Learning Journal 7

Today we started with the Group Work Assessment. I'm very happy with my 18 and the general marks of the group. I hope we'll keep up the good work at the following tasks! After that we read Chinua Achebe's text and we analysed it. Actually I didn't analyse anything because I was speaking all the time. I need to focus, I need to pay attention to the lesson... "Otherwise I'll fall", as I said at my first message. Anyway, I'll try to be focus next time. All in all, the lesson was normal and Friday we'll have more! See you

I have a suggestion...

First, the video campaign. Then, a simple magazine. Two little things that made me think.

I am very interested in helping people, giving something to this world, being aware of what's happening out there, opening my mind (!)... so I registered myself on the Amnesty International's site. I like to go there and read some interesting things, some powerful histories...but my real wish is to do something. I want to get up, to stand up, to convince people, to try hard to make my message heard. And so I would like to make a suggestion. At 10th of December the 60 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are marked. The Amnesty gives a lot of ideas and activities for us to use at the school, in order to give importance to the Human Rights and this remarkable date. One of them was to show a movie related with that and I thought that we could see GoodBye Bafana, which is about Nelson Mandela. I bet that many people have no idea who he is and what he did and I think it was very interesting to do something like this. Probably the program is too extensive and we can't "waste" time with this things but... asking is trying. And I like to try :)

Learning Journal 6

Today we did some interesting things. The lesson started with some noise: my classmates were discussing the strikes that have been happening lately! Very good topic, I think, but not the best moment to discuss that. Some expressed theirselves, some didn't, but we will have the opportunity to debate that another day and I hope so. Then we did the Group Work Assessment. I actually didn't understand that we were supposed to deliver it last lesson, so we were one of the groups that didn't do it at the time. But we did it today and now we are curiously waiting for the teacher's assessment. Then we had some time to do some excercises about Reported Speech. My group didn't work very well today, we were always talking. I don't feel able to shut up the girls, sometimes I say things like : "come on, let's do it". But the conversation continues and I love talking, so I let myself go and I don't do the exercises. I need to avoid those situations. We corrected the worksheet and then we read an extract of the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Abebe which I found a little bit difficult, honestly. But I liked it.

Thank you for the feedback!

As soon as I can, I will make sure all the corrections are done and I'll post my texts. It seems that the Portfolio has been stopped but it's just now, during the first round of tests. Thank you for all the suggestions and the motivation you keep giving to me. I really appreciate that. :)

Learning Journal 5

Today we corrected the exercises of Amartya Sen's autobiography and Linking Words. I actually dind't like the autobiography, it was boring, I didn't like Amartya's writing. I liked a few moments at the lesson in which we gave our opinion (I actually didn't but my classmates did...) about English as being an important subject for us, for example, and i liked it. The lesson was normal, there's not much to say. I realized that maybe I'll have to make an effort in order to participate more. I usually want to but... I think I feel shy. Whatever, I'll try!

Learning Journal 4

This is the Learning Journal of the last lesson which was yesterday, 7 November.

In the begining we talked about where we would like to go in a study visit (is study visit correct? I don't think so) and i could see a lot of expectations. We would love to go to England but that is not an easy thing to organize, at all. Anyway, wherever we'll go, we'll enjoy it, I believe. Then we did an exercise which was a biography of Martin Luther King and after that we were supposed to read Amartya Sen's autobiography and answer some questions, but I forgot to print the text and the worksheets and so we did another task related with Linking Words. Despite the problem of not having the worksheets the group has worked well and followed the alternative task. In a general way I think our class is going very well and I hope we'll keep up the good work.

Finally, the sketches! (LJ 3)

I must admit: I've been wishing for today's lesson for a long time! First of all, because we worked so much on the sketch that we only wanted to do it once and for all; then because I was completely curious about the other group's sketches! I felt very happy when I saw that every group had the work done at the time and, especially, with so much interest in it.
I really enjoyed doing my sketch because, at the begining, things were not going very well. I was always saying that the idea was good but there was something missing! And then Raquel had the brilliant idea of doing, instead of only the 7 sins, the 7 sins of the XXIº Century. And that's when things started to move on! So, in the end, I felt extremely happy because everything was fine and we did a good job. I'm very proud of my group because we all worked together and we overcomed all the problems. Filipa did a very good job speaking english, as well as Monica. Me and Raquel were more confortable speaking, bue we gave our contribution by giving some good ideas and details to the sketch.
I have no words to describe how happy I am! Very different from the last year, isn't it?

