Emilio Neculñir, one of the 28 young people from the Elqui Valley who participated in the "English Winter Camp" to continue improving their English skills during the first week of winter vacation, valued positively the initiative of Fundación Educacional Oportunidad, which ended this Friday.

Twenty-eight second and third grade students from the Elqui Valley took three days of their winter vacation to take part in the "English Winter Camp", which sought to promote the practice of English through the interaction of students with English-speaking professionals and English teachers in different situations, always in a playful and creative way.

During the school year, these youngsters from the Edmundo Vidal Cárdenas school in Vicuña and the Liceo Mistraliano in Paihuano are part of the We Learn Access program that Fundación Educacional Oportunidad develops in agreement with the U.S. Embassy in Chile and in alliance with Beyond English to provide them with extra hours of English outside of class hours, which they attend on a voluntary basis.

At the English camp, held during the first week of winter vacation, the 28 young people gathered at the Edmundo Vidal Cárdenas school to continue perfecting their English. "I feel that this can help me a lot in the future to have more opportunities. I have learned a lot in these days by spending so many hours in this camp where you learn a lot of English", said Emilio Neculñir from Liceo Mistraliano at the end of the English Winter Camp held this Friday, July 19, with the presence of the children's families.

Dayanara Ramírez, from the Edmundo Vidal Cárdenas school, also valued the progress they have made: "I feel that we have improved a lot because we understand what the miss speaks to us in English and we also pronounce and write better.

The head of the We Learn program of Fundación Educacional Oportunidad, Paz Collao, explained that "exposure time is key in language learning. These days in which the students have had the opportunity to be exposed to the language throughout the day, communicating with their teachers and with English-speaking professionals, has really mobilized and improved their level of English".

Beyond English's English-speaking professional, Sophia Skaff, said the camp "is a good opportunity for them to practice the language. I feel that the quieter atmosphere of the winter vacations makes them more relaxed to converse in English with us and with each other".

Second and third grade students from the municipalities of Vicuña and Paihuano, who participate in the We Learn Access Program, have been preparing since last year to host the English-speaking visitors who will come to the Elqui Valley to witness the most important astronomical phenomenon of the century.  

On Tuesday, July 2, a solar eclipse will be visible from a strip of the Pacific Ocean and part of South America and, although this phenomenon, which has been catalogued as the most important astronomical event of the century, will be partially visible throughout our country, the Coquimbo region will be the place from where this event can be enjoyed in all its fullness.  

The high presence of English-speaking visitors and the international press coverage will be the ideal scenario for the 30 second and third grade students of the We Learn Access program of Fundación Educacional Oportunidad and the U.S. Embassy in Chile, with the support of the respective municipalities, to put their knowledge into practice.

Since 2018, these young people have voluntarily participated in the program by developing leadership and communication skills around initiatives that promote astronomy, environmental protection and the cultural identity of the area. As part of this year's activities, the young people will host English-speaking tourists visiting their communes to witness the eclipse.

On the same day of the event, a group of students will be at the Plaza Gabriela Mistral in Vicuña, where they will be available for English-speaking visitors and will conduct "city tours" through the main tourist attractions of the commune. These tours will be conducted in pairs of students and will be free of charge for those interested. 

On the previous day, students from Paihuano will be in the town square offering historical reviews to foreigners, highlighting the historical heritage of the town and providing alternative tours and sites to visit once the astronomical phenomenon is over.

ABOUT WE LEARN

Fundación Educacional Oportunidad has been implementing the "We Learn" early English teaching program for 12 years in public schools in the Elqui Valley in the Coquimbo region, benefiting more than a thousand students from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade each year. "We Learn Access" continues this initiative, so that high school students can continue to improve their command of this foreign language and thus expand their future job opportunities.

Through a communal artistic event in English, Coinco seeks to promote the learning of this foreign language in the students of its municipal schools, encouraging the involvement of teachers of various subjects and parents.

More than 170 students from four municipal schools in the Coinco commune gathered to perform their first "Talent Show", an artistic and cultural event where students from pre-kindergarten to 8th grade showed their English skills through dance and singing.

