ASOCOPI

ASOCOPI - Calle 25 No. 32-32 1er piso. Bogot, Colombia - Tel/Fax (571) 244 4167 e-mail: asocopi@yahoo.com - www asocopi.org

newsletter

From the President

Welcome to our 42nd annual conference. This years version gives us the chance to visit the beautiful city of Manizales, to get to know the Universidad de Caldas and its academic staff, and to continue working towards the development of the ELT profession in our country.
First of all, I should acknowledge the valuable contributions of the following different institutions whose support has been vital to run our national event: ASOCOPI members and attendees; the Universidad de Caldas and its organising committee, led by professor Carmenza Zuluaga; the ELT and teacher education programme administrators; the universities and schools who have sent their proposals to this conference; the American Embassy who has supported us with the ELT Forum publication; the British Council who has steadily sponsored our newsletter; the VIF Programme, who offers working experiences to our teachers in the United States; and the publishing houses who give us the chance to have access to an array of materials. All of them have contributed to updating our professional field and to examining current issues from various and critical perspectives with the purpose of making decisions on the basis of recent publications, classroom practices, projects, research and innovations.

I would like to thank the members of the Board of Directors for the time devoted to ASOCOPI, and particularly to the organisation of this event. This, as well as everyday work, has been possible thanks to the collaboration of Edwin Martnez and Alejandra Franco, pre-service teachers from Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Their kindness and patience make it possible to pay attention to every single detail a big event demands. As I wrote in an e-mail sent to our affiliates on August 31, Professor Carlos Rico cannot continue to be our treasurer because he will pursue his doctorate studies at the University of Leeds. On behalf of ASOCOPI, I also wish to express my gratitude to him. Carlos Rico helped us a lot during the past five years on the Board of Directors in our attempt to grow and maintain high standards. His commitment and serious work have been crucial first, as spokesperson, then as vice-president and, in the past year, as treasurer of our association. I am sure he will do very well in his studies and will continue contributing to the ELT area in Colombia. ASOCOPI has emphasised the necessity for striving for excellence in Colombian ELT. This means understanding not only teaching techniques but also adapting methods and approaches to our own contexts in order to attain the highest quality teaching and research available. Ensuring quality in ELT has to do with teacher preparation and development, two common concerns shared by practitioners, teacher educators, administrators, policy-makers, and the educational community in general. Teacher development has emerged over the last decade in our country as an identifiable area of study and, although there have been very important experiences (many of them for several decades), not much has been written on the subject. The teacher development literature coming from overseas has served to disseminate information on and ideas for improving the performance of teachers and, by extension, that of schools.

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It has provided the forum for discussion about the future of the teaching profession and the nature of teaching as a job. Yet, as an area of study, teacher development tends, for the most part, to be dominated by issues raised by theoreticians or parties interested in teaching teachers how to teach or in promoting change from outside with little or no connection to research or publications that can strengthen, then, our knowledge of the field. Thus, this conference is an opportunity to discuss this issue and other related ones and to develop and expand further our knowledge about them in future events and publications which will surely give us the chance to account for solid discussions on which changes and views are based. This is also an invitation to circulate the different positions concerning teacher development through written accountsthe means by which scientific communities operate nowadays. Not much has been reported on what happens with in-service programs. The MEN had a long tradition of running courses for school teachers through the Instituto Electrnico de Idiomas and with the support of the British Council. Efforts were also made in the development of teaching skills and the promotion of communicative language teaching in the 80s and early 90s. Then, with the issuance of the Colombian Law of Education (1994), universities were given again the responsibly for the running of in-service programmes and more awareness was raised in regards to the connection between pre- and in-service teacher education. Quality assurance has also been given different degrees of attention. While for some educators and educational authorities teacher development should concentrate on teaching our lessons by following tailor-made programmes replicated all over the world, others point out that teacher development programmes should aim at updating, innovation and research. These aims embrace two needs that many feel are in our context: language development and keeping informed as regards new pedagogical trends.

Teacher development and school development go hand in hand. This implies not seeing teacher development as a mass problem, but as an area that requires attending the needs of teachers in different regions and with different backgrounds and agendas. Bearing in mind the increasing demands on teachers and teacher preparation, educators feel it is then necessary to consider possibilities to examine and suggest options to ensure quality in teacher development in our country. I extend a warm invitation to engage in the following: study the options we have to ensure quality in teacher development think of other alternatives we have tried out or considered suitable for our context bridge the gap between pre- and in-service education consider follow-up strategies to support novice teachers in teacher development engage and disseminate research projects in the field network and systematise experiences that account for university-school collaboration examine teacher educators readiness and preparation evaluate the quality of teacher development programmes offered in our country compare the costs of programmes offered in our contexts against national and international standards to reflect then upon the investments of budgets belonging to public institutions (Secretaras de Educacin, The Ministry of Education, etc.) promote study groups and research projects to document teacher development processes expand this list and make it public in different forums (ASOCOPI publications, conferences, and scientific journals). Hope you enjoy this years conference and can help us make it a success!

