Andrea Pilar Montenegro Suรกrez
Yachay Tech University EnglishLanguage ProgramYachay Tech, Ecuador
Andrea Pilar Montenegro Suรกrez English Language Program Yachay Tech University Level 6-013 Teacher: Hamilton Quezada January 13, 2017
Imbabura, Ecuador
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Portfolio letter Response essay Literary Analysis Interpretative essay Argumentative essay Final research project essay Additional materials Thank you letter
Andrea Pilar Montenegro SuĂĄrez UrcuquĂ, Residences at Yachay, Patrimonial 32 December 15th, 2016
Dear Portfolio Reader, The level six was very difficult but interesting at the same time. Before level six I thought that I knew everything about English but when I started the level I realised that I was wrong, I learned that learning English is not something that lasts a certain period of time but it is more like a continuous process, you can improve every month, every day, every hour. Sometimes it is difficult to admit that you need help, but it is normal and that is something that I learned because in this level I really needed all the help that I could get. In general, I can say that I have enjoyed this level not just because of the knowledge that I acquired but also because of all the friends that I made. At the beginning of the course I was worried because a lot of people told that level six was very difficult, and if I being honest, they were right. In this level, I did a lot of written and spoken works, from essays to presentations and even a drawing, all of this helped me with my confidence in English. I used to be very shy when I needed to talk in front of the class even though I had practised a lot, my problem was that I did not know how to organise my ideas in a correct way and therefore I used to trip on words. But as many people say, practice makes perfect, and due to the big number of presentations in this level, gradually I learned how to control myself in order to present something with no major complications. Now I can surely say that I can present any topic in public without tripping on words.
During this level I passed through a very complicated moment in my life, I was emotionally and physically destroyed and I even considered abandoning the university, but fortunately my friends helped me and I decide to continue for my own good. I do not regret anything that I have done because I consider that I am still improving and with the help of the friends that I made during this level I know that I can do it. The guide of my professor has been the most important part of my process of learning, he taught me a lot about writing, vocabulary, and grammar that allowed me to read my favourites books and interesting articles in English with a full or almost full comprehension. I also decided to start learning English by myself, because I realised how important it is to master a language today. The most difficult work of this level was the final research project, I learned how difficult it is to investigate something in English and how complicated it can be to organise the information, also the importance of choosing the correct word in order to explain something in the clearest way. I have made a lot of mistakes, mostly in my written works, but I know that you learn from your mistakes and that is something that is always in my mind. Despite the countless nights with no sleeping and all the sacrifices, I feel grateful and motivated because I know that my effort is not useless, I feel that I am doing something that eventually will change my life for good, and I will be capable of reaching my goals and finally make my dreams come true. Yours sincerely, Pily.
RESPONSE
ESSAY
“The Most Educated Countries in the World” Andrea Montenegro Yachay Tech October 5, 2016
“The Most Educated Countries in the World� By Michael B. Sauter and Alexander E. M. Hess
Although the economic recession around the globe, the education sector was not affected, indeed college graduation increased. This due to public and private investment during this period of time. Taking a look at the most educated countries in the world we are able to see Ireland in the last 10 years has increased their annual average rate in about 7%. Finland fall from fourth to eighth place, this is because the higher education they have the less progress they achieve each year. This is completely true because if we take a closer look at Ecuadorian education we can see that its progress is truly high.
This article shows despite the crisis which the entire world is suffering, the importance of education has made it grow, this is reflected in the increasing number of people who is getting a college degree or its equivalent. This educational phenomenon is happening for the big economies as well as for the developing economies, the only difference is the quantity of money invested. The richest countries invest huge amounts of money in tertiary education, as consequence they have the highest percentage of people with a college degree, but its educational grown is lower than the developing countries, a great example is the US which only grows 1.3% (second lowest) since 1997, despite its incredible huge investment on education.
Another effect of having a big percentage of educated people is the increasing of the educational funding, in the most educated countries the educational funding comes principally from private sources, this is the case of South Korea, a country located in the top ten of the most educated countries, its percentage of private educational funding is more than 40%. Having a higher education also helped people stay employed, the percentage of unemployed people with a college degree is way lower than for people with high school education or less than high school education. We may also see how Finland is known for its great educational system, because of
this pays the price falling from place fourth to eighth place. That is because the progress that they can make to something already great is minimum. Then the author shows how Canada has become the most educated country in the world and is the example to follow. If we see the data showed, we are able to realise why it is the only country on Earth that has more than half of its adult population with a tertiary education, but Canada also has its failures, because it cannot attract international students.
