My experience learning English at university.

My experience learning English at university has been positive in many ways, mainly because the teaching method used is - in my case - different from the one I had at school, with which I have learned quite a lot.

The pandemic forced us to look for new teaching methods, from this appeared the zoom classes, this has its pros and cons, for me in particular it is very difficult to concentrate on classes at home, because of all the external factors, however, I appreciate that the classes are recorded because if I were to miss or if the Internet were to fail, I have the possibility to review the recording. In spite of this, I totally prefer the face-to-face classes, because if I have any doubt I can solve it at the moment with the teacher and also interact with my peers.

Blogs have been very useful for me to express myself and my thoughts, to know the experiences and opinions of others and to improve my writing as much as possible, to learn new words and their meanings, as well as to contribute to my organization with time, since it has a time limit for publication. 

Regarding the use of English outside of class hours, the truth is that I constantly use it when I send messages, in expressions or Spanglish type hahaha, but in a formal way very little.

Undoubtedly I must improve my English in many aspects, especially in the field of speech, since I am embarrassed to speak it in public and it is difficult for me to put together sentences in this language, so one of my goals is to listen to videos or music and with them practice pronunciation and gain more confidence to communicate fluently in English in the future.

Changes that could be made to your study programme

I have been thinking and analyzing what changes could be made at a general level in the career that I am taking -pedagogy in kindergarten education- regarding the curriculum I consider it is quite complete, however, a course that teaches sign language should be added, since we can face the situation that in the future a child has this disability and we will not have -mostly- the ability to handle it. 

As for the length of the course, I feel that if we have to take 5 years to obtain the professional degree, the last two should be to choose a master's degree and thus learn and have knowledge on a subject that we like, which will also contribute to our professional curriculum. Regarding the infrastructure and facilities of the faculty, they have been improving over the years, but I feel that the classrooms -exclusively the desks- should be adapted, since most of them are uncomfortable to write and be comfortable in class. 

The Pandemic taught us that technology is very useful, moreover, it is now an extension for those who find it difficult to go to the university in person, so I think it should last and be used from now on in the classroom.

Finally, the teaching methods -depending on each academic- in my opinion are quite good, I have managed to learn a lot in these three years and all thanks to the way they teach their subjects individually.

Going back in time

I personally would like to be able to go back in time, travel to the past and relive precious moments of my childhood with my grandmother Eva, who passed away in 2010 due to health issues. 

She was the one who raised me, she was my best friend, my mischievous companion and above all she was the person who taught me great things and instilled values in me. Although I remember her with much love, I would like to have the opportunity to share a little more with her, hear her laughter again, taste her delicious food and give her twice as much affection as I gave her back then. She was and will be one of the most important people in my life, even though she is not physically next to me, I know that wherever she is, she accompanies and guides me, she is one of the reasons why I strive every day to be a better person and to fulfill my duties.

Sincerely, I would not like to stay forever in this time, being a believer I know that things happen for a reason and that it was God's will for her life, although I miss her too much and I would have loved to have her more time with me, I have a clear conscience because I made the most of my time with her and I enjoyed her great love. 

Dream Job

Well, what I'm studying at the moment is leading me to what I want to work on in the future, and certainly with a few more years of study and specializations I will be able to work on what I would really like to do.

For those who do not know what I am studying, I am in my third year in the career of kindergarten education, I really like the idea of being able to work with children and be of support in their integral development, childhood is extremely important in the development of the human being, since it captures a lot of knowledge and skills to develop in society. I love being able to relate to them and also learn from them, know their complexities and help them face those.

Undoubtedly for this type of work requires many skills and abilities, including patience hahaha, you must have knowledge of how to teach and deliver the necessary tools so that infants can develop optimally.

I believe that in the future I will be able to understand and enjoy this job and share it with the people around me.

Holiday

In 2015 I had the opportunity to have an unforgettable vacation.

For the summer vacation (Chile) I was able to go to the United States - it was a very fun and exciting trip - on this trip my sisters and I (alone) went from Santiago to New York (it is the longest trip I have ever taken as in its entirety it lasted approximately 12 hours). This was our first trip without our parents and in another country that is not Spanish speaking, it was in those moments where I realized the importance of knowing English because it was difficult for us to communicate with others and understand what they wanted to transmit to us. 

We stayed for about three months and during this time I was able to see the Big Apple, get on a ferry, see the Statue of Liberty, visit Times Square, fulfill the dream of spending a white Christmas, among many other activities but, beyond that, we were able to reunite as a family (three generations) because after a few weeks my parents traveled with my grandparents, thus being the first time we were all together as Alarcón family.

Without a doubt this has been one of the best vacations and experiences of my life because, I was able to visit and get to know another country, learn about another way of life, understand the importance of English to communicate with my family (and with others), but above all to have the opportunity to be with the people I love and with whom I had never been able to share.

Finland

I would like to go to Finland because I have seen many pictures of this country, it is a beautiful place to visit and learn about a new culture. I have always wanted to travel the world, visit other countries but if I had to choose only one destination without a doubt this would be my first choice.

From what I have learned about this country, I know that they have a very beneficial system of life being recognized as the happiest country in the world. 

I would certainly like to see the many places in the city, the museums, galleries, eat typical food, and more.

I would like to study, and if I can live here, one of the many reasons why I want to go is because they have a spectacular teaching method, which I would like to observe, and be able to put into practice in Chile, and after fulfilling that purpose I would like to go and live there.