miércoles, 21 de diciembre de 2016

Last Post : Challenges


LAST BLOG SESSION: Post 10 (week 13): English Language 
Challenges

 
> What comments can you make about your experience learning English at university?    What about the use of blogs?> What aspects of your English need to be improved and how do you plan to do this?> Outside the English class, how much are you using English these days? What for? - Wordcount: 260- Make comments on 3 of your partners' posts and also on your teachers'.

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Learning languages seriously and taking responsibility for the process is always something intense and at times, it can get to be a little discouraging or even, one may feel one's not making big progress.Image result for language learning

All those are fears, I believe, because just by having the great conviction that one's going to learn and working on it eagerly, will prove that with a little bit of patience a human person can learn anything she or he wants to. The essential foundational idea is that it is never a fast and short process, all the contrary; it requires lots of time and inner motivation.

The learning barrier I most often perceive among my students is anxiety and shyness, many of them can understand quite a lot but when it comes to expressing themselves, they just cannot put their ideas forward, either for being shy or for feeling they are going to make a mistake, particularly, they think they are not able to properly pronounce. If we look at these situations, the solution is very simple.

I think that to learn more, my students need to lose their fear to speaking and interacting in English, and the way I see it, it will improve when everybody realizes that having a good accent, pronunciation or even, having a perfect grammar are not the most important aspects of language needed for communication, and that if they just spoke and put their  language knowledge into practice (however extensive or minimal), they would certainly open up a door which leads to nowhere else than to communication. Now I wonder, Is there, at all, a better language learning environment than meaningful real life practice?. And furthermore, where can we get such practice in our monolingual context?

miércoles, 14 de diciembre de 2016

Changing the Study Programme

LEVEL 4 - Post 9 (week 12) CHANGES TO MY STUDY PROGRAMME



Write about some changes that could be made to your study programme (career)
Among others, think about:

> The curriculum (the subjects you have to study)
> Workload and length of studies
> Faculty facilities (buildings and infrastructure)
> Use of technology
> Teaching methods



- Word Count: 250
- Leave comments on 3 of your classmates’ posts and on your teacher's as well.
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Image result for languageThere are many things I would have changed from my study programme back when I was studying English Linguistics, and even though I think all the things I studied have been of great use all these years, I believe there are even more issues and topics I would have liked to revise.
First thing, I had several history courses, all of them were related to (obviously) Anglo-Saxon history and only one about national reality, I would have liked to study more from the connection of our cultures, i.e. I would have liked to study how both Hispanic and Anglo-Saxon cultures related and enriched one another.
We had many hours of classes a week, this was because we needed to practice a lot, so the “communication” courses were very extensive in terms of practice hours. However, I think that maybe, by changing the teaching methods a bit and stimulating independent learning, we could have had less communicative practice hours and more about a about an alternative course that we might have been interested in.
The Faculty facilities were just alright, we had enough space to eat, to study and whatnot, but what I believe it is important to have as well, is green spaces available for students to chill out. Many little parks inside the campus were closed for students and kept for decoration purposes so maybe a good idea is to have those spaces free to use and enjoy while learning.
The teaching methods were also quite ok, not much innovative though and I think that is because of many traditions in the teaching of English for professionals of the field. I think that maybe a good way to improve the teaching is to have included more IT in the classes, I mean, we made a lot of use of IT, specially in the Phonetics classes were we had to use a Language Lab, but I believe we could have made a bigger use of different platforms and, all in all, I think that would have made the process less difficult.
I believe that I learnt a lot when I was at uni, and I think everybody will always have a set of well grounded critiques, but on the overall, I think I received a very good education and however improvable, it has been of great use in my professional life.  


LEVEL 4 >> Post 8 >> week 11 --- Summer Holidays


Write about your plans or ideas for the Summer Holidays.


Among other things, you should write about:


> Places you are going to / would like to visit

> People you are going to / would like to be with 
> Activities you are thinking of being part of

- Comments: Leave a comment on 3 of your classmates posts and also on the following sample post
- Word Count for post 8: 240 words



Sample:

I am looking forward to Summer Holidays, I think they are the best break, they're so good to get some relaxation and also, those days are a good opportunity to make the best of the spare time.

This year, in particular, my plans are very very flexible. In the first place I'm planning to stay home for a week or so, becuase I need to clean out everything and tidy up some areas of the house. Then, I'm planning to travel down south, just to visit and also I am eager to visit a friend of mine, who's living in Puerto Varas and I haven't seen since she left.

