Galoperiscol´s posterous

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J-1 TEACHER PROGRAM: PILOT EXTENDED
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17. ECA has authorized a two-year extension of the Pilot program being conducted by the Center for International Education (ref E). The pilot was originally authorized through February 15, 2009. The two-year extension authorizes it through February 15, 2011, and adds a second teacher exchange sponsor, Foreign Academic and Cultural Exchange Services (FACES). 9 FAM 41.62 N 4.13 will be updated to include paragraph c, as follows:

c. Pilot Program for Exchange Visitor Teachers

1. In February 2007 ECA announced a two-year Pilot Program for Exchange Visitor Teachers to provide an opportunity to evaluate the need for and acceptance of a reduced experience requirement. The Pilot period, scheduled to conclude February 15, 2009, has been extended for an additional two-year period to February 15, 2011. The Pilot is being conducted by the Center for International Education, Inc. and Foreign Academic and Cultural Exchange Services (FACES), Department-designated Exchange Visitor Program sponsors. The Pilot is limited to nine countries: Australia, Canada, Columbia, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, United Kingdom, Ireland, and Venezuela. Only nationals from these countries who apply in their country of nationality may participate.
2. Participants in this pilot program are not required to have three years of prior teaching experience. Participants are required to be eligible for employment as a teacher in their home country as demonstrated by a provisional or full teaching certificate, license, or other credential that permits employment as a teacher in the respective home country. They must also present a signed letter of acceptance for a full time teaching position from a U.S. accredited school (K-12), on school letterhead and signed by the appropriate school official. All other eligibility requirements for this exchange category must be met (Teacher - 22 CFR 62.24).
3. Pilot program participants are not exempt from the usual MRV and reciprocity fees or the SEVIS I-901 Fee.

Travel Warning
United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Washington, DC 20520

This information is current as of today, Fri Nov 20 2009 17:26:08 GMT-0500.

COLOMBIA

November 10, 2009

The Department of State continues to warn U.S. citizens of the dangers of travel to Colombia.  While security in Colombia has improved significantly in recent years, violence by narco-terrorist groups continues to affect some rural areas as well as large cities.  The potential for violence by terrorists and other criminal elements exists in all parts of the country.  This updates and replaces the Travel Warning for Colombia issued March 25, 2009 to update information on recent security incidents and criminal activity.

In recent months, there has been an increase in violent crime, including kidnapping and homicide, in many of the major cities.  Small towns and rural areas of Colombia can still be extremely dangerous due to the presence of narco-terrorists.  Common crime also remains a significant problem in many urban and rural areas.  For additional details about the general criminal threat, please see the Department of State's Country Specific Information for Colombia.

Extortion-related bombings have occurred recently in Bogota, Cali, and several smaller cities.  On January 27, 2009, an explosion in a commercial building in Bogota resulted in two fatalities.  On August 9, 2008, a bomb detonated in northern Bogota injuring eight persons, including one American.  Many expatriates live in and frequent the neighborhoods where these explosions occurred. 

The incidence of kidnapping in Colombia has diminished significantly from its peak at the beginning of this decade.  Nevertheless, terrorist groups such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the National Liberation Army (ELN), and other criminal organizations continue to kidnap and hold civilians for ransom or as political bargaining chips.  No one is immune from kidnapping on the basis of occupation, nationality, or other factors.  Kidnapping in rural areas is of particular concern.  On July 2, 2008, the Government of Colombia rescued 15 hostages, including three Americans, who had been held for more than five years.  Although the U.S. government places the highest priority on the safe recovery of kidnapped Americans, it is U.S. policy not to make concessions to or strike deals with kidnappers. Consequently, the U.S. government's ability to assist kidnapping victims is limited.

U.S. government officials and their families in Colombia are permitted to travel to major cities in the country, but normally only by air.  They may not use inter- or intra-city bus transportation, or travel by road outside urban areas at night.  All Americans in Colombia are urged to follow these precautions.

Americans living or traveling in Colombia are encouraged to register with the U.S. Embassy through the State Department's travel registration website (https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui/index.aspx ) to obtain updated information on travel and security within Colombia.

