New horizons, new experiences, new PLEs!!

At the end of this last semester there is something I need to add to my PLE: overseas communication!! Among all the people involved in my language learning I should add the Italian and American peers with whom I worked to create the final wiki page of the course blog. It is actually thanks to them all that I improved my knowledge of the American culture and I had the chance to appreciate intercultural communication!!

We're all pieces of a puzzle..

source

Has this last semester at university been useful for improving my intercultural competence and my knowledge of English? The answer is: yes, definitely!! This English course has given me the chance to work with students of different countries and share my ideas with them: having direct contact with other cultures is, in my opinion, the best way to achieve awareness of both their and my way of living. I'm just at the beginning of the process to acquire more cultural consciousness, that's true, but I do believe this course is a little piece of a great puzzle which, in the end, will show all its splendor!

This course has helped me develop my intercultural competence in many different ways:

1. It aroused my interest in a different culture: talking with native American people on immigration and politics made me appreciate and notice differences and similarities and re-consider both my own and their culture from a wider standpoint.

2. It helped me get to know new aspects of American culture: thanks to the exchange I broadened my knowledge on the American electoral and education systems, as well as on the way of living and habits of American young people.

3. It helped me explain and understand my own culture, as well as the American culture, by looking at them from a different standpoint: for instance, I had always considered quite nonsense the fact that American students can graduate in two different fields (medicine and German for example); however, after talking with native people and carrying on research on the university system in the US I understood that in this way students can get wider knowledge in many different areas, thus broadening their horizons. It was by changing standpoint that I could reconsider the other culture and appreciate some of its differences; similarly, modifying the starting point of view was equally important everytime I needed to explain my own culture to people from a different culture: to explain the Italian university system, for instance, I needed to start from their perspective trying to broaden it, so that they could understand my own point of view despite some differences.

4. It aroused my interest in conversating with people from other countries: I do believe there's much to know from the direct contact with foreign people, so I tried to make them feel I was much interested in what they were saying. I think this is always the best way to keep conversation going and to enjoy it!

5. It helped me learn new words and expressions in English and improve my reading and writing skills: more specifically, as I collaborated in editing two wiki pages (one on the political elections both in the USA and in Italy, the other on the American and Italian University systems), I learnt many words belonging to the corrspondent semantic areas, like for example "political platform", "caucus" etc.. What's more, in order to do some research on these two topics and to edit the final wiki page I had to read, select and re-arrange the materials I had found out on the Web.

Drawing some conclusion at the end of this semester is not easy, since this exchange has helped me work on many different communicative skills: anyway, above all it has given me much enthusiasm in communicating, sharing experiences and collaborating with other people using English as a means for expression. That's another piece of my ICC puzzle... Now I do need to keep up the good job!

Are we maybe generalizing too much?

source

According to a dossier published on 30. October 2007 by Caritas, immigrants in Italy are up to now almost 4 millions: their number has enormously increased in the last year, in so much that Italy is now the third European country where a large number of immigrants have settled (Germany and Spain have respectively more than 7 and 4 million immigrants).

What is the general attititude on Italian citiziens to immigrants? According to recent statistics and surveys, while many Italians consider immigrant people as a necessary resource for our economy, on the other side almost 48% of the population think that immigrants are the main reason of social uncertainty and of criminality (source). What strikes me in these results is that even in the first case immigrants are seen in terms of economic income, not as human beings with a specific culture, tradition or way of living. They are often considered as potential workers, but not as people having a family, dreams or projects. I always take offence when I hear people talking of immigrants as a mere working force or as criminals: are we maybe generalizing too much? As my boyfriend comes from Albania I have the great chance to get to know a reality which is different from ours, but also different from the general idea which is portayed by stereotypes and prejudices. People coming from different countries are exactly like us: they often have other ways of living or different beliefs, that's true, but they are still people whose qualities are worth to be known and appreciated. Criminals are everywhere and belong to any ethnicity or motherland, so please stop generalizing. I'm truly convinced that any of us is different from the others, and there's no greatest chance than discovering what other people have to offer you. That's why whenever I hear racist comments like "Go back home, you all immigrants", I cannot but take offence to such marrow-minded attitude.

