FINAL REFLECTION: my English Competence in 2010

- My best oral evidence

1st batxillerat: a podcast that I did with Melissa. We had a great time doing it and the result was amazing. I can't show it, sorry, we deleted our blogs!

2nd batxillerat: the podcast I did with Vero and Aida. I like the podcasts because we can prepare it and we are not nervous because anybody can listen to it, it's not an obligation. Click.

- My best oral evidence

1st batxillerat: a letter I wrote to my classmate Sònia talking about my hometown: Campdevànol.

I choose this one because my grammar was okay, I wrote it with a special care because I was talking about my hometown :)

2nd batxillerat: click.

I think that's a good writing because I wrote it wanting to write it, I mean, I didn't feel I had to write it because I had to finish my blog, and I wrote it fluently, without help of translators, just WordReference with some words. That's one of the writings I can really show my English level. I also think my grammar is correct.

... my future

next year I will go to Barcelona to study Political science at the Pompeu Fabra University, if everything goes good and I have a good mark on PAU exams. I am so happy because I am fed up of being in Castelló! After six years, finally I can say GOODBYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! :)

FINAL REFLECTION: my English progress from 2009-2011

To do my reflection about how my English has improved since the beginning of 1st Batxillerat I've read the first letter I wrote to Gemma, my English teacher the last year.

I used to write with the correct grammar (more or less) and the grammar I knew at the moment, obviously. But what I wrote was not mature. Maybe that's something I tried to improve this year.

Today I compare that letter with my composition about the movie HOME, and now I can see how I changed my way to see the things, my personal opinion is not as important as it was before.

I didn't improve doing oral presentations because I hate them. I don't like to talk to people who don't give a shit of what I'm saying, and that's what happens with oral presentations. To be sincere, there are times that I don't care of the topics of other people, but I know a word that begins with RES and finishes with PECT, so I am without saying a word while someone from my class is putting forward his or her topic and listening it. Last year my presentation was about music and it was a totally disaster, as it was my last presentation. I don't know what can I say, and I don't know how can I prepare them. The presentation I felt I improved a little was the one I did with Stefi, I think it was funny and we prepared it with a week, it wasn't easy to us find the best videos and explain what we were going to show to the class.

My problem with oral presentations is not talking in English, is feeling nobody (well, not nobody...) understands nothing and sorry, but that's not the most comfortable system to learn. That's not comfortable for me, because I'm doing the oral presentation, and that's not comfortable for the people who is listening to me, they don't understand me or they don't care about what I am trying to say. That's all. If I feel I'm not talking with anyone, I begin to get nervous.

I can't put a video link because I couldn't upload a video of the oral exposition and I deleted the last year blog.

Talking about grammar, it has improved a little because of some things we've learnt this year but I don't see a drastic change in my English.

PODCAST

NEWS: PXC?

Political parties are wasting their money fighting with who will do the best campaign. Who will attract more people?

So they record videos, go to their towns giving candies to the children and speeches to the adults.

But now, I want you to see this video:

This is the political party Plataforma per Catalunya, that became famous because of the Vic scandal (they wanted to push away the immigrants). Josep Anglada owns this party and has been criticized because of his xenophobic feelings.

Yesterday Vilanova i la Geltrú suffered the effects of this party. The racist and xenophobic PxC began to fight with some people who were in the town square complaining because of the presence of Josep Anglada. Gerard Bellalta, the candidate of PxC in Vilanova took a steel stick from a truck and began to hit the demonstrators. Obviously, they tried to protect themselves from his agressions.

And obviously, the Mossos d'Esquadra didn't do the work well and didn't act against mr. Bellalta, they arrested two demonstrators assaulted who were demonstrating against the racist conduct of PxC. Justice? I don't think so.

HOME, a film by Yann Artus Bertrand

Watching this documentary made me think about what are we doing on the earth. I've found some information and that's so sad, but we deserve it... I didn't choose a sentence, so I will comment a photo:

The first time I saw this, I realized how little we are if we compare ourselves with the whole Earth, but we feel so powerful that we think we have the power to destroy it. As you can see, there is a huge boat going through the ice, breaking it. And you also can see the ice is melting. Warming is expected to be strongest in the Artic, and would be associated with continuing retreat of claciers, permafrost and sea ice. Other effects of the warming include more frequent occurrence of extreme weather, including heatwaves, droughts and heavy rainfall events, exctintion of species because of the new temperature, and changes in agricultural yields.

The global warming is the result of human activity and the industrialized countries, but some countries think the global warming is because natural causes. What do you think is more reasonable?

Two years ago a lot of countries signed the Kyoto Protocol to stabilize the concentration of greenhouse gases to avoid us to suffer the consequences. In November 2009, 187 states had signed the protocol, and they have to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, adapt to the effects of global warming and do some geoengineering to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

The documentary was beautiful because the photography was AMAZING, and it's easier to understand how is suffering the Earth, and we have to be a little conscious about that... if the Artic melts more than that, falling down the biggest icebergs that control the temperature of the Earth the consequences will be worse than the catastrophies that are happening right now: earthquakes, floods and droughts...

