AMERICAN CORNER CONDUCTS TRAINING AT COMMUNITY LIBRARY

IN CIUDAD SANDINO

American Corner—Nicaragua

Newsletter

August -September 2009

On August 25th, 2009 AC coordinator organized a training session at the George Buchner Community

Library in Ciudad Sandino, a low income community near the capital city Managua. A group of 25

elementary students, teachers and librarian staffers attended the combined program. (15 female and

10 male) AC coordinator began by giving a brief orientation about the AC services, children literature

collection, audio visuals and other programs conducted by the AC in Managua. The students read

aloud books about recycling and personal hygiene from the AC Children’s book collection. Then they

made a “Piggy Bank” using a recycled plastic bottle. AC coordinator delivered a package containing

copies IIP publications for the library patrons in this community: USA maps, US Constitution, Obama

biography, and coloring books for free distribution.

International Literacy Day

September 8 was proclaimed International Literacy Day by UNESCO on November 17, 1965. It was first celebrated in 1966. Its aim is to highlight the importance of literacy to indi-viduals, communities and societies. On International Literacy Day each year, UNESCO reminds the international commu-nity of the status of literacy and adult learning globally. Celebrations take place around the world .Some 776 million adults lack minimum literacy skills; one in five adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them are women; 75 million children are out-of-school and many more attend irregularly or drop out.

This year, International Literacy Day will put the spotlight on the empowering role of literacy and its importance for participation, citizenship and social development. Liter-acy and Empowerment is the theme for the 2009-2010 biennium of the United Nations Literacy Decade. More information available at:

http://www.unesco.org/en/literacy/advocacy/international-literacy-day/

On Aug 26th 2009, a group of 23 English major students

(13 females and 9 males) and their teacher Rolando

Fuentes, visited the AC Nicaragua. The purpose of the

visit was to provide an in house orientation to sopho-

more university students and a tour of the AC host li-

brary facilities. The group visited the Central Bank’s art

gallery and the antique coin collection room. AC coordinator gave visitors a compre-

hensive presentation about the open resources and the special reference collection

for English teachers and students, media resources, online sites for ESL. The stu-

dents viewed the documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.”

Visitors received copies of the most recent issues of Forum Magazine, US maps and

AC promotional items.

American Corner’s orientation for English Major students from

the National Autonomous University in Managua

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Promoting English Teaching

Workshop “Teaching US Culture in the Classroom” for English Teachers in Leon

On August 28, 2009, American Corner coordinator, IRC Director, and BNC faculty members Asdrubal Canelo, Franklin Tellez, alumnae returning from a Summer Institute in Hawaii conducted a training for a group of 20 English teachers and university students in the city of Leon, located 90 kms west of the capital city. In this session Mr. Tellez, choose the topic "Teaching U.S. Culture in the English Classroom" and talked about his experience while attending his training at the Pacific University of Hawaii this summer. Mr. Tellez, showcased the new teaching material currently developed by ECA and English teachers “Celebrate” and “Traditional Songs”. He also encourage his colleagues to apply to the different programs and aca-demic opportunities for teachers and students offered by the US Department of State and the US Embassy in Nicaragua. Prof. Canelo presented the topic “Cooperative Learning Structures” to participants with a series of interactive group exercises and easy samples to implement at their classrooms. Professor Canelo invited participants to visit his blog to keep informed of new teaching tools and resources. www.asdrubalcanelo.blogspot.com American Corner coordinator and IRC Director presented online resources for English teachers and ESL. IRC director distributed IIP’s America Is and giveaways sets of flash cards donated by a non profit group. See more photos at:

Flickr: AmericanCornerNIcaragua's Photostream

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Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

September 15 to October 15

Hispanic Heritage Month honors the diverse people of Spanish-

speaking backgrounds in the United States. From September 15 to

October 15, a multitude of special programs, events, exhibits and

Web sites celebrate the heritage, culture, spirit and extraordinary con-

tributions of Hispanic Americans.

The celebration of Hispanic Heritage began on a national scale in

1968 with Public Law 90-498, which authorized an annual presidential

proclamation making the week of September 15 and 16 Hispanic

Heritage Week. The designated week was selected to coincide with

Independence Day celebrations on September 15 in Costa Rica, El

Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua and on September 16

in Mexico.

The 1968 proclamation called on the people of the United States, es-

pecially the educational community, to observe the week with appro-

priate ceremonies and activities. To encourage participation, in his

1974 proclamation President Gerald R. Ford called for schools and

human rights organizations to participate more fully in the week. And

in 1988 President Ronald Reagan repeated Ford’s call for more recog-

nition of Hispanic Americans by approving Public Law 100-402,

which expanded the celebration to Hispanic Heritage Month running

from September 15 to October 15.

More on this celebration at the America.Gov site:

http://www.america.gov/amlife/people.html

Recommended Websites for Online Reading

Biblioteca Digital Internacional Para Ninos—Espanol

http://es.childrenslibrary.org/

Biblioteca Digital Mundial

http://www.wdl.org/es/

SOL– Spanish in our Libraries

http://www.sol-plus.net/index.htm

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September Events

American Corner Nicaragua and Education USA Adviser conducts promotional visit German High School in Managua

On Sept 3 AC coordinator and Ed USA adviser visited the German high school in Managua, invited by the school counselor John Brown. The pres-entation was conducted in English for a group of 29 high school seniors who learned about the Exchange and Academic programs like Opportu-nity Grant, UGRAD, and about the services that American Corner and Edu-cation advising center provides to the public. Students requested more information about TOEFL and SAT test, resources to use and requested sample materials used for testing. All participants received promotional

items, EducationUSA brochures, copies of the Study in the USA magazines.

