The final blog

Good evening,

Throughout my entire first session of college, I have been given the task of writing blog posts with a variety of topics concerning my EMSB internship. After three incredible months, my blogs will cease because this will be my final entry and it will contain the following : my final thoughts on my internship, my gradual development as a language learner, the results regarding my goals set in the beginning and finally, my recommendations to future students.

                         Firstly, I will remain in debt of gratitude for being allowed of having such a mouth-opening internship.Being able to work in a school board is the ultimate learning ground for language. During my internship, I had the chance to learn about several schools on the island of Montreal, a good some of the English culture present in this city and a little bit on basic computer knowledge.This allowed me to progress as a more enriched person regarding culture and vocabulary. I was being surrounded of people who were always there to help me in any way and made me grow exponentially in the inside. 

Evolution of English

As mentioned in my previous post, I feel that I have enhance my speaking skills and vocabulary.I feel more comfortable talking a person properly than talking in a vulgar and informal way.

Goals completed ?

Have my goals been accomplished ? The answer is partially.Yes I have definitely learned an incredible amount of knowledge regarding culture like politeness, but it is mostly in the vocabulary goal that I did not complete. I had much anticipation about becoming a sophisticated speaker that I ended up being slightly disappointed.Nevertheless, Rome was not built in one day, therefore I technically have accomplished my vocabulary goal but it is still under process. 

My recommendations

For those who wish to have an impeccable internship, I believe that the EMSB is the definition of perfect for English learning. I recommend this internship to those who demand improving their speaking skills and general culture knowledge.

Famous last words

To conclude, I have shared my complete thoughts and observations on this blog website. What I wished to take away with me ? Knowledge,because knowledge is priceless.

                       

this said,

Farewell

Saul-Alberto Rojas

Formality/informality 101

What is up everyone? vs Good afternoon Internet users, How are you today ?,

Properly speaking to adults or anyone is a matter of respect and to show that young students are also capable of acting in a mature manner.Sadly, I have been exposed to conversations informally spoken during my internship, but I have also been present during more formal interactions where people spoke in a subjective way.In the following paragraphs, I will be explaining both cases and the remarks that I made from this.

Informality at its peak

One day at my internship, I was stationed at my usual desk and I noticed that a co-worker of my host was sitting at her desk.Her name was Yibing and it was going to be the second time that we were going to communicate. At the beginning, I noticed that she spoke to me in a very friendly way by saying " Oh my god I've always wanted to learn Spanish it is crazy how I want to learn it!"because I mentioned that I was a native Spanish speaker. I told myself that this was not a very formal way to speak to a 17 year old college student and it turns out that she thought that I was actually 20 years old.It seemed very unlikely from my perspective.As soon as I revealed my real age to her, she then started to speak in a formal way. This made me realize how adults can speak as formal as a prime minister, but are able to speak like teenage youngsters when they are surrounded of people their age.

Formal like the Queen

Asides of the informality, there have been situations where formality was key to accomplish a good conversation. One example is when Michael Cohen entered the communication's room.He is the Head of Communications,therefore I had to address him in a respectful and mature fashion.As a college student, I stood up, walked towards him and shook his hand by saying " Good afternoon sir, how are you doing this afternoon ?" he then said "Hello Saul , I am fine thank you and yourself ?" I then thought for a second and answered " I am doing well, thank you for asking". He then replied :"That is good to know, now tell me how are you feeling about this internship ?" I explained that I felt very comfortable in this important educational establishment and that it felt very promising for my English improvements. After this conversation, I had to calm my mind because I gave it a lot of effort to make sure that I was not using informal or inappropriate vocabulary.By greeting the other co-workers in the same way each time I entered the office, it allowed to feel comfortable speaking in such a way and to also develop certain word reflexes to say while interacting with a formal person.

concluding remark

Even if there was informality at times, I felt that practicing formality is a good quality in life and this will give me an edge while talking to people.

As usual,

Until next time,

-Saul

Mastering the basics!

greetings,

My sixth blog entry will be about how my understanding and vocabulary in English has thoroughly expanded since the beginning. Likewise, I will be numerating the changes that I believe have been caused by this English internship such as accuracy,fluency and accent.

