I came back to Edinburgh to do this course as a highly motivated individual, but also with a lot of fears, worries and uncertainties. I knew I wanted to get into Uni and I knew this course would put me back into the learning environment. I was fairly confident that I would be able to adapt my ‘teacher’ lifestyle to being a student without too many problems. My expectations? I guess I had hoped for something more academic, but that’s to do with the path I wish to follow. Clearly, there has to be a practical element to this course.
One of the most positive experiences was meeting and getting on with my class mates, many of whom are considerably younger than I. It was great learning to work together, and being able to help some people. Hopefully, I can also say I won the respect of my teachers! Other good points were that I became comfortable on the ‘other side’ of the classroom and used that freedom to investigate the directions I felt to be interesting, as well as what I had to.
The course could be improved by:
• Microsoft Word tutorial at beginning of course
• Essay writing tutorial near beginning of course
• The 2 points above could be used to prepare for writing the UCAS personal statement
• Separate English language component for non-native speakers
• Clearer guidance about plagiarism – still a lot of fear & uncertainty
• A clear document for each subject detailing assessments & assignments to be passed; Scott had an excellent one for Communication
My own performance has been above satisfactory! I have passed all elements of the course without undue effort or stress, although the level did allow me to take certain liberties: I should have worked harder on my notes taking. I have remained generally motivated and patient; and have tried to look on the bright side when faced with adversary and disheartenment. I have tried to help my peers both when I am in college, and through email. Since Easter, things have dragged a little and I’ve felt frustrated with some of the restrictions placed on the course content by the practicality of exam preparation.
I'd say that I have learned more about myself and my learning processes than anything of great significance within the subjects. Maths & French served to remind me of skills I had studied before. Literature & History extended the level and scope of my abilities within these subjects. Communication confirmed some of my strengths. Spanish challenged me to convert my knowledge into more accurate constructions. I fine tuned my abilities to make and keep commitments, to set workable timetables and to prioritize.
Live long and prosper
Friday 21 May 2010
Monday 17 May 2010
Monday 17th
Last week continued to be a period of disruption due to ankle pain, and the London trip. However, I handed in the History essay, read more of Cochrane, did another mock Spanish Higher and worked on Literature. So life goes ambling on! Oh, and I got good news from SAAS about finance for next year!
I had a wee meeting with Madeleine, and she reckons I’ll be fine. It was a bit frustrating as I would have liked to talk more but so it goes. I’ve got nearly 2000 words for the comparative essay which is too much, but I’ll let Madeleine worry about that.
This week all I’ve really got to do is
Work on my “Enduring Love” essay
Write about Cochrane – I’ve got a pretty clear idea of the direction
Do Spanish homework
And that’s all folks!!
Monday 10 May 2010
10th of May
I’m sat at home with my ankle in an elevated state today...it’s my own silly fault for running through the pain, and it’s definitely taken its toll over the last week! Once again I realise how reliant on good health, both physical and mental, I am. It’s been difficult to really get into work of late due to aches and pains. Still, at least I’ve taken some positive steps to move on from past mistakes.
We’ve been doing a lot of exam practice in Spanish, and Jordi has been giving out writing assignments which, I hope, has got me back into the groove! I really should get a better dictionary...Marta seemed to have a good one.
I’ve been making slow but steady progress on the Literature work...I really enjoyed reading “Enduring Love” again, and I’m happy to summarise the plot, but I’m not certain about analyzing the ‘writer’s craft’. I have a check up meeting with Madeleine tomorrow. The comparison essay is also unclear...I could write loads, but it’s only supposed to be 1,500 words. I need to seek advice, and one should never be ashamed to admit that!
Wrote and handed in what I think is a damn fine history essay on the Treaty of Versailles. However, Evan has dished out the Hitler one, and wants it in for this Friday!!!! Now, I didn’t like that so I took positive proactive action and wrote 1,900 words of it over the w/e. That required me to speed up the whole investigate, write, consider, re-write and so on process. A pity as I feel that I build up a clearer picture and hence a better essay by doing some work then looking at it again after some time away. Fresh perspectives and all that jazz! But the Hitler one looks OK, so I’ve proved I can bang out an essay over 36 hrs or so. Oh, and we’ve got to do another bloody in-class assessment so that’ll have my hands aching!
It would have been useful to have been given a handout with brief details of ALL the essays, assignments, assessments, projects to be passed AT THE BEGGINNING of the course. Ah well, what goes on....
We’ve been doing a lot of exam practice in Spanish, and Jordi has been giving out writing assignments which, I hope, has got me back into the groove! I really should get a better dictionary...Marta seemed to have a good one.
I’ve been making slow but steady progress on the Literature work...I really enjoyed reading “Enduring Love” again, and I’m happy to summarise the plot, but I’m not certain about analyzing the ‘writer’s craft’. I have a check up meeting with Madeleine tomorrow. The comparison essay is also unclear...I could write loads, but it’s only supposed to be 1,500 words. I need to seek advice, and one should never be ashamed to admit that!
Wrote and handed in what I think is a damn fine history essay on the Treaty of Versailles. However, Evan has dished out the Hitler one, and wants it in for this Friday!!!! Now, I didn’t like that so I took positive proactive action and wrote 1,900 words of it over the w/e. That required me to speed up the whole investigate, write, consider, re-write and so on process. A pity as I feel that I build up a clearer picture and hence a better essay by doing some work then looking at it again after some time away. Fresh perspectives and all that jazz! But the Hitler one looks OK, so I’ve proved I can bang out an essay over 36 hrs or so. Oh, and we’ve got to do another bloody in-class assessment so that’ll have my hands aching!
It would have been useful to have been given a handout with brief details of ALL the essays, assignments, assessments, projects to be passed AT THE BEGGINNING of the course. Ah well, what goes on....
Monday 26 April 2010
Monday 26th April
The end of April is zooming in! And then it’ll be May and then June and that’ll be the end of this year of study!
I’ve just made Edinburgh my FIRM choice, with Glasgow as INSURANCE so adios to Aberdeen & Stirling. I went on a useful visit to Stirling Uni and it looks a good place to study….for younger types who don’t want to study in a big city.
