Entry #13 Abstracts

 

Entry #12 Articles

What is an article?

An article

• is a piece of writing usually intended for publication in a newspaper, magazine or journal

• is written for a wide audience, so it is essential to attract and retain the readers’ attention

• may include amusing stories, reported speech and descriptions

• can be formal or informal, depending on the target audience

• should be written in an interesting or entertaining manner

• should give opinions and thoughts, as well as facts

• is in a less formal style than a report

An article can

• describe an experience, event, person or place

• present an opinion or balanced argument

• compare and contrast

• provide information

• offer suggestions

• offer advice 

If you want to know more about it, click HERE

Writing an article de Mariana Gimenez

Sources:

• ARTICLES CAE (CPE). (n.d.). OneStopEnglish. Retrieved October 28, 2020, retrieved from https://www.onestopenglish.com/download?ac=593

Entry #11 Writing Strategies: HEDGING and BOOSTING

 

HEDGING IN ACADEMIC WRITING.

HEDGING EXAMPLE #1

Categorical claim

The issues highlighted in this study are applicable to all participating institutions.

"Hedged" claim

The issue highlighted in this study may be applicable to many participating institutions.

HEDGING EXAMPLE #2

Categorical claim

Government support will assure the spread of new knowledge and the skills necessary to use the internet to thousands in rural areas.

"Hedged" claim

Government support may help with the spread of new knowledge and the skills necessary to use the internet to thousands of people in rural areas.

HEDGING EXAMPLE #3

Categorical claim

The study proves the link between smoking and lung disease.

"Hedged" claim

The study indicates/suggests a (possible) link between smoking and lung disease.

HEDGING EXAMPLE #4

Categorical claim

The number of unemployed people will continue to raise as the poor economic situation persists.

"Hedged" claim

The number or unemployed people will probably continue to raise as the poor economic situation persists.

HEDGING EXAMPLE #5

Categorical claim

This (and subsequent) studies led to the conclusion that the GTP itself must be elusive base, and therefore to the proposal of the GTP-as-base mechanism.

(Schweins et al. 1994, 1995)

"Hedged" claim

This (and subsequent) studies led to the conclusion that the GTP itself may be the elusive base, and therefore to the proposal of the GTP-as-base mechanism.

(Schweins et al. 1994, 1995)

HEDGING AND BOOSTING

Boosting examples:

Clearly, these sales figures show a definite increase in consumer confidence, which will undoubtedly have an impact on our share price.

Employees will always respond positevely in such circumstances.

Certainly, this has had an impact on learning outcomes.

This will have an impact on future research in the field.

These figures prove that there has been strong growth as a result of policy change.

BOOSTING & HEDGING.

BOOSTING: 

Clearly, these sales figures show a definite increase in consumer confidence, which will undoubtedly have an impact on our share prices.

HEDGING: 

These sales figures suggest a possible increase in consumer confidence, which may have an impact on our share prices.

Definition of hedging and boosting, and a short piece of advice.

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Entry #10 Essay

 

TWO SIDES ON CHILDREN MIGRATION EXPERIENCES.

The desire of a better life is one of the many reasons why people decide to migrate. Throughout history, individual factors as well as socioeconomic ones have encouraged people to leave their country. It is a process that affects not only families and individuals in general, but children in particular. For some individuals, like refugees, migration to a new country is not a personal choice but a forced one. When it comes to refugee children, the experience differs greatly from that of children whose families moved by choice.  

First off, the causes of forced migration are already traumatizing enough for anyone, but they hit children especially hard as they have not developed yet or lack tools to confront that trauma. Thus, it affects them emotionally and mentally speaking. As the *UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta H. Fore said at a 2018 conference in Berlin: “Prolonged exposure to violence, fear and uncertainty can have a catastrophic impact on children’s learning, behaviour and emotional and social development for many years.” In spite of escaping from that conflict, these awful experiences may remain for a long time affecting their mental health. Besides that, in many cases it also leaves a number of unhealthy coping mechanisms. Nevertheless, this is absent in children whose families moved by choice. No matter what made their families take the decision to leave their country, they decided to migrate by choice; not being forced to do so. While it is true to say that this decision taken by the families may affect children somehow, they do not suffer the trauma of living a violent or tragic situation as refugee children do.