Melba Libia Crdenas B. Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Bogot

ASOCOPI - Asociacin Colombiana de Profesores de Ingls

Melba Libia Crdenas, President; Gabriel Vicente Obando, Vice-President Carlos Rico Troncoso, Treasurer; Adriana Gonzlez, Secretary Nancy Villamizar, Spokesperson; lvaro Hernn Quintero, Editor in Chief Edwin Martnez, Office Manager; Alejandra Franco, Office Assistant Randall Barfield, Reviewer; Csar Vivas Valderrama, Design, and Graphic Process

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Editorial
lvaro H. Quintero Polo

Teacher development for quality assurance is what everybody will be talking about in this years conference of ASOCOPI. We have great expectations about what the scholars who have submitted their proposals for evaluation have to say on the issue of quality in ELT programs and language teacher education in Colombia.

The conceptualization that needs to be rethought is that of a technical evaluation that considers pre-specified, desirable, and remote goals. Conversely, what needs to be favored is the adoption of a human approach to evaluation that is continuous, immediate, and based on school life that gives meaning to an ELT curriculum. Furthermore, this human approach considers the teaching and learning experiences as the array of thoughts, feelings, attitudes, values, knowledge, and actions that teachers and students undergo and undertake in living their lives in schools (Quintero, 2003). I am pleased to see that the Board of our Association has been promoting this academic debate and is gaining strength conference after conference. This year, the Academic Committee and the Conference Organizing Committee have been able to put things together with the help of the team at Universidad de Caldas in Manizales in order to assure a comfortable environment for special guests, presenters, participant teachers, student-teachers, and publishers to learn, share, and to play an active role in the discussions. Manizales, a warm city with a prolific academic life, is located in central Colombia, capital of the Department of Caldas and part of the Colombian Coffee region, lies near the Nevado del Ruiz and is where the representatives of the foreign and Colombian ELT community will gather to share insights about the controversial topic of quality in education. To conclude, I would like to wish the very best to our Associations treasurer, Carlos Rico Troncoso, who is leaving for Leeds, England, to start his doctoral studies. People who know Carlos are sure that he will do fine and that his absence in our Association will be only temporary.

Quality as a concept can be viewed from various perspectives, such as official, pedagogical, research, marketing, labor, and industrial. Particularly in language education and language teacher preparation, a discussion that serves as an attempt to revise our conceptualization of quality as an issue in ELT curricula is highly needed. Informed academic debates need to take place all over the country in language teacher education programs and elsewhere. For instance, the controversy caused by the separation between the official view of quality and the academic view of it. While official representatives, based upon foreign industrial models, see standardized examinations as ways to execute control and guarantee quality, there are critical educators who see examinations as ways to make sense of life. In a relation that I can see between the issue of quality and the activity of evaluation, I would suggest a conceptualization of quality as closely related to evaluating living in general.

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42nd ASOCOPI Annual Conference

Plenary Speakers
This years Conference has the honor to count with the presence of the following group of outstanding ELT professionals, both from the country and from abroad, who are going to share their insights with the audience in nine plenary sessions.
lvaro Hernn Quintero holds a B.A. in English and Spanish from Universidad de Nario, in Pasto. He is both a graduate and a professor of the Masters in Applied Linguistics of Universidad Distrital, Bogot. He also teaches in the EFL teacher education undergraduate program at the same university. Professor Quintero has also studied in England and the USA. He is currently a member of the research group Lectoescrinautas at the Universida Distrital Francisco Jos de Caldas. Amparo Clavijo Olarte holds a PhD in Education from the University of Arizona and a M.A. in TESL from Arizona State University as a former fulbright scholar. She is currently the director of the M.A. Program in Applied Linguistics to TEFL, The Colombian Journal of Applied Linguistics and the research group Lectoescrinautas from Universidad Distrital. Her last book Prcticas Innovadoras de Lectura y Escritura was published by the Universidad Distrital Publication Office in June, 2007. Ganna Matichyna holds a B.A. of English Teaching from the Institute of Social Science and Humanities of the UAEH ( Hidalgo State Autonomous University, Mexico ) She also holds a Human Rights master degree, with studies in the University of Nottingham, Great Britain. She has been professor of courses of investigation and learning autonomy and an investigator at the Department of Education at Gunma University, Japan. Helen Cater has a BA(hons)Degree in Fine Art from the University of the West of England, Bristol U.K. As a native speaker she has been working as a language assistant at the University of Pamplona since 2004, where she gives cultural workshops in writing and literature and runs various discussion groups. She started the Voices Theatre Group In 2006. Dr. Cheryl A. Roberts is Professor of TESOL/Applied Linguistics at the University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa, U.S. She is currently also serving as Head of the Department of Modern Languages. Her research interests include teacher education, Latinos in the U.S., and second/foreign language teaching methodology. Adriana Gonzlez holds a doctorate in Linguistics from State University of New York at Stony Brook. She is a teacher educator and researcher currently appointed as the Director of the School of Languages at the Universidad de Antioquia. Her academic work and publications deal with teachers professional development, content teaching, and second language acquisition. She is the coordinator of the research group EALE Natalia Salazar is a student of the Licenciatura en Lenguas Extranjeras at the Unievrsidad de Antioquia. She is a member of the research group EALE. Her participation has focused on professional development and content teaching projects. Costas Pexos was born in Montreal, Canada, and completed his Bachelor and Masters degree in English Literature at Concordia University, Canada. He has had extensive experience in teaching English as a foreign language in Europe. Mr. Pexos is involved in teachers training. He has also worked with MM Publications as an editor, ELT consultant and teacher trainer. Chris Redston is the co-author of face2face, the major new general English course for adults from Cambridge University Press. He has worked in ELT for nearly twenty years, teaching in Turkey, Argentina and the UK for International House. He has also run teacher-training courses in Italy and the UK, and is an experienced author of adult course materials. He has travelled extensively, visiting over forty countries. Nick Perkins has been a teacher, teacher trainer and ELT manager for the past 11 years, and has been living in Colombia since 1999. Nick managed the ELT Department at the Universidad Externado de Colombia between 2002 and 2006 before moving to Pearson Longman, where he currently coordinates the Teacher Development Unit, as well as working as an academic consultant in Latin America. His principal area of interest is increasing student motivation in the ELT classroom, and he strongly believes in using music, local culture and the students themselves as the means of achieving this. Recently he has been exploring the topic of technology as a motivating factor in ELT.