Over Easter I read a damn fine book about Thomas Cochrane and used Spanish in a real environment. And relaxed!!
Last week I got a clearer picture of the Literature & History assignments, so will talk about them in the plan. I gained a year, lost some brain cells, found a copy of “Enduring Love” by Iain McEwan and started re-reading it for Literature. I passed the Spanish listening NAB (14/16), got 15/15 in the French NAB and, most importantly, got an A1 in the Advanced Higher Spanish prelim despite that terrible first listening (3/10). Jordi did point me in the direction of a listening magazine on Click view, and I definitely need to get myself “into the groove” before the next listening exam. In my defence it was the day after the snowy trip to Glasgow.
Oh, and at the weekend I read and highlighted the handouts Evan had given us on the Treaty of Versailles.
Looks like I’ll be bidding au revoir to French; I’ve passed all the NAB things without any problem and I don’t reckon the course can teach me much more.
So that leaves:
Spanish
Exam preparation June hour a week
Essay writing June check with Jordi
Literature
Essay 1 Draft this week Tues pm / Wed am 4 hours
Read Enduring Love over this week 2 hours
History
Project: read Chile chapters of 2nd Cochrane book Wed Am/Thurs PM 2 hours
Essay 1 1st draft this week 6 hours Thurs PM / Fri Am 2 hours
I’ve just made Edinburgh my FIRM choice, with Glasgow as INSURANCE so adios to Aberdeen & Stirling. I went on a useful visit to Stirling Uni and it looks a good place to study….for younger types who don’t want to study in a big city.
Over Easter I read a damn fine book about Thomas Cochrane and used Spanish in a real environment. And relaxed!!
Last week I got a clearer picture of the Literature & History assignments, so will talk about them in the plan. I gained a year, lost some brain cells, found a copy of “Enduring Love” by Iain McEwan and started re-reading it for Literature. I passed the Spanish listening NAB (14/16), got 15/15 in the French NAB and, most importantly, got an A1 in the Advanced Higher Spanish prelim despite that terrible first listening (3/10). Jordi did point me in the direction of a listening magazine on Click view, and I definitely need to get myself “into the groove” before the next listening exam. In my defence it was the day after the snowy trip to Glasgow.
Oh, and at the weekend I read and highlighted the handouts Evan had given us on the Treaty of Versailles.
Looks like I’ll be bidding au revoir to French; I’ve passed all the NAB things without any problem and I don’t reckon the course can teach me much more.
So that leaves:
Spanish
Exam preparation June hour a week
Essay writing June check with Jordi
Literature
Essay 1 Draft this week Tues pm / Wed am 4 hours
Read Enduring Love over this week 2 hours
History
Project: read Chile chapters of 2nd Cochrane book Wed Am/Thurs PM 2 hours
Essay 1 1st draft this week 6 hours Thurs PM / Fri Am 2 hours
Monday 29 March 2010
Monday 29th
Right, Easter is looming like a big loomy thing. I still have quite a personal few things to do before the trip to Spain on Thursday but I managed to get quite a lot cleared up last week so college shouldn’t be too much hassle.
Spanish – got feedback from Jordi on the 2 essays, put in the hours on updates & rewrites, and re-submitted them. Jordi seems happy with my “Lengua” effort so that should be that. Dieca cast an approving eye over my “memoria historica”, and will see what Jordi has to say. This week in class we’ve got a NAB and the Advanced Higher prelim so I’ll have stay focussed for them!
Lit – I’ve been happily re-reading and highlighting HOD, but Madeleine somewhat confused the issue by giving us “Love song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, which is some kind of TS Elliot masterpiece. It is a good poem, but very dark and with commentary and symbolism on a number of levels. I’ll be missing the class tomorrow (as I’m through in Glasgow) so I guess I’m taking HOD & Prufrock to the beach!!
French- my writing was fine, and I’ve not had any real problems with the listening practice. Once again I found the class a bit dull to be honest. Dieca suggested speaking to Deborah and asking if I can use the class time in the self-study centre. We’ll see what happens after Easter. We have a listening NAB on Wednesday so clean ears!
Communication – 2 presentations given & passed. Thursdays are my day off! Yipee!!
History – Interesting stuff on German unification and the build up to WW1. I downloaded some info on the Treaty of Versailles, so I can get an overview on that.
This week I’ve got the IELTS class starting, a trip to Glasgow and I’m away to Mallorca on Thursday…so I’m not going to do much college stuff outside Stevenson. Perhaps the most important thing is to decide which books to take to sunny Spain...HOD stuff obviously, and maybe one of the History books.
Hasta la proxima…..
Spanish – got feedback from Jordi on the 2 essays, put in the hours on updates & rewrites, and re-submitted them. Jordi seems happy with my “Lengua” effort so that should be that. Dieca cast an approving eye over my “memoria historica”, and will see what Jordi has to say. This week in class we’ve got a NAB and the Advanced Higher prelim so I’ll have stay focussed for them!
Lit – I’ve been happily re-reading and highlighting HOD, but Madeleine somewhat confused the issue by giving us “Love song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, which is some kind of TS Elliot masterpiece. It is a good poem, but very dark and with commentary and symbolism on a number of levels. I’ll be missing the class tomorrow (as I’m through in Glasgow) so I guess I’m taking HOD & Prufrock to the beach!!
French- my writing was fine, and I’ve not had any real problems with the listening practice. Once again I found the class a bit dull to be honest. Dieca suggested speaking to Deborah and asking if I can use the class time in the self-study centre. We’ll see what happens after Easter. We have a listening NAB on Wednesday so clean ears!
Communication – 2 presentations given & passed. Thursdays are my day off! Yipee!!
History – Interesting stuff on German unification and the build up to WW1. I downloaded some info on the Treaty of Versailles, so I can get an overview on that.
This week I’ve got the IELTS class starting, a trip to Glasgow and I’m away to Mallorca on Thursday…so I’m not going to do much college stuff outside Stevenson. Perhaps the most important thing is to decide which books to take to sunny Spain...HOD stuff obviously, and maybe one of the History books.
Hasta la proxima…..