.

On September 22th, 2009 American Corner Coordinator conducted a

Readathon of Dr. Seuss’s children books for 20 students of the Republica de

Dinamarca elementary school in Ciudad Sandino. AC Coordinator give infor-

mation about the American Corner in Managua, the special collection for

children, the training and mentoring sessions , media resources, free access

to online resources, and invited the students and teachers to visit the AC

host library in Managua for a complete tour of the facilities.

Conference Promoting Library Services for Youth in Granada

On September 25th, IRC Director and AC coordinator visited the non profit group “Yo puedo Leer”

located in Granada to talk about “Promoting Library Services for Youth” for their staff, municipal library

staffers and representatives from the Granada mayor office’s. The presentation included tips and advise on

how to market and promote different type of programs for a diverse audience. Participants had the

opportunity to share their best practices and experiences among themselves and also discussed the best ways

to attract new customers, to plan different activities according to ages and interests and how to use local

resources as firefighters, health and social services officials to bring current information to the community.

The program included a visit to the reading rooms located in three different locations in the city. Each

location has a membership of 600 hundred patrons and have implemented the lending library concept in

each site.

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Promoting English Teaching

On September 10th and11th, 2009, American Corner Nicaragua set up a an

information stand at the Annual Conference for Nicaraguan English Teachers

NICATESOL held at the Central American University in Managua.

NICATESOL is coordinated by the Nicaraguan Association of English

Teacher with the financial support of the US Embassy’s Office of Public Af-

fairs. Ambassador Robert Callahan and Kathleen Boyle, Public Affairs Offi-

cer participated on the opening ceremony along with the university authori-

ties, teachers, academics, university students and faculty from diverse insti-

tutions, language centers and Peace Corps volunteers. The conference is

the largest gathering of English teachers and a total of 1,200 teachers from

rural and urban areas attended the two days long event. During the two

days events AC stand visitors received handouts, brochures, copies of FO-

RUM magazine, free printed material, and information about the different

services available at the American Corner in Managua and the American

Windows in Leon and Matagalpa. American Corner and IRC director or-

ganized a raffle for all stand visitors. The 10 lucky winners received dictionaries and reference books as

prizes.

Workshop for ESL Teachers and ELL at American Corner

On September 23 American Corner Nicaragua (AC) and the Binational Ctr organized a workshop “ Alternative Assessment”. Over 30 ESL teachers and students from public schools, university and language centers in Managua attended the session. BNC fac-ulty members: Jorge Moreno, Asdrubal Canelo, and Edwin Ordonez, acted as pre-senters and covered different approaches and segments of the workshop. Instructors used dynamic exercises to encourage teachers to use the new teaching tools in their classroom.

AMERICAN CORNER- Nicaragua English Teaching Resources

Biblioteca Roberto Incer Barquero Managua, Nicaragua

www. Americancornerni.blogspot.com

2001 Spanish and English idioms Eugene Saviano

A manual for writers of term papers, theses, and dissertations Kate L. Turabian and Louise L. Hornor

American Heritage College Dictionary American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms (the) Christine Ammer

American Ways: an introduction to American culture Maryanne Kearny Datesman Blackwell Encyclopedic Dictionary of Marketing Barbara R. Lewis

Collocations dictionary for students of English Oxford Communicating effectively in English: oral communication for non-native speakers Patricia A. Porter

Connect with English books (1,2, 3, 4) Pamela Mc Partland Fairman

Creative English Teaching Forum 1989-1993, Activities Thomas Kral

Dictionary of American Slang Robert L. Chapman Dictionary of Banking Terms Thomas P. Fich Elements of Style (the) William Strunk, Jr. English Grammar and Technical Writing Peter Master English Grammar for Dummies

Geraldine Woods

Essential idioms in English: Phrasal verbs and collocations Robert J. Dixson Grammar in plain English Harriet Diamond

Idioms dictionary for learners of English Oxford Keep Talking: communicative fluency activities for language teaching Friederike Klippel Lessons without limit John H. Falk

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus

Old favorites for all ages: songs for learners of American English Anna Maria Malkoc Oxford Dictionary of Phrase, Saying, & Quotation (the) Susan Ratcliffe

Oxford Picture Dictionary: intermediate workbooks (the) Marjorie Fuchs

Oxford Pictorial Spanish and English Dictionary Oxford Painless Grammar Rebeca Elliott

Phrasal verbs dictionary for learners of English Oxford Reading & Writing for academic success Mary Kaye Jordan Readings Sven Birkerts Reference guide to English: A handbook of English as a Second Language Alice Maclin

Responses to English for specific purposes - ESP Peter Master

Roget's Super Thesaurus Marc McCutcheon

Speak English like and American + CD Amy Gillett Strategies for Sucess: A practical guide to learning English H. Douglas Brown Teaching English to children Wendy A. Scott Teaching English to speakers of other languages Ronald Carter Teaching English as a second or Foreign Language Marianne Celcer-Murcia Teaching Large Multilevel Classes Natalie Hess

How to spell like a champ + DVD Barrie Trinkle Writing skills practice book for EFL: Beginning/Intermediate Level Patricia Wilxoc Peterson

100 games and activities for the introductory Foreign Language Classroom Thierry Boucquey 50 strategies for teaching English language learners + DVD Adrienne L. Herrell New teacher´s complete sourcebook (the) Paula Naegle Spanish and English Idioms Eugene Saviano Creating stories with children Andrew Wright

American Corner has three computers with Internet. These resources are

locateon the second floor in the Library reading area.

All our services are free of charge. If you need more information about our

services and resources please call Ph. 2 255-7171 ext 238