Please practice 2

Reading:

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_reading3.htm

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_reading4.html

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_reading_part5.htm

Listening:

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_listening_part3.htm

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_listening_part4.htm

Vocabulary:

do a minimum of 3 topics

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




Please write about your performance after you do this.
Refer to reading, listening and vocabulary and what you think of your speaking skills.

Regards,
Beatriz

Today's task is slightly more challenging.

 Obviously, you will need  www. word reference.com since you will find new words :)

Go to: http://www.guardian.co.uk/



> Select a piece of news connected to your area of studies / future career.(There is a search engine)
> Write a summary of it. Do not copy paste.
> Provide the link to your piece of news.
 Please mention the reason why you chose it.

> Leave a comment on 4 blogs

> 240 words
Here is my sample.

I chose an article from a section “ a moment that Changed me” It’s on how the death of a sister changed the life of a woman.

In this piece she describes how she would have never imagined or prepared herself for losing her 32 year old sister. She was diagnosed with Cancer and she lived for 3 months after that.

She goes on to tell how she has and is experiencing grief, and how the feelings that come and go are so much more intense and painful than they are normally described. Also how somehow you resent that the world continues as normal when this has happened to you and you are going through all this pain.

The piece follows with her experience of not phoning or seeing people after her sister died, only her family. And also how she explained to her 3 year old that her auntie was not there anymore.

The author describes her relationship with her sister during her illness and how she regrets not having done certain things or not having said some of them during that period.

There is also reference to the kindness of the brain and how this allows you to be Ok for certain times of the day.

After she refers to what haunts her today, which, apart from her sister not being here, is the though of the suffering and the fear of death that her sister must have experienced on her own. Every night while everyone else slept. She describes her anger toward little things that her daughter does, and also her fear of the upcoming holidays in December.

The last paragraph is on how life will go on without her.

I chose this piece because I can relate to many of the things she mentions, about grief in particular. My sister and friend passed away this year to a cruel and fast illness. I can’t begin to explain how my life changed as from that day, and how I miss her everyday.

 Here is the link :

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/dec/03/moment-changed-me-sisters-death?CMP=share_btn_link

my advice

Read each paragraph and get the main points to be expressed with your words ;)

Look at this site

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/engagement/3/8/101/

Video 3

AN ACTIVITY YOU LIKE TO DO IN YOUR FREE TIME. Deadline Friday Dec 11
REMEMBER TO PRACTICE IN ADVANCE SINCE IT IS NOT A READING ACTIVITY. ALL IN ONE TAKE. THANKS

Record a for 2 minute mobile phone video presentation* about an activity you like to do in 

your free time.

Say:

What the activity is,

How often you do it,

Where you do it,

What the activity involves,

Why you enjoy doing this activity.

Mention anything else you think is important.

A book

Today we are going to write about something  interesting.

It has been hard to choose because I am often reading more than one thing at the time.  I read the newspaper, academic papers, stuff on meditation, essays, my students' blogs, etc. 

I started reading about the brain some years back when I studied language acquisition and education = learning processes.

However, later I decided to read beyond linguistics and education, and bought a really interesting book called “Mind map” The book I am devoting most time to at the moment is called “The emotional life of your brain” It is written by a neuroscientist (R. J. Davidson) and a health and science journalist (S. Begley).  I suppose I am reading it out of pleasure. The book is about different research done on the human brain and the different emotional styles, how genetics and environment influence them and how they develop. It also includes  the mind – body connection. Although I have onlt read about 80 pages, I'm really enjoying seeing how certain personality traits can be linked to certain hormones released in certain areas of the brain and some of these processes could be modified if there is will. It is  fascinating.. Chemical processes were never my thing at school but now it is fun. It also touches “abnormal “ conditions such as autism, which I find interesting.

I think I am enjoying it because there is no pressure involved. I just read a while before I go to sleep or during the day if I have the time.

Write about something you are reading at the moment.

Say

What it is called

Which genre it is ( novel, academic, manga, report, blog, etc)

Whether you are enjoying it

What it is about

Include anything else you find relevant.

Write a minimum of 220 words and 4 comments on different class blogs. Mine also counts :)

Please do the encuesta docente

Please do encuesta docente

www.plataforma.uchile.cl

programa inglés.

