Guanacaste English Language Festival (GELF)

Santa Cruz, Guanacaste, Costa Rica – 11 June 2015

Contact Information

David Burns

Santa Cruz, Guanacaste

Facebook: English on the Move

Email: englishonthemove27@gmail.com

Cell: 8416 2367

English Language Festival

2015 Pilot program initiative for the province of Guanacaste with the goal of expansion to other provinces in 2016 and complete sustainability by 2020.

Pilot program to be held in Guanacaste in 2015 and the Festival to be held in June 2015 in a location TBD – but likely Universidad Latina in Santa Cruz.

Mission Statement

The ENGLISH LANGUAGE FESTIVAL will promote the English language in Costa Rica and highlight the importance of foreign languages and critical thinking to public school students, while involving students and teachers in the active use of English. Our goal is to take English from theory to practice – out of the textbooks and into the real world.

Teachers will gain more confidence in their ability to design, plan, conduct, and facilitate classes that include communicative, participatory, student-centered teaching methods while preparing for GELF activities.

Students will benefit from the exposure to interactive and participatory lessons while improving all the basic language skills while gaining confidence in actually using and communicating in English and in front of an audience.

Grant Provisions

Project Summary & Background

Community Involvement

Outcome & Measurable Results

Project Implementation

Capacity Building

Sustainability

Developing the Festival

Developing a manual of rules and guidelines loosely based on the MEP manual for FEA

Using language and guidelines from the MEP Programas de Estudio INGLES

Supplementing the upcoming TEFL for MEP lesson plan and curriculum project from Peace Corps

Implementing the ideas and preparation for any Festival activities seamlessly into the lesson plans of ESL classes in Costa Rica.

GELF Committee

We want one (1) Tico English teacher from each region for a total of 3 Costa Rican teachers.

We have one TEFL PCVs from each region + David and Louisa in Santa Cruz for a total of 5 PCVs

3 Guan MEP Asesores de Ingles

For a total of 8 people on the committee

We will also need one or two Costa Rican teachers to host the event.

Featured Festival Activities

Festival Poster Design and Slogan Contest (Physical & Digital Designs)

Teacher Videos: “Why I Teach” (1 min. or less) from all over Guan and compiled in one video

Spelling Bee (model demonstration)

Readers’ Theater (model demo: prepared & improvised)

Public Speaking (speeches, debate, poetry & storytelling)

Music (singing & composition; group & individual)

Writing contest (essays & poetry)

Photography Essays (written & spoken narration of photos in English)

Open – TBD: PCV and Tico English Teachers talent showcase? Independent PBL projects (short films, mock news clips, music videos, PSA’s, comedy sketches, SNL type fake ads… Engage the creative minds you have in your classrooms!

Poster Design & Slogan Contest

Design a poster & slogan to represent why English is important in Costa Rica in general and in Guanacaste in particular.

Brainstorming and development of ideas can begin now --begin using poster, slogan, art and digital design ideas in your classes for various lessons.

Best posters to be chosen by in each institution and later by circuit by PCVs and English teachers. CREFL will select 15 maximum from each region (45 total) and will select the top 10.

Winning design will be used as the official Festival poster and slogan – all submitted posters will be displayed at the Festival.

Digital design of winning poster to promote the Festival on social media.

Poster & Art Ideas

Digital Posters or Memes

Fun and easy for students to use and develop artistic and graphic design skills

Great informal or formative assessment ideas

Can review vocabulary or grammar structures

Teacher should create memes or infographics also

Can be used to promote the GELF while highlighting students’ creativity and graphic design skills

Online Resources for Poster and Art Ideas

http://busyteacher.org/teaching_ideas_and_techniques/classroom-posters/

http://www.eslprintables.com/teaching_resources/classroom_posters/

https://en.islcollective.com/resources/search_result?Material_Type=classroom+posters

Spelling Bee (model)

Have a model Spelling Bee with a maximum number of participants from Primary and/or Secondary schools – maximum of 15 minutes.

