Good morning, afternoon, evening everybody,

our workshops with children intend to offer an experience to solicit their potential for attention, dedication to a task, so creating a first link with what will be an additional identity in their future, also being speakers of English.

--- B English 2! ---

It is important in this first phase of a structured approach to the language that children perceive it as a friendly reality, which in its various stages of growth, will continue to have its time and space for dedication.

The tasks assigned to the children are varied, among which coloring the English letter of their name, listening to and seeing the story of the Gingerbread Man, counting the pictures of a puzzle and saying their names in English, coloring stencils, listening to stories from Pop Up books, singing and acting nursery rhymes, replying to simple questions. . .

Once the context has been created, English must be simple to be understood naturally and so it happens. Children naturally accept communication in another language.

Performing activities is essential for the Language to be perceived as real, effective, meaningful. Focus is on understanding the message and performing the task it proposes.
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If a positive precedent is created, the relationship acts on several levels, including those of non-awareness that remain subtended, and then surface when stimuli occur.

It is important that no discomfort is perceived, or inadequacy, but instead a pleasant relationship and fun.

Introjected the perceptions, whenever in the future children find themselves to relate to English, it will always be an outpouring of positive nuclei that can be skillfully put in relation with each other and with the interlocutors to restart activating any single moment the process of language acquisition.

Consuelo, thank you for your comment. For sure languages can open up horizons able to offer children a different destiny, always better. Lucky children, yours!

Anna - Coordinator

Source - Own photos taken with parents' permission

Good morning, afternoon, evening everybody,

on Day 3, students in groups wrote their comments about the previous experience and simulated, in writing and speaking, dialogues with tourists. First aim was communication, then formal correctness. 

The reply is group by group.

Group 1. Thank you Tommaso, Desiré, Sara, Giulia, Rubith. Questions and material aimed at the objectives of these labs are on page 1 of "IIS Vespucci Open Air Labs". If you are eager to accelerate your training before meeting English speaking people, tell the class your own ideas. It will help. You can do it here too, contributing to everybody's training.

Edoardo and Tommaso, the two coordinators. Divide your mates in small groups and encourage them to be productive and keep a record of what they do, so to came to class with their own productions. 

Examples: using the material you've been given in class, i.e. a map of Livorno with information for tourists and a guide, design new itineraries to accompany your mates outside,  role-playing tourists and guides; draw a new logo for the project's visit cards. We'll need them when meeting people. If you like the previous itineraries you can find on page 1, locate them on the map and come to class ready to talk about them.

Replying to group 1's observations, a general questionnaire is aimed at stimulating the development of perceptions and framing the new context of a class for a new teacher. An opportunity to experience how many different approaches, perceptions, levels, skills, needs there are for any individual, so to be able to give each one the possibility to feel at ease, partecipate and improve.

Group 2. Thank you Leonardo, Rachele, Edoardo, Martina.   Very simple dialogue, you'll become more and more curious about cruise passengers time by time, the same is or group one.

Group 3. Thank you Vanessa, Lorenzo, Gianni, Melissa, Matilde. You too performed a nice and simple dialogue. Start thinking how to enrich it with information from the material you have, putting yourselves "in the cruise passengers' shoes".

Group 4. Thank you Selene and Desiré. Good dialogue, You too think of the "big picture" when meeting people from  so many different countries.

When cruise passengers disembark in Livorno and stay for a day in Tuscany, so many of them want to visit cities of art such as Florence, Pisa, Lucca. Tours are included in the cruise fare, but so many of those who get off the shuttles in Piazza del Municipio need information on how to catch a train to go and visit them. Others stay in Livorno and would like to know what's worth visiting. Have a look at the itinerarties your mates designed last year on page 1 and in case create new ones.

Be interested in passengers' places of origin! States, Australia, North Europe, New Zealand, South America, India, Japan, China, English speaking people come to Livorno from all over the world via the Mediterranean  and they are very pleased to interact with students eager to know about them!

The worksheet at the left top of the page has suggestions for asking questions to cruise passengers. Change the questions as you wish and give answers as cruise passengers. Tailor it on yourselves!

So much to know, such a human and cultural experience just welcoming them in the open air!

Keep an eye on the blog, post your comments, visit the pages about the previous labs e.g. the one mentioned above. Answers will be posted. 

Enjoy your English and feel at home wherever it's spoken

Anna - Coordinator

Source: Giovanni fattori "Diego Martelli a Castiglioncello" from "I Macchiaioli" Opere e protagonisti di una rivoluzione artistica 1861/1869 - Pagliai Polistampa 2002

Good morning, afternoon, evening

Rubith, Selene, Desirée, Lizeth, Leonardo, Edoardo, Martina, Nicole, Vanessa, Lorenzo, Giulia, Tommaso, Desiré, Matilde, Melissa, Gianni, Rachele, Sara

and everybody,

on day 2, the same pairs exchanged paper boards and read aloud the answers. Inaccuracies and mistakes were occasions to improve the text with everybody's contribution. Focus was on communication and formal correctness.

