Blog 8: Summer Plans

Hi everyone, hope all is well. Today we are going to talk about summer plans!

So far I am going to the USA for 2 and a half weeks in December/January. Then I will come back to Santiago in mid-January. I think I will just hang out, watch series, and read novels that I haven`t had time to read during the semester during that time.

Originally in February I was supposed to go to Bolivia with some friends, but there is no money so I think some of us will go to the south of Chile. The farthest South I have been is Concepcion, which is not that much. And the farthest north I have been to is Quilicura hahahaha.


I would love to go to Bolivia, but I can`t :( For summer 2021 we are thinking of going to Cuba, but who knows what will happen!? Sometimes you plan things and they never work out.

What about you all? What are your plans for this summer?

In your blog talk about:

> Places you are going to / would like to visit
> People you are going to / would like to be with 
> Activities you are thinking of being part of


- Leave a comment on your teacher's post + 3 of classmates posts.

- Word Count: 240 words

Blog 7: Food

Hi everyone, today we decided to talk about our favorite food :)


Well, I have to say that I love chicken and French Fries (sorry vegetarians and vegans :/).  It is my favorite meal and my comfort food (comfort food is the food that makes you happy basically). French Fries have really always been my favorite food since I was a child, but now I don´t eat them as much as before because I know that they are not food for your health. I usually have chicken and French Fries at least once a week.

Two of my favorite places to eat them at are Pollo Chang and Lucky Panda. Pollo Chang is a Taiwanese chain in Santiago and they put spices on their fried chicken, it is delicious. They also have Bubble Tea, which is something I am kind of obsessed with hehe. Lucky Panda is right next to the Casa Central of the University of Chile on Arturo Pratt street. It is a Chinese-Chilean place that sells French Fries with "arrollados" or rolls and "brochetas" or brochettes.

I can cook chicken and French Fries at home, but I prefer to buy them already made because I can´t make them as well. Usually at home I cook rice or quinoa.

Now it´s your turn!

What is your favorite food? Why?

How often do you eat it?

Can you make it yourself or do you buy it already prepared?

Remember to comment 3 classmates` blogs and your teacher`s blog



Wordcount: 230 words

Blog 6: Postgraduate Studies

Hi everyone :)

I hope you are doing well. Today we are going to talk about a postgraduate course that you would consider taking in the future.

Well, in my case, I already have done a postgraduate studies. I studied Latin American Literature and finished in from 2010 to 2014 at Eckerd College in the State of Florida.

In 2015, I took a postgraduate course called CELTA - (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) so I could become an English Teacher. I studied in the British-Chilean Institute of Culture in Santa Lucía. I studied part-time: I worked in the University of Diego Portales during the day and studied at night.

I'm happy that I did the course and I learned a lot in such a short period since the course was an intensive course that lasted from March to June.

Sometimes I consider taking a Master's course, something in Caribbean Literature since I really love that type of literature. I'm sure many of you realized since I use a lot of Caribbean Literature in our classes.

But then I think about it and I don't think is necessary to take the course because I can always study literature in my free time. In any case, I think I learn more in "the practice" when I use literature in my English classes so students learn how to read well in English.

My favorite writers from the Caribbean are Merle Collins, Christian Campbell, Jamaica Kincaid, Junot Díaz and Edwidge Danticat. Díaz and Danticat I particularly like  because I can relate to them since they were both born in Latin American, but lived all their life in the United States just like me. I think that they are good writers and are committed to the people's struggle. I also like that they are both very anti-imperialist.

I hope you enjoyed reading :)

Now it's your turn

Include:

- Reasons to do the course
- Subject(s) you would like to study
- Where you would like to study (Chile or abroad)
- How you would like to study (distance learning, blended system, part-time course, etc)
- Any other relevant ideas

- Make comments on 3 of your classmates’ posts + a comment on your teacher's post.

- Word Count: 220 words

Blog 5: My future job

Hi everybody :) I hope you had a great weekend! Today we are going to talk about your future job.

Well, in my case I will talk about what I like about working in the University of Chile.

I started working here in March 2016 and I really like it for various reasons. I really like the focus of the English Program. I also really like working in the Campus Juan Gomez Millas because I studied here in 2012-2013 and have many good memories, but also because it is familiar to me. 

