Online coverage of the 43rd Annual International IATEFL Conference 31st March to 4th April 2009
Cardiff Online is now live at http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2009 Join us for interactive web coverage of this year's IATEFL Conference in Cardiff. Watch keynote sessions and presentations live or on-demand and share ideas with teachers all over the world. Follow all the action as it happens on the Cardiff Online website.
It seems spring is having a hard time finding its way to us this year, but we may make an effort and start thinking in a bit more positive way. Here is your new task: So far you have looked into your past: childhood memories, past Christmases, the place where you grew up, etc. Now I want you to see the future: please give a relatively detailed account of a day in your life five years from now, from dawn to dusk. Let it be a weekday rather than a weekend, so that we would get a glimpse of what you do for a living, for example. You may address your hopes, ambitions, plans or fears here - it's up to you. To be honest, I'm hoping for a lot of optimistic stories. Remember, though, that five years is not such a long time, so don't overdo it. You should be creative of course, but do make it sound realistic. Enjoy!
The first post in the semester should be enthusiastic and optimistic, but it can't be. As some of you may have already heard, we lost a very special person, dear to everyone who was privileged to know him. John Solan, who used to work at KJO as one of its most prominent lecturers, died on January 24 in Ireland. All I know is that his illness took him very quickly, in only two weeks. He was a very good person, a dedicated teacher, and an unforgettable figure. I will always remember how passionate he could be in his long disputes with other teachers about particular students or about some current events in the world. If you have any memories of John and would like to share them, please do. This is not an assignment, merely an invitation. Here is my little story - nothing to do with KJO, but a lot to do with what John was like:
Once John and his wife Monika adopted a dog from a shelter. It took them weeks to teach her to trust them and not to be scared of absolutely everything and everyone. They succeeded. After some time, though, the dog got very ill, and it was amazing how they struggled to save her. There was an operation, multiple visits to the vet, sleepless nights and lots of money. As far as I remember they got her out of it. But how distressed John was when all that was happening! A wonderful, caring person I am proud to have known. RIP, John Solan.
What a day! I think that the high spirits from Washington, D.C., have reached almost everyone around the world today. I've been a bit reluctant to raise the issue here, as politics is not a very popular topic with today's youth, but, on the other hand, what else should move you if not this "wind of change"? (Thanks, Mateusz, the phrase does suit the situation perfectly :) Obama represents a new generation of politicians, bringing new hopes and evoking a lot of interest in young people in the US and elsewhere. I'm curious if KJO students of English, who are part of the English speaking community, have any feelings about or comments on today's events. Can you find any emotions in yourselves concerning the new American president, or is the whole issue merely media hype for you? Is the US really making a huge step forward? I promise the next topic will be a bit lighter :)
Thanks for all the wonderful childhood photographs we have seen - it seems everyone's had lots of fun with this task. Now I would like you to go in a bit different direction, and look into the future, rather than past. Your task now is to reflect on your teaching practice as an experience: how you survived the first lesson, what it was like to be "on the other side", what you think of yourself as a potential teacher and of teaching as a possible career. Some of you have come to the college with a clear plan: to become a teacher of English. Many others, however, have come here out of general interest in or passion for English, but without any intention of actually becoming a teacher. Has anything changed, now that you've taught your first lessons? Or perhaps you have become only more convinced that this is not a job for you? Share your thoughts with your colleagues and other readers, please. :)
The musical task has been a success, don't you think? :) I can see how important music is for almost everyone, and how hard it is for you to limit yourselves to choosing that one special song. I know, it is next to impossible. I'm sure many of us have become intrigued by a newly discovered singer or band, thus expanding our list of favorites. Now, with Christmas approaching, I want you to get a bit sentimental and think of your childhood. As I said in my e-mail, I would like you to embed a photograph of yourselves in your early years. The picture does not need to be connected with Christmas, but in your post please write about your memories connected with the season. I'm sure you remember many things: how you waited for Santa to come, how you caught your parents hiding presents for you, how you couldn't wait for the supper to come to an end... If you want to see a childhood photo of yours truly, you need to go to my post from a few years ago, when a similar task was given to your older colleagues. PS. We have a scanner in the IT room, so bring the pictures with you, if it's a problem.
