The Last One: The Idea of Blog Assignments

Six weeks of watch on group mates’ and the teacher’s blogs. What are others thinking about the topic I have just written? What do I think about their ideas? What will be the next assignment about? Much of reading and much of writing -- this is the way to improve any language. And I am glad that I had this opportunity for my English.

The teacher asks if I believe that producing much text has made me better writer (www.engae1.blogspot.com). It might be too brave to say but I will dare -- I do think I became a better writer. It is much easier for me to write an assignment in English now than six weeks ago. It does not require looking to the dictionary as often as I used to. Moreover, thoughts come to me in English and I have no need to translate everything from my own language. My presence in a foreign country and use of English everywhere might be also a reason for this. Still, I believe that these blog assignments also helped me a lot.

The teacher also asks if I believe that having an audience has made me better writer (www.engae1.blogspot.com). I am not sure about this. I don’t think this reason helped to improve the language. But it definitely helped to improve basic writing skills. When you are writing only for a teacher to read you might not think about following points: what can one think about a kind of thoughts; can I insult somebody by writing a sentence; should I be more liberal with my way of thinking? When you answer these questions the text becomes more or less acceptable to everybody. And I find it very important to know the way of expressing your ideas without affronting anybody.

In addition, when you know there is going to be a number of people reading your text, you are trying to make it more interesting and present your ideas as clearly as you can. Afterwards, you are reading other students’ works, providing some of them with your comments, and waiting for somebody to react to your peace of writing. And after analyzing received comments you will write another text trying to avoid the same mistakes and trying to emphasize things that were enjoyable. This circle has been running for six weeks and suddenly it came to an end. I believe that some students will continue writing every week, not necessarily online, just because they got used to it.

Some advice:

• It might be better to provide two themes every week; when there is one subject you can talk about, sometimes you are not able to think of what to write. I understand it is very difficult to think of that many themes. Maybe students themselves could have some offers?
• I would recommend another day for deadline -- any day of a week but Sunday. It depends on students, of course, but most of them do tasks in the very last minute. And then half of a weekend disappears.

All in all, I liked writing and reading blog assignments. I think this way of improving students’ writing should be kept and, what is more, should be spread.

Why do people start a blog?

Diaries in the internet -- the topic I am not very familiar to. The blog for Academic English is the first for me. My group mates’ blogs are almost the only ones that I read for I do not have much enthusiasm to search the internet for various kinds of thoughts. Though, I have some friends that are studying abroad and they write blogs which I read at times.

There are many reasons to start a blog. The strongest for me is -- to communicate with friends who you cannot meet in everyday life. In this case, the peace of writing becomes as an information source about what you think, what happens in your life, what you would like to suggest to your friends, or what you would like to share with them. You even have a possibility to put some pictures in your blog and to visualize your stories -- this is great!

Our teacher says that parents, “cat owners”, or “daysleepers” have started writing blogs (www.engae1.blogspot.com). It might be that people want to share their experience, or receive some advice from others, who have already outlived similar periods of life. They find it, probably, easy to share information in this way -- it does not require many efforts: you just sit at your table in a warm room and communicate with the whole world. Furthermore, it might be that people do not find likely thinking persons around themselves and writing blogs becomes a way to convince oneself that the way a man thinks can be accepted in community. And there are also some who start blogs for class assignments as we do.

Thus, the number of blogs is growing rapidly, and I am not happy about this significant increase. It might make people refuse seeing each other, talking to each other, eventually, do things together. We might forget communication in the real world. We might become used to the screens of computers too much and start being afraid of faces or oral language. I agree, when a person is far from one’s home and there is almost no other way to communicate with one’s relatives, internet is probably the best solution. Still, I find it dangerous for the humanity -- you never know when the border is transgressed.

My Personal View of Sweden

The very first time I came to Sweden was the summer of 1995. At that moment I was a 9 years old girl and everything was very attractive for me – that was the first time in a foreign country in my life. Then, several times I was lucky to cross Sweden in a car going to Norway with some stops in the biggest cities, and eventually, January, 2006, I came to stay in Karlstad for 5 months.

If one asks my first expression about Sweden, I say – nature. I like this country’s nature very much. The great amount of forests, mountains in the northern part, lakes in the middle of the country – everything is rather harmonized. Therefore, I am very happy to have an opportunity of staying not in a big city in Sweden, but in the city which is surrounded with nature. I find Karlstad as a very calm, nice, and friendly city.

Besides nature, I like relaxed people here. It is the best atmosphere to live, to study, to work, to spend your leisure – to do everything you can think of in not stressful environment. I have been studying in the capital of Lithuania where everybody is hurrying somewhere, and I believe that in Stockholm it is the same. But here this is one of the benefits I find in Sweden.

