Sir Isaac Newton saw the

universe as an orderly
clock. Today, scientists
describe it as a shifting
kaleidoscope. Could this
new metaphor hold the
secret for the
transformation of learning
communities?
 Update &
Upgrade
Reflections on teaching beliefs and
self-assessment.

Federico Arteaga C.
Centro Colombo Americano Manizales
 A matter of perception
“A strange thing hangs by a man’s thigh
under its master’s clothes. It is pierced in
front, is stiff and hard, has a good fixed
place. When the man lifts his own garment
above the knee, he wishes to visit with the
head of this hanging instrument the familiar
hole which when of equal length, has often
filled before.”

The Key
(Taken from the Exeter Book)
 A matter of perception

• Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

• Where do you see your students in 10 years?

• What opinion do you have of your students?

• What opinion do you think your students have of
you?
What kind of teacher are
you?
• Resource.
• Assessor.
• Participant.
• Controller.
• Performer.
• Tutor.
• Organizer.
• Prompter.
• Observer.
 Of peers

Being Of the
observed environment

Observer

Of self Of students
 A few facts from the
EFL/ESL trade
• By 2019 Manizales must have become a truly
bilingual city, and its English language teachers
from public schools will at least rank as B2
according to the CEF.
• there is a burgeoning English learning industry
(in Delhi alone it is a $100 million-per-year
business, and China’s ‘English fever’ has grown
to “epidemic proportions because of the
country’s accession and the 2008 Olympics”
(Newsweek, 2005)).
 A few facts from the
EFL/ESL trade
• Three years ago, government minister Bill Rammell
announced that the UK ESOL budget was creaking at
the seams, unable to sustain the growth in demand
generated, in particular, by the number of EU migrant
workers accessing free provision. Just a year later,
nine ESOL examining boards produced “ESOL for
Work” qualifications, which have been developed “...
to support a shorter, more job-focused, practical
approach to English language skills … to meet the
immediate English language acquisition needs of
learners who are in employment or who are intending
to work in this country on a short term basis, without
seeking UK citizenship”. (QCA)
 A few facts from the
EFL/ESL trade
• The jobs for which graduates wish to apply require
oral and written proficiency in the second language.
• Globalization has increased our contact with people
who have mother tongues other than English but
use English as a lingua franca in trade negotiations.
• by 2002 there were approximately 450 million
Internet users, which brought about more contact
and an increase in information in English and the
numbers are growing
 A reflection on teaching
beliefs

As teachers of English as a foreign language, we

are committed to maintain a relative purity of the
language. As language users, we are both entitled
to and expected to be an active, living part of
such an organic system as English. We are
resourceful and creative and do our best to get a
vast array of messages across to incipient
speakers in the target language. So why does it
sometimes look as though we can’t transmit this
basic “survival” skill to them, even when we know
that it is exactly what they need and demand?
 A reflection on teaching
beliefs
• Strengths:
Advantages of proposition? Capabilities? Competitive
advantages? UTP's (unique teaching points)? Resources, Peers?

Experience in the field? Knowledge of language? Innovative

aspects? Location and geographical situation? Quantity and
quality of material taught?
Accreditations, qualifications, certifications? Processes,
systems, communications? Cultural, attitudinal & behavioural
input & output?
Philosophy and values?
 A reflection on teaching
beliefs
• Weaknesses:

Disadvantages of proposition? Gaps in capabilities? Lack of

competitive strength?
Reputation, presence and reach? Own known vulnerabilities?
Timescales, deadlines and pressures? Continuity?
Effects of skill-development activities, distraction? Reliability of
and/or lesson plan predictability? Class management?
Transititions & Follow-ups? Accreditations, academic
achievements, seminars and readings?
Morale, commitment, leadership?
 A reflection on teaching
beliefs
• Opportunities:
Trade and market developments? Peers’ & Competitors'
vulnerabilities? Industry or lifestyle trends?

Technology development and innovation? Global influences?

New markets, Niche target audience?

New UTP's? Tactics: eg, surprise, more successful approaches,

major contracts? Material design & development? Information
and research? Partnerships, subscriptions, outreach? Teamwork
& Network?
Seasonal, mediatic, fashion influences?
 A reflection on teaching
beliefs
• Threats:
Cognitive effects? Social effects? Behavioral effects? Peer &
Competitor intentions - developments?
Learner needs & demands? New technologies, services, ideas?
Vital contracts and partnerships, research groups, discussion
forums?
Self-sustaining learning? Obstacles faced? Insurmountable
weaknesses? Sustainable logistic backing? Economical and
cultural aspects of the surroundings at home? Loss of
motivation?
Seasonality, lasting social & cognitive effects?
Usage of the SWOT analysis

Strengths Threats

Weaknesses Opportunities
Elements participating in
ELT

Characteristics Characteristics
of the learner of the teacher

Characterisitcs
Characterisitics
of the relevant
of the setting
languages
 Integrated-skill instruction Vs.
Segregated-skill instruction
• Frequently, segregated-skill ESL/EFL classes present instruction in terms of skill-
linked learning strategies: reading strategies, listening strategies, speaking
strategies, and writing strategies (see Peregoy & Boyle, 2001). Learning strategies
are srategies that students employ, most often consciously, to improve their
learning. Examples are guessing meaning based on context, breaking a sentence or
word down into parts to understand the meaning, and practicing the language with
someone else (Oxford, 2001).

• In contrast to segregated-skill instruction, both actual and apparent, there are at

least two forms of instruction that are clearly oriented toward integrating the skills:
content-based instruction. and task-based instruction.
 Skill development toward skill
integration
Academic Skills Supporting skills

• Writing. • Skimming.
• Listening. • Scanning.
• Reading • Summarizing.
• Speaking
• Synthesizing.
• Mind-mapping.
AND…
• Note-taking.
• Grammar.
• Vocabulary
• Paraphrasing.
• Pronunciation
 Integrated-skill tasks in the
new examinations for
certification of English
proficiency.
• Making inferences • Paraphrasing
• Using detailed examples
• Identifying and • Identifying and using
using main ideas rhetorical structures
and details • Comparing and
• Skimming and contrasting
• Identifying and using
scanning cohesive devices
• Using context clues
• Summarizing
 PREPOSITIONS
ARE NOT WORDS
TO FINISH
SENTECES WITH.
Thank you very much
for your attention.
 Federico Arteaga C.
asmodeus.cama@gmail.com
Centro Colombo Americano Manizales
2009