I would like to point out something more: according to the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary the word immigrant refers to "a person who has come to a different country in order to live there permanently". I've noticed that immigrants are often thought as those people who come from the poorest countries of the world (mainly as illigal immigrants) and then eventually become criminals. Thus, the word immigrant often has a very negative connotation. What I would like to point out is that there cannot be "First class" or "Third class" immigrants: even people from Germany, or the States, or the UK who come and settle here are, according to the etymology of the word itself, "immigrants". What we could try to do is to separate this generalized negative connotation from the actual status of an immigrant person. Using the right expressions and connotations could be a way to smooth our suspiciousness and fears..

Immigration is a very urgent issue both in America and Italy: however, while America has a very long history of immigration, Italy is at the beginning of a long-lasting process which is now giving rise to fears and doubts. I do think that a comparison with the American experience could help us not only become aware of the differencies between the policies of both countries, but also have a more rational approach to the issue.

Back in the jungle..

Back in the press jungle..trying to understand what's going on the politics front..analyzing different newspapers and focusing on specific issues..

The most authoritative newspaper in Italy, namely the Corriere della Sera, focuses its articles in its section "Politics" on the lean presence of women in the current Italian campaign. What a difference with the United States (if we can venture to make a comparison between the two countries..), where a woman appears strong enough to lead a huge and powerful country! According to the journalist Maria Laura Rodotà (link to the article), the few women who're actually taking part in the campaign have not gone up in the voters' estimation: as they do not appear as potential leaders, Italians are seemingly going to prefer a male candidate.. once more, achieving a role in Italian politics is quite hard for women..

Surfing on the website of the Corriere della Sera I had a look at the results of some opinion surveys: according to a recent poll, for instance, Italian young people are going to cast more votes to the Partito Democratico (31,4%), followed by the Partito delle Libertà (21,7%) and Lega Nord (15,2 %). This result could also be linked to the increased popularity of Walter Veltroni (the leader of the Pd) who, according to another survey, seems to inspire more confidence than his competitor Silvio Berlusconi (the leader of the Pdl): 50% of preference vs 41%, without taking into account the political predisposition of the interviewees.

Even though all the newspapers I visted offer articles on several issues (from the campaign most urgent themes to the problems and doubts connected to the current electoral system..), on these very last days almost all of them focus on two main themes:

1. the Alitalia affair: the crisis involving the Italian national airline company takes nuances of a political debate. Berlusconi has namely urged a national group formed by Italian companies and banks, as well as his own children, to join a rescue operation. However, as the newspaper Repubblica suggests, nothing is really sure about that yet, since Italian companies seem to take their distance from this initiative. All this is giving rise to debates on the political level: while Berlusconi seems to present himself as the potential "rescuer" of Alitalia, his competitors harshly criticize his conduct, claiming that he revealed the names of some Italian companies which would take part in the operation, even though these companies had not given their consent at all. Once more, politics is to be found everywhere..

2. debates on Tv between the candidates: "face to face" discussions are much talked of on these last days, since they increase polemics. If Berlusconi refuses to participate to a Tv program, according to the rule of fairness in political campaign, his competitor has to stay at home as well. Ok, that's fair..but why do we still need to argue about that?! Much ado about nothing..

News from the Usa, in brief..

The New York Times reports an interview with Hillary Clinton on the urgent theme of health care costs: if elected, the ex First Lady would reduce the cost of health insurance to no more than 10% of American's income, some policies now costing even more than 16% of median income.

Obama's speech on race in Philadelphia on March 18, 2008 is still at the core of some articles both in the New York Times and Usa Today: this speech was seen as necessary after the anti-American remarks by Obama's former pastor, Rev. Wright. In his speech, the Democratic candidate criticizes the pastor's incendiary remarks and tries to put the issue behind him.