Secondly, it is common knowledge that most refugee children are separated from their families and travel alone; which doubles the risk for violence, exploitation, and abuse. According to UNICEF’s latest estimates, at least 300,000 unaccompanied and separated children were registered in 80 countries in a period of two years. Besides that, young girls can be the target of trafficking or gender-based violence. Their innocence and fear of being at a new place as well as the aftermath of traumatic events, leave these asylum seekers in a not favourable position while many vicious people take advantage of that. However, this seems not to be a problem for migrant children. They travel with their families who take great care of them and look after their needs. Although there are cases in which children must travel alone and then meet their families again, they arrange everything beforehand and study all the alternatives to provide their children a secure option. The lives of refugee children run quite a big risk which migrant children ignore. 

Thirdly, many of the factors mentioned above, and some many others, can also affect how much “at home” a refugee child feels in their host community. Beyond these challenges, however, those seeking asylum may also be affected by xenophobia and discrimination due to the fact that they come from a very different place. This leads to the feeling of isolation and loneliness, which makes it even more difficult to rebuild a life or gain that sense of normalcy again. This situation may not only affect refugees but migrant children in general. Besides that, encountering such a new culture and sometimes a completely new language, can also affect the way in how they feel part of the new community. All the emotional stress children have to cope with, arises a feeling of homesickness which makes the adaptation even more difficult. Even when attending school could help them feel part of the society, sometimes more than that is needed to make them feel this new place as home.  

In light of the above, migration presents two different faces depending on the circumstances children are exposed to. Although migrating for asylum and protection is hard because of all the problems it already faces, migrating by personal choice is not either easy; not even for children. Refugee children face a greater challenge more than just moving.

Entry #9 (2nd part) Writing Project: How to write an Essay

How to write a 5-Paragraph Essay

Thesis Statements: Four Steps to a Great Essay.

Study Notes.

Group:

Bazán, María de las Nieves

Dattoli, Julieta

Giménez Foth, Mariana

Martínez, Florencia

Metacognitive Analysis.

 Firstly, I must admit I found this topic really interesting. Reading the poems about refugees as well as looking for information about it on my own, has broaden my mind. I would have never imagine how inspirational and moving this topic was. Although this topic involves much of political and economic factors, it has an emotional face which touches you somehow  while reading about it.

Secondly, analysing texts is something which I always find extremely difficult. I feel as if I had to make a big effort to enter on the writer's mind and see what he/she wanted to express on those lines. However, I consider this is something which I have to keep working on and as I always do, try to do my best.

Entry #9(1st part) Writing Project:Refugees (Poems)

We Refugees - by Benjamin Zephaniah.

 In this poem, the author expresses that everybody is likely to become a refugee at any time, no matter your age or your skin colour, it is only a question of luck. At first, the author describes his personal experience of being a refugee but then uses the pronoun “We”, involving the reader as well in this situation. This idea is reinforced in the verse “We can all be refugees”. He makes emphasis on how easily it is to be forced to leave your own country and how unfair society can be towards anyone; as described in the verses: “Where they hate my shade of skin/ They don’t like the way I pray/ And they ban free poetry”. Moreover, the description of the beautiful place expressed in the first verse of the stanzas contradicts the following verses in which the opposite is shown: “I come from a musical place/ Where they shoot me for my song”. This depicts the idea of how easily everything can change. As Zephaniah states “Sometimes it only takes a day/ Sometimes it only takes a handshake/ Or a paper that is signed”, we are all vulnerable and nobody is safe; it is all a question of luck.

Refugees - by Brian Bilston

Brian Bilston introduces two very opposite ideas of how we, as a society, have different points of view on the same matter. During the first reading, from top to bottom as the traditional one, the author expresses such a negative point of view that it is annoying. He refers to refugees as criminals “With bombs up their sleeves / Cut-throats and thieves”.  The author arises in the reader the idea that refugees should not be welcome and that they should be kept out. However, during the second reading, starting from the last stanza and reading backwards to the first one, a completely different story is told. The author’s attitude towards refugees seems to change. It is expressed a feeling of empathy and kindness towards refugees. The author challenges the reader to take part on this subject “It is not okay to say/ Build a wall to keep them out / Instead let us / Share our countries / Share our food”. These two ideas stated in the poem makes the reader reflect upon this matter and whether to choose one side or the other.

Entry #8 Oral Assignment : The Study of Language.

CHAPTER 1 : THE ORIGINS OF LANGUAGE.

