Construyendo Puentes No.5 March-April Issue

MARCH-APRIL | NEWSLETTER NO. 5

CONSTRUYENDO

Puentes

"Studying is not an act of consuming ideas, but of creating and recreating them" Paulo Freire

INDEX 02

Editorial Teaching as a calling.

03

Report on the Process of Certification

07

for Teachers of Fundamental Courses in Dialogue Education

Opportunities to serve in the Department of Continuing Education

05

Fundamental courses Online (CFO)

08

A Cycle Report (January-May)

06

to create teaching resources

Coaching Program in English for professional development of missionaries (EPD)

Canva An App to

10

Next Fundamental Courses For the second half of the year. offer by : TRES, TBM y AEL

CONTAC US www.distantcourses.org Curso Fundamental de Lingüística y Antropología Educación Continua PCO

EDITORIAL

CONSTRUYENDO PUENTES | 2

Teaching as a calling.

When responding to the call to teach, we know in advance that progress along this path will not always be easy. Sometimes we meet great challenges. The group we are teaching may be very heterogeneous and difficult. We may not have all the resources we need to succeed in our teaching, or some cultural differences may baffle us.

These and many other situations could lead the one who decided to respond to this call to think that he or she is not suitable for such an important task. They can get discouraged or perhaps give up this path.

Do you know a story like this? In Latin America, many have responded generously to this call of

Praises and Prayers request

Prayer request: 1. For the

Perú.

second phase of the Dialogue Education Certification for Fundamental Courses Teachers 2. For the

3. For the

training others by teaching different courses in linguistics the Fundamentals Course.

face-to-face Fundamental Courses, El Salvador, Mexico, and

next semester in:

4. For

CFO

leaders

od Communities of Practice .

all the participants

in

cycles A

and

B of

(Online Fundamental Courses)

We thank God for all these brothers, who give of their time, using their gifts to serve God. We remind you all of this beautiful passage and

all the members of Education Department 5. For

the

Continuing

encourage you to continue this journey:

Praises: finished

the

first phase

1 Corinthians 15:58 | NIV

1. We

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable,

Education Certification.

of the Dialogue

always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

2. We

finished

the

cycle A of Online

Fundamental Courses We pray for each of them, that God will continue using them to bless the lives of many through their teaching.

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REPORT

on the Process of Certification for Teachers of Fundamental Courses in Dialogue Education

On March 13 we began training in Education Dialogue, as the first phase of the certification process.

We thank God for the good response from the partner organizations which have sent their teachers to participate in this training.

God definitely exceeded our expectations and sent us participants from all of Latin América, from Mexico to Argentina.

We have a group of almost 40 participants

As part of the course, we met virtually with each of the participants to begin the dialogue and get acquainted.

Getting to know them was a great experience.

We could see the potential and experience of each participant who will teach the Fundamental Course subjects within each partner organization.

After seven weeks in the training, each participant has shared his or her own experiences related to the themes being discussed and has made application to the course they currently teach or will begin teaching.

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Three groups were formed, one per subject, for the teachers to experience working in communities of practice. We have discussed the focus on dialogue, understanding cultural differences and teaching cross culturally. It has been extremely rewarding to learn from them through dialogue about life experiences in the forums.

On April 8 we had our first group sessions with each community of practice.

For many, it was the first time they could see and hear their fellow students, rather than just read what they wrote in the forums. At the end of the final module we will meet virtually with each participant .

We ask you to pray for the participants and facilitators of this certification, that God will be directing and strengthening their lives and ministries.

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Fundamental Courses Online (CFO)

A Cycle Report (January-May)

Fundamental Course On Line (CFO), is the virtual version of the Fundamental classroom courses we offer in collaboration with our partners throughout Latin America.

This method began five years ago in response to the need for training of Latin Americans who, for reasons of work, time, or distance, cannot attend classroom courses. Distance study provides many

CYCLE A: Cycle A of the CFO started well

benefits as participants study at their own pace and can do so from the comfort of home.

Additionally, our courses have a personalized tutoring system, meaning that each participant has a tutor who accompanies him or her

In the Phonetics course we had seven participants, from Perú, Argentina, Costa Rica and Venezuela. In the Linguistics course, we had three participants, from Peru, Costa Rica and Argentina. Unfortunately, for personal reasons, the participants had to leave the courses, but they desire to continue in the next cycle which will open mid-year.

However, the course of acquiring a second language has been restructured and now has the name "Functioning in Multilingual and Multicultural Teams (FEMM)". In this cycle we had two participants, one from Venezuela and one from Argentina.

God has blessed the team of tutors and has allowed them to connect with people who want to prepare to serve the Lord in missions, and to support them in their preparation for their ministries.

throughout the process.

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COACHING Program in English for professional development of missionaries (EDP)

In the last two years, we have developed a coaching program in SIL Americas Area to help

Anyone wishing to participate in this program must

Spanish speakers improve their skills in English

have the commitment and support of their church

to successfully achieve the organizational

and/or leadership of their organization.

objectives of the department, project or ministry in which they are serving.

Therefore, it is vitally important that the church or organization appoint a supervisor or person to

Starting this year we are working to make this

accompany and encourage the participant during

program available to serve the Latin American

this process The supervisor will receive weekly

churches and mission organizations. In EPD we

progress reports, identify, with the participant,

focus specifically on vocabulary, grammar and

possible challenges and obstacles that may come

language skills that will have an immediate use

up during the process, and work together with the

for the organizational assignment and ministry

participant and the coach to find possible

of the participant.

solutions to these challenges.

