, we are on the right track to get the best of our future world.

Teacher: Marina Trachitte
Class: FCE Adults C

Teen Voices

 “Which could be a meaningful topic, one which would motivate my students to engage in a heated discussion and collect data to write a report as a follow-up activity?” I wondered. And then, while watching the news on TV, it dawned on me that my students would very likely be casting ballots in 2013 Congressional elections and I thought about the Teen Suffrage Bill.

When I put forward the idea to my First Certificate classes in Cultural Centro and Cultural Norte, everybody responded enthusiastically and in no time at all they put pen to paper to design a set of questions to prepare a questionnaire. They decided they would visit other classes and find out how their peers thought about “being given a right they haven’t asked for”. Here I´m quoting Sofia Rossin, one of my students, who very solemnly established her position about the TSB.

A total of 47 students were interviewed – FCE “C”, FCE “E” and FCE “H” in Cultural Centro- and in Norte we visited Pre -First. We were warmly welcomed by the “host classes”, who willingly answered all the questions my students had so conscientiously prepared. They took down notes of ALL the opinions, arguments and viewpoints provided.

The next step was talling the information gathered and drawing conclusions. Finally, working in groups, they wrote a report considering the suitability and acceptance of the bill.

Although most of the students interviewed were familiar with the TSB and said they usually discussed politics with their friends, families and teachers, they vehemently opposed the bill. On which grounds ? Basically, it seems they do not feel responsible enough to vote and that being given voting rights at 16 would definitely not motivate them to participate in the democratic process of our country.

To sum up, I believe it was a truly fruitful, interactive activity. All the students, the interviewers and the interviewees felt they were being listened to, that they had a say on their future. In other words, they felt they had A VOICE.

  

Teacher: Laura Lupo
Class: FCE G and Norte

Your Week in a Headline

If your news reported your week, what would be the headline? “Your week in a headline” started as a fun, short and simple way for students to summarize what they had been up to during the past week, at the beginning of our weekly Skype Session. What follows is a selection of some of their most memorable events so far this year. 

Teacher:Rocío Villanueva

Class: FCE Online