Well, here I am, and this time for good. From now on, I am going to use this blog frequently and seriously, posting my works as an EFL professional.

A short time for reflections

Between terms, a two-week break...

A good time to get some rest and to think about what comes next...

This July, I took the chance to get some R&R at Chapada dos Veadeiros - a wonderful place, with nature at its best, a place I would recommend to all my friends...

Next week, back in business, ready for a new mission!

EIP 2010

Just unforgettable! EIP 2010, the English Immersion Program sponsored by the U.S. Embassy, was way better than what anyone could have expected. A week of interaction, learning, sharing, growing, and making new friends.

Thumbs up for all the participants! Great kids, community leaders, always ready to learn more and to do the right thing. With such a great audience, the job of the teachers has been made easy...

I really hope these teenagers go back home with a great feeling and being sure of how great they really are, for success is just ahead of them! As for me, I felt really honored for having taken part of the program as a teacher and as a group leader. Looking forward to doing this over and over!

Another new term

Well, time has come and here we go for a new term...
Always great to meet new students, set working plans and get started...
I feel anxious and excited about predicting what this term is going to be like.
Hopefully, great new experiences are just yet to come.
Goood luck to you all!

Morro de São Paulo, Bahia, Brazil

EVERY POSTCARD TELLS A STORY

Come and join us on this great world of postcards! You are invited to send us a postcard of your favorite place. Just follow the instructions:

1. Imagine that you are at your favorite place in the whole world;
2. Take another look at the types of postcard senders (The Culture Vulture, The Joker, The indecisive type, The Arty type, The totally tasteless type) on page 74 of Inside Out, and try to identify yourself with one of them;
3. Based on your previous decision, search the web (Flickr, Google Images,Google Maps, your own picture files, other sources) for a great picture (or a selection of pictures) of this place.
4. After finishing the "image" work, write a postcard message describing how you're spending this time at the place. Remember to mention what's best about the place, how long you're staying and how much you miss your classmates.

Thank you in advance!

The citizenship pocket manual

Just outstanding!
Words fail me to describe the quality of such a great report issued by the Brazilian Veja Magazine on its issue # 2137.
Under the title of "Pequeno Manual de Civilidade", the report describes the little advantages of some underestimated virtues, along with analysis from famous sociological cientists.
I would like to recommend its reading to everyone, so all of us can get excellent explanations about important concepts such as honor, integrity, politeness, tolerance, self-control, honesty, among others, all of them so important for the making of a good citizen.
Don't miss it!

http://veja.abril.com.br/041109/pequeno-manual-civilidade-p-108.shtml

Class 559 Lake outdoors

Class 559 Lake outdoors
Originally uploaded by carlos ortiz alt

There's a lot of runnning around the most adequate material in class preparation. We should remember that we can only search for second best - if lucky - for the very best material will always be provided by the students themselves.
All it takes is listen to their stories, call for their opinions, ask them to explain their thoughts. Once we've managed that, addaptation is the only thing that's left. By working with real material (the one that comes from the students), all we need is to direct them into using the new vocabulary or the grammar point that is being taught. And the results are really striking. They will remember everything more easily and participate on the debates much more actively.