POST 10: ENGLISH LANGUAGE CHALLENGES

Today you are expected to evaluate your English course. In order to do this, please answer the questions below.

 -How did you like this subject 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: 300
- make comments on 3 of your partners' posts.

POST 8: MY FUTURE JOB

Today you’re supposed to talk about your future job. In order to write your post consider the following:

>At university, what major(*)  have you taken / are you thinking of taking? Explain why.

> What kind of job would you like to have? Describe.

> What aspects would you consider  when choosing your job?

> If you were asked in a job interview about your strengths and weaknesses, what would you say?

 Make sure to write around 280 words and leave comments on 3 of your partners posts.

(*) major:  a student's principal subject or course /  a student specializing in a specified subject: a math major.

USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES:

-I’ve taken… / I’m doing a major in… / I’m thinking of taking… / I’m considering to study…/ I’m planning to do… / I have in mind to… / I’ve decided to… / I’m hoping to… / I’m playing with idea of…  __ing / I’d love to…/ I can’t choose between ….. or …../ I’m torn between ….. and ..… / It looks like I’m going to… / As long as we can get ……………, I'll be studying… / I’m not 100% sure, but I might …/ It's a toss-up between ……… and ………..  

-I’d like to get a job as…/ I’d like to work as …/ I hope to get a job in… /I wouldn’t like to…/

- Some aspects could be: Salary - Benefits - Location – Hours - Co-workers  - work atmosphere/environment.

- I’m good at … ___ing / I’m good with… (money, numbers,etc)/ I’m terrible at…./  I become nervous about ___ing  / I am very confident in… __ing / I can… / I can’t… /

VIDEO 3: A FOREIGN COUNTRY

 

In case you haven't made any of the previous videos here's your last chance to make up for it.

Video 3: A Foreign Country

Record a 2 minute mobile phone video presentation about a foreign country you would like to visit.

Say:

Why you would like to visit this country,

What you would like to do in the country,

Who you would like to travel with and why,

If you think you will ever make this trip in the future (if so, when, if not, why not).

Mention anything else you think is important.

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REMEMBER: No cuts and no reading

PET SESSION 1

 

Hi everybody,
Today's session will be devoted to get some practice for three parts of the Preliminary English Test (PET).
Please put on your headphones and access the links below.

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

I hope you enjoy it!!

POST 7: HOW GREEN ARE YOU?

My heart must be green. Ever since I was a skinny little kid I have  been fond of nature.  I must have been six when I was walking in the street and bumped into a heap of a very simple type of creeping plant. I couldn’t help feeling sorry for the plant that had been cut off and unmercifully  thrown away.  So, by way of compensation,  I picked  up a piece of the plant, took it home and planted it. It didn’t take the little plant very long to grow bigger and thankfully offer me larger and greener leaves.  And that was the beginning of my friendship with nature, which later developed into care for all type of living things and care for the planet.

Some years ago I started to collect things like cardboard, aluminum tins and tetra-pack cartons, to take them later to recycling points, which is not easy when you live in a small flat and the recycling sites are far from your home. So, together with some neighbours we implemented a recycling scheme in our building which is working well. And now I want to start a new program in my building to make organic compost that we can use in our own garden later.

I must admit that I don’t walk very much and that I take taxis a lot, but that is because my place of work is rather far away from home to walk or ride there, but at least I don’t have a car and don’t plan to buy one.  I wish there were more facilities for byke riders in our city, as in The Neatherlands.  When that happens I’ll buy a nice bicycle for me to ride everywhere.

I’ve been a suppoorter of Green Peace for  some years now.  Well, I don’t jump into little boats and go to Antartica to try and stop  Japanese whale factory ships,  but I donate to Greenpeace on  a monthly basis.  So, even when I wouldn’t dare personally participate to stop whale slaughter, at least I’m contributing to prevent it happening, aren’t I?

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This week´s post is related to looking after the environment. So, we want you to tell us how far down the green road you are, in other words, what shade of green you are: an Eco-Hero, a Tree-Hugger-Hater or a Green-in-Between?
Here you are some questions to help you start off writing your post:

- Where do people learn about enviromentally friendly practices?
- Have you incorported recycling into your habits? Describe
- Do you use a bike or your legs instead of a car?
- Have you joined or supported any eco-organisations? Why/Why not?
- What else have you done /would you like to do?
- What have you done to reduce your carbon footprint?
- What's missing in our society/Santiago ragarding this issue?