There is not register that can indicate how language originated, but it is suspected that some spoken languages must have developed between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago. In most religions, there appears to be a divine source who provides humans with language. The hypothesis is that if infants grow up without hearing any language, they would spontaneously begin using the original God - given language. The Natural Sound Source set that primitive words may have been imitations of the natural sounds early humans heard around them. What supports this theory is that modern languages have many words that sound like their names. The Social Interaction Source states that humans must have lived in groups, so they needed some type of communication to be organized.The Tool Making Source expresses that the functions for object manipulation and vocalization are very close to each other in the left hemisphere of the brain, so there may be an evolutionary connection between tool using and language using. The physical adaptation source explains that in the study of evolutionary development there are certain physical features which appear to be relevant for speech. Finally, the genetic source states that humans are born with a special capacity for language, it is innate and it isn't tied to a specific variety of language.

Entry #7 Writing & Academic Writing

REFERENCES:

Videos about Writing retrieved from:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=103&v=ka_BSL2hs-g&feature=emb_logo
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoPKi23meC8&feature=emb_logo
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT5c9zXtDNI&feature=emb_logo
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzRJ42JxCwA&feature=emb_logo
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg3HooJh0D0&feature=emb_logo

Academic Writing retrieved from:

• https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/14011/writing/106/academic_writing/3

Work done by:

• Bazán, María de las Nieves
• Giménez Foth, Mariana

METACOGNITIVE ANALYSIS.

As I have already mentioned in previous posts, I found videos really helpful and valuable when it comes to learning at home. You can have access to them at anytime, pause if it is needed, and watch it all over again.  

Although these videos  correspond to how to teach writing to our students, I found them useful to refresh my memory. I believe that the content found in this entry not only provides information on how to  improve our students' writing skills, but also fundamental formation for us as teachers. We will certainly have to write  academic papers on the future and I think it's good to have some material about it at hand, just in case. 

Entry #6 SFL: Systemic Functional Linguistics

  STEP #1 

Systemic Functional Linguistics is:

• a social theory of language
• an approach to language that considers language as a SOCIAL (to communicate) SEMIOTIC (there's meaning behind) SYSTEM.

Language metafunctions 👉 Ideational, Interpersonal, Textual.

Five basic principles:

1. social semiotics (system of signs used for social purpose)
2. language as a resource (a resource for making meaning rather than a system of rules)
3. text rather than senteces (as the basic unit through which meaning is negotiated)
4. texts and social context (close relations between texts and social context)
5. construing meaning ( a system for construing meaning rather than as a conduit through which thoughts and feelings are poured)

Agregar leyenda

STEP #2

STEP #3

Ater watching the videos above 👆, complete the following questionnaire 👇

STEP #4

OLD CONCEPTS	NEW CONCEPTS
SFL is a social theory of language	SFL is a linguistic theory that sees language as a social process that contributes to the realization of different social contexts.
It places more stress on the functions or meaning-making potential of language.	It provides the tools for analysing written and spoken texts with particular attention given to the context in which they are produced. It can also help us understand not only the nature of language but also things like how language evolves over time, how children develop language as well as how people learn both their mother tongue and foreign languages.
Register (Social Context, Cultural Context)	Context: Context of culture (genres) / Context of situation (register)
“Context of culture” to describe the system of beliefs, values and attitudes that speakers bring with them into any social interaction.	The context of culture in SFL represents all the potential ways we can use language to exchange meaning in socially recognizable ways.
The term “context of situation” in order to have a way to describe the immediate environment in which texts are produced.	Context of situation: register; has three sub variables field, tenor and mode.
We communicate meaning on three levels simultaneously. Metafunctions: o   Ideational o   Interpersonal o   Textual	These three variables (field, tenor and mode) can be broken down into many linguistic realizations (ideational choices, interpersonal choices and textual choices)

☝Work done collaboratively with Maria de las Nieves, Bazán.

Metacognitive analysis:

I´m glad to keep on learning theories of language, especially this one which considers language as a social semiotic system. It's quite interesting the way in which SFL can be applied in the EFL classroom. SFL emphasizes the significance of context, and in the EFL classroom context applies whenever children read, write or speak. While reading, students can ask themselves questions that relate to the what,when,where and why of the texts. While writing, students should write about something that they understand, they find interesting and they can relate to their  lives. For example, they could write about their pets or their best friend. Another important aspect of SFL is genre. Teachers should expose students to different genres and explain the specific conventions of these genres. In this way, students will be able to understand how members of a culture use written texts as part of their social lives and how a text purpose (narrating, arguing, explaining, reporting,etc.) reflects its shape. I feel there's a wide open field in which to work SFL in EFL classrooms. It just requires a bit of imagination and creativity in order to use it in many different ways and be able to meet the different needs of our students.