More on the USA elections: according to the german newspaper die Zeit the Republican candidate McCain could take advantage from the Obama/Clinton opposition, since 28% of Hillary's supporters would cast their votes to MacCain instead of voting Obama. If they were to choose between Hillary and her Republican rival, 19% of Obama's supporters would do the same by voting the latter.

Uff..isn't it a jungle??!!

What a wonderful country..

The Independence Hall in Philadelphia: photo by me

Hi guys, I've just come back from the States..what a great journey!! I went there with a small baroque orchestra (we were only 17 people: being a small number helped us know one onother and have wonderful time together) and we performed in two great cities: NY and Philadelphia. NY is rightly called "the city that never sleeps" because people are out night and day, while Philadelphia is considered the core of the United States of America, since the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the very first Constitution were signed there. Unlike other tournées I did in the past, in the States we had free time to visit both cities and to meet American musicians, as well as eat American food (by the way, portions are huge, I had never seen such big portions of French fries in my life!).. In NY I was really impressed by the Ground Zero area, where a tiny church collects objects, gifts, photos and images by people from around the world and by those volunteers who helped after September 11, 2001. Visiting the church we were all deeply moved, but we could also feel the unity and the courage of American people who, despite such a tragic event, worked together to overcome difficulties and sorrow..

Inside St. Paul's Church at Ground Zero: a memorial of Sept. 11, 2001 (photo by me)

That was my first journey to the States..once back I realized the importance of visiting different countries and getting to know different cultures: it's a great opportunity to broaden your horizon and become more open minded..

The Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan..taking a few photos before the concert..

Happy Easter to you all!!!

photo by Google images

Tongue twister sentences: can y do that?

It's sooooo tricky!!!!!!

1. Three witches watch three Swatch watches. Which witch watches which Swatch watch?

2. Three switched Witches watch three Swatch watch switches. Which switched Witch watches Which Swatch watch switch?

3. Three Swedish switched witches watch three Swiss Swatch watchswitches. Which Swedishs witched witch watches which Swiss Swatch watch switch?

Political elections 2008: McCAIN and BERLUSCONI compared

The year 2008 is going to be quite decisive for Italian and American political life: as political elections are taking place in both countries in a few months, there could be no better opportunity to compare some of their protagonists in a sort of "overseas confrontation".

The starting point of my reflection on political elections was: which American candidates are most known and talked of in Italy? Without any doubt, the two Conservative adversaries Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton: almost every day Italian newspapers report on their speeches and results. What about the main Republican candidate John McCain? To tell the truth, I hadn't heard much about him; it was exactly to set a limit to my ignorance that I decided to gather information about him. As a consequence, the main Italian right-wing candidate I could take into account for my reflection was Silvio Berlusconi. Not only are both Berlusconi and McCain candidates from the right wing, but they are also the same age (both born in 1936) and have great appeal on their audience.. What else do they have in common? On which values does their campaign focus on?

THE VALUES

Having a look at Berlusconi's official website, I noticed that the word freedom is the most frequently used expression in the politician's speeches, interviews and articles. Not only does this word define Berlusconi's party (Il popolo delle Libertà), but it is also one of the highest values in his entire campaign. One of the ads I found on YouTube actually insists on this term: "Come on Italy, stand up! Your future is at hand! Let's work together to be free..." What's more, one the slogans of Berlusconi's party says "Forza Italia: a wish to be free". Berlusconi himself focuses on this key word during all his speeches: on 9. February 2008, for instance, the Italian right-wing candidate started his speech during a party meeting with a solemn statement: "We believe in freedom, in all kinds of freedom". Freedom is not the only value Berlusconi is symbolically using in his campaign: in all his interviews he insists on the role of the family as the most important value in Italian culture, so that giving dignity and economic certainty to Italian families seems to be one of his main goals. Religion, too, appears to be a very common value in Berlusconi's campaign: not only in many speeches and interviews does he stand up for the dogmas of the Catholic church, but he also makes use of religious symbols and concepts. On 18. February 2008, for instance, Berlusconi was interviewed at his own house in Arcore by a famous Tv journalist: on the wall behind the politician there hung a big picture of Jesus with his mother. What's more, the main goals of Berlusconi's potential new government are called "The seven Missions": in this case, too, a word which originally comes from the religious area is used for political purposes.