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IN THE CLASSROOM

The Advantages of Non-native Teachers of English to Teach English as a Second Language.

Javier Zapata Bahamn Universidad Surcolombiana

There are advantages and disadvantages to being a non-native teacher of English. I have had the opportunity of being a native teacher of Spanish as a foreign language (NTSFL) in the United States for two years.
I have also been a non-native teacher of English as a foreign language (NNTEFL) in Colombia. There are thousands of nonnative teachers of English around the world who use this advantage to help facilitate the process of learning in their students. In this paper, I will support the advantages of being a non-native speaking teacher and the importance of using the mother tongue to assist the learning process. As a NTSFL, I sometimes found it hard to explain to my students some particular difficulties of the L2. This situation is easier to solve as a NNTEFL, as it was just a matter of appealing to the L1. The common knowledge of the L1 gave me the opportunity to turn to the mother tongue of my students to facilitate those specific difficulties of the L2. This opinion is supported by Cook (2002), who considers learners L1 a valuable instrument in presenting meaning.

Phillipson (1996) considers NNTEFL to be the ideal EFL teachers because they have gone through the process of acquiring English as an additional language. NNTEFL have had the experience in learning and using a second language, and their personal experience has helped sensitize them to the linguistic and cultural needs of their students. I believe NNTEFL, especially those who share the same first language as their students, can help develop an avid awareness of the differences between English and their students mother tongue. This appreciation gives them the ability to anticipate their students linguistic problems. In my observations and experience in the field, NNTEFL are better able to foresee the problem areas in their students. They are better prepared to build remedies into their materials, course outlines and tests. On the other hand, teachers of English as native speakers may find it quite troubling to help the same or similar students with even the simplest analogies and problems caused by mother tongue interference. Medgyes (1992) points out that sharing and using students first language in teaching a foreign language may be an invaluable tool in terms of explaining abstract notions and managing the classroom. In addition, students tend to identify better with a teacher who speaks to them in their own language. Finally, Tarnopolsky (2000) states that Only NNTEFL can benefit from sharing the learners mother tongue. One might

say that only teachers who share their monolingual students mother tongue can better facilitate learners to develop their interlingual awareness. The use of the mother tongue in a rational way can be used as a vehicle of communication and facilitator of the learning process. Much time can often be saved by just translating the word into the students L1, instead of trying to explain it in the L2. We know that students are not always interested in learning, and every advantage that we can use will help to ease the difficulty of teaching a second language.

References

DIGEST (December 2002) Nonnative-EnglishSpeaking Teachers in the English Teaching Profession. http:// www.cal.org/ERICCLL Oleg Tarnopolsky. (2000) EFL Teaching and EFL Teachers in the Global Expansion of English. http:/ / www.wpel.net Teresa Pica. (1984) A Re-Examination of L1 Interference and L2 Complexity as Factors in Second Language Syllabus Design. http:// www.wpel.net Medgyes, P (1992). Native or Non-native: Whos . Worth More? ELT Journal 46(4), 340-349. http://sincronia.cucsh.udg.mx/ sorianox04.htm Phillipson, R. (1996). ELT: The Native Speakers Burden. In T. Hedge & N. Whitney (Eds.), Power, Pedagogy & Practice (pp. 23-30). Oxford: Oxford University Press. http://www.cal.org Cook,V.J. (Editor) Second Language Acquisition, 1 : Portraits of the L2 User. Clevedon, GBR:Multilingual Matters Limited, 2002 http://site.ebrary.com/lib/bibliosurcolombiana

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42ND ASOCOPI ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Academic Program
Thursday October 11
9.00 a.m. 4.00 p.m. 5.00 5.30 p.m. Theater 8 de Junio 5.30 6.30 p.m. Theater 8 de Junio Registration ASOCOPI Table Opening Ceremony and Keynote Speech: Teacher Development for Quality Assurance Melba Libia Crdenas - Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Bogot Plenary 1: Official Recognition, Quality Assurance and other Follies: The Need of Language Teacher Education Programs that Make a Difference. lvaro Hernn Quintero - Universidad Distrital Opening Cocktail

6.30 7.00 p.m.

