Shimmering Words Magazine

SHIMMERING WORDS MAGAZINE

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Universidad Santo Tomรกs, Seccional Tunja

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Local Managers

Fr. Aldemar Valencia Hernández, O.P. Principal 2

Fr. José Antonio González Corredor, O.P. Vicerrector Académico Fr. José Bernardo Vallejo Molina, O.P. Vicerrector Administrativo y Financiero

Universidad Santo Tomás, Seccional Tunja

PRODUCTION TEAM

Languages Department Director: Professor Nery Yolanda Ruiz de Guerrero Magazine Director: Professor Gladis Leonor Arias Rodríguez

Collaborators: Eliana Edith Roberto Flórez Carol Anne Ochoa Alpala Adriana Maritza Rivera Barreto Sandra Rocío Vargas Ayala Yadira Rocío Colmenares Pérez James Adriel Ruiz González

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CONTENT

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• Editorial • Why Civil Engineering?

• Civil Engineering Branches • Design of a Robotic arm’s Prototype oriented to surgical Applications • Materials to the future • Energy efficiency • Oximeter, monitor vital signs • A Window to near future • Social networks • The importance of reading and writing • Virtual tools in english classes • How to fail english • ESP through reading • Teaching is a vocation more than a profession • Cultural awarness in the EFL classroom Universidad Santo Tomás, Seccional Tunja

Pag. 4 6 7

10 17 18 22 26 29 32 33 39 42 45 47

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THE IMPORTANCE TO LEARN ENGLISH IN OUR CONTEXT Editorial

By Gladis Leonor Arias Rodríguez M.A. English teacher

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nglish has been part of our culture through time, lately, with the access to internet and the business around the world; it turns into a need in our society. Learning to speak, read, listen to or write English is the best thing you can do to improve your life style. Hence, you can have access to information, communicate with other people, travel around the world without troubles, do business; in fact, you have advantage over that

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people who don’t know this language.

English permits us having a wide access to knowledge because most of the best information is written in English; after all, we live in the information age. Don’t we? For example, over a billion (1000.000.000) of pages present information in English, there are thousands of books about science and technology which have

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been translated from other languages into English by British or American people; the most important magazines or newspapers such as Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Guardian, Washington Post, among others, have the information in English; additionally, entertainment has a great acceptance in people from all ages, it covers reading, chat, music, videos, games, and others, therefore, we can say that the information we can accede, with the help of English, does not have limits.

What about communication with people? We could call English as “The language of communication”; the British Council (2011) says that about 1.500.000.000 people in the world speak English and about 1000.000.000 are learning it. In this way, more and more people can attend to conferences of their interest without the barrier of language; and most of them can go to study to developed countries easily.

Finally, it is really an invitation for all our colleagues and students from the Santo Tomas University, Tunja, to learn English with passion because this is the language of progress and future.

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STUDENTS’ PRODUCTION WHY

C IVIL

ENGINEERING?

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By David Marcel Sanchez Bonilla Student from civil engineering

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aybe one of the most comprehensive and known by all career , civil engineering has a major role today in what is our great Columbia, the best of this career is its wide range of applications from the construction of the tallest buildings in the world, to the railways and airports that provide easy mind one country to another besides that if you’re good enough as a civil engineer you can get scholarships and you can even have an employment with the most important civil engineers in Colombia.

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One of the strongest points that this career requires is to be able to do quick and accurate calculations and also I think this career requires a lot on these topics. Science and philosophy underlying civil engineering describe the ability and responsibility of a man to alter nature for his convenience. The construction of key infrastructures allowed for larger economies and enable trade at the expense of transforming the natural environment. For this reason, there are several engineering schools that seek to appease the power of civil engineers relative to environmental harmony.

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C IVIL

ENGINEERING

Civil engineering is the application of physical principles and scientists, and its history is closely linked to advances in knowledge of physics and mathematics through history. Due to the fact that the scope of civil engineering is very broad, including several disciplines, its history is related to the study and understanding of structures, materials science, geography, geology, soils, hydrology, environmental, mechanical and other fields, civil engineering is the career of the future, promising to help countries in their development process.

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Civil engineering is a career that lets you explore and learn all the world besides you imagine studying civil engineering, you could build, design and modify your home to your likes, which is a place where you will spend more than half of your life being there. You should also know that a civil engineer stands out as a creative person and likes to work hard also has knowledge of Physics, Structures, Construction Techniques, Economics and Management that allows him or her to address the study, planning, designing, implementation, operation and maintenance of infrastructures and structures These are just some things you can do as a civil engineer. Being a civil engineer is so beautiful that takes time and effort.

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BR A NCHES

By Kristy Dayana Saenz Silva, Laura Catalina Rubio Students from civil engineering

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his text talks about two main and very important branches in the civil engineering, they are: Fluids mechanics, it is a branch of mechanics that studies the movement of the fluids. Another topic that should be stood out is the one related to Dams, their types and classification we will also studied. Finally, we will speak about the most important structures made of steel.

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Fluids used in the civil engineering field can be liquids and gases, they can be found everywhere, for instance in the air, water, pipes, icebergs, windmill, etc. Fluids have different characteristics such as the strong cohesive forces that liquids have. The gas has no a definitive volume, the molecules are widely spaced with negligible cohesive forces.

for the civil and construction engineering field.

We, as future professional engineers have to know and understand the behavior of these elements to be able to help society offering the highest quality possible in the use of different materials.

Steel and iron are two materials widely use in structures such as buildings and towers. The steel structures have been used by engineers in some buildings, towers and in the highest structures around the world. The iron elements were used mainly in the corridors of cathedrals, frames, beams and columns of many famous and known structures around the world. Among them, we find The Eiffel Tower, the Glass Palace, Golden Bridge, etc. These constructions are very strong thanks to this wonderful material.

THE WORLD OF ACCOUNTING

Finally, Dams are massive barriers built across rivers and streams, engineers built them to confine and utilize the flow of water. I consider that the irrigation and generation of hydroelectricity (obtained through dams) has been one of the most important creations in the world because we cannot survive without water. This confinement of water creates lakes or reservoirs. Unfortunately, many people do not understand the importance of keeping them clean. For that reason, we as future civil engineers should create new strategies to take care of them.

In conclusion, these topics are of great relevance Universidad Santo Tomรกs, Seccional Tunja

By Julio Humberto Sรกnchez Cristancho Student from Public Accounting Faculty

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ccounting presents information about the transactions and events of business which are captured and summarized into reports that are used by persons interested in the entity. This article develops definitions about

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accounting and the different form in which the financial information is reported.

The account information is reported according to the diversity of interested parties which include the governmental units, financial analysts, business managers, creditors, owners and even employs to a logical division in the discipline of accounting. This is why the public accountants specialize and serve in different specialties of this profession and the public accountants can work in private companies on public or government companies.

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The public accounting requires an excellent professional capacity and a great ethic because of this depend the triumph or failure of the different people who are interested in a respective business.

Furthermore, in public accounting the base to reveal the true financial estate of a company is the accounting equation which is: assets= liabilities + owners’ equity, and this equation is used in the balance sheet which is a document that records the assets, liabilities and assets owned by a company in a determinate period.

This document is also elaborated to see if the company has had losses or gains in the period in which this balance sheet is elaborated; there are other documents or records that are used for registering the operations and the transactions carried out by a company in a period of time; for example, the general ledger which is a book that contains the accounts where all the transactions of the organization are classified. The ledger is Universidad Santo Tomás, Seccional Tunja

a record in which each page is used for each of the financial accounts of the company and in this book the values are registered in summarized form by account or items of the transactions of the respective period. The values of the movement show themselves debit and credit of the respective period then register the new balances which will be the base as a previous balance for the following period. This document is just one example of many documents that has to develop a public accountant in a company so that the company works very well and has a great progress.

In conclusion the public accounting is one of the professions that has more application in the business world.

Reference Walther, Larry. (2012). Principles of Accounting: Chapter 1 “Welcome to the World of Accounting”. Retrieved on April 2012, from http://www.principlesofaccounting.com/chapter1/chapter1.html

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DESIGN OF A ROB OT IC A R M’S PROTOT YPE OR IENT E D TO SU RGIC A L APPL IC AT ION S

By Laura A. Martínez Tejada, Daniel A.Rodríguez Caro and Juán D. Robles Rodríguez

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The surgical robotic arm has become a big investigation area, due to the incorporation of many fields knowledge, to create accurate systems to help doctors in surgery. The main goal of this paper will be to describe the process and the result of the design of a robotic arm’s prototype to identify 3D basic figures contours and to delineate its contours using hybrid methods such as and light guidance and different kind of sensors, also the robotic arm will be capable of use computer vision, focused into surgical applications where the accuracy and the stability are a very high aspect to take in to account, for example crane surgeries.

Index Terms-- Telerobotic, Telemetric, Wireless Monitory.

