Post 10 (week 15) Evaluation of your Blogging Experience

Write about your experience using blogs in  

the English class.

Say:

> What you think about the experience in general
> How much you feel your writing skills have developed
> What you would like to include in the future
> What else you would like to write about


Wordcount: 200
Make comments on 3 of your classmates' posts.

Dear students,

Everything has a starting point and, inevitably, a final point.  We have come to our final blog to reflect on this extraordinary   experience.

I have really learned when and reflected   by reading all your blogs and sharing all our ideas. I think all the topics have been of our interests and have connected us to what we want to do and care for in life.

  Writing is a unique process that helps us organize our ideas and focus on the most important tasks you need to do. Also it helps us to keep a record of what we do at a given moment and then remember it in the future. That is the magic of writing. It perpetuates in time. For example, during these difficult weeks of strike and uncertainty, we were communicated through our blog.

In the future I would like to see more students writing about their dreams and concerns about social topics.

A final point to make about writing is that in certain moments it can be type of a therapy to let our ideas  flow out of our minds and give us some peace when we share with an unknown and silent audience.

Thanks for your creativity  and  for  sharing your ideas with us.

This is an experience I really enjoyed.

BLOG 11  A time when you felt successful at learning English

Say

• when it was
•  what you did
• why you think it was successful
• Say  how you have learned most of the English you know
• Mention anything else you think is important.

Write at least 200 words. Leave a comment on my blog and on the blogs of 3 classmates.

Dear students,

 Today is Thursday, so here we are sharing stories. Last post I told you about a talk in which the speaker talked about frustration and anxiety, but today I want to talk about stories of success.

Some time ago I attended a talk in which the speaker started by asking people about a moment in which they were successful at learning English.

I felt great because I remembered the time I read a complete novel in English, and I felt even better when I heard a lot of successful stories. Also I remember a time in which I helped an American at the immigration office. He had lost his passport, but he couls not explain that in English.

  I think learning a foreign language has a many rewards. I am learning Portuguese now, and even though I cannot give a speech like Dilma Rousseff, the president of Brazil, I enjoy listening to Roberto Carlo sing  in Portuguese or watching Brazilian films.

Also I feel great when I learn new words and I find them again and I see that I improve little by little. These stories of success are the ones that encourage us.

What about you? Tell us about a moment when  you  felt a successful learner.

BLOG 10: A concert, exhibition, or talk you went to

BLOG 10:   A concert,  exhibition, or talk  you went to

Say:

Who performed or talked,

When it was,

Where it was,

Why you remember it.

Mention anything else you think is important.  Write at least 200 words. Leave a comment on my blog and on the blogs of 3 classmates.

Dear students,

 Today I’m posting a topic to help you develop your critical thinking, and, as usual, I will write about  it to share with you and to provide  a model text.

I remember  a talk or lecture I attended about six years ago.  The speaker or lecturer was an English teacher from Hungary, and he spoke about the frustration he experienced in England when he had to  speak English and express his emotions. The talk was at a Conference for teachers   at Diego Portales Center, which was the former name for Gabriela Mistral Cultural  Center.

 I remember this talk because I had never heard anybody sharing his/her feelings about the psychological aspect of learning a foreign language.  Most people think that learning a language requires just grammar and vocabulary, but the development of this new skill implies much more than that: it has cultural and psychological components.

 The first one has to do with traditions and customs that are developed depending on a number of factors such as the weather, the environment,  the main productive activities, or even the sports practiced  in the country where the language is spoken.  For example, a  number of idioms and phrases  originate from these activities.

The second important aspect is the psychological support that students need to learn a foreign language and to be motivated to do so.  That is why teachers must study general psychology, mainly to help students deal with frustration and  anxiety.

Blog 9   DREAMS

·         What are dreams?

·         Should dreams be interpreted as prediction of what will happen, or are they the result of everyday experiences?

·         Are dreams a useful tool for psychologists to help patients?

·         Do you dream a lot? And do you usually remember your dreams?  Do you tell your friends or family about your dreams?

·         Why is the words dream used to refer to your future ambitions?

·         Many artists have referred to the word dream, should all people have dreams?

