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TESOL-SPAIN REGIONAL EVENT
ASTURIAS
oral skills
and the
common european
framework
OCTOBER 28TH 2006
ESCUELA UNIVERSITARIA DE TURISMO DE ASTURIAS
OVIEDO
San Sebastián and
Santander in 2003, Valencia and
Vitoria in 2004,
Bilbao and Madrid (twice!) in 2005 - regional activity over the
last three years has been steady and has been effective thanks to the
commitment and the hard work of TESOL-SPAIN regional coordinators.
The
outcomes of such commitment are multiple. The most immediate in every case has
been the arrival of new members in these different regions. A second very
tangible result of the excellent work in the Basque Country the evident
interest and professionalism of teachers has been decisive in the choice of San
Sebastián as the venue for the 2007
Annual Convention.
A third valuable outcome of this work has been
the motivation and confidence it has given other regional coordinators, and it
was because of this, and because of her untiring determination to launch
TESOL-SPAIN in Asturias, that Regional Coordinator Tess Sanguinetti decided to
hold a one-day seminar in Asturias on the topic of oral skills and the Common
European Framework.
The need to offer talks that were specific to
teachers in Primary, and others to teachers working in Secondary or with Young
Adults prompted Tess to offer a structure to the day which was new to regional
events.
Annie MacDonald, an ex TESOL-SPAIN president, and active
materials writer, gave the initial plenary session on the Common European
Framework, an area in which her expertise is widely recognised. This was
followed by simultaneous sessions on oral skills for either Primary or
Secondary, in order to help teachers to see how the CEF might be interpreted in
the classroom itself.
The Primary sessions were led by Angela
Cofiño and Sara Arranz, both practising teachers and a local bi-lingual
school. Madrid-based author and teacher trainer Mark Hancock gave a session to
Secondary teachers on oral fluency, complementing a session by Robin Walker on
listening skills. 30 people turned up on the day, most of them new members, and
the feedback indicated very strongly that everybody had found the day of real
value. Certainly the atmosphere during the vino español that rounded the
day off suggested that in Asturias this is only the beginning.
Of
course, the seminar would not have been possible without support from various
sectors. Our thanks then to the Escuela Universitaria de Turismo de Asturias
for providing an ideal venue for the event. The support and expertise of the
Conserje and the five students who took on congress duties with great aplomb,
helped they day to run without a single problem in terms of the event's
technical requirements and the preparation of the coffee break and the vino.
Our thanks also go to the ELT publishers who supported the event from
the very beginning and who gave generously to the raffle of books and materials
that ended the day.
· Heinemann-MacMillan
·
Trinty Spain
·
Anaya English
·
Cambridge University Press
· Vicens-Vives
· Garnet Publishing
· Longman-Pearson
Without their generous support the Asturias event would not have
enjoyed the success it did. Our thanks to you all from TESOL-SPAIN. and its
members.
Robin Walker Regional Officer and Vice-president
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