I like Fridays: 2014

Hello bloggers,
Here is some help to practice for the oral interaction test that will be held in the near future. Remember you need a partner for this activity (In pairs)It is a good idea to decide on it now.

You will speak about a surprise topic for a minimum of 5 mins.
Giving your opinion

"I think…."

"I feel that…."

"In my opinion…."

"As far as I'm concerned…."

"As I see it…."

"In my view…"

Giving a strong opinion

"I'm absolutely convinced that…."

"I'm sure that….."

"I strongly believe that…."

"I have no doubt that…"

ASKING for SOMEONE'S OPINION

"What do you think (about /of X)?"

"What's your view (on)?"

"How do you see the situation (of)?"

Agreeing and disagreeing
Agreeing

"I think you're right."
"I agree with you."

Strong agreement
"I couldn't agree with you more."
"You're absolutely right."
"I agree entirely."
"I totally agree."

Agreeing in part

"I agree with you up to a point, but..."
"That's quite true, but..."
"I agree with you in principle, but..."

Disagreeing

"I'm not sure I agree with you."
"(I'm afraid) I don't agree."
"(I'm afraid) I disagree."
"(I'm afraid) I can't agree with you."
"(I'm afraid) I don't share your opinion."

Note that when you disagree with someone, you can often sound
more polite by using a phrase such as "I'm afraid..."

Disagreeing strongly

"I don't agree at all."
"I totally disagree."
"I couldn't agree with you less."

Keeping a conversation going
Making comments

"No!" - to show surprise
"I don't believe it!" - to show surprise
"Wow!" - to show admiration or surprise
"That's incredible / amazing / unbelievable" - to show great
interest in the subject of conversation
"How awful / terrible" - to show sympathy with someone else's bad
news

Asking questions

"Really?" - to show surprise
"And you?" - when someone asks you how you are
"Did you?" - can be used to encourage someone to tell their story.

For example, "I saw her last night" "Did you?" "Yes, she was with one of her friends, and she....

Friday 20 June 2014

Indigenous cinema

Write a minimum of 200 words about RRR and also what you have seen and read in this activity.
post 3 comments.

Friday 13 June 2014

Dear all:

Today I’d like to tell you a bit about myself. When I finished school I decided I did not know what to do. So I took a year off and worked to save money. Later I entered translation because I liked languages. I did English and German but right in the middle of it, there was a chance to travel to Germany and work there. So I did. When I got back to Chile I fell into teaching by chance. Later I got my teaching degree.

I think teachers are a great contribution to society but only if they have a vocation. If not, they may be great researchers or academics, but not teachers. I feel a teacher needs to be alert and attentive to what is happening in the classroom in the whole sense of the word. They also need a lot of patience & knowledge in their area of study. A teacher needs constant training because the world changes, students change, and so does methodology.

I think one of my favorite subjects at Uni was phonetics. I loved the idea of studying & recognizing the English sounds and also to contrast them with the Spanish sounds. I also enjoyed pragmatics. The future of teachers looks more relevant all the time. I think we need to keep up with technology among other things because we will need to be more and more updated to connect with students.

One professional I admire in my area of study is Rod Ellis. He is very well known in the area of second language acquisition. He has published a lot of books & I love the way he writes. He has got a very clear way to express his ideas and they make a lot of sense to me.

Say:

-Why are you studying this career?

- How do professionals in your area contribute to society?

- What tools will a professional in your area need to have in the future?

- What is your favourite subject?

- Include this and more in your answer.

- 200 words minimum. (minimum 3 comments )

Dear students,
Can I please ask you to do the evaluacion docente today?
It takes around 5 mins.
Please go to www.plataforma.uchile.cl / programa ingles (the list below shows encuesta)
Thank you.

