My Blogging Experience

Of course, my blogging experience is a bit different from yours...I'm the teacher. I have to write as a kind of example to follow...I have to be an example (part of being a teacher, I guess).

I've basically made the blog writing part of my weekly routine. Usually, I get up a little before 8:00 in the morning on a Wednesday, make my coffee, and write the blog. It's been a kind of nice reflective and contemplative way to start the day. Me, my coffee, and my blog. I've actually liked having to think about various experiences and ideas I've had, and then having to turn them into material for the blog and for all of you to read.

As an educator, I am sure that this has been a very beneficial experience for you and your English. Writing is not easy, and we need to get practice and experience doing it so that we can improve. Writing may be a very important skill in your academic futures as you might want to continue your studies abroad, which means having to take an English test. Writing is always an important element of these tests. In my experience, it's always been hard for students to get enough writing practice. Consequently, writing has been a sort of "weak link" for many test-takers. Therefore, this blogging experience is a GREAT way to do a lot of writing. On top of that, it's a pretty low stress and motivating way to do it.

Perhaps, in the future, we could have a few other topics ot express our ideas and opinions about. Food, the news, people are all great topics that could be incorporated into our blog syllabus.

I'm happy to be a part of this process helping you all to improve your writing. I know a lot of us don't like to write too much, but writing these blogs and commenting on our classmates' entries has been a pretty nice way to do it.

BLOG POST 10 INSTRUCTIONS

Hi Everyone,
Today we write about our experience of writing blogs in English...

We need to mention the following:
What do we think about the experience in general?
How much we feel our writing skills have developed?
What would you like to include in the future?
What else would you like to write about?

This has a word count of 200 as a minimum.

Get to it....

Hurdling

A long time ago...and far away...Well, when I was 14, I learned to become a hurdler. First what is a hurdler? A hurdler is a person who hurdles. This is a type of athlete because hurdling is a track and field sport (athletics). It is even in the Olympics.
I was always pretty fast, and, when I got to high school I wanted to join the track and field team. I passed the try-outs, but for a while I wasn't completely sure what I would specialize in. Our coach suggested I try hurdling.
He was right in suggesting in. I learned to do the technique. The most important thing is that you don't jump over the hurdle. You have to step over it. This is important because you are running, and jumping would ruin the rhythm. Besides, if you jump, you really slow down, and you could fall and have an accident.
I became a hurdler, and I did both types: high 100-meter hurdles, and low 300-meter hurdles. I became pretty good at it, and by my last year in high school when I was 18, I went to the State Championships where I won 3rd place in the state. I never went to the Olympics. Oh well....
Doing this sport taught me a lot about physical discipline, and discipline in general. Like with all sports, you have to be dedicated, and you have to practice. It gave me good habits for life, really. I don't know if I could hurdle now, though...I'm definitely out of practice!

Blog Post 9 Instructions

Hi,
This is blog post nine: Something that I've learned or found out

Tell us something that you've learned about or learned to do or found out about.

Make sure to tell us:
What is it?
Why is it interesting?
How has it changed you or contributed to your knowlege?

Tell us about something that is NOT directly related to your professional formation. It can be recent or a long time ago.

Minimum word count: 150

A subject I enjoy

Since I'm not a student, I can tell you about a subject that I enjoy teaching. I will also cheat a little. I'm not teaching it this semester; I always teach it in the spring.

The subject is British History, Culture and Literature. Well, I'm not British, but I think History is quite fascinating, and I like the topics of Literature and Culture. I'm not a Historian, but rather a Linguist-ESL teacher. However, I did study a lot of History at University, so I feel sufficiently qualified to teach it.

I teach this subject to students of English Pedagogy, and the idea is that they get a general idea of British History and Literature. To be honest, it is all about England: we just don't have time to delve into Scottish, Welsh (or Irish) History and Literature.