Monday 22 March 2010
Monday 22nd
As we draw ever nearer the Easter break, we find motivation slipping.
Spanish & French in particular seem to be concentrating on preparing for the exams; obviously this is important, but it can be a bit repetitive and some of the material seems not too well put together!
The Spanish essays are still a bit vague. I think I know what I want to write but I’m not sure what Jordi wants!!
I did have a wee French practice with Marta and that stood me on good stead for the oral test. It was what I wanted to do before Spanish, but couldn’t find a native!
Lit involved a good chat about Heart of Darkness, and we were given a good summary. I think I just need to keep reading & highlighting the text, and get the essay topics ASAP.
Had group discussion in Communication, and now just have to give 2 presentations. One is finished and just needs a bit of practice, and I have images for the other. Then I’ll be finished and Thursdays will be mine, all mine!
Evan gave us some good info on the French revolution, and I think we’ll be moving on to German reunification. Roll on Otto Van!!!
Here’s a Future Timetable for your delight and edification:
Spanish Complete Essay 1 31/03 2 hours
Write Essay 2 31/03 4 hours
Exam preparation June hour a week
Literature Finish analysis of HOD 30/03 2 hours
Essay 1 After Easter 4 hours
Essay 2 After Easter 4 hours
French NAB prep Before Easter hour a week
Communication Presentation 1 25/03 1 hour
Presentation 2 25/03 3 hours
History Project June 20 hours
Essay 1 After Easter 6 hours
Essay 2 After Easter 6 hours
Spanish & French in particular seem to be concentrating on preparing for the exams; obviously this is important, but it can be a bit repetitive and some of the material seems not too well put together!
The Spanish essays are still a bit vague. I think I know what I want to write but I’m not sure what Jordi wants!!
I did have a wee French practice with Marta and that stood me on good stead for the oral test. It was what I wanted to do before Spanish, but couldn’t find a native!
Lit involved a good chat about Heart of Darkness, and we were given a good summary. I think I just need to keep reading & highlighting the text, and get the essay topics ASAP.
Had group discussion in Communication, and now just have to give 2 presentations. One is finished and just needs a bit of practice, and I have images for the other. Then I’ll be finished and Thursdays will be mine, all mine!
Evan gave us some good info on the French revolution, and I think we’ll be moving on to German reunification. Roll on Otto Van!!!
Here’s a Future Timetable for your delight and edification:
Spanish Complete Essay 1 31/03 2 hours
Write Essay 2 31/03 4 hours
Exam preparation June hour a week
Literature Finish analysis of HOD 30/03 2 hours
Essay 1 After Easter 4 hours
Essay 2 After Easter 4 hours
French NAB prep Before Easter hour a week
Communication Presentation 1 25/03 1 hour
Presentation 2 25/03 3 hours
History Project June 20 hours
Essay 1 After Easter 6 hours
Essay 2 After Easter 6 hours
Monday 15 March 2010
Monday 15th...the ides are here
Yo! I have now received conditional offers from all 4 unis! Aberdeen & Stirling sent the letters last week, so now I’ve got to think about visiting & making the final decision. I’ve booked on the Glasgow Open day for Tues 30th March, and Stirling has a couple of options in the Easter break but I’ve missed Aberdeen and Edinburgh doesn’t bother with such nonsense! I’d like to get in touch with Edinburgh anyway. We’ll see! And I need to suss the SAAS site, and start looking for finance.
Godhonkit! I’ve forgotten my USB stick, which has my Lengua de las Mariposas essay on, so I’ll have to nip back at lunchtime. I got a lot of background info for the Memoria Historica essay, so I think now I just need a good question. “Can the renaming of streets help eliminate the pain of the past?”
I’ve read all of Heart of Darkness, and it is pretty damn dark! I’ve been highlighting key quotes and that, so that’s an ongoing task. Tonight I’ll fill in Madeleine’s quote sheet and all will be good.
We’ve got a French speaking NAB this Friday, so I need to practise my L’ane derniere story. I wonder if I can persuade Marta to listen to me. Deborah didn’t seem to think I’d have any problems. The class last Friday was not very inspiring. Angela & I did the speaking exercise without problem, but then just chatted in Spanish. I should have given her my holiday spiel.
I’m very clear about what I need to do for Communications: 2 essays, 2 presentations and a group talk. Hopefully, we can plan the talk a bit today, and give it on Thursday. My afternoon / evening work should focus on the essays & presentations this week.
And there will be more free time, as the TLI classes have stopped for a while. I will get back into the habit of doing evening work on Mons & Weds as I’ve been enjoying the weekends too much!
I finally got 2 Thomas Cochrane books, and I flipped the Chile chapters of 1…Looks like I’ll have to expand the question to include the liberation of Peru. I’ll flip the other book this week, and then start taking notes.
Godhonkit! I’ve forgotten my USB stick, which has my Lengua de las Mariposas essay on, so I’ll have to nip back at lunchtime. I got a lot of background info for the Memoria Historica essay, so I think now I just need a good question. “Can the renaming of streets help eliminate the pain of the past?”
I’ve read all of Heart of Darkness, and it is pretty damn dark! I’ve been highlighting key quotes and that, so that’s an ongoing task. Tonight I’ll fill in Madeleine’s quote sheet and all will be good.
We’ve got a French speaking NAB this Friday, so I need to practise my L’ane derniere story. I wonder if I can persuade Marta to listen to me. Deborah didn’t seem to think I’d have any problems. The class last Friday was not very inspiring. Angela & I did the speaking exercise without problem, but then just chatted in Spanish. I should have given her my holiday spiel.
I’m very clear about what I need to do for Communications: 2 essays, 2 presentations and a group talk. Hopefully, we can plan the talk a bit today, and give it on Thursday. My afternoon / evening work should focus on the essays & presentations this week.
And there will be more free time, as the TLI classes have stopped for a while. I will get back into the habit of doing evening work on Mons & Weds as I’ve been enjoying the weekends too much!
I finally got 2 Thomas Cochrane books, and I flipped the Chile chapters of 1…Looks like I’ll have to expand the question to include the liberation of Peru. I’ll flip the other book this week, and then start taking notes.