Provide more experience and practice for students interested in participating in the Costa Rica English Spelling Bee 2015, leading to the final in Guapiles in November 2015.

Offer the chance for students to observe and understand how an English Spelling Bee functions.

Readers’ Theater (model)

Readers’ Theater has the support (and promise of financing) from Peace Corps Costa Rica and will be included in the National Spelling Bee 2016.

Have one Readers’ Theater prepared presentation –maximum of eight minutes.

Have one improvised RT presentation during the Festival.

Readers’ Theater Resources

Pinterest (search Readers Theater)

http://esldrama.weebly.com/readers-theater.html

http://www.aaronshep.com/rt/RTE.html

http://www.teachingheart.net/readerstheater.htm

http://users.humboldt.edu/jfloss/rt-eval.html

http://www.tips-for-teachers.com/readers_theater.htm

Public Speaking

Speech Contest: public speeches in two formats, original and a with a maximum of 3 minutes.

Debates: Probably will not be included in 2015, but good potential for future GELFs.

Storytelling: Costa Rican and Guanecastecan folk stories, proverbs, legends in English in groups and with a maximum of 5 minutes.

Poetry: recitation of famous English language poetry and original poetry written by students

Speaking & Vocabulary Ideas

The goal is that students speak in every class and that it becomes normal and routine so that students lose their fear of speaking.

Mindmap & Brainstorm vocabulary and phrases before each activity (be creative).

Buying fruits & vegetables at a market; cooking class or demonstration; restaurant day (menu design; host; wait staff); family reunion; Public Service Announcements (PSAs), etc.

Public Speaking Resources

http://www.write-out-loud.com/public-speaking-activities.html

http://busyteacher.org/16508-speaking-6-fabulous-games-teach-students.html

http://www.eslcafe.com/search/Public_Speaking/

Active & Authentic Listening

The Teaching Channel –https://www.teachingchannel.org/

TED-Ed – http://ed.ted.com/

Breaking News English –http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/

Voice of America (VOA) –http://learningenglish.voanews.com/

Why I teach…

We want Costa Rican English teachers to play an active and visible part in the Festival

One idea is to record a message in English answering the question: “Why do you teach?”

You can be funny or serious – you can sing, chat, rhyme or rap. You can add captions or English y/o Spanish subtitles.

The only rules are that it be 1 minute or less, in English, and that you are not (obviously) reading.

Music

Individual and group (choral) competitions

Original English songs and competitions.

Cover versions of popular English language songs.

Maximum of 5 minutes per song or composition.

Each participant or group must also prepare a presentation to display during the performance with the English lyrics displayed – also can include any visuals or historical background or interpretation of the lyrics.

Classroom Ideas with Music

There are lots of online resources with materials and lesson plans on how to use music and songs in your ESL classes.

Musical English Lessons is one of my favorites: http://www.musicalenglishlessons.org/

American English at State (free music downloads): http://americanenglish.state.gov/resources

Pre-teach and elicit key vocabulary words; gap fills; re-order lyrics; guess the lyrics; alternative lyrics.

Writing

Essay Contest: individual essay writing on a theme or themes TBD by GELF committee.

Essays must be written in-class under the supervision of the teachers.

Original poetry writing: the institutional and circuital winners will then recite their poems at the Festival – thus competing in the writing and speaking categories.

Writing Activities

Writing prompts – Free Writing

Student journals

Poetry

Essay and Academic Writing

Class Blog

Wikipedia Writing and Editing (create y/o edit the Wikipedia page for your school (class project) and your favorite restaurant, beach, hotel, etc (individual or small group PBL activities).

Poetry Resources

http://www.studyincanada.ca/blog/?p=718

http://www.tooter4kids.com/classroom/poetry_in_the_esl_classroom.htm

http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/31169/

Wikipedia Writing Project

Photography Essay

Individual, group, or school photographic essays representing Costa Rican Guancastecan cultural themes and why English is important.

Photo essays (or each photo) must include written and spoken narration in English by the students.

Maximum of 10 photos per student, group, or school submission.

