Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
Venezolanos (CUHELAV)
Cargo: Directora
Page
Introduction .. 7
Conclusions 26
Recommendations ...... 28
References ...... 30
Appendices .... 31
TABLE OF APPENDICES
Page
Training Department .. 32
Bolivarian Schools . 39
INTRODUCTION
The University of the Andes, in its Spanish name Universidad de Los Andes
(ULA), offers the opportunity to study Modern Languages. After finishing the major,
to complete the academic formation received and to improve the abilities and
Languages for a period of three months. First, I introduce the Profile of the Institution
I chose to work with, the University College Hotel School of the Venezuelan Andes,
Venezolanos (CUHELAV), placed in Mrida city. I explain when, how and why it
arose and its mission in training professionals in hotel and hospitality services.
I also present the profile of the specific department where I had the
In this sense, I make emphasis in the aims it follows and the projects that are carried
out, through its Language Training Program. Moreover, I present how this
department is structured.
7
Afterwards, I describe my duties while I was an intern in the CUHELAV, the
work conditions I found in each project and the challenges I had to face to succeed.
received during my major, the activities developed during my internship and the
8
PROFILE OF THE INSTITUTION
next to the Venetur Hotel in Mrida city. It was founded on October 1988 by the then
education institution that trains in hotel and hospitality services and to assure the
In this sense, this institution offers the opportunity to learn through the slogan
statistics, room and guest services, and languages (English and French). These skills
are acquired through a three-year study plan, which allows the students an integral
education to access the touristic labor market in hospitality areas such as in hotels,
1
Taken and adapted from: http://www.hotelescuela.org.ve/cuhelav/index.php
2
Taken and adapted from: CUHELAV. (1997). Colegio Universitario Hotel Escuela de Los Andes
Venezolanos. Mrida: Talleres de la Imprenta de Mrida, C.A.
9
Nowadays, the CUHELAV is constituted by the Executive Board followed by
the General Directorate and then, the Administrative Sub-directorate and the
Flowchart:
Executive Board
GeneralDirectorate
NationalLanguage Training
Department
Ministerio del Poder Popular para el Turismo through INATUR and CUHELAV,
considered necessary to train people in the languages area, who are immersed in the
tourism field, specifically in English and French. Thus, the National Language
10
To train people involved in tourism, in order to count on suitable human
four courses: Introductory level, A1 and A2 levels (basic users) and B1 level
Reference for Languages (CEFR), but adapted to the needs of tourism in Venezuela.
The Program also prepares, supervises and certifies the courses throughout the
Teaching-Learning Skills to unify teaching criteria. For this purpose, this program is
executed through four departments attached to INATUR and the National Language
11
NATURE OF THE INTERNSHIP
Languages student of the ULA, working forty hours a week, for a period of twelve
weeks. I was assigned to the National Language Training Department, where I took
part of the academic personal team, coordinated by Mara Ileana Cabello. Before
starting my duties as an intern, she showed me what the National Language Training
Program was about and its importance for Venezuelan people, because we live in a
follows:
My first task was to create a rubric for Introductory and A1 English levels,
determine with more precision and objectivity the competences the students must
achieve to certificate each level. For this purpose, I worked with Rosngela Martnez,
who was the supervisor in charge of the courses at the Language Training Program.
We took the CEFRs rubric criteria and adapted to the syllabus of the Introductory
and the A1 level, in both oral and written competences. Also, we added two more
levels between those created by the CEFR: The A1- for students in between levels
introductory and A1 and the A1+ for those in between levels A1 and A2 level.