Vocabulary lesson

At the very beginning of the session, my opinion on my English speaking was pretty modest. Knowing that my vocabulary was not fully enriched, I thought to myself that I had some work to do before achieving perfection.Yet, after a 30 hour English internship, I have not reached my goal.Obviously I have learned new words and an expression, but I am not pleased with this.On another note, some of the learned words are : loonie and toonie which mean 1$ and 2$. The context of this was when I walked towards the cafeteria to buy a snack and as I got to the cash register, I realized that there was not a credit machine. Not knowing what to do, a nice gentleman asked me " what do you need?a loonie or a toonie?" At first, I did not know what he meant by that until he showed me a hand full of coins.I then concluded that it must be an English saying. I searched it up online that evening and discovered that it is known throughout the country. In the end, I felt proud of learning a new way of designating a dollar and enhancing little by little my English.

Time for change

I am convinced that this internship has helped me improve my English speaking skills based on the improvement of my accuracy in speaking, my fluency while speaking and my accent.To prove these statements, I will be explaining by using an example.Time for a little anecdote in the life of Saul. A few days ago while being present at my internship, I had a conversation with a woman named Yibing. She is a co-worker of my host.The conversation started well, though the night before, I had trouble sleeping which made me very drowsy and inattentive when someone was speaking to me.Knowing this, you are all probably thinking that the conversation went haywire. In fact, I was able to keep up with a good rhythm of speech,well articulate and express myself with ease. At some point of the conversation, I was dealt with a challenging of pronouncing the following word "philosophical". During a regular day, I would be capable of saying this word without a problem, though, because of the lack of sleep, I was sure that I was going to have to refer to the French language to say this word.( the conversation weirdly turned into a questionnaire about my college classes, that's why I had to talk about my class known as "philosophy") but I did not because my fluency,accuracy and accent did not interrupt during the conversation.This said, I believe that I became better in English thanks to this internship.

wrap-up

To conclude, my overall English speaking skills have improved and I am satisfied with this.

Until next time,

-Saul

2,4,6,8 ..no it's 5 !

Dear people of the world,

In a matter of seconds, you will be reading my fifth blog entry which will contain the following : cultural observations of the English culture, a contrast between English and French culture and the types of English I have been exposed to during the past few weeks.

English culture observations

During my last visit to an open house, it was obviously English but I had the chance to notice certain remarks that can define that school as an English school. The first fact is the name of the institute,"JFK" stands for John Fitzgerald Kennedy who was the 35th President of the United States. This symbolizes English culture because of the good deeds that this president has done in American history. The second fact would be the music playing in the halls.Of course it was popular hip-hop songs from Hollywood.This characterizes English culture in most schools because if we were to compare these schools to the French ones, the difference lays within the language.As a former French high school attender, I have lived through French culture and what defines it the most is their literature.I remember visiting french television sets and meeting french Montreal celebrities. The differences are major when it comes to both of these power cultures.

Types of English in Montreal

Throughout my internship, I have definitely heard many kinds of English. It wasn't as if it were a different language,but in the way that people express themselves,it is very noticeable to all. This was mostly common among the students who attended the open houses. The way they talk is very mellow and informal. It is a combination a bad behavior and youth. I have heard slang such as (pardon for the foul language) : "yo gee this teacher is breaking my balls." As you  may notice , this is utterly disgusting and should not be the sort of vocabulary a teenager should be using in open houses. In retrospect, I haven't encountered an enormous challenge when it comes to my communication in English. Thus far, the best part of my internship is discovering new schools in different areas of the city.

Last step : concluding

Finally, I have seen many sort English speakers and hopefully I will uncover new ways to view the differences between two opposing cultures.

as always,

farewell,

Saul

And here is number 4

hello once again all Internet users,

As written in my title, this will be my fourth blog entry. This particular blog entry will mostly be about my language skills and difficulties such as: language interference and what strategies I can apply to prevent any problems or misunderstandings while I would be having a casual conversation.I will also describe how being outside of a class improves my English skills and motivates me on becoming a better language learner.Let's get to it!

