YOUR OPINION COUNTS!

We did lots of regular activities connected with language learning this year. We followed a textbook, did exercises in the workbook and you had grammar tests, too!

We also did something different, we worked with the so-called ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies). As regards these tools, you could get in touch with students from La Plata city and interchanged opinions and experiences in two chat sessions. You also opened your own blogs and published interesting posts and last, but not least, you worked together in this blog, answering intelligent questions asked by students from Brazil about our country.

I'd like to have some kind of feedback now. It would be fantastic if you could say, in a few words, what you think about this last experience. You can do it directly here, in this post.

Miss Marina

• Hi, people!
  My opinion about what we've done during this year is that it has been great.
  Marina has showed us that there are many different ways of learning, not just reading books and memorizing theory. This year has been different from the rest, we've communicated with children our age from La Plata and Brazil, and we've exchanged our opinions about some topics. This allowed us not only to speak in English but to learn about other cities and countries.
  Apart from this, we have had a great time this year, we've laughed together and we've acted as if we were a big family, so I think this project worthed our effort =)
  Well, that's what I think.
  Thank you for everything, miss!
  I hope to see you next year!
  
  Mariana S.

• Hi everybody!
  In my opinion working and exchanging ideas, knowledge and information is something different, original and, definitely, great!
  Sometimes it was hard to do all the exercises, but, in the end, we realizaed we could learnt even more English than using always a book, thst's why now we are able to describe some parts of the Brazilian culture and new web sites hihihi
  I hope this comment is OK, remember we are on holidays and our brains don't work very well
  kisses
  
  Irene ♫

• This year we had the opportunity to do something different.
  Our teacher of bilingual, showed us that Internet is not only a way of entertainment. It´s also a learning tool.
  That´s why we created a class blog, and our own blogs; where we could resolve the exercises she gave us and give our opinions about different topics.
  Meanwhile, we shared this experienced with pupils from La Plata city and Brazil. We also had the opportunity to chat with La Plata´s students.
  To sum up: IT WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE!!!!!
  
  xoxo
  Noelia

• In my opinon this project was a very good idea. It was another way to learn English, in this case with a computer, through blogs, other websites and chatting with kids from other schools, instead of using the typical books.
  
  Through this project we could know more about the kids at school in La Plata the thing he likes to do in his spare time, as they're doing in school, they will do on vacation, among other things and the children of Brazil, on where they live, they like to eat and think about football.
  
  The truth I liked a lot and I'd like to do next year.
  
  Best wishes,
  MAYRA

Diego and Irene's answers....

Hi everybody! We are Diego and Irene. We are uploading the answers for the questions you made us. We hope you like them.

When you go out, where do you usually go?

It depends who you are going out with. For example, if Diego goes out with boys they usually go out to ride their bikes. If Irene goes out with girls, she is likely to go to the cinema or get something to eat. But, if they go out all together, they usually meet at a friend’s house at night, see a movie and eat pizza.

What kind of food do you usually eat?

We usually eat all kinds of food. From fast food to the healthiest vegetables. If you ask about our favorite food, Diego would choose sauté rice and Irene, pancakes with milk jam (‘dulce de leche’ in Spanish) inside.

What do you think about Brazilians?

When Irene thinks about Brazilian people, she imagines taned people and sunny beaches everywhere; and Diego thinks about beaches, too, and very very colorful parades at night.

What do you usually watch on TV?

Irene doesn’t watch anything as she isn’t very keen on Tv. Meanwhile Diego likes watching The Simpsons, some animes (Japanese animation) and American series, such as The Mentalist, Mental, Lie To Me, Dr House and Lost.

All the best...

Diego and Irene

ANSWERS to Gabriela and Larissa & Luciana Dantas and André

To Gabriela and Larissa:

1- Would you like to come to Brazil?

Yes, we think it would be really interesting to visit such a beautiful country as Brazil is.

2- Is soccer in Argentina as popular as it is in Brazil?

Yes, it is. We have had very good players, Lionel Messi, Martin Palermo and Roman Riquelme, for example.