Keep in mind that the number of words is 240 and don't forget to make comments on at least 3 of your classmates’ posts.

(Tree-hugger: an environmentalist or one who believes trees and all living things should not be cut down or harmed. Someone who works to protect the environment from destruction or pollution)

POST 6: LITERATURE AND BOOKS

When I was a kid my father used to keep all the newspapers he bought in a room, along with some magazines, books and the notebooks my brothers and I had worked with in the previous years, and also old cards and toys.  Everything in this messy little room (huge! for a little six to eight year old boy like me) was laid on some improvised shelves my dad had built, and, for some unknown reason, he forbade us to get into it.  So being in that room was thrilling and exciting,  because we suspected something misterious was hidden in there, lurking somewhere in  the books or in the magazines.   That way, after  stealthily closing the door behind us,  we sat on the floor of this room and read most of the stuff that got into our hands and, without noticing it, we became magazine and book worms.
This week you have chosen to write about Literature and Books, so below you will find  a sample post and some questions to guide your writing. Please choose one or two questions to write the introduction and about the things you like reading, but answer all the four questions about a book you have read recently.
Introduction: Your reading habits.
-Are you a book worm or do you only read books from time to time?
-Did you read books when you were a child?
-How many books have you read in your life?
Things you like reading.
-What sort of books do you enjoy reading? Do you prefer fiction or non-fiction?
-Who is your favorite writer?
-What is your favorite book?
-Who is your favorite character from literature?
Tell us a little about a book you have read recently:
-Did you enjoy it?
-How long did it take to read?
-Briefly, in one or two sentences, what is the story about?
-Who would you reccomend it to?
Make sure you write at least 170 words and leave comments on two of your classmates’ posts.

I want those two books! I answered decidedly when my father, who had taken me to a bric-a-brac street market,  asked me what I wanted him to buy me.  I was around six years old back then and, since we didn’t have a TV set at home, reading was my favourite thing to do, and I devoured  Disney cartoons, fairy tales, short stories and kid’s novels.  So, answering Dad’s question was easy. I still wonder were those two  books ended up.
Now I enjoy reading short stories and novels. I really like Julio Cortazar’s short stories, so I think I’ll start rereading  them one of these days, and I enjoy reading  both fiction and non-fiction novels.  I have read a lot of detective stories written in English lately, mainly by Ruth Rendell and P D James, but my favourite writers are some Latin american authors, such as, Mario Vargas Llosa, Gabriel García Marquez and Isabel Allende.
I recently read a book called “A Special Relationship”, by Douglas Kennedy. It’s about an American  journalist in her late thirties who gets pregnant to a British correspondent she meets in the middle of a war. Everything is a bed of roses at the beginning, but suddenly things change dramatically and her life becomes miserable. It didn’t take me too long to read this novel  because the story is very catchy and is surprisingly well written, especially considering the fact that the author of this book is a man, but the main character and first person narrator is a woman; he is able to write as if he were a woman very convincingly.  I wouldn’t hesitate to reccomend this book to you.

POST 5: SUMMARY FROM A CAREER-REL​ATED ARTICLE

POST  5: SUMMARY FROM A CAREER-REL​ATED ARTICLE FROM THE GUARDIAN OR THE SANTIAGO TIMES (ONLINE NEWSPAPERS)

In order to write today’s post you have to go to either  http://www.guardian.co.uk/ or  http://www.santiagotimes.cl/ . Once there you have to:

> Select a piece of news connected to your area of studies / future career.

> Write a summary of it.

> Provide the link to your piece of news.

> Leave a comment on 3 of their partners' posts.

Remember:

• Do not rewrite the original piece. Don’t copy and paste.
• Keep your summary short.
• Use your own wording.
• Refer to the central and main ideas of the original piece.
• Read with who, what, when, where, why and how questions in mind.
• Do not put in your opinion of the issue or topic discussed in the original piece.

Make sure to write about  220 words.

Please have a look at my sample post below to get an idea.

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Private universities complain of insecurity

By Anna Fazackerley , The Guardian, Monday 1 October 2012 19.30 BST

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/oct/01/private-higher-education-reforms

This article is about the complaints made by private higher education providers, in spite of the fact that they are doing well, and the reaction of their critics.