THANK YOU

A place in Santiago

A place in Santiago

I must say a place I really like to visit is “la Vega”.  I visited it in my childhood and never went back until 5 or 6 years ago. I was in "Tirso de Molina" and crossed the road and entered la vega from the west part, which is a bit seedy with a few run down shops. Suddenly, this world opened in its full, and the colours and smells filled me with joy.

What I love about this place is that you can find the biggest variety of veggies, fruit and food for a very decent price. I like to talk to the people in the stalls and barter for better prices. I go with my husband or my mom. I used to go with my sister and we enjoyed it so much, but she is not around anymore.

 I don’t go there as often as I did because I feel it has become too popular with wealthy people who go there to buy more cheaply. I still visit when I can. Sometimes I pop by on the way back from the cemetery. Maybe I do not like the fact that there are more cafes and places to eat there. This attracts more tourists and leaves less space for the sale of fruit and veggies.

I was there in May the last time.

I strongly recommend it because I feel it is the kind of place that not only opens your senses to flavours and smells, it also opens your eyes to different cultures from Latin America and the Caribbean.

Write about a place you like in Santiago

Say>

Why you like it

Who you go there with (if anyone(

How often you go there

When was the last time you were there

Anything else you find relevant.

Write 240 words. Write a comment on my blog and 3 comments on your classmates blogs.

Today we write about happiness

What makes you happy?
What it is
When  you discovered this?
Why/how it makes you happy

Anything else you find relevant.

write a minimum of 220 words and 4 comments on other blogs


There are so many the things that make me happy that I find it really difficult to choose. But I will  go for something simple that I really like: Nature
One thing that really makes me happy is camping and trekking, another is my plants. I live in an apartment and I really miss having a garden so I a few years back when we were threatened with the modification of Upov 91, I decided I wanted to grow stuff on my balcony.
I started with basil, tomatoes, oregano but later I decided I also wanted plants.
This has been a difficult year for me and my family and I think my plants have helped me, especially lately. Plants help me get more centered. I have also started growing new things like leaks and thyme. Moreover, I have some flowers and different plants.

There is something about gardening that I cannot explain but I love to feel the soil, I love to water my plants  and smell  the wet soil ,but especially, I love to eat my own lettuce, rocket, parsley ,and to know it is not GM.

Hi guys,

Here is a video I would like you to watch with headphones.
Please write a short comment on what you think of what you'll hear.

English practice

Session 1

Reading:

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_reading1.htm

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/reading1.htm

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_reading2.htm

Listening:

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_listening_part1.htm

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_listening_part2.htm

Vocabulary:

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_vocab.htm

Please write a 60 word text on your performance in the different areas.

Post 2 comments on your classmates' blogs suggesting how to improve (mejorar) The areas that need work on.

I suppose there are many people I find very interesting. But today I will refer to one that I don’t always mention and has impressed me more than once.  He is called “the father of modern linguistics” by more than one. His name is Noam Chomsky.

I got to know about him when I was studying language acquisition. At the time we looked at the theory of universal grammar. Hi argued that the human brain has a system that allows any human to learn languages just by being in a linguistic environment in normal conditions. This was in the 1950s. During these years behaviorism was the main trend. In 1959 he criticized B. F. Skinner and argued behaviorism had no faith in linguistic creativity of humans when it comes to learning.  This was very controversial.

He has been in the public debate since the 1960s when he wrote a series of books criticizing the role of the US in the war of Vietnam. He also wrote other essays about Cambodia and the violation of human rights in general.  He has argued against the US intervention in different countries. He was arrested more than once back in the day.

He worked at the university of Harvard and has worked at MIT since 1955.

If I had the chance to meet him, I would ask him more in depth about his feelings  towards the role of the state of Israel  in Palestine and Arab countries in general. He has got really interesting views on this. Especially for an American born to Jewish parents.

Write about a public person you admire or you find interesting.  Say:

How you got to know them

Give some general information about them

What you would ask her/him if you got to know them

Anything else you find relevant.

