My Experince of Writing II

The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible. ~Vladimir Nabakov


Six months after recounting my experience of writing in the prof, I dare to say that I find myself at a different stage of the process of writing and this is due to:

First, I have written different types of texts such as articles, profiles, biodatas, tales and both opinion and for and against essays. This experience of writing different types of texts is both challenging and motivating. Challenging because I had to learn how to cope with these texts and respect the structure and motivating because I believe that if I had spent the whole year writing narratives I would have lost interest in developing and improving this skill. Variety, without a shadow of a doubt, is essential to keep students motivated.

Second, I consider incredibly fruitful the process of writing different drafts and having feedback from my peers and tutors before having my writing graded by my teacher. I have learnt to pay close attention to range, register, style, organization and content which I had never acknowledged before. Every person in my process of writing has been of great help. What I most value of all of them is that they didn’t clarify my doubts by just correcting grammar or lexical mistakes, they made suggestions, put questions to me so I could reflect on them and reach an answer on my own.

Third, writing used to be a real time-consuming task for me. I could spend days trying to write a narrative. Along the year, I have managed to write diverse texts in less time. In hindsight, I think this was possible because of the structure of the texts. Besides, even though I still disapprove of writing any type of text in a final exam, this year, when I had to write an article and an essay in class-which is similar to writing in a final instance-I didn’t feel under pressure. These experiences were much more gratifying since I had the tools to write, I knew the structures, the topics had been discussed in class beforehand and I knew I had to focus on certain features such as content, range, register and so on.

In a nutshell, though I still believe that I have to work on improving “My third eye” and the layout, I consider it has been a successful experience. I don’t feel panic when facing a blank sheet of paper with a title. I learnt how to catch the reader’s attention-the introductions were the strong points in my writings- and what characteristics a skillful writer should develop.

Discrimination in the classroom

Discrimination is so ingrained in our society that we tend to ignore it or even worse, we tend to neglect it. Though school is a place where discrimination shouldn’t be allowed to enter; where teachers and administrators should guarantee a safe environment in order to achieve their aim, that is to say, to promote learning, very often we can see teachers discriminating against students or students discriminating against their own classmates.

As a teacher, I had the opportunity -or misfortune- to witness discrimination at school. “It is difficult for them to learn because they come from the lower class” or “They can’t even speak in Spanish and you expect them to speak in English”. This is what many pedagogists call “labelling”. A label is like a tattoo on your skin, a mark which is difficult to get rid of. Hence, it is one of the worst crimes that a teacher can commit. Teachers who really believe that their students can’t learn, who expect nothing from them, won’t encourage their students to do their best in order to succeed and achieve high-quality work. Therefore, they will condemn their students to failure. Besides, students are not dumb. They can detect the teacher’s attitude easily. The message that students receive is that the teacher “doesn’t care about them”, which destroys their self-esteem and their self-concept.

What happens when students discriminate against their own classmates? Who is to blame? Most of my students come from Bolivia and, as you may know, the Bolivians are the perfect target for racists. In my class, I’ve heard comments such as “callate boliviano sucio”. I strongly believe that a child can’t reproduce such a comment without having heard it before from his or her family. Children do not discriminate by nature, they learn to do so, either at school or at home. So we adults, are always to blame. In such situations, the role of the teacher is extremely relevant. If the teacher turns a blind eye, she or he will probably contribute to increasing discrimination in the classroom. However, if she or he takes part in the problem, the result can be completely different. Taking part doesn’t mean telling off your students, it implies talking about this issue with them and explaining to them why they did is wrong.

All in all, my advice is: Next time you hear someone discriminating against somebody else, do intercede. No matter if he or she is a teacher or a student and ask your students to tell you if they ever feel discriminated against. To be a good teacher, first we must be a good person.

SCs&AWRs

Language shapes the speaker’s mind

According to some critics who support Political Correcteness, language shapes the speaker’s mind. Political Correctness is a term which intends to minimize offence to racial, cultural, or other identity groups. In other words, PCness is a non-offensive use of language and also of ideas.

