'MODERN TIMES'

Modern Times is the first Chaplin movie I have seen. This silent movie was filmed in 1936 during the Big Economical Depression.

I was really surprised when I watched this film, because I wasn't so enthusiastic with the idea to watch an old movie, that's why I found this film so interesting in the way that it showed us comedy; romance and tragedy all in it. The most interesting thing in this movie is that we can see how the main character of the movie Charles Chaplin, turns against modern society.

From my personal point of view I have to say that the whole movie has lots of hilarious scenes without too much of a plot, but its entertainment value is what really matters in this silent and critical movie.

In Modern Times, Chaplin represents a factory worker who attempt to live in an industrial society. In the film we can see the dehumanization process of modern industries.

In the middle of the movie, Chaplin's character met a young orphan woman who helped him to find a work. I really like these two main characters, because the film also allowed us to see the American dream of those times in the way that Chaplin and his love dream about living in a beautiful home with the typical idea of the perfect American family, the worker husband and the stay at home wife.

What is really interesting in this movie is that it portrayed the situation that was happening in the beginning of the 20th century times. "Modern Times", as I said before is set in the Great Depression, but its themes are not outdated. Through the film we can also see that Chaplin is always looking for a sense of identity within his mechanich mind. Despite that situation, for viewers it's very easy to forget that we are watching a fims with such complex social problems , because Chaplin has the great ability of make us laugh out loud the whole movie, even though the fact that sometimes he was facing some problems, like the time whn he was at jail.

I really appreciate the image of Chaplin being run through the situations that he had to face, due to as I said before, he consider the dehumanization of technology and modern times to represent in a critical way what was happening. From that point I think that in today's world there is a return to the importance of human connections.

In my opinion, the two most important moments in the film are the scene in a department store involving a blindfold, and the funniest moment in the film to the mad Chaplin inside of an out of control machine. I think that these two moments of the film are just a handful of moments that make Modern Times the great masterpiece that it is.

From my personal point of view, the aspect of the film that made me have a critical and strongest thinking was the idealistic thoughts that we have about what is modernity. In our hearts, many of us are always looking for exuberance and good life, but in the movie we can see an absence of need for materialism and modern stuffs.

To conclude, I completely love the end of this film where Chaplin and his young woman were walking on the way to the future with a smile on their faces, even though all the bad things that they had to face, such as living in poverty situations in a world that didn't have so much opportunities for them. For that reason, I honestly recommend you this film, because it give us the chance to think that even though all the things that are not working in this world we can make little changes and also, because it reminded us that we can’t forget the idea to live suffering because of that. This movie encourages to try to keep going with our own pursuit of happiness.

THE END...

THE IMPORTANCE THAT CULTURE HAS FOR STUDENTS IN ACQUIRING A SECOND LANGUAGE.

Why it is so important that we learn a foreign language? The process of learning a foreign language opens up a whole new dimension for all of us and it contributes in a significantly way to the development of everybody intelligence. By learning it we obtain new ways of see our world, but at the same time we fortify our own identity, and therefore also our self-confidence, due to, language also contributes to have a stronger personality to the ones that are learning it.

As we already know, the world is entering in the era of globalization, that's why acquiring a foreign language is so important, because it involves the idea that all of us can also learn to be more tolerants with others in order to become capable of accepting the right of others to think differently, appreciate the culture of one's own land and the lands of other people.

The main purposes of this essay are the relationship between language, culture and civilization, and also see why the teaching of culture should be an integral part of the English as a second language curriculum. To begin with, language is a social institution in which it plays an important role, obviously if we see language as the most important way of communication in this world. Thus we see that language is, or supposedly be, understood as cultural practice, because language involves a social practice, and both cannot exist separately, in fact they create a kind of ‘mixture’, because in the practice language and culture are inseparable. Language also helps to determine how people encode messages, the meanings for the messages, and how in that way people can organize their ideas and thoughts in this society in order to be part of a civilization.

First of all, it is important to mention that in any kind of society language is the principal means whereby we conduct our social lives. As Claire Kramsch (1998) says in her book ‘The relationship of language and culture’, language expresses and symbolizes cultural reality, because we create experience through it.

Members of a community or a social group do not only express experiences; as a part of a community we also create experience through language. We give meaning to the things that are part of this world through the medium we choose to communicate with one another, that's why 'language embodies cultural reality' (Claire Kramsch 1998). Because of that reason, in today's world is so important to learn the mother tongue language, and also another language, because doing that we are being able to express ourselves through our use of language. In that way we as a society are capable to understand and also be part of different cultures.


Foreign Language Education encourages society to develop communicative skills, that is the first educatinal goal, to develop learner's abilities in order to help students to assimilate their moral values that society impose in order to live in conformity with the accepted principles, standards and moral values to finally develop tolerance to understand others and ourselves society.