Write a minimum of 220  and 3 comments on any of the members' blogs

Pressie

Sample text:
Remember 240 words. One comment on your teacher's blog, 3 comments to classmates

If I had to think of one in particular, I guess it would be difficult to give an answer, however, and since I don’t want to be incoherent, I will. I remember one morning on  my birthday that my husband woke me up and gave me an envelope. At the time I thought “What a weird present, is it money?” Then, I opened it and I realized it was a plane ticket. I remember I was a bit shocked; really, it was a plane ticket with hotel and everything to go to Buenos Aires the weekend after. I did no show much enthusiasm at the time since I had been waiting for something different, I suppose. However, I think this has been one of the best weekends ever. I had never been to Buenos Aires before and we had a wonderful time. We went to the typical sights; we also went to a tango club (and tried to dance!). I spent hours in libraries and got a few books for much better prices. I suppose what I liked the most was the fact that people can be so nice there. Being a capital city, I felt it is a completely different attitude towards others. Less hostile, I think.  Also, in general ordinary people in the streets seem so knowledgeable about their history, culture and that is really nice.  I really enjoyed it. Now it is one of my good memories.

Write about a present you received.

What it was,

Who gave it to you,

Why you liked it,

Where it is now.

Video 2 to be submitted on Nov 6 on pendrive. Sat 7 online

Record a 2 minute mobile phone video presentation* about a journey you would like
to make in the future.
Say:
Where you would like to go,
Who you would go with,
Why you would like to make this journey,
What things you would like to do on the journey.

Mention anything else you think is important.

Please practice and remember: NO READING!  ALL VIDEO IN 1 take

Marks:
Catherine 6.1
M Olga  5.0
Consuelo  4,3
Francisca 5.9
Paula  4.1
Marjorie 4.7
Allison  5.7
Cristian  5.0
Vanessa 4.1
Gabriel  5.7
Lucía 5.0
Tomás 6.1
Valeria 6.3
Rolando 6.1
Daniela 1
Daniela 1
Maria 1
Melisa 1
Fernanda
Javiera
Have a missed any vids?

Education

Yesterday there was a demonstration because of the discontent we have with education in this country, today is "teacher's day". Today we will write about education. You decide the angle from where you wish to approach it.

I think this vid stresses really important points regarding where education is going. I hope you enjoyed it. I will adress it from a different angle, though.
I had the opportunity to work assessing educational projects for the ministry of education in the past. This experience somehow changed my view of things , I would say not in a positive way. One of my main interest was on educational policy.
I feel the issue of education is somehow a lost cause with the political class we have. Unfortunately, many of the people in congress have money invested in schools and universities. Why would they want any changes? They can afford a "good" school for their kids and they know they will enter Uni.
A second point is; why would they want  educated people?. A country which applies "critical thinking" is a country which could get organized and  fight to make changes for the people. 4,6 of our GDP is devoted to education. The lowest in the OECD. How can we develop at a micro level without proper education for everyone?

On a different note, education is an THE area where emphasis should be put. Especially, in the first few years. If kids are allowed to be themselves, to explore the world with some guidance and especially, with affection, half of the work is done. For me, what is happening in most schools in Chile nowadays is a shame. We have a lot of children who misbehave because at home they are left by themselves. We also have a number of teachers who have not realized the world is changing and simply cannot cope with today's children in the classroom. As a result, an important number of kids are diagnosed with ADHD and taking  different types of medication. Consequently, these kids are not themselves. Food for thought.
Last but not least, teachers have a great amount of paper work outside the classroom and little time for themselves and for professional development. In the case of Chile,most of them are underpaid. the conditions are pretty bad. I do not want to generalize but a number of them don't have the motivation they need to be in the classroom let alone teach or do research. I can't blame them.


Write about education or any area of it.
Write a minimum of 210 words. Write a comment on this blog and 3 more comments ;)

Have a look at this

Put subtitles if you need to.

Put a comment below

Free

Dear all,
today we have a free post.

Please first decide TOGETHER AS A GROUP if you will democratically decide on a theme to write about. OR  if you decide to write about different topics everyone.

Write a minimum of 230 words and 4 comments on any class blog :)

How green are you ?

I don’t think I am a particularly “Green person”, I think I am  “greener” than the average Chilean person, but not as Eco- friendly as I could be.
This idea of being “green” is so relative. I think it is very difficult to be all “planet friendly” when the whole system invites you to buy and dispose.  I love visiting new places, and basically this is what I spend most of my savings on. Do I pay to try to reduce my carbon footprint? So far, not a bean L Shame on me!!!

