Portfolio Entry #6: SFL: Systemic Functional Linguistics

Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) is an approach that allows us to represent the structure of language at the level of form. During the study, Michael Halliday states that the semiotic resources of the language are developed by how people use them to make meaning, emphasizing the social functions they are put to. 

The next Google Slide Presentation is based on the theory about Genre, Text, Grammar: Technologies for Teaching and Assessing Writing

Genre, text and Grammar from  ElianaGonzlez15 

📝The next videos express more information about BASIC PRINCIPLES of SFL

Interactive Board

http://linoit.com/users/elianasolgonza/canvases/LEE%20IV

📌(I embed the URL of my virtual interactive board because the HTLM does not visualize)

⇝⇝ According to SFL, it can examine the inside of the language and it helps us to understand the context and explain the meanings of my productions which were born in pandemic and developed in digital media. In other words, SFL enables me to explore how meanings are represented in context, and this theory focuses on three specific perspectives that allow me to construct and search how meanings are explained since I write or speak in English such as in digital texts, tweets and blogs or a paper.

It is significant to know discourse analysis as a powerful tool that helps us to make sense of written or spoken language. Furthermore, it studies information such as the grammatical aspects and roles that we need to achieve communicative purposes.  

Nowadays, as a student, I should not only acquire aspects regarding vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation, but I also need to know how to use the language in real situations. Additionally, I am a learner and I should learn how to identify the purpose of texts.  Due to the fact, I will need to continue exploring the necessary tools to identify the structure of texts in terms of language, genre, functions, form, linguistic features, words, and intentions to lead them to complex analyses of discourses.⇜

Portfolio Entry #5: Paragraph Organization

Parts of the Paragraph from ElianaGonzlez15 

The information mentioned in the text was taken from English Lessons with Alex (engVid AlexESLvid). May 19, 2009. Parts of a Paragraph - English Academic Writing Introduction.

👇

➽Examples of Topic Sentences

  I saw around Velva a release from what was like slavery to the tyrannical soil, release from the ignorance that darkens the soul and from the loneliness that corrodes it. In this generation, my Velva friends have rejoined the general American society that their pioneering fathers left behind when they first made the barren trek in the days of the wheat rush. As I sit here in Washington writing this, I can feel their nearness. (from Eric Sevareid, "Velva, North Dakota") 

·Topic Sentence: Many politicians deplore the passing of the old family-sized farm, but I'm not so sure. is correct. 

·Explanation: Sevareid argues that farming is destructive as a way of life, no matter what romantic notions are attached to it. He is not writing about the productivity of farms, about his own life story ("I grew up on a family-sized farm..."), and his main point is not that people moved away from the cities in the late nineteenth century.

 

The first is the wear-and-tear hypothesis that suggests the body eventually succumbs to the environmental insults of life. The second is the notion that we have an internal clock that is genetically programmed to run down. Supporters of the wear-and-tear theory maintain that the very practice of breathing causes us to age because inhaled oxygen produces toxic by-products. Advocates of the internal clock theory believe that individual cells are told to stop dividing and thus eventually to die by, for example, hormones produced by the brain or by their own genes. (from Debra Blank, "The Eternal Quest" [edited]). 

·Topic Sentence: There are two broad theories concerning what triggers a human's inevitable decline to death. is correct. 

·Explanation: This paragraph is a straightforward description of two possibilities, neither of which is preferred over the other. In this case, it would be wrong to mention only one of the possibilities (the "internal time clock") in the topic sentence, or to treat it as a philosophical discussion of death itself ("we all must die..."). As for the biology professor, He or she might very well have given an interesting lecture, but that has nothing to do with the content of the paragraph.

 

The strictest military discipline imaginable is still looser than that prevailing in the average assembly-line. The soldier, at worst, is still able to exercise the highest conceivable functions of freedom -- that is, he or she is permitted to steal and to kill. No discipline prevailing in peace gives him or her anything remotely resembling this. The soldier is, in war, in the position of a free adult; in peace, he or she is almost always in the position of a child. In war, all things are excused by success, even violations of discipline. In peace, speaking generally, success is inconceivable except as a function of discipline. (from H.L. Mencken, "Reflections on War" [edited]). 

·Topic Sentence: We commonly look at the discipline of war as vastly more rigid than any discipline necessary in time of peace, but this is an error. is correct.

·Explanation: The topic sentence must emphasize the comparative nature of the paragraph. Mencken does argue that soldiers need discipline, but this is not all he argues in this paragraph. Likewise, while soldiers may well serve an important function in wartime, and while they may well be able to compete well in peacetime, neither of these points is discussed in the paragraph.

 

↬The following presentation shows information about the importance of Topic Sentences and Paragraphs in the realization of a text ↫

⇝ Speaking for myself this task was informative. First, it allows me to refresh some special points about the right use of theory with a topic sentence and the organization and further realization of a paragraph. Second, it gives me more tools and knowledge in writing since it lets me think if I am using the information in an adequate form. Due to the fact, a paragraph is not only a group of sentences but it presents, develops, and supports a single idea.

