Practice 9: Hello for the last time! J

        I finished my last practice as fast as my time went by since I have been here. At least this is what I feel now, at the end of …everything that Spain meant for me.

        I have learnt so many things here, but the most important one would be: thinking is for free! And nobody will ever take this away from me. I have always loved to write, to write in English, to express my deepest thoughts and feelings thru my written compositions. Now I have a new way to be me: my blog. And I truly thank you for this!

        I enjoyed my stay in Spain, but most of all I enjoyed finding myself even here. So far from everything that makes me who I am (my family and friends) I found a way to be a better “ME”.

        I am pleased with everything I have accomplished here. It would be a lie to say that I want to spend the rest of my life in Spain. But what I have lived here made me believe I could really have a better life. My latest memories will always be some of my sweetest ones. Everything I found in this country contributed to my happiness: the friends I´ve made, the teachers I´ve had so many things to learn from, the wonderful places I´ve visited…I´m just happy I could have all of these.

        I don´t know if you liked my blog, but I definitely loved writing it! I will always have Spain to thank for this new way of expressing myself. I´m glad I have two blogs now! I´m happy I chose this class! But most of all, I absolutely love that I´ve chosen Spain as my next “stop”. Because this is what life really is: the train that keeps stopping station to station, until it reaches its final destination! J

        So…I guess this is my final good-bye! Thank you for inspiring me to do this! J

Practice 8: Pollution doesn´t wait! :P

        Now this is really a sad fact! L Pollution is here, among us and affects our environment day by day. What is even more terrifying is that we can all see this, but just few of us do something to prevent it.

        We all say things like: “Pollution is responsible for the changes in the weather!” or “We blame pollution for all the ecological disasters!” But who should we really blame? Who is responsible for all this pollution? We are! Each and every of us! We are the only ones that can prevent it or stop it. There are as many factors that contribute to the pollution (such as exhaust fumes from cars or factories, cutting down the trees and so on) as types or effect of pollution (for example the smog, global warming or acid rains). Fortunately, there are also many ways to prevent it or even to put an end to all of this.

        So after this first part of my eighth practice I thought: “Pollution doesn´t wait! It is here and we need to react! Because if not it will destroy our lives in a blink of an eye!”

        Unlike the other time, I couldn’t wait for the second part of the practice. I enjoyed my break from this sad subject by having fun with prefixes and suffixes or changing word meaning with prefixes. These exercises provided me a great way to revision my vocabulary skills.  

        I believe next practice is also my last one. This is why I can´t say I´m looking forward to seeing you next week. I don´t want to give up to my special Monday! I want to write my blog on every Monday, until I won´t have anything to say. (and this would never happen J)And even though I know that this isn´t possible at least now I have this: a new way of expressing myself- my blog! :X

      

UNIT 4: Alternative Sources of Energy open for us a new door…

  Hello sun! J Please come into my live every day!

     

     Today, solar power is the best alternative energy choice we can make. The time for solar energy is now. It´s our turn to start cutting costs and enjoy energy independence. Today, it´s our turn to take control!

      

        I don´t really know if practice number 7 is a continuation of this unit or if it´s the other way around. But they both focus on the same idea: how to make this world a better place by using alternative sources of energy.  

        The brainstorming on the renewable energy sources made me think: Which of these renewable energy technologies would be the best idea? (ground source heat pumps, wind turbines, wood-burning boilers or solar water heaters) Why don’t we incorporate all of these technologies into our lives? Unfortunately, we choose to destroy our environment in so many ways. Therefore, the question should be: Why don´t we use at least as many ways to prevent or to put an end on this?

        All the exercises I did in this unit (word study, locating information and discussion questions) improved my comprehension of the given text concerning the solar energy.

        I am sure that everyone is aware of this awful situation. Energy resources diminish day by day. We have so many ways to stop this. There are so many brilliant technologies that we can use to prevent it. So what should we do next?

        We must take action! We have to get involved into this world. We are the answer! We can change everything we want just by…loving this wonderful world we are living in. J

        I hope it´s not too much to say, but I consider this unit to be a “wake up call”, reminding us that never is too late. Now is the right time to say: “Earth I love today, tomorrow and every day!” J

Practice 7: Energy Efficient… heaven J

        New Monday!

        Number seven always “brings” my…heaven. :P I don´t know why, but I have always considered 7 to be my number. Everything that has to do with this number becomes my favorite…something. J You consider this to be a silly thing, but I´m feeling the need to explain you why this practice is a special one.

        I absolutely adore challenges! I love subjects that make me think! I like classes that allow me believe that I can change something in this world! I am grateful that practice number 7 reminded me this.

        During our lives we study a lot, we work hard, but the truth is that we receive everything and we can do anything we want in this world. But what do we give in return? How can we improve our world? And one of the answers could be the topic of today´s practice: “The energy efficient houses.”

