Sample Post

Today I'm going to write about a very useful link: www.linguee.es This is an online dictionary and translator and it's interesting how they are able to offer more than 100 million translations made by humans. Usually, online translators are not reliable because they offer translations made by machines but this website is different. Here you can find examples of how the word or phrase you're looking for has been translated in bilingual websites like the ones companies, international organizations and universities have.

I visit this website every single day, especially when I'm translating and also to check if the translation I want to use is the most suitable.

I really like this website because up to this point, I've always found what I'm looking for. Apart from that, as you can find many examples, you can decide what translation to use and see where that translation has been used. This website shows you the paragraph where the word or phrase appears so the context helps a lot.
If you want to try this website, the creators recommend to look for phrases instead of single words.

Blog Session 3 Instructions

Dear Class,

Today, you get to choose one more time. Please choose one of these topics:

A career-related website that you enjoy visiting
a) Provide the link
b) Describe the website (sections, features, etc.)
c) Say how often you visit the site
d) Explain why you like the site


A person/expert on your field that you admire
a) Who she/he is (short biography)
b) What she/he has done (examples of their work)
c) Why you like her/him
d) Include his/her image

Remember to write 130 words minimum and add comments on at least 3 of your classmates' blogs.

Belén

Sample Post

Dear All,

I’m going to write about a singer, who I first listened to because of the film “Fast & Furious 5”, which is not the kind of film I like but as Brazil is the setting, and I’m interested in Brazilian culture, I decided to give it a try plus I had nothing else to watch that day.

This singer is called Obando D2 and in this song he sings with a girl called Claudia but I haven't found out who she is. The name of the song is “Desafabo deixa eu dizer”, which means “Relief let me tell you” or something like that. I know very little about this singer but I think he's been singing for a long time because he has more than one hundred songs. He’s in hip-hop and he’s just one of many singers who rap about the situation in Brazil, about poverty and crime in the favelas. After listening to some of his songs I can say this is my favourite song because of the lyrics, as you could read in the video, he talks about what is to live in a favela and how he’d like Brazil to be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q47n56bb3Fw

I know this is only about one singer but I can’t help including Antonio Carlos Jobim, one of my favourite bossa nova singers. Here you have my favourite song by him, “Desafinado” or "Out of tune"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmuaIcin-YM

Belén

Blog Session 2

Dear Class,

This is the topic for today's blog:

A singer/band you like or concert/exhibition you've been to

Band / Singer
- name
- what do you know about them?
- what type of music do they play?
- why do you like this artist/band?
- what's your favorite song? why?
- publish a picture or video
Concert/Exhibition 

- what was it?
- when did you go?
- where was it?
- why did you like it?
- mention more details about it
- publish a related picture or video



Remember to write 120 words minimum and make 3 comments on your classmates posts.

Good luck!

Sample Post

My autobiography

My full name is María Belén Farías Gutiérrez but nobody calls me María Belén. I’m Belén, a single Chilean woman, I’m 32 years-old and I live in Santiago. I’m from Chile and I was born in the capital city, on a rainy day, on May 22^nd, 1979. We’re a five-member family, my parents plus my brother, sister and I; and both my sister and brother are older than me. My brother Felipe is the oldest and then my oldest sister, Male, which makes me the youngest. I also have a younger step-brother, Mauricio, who’s 16 and a younger half-sister, Mariajosé, who’s 4. My parents got divorced in 2004 and in the same year I left home and went travelling to Europe for a couple of months so I could visit some of my friends there.

I studied in the same school for twelve years and I’m still in contact with most of my classmates. After that, when I was 17, I worked sporadically and studied English for a year because I didn’t know what to study as a career but I finally decided I wanted to be a translator. I graduated as a translator in 2001 and then studied Pedagogía en inglés so I became an English teacher in 2005.

I really like music and sports. I play capoeira, practice yoga and rock climbing but I can’t go climbing as often as I’d like to. I love dancing too and I don’t mind trying to learn new rhythms. I enjoy singing and I try to learn new songs in different languages. Also, I’ve tried to learn how to play some instruments but regularly I just play the tambourine.

Blog Session 1 Instructions

My autobiography

Please write about yourself and include the following:

a) Birth info
b) Studies info (Elementary, Secondary School and University)
c) Family info
d) Hobbies
e) Others

You have to write 120 words minimum and make comments on three of your classmates' posts.

Good luck!

Belén

Welcome back to English

Dear All,

Hope enjoy this semester and use what you know about the English language. Remember to identify your objectives so you can really see the progress you can make.

After creating your own blog, you will post every week. Even if you can't come to the class where you writeyour  post, you have 48 hours to write it so I can evaluate it.

Hope you enjoy the topics and the activities.

Best,

Belén