A good example would be the expression “Employees are allowed to bring their wives and children” which presupposes that all employees are men, heterosexuals, that they are married and that they have children as well. This expression seems to be leaving out homosexuals, single and childless men and therefore, it would be considered a “discriminatory or offensive expression”. Other expressions such as “horizontally challenged” or “black” instead of “fat” or “negro” have been proposed by PC supporters. The purpose of using inclusive or neutral language is to make people aware of the language they use and make them reflect on the different choices they can make to avoid discrimination.

Contrary to this view, Political Correcteness opponents believe that PCness fosters censorship and endangers free speech. According to them, language, which is ingrained in a given culture, represents ideologies, thoughts and beliefs and should, for this reason, be respected. PCness opponents see PCness supporters as extremists. Hence, PCness opponents usually employ satirical expressions, such as “chronologically challenged” instead of “old” to express their point of view against PCness supporters. These satirical expressions have provoked a number of jokes. As a consequence, PCness is sometimes not considered a serious matter.

Though, the term Political Correcteness is not widely used in Argentina, there is evidence that it is gradually being employed in certain contexts such as public organizations. Some years ago, when someone filled a form, she or he found the following expression printed on it: “El que suscribe” “El Sr…” as if women were not capable of filling any administrative document. Nowadays, it is common to read “El/La que suscribe...”.However, the Argentines still employ offensive language in everyday conversations. For instance, the word “black”, as in many countries, has a negative connotation. For this reason, it is frequent to hear “Es un negro” to refer to somebody who belongs to the low class, or the term “Bolita” to refer to somebody who comes from Bolivia. This may imply that the person uttering the word “Bolita” feels superior to the person coming from Bolivia.

In my opinion, a PC policy should be implemented in different spheres of life such as school or work in order to avoid discrimination. However, I believe there should exist a reasonable use of Pcness to avoid censoring free speech and debate.

SCs&AWRs

A true tale of Argentine life

Uncle Luis


It was a freezing cold night in July, and there were four of us having dinner at granddad’s home: my granddad, my uncle Luis, my mother and I. Since we were not the typical family that was in permanent contact and gathered every week to share our happiness and miseries, that day was considered an unusual one. This family used to be one before grandma’s death and another, completely different one, after her death.

The special night included the saddest anniversary, two years without grandma and believe it or not, Luis’ appearance. During grandma’s last days, Luis had been infatuated with a voluptuous shop assistant, so he would spend his valuable time running behind her whims. He did not even assist his mother in her clinical admission as he was so busy immersed in an uncertain business.

During the meal, nobody uttered a word and we could clearly hear the sound of the wood crackling. After a while, Luis finally did it. Once again he originated a controversy.
“Dad, remember the plots of land Mum used to have in Monte Maiz?” he asked.
“Yes, why are you asking, Luis? Are you planning to move in? Granddad replied.
“Oh no, it’s just that I’m investing some money in a new business. This is the best moment to do so and I don’t want to miss this opportunity. So I thought you could sell the plots and give me my part of the inheritance.”
At that time, my mother’s face went red with anger. Dropping the cutlery, she yelled at him: “Your what? Your father is still alive. Can’t you see him?”

Oh no! My mother is being sarcastic again. Sarcasm is not the only quality that my mother possesses; sometimes Mr. Rage comes to visit her. So my mother, completely seized by Mr. Rage, continued shouting: “You are a spoilt child who only cares about himself. I have an idea! I can also give you MY part (emphasising “my”) so you can pay the food expenditures of your daughter, the one you haven’t seen for two years and you can also afford the treatment for your little problem” That comment was definitely the icing on the cake. The name of my uncle’s little problem was “alcoholism”.

Mum was so livid that she couldn’t measure her words. She blew her top and now she had to face the consequences of her lack of tact. Granddad was absolutely speechless. He murmured some words but we could not understand him. Luis stared at Mum for some minutes and before leaving the house, he shouted: “Who do you think you are?” Seeing Granddad crying broke my heart. That was the last time that Mum and I saw Uncle Luis.

SCs&AWRs

Education in crisis

Is there any way to motivate students?

Despite the changes made in the curriculum in the last years, schools are still in difficulty. Every year, a great number of primary and secondary students do not succeed in obtaining the standardized levels or do not manage to finish school, and those who remain there do not demonstrate any interest in their own learning. Why do teachers fail to motivate students? What can they do to promote motivation?

