English Language Challenges

Learning English at university has helped me to improve a lot, from basic things like the use of capital letters, to learning the differences and correct ways of speaking in formal and informal situations. 

I think lessons could be complemented with recreational activities that include music and audiovisual material, because in my case it has helped me to get used to the language in a fun way.

About the use of blogs, I have a good opinion, because besides helping us to learn about grammar structure and vocabulary, it gives a space where we can feel free to explore things that we are interested in, it incites us to wonder about our dreams and expectations, which are really inspirational things to write about.

I guess the aspect of my English that has to be improved is the speaking, I still lack the right pronunciation and rythm to feel able to communicate with English speakers, but my plan is to improve this by living for awhile in an English-speaking country, so I can practice all the time and learn fast.

These days I'm using English for lots of things. Firstly, to watch movies and series without spanish subtitles, it helps me to get use to the language but also restricts certaing accents, like american mostly. Also now I'm working on an investigation about film continuity and it's relation with eye movents and attention, and almost all the information about this topic is in English, so I've been working hard for undestading all the papers that use too much technical words that I haven't seen before.

Changes to my study programme

Until now at my fourth year of journalism I've studied a lot of things like journalism writing, radio, and television, plus some subjects related to cultural studies, image analysis and theory and multimedia practices.

When I started the journalism studies I was shocked because in the entire curriculum wasn't any history subject, wich I consider fundamental for a journalist education, but last year the university made an entire change to the programme and now it includes history and some other important subjects, sadly I can't study those subjects because my generation it's still guided by the previous programme.

Another thing I find really urgent it's the need to start teaching students how to use all the recording and editing equipment for the television subjects. Usually teachers are more focused on teaching the foundations of reports and documentaries, they talk about rythm, plane scales, history of the audiovisual journalism, forgetting that sometimes student don't even know how to turn on a camera, which delayed us a lot at work, because we spend so much time trying to figure out how things work. Finally most of the students never learn this thecnical aspects and the ones who are really interested end up learning by themselves, which generates an unevenness in learning.

So I think in that sense this career needs a change in the contents and the teaching methods, teachers must never take for granted that students know how to use the equipments.

Winter Holidays!

Valle de Elqui

For this winter holidays I have planned to go travel to the north of Chile with my friends and my cousin who always comes to stay in my house on vacations. The idea is to go there by hitchhiking, so we don't spend too much money and have the chance to meet people in our way, also we think it's a good way to be exposed to unexpected fun we all seek in this trip.

We are thinking about staying a few days in Valle de Elqui, where we can camp and stay up watching the stars, drinking beer and laughing, maybe singing and dancing too. I've been there before but went with my parents for a day, but now I want to have the opportunity to stay there a few days and know some secret corners of the valley, and I'm sure that with my friends it will be an amazing time.

After that, we would like to keep traveling further to the north and go to Bahia Inglesa, which is a very beautiful beach, and maybe if we get lucky the wether will allows us to swim.

Bahia Inglesa

I hope that with the strike I can make my holidays coincide with those of my friends and my cousin, because we've been planning this so enthusiastically, but if it doesn't work out, staying home watching films and eating it's always a good way to rest and have a good time.