Monday 8 March 2010
8th March
Back in the college and I have my Spanish oral this afternoon at 2pm. I bumped into Jordi last Friday and he very kindly offered to give me a practice session. I went along after French and managed to switch languages OK. Obviously it was far more relaxing just chatting away to someone I know but Jordi said I did fine, and that was at 3.30 on a Friday at the end of a fairly hectic week. He did say I should make sure I took advantage of the opportunities to speak in the past or future when the examiner asks a suitable question. I have a tendency to switch to the present to make general observations so I should try and stick to specifics from my past. Unfortunately I celebrated my return to health by enjoying the weekend too much so I didn’t do any further practice, but I’ve got my “Lengua de las Mariposas” stuff to read and hopefully I’ll be able to find Leticia (is Sara still in Berlin?) and have a wee chat with her.
We had an assessment to do in French, so my quick revision of the imperfect enabled me to recognise it in action. I’ve got 2 pieces of written work to do and they should both include examples of the imperfect & the compose. That’s Tuesday afternoon’s work. Oh, new glasses to pick up on Tuesday as well. That was something else that needed to be done, and I finally got round to it!
Evan is on holiday but Aga sent me the stuff we’re supposed to investigate: The reformation .The Baroque period (around 1650-1750; music, art, architecture (Bernini , J.S. Bach )). The Industrial revolution in Britain - how did it start? (agricultural changes too). The Enlightenment (around 1750 - 1832). I didn’t go to the library to ask about Cochrane book: just printed a list of potential titles.
I visited Scott’s webpage and watched about 12 mins of the ‘brain’ presentation. I took some notes but failed to write them up. That can be a 2nd level Tuesday priority, or Wednesday lunch time 1st level!
I started marking key quotes in Heart of Darkness section 1, but didn’t complete this….lost weekend syndrome I’m afraid! The book would be good for reading/marking on the bus. Ah, I need a new highlighter pen; the old Tadel one is nearly out of ink. Found some info on ‘Angel Heart’, which should be good for talking about the personification of evil.
We had an assessment to do in French, so my quick revision of the imperfect enabled me to recognise it in action. I’ve got 2 pieces of written work to do and they should both include examples of the imperfect & the compose. That’s Tuesday afternoon’s work. Oh, new glasses to pick up on Tuesday as well. That was something else that needed to be done, and I finally got round to it!
Evan is on holiday but Aga sent me the stuff we’re supposed to investigate: The reformation .The Baroque period (around 1650-1750; music, art, architecture (Bernini , J.S. Bach )). The Industrial revolution in Britain - how did it start? (agricultural changes too). The Enlightenment (around 1750 - 1832). I didn’t go to the library to ask about Cochrane book: just printed a list of potential titles.
I visited Scott’s webpage and watched about 12 mins of the ‘brain’ presentation. I took some notes but failed to write them up. That can be a 2nd level Tuesday priority, or Wednesday lunch time 1st level!
I started marking key quotes in Heart of Darkness section 1, but didn’t complete this….lost weekend syndrome I’m afraid! The book would be good for reading/marking on the bus. Ah, I need a new highlighter pen; the old Tadel one is nearly out of ink. Found some info on ‘Angel Heart’, which should be good for talking about the personification of evil.
Wednesday 3 March 2010
3rd March
It seems February was doomed to be a month of confusion and loss and that has dragged over into March. I haven’t been in college since last Wed, and it doesn’t look like I’ll be back until next Monday.
Still let’s start with the positives.
Last week I spoke to Jordi and registered for the Adv Higher exam. The oral is next Monday so I’ve written some notes about “El uso de los moviles”, and I’ll need to do some planning for “Cambios demograficos” & “Efectos del turismo”. I think it’ll be fine as I have no problem in waffling away, although I must make sure I prepare some subjunctive phrases.
I’ve read the 1st section of “Heart of Darkness” and quite enjoyed it. Conrad certainly knew how to set a scene and build anticipation. I’ll re-read it, and take notes on symbolism / themes / characters as per Madeleine’s email suggestion.
I reviewed my Oral Presentation Skills Assessment, watched “An Inconvenient Truth”, amended & improved my work and emailed it off to Scott. I’ll need to look at his web page to see what the class did this week, but I think I should just do some more planning for a presentation: can I use the Barca presentation?
I borrowed Evan’s “Civilization” DVD and watched the first episode about the so-called Dark Ages. Interesting stuff; did you know the crucifixion wasn’t used as a symbol of Christianity until the 10th century? Well, would you join a club that had a painful death as its emblem?? Kenneth Clarke had an old-school presenting style, and I can see how today’s youth might be bored! I still haven’t got any further planning my project: I think I need a good book about Tommy Cochrane to get me going.
I thought I had something to read for French, “Mon frefe”? but I can’t seem to find it in the stuff I’ve got with me. Never mind, I should just review the Past compose and try and write out a few examples of the imperfect past.
I didn’t see Leticia before I was off ill again and I don’t even have her number in my old mobile! Hope she got her essays sorted.
OK, that should keep me in touch with college while I’m physically elsewhere!
Still let’s start with the positives.
Last week I spoke to Jordi and registered for the Adv Higher exam. The oral is next Monday so I’ve written some notes about “El uso de los moviles”, and I’ll need to do some planning for “Cambios demograficos” & “Efectos del turismo”. I think it’ll be fine as I have no problem in waffling away, although I must make sure I prepare some subjunctive phrases.
I’ve read the 1st section of “Heart of Darkness” and quite enjoyed it. Conrad certainly knew how to set a scene and build anticipation. I’ll re-read it, and take notes on symbolism / themes / characters as per Madeleine’s email suggestion.
I reviewed my Oral Presentation Skills Assessment, watched “An Inconvenient Truth”, amended & improved my work and emailed it off to Scott. I’ll need to look at his web page to see what the class did this week, but I think I should just do some more planning for a presentation: can I use the Barca presentation?
