Persuasive writing

Writing English in a virtual space like a blog can be very beneficial to students' writing proficiency. According to Marcuschi (2004), students feel more challenged when they know that their compositions are not going to be read only by their teachers, but also by their classmates and everybody else that access the blog. Their writing will be exposed in the world wide web. Some people say that they feel embarrassed for writing in a place where everybody will see what they wrote, however students claim that when they have the chance to interact over the internet with other English speakers, they learn a great deal of vocabulary and expand their overall knowledge about the language. In conclusion, when students have the chance to relate with the language in an authentic way, they benefit more than those who don't.

What did you think of posting your compositions in this space?

I would like my dear students to answer on this last topic about your impressions on having to write your compositions in a blog. Please, leave your comments, and if you want to give any kind of suggestion about anything, this is the time and space. I want to say thanks to all the students who collaborated and accessed this blog and for all the participation in the classroom, if it wasn't for your enthusiasm and sense of humour, our Saturday afternoons wouldn't be so great!!!
Sincerely grateful!!!
J. Neto

The similarities and differences between me and my older brother

I have an older brother that is a lot different than me in fashion and in taste for clothes in general!! Our sisters say that I am the one with the best taste for clothes. First of all, my brother has a long straight hair, unlike me, for my hair is really short. He likes to wear a fanny pack around his waist, and I just think that this kind of accessory is so out of style and a little bit corny too. He is totally into wearing tennis shoes all the time, and even when he is at home, he doesn't like to wear flip flops. I just think that wearing shoes all the time is just terrible for your feet, for they need to breath too!!! Well, it seems that I and my brother don't have anything in common, but we actually like to dress casually most of the time, even when the occasion requires a little bit of formality, we always try to wear something with a touch of informality.

My spending habits

I am usually very careful with my expenses, for before getting paid I am already doing the calculation of all I am supposed to pay in a month. After calculating all my monthly expenses I see what I have left, and then I also try to predict how much money I am going to spend on a certain month. Some people might ask: "How is it possible?" Well, you just need to consider if in a particular month there will be some bills related to something like buying birthday gifts for relatives, or if you will need to travel to spend a weekend in a place on leisure or business. Anyway, I consider myself the kind of person who doesn't like to spend too much money on things that are not useful or things that are not going to be necessary for me, but once in a while it feels really good to treat myself with something nice, just to make sure that my money is not just for paying bills, but also to do whatever I want and whenever I want too.

Describing a creative personality

I have a friend called Nelson. Actually, he is my best friend. A great guy who has an extremely huge sense of humor towards everything in life. It is so good to be around him, for I can count on him for everything, or at least for almost everything!
Just like me, he is a teacher as well, but a Spanish one. The guy is incredibly talented, for he is not just a mere teacher, he is also a clothing designer too. Recently he has produced his own brand of shirts with a very original idea. Let me just say that has something to do with music. It is a shame I can't say more about his clothing production, but as it hasn't been released yet, I just can't release any kind of information.
Besides being a clothing designer, my friend is also a singer(a very funny one), a humorist, a professional writer(something like a columnist). Well, I believe the way he sees life is what makes him so great, for no matter how hard life can be he has always a smile on his face, and that is the kind of attitude everybody must have towards life, right???!!!!

An experience that changed your life

I used to be a guy who carried a lot of money in my wallet wherever I went. I don't know why, but doing that gave me a false sense of security. I thought that always having some money with me, could be useful in an emergency. Then, one day a guy tried to rob me, and I tried to fight back him, for I didn't want my money to be stollen like that. So, he pointed is gun on my face, and there was nothing I could do, but to let him go with my wallet. I felt devastated and even tried to go to the police, but unfortunately, I lost my money. After that, I learned a lesson of not carrying money in my wallet, and not give so much value to material things, because life still is the most important thing to be saved!

New technologies in teaching languages

I hope that this space can make the difference on your writing abilities and encourage you to share your beliefs and opinions about all the themes that have been discussed in the classroom.