evaluation for Introductory and A1 courses. During the process, we had the
12
opportunity to assess the rubrics created and distinguish each of items previously
from Mrida, who are and could be in contact with foreign tourists. For this purpose,
I was trained by Ms. Martnez who, based on her acquired knowledge from both the
Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT) and the Certificate in English Language Teaching
techniques for group dynamics, lesson planning and classroom management. Also, I
learned about how to use the educational material called English the Venezuelan
Way, created in 2009, contextualizing the teaching of the English to tourism field
and hospitality services in Venezuela. I used this book for my 120-hour course,
Afterwards, I was an evaluator, both in the written test and the oral interview
progress. The A2 syllabus I worked with can be found in Appendix 4. Also, I worked
as a teaching assistant, helping the CUHELAVs students when they had questions
Educational Material for the Bolivarian Schools for several elementary schools in
13
Mrida state. It consisted in the creation of educational material, such as posters,
puppets, comic strips and recordings, in order to provide more resources adapted to
children groups, new technologies and techniques for group dynamics, promoting
culture values and hospitality as Venezuelan citizens. For this project, the academic
personal team of the Language Training Program and I participated in four meetings
with Flix Sierra, who is the coordinator of the Bolivarian Schools, two English
teachers and two graphic design students. We worked with a first module: Greetings,
introductions and farewells. Thus, we created a story about an 18-year-old tour guide
and her little brother hosting children coming from different countries. Then, we
developed some guidelines for the audio-visual material, which can be found in
Appendix 5. Finally, we started writing some suggested activities for the teacher of
the Bolivarian Schools about the educational material designed, giving more
14
REFLECTION ESSAY
acquired during the major with a real work environment. It represents the last phase
doubts arise towards this experience. In this sense, before applying for an internship, I
skills without being immersed directly in an Anglo Saxon culture and how I could fit
internship can be very useful, because it offers the opportunity to be in contact with
natives speakers of the language and their culture. However, I think that going abroad
When I applied for a spot as an intern at the CUHELAV, I met the National
Language Training Department personal team, who were very kind and offered me
some interesting projects, which captivated me from the first moment, because they
15
and reality. Also, they would allow me to develop my abilities and thus, to contribute
knowledge about languages, I did not have any knowledge concerning the teaching
process, because I did not study Education. Actually, this lack of knowledge in
Service last year. I taught English in an elementary school where I did not count on
the academic advice of the institution, and the results were not as satisfactory as I
expected. I felt I did not have a significant impact on the process of learning English
For that reason, when the Language Training Department offered me the
opportunity to work as a teacher, I did not know if I could achieve this task
the National Language Training Department gave me the academic tools I was going
to need during the course. I learnt about methodologies, groups management and
lesson planning. However, I had to develop and to improve other skills by myself, in
my lessons every day. Even though I had the English Venezuelan Way method as a
16
guide for my classes, I had to use my creativity during the class, in order to facilitate
the learning process of my students, through the appropriate activities. I also worked
Moreover, I had to put into practice what I learnt during my major in a real
context. I had to review and refresh the English grammar and to make emphasis in a
Phonetics and Phonology II very useful, because I could anticipate possible mistakes
Also, I learnt a lot of vocabulary in English related to the tourism field and
Venezuelan traditions, which I found very useful, because working with the language
focused on our own culture is very different from the way we usually learn English.
In Venezuela, along elementary and high school, we usually learn English focused on
the grammatical aspect in writing, taking out the context where the language is taught
and the use students can give to it, even if we live in a touristic country. Teachers do
not use Venezuelan culture as reference to teach the contents, making more difficult
This experience was also important for me because I had the opportunity to
work with a very diverse adult audience, which contrasted not only because of their
age, but also because of their academic formation. However, I found in each of them
17
a deep interest to learn English. I could observe the desire of self-improvement in my
students, through effort and active participation in their learning process, defeating
Through this task, I realized also that learning process becomes more
interesting and easier when people can make use of what they learn in a short term
period and when they can adapt it to their own needs. For instance, one of my
motivated student in my class, because she wanted to learn English to serve foreign
customers at work as best as possible. She always put into practice what she learnt in
class at work, improving her performance along the course and in the final evaluation.