In the activity, 12 artistic performances were presented (3 per school), including the presentation of the group Kiss from 5th and 6th grade of the El Rulo School, the dance and singing of Taylor Swift from 4th B of the Huallilén School, the animal song "Wag your tail" with the children of the Chillehue School and the mix of songs by the pupils of Copequén.

For Pamela Vidal, mother of Cristina Millanes from El Rulo, "it is an excellent initiative, as the children have more activities in English and thus learn to communicate better in this foreign language, and these activities also allow them to interact more with other schools". Lesly Monardes, a parent, valued the activity, as "they are very entertaining and innovative activities that are done here in the village".

Performing at this community event is part of a long process that requires the development of an idea, learning the song in English, making the costume production, long hours of rehearsal and to top it all off, being selected among the top performers of their school for the community event, after an internal event where all the school's classes perform their song.

"In this Talent Show we saw the work of the teachers all year long and the coordination between them. To hear the children speak and sing in English in such a fluent way is wonderful," said Coinco's Technical Director, Marlene González.

English teacher Martina Garay has been teaching in the commune for three years and is happy with the progress made by her students. "All the children are very happy and the parents are happy with their children. In these years, the change is very noticeable and this type of activity motivates them to be in the English class", says the teacher.

The event is part of the activities that seek to promote English in the schools of the commune through We Learn Net, a network that was born after several years of collaboration between the Municipality of Coinco and Fundación Educacional Oportunidad, with the aim of promoting the teaching of English from an early age and sharing strategies that arise from the We Learn programme in the fourth region. Coinco is the founding commune of the network, and next year San Vicente de Tagua Tagua will join.

After an intensive period of theoretical and practical classes and extracurricular activities, the students, teachers and municipalities of the We Learn Access programme of Fundación Educacional Oportunidad and the U.S. Embassy in Chile, made a positive balance of this first year of joint work.

With the presence of community authorities, parents, English teachers, management teams and of course the students of the Liceo Mistraliano de Paihuano and the Edmundo Vidal Cárdenas school in Vicuña, the first year of the We Learn Access programme came to a close, with a positive balance for students and teaching teams.

The Access initiative, carried out by the U.S. Embassy in more than 80 countries, was carried out for the first time in the Elqui Valley in alliance with Fundación Educacional Oportunidad to provide scholarships for two years (360 hours) to first and second year students from Vicuña and Paihuano to learn English intensively through classes in addition to the Ministry's curriculum and outside the regular timetable, in which technology, games, projects and music are cross-cutting elements in each unit of study. The ultimate goal is for students to achieve an upper-intermediate level of English (B2 according to the Common European Framework).

During this year, Access students participated in different activities framed in 4 thematic axes: astronomy, environmental protection, cultural identity and leadership skills, which allowed them to learn English in a practical way through experiences such as: modelling their clothes, creating Halloween stories, going out to meet neighbours, explaining food recipes, describing their community and school, among others.

Regarding these activities, Constanza Rojas, a 1st year student at the Edmundo Vidal Cárdenas school explains that "people think that our Access classes are just about sitting and writing all the time, but most of the classes are very didactic and entertaining and we can learn English in many ways".

In addition, to meet the objectives of the programme, the 31 young people had the opportunity to participate in different extracurricular activities such as a winter camp, a visit to listen to the La Serena Symphony Orchestra, a talk on climate change with the director of the UDD Sustainability Centre and a visit to the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory.

Regarding these activities outside the classroom, Claudia González, local coordinator of the programme and English teacher in Paihuano, explained that "the programme also includes a series of extracurricular activities where students have the opportunity to speak and listen to English and that this is not only part of the classroom, but of a set of activities that allow them to learn this foreign language in a better way".

Elizabeth Araya, a student from the Liceo Mistraliano in Paihuano, highlights the visit they made to the El Tololo observatory. "Going to an observatory is not done every day and we also learned about how it works. Being in this programme is a great opportunity to learn a language that is needed all over the world," she says.

