sábado, 4 de noviembre de 2017

ENTRY 13 & 14: REFLECTION ON THE SUBJECT

ENTRY 14: REFLECTION ON MY PORTFOLIO

My portfolio was a very important element that helped me a lot because I have learnt many things from it. One of the thing was to improve the management of technology: I  have managed to create a blog, to upload videos, to embed files and documents, to link to different sites, and so on. I could also practise to use different computer programmes as Power Point, Word, etc., as well as the use of platforms like Slideshare, Issuu, or Google Drive. I have known and suscribed to some websites that will be useful for my students too. As regard to my learning process, this portfolio contributed to have a record of all the material I have read and studied, by writing summaries, doing analysis of texts, etc. All the entries were interesting but the most I liked were the videos because they have facilitated the comprehension of theory. Moreover, the portfolio will help to study for the final exam as I have at hand all the work made during this course.  In conclusion, I may say that the portfolio is practical, useful and a good idea to implement in schools or to organize a course.

ENTRY 13: REFLECTION ON MY WRITING SKILL

Definitively, I can say that I have improved my writing skill. First of all, I did not know how to write an essay but this year I have learnt to, for example, how to develop paragraphs through analizing different examples of them with the theory, which was crucial to know the different kinds of paragraphs within an essay. In addition, the framework of the essay was another important thing I have learnt; for instance, how to state the thesis, introduce the topic and expose the arguments that support the ideas, or to conclude it. The material provided was important not only to do cohesive and coherent jobs but also to teach our students to write, regarding the approaches we have learnt. Although I am aware that I must continue studying language, I feel that it is another area which has been improved as well. Therefore, I am sure that, on balance, this year was good, my writing capacity has changed and my writing skill has been developed.

jueves, 2 de noviembre de 2017

ENTRY 12: DIALECT AND ACCENT- Videos analysis


On the first video, "The Inspector", who is a character of "The Pink Panther", was going to the U.S.A to learn American English because he wanted to learn to pronounce English correctly so that he did not seem suspicious when he travels around the world. But he did not manage to pronounce even a single sentence like "I would like to buy a hamburger"; after repeating several times, the teacher corrected him without success. The problem here is that the inspector is a native French and he cannot avoid his strong and very recognizable French accent, though he can speak English. This is due to the difference between  Latin languages and English language, in terms of word sounds. According to G. Yule the accent is influenced by the region or country we live in, and tells us where we come from.
     On the second video we can observe a group of students sharing an English class at college. It is typical that students at college or universities come from different parts of the country: in this case, they were from different regions in The USA. They were talking about the problems they had in grammar, vocabulary, or to interpret metaphors. This is an issue related to dialect, which is a variaty of Standard English and presents not only differences on grammar or vocabulary but it can also differ in pronunciation., according to G. Yule every language-user speaks with an accent that identifies where an individual speaker is from, regionally or socially.
     With respect to the third video, there is another example of accent in terms of how mispronunciation can be an obstacle for an individual who speaks a foreign language. Although the man claimed that he had studied English at an American university, he could not be understood by native English speakers. Therefore, the video had been subtitled during the interview to make it more comprehensible.The man who spoke with an arabic accent got offended and jeered at the journalist, saying he could not understand her English. "Speak English, please" he shouted. 

SOURCES:

BOOK: Yule, G.(2006)The Study of Language. Chapters 18 & 19. U.K.:CUP.

WEBSITES:
https://youtu.be/uvpikUEIaLIhttps://youtu.be/cBzIqpQ8chttps://youtu.be/GxuEBUXJ2rQ9U

jueves, 21 de septiembre de 2017

ENTRY 9: THESIS STATEMENT



THESIS STATEMENT

HOW TO WRITE AN A THESIS STATEMENT

  • WHAT IS A THESIS STATEMENT? 
  1.  It's the single, specific claim that your essay supports.
  2.  It includes a topic, a precise opinion, and reasoning.
  • PARTS OF A THESIS STATEMENT: three main parts:
  1. The subject: the topic of your essay.
  2. The precise opinion: the opinion of your essay.
  3. The blueprint of reasons: where you show your reader how you plan to argue and prove your opinion.

  • WHEN YOU ARE COMPOSING THESIS STATEMENTS, YOU NEED TO KNOW THE FOLLOWING:

  • YOUR TOPIC: what your paper will deal with.
  • YOUR CLAIM: what you think about the topic.
  • REASONS THAT SUPPORT YOUR CLAIM: 3 points
  1. Points at the beginning of the thesis statement.
  2. Points at the end of the thesis statement.
  3. Points listed in the sentence after the thesis statement.
      (You can also have a thesis with no points listed)


      SOURCES:
      WEBSITE: U-Tube:
      Nawal-Nadel- French: How to write an A thesis statement.
      Chris Heafner. Thesis statements-How to construct and compose (a review)


ENTRY 8: LITERARY ESSAY: BELONGING TO POLITICAL AND SEXUAL MINORITIES

lunes, 4 de septiembre de 2017

ENTRY 6: WELL WRITTEN PARAGRAPH



PARTS OF A PARAGRAPH:
PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE:

1- TOPIC SENTENCE: 

  • It is the subject of the paragraph.
  • It should be interesting.
  • Give your opinion on it.
  • Don't make it detailed.