It is important to note that in this type of program it is essential for the participant to have a high degree of responsibility, discipline and commitment.

In many cases, the coach accompanies the

We want to know about your interests, needs and ideas in relation to a program of this nature. For that reason we ask you to take a few minutes to answer this survey: (https://goo.gl/forms/3yrEKYgoEAkcbe472) https://goo.gl/forms/3yrEKYgoEAkcbe472

participant who is already attending a language school or working on language learning in some

Your answers

other way. This program functions as a

that really serves the Latin American organizations

complementary study or space to practice and

and churches involved in Bible translation and

improve those areas where they have greater

mobilization.

will

help us design a program

difficulty..

Thank you very much!

Alejandra Guajardo

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OPPORTUNITIES

to serve in the Department of Continuing Education We are looking for volunteers who wish to invest part of their time,gifts and talents to serve God and Latin American missionaries through three opportunities in our Department of Continuing Education.

WEB CONTENT EDITOR: Organize the website of our department. Some of the tasks are:

a) edit, upload and update information regarding the activities of our b) guide department members on best practices of web publishing. c) maintain current links, videos, and audios posted on the website.

department.

ARCHIVIST: Keep the department files with the contents of the different courses organized and accessible to staff, as well as the

MOODLE ADMINISTRATOR: Handle the Moodle platform where we have our

administrative documentation regarding

online courses. Some of the tasks will be:

teachers and participants.

a) Coordinate You need to have intermediate knowledge of Spanish.

all updates and changes to the

platform with the chief administrator of Moodle

b) Help

users with any difficulty they may have

getting into courses, registering, etc

c)

Orient facilitators and course designers on

various resources and changes in the Moodle platform

You need have knowledge of written and spoken Spanish.

If you are interested in any of these service opportunities or would like more details please contact Alejandra Guajardo (cursos_online@sil.org).

Thank you very much.

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CANVA: An App to create teaching resources

Many times we have the desire to innovate in the way we teach and believe that the best way is updating the way to present course content. Usually we do not have the time we need to carry out the task of updating our course, not only in content but in form and design. How then can we get something visually appealing that at the same time provides relevant information to the participants of our course? And how can we meet the expectations that the current learning demands?

Canva is a design tool that allows us to create different publications with a professional look in an easy and fun way. This makes it the perfect tool for teaching because it allows the teacher to develop visual material in order to reach all their students with their different learning styles.

You can quickly start creating documents, presentations, infographics and images, regardless of the content because it doesn’t take long to master.

You'll be surprised how many formats, templates, images, icons you have available, all free of charge (there is also paid content), that are sufficient to create thousands of publications. You just have need to be ready with clear ideas of what you want to convey, highlight the important points, and launch your creativity!

Below I list some of the benefits of this program and how to create an account: This is a free tool Easy to use Template for other formats Can upload your own photos and images Has a library of photos, icons, illustrations, shapes, frames, lines to which you have access Many templates and fonts You can download in various formats (JPG, PNG, PDF)

To use this Web application you must follow 3 easy steps: 1. Visit the site http://canva.com 2. Create your own account using Facebook, Google or any email.

3. Create a password.

Now you can start creating!! Now that you know about this tool, you just need to get to work and create results that will inspire your students to keep learning!

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NEXT CF'S For the second half of the year.

For the second half of 2017, we have three partner organizations that will be giving the CFs.

BIBLE TRANSLATORS OF EL SALVADOR (TRES): Our brothers in El Salvador will offer the complete Fundamental Course

Articulatory Phonetics, Introduction to Descriptive Linguistics and FEMM- Functioning in Multilingual, Multicultural teams (formerly Second language Acquisition). (the 03 Basic subjects required for CILTA:

first course runs from June 26 to July 29, at Miramonte Baptist Church.

And the second, will be held at the end of the year, from November 1 to December 1, also at the Miramonte Church.

The

MEXICO BIBLE TRANSLATION (TBM): TBM will offer the Fundamental Course offering five subjects are: Phonetics , Linguistics, Second Language Acquisition, Anthropology and Literacy.

Our brothers at

July 8 to August 16, lasting 40 days (cost: 4,500 pesos, including lodging, food and manuals).

The program runs from

You can contact them via:

Website: www.tbm.org.mx Mail: info@tbm.org.mx

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You can contact them via:

Website: www.asociaciontreselsalvador.org https://es-es.facebook.com/TRESElSalvador/ Mail: contacto@asociaciontreselsalvador.org

REACHING ALL ETHNIC GROUPS IN THEIR LANGUAGE (AEL): Peru will offer the Fundamental Course including the 3 basic subjects required to apply to CILTA. This course will take place at the facilities of ATEK in the city of Cusco, Peru.

Our brothers in

Monday, September 3 to September 30, with a duration of 4 weeks Cost: US $ 450, (including lodging and meals) The program runs from

You can contact them via:

Website: www.aelperu.org, http://www.atekperu.org Mail: capacitacion@aelperu.org

DEPARTAMENTO DE EDUCACIÓN CONTINUA Claudia Rugamas yani_rugs@yahoo.es Coordinadora del Boletín

Rosalba Rugamas curso_fundamental@sil.org Coordinación Curso Fundamental

Pamela Echard pam_echerd@sil.org Asesora Sil Alejandra Guajardo cursos_online@sil.org Coordinadora del Dept. Educación Continua