By: Courtney Kupersmith
Nido de Aguilas, in collaboration with the Centro de Perfeccionamiento, Experimentación e Investigaciones Pedagógicas (CPEIP), and the Programa Inglés Abre Puertas (PIAP) of the Chilean Ministry of Education, welcomed over 60 teachers from the regions of Valparaíso and Araucanía in Chile, who participated in English Summer Town 2017 at Nido.
This professional development opportunity consisted of a series of workshops aimed towards improving the instruction of English as a Foreign Language, particularly in the public schools in Valparaíso and Araucanía.
Valparaíso English teacher Camila Jeria de San Antonio, who participated in this initiative, said the experience was very enriching and she would gladly return to another training. “The teachers were very well-prepared to receive us. All of the strategies presented were always very grounded, that is to say, when they presented some activity they gave us examples on how they have used them inside the classroom and what we could do in our classroom.”
Eleven Nido teachers facilitated sessions on the Use of Technology, Differentiation, Speaking Strategies, Reading & Listening Comprehension, Vocabulary Strategies, Student-Led Discussion & Class Projects, and Assessing the Four Language Skills.
Nido Middle School Language Arts teacher Beth Yates facilitated the workshop on Student-Led Discussion & Class Projects and shared that it was a wonderful opportunity to connect with local Chilean teachers. Students at Nido speak a variety of different languages as their native tongue, and “we had shared experiences about teaching non-native English speakers. We discovered certain concepts and phrases that are particularly difficult for our students to grasp in English. The workshop participants themselves were impressive in their level of English and their commitment to improving their strategies in the classroom.”
Paz Nagelach, Chilean National Plan Director at Nido, said that the workshops “gave Nido the opportunity to share our unique pedagogy which is influenced by U.S. and Chilean thought and tradition with a larger community, while at the same time gave Nido teachers the chance to get to know and learn from the participants’ experiences.”
On the second day of the workshop the participants received congratulations for their commitment to their professional growth from Heads of Education of the Araucanía and Valparaíso regions. Nido de Aguilas looks forward to developing more professional development opportunities to collaborate with the community, to continue sharing the Nido Way, and to make significant contributions to Chilean Public Schools.
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