Friday October 12
8.30 9.30 a.m. Theater 8 de Junio 9:30 10:30 a.m.
Type

Plenary 2: Teacher Engagement in the Use of ICTs for Language and Literacy Development Across Educational Levels. Amparo Clavijo - Universidad Distrital Concurrent Session 1 Room B- 414 Lab. C. Nder B - 208 H. Gallego Presenter/s Thomas Gardner Olga Umaa Milada Broukal Costas Pexos Nick Perkins Mercedes Roldn B 214 Sindy Moya & Arturo Stephens Carlos A. Toro & David Gmez Sol Herrera & Liliana Valle Jairo Lpez Nidia Guzmn & Alirio Insuasty Institution Universidad del Norte Universidad de Caldas Heinle Cengage Learning The Anglo Publishing House Pearson Longman UPTC Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Caribe Universidad de Antioquia Universidad de Crdoba Universidad Distrital Universidad Surcolombiana The College Board

Title A Takin Care of Business - Teacher Training in Corporate Translation A The Evaluation of Teaching Performance: An Important Means of Promoting Excellence in Education C Getting the Most from Adolescent Learners with Check it Out! C Common European Framework Based EFL Material (To The Top) C Teenagers, Challenge and Language Learning Development Course Based on Autonomy L English Immersions In San Andres Island: A Case Study R Representations about the Ideal Holistic Training that Primary, Public Foreign Language Teachers Have in the City of Medelln R Improving English Results in the ICFES Examination: A Pathway to Success R English Discoveries Software and Professional Development R How to Survey Pedagogic Practices of English Teachers w Strategies for integrating the Four English Language Skills

B 402 B 404 B 406 B 408

S. de Medios Yla Farr-Rigau

Type of Presentation: A: Academic; C: Commercial, D: Demonstration; L: Lecture, R: Research Report; W: Workshop

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W Rainbow Revolution: Effective Use of Colors and Patterns in the Teaching of Grammar to Young Learners 10.30 11.00 a.m. Coffee Break

R. Vlez

J. Phillips de C.

The English School

Plenary 3: CLIL and the Possibilities of its Implementation in Latin American Foreign Language Teaching Educational Scheme. Ganna Matichyna - The Anglo Publishing House 12.00 m. 2 p.m. Lunch Break 2:00 3:00 p.m. Concurrent Session 2 Type Title Room Presenter/s Institution A Standards for English Teachers Performance as the Basis Norbella Miranda Universidad de San for a Professional Development Program B 414 Georgia Costalas Buenaventura Cali A Taking the Standards to the Teachers: the Socialization Process C The Learners Dictionary: Reference Tool or Learning Opportunity? C Teaching Vocabulary in a Communicative Framework (Channel Direct) C Programa Cultural Care Au Pair C Getting to Know Your Students and Teachers Better with ELASH & TESST C How to Teach English to Children L Walk in Your Students Shoes or Do They Actually Learn What We Teach? The Aspects of Brain Based Learning L Tutoring In A Pre-Service Teacher Education Program R A Holistic Approach to Professional Development of EFL Elementary School Teachers R A Descriptive-Interpretative Study about the Types of Techniques Carried Out by Two First Semestrer Teachers from Spanish, English and French Languages Teaching Program at de La Salle University R Improving Oral Production through Cooperative Learning Strategies. W Incorporating Technology and Project Based Learning into the Language Classroom: A New Approach for Improving Teaching Methodologies W The Power and Possibilities of Critical Boalian Theatre for Teacher Education, Collaboration and Learning 3.00 4.00 p.m. Theater 8 de Junio 4.00 4.30 p.m. B 404 H. Gallego B - 214 B - 208 C. Nder Teatro B 402 B 416 Gillian Moss Ian Martin Costas Pexos Liliana Giraldo Ylda Farr-Rigau Clara Rico Harold Bratovich Ganna Matichyna Aleida Ariza & John Vifara G. Cristina Cadavid & Diana Quincha Universidad del Norte Heinle Cengage Learning The Anglo Publishing House Cultural Care Au Pair The College Board VIF Program Greenwich The Anglo Publishing House UPTC Universidad de Antioquia

11.00 a.m. 12.00 m. Theater 8 de Junio

B 408

Lab.

Pilar Gaviln & Diana Romero

Universidad de La Salle Bachillerato Patria

S. de Medios Claudia Prieto

B 406 R.V.

Andrs Atehortua Ligia Lpez

Universidad de Caldas Wake Forest University

Panel 1 Teacher Development for Quality Assurance Coffee Break

Type of Presentation: A: Academic; C: Commercial, D: Demonstration; L: Lecture, R: Research Report; W: Workshop

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4.30 5.30 p.m Theater 8 de Junio

5.30 6.30 p.m.

Plenary 4: Using Theatre to Stimulate Active Language Learning - A Theatre Group Experience at The University of Pamplona Helen Cater - Universidad de Pamplona Cultural Activity