Please read my sample post and write a post of about 160 words.

 Leave a comment on 3 of your classmates’  posts

Although there are many theories and myths  about the interpretation of dreams, I think dreams are the reflection of your  activities during the day.

 I disagree with the people who think that dreams are predictions or premonitions of what will happen in the future, but I think they are a useful tool for psychologists to help patients reduce their anxiety.

I have a type of dream that is repeated when I am worried about something. Then I dream that I have left home without the papers I need to use. Also  I remember that once I had a car accident with my children and after that I dreamed that something terrible had happened to them. What I did to solve this  was to talk to friends and family about this dream and to have activities with my children and hug them frequently.

What I mostly like about the word  dream  is how famous artists have  used it metaphorically to refer to future positive events in humanity. I like to mention some examples for you to enjoy. 

After this I will enjoy reading your points of view.

Susan Boyle           http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aeo86iOS0QU

Abba                     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSWR4os7I7E

Lennon                  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwUGSYDKUxU

Marthin Luther King  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smEqnnklfYs

Post 9 (week 14) YOUR FAVORITE SUBJECT

Write about your favorite subject this term. Among others, include:

> Name
> Describe what you do in classes
> Mention the main contents you have seen
> Explain why you like the subject

                                              
> Word Count: 180
> Make comments on 3 of your patners' posts.

Dear students,

 Today we are going to write about our favorite subject this term. Obviously my favorite subject this term has been English III  at FACSO, and there are many reasons for this.

   My first reason is that I have had the opportunity to meet psychology students that are passionate about their subject. I understand why.  Studying psychology offers the possibility to explore this mysterious organ that is the human brain.  As a result, a psychologist has the possibility to help individuals become better persons and enjoy little moments of  life. As part of my training as a teacher, I had two semesters of general psychology which I enjoyed a lot.

Another important reason for liking this subject is that it combines a number of aspects such as technology with use of blogs to communicate ideas about your favorite topics. I enjoy reading all the blogs and posting my comments and reading other student’s comments. But the part I enjoyed the most was  the students’ presentations and their insights into different aspects of their subjects.

  I hope we can come back to classes soon and that we can reorganize all our activities to come to a happy end of semester with new results for the students’ rights and with new ideas about the importance of English in the professional development of students.

Dear students,

 I write to let you know that today, Thursday, June 13, we are going to work online for two reasons: I think it is important to have a homogenous criterion on how to act, and second, we need to respect the opinion of the majority.

But at the same time, and as I wrote in the message I published in U-cursos, you need to work online and complete your past blogs and the blog I am publishing for today. I will grade them today and tomorrow. 

Here are some links that you can use to practice for the final exam and the listening quiz that we will have next week.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/quiz/quiz1/index.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2012/10/121026_witn_childrens_media_habit.shtml

http://www.youthink.com/quiz.cfm?action=go_detail&sub_action=take&obj_id=921

http://www.sporcle.com/games/cysion/countries_by_stereotype

POST 7 (week 11) >> A PHOTOGRAPH YOU LIKE

Write about a photograph you like.

Say:

Who took it
What it shows
When it was taken
Why you like it
Upload it too

Include any other information you'd like to mention.
Write at least 160 words.

Add comments to at least 3 of your classmates’ blogs

My favorite photograph

Photographs capture memorable moments in our lives. They help us to  keep memories alive, and also to revive them from time to time. The  result is that it is really hard to choose a photograph that you  like, but of all my favorite photographs, I think this one has a place in my heart.

 I took it some years ago when I went to Cuba. It shows a rose plant in my garden in my house in Cuba. I like it for a number of reasons. First, the flowers are beautiful and the plant has been in my house for many years. Second, it has lived a lot of memorable moments in our family. I remember that my mother liked to have these flower inside our house, so every day I picked up new flowers and put them in a vase in the living room and they gave the house a nice look and smell.

One final reason why I like the picture  is that it shows the  roses at different stages, some were in their blossoms and some were fading, and that reminds me of the stages of life and the coexistence between the old and the new and the endless cycle of renewal in the universe.

Now I look forward to seeing your favorite photograph.