I am very glad because, probably, this year my holidays and my family's will match! it'll be so great to be with my nephew and nieces, to share a laugh with them and to spend some time with my parents and sisters, also, I am very happy I will see my friend in the far south, I think that seeing all my people will make these holidays the best.

I think, my family and I will go somewhere in the country, to share an "asado" and some good family games, also I will cook with my mum, I don't know what yet, but I know it'll be awesome. In puerto varas, I'm sure we will tour around the lake, probably we'll go to a trekking activity in the woods and who knows what other adventures we'll have, the only thing I am entirely sure of, is that these holidays will be really hectic and fun!  :-D

Image result for VIDEO SELFIE CARTOONVIDEO 3 (last) INSTRUCTIONS: DUE FOR DECEMBER 23RD 16:00 HRS.

 







  Video 3:

   Record a for 2 minute mobile phone video presentation* about Something new you would like to learn to doSay:·         What you would like to learn,
·         Why you would like to learn it,
·         How difficult it would be to learn
·         Whether you think you will ever learn this thing.
·         
Mention anything else you think is important.

A mobile phone video presentation is a video of the student talking directly to the camera. This activity is seen as part of the learning process. Videos are made in the students’ own time and they are free to practice and record as many versions as they see fit in order to complete the task. However, the final video must be in one take (i.e. they must not be edited). Moreover, you should be able to see the student clearly in the video (i.e. No sunglasses!). If you think that the text is being read you can arrange for the student to re-record it or repeat the talk in class. Please make students aware of this fact.



Pts
Task (& Timing)
Delivery
Language
Pronunciation
3
All elements are adequately coveredin the required time frame.
Fairly fluent, seamless delivery despite minor lapses.
Excellent use of lexical resources.
Grammar is excellent and almost error-free.
Clear and strong despite noticeable accent.
2
Fairly well achieved although minor details may be missing. Minor problems with timing.
Acceptable delivery that demonstrates a certain degree of fluency.
Good use of lexical resources. Grammar is adequate despite minor errors.
Occasional problems with isolated items that do not affect overall message.
1
Task is incompleteor noticeably under length.
Uneven delivery. Monotone or with unnatural pauses.
Some problems with word formation and usage. Grammar is weak with noticeable errors
Noticeable problems that affect clarity of message.


PET practice tests. Friday 16th.

Hi guys, Today...we PET.



Image result for cambridge toefl ielts equivalent

PET Reading:
http://www.flo-joe.com/preliminaryenglish/pet-reading-practice-tests.htm

PET Listening:
http://www.english-online.org.uk/petfolder/test2/petlisten1.php?name=The%20Listening%20part%201 
http://www.english-online.org.uk/petfolder/test2/petlisten2.php?name=The%20Listening%20part%202
http://www.english-online.org.uk/petfolder/test2/petlisten3.php?name=The%20Listening%20part%203
http://www.english-online.org.uk/petfolder/test2/petlisten4.php?name=The%20Listening%20part%203

Vocabulary:

http://www.examenglish.com/vocabulary/B1_vocabulary_topics.htm


lunes, 12 de diciembre de 2016

LEVEL 4 - POST 7 (week 9) - THEMED POST N° 3

The Worst Decision I've Made.

Image result for bairesI really like the topic you’ve proposed for this post because it’ll allow us to get to know each other more! Having said so, I’ll tell you a story of a very silly and impulsive decision I made many years ago and that, looking at it from now, was in the end a good decision.
It was the year 2010, the earthquake and its massive natural and social aftershock had taken place during the first part of the year and being already mid December we were, to be honest, a bit exhausted of all the circumstances of the famous and memorable 2010.
Back then, I was living in Los Angeles (as you may already know) and I was working in a couple of universities teaching courses related to my area of expertise; One of the courses I was teaching was a course on Translation Studies for the Translation programme of a well known university country-wide.
As I told you, it was December, the exams had already been taken and one Sunday I was marking the exams and a friend of mine tells me “I found really, but I mean really, cheap tickets for Buenos Aires but the plane leaves in 5 days’ time”, my head went crazy, I felt it was a very good opportunity because we found the tickets with a 70% discount in Christmas time and I had never been to Baires. After a thought I said “LET’S GO!”
Five days later, in the morning I was giving my students the final results and leaving to Argentina in the afternoon. Of course some students never showed up, and they did not have a mark.
I had a wonderful time with my friend, we really enjoyed ourselves really much. We came back after a week, and I found that the students who had not shown up had presented medical leaves certificates and that I should have been available for their “repetition” exam. Well anyway, I got in touch with those students and finish the semester.
Later, the institution (private university by the way) decided not to use my services next semester claiming I had “abandoned” the job, which was entirely untrue because they had hired me only up to the date of the final exam, but anyway, what the heck!
Later, after the festivities, I came for a trip to Santiago and by chance, I was needed here and finally I started teaching here at Uni, so, one way or another, it might have been a very bad decision but in the end, it was all for the best (maybe).