Another reason that I like working in the University of Chile is the English Program. Although I have some criticisms of the program I really like how they encourage us to focus on communicational skills and not focus on grammar, which I honestly believe is the best way to learn a language: using it with or without errors because practice makes perfect. We also try to make the classes student-centered, which means that the student is the protagonist.

Regarding the classes, as I mentioned in the first class, I designed my own curriculum for this course so that you can practice listening, speaking, writing, and reading in English, but also with important social, cultural, and political content.

And finally, I like working in the University of Chile because of my students. I really enjoy spending time with you guys and gals and hope you have learned a lot in my classes. My only criticism is that many times people come late to class.

-What kind of job would you like to have? How do you imagine it?

- Outdoors /indoors?

- Would you like to travel a lot in your job?

- What about the salary?

- What major are you studying? 

- Add any other related ideas.

- Make comments on 3 of your classmates’ posts + a comment on your teacher's post.

- Word Count: 210 words

Blog 4 Music

Hi everyone,

I hope all is well. So since we decided to talk about music, here is my post about music.

My favorite singer of all time is Ariana Grande. She is a 26 year-old Pop/R&B singer and has a four-octave vocal range (similar to Mariah Carey who has a five octave-range!). She has four albums, Yours Truly (2013), My Everything (2014), Dangerous Woman (2016), Sweetner (2018), and Thank U, Next (2019). I can't decide which is my favorite album, but sometimes I would say it's a tie between Yours Truly and Sweetner, Yours Truly because of it's throwback of 90's Pop/R&B and Sweetner for it's lyrical depth. To be honest, Dangerous Woman I love, but it is my least favorite album because the lyrics are not as deep compared to the others.

Beside her music, I really like her as a person, she is a feminist and very progressive. She always speaks out about issues in the United States such as racism, homophobia, sexism, and gun violence. 

Something that is really amazing about her is that she has whistle-tone register. Here is one of her best examples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjzENV7rhhI  and here is her doing it live and one of her best performances: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGeH483gNOg

In general, my favorite musical genres are R&B/Soul, Pop, Reggaeton, and Trap :)

Here is the album cover of Ariana Grande's latest album:

Now it's your turn:

Write about your favorite artist (singer/band/group) or your favorite music genre:

Say:

Who is your favorite group/band/singer? Why?
What are your favorite songs/albums? 
What genres of music do you enjoy listening to? Why?
Mention anything else.

Remember to comment your teacher's blog and comment 3 classmates' blogs

Word Count: 180 words

Blog 3: Suffragette Review

Hi everyone!

I hope all is well with you :) Today we are going to talk about the film, Suffragette. I really love this film and I think it helps us to understand the feminist movement today.

In general, I really enjoy this film because it's very raw and very real. They don't sugarcoat anything. I also think that i's a very inspirational film.

My favorite characters are Maud and Edith because of their bravery, sacrifice, and their commitment to their cause. I also just love the actress that plays Edith (Helena Bonham Carter).

One thing that I liked about the film is the acting, I think all the actresses and actors were really good. One thing that I didn't like about the film was Sonny, Maud's husband. I think he was a horrible person :(.

My favorite scene is when Emmeline Pankhurst makes her speech in the balcony and the police try to arrest her, but they end up arresting another woman.

Now it's your turn!


Write about:

- If you liked or disliked the film and why.

- Your favorite character.

- One thing you liked about the film and one thing you didn't like.

- Your favorite scene and why.


Remember to comment 3 classmates´ blogs and your teacher´s blog


Word Count: 190

Blog 2: The best vacation or concert ever

Hi everyone!

Today I am going to talk about the best vacation ever. In March 2014, I went to Puerto Rico with my mom and brother. We were there for about a week and it was so much fun.

Although, We had travelled to Puerto Rico before, this time it was particularly fun and special. We visited our friend, Oriana, who is Chilean and has a gift shop in old San Juan city. She went to Puerto Rico after Pinochet's coup in 1973. 

Some of the fun things we did were going to the movies, swimming in the ocean, and exploring San Juan city. There is a book store that I really like because in the United States I could never find books in Spanish and in this trip I bought books by Eduardo Galeano and Gioconda Belli. 

