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 :)