November 2011

Third Edition
Neiva (Huila), Colombia

The renewal process of accreditation program

of basic education emphatically
in humanities foreign-language English
Magister Nidia Guzmn Durn
Coordinator of the renewal process of accreditation program
of basic education emphatically in humanities foreign-language English

The self-assessment program has been a continuous and dynamic process since its creation in
1991. The participation in the Binational COFE - ELTO project allowed enriching the program in an
integral manner, bringing out the first self-assessment in 1994 to conform to Act 115 of 1994, which
aims for teaching a foreign language since primary to basic education.
As a result of this self-assessment, we designed an improvement plan that allowed getting
spaces for the specialized library, the language lab, resource center, books and other technological
tools. Decree 272 of 1992 led us to another process in the search for prior approval. Article 55 of Act
30 of 1992 states that "institutional self-evaluation is a permanently task of institutions of secondary
education and will be part of the accreditation process." This led us to continue the process to
achieve not only the Program Accreditation Institutional Accreditation but maintaining the strengths
and overcome weaknesses to improve academic processes.
Between 1994 and 2000 after the self-assessment process, the program received the prior
approval, approved by the MEN as Qualified Registry 2003. Later in 2004 became the program
curriculum evaluation and curriculum was reduced from 10 to 8 semesters without compromising
academic quality and systematized and approved by the academic Education Project PEP
Program. In August 2005 began the process of self-evaluation with the purpose of quality
accreditation. And in 2008 by Resolution No. 3575 on 16th June MEN gave Voluntary accreditation
awarded the High Quality Program for four years (until 2012) and qualified registration valid until
2015. Actually, the program advances the self-evaluation process with purposes of reaccreditation, carrying out the study as a first step, analysis and evaluation of the consolidation and
projection of the strengths that have characterized the tracking and verification of the effectiveness
of improvement plans designed to overcome the weaknesses identified during the accreditation
process, a process which actively involve teachers, students, graduates and managers program
since 2009, through workshops. The needs were reviewed and adapted to the five international
program that brings the program AUTOEVALPROG to get the basic and pertinent information
through the 8 factors proposed in the Guidelines of the ANC.
They are: 1) opinion indicators that collect teachers, administrators, students, graduates and
employers appreciation. 2) Knowledge Indicators that reflect the knowledge of PEP applied to
teachers, students and directors as shown and described agreed and issued an opinion of value for
each one of them.3) Numerical indicators supply by the Institutional and Program documents.
These indicators are scored quantitatively and qualitatively. 4) Documentaries indicators that feed
information through corporate documents which was rated quantitatively and qualitatively, and
finally 5) Specific information to, using a specific format for collecting this information, both
quantitatively and qualitatively also qualify and are recorded in the institutional Indoespeciales
system software.
A study and analysis related to self-evaluation were made starting for initiating Self factors,
through the corresponding features, aspects and indicators that allowed us to make the weighting,
assessment and justification of these on the basis of 10 criteria suggested by the ANC: relevance,
transparency, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, accountability, adequacy, completeness,
universality and equity. Then we focus on the development and review of the instruments needed
to collect information from students, teachers, managers, graduates, employers, and other like
mind, knowledge, documentary, digital and special.
We proceeded to set a sample to ensure reliability of the information in the following way: 120
students, teacher's 29, 70 graduates, 20 employers, and administrative 10. The warranty on this
self-evaluation process in time sequence was captured in a timeline that records the basic steps to
delivering the final report to the National Council for Accreditation CNA Each of these stages have
been socialized with people about the process, as teachers, students, graduates and executives.
Simultaneously with this first part of the process, opinion polls and knowledge as well as information
collection of documentaries and specials have been implemented.
At the time the assessment is being done, the justification and qualification of each of the 523
indicators, quite possibly the most extensive and expensive stage of the process.
After this phase, we will begin the evaluation of aspects of indicators, then the characteristics of
issues and factors for features later to reach the final evaluation of the Program in accordance with
each of the factors. Proceed to systematize information about the weaknesses and develop an
improvement plan to overcome the weaknesses, as well as to maintain the strengths and continue
to offer a comprehensive program for high academic quality and Colombia Huila.

Universidad Surcolombiana
Facultad de Educacin
Programa de Lengua Extranjera - Ingls
Rector
Eduardo Pastrana Bonilla
Vicerrector Acadmico
Luis Evelio Vanegas Rubio
Vicerrector Administrativo
Julio Hernn Zambrano
Vicerrector de Investigacin
y Proyeccin Social
Jairo Antonio Rodrguez
Decana de la Facultad de Educacin
Mara Ligia Lavao de Serrato
Jefe de Programa de Lengua Extranjera
Lilian Cecilia Zambrano C.
Coordinadora de ILEUSCO
Nidia Guzmn Durn

ISSN: 2145-5627
Publishing Commitee
Norma Constanza Basto
Osiris Hernndez Castro
Sonia Amparo Salazar Aristizabal
Layout and Printing
OTI Impresos Calle 28 No. 1A-46 Cndido
Telefax: 875 8485 - Neiva (Huila)
Correspondence
Universidad Surcolombiana
Av. Pastrana Borrero - va Bogot
Instituto de Lenguas Extranjeras
Neiva, Huila - Colombia
Tel. (0988) 752216 / 8754753 ext. 281
www.ileusco.edu.co

Second Prom Upper Intermediate English B2

Nidia Guzmn Durn M.A.

ILEUSCO - Coordinator

Mara Ligia Lavao de Serrato

Dean of the Faculty of Education

Maryi Lorena Monje

Graduates Teacher

Kirbby Giselle
Cullar Cern

Boris
Carvajal Renza

Hada Luz
Malpica Trivio

Camilo Andrs
Castao Quintero

Carlos Alberto
Barbosa Vega

Erika Roco
Suaza Ibaez

Mario Ernesto
Rayo Muoz

Mara Camila
Carrera Collazos

Juan Diego
Medina Tovar

Oscar Daniel
Lozano Ome

Samuel Enrique
de Arco vila

Karla Francely
Olaya Oyola

Mara del Pilar

Surez Corts

ILEUSCO -STAFF

Norma Constanza Basto Salas

Sandra Parra
Yohamer Ernesto Guevara
Nidia Guzmn Durn
Luz Dary Torres Gonzlez
Mara Fernanda Jaime O.
Julin Cabrera Jimnez
Lina Constanza Home
Hctor Ivn Garzn
Maryi Lorena Monje Araujo
Carlos Alberto Snchez

Roco Reyes Herrera

Nidia Guzmn Durn
Mercedes Torres Gonzlez
Diana Goretty Escobar Perdomo
Carlos Antonio Hermida Guillermo

ENGLISH: A DETERMINANT FACTOR

IN INTEGRAL EDUCATION

By: Eduardo Pastrana Bonilla PhD

PRINCIPAL of
Surcolombiana University

A new language opens up a

whole new culture. A foreign
language gives us access to
another culture, and our lives
take on a new dimension. By
learning a new language, you
gain new horizons, but at the
same time you reinforce your
own identity, and therefore
also your self-confidence.
A foreign language can
contribute to a stronger
personality.
In the globalized world, the influx of foreign culture has
increased rapidly. Furthermore, the development of
technology in various fields such as communications,
internet, and transportation brought significant
changes to mankind. These advancements made it
possible for people to meet different people in different
countries. There is no doubt that English is the most
widely spoken of the international languages.
According to one statistic, more than 50% of the people
in the world can communicate in English, at least at a
basic level.

Therefore, having English skills has become a standard

of awarding promotions and salaries. In addition,
English skill is also important for entering better
universities. English skills have become one of the most
important factors that can decide the success of one's
life. So, learning English as a second language is crucial
for increasing competitiveness, this is due to the
predominant role of English in the globalized world.
English is the tool of communication, English is used
as the language of business, and English skill is the
measure of a person's ability in society.
It is my pleasure congratulate the students of the
Foreign Language Institute of the Universidad
Surcolombiana (ILE-USCO) who successfully finished
their process of learning English and will receive their
certificate of graduation from the most important
center of teaching of English in the whole South
Colombian territory. Now you are qualified as global
citizens. Now you have the skills to ensure a successful
future. The world, this global village that is our home, is
every day smaller, and only persons like you, who
understand that an integral education is the key for
progress, and that knowing a second language,
especially English, is an definitive part of the new
education, definitively have set a step forward to
conquer the globalized world.
The world is yours, as it is the University where you have
studied, from now on you are South Colombian citizens
of the global village.

THE ENGLISH TEXTBOOK:

FRIEND OR ENEMY FOR
TEACHERS AND LEARNERS
By: Lilian Cecilia Zambrano Castillo

HEAD OF THE
LANGUAGE PROGRAM
at Surcolombiana University
Over the last few years, the National Education Ministry
has promulgated, through different documents, the
promotion of teaching a foreign language from a
communicative standpoint at elementary and
secondary school. However, a large number of students
who enroll in different programs at Surcolombiana
University are not able to communicate even basic
information about themselves in English. In spite of the
low level of proficiency many students demonstrate, a
new document called Estndares Bsicos de
Competencias en Lenguas Extranjeras: ingles has been
produced. It allocates English teachers a more
demanding task. They are expected to help students get
the communicative competence of the English
language at a pre-intermediate level in the four
linguistic skills. In order to comply with these
requirements, teachers are called to reevaluate theirs
programs, the methodology, and the materials they
use. As far as materials are concerned, teachers have at
present a wide range of possibilities to make their
classes a more communicative, practical, motivating,
meaningful and successful learning experience.
However, despite this great variety of teachers
resources, the course book is perhaps the commonest
tool English teachers use in Colombia.
The present paper is aimed at presenting both
advantages and disadvantages a course book may have,
and how teachers could overcome those limitations to
make the best use of a course book in favor of their
students learning process.
We cannot deny that a course book has become a key
component for a number of English teachers in this
context. For Hutchinson and Torres (31), the textbook
has a vital and positive part to play in the day-to-day job

of teaching English, and that its importance becomes

even greater in periods of change. There is nothing
wrong about using one as long as teachers keep in mind
that it has both advantages and disadvantages, and
they are aware of the necessity of evaluating, changing,
adapting and tailoring to their learners' needs.
McDonough and Shaw (64) point out that The
evaluation of a current materials merits serious
consideration as an inappropriate choice may waste
funds and time, not to mention the demotivating effect
that it would have on students and possibly others
colleagues. Regarding advantages, Richards (254-255)
suggests that textbooks : provide structure and a
syllabus for a program, but they help standardize
instruction, they maintain quality, they provide a
variety of learning resources, they are efficient, they
can provide effective language models and input, they
can train teachers and they are visually appealing.
Based on these assumptions, I find course books useful
for teachers to plan their syllabus, to guarantee all the
learners study the same homogeneous contents, to
expose students to relevant materials, and to foster
different types of activities. Teachers also have more
time to plan their lessons, course books fill gaps
teachers may have to produce accurate language, and
students are motivated if the textbook is attractive to
them.
Learners also recognize the importance of textbook in
their learning process. Hutchison and Torres (318)
report some students responses where they see a
textbook as a framework or guide that helps them
organize their learning both inside and outside the
classroom-during discussion in lessons, while doing
exercises, studying on their own, doing homework, and

