Blog post 5 Topic: Changes to my study programme
A Glimpse of My Undergraduate College Years:
There are many things I would have changed from my study programme back when I was studying English Linguistics, and even though I think all the topics I studied have been of great use all these years, I believe there are even more issues and contents I would have liked to have revised.
First thing, I had several history courses, all of them were related to (obviously) Anglo-Saxon history and only one about national reality, I would have liked to study more about the connection of our cultures, i.e. I would have liked to study how both Hispanic and Anglo-Saxon cultures related and enriched one another. Also, VERY few women as iconic characters were taught, as well as in the courses readings, the papers, and works conducted by women were nearly not taught at all. One could even have thought that apparently, women have not developed science within the field of Applied Linguistics, though, fortunately, this is something that's changing.
We had many hours of classes a week, this was because we needed to practice a lot, so the “communication” courses were very extensive in terms of practice hours. However, I think that maybe, by changing the teaching methods a bit and stimulating independent learning, we could have had fewer communicative practice hours and more about an alternative course that we might have been interested in.
The Faculty facilities were just alright, we had enough space to eat, study, and whatnot, but what I believe it is important to have as well, is green spaces available for students to chill out. Many little parks inside the campus were closed for students and kept for decoration purposes so maybe a good idea is to have those spots, free to use and enjoy while learning.
The teaching methods were also quite ok, not very innovative though and I think that is because of many traditions in the teaching of English for professionals of the field. I think that maybe, a good strategy that could have been applied to improve the teaching is to have included more IT in the classes, I mean, we made a lot of use of IT, especially in the Phonetics classes where we had to use a Language Lab, but I believe we could have made a bigger use of different platforms and, all in all, I think that would have made the process less difficult.
I believe that I learnt a lot when I was at uni, and I think everybody will always have a set of well-grounded critiques, but overall, I think I received a very good education, and however it could have been more state-of-the-art, it has been of great use in my professional life.
I´ve always though that teachers has to study a lot and reading this just confirme that, specially language teachers.
ResponderEliminarI can't believe that the place you studied on didn't let students on the green areas!
ResponderEliminarI didn't knew that there was History courses on the English Linguistics program! I can't imagine how studying something like that would be, sure that was quite fun to study :)
ResponderEliminarI suppose every discipline has its pros and cons. Furthermore, it's always good for the source of learning to be as diverse as possible. The lack of women's contributions is often a problem that goes beyond linguistics. I've seen it, for example, in how little they are referred to in fields like philosophy.
ResponderEliminarI also think that more should be taught about women's contributions!
ResponderEliminarI share your desire for more diversity and gender equity in your Linguistics program. Despite the limitations, it seems like you gained a valuable education. xoxo
ResponderEliminarConsidering we have such female icons in our faculty, I also think they should taught us about women's contributions! There is a lot to learn!
ResponderEliminarThere's always something to complain about because nothing's perfect, for example, that you weren't allowed to use the green spaces around the faculty or the few mentions about women's contribution. But it's also good to know that you had a very good education during the uni days.
ResponderEliminarYes, universities always have problems with their way of teaching or their rules, but it is an important way to learn more.
ResponderEliminarThose were different times, probably now the way of teaching English language is different.
ResponderEliminarThe green spaces are so important! for me they help me to distract a little from studies.
ResponderEliminarIt is really sad that there was so little representation of women, I hope that has changed today!
ResponderEliminarGreen spaces have always been disregarded, and I think they are very essential to being comfortable wherever you are.
ResponderEliminarIt's so silly to leave students out of green areas when they are so important in learning spaces!
ResponderEliminargreen spaces are a must for me too
ResponderEliminarI think all universities are lacking more green spaces. I can imagine the universities in downtown Santiago :/
ResponderEliminarIt is good to read that you received a very good education, that is fundamental for the goals of our lives.
ResponderEliminarI think what you mention about green areas is very important, they are necessary for everyone, more than just decoration.
ResponderEliminarI also feel that I have had a good education, we are really very lucky
ResponderEliminarI believe that it's always necessary to have green spaces in universities, otherwise it's kida depressing
ResponderEliminarI think it is important to highlight the lack of representation of women in their field of study and the need for more diversity, it shows the importance of gender equity in education.
ResponderEliminarI agree with you about the green areas theme, I believe if the students had more green areas, the better performance would have.
ResponderEliminarI know people who study pedagogy or are already teachers and I have always thought that it is a very heavy but beautiful profession for those who have the vocation.
ResponderEliminarI think the same, teacher. Although study programs can be good, they need to be innovated so that students can learn more easily (and enjoy the process).
ResponderEliminarI agree with you!
ResponderEliminarI think green spaces are very important because I think they are necessary for a good environment and it looks more beautiful
ResponderEliminarI think that the green spaces give us "new air" all the time and help us to have a better control of the weather, for example, the trees gives us better air circulation, give us shade, etc.
ResponderEliminarThe topic of having many hours of a subject or a practical reaches the point of being inefficient because, without renewing the topics within a certain time frame, one becomes bored.
ResponderEliminarIt's great to be able to lie on the floor and feel the ground and not be confined within four walls.
ResponderEliminaryes, i met JGM years ago, and green areas has been reduced so much
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ResponderEliminarI can't believe they have closed the small parks for decorative reasons, it's horrible.
i think the enviorment its essential when we talk about education
ResponderEliminarI studied on the same campus as you, but the green spaces were freed up for us, I don't know if it was because "to hell with the rules" or it was open for us.
ResponderEliminarI agree with the viewpoint about green spaces. JGM needs more green and not less.
ResponderEliminarMy classmate said it too, but the campus needs more green areas. The central plaza has a lot of cement.
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