January 10, 2016
Dear Portfolio Reader: My name is Patricio Molina and welcome to my English Portfolio. This is a compilation of all the works that I designed and the abilities that I gain in the Level 6 in Yachay Tech. My portfolio is a selection of my best works and consist of four essays, a research project and a portfolio. I hope you can see the effort that I put in this group of works and that the English is a constant practice of writing and speaking. I am very satisfied for all the time and effort that I dedicate to improving my level of English. When I entered level 6 of English this semester, my problem was the lack of attendance, because I believed that this level would be like the previous level and I did not feel very motivated. But I soon discovered that this level would bring many good things into my life. Through this semester I learned to take control of my essays, to use well the rules and statutes to write a good essay and thus improve my writing as well as my English speaking. I think I am prepared to continue my training because thanks to the Yachay Tech English Program I was able to implement everything I learned in Level 6 not only to the subject as well in my other areas of study. I know that I am prepared to face challenges such as debates, presentations, understanding scientific papers, answering random questions about any subject. The essays helped me to realize that for a good essay as well as a good research paper it is necessary to have good sources to take reference that APA standards are necessary to continue to format the sheet as well as to cite well the authors of the papers. Also I have to
know the correct definition In addition to having to know the correct definition of a word to be able to use it correctly in a paragraph. I want to become a better student that dominates everything related to English so apply it in my academic life and that I will influence a lot in my life in general. Also selfeducated reading more books in English and everything related to this. It is a requirement to know the English language well in order to be more competitive in our careers as well as being an important tool that must be implemented in our career. Thank you for reading my Portfolio. This is the culmination of an exasperating and challenging process for which I had to go through, but it was necessary to gain tools that I will need in a more concrete future for my career. I hope you like reading it as much as I like to do it. This is not the end of my learning process of the English language and I will continue to like learning more about this language to understand it, speak it and share it with others.
Gratefully,
Patricio Molina
Language and the Way it Changes our Thinking. Patricio Andres Molina Barrezueta English Level 6-002 Yachay Tech University October 2, 2016
Language and the Way it Changes our Thinking.
There is an important question that to been marauding the minds of many people over the course of time: (The language that I speak can mold the way I think?) There is an evidence that shows the existence of differences in the manner in which other cultures see the world that affect the behavior and is caused by language. So, can language shape the way we think? This is a tricky question because there are some other factors that can shape the way we think, the influence of other cultures, habits, traditions, and of course people close to you that can influence in your life, like your parents. But the main important topics in what language can shape the way we think, and there are a coherent evidence; are the way we talk about space, the way we interpret time, the way we see colors and the way we talk about any objects. In his article, How Does our language shape the way we think? , Lera Boroditsky said that in the past people think that the idea of language can modify thoughts was unthinkable and that there was no solid evidence of that. For that reason she conduct a research in labs at Stanford University and at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) because she was dedicated to prove the opposite. The data compiled came from all the corners of the Earth. She gave an example: in the tense of a verb, the Indonesians can´t alter the verb to give a tense while in Russian you can alter the verb and give a gender. I´m agree with her because in English we can change the tense of a verb but we don´t give a distinction like gender, this is a proof that the uses of other language can change the perspective of the way we see things. When we are talking about our position we talk for example: “I’m near the house” or “She is in front of the school” this is the way we see our spatial orientation but according to Lera Boroditsky, as she write in her article, there is an aboriginal community called Pormpuraaw and the Kuuk Thaayorre are the locals, she maintains that in this community they use words like north, south, east and west, in their own language, to refer spatial
orientation. So, she think without doubt that the Kuuk Thaayorre are better in stay oriented than English speakers. I´m agree with her because the Kuuk Thaayorre has to keep oriented every time in whatever site they are and this help when they want to navigate because they always need to know where is the north. Then she ask herself “if the Kuuk Thaayorre think differently about space, do they also think differently about other things, like time?” (Boroditsky, 2009) so she conducted an experiment with the Kuuk Thaayorre in which they were separated and facing in a different cardinal coordinates; when someone was faced to the north arrange the cards from right to left and when was faced to the south the cards were arrange from left to right and so on; shows that the aboriginal not only use the spatial orientation for keep track of where they are, they also use their spatial orientation to make their representation of Time. According to the author “In Russian there is no single word that covers all the colors that English speakers call "blue." Russian makes an obligatory distinction between light blue (goluboy) and dark blue (siniy).” (Boroditsky, 2009) She points that the data said that Russians are quicker to distinguish different shades of color than English because of the language. So, I think that when you are learning a new language you not only are learning some vocabulary, or another way to write something, you are also learning a new way of thinking; knowing the manner that other cultures see things and talk about them. The same happens when we are talking about gender, for example German speakers treat a key like something metallic, useful like a man while Spanish speakers treat a key like something shiny, delicate like woman. With this example the author maintains that if you are teaching new grammatical gender systems to English speakers you can also shape the representations of the objects that they see and with that mold the way they think. In conclusion, the way we think can be “shaped” by a number of reasons, but as we have seen in this essay the language greatly influences the way we behave and think, since as
we refer to the space that surrounds us as well as to the differences that exist at the time of perceiving a color. In this way, we realize that the language form a main tool with which we can change our thoughts, and learn new languages, different to ours, can change the way in which we see the world, the different cultures, and another perception of life.