...HEAD OF THE LANGUAGE PROGRAM at Surcolombiana University

preparing for tests: the textbook and ancillaries such
as workbooks and CDs may also provide a sense of
achievement and progression for students. I can
conclude from previous assumptions and my own
teaching experience that textbooks are valuable
sources for teachers and learners in so far as they are
carefully evaluated in terms of the legal requirements,
the theoretical foundations, the teachers beliefs and
expectations, and the students' needs.
However, using a course book may also have its
drawbacks. Richards (255) claims that the first negative
effect has to do with the lack of authentic language. He
suggests that the dialogues and the other types of
discourse it presents tend to be aimed at incorporating
teaching points, and they do not foster real language
use. It has been adduced by Carter (1998:47) in Gilmore
(366) that the language of some course books
represents a can do society in which interaction is
generally smooth and problem free and the
conversation is neat , tidy and predictable hence,
textbooks may have the disadvantage that they do not
represent real life issues, and controversial topics are
usually avoided. Gray (163), bases on a study he carried
out could observe that the teachers who took part of it
were aware that the course book content was partly
determined by the publishers' need to maximize sales;
what they are actually worried about is that books are
sold globally. According to Richards, a third problem
teachers have to face is that textbooks are designed for
global markets; therefore publishers do not take into
consideration the interests and needs of the students in
a particular context. This fact could seriously affect our
students' motivation for learning English. Biggs
(1995:83) cited by Cheung (55) corroborates this
assumption when he affirms that students are only
motivated to learn things that are important and
meaningful to them. Finally, Richards (255) suggests
that if teachers stick to the book literally, their role
becomes reduced to that of a technician. On the other
hand, classes become predictable, and students
become demotivated. We are reminded by the authors
of Headway that the teacher has to control the book,
not the other way around.
Now, what are teachers expected to do overcome the
limitations of using a course book to teach a foreign
language? In first place, in order to bring the real world
into the classroom, teachers can resort to the use of

authentic material because they contain authentic

language and reflect real-world uses of language.
(Richards 252). Guariento and Morley (347) add a
further insight to the use of authentic texts; they note
that authentic material give the learner the feeling
that he or she is learning the real language; that they
are in touch with a living entity, the target language as it
is used by the community which speaks it. Elementary
school teachers could make use of authentic short
stories, rhymes or games to involve students in a
stimulating experience which provides not only a
meaningful context, but also gives practice in
communication skills. High school teachers on their
part should have access to the useful up-to-date
information and activities the internet offers in order to
meet teenagers' needs, and arouse their interest in
learning English. Cheung (56) states that young people
today are exposed to a variety of sources of information
such as movies, TV programs, internet, among others,
which are part of popular culture and can provide a
valuable bridge between formal and informal
education, and help to bring people and places alive.
What teachers should bear in mind when using
authentic material is that the tasks derived from this
material are expected to simulate tasks that are carried
out in the real world.
As for the distortion of the content some textbooks may
present, elementary and high school teachers should
make adaptations by adding, omitting, modifying,
simplifying or re-ordering the material (Mcdounough
and Shaw pp 88-95). When teaching greetings and
farewells, for instance, the most common ones
textbooks include are hello, good morning, how are
you?; however, if we recorded a TV program and
watched it with our students, we could take advantage
of it by identifying which phrases or sentences native
speakers use the most. The greetings and farewells that
are likely to crop up are How are you doing Hows it
going Good, Ok. Etc. So we can use a different greeting
everyday and encourage students to do so with their
classmates. This activity might also become a source to
analyze the context, the situation, the relationship
between speakers, and we could classify the language
as formal or informal.
As publishers do not take into account the learners'
needs in a particular contexts, most of the reading
passages that books contain are boring, hence students

...HEAD OF THE LANGUAGE PROGRAM at Surcolombiana University

do not express any interest in reading them. What
teachers should do is to omit those passages and ask
students what their favorite topics are; or encourage
those who have a computer and internet at home to get
some information they prefer reading by themselves,
and then share what they found out with their peers. A
common topic in the textbooks is personal information,
and what publishers usually present are biographies of
soccer players or famous singers. Well, what we should
do is to let our students express they likes and choose
their favorite personage, and encourage them to get
the information they would like to know about him or
her. Integration of skills can be promoted through this
type of tasks as well.
Based on the above discussions, I conclude that the
goals English teachers are expected to accomplish are
very demanding. They are expected to lead high school
students become proficient users of the foreign

language at an intermediate level. In order to get that

achievement, the most challenging task teachers are
supposed to perform is to bring the real world into the
classroom. The resources teachers may have at their
hand are varied; however, the textbook has become the
core component of their teaching practice. Therefore,
teachers are called to make a careful evaluation of the
material they are going to use and define or
determinate the pros and cons, and make the changes
or adaptations required. Mcdonough and Show note
that the good teacher is constantly adapting (84)
adaptation is very practical activity carried out mainly
by teachers in order to make their work more relevant
to their learners with whom they are in day-to-day
contact. English teachers have to b e aware that the
textbook alone is not a guarantee to get the
communicative results expected by the government.
Much has to be done, and they are in charge of bringing
about those changes.

References
Cheung, Chin-Kim. The Use of Popular Culture as a Stimulus to Motivate Secondary Students English Learning in
Hong Kong ELT Journal 55.1(2001):55-61.
Glimore, Alex. A Comparison of Textbook and Authentic Interactions ELT Journal 58.4(2004):363-74.
Gray, John. The Global Course book in English Language Teaching. Globalization and Language Teaching. Ed. David
Block & Deboraah Cameron. New York: Routledge, 2002.151-67.
Guariento, William, and Morley, John. Text and Task Authenticity in the Classroom. ELT Journal 55.4(2000):
347-53.
Hutchinson, Tomm and Torres, Eunice. The Textbook as Agent of Change. ELT Journal 48.4(1994):315-28.
McDounough; jo and Shaw, Christopher. Materials and Methods in ELT: A Teachers Guide. 2nd ed. United Kingdom:
Blackwell Publishing,2003.
Richards, Jack. C. Curriculum Development in Language Teaching. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001.

NEWS FROM THE SECOND PROM

What would it the

th Course have
11
been without
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.

Mario and his new English accent.

Maria del Pilar and her sweet voice.
Maria Camila and her stress.
Camilo and his crazy hair.
Karla and her shyness.
Kirby and her beautiful body.
Hada and her great attention in the class.
Carlos and brainy knowledge.
Boris and his gentlemanly behavior.
Samuel and his jokes and comments.
Juan Diego and his All is fine
Erica and her absentness.
Oscar and his obsession with karaoke
and his bothering behavior.
Maryi Lorena teacher and her Phrasal verbs.

By Mara Camila
Correa Collazos

TEACHER - ILEUSCO

Communicative Language Teaching:

A Professional Challenge for the
English Teacher
By Edgar Alirio Insuasty
Communicative Language Teaching or
Communicative Approach (CA) can be
defined as one of the most widespread
and prevailing pedagogical options to
conduct a language lesson. It has
brought a lot of important contributions to
the professional field of language teaching. To start
with, let's mention its emphasis, unlike
Audiolingual Method, on developing learners'
Communicative Competence rather than building
up their linguistic competence. Another is the
retrieval of the purposeful nature of language by
promoting the practice of functions such as the
instrumental (I want), regulatory (do as I tell
you), interactional (me and you), personal
(here I come), heuristic (tell me why),
imaginative (let's pretend) and informative
(I've got something to tell you.)
Other defining features of CA are skill integration,
learner-centeredness, appreciation of errors as a
natural part of learning language, use of taskbased, text based and authentic materials,
enhancement of the learner's own personal
experiences as important contributing elements
to classroom learning. These features constitute
the core of CA as a teaching philosophy which is
aimed at meeting the interactional needs and
desires of learners as well as establishing the
connection between the language as it is taught in
lessons and as it used outside the classroom. As
can be seen, CA is a beautiful, fashionable and
promising theory with wide acceptance.
However, a number of research projects like the
ones conducted by Zambrano & Insuasty , Cardona

& Quintero and Nunan have suggested a mismatch

between communicative teaching principles and
intentions as advocated by methodologists and
teachers and what actually happens in the English
classrooms. In this sense, it is also interesting to
notice the extent to which most of our high
schools share a lot of the practical difficulties that
researchers and scholars such as Deckert have
identified in other similar EFL teaching settings like
Japan. The first is the little exposure to the target
language our students have outside the classroom
(1).
Another problem has to do with the inappropriate
use of instructional communicative materials by
teachers and learners. Zambrano & Insuasty have
also identified other adverse circumstances which
militate against English communicative teaching.
These are large classes (courses with an average of
40 students each), the number of hours per week
(two or three), scarcity of equipment and
resources and, most importantly, the fact that
some English lessons are still in the hands of
nonqualified teachers. But unlike other EFL
scenarios, Colombian people do not hold
fundamentalist belief systems which prevent
students from seeing English from a global
perspective. Nevertheless, a kind of political
resistance to English, or better English speaking
countries and their government policies, can be
perceived in certain social or academic circles.
Communicative Approach is a professional
challenge for English teachers. Despite the context
limitations and learner factors (different learning
styles and strategies, deficiency in some students'

TEACHER - ILEUSCO

...Communicative Language Teaching:

A Professional Challenge for the English Teacher
aptitude or motivation), it is up to the teacher to
initially shape a communicative curriculum as
potentially made of five components: language
arts (accuracy), language for a purpose (use of
English for real and immediate communicative
goals), my language is me (developing learner's
identity in English), you be, I'll be: theater arts
(sociocultural roles of appropriateness) and
beyond the classroom (use of English in the world
beyond) (Savignon 20). Moreover, CA demands
the in-situ performance of some facilitating roles
from teachers, like setting up activities, organizing
material resources, guiding students in group
work, encouraging contributions, monitoring
activities and diagnosing the further needs of
students (Hedge 63).
However, the effectiveness of CA should not be
taken for granted. CA is not a dogma or panacea
which must be followed blindly. English teachers

should also assume what is regarded as the most

important of their professional roles, that of being
critical about the usefulness and limitations of
their practice. We should become reflective
practitioners who gauge our teaching to the
changing communicative needs of our students.
We need to be aware of why something we do in
class goes wrong or right. This is the first step
towards improvement. The idea is not to keep
being overwhelmed by our everyday teaching
experiences without systematically asking and
answering questions about the what, why, who,
how, what for, when and where of our classroom
actions.
To sum up, it is worth recognizing that CA has
strong virtues, but its practice should be reflective
enough to make it sustainable, relevant and
effective in the EFL teaching context. As an English
teacher, are you willing to face this challenge?

Works Cited
Cardona, Gloria, and Josefina Quintero. Una mirada investigativa al aula de ingls de Lenguas
Extranjeras. Centro editorial Universidad de Caldas, 1996.
Consejo de Europa. Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Deckert, Glenn. The communicative approach: addressing frequent failure. English Teaching Forum
Online. 42.1 (2004): 1-4.
Hedge, Tricia. Teaching and learning in the language classroom. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Nunan, David. Communicative Language Teaching: making it work. ELT Journal 41.2 (1987): 136-145.
Savignon, Sandra. Communicative language teaching for the twenty-first century. Heinle & Heinle. 2001.
Zambrano Lilian Cecilia, and Edgar Alirio Insuasty. Aplicacin del enfoque comunicativo a la enseanzaaprendizaje del ingls en los establecimientos de secundaria en Neiva. Entornos. No. 14. Universidad
Surcolombiana, 2001.

