Post 8: English language challenges

 

My experience about learning English at the university has not been so positive. This is because I feel that even though the professors who give classes have a high knowledge of the language and a vocation for teaching, the heavy academic load of the other subjects prevents me from concentrating on studying and making the most of the English classes. Regarding the use of blogs, I feel that they are a good tool to research on different topics and make use of words that in more everyday contexts we would not use, but, I feel that since they are weekly, they often generate a constant concern in weeks overloaded with tests of other subjects. About the aspects of my English that I must improve, are those related to the oral use of this and the fluency of speech of the language, this because it is difficult for me to maintain a long conversation in this language. I plan to solve this through practice with the help of people who are willing to converse with me in English, as well as singing songs in English to improve my pronunciation, but, most importantly, to put aside the embarrassment I feel when speaking in another language that is not my native one. Finally, I believe that the use of the language in my daily life is constant, because for example I have to read documents in English for several subjects at the university, I also use it to understand songs that I like that are written in English and finally, it helps me a lot to understand instructions that do not have translation or ingredients of food products that do not have translation either

Post 7: Changes to my study programme

 

In general, I believe that the sociology curriculum is a good one, as it includes a wide range of subjects, especially in the specialization period. However, I believe that the focus of the course should shift from the theoretical to the social, since the sociologist's training at university should be centered on the contribution that the professional can make to the community and to the problems that most afflict it. Although theoretical training is fundamental for the design of social intervention programs, this should not be the priority in university training. Another modification I would make would be to provide more study spaces in good conditions, since I consider that the existing spaces are very limited and force students to occupy places belonging to other faculties. I would also encourage the purchase of more technological inputs that support the analysis of quantitative data, such as computers that better execute the programs required for these purposes, such as Rstudio. Finally, regarding teaching methods, I think that in general the professors who teach in the career have many teaching skills, because they handle a lot of content, study tools and knowledge of the field, but it would be good to integrate into their tools opportunities to do more field work as these would connect us with the social reality, thus leaving the theory presented in books.

Post 6: Time travel to the future

 

In the future, I would like to travel to Uruguay, because I think it is a country that has many beautiful landscapes and a rich culture because it is considered a multicultural country. Regarding the former, Uruguay is formed by diverse landscapes that are characterized by having a lot of vegetation and by having the presence of many species of animals native to the country, such as the Capybaras and the northern albatross. On the other hand, with respect to its rich culture, it can be affirmed that because Uruguay is a country conformed mostly by immigrants, the national culture is quite heterogeneous, in short, the Creole traditions, Afro-Uruguayan and to the uses and customs of European immigrants consolidated the particular cultural patrimony of the country. I plan to visit the mentioned country when I finish my university studies, since I plan to take some time to visit different countries and at the same time work to pay for my trips. On the other hand, I think that I would not stay permanently in Uruguay, because it is a country with a high cost of living, this means that goods and services have a high monetary value. In spite of this, I would like to stay there for a more or less long time, since my purpose is to get to know the culture in depth and not just live a tourist experience.