smallstepsforachange-blog

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English in English

Wouldn’t it be nice to speak English with ease?  Even though you might have the best English teacher in the world, or you might have attended the best course, this doesn't provide you with the communication and practice that you need to be able to fully understand the language.

An English immersion program is the best way to learn the language. I really think that  English is amongst many languages that prove to be particularly difficult to learn, largely due to the fact that grammatical rules are inconsistent in the language. Hence, immersion becomes particularly effective in providing the necessary practice on a daily basis.

This is why, in my opinion, the initiative from de Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) regarding teaching English in English is a very good strategy. Most of my years of school, I was taught English through a grammar-translation method and I did not get the chance to really speak the language. As a consequence, my level of English was very basic during my first year of college. However, through the immersion of this program, I was able to upgrade my language skills and become more fluent. Therefore, implementing this strategy in fifth and sixth grade is a great opportunity to create connections between the students and the language. So, in the future, students can be able to communicate their ideas and thoughts without any trouble

.I like that the government is showing their interest in how students are acquiring a new second language. Chile is becoming a country with strong connections among foreign countries. That is why it is important that as a nation we develop a high level of proficiency in the universal language.

Even though the initiative is interesting, refreshing and I’m looking forward to its implementation, there are some concerns. Most of the teacher has used to their methodologies, and trying to change an old generation teacher’s mind is quite hard. Also, when applying teacher needs to be really careful and bear in mind the pressure they are putting onto their students. English is very challenging, so students can be afraid of using it and demotivated. These are little things that can really affect the implementation of this strategy. I think teachers should attend workshops where they are provided with examples and strategies to carry out this project. From that point, it is a great opportunity for universities to promote those workshops and also to train the pre-service teacher into such modality. 

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Cellphone: A resource for EFL classroom

Have you ever thought about using a mobile phone in the lesson once you become a teacher? In today’s society cell phones are an excellent resource to engage students with the content. All around the world, almost every student possesses a mobile phone so that the use of them in the classroom lead to an increase in the relevance of an assignment. Cell phones help to make lessons more communicative, the result of not including them is decreasing students’ participation. If the teachers adjust their teaching to include these devices, they will realise cell phones provide a wide range of activities. That is why newly trained teachers should implement new strategies and improve their teaching practices.

First, designing project-based tasks including the mobile phone promote students an inherent interest in the assignments. When students develop projects and construct material on their own, the learning process becomes exciting and meaningful. That means teachers need to be prepared to apply different strategies to incorporate more practical works to engage students. Harmer stated that when students are not motivated they can easily turn into a problem and disrupt the normal process of the classroom (as cited in Nihat, 2008, p 34) Considering that, cell phones a good strategy to allow students to construct their knowledge by using their imagination and creativity to accomplish the outcomes for the class. Furthermore, cell phones can be used in a variety of forms not only in a personal manner but also in an EFL classroom. For instance, some of the features help students to strengthen their language skills and engage them with the subject matter. According to Chiverton (2017), when teachers use mobile phones in the classrooms it improves the relevance of the assignment and increases the interest of the students in the content (p 2). Therefore, teachers should not be afraid of applying mobile phones; instead, they have to use it as an opportunity to improve the learning process and their teaching practices.

Second, through mobile phones, students experience and practise different communicative language functions. Students in the 21st-century need to developed several competencies to be successful in the future, being able to communicate in another language is one of the most important. An illustration to build communication in EFL classrooms is using drama projects in an efficient way, which means to let students practise and get familiar with the four language skills and some communicative functions, such as narration and decision-making. Nihat (2008) stated that "a person with communicative competence will know how to do things in English, such as making a purchase, asking for directions, persuading someone and expressing personal feelings." This requires the use of real situations where students can interact and use the language. In that way, teachers should be aware of how to implement authentic language activities. Moreover, during 21st-century students' cell phones became inseparable accessories for students. Then, they may be used to promote educational initiatives and to enhance students communication and collaboration skills. Therefore, mobile phones can be considered as a genuinely global tool for students to communicate and interact (Chiverton, 2017).  That is why cell phones should be used by teachers in an EFL classroom.