TEACHER - ILEUSCO

Links beyond Borders

Geographical conditions do not only divide countries
and continents, but also determine some social and
cultural differences among them. However, when it
comes to people`s learning process in formal education
institutions, geography does not seem to have had a
major impact. The problems of education described in
Louis Menand's article Live and Learn: Why we have
college (2011), are similar to those in China and
Colombia. Arum and Roksa, cited in Menand, concluded
in their research that American higher education is
characterized by limited or not learning for a large
proportion of students. Unfortunately, this situation is
not specific to the U.S., because Chinese and Colombian
educations have also been fraught with the same
difficulties for several years. Of course, professors like
Menand will not take comfort from the fact that this
phenomenon has become a cross-cultural issue.
Nevertheless, it can at least be claimed that the learning
process of students in these three countries, has been
unavoidably and negatively affected by the three same
factors: lack of perseverance, motivation issues, and
government laws.
Undoubtedly, students who lack perseverance hardly
become engaged in lifelong learning and are far from
being successful learners, especially if they have to fill in
knowledge gaps. No matter the country or the
education institution, the quality of perseverance is
usually considered a magic potion for a student to
combat his learning difficulties, his substandard
academic background, and his underpreparation for
college or university; this is a magic potion that injects
the student with a dose of commitment, hard work,
patience, and endurance. Are classrooms then being
filled up with these good and perseverant learners?
Arum and Roksa point out that Students in America
spend less hours studying because they think of
college as a social experience or way of
entertainment. Similarly, Chinese and Colombian
professors also experience a feeling of unhappiness
because of the conformist and lazy students they work
with everyday; Students who are often academically
underprepared and overly concerned about other
things such as parties, facebook, and QQ. The fact
remains that if students who need to make sacrifices
and study harder to reach an academic standard level

do not put a lot of effort into their

college life, they will go on failing
to achieve a higher and more
excellent academic level.
Moreover, present-day teachers
are not only worried about the
demotivated students but also
the ones that become motivated
by the wrong reasons. Since the
two types of motivation, extrinsic
and intrinsic, were officially
accepted by scholars, the excess
Ximena Paola
o f ex t r i n s i ca l l y m o t i vate d
Buenda Arias
students has turned out to be in
education like the stumbling
block before a blind person. It is undeniable that
extrinsic motivation is not leaving room for an intrinsic
orientation in schools from Colombia, China, and the
U.S. In these countries, instead of learning for personal
factors such as curiosity, enjoyment, interests, and
needs, students are learning for rewards, punishment,
future jobs, etc. Ellis (p. 516) states that Students
intrinsically motivated are the ones that get engaged in
learning tasks without encouragement or direction.
Clearly, most students today are not intrinsically
motivated because they are more like the ones
portrayed by the American Professor X Students want
one thing and one thing only from Professor X: a passing
grade. (Menand, 2011) The power of instrumental
motivation has definitely caused devastation among
education institutions by hindering students from
finding the academic activities meaningful and
worthwhile. As quoted by Menand Students at these
schools are utilitarian. This is a phrase that lends itself
beautifully to students today who Determine the value
of an academic task according to how much it
contributes to reaching their short-term or long term
goals. (Woolfolk, p. 407) Unfortunately, students seem
no longer to care about the real purpose of attending a
college or a university, giving not much hope to
teachers who have to handle with mostly
instrumentally motivated learners or if worse come to
worst, with unmotivated ones, much to the regret of
excellent and committed professors who are eagerly
waiting for a change.

TEACHER - ILEUSCO

...Links beyond the Borders

Nevertheless, the lack of intrinsic motivation in most
students must not be only attributed to their individual
formation, because the excess of government's
attention to the economic growth has also been an
influential factor. Menand asserts that a non-liberal art
is the only thing Barack Obama has in his mind when
saying Higher education is the key to the future of the
American economy. Meanwhile China continues to
believe that For meeting China's modernization goals,
vocational and technical skills must be the main priority
of higher education. (U.S. Library of Congress)
Likewise, the Colombian government is making life so
hard for middle and lower classes that most people see
education as a way of surviving, and not as an entirely
worthwhile learning experience. Are political leaders
then unconsciously promoting the idea that the main
purpose of education is to prepare individuals to make
money? What happened to the idea that education is to
cultivate people's strong analytical skills and their
wisdom to bring about social changes? It seems that
since the government prefers people who work hard
and make money to those who think critically and
produce changes education has become a perfect tool
to form these types of citizens. Therefore, while the
government goes on emphasizing the degree as the
best way to make them breadwinners forever and ever,
teachers might find it harder to make changes in
students' attitudes to the instrumental value of
academic tasks.
Additionally, some laws enacted by the government
have also seriously threatened the quality of education
by producing a system that lacks focus and rigour. In
2001, George W. Bush introduced the No Child Left
Behind Act which according to many professors and
researchers has made the selectivity processs too loose.
Additionally, Gregg Toppo (2007) describes the
consequences of this Act: It narrows what many
schools teach... because what gets tested gets taught!
The law's annual testing requirements in math and
reading have led many schools to pump up the amount
of time they spend teaching these two staples often
at the expense of other subjects, such as history, art or
science.
Thus, students might graduate underprepared for
college and with an inflated sense of the importance of
test scores. In the same way, the President of Colombia,
Alvaro Uribe, introduced Decree N 230 in 2002, and for
eight years all the education institutions of that country

were required to guarantee that 95% of the students

will be advanced to the next grade automatically. That is
to say, just two students failed the school year whereas
others who had not reached the achievements in
several subjects were advanced to the next one. The
president of FECODE (Federation of Colombian
Educators) asserted, It led the students to be
irresponsible and make no effort to study. (Velasco,
2009) To sum up, some laws passed by the government
have not helped in maintaining the quality of education
when not requiring students to become mostly
engaged in their academic life as they are expected to.
For the peace of mind of desperate American and
Colombian teachers, all those laws can be still
cancelled; unfortunately, undergraduate education in
China does not seem to have the same hopeful story.
Even though there is no government Decree or Act
making the Chinese education system less strict, the
exam-oriented education offered in China is resulting in
careless students. An undergraduate student stated:
We don't care about learning, we care about grades
and exams... we usually plagiarize to get good grades.
She also added: Teachers don`t notice it. Although,
Chinese government can not be blamed for people's
way of thinking, it would be worth considering that
education in this Asian country does not only need to be
more process-oriented, but it also lacks more laws that
wake up most students from their mediocrity to a
greater awareness of how important learning is and
how enjoyable it can be.
In conclusion, it does not matter where students come
from, what really makes a difference to a student's
learning process is the desire this individual has to
become a well educated person. Of course, to be a
successful learner will take time, effort, and patience.
There is no doubt that the learning process for
underprepared students will be full of falls and
scratches with success and failure, happiness and
frustration, and perhaps more of the negative, but it
can also be guaranteed that by being motivated,
studying hard, trying persistently, and not being
influenced by government decrees that can promote
mental lazyness and lack of commitment, students will
attain the expected academic level. As Menand points
out when motivation is missing, when people come
into the system without believing that what goes on in it
really matters, it's hard to transform minds.

TEACHER - ILEUSCO

...Links beyond the Borders

References
?
Elllis, R.The Study of econd Language Acquisition. 6th edition. Oxford University Press. 2010.
?
Menand, L.Live and Learn: Why We Have College. The New Yorker. 2011. Retrieved June 2011, from:

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2011/06/06/110606crat_atlarge_menand.
?
Toppo, G. How Bush Education Law Has Changed Our Schools. USA TODAY. 2007. Retrieved June 2011, from:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2007-01-07-no-child_x.htm
?
Velasco, X. Estudiantes Volvern a Perder el Ao. Newspaper: La Opinin. 2009. Retrieved June 2011, from:

http://www.laopinion.com.co/noticias/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28187&Itemid=29.
?
Robert L. Worden, Andrea Matles Savada and Ronald E. Dolan, editors. China: A Country Study. Education and

Culture. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress Education and Culture. U.S. Library of Congress.
Retrieved June 2011, from: http://countrystudies.us/china/63.htm.
?
Woolfolk, A. Educational psychology. 7th edition. Allyn & Bacon. 2001.

Pourquoi apprendre le franais?

Hctor Ivn
Garzn Herrera
Docente de Francs

Voil une grande question! Avez-vous dj votre

propre rponse? tes-vous "oblig" de l'apprendre? Ou
au contraire est-ce un choix de votre part? Aprs la
lecture de cet article, vous devriez avoir la rponse.
C'est videmment que les langues trangres jouent un
rle important dans la socit de nos jours. Il devient de
plus en plus ncessaire d'apprendre une autre langue. Il
y a un grand nombre de raisons pour lesquelles on doit
apprendre le franais. Cettes raisons peuvent tre le
travail, les vacances ou apprendre pour plaisir.
Le franais est une langue de communication
internationale parle dans plus de 50 pays, rpartis sur
les cinq continents. L'ouverture sur la culture franaise
que propose l'enseignement du franais favorise une
meilleure comprhension de l'altrit et de la
tolrance.

Apprendre le franais, c'est d'abord le plaisir

d'apprendre une belle langue, riche et mlodieuse
qu'on appelle souvent la langue de l'amour. Le franais
est aussi une langue analytique qui structure la pense
et dveloppe l'esprit critique ce qui est trs utile dans
les discussions ou des ngociations. C'est une des
langues juridiques et diplomatiques officielles de l'ONU
et de tous les organismes qui en dpendent. C'est aussi
la seconde langue d'Internet.
La connaissance du franais constitue un plus pour la
recherche d'un emploi intressant et bien rmunr.
De plus, il est possible avec le DELF (diplmes d'tudes
en langue franaise) de s'inscrire dans une universit
franaise ou francophone et d'avoir ainsi accs une
formation de trs grande qualit.
Voici, quelques apprciations de nos tudiants du
premier niveau de franais ILEUSCO :
Independent de l'utilit que nous offre l'apprentissage
de une langue trangre, je pense qu'il est trs
motionnant pouvoir comprendre la culture franaise
travers de la compression de sa langue. La parole est
l'origine de beaucoup de ralits, c'est pourquoi il est
difficile de comprendre une ralit sans connatre sa
langue

TEACHER - ILEUSCO

...Pourquoi apprendre le franais?

Anderson Gonzlez
Pour personne c'est un secret que dvelopper des comptences communicatives en langues trangers nous
permettent accder des nombreux domaines d'informations que facilitent agrandir notre monceau de
connaissances, acqurir des arguments explicatives et interprter les phnomnes culturels ds nouvelles
perspectives. Dans mon cas, la ncessit d'apprendre le franais apparait de l'activit comme historien et
chercheur pour la ralisation des CURADURIAS. En essence, ce que je cherche en premier lieu c'est d'apprendre
lire avec solvabilit le franais; o l'coute, l'criture et la parole seront des valeurs attachs a mon principal
intrt

Jaime Ruz

William Reyes
J'tudie le franais parce que je vais voyager peuttre au Canada, en plus c'est une des langues
romance la plus belle que nous avons aujourd'hui.
Moi, je suis technicien en avions et j'ai cout sur les
opportunits du travail dans mon mtier
l'tranger

Aprs ces mots sur l'importance du Franais; si vous

tes intress(e) pour tudier cette langue, venez
notre institut que nous vous accueillerons avec
plaisir.