References
Boroditsky, L. (2009, May 6). How does our language shape the way we think? Retrieved from https://www.edge.org/conversation/how-does-our-language-shape-the-way-wethink.
The Magnum Opus of Vivaldi: Summer (The Four Seasons) Evelin G. Cuadros, Jocelyn F. Romero, Patricio A. Molina Yachay Tech University
First of all, you cannot talk about a piece of art without first know about who was responsible for such a magnificent job that undoubtedly involves having passion and skill. In this essay, we will start with a brief biography of Antonio Vivaldi. Then, we will be focused on his masterpiece called Summer (The Four Seasons), specifically its description, analysis, and interpretation. Finally, we will conclude summarizing the most important aspects of the piece of art. Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (Venice, 4 of March of 1678 – Vienna, 28 of 1741 July) was a composer and late Baroque musician. His skills are reflected in having laid the concert’s foundations the most important of his time. Vivaldi was nicknamed il prete rosso (“the reddish priest”) for being a catholic priest and red-haired. He composed 770 works, between which 477 concerts and 46 operas are told. (Angeles Saavedra, 2010). The most impacting composition was a group of several concertos called "The Four Seasons" divided in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. The concertos are accompanied with Italian sonnets (poems) which, nowadays, nobody knows exactly if Vivaldi wrote them or he did it with someone’s help. (Pianolessons4children.com, 2016). The Summer’s first movement is called Allegro non molto. Allegro non molto is a Italian word that means not very happy. The length of the melody is around 4:55 so in this period of time start with emotion of the intense summer heat and also seems to evoke slow deep breathing separated by silence. In addition, there is a sonnet (poem) that helps to understand the main idea of the concerto. Vivaldi describes to us how the cuckoo in the warm nights of summer sings rhythmically.These melody continues by songs disappearing by a
strong wind and we hear the shepherd's cry for fear of the storm. This part of the work shows a well-marked rhythm, as is the style of the baroque. The Summer’s second part is called Adagio e Piano. On the one hand, Adagio is an Italian musical word that indicates a speed somewhere between Andante (moderately slow) and Largo (rather slow). On the other hand, Piano refers to a soft sound. The melody duration is around 1:47 minutes, and it is composed basically by the violin. In addition, this second part correlates a three verse sonnet that reflects the melody’s main idea. The poem mentioned that the shepherd is worrying about the summer’s storm is closer. About the slow part analysis, the musical work has buzzing insects and bird sounds; in contrast, the fast part represents the rough wind simulating the thunders with the violin. All of these elements (birds, insects, storm) are representative symbols of the Summer season (Study). The connection of these components refers the fear of the upcoming storm and the tranquility before that with buzzing insects. Listening the slow movement part of the melody, and then the fast one allow us to feel preoccupation and be in alert, we can feel that something is coming to happen. Presto is the third movement of this concert. It is the fastest melody, and the duration is 2:47 minutes. This melody has the violin as main instrument, in the same way that all this musical work. Besides, in this part we can notice a musical background and a main melody, which together do not leave a single blank space throughout the melody. The emotion produced by this movement to the listeners is the anxiety, because of its rhythm and its compass. The poem written for this melody is very short, it is composed of three verses describing the meaning of the melody. In the musical area, Presto means “very fast” (Music Theory), which is related to the rhythm of this melody. The short poem that Vivaldi wrote in reference to this melody describes the storms and thunders which are representative of this season, and he represents it in this melody through the strident sounds and with the
speed of the melody, and it is also why this melody produces anxiety and a little stress to the listeners. About the interpretation of Presto, I think that it is the easiest of the movement of this concert to interpretation, because we can imagine all that Vivaldi wants to say through this movement that are the storm and thunders of the summer with only listen this melody. In conclusion, the second concert of Vivaldi: ‘Summer’, as all the concerts of ‘Four Seasons’, are a piece of art very clear and easy to understand to the common listener, because each of the musical movements have one poem which explain what is the mean of the melodies, also the rhythm and the compass can help to understand the mean of each melody because it is very evident for the intensity and speed of each of these. So, to finished, ‘Summer’ is a great work which explain why this piece of art: ‘Four Seasons’ is one of the most important musical composition through the history.
