Up in arms! Post May 2

Hi guys,
Today we read a piece of news about the banning of miniskirts in Korea. I personally find this kind of prohibition crazy. There is so much happening in this world, there are so many things which are unfair that worring about how people dress is a joke to me. I am sure in Korean women are well pissed off.
So today I think it would be good to write about something that gets us "up in arms".
I could give you some examples:
I get "up in arms" when I see people being nasty or arrogant to others. I get slightly upset when adults are being stupid  and don't want to admit it until it is too late. I also get up in arms when I see we have a state that only benefits entrepreneus and not citizens (in many ways)
I suppose there is no point in getting upset. We need to let people make their own choices.
Write about something that gets you up in arms.
Is there anything you find unacceptable?
You can refer to laws like the one passed in Korea about miniskirts or a different one. You can refer to a personal experience or someone else's.
Refer to
What exactly is it that makes (or made ) you angry?
Why ?
What do you think you can do to overcome negative feelings or to change things?
Include any other other information you find relevant.

Write  a minmum of 180 words
Write a minimum of 4 comments.

Today we have a free topic. 

I am going to write about something I like and something that makes me happy. “Plants”.

I have always wanted  to live out  the city but the possibility to buy a house is becoming less and less of a chance, so in 2011 started growing stuff  on my balcony.  I decided on this after watching a documentary called “food inc”. In this , they speak about how very few corporations have become the owners of all food.  I started reading about the pesticides and which vegetables tend to absorb them the most (it is the green ones!).  Since I have always been a city person I went to a “vegetable workshop” and after that, I bought all the necessary elements for  this. Pots, soil, and other stuff.

The first  seeds I got were for tomatoes, spring onion and chives. Later I got coriander, parsley and lettuce . Nowadays I have also Matico, llantén and a lot of flowers.  I like flowers with loud colors.

I like the idea of growing stuff without chemicals. It tastes different. It tastes good and it is cheaper :)

I also have a lot of worms for hummus (natural fertilizer) in case you want some...

Today you get what you wanted.
Today you have a "free post"
Remember to include the following.
When you became interested in this topic/person, etc.
Why you find it interesting. What is special about it.

Write a minimum of 180 words and 4 comments.

Listening practice

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/listen-and-watch

http://elt.oup.com/student/headway/preint/f_everydayenglish/hwy_pre_dialogue08?cc=cl&selLanguage=en

http://elt.oup.com/student/headway/preint/f_everydayenglish/hwy_pre_dialogue01?cc=cl&selLanguage=en

http://www.elllo.org/

http://www.esl-lab.com/

Dear bloggers,

This week I'd like you to write about an ambition you have for the future. It could be a trip you would like to make, a sport you would like to try, a person you would like to meet or a job you would like to do. It could be almost anything!

Personally, I have more than one ambition. One of them has to do with travelling. I have been very lucky and travelled a fair bit in Latin America and Europe. However, I’d love to visit Asia and India in particular I am a sensitive person so I know poverty and injustice would shock me and make me sad, but it is the rich culture which has inspired me lots. I would like to learn about Ayurveda medicine but I am also very interested in meditation so I’d love to maybe join a Zen Buddhist temple for some time. I think doing this would bring me peace of mind and personal happiness. This is not an easy goal to achieve but I have hopes that one day, I will do it.  

 I think a lot of things have inspired me, in particular, the readings by “Osho” and also a friend of mine who, in my opinion has found the perfect spiritual balance through meditation.

Write about an ambition you have.

Say:

What your ambition is,

Why you would like to achieve this ambition,

Who or what inspired your ambition,

What it would mean to you to fulfill your ambition.

Write at least 160 words. Leave a comment on at least 4 blogs.

Remember you can practice basic stuff here.

http://thelastclassine.blogspot.com/

It is your responsibility :)

Hi Guys,
I read all the posts and I'd like to give you some English tips.

Please remember to take advantage of the sites I have posted on this blog (Links ABOVE) to help you in your writing process.

