My experiences Through Level 6 By Daniela Armijo Yachay TECH University English Language Program Imbabura, Ecuador
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English Language Program Yachay Tech University Level 6 Teacher: Mark Alan Poese Josephine Javens February 23, 2017 Yachay, Ecuador
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.) Portfolio letter 2.) Opinion essay 3.) Responsive essay 4.) Argumentative essay 5.) Final Research project essay 6.) Thank you letter
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Daniela Armijo Yachay Tech campus Imbabura Ecuador.
February 23, 2017 Dear Portfolio Reader.
Hi, I'm Daniela Armijo, and I'm really grateful to you for reading my English Language Portfolio. In this letter, I will tell you all the pleasant experiences that I experienced throughout t level 6 and how I have improve in English throughout all these years in Yachay. Well, I never really liked learning English, I hated it from school, I never had good teachers, and for that reason I never had an interest in learning. However, thanks to the good teachers of Yachay, I have learned a lot from my effort and perseverance; this was my last level of English, but it does not mean it's the end, I still have a lot to learn and I will continue to do it throughout my student life. During this course, I feel that I have significantly improved several of my abilities and today I feel more prepared to speak, understand and read. I am very happy with everything achieved because I much enjoyed much doing it. During this month, we wrote two essays and our final project. The theme of my project is about artificial intelligence and its influence on education. It's a very interesting subject and I had to read a lot to understand it. We practiced reading a lot, there were several articles that we read of different topics focused on education that 4
helped to improve my critical thinking. With all those articles of global interest, I now have a more open mind. I am very shy, and I am afraid to speak in public and I think much more if I speak in English. There were several activities we did but my favorite was the Debate. It is a very interesting activity and I really enjoyed knowing the point of view of all my colleagues on the subject. It was more spontaneous and you had to think fast and talk. I'm very happy and now I feel more confident in talking. I am happy to have learned all this month, and I feel ready to start my new semester. I have very good memories of all my classmates and all my English teachers. They are great people who always supported me and motivated me to be better every day. I have a lot of gratitude towards them. Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. I want to show you a part of me, and my history in Yachay especially in level 6. I want to be a great professional and be able to study and work abroad. I hope you have enjoyed this letter a lot and once again thank you for your attention.
With love.
________________________ Daniela Armijo G.
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OPINION
ESSAY
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How morality changes in a foreign language? Do you think our way of judging or thinking is related with native tongue? The moral is one that defines who we are, influence in our way of thinking and decision because is a “set of values and beliefs imposed by society as a model of behavior to establish good and evil�
(Porto, 2008). In addition, morality is closely related to
religion as part of our daily lives. In addition, morality is closely related to religion and healing as part of our daily life. However, depending on the place in which you develop varies the importance of its norms. Many researches studies show that we feel, think and act differently depending on the language and the situation in which we find ourselves. From my point of view and according to the author, I think that when making decisions in a foreign language we become objective people leaving aside emotions and past events, with the purpose to seek the common good. First, morality is closely linked to action, that is, each decision has a positive or negative consequence. Therefore, they are an important part of our daily lives through the consciousness that has been developing based on our knowledge and teaching inheritances for our elders; for this reason, it is normal and intuitive to relate feelings and experiences with our mother tongue that has been present since our childhood. In addition, the culture in which we develop has a great influence on our critical thinking, because not all cultures share the same traditions. Something that does not happen with a language learned in the short or long term or in people who do not know the aspects that govern a culture, do not have the obligation to remember and to make moral judgments, thinking in a more profound and objective way. Secondly, the use of a foreign language produces changes in our final verdict, says Janet Geipel in his investigation made a group of people who severely judged the descriptions of immoral acts that seem to do no harm to anyone, unlike the people who 7
read it in different language. Clearly these reactions show two distinctly kind of thoughts, one fast connected to their values and religious influence, and the other that shows more objective looking for the common good for the largest number of people. "Good intentions led to bad outcomes, and good outcomes occurred despite dubious motives" (Sedivy, 2016) are the effects in other investigation, which it was developed in a foreign language, the participants were based more on the results giving a greater weight on the intention to produce a moral judgment. In conclusion, our values, beliefs and the religion that we adopt or accepted by tradition are responsible for forming our character and critical thinking, therefore, will always be associated with past feelings and actions, complying an important role in our decision making depending on circumstances; for this reason people who have learned other languages for periods of time do not feel the need to relate emotions or past events, taking the problem from a more critical and objective point of view.
