Today we are going to write about something  interesting.

It has been hard to choose because I am often reading more than one thing at the time.  I read the newspaper, academic papers, stuff on meditation, essays, my students' blogs, etc. 

I started reading about the brain some years back when I studied language acquisition and education = learning processes.

However, later I decided to read beyond linguistics and education, and bought a really interesting book called “Mind map” The book I am devoting most time to at the moment is called “The emotional life of your brain” It is written by a neuroscientist (R. J. Davidson) and a health and science journalist (S. Begley).  I suppose I am reading it out of pleasure. The book is about different research done on the human brain and the different emotional styles, how genetics and environment influence them and how they develop. It also includes  the mind – body connection. Although I have onlt read about 80 pages, I'm really enjoying seeing how certain personality traits can be linked to certain hormones released in certain areas of the brain and some of these processes could be modified if there is will. It is  fascinating.. Chemical processes were never thing at school but now it is fun. It also touches “abnormal “ conditions such as autism, which I find interesting.

I think I am enjoying it because there is no pressure involved. I just read a while before I go to sleep or during the day if I have the time.

Write about something you are reading at the moment.

Say

What it is called

Which genre it is ( novel, academics, manga, newspaper, blog, etc)

Whether you are enjoying it

What it is about

Include anything else you find relevant.

Write a minimum of 220 words and 4 comments on different class blogs.

Video 2

Video 2 marks

Alexandra  6.0
Yahira        4.8
Eiky           5.0
Cristina      6.3
Polette        5.2
Samantha   5.0
Octavia       5,7
Valentina A  4.8
Jonathan     5.5
Camila M    5.8
Elisa            4.8  
M Elena     1.0
Claudia       6.5
Valentina J  1.0
Tábata        1.0

Have I missed any videos?

FINAL TESTS

PLEASE REMEMBER THE FINAL TESTS WILL BE HELD ON DECEMBER 17TH

12:00   WRITTEN PART
14:30    ORAL INTERACTION (IN PAIRS)

REMEMBER THERE ARE MANY LINKS ON THIS BLOG WHERE YOU CAN PRACTICE.

Free post

Hi guys,
Today we have a free post.
Please remember NO COPYING AND PASTING! (sorry for shouting)

Write a minimum of 220 words  and 3 comments.

Today I'll write about my pet Kat.
I have had a number of pets in my life. From birds to therapins, dogs and cats, however, I had never had a pet for so long. Kat is 15 years old now and apart from being lazy and moaning most of the time, he is in good shape.
I have to say that I have mixed feelings with Kat. I found him in the street long ago. He had a bad leg and one of his eyes was shut. He had been treated badly but he was so little and looked so helpless. I had to keep him.
The funny thing is Kat is black and green eyed. Very handsome. However, he shows all the negative things that cats are described for.
He only gets close to you for food. He attacks you behind your back. I can't think of other stuff but it is bad enough as it is. I think he is in love with my husband.
I still feel sorry for him. I think the fact that he was treated badly in the past is probably the reason for his behaviour.
The vet saw him a few months ago and said he would probably live another couple of years. I felt very sad because I cannot imagine a life without him

I don't have a picture of him because I lost most my phone pictures :(

English practice

Session 1 (week 10)

Reading:

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_reading1.htm

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/reading1.htm

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_reading2.htm

Listening:

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_listening_part1.htm

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_listening_part2.htm

Vocabulary:

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_vocab.htm

Please write a 60 word text on your performance in the different areas.

Post 2 comments suggesting how to improve (mejorar) The areas that need work on.

I suppose there are many people I admire. But today I will refer to one that I don’t always mention and has impressed me more than once.  He is called “the father of modern linguistics” by more than one. His name is Noam Chomsky.

I got to know about him when I was studying language acquisition. At the time we looked at the theory of universal grammar. Hi argued that the human brain has a system that allows any human to learn languages just by being in a linguistic environment in normal conditions. This was in the 1950s. During these years behaviorism was the main trend. In 1959 he criticized B. F. Skinner and argued behaviorism had no faith in linguistic creativity of humans when it comes to learning.  This was very controversial.

He has been in the public debate since the 1960s when he wrote a series of books criticizing the role of the US in the war of Vietnam. He also wrote other essays about Cambodia and the violation of human rights in general.  He has argued against the US intervention in different countries. He was arrested more than once back in the day.

He worked at the university of Harvard and has worked at MIT since 1955.

If I had the chance to meet him, I would ask him more in depth about his feelings  towards the role of the state of Israel  in Palestine and Arab countries in general. He has got really interesting views on this. Especially for an American born to Jewish parents.

Write about a public person you admire.  Say:

How you got to know them

Give some general information about them

What you would ask her/him if you got to know them

Anything else you find relevant.

Write a minimum of 220  and 3 comments on any of the members' blogs

Green

I don’t think I am a particularly “Green person”, I think I am  “greener” than the average Chilean person, but not as Eco- friendly as I could be.
This idea of being “green” is so relative. I think it is very difficult to be all “planet friendly” when the whole system invites you to buy and dispose.  I love visiting new places, and basically this is what I spend most of my savings on. Do I pay to try to reduce my carbon footprint? So far, not a bean . Shame on me!!!

On the upside, I try to use the bike as often as possible. I also take bottles and cartons of milk to the supermarket as often as possible. But I also use the car!!! I used to have worms and separate the biodegradable rubbish but I don’t anymore. A thing I do is I put a bottle in my toilet cistern so I use less water when I flush the loo.  When I go to the supermarket or the vegetable market I take my own bags. I make my own washing detergent, which pollutes the water and my skin a lot less than Omo or any of those. I make my shampoo and in the past I made soap but it is not easy to find the time. I reuse and recycle as much as I remember. I have learnt from lovely people wanting to share and also out of my own curiosity, I suppose.
There is no way for things to improve in this aspect without education. I think the boroughs i.e. (Estación central, Recoleta, Ñuñoa, etc.) and the national School programmes need to include the topics of recycling, reusing and reducing so people become aware. One needs to do these things at home for children to become aware. I would like to start a group to raise awareness in children and people in general one day.
What about you?

 - How green are you?

-        Do you think there is a point in being “green”
- Have you incorporated recycling into your habits? Describe
- Have you joined or supported any eco-organisations? Why/Why not?
- What do you do /would you like to do to help the planet?
- What's missing in our society/Santiago regarding this issue?

Number of words: 240
Don't forget to make comments on at least 3 of your classmates posts and the teacher's