Interadvanced
2 de octubre de 2016
INTERADVANCED For my (former) intermediate and advanced students
Dear class of 2016, this is me, your former teacher. A new course is about to begin and a certain deja vu-ish feeling is somehow inevitable. The September exams are all too recent, which explains the ambivalent mix of emotions that still lingers on in the hallways of the school. I suppose I wanted to thank you for the kindness you showed me before the summer break. You showered me with farewell gifts and sent me generous emails. I sincerely hope you really learnt some English in my classes. Thanks you for that awesome chindogu T-shirt, the book on eponyms, the DIY Darth Vader and the memories of an academic I will always treasure.
Rodolfo de la Peùa Š
Miguel, Silvia, Viki, las dos Vanesas e Iker posan con evidente optimismo antes de entrar a hacer el examen de B2
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Interadvanced
2 de octubre de 2016
Allow me to lecture you one last time. It’s the sort of banter that I sometimes used in the classroom so nothing new under sun. Right? Ok here goes… When it comes to learning a second language, attaining the level one longs for may be a bittersweet journey. I have often brooded over the tough situation many of you find yourselves The Intermedio 1 class show their early morning smiles trapped in and I find it increasingly difficult to put down in words my explanation to such a sad state of affairs. Sometimes I feel that trying to master a language is akin to learning to dance. However open-minded we may want to be, the fact remains: some people begin with a headstart, others will have a hard time just trying to coordinate their feet. I feel this is a particularly apt analogy which is not always referred to because most people tend to regard language learning as a primarily intellectual endeavor, which is debatable (is watching “We show you the Game of Thrones an intellectual exercise?). While we tend to agree that not everyone is meant to learn to way. You do the tango there is increasing pressure on the average walking” citizen to learn a second SCHLOMO KIERKEWICZ language (which in most cases means English). The truth is some people are ready to go the distance and some others are not (or simply cannot due to various circumstances). Quite frankly, I believe the B2 level is within reach at least for any student who is willing to or able to put in the hours it requires. It goes without saying, that number My Darth Vader and me m i g h t v a r y d e p e n d i n g o n o n e ’s a b i l i t y o r predisposition. One warning is in order here. A regular person can get in acceptable physical shape by eating the right food and visiting the gym just three hours a week. I’m afraid the same is not true about learning to tango or to play the violin, though but it is true in the case of language learning. Rodolfo de la Peña ©
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Interadvanced
2 de octubre de 2016
I often get asked how I mastered English and sometimes when I’m about to answer the question it is typical for someone to butt in an offer their own explanation. Tongue-in-cheek or matter-offactly this person says that I have a preternatural flair for languages or a weird gene (I may be a mutant!) or something of that sort. In other words, my competence has little to do with my long years of consistent study (including five years in college), the hundreds of books that I’ve read in English, the dozens of vocabulary notebooks that I’ve filled over the years, the thousands of movies that I have watched in English, the relationship with my anglophone friends. Apparently all those factors fade into irrelevance because I have some kind of magic gene that makes it possible to effortlessly learn a language in the The T-shirt works. twinkling of an eye. Well, I‘ve got news for you. We, teachers, don’t have a mutant gene (although it be really cool to be a language Wolverine, wouldn’t it?). We simply work hard. Real hard. That’s it.
Ambientazo en la clase de Avanzado 2, turno de tarde
One of your great thank-you gifts
I am fully aware that it is not at all fair to ask a student to achieve the degree of proficiency their teacher’s got, just like a regular citizen should not be required to attain the driving skills of a stunt driver. That said, I still believe that whether one aspires to master a craft at a professional level or for the sake of it, hard work is always part of the process. Of course, misguided efforts are bound to bear no fruit and that’s where we, teachers, come in. We are facilitators. We help you decide how to channel your energy and ultimately show you the way but, please, always remember that it is you that is expected to do the actual walking.
Rodolfo de la Peña ©
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