Post 10: English Language Challenges

As you can see, first semester 2017 is ending right now! And English Intermediate is ending too, our last English course. But English in our daily life is not the end, because we’re overwhelmed of this language in every moment.

English Intermediate was a good experience, because I think that I could improve several English skills: writing, reading, speaking and listening-comprehension. This is the main reason that I love this subject, because I had to practice different abilities with creative and pedagogical methods. I think the use of blog was funny, because we’ve created a little blog community with our faculty’s classmates, and I’ve read a lot of amusing and interesting blog posts!

Some aspects of my English must be improved, particularly my awfully speaking and listening-comprehension skills. Anyway, I’m very young so I have a lot of time to practice, like hearing podcasts and talking with friends.

Indeed, I met a Faroese girl that speaks English, and outside the English class I’m using and practicing with her. She doesn’t talk native English, in fact, her first language is Faroese and Danish, but English is very easy for her.

The life has a lot of projects, maybe when I’m a sociologist in some years; I’m going to need an excellent English if I want to read or write any updated social sciences investigation paper, because all the scientific literature is in English, or if I want to travel to any English-speaking country. Otherwise, I will die in trying! Maybe I will get lost in a foreign country if I can’t communicate with someone!

See you guys and I hope that you’ve enjoyed in my English blog.

Post 9: Changes to my Study Programme

Recently, in our career programme, Department of Sociology has implemented new changes in the curriculum. Honestly, I’m not very informed about the details, but I know some main changes: principally in the first year in sociology, so these changes won’t affect me in the next years.

Anyway, I think it’s important to have a constantly renewal in our curriculum, because we need to update about new sociological knowledge and methods. In our case, we are much updated about that, but I will make changes about the structure of our optative courses. First, all the “specialized sociologies” like sociology of culture, sociology of organizations and economical sociology must be optional, in the same way of the other optative courses.

About the workload and length of studies are fine (I’m unaware about the final process in my career: titling and thesis), but I will recommend about the possibility to get the master’s degree in our faculty only in one year, if you come from our faculty: so, you could have your sociology degree + master degree in only six years. Maybe, our department could implement some modifications in fifth and last year of our degree, like doing one thesis valid to degree and postgraduate. But now you can do this in seven years.

Faculty facilities are fine too, but I think that we need a bigger library, with reading and study rooms in groups.

The use of technology is important in our career, because when we learn about quantitative methods we use computer programmes, but we don’t have access. We need a free access in theses computer programmes.

Finally, about teaching methods it depends on each teacher, but I think that it’s important to have several instances in our learning, like field visits. In addition, teachers must complement other ways in evaluations and not only do writing exams.

Post 8: Winter Holidays

Winter holidays is coming soon! I think that I've been waiting for holidays since about one month ago. Sometimes, the university dynamic is tiring, because you must do and achieve a lot of responsibilities in short-term. Anyway, I like my career and the university life, but I think that we need to rest.

First, in my winter holidays I want to go to the South of Chile. Maybe I’m going to travel to Puerto Varas and Valdivia, because I love these cities. In Valdivia, I want to visit Fog Fort, the Archeological Museum of the Universidad Austral de Chile, take a cold swim in Llanquihue Lake and then drink a hot cup of coffee. Finally, I will visit and have a trekking day on National Park Vicente Pérez Rosales. To read a good book while I'm enjoying in these wonderful landscapes.

At the same time, I want to visit my friends in these cities. To have a good time with them telling stories, talking about several issues, drinking beer and cooking “chorrillana” (French fries with sausages, bell pepper and onion). Perhaps I will go with my girlfriend, Daniela, if she doesn’t work in July.

I’m not planning to work in winter, because I want to have a relax time with my friends, but at the end of July, probably I’m going to give a lecture in a biblical and theological school, so I need to prepare the study material and the expositions about that: I must prepare the lectures, contents, powerpoint presentations and learn with others.