My Writing Experience 2

I could start this paper talking about all the challenges I had to face when I started this course and how successful or not I was. I could point out the fact that I was too comfortable in one style and that I was reluctant to try new paths. I could talk for hours about the fact that I have learned that I have to pay extra attention to details and improve my accuracy. I could do all of this but I choose not to. Instead of describing how I managed to overcome these language challenges, I would like to talk about what really changed my writing experience. Process writing.

When process writing was first introduced to our course we were all thrilled by the idea of not facing that terrifying moment of handing in blindfolded. We were never sure what to expect from the feedback we would receive from our teachers. We spent anguishing hours trying to work out corrections made by our teachers without being able to understanding what had gone wrong. Process writing gave us a chance of getting a second opinion before handing in and also, a chance of being a second opinion. We learned to learn not only what we were told to learn but also learned to discover things on our own. For the first time, we were also in charge of our learning process.

Although peer feedback sessions were helpful and changed the way in which I was used to learning writing skills, I believe that what was really a breath of fresh air was the last stage in process writing. Publishing made a difference in the quality of our pieces. We were not writing for ourselves and for a grade, we were now writing for a real audience with a real purpose. This meant an extra pressure for me, but also made the process more exciting and encouraging. We were given a voice, an opportunity to make our writing tasks meaningful and interesting. I believe this became essential to the way in which we decided to approach our writing tasks.

All in all, this course gave me a new understanding of what writing means. Perhaps, I will still misspell “believe” or use the wrong collocation every now and then, but what I will never forget is the importance of being aware that what we write is important and hence, we should give meaning to our pieces. I am fully convinced that I leave this course with an extremely valuable tool that will help me carry on the process I have started this year and that will probably never end.

I'd like to share a presentation I prepared for IT studies on Process Writing

Intercultural learning

REAL ENGLISH??? you mean we're not going to listen to a tape three times to work on listening comprehension? no videos on what British and American life is supposed to be? Are you saying we are actually going to be IN TOUCH with REAL people??? wow! that's a crazy idea!!

What was even crazier was that the American and British language assistants that came to our course were not here to teach us present perfect or the rules of pronunciation. They were here to share their culture with us and they wanted to get to know our culture as well. I think this made all the difference. As a course, we felt free to express our views on our society and the one we study. We also got to learn different points of views.

We were so absorbed in those aspects of the conversation that we really got to use English! In my personal experience, I didn’t feel stalked by the fear of making a mistake, I spoke freely and that helped me to improve my oral skills. I think I was not the only one who felt this way.

Anna and Scott were wonderful language assistants. Always willing to help, explain and listen to us. All I can say is THANK YOU!!!

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO SEE THE PHOTO ALBUM

Timed essay

"Give the crack to the kids, who the hell cares?

One less hungry mouth on the welfare

First ship'em dope and let'em deal the brothers

Give'em guns, step back, and watch'em kill each other"

The way in which poverty is tackled ina country may be directly related to the way in which poverty is seen socially. When poverty is seen as a a social concern, countries might build socual welfare systems to cater to the needs of the less favoured sectors in society. Tupac Shakur suggests that in the United States of America this is not the case. Poverty is not a social concern, it is a social economic burden which should be exterminated in the same way superflous expenses are cut off in businesses.

In the song "Changes", Tupac highlights the fact that public opinion does not seem worried about crimes committed in the lower class sector. People seem to turn a blind eye to unfair actions when the victims are poor. This portrays the idea that poverty is not a social concern but rather a nuisance, something not to be bothered about.

In Tupac's words, for the U.S. eyes, poverty is only an economic burden. People do not care about if young teenagers are lured into addictions but, on the contrary, they are outraged if "respectable taxpayers" have to finance a welfare systema that would help less favoured people receive a second chance in society. Poor people are seen as "mouths to be fed" by taxes and their deaths are seen as a reduction in costs.

The singer denounces that since poor people mean a cost society is not willing to pay, actions are deliberately taken in order "get rid" of the annoying" excess of population. The lyrics suggest that oppressed people are controlled by encouraging the use of drugs and weapons in the most vulnerable sectors of society. Tupac states that the most worrying issues related to povery are triggered by those in power in order to eliminate the economic burden. The song presents the abuses of people in power who not only neglect their social responsiblity but also contribute to worsening the conditions of the oppressed.

In conclusion, Tupac describes a situation in which poverty is tackled unsuccessfullybecause it is not understood as a social problem but rather as a financial one and therefore the only way in which society can deal with this issue is by extinguishing it. Although Tupac's words refer to the U.S. reality, the lyrics can be applied to the Argentine situation, in which it is not clear how Argentine people regard poverty and how they decide to address it.

