TESOL France Grenoble

How can we reduce our preparation time and make our classes less stressful? One solution involves publishing booklets (workbooks) for class activities and homework. Participants are invited to bring their computers and/or flash keys. They will be able to copy files on the spot and customize documents together with colleagues. Teamwork will be one of the main themes. We hope teachers will leave the workshop with 50-page booklets ready-to-print.

To register for this event write to marianne@qualititytime-ESL.com

Free to TESOL France members and teachers affiliated with the hosting school. €5 for non members working elsewhere.

There are several exciting events already planned in Paris. You can go to the TESOL France website for more information http://www.tesol-france.org.

TESOL events bring dedicated teachers together to discuss their discoveries and aspirations. Workshops are conducted in English and are based on the idea of working as a group to promote more effective teaching techniques.

I hope you will join us. I became a member two years ago and have found the experience to be very stimulating. Grenoble members will be able to attend meetings not only here but also in Paris. The big annual Colloqiuum will take place at the beginning of November. Don’t miss it! You can go to the TESOL France website for more information http://www.tesol-france.org.

Marianne Raynaud, Coordinator for TESOL France-Grenoble

PAST EVENTS IN GRENOBLE—Many of these events can be rescheduled upon request

The idea behind this workshop is to present and discuss different materials and ideas about using phonetics and phonology to teach English for specific / academic purposes. This may include presenting tasks specifically aimed at improving pronunciation, oral comprehension or oral production, but may also include other ideas which also draw on or impact on the theme of this workshop.

The first part of the workshop will be given over to the presentation of tasks, and the second part to a discussion of some of the difficulties our students have in this area and how we can address these issues.

If you would like to present materials or tasks, please send your documents to both Marianne Raynaud and Dan Frost so we can print out copies for everyone before the workshop.

For those of you who are interested, we will be meeting for lunch at the China Moon restaurant (opposite the station) at 12 o’clock.

Please register so that we can provide enough copies of materials. To register send us an email: marianne AT qualitytime-esl.com

Dan Frost Président of APLIUT, 

Teacher at IUT2

Marianne Raynaud Former head of the English Department at CPPG (Grenoble Institute of Technology), author of “QualityTime-ESL: The Digital Resource Book”,

Venue : Département Informatique IUT2 UPMF, 2 Place Doyen-Gosse, 38031 Grenoble cedex

Summary: Many ESL courses today focus on speaking skills. Thus it is essential to evaluate students orally and not only through written tests. The obstacles often encountered (lack of time, students too numerous, material inadequate, grading too subjective) will be addressed and solutions will be offered. Teachers will “test" actual materials using pair work to see which solutions could be used in their respective classes. Written tests will also be shown and discussed, but the emphasis will be on effective oral testing that firstly doesn’t require too much preparation, is easy to correct, is considered fair by the students and is motivating enough to bring about true progress. Participants will receive digital files of sample materials.

Swapshop: "Using Film and Song in the Classroom" with Sophie Pietrucci (and Marianne Raynaud)

Summary: This workshop is intended to be a theater of exchange on the subject of multimedia in the classroom. Sophie will prepare a booklet for participants with useful websites and ready-to-use activities, which will be demonstrated on the day of the workshop. Marianne will contribute links to song clips with subtitled lyrics and cloze exercise and discussion subjects.

Summary: Most teachers have their students do presentations. We will look at various types—short, long, formal, informal—that lead to effective language acquisition. Above all we will consider strategies that involve active participation from all the members of a class and not just the speakers. Short films will be shown with students interacting in class. Teachers will be invited to test guidelines given to students and to share their experiences while experimenting rotating pair work tehniques. A ten-page handout will be offered, and the digital files of explanations, instructions and exercises will be available on demand to teachers participating in the workshop.

Short film clips with students interacting in class were shown to illustrate activities that lend themselves to active oral participation. Participants discussed what favors and what discourages student participation in class. A 10-page handout with ready-to-use exercises and activities was given out. Teachers had an opportunity to test and evaluate these exercises. The workshop also focused on websites that offer effective resources and on Internet assignments that appeal to students and are easy to implement. All the links and activities mentioned during the workshop were made available to the participants.

In a very lively and formative session, participants shared exercises and activities that have worked well in ESL classes. Sophie brought and demonstrated a wide array of such materials, and teachers showed each other how to use their favorite activities. We encouraged teachers to send in their offerings but this was not an obligation. It was a very successful effort on the part of all to pool valuable resources.

In a great presentation—very much appreciated by the participants—Bethany explained how you can strike out on your own as an independent teacher. She gave practical information and evaluated the pros and cons for vacataires. A most valuable workshop! One participant has already gone independent thanks to information gathered at this wotkshop and others are planning to do so in the near future.

This workshop was a look into “no-sweat” strategies to get students to speak actively and correctly while using their creativity to bring new resources into the classroom. Participants learned ways of combining traditional activties with Internet-based materials to make students "speak" as much as possible in ESL classes.

***November 6th & 7th, 2010*** Télécom ParisTech

TESOL France’s 29th Annual Colloquium

Plenary Speakers: David Crystal

More information on the TESOL France web site.

EXTRA INFO:

Thursday events in Grenoble have been held at IEG/CPPG - ENSIEG - Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Ingénieurs Electriciens de Grenoble - now part of ENSE3 - CPPG Cycle Préparatoire Polytechnique de Grenoble, 961, Rue de la Houille Blanche BP 46 - 38402 Saint Martin d’Hères

Website: http://www.ensieg.inpg.fr or http://www.ense3.fr

Or at the Département Informatique IUT2 UPMF, 2 Place Doyen-Gosse, 38031 Grenoble cedex

Website: http://www.iut2.upmf-grenoble.fr

Saturday events have taken place at Marianne Raynaud’s home in Crolles.

Participants are free to attend swapshops even if they do not contribute material. If, however, they have specific activities that have worked well for their students, and that they would be ready to share with the group, they should send in these files (or the links and explanations) so that they can be included in the workshop booklets. Write us to get further details.