Language Library

Luis Humberto Alvarado

Regarding audiovisual material there are interactive

CD-Rom, audio CDs (stories, children songs), movies in
DVD..

By Giovanny Durn
The Licenciatura en Educacin Bsica con nfasis en
Humanidades, Lengua Extranjera Ingls, has a very
important place to share with you. It is a small library
rich in resources and materials of different kinds in the
field of foreign languages, English, French and soon we
will have Italian material at your disposal.
The collection is made up of printed material like
teaching courses (for children, adults and different
school levels), French, Italian, and English dictionaries
(bilingual, monolingual, synonyms, antonyms,
collocations, idioms, phrasal verbs among others),
technical dictionaries, encyclopedias, grammar books,
ELT texts in a vast field of subjects, readers (abridged
and non-abridged versions), and tests (proficiency,
placement, etc).

There is also a good collection of monographs, and

thesis from undergraduate and postgraduate programs
(specialization and master study). Most of this material
can be consulted in paper or digital format.
You can enjoy and take advantage of this material in a
relaxing atmosphere. Depending on the kind of user,
some materials can be taken home for some time or just
be consulted in the library.
The personnel working in this place is knowledgeable
about the collection and is qualified to advise you
about your search or need. If you do not need our help,
most of the collection is open, that is to say, you can
have direct access to it
The library is open Monday through Friday, from 8:00
a.m. to 12:00 m., and from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Come and visit us to have the pleasure of waiting on
you.

TEACHER - ILEUSCO

More Languages,
Better Men
We live in a multicultural and multilingual world; the
rapid growth of the world has brought changes in our
lifestyle. One of those changes and probably the most
important one is the need of learning new languages to
interact with the so called 'citizens of the world'.
Following those changes, the Colombian National
Education Ministry (MEN) has brought the Bilingualism
Program through its policy of Higher Education Quality.
The Bilingualism Program aim is to promote the
Language Teaching Program improvement, since they
believe that to increase the number of students with a
higher level of communicative competence, it is
necessary to improve teachers' communicative
competence first. In addition, the MEN has also brought
to teachers' thought and daily task to shape our student
with something called Citizenship Competence (CC).
What does CC mean? How can language learning be
related to CC?.

So if by learning a new language our students can

recognize different culture costumes and they are able
to understand differences among people around the
world, including our own culture, we will promote
tolerance in our classrooms.

On the other hand, Colombia is filled with intolerance.

Day after day Colombian news show articles associated
to killing, revenge, hating and so on, just because some
people in this country are unable to tolerate others'
behaviors or beliefs. One example of intolerance is the
'barras bravas' or soccer teams fans for whom their Tshirts and colors are sometimes more important than
life itself. Another important aspect of tolerance to be
taken into account is that it is one of those citizen
competences that cannot be acquired; as teachers, we
can only promote it and our students can only learn it by
exercising living with the difference and respecting it.

There are three reasons for which it is assumed that

learning new languages is related to bring better
citizens to a globalized world: language learning brings
educational and cultural advantages in which cognitive
benefits, success and better lifestyles are immersed.
One of the cultural advantages learning new languages
brings is tolerance, seen as the result of knowing and
understanding the culture of the foreign or second
language you are able to communicate with. According
to Nida (2003), language is an integral part of culture,
defined simplistically as the totality of beliefs and
practices of a society. To declare oneself as a bilingual
person, it is essential to know the culture of the foreign
language. Too often people believe that a good
translator is a bilingual person; but it has been proved
that not only has a bilingual person to articulate words
and meanings to bring up a good translation, but also to
know the semantic charge of simple words, phrases or
sentences to translate contexts of texts, not just
grammatically well constructed sentences.

Mara Fernanda
Jaime Osorio
English Teacher
at ILEUSCO
Other educational advantages learning new languages
bring are development of literacy and reading skills
(D'Angiulli, Siegel and Serra, 2001) and that it also
improves academic achievement (Armstrong and
Rogers, 1997). According to these authors, the more

TEACHER - ILEUSCO

...More Languages, Better Men

you read, the more you learn. It is through reading that
children learn about the world's surroundings, and
thus, they learn values and how to interact with others
in a society. Al Tablero, a monthly magazine published
by MEN, declares that reading and writing have a social
and cultural function since they give the child a sense of
being a unique person who is important as long as
his/her acts are also related to the changes life
demands. Therefore, if reading and writing in the
mother tongue have such important benefits, it can be
assumed that practicing those skills progressively in
other languages will increase the citizenship
competence.
In addition to cultural and educational advantages,
learning languages also brings cognitive benefits.
According to the National Center for Languages of
Britain, there are important cognitive benefits
associated with speaking more than one language
(Bialystock, 2001). After many years of study and
research Dr Bialystock from Canada, has discovered
that bilingual children and adults have many distinct
advantages over unilingual people when completing
both linguistic and nonlinguistic tasks. By studying
people of all ages, and using both behavioral and
neuroimaging approaches, Professor Bialystock is
changing our understanding of language acquisition
and literacy, as well as cognition and aging said Faculty
of Health Dean, Harvey Skinner. Her research on the
developmental and cognitive processes might reflect
one of the keys to help keep more people healthier.
One more benefit that learning languages brings is
success; not only to the individual, but to the society in
which this individual is immersed. Once more, the
National Center for Languages of Britain has published
on its website its desire of seeing a society where
everyone can recognize the value of learning new

languages, and thus, have intercultural relationships.

They believe that as long as people increase their ability
to communicate in more than one language, a country
will be more successful in the global economy, build
better relationships at home and abroad, and put youth
on par with their international peers.
So, there is no doubt that learning new languages
directly benefits our economy, since people who know
more languages get better jobs, improve their families'
incomes and consequently, improve their lifestyles.
Incomes sent to Colombian families from people living
abroad have been reported to reach up to 266 million
dollars by the Banco de la Repblica this year.
Some other people may say that learning new
languages implies losing your own culture, but I believe
that despite what they think, there is no Colombian
abroad who indifferently watches, listens or reads any
Spanish advertisement, music or even accents on
people from our country. On the contrary, they feel
more Colombian than any other living here, showing
respect and love for Colombia and of course, being
good citizens whenever they come back.
To sum up, learning languages can bring positive and
important changes to our lives, since it helps people to
be involved with the country and its development;
when they make parallels of their culture and others'
cultures they become more tolerant to the differences
and respect them. It also brings cognitive benefits as
students learn reading and writing in other languages,
widening their vision and as a result of combining these
benefits, people can be more successful and carry on
better lifestyles. As teachers, we aim our students'
progress, both individually and as a society, so let us
start promoting citizenship competence through
teaching and assessing languages.

References
Bialystock, 2001. Retrieved from htto://www.yorku.ca/coglab/
The National Center for Languages. Valuing languages.
Retrieved from http://www.cilt.org.uk/home/valuing_languages.aspx
Al Tablero. Lectura y Escritura con Sentido y Significado. Retrieved from
http://www.mineducacion.gov.co/1621/article-122251.html (Translated by Mara Fernanda Jaime Osorio)

TEACHER - ILEUSCO

Machine Translation
More than half a century has been
devoted to achieve fully automatic
machine translation (FAMT); however,
this has not been attained yet. The United
States, Europe, and in general, several
different countries across the globe have
made major financial investments in
search of an electronic device capable of
replacing the human mind ability to
understand languages. Sadly, as Hutchings
and Somers (1992:1) stated, there are no
'translating machines' which, at the touch
of a few buttons, can take any text in any
language and produce a perfect
translation in any other language without
human intervention or assistance. This
then, presupposes the immense
challenge scientists and linguists face to
decode the dynamic complexity of
languages and to understand the cultural
and social implications involved in any
translation act.

Leonardo
Ortiz
Franco
English
Teacher

Suggestions about the mechanization of language

started hundreds of years ago. In the 17th century,
Descartes and Leibniz speculated on the creation of
mechanical dictionaries, inspired by the universal
language movement and the idea of achieving an
unambiguous language based on logical principles and
iconic symbols (ibid, 1992:5). Thus, the desire to break
language barriers is not a novel subject of interest, in
contrast, it dates back to our ancestors. That is why, this

essay will look at key moments in the evolution of

Machine Translation (henceforth: MT), highlighting its
transformation process: from targeting FAMT to serve
as a tool to assist human translation (MAHT) and
reflecting on how I perceived such shifts whilst
managing the Trados project.
It was only after the advent of computers in the 1940s
that clear advancements on the subject were made. In
1949, Warren Weaver's memorandum officially
launched MT as a potential area of research in the
United States (Hutchings, 2005:8). Subsequently, a
new idea was born and several other countries around
the world found a promising area for investment. On 7th
January 1954 at the IBM headquarters in New York, the
first public demonstration of the Georgetown IBM
system was made. A small-scale Russian-English
experiment of just 250 words and six 'grammar' rules
was the beginning of a decade of optimism and
research in the field. As a result, different research
groups were established in the USA, Europe, and Japan,
and further research was undertaken to study the
syntactic and semantics of language. Unfortunately, the
extensive research led to demoralizing findings. In
1959, Bar-Hillel, one of the most influential MT
researchers, suggested that fully automatic, high
quality MT was impossible (Arnold et al, 1994:21), and
claimed that semantic issues were major problems to
attain accurate automated translated outputs.
In light of these findings, in 1964, the US National
Academy of Sciences established the Automatic
Language Processing Advisory Committee (ALPAC) in
order to assess the MT prospects. Two years later, in
1966, ALPAC report suggested that there was no
immediate or predictable prospect of useful MT.
According to Hutchings and Somers (1992:7) ALPAC
report was widely condemned as narrow, biased and
short-sighted leading to a loss of credibility of MT
research and not only stopping major investments from
sponsors but also further research within the US.
Despite shared opinions, the ALPAC report had a great
impact on MT evolution, but it was not the end.
Inevitably, the MT progress was delayed, and during the

TEACHER - ILEUSCO

...Machine Translation
next decade interest was focused on developing more
powerful and complete machine aids for translators,
such as terminology databanks and automatic
dictionaries. In France, work continued on the CETA
project in Grenoble and in Germany, a new group
appeared at Saarbrcken and Toma continued
research, leading to the development of the widely
known, Systran system (Hutchings, 1986:13). It was a
period to try different approaches and systems. Finally,
results started to emerge. In 1970, the Systran system
was installed at the US Air Force base, and in 1976, the
METEO system for translating weather forecasts was
installed in Canada and became the first general public
use of a MT system (Hutchings, 2004:1); both systems
used the direct approach, a system that works between
pair of languages on the basis of bilingual dictionary
entries and morphological analysis (Ping, 2009:162).
Subsequently, from the 1980s to today, the MT field has
been a subject of new research, regaining importance
among scientists and linguists. As a result, promising
MT systems such as knowledge-based MT or Statistical

MT have been the object of research, making online

translation systems like Alta Vista's Babel Fish or Google
Translation Kit aided by the immense technological
advances. According to Pin (2009:162), the popular
form of Computer-Aided Translation (CAT) is increasing.
Subsequently, one of the most sophisticated CAT
technologies within the current translation industry is
TRADOS Studio 2009 developed by SDL Company.
In sum, one may think that MT is a few steps away from
its ultimate goal, however as Ping suggested, MT is
rooted in problems inherent to human communication,
that is, it requires two categories of knowledge:
linguistic and extra-linguistic (Ping, 2009:165). Hence,
humanity may need to wait a while longer to see such
an invention alive, as mechanical brains require huge
amounts of investment and considerable doses of
scientific and linguistic research. Nevertheless, it is
clear that 70 years may be enough to realise that
technology should be used to facilitate, rather than
replace, human translation.

