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VaughanTown Newsletter 3: Program Activities• HowManyParticipants?• AbouttheSpanishParticipants• Talk,Talk,Talk• TalkingandListening• SubjectsforConversation• ThingstoBringtoHelpEncourageConversation• Willwebedoinganyteaching?

00 /AñosEscolaresenelExtranjero–E.S.O&Bachillerato

Diferencia AcademicaHaymuchasdiferenciasentreelmodelopedagógico/académicoespañolyeldeotrospaísesangloparlantes(HighSchoolamericano,IGCSE&A-Levelinglés,Junior&LeavingCertificateirlandés).SibienelnivelacadémicoenEspañapuedesersuperior,elénfasisdelmodelopedagógicoenestospaíseseselusodelaeducacióneneldíaadía,unsistemaqueenfocamaslapuestaenprácticadelosconocimientosdecadaestudianteysuexperienciaenelmundoreal.Proyectos,presentacionesyprácticasformangranpartedeestemodelo.Alestudianteseledaresponsabilidadeindependenciaparahacersuspropiasinvestigaciones,sobretodoencuantoalosdeberesserefiere,loscualesconllevanunagranimportanciaenelresultadofinalacadémico.

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• DoWeHavetoCorrecttheSpaniards’Grammar?• Hawkeyes• TheWeek’sActivities• DailyScheduleofActivities• One-to-One• GroupDynamics• Theatre• Presentations• Extra-CurricularActivities

How many Participants? TherewillbethesimilarnumberofSpanishvisitorsasVolunteervisitors.ThegroupstendtohavemoreVolunteersthanSpaniards.Groupsrangefrom25to38totalparticipants.Don’tworryaboutrememberingeveryone’snameasyouwillallbewearingnametagsAT ALL TIMES!Wewillsendeverybodyacompletelistwithemailaddresseswhentheprogram isoveraswell.

About the Spanish ParticipantsWehaveSpaniards intheir20’s,30’sand40’switha spattering of 50 and 60 something. About 80%workformultinationals.Someofourclients includeVodafone, Microsoft, Deloitte and Mercedes-Benz.Theaverage levelofEnglish is approximatelya4.5out of 10 (low intermediate to intermediate).Youwill find them communicative, but don’t assumetheyunderstandyou.Someofthemwillaskyoutorepeat,butmanyotherswillsimplynodtheirheadsas if they’re following you. Often they are not. SowatchyourSpanishcounterpartsandifyouhavethefeeling theydonotunderstandwhatyou’resaying,

slowdownabitorrewordyourstatements.Youmustmake an effort to ensure that your Spanish friendsunderstand you. Use your best ingenuity. To give asimplistic example, if they don’t understand “uncle”,say “your father’s brother”. Togive amorepossibleexample, if theydon’tunderstand“tournament”,say“competition”orsomethingsimilar.Butpleasedon’tseek theeasiestwordsandcognates from theverybeginning.Weneedtoexposethemtotherealthing,butiftherealthingjustleavesthemblank-faced…well,that’swhenouringenuityshouldcomeintoplay.

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Talk, Talk, TalkEveryone who writes to us interested in cominginsists that they love people and love talking topeople.We’vefoundthistobetrueinperhaps90%of the Volunteers who’ve come; however, therenever fails tobeanother 10%whoarenotnaturalconversationalists or who are not able to sustainpleasant ongoing conversations as easily. Luckily,Spaniards are usually excellent conversationalistsand can keep things flowing for six days straightwithoutmuchstrain;however,itbecomesclearveryearlyonamongtheSpaniardswhichVolunteersarethetoughonestospendanhourwith.It’shardworkfor a Spaniard to keep a conversation on coursewith their broken English. So, please think for amomentsincerelyaboutyourownpersonalityandtemperament.Are you truly a personwho enjoystalking todifferent kinds of people?Can you talkaboutalotofsubjects?Thesubjectsdon’thavetobe intellectual. They can be about anything, fromthe Tuaregs in northern Mali to the newmaterialbeingusedtomanufacturediapers.

Talking and ListeningAreyouagood talker?Areyouagood listener?If we had to choose between only good talkersor only good listeners for this VaughanTownexperience, we would opt for the talkers. Why?Becauseunderstandingaforeignlanguagewellismuchmore important than speaking itwell. Youcanlearntospeakanotherlanguageperfectly,butif you can’t understand your counterparts, thenwhatuseisspeech?Deaf-mutesaremutebecausethey are deaf. Their vocal chords are in perfectconditionbuttheydon’tproduceintelligiblesoundsbecausetheycan’thear.It’sthesameinlanguagelearning.Youcanacquireagoodcommandofthestructure of the language and be quite agile inreproducing it; however, thiswillmean very littleif you are unable to follow the cross-currents ofdiscussionthatsooftencharacterizebusinessandsocialgatherings.Therefore,wewouldratherseeyouchewingtheearoffyourSpanishfriendthanseeinghimtalkyourearoff.

