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[gregd75]

Hello!

As you may already know, MEXTESOL (www.mextesol.org.mx) is a professional teachers organisation throughout the republic of Mexico.

I have been organising the first MEXTESOL Academic Saturday here in Jalisco for over a decade, to be held this Saturday 5th September 2009.

The Universidad Panamericana will host this FREE event- starting at 9am and finishing at 1.30pm

For directions, bus routes and more information about the event please visit our website; www.jaliscomextesol.org
5 Reasons to come along;

* Lilliana Villalobos from the U de Guadalajara is our plenary speaker titled 'Values in EFL'
* 6 different, interesting academic workshops to participate in.

Lesson planning: A balancing act
Music & memory: What's the connection?
Integrating IT tools in the EFL classroom
Academic Aerobics
The purpose driven classroom: How to answer the problems
Autonomous learning

* Editorial stands and bookstore to browse.
* We will give away a FREE entrance to the MEXTESOL annual conference.
* A FREE raffle, sponsored by MacMillan.

The Academic Saturday is free for all, however, we hope that you will enjoy this event and decide to sign up to MEXTESOL on the day. Annual membership is just $200 MXN and for this you receive two academic publications a year, access to the MEXTESOL webpage and its resources, discounts to MEXTESOL events and of course the opportunity for professional development.

We have a website www.jaliscomextesol.org for more information, but if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to private mail me and I'll be very happy to help.

Jalisco MEXTESOL hopes that anyone who is in EFL and in the Guadalajara area will want to attend. Its a great opportunity to develop professionally

Many, many thanks and I look forward to meeting you in a few weeks!

Greg Davies

[Samantha]

Thanks Greg.

[gregd75]

Our FREE Academic Saturday is just 5 days away... this Saturday 5th September. We hope you are planning to come along!

Please remember that we will have 6 Workshops - details about the workshops are below to help you decide which ones you'd like to participate in. Furthermore, Liliana Villalobos will be presenting our Plenary titled 'Values in EFL'


* Our complimentary coffee break is very kindly sponsored by Cengange editorial.
* There will be a FREE copy of the Guadalajara Reporter for attendees.
* Oxford University Press are offering notepads and pens for you to work with.
* Please visit the Gonvill stand to see a wide range of English books that may be of interest to you.
* MacMillan have donated free prizes that will be drawn from the registration forms completed in the morning.

ITESO will also be on hand to answer questions about their Masters program and they are also starting up an ICELT course (In-Service Certificate in English Language Teaching) run by the British Council and University of Cambridge Local Exams Syndicate-Cambridge ESOL on the weekend of September 25 and 26, 2009, running for one year. It is recognized by SEJ. Come along and find out more!!!!

Are you interested in a FREE ENTRANCE to the national conference in MONTERREY? (Value just over $1,500 pesos). Simply write a piece telling us why you should go to the conference and give it to us when you register. P�a White, ex-president will decide and announce who the winner is during the event!

Universidad Panamericana 9am to 1pm - SEE YOU THERE!!!

For more information PM me, or email [email protected]


WORKSHOPS:

1. Lesson planning: a balancing act What makes a lesson of any kind a memorable and effective learning experience? Participants will be asked to reflect on past lessons in fields other than language learning with a view to bringing out the important pedagogical, psychological and motivational aspects of a well-designed lesson. These will then be transferred to a language lesson, and activities in the different phases of lessons of varying lengths will be generated.

2. Music and Memory: What�s the Connection? The objective of this workshop is to explore the connection between music and memory and take advantage of it in our classes.

The speaker will begin by explaining the theory behind using music to enhance learning, and give a demonstration. She and the participants will discuss different ways in which music can be used in the classroom. Participants will then work in small groups to create activities that use music in different ways.

3. Autonomous Learning Autonomous Learning is a school of education which sees learners as individuals who can and should be autonomous: be responsible for their own learning climate. It helps students develop their consciousness, vision, practicality and freedom. These attributes serve to aid the student in his/her independent learning. Independent study is a process, a method and a philosophy of education whereby a learner acquires knowledge by his or her own efforts and develops the ability for enquiry and critical evaluation.

4. Academic Aerobics Nowadays, technology has made our lives easier. With a click of a mouse we can shop for everything online, do research, watch movies, chat with our friends and even date. What all this boils down to is that we are literally going through our lives with a chair glued to our derriere. Consequently, this transfers into the classroom in the form of lethargic students unwilling to participate in any of our heartfelt lesson planning.

The purpose of this workshop is to provide attendees with a number of tried and tested activities that will help enliven the classroom morale and get everyone's heart rate up just a tad.

5. Integrating IT tools in the EFL classroom If you are already aware that your computer is more than just a sophisticated typewriter, this might be the right talk for you! Technology is not going to substitute teachers, but instead we might be substituted by teachers who use IT. We need to find new ways to integrate technology tools into our professional repertoire. Anyone can learn how to customize their own e-material and tailor it for their students� needs. Let me give you a few easy steps to get started!

This workshop will discuss the results of research and will also show some activities that have proved to be effective, interesting and relevant for students.

6. The Purpose Driven Classroom: Tasks, Projects, Problems, and How to Answer the Question:" How will this help me in the real world?" A new trend is growing in the education community! Are you ready? The task and problem based classroom steers way from grammar focused exercises and exams and places the emphasis on the quality of the performance of real world tasks. In other words...�Can the student use the language to cope with real world problems?�

This workshop will focus on building task-based instruction in the English classroom and how to evaluate those tasks. Along the way, we will discover how using tasks as a basis of instruction can lead to better student involvement in the classroom and contribute to autonomous learning.