All in all, I was pleased to use the internet during my exam, and it was a supporting and nice tool. So, I hope that internet will be allowed when testing in the future, because i think that it will improve the test results!
International English
tirsdag 12. juni 2012
Should we allow the use of internet when testing?... YES
When my teacher told me that I was allowed to use internet during my exam, I became very surprised and glad, at first. Later, I started thinking if this was just going to confuse me and give me too much information to handle. After having my exam with use of internet, I am convinced that this is a positive and supporting tool. It was very helpful to look up grammar and linguistic tools on the internet, and I think that my text contains less grammar errors than before. Another thing was that I got to collect a lot of information on my topic.
torsdag 10. mai 2012
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Ann Brashares |
We were given the task in class, to read a book written by an English-speaking
author, published later than 1950. I wanted to read a feel-good story, and the
first that came in mind was “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”. I saw the
movie with same name when I was younger, and decided that I wanted to read the
book as well. Ann Brashares is the #1 New York Times bestselling
author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The Second
Summer of the Sisterhood, Girls in Pants, and Forever
in Blue. I have just read the first novel of this award-winning series, and
I enjoyed it just as much as the movie, if not even more.
The story is as simple as it's genius; we follow one
pair of jeans, four girls and their unforgettable summer. As they are spending
their last days together before their first summer apart since birth, they
discover a pair of jeans, which miraculously fits all of them. The four girls,
Lena, Bridget, Tibby and Carmen, decide that they'll send "the traveling
pants" back and forth among themselves throughout the summer. I would say
that the pants are the missing link in their dependable and solid friendship,
and it keeps them together during the summer.
It is a "bildung" novel, also called
"coming of age" novel, following four young persons' transitions from
childhood to adulthood. The theme of
friendship is quite relevant in this novel. They all learn that they can get
through everything if they have their friends to rely on in the end. Almost
everyone are familiar to this theme, and will once or maybe twice in their life
experience that their best friends are the most important and reliable. Even
though you get a crush on a nice guy, you should never set him before your best
friends. And if you've done something really bad, your friends are always there
to comfort you. You may know the expression; bros over hoes.
Lena, Carmen, Tibby and Bridget |
“The
loving depiction of enduring and solid friendship will ring true to readers,
who will appreciate this recognition of one of life’s most important
relationships.”—The Bulletin
onsdag 2. mai 2012
Advice to fellow students
If we should take the exam
using Internet or not, is quite debated. Some teachers and sensors think that
the Internet only makes the students confused and that the possibility of cheating
increases. On the other hand, some think that using Internet during the exam
makes the students more open minded, reflected and independent.
I think that there are both
pros and cons in this debate. Firstly, I became very glad when I heard that our
class was chosen to be some of the first students to use Internet during the
exam. I get a lot of my inspiration from articles I have read, and do therefore
think that my exam would be much more reflected and well written. You get to
see other persons’ reflections upon the topic and get a lot of inspiration;
some might even say that the Internet is too inspirational. What characterizes
an exam with use of Internet, is often plagiarism, not use of own words and too
much of other students’ reflections.
With this in mind, I think
that all students should be allowed to use Internet during the exam. Even
though some students use a lot of other persons’ words, I would guess that most
students don’t. In fact, this shows which students who have the vocabulary and
knowledge to write their “own” texts.
Another thing to have in mind
when you write an article is what kind of sources you use. Every teacher I have
ever had, say: don’t use Wikipedia! I understand this, but personally I think
that it is okay to use this site, as long as you compare it to other sources.
The best way of collecting information is to compare the material with at least
two sites. I am, along with a handful of other students, not checking my
sources well enough before using them.
Safe and informative sources
recommended by my teacher might be Sweet Search, Ref Seek, Wolfram Alpha and
Google. I use Google in 99,99% of the cases, and admit that I should be better at
using other search engines. When you have found a reliable source you want to
use, it is extremely important that you write it down in your exam. If you want
to learn how to do it properly, click here. As a last advice before your exam:
use the Internet carefully and always write down your sources!
tirsdag 20. mars 2012
"Into the Wild"
It's been a while since last time we watched a movie
in class, and since last time I posted a blog entry. However, today we watched
"Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer, a movie based on the real story of Christopher
Johnson McCandless. He lived with his mother, father and sister in West
Virginia. His parents were very materialistic, something that didn't match
Chris's idea of a simple life. His parents frequently fought and argued, and it
seemed to me as they tried to clear their conscience by buying stuff for Chris
and his sister.
Alexander Supertramp in front of the bus |
After
graduating college, he decided to live out his dream of a simple life, he
became a hitchhiker. As a hitchhiker he adopted the name Alexander Supertramp,
and set out on a life changing trip.
With nothing but a back pack and some clothes he left his material life
with Alaska as the final goal. Some time later
he was in Alaska, on his own, with nothing but the nature to provide
him. However, knowledge was not enough to survive, and he starved to death.
You may
wonder why he would trade a bright future for death by starvation in an
abandoned bus in Alaska. I think that a part of it was his need for
self-realization, and the fact that he couldn't stand his parent's lifestyle.