JANE EYRE

1. Can you summarize the book in two minutes?

This book explains the life of Jane Eyre. She is a girl with no parents, because they

both die. Her uncle adopt her and she lives with him and his family, but they die and

the rest of the people of Gateshead begins to hate her. Her childhood is difficult and

cruel, but finally Mrs Reed let her go to a charity school, where meets Miss Temple,

the headmistress of the school, and Helen “Burns”, another girl treated not so good,

who everyone thinks he’s evil but she has a really strong faith to God. After being

eight years in this school, two of them as a teacher, she gets a job as a governess of

a wealthy family. She has to teach Adele, Mr Rochester’s daughter. After some time,

the master of the house arrives and they fall in love to each other, but Edward

Rochester wants Jane to feel jealous pretending he’s going to marry a beautiful

woman, but finally they are who want to get married.

- Truth on the church: Mr Rochester is already married with Mason’s sister. Jane

gets angry.

- She leaves home and Edward is alone again. He explained to her what happened,

but she leaves home anyway.

- After some days, she gets a new home and begins working as a teacher in a

village school.

- She realizes that the people who have helped her are her cousins.

- Finally she hears about Mr Rochester and decides to go again to Thornfield to be

with him, now he is blind and she wants to look after him until she dies.

2. Is there a mystery sentence or a turning point in the story?

I think it’s important the moment that, when Jane is living with her cousins, she

realizes they are cousins and Mr Rochester.

Another turning point is when everything is ruined when they are in the church and

they don’t go on the marriage.

3. When and where does the story take place?

This story takes place in England, in some houses like Gateshead, Thornfield, Lowood

school… in the XIX century

4. Who are the main characters in the story? What’s their role?

The main character is Jane Eyre, a girl who has been a victim her entire life and

finally things are changing to her and she’s building a life. I think Mr. Rochester can

be also a main character, because Jane’s life is around Edward’s life since she meets

him. He is who gaves her a chance to feel what’s love, and he is who suffers her lack

of affection.

5. Choose one character (main or secondary) and describe him/her.

Mr Rochester is a man twenty years older than Jane and he’s desperate to find the

real love. He’s wealthy, but he’s not so happy. I think he’s insecure because he feels

alone. He has friends but they are only friends when they have to organize parties

and get married, he just knows being friends because of interest, and he wants to

feel how does it feel loving without think about money or family, to someone who

can understands him.

6. Can you identify with any character? Why?

I sometimes identify myself with Jane Eyre, because she’s inconformist, at least at

the beginning when she’s not agree with her “family” and tries to fight with her

troubles and before anything she prefers freedom than to be enchained with

someone.

7. Choose your favourite moment in the story

I really like the moment Jane comes again to Thornfield and it’s all burned, so he

goes to a friend of Mr Rochester’s house and finally they are happy together, and

she’s by his side when he’s blind… that’s beautiful.

8. Which new key words have you learnt to understand the story?

I don’t know what words are important but I think “Evil” it’s important, because it’s there in the beginning of the story. I learn what’s a “vicar”, a priest in the church of

England; the “Churchyard”, where dead people is buried next to the church; “seize”,

to take hold on quickly…

9. Provide an alternative ending.

The ending of the book is the ending I expected. But I can imagine an ending in India,

with Jane and John as a missionaries. In this case, Jane would be so sad and

frustrated, because first of all he wants freedom, no chains. From the frustration she

would kill herself and John finally would realize he can’t control other people and…

he would kim himself, too!

10. Would you recommend this book? Why?

Of course. It’s a typical romantic story, like “we love each other-something happens-now I hate you, leave me alone-I’m frustrated-I still love you-we’re happy again”.

But it’s an easy story… I have to say at the beginning I thought it would be difficult

because I began reading and there were a lot of names, but it could be worse, we

just have to remember Pride and Prejudice…

DIALOGUE

Interviewer: Excuse me, can I ask you some questions?

Fisherman: Hm... good. I hope they're not stupid.

I: ... okay. Well, I see you are around a lot of nets, so I think you are a fisherman.

F: You are right.

I: When did you start?

F: I don't remember the first day I was on a boat, even I was born on a boat!

I: Really?

F: Yes! My father was a fisherman and my mother always went with him.

I: That's beautiful.

F: Yes, they were so united, I'm happy when I remember how they loved each other. But... hey! We were talking about who am I!

I: Oh!! It's true, sorry! Well, so do you like your job?

F: Excuse me, but that's not a job for me. That's my life! I can't imagine myself out of my boat, out of this town and far away from the sea.

I: I understand. Do you never felt you were empty, or you need new experiences?
F: Yes, and I don't care because everything I wanted to do I did it. The thing is that I don't need to do these eccentric things people now needs. I don't need to travel to China. I don't need to do skydiving. I want to visit things closer, and enjoy the life.

I: Interesting! And what do you think about that there are less fishermen?

F: I don't care. That's not my problem. People think they have a good life when they get money more or less in an easy way and working as less as possible. Yes, I am on my boat six, eight or ten hours, everything smells like fish and I am not the cleanest person, but I am happy because I'm doing what I want to do, nobody is telling me if I have to stay home, and I don't work for another person. I appreciate that my family understands my way of life, and my sons and daughters try to follow my steps, in a modern way.

I: Oh... that's so true. Well, thank you for your time. Can I take a look on your boat?
F: Of course! If you want you can come tomorrow and I teach you a little fishing!

I: I can't reject your invitation! Amazing! Thank you!