TEACHER - ILEUSCO

Tips to improve your English skills

If you want to improve
speaking and writing
skills, you should first
master the skills of
reading and listening.

Maryi Lorena
Monje Araujo
English Teacher

Reading and listening are the basies of any language, so

if you want to have an excellent English level, first at all
you have to work on these skills and then you can easily
improve the others. A typical question many students
ask is, how can I improve my English? So, as English
teacher, I am going to give you some tips that can help
you:
The more you listen, the more you will remember. To
improve your listening and speaking skills you should:
?
Listen to English music and print the lyrics to learn

new vocabulary and the correct pronunciation at

the same time, furthermore, you should sing the
song and imitate the pronunciation, watch movies,
TV programs and news in English using subtitles in
order to learn idiomatic expressions, vocabulary,
etc; and buy books on tape.

?
You can record songs or, a TV program or your

English class and repeat it until you can say it in the

same way as the tape. The more you repeat, the
more fluent you will sound. You do not realize how
many mistakes you make until you listen to a
recording of yourself.
?
Another good idea is to open a Skype account to be
in touch with native English speakers.
?
Learn how to paraphrase. Try describing a word with
other words, it will be useful because you can use
more vocabulary and you can learn the meaning of
the word not only in Spanish but in English, too. It
can help you in the moment of giving any specific
information or in your writing skills, too.
?
Use the dictionary and try to familiarize yourself
with the phonetic symbols of your dictionary. Look
up the correct pronunciation of words that are hard
for you to say.
?
Make a list of frequently used words that you find
difficult to pronounce and ask someone who speaks
the language well to pronounce them for you.
?
Pronounce the ending of each word.

TEACHER - ILEUSCO

...Tips to improve your English skills

I put these two abilities together because they are
connected one to another in the way that you can speak
as well you can listen
To improve your reading and writing skills you should:
?
Read something you will enjoy. Books, magazines

and newspapers are not your only sources for

reading. English is everywhere, learn a song or
poem, try a menu, a recipe or learn some funny
jokes.
?
Read aloud. There is no better way to practice and it
will help you pick out mistakes.
?
Use your new vocabulary or you will lose it!
Concentrate on a few new words each day and try to
use them in different sentences. The more you use
it, the easier it is to remember. Make flashcards of
the new vocabulary and tape them to your wall and
practice making a new sentence with them each
day. They really work.
?
Practice linking words and expressions, use
contractions and weakened forms whenever you
can. Practice makes perfect.
?
Do not forget to visit your local library to find more
resources to help you learn English.
If you have an excellent reading habit you can improve
your writing skills in the way that you can learn a lot of
new vocabulary and grammatical structures or just
reinforce them.
Apart from this advice, you should be patient because
many people think that learning a new language is

going to be an easy and quick process. People often

expect instant results and it is not possible they will give
up too soon. You have to be dedicated and put in the
most effort you can. In the way that many students
never review the vocabulary and the grammatical
structures learned in class; and then they ask
themselves, why cannot I improve my English if I
attended all the classes?. Going to class is not the only
way to improve your English, a class is an important tool
but it is not the only one. One way could be to identify
your weaknesses and start to work to overcome them.
It is very important to motivate yourself to learn English
because if you do not; you will become frustrated and
give up.
You should surf on the web; the internet has become an
important tool to many fields around the world. There
you can find free websites to learn English like the
followings:
Dave's ESL Cafe
?
?
About.com English as a Second Language e-mail courses
?
The Classroom by Voice of America
?
Heinle's Newbury House Dictionary of American English
?
Private English Portal on YouTube
?
Wordreference dictionary
?
Englishforum.com
?
Efl.net
?
Drive.to/autoenglish
?
Eslnotes.com
?
Eslcafe.com

In conclusion, if you want to have an excellent level of

English, you should work hard to obtain it and the most
important do not give up easily.

References
Case, Alex, "70 practical tips for improving your English". For UsingEnglish.com
D'Souza, Anita, " 10 tips to improve the way you speak English", rediff.com. September 02, 2005

Ethnic Groups in Colombia

Claim the Right to have
Education in
their own Context
It is possible that people who are resisting,
embody the kind of unity that men have created.
Each one is unique and unrepeatable.
1

Edward H. Spincer, The Yaquis people

Colombia has been developing cultural research

processes that have led to reflection and analysis after
the demand of social movements, ethnic groups and
minority communities who claim the right to be
educated in their own context, in order to responds
needs and cultural processes. This context generates a
(numbers) series of struggles that reached important
dimensions in terms of cultural demands, which
promote a range of policies, decrees and constitutional
provisions which have led to the development of ethnic
education processes mainly within the indigenous and
Afro-Colombian people.
According to "The Declaration of San Jos" (Bonfil
Batalla. 1981), ethnic education is understood as: "A
permanent social process immersed in their own
1

culture, which, in accordance to the needs, interests

and aspirations of a people, to train individuals to
exercise their social decision-making capacity, through
the knowledge of the resources of their culture, taking
into account the values of the ethnic group that permit
both, recognition of and respect for other cultures and
hegemonic society in terms of mutual respect".
In this sense, ethnic education is conceived from
different cultural eyes, disciplinary and organizational,
making a great contribution in defense research and
analysis of the real problems of each nation or ethnicity,
framed in conservation, growth, transmission of
cultural values, and worldviews understood as pillars of
identity of different ethnic groups.

The Yaqui or Yoeme are a Native American tribe who originally lived in the valley of the Ro Yaqui in the northern Mexican state of
Sonora. Many Yaqui still live in their original homeland, but some live in Arizona as a result of wars between the Yaqui and the
Mexican government.

Samuel
de Arco

GENERALITIES

...Ethnic Groups in Colombia Claims the Right

to have Education in their own Context
Furthermore ethnic education has become part of the
social construction of meaning in groups; processes in
which ethnic groups create, retrieve, and reconstruct
ways of conceiving the world and participate building a
multiethnic society. It also seeks to create opportunities
for maintenance and development of other cultural
options against historical conditions of domination.
This has become a disadvantage for ethnic minorities in
our country.

cultural identity of different groups and communities.

Obtaining a number of decrees and resolutions as a
result like in 1984 in which through Resolution 3454 the
Ministry of Education set the general guidelines of
national indigenous education based on a theoretical
framework called Ethnic development, which features
principles, goals, objectives, strategies and conditions
for the implementation of its component, which means
ethnic education.

Some scholars in the field think that the beginning of

ethnic education in the country was initiated in 1976
(Decree Law 088 176) the moment of a restructuration
of the Colombian educational system that enables
indigenous people the right to their own education and
to participate actively in building their own educational
programs.

Another great commitment would be to develop a

national consciousness through a process of
information, respect and appreciation of Colombian
ethnic groups, facilitating the action of the State in
compliance with the constitutional mandate, ordering
it to protect the ethnic and cultural face of the nation,
and adopt special measures for their development with
dignity and identity.

Later, certain groups and communities with cultural and

educational issues, adopt a critical position on the role
of schools in the disintegration of cultures. Because of
this situation, different projects are created for research
and educational programs that respond to the needs
and contextualized education according to culture that
does not disintegrate it, but rather strengthens the

In conclusion, I believe that one commitment of ethnic

education is to raise interracial and intercultural
understanding among the educational community and
in general, Colombian citizens, among different races
and peoples that make up the ethnic and cultural
formation of our nation.

GENERALITIES

Monty Python:
The Best of British Humor
And now for something completely different...

Carlos Alberto
Barbosa Vega
English, 11th level
Monty Python made history by changing humor. This
singular British comedy group, known for their
absurdness and surrealism, influenced comedy as much
as The Beatles did in music.
Their unique style, which sometimes had social critique,
resulted in gigantic success that is still acknowledged
nowadays.
The members were: Graham Chapman, John Cleese,
Terry Gilliam (who was American and made the
animations), Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin.
The very best of Monty Python included their members,
which individually gave to the group their own touch,
giving the feeling that every one of them was destined
to be part of this.
The Beginning
Cleese, Chapman and Idle met at Cambridge University
in the revue Cambridge Circus, while Palin and Jones
met in Oxford, where they performed in The Oxford
Revue. Cleese met Gilliam while on tour in New
York. Some of them worked together in various
shows before. Due to their success in
previous shows, Cleese and Chapman were
offered a show by the BBC, so Cleese
invited Palin, and he called Jones and Idle,
who in turn suggested Gilliam to make the
animations. And so Monty Python was born.

Monty Python's Flying Circus

This show was the most influential of their work as a
comedy group. It was famous for its surrealism, as well
as not having punch lines at the end of the sketches,
plus the Gilliam's animations, which mixed with the
scenes, giving a unique touch. All of the members were
responsible for writing and acting, so they had a major
creative control to determine what was included or not
in the show.
The show often portrayed the habits of British life and
sometimes had a political charge. They used to write
and act by themselves. Four seasons and 45 episodes
were made. Some of the most famous show's sketches
are Dead Parrot, The Spanish Inquisition, Ministry
of Silly Walks, Nudge Nudge, The Lumberjack Song,
Spam, among many others.
Movies
Their style moved to the silver screen, making some
movies:
And now for something completely different...
(1971)
It was intended as a way of breaking Monty Python
into America.
Monty Python and the HolyGrail (1975)
Their first roperfeature film, based on Arthuran
legend.

GENERALITIES

...Monty Python:
The Best of British Humor
Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979), the story of
Brian, who is mistaken for the Messiah.
Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl (1982)
Filmed at the Hollywood Bowl, it was a concert film,
where the Pythons performed sketches from the
television series.
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)
A series of sketches loosely follows the ages of man
from birth to death.
Cultural influence and legacy
The legacy left by them is pretty big, as there are many
things named after Monty Python and its membrs. or
example:
Each one of them has an asteroid with their names.
The Python programming language is named after
the group.
There is a fossil of a prehistoric snake called
ontypythonoides riversleighensis
The term pam used to call the unsolicited mail is
from the programme' sketch.
Even they have a term in the English language:
ythonesque to refer to something surreal and
absurd.
Conclusion
I personally recommend it, beauseit is a funny way to
look for new vocabulary and idiomatic expressionsused
in BritishEnglish, and obviouslyto have some laughs.
When you watch this troupe in action for the first time,
you may end up laughing a lot, only a bit, or making you
wonder how this could possibly be funny, but still they
managed to make a legacyand change the way comedy
is done.
The comedy world is thankful to them, and so are their
fans.