While some in the public sector resent the freedoms given to private providers, these, in turn, acknowledge the fact that they feel they have benefitted from the policies of the new coalition government and are doing good business, but they fear insecurity and claim that if the current system doesn’t change they might be affected.
Although public universities have now to restrict to a certain number of applications, private institutions can recruit as many  students as they want and these students are now entitled to get public loans. Notwithstanding this, Alain Jenkins, of the the Edge Hotel School, acknowledges that there is less hostility towards private institutions, but says that some new policies are still not friendly.
While the number of applications in the whole sector has declined and the participation of for-profit institutions across the sector is still small, the latter  have dramatically increased the number of recruits. Regardless this, Prof Terence, Kealey of Buckingham, states that many of  his colleagues feel the system is unfair, and Paul Marshall, of Business Schools,  points out that private providers fear that expansion is risky because a new Labour government might affect investors. Besides, some people from the private sector are annoyed because, although their institutions succeded an accreditation  proccess to have degree-awarding powers, they have to reapply every six years.
On the other hand Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, accuses  private providers of being shameless because while they are making demands, they are said to be committing several frauds.
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Here you have some useful words and expressions to help you write your summary.

The article    is about… / deals with… / presents… / describes… / explains…

In the text / excerpt / story/ article the reader gets to know…/ is confronted with  / is told about 

The author / Mr X  /

·         Says  / states  / points out     that …

·         claims /  believes  /  thinks   that…

·         describes /   explains  /  makes clear   that

·         uses examples to confirm / prove   that

·         agrees / disagrees  with   the view / the thesis

·         contradicts the view…

·         criticises / analyses /  comments on…

·         tries to express…

·         suggests that…

·         compares X to Y

·         doubts that…

·         tries to convince the readers that…

·         concludes that…

VIDEO 2: A JOB YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE

Hi everybody,

I hope you enjoyed making your first video.  Here are the instructions to the second video, whose deadline is 18th October:

Please record a 2 minute mobile phone video presentation* about a Job you would like to have.

Say:

What the job is,

Why you would like to have this job.

What qualities you would need to do this job,

How difficult it would be to find a job like this in the future,

Mention anything else you think is important.

A mobile phone video presentation is a video of you talking directly to the camera. Videos are made in your own time and you are free to practice and record as many versions as you see fit in order to complete the task. However, the final video must be in one take (i.e. it must not be edited). Remember that you're not supposed to read. 

POST 4: ANIMALS AND PETS

Some people are animal lovers, others use and abuse animals. Some people can't live without their pet animals, others raise animals to make a living .  What about me? I like pets, but I don´t like the idea of having animal hair all over my home.

 I got my first dog, which I still remember after all these years, when I was around six, and I was very fond of a dog we had when I was a teenager, but, even though I would like to have a dog now, my flat is so small that there´s no room to swing a cat in it, -like they say, let alone a dog!
 I absolutely disagree with animal mistreatment. I think animals can only be used for medical research as long as they are not hurt in any way, and it really upsets me to see what some scientists do to some defendless animals. With regard to keeping animals in zoos, I used to think that that was a reprehensible practice, however I’ve changed my mind now that I know that, in some cases, they have been saved from a certain death and would surely die if they were set free.

 People who have a dog should be responsible owners and take the necessary precautions so it won’t hurt another animal or person. I’ve been bitten by dogs twice and, -believe me, it wasn’t funny at all! The owners of these dogs should have been more careful and known that pets have to be well taught, the way children are.

According to the Chinese astrology I was born under the year of the dog, and if I had to be born again an animal I would probably choose a dog because they are loyal, friendly, intelligent and fun to be around.

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Today you have decided to write about animals, so here you have some questions to help you write your post. You don’t have to answer all the questions, just choose one or two from each group to write your paragraphs.

Do you consider yourself an animal lover? Did you use to have a pet when you were a kid? Do you have a pet now? If so, tell us about it. If not, would you like to have one? What animal do you think makes the best pet? Why? Do you know someone who owns an unusual pet?

How do you feel about the use of animals for medical research? Do you think it is right to keep wild animals in a zoo? Do you think people should buy and wear fur coats?

Have you ever been bitten by a dog? (... by a snake) Do you think dogs should be banned or muzzled?

Do you know what animal you are according to the Chinese Zodiac? If you could be an animal, which would you (choose to) be? Why?

REMEMBER:

-Leave a comment on 3 of your classmates posts

- The word count for post 4 is 200 words

POST 3: MY BEST HOLIDAYS

The topic of this week’s post is your best holidays.  So get inspired and say:

- when they were

- people you were with

- where you travelled

- things you did

- reasons why these holidays were so good

- include images

Please have a look at my sample post below.  Don't forget to write comments on 3 of your partners’ posts and remember that the wordcount is 190 words.