Please use the information below to help you, too
I'd like to remind you that English, as opposed to Spanish, always needs a subject in a new sentence.
E.g.
Se fue y nunca volvio. She left and never returned.
Fuimos a esa fiesta y lo pasamos súper.   We went to that party and we had a great time
No lo publicaron por razones políticas.(¿Quienes? Ellos) They did not publish it for political reasons.
Fue una excelente idea  It was a great idea.

Notice that in English, the adjective (calificativo) always goes before the noun (sustantivo)

Fue un viaje terrible. It was a terrible journey.
Vieron algunos paisajes extraordinarios. They saw some amazing landscapes.
Ese libro era muy bueno. That was a really good book.

Lastly, don't forget to conjugate the verbs in the past when you are referring to the past.

I love the internet.I love the fact that I can learn about anything I am interested in or just ask about particular things. I spend some time on the internet every day. I use google a lot, I use gmail, youtube and facebook sometimes, etc.

I am interested in politics even though I despise most politicians. Politics is present everywhere and in all areas, and I suppose I became interested the day I realized how Education was affected by political decisions. How educational research to a large extent was determined by the administration at the time.

A few years back, I was reading about genetically modified food and found a website by chance. The site is www. democraciadirecta.cl. I liked it immediately because it showed news about communities and ordinary people, about decisions taken and affecting a lot of citizens. I like to know about the people in general and not just about those around me. I like to see articles about issues that do not appear in mass media.I visit this website once a week and look at interesting articles. Another website I like is www. ciperchile.cl. This website shows a lot of serious journalistic research that would never appear on TV. A friend of mine told me about this site by chance. I visit it every two weeks more or less.

Write about a website you like. Why you like it. How you discovered it and how often you visit it.

Write a minimum of 160 words. Post 1 comment on your teacher’s blog and 2 comments on 2 different classmates J

Hello everybody,

First of all, I hope you are very well.

As you can see on my blog at the top (↑), there are tabs with useful websites so you can quickly access useful material: Plataforma- website, a dictionary site, a pronunciation dictionary site, word order site, etc. You can customizeyour blog too!

Before we start blogging seriously, there are some important points we need to address.

The blog activity has been design to be done IN CLASS. Why? Because we want to make sure you do the full activity (post + comments) in the time assigned, with the resources assigned (Especially your teacher to guide you). The blog activity can be done with a dictionary (NOT A TRANSLATOR) Why?“Because we want you to learn from the experience”.By using your head when writing in English, you actually take in the word order in English and you actually learn vocabulary as you use it. With the dictionary you learn, with the translator you don’t. So if you use a translator in class, you get the minimum mark for your post :(

Remember by reading my post you can learn about word order and structure. There is evidence we learn when we read!!!

About the marking for the blog activities.

When you come to class and do the post and comments in class, you get 2 points.

When you don’t come to class and do the post and comments within 48 hours, you get 1 point.

No post, no points.

The final mark for the blog consists of two marks.

1 mark for “coming to class and do the blog post and comments in class”

1 mark for 3 particular blog posts. These will be selected and marked considering linguistic aspects.

Let’s start!

Hello Everyone,
My name is Beatriz and I am a Chilean teacher in my thirties. I am a teacher and a translator and a linguistics fan. I also love animals, movies, music. I really like research in the area of education especially within the critical paradigm. I love travelling and getting to know new people.

I like the simple things in life; birds, flowers, plants, and camping out of the city and spending time with my family. I also like going places in my bicycle. I come to Uni on my bike most of the time :) 
One of my dreams is to visit Asia. I hope I can do it one day :)
I like teaching, especially the area of linguistics.
Good bye....

Welcome to Evening mix class!

Follow the instructions below.
Please ask if you don't understand.

Your first task is to create a blog and to link all your classmates.
To begin with you need to create a gmail account.

1. If you have a google account: sign in first, if you don’t have a google account: create a google account
2. Go to: http://www.blogger.com/
3. Click: create your blog now
4. Please remember to change the language during set up so that your blog is in English.
5. Name your blog
6. Choose any template you like
7. Go to dashboard, scroll down to the bottom of the page & change the language to English.

8 Go to design, add a gadget, layout,  LINK LIST, and add names & links and when you have the last name linked, save. Ask the teacher if you are not sure.

9. Start posting (dashboard) Write a short introduction of yourself :) Minimum 120 words