True Tales of Argentine Life

Schooling under the Menemist era

The 90’s was a tough decade for many of us. Awful outfits, primitive and huge computers only comparable to the size of the bikinis Luis Miguel’s girls wore, selling spree of grandma’s jewels . But the 90’s was also the decade for private enterprises to thrive under an undercover liberal president. This fact was precisely the reason why the 90’s were extremely difficult for me.

My school had the Menemist spirit written all over. Posh and new-money families filled the enrolment lists eager to buy an education that would give them access to the privileged class. It was a time of growth for the private sector and specially for private schools. A neighbouring school, San Francisco Javier, decided to take advantage of this economic environment and decided to enlarge its enrollment lists by admitting girls into their boys-only school. Although this was good news for the owner’s pocket, from my nine-year-old girl perspective, this was a tragedy. Since girls were given a significant discount, parents decided to enroll their daughters (my beloved friends!) at San Francisco Javier.

I spent the next two years meandering around the school, finding an occasional play-mate who invariably turned out to be a spoilt and selfish child. During my solitary break-times, I began to visit he school chapel. I have never been a devoted Christian nor has my family, so it was not religion that took me to the chapel. It was the quietness and peacefulness that drove me every lunch break to the knees of Virgin Mary. It was the only place I had to grieve and desperately wish for new friends.

By the time I was twelve, I had pretty much lost hope. I was destined to solitude. However, as you may know, Destiny does not allow us to doom ourselves, that is his job. On my first day in seventh grade, I decided to pay my regular visit to the chapel anyway. I was right in the middle of my soliloquy when the door burst open. Two girls who had just joined the school entered the chapel and interrupted my sacred moment. They bluntly started asking who, what, when and why questions about the school. I was a bit upset about the way in which they had stormed into the room, but as soon as I took up the role of the expert, I completely forgot my soliloquy. I did not go back to the chapel that year, nor the next

I would not call my friends a miracle no matter how wonderful they are. I firmly believe that all the energy I spent during those long hours at the chapel bore fruit. My arguments were powerful and my determination fierce. Destiny had to listen to me. Anyway, the truth is that this summer, ten years later, I am heading South with these same two girls!

If you're feeling reminiscent of the 90s and your childhood you must watch this video

SCs&AWRs

Education in crisis

What went wrong with the education system in Argentina?

Argentina used to have a relatively long tradition of a firm belief in education as way to achieve progress and development of society. In spite of the difference in people's view on why education is useful, Argentines agreed it was essential to the growth of the country. It was not until the military junta took over power in 1976 that this firm belief in education started declining as a result of a thorough sack of the education system.

Firstly, the de facto government literally emptied the education system in Argentina. The military junta passed laws whose sole objective was to fragment the education system in order to cut costs. The government decentralized the sector so as to lighten the burden that the State was expected to shoulder. These measures together with a re-designed censored curricula weakened the education area. Once democracy returned, the education system was not strong enough to face the challenges that a poorer and hurt society presented.

Secondly, the fact that the policy of the military junta was to abolish all types of independent thinking may have hurt the system from an institutional point of view. Books were prohibited, certain activities as simple as reading the news in class were forbidden and teachers were stalked by the fear of being arrested or purged. These measures shattered the dreams of society of improving as a country and as citizens. The policy of using schools as a way of spreading fear and obedience deeply damaged the essence of education.

Thirdly, by emptying the education system physically and morally, the military junta’s measures may have resulted in a general feeling of distrust and disbelief towards education. Due to the fact that the system had been weakened and could no longer provide solutions or accept the challenges of improvement and development, Argentines started distrusting their own governments and institutions. Thet could no longer see the benefits of receiving an education because the system was no longer ready to cater to heir needs.

In conclusion, during the unconstitutional government, the Argentine education system may have suffered serious injuries which could not be easily healed. The damage caused economically, socially and culturally was too great for the system to recover easily. Since then, people have not trusted the system nor the State. This distrust has led people to cease to demand the government to work on education and other aspects of Argentine's social life.

SCs&AWRs

A xenophobe's guide to the Porteño people

How to travel in a Porteño style

Getting to know Buenos Aires is not as simple as taking a sightseeing tour and visiting the hot spots in the city. If you really want to know BA, you have to know it “the Porteño way”, you need to travel as Porteños do. This article will tell you all you need to know about travelling as a true Buenos Aires citizen.

