Removing the veil: Developing critical reading skills through Systemic Functional Linguistics

ALEXANDRA GARCÍA
MASTER OF ARTS IN LANGUAGE TEAcHING AND LEARNING-UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL. COORDINATOR OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PROGRAM AT THE UNIVERSIDAD DEL NORTE. LECTURER AT THE DIPLOMA IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING AND THE MASTERS IN EDUCATION. alexandrag@uninorte.edu.co Correspondencia: Universidad del Norte, Km 5 vía a Puerto Colombia, A.A. 1569, Barranquilla (Colombia).

RESUMEN

Este artículo describe un estudio realizado con un grupo de estudiantes de pregrado para evaluar la eficacia de la instrucción en gramática sistémica funcional para desarrollar habilidades de lectura crítica, más específicamente la habilidad de identificar la posición del autor. Basado en la noción del lenguaje como inextricablemente unido a la ideología, el curso inicia a los alumnos en conceptos como transitividad y el léxico, utilizando un enfoque inductivo. La comparación entre los resultados de los tests iniciales y finales sugiere el éxito de la metodología. El artículo además aboga por la importancia de la formación de lectores críticos para el progreso del país.

palabras clave: Lingüística Sistémica Funcional, ideología, opinión del autor, habilidades de lectura crítica.

ABSTRACT

This paper describes a study conducted with a group of undergraduate students to test the efficacy of instruction on Systemic Functional Linguistics to develop critical reading skills, more

specifically the ability to identify the author's position. Based on the concept of language as inextricably linked to ideology, the course trains students in concepts such as transitivity and lexis using an inductive approach. The comparison between the results of pre and post tests suggests the success of the methodology. The paper also advocates for the importance of the development of critical readers for the progress of the country.

key words: Systemic Functional Linguistic, ideology, author's intention, critical reading skills.

Introduction

"Do not believe In anything simply because you have heard It. Do not believe In anything simply because It is spoken and rumored by many Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders."
Buddha

According to the Progress in International Literacy Study (PIRLS, 2001), Colombia was outperformed by 29 out of 35 countries in reading achievement. Less than 30% of the students enrolled in elementary and secondary education are able to comprehend a text beyond its literal meaning, let alone grasp the main idea or evaluate the position of the author. At the tertiary level, the situation does not show any signs of improvement. A study at the Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla revealed that only 2% of students can process texts by comparing them to their background knowledge and identify the author's purpose, or in colloquial terms "read between the lines" (Barletta et al., 2002). The implications of these results go much further than the educational realm.

In the era of knowledge "the value of the goods produced by men[and women, my addition] is less and less defined by manual labour and more and more by the added knowledge rate". (Greco, 2007:1). Thus, the progress of a society depends greatly on its ability not only to access bits of information but also to interpret them, to contrast them with previous data, different sources, and personal experience, to challenge them, and finally to use them to construct new knowledge. In order to achieve this degree of development, radical changes need to take place in the classroom, and I would dare to say more specifically, in the language classroom.

In the second half of the 20th century, the concept of language as an instrument to give and receive goods and services or information expanded to include its social and ideological functions. Although the concept of ideology is still object of much debate in the social sciences, for this paper, it will be considered as "the systematic body of ideas, organized from a particular point of view" (Hodge & Kress, 1993: 6). These ideas are, more often than not, materialized and spread to the community through linguistic devices. For instance, the 1924 Listerine ad reproduced below not only reflects the prevailing values regarding women's role in society at the time, but also renames the certainly unpleasant but harmless "bad breath" as "halitosis", which evokes a medical condition needing a cure.

LISTENING

Edna's case was really a pathetic one. Like every woman, her primary ambition was to marry.
Most of the girls of her set were married - or about to be. Yet not one possessed more grace or charm or loveliness than she. And as her birthdays crept gradually toward that tragic thirty mark, marriage seemed farther from her life than ever. She was often a bridesmaid but never a bride. That's the insidious thing about halitosis (unpleasant breath). You, yourself, rarely know when you have it. And even your closest friends won't tell you.

While different scientific, economic, and political factors have changed women's "primary ambition", making thirty no longer a tragic number, "halitosis" is now included as an oral health problem (unlike smelly feet or body odour), which has produced millions in revenue for Listerine manufacturers.

This is only one example of how language not only reflects and embodies the ideology of a community but also serves to perpetuate it. In Fairclough's words (2001)

Ideologies are closely liked to language, because using language is the commonest form of social behavior, and the form of social behavior where we rely most on 'commonsense' assumptions [...] the exercise of power, in modern society, is increasingly achieved through ideology, and more particularly through the ideological workings of language" (p 2).

