Post # 8. How has been the experience learning English at the University?

The University is (or it should be) a place where students can learn about many things, including the specifics knowledge of their careers, but also knowledge about any areas of the universal one.

So, the University must offer as much opportunities of learning as possible to generate professionals who can solve problems in a better way, who can respond to the actual world necessities. And, on the other hand, students should have a real disposition to learn. Among the things that University should offer to their students is the study of foreign languages. In our University, this topic has become increasingly important, but so slowly, and in a heterogeneous way between different schools and careers.

In the engineering career, the English Course is required in all careers, and it is so strict.

Otherwise, in the health’s careers just a few years ago the English Course is been integrated to the required plan.

My experience learning English at the University has had good things, and things that I would change. The good ones are three. 1) I have had the possibility of writing, talking, and listening in English, with other people. 2) I have shared with people from careers other than mine. 3) I have had a nice time.

The things that I would change are three. 1) This course should be required in all careers. 2) The level of exigency in the course should be higher than actual. 3) The methodology may be focused on listening and talking, more than in writing. It’s a good idea to make meetings with external people. And better yet the realization of student exchange programs.

In general terms, this has been a very important experience to my professional education, despite it hasn’t been perfect. I think I really have learnt English in this period, and I have realized that I have to find my own opportunities to learn.

Post Nº 5... You, Neuromyth, go away!

The myth I'm going to write about says: "A young child's brain can only manage to learn one language at a time."

Many people believe that learning a new language is problematic for the native language. Those who believe this imagine the brain as a closed box, with different little boxes in it, one of which is the "language's box". Thinking in this way, is easy to think that an additional language should be a hindrance for the native one.

Other people think that the new language does not involve a "capacity" problem, but it is a problem because the new language is not linked to the native in anyway. So, those things that have been learnt in one language have not been learnt in the other, and this disconnection generates confusion in the young child's mind.

The truth is that those children who learn more than one language in early ages have not any of these problems.

They can learn more than one language when they are very young, and it doesn't involve problems with the native language.

These children understand very well the structure and logic of the languages they manage, and because of this they have a good performance both in the oral and written language.

About the "no connection" between the two or more languages

If they learn things in one of the languages they manage, they get the knowledge as words, but also as images and as an idea. So, if they have the enough vocabulary, they are capable to explain and apply the new knowledge using any of their languages, and not only that used to learn it. Even, people who manage many languages learn things using their different languages, and after a while they don't remember in which language they learnt something or other.

A healthy lifestyle.

A healthy lifestyle is one that allows you to realize all your potential, to be disease-free, and to be happy. This ideal definition makes me wonder if in these days we can have one... Even more I wonder if it was possible to have it in the past, and if it will be possible in the future.
However, we have to think that it IS possible, but... What we must do to have it? How much is it? How long it takes?

Since we know a healthy lifestyle involves having a healthy body and mind, we can propose that some features or elements of it are the followings.

Eating healthy and palatable food, to have that things that your body needs. Eating of all kinds of food.  How often? Four times a day, and a mid-morning snack. Take care specially not to eat too much salt and fats. Include five portions of vegetables per day, and legumes twice a week, and so on...

Doing a lot of physical excercise. This is good for your cardiovascular system to your brain and other body's systems, as much as for your body's appearance.

Laughing enough, everytime, of everything and with everyone. Of course, always with respect.

Drinking at least two liters of water per day.

Reading a lot, to excersise your brain.

And, in the end, doing (almost) everything you can do with both your body and your mind, but avoiding excess. Except with love: you love in excess. You love everybody.

My favourite place (instead of my favourite get-away)

Hi, I think I have not a "favourite get-away". So I'll tell you about one of my favourite places in Chile: Futaleufú.

This town is located away from Santiago, in the south of Chile in the Tenth region. There is a big river there that is famous because its strong channel. This is one of the most important rivers to practice kayac.

The streets of Futaleufú are clean and ordered, and there is green grass alongside them. The people is friendly and gently.

Some of the things you can do in Futaleufú are: walking along its streets, kayak, fishing, camping, picnic, wild boar hunting, wondering with the landscape... And even more.

The access to this place is not easy. In fact, to arrive from Argentina is easier than from Chile.

I've been in Futaleufú just once, four years ago when I was traveling with my school's friends. I have wonderful memories of that experience with my friends. Maybe because of it this place is so special for me.

In that travel I arrived Futaleufú with a friend after a hard walking in the rain, in the night.

We were two nights in there, in a house with a chimney and warm water. It was a nice place with nice people.

Despite the volcano eruption, I would like to work as general practitioner in there.

See you soon.



Results - Angkor Wat - Online Language Quiz - UsingEnglish.com

Results - Angkor Wat - Online Language Quiz - UsingEnglish.com

A book called "Francisca, yo te amo" ("Francisca, I love you")

I'm going to talk to you about this book that I read seven years ago, when I was sixteen. I had to read it because it was part of the school contents.

So, this book is about Alex, a Chilean young boy, who meets Francisca during his summer holidays in Quintero. The girl works in a circus, and she's so skillful with his body and his mind. They fall in love, but their relationship is not so easy because Francisca's parents are against it. The reason? She has a low intelligence quotient, and she suffers of epilepsy (or something like that).

I do like so much it because of several reasons:

1) It is a Chilean history, that occurs in Chile, with its people, its places, its language.

2) It is about a young couple, and this makes me to identify with the history, despite that when I read it I had not a girlfriend.

3) It's a simply history, but it's rich in descriptions of situations and places, and this makes it to much familiar.

There's another book like this. It's name is "Constanza, ¿dónde estás?". It's so good too.

So, for the time is being, that's all.  

One of those

My first day in the university... I don't remember it.
My future as a doctor... I don't remember it.
My favorite movie... My favorite movies are:
The green mile, Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom (also known as Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring), American History X, Jack, Patch Adams, Requiem for a Dream, A Clockwork Orange, Reservoir Dogs, Sleepers, La vita è bella (Life is beautiful), Madagascar, Click, Cast Away, Forrest Gump, The Butterfly Effect, Devil's Advocate.
I enjoyed with all these movies. They either makes me laugh, have a good time, or think and reflect, and some of them even makes me cry...
There are other movies that I don't put here, and other that I haven't seen yet, but I'd like to see them: Amelie, The Pianist, Fuga, Bily Elliot, A Beautiful Mind, Baraka...