Despite the economic crisis in the world, all countries invested more money and this was the correct decision, this is the case of Ecuador where education is a priority. This is because, before education investment, the country had to hire people from other countries that had a college degree. But this does not mean that Ecuador didn’t have people graduated from college, the issue was that despite having a degree they weren’t prepared, in other words, their knowledge was poor. But through the years, the government saw that the best way to restore economy is investing in education, so then companies hire Ecuadorians and do not hire people from other countries. This is a clear example why countries invested more in education; to achieve a great economy. Thanks to the fact that some countries are economic powers they are able to invest in public education more than developing countries. For example, we see that Ireland GDP investment per capita is around $40,478 and because of this average annual growth rate from 2000 to 2010 is about 7%. In my opinion, the growth is because this country has more schools and students are more prepared. In another part of the article, we see how much the South Korean education investment has increased these last 50 years. The private sector has helped government investment in about 40%, making it the leading private investment country, this phenomenon is not a surprise and might be because South Korea has big international companies such as Kia and Samsung, this last one leading the global market in communication and technology. As we have seen through the article the best way to face economic recession is to invest in education to help countries to recover from this crisis. Investing great amounts of money in
education has made ten countries to be the example to follow. Great Britain, as well as Australia, are loved by international students. Despite not having as much investment as others Canada is considered the most educated country around the globe and has managed since 2000 to become a world leader in education. And this fact is clearly true because some of my friends wanted to have a tertiary education in this country and this is a global thing.
Literary
Analysis
Woman and the marriage Andrea Montenegro Yachay Tech October 13, 2016
Women and the marriage. “I do not wish women to have power over men, but over themselves”. Mary Shelley Through the past years’ chauvinism in conservative marriages has been disappearing making women´s life more equal, but despite this fact, nowadays there are still some marriages that present chauvinism in their daily life.
In the nineteenth century, the marriages were conservative, but what does it mean? The author shows us a woman who had thought that her husband died. At the beginning, she felt very sad, afflicted, and she wanted to stay alone. After that, for the first time she started to think about herself. This is because she always thought about her husband, her home, her house, her family and she did not take care of herself. So, she said: “free! Body and soul free”. That words tell me that she was private from her freedom, she felt just like something that belonged to her husband, a slave. In that century, this kind of marriage was very common, because the way of thinking was different, and this story is an evidence of this. A woman could not express their ideas, and she lived oppressed.
A society always has to improve, and the rights should be the same for women and men. In these days, a conservative marriage is not as common as in the past because people can see the bad consequences of the chauvinism. So, for that reason, the way of thinking about the majority of people has changed. Nowadays, chauvinism is punished with laws and nobody sees this as a normal thing, despite this, many people still thinking as in the past and so we can find very shocking cases of abuse to women. There are examples of chauvinism in this century and it is something to be ashamed of.
As a conclusion, a conservative marriage is present in more cases in the past, where chauvinism is one important part of the society. Now, we still live that cases, but lees than before. I think that all of us need to know we are human so our life should be equal for everyone, and we will get this by giving and receiving respect.
Reference Chopin, K (1894). “The Story of an Hour�.
