Thursday 17 March 2011

Calheta de São Miguel, Cape Verde - 1st day (5th March 2011)

Calheta de São Miguel, Santiago island, Cape Verde
The afternoon of day one (5th March 2011)
05H00/06H30 PM

Soon after having come from Cutelo Miranda I walked into an English class where thirteen young ladies from ADEC were waiting for me to help them further develop the speaking skills they are expected to have, (particularly five of them who will  soon travel to Switzerland) in order to get by. I have therefore decided to focus on  a fairly wide range of vocabulary they might need as in accordance with the activities they will be involved in - getting to know people, participating in an international running competition, talking to those who will welcome them, etc. 

They all seemed enthusiastic and willing to take on this challenge, because that's what it is going to be - a challenge to their capability to "prepare" themselves in such a short time. I have decided to approach this issue in a practical and interactive way, prompting cues and taking advantage of role-playing strategies.











English class moments ...




Aspects like pronunciation, accent, rhythm and intonation were also looked into. Irrespective of it having been a class we all enjoyed ourselves, particularly throughout the "scenario simulation " exercises.

Half an hour was dedicated to  "how to write a diary", though my approach to it today was more than a presentation of different types of diaries and diary extracts some of which were related to Cape Verde than "writing strategies". They have been assigned to do a one day of their lives diary page ... and once more I felt they were all very committed.

My first day finished by 07H00 PM and though I am not particularly tired, I feel I might ... starting tomorrow as I'll have an average of 10 working hours a day with just a one hour and a half interval.

Being useful is what keeps me here ...
May God help me to "survive" through this tiresome week!...






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