My English Journey Mariana Arcos English Program Level 6 Yachay Tech, Ecuador
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My English Journey By Mariana Mercedes Arcos Higuera English Language Program Yachay Tech University L6A- Crash Course Teachers: Mark Poese and Josephine Havens February 25, 2017 UrcuquĂ- Imbabura
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Contents 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Portfolio Letter Opinion Essay Response Essay Argumentative Essay Final research Project Essay Thank you letter
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1. PORTFOLIO LETTER
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Mariana Mercedes Arcos Higuera Ecuador- UrcuquĂ, Campus Yachay February 23, 2017
Dear Portfolio Reader, My name is Mariana Arcos. Thank you for reading my English language portfolio about my studies in level six in the Yachay English program. Here you will find some of essays that I wrote during my last English course including my research project. Furthermore, it contains my experiences as an English learner and my progress and potential as an English language user. When I came to Yachay 3 years ago, I was very excited to study English because I love to learn another language. During the time before level 6, I was constantly learning. I have learned many things that helped me to develop skills in different areas as an English learner. When I started level six I realized what my strengths and weakness were, what was more difficult to me and how to improve it. Level 6 has been a challenge for me, and during this I have realized that one of my strengths is writing; the organization and structure of a writing are things that I do well. However, in my first essays that I wrote in class I had a little problem with identifying what kind of essay I had to write. Fortunately I have had a good teacher that explained to me clearly what each essay means. Another problem in my writing was the repetitive grammar mistakes. Despite this, with the feedback and comments that my teacher gave me I have been able to improve these things and I have become a better English writer.
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As an English learning student, one the most difficult thing has been speaking. Before level six I could not organize my ideas fast and I could not express them. During level six I was able to improve this and I have be able to develop many other skills that help me to grow as English speaker. I was improving this with activities that the teacher did in class. Another thing that has helped me to improve were presentations and the self-evaluation about this. Now, I feel proud of myself and happy to think fast, organize my ideas fast and speak more fluently than before. In level six not only have I improved my weaknesses, but I have developed skills that are useful in my academic career. Through essays that I have written during level 6, I have been able to develop critical thinking, abstract thinking, good argumentation, and a sense of research respectively. Moreover, presentations and debate have allowed me to strengthen my skills in the areas of public speaking, communications, composition, and collaboration. Thank you again for reading my portfolio; I hope that you enjoy reading this. I am sure that as I reflect on my progressive improvement that I have had with many efforts and teacher support during level 6. Now I am ready to graduate from the English Language Program. Therefore, I am very happy and proud of myself to overcome this challenge. Gratefully Mariana Arcos
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2. OPINION ESSAY
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The Subjective Morality in a Foreign Language
Mariana Arcos
Yachay Tech University
Author Note L6A Crash Course February, 2017
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The Subjectivity Morality in a Foreign Language People´s morality should be formed by their convictions and not by what other people say is right. Then, morality is defined for most people as a set of behaviors and actions than are right or wrong depending on different social standards. According to Julie Sedivy (2016), speaking a language that is not our native language changes our morality perception, and when we talk in another language our perception of things changes according to culture and place. Therefore, I think that morality is subjective and it changes in a foreign language and culture for the following reasons: moral memories can change over time and depending on culture, feelings can be expressed in a different way according to the language, and deciding if something is wrong or right depends on unconscious limitations. First of all, personal moral memories can change over time and depending on the culture. Since we are children we get experience in everything that we live. Also, our parents teach us what is right and what is wrong. However, over the time we meet people from others places, people who speak another language or have another culture. Furthermore, we meet people from other places and culture makes us think differently, makes us know things that we didn’t know before letting us acquire a different lifestyle. For example, in most of countries cows are murdered and their meat is used to feed us, but Indian people venerate cows, and they consider them a symbol of fertility and motherhood. Then, if a child travels to India and he stays there he acquires a different perception about killing cows therefore he changes in a certain way his moral values. Second of all, morality is subjective and feelings can be expressed in a different way depending on language. As Julie said in her article, we can feel things stronger in our native