I really enjoyed working in this project from the first to the last day. Despite
teacher in this opportunity allowed me to realize that I like teaching. I felt very
and at the same time, learning from them. This task not only offered me the
opportunity to rectify some mistakes I made during my Community Service, but also
to find out I would like to continue improving my skills as a teacher through a teacher
and adults.
18
Another task, was working as a teacher assistant. Unlike my duty as a teacher
previously mentioned, the people I assisted were students of the CUHELAV, who
needed an extra help to with the contents of their English classes. I had to be prepared
to explain any grammatical point, to correct any mistake in their pronunciation and to
be familiarized with the vocabulary they had to use, trying to adapt the teaching
necessary a good disposal by the assistant to help, but also by the students to learn, so
as to obtain good results. In this sense, with the exception of some students, most of
them did not have clear the difference between a teacher and an assistant, and the role
I could observe an improvement in those who made an effort and were aware
of their responsibility in this process, but unfortunately, there were students who did
not seem have a real interest in learning English, even though languages are very
important in hotel and hospitality services. At this point, I felt disappointed, because I
think the students of the CUHELAV did not make the most of a training program
created precisely for them, neither the academic advice nor the English courses.
Being a teaching assistant was quite different from being a teacher in a course.
Even though both tasks require training and disposal to teach, being a teacher carries
19
more responsibilities and effort. As a teacher, it was necessary to be present
throughout the entire learning process, from teaching of the contents in classes, until
the day of the final evaluation. Moreover, working as a teacher allowed me to know
On the other hand, being a teaching assistant allowed me to help the students
in a more personalized way, working with each of them separately. However, with
these students, I could not observe a possible improvement in their learning process,
because I did not have any idea about their previous knowledge in English, and once I
assisted them with a specific content, they did not return to the office to let me know
about their performance in their evaluations. Even though both experiences were
beginner; I did not have any previous experience with any evaluation instrument,
once again, because I did not study Education. For that reason, the Language Training
Department staff provided me with information about the CEFR and how it can
measure the knowledge in languages through some specific descriptors. The idea of
this project was to adapt the CEFR rubric to the courses syllabus given in the
20
Language Training Program, in order to help the evaluators to be more objectives
when evaluating.
It was a big responsibility for me, because the rubrics would be used to
evaluate the students in the final interview. However, I always counted on advice of
think it was an incentive, because it was a completely new experience of what I learnt
during my major.
to study the instrument itself, but also to know the contents you are going to work
with well. During this process, I had to think about how the syllabus and the English
the Venezuelan Way were going to allow the measuring of the knowledge acquired
and its use in a real context. I had to analyze what the students should be able to do
when speaking and writing in English after finishing the Introductory and the A1
levels, using the grammatical patterns learnt in class. It was very challenging to
describe the knowledge of the English language in some short sentences and to
for my professional growth, because I have noticed not only an improvement in terms
of my languages acquisition according to the CEFR levels along my major, but also I
21
realized that even if the language acquisition is a very complex process, it is
participate in the final interviews, having the opportunity to observe the performance
of the participants along the three levels taught by the Language Training Program.
This meant to be involved with the syllabus of each level, in order to know what the
I learnt the evaluation process is not just to sit and make questions; it requires
which I found a very useful tool when evaluating the students of the Introductory and
the A1 levels.
students. Despite knowing what they would be able to do and I helped them to
prepare for the final test, I could not help feeling that their performance would reflect
students aside and to decide if they had passed the course or not, depending on their
correct answers and mistakes during the test. However, I think I gave my best as a
22
teacher and as an evaluator, and I felt very satisfied when all my students approved
the course.