The main contents are an overview of the main historical events that have formed England and the English language: the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons in Britain, the Vikings, the French/Norman Conquest, the development of the power of the parliamentary system, various important and colorful monarchs and other characters over the centuries, the English Civil War, the Glorious Revolution, the era of colonial expansion, the Age of Industrialisation, the Victorian Era, World War I, World War II, the loss of Empire, the rise of modern pop culture (the Beatles, etc...)...Well, that's a lot. Of course, we can't forget Shakespeare!

I give the students general ideas, and always make sure to have various students look up various significant historical events, literary works, or historical personages. Then the students have to presentations about what they've researched, thus informing their classmates. Honestly, there are a lot of great videos on Youtube we use, too.

So, I like this class because the subject is just really interesting. I want the students to get a good idea about the environment and events that have formed the English language--which they'll be teaching in the future.

Post 8 Instructions

Hi,

This week we're writing about a subject that you've enjoyed a lot this semester.

Include:

1. The name of this subject
2. Describe what you do in class
3. Mention the main contents you have seen
4. Explain why you like the subject

Enjoy! 180 is the word count minimum

Regards, Eric

Someone I admire in my field

Someone I admire in my field is the great linguist, Noam Chomsky. He wasn't an English teacher (ESL teacher) per se, but since I studied Linguistics, he's very relevant to me. Besides, he contributed a lot to the modern concepts we have about the language acquisition process.

He was born in 1928, the son of Jewish Russian immigrants in Philadelphia, USA. Perhaps, he became so interested in language as he was fluent in three languages as a child: English, Yiddish, and Hebrew--which he had to study a lot as part of his religious training as a child. It's worth noting here that today he's not a religious man. I mention it because this rigorous training may have formed his academic thinking processes.

In the 1950s he REVOLUTIONIZED Linguistics and our understanding of the language acquistion process. He developed the ideas of Universal Grammar that basically states that all human beings have a kind of language computer in their heads when they're born. This "computer" is programmed by the input received from the child's early environment. Universal Grammar has certain constraints and parameters that are universal. I won't go into any detail, but it explains why a child can learn any language to 100% proficiency, no matter where this child was born. This also explains why adults can learn any human language though, maybe, not as proficiently.

Today, many people take these ideas for granted. However, we he came out with this and worked on the data that proved his theory, it was still controversial. There were many other theories out there that explained things rather imperfectly. He changed all of this.

In addition to his great linguistic achievement, he is also a philosopher, logician, and "all.around" intellectual. He often comments on politics and society.

INSTRUCTIONS BLOG POST SEVEN

Hi,
I got kind of mixed up with the numbers of the posts. We are now on post 7!

For this post you have a choice of two.

You can write about a website related to your studies or future profession that you like. In other words, a career-related website.
Describe the website, provide the link to it, say how often you visit the site, explain why you like the site. Add any more information you think is relevant.

Or...

Who is a person in your field you admire?

Say who they are, what they've done, why you like them, include an image of this person.

The word count is 170 for this post (either topic).

The Truth or Feeling Good?

Sometimes we are confronted with this juxtaposition or dichotomy: truth vs. feeling good. This assumes that the truth has to hurt and that feeling good is somehow an illusion or unreality.

I think that it doesn't always have to be this way. We can grow to love the truth, even if it is not always comfortable. Perhaps, we just have to have a more realistic view of ourselves. For example, in that case, if someone tells us that we aren't very good at something, but we already realize this, we won't feel shocked or hurt. Besides, we can still enjoy something, even if we aren't the absolute best at it. I think that enjoying something doesn't always mean being the best or being perfect.

On the other hand, there are occasions when the truth is painful. In that case, I think we should want or need to hear it. It may hurt at first, but eventually we come to accept it or embrace it. We go on from there. New things happen, and we move on.

Besides, we may need to know something awful. What if we're quite sick or have an imminent threat ahead of us? We need to know so that we can deal with it and overcome it. Then, we can go on living, growing, or prospering. Yet, there is no way around that truth in this case. We have to hear it.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR BLOG POST 5

Blog Post Five

What do you prefer: the truth or to feel good?
This question is a bit philosophical, I know...