From my personal point of view, I think that the aim in teach culture in a foreign language class should be the development of student's personality by means of foreign-language culture, due to learning another language is not only a country study approach to foreign language teaching, but also a sociocultural education of each individuality and thus the whole society. However, education is practically more than that, foreign language education is also the transmission of another culture. Understanding that idea, we as future teachers of Foreign language can be able to think that culture also plays a very important role in the process of learning a foreign language so, culture in that way is part of general spiritual culture that students acquire by means of communicative language teaching in its cultural, educational, social and psychological aspects.

The process of understanding the country's culture while children are learning and acquiring the second language is not the final goal but is a tool of deeper understanding of the native culture. What we can do as future teachers is to learn how students can learn about a new country and culture. Because we have to be prepare to relate language and culture in our future places of job, classrooms in order to be clear at the moment to express and transmit to our students the idea that they have to compare their previous knowldege of their own language with the target language (the language that they are learning) in order to be meaningful the idea to learn the recently acquired language. Probably, if we do that every lesson, such cross-cultural comparison, we will be promoting a positive attitude inside the classroom, because we are going to let them be part of the process of their learning and understanding the other culture, its people and traditions. This meaningful process of learning also helps students to have a strong life position, share their points of view, thus stimulating students to learn more about their own and other cultures through critical thinking.

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References:

- Claire Kramsch. 1998. 'The relationship between Language and Culture'.

- The Importance Of Teaching Culture In The Foreign Language Classroom.

http://radicalpedagogy.icaap.org/content/issue3_3/7-thanasoulas.html

-Culture in Second Language Teaching. E. Peterson & B. Coltrane, 2003.

http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/digest_pdfs/0309peterson.pdf

-Brown, Douglas, Principles of Language learning and teaching. New York, USA. Pearson Education Company. Fourth edition. 2000.

Queen of Scots.

Mary II of England.

Time Line:

Born: April, 30th, 1662
Birthplace: St. Jame´s Palace, London, England.
Reign: February 13, 1689-December 28, 1694
Predecessor: James II and VII
Successor: William III and II
Co-monarch: William III and II
Son/Daughter of: James II and VII, Anne Hyde
Also known as: Queen of Scots
Religion: Anglican/ Episcopalican
Died: December, 28th, 1694.

Mary II of England was the eldest daughter of the Catholic King James II, but she was raised as a Protestant. In 1677 she got married with her Dutch cousin, Prince William of Orange. Mary II was the Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, she reigned only five years. She was very devoted to her husband and she ruled only during his husband absences. They lived in Holland until English nobles opposed to James's pro-Catholic policies invited William and Mary to assume the English throne. After William landed with a Dutch force in 1688, James fled, and Mary and William (as King William III) became corulers of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1689). Mary enjoyed great popularity in England and Ireland, and her Dutch tastes had an influence on English pottery, landscape gardening, and interior design. She died of smallpox at the age of 32.

'Like a Virgin', Queen Elizabeth I.

Dominant, egocentric, proud, and self- willed, but a charismatic woman, Queen Elizabeth I brought England to the seat of power and a new age of English expansion, trade, and peace. Elizabeth represented and continues to represent the greatest monarch in English history. When Elizabeth Tudor became queen in 1558, she was twenty-five years old. She was only the third queen to rule England, her sense of duty was admirable. She was committed above all else to preserving English peace and economical stability, in simpler words she lived and died for her Reign.

In the film 'Elizabeth, the golden age', we can see a superficial interpretation of how to perceive the Reign of Queen Elizabeth I and other perspectives, such as her personality and different problems that she had to face during the period in which her Spanish cousin Phillip II and the catholic pressure wanted to destroyed her Royal power in England. The main actress, Cate Blanchet who interpreted Queen Elizabeth I in the movie, also performed the human characteristics of the Queen, showing to the audience how in those times her sexuality was also a very relevant issue to keep the power. But, why her sexuality and specially her virginity were so important?

To understand why Queen Elizabeth I never married we need to understand the role of a woman during the Tudors period. England was hundreds of years away from women right vote, even longer to the Women's freedom movement. Elizabeth lived in the times where women were governed by the rules of a chauvinist society. For that reason, Elizabeth was raised to believe that women were inferior than men. Understanding this role of women we are able to provide a picture of why Queen Elizabeth was never married, and why her nickname was the 'Virgin Queen'. Another big issue in her life was the fact that all of her immediate male relatives had died and she was answerable to no male member of the family. What if she wanted to marry with somebody? All the situation would have changed?, Elizabeth would have been expected to obey her husband?.

In any case Queen Elizabeth I had to gain the acceptance, obedience and respect despite the fact that she was a woman. Because of that, Queen Elizabeth I had to create a hard personality with different images of herself in order to show that she was a powerful and intelligent woman. Being an unmarried woman, Queen Elizabeth, enjoyed the constant attentions and adulation that she received from her handsome courtiers.

Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen was associated with many men who attended the Elizabeth Court, such as Sir Walter Raleigh, Robert Dudley, Sir Christopher Hatton to name a few. With all the stories of love that she had, can we really believe that Queen Elizabeth remained unmarried to her death, is there any doubt about her sexual life?, is representative to called her the Virgin Queen?. Despite her questionable sexual life, for history, Queen Elizabeth I is remember as the Virgin Queen.


One the one hand, making a kind of funny analogy, we can say that virgins probably have more success when popularity we talk. Even though the following analogy can be a little bit dangerous, we have Queen Elizabeth I "The Virgin Queen" and Maddonna "The pop Queen" who wrote a song about her virginity and how her sexual desition makes her more important among men and sociaty, like our British 'Virgin' Queen.

Finally, I completly recommend the movie for those viewers who want to watch how Cate Blanchet, the main character of the film, turn in another great performance. She inhabits the strengths and weaknesses of Elizabeth I in so convincing a manner that as a psychological portrait of a person it is fascinating viewing, despite the fact that we are not so sure how accurate the movie is.

Stonehenge: 'A Huge Mystery'.

Stonehenge view.

The following post will be about of one of the wonders of the World, Stonehenge. A fabulous and famous prehistoric monument placed in southern England. This ancient monument is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones. But, this is not only a megalithic ruin, it also has lot of secrets related with its origins and there are many speculations about whom built it.

First of all, it is important to know that this post it´s going to refer about the last findings about Stonehenge based on the video from the BBC that we watched in our ‘Culture and Civilization’ class, and also from some articles I read related with this new archaeologists finding.

Several experts and scientist are into the researches of why these huge stones were placed in a circle. On the one hand, historically, Stonehenge has generated so much speculation and wild theories as the standing stones of Stonehenge. Some people tend to believed that Stonehenge was built of druid sacrifice, a temple in which horrid acts and blood ceremonies were conducted. On the other hand, some theories say that this monument it is an astronomical observatory or maybe it might have been a place for healing.

However, one last finding made by a team of some British archeologists says that thousands of years ago Stonehenge was regarded not as a place of sacrament for the dead, but as a temple with unique healing powers. It is important to mention that this new theory is looking closely at the presence of some bluestones. Through some excavations they discovered that these bluestones were once viewed as therapeutic. Another good support of their theory is the fact that in the last excavation that they did for their researches they also found signs of prehistoric surgery.

From my point of view, I think that these last theories can demolish lot of mysteries and myths, but in any case we don’t know much anything, which is exactly as much as we did know before. As far one can see it’s disputable to claim that Stonehenge was used to predict or even observe astronomical events, it is quite obvious that Neolithic people who started to build Stonehenge did place an enormous importance to their gods.

Finally, I can say that the only thing that we have for sure in relation to Stonehenge it’s the fact that it was probably built with certain amount of honoring to the unknown.

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SOURCES: For more information visit the following pages.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2008/09/22/uk_experts_say_stonehenge_was_place_of_healing/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7625625.stm

Salomon's Presentation

The following entry corresponds to the presentation that my classmate Salomón did in class about "The relationship of Language and Culture".

First of all I have to say that you did a good job presenting your own ideas showing us very good pictures representing them. From my understanding whenever all the factors that you mentioned are together they form part of aculture and of course that language is the most important factor in it in order to create and be part of a culture.

While you were presenting I felt that your ideas were very-well supported basically on what the author of the article said. Also, you did pretty good comparisons of how important is to have a language inside a culture and you were capable to demonstrated us through meaningful examples for us. So, I was very interested when you mentioned the comparison of how Chileans and Peruvians have differences teaching the history of the Pacific war, I think that this example was quite good in order to represent how language expresses cultural reality.

The only bad thing that I have to say about your presentation is that from my point of view, you felt a little bit nervous presenting, so sometimes your ideas weren't so clear while you were talking, but you just need to practice in order to feel that you have more confidence presenting in front of people, think about that because you will be a teacher.

To conclude my comments about your presentation I feel that you are very capable to teach, because you organized very well the ideas in order to be empathic with the audience, due to we as your audience "supposedly" didn't know anything about what you were talking.

I hope that you'll have more opportunities in class in order to improve your weaknesses.

Great job!

Best wishes,

Victoria.

Civilization

Ghandi, India (1.869- 1.948)

A Civilization is a vital group of human beings that share a culture. Without civilizations, the world as we know it wouldn’t be possible. A civilization has different qualities like, custums, values, an agriculture system, a writing system, cities, organization, separate occupations "hierarchy" and lot of other stuff in order to be a stable community and a complex organization in a common area.

Civilization means more than scientific advancement, modern means of transportation, ships, and living in large cities full of cars and technology. While such things may be adjuncts to civilization, it is folly and ignorance to identify civilization with them.

If a given civilization is not based on morality and virtue and nurtured in the pool of intelligence and conscience, it is no more than a passing flash of illuminations that serves a couple rich people and excites some thrill seekers. What a pity for those who are fooled by its blinking lights.One becomes truly civilized only when all human virtues and potentialities have been developed to the degree that they become second nature.