Religion is present in John McCain's speeches, as well: "God bless you all" is one of the expressions he most frequently uses at the end of his meetings. In his official website his faith in God is one of the features which can make him a great leader for the American population. Compared to Berlusconi's campaign, McCain focuses especially on the ideas of courage, confidence and integrity: according to his supporters all these qualities reinforce the idea of senator McCain as a "great American hero". Analyzing his speeches I got the impression that much in his campaign is focused on this image of a national hero, an image which actually seems to have great emotional impact on the audience. In order to be a hero one has not only to be brave (as the ex soldier McCain was), but also to be honest: McCain often insists on this aspect saying that "I want to tell you the truth because this is the only way to earn your respect".

COMPARING THE VALUES

-Both candidates focuse on religious values: I think this reflects the need to give certainty to the population, and the willingness to show the candidate's moral integrity and, thus, reliability.

- McCain's campaign: the key words used in McCain's campaign concern especially the personal moral values of its candidate. Again, they aim at proving the politician's reliability.

- Berlusconi's campaign: Berlusconi does not focus on his own personal features and qualities, but he insists on those generally shared values (freedom, dignity, morality and family) in which the audience can identify itself.

photos by http://www.forzaitalia.it/images and http://www.flickr.com/photos/hatch1921/

Let's be..friends!

A funny funny video!! Enjoy it!!!

2008..let's start making wishes!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

Lifelong education

It's our last year at university, at the end of which nothing is really certain.. Indeed, we have expectations, plans and dreams, but our future still waits for us to give it a proper and personal shape.
Yet, there's only one thing we ca be sure of: we'll never stop learning. Our education can not stop at the end of our university experience: we'll still need to become more mature, improve our skills and knowledge, widen our horizons...
To understand the value of our future learning it's necessary to become aware of the path we have been walking so far. Especially as far as language learning is concerned, I've tried to think of all the ways in which I've been improving my language skills during these years. Then, taking Sarah's and Martina's mindmaps as a model, I've developed my own PLE map. As you can notice, it's a very simple map. It focuses on three main aspects of learning: gathering information, storing and sharing information and people involved in the learning process.

Despite the simplicity of my PLE there's one point which in my opinion is quite interesting: developing my own map I realized that, among the formal opportunities to learn a language, giving private lessons plays an important role in the improvement of linguistic skills. It may sound a paradox but I'm convinced that if you really want to teach something you need to make sure you actually know what you are talking about! This is not only the case of English lessons to Italian children, but also of Italian lessons to foreign people: as they don't know Italian at all (they all come from Sub-saharian Africa), English is for me a fundamental vehicle to teach them the basic elements of my language. This gives me the chance to deepen my knowlegde of English, as well as that of my mother tongue. Giving private lessons of music in London has been for me a further and extraordinary way to improve my language skills: teaching music in English was not only amusing but also extremely useful to get to know and use specific words and expressions. In general, teaching can be a wonderful experience we, as teachers, can take advantage of in order to develop our own abilities...this is something we should always keep in mind, since it proves that education never ends...

see y..

Hi girls!!!
I'm writing to you all to apologize because this week I won't be able to do our next e-tivity, since I'll be off to work..in Spain! I'm leaving tomorrow with the orchestra I'm working with (I'm a violinist..) and I'll be back at the end of the week. I'll try to answer your posts as soon as possible, anyway..

Have fun!

Marta

Do You/Tube?

As usual, the Web is full of new tools we can make use of for our purposes: YouTube is one of them! I must admit I felt almost overwhelmed by the huge amount of videos you can find on it: and, as usual, what is difficult is to filter and select what is actual useful to you..