I really like going to Puerto Rico because from the United States it is easy and cheap to visit and also I like how they mix Spanish and English together. Hurricane Maria devasted the island and many people died (before they said 64 and now it is almost 3,000!). Many towns were left without drinking water and electricity. Our friend Oriana is ok, but the situation is terrible. I also think that Puerto Rico deserves to be an independent nation and not a US colony. I hope I can return someday soon!! Oriana has a shop right where all the massive protests were against Roselló (the now ex-governor) Here is a picture of the street Fortaleza where the shop is and where the protests took place

Hope you enjoyed my blog!






Now it's your turn:

You can write about the best concert or the best vacation:

Concert:

- when / where it was
- the artist they saw
- a bit of info about the artist
- describe the atmosphere during the event
- describe how they felt and why they enjoyed it
- any other memories about it

Vacation:

- when it was
- where you went
- how long it was
- people you went with
- things/activities you did
- why it has been the best so far
- any other relevant info

Word count: 170

Blog 10: English Language Challenges

Hi all!!

Today is your last blog post! Congratulations you made it hahaha! So today you are going to talk about your experience learning English at university and the use of blogs.

Please, please be honest so we can know how to improve as teachers and as an English Program.

I have to say that I really enjoyed being your teacher this semester and I hope you enjoyed and learned a lot in my classes as much as I did.

During the course, I tried to promote the use of English 100% of the time (even though many of you still refuse <_<) and I also made sure to practice the four skills: listening, writing, reading, and speaking. I can honestly say that many of you have improved since your first video :)

Regard the content of the class, as you noticed, we always saw things that had important social or political content. This is because for me it is important to show students a different reality and hopefully so you can realize that changing reality is not only possible, but necessary.

We read various writers like Olive Senior, Christian Campbell, Merle Collins,  and Michelle Cliff. I hope you enjoyed reading them.

An important point I want to make is that English is not just USA or England. That's why in class we read texts or saw movies from Ireland, Jamaica, or Grenada all countries where English is spoken.


Remember that practice makes perfect and therefore it is very important that you continue practicing English outside of class. There are many ways to do this: listening to music in English, watching movies and series in English with subtitles in English, and reading in English.






> What comments can you make about your experience learning English 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: 260
- Make comments on 3 of your partners' posts and teacher's blog.

Blog 9: Changes to my study program

Hi everyone, 

I hope you are all well. This is our second to last blog! Today you are going to write about changes that could be made in your career like the new building, curriculum change, new teaching methods, etc.

Since I don't study anymore I will list some changes that could be made in the English Program are like adding English Level 5 and 6. Plus we could add Film and Literature Classes in English. I think it would be interesting and fun to have this type of courses since it could improve students' learning of English.





Now it's your turn:

Write about some changes that could be made to your study programme (career)
Among others, think about:

> The curriculum (the subjects you have to study)
> Workload and length of studies
> Faculty facilities (buildings and infrastructure)
> Use of technology
> Teaching methods



- Word Count: 250
- Leave comments on 3 of your classmates’ posts.

Blog 1: A country I would like to visit

Hi everyone. Welcome to blogging in level 4! Today you are going to talk about a country you would like to visit :)

For me it's a hard decision because the countries that I want to visit most are Cuba, Brazil, Uruguay, Panama, and Bolivia. So I will talk about Bolivia because if everything works out, I will be travelling there with a group of friends in February! Fingers crossed!

I really want to go to Bolivia because one they sell fried chicken on the street and I basically live off of chicken (sorry vegetarians and vegans XD). But also, I have been told that it is really cheap to go to Bolivia and stay there, which means I can buy lots of books and eat a lot hehe. I am also fascinated by its Indigenous people's history such as the Aymara. I know the country has been modernized in the last couple ten years. I really wanna go to La Paz, Uyini,  and Sucre. I know one of my friends has the list of all the place we plan on going to. I also want to know the political process there since I admire some of the things that Evo Morales has done like universal health care and recognizing Bolivia as a Plurinational State, which means that it recognizes Indigenous nations and not just Bolivians.  I just want to there and explore and get to know people!!

I don't know if I would like to live there, but you never know what can happen! Never say never! I don't think I would want to study there since I don't want to study formally ever again LOL. Stay in school, kids!

- 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.
- Upload pictures
- Make comments on 3 of your classmates’ posts + a comment on your        teacher's post
- Word Count: 160 words