3- Why is meat so popular for lunch?

Meat is far the base of the Argentineans nutrition.

Asado (grilled) is the most typical way to prepare and it is always present when family and friends gather on weekends. Besides the steaks we tend to eat sausage, kidneys, gizzards and innards: the famous mixed grill. As accompaniments: bread and salad.

_____________

To Luciana Dantas and André:

1- What is there to do in spare time?

As we are adolescents, we like going out with friends to cinemas, shopping or we also like going to pubs. We like doing sports too, like playing tennis or handball. Also we like surfing on the internet and chatting by MSN.

2- What kind of national/typical music do you listen to?

We like dancing while listening to reggaeton; and also a bit of national rock music. But, actually, we like listening to foreign music better. The genders we like most are rock&pop.

3- What are the most typical foods?

The most typical foods are: meat, "pasta", "empanada", we had excellent wines, for many people the favorite dessert is ice cream, we made delicious "alfajores", and we usually have breakfast with "facturas"

By Sheila, Mariana A. and Mayra.

Answers of Brazilian Questions:

1) Do you usually go skiing on vacations?
Macarena: I´m the only one in my group that sometimes go skiing on vacations, because I have some members of my family living in the South of our country, in a little city called Ushuaia, is one of the most beautiful places on Earth and it is the southernmost city in the world... But Narella and Matías don´t know the snow... Of course a dream of us, is to spend a week of our winter holidays in a place where usually snows. ^^
That´s me, the first time I went to ski alone (without my parents always looking at me... )




2) What is Argentina's main agricultural exportation product?
The main agricultural exportation of our Nation is the grain, like cereals.

3) What do you like the most about life in Argentina?

Argentina is a very big country, in totality have 23 provinces with the most diverse and beautiful terrains; and many interesting things that we love doing...

4) What food would you consider the most typical in Argentina?

The most typical food in Argentina is barbecue or roast.

5) What kind of music is more popular there?

Matías thinks, that the most popular kind of music here is national rock (ex: Rata blanca; Los piojos; Charly Garcia)



Group: Narella, Matías and Macarena.

Answer

From Giovanna and Luísa:

13. What do you think of Brazil?
Yes, we have got a lot of national holidays, one of them is the student's day. We celebrate with our friends and go to some place and spend time talking or doing others activities

14. Do you have a national holiday you like to celebrate?

Well, Brazil is a nice country with a lot of beaches and a place to entertainment and spend the time. Brazil is very beautiful and lf I have the opportunity I will travel to Brazil again.

15. What do you like the most about Argentina?

Well, we like a lot of things. One of them is stay with our friends and going to difference places, for example go to "Parque de la Costa"

Answers

Hello there, we are Juani And Stefa, and we'd like to finally post our answers to the questions we recieved from you!

What kind of parties do you like to go?

Buenos Aires is a really energetic city, full of active people, always willing to go to any party.

As we are somehow too young to go to the non-stop discos’ parties -that usually last from 12 PM to 6 AM or 7 AM-, or to go to spend some time in pubs, we usually go to matinees. These are parties that last from 8 PM to 12 PM, organized in discos, but with an independent name, its own staff and rules.

We also like going to parties in friend’s homes. They might make one for a birthday, or without any reason, and actually they are the most common among young people like us. In those parties we have the opportunity not only to dance, but make socials, meet people and have a good time, play games or may be have some pizza. In these parties, there’s always a friend that knows something about djing. We used to have a classmate that worked in a public relations (RRPP), and also did some djing; he would always get the PC and download a programme which emulates the equipment of a dj, and we would have a great time.

Interior of a very popular disco here in Buenos Aires, Pachá.

What are the most famous music groups there?

As the citizens of Buenos Aires are so many, there are various different cultures, traditions, and music preferences. These music preferences are related to the social level or the neighborhood of the person, but this is not a requirement.