As I am an exchange student I want to emphasize Swedish education system, which I like more than Lithuania’s one. You are studying one or two subjects at a time and after the exact number of weeks you finish the courses. Then you start other ones. In Lithuania we study 6 or 7 modules per semester and at the end of semester we have exams’ period, when all the students are taking their exams. Thus, in Swedish system I have already found that you remember much more things when you can concentrate for one subject. Furthermore, you have an opportunity to analyze more deeply the subject, because you do not have to think about other 5 that are waiting for you to study. The relaxed environment mentioned above also helps to study.

As there are things I like very much, there are things that I do not like at all. You have many rules that, I think, should be considered as an opportunity to choose. For example, if you go to a pub you must take your coat off and put it into a wardrobe, and then, of course, pay for it. Then, I did not like that all the shops close at 8 p.m., or, at the latest 9 p.m. This dislike is probably for my habitude to do shopping at 10 p.m. Furthermore, Swedish people are unpersuadable. If you decide something there is almost no probability to change your mind.

There are still more things I like in Sweden: no smoking in public places, punctuality, means of communication (buses, trains). And then there are things that are strange for me. I cannot say if they are good or bad. They are simply strange. Systembolaget is one of those things. It is very unusual for me to go to an ordinary shop and not to see any section for alcohol there. What is more, when answering the phone you say hello and your name. In Lithuania it would be understood as if you were saying hello to yourself, for we usually say hello and name of the person who is calling.

As you can see, the most things I really like in Sweden. Something seems strange, but it is normal for every culture has its own particularities. And things I do not like are actually a part of my habits. But for 5 months I can close my eyes to this. Furthermore, if I need to stay longer, I would probably get used to your particularities, for it is something that one can adjust to. All you need is time and tolerance!

Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom the Bell Tolls

I am not a person that loves reading books. It has been only recently, when mathematics studies become tiresome, book comes into my hands. Still, it happens really rarely. Sometimes I wish it happened more often, but let us face the truth. However, it was time when I attended school and there was some compulsory literature to read. One of the books fascinated me truly. It was Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls.

First time I read it in Lithuanian when I was in the 11^th grade. Afterwards it became my little dream to find the book in English and to read it once more. I tried all the libraries I could think of but that did not help. Then I started visiting bookshops with this purpose, but it did not help either. And only a year ago, accidentally, I went to an academic bookshop. I bought there some English books for my classes and just asked the shopgirl if they had For Whom the Bell Tolls. They did not, as I could expected, but they offered me to order it. And I did. Then, after a month, I held THE BOOK in my hands!

For Whom the Bell Tolls is about life and its virtues; undoubtedly, it includes the most important one – love. What would you do if you knew you have four days left? The book tells how precious every single moment in your life is. It helps to understand how happy you should be every minute you are living. Moreover, the every minute you should live fully, not missing any chance life throws out for you. Without a doubt, the psychological angle is very deep in the book. Characters can communicate without any words – one look is enough. Almost all the feelings human can have are shown. Furthermore, they are shown in a way we probably never think of them. Reading the book you just realize how many truthful things happen in your life that you either did not notice before, or did not pay much attention to. Furthermore, you realize how much life depends on the way you present it to yourself.

E. Hemingway writes about the Spanish Civil War and he describes one life of a soldier who is sent to fulfill a duty for his country – to blow up a bridge. He meets a group of people in the mountains, where he is supposed to accomplish his task. Some of them are faithful and determined to help. Others are concerned with their own problems and do not want to contribute the task. And there he meets a girl, as he calls her “my little rabbit” (Hemingway 252). The story continues and it becomes clear that everyone will be involved in the task, but let me leave the details for the reader.

The style of writing delighted me a lot. I was surprised to see how assuredly everything could be described. Hemingway has such a manner of writing that involves reader into the book. And the involving has to play not with some effects or run of events. The involving plays with the sentences, the language the author uses, the characters he creates, and the angles the book shows. That is why it is so important to read the book in its original language.

Let me finish with John Donne’s quotation which Ernest Hemingway uses to start his book:

No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; if a Clod be washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse, as well as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Mannor of thy friends or of thine owne were; any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee

Works cited

Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom the Bell Tolls. Penguin Books, 1966 (first published by Johnathan Cape 1941).

Are Grades Necessary?

We are 7 years old, we start going to school, and our first grades appear. If they are good, we are happy; what is more, our parents are happy. If they are bad, we are disappointed with ourselves; it even can go worse – we start to dislike learning. Let us pretend that we liked learning in the school, we graduated, and the university studies came to our lives. And grades again! Just now, hopefully, we look quite differently to them. If they are good, we are probably proud of ourselves; if they are bad, we become more concerned and try to do our best. As we can see, grades do impact our lives. But is this right? Could not it be better living without any grading system?