I would like to point out that I made my presentations using differents technological multimedia presentations. I made a google search and I have found two great resources. They are Canva and Emaze. They let me make more dynamic presentations. Also, I am proud of my creations. ⇜

Portfolio Entry #4: Speech Acts

Glenney Boggs, C. (n.d.). Speech acts: Constative and performative - Colleen Glenney Boggs. Retrieved from TED-Ed. Last visited: May 29th, 2020. Available at: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/speech-acts-constative-and-performative-colleen-glenney-boggs#watch

⇝ According to the theory of the British linguist Speech Act by J. L Austin, he developed how messages express speakers' intentions. Thus the words themselves are actions.  Consequently, this theory has mentioned that exists a difference between the two separate parts of speech. On the one hand, the constative sentences which describe something true or false. For example, He is the most intelligent student. On the other hand, it is referred to as the performative sentence which is mentioned as the performance of an action. They are sentences that denote or convey an action because they allude to motivate actions rather than relate a message that is why they perform in the Word. Consequently, the performative should have the proper authority, it should be understood, it should be clear and it should be able to be executed. Moreover, If you do not pay attention to the performative, you have to suffer the consequences. That means that constative is and a performative does.  For example, I sentence you to death.⇜

Portfolio Entry #3: How to Cite Sources

How to Cite Sources

]            Journal or Magazine Article

Wilcox, R. V. (1991). "Shifting roles and synthetic women in Star Trek: The Next Generation". Studies in Popular Culture, 13(2), 53-65.

]            Journal or Magazine Article

Dubeck, L. (1990). "Science fiction aids science teaching." Physics Teacher, 28, 316-318.

]            Newspaper Article

Di Rado, A. (1995, March 15). "Trekking through college: Classes explore modern society using the world of Star Trek." Los Angeles Times, p. A3.

]            Article from an Internet Database

Mershon, D. H. (1998, November-December). "Star Trek on the brain: Alien minds, human minds." American Scientist, 86, 585. Retrieved July 29, 1999, from Expanded Academic ASAP database.

]            Book

Okuda, M., &; Okuda, D. (1993). Star Trek Chronology: The History of the Future. New York: Book Pocket Books

]            Article or Chapter

James, N. E. (1988). "Two Sides of Paradise: The Eden Myth according to Kirk and Spock," in D. Palumbo (Ed.), Spectrum of the fantastic (pp. 219-223). Westport, CT: Greenwood.

]            Encyclopedia Article

Sturgeon, T. (1995). Science fiction, in The Encyclopedia Americana (Vol. 24, pp. 390-392). Danbury, CT: Grolier.

]            Website

Lynch, T. (1996). DS9 trials and tribble-ations review. Retrieved from Psi Phi: Bradley's Science Fiction Club. Last visited: May 15th, 2020. Available at: http://www.bradley.edu/campusorg/psiphi/DS9/ep/ 503r.html

 Notes↬

• Arrange the items on your reference list alphabetically by author, interfiling books, articles, etc.

• Use only the initials of the authors' first (and middle) names.

• If no author is given, start with the title and then the date.

• Magazine articles: include the month (and day) as shown under Newspapers.

• Websites: if the date the page was created is not given, use (n.d.)

• Adapted from:http://essayinfo.com/citations/index.php

Copy and paste this information onto your portfolio Take 4 or 5 samples of DIFFERENT SOURCES (BOOKS, MAGAZINES, WEBSITES, etc) Write down the bibliographical data according to the text above

👉Examples:

Newspaper Article
* Koop, F. (2020, May 23). "Coronavirus Halts Lithium Expansion in Argentina and Chile", "Buenos Aires Time", P. 32

Book 
* Cortazar, J. (2013). Rayuela: Buenos Aires: Book Pocket

* Scrivener, J. (2011). "Language analysis" in Macmillan(Ed.), "Learning Teaching"(pp.99-118). Spain.

Website
* Educational Resources for Schools. 2020. Cambridge University Press. from: https://www.cambridge.org/gb/education

Magazine
*Genios. April 2014. Buenos aires, Argentina. Grupo Clarín


⇝Speaking for myself, I found this last task useful because it allows me to practice how to cite sources in English. Concerning the previous activities, it brings me tools and sources that I will have to use every time I need to cite a bibliography. On the one hand, it will give me more technical skills to improve better writings and I could set a clear understanding of my texts. On the other hand, I could emphasize rightly when I would like to express somebody's idea. ⇜

Portfolio Entry #2: Advice on Academic Writing

Advice on Academic Writing from ElianaGonzlez15

The education sector is one of those impacted by COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, technology continues to transform the world around us, and it will determine the boundaries that used to be meaningful in a lesson of our traditional classes, as a beginning to fade since we are in quarantine. So, I have to improve other techniques. As a student, I am still grappling with the immediate task of classes and remote learning, in the confinement of my home.