- Comments: leave a comment on your teaxcher's post + 3 on your classmates' posts.
- Word Count for post 7: 230 words

miércoles, 23 de noviembre de 2016

Post Graduate Studies

LEVEL 4 - POST 6 - POSTGRADUATE STUDIES (WEEK 8)


Write about a postgraduate course that you would consider taking in the future
Include:

- Reasons to do the course
- Subject(s) you would like to studyi
- Where you would like to study (Chile or abroad)
- How you would like to study (distance learning, blended system, part-time course, etc)
- Any other relevant ideas
- Make comments on 3 of your classmates’ posts + a comment on your teacher's post.


- Word Count: 220 words


For the time being I am a bit overwhelmed with projects so I do not see any chance of coming back to uni to pursue a postgraduate degree, or at least yet. 
However, in the future I would like to take up on a postgraduate course on Multilingualism and Language Planning because I believe the future of our nation will need people prepared to do research on the topic of how the establishment will allow languages to coexist or will make them extinguish.

Language Planning is a field within Applied Linguistics which intends to stimulate a conscious effort to propel the function, structure, or acquisition of languages or a particular language variety within a speech community and is included in government planning but it is also used in a wide range of non-governmental organisations. The goals are diverse but it concentrates mostly on making planning decisions and possible changes for the benefit of communication.

The course I really like is an integrated programme between The Netherlands and Barcelona in Spain and I’d love to take it there because those are countries where multilingualism is a vivid reality, and the waythings are at the moment we can say that in the future migration and immigration will be situations that will impose new challenges on Chilean society and one of the dimensions for this challenging opportunities to materialize will be Languages and Communication.

miércoles, 16 de noviembre de 2016

Due to Friday 18th Nov.

Post 5- My Future Job

Post 5- 

My Future Job 


- What kind of job would you like to have? How do you imagine it?
- In an office?
- Outdoors /indoors?
- Would you like to travel a lot in your job?
- What major are you studying / are you thinking of taking?    Explain why
- Add any other related ideas.

- Make comments on 3 of your classmates’ posts and on the Teacher's too.




- Word Count: 210 words


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I studied English Linguistics, and I always thought "what would my future job be?". And here I am!! as a youngster I always wanted to have a fun, light, easy going and not too hard to do job, but always wanted to be with people, so now I think I took the best option.

From all the many areas I could work in, I always wanted something neither too-much outdoors nor indoors, furthermore I wanted something that would produce some kind of social change, a good important and deep change.

In other matters, I wanted to travel, to see the world, to meet strange people, well... strange meaning, different than me and my friends and family. With teaching languages, I have been able to do all the former, which leads me to think it was the right choice because if I had selected a translation career, for instance, probably I would have already been stressed from all the stillness and little dynamism of a job behind the computer.

I tried working in an office once, in a job that was not as stressful as a teacher's job. I enjoyed it a lot at first, leaving work, going home and not having anything else to do was somewhat rewarding but after a year, and after missing the classrooms a lot, I decided to go back to stressful, challenging but rewarding teaching.

Nowadays, I am thinking on taking up on PHD studies in the field of Applied Linguistics, I would like to do it either in the Netherlands, Switzerland and/or England. I would like to do it in those countries, well, in the two first ones because they have a long history of successful multilingualism and because they are definitely good at languages. England on the other hand, would be my last choice, and this is because of a fact that gave birth to a joke, that is, - and please, no offense-, but the joke says: "how do you call a person who speaks only one language? […] you call them British"...LOL

Due to Friday 18th Nov.

Post 5- My Future Job

Post 5- 

My Future Job 


- What kind of job would you like to have? How do you imagine it?
- In an office?
- Outdoors /indoors?
- Would you like to travel a lot in your job?
- What major are you studying / are you thinking of taking?    Explain why
- Add any other related ideas.

- Make comments on 3 of your classmates’ posts and on the Teacher's too.




- Word Count: 210 words


______________________________________________________________________________


I studied English Linguistics, and I always thought "what would my future job be?". And here I am!!

I wanted to have a fun, light, easy going and not too hard to do job, but always wanted to be with people.