P.S - I also would like to say thank you to Norman because without him we couldn't have the beggar! Thank you, thank you, thank you! :)

Arranged Marriages

The world is too big to have only one culture, at least in our times, in which man is not able (yet?) to accept the difference. So we live in a planet full of many people, many places and dominant cultures very different from one another.
That's why problems like arranged marriages come up, and I say "problem" because in my society, in my culture, it really sounds like a problem.
In the West, marriage has undergone a lot of changes along History. There were times in which arranged marriages were used for many reasons. It could be like a mechanism for someone to ascend into a higher status in society, for example. Anyway, the course of things changed. Marriage started to be much more human than a political or religious mechanism. In other words, people are now married because they love the other person, instead of being married because of political reasons or other things. And this happens because people in the West have enough freedom to do that.
I strongly believe, to sum up, that this is the right way to do things. People should have the power to decide, because in fact it's their lives that are at stake.

Learning Journal 2

Today we did a written test. I think I did well. I just need to organize the time better and, of course, next time bring the dictionary! The sketch is also doing well. Tomorrow we'll meet each other to conclude it. I personally think that the work will be very good. We'll see!

Learning Journal 1

Group Working is not beiing easy. We need to build the sketch and we try to focus on that, but we have different ideas and it's very dificult to reach an agreement. That usually sounds good, but in this case it's not exactly good because the only one who desagrees it's me! I don't have any problem in accepting the ideas of the others, but I think they feel ofended by me, because I don't say "yes" all the time. We are working with an ideia which is cool, but I still think that it could be much better. Anyway, we are working and the sketch will be good. It doesn't need to be perfect, I must understand that.
Today I was the leader and I think I did well. Here are some things that I think I should do better:

• Insist with the group to speak always in English
• Always pay attention to what people suggest
• Motivate the group to overcame their problems

This is it, about today. I will start posting Own Messages, Gammar Points and Vocabulary Records soon.

Learning Journal 0

Today we started the lesson by seeing a video campaign of the International Amnesty which I thought absolutely brilliant. It is only made of images and some sad music, there is no text (only in the last second), not even people appearing. This actually gives a tremendous power to the campaing. I'm sure you're curious, you can see it here if you want.
After discussing some main ideas about the video, we read a speech by Muhammad Yunus and I found some very good points of view that I would like to share. He says that "poverty is a threat to peace" and with so big differeces on the income distribution, in which more than a half of the world population lives on two or even less than one dollar a day, there's no "formula for peace". He also mentions the Millennium Development Goals, that seemed to be a bit forgotten because of the big BOOM of terrorism with the 9/11, and then the Iraq war. But I totaly agree when he says that "putting resources into improving the lives of the poor people is a better strategy than spending it on guns", and I hope that more people around the world thinks this way too.
Anyway, we started doing the worksheet but of course there wasn't enough time, so we are now supposed (supposed, is this correct?) to deliver our work done next Wednesday. This was more or less what we did today. Now, time to work on the sketch! Bye :)*

Intro:

I know I need to do it,
I'm just wondering how to.
(Deadlines are coming)
Too much pressure,
Too little control,
I must do something
Otherwise I'll fall.
I know I need to do it,
just don't have the idea
(Yet!)
Because my brain switched on,
ideas came,
now I'm writing,
this is like a little game.
My message starts here,
Begining my portfolio,
Everything will be written by me
As simple as it should be.
It will have many topics,
you can explore them any time,
I'll make sure
That they will be at least fine.
I'm not experient,
I'm playing with what i got,
But I'm confident enough to know
That my bottle will not stop.
Time to say goodbye,
I hope you like it.
I liked it anyway,
So see you another day.