I borrowed Evan’s “Civilization” DVD and watched the first episode about the so-called Dark Ages. Interesting stuff; did you know the crucifixion wasn’t used as a symbol of Christianity until the 10th century? Well, would you join a club that had a painful death as its emblem?? Kenneth Clarke had an old-school presenting style, and I can see how today’s youth might be bored! I still haven’t got any further planning my project: I think I need a good book about Tommy Cochrane to get me going.
I thought I had something to read for French, “Mon frefe”? but I can’t seem to find it in the stuff I’ve got with me. Never mind, I should just review the Past compose and try and write out a few examples of the imperfect past.
I didn’t see Leticia before I was off ill again and I don’t even have her number in my old mobile! Hope she got her essays sorted.
OK, that should keep me in touch with college while I’m physically elsewhere!
Monday 22 February 2010
Monday 22nd
Well. I’ve dragged myself back in following a mid-term week of coughing, sneezing, spluttering and milling around aimlessly…yup, if it’s February in Edinburgh so it’s FLU time! I missed History (when we watched a video about the Dark Ages), French (I think we did a listening assessment, but I haven’t checked) and Study Skills (when I missed presentations on how good Study Skills is!).
I came back in for the last hour of Spanish, and all of Literature. Jordi mentioned that I don’t have to do some things for Spanish if I don’t want to, but I’m still not sure exactly what my options are!
In Lit we read a passage from a rock biography and did a wee assessment, but the questions were more concerned with the sentence structures than the content; I wasn’t concentrating on that enough and suspect I wrote too much in the wrong direction. Lesson – read intro carefully and mark KEY words in questions before starting to answer. We’re going to read “Heart of Darkness” & “A Streetcar Named Desire” for the class, so I did a bit of background research on them…
The big loser last week was my planned mid-term reading and research; I did nothing! I didn’t have the concentration powers available…I’d pick up a book or folder, but within about 5 mins I had to put it down again. I managed to complete the assessment about “An Inconvenient Truth” for Scott, but it’ll need a proof read.
Anyway, this week:
Today: Try to speak with Jordi to find out exactly what I’ll have to do if I want to take the actual Adv Higher.
Tues – I should speak to Letecia (if she’s in!) and plan out intercambio. Finish Communication assessment. Do some prep for the Philosophy of Lang class. Is Sara back?
Wed – Speak to Deborah about missed class.
Thurs – Ask Scott for planned dates, as I need to start working on presentations etc.
Fri – Speak to Evan about missed class.
Maybe get some cough medicine!!!
I came back in for the last hour of Spanish, and all of Literature. Jordi mentioned that I don’t have to do some things for Spanish if I don’t want to, but I’m still not sure exactly what my options are!
In Lit we read a passage from a rock biography and did a wee assessment, but the questions were more concerned with the sentence structures than the content; I wasn’t concentrating on that enough and suspect I wrote too much in the wrong direction. Lesson – read intro carefully and mark KEY words in questions before starting to answer. We’re going to read “Heart of Darkness” & “A Streetcar Named Desire” for the class, so I did a bit of background research on them…
The big loser last week was my planned mid-term reading and research; I did nothing! I didn’t have the concentration powers available…I’d pick up a book or folder, but within about 5 mins I had to put it down again. I managed to complete the assessment about “An Inconvenient Truth” for Scott, but it’ll need a proof read.
Anyway, this week:
Today: Try to speak with Jordi to find out exactly what I’ll have to do if I want to take the actual Adv Higher.
Tues – I should speak to Letecia (if she’s in!) and plan out intercambio. Finish Communication assessment. Do some prep for the Philosophy of Lang class. Is Sara back?
Wed – Speak to Deborah about missed class.
Thurs – Ask Scott for planned dates, as I need to start working on presentations etc.
Fri – Speak to Evan about missed class.
Maybe get some cough medicine!!!
Monday 8 February 2010
Monday 8th
Morning,
So last week we did some presentations in both Study Skills & Communication. On Monday Marta & I got a chance to practise our Spanish presentations, which was useful: having the opportunity to have a dress rehearsal really makes you realise what you have clear and what requires a bit of work. In the Spanish class everything went well, and I slipped a few subjunctives! Observing others on Monday was interesting; the way people used their personalities to overcome nerves & technical issues, the importance of the voice, eye contact and smiling!
Thursday was a little less serious, although the Dragon’s Den programme showed the absolute necessity of good appearance, being very well prepared, being able to deal with tricky questions and keeping cool. From our ‘sales’ presentations I observed that enthusiasm and humour worked well, and it was best not to get too technical.
I worked away on the Communications assessment as planned on Tuesday, did a proof read on Wed, and handed it in on Thurs. I read up a bit for the night class and arranged to meet Sara in a café…but by the time she got there, it was nearly time to go! Again I felt quite confident during the 1st half of the lecture, but the 2nd part just went too deep too quick. I know Sara feels about the same, and I reckon the older lady in the class is similarly bamboozled but what does the girl next to me scribbling away about??? I guess in a ‘heavy’ lecture you will feel a bit worried that you are the only one not getting it…so that’s when talking to other students is really important; you also have to recognise the bluffers!!!
I went over my history essays again noting key points, names, dates, acts etc. The Chartists seemed the most interesting, and I hadn’t written it in such a historical style so I picked it for the exam. I reckon I wrote a good essay which answered the question, covered the main points and was written well…but it sure hurt my hand!!! I haven’t had to write that much by hand since….I don’t know the 80s?? Are there any exercises to toughen up the hand muscles??
I reckon I’ve got those 13 verbs that take etre in the past: aller, venir (venu), retourner, rester, arrive, entrer, partir, sortir, monter, descendre (descend), tomber, morir (mort) and naitre (ne) …As Cedric said, there are a lot of opposites so that helped. Also trying to say a sentence seemed a good idea: Je suis allé au cinema, mon grand-pere est mort en 1992.
At the weekend I realised I had no outstanding work…sure there are always things to do: tidying folders, reviewing notes, revising, etc. but I did feel pretty free. I really enjoyed the gym -I didn’t feel that I should be hurrying myself so I could get back and do some work. It’s important to be able to turn one’s mind off from work and “detach from oneself”!
This week:
I should do some more prep for the Communications presentation: Peru? The History project: Thomas Cochrane? Spanish chat: (what did I agree with Jordi??) Cambios en nuestra sociedad and el turismo?