To begin with, many schools still follow a behaviourist approach whereby students are externally motivated to complete a task by being promised a reward, such as a higher mark for those who complete or submit the task first. External rewards communicate that learning and academic competence are not relevant or valuable; what is valuable is the incentive students are receiving.

Secondly, teachers’ impact on students may either suppress or encourage their motivation. Regardless of undeniable evidence to the contrary, a large number of teachers consider that fear is a great tool to motivate students in order to attain high achievement. Another factor that limits motivation is coercion which many teachers believe is necessary to maintain their authority. Schools are by nature coercive organizations. In such environments, students may succeed when performing what they are compelled to do, but they will probably express little interest in doing high-quality work.

Contrary to this approach, a number of teachers believe that motivation can be effectively promoted and they employ different methods to do so. For instance, by creating a secure environment in which students feel safe and in which they can achieve academic competence. If students feel insecure, they may demonstrate no engagement, creativity or enthusiasm. Creating a cooperative classroom in which students can experience a sense of belonging and connection is another technique to promote motivation. In this case, the teacher should provide cooperative activities such as pair-work. Enjoyment and fun should also be part of the class. An enjoyable classroom does not imply disorder or lenient teachers, on the contrary, it favours learning.

In addition, teachers should develop positive relationships with their students. Teachers who respond to students’ concerns in an empathic way and establish relationships of mutual trust and respect are more likely to inspire them on academic issues than those who do not have personal bonds with students.

Finally, one of the aspects related to motivation which is usually disregarded is related to feelings, more exactly, self-esteem and self-confidence. Students with low self-esteem or self-confidence see complex tasks as personal threats. They focus on their deficiencies and on the obstacles they encounter rather than on how to perform the task successfully. As a result, they lose faith in their capabilities and tend to abandon easily. Since self-esteem and self-confidence are social products because they are shaped and generated by individuals around, the opinion of significant figures, in this case the teacher, may play an important role when strengthening or undermining a student’s image.

To finish, it may be concluded that the role of teachers in promoting motivation is relevant. In my opinion, the reward approach should be avoided and teachers should foster positive relationships with their students. When students feel respected and loved by the teacher, they feel free in a secure place and take more risks.

SCs&AWRs

TIPS ON ARGENTINA

Planning to visit Argentina? This beautiful country offers tourists a wide range of attractions, striking places to visit and high-quality accommodation at reasonable prices but before embarking on this trip, we suggest you read this article to get to know the Argentine people and their culture.

Identity
The majority of the Argentines descend from European immigrants, especially from the Italian and the Spanish. Argentines often see themselves as Europeans rather than Latin Americans because of their strong family bonds. Who doesn’t know an Italian grandma who prepares pasta on Sundays? An Argentine will ask or tell you the origin of his/ her surname when filling a form or doing any other administrative task.


Communication
Argentines are by nature expressive so they will greet you with a kiss or two, depending on the province you are visiting and they will usually touch you when speaking. Cheek kissing for the Argentines means friendliness, sociability and respect. Handshakes are merely used in business contexts.


There’s always a good reason to celebrate
A hen, stag or the recently fashionable divorce party; a promotion; a reunion, the purchase of a new house or just passing an exam .Argentines have thousands of reasons to celebrate and if they don’t have one, they will make it up. The best option for them is to gather in a house to eat the typical “asado”. The meeting can begin at 11 in the morning and continue until the wee hours of the next day. If you have the opportunity to visit an Argentine family, you will be the reason to celebrate.

Football is everything
In Argentina, football is not just a sport. It is a lifestyle. A true Argentine must support a football team and this choice is normally imposed, before the time of birth, by the supporter’s parents. Heated discussions about football are very common everywhere: at the office, around the table while having lunch or dinner, or even on the bus among strangers. Different opinions about football have even caused family feuds. So be careful when you discuss football with an Argentine football fan: they tend not to bear diverse points of view.

In a nutshell, don’t feel intimidated if an Argentine kisses you on the cheek and kiss him/her back. Prepare yourself to celebrate and also prepare your stomach to eat and drink till bursts! Argentines have a motto: “Never discuss politics, religion and football at the table.” Try to follow it to avoid bitter memories and last but not least, enjoy your stay!

