YACHAY TECH UNIVERSITY ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROGRAM
My y e n r u o j Ángel Villacreses Yachay . Ecuador
MY JOURNEY Á
NGEL
VILLACRESES
Enghlis
Language
Yachay
Tech
Level
University
6 002 -
Teacher: January
Yachay,
Program
Allysa
Wolfe
10 2017 ,
Ecuador
Contents
1. Portfolio Letter 2. Response essay 3. Argumentation essay 4. Literary Analysis essay 5. Final research project essay 6. Additional materials 7. Thank you letter
PORTFOLIO LETTER Á H
NGEL
VILLACRESES
2 2 -
Yachay
Tech
Urcuqui,
Imbabura,
December
Ecuador
12 2016 ,
Dear Portfolio reader, First of all, thank you very much for reading my English Digital Portfolio which is a collection of my work of the level six English course. I hope you enjoy its content. My name is Ă ngel Villacreses. Throughout this level, I have learned many things, among them academic and nonacademic skills. My portfolio shows the knowledge I have acquired during the last three years that I have as an English student at Yachay University. This semester has been completely different from what I had thought. For this reason, I had to begin to push myself to get good grades. I belong to the first generation at Yachay Tech. I arrived three years ago when we received English class three hours per day in the leveling course. In the beginning was not difficult because we are mixed with different level in only one. But it was very tiring because always the class was in the lunch time. In this level my teacher was Lydia, for me she was the best teacher of all but also I have had many good teachers like Tyson, Matthew, Hamilton, and Alyssa. In all this time, thanks to English class I have make many friends of different semester which until today I have communication with them. During the English course, I have learned many things. In the first levels, I learned many about grammar and listening. I remember a lot of theses levels because all it was easy, I I was not studying because the material was simple. Furthermore, in level five and especially in the level six it all got complicated because we start to work with our writing and speaking. Initially, I was scared because I am a nervous person and that is why I hated English. Nevertheless, I worked hard and started to develop my skills.
Thanks to this, I have learned and improved non-academic competencies like losing my fear when I have to speak in front of my class because I was forced to put aside my fear but sometimes I still get nervous. On the other hand, something I have learned is not to leave my English duties for the last moment. Now I am a bit more organized and I do not leave for the last day my tasks, essays, and presentations. Since I was never good to improvise in English. As a result, comparing my previous presentations and essay notes with those of this semester, now are better. In level six, I had some problems doing my papers. However, I really feel I have learned so much since the first day of classes until now. For example, comparing my first essay with the last essay can be reflected my effort and dedication. Something that has served me a lot at this level, is to speak every day at the beginning of each class on a topic chosen by the teacher. Thanks to this, my presentations have improved a lot and although there have been unforeseen events in my presentations, in the end everything came out very well. To conclude, I want to thank again all my teachers and friends who have accompanied me throughout all these years, since without them I could not be where I am now. I take a lot of positive things from my English course. It was hard to receive many hours of English a week, but I think it has helped me progress in many ways like fighting my fears. However, my learning does not end here because from now on I have the knowledge to continue on my own. In short, I really enjoyed these classes because I learned to push myself even further. Sincerely, Ă ngel Villacreses
RESPONSE ESSAY Á
NGEL
Yachay Urcuqu
VILLACRESES
Tech
í
,
Imbabura,
September
Ecuador
30 2016 ,
Why self-education is so important than formal education?
“The education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom� (George Washington, 1941). How can we make self-education and formal education work together? Why self-education for society does not have the same value than formal education? What is the best way to study to become a professional? Education is a fundamental tool in the life of any person because it allows developing important values such as responsibility, punctuality, respect, and kindness. Its main objective is to find a decent job with which to improve the quality of life. There are two forms of education: the first is imparted in a classroom with teachers and the second is when you educate yourself in any place and time. There is a great debate about which is better if formal education or self-education. The best decision a person can take is to study at the university and at the same time educate himself. Then, formal education is necessary because it helps a person can have extensive knowledge in various aspects like in the exact, natural, and social sciences. As a result, a person is able to understand and reason. Formal education has many advantages; for example, if you study a formal education you will obtain a University degree, and you can learn about experiences, applications of knowledge and some tricks to solve a problem from teachers.