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I. Introducción A surgical procedure is a difficult task that depends of many variables that can’t be controlled directly and of the ability and experience that the medical Dr. has in the field. Nowadays the operating room needs to be a safety environment where the technology and the human skills are combined to improve the quality of complex procedures where a Human life is at risk. The robotics systems present a new paradigm of possibilities to: these procedures giving to the precision and the stability that the medical personal requires in an operating room and sometimes, providing images of the action region that the medical doctor can’t see in a simple sight. However, these systems are not perfect, there are expose toward many factors that affect their functionality and

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put in risk the procedure.

The current techniques to develop surgical equipment have high quality standards about the accuracy and the materials that guaranties that some of the variables in a surgical room remain controlled for example: motion control and precision, training systems, haptic feedback.

In the design and construction of surgical robots, the system has to pass a rigorous process of performance evaluation, to ensure its perfect operation under real surgical conditions, the creation of prototypes of robotic systems applied to medicine are important because allow to study and the research of techniques, materials and parts that will be involved in a real surgery, to obtain the quality functional results.

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II. Previous Work In a first stage of the development of the robotic arm we had proposed a system robot arm with two degrees of freedom, which represents up and down vertical movement of a limb, and the horizontal movement on its own axis, on both the left and right side of the whole structure, the movement will be conditioned by a pointer or a flashlight to indicate to the side that should make the pointing move, directly to an array of photo resistors located in the upper limb that performs the vertical movement.

essential parts to the recognition of patterns and contour of geometrical figures in 3D as a circle, a triangle and a square: First, we have the base or the work area where will be dispose the 3D figures, second there is the mechanic system that groups the movement devices such motors, chains and gears and the structure of the robotic arm, and finally the electronic system including the perception devices and the control system.

For the design of the base or work area we divide it in two parts: the robotic arm area and the figures area. The robotic arm area consists in a square with a rail to ensure the linear movement of the mechanic structure. The figures area will have three parts, the first part consist in an illuminated area where will be disposed high luminosity LED to generate the stimulus that the sensors needs to their properly function, a glass that correspond to a base that allows to isolate the 3D figures to not enter into contact with the LEDs, leaving the light pass through it as we see in the figure 2.

III. Materials And Procedure The robotic arm will be composing of three Universidad Santo Tomรกs, Seccional Tunja

Fig.2. Structure base Prototype

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The mechanical system was proposed based on a structure that consists in a rigid arm, which at its lower end, will be connected to three motor reducers, which will provide two degrees of freedom, vertical motion with respect to the Z axis and horizontal movement with respect X axis, a third motor is located outside the main structure, but connected to it by a system of gears and chains that move the main structure with respect to the axis Y as we see in the figure 2.

As the prototype robot is for academic purposes to evaluate techniques of positioning and identification of shapes, materials used are easily available in the regional market, as their costs are low, we will use materials such as wood, PVC pipe and plastic parts.

the head of the arm has six resistors located in the robot’s head, three in an upper row and three in a lower row, in the middle of the head will be a bumper, a contact sensor that allows to determinate if there is an object with a specific dimension defined by the dimension design, in the work area.

Fig. 3. Movement and mechanical structure

The LDRs activation by the light under the work area will determinate the behavior of the mechanic system and the motor’s movement in the X and Y axis, by series of logical rules that depends on the LDR excitation. The arm movement in the Z axis is determined by the operation of two end of the course, located at the head of the arm and base.

The initial position of the robot ensure that its first movement be the linear backward movement, at first the LDR be in an ON state and the bumper will be in an OFF state, until they’ll be the close enough to the object an any light active them and the bumper can touch the figure in the work area, in that case the LDRs state change to OFF and the bumper changes to ON state. If there isn’t any object in the work area, the LDRs will be in ON state and a second bumper in the base of the robotic arm will be activated, if the two bumpers are in ON state, the robotic arm does not detect an object. This behavior can be resuming in an ON-OFF control to determinate the presence of the object in the work area.

To recognize basic shapes of the contour in the third dimension that is placed in the workplace, we propose a hybrid system consisting of an array of LDR to determine the light around the object,

The signal given by the LDRs excitation will pass through a voltage comparator which will ensure a 0V or 5V in its exit when the LDR has light changes in its surface. The activation and deactivation

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data obtain from the LDRs and the Bumpers, will be acquire and store in a microcontroller PIC 16F877A, which also has a series of rules preprogramed, to move the motors, this output signal will go to three H bridge connected to the motors to determinate its rotation direction.

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We propose a system where an operator can monitory the tasks performed by the robot, that is why we have to generate a visualization panel where a person can observe how the robot is working. For this reason, the data is also sent to a computer where we can visualize the behavior of the robot using a camera to supervise the work ant the movements of the robot. This camera will be located in the work upper area to determinate if the robot is really following the contour of the 3D figures. If the robot is not doing the task in a properly way, it has to stop its work, to control this process we combine the image processing obtained from the camera and the sensor signals to determinate the path that has to be follow for the robotic arm this function will only activate when the operator determinate that the robot is not following the continuous of the figure. For a future work this process will be automatic.

IV. Data Analysis A. Results obtain in the previous work (First Prototype): The first prototype of the robotic arm will be moved by when the LDRs will exited from a beam Universidad Santo Tomรกs, Seccional Tunja

of light generated by a laser pointer or a flashlight, the changes in the intensity of the light that falls on the LDR, are reflected in a variable resistance, in instead it creates a voltage change in a voltage divider, this voltage goes to a LM 3914, which is configured in point mode (configured by sending

Fig.4. Possible positions to detect objects in the work area

the ground pin so generating each change voltage of a single power-led), this device turns on a series of LED depending on the voltage level received at its input terminals from the voltage divider, the signal is taken from the cathode of each LED, this signals go to a voltage comparator LM339 (because the voltage generated by the LM3914 varies from 3.5 V to 2.5 V, the voltage generated does not allow the microcontroller to recognize it as digital logic levels), then through a voltage divider makes the respective voltage conditioning generated by the previous circuit (LM3914), generating five digital signals with inverse logic (every time you turn the LED on the LM3914, the comparator led turns off), when the signals arrive to the microcontroller, each signal is characterized by the required functions of the design parameter, to generate corresponding movements in the robot.

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B. Robotic Arm’s Proposal: In first place is necessary to explain how the robotic arm will work to detect and delineate the 3D contours: From the start, at the moment of ignition, the robot will be in a vertical stand position, and its mobile base will have to be at the middle of the robotic arm area, to ensure the detection of an object in the workspace, we use a marker denoted as X0Y0 to indicate the initial position of the base, activating a bumper that indicates that the base is in correct position to start its activity; the base can be located manually in the necessary start position, if the base is not in the correct initial position a bumper will not allow the automatic movement to start the scanning of the workspace.

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When this requirement has been fulfilled, the robot now can move into the next step. Now the robot has to detect if there is an object in the workplace, performing a downward vertical displacement until the bumper in its upper part of its head is activated. If this bumper is activated but the bumper located in the lower part of the arm is not activated, it will means that there is an object in the workplace, otherwise the two bumpers will be activated and this will means that there is not an object in the workspace, so the robotic arm will located itself in the start position. If the robot detects an object, its base move backward until the limit of the robot arm’s area, in there the robot has to move down completely and start to detect the 3D figure outline in base on the rules of movement.

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Fig.5. Flow Diagram For the robotic arm movement

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From the previous development we can observe easily that the LDR system has a very good response when there is a light beam strong an wide enough to cover the LDR surface, in this case the transition from dark to light can be easily detected by this sensor. Also we need to consider physical conditioning way of the LDRs to ensure that only the beam generates from the work area affect the sensor, otherwise, it won’t had the performance desired.

For the first 3D figure took into a count, a square, the system follow the outside line in a good form, because this figure has straight lines, and the physical structure responds to generate the movement to follow this contour.

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Fig.6. Continuous described by the robotic arm prototype

This system will not have excellent accurate to follow the shape of non-straight outline object, due to the low number of photo detectors, this leads to the system does not trace the outline Universidad Santo TomĂĄs, Seccional Tunja

Fig.7. Continuous described by the robotic arm prototype

perfectly, leaving some points without been seeing as in the figure, when the system tried to follow the outline of a triangle and a circle: Also the arrangement of different elements like the cable and the gears is very important to considerate in the design, because from these elements and the localization of the motors depends the stability, maneuverability, controllability and the strength of the mechanic system. As an autonomous system respond in design in slow form, this helps to reduce problems of accuracy and inertia due to the high velocities that can acquire the robotic arm.

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V. Conclusions 1. One of the main problems of this unit are photo resistors, because they are very sensitive to the changing light, and these causes the unit sometimes do not respond as it should be.

2. Surgical care units using haptic, are of great interest to both medicine and academia, for their various actions that can be run and accuracy that plays in a surgical environment.

3. To have a high degree of accuracy, the robot must use resistant materials for construction, because if we use material of metal such as aluminum, you can achieve a better coupling between the limbs and engines and a significant reduction in weight compared to other metals.