SCs&AWRs

Abortion: A controversial issue

Abortion has always generated a heated debate all over the world, with supporters claiming that it is the right of pregnant women to decide over their body, while opponents maintain that abortion is equivalent to infanticide.

Firstly, abortion supporters, known as “pro-choice,” strongly believe that every woman should have complete control over her body and no law should forbid her to decide what to do with it. Furthermore, they consider that women should also choose how many children they desire to have. Therefore, if a woman gets pregnant and the pregnancy is not desired, for instance when a woman has been raped, she should have an induced abortion in a secure hospital or clinic.

Secondly, supporters are convinced that safe abortions will result in a decreased number of deaths per year. Hundreds of women die every year due to back-street abortions in Argentina. Regardless of the fact that only therapeutic abortions are legal, most of the abortions that are practiced do not follow therapeutic reasons, hence they are considered illegal and ninety per cent of the women having them belong to the lower class. Since they cannot afford the expenditures of a clinic admission or professional care, they resort to clandestine clinics with non professional “specialists”, exposing themselves to high risks such as hemorrhages, infections, convulsions or incomplete abortions.

In contrast, abortion opponents, known as “pro-life”, are divided into two types. On the one hand, there exist those who are in favour of therapeutic abortions and reject elective abortions and, on the other hand, those who are against any kind of induced abortion. Therapeutic abortion is performed to save the life of the pregnant woman or to safeguard the woman’s mental health. Pro-life activists believe that killing a fetus is equivalent to killing a child or an adult human being. Moreover, they consider abortions unconstitutional acts because they violate the Argentine National Constitution which guarantees the right to life.

In addition to this, pro-life advocates emphasize the physical and psychological consequences of abortions. As regards the former, abortion increases the risks of breast, cervical and ovarian cancer. It also increases the risks of uterine perforation and placenta praevia in later pregnancies. What is more, women who have had induced abortions are more likely to have spontaneous abortions later in life than those who have never had one. Regarding the latter, abortion may cause stress and nervous disorders. Women also experience recurrent and guilty thoughts about the abortion which tends to lead them to a deep depression.

All things considered, it can be concluded that since abortion is an ethical and moral issue considered one of the most arguable subjects of controversy, an agreement between supporters and opponents will be difficult to reach. Both sides seem to have strong beliefs and to be reluctant to change their minds. As far as I am concerned, I believe abortion should be legal for therapeutic reasons or when a woman has been raped. However, I believe that we would not be discussing this topic if there were preventive measures, if people were taught from an early age how to prevent unwanted pregnancies and if they had easy access to contraceptives.

SCs&AWRs

Bilingualism

People may become bilingual either by acquiring two languages at the same time in childhood or by learning a second language sometime after acquiring their first language. Many bilingual people grow up speaking two languages.
The exposure must involve interaction; a child growing up in an English-speaking household who is exposed to Spanish only through Spanish-language television will not
become a Spanish-English bilingual, but a child who is regularly spoken to in both English and Spanish will. Children who hear more than one language virtually from birth are sometimes referred to as “simultaneous bilingual”, whereas those who begin to learn a second language later are referred to as “sequential bilingual”

It is also possible to learn a second language sometime after early childhood, but the older you get, the harder it is to learn to speak a new language as well as a native speaker. Many linguists believe there is a “critical period”. The critical period refers to the idea that the ability to acquire language is biologically linked to age. The hypothesis claims that there is an ideal “window” of time to acquire language in a linguistically rich environment, after which this is no longer possible. Hence, the first few years of life is the crucial time in which an individual can acquire a first language if presented with adequate input. If language input does not occur until after this time, the individual will never achieve a full command of language, especially grammatical systems.

Research has shown that bilingualism is beneficial for children’s development and their future. Children exposed to different languages become more aware of different cultures, of other people and of other points of view. According to these linguists, knowing a second language actually benefits a child's cognitive development. They also state that if the child comes from a family that has recently immigrated to the U.S., the family may speak other language than English at home and may still have strong ties to their ethnic roots. In this case, being able to speak the language of the family's ethnic heritage may be important for the child's sense of cultural identity. To be unable to speak the family's language can make a child feel like an outsider within his or her own family; speaking the family's language gives the child a sense of identity and belonging.