Interpretativ e Essay
Ternura Andrea Montenegro Yachay Tech November 15, 2016
Ternura "My painting is to hurt, to scratch and to strike in the heart of people. To show what man does against man" Oswaldo Guayasamín
Oswaldo Guayasamín created the stage of “La Edad de la Ternura”, which has 103 artworks, including “Ternura”. This stage began since 1998 until the day of his death; it was inspired by his mother, and mestizo mothers. The transcendental artwork called “Ternura” portrays the strength bond between mother and son which reflects an endless sweetness and the purest love. Guayasamín tries to show tenderness through the innocent look of a son while his mother is hugging him. Oswaldo Guayasamín was born on July 6, 1919, and he died on March 10, 1999. He was an outstanding painter, sculptor, and muralist of Ecuadorian nationality. His paintings are influenced by two movements, Expressionism and Cubism, which were created by Picasso. Moreover, his work is a clear evidence of the pain and distress of mothers, which was caused by civil war. In this period of time, many men died and
women were desolate with her children. Indeed, he depicts his thinking and emotions on 353 paintings approximately. Those pictures are divided into 3 stages called: “Huacayñán”, “La Edad de la ira” and “La Edad de la Ternura”. Guayasamin’s art is influenced by two artistic movements. One of them is expressionism that plays an important role to establish his style. It consists in representing more feelings and emotions than objective perspective. For this reason, this artwork expresses his feelings about Guayasamin’s mother, he even uses warm colours to express his emotions and to catch the attention of the audience, such as yellow. It contrasts with the blue and green colour of the picture background and it gives warmth to the bond between the mother and child. Another movement that persuades his paintings is The Cubism. It consists of representing the things of nature with geometry figures. Indeed, this artwork represents that because he painted disfigured faces with ridges, triangular eyes and lines in the skin. The pictures of Guayasamín transmit a protest against racism and poverty like his voice because he lived the pain of social discrimination. The society of that time had a lot of prejudices, for example if you had an indigenous last name, you were humiliated. His life was traumatic for indigenous discrimination and he could not paint because he did not have his father permission. So, he decided to find justice. He thought that a way of achieving this goal was painting regardless his roots. This artwork represents the unbreakable bond of pure and noble love between mother and son. We observed clearly in the eyes of the mother all love and softness, while the child´s eyes are a symbol of ingenuity and fragility. This kind of looks are gestures that make a lasting impression, can inspire, motivate and light the world. In the eyes of both we could feel the hopelessness and the years gone by the mother, indicating that she
does not want to know more about life worrying only about her son, which makes contrast with his eyes open expressing his desire to observe, live and learn the rigors of what he do not know yet. The colours used for this piece are warm and delicate which gives a sense of peace because what we feel that it creates a sense of comfort and protection. Nevertheless, we think that the colour of the skin expresses the inclemency of the climate, as well as the roughness of the agricultural work to which she was subjected. All this is related to the indigenous roots of the Andean people. The black background alludes to the darkness or pessimism that feels in adverse situations of survival, and despite everything, the mother will always be there. On the other hand, the little blue colour is the slight hope of someday coming out of so many difficulties. We think that the thinness of the mother is a symbol of the complexity to survive because of the shortage she suffered at that time. Moreover, we believe it reflects the sacrifice that a mother had to face just to look after her family and so providing the opportunities her son deserves. To with mind, the author tries to point out the concept of life. However, the life brings sadness and happiness, so we can see preoccupation, restiveness, but accompanied with a lot of affection, protection, and love. To conclude, it seems to us that the idea is not to live forever. It is to create something that lives forever like a tribute to the mother, for example an artwork “Ternuraâ€? by Oswaldo GuayasamĂn.
REFERENCES TERNURA ( 1989 ) – QUE SIGNIFICA ESTE CUADRO O ESCULTURA? (2015, January 29). Retrieved November 15, 2016, from http://www.marisolroman.com/2015/01/29/ternura-1989/
Acoso textual. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://acoso-textual.blogspot.com/2015/11/loscolores-del-llanto-la-ira-y-la.html
Argumentativ e Essay
Different humans different languages Andrea Montenegro Yachay Tech November 23, 2016
Different humans different languages
There is no evidence of the first language spoken by first humans but experts found similarities between the world´s oldest languages and modern languages. According to Dr Noom Chomsky: “Every language that has ever existed is just a modification of something before it”. So, if we lost our native tongues, a global language would make humanity to lose its essence.
Language is more than just a method of communication. It is a piece that forms the identity of the humanity. This piece is important because every language connects with special things of the past, I think that if we lost some languages, we would lose important things, which give to the world bases to advance. In some cases, in each country, we found different information on some things, and we need to think in different ways, and the language gives us that. Losing the languages of the world is losing the culture and diversity of each country. According to Dan Fitzgerald: “Much of the culture that goes along with each of those languages would also disappear”. I imagine that if we lose the languages of the world to add a dominant global one a big part of the cultures will also disappear. I think about all things that do not have the same meaning between two different languages. For example, if a country like Ecuador has two languages: Spanish, which is the official language, and Kichwa. In this situation, we lose some details that the indigenous know but the other people from Ecuador do not know, like the secrets of nature. I think that we need to remember that in the past people more interested in the mysterious of the world. For that reason, they discovered things which today is part of our culture, and they cannot disappear.