Thus, you will have more possibilities to achieve a job faster than others. Thanks to schedules for each subject, assignments, and exams for a specific day, you will be a responsible and respectful person and it provides the discipline that does not give you the self-education. Formal education promotes the good environment for the students and gives the opportunity to improve with other students such as learning new method to resolve a problem, learning about the life, learning about new cultures or religion, and even changing new ideas, but the main objective of a student is to get the title that certifies him as a professional. Earning a University degree is not a guarantee that you will achieve a good job in your chosen career, or you will obtain a good quality of life, but you will become a respected person in the society. In fact, there are many hugely successful people who became millionaires or billionaires who are college dropouts. But this does not mean you are going to be a millionaire if you leave the university because the most people will not be rich. Therefore, it could say that the university is not the only path to achieve a successful life. The self-education is not only to read a book of self-help, and it cannot be compared with a university degree. Many people consider themselves equal to or more intelligent than others by reading selfhelp books. Education in the life of a person is essential to develop multiple knowledge and skills, that is why there is an educational network that undertakes to foster knowledge as schools and universities.
As the author says “The problem is when one tries to replace selfeducation for more formal training. Such as trying to give yourself the equivalent to an undergraduate degree in computer science, nutrition or accounting� (Young S.H, 2010). In this case, I completely agree with the author as self-education is a very good practice that students and people have because they want to excel for themselves without being dependent on anyone; for instance, it is a tool used by people who really are interested in their future and the world in which they live. However, many people have a misconception about self-education equivalent and they are awarded merit that they do not have; for example, many times they believe that by reading a few books or watch a few videos of a particular subject are already experts as someone who has a college degree. In the beginning of this article, the author expresses a personal hatred towards people who learn for themselves because they do not like to go to university. (In) Respect to this opinion, I do not agree with the author about the formal education is better than self-education in an environment for deep learning. Because I believe university often force students to take classes that are not relevant to their career; for example, here in Yachay there are many careers such as biology, chemistry, maths, physics, etc.
But the university compels you to take courses that have no relation to your career; moreover, in the case of TIC's, you do not need biology or geology to be a professional in computers, but here it is required. I consider these courses are a waste of time for most people, especially those who do not like this subject or are not good at it. Why would a TIC’s student need to know any of that information? In the worst case, this could be an obstacle in students lives. To state that no one has the discipline to stick to self-education because they have no constraints is wrong. I think the most important thing is how you learn things and whether you are passionate about the subject or not. For example, I believe that school education on its own just is not enough because the teachers try to give much content in very little time, and not all the people have the same ability to learn; that is to say, there is a lot of general information and very little time to ingest it.
In conclusion, formal education works together self-education because formal education is a good tool to achieve credibility in the society, and to search a good job also makes you a person criticizes with the ability to analyze other thoughts. In defense of them, while you learn new things about the world around you. Therefore, selfeducation allows people the opportunity to acquire new knowledge or deepen those already have; even more, it creates a good psychological relation with themselves.
References
Young,H.S. Why Self-Educated Learners Often Come Up Short. February, 2010. Retrieved from : https://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2010/02/24/self-educationfailings/
ARGUMENTATION ANALYSIS Á
NGEL
Yachay Urcuqu
VILLACRESES
Tech
í
,
Imbabura,
November
Ecuador
22 2016 ,
Languages has a greater effect on ethics and morality
A new study from Scientific American finds that people using a foreign language can change his feelings and his thinking, making decisions based on assessments of what is the best for the common good. To choice is a decision can be difficult and appear to be made differently when processed in a foreign Language which would produce an emotional difficult outcome, like sacrificing one life so others could live. According to Janet Coipel “ our childhood languages vibrate with grater emotional intensity than do those learned un more academic settings�. The best way of you are agreeing is a personal experience so an anecdote evidence of this but in another context can be the different way of thinking depends on the language used. In my native language, do not swear a lot and I try to avoid it if I can express myself otherwise. But in my foreign language such as in English, I can swear a lot easier than my native language, and I do not find it as offensive as the same equivalent in my language. For this, I could misjudge expressions as mild when native speakers do not, because simply the word have less emotional impart for me.