Tues– gotta get the bike fixed! So do that after Literature, then back to library for a couple of hours…. try for a haircut.
Wed – use time between French & Spanish
Thurs – there’ll be less time as we restart the tutorials, and I have evening work.
Right that’s yer lot!
So last week we did some presentations in both Study Skills & Communication. On Monday Marta & I got a chance to practise our Spanish presentations, which was useful: having the opportunity to have a dress rehearsal really makes you realise what you have clear and what requires a bit of work. In the Spanish class everything went well, and I slipped a few subjunctives! Observing others on Monday was interesting; the way people used their personalities to overcome nerves & technical issues, the importance of the voice, eye contact and smiling!
Thursday was a little less serious, although the Dragon’s Den programme showed the absolute necessity of good appearance, being very well prepared, being able to deal with tricky questions and keeping cool. From our ‘sales’ presentations I observed that enthusiasm and humour worked well, and it was best not to get too technical.
I worked away on the Communications assessment as planned on Tuesday, did a proof read on Wed, and handed it in on Thurs. I read up a bit for the night class and arranged to meet Sara in a café…but by the time she got there, it was nearly time to go! Again I felt quite confident during the 1st half of the lecture, but the 2nd part just went too deep too quick. I know Sara feels about the same, and I reckon the older lady in the class is similarly bamboozled but what does the girl next to me scribbling away about??? I guess in a ‘heavy’ lecture you will feel a bit worried that you are the only one not getting it…so that’s when talking to other students is really important; you also have to recognise the bluffers!!!
I went over my history essays again noting key points, names, dates, acts etc. The Chartists seemed the most interesting, and I hadn’t written it in such a historical style so I picked it for the exam. I reckon I wrote a good essay which answered the question, covered the main points and was written well…but it sure hurt my hand!!! I haven’t had to write that much by hand since….I don’t know the 80s?? Are there any exercises to toughen up the hand muscles??
I reckon I’ve got those 13 verbs that take etre in the past: aller, venir (venu), retourner, rester, arrive, entrer, partir, sortir, monter, descendre (descend), tomber, morir (mort) and naitre (ne) …As Cedric said, there are a lot of opposites so that helped. Also trying to say a sentence seemed a good idea: Je suis allé au cinema, mon grand-pere est mort en 1992.
At the weekend I realised I had no outstanding work…sure there are always things to do: tidying folders, reviewing notes, revising, etc. but I did feel pretty free. I really enjoyed the gym -I didn’t feel that I should be hurrying myself so I could get back and do some work. It’s important to be able to turn one’s mind off from work and “detach from oneself”!
This week:
I should do some more prep for the Communications presentation: Peru? The History project: Thomas Cochrane? Spanish chat: (what did I agree with Jordi??) Cambios en nuestra sociedad and el turismo?
Tues– gotta get the bike fixed! So do that after Literature, then back to library for a couple of hours…. try for a haircut.
Wed – use time between French & Spanish
Thurs – there’ll be less time as we restart the tutorials, and I have evening work.
Right that’s yer lot!
Monday 1 February 2010
Monday 1st
So, let’s start with Tuesday’s plan –
Go to the library at 1pm – Nope, didn’t go at all.
45 mins on Philosophy of Language notes – 15 mins at home = 15 mins on bus. That did aid considerably my understanding of the 1st half of the class. Sara cancelled the planned meet up beforehand.
45 mins on Spanish presentation – Nope. Nada. Zilch. Had to be put back, and was more of a priority.
45 mins with voila – 10 mins on bus on way home. I still don’t really like the layout or structure of the book, but it’s what the teacher uses, so needs must!
What went wrong with the plan? Well, for one thing I agreed with Jordi to give the presentation next Monday, so it immediately became much more important. It’s a bit pointless making any kind of detailed plan on a Monday morning when teachers are going to give you work during the week, which will require preference.
Then my cousin came round for lunch and a chat. Now, for those of you who don’t know cousin Helen; she speaks Italian, works at student recruitment in Dundee Uni, studied Philosophy and is studying French part time. So, we had a chat about my applications, some general Philosophy basics, and the pleasures of learning French when one is fairly confident in a Latin language. I left the house feeling satisfied, stimulated and motivated. Did I regret not following my study plan?? Did I hell!!
Of course, it’s important to get into good study habits, and there will be time with assignments and exam revision that it’ll be crucial to organise a detailed timetable but on a weekly basis? WHY? To prove I can?? It seems a bit of a waste of time to prepare something every week, only to adapt it every time. Is that a failure, or just realistic adaptation??
I’m afraid it just reminded me of a kind of 9 to 5 job...you always feel you should be doing something, and if I wanted that kind of job, I’d be working in one, thank you. Studying is not just about learning facts or techniques; it’s about developing as an individual, finding your own way of thinking, you own preferred work methods. If it makes you happy, gets you through the course and keeps your grades, teachers and college happy, then it’s good!!!
I felt good following the exchange of ideas with Helen; just as I do when I chat with nearly anyone I know, about what I’m doing and where I’m going. That I feel is a crucial part of this process: getting positive vibes about the whole damn thing.
Anyway….Deborah did a revision class and said we WON’T be using Voila much, so I did quite an hour’s work on the Spanish presentation on Wed.
On Thursday, I got a conditional offer from Glasgow…yeah!! I also went to the library, and continued with the Communication assessment. I also finished off the Spanish presentation…now all I need to do is practise speaking!
I read through my Chartist and Women’s vote history essays…it was very interesting to look back over them!
As for next week:
Tuesday: finish Communication assessment. Spend an hour preparing for the Language class: go back over last week’s notes and read up a little on the next part. Do some more history revision…although Thursday pm & Friday morn are the most crucial times!
Go to the library at 1pm – Nope, didn’t go at all.
45 mins on Philosophy of Language notes – 15 mins at home = 15 mins on bus. That did aid considerably my understanding of the 1st half of the class. Sara cancelled the planned meet up beforehand.
45 mins on Spanish presentation – Nope. Nada. Zilch. Had to be put back, and was more of a priority.