Some people believe that a global language would help us having a better communication with others.
Think about what would happen if we were able to
communicate with people from all over the world? Well, according to the article we would open up huge opportunities for work, study, and relationships. Maybe we can think outside the box and contribute to our country. For example, if everyone could communicate in the same language, it would lessen the distrust between nations, but I’m not sure about this. Another example is that we could do a better business with other countries, so probably we could help the country.
If we think in the question: which language we could us? We can say that English is already the global language. English will be probably the best option but it can certainly be displaced any time due to shifting global demographics and priorities. This language could offer the best option if we focus on factors that may change in political and economic power.
As a conclusion, I think that maybe we would learn a global language in addition to our native languages. We need to open our minds, but not forgetting our rises. Of course, the most important thing is helping in the developing of our country and by doing this, we can make a peaceful world.
Reference Canao, C. (2016). What if everyone on Earth spoke the same language? Retrieved from: http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth
Final Research Project Essay
Flaws from the Ecuadorian education system Andrea Montenegro Yachay Tech November 23, 2016
Flaws from the Ecuadorian education system ABSTRACT The main purpose of this research paper is to show the flaws of the Ecuadorian education system. Showing that this one is not working and must take the Finland education system as model because it has been known for several years that education is the best way to achieve a great development for a country. As an example, South Korea is considered one of the most successful countries around the globe but in the 1950 it was the opposite. This was possible after they realize education was the key to progress. KEYWORDS: Education, Ecuador, System, Development, Finland, Child. Everybody, who has attended to school, at least one time in their life has made some questions: why education is important to us? or maybe why we need education? We have to understand the importance of this because it is the foundation of society, and we need it to get a better development of our countries. For example, the personal growth of children can develop their creativity. They could be happy doing what they really want. When in a future they became doctors, teachers or even engineers. Fifty years from now, countries of the world will be governed by today's youth. Their thoughts and actions will be shaped by what they know and have experienced, making education, in many ways, one of the best predictors of a nation's future success. The 2016 Best Countries rankings, conducted in partnership with brand strategy firm BAV Consulting and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, asked more than 16,000 survey participants from four regions to associate countries with specific attributes. The Best Countries for Education are ranked based on scores on a compilation of three equally weighted country attributes: has top quality universities, well-developed public education system and would consider attending university there. Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland spend a percentage of their gross domestic product on education, according to the World Bank. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development has said that levels of education do not necessarily affect academic performance, but these Scandinavian nations all ranked in the top third, generally outperforming meanwhile in Asian nations students are pressured to perform well on PISA exam. No. 18 South Korea, where the children attend school each day of the week, was the third Asian nation on the list, preceded by No. 8 Japan and No. 17 Singapore. However, when we take a closer look to South America and focus special attention to Ecuadorian education system we are able to appreciate many flaws. One is that students from Ecuador needs to open their mind, and this model is the wrong one, not allowing undergraduates of thinking in a different way. The most accurate way to solve this issue is to use Finland as a model. Ecuadorian methodological system limits creativity of children, in other words it holds up creativity from developing. It Is a mechanical method, which does not focus on the generation of innovation on contrary they teach in a way children learn to follow the established rules. But growth of this quality on childhood allows them to become proactive people on the future, helping to improve society. But although, this flaw is well known by Ecuador’s government. The country persists on maintaining innovation and creativity as usual affecting directly to students in several ways. A clear example is when students have to affront a real-life problem they are not prepared and have a lack of ideas to solve the issue. It is common for students that enter a university their lack of innovation on resolving problems because when the problem is presented to them. They try to solve in the way they were taught in high school and aren’t able of implementing new technologies or ideas that can help society.