An interesting moment of the evaluation process was the final feedback with
the students, because it was an opportunity not just to tell them if they had approved
the course or not, but also to talk about their performance during the interview; their
strengths and weaknesses, and the specific mistakes they had, in order to avoid the
same mistakes in the future. In this sense, the A1- and the A1+ levels expressed in the
rubrics were useful when placing those students who had not a consolidated A1 level
student. I learnt how important it is to give a feedback when the evaluation ends,
because the students become aware of their learning process and recommendations
evaluation team carries a big responsibility. It requires not only previous training, but
also emotional maturity, in order to be objective during and after the evaluation
material for the Bolivarian Schools in Mrida state, related to greeting, farewells and
presentations. The teachers not only had problems with the budget to get access to the
23
didactic materials for their classes, but also they considered there is a problem with
Accordingly, we could share ideas about how to make the learning process
easier and more interesting in children, emphasizing the oral production along the six
grades and incorporating the writing progressively since fourth grade. We made a
story about three foreign children participating in a tour far and wide of Mrida state
with two tour guides, also children. We used our imagination to create puppets,
recordings, posters and comic strips, in order to tell the story and to establish the
interaction between the characters easily. It was interesting to find out other
teachings methods for children, quite different from the traditional method I learnt
English with when I was a child, which I also used during my Community Service.
adapted and used in all the elementary schools, taking in consideration that each of
them has its own needs and characteristics. For that reason, we also started writing a
manual of use with suggested activities, in order to help the teachers with the use of
the material. I think the educational material we were working with could be very
useful to orientate teachers about the need for a change in elementary schools, in
terms of the traditional method of teaching that many teachers still use, which
according to the experience of teachers I worked with and my own experience during
teaching children.
24
Taking into consideration all projects I participated involved the teaching and
the professors who taught and evaluated me along the major, and the role I played in
As a student, I did not understand the hard work and responsibility that
teaching and evaluating students imply and who not always care about their learning
process and sometimes blame professors when they do not approve a subject. As a
teacher, teaching assistant and evaluator, I realized the importance of the student role
in the learning process, which means not only going to class, but also having an
active participation in the activities and to take advantage of the extra resources the
the students are willing to assume the commitment required to accomplish all the
tasks assigned with excellence, and are able to learn from each experience, in order to
professional.
25
CONCLUSIONS
training and orientation in all the activities I carried out, related to the teaching
own interests. I could explore and discover new ways to approach my career. At the
same time, I had the opportunity to develop my duties in a positive and proactive
appreciate the great effort they did, trying to accomplish their duties successfully.
Also, with one of the projects I carried out, I could change a bad perception I had so
far. I used to think that English teachers in elementary schools did not care about the
childrens learning, but they wanted to fulfill with a requirement in the syllabus.
26
Nevertheless, I found out there are teachers who really love what they are doing and
by own initiative try to be up-to-date with new teaching methods and educational
I think I gave my best in every task I carried out during my internship and I
feel very satisfied with the results I got, both professionally and personally. Thanks to
the opportunity and the collaboration the CUHELAV gave me, I had a gratifying
27
RECOMMENDATIONS
would like to propose some recommendations, both to the CUHELAV and to the
School of Modern Languages, in order to continue and improve the work of academic
To the CUHELAV:
To continue with the creation of rubrics as evaluation instruments for the A2 and
this sense, the National Language Training Department should train interns and
teachers in the evaluation process, not only because this rubrics are useful in the
final interview, but also because they can be a guide for the teachers along the
English courses.
To create cooperation links between this institution and the School of Modern
can benefit professors and students of both institutions, both in languages and
tourism field.
28
students immersed in hotel and hospitality services, and the community of the
state.
To add more subjects to the Modern Languages study plan, according to each
professional option, so that the students can deepen the knowledge required when
applying for an internship and to be more prepared for a future labor field.
To offer more orientation about the labor field of the major, especially of the
professional option Language C, in order to help the student when looking for
In this sense, I think the office in charge of evaluating and approving the
students.
29
REFERENCES
30
APPENDICES
31
APPENDIX 1
TRAINING DEPARTMENT
INATUR
National Department
Projects Department
32
APPENDIX 2
Has a very basic memorized Has a very basic repertoire of Has a basic repertoire of words and
repertoire of words and words and simple phrases related simple phrases related to personal
simple phrases related to to personal information and information and particular concrete
greetings, specific personal particular concrete situations in situations in the tourism field, such
RANGE
details and particular the tourism field, such as as professions, facilities, foods and
concrete situations in the professions, facilities, foods and beverages and some vocabulary
tourism field, such as beverages and little vocabulary related to the check-in/ check-out
occupations. related to the check-in/ check-out processes.
processes.
