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" Grammar is a piano I play by ear. All I know about grammar is its power" – Joan Didion. The process of learning a language involves not only knowing about its culture or expressing ideas in that language, but also knowing about the form it is constructed, conformed, and used. The relevance of teaching grammar rules explicitly relies on achieving that students internalize and use the language later. Although grammar has long been taught it has, recently, been a matter of debate whether it is worth to teach for language development (Singh, 2011, p.56). English instructors debate about the utility of teaching grammar in English classes by providing students explicit rules and they expose their points of view about if it helps students to produce or if it is an impediment for learners to communicate in the target language. However, in order for students to achieve the competence in communication, grammar is highly helpful. In this context, teaching grammar in English classes le

Nocturnal Encounter The night behaves so cruel and made me fall, my nightmares mend the pain cannot be heard. I found my shelter cause you've come to call, my secret dreams come true, I feel you here. Your face, your breath, I see you sleep above, my eyes as doors completely closed have shown. Your heart of stone, I dream, I melt to love. My dream's the trip I take to you, I've flown. You're here! Me too, but soon a thief will come, his color clear, he steals our dreams to play. Deceit, not bliss 'cause dreams in view succumb. Awake! The lights transgress you've gone away. Abandonment! You left, "come here" I pray, I'll wait the night to meet you here astray. Photo attribution

Being alone to live  Might stop you from suffering  Forget about that,  Companion is wonderful!  Who´s alone cannot live well. Photo attribution

In love  I can't deny  The fear of saying it  My tiny heart cannot stand  Forgive!  It kills! My mind did say The pain inside´s too much  The solitude is better  It hurts Photo attribution

In winter the sun goes down and water has trapped the town  my body smells bad  my soul is a bat  the bones in my dark tomb drown Photo attribution

Dear Mrs. Swift, I am interested in working as an English teacher in the institution that you manage since Birmingham Institute is a school internationally recognized, and your innovative audiovisual system has come to be one of the most effective methods to learn a second language. Furthermore, I consider the certification you have as an English institute valuable as well as the material you use to support your classes since the books you use have been internationally approved. I am also attracted to the school because of the structure of the curriculum which includes three different levels and because of the fact that only six students per teacher are allowed, so the attention is more personalized. I would be a good candidate for the job because I consider myself a patient person who adapts easily to change and that has the knowledge of English language in its form, function, and culture. I appreciate collaborative work and constructive feedback since responsibility and respect ar

Re: Meeting for feedback Dear Professor Benson, I am writing to you to ask you for feedback about the paper that we were commenting about last Monday, September 20, 2015 after class. As I told you, I will use this paper to participate in the composition contest the academic department is organizing. I thank you for taking the time of providing me with ideas and solving my doubts about the writing process. I would like to have a meeting for a feedback session in order to make improvements and changes, if necessary, to the paper. Let me know if next Thursday or Friday (September 24 or 25) would be convenient for you. I have attached the document for you to check the first draft, and will send you the rubric that will be taken into consideration for evaluating the work. I thank you for your attention, and I will wait for your answer. Best regards, Ana Gabriela Valles E-mail: anagav@gmail.com

September 17, 2015  Mr. Harold Woodhouse Alzaga 589 Ejidatarios Street Aguascalientes, Ags. 16121 Tel. 0845416789 Dear Mr. Woodhouse: My name is Gabriela Valles, and I am studying a Bachelor in Arts in English language teaching at the Universidad Autonoma de Aguascalientes . I also work as teacher assistant in the same university. During my three years at the university, I have known Carlos because we have studied together as well as collaborated in translation projects and courses. I have realized he has the knowledge and abilities to develop the job as translator. Carlos is a creative, responsible, and knowledgeable person who covers the necessary skills this job demands. He is competent at the use of English language regarding to its form, use, and cultural aspects as well as in Spanish. He has the knowledge in the field of translation from Spanish to English and vice versa, as well as in translation procedures and techniques and bases for interpretation. Furthermore, he has gotte

English Teacher of an Educational Institution  To be a member of an educational institution as English teacher represents my ideal job so that I can develop at individual and professional levels as well as to encourage students to see English as a tool for the future. For this reason, I want a job where I can apply my knowledge in academic and educational fields so that I can focus on my area of study, use of English language and teaching methods, procedures, and planning. Moreover, I will contribute with innovative proposals for students’ language authentic practice and development of language. As I consider collaborative work enriching, I would like a job where I can show my creative thinking and share my ideas for teaching techniques or methodologies improvement hoping they can be taken into consideration. Additionally, a job where I can have peer-evaluation and critical and constructive feedback is one of my expectations. As a response, I will contribute to the institutional de

"No culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive" – Mahatma Gandhi. All around the world it is easy to find a high amount of costumes, beliefs, traditions, behaviors, and types of education shared between groups of people. Cultural diversity gives the opportunity to humans of increasing their choices in several aspects, and it enriches their capacities, perspectives, and values in this varied world (UNESCO, 2010). As people experience the life in a certain place and time, they construct their own identity and lifestyle. Interestingly, within the existing variety of cultures in the world some of them completely differ, but others share some characteristics and lifestyle because of aspects as location and history. Particularly, China and Japan are cultures perceived as the same, but going deeper in the study of ethnic aspects of these countries makes easy to distinguish between one another. Although Chinese and Japanese cultures have similarities in their writing systems, r

Using networking sites and blogging helps to develop a higher level of literacy in children. For example, a survey by The National Literacy Trust showed that children who have active networking profiles in sites like Facebook or blogs are very skillful at writing and they find it enjoyable. It would be interesting that teachers and parents encourage children to have presence online through the use of different sites so that they develop the interest for writing in a freer and more personal way. As a consequence, they will develop a higher level of competence at this skill. However, children must also be taught to use online sites with responsibility, safety precaution, and for constructive purposes. Promoting the use of networking sites and blogs with responsibility in education opens the possibility to form a generation interested in writing and at the same time it will bring an improvement at writing and reading skills. More information at:  http://www.debaird.net/blendededunet/