        I can remember even now how this class started: “How would affect you to wake up one morning and realize you have a power cut in your house?” you asked us. This practice really made me believe that we have the power to change the world we are living in.

        I enjoyed finding out so many things about this type of houses. The two given diagrams made it clear for me: energy efficient houses aim to save energy and to protect our environment. All the gadgets added to a standard house can make it environmentally friendly. (For instance: the solar panels that help us heat water, the wind powered generator which provides us electricity or the double glazing to help us keep the heat inside the house)

        The first part of the class was definitely the perfect way to start a new week or why not even a new…life! J It made me realize that we can have our own little part of heaven even here, on Earth.

        In the second part, I had the opportunity to do other thing I like doing it a lot: online exercises. It is not a surprise that I love to read and write. (I believe my writings sustain this idea :D) So I could say: I love words in general! Therefore the multiword verbs intrigue me and make phrasal verbs a subject I am interested in.

        I would have so many other things to say. But I will stop here and simply let you know that this practice reminded me what we should live for: to make this world a better place! J

Practice 6: OnLiNe eXeRcIses this wEEk!

 

        Hello again! I love studding here in Spain J ! I will definitely miss my early practices. I have already said so many times, but I have to say it again: I just adore improving my English in such a funny way!

        Even though I´m not a “waking up early” person, I am glad I get to wake up and have so much fun. In Romania is rather: first you study and then you have fun. But Spain showed me that you can do these things in the same time. Therefore I can´t wait to share my Spanish experience with my colleagues and teachers back home and … Who knows? Maybe something will change in my university too! J

        So, this morning started like every other morning. I enriched my knowledge with some useful information concerning the linking words used in a conversation (expressing cause/effect, contrast and addition). I wrote a lot in English, but I didn´t use many of these linking words into my compositions. Thanks to this practice I can better understand their importance and how can make my writings easier to understand.

        Another thing I like about these practices is that it allows me to immediately use my new accomplished skills into the online exercises. I choose some of the given links to practice my new skills. I believe that in this way (written information and online exercise) anybody can learn English easier.

        Today´s practice didn´t reach an interesting subject, but helped me improve my English writings and hopefully my blog too. J Bye bye till next time!   

Practice 5: Let´s take Telephone English for a ride! :P

 

        

         This practice was a really interesting “ride”. :D I haven´t had the opportunity to practice my Telephone English before (at least not my English speaking skills). I said this because I have close friends with whom I prefer to exchange mobile phone messages in English. I have always considered English to be my favorite language to express myself in. I have a lot of favorite English expression, my favorite songs are in English and I absolutely love English movies so… why not try also Telephone English?

        I found useful all the given information and also the online exercises. It was just basic information such as: introducing myself, asking for someone, connecting someone or taking a message. But I am sure I will better appreciate this practice when I´ll have my first English telephone conversation.

        The listening exercises come in handy when handling complaints. Complaints are very difficult to do or to accept and this exercise helped me to prepare myself handling this type of situations. I also enjoyed the role plays. Managing thru so many and difficult situations allowed me to improve not only my English telephone skills, but also my vocabulary.

        Having a new subject made me very happy! I consider this to be a great practice and I am looking forward for my next one! J See you soon!

       

        

UNIT 3: BUSINESS…makes us FREEJ

        I have always believed each and every of us are “designed” to do something special in this world. We are defined by the things that we do, this is why it is said that: the things we do make us who we are. We are born to create something so that after we are gone, we would be remembered.

        Reading this unit made me reconsider the importance of choosing the right job. After the wonderful age of childhood (in which we discover the whole world) and the unforgettable adolescence (when we believe that everything is possible) it is time for real life; begins that period in which we have to take lives in our own hands. (we fall in love, decide to have our own families and outstanding careers) In addition to this I found useful the vocabulary table on “Jobs and work”. That list offered me large variety of possible jobs and their descriptions. Using the list of adjectives from this unit I was able to describe many of the given jobs.

        Therefore I realized that none of those jobs are suitable for me. I want to do more, I want to be more! And this is the human nature; we always want to have more than we already have, and to be something more than we already are. I am absolutely sure that everyone has that perfect job, which allows them to feel liberated, free! I hope someday I’ll find that ideal job for me, so that I’ll start being the real me.

        The reading and comprehension exercises about “Branding and brands names” pointed out the importance of a name in a successful brand. It also made me remember my favorite brands. (of perfumes, shampoos, cars, food and drinks etc.)

        The Grammar Revision was like a break after all those intense thinking exercises. It included easy assignments like: simple statements, reported questions, affirmative and negative sentences.

        I really enjoyed working with my mind and soul in solving this unit. I have to admit it was a great challenge for me and I wait impatiently for my next oneJ!