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language than in a foreign language (2016). Then, how we perceive things depends on how expressive each language is. For example, in most languages there are words that sound rude and it is unethical say them, but for me it is easier to say a rude or bad word in English than in Spanish because my native tongue is Spanish. Also, these kind of words sound less rude in English than in Spanish for me. Then, our perception and feelings of things are different in another language that is not ours, and that can affect our morality. Finally, making a decision if something is wrong or right depends on unconscious limitations. It means that we can judge one action as right or wrong in a foreign language without having any good intention just because it is easy to say or just because it makes us seem a good person in front of society. For example, somebody can say that giving money to vagabonds is right but he doesn’t think that it has bad consequences because they get used to do it, and they don’t do anything to change their lifestyle. Then, each single language can be interpreted in a different way, and doing something that we think is right is not always ethical. In conclusion, we feel the things stronger in our native language than a foreign language, then the morality is subjective, and it can change when we do or say something in our native language and in a foreign language. Also, morality changes over time and depending on the culture and places. Furthermore, perception of things can change depending on how much expressive the language that we are talking is. Finally, over time we can consider what is right or wrong according to the life experiences acquiring a perception of morality different to the previous perception of it.
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References Sedivy, J. (2016). How morality change in a foreign language. Retrieved February 1, 2017 From https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-morality-changes-in-a-foreignlanguage/
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3. RESPONSE ESSAY
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Why Formal Education is better than Self-Education Mariana Mercedes Arcos Higuera Yachay University of Experimental Technology of Investigation
Author Note L6A Crash Course February, 2017
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Why Is Formal Education Better Than Self-Education “Formal Education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune”. (Jim Rohn) Education is a right of every person on Earth, but some people do not have access to a formal education. Therefore, some people choice to study by themselves because they do not have money to go school or just because they do not like school. The problem is that selfeducation is different that formal education. According to Scott H. Young (2010), people who choose to study by themselves do not have a deep knowledge. Also, they do not earn a degree like people who study in a formal education system. Of course, even the people who choose a formal education need to study by themselves to improve their learning and develop their skills. Therefore, I agree that formal education is better than informal education because of knowledge depth and university degree. Formal education provides the possibility for acquiring a deep knowledge and informal education reduces it. Scott (2010) writes in his blog some reasons why formal education is better than informal education or self-education. On the one hand, self-education does not give people a deeper knowledge, and in most cases it is necessary to know the technical details that a professor could explain. Also, through formal education people can get a degree. On the other hand, he mentions that having a deeper self-education requires more discipline than formal education. In this case, the teacher’s role is very important to student learning. Also, getting a deeper knowledge requires practice. Finally, he ends his blog mentioning that getting success does not depend on how much time somebody has, but it depends on how much somebody wants to get something and what is strong in him/her to get it.
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Young says that “self-education tends to be lousy at the deep, detailed knowledge of a field” (2010). Self-education just means reading books. In a formal education there are teachers that teach students through methods and activities. Also in a university or school students put into practice their knowledge in the field. To support this idea, the author notes that “Effort needs to be made not just to learn the ideas, but to start applying them immediately” (Young, 2010). In addition, Young said that “have a curriculum is important, it is like a map to follow” (2010). Most student think that is not necessary go to school is necessary just for a curriculum and not for a deeper knowledge. The curriculum can help students to get a good job in the future. In addition, students who choice to study by themselves develop skills to face challenges in real life. Finally, Young (2010) said that “Deeper self-education requires more discipline than university.” People who choice to study by themselves just study things that are interesting to them and need to be focused if they really want to learn. In a university learning is enhanced by assignments, grades and other activities that enhance and improve students learning. Young writes his blog in an informal way and the following points are some critical things about Young´s blog. Young´s blog is addressed toward students who want to know the advantages and disadvantages of self-education and formal education. . Furthermore, in lectures it is easy to follow ideas, but it does not have a good structure. In his blog it is clear to see that Scott’s purpose was to persuade that self-education is not really a good way to learn things that need technical details. Also, he thinks that the curriculum is important as a map to study and is necessary to a student´s future. Finally, his credibility is a little poor because his information lacks facts. . He writes based on what he thinks. To summarize, formal education is better than self-education because it gives students a deeper knowledge and learning through practices in the field. Also, formal education gives
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students a curriculum and a degree that lets them have a guide to study and get a good job. In addition, self-education requires more discipline than formal education. Furthermore, even though people choose to go to a university, it is necessary that they study by themselves to increase their knowledge and increase their learning. Finally, people who have a formal education and also study by themselves develop their skills in a better way to face the challenges of real life.