On the upside, I try to use the bike as often as possible. I also take bottles and cartons of milk to the supermarket as often as possible. But I also use the car!!! I used to have worms and separate the biodegradable rubbish but I don’t anymore. A thing I do is I put a bottle in my toilet cistern so I use less water when I flush the loo.  When I go to the supermarket or the vegetable market I take my own bags. I make my own washing detergent, which pollutes the water and my skin a lot less than Omo or any of those. I make my shampoo and sometimes soap but it is not easy to find the time. I reuse and recycle as much as I remember. I have learnt from lovely people wanting to share and also out of my own curiosity, I suppose.
There is no way for things to improve in this aspect without education. I think the boroughs i.e. (Estación central, Recoleta, Ñuñoa, etc.) and the national School programmes need to include the topics of recycling reusing and reducing so people become aware. One needs to do these things at home for children to become aware. I would like to start a group to raise awareness in children and people in general one day.
What about you?

-        Where do people learn about enviromentally friendly practices?

-        Do you think there is a point in being “green”
- Have you incorporated recycling into your habits? Describe
- Have you joined or supported any eco-organisations? Why/Why not?
- What do you do /would you like to do to help the planet?
- What's missing in our society/Santiago regarding this issue?

Number of words: 240
Don't forget to make comments on at least 3 of your classmates posts and the teacher's if you like. 

Word order and better writing

Here are some examples so you use tenses correctly. Notice the previous post has a verb list and therefore, you can look at the verb and tense you want to use.

what I normally do:

Nosotros vamos a conciertos 1 vez al año/ Nunca leo sobre arte/ My mama trabaja en su casa. 

 We go to concerts one time a year / I never read about arts / My mom works at home

When I want to talk about a particular occasion.

En esa oportunidad yo fui al campo/  Nosotros estábamos cansados ese día/ Comió el pastel y se fue.

I went to the country on that occasion /We were tired that day/ She/He ate the cake and left.

About things that started in the past and continue to the present...

He estado bien cansada ultimamente/ No he comprado tantos dulces / He querido ir pero no he podido

I have been tired lately/ I have not (haven't) bought many sweets/ I have wanted to go but haven't been able to.

When I am talking about the past and I want to refer to something further in the past.

Ese día me di cuenta que lo había visto más temprano. / Hasta entonces no había tenido tiempo.

That day I realized I had seen him earlier./ I hadn't had time until then.
Cuando me di cuenta que me faltaba la billetera, ella ya se habia ido
When I realized I was missing my wallet , she had already left.

Conditionals

Si tengo tiempo, te llamare.

If I have time, I will call you.

Si tuviera tiempo, te llamaría.

If I had time, I would call you.

Si hubiera tenido tiempo, te hubiera llamado

If I had had time, I would have called you.

Modals
Creo que puedo ayudarte/ Tú deberías trabajar un poco más / Ellos irían si  ella  los invitara

I think I can help you /  You should work a little more (harder) / They would go if she invited them

I hope this helps :)

National holidays

I don't normally get involved with the celebrations for Fiestas Patrias or the national holidays. Reason being, I feel nowadays there is little independence to refer to. I always wonder how the native people in our country feel during these celebrations.  But let’s face it; it is a great opportunity to have a relaxing time. I used to go to barbeques with friends or house parties but I never enjoyed going to fondas in Santiago because I always found them over-crowded and over-priced. In fact the only fonda I ever really enjoyed was 10 or 12 years ago when I went to Algarrobo. I went with my husband, a British friend of his, Karen, and a very good Chilean friend of mine, Claudio. Connie, Claudio’s girlfriend at the time, was there too. Claudio's parents have a house in Algarrobo and we went to stay there for a couple of days. It was great being near the beach and getting some fresh sea air. Also, the weather was warm and sunny during the daytime and not too cold in the evenings.

The fonda was on the main road leading into Algarrobo and we went twice on consecutive evenings. There were lots of people but the atmosphere was friendly. We did the typical things like play some games, eat empanadas and drink chicha. There was music and people dancing cueca. Later on we drank piscolas and danced (shuffled about!!) to cumbias.

We all enjoy our national holiday for different reasons, I suppose.

Write about a Fiestas Patrias celebration you remember:

Say:

When it was,

What you did,

Who you were with,

Why you enjoyed it.

Mention anything else you think is interesting. Write at least 230 words. Leave a comment on your teacher’s blog and on the blogs of 3 classmates.

EVALUATION

Video 1:  Fiestas Patrias  for October 9

Record a for 2 minute mobile phone video presentation* about how you spent Fiestas

Patrias this year.

Say:

>Where you were

>What traditional things you did

>What you enjoyed most about these fiestas.

>Mention anything else you think is important.

