Read instructions carefully Wed 29

I hope you feel like writing today. I’d like to tell you a bit about this image. To be honest, I found it hard to choose a special picture. This is because there are so many pictures I like and they are in so many different contexts. I decided to go for something nice and simple. I took this picture in July 2010. I was on holiday and my husband and I woke up at around 6 and decided to go for a walk. We walked from the place where we were staying to the next village around. The village was really funny because it was basically three houses and a post office. Anyway, everything was closed because it was so early. We took a lot of pictures of the sun rising. It was a beautiful moment. I’ll tell you why I like this photo in particular. It is a very simple picture but what I like about it, is the fact that it turned out just as I saw it on that morning. The light, the colors, the shadows, everything is exactly the way it was in my mind.

I love the way the sunlight hits the misty hills and you can see hills and more hills and more hills in the background. The image actually reminds me of the cover of a book I really enjoyed called “Ghostwritten” by David Mitchell. The nicest thing I can think of is that I had a lovely walk on a beautiful summer morning, breathing fresh air with someone I love.

Write about a special photograph you took or appear in.

Say: Who took it- What it shows- When it was taken- Why you like it

Upload it too!

Include any other information you'd like to mention.
Write a minimum of 180 words and write 3 comments on 3 blogs where you did not comment last week.

Wednesday 22

Today, we will choose a light topic to make your life easier. Please remember last week I published the marking criteria for the blog and some listening websites.

When I was younger, I loved to go out clubbing or to parties. However, in recent years I tend to go out to eat rather than to dance. Santiago has some great restaurants and you can eat out quite cheaply. There are "picadas" like Golfo di Napoli for wonderful pizza or pasta or slightly more expensive places with wonderful International cuisine like Thai House or Olan (Peruvian). I am a Pescatarian, I eat fish and seafood but not meat (of other kind) so that is always a factor when I eat out.

I don’t think I have a favorite kind of food. There are some foods that I do not like much, for example Korean food. I suppose it is because the meat dishes are the specialty. I love very hot food, lots of spices and taste. There is a nice Indian in Santiago. It is a bit pricy but it is really nice.  It is called Rishtedar . Many of the dishes are spicy hot and there is a scale of spiciness from 1 to 6 (from mild to blow-your-head-off). I love spicy food but grade 4 is as hot as I can stand.

I also love places like “el naturista” in the center, where you can enjoy porotos Granados or fantastic quinoa dishes for a very reasonable price.

Write about somewhere you like to eat out or a place you enjoy going to.

 Say:

What it’s called,

Where it is,

What it serves,

What you like to eat there.

Mention anything else you thing is important. Write at least 175 words. Leave a comment on my blog and on the blogs of 3 classmates.

City

Today we're going to talk about Santiago. Each and every one of us views the city form a different perspective that depends on many things. For example, I have spent most of my life here but I have had the chance to live in the north of England for some time. I also spent some time in Germany, and have visited a couple of places in Europe.  I have also visited some cities in Latin America and New Zealand. All different places shaped by history, architecture, commerce and people. Regardless of these things, your personal situation and frame of mind can also affect the way you view a city.
 I must say having seen places which seem a lot dirtier and a lot cleaner, I like Santiago city.  I certainly think a number of things could be done to make it a more livable place especially in particular areas, we need more green.  However, I think the center is a nice place because it offers a combination of forms and colours. I dislike the hostile attitude of a number of people but I hope that will change little by little. If I gave tips to visitors, I would suggest to go to "la vega central".
  Since in this moment of our lives we spend most our time here, lets express opinions.

Write about your vision of Santiago.

Include the following:

What you like about the Santiago and why,

What you dislike about the city and why,

What changes would make the city a better place,

What tips you would give to a visitor to the city

Write at least 170 words. Leave a message on at least 4 class blogs. 

Listening practice

www.plataforma.uchile.cl

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/

blog marking

Hello everybody,

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!

Post 8_4

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. INCLUDE

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

Important Info

Dear all,
Please rememberTRANSLATORS are NOT ALLOWED.
Remember if you use it, you will get a 1.0.

You can use the dictionary (www.wordreference.com)


Remember for each post you need to write the text AND the comments on your classmates'blogs. they are the task

Thanks!

Welcome to Blogland!

Each week throughout the semester you will have to write a set amount of words about a special theme. You will also have to comment on each other's blogs every week. In order to do this, the first thing you need to do is create a blog (using blogger.com) and then create a mini-blog network with all your classmates by linking them to your blog. I will help you with this process. The second activity for today's class is to write a short introduction about yourself (at least 60 words). If you don't finish in class you can finish this at home,

The main class rule is :

NO GOOGLE TRANSLATOR OR ONLINE TRANSLATORS OF ANY KIND (sorry for shouting).

If you are unsure of a work or phrase you have 3 options:
1. Use www.wordreference.com
2. Ask me
3. Ask a classmate

Please remember not to publish personal information like your address, RUT or bank details.
Also, be respectful with your classmates. It's good to joke but your language should be appropriate for a semi-formal academic context.

Happy Blogging:)


Our first task for today is to link all the class (including me) on a link list.