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References Young, S. (2010). Why Self-Education Learners Often come up short. Retrieved from: https://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2010/02/24/self-education-failings/
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4. ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY
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Should Science Have a Common Language? Mariana Mercedes Arcos Higuera Yachay University of Experimental Technology of Investigation
Author Note L6A Crash Course February, 2017
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Should Science Have a Common Language? Science should go beyond our culture. Over time, language used to publish scientific research has been changing. In the past scientific research were published in a native tongue of each scientist. I meant that the information was limited. After that scientists consolidated its languages in one, it was Latin. In spite of this, there were some scientists who published their journals in their native tongue. Then, by the beginning of the 19th century the scientific community began to consolidate its language again. French, English and German were the language used to publish scientific research. ((Huttner-Koros, 2015). Today, English is the language that most scientist use to publish their research. People say that science is the universal language, but it is not possible if we cannot express it on a common language. Therefore, science should have a common language, and it should be English for three reasons. First of all, have English as a common language lets the scientific community produce influential and globally recognized works. Today most scientific research around the word is published in English. (Huttner-Koros, 2015).If someone publishes his scientific research in a native tongue that is not English, his research will be forgotten. It could produce that important discoveries and scientist are not recognized by the scientific community. According to Huttner (2015) the researcher Kumju Kwang wrote that “the reason that [non-native English-speaking] scientists have to use English, at a cost of extra time and effort, is closely related to their continued to be recognized and to gain the biggest possible reputation�. Over time, there were many wonderful and brilliant people who were recognized just when they died. It is just because of the published research in their native tongue.
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Second of all, having a common language lets scientists have access to much information, and it wouldn’t be limited anymore. “It is more difficult for scientists to understand work done outside of their home countries” said Adam Huttner-Koros (2015). When we speak or write something in our native tongue, it has a clear meaning for us. However, if this information is translated, the meaning of this information will change. Then, is important that science has a common language, and it should be English. This way the information can be understood by many people, by many scientists. The scientific community can exchange much research, and this way discover many things that can be useful to people´s lives. Finally, it lets the scientific community keep pace between countries through developments and discoveries that help to solve controversial problems. There are many countries that have an informal language. Most of these countries have controversial problems that need be solve. Also, because of these controversial problems there are wars that are destroying the life of many people. Through a common language people and scientists can join, and this way find a solution to this problem. It would be the beginning of a new age with people who have a common language and a common purpose. To summarize, most of the countries around the world speak English. Also most scientists publish their research in English. There are just a few scientist who publish their research in a native tongue, but their research is not recognized. Therefore, science should have a common language because it lets scientist access information of many other scientists. Also it lets scientists develop and discover many things and solution for many controversial problems.