References Artsalive. (n.d.). VIVALDI – THE FOUR SEASONS. Obtained from http://artsalive.ca/pdf/mus/map/map_saskatchewan_en.pdf Barroque Music Club . (n.d.). Barroque Music Club . Obtained from http://www.baroquemusic.org/vivaldiseasons.html Muscato, C. (n.d.). Study . Obtained from http://study.com/academy/lesson/the-four-seasonsby-vivaldi-analysis-structure.html Music Theory . (n.d.). Obtained from http://www.musictheory.org.uk/res-musicalterms/italian-musical-terms.php Saavedra, Á. (2010). Antonio Vivaldi and the 'Four Seasons' explained. Obtained from http://vinculando.org/en/antonio_vivaldi_the_four_seasons_explained.html Vivaldi, A. (Dirección). (1725). Antonio Vivaldi- The Four Seasons- Summer- Presto [Película]. Obtained from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx5c_JZIM6M
Patricio Molina Argumentative Essay Class: Level 6 -002 Date: November 22/2016
What is ethics? What is morality? Can language and culture have an effect in them? Ethics are rules of behavior about ideas of what is morally good and bad, so ethics and morality are linked but what are the link between them? Language can shape the way we think, the way in which we resolve a problem. It´s possible that the language that I speak modify or control my moral ability and with this representation of morality can affect my ethics? According to Julie Sedivy in his article point that many studies are conduct in this topic because there is a strong evidence that support that people face moral dilemmas because of their native or foreign language, so language is a strong tool that affect the culture, morality and Ethics because is what is made of our humanity, but has to modify in a logical way. According to the finding in Catherine´s research, our native language, and I think in general, can modify our thoughts because she used the electrical response of the body to show that if we listen a taboo word in our language there is a high response comparing to neutral words but there is a recognize dichotomy because when we listen reprimands word in our language there are a powerful response of nervous system that they listen this same word in English, so we can infer that our moral judgment is shaped by language and that the moral judgment is shape by our memories.
Not only our own native-language can shape the way we think also if you are bilingual or polyglot you can perceive a difference between languages learn, this can affect the way we see the world. Janet Geipel and her colleagues found in a research that if we see or listened to actions that are moral questionable in our native language, it´s more scandalous that if we listen or see this action in a foreign language. This can be interpreted as a new way that our bran process information and judge if there is a good or bad action. Ethics are rules that we have to follow like the 3R´S when you are conducting experiments in animals. This 3R´s rules say that we have to replace, reduce and refine, so there is a clear state that say to us that we have to follow mandatory this rules. But ethics is based on moral judgments so what if a moral judgment say that you have to not follow the 3R´s because are in contradiction of the moral principles, because of this language shape a moral judgment in a good or bad way but we know that is a strong tool that can modify the way we see the world. In conclusion, language is a strong tool that can shape the way we think and can modify the perspective of a world or a population so for that reason ethics is linked with morality because morality use language to modify thoughts and is linked to with feelings and this feeling cannot shape our ethics because have to be based on good moral acts and in the idea of what we should do for a common good.