Plenary 5: Effective Strategies for In-Service Teacher Development Cheryl Roberts - University of Northern Iowa 9:30 10:30 a.m. Concurrent Session 3 Type Title Room Presenter/s Institution A Present trends in Language Teacher Education: Global and Local Perspectives Lab. Rosalba Crdenas Universidad del Valle A Project Work at Schools of Education. An Experience B 208 Monica Castaeda Universidad Libre C Using video with Young Learners C How Do Children Think and Learn C Learning English face2face C But There Are Too Many Words! Dealing with Vocabulary D Like Informatics and Love English? Try an Interactive Contest You Can Play Now in the Classroom no Matter the Age L Towards the Implementation of a Teachers Professional L Assuring Quality Teaching through Observation L Devising Strategies to Get Involved in Teacher Development Programs: An Institutional Experience L Become a Functional Grammarian, Teaching Grammar to Pre-service Teachers R Internet: Make-sense Communication for Our Non-native Speaking Setting R Content and Performance Standards in Foreign Languages: A Collaborative Pedagogic Innovation R EFL Didactics: A Discussion upon Instructional Sequences W Strategies for Integrating the Four English Language Skills W The Importance and Implementation of Extensive Reading 10.30 11.00 a.m. Coffee Break 11.00 a.m. 12.00 m. Theater 8 de Junio H.G.G. B 214 C. Nder Teatro S. Medios B 416 B 402 B 416 B 404 B 414 B 406 B 408 S.de Medios R. Vlez Costas Pexos Ganna Matichyna Chris Redston Pamela Hartmann Liliana Gil Bertha Ramos & Kathleen Corrales Yezid Arvalo & Melissa Gmez Claudia Nieto Mauricio Jven & Sara Gonzlez Edgar Picn-J. & Lady Egle Gutirrez Aldemar Alvarez Ylda Farr-Rigau Ian Martin Universidad del Norte Fundacin Universitaria Los Libertadores Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Bogot Global Languages Services Universidad de Antioquia Universidad de La Salle The College Board Heinle Cengage Learning The Anglo Publishing House The Anglo Publishing House Cambridge University Press McGraw-Hill Colegio Trinidad del Monte

Saturday October 13
8.30 9.30 a.m. Theater 8 de Junio

Plenary 6: Intramural University Faculty Collaboration to Teach Language and Content Adriana Gonzlez & Natalia Salazar - Universidad de Antioquia

12.00 m. 2.00 p.m. Lunch Break

Type of Presentation: A: Academic; C: Commercial, D: Demonstration; L: Lecture, R: Research Report; W: Workshop

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Plenary 7: An Ounce of Motivation is Worth a Ton of Pedagogy: Tipping the Balance in Favour of Learning. Costas Pexos - The Anglo Publishing House 3:00 4:00 p.m. Concurrent Session 4 Type Title Room Presenter/s Institution A Qualities Needed to Teach Adolescent Learners Successfully B 208 Milada Broukal Heinle Cengage Learning C TV Readers, Beyond Words B 214 Ana Cristina Daz & Mauricio Beltrn Editorial Richmond C Become an International Teacher with the VIF Program C Meaningful Input, Realistic Output D Avoiding Plagiarism: Assuring Quality Work From our Students D Towards the Implementation of a Self Access Centre to Learn Foreign Languages L TEPD: Local Proposals to Assume the Challenges for the New Millennium L Communicative Competence, What do teachers Have to do with It? R Dialogue Journals in the EFL Classroom: Building Learner Autonomy, Motivation and Self-Assessment through Written Interactio R Modern Language School Students Oral Proficiency Development: Teaching, Assessment and Evaluation Practices R Fostering Higher Order Thinking Skills as a Basis for Standardized Test Taking: The Aftermath and Practical Implications W Language Bombs: Disarming Myths, Misconceptions, and Taboos about American English W Helping Teachers Towards a Strategy-Based Approach to Grammar 4.00 4.30 p.m. Coffee Break 4.30 5.30 p.m. 5.30 6.30 p.m. General Assembly Cultural Activity C. Nder H. Gallego B - 404 Gloria Bohrquez Ganna Matichyna The Anglo Publishing House

2.00 3.00 p.m. Theater 8 de Junio

R.V.

Kathleen Corrales & Angela Bailey Universidad del Norte Angela Benjumea, Imelda Zorro & Deisy Baracaldo Universidad Libre Angela Prez & Eliana Garzn Lourdes Rey & Nayibe Rosado Colegio de Educacin Bsica Suse & UPTC Universidad del Norte

B 416 B 402

B - 408 B 414 S.de Medios B 406 Lab.

Jorge Turizo Nancy Carvajal Esperanza Martnez Ernest White II Jorge Ojeda

Universidad del Norte UPTC Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Bogot Universidad Externado de Colombia Colombo Americano Bogota

Sunday October 14
8.30 9.30 a.m. Theater 8 de Junio 9.30 10.30 a.m. Theater 8 de Junio 10.30 11.00 a.m. 11.00 a.m. 12.00 m. Theater 8 de Junio 12.00 m. 12.30 p.m. Closing Ceremony

Plenary 8: Which Words Dont We Listen to? Chris Redston - Cambridge University Press Plenary 9: Technology: Re-placing Teachers? Nick Perkins - Pearson Longman Coffee Break Panel 2: Teacher Development for Quality Assurance

Type of Presentation: A: Academic; C: Commercial, D: Demonstration; L: Lecture, R: Research Report; W: Workshop

ASOCOPI Newsletter 9

IN THE CLASSROOM

Two Samples Based on How to Approach Reading Critically

Eliana Garzn Universidad Pedaggica y Tecnolgica de Colombia Angela Prez Colegio de Educacin Bsica Suse