Five Reasons
to visit

Down Under
Boris Carvajal
Renza

Australia, also known as Down Under, is a

remarkable country which has turned into one of the
greatest destinations lately, not only because of its
natural beauty but also for its cultural blend, and
having its doors open to the whole world, among
others. But, why is Australia an extraordinary place
to visit nowadays? What makes it so special? What
does it have to offer? And what can we do there?. To
try to answer these questions here are five reasons
that could be useful for those who would like to visit
it or just know a little more about this country:
1. QUALITY OF LIFE
A survey recently published by Economist
Intelligence Unit EIU, www.eiu.com, shows that
four Australian cities are among the top the ten with
the highest level of worldwide life. The first place has
been taken by Melbourne, identified as Australia s
cultural and sporting capital, which was cataloged as
the best city to live in the world. The categorization
was based on several criteria such as social and
political stability, education, environment and
infrastructure.
The EIUs report reflects the general standards of
living in Australia which currently has the second best score of quality
of life behind Norway.
In this sense, some
reasons like low
population density,
public perception of
safety, advantageous

GENERALITIES

...Five Reasons to visit Down Under

offers for potential migrants, average life expectancy,
academic programs and a welcoming destination for
foreign investment have made it really attractive.
These aspects, coupled with the fact that getting an
Australian visa is much easier compared to other
English speaking countries, could be a clear signal why
the amount of Colombians who have decided to go
there has grown more and more during the last years.
2. EXOTIC PLACE
Many people dream of traveling to a country as far away
as possible and may be Australia could be that place.
This exotic, vast area is perfect for adventure lovers:
from the coast line to the middle of the desert in the
land of nowhere.
A few examples of breathtaking landscapes are Ayers
Rock, a true landmark in the Australian outback, named
Uluru by the natives, which is the biggest stone on
Earth set in the heart of the nation, it is impressive to
see how its color changes beautifully at sunset; the
Tribogargan Mountain, on the way to the Sunshine
Coast, with its outstanding resemblance to a gorilla,
and Moreton Island with its dunes for sand boarding,
both located in the amazing State of Queensland and
the last one directly in front of Brisbane City .
Not to mention the Blue Mountains, close to Sidney,
this is a spectacular World Heritage region with easy
access by one of the coach tours that visit the area daily.
3. TASMANIA
If Australia is named Down Under, it is said that
Tasmania is Under Down Under due to its southern
position. It is the Island State and homeland of the
famous Tasmanian devil. Once I heard that going to
Australia and not visiting Tasmania is like going to Italy
and not visiting Rome.
One of the best ways to go there is crossing the Bass
Strait, which separates the island from the main land, by
the Spirit of Tasmania a spectacular cruise. The trip
lasts about 12 hours and is an awesome experience from
the start in Melbourne City to the end in Devonport.
Tasmanias capital is the pretty city of Hobart, a port on
the Pacific Ocean, where the well- known Salamanca
Market takes place on Saturdays every weekend. It is

also a good point to set off to Port Arthur in order

to explore this historical site, and its surroundings,
recognized by being a penal colony built during the 19th
century to keep the British convicts.
4. WILDLIFE
One of Australias most admired aspects is without a
doubt the richness of its wildlife. It is to many unique
species and a number of them can be seen, touched
and fed in captivity such as the cute koala bears or the
odd platypus.
Some particular birds are the aggressive Magpies
because of their strange behavior: while they are flying
they tend to hit peoples heads very hard from behind,
everybody is amazed when this happens the first time
but then it becomes fun, however sometimes they
cause several injuries. So be careful with them if you are
in City Park! As for the sea, whale watching could be an
exciting option.
It is impossible to write about Australias wild life ignoring
Kangaroos. They are a true icon. We will bump into or see
them wherever we go. In reserves they are friendly and
outgoing with human beings. These creatures have a
particularity: they cannot walk backwards, this feature
being a reason to be adopted as symbol of the Australian
Army. In addition, a kangaroo is featured on each Qantas
airplane- the National Airline which is proud to have
had no fatal accidents in its existence.
There is no other place like Australia Zoo situated in
the village of Beerwah. It is Steve Irvings home, The
Crocodile Hunter , where we can learn more about
this great figure admired for his love for animals, and
also see his personal belongings as well as the
equipment used in his renowned expeditions
broadcasted on international TV channels.
5. BACKPACKING
Backpacking is basically an independent, low cost way
of travelling. It can easily be the experience of a life time
and involves staying at hostels usually for a short time in
cheap accommodation.
On the other hand, everybody must be prepared for
sharing a bedroom with unknown people from all over
the world, making friends day by day and enduring
different kind of conditions that are not always the best

GENERALITIES

...Five Reasons to visit Down Under

but in the future they will be anecdotes. In these sites
the living room is transformed into a small Babel
Tower because of the different languages are spoken
there. They are much appreciated for international
travelers: all kind of people go there from a farmer to a
CEO on vacation that is tired of five stars hotels and
wants to run away from his routine.
Booking on line in advance is recommended, especially
in high season. In many cases backpackers hostels have
all kind of facilities available for its guests like internet
access, laundry, public phones, cutlery and a communal
kitchen where we can find supplies which have been
stored by previous guests in an specific locker to be
used by others. A recognized hostel chain is YHA,
www.com.au, which offers special benefits to those
who join it.
For those who are learning English, backpackers hotels
are ideal places for improving spoken skills because It is
a challenge from the reception desk to the living room
where we do not need to make a big effort to find
someone who is interested in keeping in touch with us,
knowing who we are and where we are from in a wide
range of accents.
But, how much does it cost? Despite the fact that
backpackers hostels are an economical way of traveling
there is one more option that could be better in terms of
money: it involves working as volunteer at one of the
thousands of host farms where travelers receive food
and lodging in return for doing certain jobs. For
instance, a good idea is being a member of Willing
Workers On Organic Farms WWOOF which will allow
you to keep in touch with the real Aussies cultures
while you have the chance of getting to know new
territories. Consequently, a tip is to not spend too
much time in the same place. To the readers who are
interested in understanding more about how this
system works, visit the Australia official website
www.wwoof.com.au.
Finally, if you just are looking for free accommodation
without having to work visit www.couchsourfing.com.
To sum up, and as we have realized, Down Under has a
lot to offer and it is waiting for all of us. Therefore, if you
have the chance to visit it do not hesitate. Go, live it,
enjoy it and make your trip one the best experiences
you have had. It is worth it!.

"The Eighth
Wonder of the
Ancient World

Hada Luz
Malpica Trivio

Introduction
This place, holds many mysteries and surprises; it is
one of the most beautiful and amazing places in the
world, then what are you waiting for to go and visit
it? Accommodation includes a hotel and camping
facilities. There is a museum at the ruins and there
are plans to develop the area further for tourism.
There are many reasons to travel and see Machu
Picchu. This pre-Columbian archaeological site was
named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO some 27
years ago; it was also selected as one of the Seven
Wonders of the Modern World in 2007. Machu
Picchu - The Lost City of the Incas was built in the
15th century and abandoned by the Incas a century
later with the arrival of Spanish conquistadors.
Unknown to many, and was not found by the
conquerors, this tourist destination of Peru is known
as a cultural Mecca for historians.
Here are unsurpassed sunrises, weather, people
know that Machu Picchu is an excellent choice to go
for vacations. Machu Picchu has an excellent view
and many secret locations with amazing history and
a lot of culture to discover.
History
In its height during the 1400s, the Incan Empire was
the largest in the world, stretching 2,500 miles north
to south and supporting a population of more than
ten million people. The temples, extensive roads,
elaborate masonry, and treasures of gold and silver

GENERALITIES

...The Eighth Wonder of the Ancient World

associated with the Incas date from around 1200
through the 1400s. The city of Cuzco became the
powerful center of an empire that spread to encompass
more than 100 small nations.
In 1911, Hiram Bingham (1875-1956), a historian from
Yale University who was carrying out research in Peru,
was alerted by a local farmer, Melchior Artega, about
ancient ruins high up in the mountains. Bingham
followed the lead and rediscovered the site of Machu
Picchu. He publicized his findings in 1912, and in April of
1913 National Geographic magazine devoted an entire
issue to the site.
Even though there are many mysteries abound about
Machu Picchu, what has been discovered about the site
since 1911 has led some to call it "the eighth wonder of
the ancient world" Machu Picchu features religious
shrines and temples, baths and water systems, plazas,
fountains, and elaborate masonry work. Stones are
fitted so tightly in structures that they have withstood
almost five hundred years of weathering and the lush
growth of vegetation. Machu Picchu, situated on a long,
narrow strip between mountains and above a valley,
has a series of open plazas, and was divided into three
sections- agricultural, urban, and religious. Many of the
walls have niches the size of adult humans sculpted into
them; the purpose of the niches is unknown.
Structure
The plaza with a large rock in the center separates the
urban and religious areas. Among the structures in the
religious center is the Intihuantana Shrine, a temple
carved from granite. The temple is considered a shrine
to sun and stone, both of which were worshipped by
Incas, and is also believed to have served as an
astronomical observatory. Some of the buildings in the
religious center are three-walled structures, including
what is called the Great Central Temple and the Temple
of the Three Windows. The latter building is believed to
be associated with an Incan legend that their original
ancestors emerged from a cave that had three
windows. Also located in the religious center is the
Temple of the Sun, a circular tower believed to have an
astronomical orientation.
The Temple of the Sun is a round tapered tower. The
stonework of this temple is some of the finest in the city,
outlining its importance. In the center of the temple is a

carved rock with a straight edge. During the Summer

solstice, this edge will precisely align with the light
falling through the only window of the temple.
Observing the sun was very important to the Inca.
During the winter solstice (when the Sun is furthest
from the Earth), the Inca would hold a festival, which
included sacrifice to bring the sun back.
The most accepted view of Machu Picchu portrays it as
a religious sanctuary serving high priests and "virgins of
the sun." More than 80 percent of the graves found on
the site contain the bones of females, considered to
have been "chosen women." Machu Picchu was
thought to have been visited by selected members of
Incan royalty who were transported along special roads
that could only be used with their permission. Since the
roads were seldom used, few Inca knew about them.
The conquistadors never found the way, nor did they
find Incas who could lead them to the site. The reason
why Machu Picchu was abandoned remains a secret
lost to time.
Conclusion
In conclusion, do not miss this place..... is a place full of
mysteries and amazing views; just go there and you will
realize that Machu Picchu is one the best places of
world!!

GENERALITIES

Luxury Hotel in the World

By Camilo Andrs Castao Q.

The first thing you look for when you are going to travel
is the hotel. Following is, a list of the world`s luxurious
hotels: led by the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, followed by the
Town House Gallery in Milan, the Four Seasons George
V in Paris, the Gallery Hotel Art In Florence, the Hotel de
Glace in Quebec, the Mandarin Oriental in New York
and the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, USA.
They are considered to be luxury hotels for different
reasons:
The Town House Gallery has become the most luxurious hotel
in Europe, and the second in the world behind the famous
Burj Al Arab in Dubai. This hotel is located in the famous
Galleria Vittorio Emmanuelle, just above the Prada clothing
store, near from the Duomo of Milan and L`Scala Theater. Its
only has 24 suites of different shapes and sizes, each suit
devoted to a musician. The smallest suit is 63 square meters
and only has 3 LCD televisions around the room and the
largest suit has 160 square meters, with 2 bedrooms, three
bathrooms, a meeting room and private access. And if all this
were not enough, the hotel service includes a luxury
limousine, a nanny and a butler. Prices are around $700 to
$10000 dollars.