The U.S. Embassy is located at Calle 24 Bis No. 48-50 Bogota, D.C. Colombia.  Mailing address:  Carrera 45 No. 24B-27 Bogota, D.C. Colombia.  In case of a serious emergency that jeopardizes the health or safety of an American citizen in Colombia, please call the Embassy at (571) 315-0811; Embassy fax: (571) 315-2197; Consular Section phone: (571) 315-1566. The Embassy's American Citizens Services office provides routine information at http://bogota.usembassy.gov.  For questions not answered there, inquiries may be sent by email to ACSBogota@state.gov .

The U.S. Consular Agency in Barranquilla, which accepts passport applications and performs notarial services, is located at Calle 77B, No. 57-141, Piso 5, Centro Empresarial Las Americas, Barranquilla, Atlantico, Colombia; telephone (575) 353-2001; fax (011-57-5) 353-5216.  The Consular Agency is not staffed to respond to after-hours emergencies; in case of an emergency in the Barranquilla/north coast area, please contact the Embassy in Bogota at (571) 315-0811.

As the Department develops information on potential security threats to U.S. citizens overseas, it shares credible threats through its Consular Information Program documents, available on the Internet at http://travel.state.gov. U.S. citizens should consult warden messages for Colombia at http://bogota.usembassy.gov/acs_wardenmessage.html , as well as the Department of State's Country Specific Information for Colombia and the Worldwide Caution at http://travel.state.gov.

U.S. travelers may obtain up-to-date information on security conditions by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the U.S. and Canada or, for overseas callers, on a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444.

Following the completion of their program, the period defined on the Form DS-2019, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) allows participants a 30-day travel period commonly referred to as the "Grace Period." During this 30-day grace period, participants are no longer in J-visa status, and are under the jurisdiction of the INS. The INS grants this period to allow participants to settle their affairs and to prepare to return to their home countries. Program participants may no longer continue and/or complete exchange activities, nor may they work. Although participants may travel in the United States, it is recommended that they do not travel beyond the borders of the United States as they may not be permitted reentry.

WARM-UPS

1. NELSON MANDELA: Talk to other students about Nelson Mandela. Change partners often. Sit with your first partner(s) and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

U.N. General Assembly / special days / great man / peace / race relations / struggle / prison / multi-racial / awards / Nobel Peace Prize / retirement / commitments / AIDS

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. GREAT PEOPLE: Who are the world’s greatest people? Complete this table with your partner(s) and give reasons. Change partners and share what you heard.

	Man (Why?)	Woman (Why?)
Politician
Singer
Sports star
Actor
Teacher
Other

4. THE GREATEST: Students A strongly believe Nelson Mandela is the greatest man alive; Students B strongly believe he isn’t.  Change partners and role play again.

5. SPECIAL DAYS: Which of these special days are most important? Rank them – most important at the top. Show your rankings to your partner and talk about them.

Nelson Mandela Day Chocolate Day English Language Day Computer Day

Me Day Save the Worms Day No Shopping Day Say Hello to Everyone Day

6. PEACE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘peace’. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if  a-h  below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	The United Nations has made a world day to honour Nelson Mandela.	T / F
b.	Nelson Mandela Day is the day he was freed from prison.	T / F
c.	The day is to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s race.	T / F
d.	The U.N. spoke of Mandela’s role in trying to achieve African freedom.	T / F
e.	Mandela spent almost three decades in prison.	T / F
f.	Mandela escaped from prison in 1990 and stayed a free man.	T / F
g.	The greatest of Mandela’s awards is the Nobel Peace Prize.	T / F
h.	Today, Nelson Mandela likes to act on stage in the theatre.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	created	a.	around
2	occasion	b.	fight
3.	throughout	c.	finishing
4.	highlighted	d.	event
5.	struggle	e.	drew attention to
6.	several	f.	made
7.	tirelessly	g.	admired
8.	stepping down	h.	dynamic
9.	active	i.	numerous
10.	respected	j.	non stop

3. PHRASE MATCH:  (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1.	a special day to	a.	throughout the world
2	The UN said it decided	b.	respected statesmen
3.	a culture of peace	c.	celebrate Nelson Mandela
4.	improving race	d.	create a better world
5.	Mandela suffered to	e.	for many years
6.	Mandela led the fight	f.	on the world stage
7.	The international community campaigned	g.	relations
8.	a multi-racial	h.	against apartheid
9.	he has remained active	i.	to create this occasion
10.	one of the world’s most	j.	democracy

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.

