Acosta, Sandra

Language Instructor,

CCCN

 

INFORMATION GAP ACTIVITIES: USEFUL AND FUN

 

Do you want your students to speak only in English and have fun while they are working on the speaking activities? Come to this session: We will share a wide variety of activities that will motivate your students to speak only in the target language.

 

SESSION I: WEDNESDAY 10:00 – 11:10 (201)

SESSION VIII: THURSDAY 1:50 – 3:00 (201)

 

Acuña, Jonathan

Language Instructor,

CCCN and Universidad Latina de Costa Rica

 

PHONICS IN LANGUAGE TEACHING IN COSTA RICA

 

A neglected area in language teaching in our Costa Rican curriculum is phonics as a tool to improve not only reading accuracy but also pronunciation. A simple approach to phonics teaching will be demonstrated in this workshop, based on Eunice McDonald’s methodology. Join us and get acquainted with this simple teaching approach to phonics.

 

SESSION VI: THURSDAY 8:00 – 9:10 (201)

SESSION XII: FRIDAY 10:10 – 11:20 (401)

 

Arguedas, Vivian

Language Instructor,

CCCN

 

Díaz, Ronald

Language Instructor,

CCCN

 

 

DE-STRESS AND GET READY TO LEARN

 

What can we do to de-stress our students and ourselves during the teaching and learning process? Be part of the activities as we practice what we preach.

 

SESSION I: WEDNESDAY 10:00 – 11:10 (203)

SESSION XIII: FRIDAY 11:40 – 12:50 (302)

 

 

I SEE DEAD PEOPLE... LEARN AND HAVE FUN!

 

Video clips of popular classic movies can be used in the classroom for a variety of purposes. A demonstration will be used to show how to use video clips effectively in order to stimulate class discussion, expand vocabulary and increase listening comprehension.

 

SESSION VI: THURSDAY 8:00 – 9:10 (203)

SESSION XI: FRIDAY 8:30 – 9:40 (309)

 

Asturias, Eugenia

Language Instructor,

CCCN

 

GROUPING STRATEGIES

 

Do you have a shy student who isn’t usually included in the activities or that is the last one to be chosen? Come to this workshop and learn a lot of fun grouping strategies that help students include everybody and work as a team! You won’t regret it!

 

SESSION I: WEDNESDAY 10:00 – 11:10 (204)

SESSION XI: FRIDAY 8:30 – 9:40 (203)

 

Bangle, Barbara

Oxford University Press

 

LEARNER-CENTERED TEACHING

 

The buzz word in education at the moment is that it is now “learner-centered”, rather than communicative, or any other specific method-based. Unfortunately, most teachers are not exactly sure what this really means, and are even less certain of how their own teaching practice can reflect this approach. This workshop will give some hands-on practice in looking at the ELT practice and how it is, or can be, “learner-centered”.

 

SESSION VIII: THURSDAY 1:50 – 3:00 (MTL)

SESSION XIII: FRIDAY 11:40 – 12:50 (MTL)

 


Benavides, Evelyn

Language Instructor,

CCCN

 

PLAYING AND TEACHING ENGLISH OUT OF THE CLASSROOM

 

Aren’t your students physically active? Of course, they are. That’s why I’m inviting you to come to my session. I’m going to share some ideas on how to take advantage of that in your teaching with movement games. Come and make your classes more active.

 

SESSION V: WEDNESDAY 4:50 – 6:00 (201)

SESSION XIV: FRIDAY 2:00 – 3:10 (201)

 

Berry, Susan

Teacher Trainer,

School for International Training

 

STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING PRONUNCIATION

 

Since the majority of English teachers around the world are non-native speakers, we need to find ways to highlight the advantages that non-native speakers hold and provide frameworks to work within. In this workshop, participants will work through each aspect of pronunciation; from the more obvious one (like sound differences) to the more subtle ones (like sentence stress and rhythm) using a framework of Recognition, Articulation, and Production to help provide some structure to this often neglected part of language learning.

 

SESSION III: WEDNESDAY 1:50 – 3:00 (201)

SESSION XIII: FRIDAY 11:40 – 12:50 (201)

 

Bonilla, Angel

Academic Consultant,

Editorial MacMillan de México

 

 

TEACHING CHILDREN: A FANTASTIC PERSPECTIVE

 

If you are the kind of teacher who is always avoiding young audiences, you need to change your mind. Teaching young audiences is oftentimes regarded as a challenge. However, when modern materials are made available to teacher, the task is nothing but a game. Fantastic is a series that not only includes what children like to talk about, but presents it in such a way that every single learner feels successful all the way through. Wanna see how?? Come join us!!