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4. Implementing Motors with a speed reduction and increased force, improve the movement and force at the time of lifting heavy items.

5. Haptic devices that are currently commercially are suitable for various applications that are required in surgical care.

6. Implementing a system like this is inefficient if you do not have an analog filter which eliminates the frequency spectrum that makes the system complicated to work.

7. With the help of micro-controlled device, it is possible to characterize each sensor giving the status and functions as the designer wishes.

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8. The bumpers allow us to define the arm movement; it avoids mechanical damage and limits the movement of engines.

9. It is important to consider testing the prototype in controlled light environments, since the device behavior results vary due to ambient light where you test the system.

VI. References O. Aníbal, G. Jesús Manuel; G. Alfonso “Teleoperación y Telerrobótica”. 1ª ed. ALFAOMEGA. 2006.

BERGEN, Charles M. Anatomy of a robot. United States of America:McGraw Hill. 2003 Thorsten A Kern. Engineering Haptic Devices A Beginner´s for Engineers, Septimiu E. Salcudean. Control for teleoperation and haptic interfaces.

Jadran Lenarcic and Bernard Roth. “Advances in Robot Kinematics”. Springer. 2006.

Ming Xie. “Fundamentals of Robotics Linking Perception to Action”. World Scientific

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MATERIALS TO T HE F U T U R E

Last years the engineers have been working molecularly and in atomic level, to develop and create new super drivers, stronger and more resistant materials, which will open the doors for the future of the humanity.

There are complex molecular networks that shape the materials we know, so the engineers get involved in networks and modifications to improve the conductivity and other properties.

Each day the architects and engineers make awesome buildings that improve the society conditions and help them to be close to the future.

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By Fernando Soler Student from Civil engineering

What will we use in The Future?

Actually, there are hundreds and hundreds of materials in the planet, Nowadays you can find from old materials such as rocks, sand, rubber, copper and a lot else.

We are not only talking about constructions or buildings, but also about electric networks, drivers of energy and heat.

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The smart and rich people are who use the new materials to do their life better, maybe this new super technology is not available for everybody in this moment because it costs a lot, but in a few years everybody could be using it to be closer to the future.

Nowadays, the Technology is so advanced that the engineers and scientists make “Biological Materials”, so this kind of materials are really cheap facilitating the requirements of the middle class.

Also, the biological materials are biodegradable so they are not bad for the planet.

In The book “foundation for the physics of materials” we can find a lot of materials since old, new, biologic, industrial, and a big variety to get information about the topic. To can select always the best of the materials technology.

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Year by year are thrown into new types of materials, particularly to meet the demand of the persons that require it such as scientist or engineers, they wants to innovate brought to market more products containing useful materials, and that provide the requirements of this entire people.

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Moreover man has been creating new materials to create gangs that could affect the humanity the Technology could be used for good things, but also much other people use his to create stuff that can harm the society and the planet suck as bombs, guns and many other harmful things so, you as engineer or scientist an decide if develop things and materials that can help the world to keep moving forward or just keep destroying the planet and deteriorate the society. The Materials developers are uncharged of we could be closer to the humanity perfection because each day they are working to produce new materials.

Bibliography William F. Smith and Javad Hashemi.

Fundamentos de la ciencia e ingeniería de materiales 4tª edición. Capitulo 1 pag 2 – 21

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ENERGY EFFICIENCY

By Sebastian Riaño Student from electronic engineering

Electronic Engineering As we all know, the energy sources can be simplified in two subgroups, those are nonrenewable and renewable resources. Nonrenewable are those we just can use once, for example fossil energy or nuclear energy. Renewable sources, called green energies too, are those we can use more than once, and which are friendly with the environment. By one side, those renewable sources are the future of the world, because we use natural resources, which are unlimited to generate this energy and we are not damaging the environment; on the

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other side, we need to generate a social awareness starting by the kids who are the future but without forget eldest generations and this.

Nonrenewable Sources Fossil fuels are nonrenewable resources; we cannot replace what we spend. Are those whose reserves are limited and sell out with use. The major ones are nuclear power and fossil fuels (oil, natural gas and coal). For instance, those thermoelectric companies or nuclear energy companies, which produce so many gases and other ways of pollution daily, and while it happens, many people is at home, work or something like and all the day wasting more and more energy even when it is not necessary.

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Renewable Sources Green energy is a term that describes the energy generated from primary energy sources that respect the environment. Green energy is nonpolluting renewable energy, ie, whose way of obtaining products or use issues that might affect the environment.

Currently, they are becoming more important because of worsening the greenhouse effect and consequent global warming, accompanied by greater awareness worldwide about the problem.

Also, national economies do not own or exhausted their traditional energy sources (such as oil or gas) and need to acquire these resources from other economies, seeking to avoid this energy Universidad Santo Tomás, Seccional Tunja

dependence and the negative trade balance that this acquisition represents.

As we all know, daily we waste so much energy, for example in many cases, many teenagers used to turn on their computers, televisions and at the same time they are chatting by their phones, so they are not watching TV and they are not using their computers, but they do not see that they are wrong and they are damaging our world, because the procedure to generate a watt also generate much pollution, a clearly example of these pollution is the carbon footprint; A carbon footprint has historically been defined as “the total set of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an organization, event, product or person; therefore it is necessary to generate awareness among teenagers and new generations. Also, to avoid it, already exist some technologies which are more friendly with the environment.

When I say “it is necessary to generate awareness among teenagers and new generations.” I want to talk about the waste energetic, rational use of energy and energy efficiency.

Waste energetic refers to these cases when the people used to turn on all the lights, TVs, computers, etc. and anyone is using one of those.

It is something that everybody nowadays used to do every time everywhere; for example when a teenage is on his/her bedroom with his/her PC and have turn the TV on, but he/she is just chatting by the cell phone.

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If we talk about rational use of energy we find the people who know the cost that the procedure to generate a watt is, and the problems that it brings.

In this case, the people just watch TV, or work at the computer, etc. but just turn on one of those only if it is necessary. The problem that they do not know, because they cannot see it, is the phantom charge, this charge is present in almost each electronic device, such as in the TVs that little red light which turn on when we turn the TV off; this charges are consuming energy all the day.

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We also find the efficiency energy, that is the best way to save the environment and the wallet, but you cannot see it in one, two, three or four years, but in the long run, we will see that these energies are very environmentally friendly and also very cheap. If we talk about energy efficiency, we can talk about solar panels or wind turbines, for example.

Wind Turbines

Wind energy is the energy gotten from the wind force that is, using the kinetic energy generated by the air currents. it is obtained through a wind turbine are those that convert kinetic energy into electricity from the wind by half of vanes or blades which rotate a central axis connected, through a series of gears to an electric generator.

The major requirement to build a wind turbine is a big place, free of anything that can interrupt the flux of the air currents. To make it possible and useful, you need to find a place with strong air currents, and you should be pending of its maintenance.

Solar Energy As we know the sun is big source of energy. It is every day and all the time radiating something that we know as solar beams, those beams are just solar radiation, which we can behave into energy, friendly and cheap energy.

Solar energy is a source of life and origin of most other forms of energy on Earth. Every year brings solar radiation to Earth energy equivalent to several thousand times the amount of energy consumed by mankind. Properly collecting solar radiation, this can be transformed into other forms of energy as heat or electricity using solar panels.

Using solar collectors, solar energy can be transformed into thermal energy, and using

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solar panels can turn light energy into electrical energy. Both processes have nothing to do with each other in terms of technology. Likewise, in solar thermal power plants use the heat energy from the solar collectors to generate electricity.

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Some requirements to build a solar panel are, that you need a place where it can get the solar beams the most of the time, for example you cannot place it backyard to a big building, because the shadow of that building can block the solar beams, and it will stop to generate energy while it cannot get those beams. When you are going to install that system, you should remember it needs a support or base, and you should use materials with a low level of oxidation such as aluminum. Another thing you should think before install it is, where is the equatorial line? In Colombia, for this step your solar panel should point to the south and with 20° of inclination.

Finally, those are some things I consider you all should know about the energy and our world, because if we follow living in the same way, probably in some years we will not have enough resources to live, or to live with the same comfort.

But if we want to change it, try to save energy and more important save the environment, we will have a better future. Also we should try to start to use alternative energies la solar panels or wind turbines, because they work very well, using renewable resources and environmentally friendly. Those are not much common, firstly by their prices, but also by their requirements, for example in the solar panels case we need a place Universidad Santo Tomás, Seccional Tunja

where the sun always comes, but if it is possible in the future it will be a good investment. In consequence, if we try to follow those tips, we and our descendants will live in a better place.

“Safe energy….so safe the world”.

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OXIMETER, MONITOR VITAL SIGNS

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By Carlos Fabián Acevedo Salcedo, Fabio Andrés Fonseca Sánchez and Sandra Milena Granados Figueroa

E

Introduction

lectronic engineering is related to the design, implementation, problem solving, among others. It is vitally important for any engineer to know what might be its field of action in the future; you should be prepared to face any situation in the profession with the responsibility of the evolution of the technology towards human life.