45 mins with voila – 10 mins on bus on way home. I still don’t really like the layout or structure of the book, but it’s what the teacher uses, so needs must!
What went wrong with the plan? Well, for one thing I agreed with Jordi to give the presentation next Monday, so it immediately became much more important. It’s a bit pointless making any kind of detailed plan on a Monday morning when teachers are going to give you work during the week, which will require preference.
Then my cousin came round for lunch and a chat. Now, for those of you who don’t know cousin Helen; she speaks Italian, works at student recruitment in Dundee Uni, studied Philosophy and is studying French part time. So, we had a chat about my applications, some general Philosophy basics, and the pleasures of learning French when one is fairly confident in a Latin language. I left the house feeling satisfied, stimulated and motivated. Did I regret not following my study plan?? Did I hell!!
Of course, it’s important to get into good study habits, and there will be time with assignments and exam revision that it’ll be crucial to organise a detailed timetable but on a weekly basis? WHY? To prove I can?? It seems a bit of a waste of time to prepare something every week, only to adapt it every time. Is that a failure, or just realistic adaptation??
I’m afraid it just reminded me of a kind of 9 to 5 job...you always feel you should be doing something, and if I wanted that kind of job, I’d be working in one, thank you. Studying is not just about learning facts or techniques; it’s about developing as an individual, finding your own way of thinking, you own preferred work methods. If it makes you happy, gets you through the course and keeps your grades, teachers and college happy, then it’s good!!!
I felt good following the exchange of ideas with Helen; just as I do when I chat with nearly anyone I know, about what I’m doing and where I’m going. That I feel is a crucial part of this process: getting positive vibes about the whole damn thing.
Anyway….Deborah did a revision class and said we WON’T be using Voila much, so I did quite an hour’s work on the Spanish presentation on Wed.
On Thursday, I got a conditional offer from Glasgow…yeah!! I also went to the library, and continued with the Communication assessment. I also finished off the Spanish presentation…now all I need to do is practise speaking!
I read through my Chartist and Women’s vote history essays…it was very interesting to look back over them!
As for next week:
Tuesday: finish Communication assessment. Spend an hour preparing for the Language class: go back over last week’s notes and read up a little on the next part. Do some more history revision…although Thursday pm & Friday morn are the most crucial times!
Monday 25 January 2010
Mon 25th
Well, here we are again!
Some general thoughts about last week…I reckon I was a wee bit ill; I definitely was fuzzy headed, needed lots of sleep and felt a bit de-motivated. I went to the gym on Tuesday, and felt good…for about 1 hour and then knackered! So it was not a particularly productive time, and I certainly wasn’t in the mood for blogging.
It’s worth considering that there will be times that I’ll be feeling less than 100%, and therefore reflection & analysis will tend towards the negative. That’s OK as long I can look at them again later and laugh!
Anyway, the positives:
I worked well on my History essay with updated drafts produced on Tues, Thurs & Fri morning before the hand in. I had it at just under 2300 words, which was about the target…but then realised I hadn’t written about criticisms of the 11-plus, so back up to 2455. I could have taken out some unnecessary prose, but it seemed a shame and Evan won’t mind. Would a better essay plan have helped? Or I could keep a version for me, as I did with the Investigating Europe.
Spanish – Yup, I’ve got a general plan and some phrases sorted out.
Literature – Nope, wasn’t in the mood and it was not a priority.
French – Yup, I did a little revision probably not enough but sufficient for the course. Au revoir et merci Cedric!
Communication – I watched the “Age of Genius” programme as relaxation (ie not notes taken!), and damned good it was too…tied in nicely with the reading assignment. We looked at some presentation skills in class, which should be interesting & useful.
This week:
Mon – use tutorial time for quick review of my Spanish h/w, and maybe start the Powerpoint work.
Tues – see what Madelaine unleashes upon us! Go to Library 1pm;
45 mins working through Voila exercise to prepare for Deborah’s class
45 mins on Spanish presentation
45 mins on Philosophy of Language stuff, then meet Sara to go over it
Oh, got to find time to see Hamish at TLI see need to be at Haymarket at 5!!
Wed – 30 mins French revision, then 45 mins Spanish work
Thurs – Go to Library 2pm. Specific plan to depend on Tues/Wed success.
Although could be an idea to do some background for Historical Investigation, and revise a bit for the assessment!
Fri 9am – continue History revision: Read an essay & note key points.
Some general thoughts about last week…I reckon I was a wee bit ill; I definitely was fuzzy headed, needed lots of sleep and felt a bit de-motivated. I went to the gym on Tuesday, and felt good…for about 1 hour and then knackered! So it was not a particularly productive time, and I certainly wasn’t in the mood for blogging.
It’s worth considering that there will be times that I’ll be feeling less than 100%, and therefore reflection & analysis will tend towards the negative. That’s OK as long I can look at them again later and laugh!
Anyway, the positives:
I worked well on my History essay with updated drafts produced on Tues, Thurs & Fri morning before the hand in. I had it at just under 2300 words, which was about the target…but then realised I hadn’t written about criticisms of the 11-plus, so back up to 2455. I could have taken out some unnecessary prose, but it seemed a shame and Evan won’t mind. Would a better essay plan have helped? Or I could keep a version for me, as I did with the Investigating Europe.
Spanish – Yup, I’ve got a general plan and some phrases sorted out.
Literature – Nope, wasn’t in the mood and it was not a priority.
French – Yup, I did a little revision probably not enough but sufficient for the course. Au revoir et merci Cedric!
Communication – I watched the “Age of Genius” programme as relaxation (ie not notes taken!), and damned good it was too…tied in nicely with the reading assignment. We looked at some presentation skills in class, which should be interesting & useful.
This week:
Mon – use tutorial time for quick review of my Spanish h/w, and maybe start the Powerpoint work.
Tues – see what Madelaine unleashes upon us! Go to Library 1pm;
45 mins working through Voila exercise to prepare for Deborah’s class
45 mins on Spanish presentation
45 mins on Philosophy of Language stuff, then meet Sara to go over it
Oh, got to find time to see Hamish at TLI see need to be at Haymarket at 5!!