Friday 6 June 2014

something you'd like to learn

There are lots of things I would love to learn to do. However, to be realistic, some of them would be too complicated. For example, I’d love to learn to play the flute but you need a lot of time and dedication to become a competent musician and I don’t think it would be a feasible instrument to learn at this stage of my life. One thing that I would like to learn well would be to play the guitar. I can play basic stuff and I know some chords but I'd like to be able to play any old song nicely and in rythm. I I just wish I wanted it more so I devoted more time to it and improved. I feel and been told I am good. I took singing lessons for some time and made no progress whatsoever, so even though I'd like to sing better, I have little hope. It is all related to my lack of commitment, I suppose. Work and studies really take most of my time and I cannot seem to find time for pleasurable activities more than, watching movies and socialize at the weekends. Another thing I'd like to learn is more about the mother of all sciences =philosophy (This would help me with my studies!). It is also the kind of thing I don't think I find the time to do. Finally, Improving my pc skills and dancing salsa is also on my list but I think I am one of the stiffest people ever:(
Last but not least, I really think this life is a constant learning experience. In everything we do, interaction we have we have something to take with us. I love that.
Write about yourself.
Is there something in particular you would like to learn?
Is there something you started learning and stopped that you would like to pursue?
Tell us about your interest!
write a minimum of 205 words plus 3 comments on blogs where you have not commented before and 1 anywhere you like.

gender

Watch this video and post a short comment on this blog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VqsbvG40Ww

Friday 23 May 2014

glorious food

When I was younger, I loved to go out clubbing or to parties. However, in recent years I tend to go out to eat rather than to dance. Santiago has some great restaurants and you can eat out quite cheaply. There are "picadas" like Golfo di Napoli for wonderful pizza or pasta or slightly more expensive places with wonderful International cuisine like Thai House or Olan (Peruvian). I am a Pescatarian, I eat fish and seafood but not meat (of any kind) so that is always a factor when I eat out.

I don’t think I have a favorite kind of food. There are some foods that I do not like much, for example Korean food. I suppose it is because the meat dishes are the specialty. I love very hot food, lots of spices and taste. There is a nice Indian in Santiago. It is a bit pricy but it is really nice. It is called Rishtedar . Many of the dishes are spicy hot and there is a scale of spiciness from 1 to 6 (from mild to blow-your-head-off). I love spicy food but grade 4 is as hot as I can stand.

I also love places like “el naturista” in the center, where you can enjoy porotos Granados or fantastic quinoa dishes for a very reasonable price.

Write about a place you like to eat out. A restaurant, bar, pub, fast food place, etc.

Say:

What it’s called,

Where it is,

What it serves,

What you like to eat there.

Mention anything else you thing is important. Write at least 190 words. Leave a comment on my blog and on the blogs of 3 classmates.

Friday 9 May 2014

Hello Everyone,

Today you will do an activity that will help you prepare for next week.

Write about the topic or character you have chosen for your presentation.

Write:

Why you chose it

The specific (more or less) elements you will include

How you will organize it

Include anything else you consider relevant.

Write a minimum of 180 words and 3 comments to classmates.

My presentation will be about linguist, philosopher and political activist Noam Chomsky.

I will divide my presentation into 3 parts.: The area of linguistics and his initial studies, his political involvement and also the reason why I chose him.

I think it is difficult to do this since there so much information to include. This is why I selected some main points as a sample presentation.

I have chosen him above other people because I admire his contributions in the area of linguistics but also because I feel his involvement in the area of politics and his acknowledgement of the injustice present in many places, plus the terrible American /British foreign policy, has cost him a lot and still he perseveres to make people aware of what happens. As a Jewish, he has gone against the Jewish community and the right wing in the US to make strong statements. There are few intellectuals that take the time to do this. I value it.

Friday 2 May 2014

Good evening everyone,

Today we have the chance to write about a free topic.

Sometimes this poses a difficult task. Freedom can be challenging since we are used to being told what to do since we are little. I have issues when it comes to having too many choices..... Okay, here we go...

Even though I have always loved nature and green areas, my interested in plants and growing started say 7 years ago... More particularly, when I heard about the effect genetically modified food had had in rats and the possibility of Upov 91 being passed here. This modification of the law was proposed by our lady president in her prior administration.

It made me think a lot in what we eat. Fortunately, I have never been a big fan of sweets (only chocolate) so eating fairly healthy stuff is not a problem. But I know that for a lot of people this is a problem and they see no way out of loads of junk food. It is cheaper and it is addictive.

I live in a flat so growing veggies did not seem like an easy task but with determination and not knowing much about this; I started my little orchard on my balcony. This enterprise has shown me that having your own food is not free from stress. It is amazing the number of plagues you find even in the city. No wonder organic vegetables are so expensive.

Anyway, it makes me happy to have my own lettuce, rocket, tomatoes, mint, parsley, coriander and other pesticide free stuff.

I could go on for ever but I will finish this post by adding I strongly believe many of the illnesses we see today (attentional deficit, diabetes, obesity, allergies,etc.) are partly caused by the food we eat. Many of the additives used here are forbidden in developed countries. And many harmful ones (like aspartame) are still legal worldwide. We don’t seem to read labels enough; we are not aware what we put in our body and I feel this should change.

