The first TOEFL test in Petrolina was administered on Saturday, October 27, 2012. It was a total success!
Be on the look-out for more dates to be set in December 2012. There are only 14 seats available for every date, so make sure and get yours quickly!
Many thanks to Alexandre Correia, Computer Science Professor at the IF-Sertão, who helped with all the IT and graciously did all the preparatory tests, the set-up and the take down.
Congratulations to the students– Wandersson and Bruna– who took the test; you are now officially Petrolina TOEFL pioneers 🙂
Once upon a time, a group of daring young students set out to master a foreign tongue on a magical island.
They departed from the kingdom of Petrolina, traveling merrily over land until arriving at the massive hydroelectric dam of Sobradinho, where the noble Noah boat awaited them.
Disembarking from their trusty transport, the travelers received their first surprise: a magic amulet, called a “rubber band,” which forbade the wearer from speaking his or her native tongue. Immersion in the foreign tongue, the most used language in all the world—English—had begun!
Armed with their challenge, the valiant voyagers boarded the Noah, where there was much merrymaking and singing.
By the time the sun was two hours lower in the sky, the boat full of adventurers scraped the sands of Treasure Island (Ilha do Tesouro in the local language). And there were treasures aplenty, just waiting to be discovered.
After settling in their cabins, appetites were worked up over tournaments of tetherball, volleyball and soccer until the first of many great feasts.
Bellies filled with American fare, the campers tackled group tasks for a great festival in their kingdom, whose goal is to share English with all the dwellers of the land (the Petrolina International English Fair).
Later, leaders helped the students climb new heights; daring was unburied from deep within.
As the weary travelers trooped back to their cabins, the first glimmers of all the riches to be had were fresh in their minds.
With the rising of the sun, the campers set off on a quest to explore the island.
Not only did they discover a beach full of gleaming crystals…
…but they also uncovered their own bravery and strength, hiking up mountains…
…jumping off cliffs and climbing up steep rocks.
Over the next few days, uncountable treasures were discovered. Participants explored the island as they explored their own daring, testing their abilities at kayaking, archery, zip lines, swimming, horseback riding and more—all while communicating in the strange sounds of English.
The linguistic conquerors showed their mastery of the foreign tongue by creating songs, dramatic works and dances (to be shown to all the townspeople during the great PIEF festival).
They even fell in love with the adventure of tasting strange new foods such as marshmellows and peanut butter!
Around a blazing fire on the beach during the last night, the adventurers bid their adieus over sweet melodious campfire songs and sweeter s’mores.
Merrymaking continued until the parting of ways, a day’s journey later. Just as diamonds are indestructible, the richness of getting to know new worlds and all that they entail (friendship, understanding, and a new language) will be forever with all those adventurous enough to take part in the First English Immersion Camp in the North-East Interior at Treasure Island!
A few weeks ago I completed my Autonomous Learning lectures in UPE English classes, and then met with over 15 students individually to discuss their personal goals and strategies when it comes to improving their English. The lectures and workshops were extremely rewarding, and I even met with a few students who had never come to my classes before. The whole experienced reinforced the concept that the most effective goals in language learning are short-term, specific, and evaluable. This way, they are all that much easier to achieve!
And here is the Personal Goal Setting handout I asked my students to fill out before meeting with me.
But the process is never over! For those who met with me, I’ll be setting up meetings in another few weeks to help them evaluate where they are in their goal process. For those who haven’t yet made goals and would like to talk more about how to do it, I’m here–get in contact!
Thanks to Christina Lorimer, ETA in São José do Rio Preto, for her consultation about autonomous learning and goal-setting. Another great web resource from an avid autonomous learner is Innovation in Teaching.
Our English Immersion Camp at the Ilha do Tesouro was a grand success! We want to share two special items: first, a heart-warming video of our campers singing “Northeast Roads” (a version of John Denver’s “Country Roads” that we invented at camp); and second, some inspiring quotations from our camp evaluations.
The goal of our camp, ultimately, was to provide something that doesn’t exist in the sertão of Brazil: a full immersion experience in English. Our students were challenged to speak English the entire weekend; each one had a bracelet that could be taken away by another camper or teacher if the student were heard speaking Portuguese. (Needless to say, many bracelets were lost and gained again.) We are thrilled that many of our evaluations point to the importance of this immersion experience, as well as other benefits of the camp: motivation to study, learning new vocabulary, and good new friends.
“I would recommend this camp because there isn’t this kind of experience around here, and it’s really important if you want to learn English.”
“I know myself better. Now I know what I have to do to improve.”
“It couldn’t be better, I learned so many expressions I didn’t know yet. I spoke 90% in English and as I wanted to do a trip to the USA but I don’t have enough money, it was an exchange program in Sobradinho!”
“My English was automatic, even when I forgot that I should speak English, my mind was ready to speak.”
“I am only a beginner in English and this camp was very stimulating for me. I will definitely study with more motivation now.”
“I would definitely recommend the camp because it is an incredible opportunity to meet new people, improve my English, and develop various skills!”
“It is an opportunity to learn English while having fun.”
“This experience helped me a lot because it made me practice my English, which I had left to the side for a long time.”
“It was a great experience, aside from being an opportunity to grow intellectually, the camp transformed unknown people into good friends.”
Up next: a special Treasure Island fairy tale (nonfiction!)
Ensina Petrolina 