New semester (kind of)...new activities!!!

Hey everyone!

So, in spite of the strike, earlier this month is when we would have started our second semester together. Even though we're not back in classes yet, I want to welcome you to my second semester of activities at UTFPR! Since we're beginning a new semester, I've made some changes to the activities I'm offering. 

Here is a description of the activities I'll be offering until I leave in November:

CONVERSATION CLUB:

For those of you that came last semester and during the strike, conversation club will stay pretty much the same, though, obviously, we'll cover new topics. I'm thinking about adding a writing component to the conversation clubs. For example, 10 minutes at the beginning of each session to write down your thoughts about the topic we'll be discussing. If this is added, I'll be extending the conversation clubs to one hour and a half. What do you think?

DAILY USAGE ENGLISH:

This is a new activity I'll be offering. Basically, it will consist of one hour and a half sessions in which we'll practice more "practical" English use. Some examples of topics and scenarios we'll cover are city tours, maps, and giving directions; mock interviews; shopping; checking into a hotel; etc. Though, like all activities, this is open to any and all Letras students, I think this activity will be very helpful for basic level students.

LESSON PLANNING:

This is also a new activity. This should be very helpful for those of you who are currently teaching, plan on teaching, or have an interest in learning more about planning lessons and classes for language students. We will work with one grammatical or vocabulary topic per week and develop and discuss activities for language students to practice this topic. These sessions will also be one hour and a half.

JOURNAL WRITING:

This is not an activity for which we will hold weekly meetings. A "journal entry" is basically a type of free writing of any length and topic. The purpose of this type of writing is not to worry very much about grammatical errors, but to write freely. I'll post a topic on the blog every two weeks. Your entry can be as long or short as you wish (no less than one paragraph, no more than two pages). You can email me what you've written, I will take a look at it and send it back to you. You'll have 10 days from the day that I post the topic to send me your journal entry. I'll have the next 4 days to look at it and send it back. 

And, that's what you can expect for the coming semester/time that we're still on strike. Please remember, EVERYONE is welcome to ALL activities and I would LOVE to see you there! Also, if you have any suggestions, questions, comments or concerns, please let me know.