Surfing YouTube I realized that this tool offers videos for any purpose: if you want to be informed on what's going on in the world, or if you want to learn something new about a particular subject, or if you just want to relax and have fun...in YouTube you can find all this! Moreover, what's great in YouTube (and in all the other tools we've discovered so far) is that anyone can upload their own materials and share them with the rest of the Net-explorers.

Can YouTube be useful to improve our English? I definetely think so: you just need to sort out the right stuff from this huge cosmos of information and you'll then have the chance to watch and listen to any kind of videos.. They don't necessarily have to have a pedagogical purpose, because you can learn even from funny stories.. Indeed, I would say that you can learn things better by having fun!

YouTube is not only useful to learn a language, but also to share impressions and ideas on topics you consider to be important... That's why, surfing TeacherTube, I've chosen to add a video on racism to my personal blog. I was quite struck by this video because it speaks directly to our soul trying to rouse our reaction on this still actual problem. I think that watching videos of this kind can make us think about urgent matters and, possibly, stand up against them.

video by cirnbarnsley

I'm not on strike, though..

Dear all... I'm sorry I can not complete e-tivity 6 (looking for pods on the Web..) untill Monday afternoon, since I don't have any broadband connection.. I'm afraid you'll have to wait till that moment (I'll do the e-tivity in the lab)..

So, see you on Monday! Have a nice weekend!

Marta

Pods, pods and again pods..

...Well, after having spent several hours surfing the Net, I think now I know a bit more about podcasts... One the one hand, I do believe pods can be useful tools to improve my English: as I don't have the chance to look at the speakers' body language, I'm somehow "forced" to listen to the audio file very carefully in order to understand its content. Moreover, some pods I've come across actually explain you how to do something, f.i. how to solve some everyday problems in an English-speaking context, or how to improve your grammar: thus, listening to them is actually like taking part to an English lesson...

On the other hand, however, there's some disadvantge, since looking for interesting and usuful pods is very time-demanding... how can you enjoy listening to pods if you've spent hours and hours searching the Web?! I think you can get so nervous that, at the end of your search, you'll be too exhausted to listen to your audio file carefully and take advantage from it! Now that I've saved some pods among my bookmarks, I hope things will be easier! :-)

About the pods I've come across... I must admit I'm not very familiar with business English, but I do believe that, one day or another, I'll need it for my job.. That's why I was quite happy to find a website which helps you improve your business English thorugh pods. In this website you can find podcasts on different topics (advertising, recruitment, sales, telephoning..) which are created to help people at any level of English learn new vocabulary, expressions, idioms and structures from the world of business.. Each pod focuses on a specific difficulty non-native speakers can encounter and tries to provide the tools to ride over it. It's worth listening to it!

Everybody knows English is a tricky language, because its grammar, despite seeming quite simple, can easily become troublesome and make you feel insicure! For example, do you remember the difference between the verb "to lie" and "to lay"?! I always get confused.. So, if you need some tips on grammar rules, have a look at this website: Grammar girl's pods explain grammar rules in a nice and clear way.

English as a second language podcast seems to be a very popular website among English students, that's why I've chosen to add it to my bookmarks.. ESL is actually a quite interesting website which gives you the chance to listen to conversations and discussions in English. In my opinion, the pods in this website are quite different from the ones I've found on the Net: while pods generally deal with specific language problems (grammar, specific English structures or registers..), these pods deal with more "wide" topics, from books to music, from shopping to daily life, which are presented in the form of discussions and conversations. This gives these pods a very natural and colloquial air, which goes beyond the usual English lesson and lets you explore the real world of American culture and customs.

Autumn on a bookmark..

photo by ingirogiro

That's how cooperation works..

What's Social bookmarking?

Like everybody else, I already knew how to store my favourite websites on my computer at home..but the concept of Social Bookmarking was totally new for me untill last week.. Yet, it's an easy and useful tool: you store the webites you're interested in as you would do on your Pc, but in this case you save them online, so that you can find them anytime and anywhere you are.