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References Huttner-koros, A, 2015. The Hidden Bias of Science’s Universal Language. Retrieved February 15, 2017. From https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2015/08/english-universallanguage-science-research/400919/
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5. FINAL RESEARCH PROJECT ESSAY
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Black Holes, Portals to Other Universes Mariana Mercedes Arcos Higuera Yachay University of Experimental Technology of Investigation
Author Note L6A Crash Course February, 2017
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Abstract Black holes are one of the most interesting things that there are in the space. Over time, many scientists have directed their attention to study this. The base of all discoveries about black holes is the Einstein theory on general relativity theory. Black holes are formed with the death of a massive star, and after that an implosion caused by a great gravity attraction into the star. A black hole is a finite region of the space that has a singularity and an event horizon. Also, nothing can escape from it to emit radiation. These black holes have peculiar properties that that let scientists understand the universe better. Through the understanding of black holes, scientists may be able to use this information to understand the mysteries of the universe, or even find out if our universe is the only one or if there are some other parallel universes. Keywords: Black holes, general relativity, gravitational waves, wormhole, gamma rays
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Black Holes, Portals to Other Universes “I don’t think the human race will survive the next thousand years, unless we spread into space” (Stephen Hawking, year). One of the most important worries of human beings is understanding the origin of the universe and the mysteries that it has. Black holes are one of the weirdest things that there are in the universe. For nearly a century, many scientists like Albert Einstein, Davidovich, Zeldovich, Oppenheimer, Wheeler, Stephen Hawking, Kip Thorne and others have done discoveries that have contributed to science. These discoveries were the base to a deeper study of the most mysterious objects in the universe, black holes. A lot of scientists have directed their interest to study these weird black holes from Einstein´s theory of general relativity. Over time, scientists have used this theory to understand how the parts of the universe work. Today, it has been found that black holes have enough energy that nothing can escape from it, but those black holes can produce radiation. This finding could mean it is possible that a black hole can keep information of anything that crosses its event horizon, and this information can be sent to other universes. In this paper we will do a deeper study about black holes, their peculiar properties that make them be a gravity center in the galaxies and how scientists may be able to use this information to find a way to travel over the time and to other universes. First of all, it is important to know how black hole are formed and how they work. Since 1783 scientists have published articles in which they talked about objects with a great mass. These objects were called "Star in complete gravitational collapse" and nothing can escape from this (Thorne. K, 1994). Many years ago Albert Einstein developed the general relativity theory and showed that light was influenced by gravitational interactions. This theory suggests that there is a curvature of space-time into a black hole. Because of the presence of a huge gravity,
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this curvature of space-time produce chaotic forces on the outside of the black hole called gravitational waves on an event horizon (Thorne. K, 1994). After that, many other scientists used this theory to develop new theories that explain better those objects. It was in 1969 that John Wheeler called the objects “Black Holes.”. Since that time, black holes were defined as objects that come from a process of gravitational collapse. This process starts with the death of a massive star, and after that an implosion caused by a great gravity attraction into the star (Thorne. K, 1994). Then, a black hole is a finite region of space where nothing can escape from it. However, black holes may be able to emit radiation. It was conjectured by Stephen Hawking in 1970 (Thorne. K, 1994). This finding was an important improvement in the search for answers about the universe mysteries. After that, the physicist Kip Thorne made many contributions to science, he found that black holes would be able to produce quasars and active nuclei of galaxies. Since it has been founds, astrophysicists have found many black holes that are the gravity center of the galaxies even in our galaxy. Moreover, since it has been found that there are black holes in the middle of the galaxies, these black holes could be connected and it is possible that they share information between them. The black hole that is in our galaxy, the Milky Way, is called Sagittarius A* or Sgr A*. According to Clery (2016) the Black hole (Sgr A*) in our galaxy is spitting cosmic rays. These cosmic rays are particles zipping through space at a wide range of energies, some millions of times greater than those produced in the world’s most powerful atom smasher said Clery (2016). Before that, scientists believed that these cosmic rays were emitted by the supernova explosions in our galaxy Milky Way, but these cosmic rays come from the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way. These cosmic rays don’t follow a straight path through space, but instead they get tugged and pushed by magnetic fields. Today, scientists are trying to find the
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origin of these gamma rays. Finally, it will leads to scientist to discover that these gamma rays come from another black hole in another galaxy. In Addition, since it has been found that gamma rays come from the supermassive black hole, it is possible that this black hole keeps information about everything that is inside, and it can be sending this information to other galaxies and even other universes. In the last few years, scientists have found a way to retrieve information from a black hole. According to Cho, A. (2016), a group of scientists at LIGO has discovered that the information of everything that has come in to a black hole is kept as gravitational waves. One of the scientists at LIGO said that this finding can let scientist find astrophysics object that cannot be seen until now like black holes said Choi. This information will let scientists study these gravitational waves to discover new things. Then, it may let scientist work with general relativity discovered by Einstein years ago and let scientists know how to travel or send information to other universes. The exploration of gravitational waves and a deeper study of general gravity can enable scientists to find answers about many questions about the objects that are in the universe. In addition, there are some other things related to Black holes that let scientists find answers to the question of whether traveling to another universe is possible. Quantum entanglement can be possible into a black holes said Moskvitch (2013), and it can produce a new object that can exist in the universe it is a wormhole. Those wormholes exist just in theory like a mathematical model. These new objects are wormholes that can keep information about something carried into it from another place. The theory of general relativity about time and space is important to study this strange object that possibly are in space. This new object can transport things from one galaxy to other or even to other universes.