- Shows only limited control - Shows only control of a few - Shows control of simple
of a few simple grammatical simple grammatical structures grammatical structures correctly
structures and sentence and sentence patterns correctly related to personal information and
patterns in a memorized related to personal information tourism field.
repertoire related to and tourism field. - Spells proper names and new
greetings, specific personal - Spells proper names and some words with some corrections.
information and tourism field. words with a lot of corrections. - Uses present simple and
- Memorizes the spelling of - Uses present simple and frequency adverbs to describe
his/her full name. frequency adverbs to describe several daily routines at work and
- Applies few structures fixed daily routines at work and everyday life about him/herself and
related to physical everyday life about him/herself with few difficulties about other
descriptions, as well as and with some difficulties about peoples routines.
describing places and other peoples routines. - Uses present continuous to
ACCURACY
33
RUBRIC INTRODUCTORY LEVEL A1 LEVEL A1+ LEVEL
Can manage very short isolated, Can manage short isolated, mainly Can use basic utterances
mainly pre- packaged utterances pre- packaged utterances with with pauses and false
with a lot of pausing to search for noticeable pausing to search for starts, related to
expressions, to articulate less expressions, to articulate less information about
FLUENCY
familiar words and to repair familiar words and to repair him/herself and others,
communication related to personal communication related information tourism field and the A1
information, tourism field and the about him/herself and others, syllabus (see accuracy)
Introductory syllabus (see tourism field and the A1 syllabus
accuracy) (see accuracy)
Can interact in a very simple way Can interact in a simple way and Can interact in a simple
and communication is totally communication depends on way, using more
INTERACTION
accuracy), but not groups of words, syllabus (see accuracy) with very him/herself and others;
that imply the use of linear basic, linear connectors, such as tourism field and the A1
connectors, such as and or but. and, but or then. syllabus (see accuracy)
with basic, linear
connectors, such as and,
but, then, later, or
after.
34
APPENDIX 3
LEVELS
phrases related to professions, facilities, foods, beverages beverages and some vocabulary related to
greetings, specific and a little vocabulary related to the the check-in/ check-out processes.
personal details check-in/ check-out processes.
and particular
situations in
tourism field.
- Writes only few - Writes only simple fixed grammatical - Writes simple grammatical structures and
simple fixed structures and sentence patterns in a sentence patterns in a familiar repertoire
grammatical familiar repertoire related to greetings, related to greetings, specific personal
structures and specific personal information and tourism information and tourism field.
sentence patterns field. Writes correctly familiar words and low-
in a memorized - Writes correctly some familiar words and denomination numbers (when they have to be
repertoire related low-denomination numbers (when they spelled out)
to greetings, have to be spelled out) - Writes several sentences in order to
Specific personal - Writes few sentences in order to describe physical appearance, places and
information and describe physical appearance, places and objects correctly.
tourism field. objects correctly. - Writes some sentences, including the
- Writes correctly Writes some sentences, including the prepositions in, on ,at in the present
only few familiar prepositions in, on ,at in the present simple to describe several daily routines at
GRAMMATICAL ACCURACY
words and low- simple to describe fixed daily routines at work and everyday life about him/herself and
denomination work and everyday life about him/herself other peoples routines.
numbers (when and other peoples routines. - Can fill in hotel and work forms with
they have to be - Can fill in forms with personal details personal details such as name, address, date,
spelled out) such as name, address, date, nationality, nationality, ID number and telephone number,
- Writes a limited ID number and telephone number on a abilities, academic studies and previous jobs,
set of familiar hotel registration form. with the possibility of some written mistakes.
sentences in order - Can write very short postcards sending - Can write short postcards sending holiday
to describe holiday greetings or a thank you letter. greetings or a thank you letter.
physical - Writes some sentences correctly in the Writes several sentences correctly in the
appearance, present continuous and the future tense to present continuous and the future tense to
places and objects describe actions in a specific moment and describe actions in a specific moment and
correctly. long-term actions. long-term actions.