Regarding the task of the portfolio entry number three, I was challenged not only to improve my knowledge in digital learning but the way I have to enrich my writing with the given theory as well. I would like to point out that I have to redefine my role as a student in the virtual classroom to study, learn, or how to establish communication with my teachers or classmates in my routine. Furthermore, it is a great time to reflect on how this alarming and disruptive crisis could help me to define how I need them and that I should incorporate digital tools.

This is the reason why I am being able to gain access to knowledge and even learn a technical skill, through a few clicks on my phone and computer. Under the circumstances, I would need to move towards facilitating a widely informed and connected development through digital tools like software programs, apps, new tech-integrated, social media and the web such as Linkedin, Prezi, Google presentations, Blogger, Youtube, online education platforms (Profesorado´s Campus, Google Classroom, Edmodo) Whatsapp, e-mails, Zoom, Skype, Jitsi Meet, etc. 

On the one hand, it allows me to see that I am not a native digital student and I need to incorporate them in my studies. On the other hand, I spend a lot of time trying to understand the applications in the right way. In the beginning, it was really hard because I realized that I have no option. Besides, I encourage myself to explore them, take the necessary time, and be patient. Honestly, I am exhausted but I am glad to use and put them into practice. 

Portfolio Entry #1: Introduction

Source of the video: YouTube
Source of the lyrics: lyricsfreak.com

"Fix you" 

Coldplay.

When you try your best but you don't succeed 

When you get what you want but not what you need 

When you feel so tired but you can't sleep 

Stuck in reverse 

And the tears come streaming down your face 

When you lose something you can't replace 

When you love someone but it goes to waste 

Could it be worse? 

Lights will guide you home 

And ignite your bones 

And I will try to fix you 

And high up above or down below 

When you're too in love to let it go 

But if you never try you'll never know 

Just what you're worth 

Lights will guide you home 

And ignite your bones 

And I will try to fix you 

Tears stream down your face 

When you lose something you cannot replace 

Tears stream down your face, and I... 

Tears stream down your face 

I promise you I will learn from my mistakes 

Tears stream down your face, and I... 

Lights will guide you home 

And ignite your bones 

And I will try to fix you

⇝It was a difficult task. I think it is not always easy to draw on my own experiences, but when I had to look for a song, "fix you" came to my mind. The main theme of the song is not giving up on yourself or people you love. This is shown when it is said: "and I will try to fix you" 

The song starts with the melody of an organ piano. It is a calm and soft tone that gives me peace. This beautiful song, in its second verse states;

“ When the tears come streaming down your face, 

'Cause you lose something you can't replace 

When you love someone but it goes to waste 

What could it be worse?” 

It clearly speaks about a loss-a passing away of a person. It looks as if your love has gone to waste and you contemplate if anything could get any worse. Consequently, “Fix You” speak about consoling someone you love and I relate the song to my own personal struggles. 

In 2018, I suffered the loss of my nephew and grandfather. My nephew is called Valentin and my grandfather Alejo. I always talk about them in the present because that's how I feel them. My nephew suffered malpractice at his birth, which caused him irreparable damage to his brain, among other problems, and my grandpa got cancer.

Since I have memory, these situations were the first that I have to overcome. I felt that I had to be strong for my family because it was difficult to face reality. Also, the time a family suffers the loss of a loved one is perhaps one of the most shattering events in anyone's experience. "Tears stream down your face" states the verse and It makes me think that I am emotionally strong, but sometimes I have tears running down my face. It is involuntary but it comes from the depths of my heart. 

The chorus is amazing;

“Lights will guide you home 

And ignite your bones 

And I will try to fix you”

This line means that the support I received from those people around me restored my energy and gave some life into my soul. In other words, my family and I would be fine because we were together. That is the reason why I have chosen "Fix You" due to remind me of a hard time. It takes me through a journey of nostalgia through my most sensitive memories. Moreover, it remembers me that love cures everything.

Two years ago I said goodbye to them but I have learnt that life is precious and that I need to focus on the things that bring me true joy. Moreover, I have spent the past year of travelling, helping my parents business, and continuing my dream of teaching; hence all three things are what they inspired and let me not surrender. July 9th and January 11th will always be a tender day but it also brings me happiness knowing that they are in Heaven watching us over and protecting us always. ⇜

Portfolio Entry #0: Welcome.

⇝"Writing is the painting of the voice"⇜

Hello Everyone! 😀 

🙏I hope you and your loved ones are doing well and staying safe, sheltered in place, stocked with toilet paper and healthy during these absolutely unprecedented, wild, chaotic, terrifying times. 

Even though all stuff is happening in the world and we can’t share together... 

😎 let’s rock our last year. 💥💥 

Welcome to my LEE IV Blog.