Subjects for ConversationProvidedyoucankeeptheSpanishvisitorstalkingorlisteningwithinterestfor50to60minutesatatime,therearenoregulatedtopics. Ifyouareanexpertonnuclearpowerplantrefueling,thenyoucanfireawayatyourSpanishcolleaguesonthatsubject,aslongas they’refindingyour exposition interestingandparticipative.Youarealsomorethanwelcome,andactuallyencouraged,tobringmaterialwithyouthatwillhelpyoumakeconversation.

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Things to Bring to Help Encourage Conversation • Photosfromhome• Brochures•Magazines• Books• Postcards•Maps• PlayingCards•Discussionbasedgames,puzzles• Interestingobjects,gadgetsfromyourcountry• Costumes/propsforthetheatreplays

Will We Be Doing Any Teaching?No. You will not need to teach English grammar.Weneedyoutotalkwithdifferentpeoplejustlikeyou’dtalktoagoodfriendorafunandinterestingneighbor.WewanttoexposeourSpanishfriendstorealEnglish,justastheymayhearitonthestreetsof London, Glasgow, Dublin, New York, Toronto,Sydney,orforthatmatter,Coffeyville,Kansas.

Do we have to correct the Spaniards’ Grammar?RememberthatmostoftheSpaniardshavealreadyreceived between 100 and 500 hours of Englishclass over the years and have been corrected somanytimesthatit’ssimplyablur.Spaniardsliterallybutcherourlanguagewhentheyspeakit,andifyoufeel youmust correct theirmistakes then youwillfind yourself correcting something in every singlesentence they say. Imagine hearing the followingsentenceoritsequivalent700timesovera10-hourperiod:

My brother he like the art. She paint very well but don’t sell much the pictures. Since two year ago he don’t paint nothing.

Nowtellme,howwillyougoaboutstraighteningoutthisperson’scrookedEnglish?

Nevertheless, there are certain Spaniards that dohavethelevelandthecapacitytoassimilatecertaincorrections. Without ruining the overall objective,which is toexpose their ear to rich, nativeEnglishandtogetthemtolosetheirfearsaboutexpressingthemselves, we recommend that you do mentionthemistakestheyhavemade.Dosoasifyouwerecorrecting a friend. Let them speak and expressthemselves,butkindlyandgentlyguidethemtotherightdirection.

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HawkeyesMakesure thatyourSpanishcounterpartsarenotcongregating togetherandspeakingSpanish. It isnotusuallyaproblem,butregardless,keepaneyeout.InaNovember2002program,wewerewithinearshotoftwoSpaniardsstandingintheloungebarforover10minutes,talkingtoeachotherinEnglish.Itwas after lunch,which theoretically is free timefor naps, walks, or personal time and these twohad decided to jaw-bone each other in accentedandbrokenEnglish.Wewerepleasantlysurprised,butthisisnotatalluncommon.Regardless, ifyousee two or three Spaniards huddled in a cornerconferringaboutthetruegenderofangels, joininandfindoutwhatthey’retalkingabout.Oh,andifwecatchyouspeakingSpanish,wewillorderyourheadchoppedoffandplacedonaspikeinthetownsquare.

The Week’s ActivitiesArrival at VaughanTown: The VaughanTown staffwill accompanyyouon thebus trip to thevenue.Therewillbeacoffeebreakduringthetrip.Uponarrivalatthevenue,you’llbetakentothemeetingroomfortheofficialprogramopeningfollowedbylunchandthencheck-in.

Daily Schedule of ActivitiesTheformaldailyschedule isfrom9a.m.to10p.m.Wake-up callswill get youout of bed at 8:15 a.m.andbreakfastbeginsat9a.m.sharp.Don’tthinkwewon’tmissyouifyoudon’tshowup!Youwillalwaysbe seated in tables of four — two Spaniards andtwoVolunteers tochitchatovermeals.The restofthedaywillbefulloffunactivitiestokeepeveryoneentertained.

Here’saroughdailyschedule:

8:15 Wake-upcall

9:00-10:00 ContinentalBreakfastBuffet

10:00-14:00

Fourhoursofone-on-ones,telephonesessions,conferencecallsandsome

activities(atthediscretionoftheMasterofCeremonies).

14:00-15:30Lunchtime(Three-coursemealservedbywaiters)

15:30-17:00

FREETIME:Explore,haveaSpanish“siesta”(nap)or

whateveryouwanttofillyourfreetime.