Remember this is not a reading test. You can start practicing now to get a good mark.
Ask me if you need help until Sunday 4 (cienciasociales2@gmail.com)

Word order PLEASE!

Hi guys,
I hope you are well. These are the activities you want to practice before next class. Also, remember your blog post for today.


Activities to do today

www.plataforma.uchile.cl

Level pre intermediate

Extra material and reinforcement Unit 9


Gender   Unit 5. Do all the activities.


AND your blogpost + comments.

Remember you are responsible for your learning.

September 11th

Actually, I think I feel strongly about this topic. I think it is because I lived  in dictatorship. Enough to remember
My dad was a political person and he was detained and taken to Estadio Chile for reasons that didn't have to do with politics. Luckily, he was saved in time but most of the people who got there did not live to tell the story.
As I said earlier, I feel strongly about this topic because I feel it is very recent history. However, I really wonder how a person who was born in the late 90s with no political background may see this.
I think the way the state of Chile has dealt with the many people who violated human rights is embarrassing. I know that we have done more than other countries but if you think about it, very few people have been prosecuted and the ones who have, are in a luxurious prison.
The state have not given answers to many of those who lost family members and loved ones. I think it is terrible the fact that people are considered fascists or communists and that, has to do with the state not trying to educate people.
Regarding people who demonstrate and how they feel about this, I am not one to judge them. Everyone deals with their anger in different ways and I think most teens who do this are somehow showing their contempt for the state, the police or the system itself.
On a different note, The United States were involved in this and other dictatorships in the region and I think this is a key factor. I think this date should affect young people  the same as everyone else. As I said before, I consider this very recent. I think it is very important for everyone to know about what happend here, from all the angles so that we never allow these type of thing to happen again.



How do you feel about it?
Is it Ok to complain about human rights violated 40 years ago?
How has the state of Chile dealt with the people responsible for these  crimes and the victims?
How do you feel about people building barricades on the road  burning tyres or being violent to police forces?
In your opinion, is this outdated?
How does this date affect the life of young people?

Write a minimum of 210 words and a comment on this blog PLUS 3 comments on your classmates' blogs

Since today we have talked about a different place, we will write about a place we will like to visit.

Today I will write about a place I’d like to visit. To be honest, travelling is one of the things I find most valuable. A lot of people prefer to buy stuff and that is fine by me. I personally feel experiencing different cultures and sharing with people is priceless. Even though I understand that as a tourist you don’t really experience the culture the way a local does, I enjoy travelling very much. I have a lot of places in Chile I'd like to see but I'll go for something different.

Choosing a favourite place puts me in a difficult situation. I more or less love all places. I will select one because it is part of today’s task. In 2014 I had the opportunity to visit Turkey. I simply fell in love. I would like to come back to this place one day. I would like to learn more about the Byzantines and the Ottoman empire. It is such an interesting culture. I would also like to visit the coast since they say it is amazing. To be honest, I would like to learn more about the language. The Turkish language is nothing like anything I heard before, much nicer than the Arab language (in my opinion) but still pretty intricate in terms of structure. So I guess I’d like to go there for around 6 months to get a good feel of the place and visit all the places I didn't get to see..

I think Turkey is the perfect transition place as transit from west to east and the arab world.

- Which country would you like to go to? Why?
- What do you know about it?
- What would you like to do there?
- Would you like to study/work/live there? Explain. Put a picture too!!

- Make comments on 3 of your classmates’ posts and my blog if you like. Word count: 150 words !!

Blog mark and assessment

Dear all,

On this post I will explain how the blog work will be assessed.

First of all, I'd like to remind you TRANSLATORS are NOT allowed. The objective of writing the blog is improving your English level by making the effort of thinking in English. You can use wordreference.com or a different dictionary  to find words you need or ask your teacher if you don't find them. This is the way to learn.

The marks go as follows

Every class you get 2 points for posting and writing comments in class.

If you post and comment within 48 or outside the classroom you get 1 point.

No post , no points

This corresponds to mark 1 =50%

Mark 2 = 50%, corresponds to a linguistic evaluation of 3 post during the semester.

Mark 1 + Mark 2 = Blog mark 

ASSESSMENT   LIV
Evaluation	Type	Percentage
1	WRIITTEN (BLOGS)	20%     Every week
2	CA	30%    Videos September- October - November
	ORAL INTERACTION	20%     December
4	FINAL WRITTEN (SUFI)	30%    December