Within the electrical engineering is the field of biomedical or bioengineering where it is important to the design and implementation of

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medical equipment, where it is in conjunction with engineering knowledge in the medical requirements for the benefit of human life.

Within the biomedical is important to know the heart of a person’s heart, and to control for this effort is not on, so this project is to design and construction of a system for the acquisition of the average heart rate a person.

Knowing the heart of a person can see how health is and how is your lifestyle, because if the heart rate testing using automated stress test their heart rate increases a lot, when they should not be seen several causes and help these people improve their health.

For the case for many problems will be prevented heart rate that commonly arise in Colombian society, because of bad habits practiced by people such as physical inactivity and poor diet, a fact that leads to the development of instruments capable of preventing problems, that later may be grounds for loss of life, so are tools to develop stress tests, which can prevent heart disease and then develop treatments to improve the quality of life of patients.

Within red blood cells there is a red pigment called hemoglobin, this protein serves as a means to transport oxygen from the air into the tissues. It is called Oxygen Saturation (SaO2) to the percentage relationship between the concentration of hemoglobin that carries oxygen, and the concentration of hemoglobin

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that carries oxygen not, so we can measure the amount of oxygen flowing from the lungs into the bloodstream and dissolves in all body fluids. A pulse oximeter is responsible for non-invasively measure oxygen saturation, or equivalently, the oxygen absorbed by the patient, this device, also known by the name of pulse oximetry.

Justification The need to provide aid to the community and taking into account the Thomistic philosophy of St. Thomas University, we are given the possibility to create devices for community service and that all members may benefit from this, Lead to the creation of a medical prevention tool at low cost and readily available.

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Figure 1, Pulse Oximeter.

The implementation of this class of devices is not great because of its high cost and low acquisition by ordinary people, As well as being an area of little depth in many regions.

That is why we created the urgent need to create instruments that are useful to humans, and may be used at low cost and are easy to handle, that need the research area in biomedical devices to help generate a lifelong easier to society.

Theoretical framework An oximeter indicates the arterial oxygen saturation, pulse rate of the patient, measuring the absorption of light at two wavelengths selected; the signal can be obtained through the emission Universidad Santo Tomรกs, Seccional Tunja

Figure 2, Obtaining cardiac output (PQRST)

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of light pulses which pass through human tissue.

These pulses are captured by a photo detector located at the opposite end of the tissue. The photo detector converts the light signal into an electrical signal. Whose level is proportional to the sensed light intensity. For the implemented system light cannot be taken as an electromagnetic wave, but as a wave particle composed of photons. A pulse oximeter provides a relative measure and not absolute, since it indicates the amount of oxygen reaching the tissues, but the relationship between the amounts of hemoglobin combined with oxygen and the total present. When the measurement of saturation of hemoglobin for oxygen is carried in blood pressure, the value supplied is called SaO2; this parameter can be obtained by a technique called arterial blood gas analysis diagnosed.

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Development Design and implementation of the circuit; within the physical structure we have a source of 12V,12V power to the circuit which is connected to the network, several tests were performed since the first presented to the circuits error.

On the meter, took place an adequate system for the user is comfortable and can see your heart rate, for this must be taken from the finger of a very simple way by inserting a finger right on the meter properly. The circuit to be a person’s heart rate can be seen below, where you can see the input voltage 12V-12V coming from the power supply with proper grounding.

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In the part of the data acquisition circuit have a very important in the development of the project, where several terminal blocks can be observed around the vaquela, which indicate the PIC ports plus the respective ground and the input signal that should be part of the heart rate meter.

The data acquisition card is very important because through this you will see the circuit communication with the computer having a graphical interface in lab view with the appropriate for this communication.

On the acquisition of data to the PC card will work with the FT232 which allows us to convert serial to USB Applications Although the project is in a stage of research and development and there have been numerous experiments that allow us to deduce their possible applications in the present and future.

• Allow user to have a preventive diagnosis of the state of your heart rate, likewise, to observe whether the oxygenation of your blood stream is adequate.

• Provide the user with an image of the RSQ signal generated by your heart, so the user can perceive possible changes in your health, plus you can see if the oxygenation of the peripheries of the body are well oxygenated and have a good flow of blood therein.

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Conclusions • Develop a meaningful social research, allows students to engineering programs will provide solutions that are caring for society and that can take advantage of.

• Through this project will generate a solution to the Colombian health through accurate measurement systems to which the common society can not access, because as a university research project can be generated at low cost instruments.

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• The system is being implemented and prevent future is predicted to also be able to give a diagnosis, which allows the user to avoid displacement to a medical center, which saves time and cost it generates.

Bibliography P. W. Macfarlane and T. D. Veitch Lawrie (eds.), Comprehensive Elec- trocardiology: Theory and Practice in Health and Disease, England: Pergamon, 1989, Vols.

1–3. EDWARD J. BERBARI Indiana University/ Purdue University, Indianapolis Anónimo. (2003). Diccionario Médico. Copyright © 2003.

El Cid Editor. All rights reserved. 15 http://site.ebrary.com/ lib/bibliotecaustasp/Doc?id=10044136&ppg=8.

Macfarlane PW, Veitch Lawrie TD. Comprehensive

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electrocardiology. Theory and practice in health and disease. Oxford, Pergamon Press, 1989.

Moreno R, García Fernández. Electrocardiografía básica.

Madrid, Mc Graw Hill. 1999.

García Bolao, Ignacio. (2004). Introducción a la electrocardiografía clínica. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary. com/lib/bibliotecaustasp/Doc?id=10050558&ppg=202.

Copyright © 2004.

Editorial Ariel. All rights reserved.

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A WINDOW TO NEAR FUTURE

By Daniel Idrobo and Carlos Gallegos Students from Electronic Engineering 26

W

e wish this be a space to show what you could find in a near future into electronic world. In this environment of amazing devices and technologies we can realize the world is going too fast, probably faster than us and we shouldn´t allow that, on that account, here are described a few new technologies or devices that could finish in your pocket or your home into a few time. Besides you would get information about something which are being developed and could help us into different senses like health or doing more efficient our time for performing our daily life, day by day with more tasks and less time.

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Day by day you might find some uncommon smart pieces of furniture like the multitouch table presented by Samsung, this table seems like a common wood table but it isn´t, really, each of its millions of pixels behaves as a camera because the whole surface is touch, this could be the first step in way to the big smart surfaces around our home, next one could be a window, the freezer panel o anyone different even a wall or a door.

Another example of new technologies are HalfRobot, Half-Insect ‘Cybug’ Spies, a little beings thought whit military purposes who are insect essentially but with some another artificial components added to their body. Here are the two important things, one, approaches the versatility and the unique evolution off these small animals for being virtually transparent for any enemy because of his natural shape, natural behavior and micro size, on the other hand, we have the approaching of the technology view on the insect body, allowing to the owner to control the insect and having real time data provided by the devices adapted to the insect body. Examples like this sometimes cause a strong controversy about if human should interfere in the natural development of flow of the nature.

About the desktops and laptops there is too much information so here we just will mention that the near future is the “ultra books”, ultra-thin devices with a very high performance that give to user a high portability with the advantage of all functions and a very light weight, these machines

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are incorporating notable developments like a massive use of SSD (solid state drives), the future of hard disk, these are like a flash memory but have a storage capacity of a small hard disk, with an important difference, a laptop with a SSD instead of a hard disk can restart in 15 seconds approximately Instead of almost a minute with a common hard disk.

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During the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing was demonstrated a new technology for the data transfer, this has been called the USB killer because this technology called “Light Peak” has a standard transfer rate 4 times bigger than USB 3.0, this is about 10 Gb/s but this can achieve speeds until 100 Gb/s. All this possible thanks to an optic wire that in the same way serves to plug several devices to one wire, because the socket and wire and designed and programmed to use different protocols, these would act like “channels” so we would plug a different device for each of these different channels. This technology could be implemented massively in 2018, because we yet must use USB 3.0, otherwise great Intel could lose millions.

What do you think about sunscreen pills? Well, you believe or not these could be available into five years, British researchers discovered the way in coral protects for harmful UV radiation from sun, in that sense; the researchers are synthesizing a pill that will protect your skin and eyes, this pill just will we available to you with a medical search.

Everything points that algae which live in corals, produce the miraculous substance that according Universidad Santo Tomás, Seccional Tunja

to the recent investigations also are benefiting the fishes who are feeding from those algae, in the future you’ll ask: Did you eat your sun block?

