FINAL REFLECTION

MY ENGLISH PROGRESS FROM 4TH ESO TO 2BAT

The first composition I wrote in 4th of ESO was one called MY DREAM, and one of the compositions I wrote this third term is the VICIOUS CIRCLE one.

In the first composition the content was a little bit immature, but good for the age of 15, the structure is simple and short, not very elaborated and the arguments are simple, from linguistic and maturity point of view. Compared to the first composition, the Vicious Circle one is pretty good structured with maturity enough for a 17-year-old girl. There is a good use of the connectors to make the composition look more "professional". 

Obviously my vocabulary has improved since 4th of ESO, as I've learned many new words, expressions, phrasal verbs, etcetera. That's a way to have more "maturity" in compositions, that's why this year's compositions look more mature.

I don't have any video of an oral presentation from 4th of ESO, but I can remember I made one or two with Míriam and Sandra. My accent was not an English accent but it could be understood. I always felt so nervous talking in front of the class and read what was on my paper, because nerves made me forget what I had to say. The structure was good, as I didn't make it on my own but with two other people. The arguments were simple, as the ones in my compositions, and the linguistic of them were good because, as I've said before, we used the dictionary to make our arguments sound better. 

The last oral presentation I've made (this year) is the RESEARCH PAPER ORAL PRESENTATION, which I wasn't able to publish when I had to. In the research paper presentation I remember to be nervous, but I hadn't got to read any paper, because it was a week or two after the real presentation (in Catalan) and I remembered all I had to say word by word; and it was a work I had been doing for so long, so I knew what to say. The arguments were good structured as the presentation, and even feeling nervous I thing it sounded pretty good. Obviously there was maturity in the content, as it was a research paper, and the linguistic arguments were good to.

My fluency has evolved in two years, as now I practice more English talking with my friends and working on summer. The pronunciation has also evolved, as practicing makes you improve.

MY ENGLISH COMPETENCE IN 2016

My best oral production has to be the Research Paper one, as it was the one I knew more, I worked on more and the one I loved to do. I can't link my research paper oral presentation because I really don't know where the video is.

The main reason I think it is my best oral work is because I was happy to talk about something I liked and knew about, because other oral presentations were more simple and not as interesting as this one. I think everybody liked to do this presentation as they knew it was going to be easy to talk for 5 minutes of something you really know about. 

My best writing production has to be the SLAVES? composition. Maybe it's not the longest one, or the one with better vocabulary and expressions; but it was a composition I loved to write. I loved it because I could express what I thought about our nowadays system and relate it to what we were doing. I got really inspired when I read the question Do you want to be forever young? I just started thinking and the words came out of me automatically.

I also used a good vocabulary and think the structure is good for what I was trying to say. The arguments are simple but clear, and linguistically talking they are good structured and with appropriate vocabulary. 

AN E-MAIL TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing in order to complain about the application of some human rights in a few countries. Basic rights such as education and health, that should be garanteed are being violated in countries like Syria.

Since the war broke out five years ago, chiltren are not able to go to schools or hospitals or have the basic education they need for themselves.

As the Human Rights Committee, you should act in front of that kind of injustice, yet I know it is not easy to reach those countries with dictatorships and act there given that they control it all.

I hope one day peace will come to our world with the help of organizations such as the UNO and the Human Rights in view of the fact that humans deserve to give up wars and call for peace. New generations should not pay for our actions.

To sum up, I would say that human rights should be respected everywhere and by everyone, seeing that this is one of the big problems our society has gone through.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Yours faithfully,

Anne Smith

221 B, Baker Street

654 889 765

E-MAIL: annesmmith@gmail.com

RAPE AND MURDER OF DALIT WOMAN HIGHLIGHTS PERSISTENCE OF CASTE, GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE

Link: http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/press-releases/rape-and-murder-of-dalit-woman-highlights-persistence-of-caste-gender-based-violence 

A law student was found dead in her house the 28 of April. The autopsy found 38 wounds in the body, signs of rape and that her intestines had been partially removed. Three man had been retained for being suspected. 

The police is accused by Amnesty International India because of their failures acting in front of violence cases against woman.

There were many other complains about this situation, as it wasn’t the first time the family was involved in harassing and threatening problems and ignored by the police. 

"Dalit women face multiple levels of discrimination from the community and often from the police. The Kerala government must hold the police accountable for any inaction on their part,” said Rekha Raj."

It seems unbelievable that there is still sexual discrimination in some countries, because nowadays in India man are still above women. This news reflects what it means to be ignored, because it is said that the family have had some problems before with the neighbours, and others like threatening. 

It is so sad to think about the difference of the conception of the woman in each part of the world. Humans are equal, not for being a male or a female you are better or worst, this isn’t the point. The best way to pass trough this may be starting to look women with some other eyes, not like they are the ones who have to stay at home just cleaning but being good doctors, policewomen and important businesswomen.