The progress made by the students this year has been remarkable, according to the principal of the Edmundo Vidal Cárdenas school, Ruperto Pizarro, "we have students who belong to Access who can maintain a fluent conversation. They can speak English better, they have improved their vocabulary and pronunciation, we are very happy with the programme.

The commune was chosen by the Subsecretaría de Educación Parvularia to implement a pilot project for the early teaching of English from pre-kindergarten to 2nd grade in four schools in the commune.

As a way to promote early English language learning, the Undersecretary of Early Childhood Education, together with Fundación Educacional Oportunidad and the Municipal Corporation of Puerto Natales, will carry out a pilot programme during 2019 and 2020 in four schools in Puerto Natales, benefiting nearly 600 children.

This pilot programme will be implemented from pre-kinder to second grade by Fundación Educacional Oportunidad through its English programme We Learn, in the schools Baudilia Avendaño de Yousuff, Coronel Santiago Bueras, Capitán Juan Ladrillero and Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins. The objective is to strengthen, systematise and homogenise what English teachers in the commune have been working on for some years in the early teaching of this language. It is worth remembering that in Chile the teaching of English is part of the compulsory national curriculum from 5th grade onwards.

The Mayor of the commune, Fernando Paredes, highlighted that Puerto Natales was selected as a pilot for this initiative, "mainly because we are an area with tourist characteristics and where our main engine of development is to work with a foreign language. In that sense, I think it is essential that our children can opt for early English language learning," said the mayor.

The head of Cormunat, Silvia Ramírez, has a similar opinion: "we are a very touristy commune that needs to promote English beyond what the Ministry requires, which is why this programme gives us a little push to train our teachers and management teams with new strategies".

The head of Cormunat, Silvia Ramírez, has a similar opinion: "we are a very touristy commune that needs to promote English beyond what the Ministry requires, which is why this programme gives us a little push to train our teachers and management teams with new strategies".

The programme will level the teaching of English in the four pilot schools, so that all schools will receive 3 hours of English per week. In addition, teachers will be periodically trained in early teaching strategies and the management teams will be trained to accompany their teachers during the two years of the pilot. Along with this, the Foundation uses a methodology of continuous improvement to reflect day by day on the practices and perfect the strategies tested, in addition to exchanging experiences and knowledge through collaborative work in an Improvement Network.

"What stood out most about the training received from the Foundation was that they will encourage collaborative work with colleagues, as we often do not have the time to work as a team and also, this network could be extended beyond the region," said Eliana Pérez, English teacher at the Capitán Juan Ladrillero school, who last week participated in the first day of training given by Fundación Educacional Oportunidad.

The principal of the Coronel Santiago Bueras school, Eloísa Morales, explains that they were already developing their English teaching, but believes that the programme will help them move forward faster. "We needed a programme with a greater impact with the current trends in teaching. It's as if we've come to an agreement," she says.

Songs from films were performed this year in the ninth version of the "Singing Under the Stars", an English song festival held in Paihuano, where more than 60 students from 8 schools and the high school of the commune participated.

The 9th School English Festival "Singing Under the Stars" took place with great success and great motivation on the part of students and teachers of the Paihuano commune, where students from eight municipal schools that are part of the We Learn programme of Fundación Educacional Oportunidad showed all their artistic talent.

Cristopher Díaz is in 8th grade at the Jerónimo Godoy Villanueva school in Pisco Elqui and was part of the presentation of the film "Sync", where he performed the song "My Way" by Frank Sinatra. "I have participated on several occasions and all of us who participate are improving our level. The festival is very good because it allows you to learn more English, but through music," said the student.

Around 60 students from pre-kindergarten to 4th grade, from 8 municipal schools and the Mistraliano high school, gave life to this musical event, which was well attended by the community and local authorities, such as the mayor of Paihuano, Hernán Ahumada, who said that "this is the first year that we as a commune have organised the festival ourselves (previously it was organised by Fundación Educacional Oportunidad) and we were a little nervous, but everything went flawlessly". Regarding the teaching of English, the mayor thanked the Foundation "for the We Learn programme, which starts with the youngest children and which is so necessary in a tourist town".