About internet for mobiles and portable modems, the new standard is among us, it is 4G the 3G evolution and is based on IP protocol; the main advance is its speed, it is about 100mbps in movement and 1 Gb. quiet. This will people keep in touch quickly, download videos and movies just in seconds, even download a movie for blue ray could take between 35 and 360 seconds, is to say less than 6 minutes with the slowest speed

What do you think about injury proof car? This is the promise of Volvo for 2020, into this car would be combined a set of technologies like auto-brake thanks to a series of sensors like radar that make a car very effective against crashes and it promises to decrease the death rate to 50%. The

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new cars would be like when you see a crash in the Formula 1, you can see the car driver turning on the track and when the car finally stops the driver gets out walking with no serious injuries, this is the purpose of these ultra-safe cars.

Recently SD association announced the standard that will replace the actual (SDHC), this is SDXC (Secure Digital Extended Capacity) and is an important development into the area of SD cards, the evolution of this standard is oriented naturally into its capacity, the new SD card will be supported between 2 – 32 Tb, a staggering number considering the capacity of current hard disks, this supposes an amazing portable capacity, you could take 4,5 millions of MP3 songs with you wherever in your pocket or more than 500 blue ray movies.

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The Coming Merging of Mind and Machine, it sounds incredible but it isn’t, Ray Kurzweil predicted this 10 years ago, and it’s supposed it will be available in 2019. They will claim to have feelings and, unlike today’s virtual personalities, will be very convincing when they tell us so. By 2019 a $1,000 computer will at least match the processing power of the human brain. By 2029 the software for intelligence will have been largely mastered, and the average personal computer will Universidad Santo Tomás, Seccional Tunja

be equivalent to 1,000 brains. In this point we should be think if that is safe or not, could be the beginning of end for human beings?

Concluding, the world which we live is changing quickly, and this becomes obsolete each about 18 months so we can´t stay watching the world evolving or we’ll be out of place, we should be informed about the new developments in all science, in special we, the next systems engineers for taking part of this new set of chances for finding a good job or proposing a new technology according to the actual context, besides the fact of world is evolving too fast, opens a huge window for us like engineers because always will be new things for being invented, new technologies for being implemented and new systems for being created, in addition, all those set of new things will need maintenance, there will have the space for putting into practice our knowledge and collaborating with the development of the society and keep in touch the world decreasing the distances among people.

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SOCIAL NETWORKS

an awful decision, because they aren’t thinking in perspectives, in the problems it would bring and obviously they aren’t thinking if it they will use it correctly in the future or not.

Social Networks are one of the main structures of “How to get a social life today”, not even enough people believe it. Since their creation they have been one of the most popular and visited places on internet. However, have people thought when or why were their creations?

By Marco Antonio Ardila Viasús Student from Systems Engineering 29

H

ave you ever seen how the people around the world get connected so easy just holding the idea of how interesting results meeting people, and how it takes just a few minutes to get involved into a new situation? You don’t need to be a programmer; you don’t need to know how the internet’s function is. You just need one thing: “desire it”. But normally people get that idea as something that someone had just sold them.

“If I get involved on it, I must think if it would be good or not” must be the thinking on this situation; well, people don’t think about that, they just see one way, a relaxing way, and it is totally Universidad Santo Tomás, Seccional Tunja

Social Networks were based on the simple idea of creating a place in the network which people could get connected with their last classmates; it shows how a little idea of a person can become into one of the highest emporiums known until this days, being not just one site.

A study shows the main principle of the social networks among the consumer society, an article took from www.whatssocialnetworking.com says: “Social networking is the grouping of individuals into specific groups, like small rural communities or a neighborhood subdivision, if you will.

Although social networking is possible in person, especially in the workplace, universities, and high schools, it is most popular online.

This is because unlike most high schools, colleges, or workplaces, the internet is filled with millions of individuals who are looking to meet other people, to gather and share first-hand information and

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experiences about cooking, golfing, gardening, developing friendships professional alliances, finding employment, business-to-business marketing and even groups sharing information about the topics and interests are as varied and rich as the story of our universe.”

People think that Social Networks are just a method of communication, meeting people, or distraction. Because of the different roles of the society makes a lineal thinking, but Social Networks go beyond of a simple hobby or as a lot of people says “one of the new ways to waste our

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time”. If we want to get informed, today a social network is a nice place to get informed, inclusive about things without any importance; if you haven’t how to get connected with someone else, if you want to know a little bit else about someone or even better, if you just want to leave people know more about you, social networks are the best places to improve your social ranks. Turning into confidential places or sometimes dangerous places, social networks are able to reflect a new structure of life, of connections or inclusive, ways to get a job!

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What happen when people use to create a new account and sign in? As a simple idea, they are helping or contributing to different studies; it doesn’t matter if those studies are about marketing or how the society works, it is progress, but obviously it is just a suggestion of some people. Today people know how to get connected easily but they don’t care about which troubles it could bring to their lives.

Some of the most common problems associated to the Social Networks are the internet espionage, the stealing of photo albums, the identity robbers or even more.

People use those Social Networks just as a game, but when are they going to take part of the problem and think if it’s really good or not their use?

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Future will bring the answers to all the questions about it and will bring more material to work over a critical topic like this one, for each one who wants to have fun with this way of relating, they just have to look for different suggestions about how use it correctly and everything will take the way it has to be. Personally I think people have a wrong idea of what’s the real use for social networks, for spaces like this one’s which makes society, because of the uninformative corruption people manage online, for example what happen when a young person get involved into a new social network, first, his head get confused and “corrupted” by the garbage which goes everyday side by side on internet, inclusive, they forget how to write correctly, what a high problematic; but, meanwhile time pass all these fashion will go away and everything will be on its site again.

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TEACHERS’ ACADEMIC PRODUCTION The Imp or t ance O f R e ad ing And Wr it ing

By M.A. Adriana Maritza Rivera Barreto Teacher from the Language Department 32

D

uring the life, human beings acquire and develop different skills such as reading and writing which become essential to perform a given task. Regarding this, Neuman, Coople & Bredekamp (2004) state that these skills are essential to a child´s success and later in life; it means that learning to write and to read is important to develop thinking, and that way to keep an effective communication and positive interaction with others.

Moreover, in today’s globalized world, reading and writing become more relevant and interesting, where access to information is written through

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different media of newspapers, texts, reports, internet, the latter half increasingly widespread and commonly used by students, professionals and housewives, workers; but not enough readable, more important is to develop the skills needed to understand, select, organize, process and use information, and the use of computer systems requires the application of reading skills, writing and logical thinking.

Hence, acquiring and developing skills like reading and writing has become one of the primary objectives in the teaching-learning process at all levels what must be promoted by

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teachers since these skills are inextricably linked during the long, continuous learning process of humans. In one hand, reading provides culture, develops the aesthetic sense, acts on the formation of personality, the learning, developing of intelligence and it is a form of recreation and joy; on the other hand, writing gives the possibility to create since a utopia about life, until producing academic texts. Then, the process of learning to read and write must be taken as a dynamic process which learners enjoy doing as asserted by the MEN (2007), because they start getting familiarized with different ways of expressions what take them to play with the language.

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To conclude, teachers claim that since the beginning of these processes, students recognize the language as a fundamental means of communication and for that reason, we should look forward to gaining more knowledge about writing and reading, as benefits for the future live, In few words, when we learn to read, our writing improves, and when our writing and reading improve, our communicative competence also improves.

References Neuman, S. Copple, C. and Bredekamp, S. (2004).Learning to Read and Write: Developmentally Appropriate Practices for Young Children. Retrieved on June 28, 2012 from http://www.pbs.org/teacherline/courses/rdla155/pdfs/ c2s2_5devapprop.pdf

Ministerio de Educaci贸n Nacional. (2007). Lectura Universidad Santo Tom谩s, Seccional Tunja

VIRTUAL TOOLS IN ENGLISH CLASSES

By M.A. Carol Anne Ochoa and Eliana Edith Roberto.

Teacher from the Language Department

Abstract

T

his document presents a general idea about the use of different virtual tools in English classes such as Internet, Internetbased project work and e-mails. Besides, it looks at the basic skill set required for successful use of the Internet with learners and takes a nearer look at the procedure for introducing virtual tools into the teaching and learning process of English as a foreign language. Besides, explore the area of motivation and consider how this can be increased with task assigned and figure out

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the opportunities for students to learn another language using virtual elements easily.

This document aims at sharing information based on three important issues: the first one is about how the Internet, as a source of material, promotes collaborative learning, communication and knowledge regarding an opportunity for authentic, relevant simulation work in English classes. The second topic focuses to answer the following question: how does Internetbased project work? Finally, this reflection will conclude with two more questions: what are the benefits of e-mail? and how would teachers plan a lesson using e-mail with learners during class?

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English teachers have been concerned about the way English is taught and the importance of using virtual tools at Santo Tomas University – Tunja (USTA) into the process of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL). It would be very interesting to university students, Universidad Santo Tomås, Seccional Tunja

teachers and directors to be enrolled in the use of technology because it helps them to improve different aspects such as new learning strategies.

According to Beare (2008), technology should be used as a language learning tool because students can interact better and get more control over their own learning process. Moreover, Beare et al (2008) states that teachers can get information very fast and easy in order to address students’ needs and improve motivation and effectiveness.