When people are going through their childhood is the time in life where they found what it really makes them happy. Despite it sounds illogical it is when pillars for choosing what their future might be are planted. For example, if a child feels happy playing any instrument he might discovered that his true dream is to become a musician or even a great orchestra director. This is the perfect time to explore different options and choose one, maybe the correct option choice
could help the society. That’s why this moment is the correct one for educators to implement new methods of teaching and avoid using only the traditional subjects like math, language or history so that students have lots of choices to choose from.
Taking a look to the most educated countries in the world, which have a good education or the most educated people, are countries that have invested more in education, or consider the education like one of the most important aspects. Thanks to the fact that some countries are stable referring to economy, they are able to invest in public education more than Third world countries. For example, we see that Ireland GDP investment per capita is around $40,478 and because of this, average annual growth rate from 2000 to 2010 is about 7%. In my opinion, the growth is because the country has more schools and students are more prepared. We can see that according to INEC the government of Ecuador has invested 2.12% of its GDP in education increasing investment compared to past governments. Taking the fact that many schools and universities have been created since 2009. And according to the World Economic Forums of Global Competitiveness (Report 2013-2014) Ecuador has the best primary education of South America, it is certainly to assume that Ecuadorian education system is great. This point of view has many believers especially president Correa who affirmed in 2013 that Ecuador is the country that has the biggest investment on higher education on the region. Ecuadorian primary education is the best of the region and the investment in higher education is high. Although Ecuador has the best primary education on the region it still rated as bad compared to other countries. So, a solution is to take Finland as a model. “A first challenge is to raise the status of teaching as a career choice, to attract more able people into teaching” (Masters, 2015). This is one of the secrets for the Finland educational system because of 10 applicants only one is accepted to study and become a primary teacher. In Ecuador, it might be implemented by taking exams to teachers and checking if students learn. Another thing that Ecuador can do in order to improve education is to promote flexible learning focusing on growth. This makes students to learn in a
better way. For example, if a student has trouble with math a tutor may help the student with personalized assistance or using new technologies so that every student can get their questions answered. To apply this idea on Ecuador, teachers may use a social network focusing on solving students’ doubts. Improving education in Ecuador is necessary so that we can have students prepared for the future and the best way is taking the good things of Finland education. But what makes this system so successful? It has some unique characteristics the first is: “A system involving more than education”. This point refers to government providing essential elements so that students can supply their basic necessitates for example they have health care and free a meal. Another point is the “support for children with special needs” the main idea of this is that teachers in Finland think that most of special students could be helped in regular classrooms only if schools focus on early diagnosis and mediation. In addition, the teachers in charge of these students have to work with regular educators to find students that need extra help and separate from the classroom to another small group with same necessities, “significant responsibility for teachers and students”. The last point show us that teacher are very passionate and have a major focus on making students learn to evaluate their own learning. This emphasis starts very soon on first grade (Finland, O. E. C. D., 2010). In conclusion, we need a change. We have to improve Ecuadorian education system for our own well-being. We need to create a better place in this world. To make this dream true is necessary to focus on education because if we change the pillars of the system we could change it. Education is the only way my country has to succeed. For a country where there is no innovation because of the flaws, for example: killing creativity of children, auto education, and lacking of reading habit development is almost none. I am convinced that education is the hope of my country, for that reason it is necessary to find the human development through the education improvement.
References Finland, O. E. C. D. (2010). Slow and Steady Reform for Consistently High Results. Frohlich, T. C. (2014). The Most Educated Countries in the World. Retrieved October 06, 2016, from http://247wallst.com/special-report/2014/09/11/the-mosteducated-countries-in-the-world-3/ Kuhn, D. (1999). A developmental model of critical thinking. Educational Researcher. American Educational Research Association. Retrieved from: http://www.educationforthinking.org/sites/default/files/page-image/101DevelopmentalModelCriticalThinking.pdf Robert, P (2008). Los secretos de un éxito asombroso. La educación en Finlandia. Retrieved from: http://www.colegiofinlandes.com/pdf/circulares/qro/paulRobert.pdf The Most Educated Countries in the World” By Michael B. Sauter and Alexander E. M Hess.
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THANK YOU FOR READING MY PORTFOLIO. I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT. SINCERALY, ANDREA PILAR MONTENEGRO SUÁREZ