There are plenty pres and cons about the grades, still I believe grades are necessary. It is like an award for a child, stimulation for a teenager, and evaluation for a student. Grades in different levels of life have different roles. And every role is important.

Let us imagine a child, who attends primary school. Very first year the child has no idea what is the thing he or she should start to learn for. Every child likes to be complimented, especially when it comes to what they have done. The instrument for evaluation and commending is grades. On the other hand, in this stage grades are necessary for parents to see how their child performs at school. I remember having a grades’ book, where teacher used to write the grades and then we were supposed to bring it for our parents to show. That is one way for parents to control their child, to notice if something wrong happens, or predict wrong things and try to avoid them.

Years pass on, the imaginary child grows up and now we arrive to the teen years. This is the period when girls and boys do not care what grown-up people say, the friends are the best judges, and learning is far from being at least somewhat interesting. And here grades give a hand. In this stage grades’ role is to motivate teenagers for learning. They should pass their exams and try to do as good as they can for they want to graduate the school with a nice certificate. Moreover, that nice certificate will affect their future lives for it displays their knowledge.

One may say grades are not playing that big role in motivating or commending in everybody’s life. Of course, there always will be children who like to learn reading and writing, as well as teenagers who will be interested in studying history, geography, mathematics, or some other subjects taught at school. And here I would say – there are no rules without exceptions, which only prove the rule. Actually, you cannot be interested in all the things taught at school. Therefore, for not missing some very important information in subjects one does not like, he or she is evaluated and that motivates one increase his or her knowledge in other, undiscovered, fields.

Some day our imaginary character begins realizing what he or she wants from life, and as the life flow goes on the character becomes a student. Why does he or she need grades now? The student should be mature enough to understand why to study, and what is wanted to be achieved. But the person cannot evaluate oneself in perspective. Here, once again, come the grades. And then the student can make conclusions about his or her work – success or failure. Did he or she expect more from oneself? Can he or she work harder? Was it exactly the level the student was hoping to reach? Was it even better? These questions can be answered with the help of grades. Moreover, as the conclusions can be done, the better results can be achieved in the future.

Furthermore, grades are really necessary for others to know how good you are at one thing or another. This is very important when you apply for a job, or when you go to a new place to study. It can be obviously seen which field fits best for you, and which field you are not very good at. In this case, you should be given a job which perfectly corresponds to you. I exclude one’s desires, for I think nobody applies for a job he or she does not like, until there is an opportunity to choose.

On the whole, grades are definitely necessary for the people. It does not matter whether you are a little child, or an adult person. It is a way for knowing which level you have achieved so far. It is an opportunity to see oneself externally.

Why have fantasy films become so popular?

My experience with fantasy films is rather poor. I am not that kind of person who is keen on imaginary things, spectacular performance, or dreams that will never come true. Still, fantasy in nowadays world is inevitable and, despite we want it or not, it interferes our lives. Why is it so? Why do people want to forget the reality so much?

Yester week my friend Aino and I were discussing about fantasy films, and I liked a lot one idea that came to her mind. She said, that one of the reasons for popularity of those films could be cruel reality that we have. All newspapers, magazines, television, radio and other sources of information are almost always full of violence, some kind of wars, economic problems, and other unkind things. It might be that people already got sick of this, therefore, they try to create imaginary world and they expect movies will help them implement their wish. That is why films like Harry Potter, Shrek, Lord of the Rings, or Finding Nemo appeared on the cinema screens.

What is more, today is the time when technologies are competing, every year new things are being invented, and people feel necessity not to stand behind it. I remember films that were watched when I was a little girl – those nice pictures on the screen, melodious songs and happy endings. They are more than incomparable with those that children watch nowadays. And all the computer games that many children are crazy for. Besides, not only children. There are 20-30 years old people, who love to dive into imaginary world and stay there for a while. Maybe it is so because they could not do it during their childhood? Thus, fantasies on the screen became so popular – to pull in the audience which is hungry for computer tricks.

Furthermore, it is possible that by creating and watching fantasy films people are trying to guess what is outside the Earth. For many years people did not even know that it can be something else besides our world. Now, when we know the system of the Sun and more things about the universe, we have an attempt to check if there is some other kind of life outside. Therefore, film-creators think of some idea about various existences, and humanity absorbs the idea. Moreover, the more people know, the more they do not. As the life does not stand still, many questions arise and we cannot answer them. Again, people hope for some sort of answers in the fantasy films and that is how they make fashionableness of those films grow.

For the popularity of fantasy films people sometimes forget they are living on the Earth and do behave as if they were in the fictitious world. Fortunately, sooner or later, everyone comes back to reality. But think what could happen if they do not? Maybe some day we will read in a newspaper about journey of little fish, and, meanwhile, politicians will argue on the cinema screen?