Happy New Year

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!!!

Preparing for Christmas

When we think of Christmas we think of the Christmas tree. The tradition of the Christmas tree comes from Germany. Germans had a fir tree in their homes and they decorated it with biscuits and candles.
In Great Britain the Christmas tree became popular after 1840, when Queen Victoria married Prince Albert, a German. He brought the tradition of the Christmas tree to the Royal Family. Then may people started to have Christmas trees in their homes.
Today almost every Christian family has a Christmas tree at home or in the garden. Some families put up the tree on Christmas Eve while many others put it up at the beginning of December. People decorate their homes and gardens with other Christmas symbols such as holly, mistletoe and paper decorations. Towns and cities, too, usually decorate the trees in the parks with coloured lights.
Every year there is a very big Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square in London. It is a present from people of Norway. This tradition started in 1947, when the Norwegians wanted to thank the British for their help during World War II. This tree is about twenty-five metres tall and it is decorated with white lights.
America’s most famous Christmas tree is at the Rockerfeller Center on Fifth Avenue in New York City. This spectacular Christmas tree has about five miles of lights! Every Christmas millions of people go ice skating near the Rockerfeller tree.
Shopping for Christmas presents can be fun. During the Christmas season shops are open until late , and they are often open on Sundays, too. There are always a lot of people in the shops looking for the right presents for their family and friends. The shop windows have decorations, and many towns and cities put Christmas trees and other Christmas decorations in the shopping streets.
If you want to buy toys, in London there is a great toy shop called Hamleys. Children and adults love it: there are six floors full of toys and interesting games for all ages. Another wonderful toy shop is FAO Schwarz on Fifth Avenue in New York City. It is New York City’s favourite toy shop.
Christmas is a happy time, but it is also a time to help and remember others. No one wants to be alone at Christmas. During the Christmas season charity organizations ask for money for the poor people and the homeless in their town. They organize free meals and often give toys to the poor children.

A Traditional Christmas day

Some Christians go to church at midnight on Christmas Eve, while others go on Christmas morning. There are special Christmas services in all Christian churches. Some people don’t go to church, but on Christmas Day families try to be together. People travel long distances to spend a family Christmas .
Children and adults usually open their presents on Christmas morning around the Christmas tree, or sometimes even in bed! This is a very happy moment, especially for children!
In the UK there is a big Christmas lunch with special foods. People start cooking the Christmas meal very early, especially when there is a turkey. A big turkey takes a long time to cook. Christmas crackers are an old tradition and are part of the Christmas lunch. Two people pull the cracker until it goes ‘bang’ and opens. Inside there is a small present, a paper hat and a joke. People sometimes wear the paper hat during the rest of Christmas lunch!
In the US families spend Christmas Day together at home. They play games and watch Christmas films on television. In the evening they have a big Christmas dinner with lots of special foods.

Christmas Foods

The traditional Christmas dinner consists of roast turkey and roasted vegetables, followed by special desserts. Typical British desserts are Christmas pudding and minces pies, while in America fruit cake and pumpkin pie are popular. During the Christmas period other typical foods are roast ham, Yule logs and Christmas cakes.

Thanksgiving -part 2

Why is Thanksgiving an Important Day?

The tradition started with the ’Pilgrim Fathers’. They were the founders of the colony in North America. These people were Puritans. They were against the Church of England, and suffered religious persecutions in England. They wanted to start a new life in a new country.
Eventually, on 6th September 1620, 102 men, women and children left Plymouth in south-west England on a ship called the Mayflower. The voyage was difficult: two Pilgrims died, but two were born. On 11th December 1620 they landed on the north-east coast of North America. They called this area Plymouth . It was almost winter and there wasn’t much food. They immediately built small houses, but it was too late to grow crops. The winter was very long and cold and half of the Pilgrims died.

(photos from flickr)

In the spring a native American called Squanto helped the Pilgrims. He taught them how to grow corn and how to hunt and fish. Soon Pilgrims and the Wampanoag native Americans became friends. The Pilgrims grew crops and the summer harvest was excellent. By November 1621 everyone had food and a home. There was hope for the future.William Bradford was the governor of the Pilgrim’s colony. He decided to celebrate with a dinner for the Pilgrims and about ninety native Americans. He wanted to thank God. This was the first Thanksgiving dinner, and it continued for three days.

Thanksgiving -part1

Dear all,

in the forum with student from Albany university I found out much interesting information on the Thanksgiving's day. To be honest, I must admit I didn't know so much on this subject before reading Albany's students comments.

