Teaching and Trekking

By Peace Corps Volunteer Laura Layton, Chiriquí, Panamá   Summer English Course Teachers (2019): Ashley, Ingris ,  Brianys ,  Laura (me),  Cristibelle , and Melanie In this article, I share resources and suggestions for how to organize your class to maximize student learning and engagement and lower your stress from planning.  Are you an English as a Second or Foreign Language teacher looking for ways to improve your class organization and increase student engagement? Do you find yourself overwhelmed with the task of lesson planning for your class? If so, you're in the right place. In this blog post, I'll provide you with valuable resources and practical suggestions to help you optimize your class organization for better student learning outcomes. By implementing these strategies, you'll not only reduce your stress levels but also attract more students to your class. So, let's dive in and discover how to take your English class to the next level! ...

by Peace Corps Volunteer Laura Layton, Chiriquí, Panama   Four Corners: Cuatro Esquinas Materials: 4 sheets of paper, tape, markers   Tape a paper in each corner of the room: agree, strongly agree, disagree, strongly disagree. Make a statement and have students walk to the corner to show their opinión about the statement. The students can discuss their opinions with other students in their corner and later, students from each corner should share with the class.   Quiz–Quiz–Trade: Preguntar-Preguntar-Intercambiar   Materials: index cards and markers Each student receives a card with one word in English and the same word translated in Spanish. (This activity may be done with phrases and questions as well). Students must walk around the room while they are listening to music, and when the music stops, they need to find a partner quickly.   In pairs, each student reads the word, phrase or question in English (or shows the image) on their card to...

Last year in Chiriqui, G78 Teaching English, Leadership and Life Skills (TELLS) volunteers planted the seed with the Ministry of Education (MEDUCA) and Panama Bilingue to offer English workshops for teachers of the  multigrado  schools within the province. It wasn’t until their Close of Service (COS) that we were finally able to turn their idea into a reality. The goal? To provide such teachers with the tools to increase English instruction and usage in the  multigrado  classroom. Playing the traditional game of Telephone to practice listening and speaking skills in English In June, we offered a 5-hour workshop in each of 3 regions so that all multigrado teachers in Chiriqui had the ability to attend. Panama Bilingue and the Ministry of Education (MEDUCA) staff took on the responsibility of setting dates, times, and locations, as well as sending out the invitations, encouraging participation, and maintaining attendance li...

I’m not here to single-handedly change the world; I’m just here to plant some seeds…    My main goal as a Peace Corps volunteer is to host projects and events that are sustainable by training local community members every chance I get. I recently paired with CEC PCV and Ultimate Without Borders representative, Danielle Thoene, to host an Ultimate Frisbee and Youth Development Camp in my site.   With the common goals of most Frisbee camps, we planned to encourage teamwork among diverse populations, help students plan for their futures and facilitate personal goal setting.   All this can be accomplished while having fun over the school vacations. After determining a community need and interest in the camp, I looked for community members to train whom could use what they’d learn from the camp in the future. Those community members needed to have similar interests and goals, in conjunction with some form of incentive. Every Saturday, my site hosts a prac...