Wed – 30 mins French revision, then 45 mins Spanish work
Thurs – Go to Library 2pm. Specific plan to depend on Tues/Wed success.
Although could be an idea to do some background for Historical Investigation, and revise a bit for the assessment!
Fri 9am – continue History revision: Read an essay & note key points.
Monday 18 January 2010
Monday 18th
Here we go again!
Well looking at last week’s goals, I realise I’ll have to print them out and put them in my diary otherwise they’ll just get forgotten! Anyway
I have a diary and a Carlisle Utd calendar.
I spoke to Jordi, and reckon I’ll go with “El uso de los moviles telefonos en nuestea sociedad” theme. I also downloaded a lot of images of mobiles for the presentation.
Literature – nope…didn’t do the techniques stuff. The class just confused me a little, and I think it’s best to take a breather; my essay was fine so look at it later.
French – nope…didn’t do vocab work. I was a bit disappointed that we are losing our teacher, Cedric. Although I took notes to Dundee, I didn’t have time or sufficient sobriety to look at them!
History – yup, 1400 words written up, and that’s with reflections and rewrites! I’m now trying to get my message across within the 2000 word limit – the first 2 essays were nearer 3000, and that will cause problems at uni!
My evening class was interesting, but this whole Philosophy business…well, what does it all mean???? I did print out and read up a bit on Plato’s “Cratylus” text, Locke’s “Limits of Human Understanding” and Frege’s “On Sense and Reference”. I will try and read through them tomorrow before class.
So – for next week>
Spanish – read through my communication essay and translate some key phrases. Make a general plan for the presentation.
Literature – I don’t have to attend class, but I should rewrite my techniques section to include more quotations as evidence.
French – More specific – rewrite the past tense structures. Remember Dr Mrs Vadertrampp!!
OK food….more later!
Well looking at last week’s goals, I realise I’ll have to print them out and put them in my diary otherwise they’ll just get forgotten! Anyway
I have a diary and a Carlisle Utd calendar.
I spoke to Jordi, and reckon I’ll go with “El uso de los moviles telefonos en nuestea sociedad” theme. I also downloaded a lot of images of mobiles for the presentation.
Literature – nope…didn’t do the techniques stuff. The class just confused me a little, and I think it’s best to take a breather; my essay was fine so look at it later.
French – nope…didn’t do vocab work. I was a bit disappointed that we are losing our teacher, Cedric. Although I took notes to Dundee, I didn’t have time or sufficient sobriety to look at them!
History – yup, 1400 words written up, and that’s with reflections and rewrites! I’m now trying to get my message across within the 2000 word limit – the first 2 essays were nearer 3000, and that will cause problems at uni!
My evening class was interesting, but this whole Philosophy business…well, what does it all mean???? I did print out and read up a bit on Plato’s “Cratylus” text, Locke’s “Limits of Human Understanding” and Frege’s “On Sense and Reference”. I will try and read through them tomorrow before class.
So – for next week>
Spanish – read through my communication essay and translate some key phrases. Make a general plan for the presentation.
Literature – I don’t have to attend class, but I should rewrite my techniques section to include more quotations as evidence.
French – More specific – rewrite the past tense structures. Remember Dr Mrs Vadertrampp!!
OK food….more later!
Monday 11 January 2010
Monday 11th Jan 2010
Happy Bloody New Year!
I socialised on both a family and friend level over the Xmas break, and did no work whatsoever! Although, I did sign myself up for a Philosophy of Language course at the Lifelong learning centre, on Tuesday eves. Having dealt with all my college classes without too much difficulty, this course should provide more of a taste of the level of lectures I’m likely to get when studying Linguistics at Uni. I borrowed the set course book from the library, and it looks well heavy! I tried to have a flip through the intro, but it required a degree of concentration I was unable to supply at the time; I’ll wait until after the first lecture to have another look. Hopefully, it’ll make more sense then.
Gols for this week:
Beg, Borrow, Buy or Steal a diary!
Spanish – read through old essays, and consider a topic for my presentation. I should ask Jordi if I can do something about mobile phone usage!
Literature – try and write a short piece about the techniques used in Secrets; that’s what Madeleine said I was short on.
French – Read through old notes, and transfer them to new notebook. Well, start doing this at least!
Communication – We didn’t really have a full class last Thursday. Scott did return my opinion piece, which was fine although I did make a couple of typos and had too many exclamation marks!!!!!!!
History - I want to have at least 1000 words written on the Labour Govt. by the weekend. This could, of course, be altered by new assignments for other classes! I should also draw up a short list for potential subjects to investigate.
“Language Instinct” – shall we say read another 2 chapters? A lot depends on how I’m feeling; there’s no point in trying to read if I’m tired or unfocussed!
I socialised on both a family and friend level over the Xmas break, and did no work whatsoever! Although, I did sign myself up for a Philosophy of Language course at the Lifelong learning centre, on Tuesday eves. Having dealt with all my college classes without too much difficulty, this course should provide more of a taste of the level of lectures I’m likely to get when studying Linguistics at Uni. I borrowed the set course book from the library, and it looks well heavy! I tried to have a flip through the intro, but it required a degree of concentration I was unable to supply at the time; I’ll wait until after the first lecture to have another look. Hopefully, it’ll make more sense then.
Gols for this week:
Beg, Borrow, Buy or Steal a diary!
Spanish – read through old essays, and consider a topic for my presentation. I should ask Jordi if I can do something about mobile phone usage!
Literature – try and write a short piece about the techniques used in Secrets; that’s what Madeleine said I was short on.
French – Read through old notes, and transfer them to new notebook. Well, start doing this at least!
Communication – We didn’t really have a full class last Thursday. Scott did return my opinion piece, which was fine although I did make a couple of typos and had too many exclamation marks!!!!!!!
History - I want to have at least 1000 words written on the Labour Govt. by the weekend. This could, of course, be altered by new assignments for other classes! I should also draw up a short list for potential subjects to investigate.
“Language Instinct” – shall we say read another 2 chapters? A lot depends on how I’m feeling; there’s no point in trying to read if I’m tired or unfocussed!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