It seems we got off to a good start with our blogging project and your posts about your hometowns are all very interesting. Time has come for a new task: Following suggestions from some of you, I am asking everyone now to write something about the music you like most. To make it more specific I want you to find one song of your favorite band or singer on YouTube, and share it with others. Say why you've chosen that particular song, how it makes you feel, and add whatever you want to say about it. Please paste the video into your post. Here is how you can do it (in case you don't know, of course):
Write your post. Then, in another browser window/tab, open the video clip on YouTube. To the right of the video window you can see the Embed window (in the Polish version of YouTube it says "Umieść"). Copy the WHOLE code and paste it into your post window. Should work. :) There is another way, very useful if you plan to use the feature more often: you need to configure your YouTube account so that it would be linked with your blog. Then you can place any YouTube video on your blog with one click. I leave this to those of you who are interested enough to figure it out.
Now, I would like to share with you one of my own favorites - Peter Gabriel's song In Your Eyes. It's not that I don't listen to new music - I do. But if I am to choose something really special, somehow it's easier for me to find it in a bit more mature artists. The song has an incredible pulse, is full of life and spirit. You can feel that everyone in the band, starting from Peter Gabriel himself, believes in what they do, and enjoy it enormously. Also, listen to the great voice of the backing vocal singer - Paula Cole. Here you go - and take your time, it's worth it!
Well, I can't help it - here is another one :) I went to Peter Gabriel's concert when he came to Poznań in 2003 as part of his GROWING UP tour. It was an absolutely unforgettable experience. Here is a clip from that show (not in Poznań though, but in Milan). You can see that his live performance is far more than just music, fantastic as it is. It is also visual theater and art. Take a look:
We are beginning another blogging season at KJO :) As usual not everyone is happy about it, but I hope most of you will find some enjoyment in the project. There are several reasons why we are doing this:
to give you some space where you can use written English for real communication rather than pure practice for its own sake
to make you reflect on some events in the world around us
to get you to know one another better (also across groups) before you finish your studies
to give some of you an opportunity to share your passions or thoughts with us
to let you find out how to work with your future students on blogs as part of a class project
For a start, please write your first post about the place you come from and how you feel about it. If it is Poznań or some other big city, think locally, in terms of your neighborhood. Don't give us the type of information we could find in a guidebook, but let us see the place through your own eyes. It would be great if you could place a picture of it in your post.
Update on KJO events, for those who still visit this class-blog from time to time, even though they are no longer students here: We've had our walls painted! Classrooms and corridors, and yes, even the staircase! It's not beautiful in here - it can't be in this building - but at least it's nice and clean. And it does feel much better. At least we, the teachers, don't need to be ashamed of our workplace any longer. That's a change, isn't it? Especially with so many Erasmus students around, we feel relieved that the college looks like a more civilized place. :) Some more changes still: new classrooms on the 4th floor (imagine those crowds in the elevator!), and the library is to be moved there too, but no one knows when. Today I heard more good news: another ex-KJO-student has become a philology graduate, and I'm sure he's not the only one this year. It's good to know you guys are doing so well - congratulations! And on an even more personal note - there are a few babies coming among the college faculty. Fingers crossed for each of them, and the mothers too, of course. :) As for IT, new blogs won't appear before December. I want to get them started earlier this year, so that they would grow into really big projects before the end of May. Last year was not very well planned in this respect. This is all for now, I guess. Take care :)
I have great news for our current or former students! Another KJO teacher has decided to run a blog (a real one!), sharing with us her reflections on her current reading and anything literature really. I'm sure you have already guessed who that might be :) If you don't know yet, take a look and you will figure it out for sure. I am very excited about the idea and have read the two initial posts with real pleasure. I'm sure you will find the blog as inspiring and thought provoking as I have. Not that we all need to agree with every word, of course ;) Generally: thumbs up!
