Teens

Three weeks ago I finished my practice period with adolescents after one month and a half of hard work. Fortunately, I had an extraordinary group of 18 students aged between 14 and 16 who were eager to participate and enthusiastic about learning a new language. Some people say teenagers are hard to motivate and impossible to deal with. Let me tell you that is not my opinion.

Of course there must be some troublesome teens out there waiting the enemy to come in the battle field only to declare war: they are completely aware of the fact they have the tools to hurt anybody’s feelings deeply and threaten to boycott anybody’s lesson, no matter how carefully prepared it seems to be.

Most of teenagers go through periods of extreme discomfort, anger and rebellion, and that is by nature. So why not perceiving their behaviour as a sign of health and maturation? We all know that the transition from childhood to adulthood must be rocky, so helping our teen students in their process might mean dealing with a handful of unexpected ambivalent attitudes at times. Whether you like it or not.

However, working with these guys should not be ALWAYS a pain in the backside. Teaching teenagers with their fresh and unadulterated perspectives can be great fun and a self-rewarding experience as well. Adolescents have boundless creative energy, they are talented and they are passionate about the things they like. Maybe, we only need to bring their realities into THEIR classrooms, help them think critically and push ahead with this adventurous experience of “educating the beast”. And always give them the best you can, because teenagers are the most perceptive of all and they feel pleased and grateful for our efforts.

And continue learning from them. It’s a wonderful truth that of all relationships between teacher and student is truly symbiotic. On a daily basis, you learn as much from your students as you try to impart to them, and this is why, without a doubt, we continue to teach.

TECHNOLOGY- THE TIMELINE?

When we describe technological advancements we tend to refer to modern systems, methods, techniques and tools which permit scientific discoveries to take place. Then, we tend to believe that at the very core of these developments is the “discoverer”: manipulating, trying out, controlling, measuring, adapting, experimenting, combining all these systems, methods, techniques and tools to, out of the blue, come up with something “new.”

But let me tell you that such ‘discovering’ is non-existent. Nothing in this material world could be developed without its previous counterpart: an idea. Some time before, some enquiring mind with plenty of innovative ideas for the time had already been paving the way for every technological advance.

Take the case of the telephone. Although its history goes back to the year 1665 when a man called Robert Hooke experimented sound transmission through a distended wire, and tin cans and paper cups became the most transcendent means of communication of the time, we only remember Alexander Graham Bell when talking about the history of the telephone. Then, nobody actually remembers the other guy when talking about the mobile phone.

Modern societies are used to rapid changes so they quickly forget what seemed to be a novelty yesterday. Then, newer trends replace anything in any field and we throw old goods, names, and ideas as well, away.

Technological advancements are much more than current inventions: they are the future, the present, and the past. They are the result of history, the result of necessities that have existed throughout different generations, and the result of people who once worked hard to satisfy that ‘particular need.’

DEEP INSIDE

I have always wondered how it is that dreams work. How it comes that every human mind has this extraordinary potential to make us almost experience this immensely exciting nonsensical nightly life which becomes so real at times and shows us the completely subjective and unique inner world of the subconscious.

However, when I watched this film called “Inception” last week, rather than paying attention to this entire dreaming idea, which is a kind of “protagonist” in the film, I asked to myself, “is there nothing private anymore?” It’s like if we could even imagine somebody going into our heads and entering our dreams, which literally happens in the film over and over again. So isn’t this movie showing us something else?

The fact is that this does not happen in dreams only but our subconscious is being permanently reached when are wide awake. I think there are no more aspects of our mind that remain private and individual anymore. But we are powerfully influenced by the media and the internet and EVERYTHING and EVERYONE “out there.”

We are educated with our families’ value, that’s for sure. But we cannot deny the influence that TV programmes and advertisements have in our minds, permanently sending messages addressed to our vulnerable subconscious. This way we are persuaded, or let me say rather manipulated, to feel, think and behave in one only particular “socially accepted” way. And we are convinced there is only one way to live this life: consumerism, superficiality, lack of values, shallowness.

Marketing messages seem sophisticated, inspiring, meaningful, and memorable. They show us a world of dreams, constantly suggesting what we “should” in order to be part of it. And our vulnerable subconscious gets that messages and obeys instantly. They are building up a robotic society, ready to respond, ready to obey, ready to consume, whether you like it or not. But does this sound like a dream? I believe this is a nightmare instead.

An Unlikely STAR

The moment she appeared as a contestant on reality TV programme Britain’s Got talent with her plain appearance, it wasn’t her who was ‘the ugly’ so much as people’s reactions to her. When she first appeared on Britain’s Got Talent she said her ambition was to become a professional singer; it was only raised eyebrows and stifled laughter what she got from the audience, then. The judges’ expression revealed mistrust, and even disdain, and the viewers were bitterly hostile to this rather chubby woman the moment she took the stage. Apparently, nobody was expecting her performance to turn her into an overnight global phenomenon.

Susan Boyle is a 47-year-old Scottish amateur singer who has recently come into international public attention. What was it that made her a public figure in the blink of an eye? I believe it was the contrast between the ‘ugly’ first impressions she gave and her lovely powerful voice. Then, cynicism turned into whooping and broad smiles. She finished to a standing ovation at her spine-tingling performance. Susan Boyle sang ‘I dreamed a dream’ from ‘Les Miserables’ in the first round of the third series of Britain’s Got Talent revealing her unexpected exceptional talent. And this was only the beginning.

In just a week her life had been turned upside down. By now, videos of Susan Boyle have been watched all around the world and she has proved more popular than any other character on You Tube. Her audition video has been viewed on the internet several hundred million times and she even has her own fans. Isn’t it amazing that just some months or so ago no one had heard of Susan Boyle? Well, now she has became one of the most talked-about people in the world. It is a dream come true.