Project 7th. For this experience, students read two stories written by Edgar Allan Poe. The other experience was developed with students of ninth grade in Colegio Bsico de Suse (Aquitania Boyac). This time, the fairy tale The Three Little Pigs was read by students. Garzn: The program established for Communicative Project 7 th in Modern Languages School at the UPTC is oriented towards academic writing including different kinds of essays and reading strategies. I developed these guidelines during the whole semester with my students but could notice that their written production was based on trivial aspects closely related to the empty texts worked in class. Therefore, I started feeling worried about this situation and decided to become an agent of change in my classes, which means encouraging my students to reflect actively and discuss what they read. It is through these reflections and discussions that students realize they are active members of their society and that English is not an isolated subject but a vehicle or excuse to go deeper into their concerns of life. Consequently, I decided to plan and apply three lessons based on critical reading of two tales written by Edgar Allan Poe: The Black Cat and The TellTale Heart, after diagnosing my students reading likes. When we read literature, we can gain entrance to a world familiar or unfamiliar to us due to the cultural aspects of the tales or stories, and take a voyage from the literary text to our own minds to find meanings for ideas which lead to critical thinking. Prez: This experience was carried out during two lessons with ninth-grade students. I chose the fairy tale The Three Little Pigs because I found two different versions of it in English. In the original version, the wolf was guilty because of his bad intentions of eating the three little pigs. On the contrary, the other version shows a

The concept of EFL teaching in our country has started changing during the last days. However, there is a tendency to focus our English classes on linguistic structures and senseless information for students.
Thistlethwaite (1990) defines critical reading as the process of making judgments and discovering information and ideas within a text: evaluating relevancy and adequacy of what is read. Critical reading refers to a careful, active, reflective, analytic reading. Critical thinking involves reflecting on the validity of what you have read in light of our prior knowledge and understanding of the world. By these definitions, critical reading would appear to come before critical thinking: Only once we have fully understood a text (critical reading) can we truly evaluate its assertions (critical thinking). Taking into account the theory explained above, we would like to describe our experiences in the classroom by using literary texts. One of these experiences took place at UPTC with Modern Languages students in the subject Communicative

ASOCOPI Newsletter 10

different side of the story. Here, the three little pigs were bad neighbors of the wolf, so they provoked him into losing his temper. After reading the two versions, my students had to judge the wolfs behavior according to their own beliefs and points of view. Then, they had to create a play based on a possible wolf trial. At the beginning, I thought that this kind of reading was not interesting for my students because of their age. They are adolescents and fairy tales are mostly read by children. Adolescents are supposed to be more interested in topics related to their context of life. However, when they were doing the activities, I was surprised because of my students reaction. They enjoyed the proposal because it was challenging for them. Young (1996) discusses the use of childrens stories to introduce critical thinking to college students. He believes that stories have two crucial advantages over traditional content: First, because they are entertaining, students pervasive apprehension is reduced, and they learn

from the beginning that critical thinking is natural, familiar, and sometimes even fun. Second, the stories put critical thinking issues into an easily remembered context (p. 90). Howie (1993) agrees with the use of short stories to teach critical thinking. He points out that instructors have the responsibility to help students develop cognitive skills because everyone needs to make judgments, be decisive, come to conclusions, synthesize information, organize, evaluate, predict, and apply knowledge. By reading and writing, students develop their critical thinking skills. The purpose, when we work with literature, is to teach our students how to think critically about what they read, asking them to consider the story in connection with their own experience (Ballentine & Hill, 2000). Thus, stories can be used in many different contexts to achieve different results. We, as teachers, should consider not only how stories can enrich our communication, but also how we can discuss values, teach language

skills, and encourage critical thinking from them.

References Ballentine, D. & Hill, L. (September 2000). Teaching Beyond Once Upon a Time. Language Arts. Vol. 78, No. 1. (pp. 11-20). Howie, S. H. (1993). Critical Thinking: A Critical Skill for Students. Reading TODAY 24. Thistlethwaite, L. L. (1990). Critical Reading for at-risk Students. Journal of reading, 3, 33 (pp. 586-592). Young, A. (1996). Introducing Critical Thinking at the College Level with Childrens Stories. College Teaching 44 (3): 90. Eliana Garzn Duarte holds an undergraduate degree from Universidad Industrial de Santander and is enrolled in the Masters Program in Language Teaching at (UPTC), Universidad Pedaggica y Tecnolgica de Colombia in Tunja. She currently teaches at UPTC. E-mail: eliaga@yahoo.com Angela Yaneth Prez Daza holds an undergraduate degree from Universidad Pedaggica y Tecnolgica de Colombia and is enrolled in the Masters Program in Language Teaching at UPTC. She currently works at Colegio Bsico de Suse in Aquitania (Boyac). E-mail: angel_ita1010@yahoo.es

ASOCOPI Mission Statement

          

Improve the practice of English language teaching. Strengthen the sense of identity of language teachers through membership in a professional organization. Promote the exchange of ideas, resources, information, and experiences between language teachers on a national level as well as at an international level. Promote high levels of education and professional development of university students, in the field of foreign language teaching. Provide opportunities of continued professional development of teachers. Encourage research in the area of foreign language teaching and learning. Provide a forum for the introduction and exchange of new ideas and practices and for the production of educational material. Encourage a high level of education and professionalism among its members. Provide a consultative and advisory road in the development of educational innovations, English for Special Purposes, Applied Linguistics, Material Development, and Academic Programs at the primary, secondary and university levels. Stimulate the cooperation of mutual support among language teachers. Organize support activities for the development and maintenance of linguistic abilities of non-native students and teachers.