2- BODY:
  • It is the heart of your paragraph: the supporting details, the supporting argument.
  • It describes in detail the topic sentence.
  • Two ways to order the details: 1) Order of importance: States the strongest part of your argument first.2) Chronology: orders in advance following a specific order.


3-CLOSING SENTENCE: 
It has two functions:
  • Restating the topic sentence.
  • Keeping the audience thinking
SOURCE: Website: www.engVid.com


UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA- PARAGRAPH AND TOPIC SENTENCE:

1. I saw around Velva a release from what was like slavery to the tyrannical soil, release from the ignorance that darkens the soul and from the loneliness that corrodes it. In this generation my Velva friends have rejoined the general American society that their pioneering fathers left behind when they first made the barren trek in the days of the wheat rush. As I sit here in Washington writing this, I can feel their nearness. (from Eric Sevareid, "Velva, North Dakota")

 Answer: Good Work! Answer: The answer Many politicians deplore the passing of the old family-sized farm, but I'm not so sure. is correct. Explanation: Sevareid argues that farming is destructive as a way of life, no matter what romantic notions are attached to it. He is not writing about the productivity of farms, about his own life story ("I grew up on a family-sized farm..."), and his main point is not that people moved away from the cities in the late the nineteenth century.

 2. The first is the wear-and-tear hypothesis that suggests the body eventually succumbs to the environmental insults of life. The second is the notion that we have an internal clock which is genetically programmed to run down. Supporters of the wear-and-tear theory maintain that the very practice of breathing causes us to age because inhaled oxygen produces toxic by-products. Advocates of the internal clock theory believe that individual cells are told to stop dividing and thus eventually to die by, for example, hormones produced by the brain or by their own genes. (from Debra Blank, "The Eternal Quest" [edited]).

 Answer: Good Work! Answer: The answer There are two broad theories concerning what triggers a human's inevitable decline to death. is correct.
 Explanation: This paragraph is a straightforward description of two possibilities, neither of which is preferred over the other. In this case, it would be wrong to mention only one of the possibilities (the "internal time clock") in the topic sentence, or to treat it as a philosophical discussion of death itself ("we all must die..."). As for the biology professor, He or she might very well have given an interesting lecture, but that has nothing to do with the content of the paragraph.

 3. The strictest military discipline imaginable is still looser than that prevailing in the average assembly-line. The soldier, at worst, is still able to exercise the highest conceivable functions of freedom -- that is, he or she is permitted to steal and to kill. No discipline prevailing in peace gives him or her anything remotely resembling this. The soldier is, in war, in the position of a free adult; in peace he or she is almost always in the position of a child. In war all things are excused by success, even violations of discipline. In peace, speaking generally, success is inconceivable except as a function of discipline. (from H.L. Mencken, "Reflections on War" [edited]).

 Answer: Good Work! Answer: The answer We commonly look on the discipline of war as vastly more rigid than any discipline necessary in time of peace, but this is an error. is correct.
 Explanation: The topic sentence must emphasise the comparative nature of the paragraph. Mencken does argue that soldiers need discipline, but this is not all he argues in this paragraph. Likewise, while soldiers may well serve an important function in wartime, and while they may well be able to compete well in peacetime, neither of these points is discussed in the paragraph.

 4. In Montreal, a flashing red traffic light instructs drivers to careen even more wildly through intersections heavily populated with pedestrians and oncoming vehicles. In startling contrast, an amber light in Calgary warns drivers to scream to a halt on the off chance that there might be a pedestrian within 500 meters who might consider crossing at some unspecified time within the current day. In my home town in New Brunswick, finally, traffic lights (along with painted lines and posted speed limits) do not apply to tractors, all terrain vehicles, or pickup trucks, which together account for most vehicles on the road. In fact, were any observant Canadian dropped from an alien space vessel at an unspecified intersection anywhere in this vast land, he or she could almost certainly orient him-or-herself according to the surrounding traffic patterns.

 Answer: Good Work! Answer: The answer Although the interpretation of traffic signals may seem highly standardized, close observation reveals regional variations across this country, distinguishing the East Coast from Central Canada and the West as surely as dominant dialects or political inclinations. is correct.
 Explanation: It is not enough simply to list all of the arguments in the paragraph ("People in Montreal drive faster..."), or to pick only one point to hilight ("People in Calgary are careful of pedestrians"). Instead, the topic sentence should highlight the interpretative nature of driving habits and their regional variations. Since the paragraph stresses the differences among drivers in different parts of the country, it would be entirely wrong simply to state in the topic sentence that "Canadians do not follow traffic signals properly." Written by Dorothy Turner

domingo, 7 de mayo de 2017

ENTRY 3: SPEECH ACTS - Colleen Glenney Boggs

Linguist J.L. Austin divides words into two categories: CONSTATIVE: words that describe a situation. PERFORMATIVE: words that incite action. He describes how these categorizations give power to words and to your actions.He defines "the speech act" as an action performed by a speaker with the utterance, and this action includes terms such "ordering" "promising" "apologizing" "warning" etc. Performative words should follow "Felicity Conditions", which are: To be AUTHORITATIVE, UNDERSTOOD, CLEAR, and ABLE TO BE EXECUTED.

 http://ed.ted.com/lessons/speech-acts-constative-and-performative-colleen-glenney-boggs#review

ENTRY 2: ADVICE ON ACADEMIC WRITING.