 

SESSION XIII: FRIDAY 11:40 – 12:50 (203)

 

 

YOU ARE NOT ALONE: ATTITUDE IS HERE!

 

Finding the right material is the teacher’s worst nightmare. Sometimes, it takes most of the time teachers devote to planning. Considering that effective teaching depends on innovative materials, teachers have to be extra careful on what they bring to their classes. This commercial workshop will put an end to that nightmare. Attitude not only provides you with the necessary materials for your classes, but does it in a way that is challenging, meaningful and fun. Come and see how it works!

 

SESSION XI: FRIDAY 8:30 – 9:40 (204)

 

 

HELP STUDENTS SUCCEED: BUILD BEFORE THEY ACT

 

Are you tired of bringing “communicative” activities that would better prepare your students, yet the results do not satisfy your expectations? If your answer is “yes” maybe it is time for you to reconsider the focus of your facilitating process and reorganize it differently. Scaffolding is a principle within the Task-Based Instruction that would help you be more assertive, as it would help the students develop more confidence when using the target language. Come and learn to hone your students’ skills in a more effective way!

 

SESSION I: WEDNESDAY 10:00 – 11:10 (504)

 

 

THE FOUR ACES OF EFFECTIVE TEACHING

 

To be effective in the language classroom, teacher must pay close attention to tasks, lesson organization, assessment, and student involvement. These elements guide students and ensure learning despite the setting where the teaching takes place. In this workshop teachers will go through the four aces in such a way that it would be easy for them to do the same thing in their own classrooms.

 

SESSION VI: THURSDAY 8:00 – 9:10 (504)

 

Brenes, Miguel

Academic Advisor to the Presidency,

Colegio Universitario Boston

 

PROFESSIONAL, TECHNICAL, AND CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE AND VALUE SYSTEM: DETERMINANT FACTORS FOR TODAY’S INNOVATING TEACHING

 

English teachers should be able to guide their students to really learn the four linguistic skills –understand, speak, read, and write the language –at a near-native level of proficiency, for academic and practical purposes. First, they must understand what values and qualities, besides professional skills, they should develop and acquire, in order to become truly innovative and effective teachers in today’s world, not only according to a particular institution’s interests, but also to national needs and societal demands.

 

SESSION XII: FRIDAY 10:10 – 11:20 (302)

 

Brown, William

Language Instructor,

CCCN

 

TEACHING ENGLISH THROUGH VIDEO GAMES

 

I will make use of two short videos taken from two different video games (Donkey Kong Country 2 and Yoshi’s Island) to introduce a series of activities aimed at providing students with practice on prepositions of place and family relations.

 

SESSION VI: THURSDAY 8:00 – 9:10 (302)

SESSION XI: FRIDAY 8:30 – 9:40 (302)

 

 

Burnett, Patricia

Training Intern,

School for International Training

 

Lalama, Johanna

Training Intern,

School for International Training

 

Reynosa, Rochelle

Training Intern,

School for International Training

 

Hubbell, Carol

Training Intern,

School for International Training

 

Sanchez, Sheiron

Training Intern,

School for International Training

 

 

 

PRAGMATICS: THE DANCE OF LANGUAGE ACROSS CULTURES

 

Through audience participation, we will explore important cross-cultural communication strategies with regard to appropriacy and discourse in various contexts. Linking a brief introduction on the history of pragmatics to current teaching methodologies, we will examine speech acts, proximics, and implicatures through role play, group discussions and activities.

 

SESSION XIV: FRIDAY 2:00 – 3:10 (310)

 

Bustamante, Antonio

Language Instructor,

CCCN

 

ENGLISH LEARNING AND THE MOURNING PROCESS

 

“I have to learn English in order to keep my job. I don’t like English. In fact, I hate it!! But I have to learn it or else...?” In this session we will explore the process of mourning: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, as applied to the process of learning a new language. This will be done through a short lecture, role plays and the discussion of the results.

 

SESSION III: WEDNESDAY 1:50 – 3:00 (203)

SESSION XIV: FRIDAY 2:00 – 3:10 (303)

 

Calvo, Marcela

Language Instructor,

Amadita Primary School, Coronado

 

GAMES, GAMES AND MORE GAMES!

 

In this workshop, teachers will get fresh and new ideas that they can apply in their daily teaching in order to motivate their students. Teachers will see how participation will improve with these games that can be used for vocabulary, phonics, grammar, reading...