Language make a difference. According to one explication such judgments involve two separate and competing modes of thinking: gutlevel “feeling� and careful deliberation about the grates good for the greatest number. This hypotheses with the last paragraph have the same idea: That we learn to speak and thinking in another language, bud base on our instincts like judgment, emotion and intuition which we do not translate so easily. In our native language that come most naturally or easily to us, those things will overpower; in the foreign language, rationality stand more of a fighting chance. The emotional content of the language is often lost in translation. People learn the native language as a child and it is part of his family and his culture. But when you learn foreign language you lost emotional content because you try to do extra effort to understand all around you. In conclusion with this study we can tell that moral judgments cab affected depending on whether the language in which is presented is a native or foreign. People are less afraid of loss and take more risks when thinking in a foreign language.
References
Sedivy J. (2016). How Morality Changes in a Foreign Language. Retrieved from :https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/howmorality-changes-in-a-foreign-language/
LITERARY ANALYSIS ESSAY Á
NGEL
Yachay Urcuqu
VILLACRESES
Tech
í
,
October
Imbabura,
13 2016 ,
Ecuador
What does Araby Symbolize to the boy? Why is this important element of the story? This story represents an adventure and the title “Araby” suggest escape. The author talks about life on North Richmond Street. The narrator of this story is young boy who is raised with his aunt and uncle. He has a neighbor who called Morgan; he and his sister live in a building across the street. The narrator develops love for his friends Morgan’s sister. Araby’s theme is frustration. One day the boy achieves to speak with her and he invited her to go to Araby. She can not go because she will go a retreat that week in her convent. The narrator who is sad said ! If I go, I will bring you something” (1914). He dream was to buy a romantic gift but many situation does not allow it. He had many romantic ideas but he can not but anything for different situations and the boy feels frustration. He gets permission to go yo bazaar when his uncle get permission he can not concentrate; he only thinks in the girl and the gift that he could buy. When the day arrives, the boy had to wait for his uncle in the house to give hum the money to go to the bazaar. That night, his uncle is late because she has forgotten it but when she arrives the boy goes to the bazaar.They boy arrived to late to do any serious shopping. This is a tipical situation that can occur in life.
You can not control all things in your life, there are many situation that not depend on yoou if not others. For this reason you feel frustration. When he arrives at the bazaar it is closing. He examines the things but they are too expensive for him. His fantasies about the bazaar and buying a great gift for her crush are now ridiculus. For this reason, the story end with a narrator despairs who say: “ Gazing up into the darkness I saw my self as creature driven and derided by vonity, and my eyes burned with anguish and anger” (1914).
References: James J. (1914) “ Araby” The dublliners
FINAL RESEARCH PROJECT ESSAY Á
NGEL
Yachay
VILLACRESES
Tech
Urcuqui,
Ecuador
December
6 2016 ,
Why is formal education just as important as self-education? Ă ngel Gabriel Villacreses Ponce English Level 6-002 Alyssa Wolfe December 6, 2016
Abstract
In this research project it will discuss in depth a very important aspect in the life of any person, the education. At present, there are numerous studies on education, so in this project we will focus on delve about the two types of learning: Formal education and self-education, which have been subjected to many studies. For this reason, and although researchers have come to a consensus that both methods are fundamental in all student career and have achieved evaluate the advantages and disadvantages between them. We will try to summarize and extract the best of both forms of learning for the student having information to help you find the best path in his professional life.
Why is formal education just as important as self-education?