If the language of advertising has the power to shape our consumer habits, it is possible to state that the language of politics and economics transmitted through the mass media exercises a strong influence over our decisions as citizens. Thus, for a society to develop into a mature democracy, it is necessary that its constituents develop mechanisms that enable them to distinguish between facts and opinions, to identify the intention of the author, to ask about missing information; in short, to read "with a suspicious eye". (Wallace, 1995, p.335). It is this author's contention that this goal is more likely to be achieved through education, more specifically through training in Critical Discourse Analysis. This discipline is based on Systemic Functional Linguistics (Halliday, 1978, 1985), which, unlike structuralist or transformational approaches, studies language as produced by real speakers in specific contexts with particular purposes. Thus, given the large number of ways in which a message can be expressed, particular lexical (words) and grammatical patterns are considered choices that serve the speaker's purpose. Consider some of the many ways in which the following message can be phrased:

a. Shut up!

b. Could you please be quiet?

c. This is a library.

While (a) is an imperative and (b) is a question, (c) is a statement, probably not the most usual form for requests or orders. The wordings also obey to different status relations between speaker and listener and the degree of power exercised by the speaker over the listener.

In addition to sentence types (declarative, interrogative, imperative), also called mood, meaning is conveyed through lexis, transitivity, and modality, among others. Lexis refers to the particular words chosen to express an idea, including the phenomenon of relexicalization (deaths of innocent civilians vs. collateral damage), the semantic relations between words in texts (synonymy, antonymy), and collocation, or word adjacency (e.g. mercy death) (Halliday, 1978).

Transitivity describes how agency is assigned in the sentence. In other words, who does what to whom? Thus, mystification devices include passivisation, agent deletion, and nominalization (Fowler, 1991). By using the passive form, focus is placed on the affected not the doer of the action and thus responsibility is diminished. (5,000 children were granted euthanasia by the government). Agent deletion consists of leaving the doer out of the sentence, and Nominalisation changes an Agent + verb + affected clause into a Noun phrase (e.g. The Nazis killed 5,000 children = The death of 5,000 children).

Through modality, the author expresses his/her level of commitment to the truthfulness of the message (Halliday, 1985). This degree of certainty can be expressed through the use (or absence) of hedging devices such as modal verbs (e.g. might, could), verbal or mental processes (believe, claim, allege), or other expressions such as "in my view", "in my opinion", etc. These aspects are particularly relevant when differentiating between events expressed as facts or as opinions.

The purpose of this study was to find out whether training in these concepts allowed students to improve their ability to analyze texts in order to identify the author's position regarding the subject matter.

The students

This piece of research was conducted with a group of 22 students aged 19 to 20 enrolled in the fifth level of a content-based English course titled "Technology, Environment, and Progress" of the International Relations Program at the Universidad del Norte. Their language proficiency can be classified between the levels B1 and B2 of the Common European Framework, which means they can participate spontaneously in conversations, express their views on familiar topics, and interact with native speakers.

The course

The course's main objective is to develop critical reading skills that will allow students not only to detect bias in texts, but also to identify the mechanisms by which authors highlight, conceal, or manipulate information. The texts selected for analysis have in common that they present one side of highly controversial issues, their structure is not argumentative, and they contain abundant examples of the target discursive features (transitivity, modality, and lexis).

The first set of texts describes life in the Faroe Islands, focusing on how important whale hunting is for the inhabitants' survival and as part of their cultural heritage. However, the first text was written from the perspective of the whale hunters, while the second was produced by an environmental NGO.

Likewise, the second set of texts offers opposing views on the Aktion T-4 "euthanasia" program carried out by the Nazi government. The first text was extracted from a white supremacist website, while the second was taken from a historian's website which condemns the holocaust. In the first text, direct references to Hitler or the Nazi government were deleted to avoid the influence of preconceptions.

The third text is a news report on the publication of a book on Bin Laden's alleged plan to kill 4 million Americans using nuclear bombs.

Classes are planned following an inductive approach. The first step is to activate students' background knowledge. At this point the students are asked their opinion on the topic of the reading, and their answers are recorded. Afterwards, students read the first text and complete a reading comprehension task such as assigning subtitles to sections of the text or answering open -ended questions. Students are asked once more their position on the subject. They are asked to read the second text comparing it to the first. Their point of view on the issue is asked for a third time. The following chart shows the number of students' with a favorable opinion on the subject at each point.

It is noticeable how the students' opinion radically changes after reading the second text. It is important to clarify that for the second set of texts, students are initially asked their position regarding euthanasia. After reading the first text, they are asked if they agree with the "euthanasia" program described in the text. Their answers show that they are misled into taking murder for euthanasia.

Attention is then drawn to the reasons for this swing of opinion, which leads to a reflection on their tendency to accept any written text as objective and truthful. This is followed by a theoretical explanation of the lexico-grammatical mechanisms (lexis and transitivity for the first and second set of texts respectively) through which the author managed to manipulate the information to achieve a particular purpose and exercises to identify these linguistic devices in these and other texts.

