Monday, September 28, 2009
Outline
Introduction
The use of Internet to improve language learning.
1. How Internet has influenced/improved my L1/L2.
a. A tool to find information in English
b. Schools encourage the use of Internet.
2. Advantages of using Internet to improve L1/L2
a. Electronic dictionaries
b. Videos, movies.
c. Exercises.
3. Disadvantages of sing Internet to improve L1/L2
a. Unreliable websites.
b. Not knowing how to use Internet
Conclusion.
INTERNET TO IMPROVE LANGUAGE LEARNING
Which are the tools that are used to improve language learning? Most of the times, people go to school in order to learn a language, and they use books or textbooks that are the typical material used in schools. However, it is very important to know that there is a wide variety of material and tools that can help us improve language learning. An important tool that can help us is Internet in which we can find a lot of information about any language. Nowadays, using Internet can develop better language learning.
Internet has improved my language learning. First, it is a tool that has helped me to get a lot of information about the language that I have been learning which is English. For example, when I have to practice a tense in English, I can find a lot of exercises in which I can improve grammar. Second, using Internet is encouraged by schools, so students get an important tool in order to make progress in their language learning. For example, in my school, which is the UAA (Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes), teachers ask us to put the language into practice in real contexts by using blogs, chat rooms, wikis, e-mails and other Internet programs like messenger, Skype, Google, and so on.
Using Internet has a lot of advantages in language learning. The first advantage is that you can translate a word from one language to another whenever you want, by looking for electronic dictionaries that help you to clarify your vocabulary doubts. In addition, you can find videos or movies in the language that you are learning, so you can use them to learn more about the language.
On the other hand, using Internet has some disadvantages when learning a language. First, since Internet offers a vast variety of websites some of them can contain unreliable information. Because of this, you can get wrong information about a language. In addition, nowadays, most people do not know how to use Internet because they do not have access to it. Because of this, people that do not know how to use Internet have to use the typical materials like books in order to learn or improve a language.
To sum up, improving language learning can be supported by Internet. It is a useful tool that all people should use because it can help us develop better language learning.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Purpose of the essay
I. Personal information.
a. Name
b. Date of birth
c. Origin
d. Occupation
e. Family
f. Friends
II. Personality
a. Personality
b. Likes
c. Dislikes
III. Turning points and goals
a. Positive turning points
b. Short-term goals
c. Long-term goals
Conclusion
Do you know all the people around you? All people are different because of a wide variety of aspects related to their lives. For this reason, this essay has the purpose to introduce myself to the people that do not know me. It will be about the most important aspects of my life related to my personal information, personality, turning points and goals, which all together have a big influence on my life. Would you like to know me? Let us start reading.
In order for you to know me, first, you have to know about my personal information. My name is Adriana Serna Olivares; I was born on April 23rd, in 1989, in Pabellón de Arteaga. Nowadays, I am a student of the Bachelor of Arts in English Language Teaching, and I help my family in our stationery store.
My family is made up of the following members: my father, my mother, my two sisters, and my brother; I love my family even though we have arguments because of our different ideas.
I have had a few friends during my whole life, now I consider that I have 9 friends, each one is very special in a different way for me. My friends are Dennise, Luis Fernando, Jairo, Susi, Andrea, Greta, Vero, Karina and Alejandra.
My life is influenced by my origin, occupation, family, friends, and so on; in addition, another aspect that impacts my life is my personality.
I think that my personality is strange because of my preferences. For this reason, one day that I was talking to my father about the things that I like, he told me that I was crazy and strange. I am a happy person; the most notable characteristics about me are: reliable, faithful, moody (depending on the environment), and loving, but I do not express my feelings easily.
Moreover, I like and dislike many things; I like to read; listen to rock, pop, reggeaton, and classical music; in addition, I like to dance all kinds of music, and to watch television specially TV series like “El internado”, “Criminal minds”, “CSI: Las Vegas”, etc. I also like the color yellow, and my favorite animals are canaries, scorpions, spiders, and snakes, this was the reason why my father called me crazy and strange. In contrast, the things that I hate are a few: I hate cats because 3 years ago, a cat killed my yellow canary; for this reason, these days, each time I see that cat, I throw rocks at it. I hate the people that are fake, stuck-up, or vain. Finally, I hate to hate because that is a bad feeling. My personality has been influenced by some factors like the turning points and goals of my life.
In my life there have been turning points that have modified my life and my goals. A turning point of my life was when I changed my personality because I was so introvert, and became mature. Another positive turning point that my life had was when I decided to study the Bachelor of Arts in English Language Teaching because before taking this decision, I wanted to study Criminology. For this reason, today, my short-term goals are to finish my major by having good grades, and to have a good relationship with my family and friends.
My long-term goals are to get a good job, to travel, and I am not sure about getting married, but I want to have two children whose names will be feminine names: Yellow, Loretta or Margot; masculine names: Logan, or Jared. I hope that my goals come true, and that all the characteristics that I have never change.
My life is influenced by a big variety of aspects and factors. Those factors are my personal information, for example: my origin, occupation, family, friends, and so on. My personality is different from other people, and I think that I am a strange person, but with good thoughts. Finally, the turning points of my life like becoming mature, and choosing a major have changed my goals. These are some of my characteristics, but there are more that you have to discover in order to know the real Adriana.