I Passed the LSA Exam!

I have now been back for about three weeks, and am feeling settled in again. I am finally getting back into a routine since I have started teaching again. This week was the first week that I've been back teaching at ALPI.  I have 19 people signed up to take my classes!  As of right now, I have two classes, one hearing class and one deaf class.  All of the deaf students have been put in one class together although some were in my class last year and so are a little farther ahead.  I asked those students if the information I was giving them was too easy and they told me that it was, so we are trying to get another class together.  If we split the class, I would have 5 students in my more advanced class and 6 in the beginner class.  I am using more and more sign language with them which is really exciting for me because it means I'm progressing in LSA (Lengua de Senas Argentina).  

By the way, I passed the LSA first level final exam today!  I was extremely nervous going into this exam but the teacher was very supportive and reassuring that everything would be fine.  I have been going twice a week to Villasoles, where I take my sign language course, to have a tutor help me.  Her name is Ana and she's also a teacher at Villasoles, although she wasn't the teacher for my class.  Since I passed the course, I can start a Level 2 course at Villasoles.  The Level 2 course is four months long instead of 2, and 3 hours each week instead of 4.  I feel a real sense of accomplishment in completing and passing the Level 1 course.  I found two quotes that I've decided to include in this post because they really reflect how I'm feeling right now:

"The key to realizing a dream is to focus not on success but significance-and then even the small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning." -Oprah Winfrey

"You see things; and you say, 'Why?'  But I dream things that never were; and I say 'Why not?'" -George Bernard Shaw

I was asked this past week why learning LSA is so important to me.  It has felt like a great accomplishment to me to know that I can learn something that is difficult to help those that want to learn English.  My goal is to be able to teach English to deaf students and I have succeeded in being able to do that.  Learning LSA is the next step toward helping them better understand English.  My goal is to one day be able to start programs to teach English specifically to students with disabilities around the world.  Many times they get left out on the opportunity to learn English because of their disability.  In response to George Bernard Shaw's quote, some might say, why teach ESL to deaf students or blind students etc.?  What will they use it for?  My response: Why not?

I'm back!

I'm back!  It's been a slow two weeks so far but here is the quick version of what's been going on since I've returned.  I have been to talk with Graciela, the director of education at ALPI and we are starting my English classes tomorrow!  I'm so excited!  I went over to ALPI on Friday to see Agustina (one of the secretaries at ALPI and also a friend of mine) who is leaving for another job.  While I was there, the other secretary, Candela, told me that I will have 18 students this upcoming term!  18!  I'm so excited!  11 of them are deaf and 7 are hearing.  We have been talking about the possibility of having two classes for the deaf students because 4 of them were in my class in the spring term (fall in the states) and are at a slightly higher level than the students that are just starting.  We'll call the students that are at a little higher level 2/3 level students, and the students that are just starting to learn English with me 0/1 level students (thank you ILI!).

Anyways, I've been trying to lesson plan for tomorrow because all of the deaf students will be in the class together tomorrow and from there, we'll decide whether they want two separate classes.  The students are all friends so it will be interesting to see if they want to separate or not.  I'm so glad and thankful that this program has been successful thus far.  It's been an incredible experience for me and I wouldn't trade it for anything.  

As far as sign language classes go,  I started back at Villasoles (the sign language institute) the day after I got back to Argentina.  I had missed one class so I got a tutor who is actually a teacher at Villasoles which helps a lot because she knows what the material is for the classes.  Now she is helping me to prepare for the 1st level final exam which is coming up in one week.  I am so incredibly nervous!  It's an individual exam so it will be myself, my teacher, the deaf teacher that helps out in the class, any other teachers that are interested in seeing the exam, any other deaf students/teachers interested in seeing the exam, and the director if she's interested.  I am the only student in the class whose first language isn't Castilian Spanish so I'm not sure what the teachers think about me taking this exam, but I'll blow them out of the water.  I've been working very hard to memorize over 600 signs so I know I can do it.  I just have to have the confidence, and I have to pass to move on to level 2.  So not passing the exam is not an option.  The end. haha