He describes that what he was looking for was "ultimate freedom",
which to him was living completely isolated with only the laws of nature to
follow. By this, he wanted to obtain happiness too. However, he realizes that
"happiness is only real when shared".
Alexander Supertramp - freedom |
mandag 30. januar 2012
"The Great Debaters"
Film Cover |
One thing
that was quite obvious in the film was the differences between white and
Negros. Another thing that I noticed, was the elder "wise" men's
dominant role in the society. One in particular was the relationship between
the debater James L. Farmer Jr. and his father, James L. Farmer Sr. He spoke to his son
like a teacher would talk to his student, if not even stricter, and referred to
him as "Junior" instead of his real name. I got the feeling that Mr.
Farmer wanted his son to be just like him, successful and intelligent. However,
this relationship develops throughout the film when Mr. Farmer realize that his
son is quite a remarkable boy, and eventually begins to treat him like he
should.
James L. Farmer Jr. |
The
debate team's hard work and their
countless victories led to an invitation to face Harvard University's national
champions. After a cut-throat debate, Tolson's debate team conquers Harvard's
champions. Although this was a great milestone, I must say I liked the one that
happened some time before was more touching. When "Junior" was
leaving to debate, James L. Farmer Sr. hugged his son good bye and for the first time
he called his son James, his real name. I think that this shows how proud Mr.
Farmer actually was, and the look on his son's face was so touching.
søndag 22. januar 2012
"Lamb to the Salughter" by Roald Dahl
The best
books I read as a child was written by Roald
Dahl, because they are so well written and easy to understand.
"Matilda", "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and
"Witches" were the ones I enjoyed reading the most, I am sure I've
read them at least three times each.
However, today in class we read "Lamb to the Slaughter" and later saw
the dramatizing of it by Alfred Hitchcock. I am not sure if I have read or seen
it before, but it was something about it that made me wonder if I have. I must
say that I enjoyed reading it rather than watching it, mainly because there are
some differences and I liked the version of Roald Dahl better.
Mary Maloney and one of the policemen in the background |
tirsdag 10. januar 2012
"She makes storytelling seem as easy as a birdsong"
Cover of the book |
So far I
have read to of the novels, and I am looking forward to read more of them.
however, I have done some analyzing to dig deeper into the stories. I have
chosen two paragraphs from each novel to describe the plot and the development
of the main character. Further I have explained why I chose these
particular paragraphs.
Novel: "The thing around your
neck"
|
My
Words
|
|
Plot
|
"You
knew by people's reactions that you to were an abnormal couple - the way the
nasty one were to nasty and the nice ones to nice. (…) The white men and
women who said "What a good-looking pair" too brightly, too loudly,
as though to prove their own open-mindedness to themselves." Page 125
|
The
novel is about a young couple who finds it hard to feel accepted by the society. At that
time it was quite abnormal to see a couple of a black and a white, so it
wasn't too hard to guess that they would get looks. The fact that most of the
society didn't accept it is another story, one that luckily has been
developed throughout the years.
|
Development
of the main character
|
"So
when he asked you what African country you were from, you said Nigeria and
expected him to say that he had donated money to fight AIDS in Botswana. But
he asked if you were Yoruba or Igbo, because you didn't have a Fulani face.
You were surprised - you thought he must be a professor of anthropology at
the state university, a little young in his late twenties or so, but who was
to say? Igbo, you said. He asked your name and said Akunna was pretty. He did
not ask what it meant, fortunately, because you were sick of how people said,
"Father's wealth'? You mean like your father will actually sell you to a
husband?""
|
I think
that this moment really changed Akunna's view of Juan. Earlier she was very
uncomfortable in Juan's presence, because she thought he was just another
prototype American. But now she realized that he is a genuine, nice guy who
just wants to be kind to her and learn more about her.
|
Novel: "Cell One"
|
My
Words
|
|
Plot
|
"When
he took the key of my father's car and pressed it into a piece of soap
that my father found before Nnamabia
could take it to a locksmith, she made vague sounds about how he was just
experimenting and didn't mean a thing." Page 6-7
|
I have
chosen to use this quote to describe the plot of the story. This is mainly
because it describes most of Nnamabia's actions, and a very important
messages is to be found in this sentence. Nnamabia's mom let him do whatever
he wanted, with no consequences given, which I think is why he did what he
did. He is also described as a handsome young man, one thing that maybe let
him do more stuff.
|
Development
of the main character
|
"Nnamabia
stopped there and we asked him nothing else. Instead I imagined him raising
his voice, calling the policeman a stupid idiot, a spineless coward, a
sadist, a bastard, and I imagined the shock of the policemen, the shock of
the chief staring openmouthed, the other cell mates stunned at the audacity
of the handsome boy from the university." Page 21
|
This
particular sentence shows us Nnamabia's development throughout the novel.
From the way Nnamabia had acted earlier in the novel, this wouldn't be the
expected behavior. After a stay in prison, he learn more about himself and
the people around him. He saw people suffering, and realized that he didn't
really had much to complain about.
|
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