Include examples and reasons. Explain your point of view well.

Minimum number of words: 160

Remember to comment on 3 of your classmates' posts.

A Post-Graduate Course I might do

Hi All,
Today I am going to consider a very important topic to anyone who works, or who is a professional: How to stay truly up-to-date in the field.
Often we study something, get a degree in it, and start working. Years may pass. Over the years we're doing what we do. We probably do it well and enjoy it. However, things change, and it is a good idea to really know what is going out there in the wider world.
As an English teacher, this concerns me too. Therefore, I would like to take a degree course called something like "updating your language teaching skills"--I suppose it would be called something like that, something similar. It's been a while for me since I was a student, and getting refreshed might do me good.
I'd love to become reaquainted with ideas about English and its role in the world. I'd be interested in taking classes on writing instruction, and on keeping classes entertaining and relevant. Perhaps, incorporation of technology in classes would be a good idea too.
Since I work, and I really can't stop, for me at the moment, the best modality for a course of study would be distance. I know that this brings about challenges, and I enjoy being in the class with classmates, but for the sake of practicality, I would have to do it like this. I've heard of an interesting distance course that offers a degree in what I'm thinking about that is based in England, so I suppose I'd chose that course. I certainly wouldn't mind having to go there once before I graduate. I could mix travel, tourism, and study!
Studying on-line at a distance requires personal discipline. You basically have targets and goals to meet, which means you have to set your own times. You need to maintain your study times on your own, which is not that easy, especially if you're alone and don't have physical contact with the teacher or classmates. However, I think I'm self-disciplined enough to do it.
Now, the big question is: when do I start (amd how much is it?)?

Instructions for Blog Post Five

Hi Students,

This is the topic for this post: A Post-Graduate Course You Would Consider Taking in the Future

--Reasons to do the course
--Subjects you would like to study
--Where you would like to study
--How you would like to study (blended, face-to-face/presence, online, etc...)
--Any other relevant information
Make a comment on 3 classmates' blogs.

Make sure to take a look at mine as an example.

Regards, Eric

My Dream Job

Since I already have a job, I can't talk about a dream job. But, I can tell you about an alternative dream job. It's a job I almost studied for, and, perhaps, in an alternative universe, I would be this: Paleontologist.
In high school, I was quite good at science, and I really liked Biology. I even took a course in Geology, which I loved, and on top of this, I was really interested in Paleontology--which is a kind of branch of Geology, with a bit of Archaeology and Biology thrown in. It is the study of ancient life forms by looking for and excavating fossils.
I was interested in, and still am really, all ancient life forms that have been on our earth, but I especially loved ancient mammals. Many of these ancient mammals looked as strange or frightening as dinosaurs. There was an ancient type of rhinocerous that stood twice as high as a modern elephant, but that didn't have a horn. It was the largest land-walking mammal ever.
So, if I was a paleontologist, I'd work both indoors and out. I'd work at a university where I'd teach and have a lab. I'd also go out on excavations. That would suit me. Perhaps I'd travel to Mongolia, Montana, and Patagonia--places where a lot of fossils are found--although they are found everywhere to tell the truth.
Of course, I'd have to travel a lot to get to the excavation sites (the digs). I'd need funding from foundations or grants from universities. That would require paperwork, so I'd need an office. This aspect of the job would appeal to me the least, to be honest.
I would love to contribute to our knowledge of ancient mammals--of our ancestors--who were running around between the feet of gigantic dinosaurs over 60 million years ago. If we want a good future, we need to know about our past, even the ancient past.

Blog Post Four: My Dream Job (or Future Job)

We are now coming to our fourth blog entry.

Your post should include this information:

1. Outdoor/Indoor Job
2. Would you travel a lot?
3. Would it be in an office?
4. What would you need to study for this job?
5. What other relevant information can you include?

This post should be a bit longer than the previous ones: 210 Word mínimum

Good Luck!