ASOCOPI Newsletter 11

IN THE CLASSROOM

Emerging Didactics for Emerging TeachingLearning Situations

Jos Aldemar lvarez Valencia - Univerisdad de La Salle

Among the different areas of EFL teachers professional knowledge, there is one that has triggered and continues triggering our minds in the face of our teaching practices.
I am referring to the didactics language
teaching. This is perhaps one of the reasons many of us attend different academic events such as workshops, demonstrations or why we enroll in courses on methodology; we would like to receive the appropriate recipe that suits our teaching needs. However, we have all experienced the disenchantment of going back to our classroom realities where all the techniques, procedures and strategies given by the experts do not always seem to work. Therefore, we all have to ask whether we are looking for the answer to our questions in the right place: Are the answers inside or outside of our teaching settings? How can the knowledge provided by experts become helpful? This short reflection, besides addressing these two queries, will conceptualize the discipline of didactics and some of the dimensions that constitute it.

When referring to didactics it is necessary to bear in mind that it is grounded on four essential axes (Estebaranz, 1994). Firstly, it prioritizes educational practice. This means that didactics ought to go beyond the technical-rationality view which focuses on instructional practice (know-how). Rather, it should aim at educational practice which implies a more humanistic view of knowledge, instructional devices and pedagogical actors. The development of didactic theory departs from practice. This assertion implies that the nature of the construction of knowledge within the discipline should be the teaching activity and, thus, the internal dynamics to such process. A third feature of didactics refers to the historicity of the knowledge it produces. Although knowledge is synchronically situated, it has a background; hence, it is reshaped or relocated in the present as a way to respond to current needs and the projection of a future time. Finally, didactics takes into consideration the complexities inherent to schooling, learning and teaching. The didactics of a classroom needs to be informed not only by cognitive and procedural elements of teaching, but also by the cultural and social dimensions that exert influence in the educational process. A class, as implied by Prabhu (1992), is not just a curricular event, but a social event as well.

ASOCOPI Newsletter 12

The characterization presented above provides some elements to define didactics as a discipline that explains the teaching-learning processes, and, at the same time, it purports to build its knowledge based on reflection and dialogism among the axes that compose it and the agents that participate in the pedagogical practices. Thus, didactics has to be studied and constructed from practice as an emergent phenomenon; theory and practice around didactics should feed back each other constantly. Now, if we return to the questions posed at the outset of this paper, we will have to incline for a middle position. Academic events might help us find answers and will provide tools, but they cannot become recipes. As was already acknowledged, didactics emerges on the basis of multiple articulations of social, cultural, epistemological, and ethical interactions that converge and materialize in a classroom. We should not forget that classroom events are founded on contingency caused by the interaction of two or more subjects (teacher and students) who put into play their subjectivities. It is from the encounter of these subjectivities that questions about discipline, the best method, the proper technique to improve language use, among others, start to trigger our minds. Then, our role as mediating agents in a teaching context is that of, first, identifying the question (which is not always easy) and, second, trying to answer it. To do this, the help of outsiders can contribute, albeit the answer will be basically found inside the classroom. It is our task to find the answers by using the wealth of tools we receive from theory, experts or close colleagues.

We need to be open to new perspectives coming from experts or moreexperienced colleagues; nevertheless, we have to be aware that the knowledge they have produced likely originated under different circumstances, in other contexts and with other populations. Many of the suggestions or principles offered by experts can be adapted rather than adopted. A cautious testing and reflective exercise might help determine the suitability of innovative material, a technique, strategy, procedure and so forth. Although giving a set of principles about how teachers should act in front of the dynamics of emergent didactics would sound contradictory, I do think there are some general issues such as the following we could consider: The need for teachers to see themselves as researchers and develop action research exercises The implementation of reflective teaching as an important activity to identify and propose solutions to problematic situations. In this way, journals diaries, field notes, class observation, conferences and other instruments can help monitor classroom dynamics. The change of patterns of communication and interaction between teachers and students. A more collaborative relationship should be enhanced since pedagogical tensions are not derived from only one agent but are the product of all agents involved. The significance of being aware that the emergent happenings in the microworld of the classroom are not only the outcome of its internal

dynamics but are influenced by extramural realities. The need to see didactic theory as one option or posture about pedagogical phenomena which are not static but, on the contrary, dynamic. Didactic theory should constitute a framework for contextbound and classroom-oriented innovative practices; therefore, teachers will progress from the stage of theory users to the stage of theory producers (Kumaravadivelu, 1994).

References

Estebaranz, A. (1999). Didctica e Innovacin Curricular. Sevilla: Universidad de Sevilla, Servicio de publicaciones. Kumaravadivelu, B. (1992). The Post-method Condition: Emerging Strategies for Second / Foreign Language Teaching. TESOL QUARTERLY 28, 1, p. 27- 47. Prabhu, N.S. (1992). The Dynamics of the Language Lesson. TESOL QUARTERLY 26, 2, p. 225-241. Edge,,J. (1996). Cross-Cultural Paradoxes in a Profession of Values. TESOL QUARTERLY 30 (1), 9-30.