1. All students are now asked to write a very brief comment about the experience and all the answers, so to practice once more written English. 

2. Two class-coordinators were appointed, Edoardo and Tommaso, to help having smooth the work of the class. Aims: to welcome cruise passengers, represent the city and the entire country, give them the information required, offer them a choice of itineraries to visit Livorno.  

 Whoever wants to post a comment is very, very welcome, either to practice the language or to let us know what they think.

Anna - Coordinator

Good morning, afternoon, evening everybody, 

1. this is a first page for Desirée, Martina, Gaia, Vanessa, Edoardo, Lorenzo, Selene, Nicole, Rubith, Rachele, Gianni, Melissa, Matilde, Tommaso, Leonardo, Lizeth, Desiré, Giulia, Sara of IIS Vespucci Livorno, the school that this year is partecipating in the first Open Air English Labs and for whoever is willing to join us and practice English. 

2. We are planning activities in class before going outside to meet Mediterranean cruise passengers and  welcome them to Livorno. Next pages will be updated to coordinate all work to be done in class by these students eager to improve their competence in English communication.

3. On day 1, after forming pairs, students answered the questionnaire shown below - worksheet one - meant as a general survey on the students' relationship with English and their knowledge of the language. On paper boards onto the walls they all could write standing. Good job. 

4. You can find below - worksheet three - possible questions by cruise passengers; we'll work together to get information from the material you will be given in class. Your own research will be very welcome.

5. Paper number two is the text of the song Vincent, that's going to be useful for one more English exercise: match the lines of the lyrics with the reproductions of Van Gogh's paintings you have had in class since day two. Number the paintings clockwise starting from the door. Acquire new vocabulary and expressions. Find out on the Internet what Loving Vincent is and tell the class.

6. On worksheet number four there are three possible itineraries designed by students of previous editions' open labs. This year we could visit all shops along the way, present them the project and ask if they like offering a discount to customers showing them a card we'll make ready in time. 

7. It means we'll have to design a logo for this year's project, print visit cards to inform about it and leave  contacts.

8. Do not hesitate to use this space to practice English. You can ask questions, write comments, propose ideas. Everything will be useful to enrich our English training and consolidate our skills in English communication. Your two teachers will reply.

9. Feel free to contribute to our labs the way you prefere with your ideas. Astonish us with your talents! 

Enjoy your English  

Anna - Coordinator

Source: our own production worksheets and Van Gogh's paintings reproductions from calendars

Good morning, afternoon, evening everybody,

just for those who come across this web site for the very first time, all the blog is an invitation to practice English in case you want to improve it, or use your Language as a speaker of English if you want to help.

We would be so glad if you partecipated! English can be an opportunity for all of us to communicate the worl over enriching our identities with one more to fell equal and willing to share and promote the same rights and opportunities.

There'll be a reply each time you write, either as a teacher or as a friend.

It was 2010 when I read The Museum of Innocence, a novel by Orhan Pamuk, Nobel Prize for Literature, a story of romantic love in a haunting novel with unexpected turns and fascinating insights.

I didn't know that a real museum was being created, aligning itself with the writing of the novel, a museum inside and outside the story. 

Little objects as memories of the beloved one, of what happened between the two lovers, Kemal and Fusun, the male protagonist's will to keep with all them, the memory of his only love.

Now part of the original museum from Istambul, after being exibited in Oslo and London, is in Milan,  until June 24th.

I'm going to visit it, since there's such a strong bond between the books you adore and anything happening around them. I might visit once the original places where the novel has been set up, by now I'm going to Milan, at Bagatti Valsecchi Museum, one visited by the protagonist in the novel.

The author's voice accompanies the visitors among the 29 showcases of the museum.

In Istambul, for those who had the book, there is no entrance ticket to pay at the museum. 

Who has read The Museum of Innocence? In any language, sure.

Here's the cover of my copy, the English translation of the novel that mesmerized me. And I'm sure the museum will do the same.

We should appreciate more artists like Orhan Pamuk, capable of conceiving ideas exceeding expectations,  devoting them the quality of their mind and time, their feelings, so much of their life. 

What do you know about him?

Have you ever visited the places mentioned in the novel?

Keep the bond tight, write and we'll reply.

Enjoy your English

Anna - Coordinator

Source: Cover of my copy of The Museum of Innocence published by Faber and Faber, England, 2009 

Good morning, afternoon, evening

Elena, Gianna, Daniele, Loretto, Simone and whoever's reading ,

after Norway, this is one more trip of one of our students, Simone, to Thailand.

These are just a few of the photos he's sending us, to show the beautiful places he's visiting.

All of you who are reading, wherever you are, can say

1. what your experience with Thailand is

2. what you know about this country

Upload your comment, we'll reply

Anna - Coordinator

Thank you Daniele for your comment. Next time with classmates we'll talk about it. See if there's anything you can change after our last class.

