Letter (Decline and Fall activity)

Dear Arthur Potts,

Thanks for writing, everything is fine here. The other teachers are very kind with me and treat me very well.

You want to know about my teaching experience? The first day, students bothered me and not let me do classes, but at the end of the week, was every fine. When I wished to read or write letters, boys did not disturbed me; when I decided it was time to talked to them about lessons, they remained silent. Also, I’m doing organ lessons to a boy; he strives for leverage the money his mom paid.

Also, I was thinking about the money of Digby-Vane-Trumpington. Tell to him that I don’t want it, because I am a gentleman, I can’t help it, it’s in my blood, I simply can’t take that money, it would be a betrayal of everything I believe in.

                                    Yours,

           Paul Pennyfeather.

Fifth week

  This week, we worked on worksheets of sentences. One was of how to build correctly ordered sentences in english, and the other was of exercises of this.
  We saw that in a normal sentence, the subject comes directly in front of the verb, and the direct object comes directly after it. We also saw that sentences are divided into subject and predicate, the subject shows who did the action, while the predicate tells us the action taken.
  Finally we did an activity, in groups, to improve this.

Fourth week

   Last monday, we worked in a guide of Simple and Compound Sentences.
   On wednesday, we talked a little about chapters three and four of the book "Decline and Fall", and we did an activity of writing events that show the context of the book.
   Finally, on thursday we studied a guide of the Oral Exponents, to have a more formal and convincing language in a debate. Then we did a game, in which we did mini debates while we were recorded with the computer; to revise our body language.
   I liked doing the activity of mini debates because I could improve my body language in a fun way.

Juan Pablo Cortés

Third week

  That week (the third one), we discussed the first two chapters of the book "Decline and Fall",that Paul Pennyfeather was expelled from Oxford University and then was hired, by Dr. Fagan, as a teacher at Llanabba Castle School in Wales. Also that the author, Evelyn Waugh, to wrote this book, was motivated on his personal teaching experience.
  Also in class, we read some texts in the class book about the emergentist perspective, and "The language instinct" of Steven Pinker; that is about that language is a complex, specialized skill, which develops in the child spontaneously, and that language is a magnificent ability unique to Homo sapiens among living species.

Juan Pablo Cortés

Second Week

  Last week we started to prepare a debate  of: "Humans are born with an ability to create language" vs "Language is a learned construct like the rules governing a sport".
  The topic of my group was "Humans are born with an ability to create language". I worked in class with Barrios, Valencia, Abusleme and Sanfuentes searching information in the class book and from internet to prepare our arguments.
  Also, in class, we talked about the book we have to read: "Decline and Fall". The teacher wrote in the whiteboard about the author Arthur Evelyn St John Waugh, and of his time that influences him when he wrote the book (before de II World War).
  I liked to do the debate because I practiced my English pronunciation.

Juan Pablo Cortés

First week

  In class, we talked and read about language, language is a system of vocal signs through which humans communicate. We read about Duality of patterning;of phonemes (the smallest contrastive unit in the sound system of a language), and morphemes (the smallest meaningful unit in language).
  Also, we said that humans have many ways to communicate, they can communicate speaking or doing gestures (body language); but body language is not necessarily language, but it is still a way of communication. Another thing we have seen, is the way that children communicate in their development.
  Finally, in the last class, we started to prepare a debate of: "Humans are born with an ability to create language" vs "Language is a learned construct like the rules governing a sport".

  This week, I learned new things, like the duality of patterning, the phoneme and morphemes. Also, I like that class is always a conversation between the teacher and students, since all can comment on the subject under discussion.

Juan Pablo Cortes