This issue of ASOCOPI newsletter is sponsored by

www.britishcouncil.org/colombia

ASOCOPI Newsletter 13

ELT Directory
Cambridge University Press Colombia Ricardo Romero M. Carrera 18 # 137 65, Bogot Phone: (57 1) 649 06 25 Fax: (57 1) 649 06 26/7 cambridge@cable.net.co www.cambridge.org Greenwich ELT - Grupo Editorial Norma Oscar Laiton, Ana Mara Rojas Calle 95 No. 33-44. Bogot Phone: (57 1) 6110735, 6184730 Fax: (57 1) 6346161 oscar.laiton2@norma.com, anamaria.rojas@norma.com www.normatextos.com, www.greenwich-elt.com Heinle Cengage Learning Nadia Reina Mendoza. ELT Manager - Andean Pact Cra. 90 No.17B - 39 Bodega 27 Sector Hayuelos. Bogot. Pbx: (57 1) 292 20 40 ext. 110 nadia.reina@cengage.com www.cengage.com Houghton Mifflin Luz Angela Umaa Calle 46 No. 50 - 11. Bogot Phone: (57 1) 221 24 54 Cel: 315 353 00 46 Fax: (57 1) 221 11 78 luzangelaumana@hotmail.com www.hmco.com McGraw-Hill Interamericana S.A Carlos Eduardo Bermdez - Gerente General Amparo Castillo Ramrez-Supervisora ELT Carrera 11 # 93-46 Of. 301. Bogot Phone: (57 1) 600 38 54 Fax: (57 1) 600 38 22 carlos_bermudez@mcgraw-hill.com amparo_castillo@mcgraw-hill.com www.elt.mcgraw-hill.com

Pearson Longman Colombia ngela Andrade, Gerente Divisin ELT/School Carrera 65 B # 14-32, Bogot Phone: (57 1) 294 08 00 Fax: (57 1) 260 73 58 angela.andrade@pearsoned.com supportline@pearsoned.com www.amazingmindscolombia.net, www.longman.com Richmond Grupo Santillana Maria Vidalia Mrquez ELT Manager Sandra Liliana Rangel Sales Manager Calle 80 # 10-23. Bogot Phone: (57 1) 635 12 00 Ext 138 richmond@santillana.com.co www.richmond.com.co The Anglo Publishing House Juan Carlos Gmez, Fitzroy Kennedy Calle 79 No. 14-30. Bogot Phone: (57 1) 621 67 21, 616 06 75 Fax: (57 1) 621 66 64 info@anglopublishing.com interbookshop@coldecon.net.co www.anglopublishing.com,www.mmpi.co.uk www.expresspublishing.co.uk The College Board Janning Estrada Aquino 208 Ave. Ponce de Len Banco Popular Center, Suite 150 Hato Rey, Puerto Rico Phone: 787-772-1267 jestrada@collegeboard.org http://oprla.collegeboard.com Universidad del Rosario Escuela de Ciencias Humanas Fabin Felipe Lozano vila Cra. 6A No. 14 ? 13 Ofic. 420 Bogot D.C. Phone: (571)3414006 Ext. 268 ? Cel.: 3132856765 flozano@urosario.edu.co www.urosario.edu.co VIF Program Jennifer McInnis Wiggins PO Box 3566, Chapel Hill, NC 27515 3566 U.S. Phone: 919-967-5144 Fax: 919-967-8224 latinamerica@vifprogram.com www.vifprogram.com

ASOCOPI Newsletter 14

Restaurantes
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Comida Internacional
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ASOCOPI Newsletter 15

Convocatoria
En cumplimiento del Artculo 9 de los Estatutos de la Asociacin Colombiana de Profesores de Ingls (ASOCOPI), la Junta Directiva Nacional se permite convocar a todos los miembros activos, fundadores, correspondientes, honorarios y vitalicios a la Asamblea General Ordinaria para el ao 2007, que se llevar a cabo en el marco del 42 Congreso Nacional de la Asociacin el da Sbado 13 de octubre de 2007 a las 4:30 p.m. en el Teatro Ocho de Junio de la Universidad de Caldas, ubicada en la Calle 65 # 26 - 10 en la ciudad de Manizales. La agenda ser la siguiente: 1 . Verificacin del Qurum 2 . Lectura del Acta de la Asamblea anterior 3 . Informes de la Junta Directiva a. Informe del Presidente en representacin de la Junta b. Informe de estados financieros y presentacin de presupuesto 2008 para aprobacin por parte de la Tesorera 4 . Eleccin de vacantes para la Junta Directiva Nacional 5 . Asuntos varios Atentamente solicitamos tener en cuenta los siguientes puntos: Artculo 7 Un Asociado que no pudiere concurrir a la Asamblea se podr hacer representar mediante poder escrito conferido a otro socio activo. Dicho poder deber entregarse antes de la iniciacin de la Asamblea a la secretara de la Junta Directiva Nacional. Un Asociado no podr representar a ms de dos ausentes. Toda propuesta que se desee tratar en asuntos varios deber ser entregada por escrito a la secretara en forma de mocin, antes de iniciada la Asamblea y deber ser apoyado por lo menos por dos asamblestas para ser considerado en el orden del da. Las candidaturas para los cargos vacantes debern registrarse ante la secretara de la Junta Directiva antes de iniciada la Junta General. Bogot, 28 de Septiembre de 2007 Junta Directiva Nacional

Firmado: Melba Libia Crdenas Beltrn, Presidente Gabriel Obando, Vicepresidente

ASOCOPI Newsletter 16