The United Nations General Assembly has created a ____________ day to celebrate Nelson Mandela. July 18th, Mandela’s birthday, is now ____________ Nelson Mandela International Day. The UN said it decided to create this ____________ to say thank you to a “great man”. The day celebrates Mandela’s “promotion of a culture of ____________ throughout the world”. It also recognizes Mandela’s contributions towards improving ____________ relations and human rights. The president of the U.N. General Assembly Ali Treki stated the day ____________ how Mandela suffered to create a better world. Mr Treki said Nelson Mandela played a "leading role in and support for Africa's struggle for ____________...and [made an] outstanding contribution to the creation of a non-racial, non-____________ democratic South Africa.”		peace liberation officially highlighted sexist special race occasion
Nelson Mandela led the fight ____________ apartheid in South Africa for several decades. He spent 26 years in prison for his ____________. The international community campaigned for many years to get him released. Finally, he was ____________ in 1990. He worked tirelessly to help South Africa move toward reconciliation and a ____________ -racial democracy. In 1994, he became his country’s first black president and served for five years before stepping ____________ in 1999. He has won many ____________ in his life, but perhaps his greatest is the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. Since his retirement from South African politics, he has remained ____________ on the world stage. One of his biggest commitments is in the fight against AIDS. He is today one of the world’s most ____________ statesmen.		down multi respected efforts active against awards freed

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

The United Nations General Assembly has created _________________ celebrate Nelson Mandela. July 18th, Mandela’s birthday, _________________ Nelson Mandela International Day. The UN said it decided to create this occasion to say thank you to a “great man”. The day celebrates Mandela’s “promotion _________________ peace throughout the world”. It also recognizes Mandela’s contributions towards improving race _________________ rights. The president of the U.N. General Assembly Ali Treki stated the day highlighted how Mandela suffered to create a better world. Mr Treki said Nelson Mandela played a "_________________ support for Africa's struggle for liberation...and [made an] outstanding contribution to the creation of a _________________ democratic South Africa.”

Nelson Mandela _________________ apartheid in South Africa for several decades. He spent 26 years in prison for his efforts. The international community campaigned for many _________________ released. Finally, he was freed in 1990. He _________________ help South Africa move toward reconciliation and a multi-racial democracy. In 1994, he became his country’s first black president and served for five years before stepping down in 1999. _________________ awards in his life, but perhaps his greatest is the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. Since his retirement from South African politics, he has remained _________________ world stage. One of his biggest commitments is in the fight against AIDS. He is today one of the world’s _________________ statesmen.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘peace’ and ‘prize’.

peace

prize

• Share your findings with your partners.

• Make questions using the words you found.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

• Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

special officially great race create struggle

several campaigned first awards stage today

STUDENT NELSON MANDELA SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about Nelson Mandela in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.

When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

• Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.
• Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

NELSON MANDELA DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

a)	What did you think when you read the headline?
b)	What springs to mind when you hear the name ‘Nelson Mandela’?
c)	What do you think of the idea of a Nelson Mandela Day?
d)	How great is Nelson Mandela?
e)	Which person would you like a UN day for?
f)	How would you promote world peace?
g)	How are race relations in your country?
h)	What do you know about apartheid and Nelson Mandela?
i)	What three adjectives would you use to describe Nelson Mandela and why?
j)	What do you think should happen on Nelson Mandela Day?

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STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	What things would you like to / do you… fight against?
c)	Do you think 26 years of prison changed Nelson Mandela?
d)	What would you do on your first day of release if you spent 26 years in prison?
e)	Which award would you like to win?
f)	When was the last time you worked tirelessly? What did you do?
g)	Who do you like better, Nelson Mandela or Barack Obama. Why?
h)	Would you like to meet Nelson Mandela? Why?
i)	Who is your most respected statesman and why?
j)	What questions would you like to ask Nelson Mandela?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

The United Nations General Assembly has created a (1) ____ day to celebrate Nelson Mandela. July 18th, Mandela’s birthday, is now (2) ____ Nelson Mandela International Day. The UN said it decided to create this occasion to say thank you to a “great man”. The day celebrates Mandela’s “promotion (3) ____ a culture of peace throughout the world”. It also recognizes Mandela’s contributions towards improving (4) ____ relations and human rights. The president of the U.N. General Assembly Ali Treki stated the day highlighted how Mandela suffered to create a better world. Mr Treki said Nelson Mandela played a "leading (5) ____ in and support for Africa's struggle for (6) ____...and [made an] outstanding contribution to the creation of a non-racial, non-sexist democratic South Africa.”