In conclusion, I feel we need to pay more attention in general. It is not about being radical about anything. Just to be more mindful and more careful with what we eat and when we eat it.

Please remember to use www.wordreference.com

Write about something that motivates you.

Write a minimum of 180 words and 2 comments in new blogs (where you have not commented before) and 2 comments in any blog you like. Don't forget I am part of the class, too.

Try to give a structure to your text, something like intro, body, ending . Add a picture if you like.

You have 48 hours to fulfill this task (Sunday evening) .

Friday 25 April 2014

Online

I like the internet. I love the fact that I can learn about anything I am interested in or just ask about particular things. I spend some time on the internet every day, I think. I use google a lot , I use gmail, youtube and facebook sometimes, etc.

I am interested in politics even though I despise most politicians. Politics is present everywhere and in all areas, and I suppose I became interested the day I realized how Education was affected by political decisions. How educational research to a large extent was determined by the administration at the time.

A few years back, I was reading about genetically modified food and found a website by chance. The site is http://www.democraciadirecta.cl. I liked it immediately because it shows news about communities and ordinary people like you or me, about decisions taken and affecting a lot of citizens. I like to know about the people in general and not just about those around me. It is good to see articles about issues that do not appear in mass media. I visit this website once a week and I look at interesting articles. Another website I like is www. ciperchile.cl. This website shows a lot of serious journalistic research that would never appear on TV. A friend of mine told me about this site by chance. I visit it every two weeks more or less.

Write about a website you like.

Why you like it.

How you discovered it and how often you visit it. You can upload a picture if you like.
Remember to use wordreference.com or ask me if you have questions. There is also the verb list here on this blog

Write a minimum of 170 words. Put 1 comment on a blog on which you have not commented before and 2 comments on 2 different classmates or teacherJ

Friday 11 April 2014

Evaluation +

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

Two marks will be averaged. Mark 1 is for continuous assessment (i.e. coming to class and posting IN class).If you come to class & write the right number of words, plus the ideas your are asked to express AND comments, you get 2 points. If you don't come to class & post from anywhere else within 24 hours, you get 1 point. After that there are no points,but you can still write for the sake of learning & because of mark 2.

Mark 2 is for 2 particular posts that will be evaluated in terms of (ideas (n° of words), word range & grammar). If the post is not there when it is marked, you get a 1.0 for that post. These 3 marks are evaluated and give an average final mark = mark 2.

Ps: You can use www.wordreference.com but NO translators.If you do the latter, you get a 1.0 & no points for your post. The worst of all, you don't learn. :(

MARK 1 +MARK 2= /2 = FINAL MARK

These two marks will be averaged and will give your final mark :) If you have any doubts, let me know.Kind regards,
Beatriz

Today I'd like to tell you about a place I have enjoyed. The truth is, I have been lucky enough to visit several places. Having said this, there are still a lot of places I'd like to visit in and outside Chile.
Even though there are many places in the north and south of our country I could mention because Chile is an AMAZING coutry, today I'll refer to a place I fell in love with in 2010. This is a National park called “Abel Tasman” in the north of the south island of New Zealand. I guess the reason why I liked it so much has to do with many factors. It was a very particular day which started cloudy but it was sunny at times. I think it also rained at one point. I did a 4 hour- walk through this park which had some really dry bits, some really wet parts, deserted bits, and dark areas due to the thick vegetation. I also got to meet people from different places. I even got to hear some Chileans on the ferry crossing from one island to the other

The most amazing thing about it was the giant ferns (helechos). I had never seen such big ferns before. They were actual trees (They are a national symbol of NZ). Moreover, I got to see a number of birds & insects and the whole scenery was awesome.
What I really like best about New Zealand in general is how “relaxed” people seem. Even in Auckland! I guess it has to do with the fact that there are so few people (Around 4 million in the whole country!). You can travel for miles and not see anyone. I really like that.

Well, now it is time for you to share. You can use www.wordreference.com as a dictionary.

Write about a place that you enjoyed visiting Upload a picture.
Say:
When you went there
Who you went with
What you did there
Why you liked this place (140 words Minimum)

Post 3 short comments on different class blogs. This is part of the marked task.

Remember this has mostly to do with the experience we had, any place can be the perfect place.

Remember to ask if you have doubts.

