Portfolio entry #14 - Final reflection

Having a portfolio in which I can keep track of my writing process is undoubtly a wise decision. Firstly, the portfolio has help me to quickly go back to any of my note without spending to much time re-reading all the material. Secondly, it has also help me to keep track of my writing perfomance and now I am more aware which aspects of my writing style I have to polish for the future. Last but no least, having a completed portfolio is also a great tool in term of sitting for the final, as my records can be used a study note in order to have a clear idea of terms we have seen during the attendance. All in all, the implemention of the the portfolio in a classroom was totally a reliable tool as I could obtain many befenit from my own experience. As a result, I can now study in a more effecient way than I used to. 

Portfolio entry #13 - Reflection: "Improvements of the Writting skill"

At the beginning of the attendance, I found myself questioning how to improve my writing skill. At first, I was a bit lost, but as soon as I started to read the material from the course, I was able to acquire some tools to polish my writing skill. As time went by, I was capable of detecting my weak points and correct them by applying the theory we were taught in class. As a result, I ended up writing coherent and cohesive sentences in my paragraphs. Needless to say, I strongly believe that this course helped me to improve my writing ability, but I also admit that I need more time to keep practising, as I only have reached the surface of this time-consuming process. However, I think that I will be able to achieve that goal in a distant future. 

Portfolio entry #12 - Videos

Analisys #1

In this video, the concept of "accent" is being emphasized as we can clearly distinguish that the main speaker comes from another country. Despite of the fact that he claims he speak perfect, his arabic roots still present in his accent and pronouncation.

Analysis #2

In this skecth, the term "dialect" is being conceptualized. Even though they all the speakers belong to the same social group, they have different forms of using grammar and voculary to identify themselves as people.

Analysis 3#

In this video, the concept of "ideolect" is being conceptualized. The French inspector needs to acquire a perfect english prouncation in order to pass unnoticed. That's to say, he has to pretend to sound like other inside a different social group. 

Portfolio entry #11 - Chapters 18, 19 & 20.

Portfolio entry #10 - Discourse and Context in Language Teaching

Portfolio entry #9 - Thesis Statement

Thesis Statement

Definition: It is a specific unit that supports your essay. Good thesis statements are not observations, questions. In fact, Thesis statements includes accurate opinions and reasoning. 

Parts of Thesis Statements:

1. Topic/The subject: It is topic of your essay. 

2. Claim/The precise opinion: It is your actual option about topic of your essay. 

3. Reasons that support your claim/Blueprints of reasons: This is the most aspect of a thesis statement. This where you show your reader how you will be arguing and proving your opinions. Al least, there should be 3 strong pieces of evidence that supports in your opinion. Generally, the evidence is developed thought out the body of your essay. 

Different ways of listing our reasons in our Thesis Statement:

1. You can include them at the end of the Thesis Statement

2. You can include them at the beginning of the Thesis Statement

3. You can include them in the next sentence. 

Sources:

Nawal Nader. (2010). How to write an A+ Thesis Statement. Retrieved September 28, 2017, from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HePQWodWiQ

Chris Heafner. (2011). Thesis Statements – How to Construct and Compose (A Review). Retrieved September 28, 2017, from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfUkhdh8Z08

Portfolio entry #8 - Literary Essay

Minorities in the 70s and 80s

Bono from U2, Sir Elton John and Sting are iconic singers who were able to show how people “Homosexual and Humanitarian minorities” felt in the 70s and 80s, through songs such as “Where streets have no name”, “All the girls love Alice” and “An English man in New York”. These songs played the prime role of storytellers, as the lyrics reflected the main concerns that these minorities had to live inside of a narrow-minded society.

“All the girls love Alice”, written by Elton John in 1973, was the first controversial song in which the main character was lesbian teenager. The writer of the song addresses lesbianism as “It’s like acting in a movie when you got the wrong part”, referring to the fact that the lack of freedom was so non-existent that the sixteen year girl felt as if she had been “separated from the wheat from the chaff”. As a result, the teenager found herself in such state of confusion that she wasn’t able to express freely her own sexual orientation, thus making her feel out of place; out of context; out of society; even from their own peers.

In 1988, Sting was the second singer who started to introduce gay characters in their songs. The song “An English man in New York” was based on Quentin Crisp, a homosexual model and writer who lived his life normally and openly, despite of the constant accusations he had to face at that time. The lyrics described the life of this person as “I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien. I’m an English in New York” referring to the fact that he was just like the rest of the society, but due to his sexual orientation, he felt like an outcast within the community.

In 1987, Bono from U2, released the song “Where the streets have no name” which went beyond the problems of sexual orientation. In fact, the main focus of the writer was primarily humanitarian minorities which were unnecessarily suffering from the civil war between Ireland and Northern Ireland division. The main reason behind of the repetition of the stanza “where the streets have no name” along the song was to show Bono’s main concern about the war. His concern was that people shouldn’t lose the feeling of caring despite of the social issues. In fact, he addressed that being a street with no names meant that we were equally the same and that labels shouldn’t exist between people.

To sum up, these singers were committed to fulfil the difficult role of storytellers of these different minorities. These minorities got the voices they actually needed to express, which at that time, wasn’t possible to achieve; the feeling of freedom and acceptance from bigger social groups.