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REFERENCES Porto, J. P. (2008). Definiciรณn.de. Obtenido de http://definicion.de/moral/
Sedivy, J. (14 de September de 2016). How Morality Changes in a Foreing Language. Obtenido de Scientific American : https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-morality-changes-in-a-foreignlanguage/
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RESPONSE ESSAY
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Responsive to “Why Self-education Learners Often Come Up Short” Before I entered the University, I thought that self- education was really difficult because I didn’t know anything about the topics of my degree, and also all my student life I had help from persons who know about the subject; I was really worried, but I thought was right that all my life I will have to depend on other people to study? Now, after I know what is the “university life” and study for 3 years my thinking is completely different. I believe that the only way to learn everything correctly is a mix between self-education and formal education. Scott Young (2010) expresses in his article “Why Self-Educated Learners Often Come up Short” his point of view about self-education and also its advantages and disadvantages. I agree with the points that he gives us, and I like the way that he answer about the discipline and responsibility that requires self-education and the need to follow a curriculum. Also the importance of an active learning and a functional known. Young claims in his article that “even if you pursue formal education fully, you’ll rely a lot of educating yourself.” (Young, 2010) Or eventually become a fully self-taught person. I agree with the author with the idea that to be successful in a formal education system the need for self-education is even greater, “what you learned in school will quickly be replaced” (Young, 2010) this education system is based on covering a lot of content in a short time. Quick descriptions of different topics at once will not make us experts. We need a more details knowledge of field techniques and a lot of time teaching ourselves to become really good people with our work. Another idea exposed in the article is the importance of a curriculum as a way that we must follow to achieve success. “The one strength of formal education is that it forces you to adhere to a curriculum” (Young, 2010). A formal system is based on a curriculum to achieve the goals set for your students. Determine objectives through the 11
establishment of contents and resources and identify the kind of knowledge we are prioritizing. It is very important to know how to organize the information, from the basics and simple topics to be able to understand subjects of greater complexity. We must take the curriculum as a map in a completely unknown world, in this way we have a base on which to develop us. Also, it assuring us that we will not be permanently lost. Discipline and responsibility are indispensable to persevere and reach our goal “Deeper self-education requires more discipline that university, nor less” (Young, 2010) this involves becoming self-taught people. Formal education has several incentives that make students learn and memorize more easily keeping them focused. This makes that of learning harder to ignore. Unlike the self-education that requires techniques that intervene directly in the success or failure as the constancy, responsibility, and selfdetermination of the student. As a student, it is important to maintain an equitable relationship between formal education and self-education. In the classroom there is a small percentage of students who fully understand the topics exposed by their teachers, however, the other large percentage of students must rely on self-learning. This is due not to lack of interest in content, it's due to the need to read, investigate and understand with greater tranquility a large number of resources. In all my university life, self-education is always the best option, meeting with friends and discussing our points of view, putting our knowledge into practice makes assimilating information more easily. Learning is an active process. “Afford needs to be made not just to learn the ideas, but to start applying them immediately” (Young, 2010) "We learn by acting, applying knowledge and acquiring new knowledge with practice, thus developing our skills and acquiring the motivation to apply them." (Ortiz, 2015) Linking all the knowledge acquired through the books with our day living is a way to avoid them forget 12
them easily. We need to acquire wisdom, functional knowledge because only the knowledge we put into practice is that which will be kept. Stephen R. Covey said "To learn and not to do is really not to learn. To know and not to do is really not to know" In conclusion, self-education requires much effort, dedication, and discipline on the part of the student to achieve the goal. While the formal system provides us several incentives that make it easier with to focus, and also the necessary tools to obtain a degree. I think it is very important to maintain a relationship between self-education and the formal education system because the knowledge received in the classroom is not enough, we need to self-require to improve our learning ability to be successful.
