Using technical aids in the EFL classrooms.

The use of technical aids is surely an updated resource at hand for EFL teachers and students all around the world.
Technology is a primary tool on the field, plain.
Today, april 28th, 2011 during a workshop session a colleague brought in a special student and his mother. That student uses a special device called "personal FM headphone". Before using this device the student had lot of problems to descriminate sounds. His listening comprehension is only 88%.
Althought his auditorial sense keeps on the same percentage, the understanding of the sounds has improved a lot.
As teachers we need to be aware of our students' needs and what's more important be updated on this and other tools.

CURRICULAR ACCOMODATIONS IN TURRIALBA

Last Thursday, March 31, 2011 we started a serie of professional sessions to discuss about curricular accommodations and their applications in our schools.
It is particularly important for TOFSL (Teachers of English as a Foreign Language) since there is little information among teachers of this language, and maybe of other languages too on how to cope with students with special needs.
It was quite interesting how Professor, PhD. Gilberto Hernández explained a new vision of how people acquiere knowledge.
A pyramid that includes (from bottom to top)
1. Noise
2. Data
3. Information
4. Knowledge
5. Aplication (tailor-making, customizing)
This makes a lot of sense due to the exposure of students to everyday "noise" and the rest of the pyramid components to reach their goals(and their teachers').