As some of you know, I've interviewed many people during the Convention for the article I'm writing about. Unfortunately, due to lack of space in the newspaper, we needed to select a few sentences to be published. But that's the advantage of having a blog, I can write here some things that were left out in the "official" text for Folha de S.Paulo.Here you go some sentences from teachers and authors:
"Participating in an event like Braz-Tesol is a unique opportunity to know the perspectives for the career, to network and to develop professionally, it's like a 3-day intensive course, discussing ideas, sharing information. I'm very proud to be part of it." - Vinícius Nobre, BT first vice-president, São Paulo (SP)"The event is a great opportunity to share ideas, see the trends and for networking, as there are many good people presenting. As we have just seen in Patricia Friedrich's presentation, we need to teach the language in a constructive way and be aware that we can modify the world through language." - Claudio Azevedo, coordinator at Casa Thomas Jefferson Lago Sul, Brasília (DF)
"The Convention is great for getting to know people and exchanging information. Besides, it's an excellent opportunity for professional and personal growth." - Sergio Almeira, academic consultant at Oxford University Press, Ribeirão Preto (SP)"If you are interested in being a teacher, go for it, don't be afraid of facing it as a career instead of 'just a job'. But my advice is to read metholodoly books and be updated with the newest trends, such as the lexical approach" - Denilso de Lima, author of Inglês na Ponta da Língua and Por Que Assim e Não Assado?, Curitiba (PR)
"The ideas that David Crystal presented are the beginning of a new era. We need to understand English as a global language and teach it in a new way, not concerning so much about old traditions." - Carla Maria Schivato, teacher from Franca (SP)
"We need to understand the new varieties of English and how the Internet is shaping them, for example, with new abbreviations. These changes can frighten some older teachers, but we need to adapt to them and be aware of this idea of a Global English." - David Crystal, author of many books and atron of the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL)
"We need to get advantage of technology to make the classes more real to students, using the internet, interactive whiteboards, videos etc." - Danielle Correa Gomes, teacher from Rio de Janeiro (RJ)
"Technology helps the teacher, but as educators we need to connect it to the humanistic side of teaching as well. We need to have students reflect and to make them aware that learning doesn't take place only in the classroom, and that's how technology can help them." - Célia Santiago, teacher from Sorocaba (SP)"Technology has come to stay, but, more than that, what I heard a lot of people talking about is the idea of identity in a globalized world" - Debora Schisler, director at Seven Idiomas, São Paulo (SP)
"If you want to be a teacher, get a degree, educate yourself. There's a folklore that 'anyone can teach', but it's not like that. You need to look for serious institutions to study because the market is getting more professional now." - José Morales, co-author of English Adventure, Florianópolis (SC)
"Technology is present in our daily lives, so it can't be left out of the classroom. Some teachers still 'fear' using computers, but we need to lose this prejudice and follow the technological evolution. And using technology in language teaching is related to the use of corpora to some extent." - Tony Berber Sardinha, professor at PUC-SP
"Many teachers still find it hard to apply corpora in the classes, but it's a growing trend, and we already have many dictionaries and grammar books based on corpora, so I believe we are going to use it more and more." - Barbara Orfano, teacher from Belo Horizonte (MG)
"Speaking English is no guarantee of 'being part of the world' nowadays, but not speaking is a guarantee of being excluded." - Henrique Moura, teacher from São Paulo (SP)
"With the Olympics Games and the World Cup, more and more people will need to learn English in Brazil, so there's a growing market for teachers." - Herbert Puchta, author of many coursebooks and methodology books
What about you? What do you have to say about the Convention, the market for teachers, the trends you heard about? Write a comment and share your views with everyone!