The Burj Al Arab considered the most luxurious hotel

in the world is located 17 kilometers south of Dubai, it
is the only place that holds the distinction of being
considered a "seven star" but it's also one of the
highest hotels. The hotel has 202 suites with fully
customized service for every traveler, which include
private receptions and a brigade of butlers organized
for you. All the suites are equipped with the latest
technology. Besides all this luxury, guests can also
enjoy seven great restaurants. Among them, Al
Mahara and Al Muntaha, one of them an underwater
restaurant where diners are accompanied by a true
marine environment, the other located 200 meters
above the Persian Gulf that gives the sensation of
being suspended in the air. Clients have the possibility
to request a Roll Royce Silver Seraph for their own
transport. Prices are around $1500 dollars for the
cheapest one and $30000 dollars for an apartment of
800 square meters where you can find a cinema,
Jacuzzis, 27 telephones and a private elevator.

The Hotel Glace in Quebec is made entirely of snow and

ice. Furniture and fixtures are carved with great skills.
The hotel includes numerous rooms and thematic
suites, two showrooms, a large reception room, real log
fire, a cinema, a magnificent chapel, a hot tub and the
famous Absolut ice bar. This hotel has 36 rooms and
suites to hold 1 - 100 people. It is only open between
January and April.

GENERALITIES

...Luxury Hotel in the World

Theses hotel are some of the more luxurious hotels

in the world, you know that it is expensive to spend
your vacations there but I think it could be an
unforgettable experience; it's a great opportunity
to give you an amazing trip a place where you
deserve. For these reasons, if you have the
opportunity to go and visit one of these wonderful
hotels it is better not to miss out because someday
you might regret it.
The Four Seasons George V is one of the symbols of Paris.
Situated on the famous avenue George V, near the Champs
Elysees and surrounded by restaurants, luxury stores and
theaters, this hotel is an authentic castle full of history.
Spacious and sumptuous rooms, fully equipped, elegantly
decorated and full of details worthy of his lineage: furniture of
Luis VI, marble floors, statues, mirrors, etc. the suites are even
more opulent with their balconies and terraces, and there the
Eiffel Tower with its majestic presence amazes even the most
insensitive host.

I think these hotels are not for everyone because

they have very high prices, but as well as this all the
amenities they offer are wonderful and I think any
other hotel in the world does not offers such
amenities. Why not miss the chance to visit any of
these great hotels.

INTERNET Addiction
By Erika Roco Suaza Ibaez

The Internet is a network that connects many

computers from different places and at the same time,
it is a global connection where people share both
personal and professional information. It is used as
means of communication or a space for expression, and
also to gain access to other peoples personal
information. Many have access to this virtual medium,
regardless of age, gender or profession, however, over
time, from the advancement and expanse of the
internet network related psychopathologies have
begun to appear all over the worlds. The disorder
dependence of the network is known by many names:
Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) - (Goldberg, 1995),
compulsive Internet use (Morahan-Martin and
Schumacker, 1997) or Pathological Internet Use (PIU) (Young & Rodgers, 1998b).1

manifested in many in addictive ways,

sometimes like an addiction to drugs
or alcohol. But what is an addiction?
It is a compulsive behavior and
enjoyable at first but then brings
co n s e q u e n c e s t h at affe c t a l l
dimensions of the individual. Although when
you spend hours using the internet
for entertainment it does not mean
that you are addicted to it, but if one
person spend hours in front of a
computer for more than 14 hours a day
and has spent most of his time on various
websites, and consequently it has affected their social
and family relationships, one could say that he has the
beginning of this psychopathology.

This new behavior disorder from the internet has been

The use of the Internet is different for each person

1
Madrid Lpez, R.I. (2000).La Adiccin a Internet. Psicologa Online. (s.f.). Obtenido de
http://www.psicologia-online.com/colaboradores/nacho/ainternet.htm

GENERALITIES

...INTERNET Addiction
because it may be necessary for long hours at work, or
as way of communication to faraway family or friends.
However, the problem is that such use could become a
whole day activity, absorbing much of the persons time
and affecting their social relations and commitments
like going to school, work or other significant things in
the life of the person.
The signs and symptoms are different for each person;
there are some warning signs that show the beginning
of an addiction to Internet use:
?
Losing track of time online
?
Having trouble completing tasks at work or home.
?
Isolation from family and friends
?
Feeling guilty or defensive about your Internet use
?
Feeling a sense of euphoria while involved in

Internet activities
But why do people become addicted to the Internet?
Why are many more cases of Internet addiction being
presented now? The answer is found in the easy way
that the internet gives people to avoid their problems
and suffering as a way to move away from unpleasant
feelings, loneliness, anxiety and depression. When we
go through a difficult situation or bad day that causes us
discomfort, the person looks for a way to forget or avoid
that stress. Here is the ease of Internet access and the
comfort it can offer people can cause addiction.
From a preventive point of view, one of the simplest
methods for the first serious manifestation of addiction,
would be to work on the feelings of stress that the day
creates, such as relaxation, meditation and, using
sensory relaxation strategies, and practicing simple
breathing exercises.
In the field of addiction there is still much to investigate,
even in the psychological field, some authors still doubt
if this is a new addiction and for this reason should new
studies be made in which we focus on possible
assessment and intervention. However this kind of
problem is happening every day in life and affects more
and more people and even more children.
Internet use is very important nowadays it is used to
communicate with other people, but we have to know
how to use it, be conscious of our using and the
consequences it can cause.

The Importance
of English today
By Sebastin Cordero Pea
Ninth Level
We all know the importance of English in our
lives today. Well, every day the mass media show
us a lot of news related to the significance of this
global language. There are several explanations
from experts on the importance of this language;
for instance, nowadays there are almost one
billion people in the world who study English
every year, there are also more than 75 countries
that use English as the official language and last
but not least, most Internet users around the
world know English. Maybe all these reasons
made me wonder a few months ago about the
possibility to apply for a place in a foreign
language institute. Luckily, with the help of an
English teacher from my school, I could join
ILEUSCO which I consider is one of the most
known and important foreign language
institutes in Neiva, not only because of its high
level of English and other languages it offers, but
also because of its facilities and professors. Since
I started studying at seventh level, I have really
discovered many interesting things. I have
improved my English a lot, and certainly I have
managed to overcome and take away any fear at
the moment of speaking. Actually, some of my
weaknesses in English were mainly listening and
speaking, but with the help of the teachers I have
had during these three levels, I have managed to
improve them. To sum up, I can say that due to
my knowledge of life which I have acquired from
the two bilingual schools I have studied at and
thanks to the great help that ILEUSCO has given
me during this time; I have become fluent in
English. However, I know that I must study this
language more if one day I want to speak like a
native English person as I have always thougth
that if a person speaks English well enough for
some situations, it does not necessarily mean he
or she is fluent in English.

GENERALITIES

Neiva

Historical And Cultural Paradise!

By Marisol Coronado Tello and Oscar Julin Cleves
Neiva is the capital of the department of Huila,
Colombia. It is located between the Central and Eastern
main chains of mountains in the south of our country. It
is also one of the main cities of Colombia since it is the
port for connecting the capital cities of Florencia,
Mocoa, Popayn and Pasto.

ACCOMMODATION
Neiva has got many hotels where you can stay. The Plaza
Hotel and The Chical Hotel are two of the most
important ones. They have got the best services, but
they could also be the most expensive of the city. There
are other cheaper hotels in town, too.

Its main economic activities are agriculture, cattle,

trade and mining. It is rich in oil and natural gas, gold
mines, silver, etc. The most important crops are cocoa,
coffee, bananas, rice, beans and sorghum, and the
cattle activity has reached a remarkable development.

PLACES TO VISIT
There are many interesting places you can visit; among
others you can find the oldest buildings of the city: the
Colonial Church, the Colonial Building and Neivas
Cathedral (Inmaculada Concepcin) which was built in
1955.

Neiva is a region that has a rich history and ancient

customs. During The Spanish Conquest indigenous
tribes like the Pijaos and the Pez inhabited the territory
and left a legacy that is still preserved and remembered
today.
Neiva has many festivals, traditions, friendly people and
hot weather.

The Malecon is a place on the bank of Magdalena River

which is a wonderful place to find handicrafts,
souvenirs, typical food, typical clothes and important
monuments such as El Mohan, and La Gaitana. You
should not miss the beautiful view from top of Mohan.
Neiva is famous for its monuments too, between the
most important are La Gaitana and Los Potros, they
both represent historical facts on the foundation of
Neiva. There are also three amazing museums: the
Prehistorical Museum, the Petroleum Geology
Museum and the Archaeological Museum.
EATING OUT
Neiva has dozens of good restaurants. One of the best
and most expensive restaurants is The House of
Folklor. They have the most delicious typical huilense
dishes. It has also got a great natural atmosphere to
enjoy with friends and family. You can also eat in Mitos
y Leyendas, a restaurant with not only delicious typical
food, but also sculptures of the native myths of the
town.
SHOPPING
Neiva has got a beautiful mall named San Pedro Plaza
Comercial where you can buy clothes, go to the cinema,
listen to live concerts from local artists, watch
traditional dancing, eat ice cream and drink the most
delicious coffee at Juan Valdez Caf. Neiva has also got

GENERALITIES

...Neiva : Historical And Cultural Paradise!

many supermarkets. The oldest ones with good prices
are Olympica and YEP. The most expensive shops are
EXITO, Carrefour and Homecenter. They are
unforgettable places with a variety of products you
could need at home.
ENTERTAINMENT
The nightlife is very exciting here too! If you want to
have fun you are very welcome to visit the 'zona rosa' of
Neiva, an area with several bars where you can dance or
have a drink. There are also plenty of discos like
Manhattan, Sakkara, Ol, Macarena, Piso Tres or
Mantra. People in Neiva are very friendly and are always
willing to help you whenever you have a question.
FESTIVITIES
Neiva is one of Colombias cities with the most beautiful
women and holiday celebrations. The National
Bambuco Contest and International Folklore Show take
place in June for about ten or fifteen days in our
beautiful city; it was declared as a Cultural Heritage of
the Nation. During this festival we have parades and
displays that adorn the festivities. You will also find the
stories of some of the characters who were the most
prominent people from Neiva, such as the writer Jose
Eustacio Rivera, and the composer Jorge Villamil.
We think you should visit Neiva, because people in
Neiva are always going to make you feel as if you are the
most important person, moreover you will have the
pleasure of visiting all these places that we have
recommended and of course you will have the time of
your life.
WHEN IN NEIVA REMEMBER:
It is always summer here so pack your things and head
for one of the hottest places in Huila. But keep in mind
the following useful tips:
Never forget to put sun cream on it protects your skin
from the hot sun.
The sun is very dangerous between 11am &3pm.
Always wear a hat it protects you head from the sun.
Always wear sunglasses, they protect your eyes from
the sun.
Always wear cool clothes, Neiva is an Eternal Summer
city.