Difficulties,challenges and strategies

For many people, French is their first language but mine is Spanish.Strangely, it does not interfere with my communication in English.Ironically, it is definitely my third language who interferes with my English skills,which is French. From time to time, I tend to find more comfort while speaking French than speaking English depending on the subject and context. During my internship, I have not met this problem of mine yet because I prepare myself by talking nothing but English for an entire hour before arriving at my internship. This allows me to search for better and profound words which I can use in a conversation with a principal or a teacher.This is a strategy that I have applied for as long as I can remember.On the other hand, language interference can help me find a certain word or expression by using another language. I believe this is called a cognate; in this case it should be a cross linguistics cognate.

a classroom with no walls

The fact that this class revolves around an internship and not noting taking, helps all students,like myself, apply what they have learned during the past years in a real life situation where they will be forced to look for the right words to express themselves in English. I find this idea ingenious because of all of its aspects. An ordinary classroom may get dull and monotonous owing to the fact that there is a lack of action and excitement. An internship motivates students beyond any regular classroom will ever be able to.This helps students acquire a bank a different language structure,vocabulary and expressions by being submerged into a specific English context.

Moment to conclude

In conclusion, I have yet to face any challenge regarding the fact that my classroom is the world itself and how I wish to keep learning new strategies every day.

best regards,

Saul

Here comes the third one!

greetings all,

As you all may know, I am continuously active in my EMSB internship and today i shall describe a couple of conversations that I've had with English speaking teachers and principals. This description will also contain new expressions or words that I have acquired or overheard during my visit to open houses. Furthermore, this blog entry will have some of my cultural observations of the English culture in Montreal.

 New words, New meanings,how exciting!

Recently , I have gone to the JFK high school located near the St-Michel metro and noted how differently people there express themselves.At the beginning, I spoke to a mathematics teacher who thoroughly explained how the school gave the option of choosing some classes in French and others in English. By analyzing her method of speech, I was able to notice that her first language was English. How did Saul acquire this information you may ask ? the answer is simple. As a bilingual, I can predict if people are mostly English or French speakers by hearing nothing but a handful of phrases.One of the signs were that she struggled to explain certain concepts and she frequently depended on hand gestures to get her message through. Oppositely to her English, I discovered how vast and expanded her vocabulary was and I also learned what rambunctious meant. Though she wasn't a linguistics teacher, she taught a new word in a matter of minutes. Nevertheless, my visits do enhance my English speaking abilities.

 what a culture!

Visiting school from the EMSB  have made me exposed frequently to the English culture in Montreal. After many open houses, I am convinced that the English and French culture are very different because of several reasons and examples. To prove this statement, I have noted that in every open house that I have gone to, gentle students greet me with the most utter of respect and offer services such as : tour guides, coffee and even food.Unlike French schools, these students have manners and do not act in a rambunctious matter when they are around adults.I have also notice how English schools have a far more strict dress code and demand that students dress with respect. 

conclusion time !

To conclude my entry, I have learned many new concepts about the English culture and also the differences between English and French school. I hope to continue on these foot steps to become a better linguistics student.

Until next time,

Saul

Welcome to all,

This is my second blog post about my internship with the EMSB. I will be describing my first evening at an open house and certain things that I have observed during  my time there.

To start off, the 3rd of October 2013 was the beginning of my internship.Unlike the others, My schedule is very flexible. My hours are counted for each open house I visit and so far, I have visited only one. My task was to evaluate the open house of the Royal Vale School from 7 pm until 9 pm. As soon as I stepped into the school, I felt the warm English ambition with every step I took. I noticed how different school can be depending on the language taught in the educational institute. The English culture was present because I observed how the school teachers and principal smiled and welcomed the parents of their students. I also noticed how the English language is spoken unceasingly by the visitors and teachers.During my whole life, I have never been surrounded by so many English speakers at once. It felt very delightful  knowing that other people share a common language with me.Unfortunately, I did not learn any new words nor any new language structures. I hope to learn new words and meanings during my next visit. 

Also, I observed how parents interacted with each other. Their way of speaking English is slightly different than what I expected. I was presuming on hearing much more profound and very explicit, yet what I heard was if I may say the "English Montreal". The mix of French and English completely flabergasted me! That evening, I was not in the company of  my host named Daniel. I think that if he were present, it might have helped me discover new words from an enriched English speaking man. 

In conclusion, my first evening went utterly average and hopefully during my next visit to an open house, I will be closer to my goals of vocabulary enhancement.

on this note,

goodbye

-Saul