Poetry written by LTC Advanced English students

I, We, People

By Mark Cruz

I am a strange jack of all trades

I dance with the universe

I do this

I do that

I want to create

I am a strange jack of all trades

We are wise trees

We dance in a forest

We eat the world

We live the world

We want to be the world

We are wise trees

People are ancient rocks

People are in the soil

People change people

People change souls

People want to change humanity

People are ancient rocks

I, We, People

By Maria del Rosario Martinez Uribe

I am a plain human being

I sometimes stand next to the trees

I observe their beauty

I smell their perfume

I want to absorb it

I am not a plain human being

We are brand-new good friends

We live by the oak trees

We like strolling around them

We enjoy picking up dead leaves

We want to keep them in books forever

We are just new leafy friends.

People are plain human beings

People sometimes live with prejudice

People share vain lives

People don’t plant trees

People want to break free

People are like plain tree fields.

I, We, People

By Martha Alicia Hernandez

I am a very lovely person

I live by the ocean

I travel the world

I enjoy life

I want to share

I am a very lovely person.

We are fun

We laugh about foolish things.

We sing songs

We want to be happy

We are fun.

People are nice.

People work on projects

People stay at home waiting for their families

People want to live

People are nice.

Valentine

By Violeta Moreno and Eduardo Zamora

(Inspired by Carol Ann Duffy)

Not a red rose or a satin heart.

I give you a gift.

It is a heart wrapped in love.

It promises my loyalty

Like the careful mother of her baby.

Here.

It will provide you with all my protection

Like a government with his town

It will make your heart feel happy

A heart full of roses and passion.

I am trying to be truthful.

Not a liar or a thief.

I give you a promise.

Its eternal flame will stay on your mind

Forever and ever

As we are,

For as long as we are.

Take it.

Cesar’s Apple

By Cesar Rodriguez and Griselda Terraza

(Inspired by “Valentine” by Carol Ann Duffy)

Not a red rose or a satin heart.

I give you a hug.

It is a gift wrapped in love.

It promises happiness

Like the careful shining of your eyes.

Here.

It will keep you with confidence

Like a small child

It will make your feelings

A great gift of God’s love

I am trying to be truthful,

Not a thief or a clown.

I give you a hug.

It’s a precious gift that will stay on your mind,

Soul and heart

As we are,

For as long as we are.

Take it.

Valentine

By Adriana Guerrero

(Inspired by Carol Ann Duffy)

Not a red rose or a satin heart.

I give you a world just for both of us

It is a universe wrapped in love.

It promises to never end

Like the careful rays of the sun.

Here.

It will hug you with softness

Like a petal of a red rose

It will make your life an endless trip

A magic world of happiness.

I am trying to be truthful.

Not a liar or a broken promise.

I give you a world just for both of us

Its peaceful landscape will stay on your smile, heart, and eyes

As we are,

For as long as we are.

Take it.

Valentine

By Maria del Rosario Martinez Uribe

(Inspired by Carol Ann Duffy)

I give you an image

It is a thought wrapped in ideas

It promises growing

Like the careful blossoming of flowers

Here.

It will comfort you with pleasure

Like a mother

It will make your problems a real piece of nonsense

I am trying to be truthful.

Not a priest or a philosopher.

I give you an image

Its great power will stay on your mind

Heart and life

As we are

For as long as we are

Valentine

By Mark Cruz and Martha Alicia Hernandez

(Inspired by Carol Ann Duffy)

Not a red rose or a satin heart.

I give you a star.

It is a light wrapped in darkness

It promises companionship

Like the careful whispering of the wind.

Here.

It will take care of you with guidance

Like a lighthouse

It will make your way

A bright path of love.

I am trying to be truthful

Not a liar or a deceiver.

I give you a star.

Its loving kiss will stay on your skin

Kind and gentle

As we are

For as long as we are.

Take it.

Valentine

By Maria Dolores Vargas Prieto

(Inspired by Carol Ann Duffy)

Not a red rose or a satin heart.

I give you a poem.

It is a gift wrapped in love.

It promises care

Like the careful nest of birds.

Here.

It will protect you with leaves

Like a tree

It will make your body

A warm place of living

I am trying to be truthful.

Not a liar or a parrot.

I give you a poem.

Its sweet words will stay on your mind,

Heart and life

As we are,

For as long as we are.

Take it.

Valentine

By Tania Lopez

(Inspired by Carol Ann Duffy)

Not a red rose or a satin heart.

I give you a dog.

It is a dog wrapped in love

It promises loyalty

Like the careful love of friends.

Here.

It will care for you with devotion

Like a friend

It will make your days

A great time of joy.

I am trying to be truthful.

Not a classmate or a colleague.

I give you a dog.

Its loyal friendship will stay in your life

Mind and heart

As we are.

For as long as we are.

Take it.

I, We, People

By Angeles Montes

I am a weird woman

I feel outside the world.

I don’t see you

I need you

I want to know who you are

I am a weird woman

We are a happy family

We are good at sports

We love playing soccer on Sundays and more

We enjoy sharing good moments as well

We want to be together always

We are a happy family

People are crazy.

People are always looking for happiness

People don’t see it

People don’t feel it

People want to find it walking on the street

People are crazy.