Currently, technology goes so fast; there is something new every day; this fact allows that the teaching and learning process starts to change because learners and teachers have different ways to communicate and collaborate. The Internet is defined as a computer system which permits that many people around the world exchange information. Linder (2002) expresses that Internet is actually many different things, each with a different pedagogical value and it is a worthless tool for language education, with the potential to become a necessary instrument for language teaching in the future. It is clear to have evidences about the big number of teachers around the world who are already using Internet in their institutions. The Internet is a useful source of material because people have the access to find and search a huge amount of information from several issues.

People can interact with the world through the use of virtual tools such as e-mails, messengers, chats, among others; that means, people can teach and learn. For example, when the teacher

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allows the learners to develop a session based on the use of messengers or chats with native English speakers, students can improve their writing in terms of spelling, vocabulary, correct grammatical structures, or idioms. Also, they can get new knowledge about a foreign culture.

Students feel comfortable because they can interact with people from several countries. Deziel (2011) points that EFL students need permanent training to be able to communicate effectively and the proficiency depends on the social interaction and students own interpretation. So, learners can get experience through the communication with other people worldwide.

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Collaborative learning is a very relevant aspect during the teaching and learning process of English as a foreign language because it helps people each other and it is a very important aspect into the use of the Internet. For example, when the students use wikis or blogs they can add, edit, change or improve information and it is collaborative work. In this case, students can become writers, critics and contributors rather than only readers. Collaborative learning helps to change the traditional strategies of learning to one of the collaboration construction of knowledge.

According to Mejias (2006), “collaborative activities can turn a classroom into a caring, supportive learning community and change the individual focus of traditional instructions to one of collaborative and shared construction of knowledge.

The Internet is an appropriate and powerful Universidad Santo TomĂĄs, Seccional Tunja

virtual and according to Murray (1999), educators have seen Internet to be made much more widely accessible to teachers and students and they are taking actions towards this goal because the access to the Internet in education is already an educational reality in some areas. Furthermore, Internet helps to improve English through collaborative learning and communication.

The Internet as a virtual tool makes English teachers think differently because they can focus their students’ attention on the issues related to collaborative learning.

Collaborative learning is based on motivation; teachers can foster the teaching process by creating new learning strategies such as the Internet. Also, it allows students to regard information about different issues, meaningful experiences and create their own place to work.

Zurita (2007) argues that collaborative group activities improve teaching and learning process, increasing motivation inside the classroom by engaging the students to get more knowledge in many fields.

Furthermore, Internet-based project work needs a collaborative component and the English teachers have the challenge to develop new ways to learn on different environments not only inside the classroom but outside, by creating an opportunity for authentic, relevant simulation work in the English classes with a variety of activities which contribute to own knowledge.

The Internet and the virtual tools available for interacting among us, allow to understand

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many concepts we might not have find new information and work with many people trying or achieving the same goals. It concluded that not only the teachers construct knowledge; they need to encourage the learners to build information for fostering collaborative work. In education, collaborative work must be grown when setting goals and reaching results, however, it just can be happen if the involved ones have a sense of commitment, responsibility, respect and they are led to one common goal, that is the sharing of experiences to gain new data and construct own

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views.

The collaborative work (CW) has several advantages. According to Palloff (2007), CW leads to self – reflect towards given issues, it also contributes personal growth, become learners responsible of the own learning process.

Furthermore, CW offers a variety of materials checked by the tutor in order to generate academic discussions. In addition, the participants are the center of the class when they are engaged in CW, Universidad Santo Tomás, Seccional Tunja

and motivate students to reflect on their own learning.

In conclusion, people around the world can come with different thoughts through the use of the Internet, which might help to reach knowledge required by sharing; consequently, sharing shows the importance of acknowledge the contribution made by people, and the respect one mist have towards others’ opinions.

How does Internet-based project work?

Linder (2002) defined Internet-based project work as an instructional approach which allows learners to solve problems or to develop several products. It means that Internet-based project work is a very suitable topic into the teaching and learning process of English because it is a structured way for teachers to begin to incorporate the Internet into the language classroom, it encourages cooperative learning and stimulates interaction, it encourages critical thinking skills and it gives the students quick access to huge information.

Internet-based project work is based on some specific stages. Linder (2002) establishes four stages: first of all, the teachers have to choose the topic: (will the learners be researching famous people, and event or an issue). After they have to make the task clear: (What information will learners need to find – biographical, factual, views and opinions?), Then, find the resources:

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(Which websites will the learners need to visit?) and finally, decide on the outcome: (What is the final purpose of the project?). Internetbased simulations: Bring real-life context to the classroom. The Internet gives students access to authentic websites that enable them to carry out these simulations. Also, the teacher must support students by offering academic resources, which might lead them towards encouraging activities, which will help them to start sharing and constructing knowledge. Teachers should help students to keep in mind the process that they have to follow for developing a specific task on internet.

What are the benefits of e-mail? How would you plan a lesson using e-mail with learners?

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Students can communicate with the teacher face to face or through e-mails. Sharma (2007) argues that the service of e-mail has become ubiquitous because most teachers have an e-mail account and most students too. Besides, he expresses that e-mails have been described as “talky-writing” because these tools contain elements of both speech and writing.

Taking into account the last information, teachers can offer learners many opportunities to communicate through e-mail and train them to use a virtual environment like chats or messengers. When teachers use e-mails, it is important that they guide students toward a same goal by having them discuss and replied among

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themselves, developing autonomy.

Sharma and Barret (2007) point some benefits of using e-mail: one of the quickest tools of sharing information across the world. People can send information anytime; if the teacher wants to send tasks, a single e-mail can be sent to the whole group of students. There is something significant, when people send or receive e-mails; both users are able to have an electronic record of information. On the other hand, E-mails help students to improve writing, get new vocabulary, and improve grammatical structures. When the teacher and the students hold responsibilities for using e-mail as an academic tool, both have to be engaged with the teaching and learning process of English as a foreign language. E-mails can be implemented in a collaborative work.

In addition, when teachers decide to use e-mails in their classes, it is relevant to let learners know about the rules of e-mail netiquette, in order to avoid mistakes or misunderstandings and when users know about netiquette, they can communicate better without offending someone or being offending.

E-mails can skill new technologies and it is able to face global challenges. There is a necessity to improve the teaching of writing as “ESL writers are known to face problems in developing their writing skills at university level” Bacha (2000).

Furthermore, specially, research shows that e-mail is a very useful vehicle for teaching English as Lee (1998) and Warschauer (1995) stated.

E-mail can be used in teacher-student, student-

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student communication including formal and informal consultations, exchange of dialogue journals and writing conferencing (Belisle, 1996). It is a structured way for teachers to begin to incorporate the Internet into the language classroom.

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Further Warschauer (1995) asserts that e-mail provides students with an excellent opportunity for real and natural communication, and supplies opportunities for independent learning which is essential for ESL writing, and also allows students to communicate easily with hundreds of other students. It can provide information, contact and stimulation, supplying the teacher with more effective and enjoyable teaching situations. In brief, e-mail enables students to have various opportunities for communication, collaboration and information. It leads students to a new world of experience .

Developing and conducting a well-designed collaborative learning via e-mail discussion is not a simple work. To be successful, it requires the integration of proper and adequate elements.

These are proposed practical strategies for the implementation of e-mail in ESL writing classroom.

- The teachers’ role and course framework - The learner’s role - The provision of the learning environment - Inclusion of assessment and assessment method - Task structure - Task content Universidad Santo Tomás, Seccional Tunja

In conclusion, e-mail offers a host of possibilities for further study in order to enhance students’ learning, increase students’ language proficiency, promote students’ positive attitude and interest, and improve students’ performance particularly in EFL writing.

References

Bacha, N. N. (2000). Developing learner’s academic writing skills in higher education: a study for educational reform.

International Journal of Arabic.English Studies. 2 (2).

Beare, Kennet (2008). Computer Use in the ESL classroom.

New York.

Belisle, R. (1996). E-mail activities in the ESL writing class.

The Internet TESL Journal, 2(12). http://iteslj.org/Articles/ Belisle-Email-html Deziel, Chris (2011). Theories in learning spoken English.

USA. Lee, E-K. (1998). The effects of e-mail mode on Korean high school students’ task based writing in English. Paper presented at the annual summer conference, Seoul, Korea.

Linder, Daniel (2002). The Internet in every classroom?

Using outside computers. University of Salamanca in Spain.

Murray, D.E. (1999). Access to Information Technology: Considerations for language educators’. Prospect: A journal of Australian TESOL 14/3: 4-12.

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Sharma, Pete and Barret, Barney (2007). Blended Learning Using Technology in and beyond the language classroom.

Thailand: Macmillan.

HOW TO FAIL ENGLISH

Warschauer, M. (1995). E-mail for English teaching.