17:00-20:00

Threehoursofconversations,groupdynamics,boardgames,sports,outdoorgames,specialactivities.

20:00-21:00

Everyonegathersinthemeetingroomwheretherewillbetheatreperformances,presentationsandgroup

activities.

21:00-22:00Dinner(Three-coursemeal

servedbywaiters)

22:00...Freetime,socialtimeand

specialactivities.

Modificationscouldbemadetotheschedulebutwillprobablybeoflittleimportance.Keepreadingforexplanationsonsomeoftheactivities.

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One-to-OneThere will be “One-to-Ones” conversations everyday, without fail, in which you have to talk to anassignedSpaniardfor50minutes.Wewillpostyourpartner assignments every day. You will then findyourpartner,gooffforawalkwithhimorher,sitintheloungeorterrace,andthentalkhisorherearoff.Youcandowhateveryouwantreally,aslongastheconversationisflowing.Whenthehourisup,youwillmeetbackatthereceptionareaandfindyournextpartner.Thinkofitas“musicalSpaniards”—withoutthemusic—andyou’ll find thatour “One-to-One”toolisthebestwaytogettheshySpaniardstalking.

Group DynamicsAside from the One-to-Ones, at times you’ll beencouraged to grab your partner and join anotherduotoplayMonopoly,TrivialPursuitorsomeotherboard games. We will also be solving problemsin groups, holding conference calls and debates,helping the Spaniards make presentations, plus asprinklingofotherspecialactivitiesandsurprises.

TheatreManyofyouwillbestolenawayduringthedaytopractice for surprise theatre skits in the meetingroom. We have several fun and short skits (5-10minutes)whereyouwillplayincredibleandhilariouscharacters.Theatreisoptional,butitissomuchfunthatusuallyfromday3everyonewantstobeapartofit.So,makesureyoutelltheMasterofCeremoniesassoonaspossibleifyouareinterested.

PresentationsThebrave and fearless like toget up and share a10-15minute presentationwith the group, andwehighly encourage you all todo so.Here are somesuggestionsforpresentations:

•Shareaninterestingstoryaboutyour adventures,travelsorculture. •Tellusaboutyourcountry;itshistory, interestingfactsandtrivia. •Explainsomeoldfolklorefromyourcountry. •Playanaudience-participativegame(20 questions,passthemessage,SimonSays). •Teachasongorreadyourfavoritepoem. •Playaninstrument.

These are some of themore “normal” things thatgoonatVaughanTown.We’vehad theoccasionalsurprisepresentation:paintedbellydancers,ancienttribal chants, acrobatic feats and hip-hop danceclasses,tonamebutafew.So,becreativeandstartplanningyoursurpriseact.

Extra-Curricular ActivitiesAsyoumayhaveseenonthesampleschedule,theidea throughout the six days is to have as many“One-to-One”sessionsaspossiblewithadifferentSpaniardeachtime;Nevertheless,thereareactivitiesinbetweentorelievethisroutinejustabit.Well,that’sitfornow.Twonewsletterstogo.

Comingup:AlittleaboutSpanishcultureandhistoryandotherrelevantinformation.

Bestregards,

TheVaughanTownTeam.

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Contact usIfyouwouldlikeustoclarifyanythingpleasefeelfreetocontactusviaemail(anglos@vaughantown.com)

MadridC/Orense69,1ªplanta28020MadridTelf:902686664Email:residenciales@grupovaughan.com

C/Arapiles18.28015MadridTelf:914445846Email:arapiles@grupovaughan.com

BarcelonaC/SabinoArana,42-44,planta1ª08028BarcelonaTelf:933398687Email:barcelona@grupovaughan.com

SantanderC/HernánCortés,139003SantanderTelf:942314995Email:cantabrico@grupovaughan.com

ValladolidC/LasMercedes,347006ValladolidTelf:983228016Email:valladolid@grupovaughan.com

VigoC/Príncipe,24,1ªplanta36202VigoTelf:986442724Email:vigo@grupovaughan.com

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©Copyright2012Vaughan Intensivos Residenciales, S.L., con domicilio social en C/ Orense, 69. 28020 Madrid, Inscrita en el R.M. Madrid, Tomo: 23.175, Folio: 177, Sección: 8ª, Hoja: M-415365, Inscripción: 1ª.- C.I.F. B-84820919

Inanyevent,VaughanIntensivosResidencialesreservestherightstomodify,fororganisationalreasons,thelocationwhereVaughanTownprogramsareultimatelyheld,proceeding,insaidcases,toinformparticipantesofthechangeandthenewlocationassoonasposible.