"Men are from Venus, Women are from Mars"

“Men are from Venus, women are from Mars.” That is the title of a book written by John Gray which basically offers various suggestions aiming at improving men-women relationships in couples. However, I have recently realized how hard it becomes to try to understand people from another gender, let alone improve any relationship with them. Last month I watched this video which made me laugh a lot but at the same time reflect on the differences in personalities, attitudes, and behaviours of men and women, which have proven troublesome in any relationship, and which are an intrinsic part of them all. But, if it’s of any consolation to you, and me as well, let me share with you what I’ve learned in this video: we are different in nature, and nothing can change that.

One of the ideas that the mentioned video introduces in order to explain these natural differences between the two sexes is the one I am trying to express in my comic strip, and which Pilar Sordo, the psychologist in the video, called “magical thinking.” This is a thought structure, mainly developed in women’s minds, which lead people, more precisely women, to continuously compare the objective reality with their mental reality, the subjective images they create of people and things. Let me give you an example. We women are permanently expecting our boyfriends to be romantic with us and send us flowers daily. And it makes us so mad to realize that that will never ever happen, IN REALITY. What actually is making us so angry is in fact this so-called magical thinking, or magical thought, which is making us permanently compare the real man, our boyfriends, with this image we have in our minds of ‘the perfect man’. Of course we know who will lose the battle. And there it comes, the moment when we become intolerant, reproachful, and extremely unhappy as well.

It sounds complex. It must be complex. But learning to cope with the unlimited number of differences with the other gender is essential in order to improve all relationships. We can't deny we sometimes feel like crazy when not being able to control certain of our own emotions and reactions. And it frustrates us not being able to understand some of their behaviours. It is not a matter of just blindly and passively accepting each other, but of becoming more open-minded, learning about the other, understanding why it is that they, and we, behave in the way we do. And in the end, understanding and acceptance might lead us to complete happiness. How do you see it?

"Impossible is NOTHING"

I have come across this striking video which illustrates how technology can bring people together. I was astonished at the sight of 185 people from different parts of the world and IN different parts of the world virtually meeting with a common purpose in mind: making music. Sounds impossible, doesn’t it? Reflecting that the unthinkable is becoming “the thinkable” with technology at hand, I was wondering how we can help these new technological trends take on the stage in the teaching scenario. We must admit that making efficient use of technological devices allow us to turn our traditional classrooms into innovative and engaging learning scenes. So I have asked to myself how we could apply the idea behind this virtual meeting of singers into the field of language learning.

Fortunatlely, I came up with an idea. Why not having a colleague abroad to hold some kind of experimental virtual meeting between your and her students? It could be highly valuable experience for you and for students themselves. Definitely, a teacher you know beforehand or any other English teacher you get to know on the net who expresses interest and shows commitment is essential before setting up any project. A teacher who has a group of students with the same level and similar needs as yours is crucial, as well. So arranging a date to have your students meet their counterpart is what comes next, after both groups have worked with similar semantic areas or topics for discussions so that students don’t feel at a loss in any conversation they get into. This can be THE opportunity students from different countries and IN different countries can have to use English in real life, in front of a real audience, and with a common purpose in mind: breaking down language barriers.

An advantage that virtual interaction among language learners might have is that we can turn the indivualized and lonely activity of computer working into an active exchange of information which gets closer to real interactions, thus giving our learners the possibility to develop not only English knowledge, but also social skills, and communicative strategies, as well.

We all know that technology has its drawbacks and we are sometimes reluctant to it, but we DO need to get used to it. So why not learning to cope with the advent of the virtual age and trying to maximize the application of technology in education? I believe we are sometimes too comfortable as we are, and that is the main reason we don’t try what’s new. But is this actually comfort or mere laziness? Being updated teachers and seeking to meet our student’s current needs should be a must in our professions. Devotion, commitment, enthusiasm, innovation, risk-taking. That’s what I believe it’s all about.

Free Hugs

I watched this video yesterday evening and it seemed damned silly at first. However, it kept me thinking: hardly ever are we conscious of the importance of hugging in our daily lives. We go in for a hug when we are sad or when the other is sad, when we win a match or when we lose it, after fighting with a friend or after making one. We hug to communicate, to share, to trust, to give support, to receive support, to greet, or just to make your presence felt. We hug as a sign of deep happiness or deep sadness, or empathy, or pity at times, or anxiety, or love. We hug constantly our friends, our relatives, our pet, even our stuff. We hug people we know but we sometimes hug strangers, as well. We need hugging. We love hugging. And we must have an inner "hugger" somewhere inside. Hugs just make us feel good, and better, and more comfortable, and alive. So “what’s in a hug?”

Hugs have always been a demonstration of affection and emotional warmth. It has been proved that we give hugs because we NEED them: we need hugging to feel human contact and to express feelings to others, namely we hug to share what’s going on in their inner selves. It is true tough, that we are living in a world where time is not enough for anything: not for singing, not for laughing, not for enjoying, not for hugging. But we always find the way to express our intense emotions one way or another.

And this issue of hugs leads us to turn our attention to the matter of affection itself, in whatever way we express it. We sometimes take affections for granted. But have we ever considered what these feelings of liking and love imply? I am considering it right now. Being affective towards other people generates a pleasant atmosphere of trust, closeness and comfort, in whatever context we can imagine. Picture the face of our students when we receive them grinning from ear to ear and greeting them with open arms.

That is the key of helping others feel comfortable, willing to be there, no matter where that “there” might be, anxious to share, participate, learn, and be affectionate themselves, as well: feeling affection, displaying affection, holding others in great affection. And there is nothing more deeply satisfying than receiving affection in return.