Vocabulary: wounds, submit, harass, threat

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FREE TIME OR MONEY?

Well, maybe just reading the title anyone would say of course NO; but let’s analyse the benefits and the disadvantages. 

First of all, talking about benefits, we should say the most important one (sadly) is the money. By working you earn some money and, everyone knows teenagers at eighteen years old spend money and not just a little bit, from going to parties to buying clothes, let’s say we need it so we don’t have to ask our parents for money and, what’s more, we don’t have to justify what we do with it. The second benefit I would like to highlight is that, by working, you get labour experience and that increases your contact with the society, and as a teenager everyone should know what means to work for eight hours and then have your money because, when you have it in your hand the first word that comes to your mind should be: it was worth it.

Secondly I will expose the disadvantages of working. Firstly we have to recognise that if we work, we can’t go to the beach as much as we would like to, we can’t go party as much as we would do, and all that sort of things. Working takes free time out of your calendar. Another disadvantage is, providing that probably most of your friends work by the time you do, if your timetables don’t happen to meet, you may not see each other for two months.

To sum up i should say I am on the position to say yes to work, because even if you haven’t that much of free time, you still have a little and, what’s more, you have money to pay your own things so you don’t have to ask your parents.

"LET'S GET READY FOR SUMMER"

Why do people do the, here called, “operación bikini”? Is it for themselves or for others? When a girl or a boy says, hey I’m going to get ready for summer, because I should loose some weight! Do they say it because they feel it, or because society makes them feel it? 

Sincerely, I don’t think they really do it for themselves (I am included in all this). Society makes us think that we don’t like our body, because they make you compare yourself to others, to skinny girls and fit boys. 

                                                       

Most people don’t see it. Why? Because of the subliminal advertising. We are all day exposed to images of boys and girls half naked, but not any boy or girl; models. They are what’s considered perfection in a body in our society. We should ask ourselves: is that what we like?

Maybe sometimes you want to loose weight, or win weight; because there are the two extremes, because you want to feel good and comfortable with your body, not with others. This is the excuse of most people (including me). But we really don’t do it to feel comfortable with ourselves but in public, so with others. It really is sad, but society really gets into our minds and makes us feel we like what we maybe don’t do.

VICIOUS CIRCLE

Well, as you can tell we are in second of “Batxillerat” and next year we will be in university studying new things, with new people, new surroundings, etcetera. 

However, studying means paying money, and providing that our parents would probably have to pay all we will spend, maybe it would be better to work on summer and earn some money. 

Nowadays to work in places such as supermarkets, camping and restaurants near the beach requires knowing languages such as English, French, German or Dutch. We will have to stop here to think for a moment: do schools teach us many languages to use? The answer is YES. Sometimes we don’t really appreciate what schools are giving to the community by showing students how to say few things in many languages, but it’s really worth it (even if when we are in school we thing, OK, this is not even going to be useful for me ever...).

To speak an international language fluently means to have the chance to relate to more tourists and people and to have more chances to get a good job. But it’s not everything about the job and the money. It is also for the culture, because, by learning a new language you are getting yourself into a new culture and history; and this is amazing and, at the same time, so useful to travel and be able to communicate and meet new people and, by the time, get more chances of getting jobs.

Is it just me, or everything ends talking about money, and so to capitalism?

OKLAHOMA COURT: ORAL SEX IS NOT RAPE IF VICTIM IS UNCONSCIOUS FROM DRINKING

Link: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/apr/27/oral-sex-rape-ruling-tulsa-oklahoma-alcohol-consent 

An Oklahoma court stated "law doesn’t criminalize oral sex with a victim who is completely unconscious". 

Critics say the judicial system is engaged in victim-blaming. 

This cased involved a 17-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl. he volunteered to took her home after have been drinking in a party. It was clear the girl was badly intoxicated.

After the sexual assault examination DNA of the boy have been found in her legs and mouth, and the boy had been charged with forcible oral sodomy. The trial judge dismissed the case, and later on they affirmed that prosecutors could not apply the law to a victim who was incapacitated by alcohol. 

I’ve chosen this news just because the title got me crazy. Does that means that if anyone intoxicates you with something like alcohol, in Oklahoma, can force you to do anything related to sex? This is ridiculous. 

It is obvious that someone under the effects of alcohol is not able to defend him/herself, not even to think if what he/she is doing is right; but no one would rape or abuse of another person without wanting it. I say that because even if you are intoxicated, you don’t think to start taking advantage of people, this just happens to sick people that would do this even in normal mood. 

To come back from a party with an intoxicated girl doesn’t not means that you have to take her seriously, as you are aware she’s under the effects of alcohol. When someone is in this state, what should be done is take him/her to the hospital to have medical care.

Vocabulary: stunned, state, outrage, engage, patchwork