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References
Ortiz, J. (23 de Septiembre de 2015). Tecnolรณgico de Monterrey. Obtenido de http://www.itesm.mx/wps/wcm/connect/snc/portal+informativo/opinion+y+anali sis/firmas/dr.+jose+luis+ortiz+rosales/op23sep15joseluisortiz Young, S. H. (February de 2010). Obtenido de https://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2010/02/24/self-education-failings/
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Argumentative essay
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Should science have a common language? English is a language of science. During the last years the scientific community adopted English as its principal language around the world. All important research or academic papers are published in English than any other language, and also the major percent of the population speaks or knows about this language. In my opinion, I considered that the English language will be a common language because the most important scientist speak and publish in English, and the majority of the world college level science education now is conducted in this language. First of all, the scientist community speak English. Nowadays English is prevalent some non-English speaking countries, and the majority academic papers are published in this language. For me, this language is really important for the research that helps humanity, and the most important and famous scientist are English-speaking or have adopted this language because they want to produce influential and their work are recognized, also use English is a “extra time, effort, is closely related to their continued efforts to be recognized as having internationally compatible quality and to again the highest possible reputation” (Hutter-Koros, 2015) Second, “studying science in English is good preparation for a future scientific careers” (Hutter-Koros, 2015) Today, English is the primary language of education in non-English speaking countries and it is present in primary and secondary schools with the goals that the students have a high level education and they can develop without any problem in their student life or work life. A clear example is Ecuador, a poor country that is trying improve the system of education, implement English how first language in primary and secondary schools, and even more in University such as Yachay TECH that considered English as language of science.
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In conclusion, the English language is the most used language in all the world for scientists or common people. In the last century many important scientist adopted English is their first language with the goal that their effort is recognized internationally and the highest possible reputation. I think that English is very important to scientific research that tries to find solution to several problems that have face humanity. For this reason, is really important that English is introduced in education, because if people learn English since was childhood with the passing of the years it is easier.
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Referencias Hutter-Koros, A. (Agosto 21 de 2015). The Hidden Bias os Science's Universal Langauge. Obtenido de http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2015/08/english-universal-languagescience-research/400919/
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Final Research project essay 19
Artificial Intelligence “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete” (Buckminster Fuller. n.d). From its beginnings mankind has evolved by leaps and bounds, in such a way that today a few centuries later, it has been able to generate and discover things that were once considered illogical, such is the case of the type intelligence superior to the human. The human intelligence can be defined as “mental quality that consists of the abilities to learn from experience adapt to new situations understand and handle abstract concepts, and use knowledge to manipulate one’s environment” Copeland (2017) Over the last years, the human intelligence has been the main protagonist in develop and try to do easier the human life; one of the most important invents was the computer that originating a new form of intelligence, that today is known as artificial intelligence or AI. Artificial intelligence is “the ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings. The term is frequently applied to the project of developing systems endowed with the intellectual processes, characteristic of humans, such as the ability to reason, discover meaning, generalize, or learn from past experience” Copeland (2017) and for this reason has become the New Holy Grail of the new world powers. “Everything we love about civilization is a product of intelligence, so amplifying our human intelligence with artificial intelligence has the potential of helping civilization flourish like never before- as long as we manage to keep the technology beneficial” (Tegmark, n.d) We live in a world surrounded by technology, where every day we seek to develop self- sufficient machines, with the aim of exploiting human intelligence to the maximum. For this reason, the best benefit you can get from machines of the human race is in education. The technology or programs implemented 20
in primary, secondary or higher education has as its sole objective technological literacy. “Technological literacy can be described as the competence to locate, classify, analyze and synthesize information that is related to the attainment of practical objectives through efficient action.” (Roth, 2016) This new system of free access and used mainly in personal computers allows a greater speed and precision of the relation with the technological information. The purpose of this research is too show the greatest benefit that humanity can obtain from machines is in mediated education with technology, the types of systems that are currently employed as virtual platforms and the techniques on which they are based. “Intelligent Tutoring Systems are systems that provide learning and / or personalized training. They are based on three main components: knowledge of the contents, knowledge of the student, and knowledge of strategies or learning methodologies.” (Sánchez & Lama, 2007) Systems that aim to change the concept of online learning. The e-learning or electronic learning applications is a virtual space designed to facilitate distance education; this system is based on the delivery of large amounts of information to the student, providing a number of opportunities to "find" the correct answer before teaching. A difference of the intelligent tutors who act as coaches, the ones are responsible for solving doubts on the part of the student during the resolution of problems and not only when they send the answer. The tutor is responsible for directing the student during the learning process, and not only to show their mistakes and successes. There are several models of intelligent tutors systems, developed in universities or for profit. Among the best known is the Andes system, developed by the team of Kurt Van Lehn of the University of Pittsburgh. The system is in charge of guiding the student during the resolution of problems, providing the necessary information. As the 21
student requests assistance, the system provides clues or alerts about mistakes made in previous steps. In the commercial field Read-On! Is a reading comprehension system used in adults, which determines each of their deficiencies, adopting their training according to their needs? (Sรกnchez & Lama, 2007) "The systems of automatic evaluation of tests have as main objective to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the students through the tests that they make on a subject or activity"(Sรกnchez & Lama, 2007) Consequently, these systems in addition to automatically performing the correction of the test, extracts precise knowledge about the skills that the student has on the subject. In education, the simplest solution has been, and still is, completing large questionnaires or accessing question banks already made. The next step in a technology education is the development of software for the production of tests and question banks. Also, for many years, research has been developed on the validity of evidence based on multiple-choice questions or other types of queries. One of the most used systems for the creation and handling of tests, designed to control the learning of the students, is a system of automatic evaluation based on Web, with the objective of to realize partial or complete examinations. The system, called Test on Line (ToL), "can verify the possession of ideas, the ability to com bine them into deductions, and the ability to make simple numerical calculations for otherwise practical exercises."(Tartaglia & Tresso, 2002) ToL produces, for each student, creates a profile in which it describes the cognitive, logical or practical deficiencies of the subjects of study. The heart of the platform or system, is a question database, a selection algorithm and a procedure evaluation. (Tartaglia & Tresso, 2002) "Game-based learning, called "serious games" in the field of education to distinguish them from the purely oriented to entertainment, attempts to use the power of 22
computer games to attract and motivate students to develop new knowledge and skills" (Sรกnchez & Lama, 2007) This type of platform allows students to develop skills by practicing them as often as necessary, placing them in a virtual world and completely different situations from the classroom.