This year's theme was "movie songs", from which the children demonstrated their singing skills and good command of the English language by performing classic songs such as "Under the Sea" from the movie The Little Mermaid, "Baby I Love Your Way" from Jumanji II or "I'm Still Standing" from the movie Sync as well as modern versions such as "Bamm" from the movie Zombies.

Focused on its objective of improving the quality of English teaching from the early years, with a strong emphasis on the oral expression of students, for the ninth consecutive year the teachers and directors organised this Festival, framed within the activities of the We Learn programme of Fundación Educacional Oportunidad.

In Chile, the Ministry of Education stipulates that children start learning English in fifth grade, while the We Learn programme implemented by Fundación Educacional Oportunidad in the Elqui Valley supports the teaching of English from pre-kindergarten with three hours a week and from first grade with five hours a week. New books are also provided every year, training is given to teachers and directors, and networking between schools in the communes of Paihuano and Vicuña is encouraged.

"We are pleased that teachers and principals are organising this activity that seeks to promote the learning of English through artistic activities that motivate students and entertain the community. Taking English out of the classroom is one of the objectives of our We Learn programme," said Marcela Marzolo, executive director of Fundación Educacional Oportunidad.

This is the name of the free talk that international wellness expert Sonima Ferrufino will give for parents and teachers this week in the Elqui Valley.

Achieving conscious integration between school and family in relation to children's English language learning and new global educational and life strategies will be the central theme of the talk given by expert Sonima Ferrufino.

It will be a theoretical-practical and experiential talk, where he will explain the new needs and current educational opportunities. "We are going to do some practical exercises, as I am going to give tools that can be useful and applicable for both parents and teachers, and it will be experiential, as we will do some personal dynamics so that they can experience mindfulness (processes of awareness of the here and now)" explains Sonima Ferrufino, an international expert in holistic wellbeing with more than 16 years of experience.

The talk will seek to focus on the needs of receiving the English language in the face of new global demands and will work with attendees on new educational approaches that will allow them to be more aware of the processes involved in English language learning for children.

On the teaching of English, the expert points out that, "both Chile and the Elqui Valley are tourist places that need to generate links with the English language. Learning English should be a priority for everyone, not only for the Foundation or the school, but for parents and especially for the children, who should fall in love with learning it.

The talks will take place in the commune of Vicuña on Friday 26 October at 19:00 hrs. in the Casa de la Cultura and Municipal Library, then on Saturday 27 October in Paihuano at 10:00 hrs. in the Francisco Varela García Hall. The activity is supported by both municipalities, Fundación Educacional Oportunidad and Macmillan Chile.

Sonima Ferrufino de Herrera

A Panamanian national, Sonima is an international expert in holistic wellness with more than 16 years of experience in various holistic methods and certified in several countries such as: Colombia, Guatemala, Spain, Panama and several places in the United States. She is a speaker who also offers various workshops and spiritual retreats nationally and internationally, where she shares tools for inner transformation, innovative and integral for the being.

The fifth version of the event will be held in La Serena and will feature exhibitors from England and Uruguay and workshops by leading national professionals. In addition, teachers will share their experiences teaching English to children with hearing impairment and tell details of how networks have become a space for collaboration.

One of the main economic activities in the IV Region is tourism, which generates the arrival of around 2 million tourists every year, 15% of whom are English-speaking foreigners. That is why mastering English is so necessary and its teaching from an early age is fundamental to promote the value of intercultural exchange.

In this context, the 4th International Seminar on English Language Teaching Expanding Opportunities was held for the first time in La Serena. The activity was a meeting point for teachers, school principals, heads of UTP, sponsors, academics and students of English language teaching, who learned about innovative and successful teaching experiences to apply both in the classroom and at school level. The meeting also presented experiences of both teachers and principals, involving different establishments such as cultural or musical events, which even involve the parents themselves.

The event featured two prominent international speakers who led plenary sessions and four experts who gave educational talks and entertaining workshops. The talk "Effective use of songs in the English class" by Luciana Fernández, learning and reading consultant at National Geographic Learning, kept all attendees attentive and engaged. "I hope that there will be more opportunities for teachers to get together, learn from others and not feel so alone. I am very happy to have been part of this event," said the presenter.