- May write in a - Can write few simple comparisons - Can write simple comparisons between
very limited between places and people, showing an places and people, showing some
manner few amount of grammatical mistakes. grammatical mistakes.
sentences, - Can write some fixed polite expressions - Can write several polite expressions using
including the using can and could, for few hotel can and could, for few hotel services,
prepositions in, services, doctors appointments and doctors appointments and emergency calls in
on ,at in the emergency calls in written drills. written drills.
present simple to - Can write few directions correctly, using - Can write some directions correctly, using
describe few fixed prepositions of place, such as near, prepositions of place, such as near, next
daily routines next to, in front of, across from to, in front of, across from before and
about him/herself. before and after. after.
35
RUBRIC INTRODUCTORY LEVEL A1 LEVEL A1 + LEVEL
Can write few short isolated mainly pre- Can write some phrases Can write phrases and short
packaged words, phrases and and short sentences, sentences, linking groups of words
CONTENT- COHERENCE
sentences, linking few words related to linking some groups of related to information about
personal information, tourism field and words related to him/herself and others; tourism field
the Introductory syllabus (see accuracy) information about and the A1 syllabus (see accuracy)
him/herself and others; with basic, linear connectors, such as
tourism field and the A1 and, but, then, later, or after.
syllabus (see accuracy)
with very basic, linear
connectors, such as
and, but or then.
- Can write few short isolated mainly - Can write few phrases - Can write some phrases and
pre-packaged words, phrases and and sentences related to sentences correctly related to tourism
SPELLING AND PUNCTUATION
sentences related to tourism field, but tourism field, but with field, but with few misspellings.
with many misspellings. some misspellings. - Can use punctuation marks
- May use few punctuation marks such - Can use some correctly such as capital letters,
as capital letters, periods and question punctuation marks commas, periods and question
marks. correctly such as capital marks.
letters, commas, periods
and question marks.
36
APPENDIX 4
A2 LEVEL SYLLABUS
Like vs. would like, preguntas how much/how many, cuantificadores some, a, any,
presente continuo (wear vs. wearing, want, need to)
37
Ofrece ayuda y responde a requerimientos de un husped. Ofrece y provee
servicios por telfono
Se disculpa apropiadamente
Recibe y da recomendaciones
38
APPENDIX 5
BOLIVARIAN SCHOOLS
Personajes
90 cm
39
3. Tira cmica: dividida en cuatro escenas o momentos en hoja tamao carta para que los estudiantes
identifiquen cada escena con el saludo, presentacin o despedida correspondiente.
27, 94
cmcm
1. Saludo cm
2. Presentacin
21,59
Guion de Audio
1era escena del pster: Sofa recibe a tres turistas en el aeropuerto de El Viga, edo. Mrida. Sonido
de fondo: avin aterrizando
Dilogo:
2da Escena del poster: Sofa y los turistas estn frente al autobs, se encuentran con Carlitos y Sofa
lo presenta. Sonido de fondo: autobs
Dilogo:
3era escena del pster: Sofa, Carlitos y los turistas estn dentro del autobs y Carlitos habla con los
turistas. Sonido de fondo: autobs
40
Dilogo:
4ta escena del pster: Todos los personajes bajan del autobs. Sofa les seala la posada dnde se
quedarn a dormir (el docente especifica una posada de su comunidad). Sonido de fondo: ruido de la
calle
Dilogo:
(En desarrollo)
Para la realizacin de esta actividad, los participantes pueden seleccionarse al azar, utilizando un
globo/pelota o se puede seguir una cadena, con todo el saln o en grupos.
41