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Holidays are the best part of our lives. I’ve had so many wonderful holidays that it’s difficult to say which have been the best , but probably the most memorable ones are the days I spent in London for the first time, when I had the chance of travelling around Europe, meeting  nice people, and doing lots of interesting things.

My  first time in London was back in 1991 and I remember how excited I was because I had only seen sights of this city in some movies and on the pages of the English text books that I used at the university.  It was like a dream come true where all the things I had seen in pictures came alive, and I was part of that reality this time!  So there I was,  looking at the Houses of Parliament, the Big Ben, the Tower of London, Thames River; window shopping in Harrods;  walking along the Serpentine, the artifical lake in Hide Park;  shopping  in Waterstones,  the famous bookshop; having a “nice cuppa” tea in Covent Garden, and so on and so forth. 

My Chilean and British friends made sure that I went to as many places as possible, so  they took me the best museums and art galleries, the amazing antique fair in Portobello Market Road,  the lively Camdem Town Market, Holland Park, and a long etcetera.

Besides having fun,  I also took up a course to improve my English skills, so I had to spend some time studying and doing homework, but I enjoyed doing that. And I also learnt a lot of new things just by watching television.

As I mentioned before,  I took the advantage of the proximity and visited some other European cities like, the romantic Paris, the colourful Lisbon, and the the spectacular Amsterdam.  I took lots of pictures, but that was a long time before digital cameras were available, so I only have printed photos of that trip.

As you can see I had so much fun, did so many amazing things, and went through so many good experiences that I will never forget those days in London.

POST 2: A COUNTRY I WOULD LIKE TO VISIT

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” This quote was written by St. Augustine and I absolutely agree with him on this one.  Travelling is one of the things I enjoy the most in life. Besides, I have learnt lots of  things by talking to  different people from other countries and by seeing them do things in so many different ways.  I’ve been to many places but Guatemala is one of the countries I have always wanted to visit but have never been to. 

I’d like to visit Guatemala because I have heard lots of people say that antigua and Chichicastenango –two of the most important touristic places there- are even more colourful and interesting than some Mexican cities that I have already visited. Antigua is a city which was destroyed by an earthquake centuries ago, but  then it was rebuilt and became the most beautiful colonial Guatemalan city, and Chichicastenango is a place that has an important market where you can buy good fruit and vegetables, along with high quality handcraft –which is something I’m very interested in.

If I went there I would like to walk around the places, eat in nice restaurants, talk to the locals, visit the museums and buy some textiles and pottery. However I wouldn’t like to work or live there, because I think that after spending a few months there I would probably get bored -I’m a city person and I would surely miss the things that a big city like Santiago can offer.

As the saying goes: Where there's a will, there's a way, so I'm saving money and one day lady luck will help me make another dream come true.

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What about you?

Today you’re supposed to write about a country you would like to visit.  Make sure you answer these questions when you write your post.

- 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.

Remember to make comments on 3 of your classmates’ posts and to write 170 words.

VIDEO 1

The topic of your first video is "A hobby".

You have to record a phone video presentation about a hobby that you have for 2 minutes.

Say:

What the hobby is.

How long you have done it for.

Why you enjoy it.

Mention anything else you think is important.

Make sure you send it before Independence Day holidays.

POST 1: FIRST TERM: GOOD AND BAD POINTS

Your first blog assignment consists of writing about  your experiences during the first term of 2012. You may want to include the positive and negative aspects of it.  Be sure you read my sample post to get some inspiration , and then describe:

- what you learned/studied

- the sports and free time activities you did

- the challenges/problems you had to face

- Others (family, friends, etc..)

- Word Count: 150

- make comments on at least 3 of your classmates posts.

Let me tell you about my last term.

Time really flies, the older you get, the faster it goes by. However, during this swift first term many things happened, I learned new things, I tried to make good use of my free time, overcome some problems, and  spend time with the people I care for.

Although I didn’t study anything in particular, I started to watch the chefs on cable television and learnt how to make some nice dishes. So, at least,  I can’t complain about my diet, which has improved significantly –but I’m afraid I have put on some weight, though. Well everything has  good and bad sides, doesn’t it? 

I´m ashamed to say that I don’t do much exercise, and last term was not an exception, but since I got me a new guitar I tried to catch up on  my playing skills, and so I learnt some new songs and  also spent time singing karaoke, one of my favourite past-times.  I almost forgot to mention that I did lots of repairs in my house, I built a new closet for my tools, got rid of things I had stopped  using  and had my flat painted and new curtains put up -Feg Shui experts should  be very pleased and proud of me!  Unfortunately, all the paint tubes and brushes I bought are still waiting in a box, begging me to use them.

