Teaching English and Italian for tourism in Andean communities in Ecuador
Thread poster: Alessandro Cattelan (X)
Alessandro Cattelan (X)
Alessandro Cattelan (X)
Italy
Local time: 14:27
English to Italian
+ ...
Aug 3, 2007

Hi,
in a couple of weeks I'll be flying to Ecuador where I'll be teaching English and Italian as a volunteer to a group of people working in Andean communities.

I'll stay there just for three weeks. I won't have much time to work with them but I'd like to make the most out of this experience, both for me and for them.

I worked as an English, Italian and Spanish teacher for five years so I have some experience in language teaching. I taught both general and busin
... See more
Hi,
in a couple of weeks I'll be flying to Ecuador where I'll be teaching English and Italian as a volunteer to a group of people working in Andean communities.

I'll stay there just for three weeks. I won't have much time to work with them but I'd like to make the most out of this experience, both for me and for them.

I worked as an English, Italian and Spanish teacher for five years so I have some experience in language teaching. I taught both general and business English but I never had to teach English for tourism so I'm looking for some help on how to best organize my classes there and on where to find some teaching material online.

Can anybody point to some interesting resources?

Also, how would you organize you classes not knowing who your students are, what their level of English is and exactly how much time you have?

I'm trying to collect more information on this but it's not that easy as the people organizing this course are still trying to figure out themselves who will be attending.

Thanks for any help!

Ciao,
Ale.




[Edited at 2007-08-03 08:26]
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Kootvela (X)
Kootvela (X)
Local time: 15:27
Lithuanian to English
+ ...
Re: materials Aug 3, 2007

Alessandro Cattelan wrote:

Also, how would you organize you classes not knowing who your students are, what their level of English is and exactly how much time you have?



[Edited at 2007-08-03 08:26]


My advice is make as many photocopies of neutral handouts that suit any age and any level: crosswords, games, songs, project work instructions, poster making material, visual aids (pictures of food, for example), role play cues, drama activities ideas. That should fill in the time until you know the exact level and age.

Ele
(a proud English summer camp survivor)


 
Evi Prokopi (X)
Evi Prokopi (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 15:27
English to Greek
+ ...
good luck! Aug 3, 2007

Ciao Alessandro,

I found this article and you may find it helpful.

http://www.northandamantsunamirelief.com/english.html

Regards,

Evi


 
Anne Patteet
Anne Patteet  Identity Verified
Local time: 07:27
English to French
+ ...
Hi Alessandro, Aug 3, 2007

I am wondering if it is really languages for tourism that you will have to teach in Ecuador because, with all due respect, people from Andean Communities (IMHO) are more likely to immigrate to Italy and English-speaking (mostly the US) countries. In fact, sadly, it's what many of them need to do in order to get a decent salary for their family. Maybe they want to learn the basics in order to communicate, and in that case the "tourism" definition might not be so bad.

I am, like you,
... See more
I am wondering if it is really languages for tourism that you will have to teach in Ecuador because, with all due respect, people from Andean Communities (IMHO) are more likely to immigrate to Italy and English-speaking (mostly the US) countries. In fact, sadly, it's what many of them need to do in order to get a decent salary for their family. Maybe they want to learn the basics in order to communicate, and in that case the "tourism" definition might not be so bad.

I am, like you, interested in knowing who exactly is going to attend your classes. I may be completely wrong after all, and am ready to accept it. What I am sure of, is that you will spend a nice time in Ecuador, it is a beautiful country with great people (and I'm not Ecuadorian...).

Good luck!

Anne
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Patricia Fierro, M. Sc.
Patricia Fierro, M. Sc.  Identity Verified
Ecuador
Local time: 07:27
English to Spanish
+ ...
From Ecuador Aug 3, 2007

Hi Alessandro,

I am from Quito and would like to help you. I have several contacts who work for language centers where English (ESL) is taught.

You can contact me privately if you would like more information.

Good luck!
Patricia


 
Alessandro Cattelan (X)
Alessandro Cattelan (X)
Italy
Local time: 14:27
English to Italian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
. Aug 3, 2007

Kootvela, I'll certainly bring along quite a few handouts and my laptop which contains a lot of material I gathered and used while teaching here in Italy. I'm sure I'll find something useful... At least, that's what I hope!

Evi, thank you! That site looks very interesting and I'll certainly find some useful tips in their books.

Anne, I know that a lot of people are leaving Ecuador and migrating to Europe, especially Spain, or to the US. I've met a lot of Ecuadorians her
... See more
Kootvela, I'll certainly bring along quite a few handouts and my laptop which contains a lot of material I gathered and used while teaching here in Italy. I'm sure I'll find something useful... At least, that's what I hope!

Evi, thank you! That site looks very interesting and I'll certainly find some useful tips in their books.

Anne, I know that a lot of people are leaving Ecuador and migrating to Europe, especially Spain, or to the US. I've met a lot of Ecuadorians here in Italy and they've told me something about the poor living conditions in their home country. However, I will be working for an organization (http://fepp.org.ec/presentacion.htm) that is trying to improve living conditions there and I'm quite sure that the people I'll meet are willing to learn something to improve their lives and "business". At least that's what I hope!

Patricia, thank you for your proposal. I'll certainly get in touch with you should I need any help.

Right now I'm waiting for the person who's organizing my stay to send me an e-mail with further details on what they expect me to do. As soon as I have some more information I'll try to put together my ideas and you advice.

Thanks,
Ale.

[Edited at 2007-08-04 19:07]
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Anne Patteet
Anne Patteet  Identity Verified
Local time: 07:27
English to French
+ ...
This looks very nice, Aug 4, 2007

and unlike Patricia I don't feel able to help, as I am not at all into teaching, but I certainly would love it if you could keep us posted about anything related to this course.

Cheers,

Anne


 


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Teaching English and Italian for tourism in Andean communities in Ecuador






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