How mny and which other countries have you visited in addition to Norway?

Sara, you're quite good at making readers perceive tha beauty of places.you describe. Remember to chack go + to, plurals, pepositions. Take your time to talk about places too, catch the opportunity to have a class that wants to listen to you!

Source: Simone's own photos

'morning, afternoon, evening

everybody!

These are days of "Supermoon" as you can read below or might have heard of.

The moon is more beautiful than ever, first on the horizon and then in the sky. Have you noticed it?

If you like being immersed in nice topics even on holiday coping with English, focus on tenses and reply to  the questions below; be short and accurate, choosing either present or past simple. 

Whoever wants to contribute to our effort to acquire English as a second language, is very, very welcome.

1. What does the moon recall you of?

2. Do you usually pay attention to it?

After reading the article:

3. What is a supermoon?

4. Have you ever experienced seeing it?

5. Where were you?

6. What were your comments?

 Daniele: "celestial" events are always attractive and you answered a few of the questions above. Any other possible connection with memories of the moon in other fields? Let us know. 

It will be a pleasure reading what you write and replying. 

Anna - Coordinator

Source: own photos and December 2017 Speak Up

Good morning, afternoon, evening Elena, Daniele, Loretto, Simone, Veronica, Sara,

this is extra work for those of you who want to continue practicing English.

It is an interesting article from Speak Up aimed at revising recent and less recent geographical renaming.

Geography depends so much on our age, you know.

First read the article focusing on the general context, trusting your comprehension skill.

Here are a few questions you can reply to with a comment, and we'll write ours for you all.

1.  Have you ever visited any of the places mentioned in the article?

2. If so, when did you go there?

3. What were they called? As they are now? 

4. What was Thailand's previous name?

5. When and why was it named with the new one?

6. Anything more to let us know Simone about Thailand?

7. What is the best memory you have of the places each one of you visited?

Anyone who wants to participate in our blog is very, very welcome

Enjoy holidays and English!

Anna - Coordinator

Source: Speak Up, Decembre 2017 

Good morning, afternoon, evening,

Annalisa, Elena, Gianna, Daniele, Loretto, Simone, 

yesterday in class we had the chance to listen to Daniele talking about his trip to Norway, four years ago, by motorbike. What a love for travelling!

As soon as he posts his comments about these photos he took there, you too reply with a comment. It will be one more opportunity to practice the language in writing before meeting again.

Pay attention to formal correctness, be simple.

Whoever wants to partecipate either having been to Norway or not, is very, very welcome.

Enjoy your English

Sara, your writing is quite good and the more you practice speaking too, the better your results will be. Try to be coherent with your committment to English. Find a little time every day so to make it become  familiar to you and your mind. This latter will help you more than you would expect. A second language is a matter of offering chances, opportunities to ourselves trusting our potential and loving the language.  

Majestic views and majestic feelings, Daniele. What we have inside and what's outside mirror themselves.

Freedom and dreaming, Gianna, something we miss more and more every day unless we decide for a change. Each one of us, if we care.

Anna - Coordinator

Good morning, afternoon, evening,

this is once more our "English in the open air labs". 

High school students meeting Mediterranean cruise passengers to practice English and experiencing it as behaviour, experience, integrating school programs.

This year, our students have designed a logo for the project and offered itineraries to visit Livorno - Leave your footprint in Livorno. Then Camilla, Emma, Tommaso, Matteo and Alana  performed both in Piazza del Municipio and at the railway station in Livorno.

The laboratories in the open air have been more successful than ever, with the participation of Eurocontact Plus ONLUS in the program called Scuole App-erte, http://scuoleapperte.it/ designed by ITI G. Galilei Livorno and Liceo Cecioni. 

The aim of the laboratories is to be open through languages to all people who want to speak English to B English 2, one more identity to be added to the one/ones we already have, feeling confident that being able to communicate and feeling at home wherever English is spoken is a great advantage.

On June 14 pupils welcomed English speaking Mediterranean cruise passengers while getting off the shuttles in Piazza del Municipio, giving them with a visit card information and roses.

On June 30 pupils met passengers at the railway station on June 30th, offering maps of Tuscan cities and roses, while a matinée was performed by Emma singing  The Rose by Janis Joplin as a soloist accompanied by Tommaso playing the violin.  

All initiatives to highlight students' talents with joy and freshness, 

English is one more identity to be richer and able to compare different realities. A tool, the second language, to design personal projects, according to the future each one of us wants to foresee, always aware that also the future is a time to be shared.  

A video has been shot all season round, with all students, and the DVD is available to everybody who wants to support the initiatives of our NPO. 

Bilingualism is an advantage for the species, that is to say each one of us. Don't you agree?

Join us and participate.

Anna - Coordinator

Photos taken with all parents' written permission

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