Thursday, February 20, 2025

Reflection on some reading habits

 When looking at different reading situations, it is fascinating to observe the variety of texts people engage with. This blog entry is inspired by one of the tasks from the course Innovative Teaching Practices Supported by the Focused Use of ICT Tools in the Language Classroom. In this post, I reflect on various reading habits depicted in five different images, which basically serve as the basis for my analysis

In the images analyzed, we can see a range of reading materials: books, newspapers, and even a tablet displaying a graph. Most readers seem to have chosen their texts freely, except for the children in the classroom, who are all reading the same book. This suggests that personal choice plays an important role in the reading experience.

Most of the readers in the images seem to be enjoying their reading. The individuals in the library and the mother reading with her daughter appear relaxed and absorbed in their books. However, in the case of the person reading on a tablet, it is difficult to determine her emotions, as her face is not visible. I am sure the type of conten he is readingt—possibly a work-related —might influence the level of engagement differently compared to reading for leisure.

Personally, I strongly relate to two of the images: the peaceful atmosphere of a library and the structured reading environment of a classroom. Libraries have always been a sanctuary for me, offering the perfect setting to immerse myself in a novel. Interestingly, my reading preferences vary depending on the language. In Spanish, I enjoy novels and poetry, while in English, I primarily read academic articles and books realted to my field of work: teaching and learning English as a foreign language. Newspapers are also part of my English reading routine, but I am surprised to see that fiction  and most of the poetry are a domain I reserve for my native language.

The choice of reading material is often influenced by time constraints and responsibilities. As I am currently working on my PhD, I spend a significant amount of time reading scientific literature, which even though it sounds weird, I do enjoy it when I have the time. However, I make a conscious effort to balance this kind of reading with poetry in Spanish, which provides a refreshing contrast to academic texts. For some reason, I have always felt more comfortable reading this genre in my own language. 

Regarding formats, I read in all possible ways—on paper, e-readers, and online. Nevertheless, when it comes to pure enjoyment, printed books still hold first place in my personal ranking. I appreciate the fact of holding a book in my own hands; it enhances my reading pleasure.

Finding time to read is always a challenge, but I try to integrate it into my daily routine. For pleasure, I read on my e-reader at night, while throughout the day, I engage with various texts—from short social media posts to poems and newspaper articles. No matter the format or language, reading remains an essential and rewarding part of my life.


Imagen creada con la IA


Monday, February 10, 2025

¡Volvemos con fuerza!

 Tras mucho tiempo sin utilizar este medio, vuelvo animada por una de las tareas del curso INNOVATIVE TEACHING PRACTICES SUPPORTED BY THE FOCUSED USE OF ICT TOOLS IN THE LANGUAGE CLASSROOM (25K9906AV128).

After a long time without using this platform, I’m back, encouraged by one of the tasks from the course INNOVATIVE TEACHING PRACTICES SUPPORTED BY THE FOCUSED USE OF ICT TOOLS IN THE LANGUAGE CLASSROOM (25K9906AV128).

Nos piden que expliquemos el propósito del blog, lo cual me hace reflexionar sobre el origen de este blog, que en esencia sigue siendo el mismo: compartir mi propio "diario de aprendizaje" con la comunidad educativa. Este diario se conforma tanto por los contenidos que voy integrando en mi práctica de los diferentes cursos que voy haciendo como de todos aquellos recursos ligados tanto a la enseñanza y aprendizaje de lenguas como a la educación, en general, y que puedan ser útiles en nuestro día a día. 

I have been asked to explain the purpose of this blog, which has led me to reflect on its origin, which essentially remains the same: to share my own learning journal with the educational community. This journal consists of both the content from courses I integrate into my practice  and all the resources related to language teaching and learning. It also deals with education in general, which may be useful in our daily work.

Voy a empezar compartiendo un par de imágenes creadas con la IA (Chat GPT): una avatar y un poster de animación al aprendizaje de inglés (a ver quién encuentra el gazapillo típico de la IA)

I’m going to start by sharing a couple of images created with AI (ChatGPT): an avatar and a poster to encourage English learning (Can you spot a typical AI mistake?).



Como parte de este primer post, junto a un blog roll, disponible  a la derecha del blog, me piden  compartir tres sitios para practicar inglés online, así que os dejo por aquí los que más suelo usar:

As part of this first post, along with a blog roll available on the right side of the blog, I’ve been asked to share three websites for practicing English online. So here are the ones I use the most:

  1. GRAMMAR: https://www.ego4u.com/ 
  2. READING: https://breakingnewsenglish.com/
  3. LISTENING: https://www.voanews.com/
From now on, the upcoming posts will be written just in English!