Nelson Mandela led the fight against apartheid in South Africa for (7) ____ decades. He spent 26 years in prison for his (8) ____. The international community campaigned for many years to get him released. Finally, he was freed in 1990. He worked tirelessly to help South Africa move toward reconciliation and a (9) ____-racial democracy. In 1994, he became his country’s first black president and served for five years before stepping down in 1999. He has won many awards in his       (10) ____, but perhaps his greatest is the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. Since his retirement from South African politics, he has remained (11) ____ on the world stage. One of his biggest commitments is in the fight against AIDS. He is today one of the world’s most (12) ____ statesmen.

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	specialty	(b)	specialist	(c)	specials	(d)	special
2.	(a)	officially	(b)	officials	(c)	officialdom	(d)	officialese
3.	(a)	from	(b)	of	(c)	to	(d)	at
4.	(a)	racial	(b)	racially	(c)	race	(d)	racism
5.	(a)	mole	(b)	hole	(c)	role	(d)	pole
6.	(a)	liberate	(b)	liberation	(c)	liberating	(d)	liberated
7.	(a)	severe	(b)	severed	(c)	seventeen	(d)	several
8.	(a)	efforts	(b)	effects	(c)	affects	(d)	affords
9.	(a)	multiple	(b)	multi	(c)	multiply	(d)	multiples
10.	(a)	lively	(b)	living	(c)	alive	(d)	life
11.	(a)	activity	(b)	activeness	(c)	active	(d)	activate
12.	(a)	respected	(b)	respect	(c)	respectfully	(d)	respects

WRITING

Write about Nelson Mandela for 10 minutes. Correct your partner’s paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

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_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

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HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about Nelson Mandela. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. NELSON MANDELA: Make a poster about Nelson Mandela and the different stages of his life. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. NELSON MANDELA DAY: Write a magazine article about the very first Nelson Mandela Day. What happened around the world? Include an imaginary interview with Nelson Mandela.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).

5. LETTER: Write a letter to Nelson Mandela. Ask him three questions about his life. Give him three opinions on how people should celebrate Nelson Mandela Day. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a.

T

b.

F

c.

F

d.

T

e.

T

f.

F

g.

T

h.

F

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	created	a.	made
2	occasion	b.	event
3.	throughout	c.	around
4.	highlighted	d.	drew attention to
5.	struggle	e.	fight
6.	several	f.	numerous
7.	tirelessly	g.	non stop
8.	stepping down	h.	finishing
9.	active	i.	dynamic
10.	respected	j.	admired

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	a special day to	a.	celebrate Nelson Mandela
2	The UN said it decided	b.	to create this occasion
3.	a culture of peace	c.	throughout the world
4.	improving race	d.	relations
5.	Mandela suffered to	e.	create a better world
6.	Mandela led the fight	f.	against apartheid
7.	The international community campaigned	g.	for many years
8.	a multi-racial	h.	democracy
9.	he has remained active	i.	on the world stage
10.	one of the world’s most	j.	respected statesmen

GAP FILL:

U.N. creates Nelson Mandela Day

The United Nations General Assembly has created a special day to celebrate Nelson Mandela. July 18th, Mandela’s birthday, is now officially Nelson Mandela International Day. The UN said it decided to create this occasion to say thank you to a “great man”. The day celebrates Mandela’s “promotion of a culture of peace throughout the world”. It also recognizes Mandela’s contributions towards improving race relations and human rights. The president of the U.N. General Assembly Ali Treki stated the day highlighted how Mandela suffered to create a better world. Mr Treki said Nelson Mandela played a "leading role in and support for Africa's struggle for liberation...and [made an] outstanding contribution to the creation of a non-racial, non-sexist democratic South Africa.”

Nelson Mandela led the fight against apartheid in South Africa for several decades. He spent 26 years in prison for his efforts. The international community campaigned for many years to get him released. Finally, he was freed in 1990. He worked tirelessly to help South Africa move toward reconciliation and a multi-racial democracy. In 1994, he became his country’s first black president and served for five years before stepping down in 1999. He has won many awards in his life, but perhaps his greatest is the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. Since his retirement from South African politics, he has remained active on the world stage. One of his biggest commitments is in the fight against AIDS. He is today one of the world’s most respected statesmen.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - a

3 - b

4 - c

5 - c

6 - b

7 - d

8 - a

9 - b

10 - d

11 - c

12 - a