Reference Sedivy, J. (2016) How Morality Changes in a Foreign Language. Scientific American.
Why do the students decide to be missing to English classes? Patricio Molina Barrezueta English Level 6-002 Yachay Tech University
Abstract This paper focuses on the reasons why students choose to skip English classes, and this is linked to your performance in class. The data were taken from two resources: a questionnaire and personalized interviews. The results indicate that the most important reasons according to the students is that they do not have time for homework other semester subjects, class length and that classes lack spark. Also this paper shows that exist strong reasons that students have to attend to English classes like “I can improve my English� and that that think that is an important tool in the academic life. We see that there is also a relationship between grades and attendance. Keywords: attendance, non-attendance, class policy, grades, ethics.
Why do the students decide to be missing to English classes?
There is something so simple that differentiates the school with the university, is that in the university you have the possibility to miss classes if you want. Attending classes has been discussed by academics profoundly over the years because it is an important subject in the academic training of students. The literature shows that few studies have been done on this topic. But there is empirical evidence showing that attending English classes at Yachay Tech University is not very important to some students. Taking modules in the English Program is a requirement for students because learning English will help students in academic purposes and this is linked to their career, this research helps to examine the reasons students have for not attending English classes, what are these reasons? Exist a link between attendance and performance? And what consequences does not attend classes? Many studies reveal strong evidence that there is a link between class attendance and performance in classrooms. According to Romer´s research (1993); Professor of Economics at the University of Berkeley, California; Do Students Go to Class? Should They? I can observe a relation between the attendance and performance, in an experiment conducted by the same one the marks of three exams were taken where for a better interpretation the grades go from A to F, what was observed statistically with a linear regression is that the Students who attend only 25% of their classes tend to take notes from (C-) while students attending all classes tend to take notes from (B +) (Romer, 1993).It can be interpreted that students who are more interested in studying, who have more academic skills are more likely to attend all of their classes while those who are not interested or who find them boring tend to miss classes more, or simply Never attend classes. But this is not different in English classes. But this not only happens in economy classes but in all other subjects and English is not an
exception. This study helps to find the reasons that students have to non-attendance to English classes in Yachay Tech. At the Yachay Experimental Technology Research University (UITEY), English is a tool for the instruction of all its students that are implemented in all faculties. The English Department aims to help implement appropriate techniques for learning a foreign language. There are six levels of English: Level 1-4 are English for Communicative Purposes while Levels 5 and 6 are English for Academic Purposes. Students who complete level 6 prior to their 5th semester take Topics until they reach the 5th semester but those classes aren't technically part of the English program. All levels are required in the University. In order to enter the UITEY it is necessary to take a placement test, according to the grade obtained in said exam, it is positioned to the student at the level appropriate to their abilities. Students must take all modules that continue because it is a requirement to complete them before finishing their career. The methodology of the research was based on the participation of 87 students from all UITEY in an online questionnaire, which was done with the help of Google Forms. 10 students underwent a personalized interview in which, through short questions, extra information was collected from the students. The information was collected through a questionnaire and a personalized interview that did not take more than 10 minutes each. In addition, an attempt was made to compile the attendance sheets for some classes in the third semester, but most teachers do not have a compulsory attendance policy in the classroom. That is why only a questionnaire and interviews were used. The procedure was to have the teacher approve the subject in the first place, the second was to provide the questionnaire to the students and to choose some students for the personalized interviews. As already mentioned the research consisted of two parts, first a
questionnaire that was sent to each student in the university. The answers of the questionnaires already filled out by the students were stored in a spreadsheet for later analysis. Names and identity numbers were not requested in the questionnaire and had a duration of 10 minutes. The second was to select students to participate in a personalized interview obviously with their consent and answer the following questions: 1) How long have you been studying at Yachay Tech? 2) Which English module were you satisfied with when you joined Yachay Tech? 3) Have you repeated English modules? If yes, which ones? Why? 4) If you miss English classes, why? The information obtained from the questionnaire was saved in a spreadsheet and will be presented through tables and graphs and an analysis, regarding the interview took note of everything the students said by transforming their answers into sentences easy to understand and count. In the end, a table will be provided with the questions as well as how the students' answers will help to understand the reasons why students are missing classes. With respect to the questionnaire a simple question was used. Do you attend all your English classes? To estimate the number of students attending or not attending classes. About 55.2% (48/87) said they did not attend all their English classes while 44.8% (39/87) said they attended all their English classes. Students were also asked to choose from 10 possible reasons which is the most identified for not attending classes. The findings of this study show that the most important reason among students who said they did not attend classes is that they did not have time for other assignments and tasks in other subjects (33.33%), another reason is that English classes are not interesting (20.83%), another reason is illness and too tired (16.66%), also there is another reason the duration of the class (2 hours) (10.41%). All these values can be observed in Table 1.