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world� -Nelson Mandela. The purpose of this document is make known the students the types of education that exist, allowing the student to value which could be your best study option depending on your preferences and or career goals. This project pretending to obtain relevant and interesting information that motivates students to achieve their goals through self-education and formal education. It is planned to make an exhaustive study through research scientific articles, reputable and reliable websites and overcoming autobiographical books. The questions to be answered are the following: What is formal education? what is the self-education?, how would each one of them contributes to promote good learning?, what are the advantages and disadvantages of both methods?, and What are the examples of successes that can be achieved by applying both methods ? With this we will achieve to compare attitudes and skills developed by the students depending on their study.
Formal education is also known as a regulated formation. According to Saki (1988) “Formal education corresponds to a systematic, organized education model, structured and administered according to a given set of laws and norms, presenting a rather rigid curriculum as regards objectives, content and methodology. It is characterized by a contiguous education process which necessarily involves the teacher, the students and the institution�. Therefore, formal education is the learning process usually offered by a structured education center that concludes with a certification. In other words, it is classroom-based, provided by trained teachers. Hence, why is necessary formal education? Is fundamental because it helps people to have more extensive knowledge in various aspects like in the exact, natural and social sciences. As a result, a person is able to understand and reason by himself. Formal education has many advantages; for example, if you study a formal education you will obtain a university degree which is often guided and recognized by government at some level; you learn about new experiences, applications of knowledge and some tricks to solve a problem from teachers. Consequently, you will have more possibilities to achieve a job faster than others because this is a basic requirement recognised for employment. In addition, thanks to schedules for each subject, assignments, and exams for a specific day, you will be a responsible and respectful person and it provides you the discipline that self-education does not provide. Formal education promotes a good environment for the
students and gives them the opportunity to improve with other students; such as learning new method to resolve a problem, learning about life, learning about new cultures or religion, and even changing new ideas, but the main objective of a student is to get the title that certifies him as a professional. Nevertheless, earning a university degree is not a guarantee that you will achieve a good job in your chosen career, or that you will obtain a good quality of life. But, you will become a respected person in the society (Young, S. H., 2010). One of the main problems in formal education is based on academic excellence. The disadvantage of being an excellent student and meeting the objectives proposed by teachers is that there is practically no time to develop real thoughts. The Most of the excellent students, the only thing that matters to them is to have good grades and be the best at what they do. However, by focusing on these purposes they forget one very important aspect, which is to generate innovative or creative ideas that solve real-world problems. Sometimes, these students spend fifteen to twenty years studying to get scholarships for their academic achievements. But in truth, this student has not bothered to learn, since the main objective pursued by higher education is that they develop their skills to better quality the lives of more people .
Self-education is also known as informal education. According to Saki (1988) “Informal education does not correspond to an organized and systematic view of education; informal education does not necessarily include the objectives and subjects usually encompassed by the traditional curricula. It is aimed at students as much as at the public at large and imposes no obligations whatever their nature. There generally being no control over the performed activities, informal education does not of necessity regard the providing of degrees or diplomas; it merely supplements both formal and non-formal education”. Therefore, informal education is that which happens outside the classroom. For example in after-school programs about anything activity, lectures in the institutions, programs to develop your abilities in the cultural center, visit to museums or in your own house while you are listening to radio or TV on educational topics. Education in the life of a person is essential to develop different knowledge and skills. “The problem is when one tries to replace self-education for more formal training. Such as trying to give yourself the equivalent to an undergraduate degree in computer science, nutrition or accounting” (Young, S. H., 2010). In other words, self-education is a good practice that students and people have because they want to excel for themselves without being dependent on anyone; for instance, it is a tool used by people who really are interested in their future and the world in which they live. However, many people have a misconception about self-education and They give themselves merits that they do not possess;
in other words, sometimes they believe that by reading a few books or watch a few videos of a particular subject are already experts as someone who has a college degree. Many people believe that self-education is boring and tedious. However, it should be seen as a kind of intellectual game or something entertaining. Since the main objective of self-education is to know yourself in order to develop your strengths and spend more time with people in everyday situations. Some advantages and benefits of the self-taught methodology are: • One self can pose problems and evaluate solution alternatives. • The person learns to research and innovate for himself. • It allows learning to discern between the main and the complementary. • It creates a sense of responsibility and not obligation. • It promotes curiosity and self-discipline. • Many self-learning people say that this task has not only taught them that skill, but it has also helped shape your personality in a positive way. • By not having to keep up with a group, you can spend more time on what you has difficulties and less to what is easier (Derkra College [APA],n.d).
"Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune� -Jim Rohn. Both formal education and self-education offer different strengths for its educational extension project. The first develops skills in a classroom while the second is everything that is learned outside of it. But how true is what Jim Rom says, is there more life after school? Having a formal education is very important because it helps us to develop as young people, but learning only begins when school ends. The trick is to invest time in oneself. Since the fact of doing new things, you do not change the old habits nor the way of thinking about life. Therefore, knowledge learned in class is not enough, otherwise the mind must be educated. In this way, what is achieved is to become a leader with a very promising future. As long as you do not forget to put all your maximum effort and time to develop new skills and your way of thinking. In order to change your own economy. In the technology industry, nobody stops learning. This fact is because technology is continuously advanced, therefore, over time what was believed to be suitable for certain work has become obsolete. Technology unlike laws or medicine changes suddenly. Because of that the basic concepts learned in the university are outdated. So why study at university? This formal education offered by the university allows building social skills, learning to perform different tasks, and developing skills that are very useful to applying in the professional career.
In short, to be able to succeed in any field of work must be constantly updated. For this it is necessary to be continuously learning new things that formal education has not provided. In contrast, there are many examples of successful millionaires who have made their fortune without having obtained a university degree. According to the magazine The Economist “16% of the 400 people with the greatest fortune in the world do not have any type of university education�. Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Amancio Ortega, who is among the world's three richest, did not even finish school. These tycoons have created technological empires by their own merits without having finished their university studies. It is often said that people with higher education have much better employability conditions and much higher salaries than those with no studies or middle-level education (Young, S. H., 2010). However, in the world of entrepreneurship do not always work in the same way. Since neither the university career guarantees success nor the absence of titles condemns the entrepreneur to failure. Since many times these entrepreneurs faced very difficult challenges which they surpassed without needing to have a degree. Education, mainly the university, is very important to develop skills and certain skills, but these will never be complete in their entirety. However, it is vital for every entrepreneur not to abandon their studies because the more knowledge is acquired better they will face the world in which they surround him.
In addition, it should be noted that these examples of successful millionaires are just exceptional cases. So, it is necessary to implement the knowledge acquired in classes and develop the creativity, and commitment that are fundamental to achieve success. In conclusion, formal education works together self-education because formal education is a good tool to achieve credibility in the society, and to found a good job also makes you a person criticizes with the ability to analyze other thoughts. Therefore, self-education allows people the opportunity to acquire new knowledge or deepen those already have; even more, it creates a good psychological relation with themselves.
References
Young, S. H. Why Self-Educated Learners Often Come Up Short. February, 2010. Retrieved from : https://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2010/02/24/self-education-failings/ Zaki Dib C. (1988). FORMAL, NON-FORMAL AND INFORMAL EDUCATION: CONCEPTS/APPLICABILITY. Cooperative Networks in Physics Education , 1, 300-315. Derkra College. (n.d). DISTANCE EDUCATION AND SELF-DEVELOPED LEARNING. december 4,2016, de Derkra College Sitio web: http://www.portalplanetasedna.com.ar/Educacion%20a%20Distancia% 20y%20Aprendizaje%20Autodidacta.pdf
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS
THANK YOU! Thank you for reading my portfolio and I hope that you liked it and enjoyed it.
Best regards,
Ă
ngel Villacreses