Strengthening learning communities in Chihuahua, how it is done.

In this interactive workshop we will talk about the learning communities in Chihuahua. If we are
looking for sound approaches to teaching English lessons and meaningful classroom activities, we
should be conscious about these students´ current reality, their Cosmo vision. They speak Indian
dialects and poorly Spanish; encouraging them to learn English, to engage them in global and
(inter-)cultural competencies plus convincing them of the benefits of all this, is a huge challenge.

If we are looking for sound approaches to teaching English lessons and meaningful classroom
activities, first we have to be conscious about the students´ current reality, the Cosmo vision
regarding life and the entire world. We need to use their vast knowledge of the environment as they
know much about mountains, pine trees and nature in general. Before connecting these
communities to global communities, it felt a cultural shock when I, Ana, entered these rural
communities. The students speak Indian dialects and poorly Spanish; English-Spanish dictionaries
are a burden for them. What´s more, they barely have an old-type cell phone, nor electricity. The
workshop is aimed to be dynamic with a natural flow regarding time spent on each sub topic, which
depends a bit on the audience´s input and interaction. Teaching a foreign language goes along
with introducing learners to another culture, for them being a different culture within their country of
origin confronts them with a double challenge. The world outside their community, which most of
them have never left and the world outside Mexico. Encouraging them to learn English and
convincing them of the benefits it brings along is a challenge, though some students have family
members who went to the USA, which exemplifies the benefits. In the English class we combine
cultural tips for outside the community though within the country and cultural tips for the cases they
will be in touch with foreigners. The girls are really shy due to the environment they are brought up;
having them speak up and interact with others is a new skill that goes against their community´s
belief. We will use a power point presentation and an additional microphone for the audience to
interact. In brief: In this interactive workshop we will share how the students of these communities
live, study and share anecdotes about their progress, opening up to the outside world, what
differentiates their situation to the students from the big cities and how they manage to obtain a
certain competence in the English language plus some intercultural skills they acquired.

Ana Veronica Torres is an English teacher who prepares students in rural communities in
Chihuahua. She holds a Bachelors and Master in Education. Currently she is studying her PhD in
Competencies at the University Cenrtro de Estudios Superiores Mundo Nuevo, Chihuahua.