People versus persons

From class today:

http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/people.htm

Haiku Race

A haiku is a 3-line poem with a fixed syllable structure of 5-7-5.
How many haiku poems can you write in 10 minutes?

The advanced class produced fifteen! Here are some examples of UNT-inspired poetry:

Friendship

It is like water
Because it shows our feelings
to everybody

Shopping

It is very fun
Men hate it; women love it
Do you believe it?

Bus Stop

We ran to the bus
We tried to be there on time
But we arrived late

Dancing

It was Friday night
We all wanted to go out
So we danced all night

Friendship

Come from everywhere,
Students and teachers as well!
Together we'll share

Learning

Knowledge we embrace
Using English in the states
Willing to express

Dallas

It is a great place
Because of its good music
And nice museums


JFK

He was an icon
Of our world wide heritage
But he died early


Friendship

It is awesome and
With it you feel very glad
'Cuz you enjoy it

Shopping

It is a fun way
To have a precious moment
With your family

Walking in Denton

In Denton we walk
Although it is very hot
We enjoy it lots!

How Language Shapes Thought

To view Tuesday's full lecture (1 hour 39 minutes) with Lera Boroditsky, click here:

http://www.imdb.com/video/hulu/vi1239129369/

Week 2 begins!

This week we will be rethinking language. We'll start with a short talk from Patricia Kuhl, who has done some incredible language research with babies. The website we will use for this talk is
www.ted.com. Please browse this website after class to find other language related talks and bring your contribution to class tomorrow.

You will also recreate two famous speeches from U.S. history (www.americanrhetoric.com).

Teachers: Be sure you are planning your project. You will present your results orally in class on Thursday!

Story of English on You Tube

The documentary that you saw today is available (in parts) on Youtube. Enter "The Story of English: Mother Tongue" in the search.

Mini-project for current teachers of English

English Teacher Case Study Mini-Project

This project is for LTC participants who are currently teaching English at UAEM or other institution. The project is MANDATORY. You will earn an additional project-based constancia upon completing and presenting your findings.

Description:
You will work with your partner to conduct Case Study Research to answer the following research question:
Does a 2-week immersion program lead to short-term improvement in L2 output?

You and your partner may choose to look at student gains in speaking, writing, or both.
You will:
1. Design a mini-project that will attempt to answer the research question. Determine whether you want to focus on speaking, writing, or both. In my opinion, it is more feasible to focus on one skill, but you and your partner may make this decision.
2. Find subjects for your study TODAY. Each person must choose TWO subjects (people) to follow during the two-week period. In other words, you will be studying the progress of FOUR people. The subjects can NOT be from our advanced class. Please choose your case study participants today after class.
3. Record the subject’s level TODAY. For example, if you choose to look at speaking progress, record them delivering an impromptu speech on a topic that you provide. They may do this via laptop or even on your smart phone. Of course, you’ll then transcribe the short speech into written form. If you choose writing, give the person a short writing prompt. You may also use the placement test essay that was submitted prior to arrival. If you choose to focus on writing, I will provide a copy of the placement test for your two participants.
4. Track the progress of your two participants daily. You may do this by conducting short, daily interviews, asking them to complete questionnaires, or logging the desired information in a notebook. Uncover the types of activities the person participates in. Does he/she go out at night? Does he/she stay in the dorm with friends?
5. On July 13th, give another short skill test. (I’m sure you can see where this is going!) You will then compare the progress of the first and second skill tests. You and your partner may determine how to measure progress. Some possibilities might be: Did this person show improvement in a specific verb tense? Has this person’s use of idioms/phrases increase? Does this person seem to be experimenting with more vocabulary? You may also choose to focus on pronunciation.
6. Your last day of research will be on July 13th. (Yes, this is a short project!) You and your parner will combine results and prepare an analysis.
7. You and your partner present your findings in a 15-minute presentation on Thursday, July 14. The best project will be asked to present at the clausura on Friday, July 15.

Option 2:
Instead of measuring skills, you and your partner may opt to measure language attitudes. The procedure will be quite similar, but your research question will change. Here, you may focus on self-confidence or general attitude toward the English language. The disadvantage of this option is that you will need to design your questionnaire and administer it TODAY and again on July 13. You will administer it to a minimum of 40 people.


For general information about case study research in ESL, please go to:
http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/sec_document.asp?cid=476&did=2153

Welcome to UNT!

Hello,
I look forward to working with you in the Advanced English/Teacher Training workshop. Below you'll find a very general summary of what we'll be doing for the next two weeks. I'll use this blog to post class information, links, and other materials so you can access them when you return to UAEM.
Please purchase a small spiral notebook for Tuesday.
Thank you,
Kristan Taylor

Week 1

Rethinking: History

This week we will focus on history in various forms. First, we'll get to know each other by discussing a bit of Dallas history. You're going to Dallas on Saturday, so you'll have a let up on what you're going to see. We will also take a fast track journey back in time to study the history of English. We'll end the week by looking at verbs in a way you've never experienced.

Week 2

Rethinking: Language

This week we'll look at human language acquisition and how our first language influences our thoughts and actions, and vice-versa. We'll wrap up the week with case study presentations from our English teachers.

Please buy a small spiral bound notebook!