Alexandria, VA: TESOL Publications.

Zurita, Gustavo (2007). Developing motivation collaborative learning through participatory simulation.

Universidad de Chile. http://escholarship.org/uc/item/6jv107c7. Uploaded on May 18 th, 2010. http:// Don and Williams, Anthony (2008). Wikinomics, Portfolio. Uploaded on May 18th, 2010.

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http:/ Palloff, Rena and Pratt, Keith (2007). Building Online Learning Communities. Uploaded on May 18th, 2010. http://www.slideshare.net/guest0ec059/internet-basedproject-work. Uploaded on May 18 th, 2010.

Universidad Santo Tomás, Seccional Tunja

By James A. Ruiz Teacher from the Language Department

I

t is common to read texts about improvements in all areas: how to earn more money, how to be successful in marriage, techniques to read faster and so on, but never about how to do the contrary; taking into account we are in the era of the contraries, that is, many people ask not how to get strategies to learn better but how to organize the best “soplete” or “copialina”; how getting a diploma without attending to classes or doing the best; how to make bombs more than how to solve conflicts. According to that, this text is about not how to pass a subject, but how to fail it with style, following strategies that other students have tried and had been successful to achieve their target.

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This is a reflection of my experience as teacher as in high schools as at the university.

Obviously, there are many ways to fail a subject but I will focus on some of them but if you know some other I invite you to share them with those students, only those, that want to fail English.

Before continuing, I want to remember the phrase that states that: “the one who doesn´t know the history is condemned to repeat it.”

Make friend of someone likes parties a lot.

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This is a very good and important advice if you want to fail the subject from the very beginning.

This kind of class mates is valuable because you are not going to be alone along this short process.

They invite you and go with you everywhere you want but not to class and if you try to attend to class he/she is going to make fun of you in front of others when you meet with them. Where to get to know them? Walk around the different bars near the university or, in class, the first person who invites you to drink some beers. Sometimes it is not so easy to identify them because they can talk about some normal topics, but that one who likes talking about the girls or boys in the class or the class he/she is not going to attend and the different kind of cheat he/she uses to deceive the teachers, you have found it.

such as: “the traffic was so heavy”, “my mother was at the hospital”, “I did it but I didn´t brought it”, “ my uncle died and I had to attend to the burial” , “I didn´t know”, “ you didn’t say that”, “ I had to present another quiz”, “was it for today?”, I was in a dentist appointment”, “I was in a PAAI meeting”, the teacher didn´t let us get out”, “ I didn´t understand”, “ I discovered that my mother is not my mother”, “ I sent the mail but I don’t know why you didn´t get it”, “my group didn´t want to do anything”, “the paper was in my computer but a thief robbed it or it didn´t work anymore” and so on. It is important you become an expert in this area for it is not only important to say it but how you say it, the tone of your voice, your eyes aspect. Obviously, it has to be false. Try some of them with your teachers to be identified like a liar.

Concentrate essentially in the last part of the semester To fulfill with this, do not attend to the first classes or weeks or, simply, when you attend, spend most of the class talking about your boy/girlfriend, the current reality or any topic of interest - for you . It is important that when one or two weeks to finish left come across your teacher and tell the excuses above.

Look for those perfect excuses not to present tests or papers.

Do not do anything or think your teacher is going to let you present the assignments when you want and can and think that all the teachers are similar.

When you have to present a quiz, invent excuses

Think that the subject is for super humans

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It is very important to predispose your mind and brain to learn negatively. But it is very important neither trying to learn nor practicing for the idea that if you could not learn English in the school you won´t do it at the university. You can combine this attitude with some of the behaviors above and think that English won´t be useful for you as professional.

Have a “19 century mentality” What does it mean? Thinking that the whole world goes around Spanish and that English is only to bother you and study the same of always “the verb TO BE”. According to this, do not pay attention to the English classes and always copy form the best of the class. Use the online translator and think that these translate perfectly into Spanish or English what you think; when you Universidad Santo Tomás, Seccional Tunja

are making a research try to find the best updated science advances in Spanish books. On the other hand, go on thinking that the companies only look for a good professional, no matter if he/she is bilingual or Spanish speaker only. This attitude is important specially to avoid knowing the best information about your field of study for this is written in English mainly; to reject, in the future, very competitive and good jobs, not to work with companies into the TLC, not to have the opportunity to get better studying abroad and many other reasons more.

Try to deceive your teachers in papers and quizzes To do this you have to be very smart for the high school cheats don´t work so well at university and the consequences are more serious, that is, you have to be very creative to design new ones and

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more creative. Think that the quizzes are freely recoverable like in the high school. When writing a paper copy from one classmate’s one or look for one very specialized page you don´t understand, this is very important to look like very smart, the more difficult to understand the paper is for the vocabulary and structure the easier is to fail it.

ESP

THROUGH READING

Behave like a school child

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It means to do the things above and many others.

Finally, if after reading this paper you identify with some of these aspects and you don´t want to fail English you are in time to change, to meditate in your behavior; as I told at the beginning, there are many other strategies but the best way to identify them is evaluating the results after practicing them, if those are affecting your learning and your grades are getting worse, do not do them never again.

References First image: taken from Google images http://www.salon. com/2011/03/26/ivory_tower_excerpt/ 04/07/2012 Second image “you decide” taken from http://stockfresh. com/files/i/iqoncept/m/91/484773_stock-photo-youdecide---two-way-street-sign.jpg 04/07/2012

Universidad Santo Tomás, Seccional Tunja

By M.A. Gladis Leonor Arias Rodríguez Teacher from the Language Department

Abstract

T

his paper analyzes the importance of applying readings for specific purposes (ESP) in English classes. During the reading process, students evidence their acquisition of specialized knowledge and vocabulary which is relevant for their lives as students and professionals. At the same time, students use their prior knowledge to analyze and discuss

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about specific topics according to their own point of view.

Key words: specialized reading, English for Specific Purposes (ESP)

Resumen Este escrito analiza la importancia de aplicar lecturas con propósitos específicos en las clases de inglés. Durante el proceso de lectura, los estudiantes evidencian su adquisición de conocimiento y vocabulario especializado lo cual es relevante para sus vidas como estudiantes y como profesionales. Al mismo tiempo, los estudiantes utilizan su conocimiento previo para analizar y discutir acerca de temas específicos de acuerdo a su propio punto de vista.

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Palabras claves: lectura especializada, inglés

con propósitos específicos.

ESP, general aspects and characteristics An English course based on reading about a particular field of study or English with Specific Purposes (ESP) has many benefits especially in the acquisition of precise vocabulary and knowledge, it also helps to develop the communicative skills.

In addition, it is useful to prepare people for their professional life.

ESP could be described as a specific branch of English focused on the training of students in specific areas, Anthony et al. (2007:1) points out: Universidad Santo Tomás, Seccional Tunja

“English can be used in academic studies or the teaching of English for vacation or professional purposes”, which represents the students’ necessity to acquire specific knowledge that contribute to their understanding about specific issues.

At the same time, Gatehouse (2001) identified two aspects that influenced the origin and growth of ESP as the demand of a brave new world: a revolution in linguistics and the learning focus.

It shows the importance of ESP not only as a learning approach but also as a mean of people’s development because it permits them to grow up in knowledge to face the world in a productive way.

ESP characteristics The characteristics of ESP make a real picture about its fundamental nature and benefits to guide teachers in the implementation of this approach in the classroom. Strevens (1988) defined absolute and variable characteristics and Dudley-Evans & St. John (1998: 4-5), in the Japan Conference of ESP, presented the last modifications in this way:

Absolute characteristics: - ESP is defined as the learners’ specific needs.

- ESP makes use of the underlying methodology and activities of the discipline it serves.

- ESP is centered on the language (grammar,

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lexis, register).

Variable characteristics: - ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines.

- ESP may be used in specific teaching situations, different form the general English.

- ESP is likely designed for adult learners, professional work situations, and university or secondary school levels.

- Most ESP courses assume some basic knowledge of the language system, but it also can be used with beginners.

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Additionally ESP engages communication in real contexts, thus when learners are involved in real communication, their natural strategies for language acquisition will be used, and this will allow them to learn to use the language.

According to this, Hutchinson and Walters et al.

(1987:25) say: “ESP is an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as the content and method are based on the learner’s reason for learning”; it means, when the teacher takes into account the students’ disciplines to guide class activities, they are conscious of their process of learning and the importance to learn another language. At the same time, Gatehouse et al.

(2001) points out that according to their own research experience, the teachers’ task in class is to Universidad Santo Tomás, Seccional Tunja

help students understand the discourse structure of what they were reading. This is an efficient way to understand the reading of materials and get the main ideas. It makes us think about the importance of teachers to support and motivate students’ work and also generate reading habits.

Finally, specialists in teaching, use an ESP approach as base in their syllabus, taking into account the learners’ needs or their reasons for learning and also their own personal specialized knowledge, using English for real communication.