David Crabtree, Professor at the University of Westminster in London, was another keynote speaker and shared with the audience some models of inclusive learning and how they relate to good practice in the classroom.

María Escobar, English teacher at the Cardenal Caro school in Coquimbo, highlighted the level of both talks: "They were a very playful way of delivering the knowledge to us," she said, highlighting the Foundation's concern for early English language teaching.

In addition, there were poster presentations on successful experiences of teaching and learning processes of this language by teachers from different regions of the country. Martina Garay, a teacher from the commune of Coinco, O'Higgins Region, was one of these panelists and she showed the theatre plays that have been performed with her students in the commune. For her, this event "is incredible and showing what we do in such small communities to other teachers is very motivating".

In addition to the main presentations, participants were able to take part in one of four workshops: "Storytelling", "English through art", "Cultural events in English" and "Guidelines for effective English language management at institutional level", all of which were related to the main themes of the seminar.

Fernando Castro is a graduate in English Pedagogy from the University of La Serena and participated in the workshop "Guidelines for the effective management of English at the institutional level", one of the most requested of the day and considered it very good, "because in general it is always shown what to do in the classroom and this workshop sought to motivate management teams to work on English in a global way".  

Meanwhile, English teacher Katherine Galleguillos from the Abel Inostroza Gutiérrez school in Monte Águila, in the VIII Region, participated in the workshop "English through art" and said that "I really liked this workshop, a very interesting idea that aims to teach from the youngest children. The speakers were incredible and really give a boost to pedagogy".

The seminar is organised for the fourth consecutive year by Fundación Educacional Oportunidad, which for the past 12 years has been promoting the early teaching of English through its We Learn programme in the Elqui Valley. Marcela Marzolo, Executive Director of the Foundation explains that "this year we wanted to invite the participants to broaden their view of English teaching, showing that it is not only the responsibility of the English teacher, but of the entire educational community, who can get involved in the teaching of this language with very simple strategies. It is not enough to have successful teachers, good practices must be installed, for which leaders play a fundamental role".

The Fundación Educacional Oportunidad activity was carried out in conjunction with the Universidad de La Serena, with the collaboration of the British Council and National Geographic Learning and with the participation of Bukku Education, Grupo Educativo Inglesa, Colegio Cervantes and English Arts.

Several trainings with the participation of English teachers and management teams from the four municipal schools of the Coinco commune, O'Higgins region, which are part of We Learn Net, as well as the communal Head of UTP, provided teachers with new strategies to increase exposure to the language outside the classroom, while together with the management teams they analysed the progress of their schools around the goals of the first semester.

These trainings took place in the framework of the first year of operation of the network of communes that promotes the teaching of English at an early age, where Coinco is the founding commune of the We Learn NET network, also composed of teachers and schools of the Elqui Valley. 

On 7 June a training session was held for the English teaching teams, focusing on strategies to increase exposure to the language outside the classroom. In this instance, the organisation of a cultural event for the end of August at the Chillehue School was agreed upon. The teachers will work together with the school's management team and head teachers to organise a talent show. The students will have the opportunity to showcase their language skills within the school community.

Regarding this activity, teacher Martina Garay, values the work carried out together with the management teams, because "in this way the We Learn programme is taken more seriously and English is considered a relevant subject within the curriculum. These meetings allow us to have a guide to know what to focus on".

On 28 June, a training session was held for the commune's management teams to analyse the schools' progress towards their goals and to review how the actions proposed by We Learn Net are in line with the guidelines provided by the Ministry of Education for the subject. In addition, the first steps were taken together with the Head of the local UTP, Marlene González, to organise an English cultural event in which all the schools will participate, as part of the celebration of the anniversary of the commune in November.

This networking of the We Learn NET programme was appreciated by Marta Palacios, principal of the Chillehue School, who said: "the network works very well. The communication is good, and I also like the fact that they involve all members of the educational community in the work, so we get closer to the work of the teachers".