valebham

PLE2

2008-05-29T03:45:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

Here I am again...in this post I'll reflect on whether or not something has changed during the second semester in the organization of my English learning...and yet, the answer is YES!

I've always thought that grammar exercises, theory, rules and writing are in importan part of the learning process but as I pointed out in the post on the PLE I think there are many other different ways that help us improve a language, some ways are more serious and require a bigger effort, some ways are funnier and stimulate improvements in an "easier"way.
During the second semester the main tool we used for our learning has been Skype. This tool gave us the chance to communicate, exchange thoughts and learn new things from our new American friends. It has been a really nice experience doing the exchange with them...and the exchange is not over because we still skype and write to each other..that's cool!

I would keep the mindmap I did in the first semester like it was before, but I shall definitely add the skype tool which was missing and underline the importance of the web tools in general.

Thanks to everyone for this wonderful experience..
Keep in touch in the web!
Bye!

Intercultural Competence

2008-05-14T03:47:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!!!
In this post, I'm going to reflect on the questionnaires I did about my Intercultural Competence.
During this year we did so many activities and I think it's all been very useful, especially the last few months when we started the Exchange with the American peers.
Answering the questionnaire and reflecting on the self-assessment I realised I made many improvements and this made me very happy and satisfied.
First of all I had the chance to learn some more about American culture, but also, as I pointed out in the questionnaires, about my own culture; I learned how to deal with foreign people and how to discuss with them the main differences and attitudes of our cultures; I realised that sometimes understanding each other may be very difficult, especially at the beginning, but also that after a while everything becomes easier.
It's been a very nice experience and hopefully we'll be able to keep in contact with the America peers!
See u guys!!!

thinking about the final project...

2008-04-19T07:29:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!!!
This course is nearly finished and now we need to concentrate on our final projects.
I really like the idea of discussing a topic concerning the differences between Italian and American culture...Unfortunately we haven't decided the subject yet.
As a group we are thinking about the following subjects:
1. Religion
2. Sport
3. Death penalty
We agreed on the fact that they are equally interesting...now we are only waiting for Ugo's opinion, and then we'll start working hard on the project!!
We reckon the easier way to communicate between us and Ugo will be skype and e-mails, whilst between the three of us it will be talking face to face.
We will know how to build our project only when we'll know the subject so...the next time u'll find out what it will be!!!
See u!!!

2008-04-04T10:12:00.000-07:00

Hello!!
This week activity on skype was very interesting as we discussed on a very important and current topic: elections and politics in general.
Me, Laura and Martina talked with Alyson about the three videos we watched on youtube : Meno male che Silvio c'è, I'm PD and the song sang by Obama Girl...I had never seen something like that before..I really think we live in a strange strange world!
Anyway it was very interesting to listen to Alyson while she explained to us in a clear way how it works in America, how the parties make the propaganda and try to gain voters. Unlike me, she was very informed about the topic...I don't know much about politics and if I have to be honest I lost interest on it because I don't see any good way out of this situation...I mean we are all tired of hearing the same promises all the time...I would like to believe in politicians, I really do, they are the one in charge to govern our country..but now I'm hopeless!
I think skype classes are very useful as I always learn something new about American culture and I learn it directly, and if I have any curiosity I can always ask some questions...this is really good!!
I'm looking forward to next lesson...see you soon guys!!

yoga

2008-03-25T06:49:00.000-07:00

hellooo!
Unfortunately last week I couldn't attend my skype class...so I'll catch up with the American guys next week after some relaxing days of spring holiday!
And by the way...Happy spring time!
What's a yoga form?!
Well I thought it was something concerning relaxing techniques...eheh!
But I found out that a yoga form is a very interesting and innovative way to become aware of our own knowledge on a particular subject. All those questions about my own culture compared to other different cultures were very useful and they made me think about something that at the end is very important when you study a foreign language, its culture and way of living.
It took quite a while to get through that big list of questions...and it wasn't that easy, because for each question I had to think of an example, to think about real life and my attitudes towards that subject...but at the end it was worthwhile as now I feel I know what I need to focus on, I know which are the mistakes I have to avoid and I am aware of my knowledge.
Having said that..now I can work hard on those aspects I don't know and which are important when facing another culture!
See u in class..hope u all spent amazing Easter holidays!

Terrorism

2008-03-15T10:44:00.000-07:00

The discussion on the wiki was very interesting as we had to consider important subjects and think about a problem that is unfortunately becoming more and more commonplace: terrorism.
Whilst I am glad the days of domestic political terrorism are behind us it really made me, and probably everyone else, think how strange it is that there could be a serious attack anytime and there is not a great deal we could do about it.

In my opinion the only choice we have is to make the best of it and try and laugh at ourselves as much as possible in the meantime. Enjoy the video, hope it cheers everyone up after such a serious subject!

As I can't upload the video, if you are interested click on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnYB_Q6RtGI&feature=related

2008-03-08T08:15:00.000-08:00

Welcome back everyone!!!

The new semester started very well and I am so positive about the exchange with the guys from the University of Dickinson.