Finally, mobile phones are an excellent tool to develop several teaching styles and activities. Adapting lessons to be mobile friended is a hard task for teachers, but the use of cell phones supplement and intensify English language learning in today’s world. For example, nowadays cell phones have many features such a camera, a microphone, a speaker, which allow teachers to develop different projects. Describing your phone, record your voice, read a text, a digital story and a video project are some excellent examples of how to use mobile phones in a lesson.  According to Chiverton (2017), when you are in an environment with limited resources, you can create many learning possibilities by using one phone and already plan activity (p 12). Also, mobile phones no only address problems such as lack of activities and students motivation, but also it helps to control students behaviour and anxiety. In large class sizes, it is common to confront these issues, and sometimes the activities prepared seems not to be enough help. Chiverton (2017) claims that by using cell phones, teachers can promote autonomous learning and help to reduce the affective filter (p 12). Which is very gratifying once you watch your students working instead of disrupting the class.  

Cell phones are a controversial resource because some schools have forbidden them others has limited resources and so the students. However, there is no reason to not include mobile phones in homework or home project. Also, it is not necessary to have many phones or use them in every class; they can be used as supplemental material in the classroom. Nevertheless, the way mobile phone help teachers to adapt to this new era by providing motivation to the students, interaction with authentic language and a variety of activities, is a matter that the system should take in consideration. In that way, teachers will be supported in the implementation of new strategies that are technology-based, and they will improve their teaching practices adapting them to the late century.

References

Chiverton, S. (2017). Cell Phones for Low-Resource Environments. English Teaching Forum. Retrieved from https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/etf_55_2_p02-13.pdf  Nihat, S. (2008). Using Mobile Phone Technology in EFL Classes. English Teaching Forum. Retrieved from https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/08-46-4-f.pdf

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“Yerbs”

INTRODUCTION

Since ancient times, people looked for medicine in nature to cure diseases. As there was little information regarding the reasons for the illnesses, knowledge of plants and how they can be utilized as a cure, the use of medicinal plants was mostly instinctive or witchcraft. That is to say, everything was based on experience or magic. However, across every historical period, there was a special interest to identify and record the healing properties of several medicinal plants. Also, communities and societies along the years passed on to one another the knowledge and benefits of using plants, which lead to updating the notes on the plants' properties and to discover new ones, until present days. Therefore, it is not surprising that nowadays with the rise of technology and the upgraded consciousness about the environment, people started a tendency of taking care of human health in a safer and natural way. Moreover, since the decreasing efficacy of synthetic drugs, people may rely more on medicinal plants. In addition, people need to acknowledge that the lack of money and poor accesses to conventional health are no reason to left any illness without treatment. Alternative medicine or the use of herbs and plants can be a better option to get their body and soul healthy.

As most people have access to mobile phones and spend a big part of their time using apps. We developed a project that consists in the creation of an app where people can easily find medicinal plants, pictures that help to identify them, recipes and their healing properties.

RESEARCH

This research is based on the very best experts every person has in their houses, the grandparents. Also, it was used the book of native plants provided by the Ministry of Health and Clara Valenzuela’s blog. In the process of collecting information, we travelled to Panimavida in the search of Don Mario, Loreto’s grandfather. Don Mario is the owner of several hectares where he has planted medicinal plants and herbs. Using his charming personality, he guided us through the territory explaining to us what the plants were and their uses. There, we discovered, for example, how Quillay is used for making soap or shampoo or how Canelos was used by the Mapuches and the properties it has. We took a lot of pictures and little examples of the plants. In the second part of the research, we review the text provided by the government. Here they provided a long list of herbs, plants and trees with their respective description, technical features, habitat, uses and recommendations. The third method was the use of an online source called Clara Valenzuela’s blog here we found how to prepare the plants to take advantage of their properties.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROJECT

To create the app we use a webpage called (name of the page). This website provides the opportunity to create a free app and then distribute (premium option) it in the common platform to download it (Google Play and App Store). The process to create the app was long and very complex. Although we wanted the app to be user-friendly and simple, creating it was the opposite. Every detail counted, so we needed to be very specific with the pages we wanted to add, the attachments, the tools and the appearance.

