FLA in process!

Hello!

This time I will show you some First Language Acquisition in process hahaha. 

I will show you a video of my nephew, Tango. He is 8 months old and is at the Babbling stage of FLA according to the following list: 

As we have already studied, in almost all cases children go through the same stages of language development. This is a predictable process and the only difference between one child and the other is the age at which they reach/finish each stage. 

As I said before, Tango is 8 months old and he has started babbling!!!

He is soo sweeetttt!!!! 

Enjoy! 

Babbling

Repeated sequences are often produced, such as [bababa] or [nanana], as well as "variegated" sequences in which the characteristics of the consonant-like articulations are varied. The variegated sequences are initially rare and become more common later on.

Both vocal play and babbling are produced more often in interactions with caregivers, but infants will also produce them when they are alone.

No other animal does anything like babbling. It has often been hypothesized that vocal play and babbling have the function of "practicing" speech-like gestures, helping the infant to gain control of the motor systems involved, and to learn the acoustical consequences of different gestures.

APPS TO USE IN THE CLASSROOM

Hi! As I told you in the last post, I have been attending some workshops this week. 

What I liked the most was that I got to know two apps in which we can create quizzes or surveys to use in the classroom. Since technology is very important in the lives of our students (and ours too), I believe that these tools could be very engaging and fun to play in class. We could use them as warm-ups, wrap-ups, to check previous ideas, to check what students have learned or in any way you want to. 

These apps are Kahoot and Quizizz and they are free!

I will leave you with some information about them and some videos with instructions on how to use them.

KAHOOT

Kahoot! is a tool for using technology to administer quizzes, discussions or surveys. It is a game based classroom response system played by the whole class in real time. Multiple-choice questions are projected on the screen. Students answer the questions with their smartphone, tablet or computer.

https://kahoot.com/ 

 

QUIZIZZ

Quizizz is a fun multiplayer classroom activity, that allows all your students to practice together. Quizizz works on all devices with a browser, including computers, tablets & smartphones. It also has an iOS app, Android app and Chrome app for students. Students can directly join a quiz with a game code and you can create and share the quizzes with your peers.

https://quizizz.com

I hope you give them a chance! They are really fun to play.

Until next time!

Roh 

GUESS WHO'S BACK...

Yes! It's me! Yes, I'm alive (at least biologically speaking)... 😆 Let me give you a little update on my life: I have finally finished my practice lessons!!! It was a long hard road but it was worth it. I really enjoyed being in the classroom with every group in the last four years, 💗and I have grown and learnt a lot from each experience. I know that some of you have finished too, so congratulations! And for the people who are on their way to do it, hold on! You are almost there! 😉 

I feel soooo relieved, though. It feels amazing to be home right now writing this entry and not on the bus on my way to the school. This will make my Thursdays easier. 😌

Apart from that, the rest is still pretty much the same, only that I am not ill anymore. I had two terrible weeks with a flue, fever and very low energy, but now I am at my 90% already (I have never reached 100% in my life! ha, ha). I hope I can keep my batteries charged through the following week since I will be going to workshops every day in Capital Federal (a thing from work). It is going to be HAARDDD but well, you have to do what you have to do. 

😂

I will let you know if I learn something new and interesting in the workshops. Enjoy the rest of the week!

Regards,

Roh

WHY DO WE WANT TO BE TEACHERS?

The departure of Matias as our tutor reminded me of a video I saw on Facebook a few months ago. It was about a teacher in the United States who had multiple jobs ( I couldn't find it). And it reminded me that I had four jobs at the beginning of the year.
I remember feeling so exhausted by the end of the day that I just wanted to quit all my jobs and sleep for an eternity.
Now I only have three jobs which means that I have some free afternoons... which means I get to take naps! So everything is better now. (If I can sleep, I am happy.)😁

While I was looking for the video I found an article by the CNN which is about teachers who have multiple jobs in Oklahoma. It tells the story of a maths teacher who has SIX different jobs! (I was shocked when I read it. I'll leave the link here if you want to read it: These teachers work up to 6 jobs.)  It also explains that Oklahoma is among the bottom three states for teacher salaries.

But the truth is that teachers have poor salaries worldwide. We knew it before starting the teacher training college, we knew it during the course and we know it now at the end of the course and from experience. 

Sooo, Why do we want to be teachers? It's not for the money, obviously. 😂 I would like to know what you like the most about this profession and what keeps you motivated. Do you have any other job apart from teaching? You do it because you like it or because you have to?

In my case, I chose this profession because I had some terrible teachers of English at school. I have always loved the language and the only place in which I could study it was at school but my teachers really let me down with boring lessons and by not giving their best. I want to show my students that English is fun and that it is important to learn another language. It's not always easy but I try to give my best.

Well, this post is already too long and we are on holiday so I better go to sleep 😂 

Enjoy these two weeks and recharge energies for the last part of the year! 

See you,

Roh 

STOP THE WORLD!

Hello! I hope you are doing well!

As regards me, I am feeling like a want to get off the world! We are nearly in June and I feel as if it was December! haha

It's been a rough start of the year for me, A LOT of things going on, work, family issues, studying, planning, planning, planning and taking the bus! 😅 

I think I need some holidays BUUUT the best part hasn't started yet! Next week we start the practice lessons! Woohoo! I will spend my next Thursdays rushing from one place to another (Pilar - Garin - Escobar - Pilar). I can't wait! 🙈 

But well, you have to do what you have to do. Like my grandma used to say "El que quiere celeste que le cueste" 😆

Am I the only one feeling this way? 😅

And well, as the world won't stop for me, I have a little secret:

I'll leave you with a song by the Arctic Monkeys, I hope you enjoy it. 

Have a nice weeked!

Roh 

A STREET CAT NAMED BOB

Hello, everyone! Seeing that the weather won't get any better I would like to recommend you a film for the rainy weekend. The film stars Luke Treadaway and Bob (a beautiful ginger cat! 😻) and it's based on the real story of James Bowen and his cat. The film was inspired by James' best-selling book "A Street Cat Named Bob" in which he talks about his problems with drugs and with his family, and about how his life changed when he decided to home a stray cat. 

Apart from being an inspiring movie, the cat steals the show. If you have a cat or know one, you would know how hard it is to make them do what you want, they just won't listen! I think that is why we have so many movies starred by dogs and very few with cats in them! For me, that is what makes this film so special and also the fact that the director used Bob to act as himself! 

Here you have the trailer and some pictures of James and Bob on the red carpet! 📽 🐈

Unfortunately, the movie is not available on Netflix (thanks for nothing Mr. Netflix), but you can watch it online on some pages and even on YouTube. I'll leave a link below. 

I really hope you give the film a chance! You won't regret it!!! 

See you around!

Roh 😺

Link: Pelispedia - A Street Cat Named Bob

Four Methods

Hi! This post is about two of the Four Methods that really caught my attention.

The Silent Way

Community Language Learning

See you next time!

Roh