First module finished

The objective of the first module of the certificate program was to contextualize the teaching of English, discussiong what is happening around the world, in Colombia and finally in our classrooms. It was a very enriching experience as parcipating teachers have a lot to share. They showed interest and participated in all activities proposed.

According to the evaluation they did at the end of the module, the selection of the topics was good as well as the teaching strategies, especially group discussions and the practical activities at the beginning of the class. I'll try to keep them in the next module and more often with my undergraduate students.

Communicative competence

Perhaps a good way to present a definition of competence is by trying to answer the question: When are we competent? And the answer we will get would be simple, but clear: when we can do something. In a language, we are competent when we can do something with the language, when we fulfill our communicative intentions. But, what intentions could we fulfill in a language? Well, we might want to introduce ourselves, give suggestions, apologize for something wrong we did, or ask for directions, to mention just a few.

In order to be able to accomplish our communicative purpose, we have to know words and how to organize them into a sentence (linguistic competence), select from the possible sentences or expressions the one that best suits the specific situation and its social conventions (sociolinguistic competence), and connect and arrange our utterances into a coherent sequence (pragmatic competence).

An inspiring teacher

It was back in the early 90s that I met a professor who I think influenced my life as a person, learner and teacher. I was pursuing my undergraduate studies in Languages and I took “Composition”, a course Mariela gave to develop writing skills. She taught much more than that. She showed a teacher can be an excellent professional and, at the same time, sweet, understanding, and caring. She showed that internal harmony -no matter how much work she had- that many people would like to possess. And she showed respect for her students’ opinions and ideas. I’d say that, in a word, she an excellent example for those who, like me, were just enterng the world of being educators.

At that time, I hadn’t thought yet of starting to work as I was still studying. She made me believe I was already equipped to do it, that I had something to share with others. And I got my first job and began to experience that satisfaction you feel when you share what you are and the little you know with others. I will never forget her. In several times in my professional life I’ve wished I’d had her close to ask her for that good advice she can give.

Second week of classes- the teacher’s perspective

From my perspective as a teacher, I think there was space to build knowledge -knowledge on competences, communicative competences, proficiency levels, and our role as teachers. I tried to link students’ prior understanding of competences, from daily life situations, moving to academic settings an then more specifically to language teaching in learning. Several of the teachers had previously worked on competences and the Colombian Project on Bilingualism at their schools, so this was a moment to reinforce what they already knew and perhaps think of ways to find a connection between theory and practice. For some others, teachers and non teachers, this was the first time they read about the topic and I was glad and surprised to hear them talking and reflecting with such good understanding.

Pair work and group work seem to be enjoyed and fruitful- they make and answer interesting discussions among themselves and share personal experiences, which I consider important to consolidate their beliefs and also look at other perspectives.