First Language Acquisition: Is the process of acquiring a language straightforward?

How hard is it to be bilingual? Since we may be familiar with first and second language acquisition, during this talk, we will show some evidence of the theories that we have been discussing throughout these years. We will count on the personal testimony of an English-speaking mother and a Spanish-speaking father who have shared with us their own experience of their children’s language acquisition. Both theory and first-hand experience are key factors in understanding the process a child has to go through in order to acquire his/her first language. Do come and see our poster to find out more about this complex process.

An intercultural experience

Anna’s visit left me a concrete and real idea of how schools work in Great Britain.
Their customs are greatly different from ours. So more than once, I found myself gaping at her. Let me tell you a little about British Boarding Schools and Anna’s experience in those schools.
There are over 700 boarding schools in U.K. The majority of them are private but some state schools offer boarding facilities. These schools are located on campus, like universities and they preserve the Norman architecture. Fascinating! Teenagers study in castles. Strict, high achieving and traditional are some of the characteristics to describe these places. Each school has 7 boarding houses and each house is a separate community which accommodates 50 pupils. There exists a family-type atmosphere since students are away from their homes. This really caught my attention. Imagine Argentine students living miles away from their families in order to study in secondary school. This is almost unthinkable in our culture.
However, they also apply punishments for those students who misbehave, such as detention, suspension or physical punishment: students run in the rain. That comment made think about military service.
Though girls and boys live in different houses, lessons are mixed. Housemasters or mistress, called House Parents, are in charge of the boarding houses. Anna’s father himself is headmaster so she didn’t feel the absence of her family like the rest. The House Parents fulfill different roles at the same time: academic, parental and a disciplinary roles.They are models for the students, thus they have a great responsibility with them. Anna is really happy with her academic experience. She believes that living away from your family is an advantage because this experience prepares student to face life differently, taking into account that most of them complete their studies abroad. So they are not attached to their families. She is also very proud with the academic level of these schools. I agree with her. Anna is 19 years old if I’m not wrong and she looks like a free spirit. She travels from one country to another learning and experiencing and this is invaluable.
We wanted to give Anna a suitcase full of pictures and gifts but that was not possible so we decided to give her a Power Point Presentation with cultural pictures, the most significant for us, those which describe us as Argentines.
Meeting Anna was a nice experience. I hope to see her again. Maybe next year… Who knows?

Human Cruelty.Animal Suffering

Abandoned animals

Vicente. A victim of human cruelty.
Vicente on his way to full recovery






In our country there are thousands of animals living in the streets without shelter, food or water. Many of these animals are ill-treated or injured by their old owners and they are condemned to a tragic end, they are run over by a car or starve to death. Dogs and cats are domestic animals and they are not used to hunt, they need to be fed and a home to live in.
In summer, they suffer from dehydration and in winter from hypothermia.The situation is even worse for female animals, most of them are abandoned when they are pregnant andthe female animal is left wandering in the streets looking for a place to give birth. People do not care how much they suffer the human cruelty. In our country there is a law to protect them, if someone kills or abuses of an animal, he/she must be arrested.The condemn goes from 15 days to 1 year, but as many laws in this country, this law is not applied. Nowadays, in some provinces, they are discussing a law to exterminate abandoned animals.
Don’t you think that this situation could be completely different if we were aware of our responsibility? If we had our animals neutered to avoid unwanted reproduction?
If each of us adopted an animal and took care of it, if each of us taught our children, neighbors, friends, relatives etc that animals, like human beings, have rights and must be respected and loved.I’m sure the situation would be different.

This, more or less, was my speech.I almost began to cry when I was speaking. I am so involved in this issue that I can hardly speak without feeling a lump in my throat. Maybe it was not the best option but I wanted my classmates to know about the situation that many animals are going through. I strongly believe that the first step to change this is "awareness" and to make people aware we need to spread their stories.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKWISMx0_Gw

My Biodata

Anahi R. Druetta is a third -year student at JVG Teacher Training College. She has been an English primary teacher for four years. Her main interest areas are Methodology and Linguistics.