Since we express lots of ideas in the past, here is some help with irregular verbs

Friday 4 April 2014

Welcome Bloggers!!!

Your first task is to create a blog and to link all your classmates. Please ask if there is something you don't understand.

To begin with you need to create a gmail account.

1. If you have a google account: sign in first, if you don’t have a google account: create a google account

2. Go to: http://www.blogger.com/

3. Click: create your blog now

4. Please remember to change the language during set up so that your blog is in English. To do this, go to dashboard, settings and language and formatting on the left hand side.

5. Name your blog. My name is English Thinglish (different to the URL)

6. Choose any template you like

7. If you haven’t yet, go o to dashboard, scroll down to the bottom of the page & change the language to English.

This is a very important part of today’s task. Write your name and URL on the board, then

8 Go to design, add a gadget, layout, LINK LIST, and add names & links and when you have the last name linked, save. Ask the teacher if you are not sure.

9. Start posting (dashboard) Write a short introduction of yourself :) You can use www.wordreference .com NO TRANSLATORS ARE ALLOWED!!!

Minimum 120 words

About myself,

My name is Beatriz and I was born in the city of Temuco. I like what I do, which is teaching. But above all I love travelling and learning all kinds of new things, and in all areas (mostly humanities). I suppose I am one of those “eternal students” At the moment I am doing a course in Buddhism and modern psychology at the University of Princeton and “I am loving it”.

I am happily married and have a 14 year old cat. I like sports, music, films and arts in general. In contrast, I do not like unsympathetic people and I do not believe in this individualistic society in which people seem to count for the money and possessions they have.

Friday 21 March 2014

Welcome to English 3!

My name is Beatriz and I hope we have a good time.

Remember you can find all details for our class on

www.plataforma.uchile.cl (programa inglés)

Do not forget this class has a 75% attendance requirement. The way to pass is basically to be in class and participate :)

We will use today’s class to revise some basic areas of English

Please make sure you READ INSTRUCTIONS on each link before you start.

Remember you can use www.wordreference.com dictionary to look for vocabulary when needed.

Let’s start with a crossword to check your vocabulary. Read instructions before you play.

https://elt.oup.com/student/headway/elementary4/vocabulary/unit09/hwy_elem_unit09_2?cc=cl&selLanguage=en

visit and do a couple of links in plataforma:

http://www.lapetus.uchile.cl/lapetus/2009/1/ingles/themes/begginer/theme04_act03.htm

http://www.thetaoofmakingmoney.com/2007/02/26/260.html

Now, go to:

https://elt.oup.com/student/headway/preint/e_games/hwy_preint_dolphingame?cc=cl&selLanguage=en

https://elt.oup.com/student/headway/elementary4/vocabulary/unit10/hwy_elem_unit10_2?cc=cl&selLanguage=en

1. Visit the site, read the explanations and then scroll down to exercises on simple past and check your understanding by clicking on a minimum of 4 different links.

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/simple-past

2. Do the following quiz:

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/questions/simple_past2.htm

3. Let’s listen

We will start with more basic and then a bit more ones.

Visit the following website. Listen to the conversation. Then click on the vocabulary quiz and the comprehension quiz on the right hand side.

A http://www.elllo.org/english/0051/085-Kentaro-Apples.htm

B http://www.elllo.org/english/1201/1219-Vella-MaleTears.htm

C http://www.elllo.org/video/1151/V1194BradHabits.htm

Some more work.

http://www.lapetus.uchile.cl/lapetus/2009/1/ingles/themes/intermediate/theme01_act01.htm

If you can’t accesses the link above, visit www.plataforma.uchile.cl and go to Pre – intermediate, and then go to the activities 1,2,4,5 on unit 1 (you will need your password)

Part II

4. Let’s check how much you remember in terms of frequency:

http://www2.cambridge.org/interchangearcade/launch.do?activityID=591&level=1&unit=6&type=Cup_multiple_choice&stage=1

5. Let’s check your pronunciation. Do you remember where to stress words?

Go to the easy level units 1& 2. Read instructions and then play

http://elt.oup.com/student/headway/preint/e_games/hwy_pre_stressmonster?cc=cl&selLanguage=en

6. Select the correct alternative

http://elt.oup.com/student/headway/preint/a_grammar/unit01/hwy_preint_unit01_2?cc=cl&selLanguage=en

7. Do you remember the difference between these two tenses?

I am studying philosophy

I study philosophy

Let’s see