Vittoria Di Fabio

Hi! I am never so determined, but in this case I think we can, must and should perceive and understand the difference between tuition only through technology and teaching as the result of interpersonal interaction between teacher, class-mates and the learner. If technology cannot be substituted as we do need it because of its wide and complex "capability", we cannot be replaced by a PC as it would be quite a narrowing choise. The problem is that teaching is mainly thinking, accepting, changing, correcting the initial path if motivation can benefit from it. Might it be that I didn't understand the question?

Calendar...What might we use it for? Such a puzzling question... all our lives are built on “calendaring” and you are already using it the way we are accustomed to i.e. scheduled events, the most relevant ones already inserted and many more will be. Education itself is based on strings of time, modulating or stiffening depending on the cultural trend of the period. The Forum itself is based on time (it is indicated when you enter) but at the same time it cancels it (no actual meeting). No chats, though...at least I didn’t notice it. That might be a way of using “Calendar”: a scheduled short period of time allowing effective communication, starting from a specific topic but leaving room to the constructive spontaneity of coherent respectful people.... By the way, I like the idea of seminars, although it should be developed in detail. I’ll be back soon.

I do believe that teachers must change, if not preceeding history, at least adapting to its development. Our students' present reality (depending obviously on the areas we belong to) is busier than before, because of several activities in the afternoon. We cannot ignore it. Therefore there no use in "obliging them" as far as motivation is concerned, as regards the time you waste in checking all of them, in the limited use deriving from duties performed not for personal need (it should be stimulated during the lessons) but as a compulsory task. Training is not only underlining relevant technical aspects, it depends also and mainly on a personal attitude towards the activity, from which the time they are ready to spend on it derives spontaneously; moreover we can't deny that, in spite of all our efforts, students don't develop their skills at the same time and in the same way. Therefore specific, regular, daily exercises are boring for some of them and actually difficult for some others. Most of our work is to be done during the lessons as much as possible stimulating all of them in a different, appropriate way. Teachers of the English language should have less difficulty in motivating them as they can exploit all the sources (ads, slogans, films etc.) to attract their attention without using only the traditional, although relevant, means. We can have better results if they love English, no result will come if they fear it. A careful, up-to-date selection of texts, activities, procedures and strategies might conquer them: when and if that happens, they are ready to learn without studying, just working with you, difficult structures and use them in practice.

Hello! My name is Vittoria Di Fabio and I am from Italy. I am a teacher of English Language and Civilization in a Liceo Classico in Rome. Considering effective communication a difficult achievement, I studied and wrote essays on verbal interaction and I had the chance to deepen my knowledge on the subject attending my Master as Project Manager, mainly based on the relation among the people forming an equipe and their different roles. As far as E. U. is concerned, I started dealing with the Charter of Fundamental Rights with my students as soon as it was signed in december 2000. Since then, I worked with them to develop their awareness of European citizenship, dealing with duties and rights connected to it. As a Spring Day teacher, I thought it might be useful to explore the common European culture to make them understand similarities and differences on a wider basis, while following the development of our Constitution (http://springday20.tripod.com). The fifth Enlargement and the common values, on which the E.U. has been built, is our goal as on the 1st of May the newcomers will be welcomed . Before that date our students must be taught that the differences, present in each national identity, are a precious chance to exchange experiences and points of view (http://liceoplautospringday.tripod.com). My personal experience gave me the direct perception of the pleasure deriving from exploring new realities: I lived, in fact, abroad for several years, first in London, where I attended a course of journalism at the London School of Economics, then in Brussels. The intermingling of cultures and the deriving fascinating effect were evident to me since then and I keep getting any chance to work for it as in Comenius 1 School Project with Germany and Bulgaria. At school we are working on a project “The future of Europe is in our hands” that concentrates on the six values our E. U. is based on and, from time to time, I send articles on the importance of tuition and the use of ICT to myEurope. Let's work together! I will be ready to cooperate towards a better future in E.U.! Yours, Vittoria http://springday20.tripod.com http://liceoplautospringday@tripod.com