Most Porteños hate the subway. However, it is the only way in which they can get downtown unless they want to spend 3 hours on a crowded bus. The reason why Porteños hate the subway is because it is so Porteñoish. Subways are very unreliable. Although the TV on the platform announces a train every three minutes and a half, you will inevitably have to wait at least seven minutes until the train finally arrives packed with downtown workers. However, one can never be sure whether the train is in fact packed or it is just people who refuse to give up their comfortable spots using much more room than they actually need. That is using the subway as a Porteño.

More often than not, subways are delayed or cancelled. If this happens and a Porteño is getting late, s/he will take a taxi. You would expect people to hail a taxi at a corner, or wait until the traffic lights go red. But no, Porteños are in such a hurry that they will not care whether the other 3.050.727 citizens are also in a hurry. Porteños hail their taxis in the middle of the street, and even prefer to do so if there are at least three cars waiting behind the taxi. Porteños also like to end their trip where buses pull in, in front of a garage exit or they force the driver to double park.

If you are not wealthy enough to take a taxi, you will probably have to take the bus. In order to do this, you will have to queue up. Porteños have designed a whole new concept of queuing. In BA, Porteños respect the queue and wait at the bus stop as long as necessary. As soon as the bus arrives, everyone dashes towards the bus, no matter what or who they are stepping on. This is my piece of advice: once you are on the bus, you should do your best to get to the rear of the bus, otherwise your physical integrity cannot be guaranteed.

All in all, you might have noticed that the wildest thing about travelling in this beautiful city is not transport itself but Porteños. You might find this way of travelling a bit stressful, however, once you have mastered it, you may call yourself a real Porteño. Just do not forget to push someone every now and then and if you feel like it, insult the first person you come across.

essay on speaker's corner

Democracy at the Joaquin V. Gonzalez, fact or fiction?

All state-run educational institutions in Argentina have a democratic representative government. Students, teachers and graduates are represented in the government of their institution. Joaquin V. Gonzalez College (J.V.G.) is not, or should not, be an exception. However, the lack of participation and the perpetuation of certain people in power are worrying indicators that democracy within the Institution is not as alive as it is thought to be.

Firstly, the fact that elections held at the J.V.G. are usually run by only one or two lists of candidates hinders the democratic value of representation. Since representation is a key factor in a well-functioning democratic institution, democracy may be void if there is no real alternative over who assumes the position disputed. Although the option of casting a blank vote is still available, the voter’s choice over who will represent him/her in government is reduced to a minimum. Whether this situation is due to a lack of commitment from the members of the institution, fear of assuming the position or because candidates may be overwhelmed by the task they are approaching. The result is that the democratic value of representation is hindered since there is no real choice.

Secondly, in the J.V.G.’s democracy only the voices of those who shout the loudest are heard and the voices of those who have a real interest in the institution are silenced. It is common to see general assemblies dominated by people who represent a small portion of the institution not because they present the strongest arguments but because they shout the loudest. Due to the fact that some people have experience in participating in assemblies, they know how to prevent people from expressing their views by extending their speeches, repeating themselves and clapping friendly speeches extensively while interrupting opposing speeches. This situation makes it difficult for people without a permanent political activism to participate and very easy or those who already control the assemblies to stay in power.

Thirdly, a person who decides to become involved in either the government of the institution or general assemblies may face resistance from the settled groups in power. Recent events that took place at the institution show that newcomers to the political scene are not welcomed. Threats, hostility and campaigns publicly damaging reputations are some of the strategies used to deter people from getting involved in the political scene at Teacher Training College. These actions present a difficult scenario to those who might consider becoming involved in the representative body of the institution.

In conclusion, the actual organization of power at the J.V.G. does not portray real democracy. A true democracy should not present its government as unreachable and dangerous. A democracy needs representation and participation to stay alive and therefore the institution should welcome its members and inform them.

SCs

CV

Click on the logo to view my CV!

EDAPI presentation (abstract)

Why are animal terms used as insults in so many cultures? This session intends to look into the reasons why many languages use animal terms as swear words, explain which features of animals carry negative connotations and explore how connotations vary across cultures and hence languages.This session will also explain some metaphors related to animals used by people to insult.

SCs&WRs

Relax! It's just a narrative!

When I was at school, I was often asked to turn in narratives and college essays. This made me a quite flexible writer. I wrote for academic reasons, but soon I discovered writing for pleasure. My school held writing competitions, in English as well as in Spanish. I won the competition twice and that made me feel as if it was my destiny to become a writer.

Unfortunately, that never happened. Instead, I had to devote myself to studying and writing academic pieces. I had neither time nor energy to write for pleasure. Whenever I did find my muse, I would sit down and scribble a few lines, but then I was never able to finish a piece. This really frustrated me and eventually, I stopped trying.

