Last night we had homework to research one of the eight regions of Oaxaca. We were advised to come in and demonstrate our knowledge of our region to the class. Flor offered us the opportunity to use the wipe board to present, but our reports were more reading out facts and plagiarized sentences from our notebooks. Not at all what we were supposed to do.
Therefore, we had time in class to read more about our region and one more and to produce a REAL presentation with three follow-up questions. This is a challenging task because:
We don’t know the regions very well (and therefore need to read a little from notes).
We don’t have overheads or A/V to show some of the material. (This would have been very helpful because I know my colleagues had no idea, for example, when I was using the word “ajonjoli” that I was referring to the agricultural production of sesame in my regions: El Istmo (Isthmus) and La Costa (Coast).)
We don’t have a firm grasp of the language (clearly, not yet firm enough to make a complex presentation beyond offering bullet points).
But that’s the point. We need to learn to practice using connecting words and a variety of verb forms all in the same paragraphs and even sentences. The next section in the book has us practice this.
Of course, we need to speak mas elegante (more elegantly). Of course, this was an exercise we would not complete beautifully. And, it is exciting to see how our textbook clearly predicts our failure and immediately offers a remedy. I just need to read ahead! I also know that reading ahead is not the answer. This advancing and correcting requires patience and information to be infused when needed. It is a painstaking path to elegance and eloquence.
shewhodaresnothing 