Dear Readers:
Hi, my name is Ryan Lopez. I am from Youngstown, Ohio in the United States and currently teach English with SENA in Cúcuta, Colombia. New for SENA this year is the “A Ganar” Program which is implemented to incorporate soft-skill training for employability through sport-based activities combined with basic English speaking exercises for the students. In this article I will be giving my complete REVIEW and ANALYSIS of the program.
My background includes 2.5 years of Actuarial Related Benefits Consulting for two companies based in the US. Most of my work was done on DB (Defined Benefit) Pension plans, although I have done some work on DC (Defined Contribution, i.g. 401k) plans.
I have been teaching English for about 5 months in Cúcuta with roughly 3 of those spent teaching with “A Ganar”. As stated, the program is completely new and has taken some time to get started in SENA locations around Colombia. I hope that my review can show some of the benefits that the “A Ganar” program has produced. Let’s get started.
What is a typical day in Colombia?
Well, in Colombia, no day is typically the same. Every day there is a high chance of spontaneity and unknown factors coming your way. It is best to have an open mind and high level of adaptation to adjust. Sometimes the days will be somewhat similar but generally not.
What is a typical day teaching with “A Ganar”?
A typical day with “A Ganar” usually begins by meeting with the students in the cancha (gym court) and going over any important updates or announcements. After that the Co-Teacher and myself coordinate warm-up stretches incorporating ENGLISH vocabulary (i.e. arms, legs, hands, right, left, switch, etc.). When administering the stretches, I try to REPEAT vocabulary words since repetition is an important factor of language LEARNING.
After warm-ups we generally administer activities that develop TEAMWORK, COORDINATION, ENDURANCE and RESPECT. Some of these activities are in only Spanish, only English, or combinations of both.
See more of a typical day in the video I made below:
What are some example “A Ganar” exercises?
I would like to highlight an activity we use called “Miscelánea” which combines 3-Sports (Baseball, Soccer and Basketball) into 1. The structure is very similar to BASEBALL in which there is a pitcher, bases, outs and two teams. The Pitcher begins by rolling the ball to the player at bat (similar to KICKBALL/SOCCER) and when the person kicks the ball into play they begin to run around the bases. There are no singles, doubles, or triples in Miscelánea, only home-runs. That is, when the player kicks the ball into play the defending team must gather the ball, give it to a designated shooter on the team, and successfully make a free point shot (BASKETBALL) prior to the player crossing the plate. If the defending team makes the shot prior the player crosses the plate, they are OUT. Also, similar to baseball, if a fly ball is caught prior to the ball hitting the ground, the player is out.
We incorporate ENGLISH sport vocabulary into the activity such as Pitcher, Catcher, First-Base, Second-Base, Home-Run, Out, Safe, Play Ball, Catch, Shot, Kick, Ball, etc. This helps with the student’s ability to PRONOUNCIATE English words that they currently know and also new words they may encounter in their future English studies.
What is the Volunteacher schedule like?
Each Volunteacher is assigned 20 hours per week of English teaching time in the classroom as well as 5 hours per week of Clase de Fisica applying the activities of “A Ganar”.
What is an important factor to consider while applying the methods of “A Ganar”?
One important factor is that we keep the energy level up high. We feel that in order to have an optimal learning environment the kids must be having fun. This is a CRUCIAL factor of the “A Ganar” process that we implement.
What is your overall thought on the “A Ganar” Program in Colombia?
Overall, I think when executed correctly the program is efficient. I have noticed positive increases in the Students ATTITUDES, POSITIVITY, WILLINGNESS TO LEARN, and ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS throughout the duration of their classes.
What is your message to the Students?
My message to the students is simple. WORK HARD, BE CONSISTENT, and DON’T GIVE UP. PRACTICE is an essential element of the LEARNING process.
See more of my message to the Students in the Video I made below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLyTz22Zqhc
That concludes my complete REVIEW and ANALYSIS of the brand new “A Ganar” teaching method being applied in SENA locations around COLOMBIA.
See my COMPLETE video on TEACHING ENGLISH IN COLOMBIA BELOW:
If you have questions or feedback, please feel free to contact me at:
- Instagram: @rarecolombia
- Facebook.com/rarecolombia
- Email: rarecolombia@gmail.com
Respectfully,
Ryan Lopez