Step one, we started by designing a logo and a picture that represented the name and the content we wanted to provide.

Step two, we created a simple layout of the front of the app.

Step three, we created specific pages with the information of the plants. For example, their names, a picture, their uses, and how to prepare them. After that, we created a menu list that links the pages to the main menu.

Step four, we added a gallery with the pictures taken in Don Mario’s place.

Even though it seems like a short process, the time invested and the patient was enormous.

CONCLUSION AND FINAL THOUGHTS

As discussed, uncountable illnesses have been affecting people for years. This has led to many ancient cultures to develop their knowledge of cures provided by plants. Nowadays, plants and herbs are not only considered as symbols of beauty and decoration for homes but also as one of the most powerful and world-wide known medicine for long-lived health. Taking into consideration how useful plants can be, the knowledge society has about it, must be spread around the world.“Yerbs”, is an App created by students from the Universidad de Talca in order to provoke an “open wide mind” on their educational institution and community to promote the use of plants and herbs for medicinal purposes mainly.

Doing research on this topic, meeting Don Mario and working as a team was extraordinary. We got familiar with plants names we did not know and also with the value these providers of healthcare have. Therefore, it is important that people know these plants are available in many places around the cities of Chile and the world.

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Why being so negative on organic farming?

It is well-known that farming is in decline and the fast-growing population is not helping. However, in today’s society, there are many negative assumptions on agricultural development. 

In social media, people often see headlines regarding the use of pesticides or biologically altered seeds. For Instance, “pesticides are killing people” or “transgenic food is bad for health”. Do not take this the wrong way. the use of altered products might be the cause of many diseases. Although,

“90 percent of scientists believe G.M.O.s are safe” (Brody, J. 2018),

we should be concerned about the issues that may come along with the consumption of G.M.Os (Genetically Modified Organisms). Nevertheless, these topics lead to misconceptions towards today’s agriculture.

People often believe that farmers do an awful job to protect the planet by using genetically modified products to grow plants. Which is not true, because there are two types of farming. According to the Sustainable Table team, 

“The big difference between organic and industrialised farming is that industrialised farming relies on chemical inputs and a highly mechanised approach, whereas organics is about farming holistically, recognising that we are part of a broader ecosystem.“

So what is really causing the decline? What most of us do not know, is that we are causing the decay of the farming industry. As a society, we promote negative attitudes towards the idea of being a farmer, and of the production of crops. In the next video, Altech (2011) shows us how the media focus on the negative aspects of agriculture. (1:36 min)

Farming as a profession is not well seen. In fact, Tanya (2013) argues that

“The only way of making farming appealing to the youth is by making it seem trendy” 

Also, we promote the idea that organic food is expensive and it not beneficial. However, Jennifer Chait (2018) explains how organic food is beneficial for the environment, our health and our economy. 

“Organic food can be expensive, but plenty of organic food is affordable. In many cases, organic food may cost less than conventional food.”

“Rodale Institute’s The Farming Systems Trial, the longest ever research done on organics, shows that organics can feed the world while providing environmental benefits conventional food cannot.” 

In addition, there is a lack of information on how beneficial growing your own food is and the new technologies that are being used to protect the world. Modern agriculture needs a lot of support from us. Instead of sharing posts on how agriculture can damage our health, we should get informed and support research and innovation. For instance, wefeedtheworld.org provides

 “extraordinary images and their incredible stories aim to forge a new and positive narrative about the farmers who really feed the world and demonstrate how small-scale farming not only provides the majority of the world’s food but also offers solutions to many other planetary crises. “

In that way, we can encourage people to get involved in change and maybe convince society to become farmers.