On tuesday I spoke -together with Anna- for the first time with Ugo, our exchange partner; we introduced each other and had a general chat about Universiy-life, our own countries and cities, families and so on. It was good and exciting also because we could see him and so we could feel that, even though through the screen of a computer the conversation was real.

Overall it has been a new and nice experience, the only "less positive" aspect is the fact that the conversation is between the 3 of us...and I found it difficult to "control" the turn of the conversation. Moreover, being the first time we all had so many things to say!! Anyway we'll try to make it work better next time!

I'm so curious and there are so many things I'd like to know about Americans and their culture so I'm really looking forward to next skype talk!

See you!

Merry Christmas

2007-12-17T02:33:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!
"Blogging" with u has been a very nice experience...see u all next semester..but first:

MERRY CHRISTMAS and A Happy NEW YEAR to everyone!

Always remember for 2008:
LIFE IS SHORT
BREAK THE RULES
FORGIVE QUICKLY
KISS SLOWLY
LOVE TRULY
LAUGH UNCONTROLLABLY
AND NEVER REGRET ANYTHING THAT MADE U SMILE!

HAPPY 2008!

PLE

2007-12-06T07:15:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!
I never really thought about my way of learning English..I mean I never organised my learning environments in a clear shape or a real order...until now!
This e-tivity has been very useful for me as it made me think about the way I learn English, and by thinking about my learning structures I have even been able to come up with one or two improvements to them!

In my PLE's map I divided my learning into 4 main groups: Who, Where, When and How.
I started my map thinking about Where I learn, in which environments and occasions and I came up with the basic distinction between real world and virtual world. The Real world is obviously important, but everyday the web is giving us more and more tools that can help us learn a language. The Who part is fundamental...relationships and friendships are the best way to learn a language..and for me this source now is the most important as my boyfriend is English and if I want to talk to him I need to be understandable and this stimulates my willingness to learn and improve!
I decided to call a group When because I think that we should use the language, practice it and be surrounded by it every moment, during the day, as long as possible..because only constant and regular learning can let us "reach perfection"!
Another fundamental question to ask ourselves about our PLE is How?!How do I learn?!Here I created two subgroups called informal and formal activities. Formal activities are fundamental as they set the bases for a further learning...My English learning started at school and therefore at the beginning it was mostly through grammar exercises and homework that I actually got in touch with the language..but the best part comes with the informal, personal, individual learning.
The funniest and most efficient part of our learning comes when the grammar rules and the fundamental things to know about a language are clear in our mind, they are natural. When this happens we can start modeling it, adding information, building up a specific vocabulary and perfecting our pronunciation. The easiest way of improving a language is by doing something amusing and interesting like reading books, chatting with friends, listening to music and watching films.

good or bad!?

2007-11-28T09:08:00.000-08:00

When I have to find information or documents or to write an essay about a specific topic I am always sceptical about using the Internet: the Web offers an endless amount of information and material which could easily fill ten essays on my topic. However, the very fear that I might fill my essay with non-sensical drivel written by someone with no real clue about the subject is one which normally prohibits me from using the internet a great deal. This is why I usually prefer to go to the library and explore the books on offer there...at least it's something official which has been published!

Anyway the Internet has the advantage of being much easier to access than a real library..it's right here on the desk in your room...easy!
When I use it for my research I first of all use google as a search engine and then when huge lists of websites containing the word I'm searching for appear, I pay attention to the url of the pages in order to understand and make sure they belong to official and reliable websites.
Another fundamental aspect that needs to be taken into consideration is: Who is saying this?Who wrote these things? Is this author reliable or is he just someone who decided to publish his work on the web?!

Until now all my searches followed primarily these criteria...the rest of my judgement was based on the content. I had a look at the websites of some Universities and the advice they give when surfing the web and collecting sources is much clearer and useful. From now on I'll definitely change the way I evaluate information sources from the web.

scrubs

2007-11-25T11:57:00.001-08:00

Here is a short clip of a Scrubs episode..I love this TV show!I'm sure u already know it and u'll love it!Almost every night I watch an episode..it's just so funny and I realized it's a good listening-exercise to learn English.
Learning is easier if u do it having fun!x

youtube

2007-11-25T03:06:00.000-08:00

Youtube is one of the most popular websites on the internet today, users from all over the world can upload their own videos and invite others to comment on them. Whilst some people do use YouTube in the manner for which it was intended, uploading informative and sometimes funny articles of their own creation, the majority of people only use it to watch music videos or episodes of TV shows. There has been many news stories in the press recently about the possibility of major record companies taking the YouTube owners to court for breach of Copyright.

In my opinion YouTube can be useful for us as a tool for learning English as there are many clips and indeed entire episodes of popular TV programmes avaliable to view. One of my favorite finds on YouTube has been the American comedy show Scrubs. There is a clip of the show above and if you like it you can also view entire episodes on YouTube which is great even if it is technically a breach of copyright!

Hope u'll like it!
See u!

podcasts

2007-11-15T05:01:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody!!

