In order to make the most of her learning adventure in the USA, Mariana has decided to start a travel blog: http://www.mytriptonorfolk.blogspot.com/ to share her experiences in Norfolk with us. I simply suggested the possibility of starting an “online journal” about her trip to capture her views and impressions while honing her writing skills in English and she accepted the challenge right away!Why blogging?
Because it allows us to engage in expressive and meaningful writing and develop self-reflection. What’s more, blogs are open conversations with the world. As a teacher, I’ve improved my own writing and learned more from other people than I could have ever imagined since I started sharing and spreading my ideas on the web, engaging in relevant conversations with my students and with colleagues worldwide.
Let’s join Mariana on her blogging trip and help her blog grow and develop. It’s a great way of keeping in touch with a friend while also learning ourselves and experiencing the joy of authentic communication.
5 comments:
Well, congrats! I've too entered the blogging world thanks to Carla's Toefl Prep. (Last year was almost a Toefl & Blogging Prep Course).
One of our classmates already had a blog going, but for most of us it was a new thing.
I must confess my blogs are in Spanish, since their objective is to allow me to send comments and pics wen I'm traveling. I went to USA last April, and it was kind of odd to speak English all day and at night whrite in Spanish. But our languaje is a piece of home, right?
So, good luck with your trips and keep blogging! Keep it up and the Test will be a peace of cake.
Dear Maxi,
It's great to know you are still around like Vani and Ale. Former TOEFL students welcoming and encouraging the new ones.A teacher/blogger's dream!
I really look forward to reading your blog in English (with a "Dr.House style")!
Hugs, Carla
Maxi thanks for your comments!!! actually it is a great effort for me to write in english but it is worth it. I 'm practising a lot my listening and speaking skills so I think it is important to improve my writing abilities too. Although I am learning a lot I have to say that I feel relieved when I come back from work and I find people speaking Spanish.
I hope we can keep in touch.
Hugs.
Blogging, indeed, is a great way to express one's ideas, which brings me to a story of one of my TOEFL iBT students.
A few weeks ago, a student of mine began preparing to take the TOEFL iBT in California. Determined to improve her writing skills, she practiced writing several familiar topic essays a week. And right after each class session, I read and critiqued her essay, giving her some pointers on how to improve the introduction and the organization of the essay.
I suggested that she NOT write a memorized introduction. It seemed as I read her various essays that she had rehearsed what she wanted to write in each introduction--every one using almost the same language, grammar, and approach! A sort of cookie-cutter introduction, her first paragraph was a bit too predictable and lacked originality. I explained to her that the human raters who will score her TOEFL iBT writing are looking for originality and will not be impressed with a rehearsed or cookie-cutter organization.
Despite this downfall, she was definitely a strong writer, having both a sound organization and superior control of grammar, sentence structure, word choice, and mechanics. But what even impressed me most was her work ethic-her desire to be so persistent in writing so many essays. And it was not even a requirement in my TOEFL iBT class. Going the extra mile, she demonstrated what we all know to be true: "If you work hard enough and long enough, you will succeed in reaching your goal." And I can tell you right now that it will not be long before this student reaches her goal.
Hello Michael!
Thanks a lot for your comment and for sharing your TOEFL story with us. This is exactly what I mean by "engaging in meaningful interactions with colleagues worldwide".
I think many students resort to the "cookie-cutter approach" in order to "play safe" on the test and they lose authenticity and originality. In my opinion, a good way to cope with the TOEFL challenge is, of course, to practice a lot by planning, drafting, analyzing and writing many essays, but also to improve writing fluency by engaging in meaningful exchanges like this one.Turning language alive through authentic communication!
I've added your website to our blogroll for easy refrence.
Thanks for sharing and let's keep in touch!
Best regards, Carla
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