Practice your
new Language
in RWORLD.COM
By Orlando Gonzlez Losada
Fifth Level
Rworld is a free online community for
advanced language practice. There, you can
talk or chat with native speakers, play games
in a foreign language, and engage in language
exchanges. So let us practice our new
language Rworld!
There are some simple steps to be part of
Rworld. First of all, you must be connected to
internet in order to have access to the
website. You will need earphones and a
microphone to speak to other people in the
'online language practice'.
Secondly, register on the website Rworld and
you will be able to speak to other people who
can help you practice your English. You can
also play voice and text games to practice
speaking and writing on this website; you can
interact with native speakers in the link 'our
language exchange'. This web site is available
in twenty-four languages you can select from.
You can choose depending on your needs.
Finally, start using it! From my personal
experience I can tell you Rworld is giving me
the language practice I need outside the
classroom. Lets face it: no one speaks to us
outside the class, so this is a good tool for us
to keep conversation going. There, games are
fun and you can make friends all over the
world. Why dont you try it?

GENERALITIES
The environment has been becoming a waste of natural
resources. Although, life is more comfortable for
everyone, natural resources will not exist forever;
however, there are people who are conscious about the
problem, and they have created many organizations in
which they try to protect the planet. So, the purpose of
them is to create an environmental education for all
people; especially the youngest in schools, universities
and jobs. They are not trying to change your mind or
your culture; they just want a common wellbeing.

The World
is not only
for US
For decades, people have thought that the world where
we live never could end, but it is just a false thought;
maybe we do not know the day or date exactly, but
there are many things which are happening nowadays
that do not have an specific explication, or perhaps they
do, but only if we come back, we will find an answer for
it.
Many years ago, the atmosphere had a lot of carbon
dioxide; it did not have oxygen, because it did not need
it. The being human did not exist. So, plants appeared to
do their main function which is producing oxygen and
cellulose for photosynthesis, so, the world had an
atmosphere full of oxygen which has given birth to life.
However, the being human forgot planet Earth
completely and they started to build many factories and
companies which began to produce a lot of toxic fumes,
the earth was covered in a big mass of fumes (CO2), and
pollution began to increase year by year.

The reductions of gas emissions which have been

produced by industrial countries have brought
consequences to health. The knowledge of education is
basic for all. Our biodiversity, and fauna and flora need
us; we should understand that the day and date can be
tomorrow or decades later, hunger is bigger than
money, we can see the news that there are many
people who have died in natural disasters, because they
do not have clean water or because of global warming.
Maybe we are not interested in this topic, but it is our
world, we should think of our children and how can we
save the planet. That is really important, that is not a
business It is our lifestyle, and it has to change. Try to
recycle products; do not buy unnecessary objects.
Please, our planet needs help from all of us.

By Mara del Pilar Surez Cortes

XI Level

GENERALITIES

The Universe
Have you ever looked at the night sky and wondered
about your place in the universe? do you know that a
star called vv Cephei exists which is 283.000 times the
size of our planet?. which means that we are a grain of
sand on our galaxy and our solar system is located on
the third ring of it, so do not tell me that you are not
interested reading this article which shows you a piece
of our amazing and mysterious UNIVERSE.
The universe is commonly defined as the totality of
everything that exists, including all space, time, matter,
energy, planets, stars, galaxies, space and beyond.
Scientific observation of earlier stages in the
development of the universe, which can be seen at
great distances, suggests that the universe has been
governed by the same physical laws and constants.
In 1927, Roman Catholic priest and physicist Georges
Lemaitre independently calculated the Friedman
solution and again suggested that the universe must be
expanding. This theory was supported by Hubble when,
in 1929, he found that there was a correlation between
the distance of the galaxies and the amount of redshift
in that galaxy's light. The distant galaxies were moving
away faster, which was exactly what was predicted by
Lemaitre's solutions.
In 1931, Lemaitre went further with his predictions,
extrapolating backwards in time to find that the matter
of the universe would reach an infinite density and
temperature at a finite time in the past. This means the
universe has begun in an incredibly small, dense point
of matter - a "primeval atom" which is blowing up and
the debris of this exploding began to create galaxies.
Galaxies are sprawling space systems composed of
dust, gas, and countless stars. The number of galaxies
cannot be counted-the observable universe alone may
contain 100 billion. Some of these distant systems are
similar to our own Milky Way galaxy, while others are
quite different. Galaxies with less than a billion stars are
considered "small galaxies." In our own galaxy, the sun
is just one of about 100 billion stars. Galaxies are
classified into three main types: spiral galaxies, elliptical
galaxies, and irregular galaxies.

As a galaxy, the Milky Way is actually a giant, as its mass

is probably between 750 billion and one trillion solar
masses, and its diameter is about 100,000 light years.
Radio astronomical investigations of the distribution of
hydrogen clouds have revealed that the Milky Way is a
spiral galaxy of Hubble type Sb or Sc. Therefore, our
galaxy has both a pronounced disk component
exhibiting a spiral structure, and a prominent nuclear
region which is part of a notable bulge/halo
component. Decade-long observations have brought
up more and more evidence that the Milky Way may
also have a bar structure.
There are many theories about the end of our
existence's day. The newest is the pole The cataclysmic
pole shift hypothesis suggests that there have been
geologically rapid shifts in the relative positions of the
modern-day geographic locations of the poles and the
axis of rotation of the Earth, creating calamities such as
floods and tectonic events. No form of the hypothesis is
accepted amongst the scientific community.
There is evidence of precession and changes in axial tilt,
but this change is on much longer time-scales and does
not involve relative motion of the spin axis with respect
to the planet. However, in what is known as true polar
wander, the solid Earth can rotate with respect to a
fixed spin axis. Research shows that during the last 200
million years a total true polar wander of some 30 has
occurred, but that no super-rapid shifts in the Earth's
pole were found during this period.

By Juan Diego Medina

Grammatical Snakes and Ladders

1. All put your counters on start.
2. Decide who is going to begin and in which order you are going to play.
3. If you are the first player, roll your die and move forward the number of
squares indicated.
4. If you land on a sentence, say if it is correct or not. If you think there is a
mistake in the sentence, correct it immediately.
5. Your group must then decide if you are right or not. (Ask your teacher
only if you are completely unable to arrive at a decision). If your group
agrees with you, move an extra three squares forward. If they disagree,
move back three squares. (Your turn is now finished, so if you have now
landed on another sentence you may not give an opinion on its
correctness).
6. If you land on a blank square, you simply stay where you are until your
next turn. If you land on a square where another persons counter is
already standing, move on one square. This rule applies whether you
land on a sentence or on a blank square.
7. At your next turn, move the counter the number of squares shown on
the die. For example, if you are on square 16 and the die shows five
dots, move your counter to square 21.
8. Each player proceeds the same way, starting always at square 1 (START).
9. To finish, you must land directly on square 70. If you are on square 68
and throw a six, count two forward and four back to land on square 66
(and hope you throw a four on your next turn).

Copyright 1985 by Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc. This page may be reproduced for classroom use.

ENTERTAINMENT

...Grammatical Snakes and Ladders

70

FINISH
61

62

Which of them
liked you best?

60

63

Do your friend
want to stay?

64

59

58

50

57

47

Why not tell

them?

37

51

52

What does he
think?

36

46

45

39

40

34

26

27

What you think?

24

23

Why did she

come?

13

33

15

Did you were

here last nignt?

12

10

Were they here

yesterday?

START

53

44

41

32

28

29

Do you can come

with me tonight?

54

43

42

31

21

30
Who came?

20

19

Did they speak at

the meeting?

16

17

Who spoke at
the meeting?

11

55

Can you come

whit me tonight?

Was they with

us?

14

Who ate what?

Why said he
that?

Who did you

speak to?

22

66

They not like me?

What want you?

25

56

Why didnt you

was able to
come?

What did you

want?

What happened?

35

65

67

Did he wanted
to see me?

Do you must
tell her?

38

They came?

Who told him

that?

Must you really

go?

48

68

How about
droppin around
to see us?

How many does

she wants?

Which car liked

you best?

49

69

18
Did she spoke at
the meeting?

He was here
yesterday?

4
Do you like
cofee?

Do your parent
like cofee?

ENTERTAINMENT

At the Treatment Plant

When wasterwater arrives
at the treatment plant, the
cleanup action begins

Primary Treatment
helps remove solids in wastewater.
Heres how it works:

1.

Bar screens catch rags, sticks,

_______________________ containers and
other objects floating in the wastewater.

2. In the grit chamber, heavy particles, such

small stones and coffee ________________

settle to the bottom and are removed.

3. In the primary sedimentation (or settling)

To find out what happens, fill

in the blanks on these 2 pages
with words from the list below
grounds
plastic
chlorine
decompose
tank

tank, lighter solids are given time to _______

to the bottom. These solids, called primar
sludge, are sucked out the bottom of the
_______________. Theyre sent to a sludge
diges for further treatment. Any oil and
other scu that has been _________________
off the of the wasterwater may be sent to
the diges incinerated (burned) or buried in
an approved landfill.

crops
bottom
skimmed
grow
sink

Math Fun!
Use your math skills to solve these
2 problems. Then use your answers
to fill in the blanks in the sentence
at the bottom of the page.

bar
screens

A. If you wash your hands with the tap

running, you use about 2 gallons of
water. If you wash your hands twice
a day for 10 days, how much water
will you use?

B. Tracery took a bath 5 times this week

and used about 35 gallons each time.
Cindy took a 5-minute shower 5 times
this week, using a low-flow showerhead.
Cindy used about 25 gallons per
shower. How much water did Cindy
save by taking showers instead
of baths?

grit
chamber

Primary treatment removes

______________ to _____________ %

to sludge
digester
primary
sedimentation
tank

(answer to A)

(answer to B)

of the solids in wasterwater.

ENTERTAINMENT

...At the Treatment Plant

Secondary Treatment
uses bacteria to clean wasterwater even more. At the end of
secondary treatment, 85 to 90% (or more) of the pollutants
have been removed!

Many Treatment Plants use the

Activated Sludge Process
for secondary treatment. Heres how it works:

4.

In the aeration tank, air is added to a mixture of wasterwater and

bacteria. The air helps the bacteria ________________________.
The bacteria help __________________________ the wastes in
the water.

5. In the secondary sedimentation tank, the wastes and bacteria sink

to the ____________________________. Some of this sludge
(now called activated sludge) is sent to the sludge digester for
treatment. The rest is reused in the aeration tank.

aeration
tank

6. ____________________________ may be added to the water

recycled
sludge

to help kill any harmful organisms that are left.

7. The water is released into streams, rivers, etc., or used to water

__________________________________________________.

Some Communities use

trickling filters
for secondary treatment. Wasterwater is sprayed over
a bed of crushed rock or gravel. Bacteria on the rock
or gravel change the wastes in the water into less
harmful substances. The water then goes to a
sedimentation tank, where solids settle and are
pumped to a sludge digester.

secondary
sedimentation
tank

sludge
digester

Advanced Treatment Methods

may also be Needed
For example, after secondary treatment, some plants also remove:
NUTRIENTS - large amounts of some nutrients (such as
phosphorus and nitrogen) can harm fish and other life in lakes and
streams. Special methods may be used to remove or change
nutrients into less harmful substances.
SUSPENDED SOLIDS - filtering materials, such as fine sand or
coal, may be used when its necessary to remove more particles
from wastewater than primary and secondary treatment can remove.

43