My Experience of Writing

Whenever I have to write a narrative, which is the only text type I have ever written, I encounter no difficulty in finding the subject or main idea to write about. I’m usually inspired by true stories, stories that someone has told me or that I have read in the newspapers or heard in the news. Sometimes, I change the ending or add new characters to make the story more appealing.

As regards my weak points, it takes me days to write a narrative. Knowing the plot of the narrative is just the first step but then I have to capture the story in a sheet of paper, which is not an easy task. Cohesion, Coherence, spelling, collocations, idioms and enriching vocabulary are many of the issues that we have to bear in mind when writing, so you can imagine my working table when I have to plunge into this complex task, full of dictionaries and notes.

Despite this time-consuming task, I really get pleasure from writing because I can see the progress and I must admit that I owe most of my improvement to my peers and myself. I state this because I have written dozens of narratives at the teacher training college and yet no one has ever taught me how to write a narrative. The teachers just graded my compositions and wrote remarks like: sp (for spelling) wo (for word order) or g (for grammar). Even though these are very important when writing, I believe that we should be taught how to write. I mean how to present, develop and conclude a story. Spelling and word order are issues that we will inevitably learn along with the course and we can do it alone but in order to write a good narrative, we need a guide and this is the teacher’s duty. That’s why I decided, this year, to enroll in this course. When I learnt that Analia Kandel`s course was focused on “the process of writing”, I said to myself “this is what I want”.

To conclude, I would like to add that I strongly disapprove of writing a composition in a final exam. First, we are under great pressure and it is difficult to get a well written story in that situation. Second, we cannot rely on tools, we have no dictionaries or notes to check and I believe that any writer, even well experienced writers use different tools and do research to achieve their aim. This reason leads to the third and probably the most important reason to me: to assess writing, teachers should take into account the progress, the development, the improvement of every student and not just a story written in two hours under pressure and without any material to resort to.

SCs&AWRs

My Profile

Personal Information and Family life

I’m 32 years old and I have lived on my own since 2003 (wow! that’s a lot of time). At that moment, I was eager to become independent because I needed some space and peace to study and work at home. So, while everybody was in despair about the accounts the banks had frozen through the well-known “corralito”, I was elated by the purchase of my own apartment. Despite leaving on my own for many years, I have a close relationship with my whole family, especially with my niece and nephews. I am crazy about them. I usually take them out to lunch or to the cinema but what we most enjoy is to create our own plays and dress up as princesses or cowboys or put my sister’s clothes on. That’s real fun!

English Language and me

I began to study English at a private institute when I was 8 years old .To be honest, I did not enjoy it until one day, I don’t know why, I began to take pleasure in it. When I finished the course, I entered the UBA School of Law to become an English translator but in less than one year I realized that I was following the wrong path so I dropped out . I didn’t touch, literally speaking, a single book of English for 8 years until one day I plucked up courage and decided to do all the things I had been pushing into the background and among those things was my deepest desire to become a teacher of English.Nowadays, I’m working at a state school in the City of Buenos Aires, where I teach English to one hundred six and seven-year-old children and I really adore my job. My aim for next year is to teach in a secondary school.

Spare time and spiritual beliefs

Spare time? What’s that? When you work, study and live on your own it’s pretty difficult to have free time. However, I always try to do my best to find it. Otherwise, life would be boring and exhausting without time for oneself. So, I take roller skating lessons and once a week, I attend a meeting with many Buddhists (yes! I’m a Buddhist). Buddhism is what gives me the strength and joy to overcome obstacles, excel myself and enjoy life.

I’m looking forward to meeting you and learning a lot!

Best,

Anahí

Self-Correction: https://docs.google.com/document/mobilebasic?id=1HFKErHpsbECFSrvSdsTGS9g4kGsipmrgxh5-R_X_42Q
After-Writing Reflections: https://docs.google.com/document/mobilebasic?id=1gfseBI-r6nf38CVgs26Shid4Gx_Cs8rzCm3r1Mn5lTI

Me and Myself

Welcome to my Blog! Feel free to make any comments or suggestions.