Newsroom
Fairytale ending for Argentinian young learners of English from Fuerte Apache
23 April 2009
Award winning English teacher praised by Cambridge University
Cambridge ESOL – a department of Cambridge University – was pleased to welcome award-winning Argentinian English teacher Silvana Piergiovanni to their offices in Cambridge. Silvana recently won ‘Innovation in ELT’, an award aimed at identifying and rewarding innovative projects in English language teaching in Argentina. The visit to the UK was part of her prize for winning the competition organised by the British Council, and supported by British Airways, Cambridge ESOL and the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL).
Silvana teaches at a public primary school attended by a number of pupils from the disadvantaged area of ‘Fuerte Apache’ near Buenos Aires. She gave an insightful presentation on her award winning project “Discrimination: a change is possible” – which involved introducing children to the English language by staging an adaptation of “Cinderella”. The cross-curricula initiative for 12 year olds was an opportunity for them to use art and culture to tell a story in English that they could really relate to. The young learners were supported through script writing, stage design, choreography and the production of invitations. She explained to Cambridge ESOL employees how the play not only increased the children’s confidence and creativity, but has had a positive effect on their lives.
Silvana has a long history of teaching English with first hand experience of Cambridge ESOL exams. Actively involved in the profession since 1995, she has worked in public and private schools covering a range of abilities from young learners and teenagers up to adults. She has vast experience in preparing students for Cambridge’s Preliminary English Test (PET) and the First Certificate in English (FCE).
Cambridge ESOL’s Chief Executive Dr Mike Milanovic praised her approach to teaching English, “It is really inspiring to see such creative approaches to teaching English. This level of commitment has encouraged the children to develop skills that will be of use to them throughout their entire lives. When you consider the limited resources which were available, the extent of Silvana’s achievement is incredible and I am pleased she has been acknowledged for her commitment, innovation and creativity in the classroom.”
As part of her visit to the UK, Silvana also attended the IATEFL conference in Cardiff.
