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

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

My Fave Bookmarks

I asked my group to bring colour cardboard, a pair of scissors and sticking glue for the following class. They probably thought something was wrong with the teacher! To prove them right, I also brought old mags to cut out bits and pieces in case they might feel like a collage. The next class I asked them to join in pairs or groups of three and read a story in class. This time everybody read “The Shepherd´s Daughter”. Then, I asked them to design a bookmark related to the story. They spent 40 minutes in their design and then presented their bookmarks to the rest of the class, explaining the connection between the bookmark and the story they had read. They voted for the best bookmark. A different class altogether where everybody worked in a relaxed atmosphere with inspiring background music.

Teacher: Juana Nicemboin

Class: FCE 'D'

Face the Challenge

Why is it that the same teenagers who  make themselves heard, who openly express their views  maturely, the moment they  are confronted with a writing task, claim to have no ideas, feel their minds go blank?  Why is it they are reluctant to get involved in the writing process? What happens when, after convincing them about the importance of giving writing a try in order to succeed, we notice their final productions lack risk? Or, what is even worse, their voices cannot be heard!

The Teacher's voice:

Collaborative Writing:

The students' voices:

 

Teacher: Clarisa Remy

Class: FCE 'K'

Lights, camera, action!

Teacher: Lucy Guerrero 

Class: FCE 'A'

 

Putting values at the heart of learning

Valuing self, others and the environment through the consideration of an ethical values is at the heart of learning in our classroom. Students are encouraged to model values and to engage in reflective practices so that they are empowered to become effective learners and good individuals. These practices help our learners to develop holistically, nurturing a secure sense of self, respect for self and others.

We read "Diogenes and the Wise Man", a story which shows that "all that glitters is not gold" and that, sometimes, even a great king like Alexander  might like to be a beggar. We paid special attention to  the last line of the short story, where Alexander says:" If I weren´t Alexander, I´d like to be Diogenes".

The aim was to think about why a king would like to be a down-and-out and  who or what the students in First Certificate 'M' would like to be if they weren´t themselves. We got very interesting ideas which were later symbolized in a collage.

We have also read 'Dazzler' by Suniti Namjoshi, a fable whose central characters are a sunbird and a duck- each of them with distinct sets of values. Here the questions were: Are you more of a sunbird or a duck? Why? What qualities do you have? Answers were then represented in an artistic drawing.

As a corollary of both short stories, the group chose to leave an imprint of the the values that are at the heart of their learning through ART. 

Put value to reading! Together we can make the difference!

Teacher: Patricia Zorio

Class: FCE 'M' 

Tea Party

Our project was the result of many talks we had in class during the first half of the year. Basically, at the beginning, students were interested in cultural and historical issues associated with The British Isles. Consequently, I (as a teacher ) took a map to the classroom since they even wanted to learn about the Commonwealth and topics connected with this.

By July, ARCI 70^th Anniversary was also present in our talks and one of their concerns was associated with very name of the Institution. Why was it officially called ‘Cultura’ when people referred to it as ‘Cultural’? And so I told them about the Library and the concerts, plays, etc. that had taken place there. They agreed it was a real pity that all those events had been discontinued and were happy about the Film Festival held this year, for instance.

When we discussed our reader, ‘The Woman in White’, we devoted two complete 3 period  classes to the topic. I remember it was very cold (July in fact) and they were so involved that they did not even want to go out and take their break. There, they said how good a cup of tea and something sweet would feel. And there sprang the idea of celebrating ARCI’s  70 Anniversary with a Tea Party. Their research started and they collected lots of information on the topic. There were other alternatives in the air, such as competitions, etc. but the Tea Party finally won its place among us.

After our Director of Studies, Prof. Mónica Pérez was informed and she gave us institutional support. Then I introduced the idea of a raffle to make the event more attractive and because I felt both the Institution and our students (not only my group) deserved the chance of getting a present. It was a success and we got many prizes. 

 

We also agreed Escuela Cacique Taigoré would be the place we would help with donations. We collected many things for the school and the girls in charge of receiving donations were proud of the many objects we got.

Together with this simple account of the project I attach the file we forwarded via our Virtual Classroom to the other groups. The photographs of our Tea Party are part of the series of pictures our Coordinator, Prof. Analía Dobboletta shared with us.

READING ABOUT TEA

WRITING TASKS

All in all, it was a pleasure to work on this and all of us ( FCE Adults ‘A’ students and myself ) felt really happy and satisfied with the results.

Teacher: Gabriela Muller                       Artículo en Español

Class: FCE Adults ‘A’, 2011

Forever Young

With our FCE classes we dealt with the topic of “Stages in Life” in our coursebooks. We studied a really interesting article called ”My Generation”, which was about a group of elderly people in the UK who got together and formed a rock band named “The Zimmers”.

As a follow-up activity we watched their video on YouTube and then we talked about how brave, how enthusiastic, how unbelievably young these elderly people looked. In contrast, we also talked about those other people who are dumped in homes, marginalized and forgotten.

And thus the idea of the project was born. We thought we could visit a home near Cultural and spend a nice time with the inmates there. So we got together - FCE “G” and FCE “M”- several times, rehearsed a couple of songs and a puppet show and the students had good fun  during the rehearsals.

On August 24^th we happily made our way to “Excelencia”, a home on Laprida Street, and we spent an absolutely delightful afternoon there. The elderly people were fascinated to see so many young people around, talking, singing, dancing for them…They were moved to tears. They were so grateful to us for the visit!!

Yet, we believe our students -really sensitive kids by the way- were still much more touched. They were amazed at the lively chat, the easy manners, the sweet looks these people gave them in return for their songs and dances.

We conclude our students learnt that elderly people are not always unhappy and that sometimes feeling 'forever young' is possible, that there is always a will to go on…

It was an utterly rewarding learning experience for the elderly people in the home, for our students and for us, which made us all feel better people. Unforgettable…

Teachers: Laura Lupo and Patricia Zorio

Classes: FCE 'G' and FCE 'M'

                  Artículo en Español

Pequeños Gestos, Grandes Logros

Students from FCE 'A' ran a solidarity project to help the 'Pequeños Gestos, Grandes logros' Charitable Fund. 
 

Teacher: Lucía Guerrero                           Artículo en Español
Class: FCE 'A'