PORTAFOLI MARC GUIRAO PASCUAL

1ST WEEK (14 - 18 of September)

During this first class days, we have spoken about how is going to be the subject, I mean, what we are going to study this year. We started the first class with a simple activity: we had to choose a photo that represents us when we are in an English class. I had chosen a photography about the “Castellers” because I think that we all help each other to achieve something. After that first introduction class, we started talking about the war and the conflicts. In my opinion this week has been so easy, and I would like it continues for the rest of the year, but I now it wouldn't. To conclude this first week, we made an activity that consist to write a little history that represent how we manage to get over the difficulties that we found in the path. Here is mine:

Chapter 1

I try to reach the top

I grab the limit with my right hand

I fall off the mountain

Chapter 2

I try to reach the same goal

I grab it again with the same hand

I fall off the mountain again

Chapter 3

I wake up this morning

I take the same way as always

I failed one more time

Chapter 4

I want to reach the top

I find another way

I arrive to my goal

Chapter 5

Now, I could live there if I wanted to

2ND WEEK (21- 25 of September)

This second week of class we had worked on a dossier that Susanna gave us this past week. In this dossier, we need to see a short film about a photographer that got hurt during a drug war and a diver tries to save him, but in the trip to the hospital, he dies. He told the driver to give some things to his mother, so a few years later this driver goes to visit his mother. Then, we observe that she is blind, so that is because the photojournalist said the quote: My mother told me to see” when the driver ask him why was he a photographer. I really liked this task and I will love to do more in a future. We also have to write a composition about a topic that appears in the video and hand over it the next week. This week I found my weakness part in the composition. I think is because I did it when I was in a "guardia" class and I couldn't concentrate as much as I had to. Next time I will try to do it at home or concentrating more. 

3RD WEEK (28 – 2 of October)

This week we started studying the reported speech. When Susanna gave us the exercises, they seem to be not very complicated but with that grade of difficulty after not practising it for days. The two first sentences help me to bring back the contents about the reported speech. The second activity we did was to listen to a video and answer some questions about the refugees of Syria. This activity was very difficult the first time, but when I managed to put the subtitles on, I could complete them more easily. I hope that the examination day I won’t be asleep and try to do my best on the paper.  

4th Week (5 – 9 of October)

The first two days of class we revised for the Wednesday exam. On Monday we played a game to practise the reported speech, but I found it really simple, I would have preferred to do a simple exercise. Talking about the exam, I found the first part of the exam, which is the reading comprehension part, really confusing. Even though these troubles, I think I can achieve a good mark in it. The grammar part was a bit difficult. I found some questions very easy and other ones very difficult. I had revised the different reported verbs to use one in each sentence, but I become confused at the exam and I think that some sentences will be wrong committed by silly mistakes. The writing part was easier in my opinion. I tried to do the letter, because I thought it was faster to finish it. Was that a wrong option? We will see when the teacher give me the exam the next week!

5th Week (12 – 16 of October)

This week we got the exams back and I’m very happy about that! My exam was really good, I only failed in some silly mistakes, such as leaving an “s” for the 3^rd person or while trying to put a past tense. I know how to correct that, the secret is to be more concentrated during the exam. The rest of the exam was almost excellent, the reading comprehension was nearly perfect (I only failed one question) and the writing was very good for what the teacher told me. It seems that the fact of picking the argumentation in the exam composition gave me this good marks that made me reach the 8. I’m very excited about it despite I know that this mark could be better if my concentration had been higher. The last day of class we correct the exam errors and as I said before, my exam was almost perfect except this silly mistakes I’d committed. 

6th Week (19 – 23 of October)

This week in the English class we did an activity about the gender stereotypes. It consisted in leave a little stone in a bucket, depending on what situation happened to the different gender. Let me explain it better: if the teacher said a situation in what the affected sex was a girl or a woman, we had to leave a stone in the girls bucket. I don’t like this activity, I found it boring and for little kids and I would have preferred to sit down and listen to the teacher, watch a video or whatever.

After this class we did a paper activity about the same, the gender stereotypes, in what we had to read a text, answer some questions and draw a mind map. I think I would be able to do it right, but I need to concentrate while doing it. 

7th Week (26 – 30 of October)

This week during the English class we had revised for the exam and also we started a new project that counts four out of ten points in the next week exam. We have to create a campaign against women violence in pairs. Me and my partner, Carlos Carneros, decided to do an animation video about it. We started surfing the internet to find some information, such as graphics, causes and definitions. It was not as difficult as I thought it would be to write a simple page. Carlos did almost all of the revision of the text while I was starting to do the video. It’s so complicated to do because I need to edit every single word, put it in order, animate it, and then add some extra stuff. The video is not too long, but Susanna told us that it would be accurate to create a video of a minute of duration.