 

SESSION I: WEDNESDAY 10:00 – 11:10 (305)

SESSION XI: FRIDAY 8:30 – 9:40 (201)

 

Camarena, Minerva

Director,

National English Center,

El Salvador

 

SPECIALIZED ENGLISH EDUCATION –5 ELEMENTS TO CONSIDER IN INNOVATIVE TEACHING

 

The most commonly found elements in EFL around the world are teachers, learners and textbooks. Textbooks and other commercial materials in many situations represent the hidden curriculum of many language courses and thus play a significant part in the process of teaching and learning... Is there more? This presentation will demonstrate the 5 elements the National English Center of El Salvador has found in the creation of designing specialized courses.

 

SESSION I: WEDNESDAY 10:00 – 11:10 (502)

SESSION VI: WEDNESDAY 3:20 – 4:30 (404)

 

Cano de Arauz, Olda

Panama

 

WHAT CAN DRAMA DO FOR YOU? IDEAS FOR ESL/EFL TEACHERS

 

What is the nature of drama-based activities in the classroom? First, the main emphasis is on process rather than product or discreet items, a process in which all students are always involved in some way, either as listener/watchers (audience) or listener/speakers (performers). After the teacher sets up the situation, the process can either be completely autonomous for the students (the teacher is outside the group as a separate spectator), or ‘directed’ from a distance by the teacher who becomes a facilitator; in other activities the teacher guides and orchestrates the action. In this workshop, participants will experience the benefits of drama-based activities: they motivate learners; they provide a meaningful context and an authentic purpose for communication; and they place more responsibilities on the students.

 

SESSION IV: WEDNESDAY 3:20 – 4:30 (302)

SESSION XIV: FRIDAY 2:00 – 3:10 (402)

 

Cascante, Elizabeth

Mentor Teacher,

CCCN

 

Flores, Marisol

Language Instructor,

CCCN

 

INTEGRATING THE FOUR SKILLS

 

Many of us believe that integrating the four skills is still a utopia; however, reading, listening, speaking and writing have always been integrated in many real life situations. Why not take them all together to the English class? Don’t hesitate and join our session to get some tips on how to do this efficiently and meaningfully.

 

SESSION III: WEDNESDAY 1:50 – 3:00 (302)

SESSION VI: THURSDAY 8:00 – 9:10 (303)

 

Cascante, Mariam

Language Instructor,

CCCN

 

Víquez, Oscar

Language Instructor,

CCCN

 

 

 

PLANNING A LESSON

 

Participants will be asked about the way they plan their lessons and the aspects they consider to do it. They will be given a demonstration to see and analyze the transitions and interrelationship among activities, objectives, achievement, grammar explanations, focus, and student performance in order to present the lesson.

 

SESSION V: WEDNESDAY 4:50 – 6:00 (203)

SESSION X: THURSDAY 4:45 – 5:55 (203)

 

 

PROMOTING TEAM WORK IN CLASS BY USING GROUPING TECHNIQUES

 

Participants will be asked some questions regarding their experience with the implementation of grouping techniques, then, the presenters will give them some theoretical parameters about these techniques to be appropriately applied in class. After that, they will have a debate as an example of a grouping technique.

 

SESSION VIII: THURSDAY 1:50 – 3:00 (310)

SESSION XIV: FRIDAY 2:00 – 3:10 (204)

 

Castro, Darling

Fulbright Scholar,

Universidad Pedagógica Nacional Francisco Morazán,

Tegucigalpa, Honduras

 

Corea, Horus

Fulbright Scholar,

Universidad Pedagógica Nacional Francisco Morazán,

Tegucigalpa, Honduras

 

ADULT SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND TEACHING

 

Even though some researchers have shown that adults have more advantages in learning a second language, people still believe in the myth that the best stage for learning foreign languages is childhood. In this lecture, the audience will develop a broader understanding about some cognitive and metacognitive advantages adults have when acquiring a second language. This way, participants will have the opportunity to analyze the application of methodologies according to the internal knowledge students already have when being exposed to second language acquisition. Also, some implications will be elucidated concerning teaching adult learners.