Table 1. Reasons for non-attendance to English class. Reason for non-attendance I do not have time because of assignments and projects Length of class is too long (2 hours) Classes are not interesting I can pass English modules without attending all classes Illness & too tired The material is not relevant to my degree area I take material and information from friends I cannot understand lessons The teacher is unhelpful I don´t need to improve my English
No. of students 16 5 10 3 8 1 1 1 2 1 48
% 33,33333333 10,41666667 20,83333333 6,25 16,66666667 2,083333333 2,083333333 2,083333333 4,166666667 2,083333333 100
We also asked the students who answered that if the question, to tell us their reason, the main reason students have is that they want to improve their level of English (36.84%); With this we observe that the students have a desire of overcoming and that they do not want to remain stagnant in the level that they are; The second most important reason is that English is useful and important (26.31%). And we can see it in Table 2. Table 2 Reasons for attending all English classes. Reasons for attendence To improve my English To progress to the next English module English is important & useful I enjoy the subject The class & teacher are interesting Attendance is taken for each class I can understand the lessons I have friends in the same class
No. of students
%
14 1 10 3 4 4 2 0 38
36,8421053 2,63157895 26,3157895 7,89473684 10,5263158 10,5263158 5,26315789 0 100
The results clearly show that UITEY students miss English classes for various reasons. The most common reason is that they do not have time for other assignments and projects of other subjects this can also be increased because students when they approach the mid-term are missing English classes to study for exams. Working on other tasks of other subjects corresponding to the career seems to be more important according to other research work. The length of time in English classes (2 hours) seems to be another factor that shapes the reasoning for not attending classes, students at UITEY have class days (8 am to 8pm) and have classes of two hours and then running to another class of two hours is "boring", "tired" and so do not attend class. This finding is consistent with the research conducted by Devadoss & Foltz which indicates that students prefer classes from (50 minutes) to (75 minutes) classes. (Devadoss & Foltz, 1996) The following work compiles the reasons why students are absent from English classes. The quantitative survey and qualitative results of the interviews showed the reasons given by the students for not attending English classes and we see that they have much agreement with research conducted in other countries. The dynamics of the class is in charge of the teacher as well as the duration time. For example the main reasons for missing English classes is that there is no time for other assignments of other subjects and also that classes are boring then this must be reviewed by the English department, and we can see that this has a great impact In the student's ethics as well as his grades throughout the semester. A small recommendation with reference to the Eberly Center would be to create an incentive for students to go to class. Taking advantage of the fact that students always want to earn points to spend the semester can do a small lesson at the beginning of the class so students will have to go to school. (Carnegie Mellon University, 2015)
References Carnegie Mellon University. (2015). Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation. Retrieved from https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/solveproblem/stratdontcometolecture/dontcomelecture-02.html Clay, T., & Breslow , L. (2006). Why students don’t attend class. Avaiable from: http://www. web. mit. edu/fnl, 184. Devadoss, S., & Foltz, J. (1996). Evaluation of Factors Influencing Student Class Attendance and Performance. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 78(3), 499-507. Ghenghesh, P., & Nakhla, N. L. (2011). Speak Out Students! Why Don’t You Attend English Classes? Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 1(1), 8-15. Massingham, P., & Herrington, T. (2006). Does attendance matter? An examination of student attitudes, participation, performance and attendance. Romer, D. (1993). Do Students Go to Class? Should They? Journal of Economic Perspectives, 7(3), 167-174.