What's interesting in Social Bookmarking is that you can share your favourites with other people on the Web and have access to the websites they have stored: this gives you the impression you're not a lonely Internet navigator, but you belong to a wide and welcoming community in which everybody makes their own contribution by sharing information with others. In my opinion this can be considered a way to meet other people's needs and, thus, feel more intimate with them.

As you have free access to the websites stored by the other members in the global community, social bookmarking is not a simple store of your own favourite websites, but also a way to filter information and retrieve more authoritative sources on the Web: as while surfing the Net we're constatly overwhelmed by a huge amount of information, which actually makes it difficult to distinguish between good and bad sources, social bookmarking offers you a way to narrow your search to smaller units of information..
Let's make an example: it is well known that the Web is full of websites on English learning online; overwhelmed by this amazing quantity of more or less good tools, I usually lose my patience and give up my search for online materials unsuccessfully. In this case, social bookmarking has proved to be a very useful filter, since visting my friends' bookmarks I found two interesting websites on the topic. WorldEnglish, for instance, offers exercises, quizzes, tests, grammar explanations as well as video, written and audio resources to improve all your language skills. If you're in trouble with phrasal verbs or you're interested in English idioms, UsingEnglish is a very useful website which I found thanks to my classmates. Thus, without wasting much time I found out what I was looking for by simply "asking" my classmates for it or, better, by having a quick look at their favourites. And if they'll found something interesting visiting my bookmarks, this will show how cooperation works!

photo by Amigurumi Kingdom

Halloween: are you pro or against it?

picture by robalsmith

How strange.. I'm not really used to seeing kids playing "trick or treat" from house to house on Halloween.. And now the question is: should this holiday be imported in Italy, as it is actually happening now? Well, I think my first, impulsive answer would be: "No, thank you! It's not part of our (or my?!) tradition". And in fact Halloween originally belongs to the Anglo-Saxon tradition, thus having nothing to do with our culture. You could say I'm too traditionalist or even narrow-minded, but to me Halloween does not really "taste" of anything.. It rather looks like a mere opportunity to have fun, and that's it. Of course, I'm talking of Halloween imported in a different culture, since I have the utmost respect for this festivity as it is conceived and celebrated in its true and original context. But as in Italy this holiday does not have the same historical and cultural meaning, it seems to be rather "deracinated" and even looks more like a business event than a rooted and generally shared tradition. Instead of simply copying the mere surface of this holiday, why don't we try to explore its true meaning, the habits and beliefs that originated it? At least, in this way Halloween would not just mean "trick or treat", and we would be all more aware of other people's cultures, as well as of ours.

Relax..feed aggregators are there for you!

It's almost 2 o'clock a.m., and I've been surfing the Net for about three hours.. A wonderful experience thanks to feed aggregators!! You guys, I am soooo enthusiastic about feeds right now!!!!!

Imagine you are drinking a piping hot cup of tea (like me now, since I'm trying not to fall asleep) and the postman arrives handing you the latest newspapers.. Siping your hot and restorative beverage, you start reading them, without even moving from you confortable sofa.. I think this scene quite properly gives the idea of how I feel now.. Yesterday I subscribed to some blogs and websites and I've already been sent updated news and posts from them! What's amazing is that all this has been done for me by an aggregator, that is the kind “postman” that collects and delivers any new information posted on the websites you have chosen..
I'll make you an example: as I subscribed to two online newspapers, “The Guardian” and “Die Zeit”, today I was sent the latest news published on both of them. What was interesting is that I had the possibility not only to read the news I was interested in without much effort and with no waste of time (since the aggregator had already collected them for me), but also to compare the information given by these two different newspapers: both of them, for instance, reported the fact that Russia now wants to reduce the number of international election observers, thus giving rise to protests by human rights activists. Well, it was quite interesting to notice that this international news was reported by both newspapers in a similarly clear and objective way.. In this case, the aggregator helped me compare two different sources of information, which I think is a good way to understand how the same news can be dealt with in different cultures and contexts. Great, isn't it?
You know what? I'm enjoying blogs more and more every day!!!
Have fun on the Net!
Marta