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In spite of this there is much evidence that shows black holes exist in the universe, and over time scientists have developed theories about that. Many scientists supposed that this object exists in space, but “How do you know they are black holes “said Krauss, a physicist at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland according Berardelli, P (2017). The theories and information discovered and developed before is not so much trustworthy according this scientist. Then, Kraus and other physicists have developed a mathematical formula that concludes black holes cannot exist said Berardelli. Some people need evidence to believe that something exists. Those scientists ask themselves how this astronomical objects can exist if nobody has ever seen it. Finally, evidence to support that black holes exist is Hawking radiation but it has not detected yet. Even though nobody has ever seen a black hole before and also hawking radiation is just a theory, this object exists. Some scientists refute the idea that black holes can exist and say that it can be another astrophysics object as a supernova. I do not agree with that because there are so much evidence that supports that those strangest objects exist and are a fundamental part to understanding the universe. Satellites like the XMM-Newton of NASA have detected interstellar material disappearing without a trace. Also scientists have seen energy flowing from a black hole through those kind of satellites. Those satellites are in space taking evidence from anything that there is in space. Those satellites take photographs and pictures form these events, like black holes. Then, there is consistent evidence to prove that black holes exist and the information about it can help scientists understand better the universe and discover awesome things like other life forms. To summarize, black holes are one of the most interesting things that there are in the space. Many scientists throughout time have studied these black holes, since Einstein developed
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the general relative theory. These black holes are formed with the death of a massive star after and implosion caused by a great gravity attraction into the star. A hole is defined in a finite region of the space where nothing can escape, and it emits radiation. These black holes have peculiar properties that make them an important part of universe that lets scientists understand deeper how the universe works. Also, some scientists have found that black holes are in the middle of the galaxies, and these Black holes could be connected and it is possible that they share information between their gravity centers in the galaxies. These findings mean that scientists may be able to use this information to find a way to travel over the time and to other universes.
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References Berardelli, P. (2007) No more Black Holes? Science. Retrieved February 15, 2017 From http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2007/06/no-more-black-holes Cho, A. (2016) Gravitational waves, Einstein´s ripples in space-time, spotted for first time. Science. Retrieved February 21, 2017. From http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/02/gravitational-waves-einsteins-ripplesspacetime-spotted-first-time Clery, D. (2016) Milky Way’s black hole may be spewing out cosmic rays. Science. Retrieved February 21, 2017. From http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/03/milky-way-s-blackhole-may-be-spewing-out-cosmic-rays Moskvitch, K. (2013). A Link between Wormholes and Quantum Entanglement. Science. Retrieved February 21, 2017 from http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2013/12/linkbetween-wormholes-and-quantum-entanglement Thorne, Kip. (1994). Black holes and curved time; The scandalous legacy of Einstein. Nueva York : W. W. Norton & Company, Nueva York, 1994. pág. 515.
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6. THANK YOU LETTER
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My English journey has been gratifying. During this process I have had difficulties, but the benefit that I have gotten are greater. I am very happy and proud of myself for overcoming this challenge. Thank you for reading my portfolio; I hope that you enjoy reading this as I enjoyed writing it. Sincerely Mariana Arcos
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“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the World� Nelson Mandela 34