viernes, 3 de octubre de 2008

ACRONYMS

CNN: Cable News Networks
UFO: Unidentified Flying Object
SCUBA: Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus
IBM: International Business Machines Corporation
VHS: Video Home System
DVD: Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc
SNAFU: Systems Neatly All Fucked UP
LASER: Light Amplification By Stimulated Emission or Radiation
RADAR: Radio Detection and Ranging
NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization
FAQ: Frecuently Asked Question (s)
CD-ROM: Compact Disc Read Only Memory
DNA: Deoxyribonucleic Acid
SPEG: Joint Photographics Experts Group
ATM: Automated Teller Machine
BCE/A.D: Before The Common Era
EU: European Union
NAFTA: North American Free Trade Agreement
4WD: Four Wheel Drive
AWD: ALL Wheel Drive
CIA: Central Intelligence Agency
FUBAR: (Fucked Up) Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition (Beyond All Repair)
FIDO: Latin Fidus
ABS: American Boys Scouts
TLC: Trades And Labour Council

miƩrcoles, 1 de octubre de 2008

Assignment 4 ENGLISH ANTAGONISMS


NO AND NONE:

We use no (= not a or not any) before a noun
There´s no lock on the door
There are no letters for you today
We´ve got no milk
We can use NO before singular countable nouns eg lock, plural countable nouns eg letters and uncountable nouns eg milk.

NO is more emphatic than "not a" or "not any" eg There isn´t a lock on the door. There aren´t any letters for you today.

NONE is a pronoun; we use it alone, without a noun.
Are there any letters for me today? No, none, I´am afraid
How much milk have we got? None.

Before my, this, the, etc or an object pronoun eg us, them, we use none of.
None of my friends have seen the film.
None of the photographs were very good.
None of us have any money.

When we use none of with a plural noun, the verb can be singular or plural.
None of my friends have/has seen the film.
A singular verb is more formal.

viernes, 12 de septiembre de 2008

MULTICULTURALISM

DEFINITION OF MULTICULTURALISM:

The term multiculturalism generally refers to a state of racial, cultural and ethnic/diversity within the demographics of a specified place, usually at the scale of an organization such as school, business, neighbourhood, city or nation. Some countries have official, or the Jure policies of multiculturalism aimed at recognizing, celebrating and maintaining the different cultures or cultural identities within that society to promote social cohesion. In this context, multiculturalism advocates a society that extends equitable status to distinct cultural and religious groups, with no one culture predominating.


GLOBAL CENTRE FOR PLURALISM:

Is an international centre for research, education and exchange about the values, practices and policies that support pluralist societies. Based in Ottawa, Canada, the Centre seeks to assist the creation of successful societies and was founded on the premise that tolerance, openness and understanding towards the cultures, social structures, values and faiths of other peoples are now essential to the survival of an interdependent world. It functions as a global repository and a source of knowledge and know-how about fostering pluralistic values, policies, and practices. It aims to work with countries to nurture successful civil societies in which every citizen, irrespective of cultural, religious or ethnic differences, is able to realize his or her full potential. it includes the promotion of democracy and good governance, a more equitable sharing of the world's resources between developed and developing countries, and the projection of Canadian values, such as the rule of law, human rights and respect for diversity.

OFFICIAL MULTICULTURALISM ACT:

The Act for the Preservation and Enhancement of Multiculturalism in Canada was passed in 1985, with minor organizational amendments since that time. Its stated objectives are to:
a)recognize and promote the understanding that multiculturalism reflects the cultural and racial diversity of Canadian society and acknowledges the freedom of all members of Canadian society to preserve,enhance and share their cultural heritage.
b)It is a fundamental characteristic of the Canadian heritage and identity and that it provides an invaluable resource in the shaping of Canada's future.
c)promote the full and equitable participation of individuals and communities of all origins in the continuing evolution and shaping of all respects of Canadian society and assist them in the elimination of any barrier to such participation.
d)recognize the existence of Communities whose members share a common origin and their historic contribution to Canadian society, and enhance their development.
e)ensure that all individuals receive equal treatment and equal protection under the law, while respecting and valuing their diversity.
f)encourage and assist the social, cultural, economic and political institutions of Canada to be respectful and inclusive of Canada's multicultural character.
g)promote the understanding and creativity that arise from the interaction between individuals and communities of different origins.
h)foster the recognition and appreciation of the diverse cultures of Canadian society and promote the reflection and the evolving expressions of those cultures.
i)preserve and enhance the use of languages other than English and French, while strengthening the status and use of the official languages of Canada
j)advance multiculturalism throughout Canada in harmony with the national commitment to the official languages of Canada.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF MULTICULTURALISM:
DISADVANTAGES
a)Allienates people
b)Riots
c)Political correctness gone crazy (banning bibles in hospital)
d)Community decision
e)Causes family breakdown
f)Increased crime levels
g)Creates ethnic gangs

ADVANTAGES
a)Larger variety of food

WHAT IS MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION?

Multicultural education relates to education and instruction designed for the cultures of several different races in an educational system. This approach to teaching and learning is based upon consensus building, respect, and fostering cultural pluralism within racial societies. Multicultural education acknowledges and incorporates positive racial idiosyncrasies into classroom atmospheres. Because of Chilean solid economy a lot of foreign people, specially from Latin American countries like Peru, Colombia, Argentina came to Chile to have a better life and those out comers are now inserted in our Chilean educational system without any discrimination at all. The same happens with good and bad students, nowadays they are all mixed up in the same class and they are not divided into levels according marks. Handicapped and disabled students are accepted in normal schools.

jueves, 10 de julio de 2008

Reflection about Malba`s class

I got a lot more familiarized with technology and now I can feel secure whenever I turn on a computer: In this class we created our personal blog with experiencies taken from the oral classes given at the university and we gave our personal opinion about relevant subjects like mass media, the use of cell phones, our position as students and so on. It is an interesting subject and at the same time something completely new as a tool to develop several skills which are going to be helpful for us as future English teachers.

martes, 8 de julio de 2008

Lesson 12 Wells: Basics


We saw the quantifiers for countable, noncountable and both countable and noncountable nouns. We also discussed about what kind of foods we like and we worked in small groups chose one of the situations given by the teacher and planned an appropiate meal, the meal should consist of at least three courses and the situations were for a friend who´s on a diet up to for a friend of yours and her new boyfriend. The boyfriend is a vegetarian.

Lesson 9 Wells: Soaps


we learnt quite a lot about family relationships within a family, the difference between step-brother and half-brother that means you share one parent. We discussed the use of the most used prepositions like at, on and in.

Lesson 7 Wells: PARTY !!!

I learnt all the necessary vocabulary related to parties like clubbing, dancing and so on. We also knew about an important celebration that is held in Valencia (located in Spain) "las Fallas". I do love dancing It is the only way I can relax for a while......