Photographs will be compiled into an online, digital photo album and video slideshow to be shared on social media and during the GELF

Photo PBL Ideas

http://improvephotography.com/881/15-creative-photography-projects-to-get-you-shooting/

http://greenecounty.va.schoolwebpages.com/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=14752

http://hs.riverdale.k12.or.us/~pnelson/photo/essays.html

http://slide.ly/#featured

English Language Fair

Invite PCVs from other sectors – YD and SED – to participate in a fair highlighting products, projects, ideas, arts, crafts and more during the Festival. Organizations that provide Education and Scholarship opportunities will also be invited to attend.

This cross-curriculum and cross-sectoral approach would motivate other PCVs and their Tico counterparts to use English more while exposing them to potential markets for their products.

Booths or tables would be set up at the Festival and can be visited by all participants before and after the Festival events and during breaks.

PR and Media

GELF committee plans to contact all English language media outlets in Costa Rica and Guanacaste – Tico Times, Voz de Guanacaste, Radio 2 and other internet only sites.

Radio 2 has said they will consider a live broadcast during the event – which could give our students, teachers and volunteers a chance to share our excitement for English language programs in Costa Rica with a wider audience

Teacher Training

Starting in March 2015, David Burns will conduct a series of workshops with PCVs and a selected Tico English teacher from each school designated as the Festival representative.

Workshops will discuss the rules, guidelines and expectations and establish a timeline for future workshops and designate PCVs and Tico teachers who can ‘train’ other teachers.

Workshops will include model lesson plans and activity ideas to includes in English classes throughout the academic year.

Idea is to minimize ‘work load’ and make preparation for the Festival activities a seamless and painless part of the English curriculum and TEFL for MEP lesson plans and activities.

Festival Timeline

March 2015: Begin training workshops and PCVs start implementing Festival activities in their lesson plans. Start brainstorming poster and slogan ideas. Introduce the Festival idea and activities during English classes. Use social media to begin promoting the Festival and offering digital resources and ideas to prepare for the activities. Use the Liberia, Santa Cruz, and Nicoya English Advisory FB pages more effectively.

March 2015: Once funding is confirmed, begin identifying venue locations; contacting potential sponsors; and other logistical issues. Begin identifying potential student participants in each category. Start practicing some of the activities as part of regular English classes. More school visits by David y/o Assessors, as needed. Contact PCVs from other sectors about possible participation in the Festival Fair.

April: Selection of student participants; hold institutional competitions; complete posters. Contact potential local, regional and provincial sponsors and partners.

May: Select poster winners and choose GELF student participants before May 15th.

June: English Language Festival

Budget

We will be 100% transparent and open about what we are asking for in grant money, expected expenditures, operating costs, and final costs with receipts – all will be posted publicly on social media.

We will also involve as many Ticos as possible and demystify the entire process to ensure transfer of knowledge of grant writing and event planning

We need a general estimate of expected expenditures for the Festival – major expected costs: transportation, lunch, materials and one possible training session and meeting.

An idea of the contribution from grant recipients

Discuss sponsors and potential local, regional, and provincial partners.

Next Steps:

Funding – nothing can move forward without money

Formalize the activities, complete the manual, translate manual into Spanish.

Solicit volunteers to form a Festival Committee: possibly with three PCVs and four Ticos.

Adjust and modify the timeline as necessary.

Guan MEP English Advisors should inform other advisors and keep them ‘in the loop’.

Imagine… Guanacaste with NO PCVs…

Sustainability… that’s all…

Sustainability

Crucial to present the Festival as a fun, relevant, beneficial, and necessary addition to English language programming.

Local teachers are key: thus the Festival should not be seen as more ‘work’ or just another bureaucratic morass from MEP. Teachers should feel that they are stakeholders in this and that it not only supplements but compliments and adds value to their English classes.

Streamline and keep as simple as possible, especially during pilot year.

Get assurances from all MEP English assessors and other MEP officials of interest – and set a deadline for complete takeover from Ticos. Prepare for the day when there is no more Peace Corps in Costa Rica.

Questions? Priorities?

Let’s streamline and prioritize….