Today I've discovered another useful tool the web provides: podcasts!
Well, I had heard this word before when listening to the radio -radio2!- but honestly it never crossed my mind to go and check how podcasts work...until today! I have been listening to conversations, interviews, english lessons online, stories and much more the whole morning...I enjoyed myself because discovered some really funny speeches or interesting news and therefore want to share what I found with u!
Hope u'll enjoy them!

www.china232.com

This website is really cool. Two guys talk about different subjects, just visit the main page, then click on lessons and you'll find interesting conversations about everyday life...such as phone conversations, confronting a problem with a friend, talking about a date, talking about important subjects like global warming, health...and much more...the website is really easy to understand, and plus it offers a list of key vocabulary and phrases which are discussed in the podcast...go have a look!

www.guardian.co.uk

This is the official website of the famous English newspaper, here u can find on the podcast format many articles on current topics, interviews, discussions and obviously news!
Listening to guardian's podcasts can be very interesting and useful both from the linguistic point of view - to improve our English, learn new words and do some listening exercise which is always good!-, and from the cultural point of view to keep up with the world's latest news!!

www.thebobandrobshow.com

As you can easily understand from the url of this website, here we deal with two "comedians", two guys - an English and an American- which discuss different subjects ranging from cultural aspects to food habits...well to use their own words this website contains a hodgepodge of podcasts which can sometimes be funny! I found it interesting to have two speakers coming from different countries -and continents!- in this way u can learn and appreciate two English accents and pronounciations!

Well that's all for now!
I hope u'll find those websites useful and see u soon!

del.icio.us

2007-11-08T12:29:00.001-08:00

Discovering del.icio.us was a good experience. Here it is..another useful tool to help us when searching and travelling the blogosphere. The del.icio.us system offers a great opportunity for bloggers and internet users in general, enabling them to store and share interesting web pages.
I've enjoyed searching for webpages to add to my bookmarks, it's like creating our own online bookshelf, it's a kind of virtual place where we keep all the things we think are useful, it's like having a virtual desk full of papers and things to read, and the good thing is that you can carry it everywhere...'cause it's virtual...it's there somewhere..you can't touch it..but just log on onto del.icio.us and there you are..your virtual store is ready to be used..isn't it great!?

happy halloween..ahahah!

2007-11-05T01:26:00.000-08:00

Should Halloween be imported to and celebrated in Italy or not?

Mmm...well, in my opinion, which can sound a bit superficial, Halloween is just another occasion to party and have fun!I think that a lot of people like it above all because of its being "exotic", I mean it is a foreign tradition, that's right, it doesn't belong to our history...but that makes it even more fascinating!
This is why I like it...it's just fun!
Kids like to trick-or-treat, teenagers like to fancy-dress and party.
What I don't like about Halloween is that it has been commercialised... but that's just what happened to every tradition...just think about Christmas or Easter, Carnival or Mother's day...everything nowadays is commercialised...we live in a consumer society and like it or not, it's just another aspect of globalization...
What do u think?!

bloglines

2007-11-04T06:58:00.000-08:00

After spending a couple of hours on bloglines i must say I'm still quite confused...even if the video from youtube was really well done, really helpful! I had to follow it step by step but at the end it was successful!!If I get it right I think bloglines could be a very useful tool to save our time when searching for new comments or new posts...it is good indeed because it also allows you to keep it all visible in the same webpage, which is a great thing!
I just hope I'll be able to use it soon..eheh!
byeeee

what's in a blog?!

2007-10-22T06:01:00.000-07:00

As this is my first blog, at the beginning, I was somewhere between scared and excited...which is quite usual when doing something for the first time. So I started discovering this new and virtual world..where everyone can share their thoughts, pictures, travels, ideas, and anything else with other bloggers. In the end it's quite easy to understand how a blog works and once you've started sending the first few posts it gets easier and easier. Now, thanks to my brand-new blog I'll have the opportunity to develop a wider knowledge of the blogosphere...even if, to be honest, I don't really like the idea of publishing my "stuff" or reading other bloggers experiences...I prefer the real world, and real friends... Anyway...it can be a good exercise to practice colloquial and informal English...either by writing your own posts or by reading other students posts...you can always learn...but my advice is to read other blogs in a critical way...I mean, we are not english and sometimes our posts can be full of mistakes which are better not to learn!!At the end I think it is a very useful device if used in the proper way...So, be careful!!

welcome message

2007-10-18T10:26:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog!

This unusual picture represents the door of my ex-house in Bham...I want to start my blog with it because it is a symbol of crucial changes in my life!! I lived for 9 months in Selly Oak, just outside the Bham campus...there I found myself in a new world where i had the possibility to meet many many new friends from all over the world and to share with them my culture and to grow together: they were my new family!I travelled inside and outside the UK, I discovered the english drinking-culture and enjoyed myself so much. I felt free and truly happy!While I was there I had the opportunity to join the university movie-society and discovered a real passion and an increasing interest in movies!Another big passion I have is music: I've always loved listening to music..Music is the soundtrack of life, of every moment and it's good in any occasion. A couple of years ago I played in a group of Samba music called Vila Isabel, a beautiful experience...I loved percussion instruments...so I started to play the drums and now my dream is to join a rock-band!!
Enjoy my blog!!