I discovered that Americans of all religions celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November. Children do not go to school, and most business close for three days. People in Canada also celebrate Thanksgiving, but they celebrate it on the second Monday in October. Thanksgiving is a special day for families, and people travel great distances to be with their families for this occasion.

A traditional Thanksgiving

Today the traditional thanksgiving meal is similar to the first. People eat roast turkey with cranberry sauce, potatoes, corn and pumpkin pie. Vegetarians don’t eat meat, but they still celebrate Thanksgiving with other foods, such as soya products, rice, fruit, vegetable and big salads. Many charity organizations prepare a free meal for the poor people in their own town or city.
New York City celebrates with Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Macy’s department store organised its first parade in 1924. This parade is very famous, and more than two million people go to see it every year.

(to be continued...)

Explanations about my PLE

Hello people,

I noticed that, due to the small dimensions of the mindmap of my PLE, you couldn't easily read it. Therefore, in this post, I will provide a short summary of the basic points I'll argue on Wednesday during my presentation in class. I you'll be so kind to give me some feedback, your comments'll be more than welcome!!! Here is the structure of my personal learning environment's mindmap.
My personal learning environment:

1. FORMAL

- Places

• classroom
• centro linguistico di Ateneo
• library

- People

• my teacher Sarah Guth
• my peers
• my group: E
• friends
• tutors

- Tools

• books
• notebooks
• photocopies and materials given by teachers
• computer

- Activities

• conferences: e.g. "Repulsion" by Antoinette Renouf (from the university of Birmingham), "Computer-mediated communication and Language Learning: Research and Practice".
• seminars: e.g. "Convegno Tradurre: professione e formazione"

2. INFORMAL

- Places

• home
• university
• libraries
• pubs
• parties

- People

• my best friend from US: Adriana
• my erasmus friend from: the UK, the US, China, Belgium, Germay, Austria, Spain, France and Poland.

- Tools

• books
• dvds
• magazines
• newspaper
• websites
• blogs
• bloglines
• del.icio.us
• facebook
• studiVZ
• firstclass

- Activities

• going to social events with erasmus friends
• becoming a memberof the erasmus cafè (in ESN: erasmus students network)
• listening to music
• watching movies or TV programs in English
• participating in a tandem learning experience

3. MY E-LEARNING

• bloggingenglish
• bloglines
• technorati
• flickr
• del.icio.us
• podcasts
• YouTube
• wikipedia
• blogs
• forum with students from Albany university

What do you think about my mindmap? Do you have some suggestions in order to improve it? I'm looking forward to reading your comments!

Catch you soon

My personal learning environment!

Dear all,

This week I’ll show you my PLE. “What’s a PLE?” (You’ll ask yourselves). Well, a PLE is a personal learning environment which everyone shapes according to his/her interests and learning targets. Actually, a PLE is also a ‘combination of the formal and informal tools and processes we use to gather information, reflect on it and do something with it, which is essentially what we mean when we talk about learning” (Martin, 2007).
Many specialists in this matter decoded different ways to organize a well-shaped PLE. For example, Martin divides it into three areas:

• Gathering information
• Processing information
• Acting on the learning

She clearly pays attention to the importance of defining the three phases of the learning acquisition. Rather than focussing on the importance of the process, I’d prefer to highlight the relevant role of the agents and sources that take part in this process.
For example, we should ask ourselves:

• Where can I learn and enlarge my competences?
• Who can teach me something new?
• Which tools can I use in order to improve my abilities?

Another very helpful subdivision is to divide the formal learning environment form the informal learning environment. I want to share with you this explanatory example I found on “What is informal learning”.


‘Formal learning is like riding a bus: the driver decides where the bus is going; the passengers are along for the ride. People new to the territory often ride the bus before hopping on the bike.’ (photo from flickr)

‘Informal learning is like riding a bicycle: the rider chooses the destination and the route. The cyclist can take a detour at a moment’s notice to admire the scenery or help a fellow rider.’
(photo from flickr)


If we manage to separate these two areas, we’ll be aware of the different way we do learn and all the following implications. I mean, I think it’s very important to know what kinds of parameters influence my learning processes. What I want to say is that while some people manage to learn more in a formal context (e.g. in their job), other people learn more in more comfortable and relaxing situations (e.g. listening to music, chatting with friends, etc.).

What's the aim of the PLE?
I think that a PLE can help you to reflect on your own learning. I noticed that to draw my personal learning environment help me to reflect on the ways I learn, the time I spend and the organization I need. All these aspects of my PLE will me to use the resources I have in a more effective way.

If you want to have a look, here is my PLE:

In conclusion, paraphrasing the words of Martin, I can say that your PLE has real potential as a way to keep learning happening and everyday at a very low cost!

Cheers
Martina