Nowadays, whenever I have to write for a language assignment, I feel as if it was someone else writing. Usually these pieces have little of me, and a lot of what an English student should be like. I remember trying to "innovate" in my writings for Language II, but these innovations were not welcomed by my teacher.

Somewhere in between the past and the present, I realized I have been quite a good academic writer. When I was at Letras, I loved writing papers on theory on literature or human studies. I still enjoy having assignments that require working with different sources and usually, the results are good. However, this practice has led me to be what I consider a boring writer and to write plain pieces such as the present one.

As a teacher, I find it hard to assess the writing tasks I assign to my students. Usually I cannot really explain why I think the writing piece is not altogether well-written. I tend to focus on grammar and spelling mistakes although I know I am missing more important issues that would help me guide my students into successful writing.

This year I have begun to realize there is a whole world behind teaching writing skills. I'm very interested in process writing, not only because of what I have heard in this Language course but also because of what I have heard from other teachers at the Joaquín V. González.

All in all, I am looking forward to finding a different approach from the one I have been taught and worked with so far. This will not only help me improve my own skills but also those of my students.

SCs

What not to do at speaker's corner!

Speaker’s corner at the Joaquín was an excellent opportunity to prove that Language III students are as crazy as loons!

My speech was about the conflicts that were taking place at the Joaquín due to the disagreements in the History department. My speech required a strong but clear tone of voice and since I was describing events that weren’t shared by everybody I had to go slowly so that everyone could follow. You can imagine how many times I repeated the speech in front of the mirror, pausing, explaining and gesturing. Unfortunately, I had to go first. The worst possible scenario had unexpectedly turned true. I was really nervous, so I started rushing through the words of my speech, only thinking about when it was going to end. I was literally in the corner of the classroom so I started feeling claustrophobic and really hot.

However, since I was really committed and connected to the topic I had chosen, I got involved in what I was saying, and by the end of the speech I think I managed to convince the audience that what was going on at the Joaquín was serious, and that made me feel rewarded.

What I liked the most about Speaker’s Corner was listening to the rest of my classmates. I think I learnt a lot from their speeches, what I liked and enjoyed from their speeches and what I would have done otherwise. I loved Marina’s use of the space, how she walked around showing Cristina’s pictures and how confident she sounded. I looked up to Candela’s commitment to what she was sharing with us and the way in which she did. Hector’s challenging attitude was shocking at first but effectively caught the audience’s attention! Romina’s sarcasm was a great ingredient in her speech.

I still remember most speeches and what I learnt from them, so thank you very much people!

I hope we get the chance of a similar experience in the near future J

Biodata

Jacqueline Kramer is a Year three teacher trainee at the college Joaquin V. Gonzalez. She studied two years at the department of Literature at University of Buenos Aires. Jacqueline is currently teaching English in companies. Her main interests are Linguistics and Literature.

Profile

Hello people,

I'm Jackie Kramer and I’m 22 years old. I was born in Vancouver, Canada but I came to Argentina when I was one year old with my mother and two sisters who I live with at present.

Ever since I can remember I've loved travelling and getting to know places and people. Unfortunately, I don't get to travel as often as I wish. In 2008, I lived in London for ten months working as a waitress. It was a life-changing experience since I got to know what living on your own means and most importantly, I got to know people from all over the world.

Since I'm interested in languages, especially in the strong relationship between language and the self, I started studying Spanish (Letras) at the University of Buenos Aires in 2006. I studied there for 2 years but I had to drop out once I started working. I really hope I'll be able to take up the course again in the near future. Nowadays, I'm teaching English in companies to businesspeople. It is definitely not my ideal job, but I value it as a work experience and I learn a lot.

When I entered the Joaquín V. González (JVG) I just wanted to enhance my knowledge of English and knew very little about teaching. The JVG has taught me that teaching is not all about "knowing" contents, it is a commitment to others. I'm fully convinced that education is the most valuable tool we have in society to understand who we are and that we are not mere subjects to history. Although this is usually overwhelming, I'm willing to take up the challenge.

I value my precious and scarce free time. I try to use it to meet friends, spend time with my boyfriend and my family. I enjoy looking up information about random topics that arouse my curiosity, such as writers, music, historical facts, stories, whatever strikes my attention. Of course, there's a lot of sleeping and laziness in my free time as well! My favourite hobby is bar tendering, I learnt the ropes of it in London as well as in a bar in BA. I know I won't be serving 007 his martini dry any time soon, but I have fun bartendering for friends.

I really hope this year we'll discover new ways to learn, teach and relate to people.

See you soon!

Jackie

SCs

OPEN 24/7

Welcome!!!

Since this will be a place to share, I wanted to post a welcome gift, or sort of..

Fly me to the moon

See you!!