Why using ESP in the English classes?

Reading about topics of students’ career allowed them to appropriate relevant knowledge according to their own interests and needs. At the same, specialized texts motivate students’ reading practice because they feel self-confidence with the topics.

Reading through ESP encourages students to develop some specific skills such as argue, discuss, analyze or defend their own points of view based on their own experience or knowledge. It is necessary to implement the reading process as Anthony et al. (1997) proposes (pre-reading, while-reading and post-reading) because it facilitates the students’ acquisition of new vocabulary, expressions and knowledge which are useful to understand the texts.

Finally, sharing information after reading is

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meaningful for the learning process because students can clarify doubts, verify information and create new concepts.

Teaching Is a Vocation More Than a Profession

References Anthony, L. (2007). The teacher as student in ESP course design. Keynote address presented at the 2007 International Symposium on ESP & Its Applications in Nursing and Medical English Education. Fooyin University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Dudley-Evans, T. ,& St John, M. (1998). Developing in ESP: A multidisciplinary approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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Gatehouse, K., (2001). Key Issues in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) Curriculum Development.www.khaeservice.com Strevens, P. (1988). ESP after twenty years: A re-appraisal.

In M. Tickoo (Ed.), ESP: State of the Art. Singapore: SEAMEO Regional Centre.

Hutchinson, T., Walters, A. (1987). English for Specific Purposes: A learning centered approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Universidad Santo Tomรกs, Seccional Tunja

By Sandra Vargas Teacher from the Language Department

I

have always wanted to be a teacher; I think this is a vocation more than a profession. I think I teachers who love their vocation, teach from the hearth and with the hearth, and there is not more satisfaction that to feel your students have understood the topics you have tried to explain.

I firmly believe that a person cannot be a teacher simply because he or she is a bright person. Having knowledge of a Subject Matter is important, but

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knowing the art of imparting that knowledge is imperative, almost indispensable to a teacher. I believe that teaching is an essential and noble profession. Next to parents, teachers are the most

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important foundational element in our society.

Always a community has people to be taught and teachers who accept the challenge to change the society and contribute to the formation of new professionals.

Teaching is both an art and a science. William Butler Yeats said, “Education is not the filling of the pail, but the lighting of the fire” (“Famous Quotes”, 1998-2010).

I believe education is both the lighting of the flame and the filling of the pail. Being a teacher doesn`t imply sharing knowledge with people, it implies helping people to understand new things and guiding them to use new knowledge in their real life. The art of education lights the fire, changes the mistakes on societies and also empowers people to have the wish of a better life with best opportunities.

When a society has teachers who do love their vocation, the results are good students who may wish to contribute in the development of better Universidad Santo Tomás, Seccional Tunja

conditions for their lives. Students learn best the things they love. Showing students how to love learning is a powerful, unending, and essential gift. However, to be effective, knowledge needs to be passed scientifically (the “filling of the pail”).

My purpose as a teacher is to have clear standards, evaluate students against those standards, and continue to iterate learning until mastery levels are reached in all reasonable cases. I have never met a bad child. I believe that elementary school children are all desirous of and entitled to a supportive environment. Mostly, I believe each student is an individual deserving of my best efforts and support and that the students and I share an obligation to find ways for them to gain mastery.

On the other hand, I believe that an important aspect of the art of imparting knowledge is the ability a teacher has to get to know his or her students; consequently, a teacher can develop a professional relationship with them. The way you interact with your students help them to feel confident and contribute to the development of the teacher-student rapport. I am sure the connection between student and teacher is the key to the students’ success; in relation to teaching English , I believe on making students understand managing another language will help them to open world`s doors. Teaching English is a challenge, nowadays this language is necessary but most of the students are afraid of learning the new language, for that reason I think that a good tool for English teachers is allowing the

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students feel self-confident and comfortable in English classes; motivating them to learn English is a hard process but is not an impossible aspect.

Teaching is a vocation more than a profession, as teachers we have the future of a society in our hands and it`s our duty to love our vocation and help societies to grow

Cultural Awarness In The EFL Classroom

Personal Characteristics That Will Make Me an Effective Teacher

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I have been a teacher all my life in various ways.

I have a love of learning. Sharing that learning is part of the fun. I never imagined that I would, but I love the students. I love their innocence and their simple joys and their fresh eyes as they look at the world. I love the challenge of communicating ideas and skills. I love the idea of leading a team of learners toward a goal of demonstrated mastery. I love the idea of giving these children a set of skills and an outlook that will hold them, solid, brave, and capable, as they move through the balance of their academic career and through life.

By Yadira Colmenares Pérez Teacher from the Language Department

T

he teaching of culture inside the language classroom is a must because of the fact that language is learnt socially and it depends upon several facts. According to Jule (1991), “a child growing up in the first two or three years requires interaction with other language users in order to bring the language-faculty into operation with a particular language”. The author also mentions that ‘Cultural-transmission’ is

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also important because the language a child learns is not genetically inherited, but acquired in a particular language using environment and that the child must also be physically capable of sending messages and receiving sound signals in a language. The crucial requirement appears to be the opportunity to interact with others via language (Jule, In Brown 1991).

Bearing these arguments in mind we can affirm that language- whether native or foreign, cannot be acquired in isolation; they do require a cultural context and interaction within people. However, in our academic context, some language teachers tend to think that students’ culture awareness – to support the target language learning - consists of teaching certain cultural facts related to English speaking countries’ food, festivals or just celebrations, and some language books writers do too. Let us analyze this issue a little more, to start with, we are going to try to answer this question: How can the EFL teacher contribute to foster students cultural awareness in their foreign language classes?

First of all, we should insist on the importance of the cultural component in EFL classes, off course it requires that the EFL teacher really understand what cultural awareness implies.

Then a revision of the term culture is necessary.

According to Scarino and Kohler (2003), culture is “a complex system of attitudes, values, beliefs, conventions, behaviors, practices, rituals and lifestyles of the people who make up a cultural group” p (45). In this sense, developing students’ cultural awareness competence requires more work than just telling learners few examples of cultural customs. Moreover, as Cortazzi & Jin (1999) affirm, “language and culture cannot be analyzed in isolation”. This means that these two factors cannot be separated. Teaching one of these aspects without considering the other one is not an option for language teachers.

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“Language is a way of life, it is at the foundation of our being, and interacts simultaneously with thoughts and feelings” (Brown 1994: 38) and for this reason we have reached a very important point here; teachers should not separate the teaching of language and culture in the classroom. Activities that awaken students’ interests and discussions about cultural aspects not only from English speaking countries, but also from their own culture are crucial to develop students’ critical thinking competence. This component should be included along the study of language skills too.

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The intercultural communicative competence - referring to the “ability to ensure a shared understanding by people of different social identities, and the ability to interact with people as complex human beings with multiple identities and their own individuality” (Bryam, Gribkova & Starkey, 2002, p. 10) reminds us that students should have enough linguistic competence that allows them understand that people from other parts of the world are just different, nor better or worst. Also, that respect and tolerance for others’ customs is something everybody deserves. And in our context, for Colombian ministry of education, the development of this competence is established among the sociolinguistic competence, as described in the Estándares Básicos de Competencias de Lenguaje en Idiomas Extranjeros document, which refers to the knowing of social and cultural conditions that are implicit in the language use (MEN 2006). It means that Colombian teachers are Universidad Santo Tomás, Seccional Tunja

called to address culture in our classrooms, and also, to foster the respect for the others and the differences and not only linguistic aspects.

Through this process another term appears, it is the “Interlanguage” that is acquired using different elements from languages, the first language and the target language. It is something in between which works as a tool for the learners of a second language to develop the interaction in the language itself (McLaughlin, 1993). Hence, intercultural competence plays a central part in the language learning process, so the EFL teacher can contribute to foster student’s cultural awareness in their foreign language classes by means of many different kinds of activities that point out several aspects of culture understanding it as everything we do as human beings. It is what bring us together and brought us apart.

This is why it is so important to talk about what intercultural competence is, but also reflect on the values teachers are fostering in the language classroom. This answer depends upon each particular belief about intercultural competence, so that respect and many other values will be promoted. It can be fostered by language teachers with each of their actions, as they become aware of what culture awareness implies and how it has been promoting.

Regarding the fact just mentioned above, and as a conclusion we can say that teacher’s role in the EFL classroom is of vital importance, because the teacher takes an active role and acts as a mediator (Byram and Risager, 1999). Thus, we as teachers

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have a huge responsibility to engage students to develop their understanding about other people’s culture. This objective can be also achieved through the development of different kinds of projects where learners have the opportunity to carry out research on cultural matters like specific communities’ behaviors, beliefs, costumes, etc. as result, we will find learners who really understand in a deep way their self and others’ life experiences and probably stop building or believing stereotypes and prejudices due to others’ differences and instead of that - start thinking of how to tackle these cultural facts. This is what makes critical learners and how EFL teachers can contribute to foster students’ cultural awareness.

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