Say and Show!

Two weeks ago I gave a 30-hour course in Tarragona for preschool and primary English teachers called "Say and Show: Creating a Meaningful English Experience in the Preschool and Primary Classroom!". I have given this course several times but this is the first time I have asked the teachers to create and present their own "Say and Show" learning tool based on what we had been studying and discussing during the course.

It was a great course for me! The teachers were so excited and enthusiastic about exploring new instructional learning tools that we can use in the classroom to help engage our students, promote understanding and encourage language performance. They readily jumped to the occassion and presented some really wonderful and innovative ideas for learning tools. You could just feel the desire in every teacher to create the perfect learning tool for their students!!! I was reminded of this wonderful quote by Helen Keller that I once read...

"It was my teacher's genius, her quick sympathy, her loving tact which made the first years of my education so beautiful. It was because she seized the right moment to impart knowledge that made it so pleasant and acceptable to me.
 Helen Keller"

Yes, we have to do all of that. We have to have a quick sympathy, a loving tact, criteria to choose our teachable moments and learning tools in order to impart what we know. And while I am humbled by the responsibility of this task in the classroom, I am also so grateful for the possibility to make a difference in the life of a child, just as Helen Keller´s teacher brought vision and made such a difference in her life! I know that each and every one of the teachers on my course will make a difference. I can just hear their students looking back and saying "English was fun! I learned a lot. She made my day and school experience different!"

Well, on that smiling thought, I will leave you here. I´ll write more about learning tools later on this week! Keep posted!

Until then, have a wonderful week! theresa