The best thing was that I was offered a contract at the university I work for, therefore my work prospects seem to be getting better.  And something positive in this regard is that I will not have to hop from one faculty to another any more.

Another very positive aspect of last term is that, although I didn’t see much of my family, I met with my friends regularly and also made some good new acquaintances; togheter we went to lots of places, such as restaurants, the cinema, fairs, and interesting sites in Santiago.

 As you can see, even though last term seems to have been too short for me, I managed to do  lots of things. I cant’t complain, can I?

PUTTING YOUR IDEAS TOGETHER

Here is a “helping word” to students in trouble, I mean, several words that will help you when you find it hard to write something  because your ideas are not connected.

These expressions are used to introduce a new topic:

-as for, in regards to, concerning (en cuanto a, en relación a)
-in reference to, with regards to (tocante a , concerniente a )
-about, concerning (acerca de)

You can use these words (Connectors) to link your ideas.

RESULT – SUMMARY
So – Therefore, – as a result – thus – Consequently, – in this way – in short – in brief
CONCESSION
However, – Nevertheless, – despite – in spite of – yet – although – though – still …
CONTRAST
Instead – in comparison – but – on ( the ) one hand – on the other hand – by contrast – whereas – otherwise
ADDITION
Also – and – Furthermore, – Moreover, – in addition ( to ) – besides – above all…
REASON
Because – since – as - because of , due to – thanks to - that’s why – that’s the reason why -
EMPHASIS
As a matter of fact, – in particular – Of course, – In fact, – indeed – in any event…
ILLUSTRATION
For instance – for example …
REPETITION
Similarly – likewise – in the same way…
SEQUENCE
First – next – then – finally – at last – eventually – in the end…In conclusion,
Firstly – Secondly- thirdly…

And here are some useful phrases for opinions:

- Many people claim that…
- It is true that….
- This is not an exaggeration … even though…
- I tend to dis/agree with …
- In my view…
-As far as I'm concerned,
- In conclusion, – To conclude,
- I can understand… However, …
- As we have seen/will see, there are ( at least ) two sides to this issue.
- I am convinced that we can / deal with this situation /improve this situation / solve this problem…
- This is an issue that / can be solved / must be faced …
- Another aspect of the issue is…
- In my opinion, the advantages of… far outweigh the disadvantages…
- We can argue that… but…
- Personally I am in favor of…..

On these websites you will find some exercises on connectors.

http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/grammar/engineering/transitions/2.xml

http://www.englishdaily626.com/sentence_connectors.php?005

http://sana.tkk.fi/awe/cohesion/signposts/contrast/exercises/1r.html

WELCOME

Hi dear students and welcome to my blog. I hope you learn new things by writing your posts  and find the experience interesting.

Here you have some important information that will help you organize your posts and improve your writing skills:

HOW TO WRITE A COMPOSITION

Different Parts of a Composition:
Whatever you choose to write for a composition, you usually follow the same basic structure: Introduction/Opening + Body + Conclusion/Closing

1. Opening (1 paragraph)
-It consists of a presentation of the topic (use an "attention grabber": something to capture the reader’s attention).
-It contains the ideas you are going to deal with (a quick overview of what’s coming)

2. Body (2-3 paragraphs)
-The body is a group of paragraphs that develop on the main idea as introduced in the opening.
-Each paragraph argues, describes, explains, discusses, defines, clarifies, illustrates or whatever on the opening statement.
-One idea is discussed in each paragraph.

3. Closing (1 paragraph)
-It can be a summing up, reviewing or restating the main idea in different words or briefly stating your opinion, feelings or suggesting a solution, or some “food for thought” or a wish…

Ensure the concluding paragraph is not too long; three or four sentences will be enough.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< How can you write an attention grabber?
By...
-Making an unexpected statement
-Using Humor
-Using a relevant quotation
-Posing a Rhetorical question designed to arouse curiosity without requiring an answer
-Shocking the Audience with an unexpected fact or statistic

Examples:
A good attention grabber: "The death penalty is the most premeditated of murders"; “Elvis is not dead...”; “Who said that the countryside is boring?”; “Seagulls are just rats with wings”; “Hating seagulls is like being racist or homophobic”

A bad attention grabber: “Today I have to write about...”; “the topic of this post is...”