8th Week (2 – 6 of November)

This week in the English class we had revised our speaking abilities. We did an oral activity talking about the gender violence. After this, we listen to a song called Love the Way You Lie of the singer Rihanna and Eminem. I personally enjoyed this song because it helped me to open my eyes even more and see this problem.  

In the exam there was a text about the women’s right to vote and its questions. I found it difficult to determinate which the correct answer was, but I think I would have made it quite good. In the composition I tried to do my best, so I think it will be correct too.

We also delivered our campaign work to the teacher which I had inverted on almost 12 hours because, as I said last week, it is very difficult to make one of this. I hope we will get a good mark, because it is four out of ten points of the exam. Here it is:

 9th Week (9 – 13 of November)

This week in the English class we had revised the past simple, past continuous and past perfect tenses with a photocopy that the teacher gave us. I found it too easy, and I hope that this is only the beginning because I need to improve in my advanced sentences, with a variety of conditionals, phrasal verbs, passives, idioms and things like that. Let’s see how we work in the next two weeks!

 10^th Week (16 – 20 of November)

This week, in the English class, we had revised our grammar with some exercise sheets that Susanna gave us. I found it really easy because we started with present simple and we continued with past simple and finally the future tenses. I know it may be difficult for some people, but I don’t think it’s too complicated if you try and concentrate yourself.  

11^th Week (23 – 27 of November)

During the English class of this week we had studied, as last week, our grammar, to improve and to do it better in the exam and in selectivity. We revised it with more grammar sheets that Susanna gave us. Moreover, we did also a complete PAU exam for homework, and I don’t found it too much difficult. Personally, I don’t think I will have too much trouble in the next week exam, and if I can concentrate and do my best, I could get a high mark. Let’s see how it goes!

12th Week (30 – 4 of December)

This week is the final of the term, so we had a lot of exams but, despite it, I think I have organised myself and for this reason I had time to study for what I need. The English exam that we made last Wednesday had three parts: the first one was a reading comprehension about a photo that was made to a little dead boy at the beach. The text explained how the boy died. The reading comprehension was not too difficult to complete but it had some confusing answers. The second part was the grammar one, and thanks to the exercises I did before the exam I thought I did very well but we’ll see next week. The last part was the writing and I wrote about if we should accept refugees to our country. I tried to express myself as good as I could so I hope I get a good mark on it. I expect to achieve a good term mark this first three months, it will be fantastic to start the first third of the course with good feelings!

12th Week (14 - 18 of March)

I am proud to present my Symbaloo, an internet tool that help us to save and organize our bookmarks and it is easier to find the information on the web. Here you have my Symbaloo link.  

Also, during this term I have been collecting all the english vocabulary I have used during first and second of Baccalaureate. You can download it right here: 

Want more? Have a look at the text typologies task I did to improve my writing skills and what to what to talk about in each situation:

Here you have some tasks that show my improvement during this second term:

During this last two years in INS Montgròs I’ve improved so much in a lot of ways, especially in my writing because of the tasks we’ve been doing during this third term. I have learnt when to write phrasal verbs, conditionals, idioms and linking words, things that made me improve so much in a few time. Talking about grammar, one of the most difficult parts for me were the conditionals, especially the third one. I found really easy the first one, the second one was almost the same, but the third one I found it confusing and sometimes this made me commit an error. In my opinion, last year was the worst because we had to study all related with the grammar and we hardly ever wrote anything but in the exam.

After that course, I realised how important and helpful these exercises were in order to elaborate any type of text. Talking about texts, we also studied texts typologies and in every exam we have to write one of them such as an article, an essay or a letter. This has been almost the entire second course but have helped me a lot in English, especially in my First Certificate Exam. I know that the First exam is more difficult than the PAU one, but it’s always good to know how to write a good text and get a higher mark. One of the keys in my daily improvement has been the pressure that Susanna put on us, asking for homework every day. Because of that, I felt my improvement and kept me in a good mood.

After doing the First Certificate Exam, I want to keep studying English and be able to create more elaborated sentences to add to my writings. Also, I will try to speak English with my Canadian uncle and listen to some English songs and films to become better in my listening and speaking.

Finally, I want to say that despite this last course has been one of the worst in my life, I passed it and I am very proud of it. This is a message to everyone sometimes thinks it is not possible: you set your own limit, it’s not impossible, just make an effort and go for it!