Buenos Aires has about 12 million inhabitants, so there’s always a place for every type of music. The most listened is rock. AC/DC, Queen, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, as well as the youngest bands such as Green Day, top the list of the most popular international rock bands. There are also plenty of national rock bands, such as Rata Blanca, Los Tipitos, Viejas Locas, La Renga, Ataque 77, or Sodastereo.

Another music genre which takes a big part of people’s likings is cumbia, but not the original one, which came from cultural-rich Caribbean countries, but the one called “cumbia villera”, that has its origins in the “slums” of Buenos Aires. We think there are about 40 slums in Buenos Aires, and they hold a big part of the population. In this genre you could find groups like Pibes Chorros, El Empuje, La Liga, and so on.

Although electronic music is not much heard, there are a growing number of people who like electronic music, specially house, electro, deep house, trance and dance. Of course, there are a lot of DJs I could name, but the most important here are Crookers, Dj Tiesto, Tiga, Deep Dish, David Guetta and the Argentinian Hernán Cattaneo.

There’s also a place for rap, hip hop and R&B, with Eminem, Akon, Flo-rida, Sean Kingston on the top of the list.

We should definetly name the reaggeton, genre that has gained many fans with singers such as Daddy Yankee, Makano, Pitbull, Nigga, La Factoría, Calle 13, and Wisin & Yandel.

As you can see, the most famous bands and singers in Argentina are foreign, except for rock bands and some other groups. It’s a shame that folklore music isn’t as famous as other types of music, but fortunately our culture is not lost, as there are still a great deal of fans of Argentinian traditional music.

Front of the last Sodastereo's CD.

Do you prefer Pelé or Maradona?

It’s obvious that argentinian would say that Maradona is better.

First of all, we think Maradona is better because he came from a poor family but although all difficulties he had, he could make his way up to success.

Besides we are proud of him because he could give up drugs and alcohol, and overcome all his problems, such as been overweight.

He showed it, at Local's Clubs in Argentina, at Napoles in Italy and at many Mundial Cups.

In contrast, Pele have always played with football players of high level; moreover he always played by himself, never with the team.

Maradona kissing the Mundial's cup, in 1978.

What are the most sports played in Argentina?

There a big variety of sports played in Argentina. The most played are football, tennis, rugby and polo.

Football is played by almost everyone and it’s the most televised and commercialized sport.

Tennis it’s a less play sport than football but, although, a lot of people like it.

Rugby it’s a very popular sport among adolescents. Usually boys, who play rugby, are wrongly thought to be more popular and successful with girls. Besides that winning cups every argentinian become funs of rugby’s selection.

There two ways of looking at Polo. Most people see Polo as a rich men class, specially in Capital Federal, where the only way of learning how to play polo, is to attend to expensive horse-riding classes, and buying expensive equipment. But there is the other side: in the country and rural zones, where horses are widely used, polo is played as a normal sport, with the horses people use to work on their fields.

Those are the most played sports in Argentina, the ones which are most popular.

Los Pumas, the national rugby selection, singing the national anthem.

Two polo players

All right! Take care! C ya!

INTRODUCING OUR-SELVES!

Hello everybody! We are Mariana, Sheila and Mayra, from Capital Federal-Buenos Aires, Argentina. We go to Santa Rosa’s school, 2nd year, and we three are 15 years old. We have bilingual classes every Thursday and Tuesday. Mayra and Sheila are studying Business Administration and Mariana Social Communication. Our group of friends is composed by Macarena, Narella, Maria Eva, and us.

Mariana is an only child but she has stepbrothers in her father’s size, Mayra has got two sisters, Leila and Irina, and Sheila have got one sister, called Melanie, and two half-brothers, called Mariano and Sergio.

We love listening to music (all kinds), going out together (to cinemas, Winter, shoppings, etc), or going to our houses to have pajamas’ party. Today is Halloween, so a partner is organizing a fancy dress Halloween party.

Mayra and Sheila play volleyball and Mariana does swimming. And next Monday, Mayra and Sheila will compete against other courses and the following Monday Mariana.

That’s all, we expect you enjoy reading from us, and we will be willing to hear from you too.

Kissies,

Sheila, Mariana and Mayra.