From all the many areas I could work in, I always wanted something neither too-much outdoors nor indoors, furthermore I wanted something that would produce some kind of social change, a good important and deep change.

In other matters, I wanted to travel, to see the world, to meet strange people, well... strange meaning, different than me and my friends and family. With teaching languages, I have been able to do all the former, which leads me to think it was the right choice.

I tried working in an office once, in a job that was not as stressful as a teacher's job but after a year, and after missing the classrooms a lot, I decided to go back to stressful, challenging but rewarding teaching.

Nowadays, I am thinking on taking up on PHD studies in the field of Applied Linguistics, I would like to do it either in the Netherlands, Switzerland and/or England. 

I would like to do it in those countries, well, in the two first ones because they have a long history of successful multilingualism and because they are definitely good at languages. England on the other hand, would be my last choice, and this is because of a fact that gave birth to a joke, that is, - and please, no offense-, but the joke says: "how do you call a person who speaks only one language? […] you call them British"...LOL

lunes, 14 de noviembre de 2016

VIDEO 2 INSTRUCTIONS: dUE TO fRIDAY 18

Pts
Task (& Timing)
Delivery
Language
Pronunciation
3
All elements are adequately covered in the required time frame.
Fairly fluent, seamless delivery despite minor lapses.
Excellent use of lexical resources.
Grammar is excellent and almost error-free.
Clear and strong despite noticeable accent.
2
Fairly well achieved although minor details may be missing. Minor problems with timing.
Acceptable delivery that demonstrates a certain degree of fluency.
Good use of lexical resources. Grammar is adequate despite minor errors.
Occasional problems with isolated items that do not affect overall message.
1
Task is incomplete or noticeably under length.
Uneven delivery. Monotone or with unnatural pauses.
Some problems with word formation and usage. Grammar is weak with noticeable errors
Noticeable problems that affect clarity of message.
Video 2:
A JOB YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO IN THE FUTURE
Record a for 2 minute mobile phone video presentation* about a job you would like to do in the future.
Say:
What the job is,
Why you would like to do this job,,
What qualities or skills you would need to do this job,
What type of reward or job satisfaction you would get from doing this job.
Mention anything else you think is important.


A mobile phone video presentation is a video of the student talking directly to the camera. This activity is seen as part of the learning process. Videos are made in the students’ own time and they are free to practice and record as many versions as they see fit in order to complete the task. However, the final video must be in one take (i.e. they must not be edited). Moreover, you should be able to see the student clearly in the video (i.e. No sunglasses!). If you think that the text is being read you can arrange for the student to re-record it or repeat the talk in class. Please make students aware of this fact.

viernes, 11 de noviembre de 2016

Level 4 - Post 4 (week 6) > Themed Post 2

The strangest repeated dream you’ve had.
Image result for man flying over a city
Dreams are a whole unknown dimension, I believe it is not possible that all of them might be entirely untrue, anyway, we spend a great part of our lives sleeping and dreaming so, it 
might be that they not only represent a subjective part of ourselves but it might constitute a whole reality on its own.
My dreams in general are not so strange and neither have I had many repeated ones in my life, most of the time I don’t even remember what I dreamt he night before, but there is one particular dream I have had several times, but more than a dream, it’s the feeling of having dreamt it.
I picture myself over sunset in the streets of a big and people-empty city; at some point of the dream I start having physical sensations, as though I was having to lift a very heavy weight and finally I end up rising from the floor and flying. I make a great physical effort to go beyond the line of the buildings and start flying over the empty city which is now entering a dark night-time. I fly and fly and start losing the strength and I cannot longer go up beyond the level of the buildings and at some point of the dream, I just can’t go on flying because I am too tired and then I just wake up, as tired as in the dream.
I have talked about this dream with friends, family, therapists and no plausible conclusion or interpretation I have drawn from it. I just think it’s one of those stressful feelings that one can have at the back of one’s mind for ages and that will disappear whenever the time for it comes. Certainly, this dream is not bizarre, and neither anguishing; It has not really interfered with my circadian rate and therefore I have never paid a lot of attention to it, maybe that is why I have no interpretation.
Perhaps I will continue perceiving myself as though flying over and empty city at night, and even, I might continue waking up tired for having dreamt about the same, but as of now, I am sure this dream is not a nightmare, it’s just that I might want to fly so badly, that even my subconscious is showing me that feeling.

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- Comments:  to leave a comment on your teacher's post + 3 of your classmates posts.
- Word Count for post 4: 200 words