With the passage of the years and technological advances, video games play an important role in children and teenagers. In the current technological education have combined the most important features of multimedia platforms with the principles of technology-mediated education, creating a new virtual platform capable of mixing educational information and entertainment. The research carried out at the University of Barcelona-Spain concluded: "Games are powerful contexts for learning because they make it possible to create virtual worlds and because acting in such worlds makes possible to develop the situ ated ial practices, Shared values of thinking of important munities of practice ". (Gros, 2014) Video games help with the development of strategies, the understanding of simulations and develop to strategies. Several teachers recognize the importance of video games in the development of reasoning, deductive thinking, and memorization, as well as a correct teamwork and cooperative. In recent years the development of computer games for educational purposes has notably increased notably in the United Kingdom, where the Agency of Communication and Educational Technology (BECTA) is one of the main forces. (Gros, 2014) Artificial intelligence in technology-mediated education is breaking with traditional educational schemes, which offer to teach and learning in a personalized way adapting various aspects to the specific needs of each student. Thanks to AI today we can enjoy the world full of comfort and discoveries for the benefit of humanity. The best opportunity we can get from AI is in education because "all technology education programs, from primary and secondary programs through baccalaureate programs of 23
industrial technology, share the primary goal of technological literacy" (Roth, 2016) these pedagogical tools help solve problems that traditional education cannot. They are also part of building a "smarter" system known as virtual education that provides personalized learning experiences, making these processes more adaptable. However, several studies in young students showed that combining technology with education is a bad idea. One of the main reasons was the distractions produced by the technology, students would be focused on different subjects and impairing their learning. Others argue that technology harm in the way they relate to other people, meaning that students become more likely to become antisocial people because their contact with the "outside world" is through a screen. In addition, teachers agree that students become "useless" because, they become so dependent on technology that it ends up absorbing their natural abilities. For these and other reasons is very important to have control over technology, the human race is limited by evolution, while artificial intelligence is constantly evolving. In conclusion, Artificial intelligence is a great ally that we have today, with the passing of the years have to develop a number of platforms that helps in the intellectual, emotional and cognitive development of children and adolescents, however, we must have a Great control over this new class of intelligence and always bear in mind the risks involved. In my opinion, artificial intelligence is the most useful tool that we can use young people in education because, it helps us to discover and develop skills across various platforms, and it is also a great tool for teachers to facilitate their work. However, I consider AI as a weapon of a double edge because if it someday achieved its absolute development would mean the end of the human race.
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References Artificial intelligence (2017). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved February 19, 2017, from https://www.britannica.com/technology/artificial-intelligence Sánchez, V. & Lama, M. (2017). Técnicas de la Inteligencia Artificial Aplicadas a la Educación. Valencia, Spain: Asociación Española para la Inteligencia Artificial Gros, B. (2014). Digital Games in Education . Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 23-38. Roth, G. L. (2016). Artificial Intelligence: Its Future in Technology Education. The Journal of Epsilon Pi Tau, 47-50. Tartaglia, A., & Tresso, E. (2012). An Automatic Evaluation System for Technical. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON EDUCATION, 268-275.
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Thanks for reading my portfolio and I hope you enjoyed it.
Sincerely Daniela Armijo
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