OUR SCHOOL LIBRARY PAYS OFF, DOESN'T IT!

Hi there!👋    

As you all know, our school library has already opened its doors and we want you all to come and pay a visit! That is why you are more than welcome to take the school library quiz: Just visit the library any time you are at school and have a look at all the books and amazing things on offer. Once you are ready, fill in the quiz you will find on one of the tables and keep your fingers crossed! You might get a stroke of luck and become our big winner! 💪    

Have a look at the school library blog for more info.  Do not hesitate to visit! Coveted prizes are at stake here!

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Please, enjoy your reading adventures!

WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL!

A new school year has just kicked off and we are about to open up a new term full of unexpectedness and, of course, willingness to learn. It is high time for both teachers and students to pull up their socks to reinvent themselves for their lessons. Motivation is key! 

As usual at the beginning of the course, I have been figuring out how to welcome my C1 students as we arrive in class. I have even been scanning previous posts looking for a flash of sheer inspiration and I have been lucky enough to bump into it! I am going to re-use an activity I did a couple of years ago to re-think the classic getting-to-know-each-other idea. Hopefully, my students will be able to set their own learning goals together to progress over the next ten months. Although it looks like a long time... time does fly! So, let's get ready to give the new school year our best shot!

This opening activity is called "The Compass". You can download it here! I have asked students to use their creative skills to identify their goals for the new school year by drawing. It took them a while to design their own compasses, but, after done, they managed to guess what their classmates' goals were by figuring out the meaning of their pictures.

It was quite an inspirational activity that sparked a lot of interesting discussions so do not hesitate to try it!

END-OF-THE-YEAR REVISION GAME

All good things must come to an end... and this school year is no different! That is why I usually tend to finish my last class of the year on a happy note. If that does not get my students into the right mood to enroll in our school again, I have no idea what will!

Since this year I am into #RetrievalPractice and boosting long-term learning, I decided to put a new class game into practice: a Retrieval Bingo Game. Also, I added an unexpected twist by using wheeldecide.com, which spiced up the atmosphere. I must say it worked out quite well in the end! Here is how we played:

Go to wheeldecide.com and create a wheel with the titles of all the units you have covered in the year. Just in case you need an example, this is what the roulette looked like for my C1.1 "Blended" students.  

When in class, give each student a bingo card like the one below (click here for a sample model in Spanish that you can customize to your own needs!) and explain that, as in any bingo game, the final aim of the game is to complete their card so that they shout bingo! as loud as they can. 

First, students should be asked to fill in the questions themselves before they start playing. To do just that, ask them to spin the wheel one at a time to write one question for every single unit in the year. Students complete their cards individually as units pop up on the screen. They can write true-false questions, multiple-choice questions, open-ended questions... on anything in the units: vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation... you name it! Here is one example: I know little about mediation. Re-write the sentence using inversion. Promise your students will come up with much better questions! Let them know that creativity is power and, when it comes to learning a language, it also means progress!

Once they have completed their questions, it is time for them to mingle and play! As they ask each other their questions, tell them to write the name of the student who knows the answer and the correct answer itself. The game is much more effective if you tell students not to repeat names on their cards. That was hard, indeed!

At the end of the game, I awarded a certificate to the student with the highest number of correct answers and covered the questions that were left unanswered. It was a fun, furious and very compelling way to retrieve course content that students had almost forgotten! 

Give it a try and let me know how it goes!

POETRY WORKSHOP AT SCHOOL

👋 Dear all,

As you all know, poetry is one of the most elegant forms of human expression. From the Iliad by Homer to the Road not taken by Frost, there is a poem for every purpose.

As with any form of writing, a poem can be hard to create but also enormously pleasant... So, up for a creative challenge? With the right approach and the necessary help, you can easily start writing a poem of your own.

Connect with other students at school in our poetry workshop with the Galician writer, Tamara Andrés, next Tuesday 3 May at 18.00 and unleash the poet in you! 

Hope to see you all there!

YOUR OPINION COUNTS!

In the age when information is power, the school is willing to gather as much data as possible from students to identify new needs. Our main goal is to set a new course scheme for the future and make a valuable contribution to your learning. I, as a teacher myself, would also like to work on how to improve my lessons and enhance our classroom atmosphere. 

That is why I am inviting you to take a bit of your time to complete the two surveys below before 22 March. Please, help us make the school a better place! Your insights and feedback will step both the school's and my efforts to enhance school life:

• School Survey
• Class Survey

Bear in mind that the answers are totally anonymous, so do not be afraid to complete the questions listed above. I would really appreciate it!

Thanks in advance!

HAPPY 8M 2022: INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY🙌💪

Last year I took the golden opportunity to participate in an #EscuelasAmigas project about inspiring female figures from Galicia and Navarra that forged the way for future women generations not only in their areas but also across Spain. The project evolved from January to April 2021 and involved C1 English students from EOI Pontevedra and EOI Pamplona. My supportive fellow teacher was @Cristinakata and I also want to take advantage of the occasion to appreciate her work. I feel so grateful! We wouldn't have done it without her and her motivating students! 

During the project, we shared information about these remarkable women and learned why and how their personalities became so influential. Here they are, together with the name of every single student at EOI Pontevedra and Pamplona that made this possible:  

This year I feel honour-bound to commemorate that project as it brought attention to issues just as female cultural achievements, gender equality, and violence and abuse against women. Re-listening to the podcast and re-watching the video we designed then is my particular celebration of womanhood today March 8 2022!

ESCUELAS AMIGAS BOUNCES BACK!

#Escuelas Amigas is a project that brings together Language Schools (EOIs) around Spain. Teachers and students work jointly to learn about their different cultures, practice their English skills and, overall, have fun! I have been taking part in the project with my students for three years now. In this third edition, we are going partners with C1 English students at EOI Málaga. The South of Spain awaits us! We just can't wait!

Taking off will include the following steps:

• Introducing each other in a Padlet board to meet our fellow mates and their teacher Blanca in Málaga. I really appreciate the fact that Blanca and her students have shared their introductions board with us! You rule!

• Filling in a questionnaire which will definitely be our roadmap during the project. We have decided to empower our students by asking them how the project will evolve. The google form questionnaire will definitely become the linchpin of the whole adventure. 

Hopefully, the final episodes will help us discover a lot of interesting information about different places and areas in both cities: Málaga and Pontevedra. 

Blanca and I count on our C1 students to shape this cooperative podcast program together. That is why we have asked them to tailor it by taking these first steps and adapting them to meet their own needs as English learners. In for a new adventure?

LET'S TURN OVER A NEW LEAF!

2022 has arrived and tomorrow we are kicking off a new term full of unexpectedness and, of course, restrictions. This pandemic does not seem to come to an end and teachers need to go on pulling up their socks to reinvent themselves for their first January lessons. Motivation is key! So, let us uncover some!

As usual at this time of the year, I have been cudgeling my brain to figure out how to welcome students as we arrive in class tomorrow morning. I have even been scanning previous posts looking for a flash of sheer inspiration. And I have been lucky enough to bump into it! I am going to re-use the activity here to re-think the classic new year´s resolutions idea and build it around the concept of language learning in a more realistic and manageable way. 

Hopefully, my students will be able to put together different ways that can help them progress in their learning over the next twelve months. Although it looks like a long time... time does fly! So, let's get ready to give the new year our best shot!

And just in case the video above does not do the trick, I will definitely put the cherry on top by playing a game on idioms that might come in handy to ring in the new year. 

Happy 2022, everyone!