 

SESSION V: WEDNESDAY 4:50 – 6:00 (204)

SESSION IX: THURSDAY 3:20 – 4:30 (302)

 

Cedeño, Carlos

Language Instructor,

CCCN

 

Quesada, Eduardo Andrés

Language Instructor,

CCCN

 

 

COOPERATIVE LEARNING: A TOOL TO SIMPLIFY TEACHING

 

There are teaching techniques that can help you ensure learning and encourage students in the class. Sometimes we would like our students to be part of every activity we have in the class, but they do not work as planned. Cooperative Learning is a technique that can help you do that and more.

 

SESSION I: WEDNESDAY 10:00 – 11:10 (309)

SESSION VIII: THURSDAY 1:50 – 3:00 (204)

 

 

CULTURE: THE ASPECT YOU MUST NOT SKIP WHEN TEACHING

 

When planning, we often worry about all the skills we must integrate, the objectives contained in the program and so on, but one aspect we cannot skip is the cultural aspect. Come to this workshop and we will give you ideas on how to integrate the cultural aspect to your class. We guarantee that your students will know more than you can imagine!

 

SESSION VI: THURSDAY 8:00 – 9:10 (305)

SESSION XI: FRIDAY 8:30 – 9:40 (303)

 

Chaves, Celia María

Senior Education USA Advisor, CCCN

 

Valverde, Juan Carlos

Marketing Assistant,

CCCN

 

CERTIFYING YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

 

For more than 25 years, TOEIC has been used worldwide to measure the English Proficiency of non-native English-speaking people.

 

SESSION VIII: THURSDAY 1:50 – 3:00 (302)

SESSION XIII: FRIDAY 11:40 – 12:50 (204)

 

Chaves, Mauricio

Universidad Católica de

Costa Rica

 

AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT: PORTFOLIOS AND JOURNALS, TWO VALUABLE EXAMPLES

 

Participants will get an overview of what authentic assessment means and what applications it can have in language-learning classroom. Portfolios and journals will be used as examples to prove how valuable this type of assessment is.

 

SESSION III: WEDNESDAY 1:50 – 3:00 (305)

SESSION VIII: THURSDAY 1:50 – 3:00 (305)

 

Chávez, Flora

Language Instructor,

CCCN

 

Jiménez, Christian

Language Instructor,

CCCN

 

 

DIFFERENT WAYS OF TEACHING GRAMMAR TO CHILDREN

 

Sometimes teaching a grammar English lesson to children can become boring for them. We want to encourage students to enjoy grammar as an important part of their learning process.

 

SESSION III: WEDNESDAY 1:50 – 3:00 (303)

SESSION VIII: THURSDAY 1:50 – 3:00 (303)

 

 

READING AND HAVING FUN

 

Reading is an important part of the language learning process. Therefore, teachers must encourage the students to enjoy written texts as a vital part of their learning journey. The workshop  consists of how the students can be motivated by their teachers to engage in a fun and interesting reading journey.

 

SESSION V: WEDNESDAY 4:50 – 6:00 (302)

SESSION XIV: FRIDAY 2:00 – 3:10 (302)

 

Citon, Nadia

Mentor Teacher, CCCN

 

INTERCULTURAL LEARNING

 

As for the Sapir-Whorfian hypothesis, the language we acquire influences the way we construct our model of the world, then every language conveys differing visions of the same world. For English teachers, this suggests that a language is more than a linguistic component alone. Intercultural learning can be one tool to develop appreciation for differences, mutual acceptance and respect.

 

SESSION IV: WEDNESDAY 3:20 – 4:30 (401)

SESSION XI: FRIDAY 8:30 – 9:40 (305)

 

Córdoba, Carolina

Mentor Teacher,

CCCN

 

TEACHING GRAMMAR FOR REAL COMMUNICATION

 

When grammar is taught in isolation, students can learn its rules, but it is not probable that they will know how to use it. By having learners use grammar in real-life situations, they will be able to use it effectively and in context. In this workshop, teachers will engage in activities that will help them to teach grammar in a real way by interacting and sharing ideas with other colleagues.

 

SESSION I: WEDNESDAY 10:00 – 11:10 (310)

SESSION VI: THURSDAY 8:00 – 9:10 (309)

 

Cory-Wright, Kate

Cambridge University Press

 

WHAT MAKES ADOLESCENTS TICK?

 

Teaching English to teenagers is both an interesting and a challenging task. A group of adolescents can be highly motivated, cooperative and fun to teach one day, and the next day the whole group or individual students might turn out to be truly difficult… The root of these problems lies in the fact that adolescents are going through a period of significant change in their lives (Herbert Puchta, English in Mind, 2005).

 

SESSION III: WEDNESDAY 1:50 – 3:00 (MTL)