For the analysis of the third text (Bin Laden's nuclear threat), students are asked to answer True or False questions. At this point, some of the students precede their answers with expressions such as "Well, according to the author, it is true". This type of answer suggests that students are starting to differentiate between facts and opinions. Students are then asked to identify the evidence provided for the author's claims. They conclude that the evidence is weak and the content could well be deemed as pure speculation. They identify that all of the author's claims are expressed with a low degree of certainty, evident in the abundant use of modal verbs and expressions such as "I believe" and "Williams claims that"

During the second half of the semester, students are in charge of selecting and researching a topic, designing a critical reading activity to be applied to their classmates, and making a presentation based on conclusions drawn from sources with diverse views on the issue. This aims at fostering in the students the habit of questioning every bit of information, of looking for the other version of the story before reaching a conclusion, and of evaluating the value of the sources based on their interests.

This study was designed to measure the effectiveness of this methodology.

The study

This inquiry aimed to find out whether training in Systemic Functional Linguistics improved learners' critical reading skills, specifically the ability to identify the position of the author regarding the subject matter.

The methodology consisted of testing this skill on four separate occasions during the process and determine whether students had made any progress and to what extent. The tests consisted of a collection of ten short texts (from 70 to 130 words long) about controversial issues ranging from abortion and euthanasia to Hillary Clinton's candidature and Iran's nuclear program (see appendix 1). The texts belonged to different genres including news reports, opinion columns, and informative web sites, among others. Each of the four tests contained texts on exactly the same topics but written from different points of view. For these tests, the task was always the same: Indicate whether the author is in favour of, against, or neutral toward the topic in question. The passing grade consisted of a minimum 60% of correct answers, which is the standard for their academic studies.

The students were tested in early August, at the beginning of the semester before any instruction was given. The second test took at the end of September after two months of the teacher-led instruction described in the previous section. The third text was applied mid-November after the students had been designing and applying their own critical reading activities. The final test was administered in February. The students were enrolled in a different class with different objectives, and the test was completely unannounced.

Information was also collected through a questionnaire at the end of the semester (see appendix 2). Here students were asked to describe their level of achievement regarding the objectives of the course and the relevance these objectives have for their academic, professional, and personal life.

Results

Chart 1 illustrates the number of students passing, that means able to identify the position of the author in at least 60% of the texts, and failing on each of the administered tests.

The chart shows a dramatic increase in the number of students able to identify the position of the author in texts. The percentage of passes rose from 33% to 76% and remained stable for the third occasion. But more surprisingly, on the fourth occasion, when a decrease in this percentage was expected due to lack of exposure to the methodology, it was found that almost 90% of the students passed.

The chart above shows that not only did the number of students who passed increase, but also the scores obtained improved dramatically from 60% to over 90%, while the failures average remained constant around 40%. Out of the initial failing scores, the three students with the lowest scores (30%) showed final scores of 70%, 90%, and 100%. This may suggest that instruction in SFL helped both students with serious deficiencies and those with an already acceptable standard improve their critical reading skills significantly. As chart 3 illustrates, over 80% of the students improved their ability to identify the position of the author in written texts.

We can observe that only three students (13%) showed no sign of improvement after the course. Looking at each student in particular, it was observed that two students who had obtained a 70% score in the initial test took a drastic plunge to 30% in the second test. During the revision of the evaluation, one of these students manifested his disagreement with the answer provided by the teacher. After explaining his reasons, it was obvious that the student was not identifying the author's position but his own. Thus, the initial score obeyed to the fact that coincidentally the writers' ideology concurred with his own views. In the ensuing tests, this student improved his performance to a 100% score.

In addition to the quantitative data, a questionnaire (see appendix 2) was designed to obtain feedback about the course. The questionnaire, which was submitted via e-mail and could be answered in English or Spanish,

included an evaluation of the course, the objectives, the material, the teacher, and their own performance. They were asked to submit it at the end of the semester after their grades had been reported, so that they could express their opinions freely without fear of retaliation. Out of the 22 students, 15 submitted their answers. For this research, the information selected from this instrument were the students' impression on their own progress regarding the objectives of the course and the relevance of these skills for their academic, personal, and professional life.

Regarding their progress, thirteen students (86%) report having learned to identify the position of the author in texts and adopted a more critical position which they define as looking for other sources of information before agreeing or disagreeing with the author, as illustrated in the following excerpts:

Student 1

Well I think that in this course I have learn to be more critical about many situations and analyze behind the author ideology in other to decide if I agree o disagree some event or action. Before let myself be influence by anyone opinion but now I know that I must investigate beyond the author's information.

Student 2

Ahora puedo analizar y adoptar una posición frente a las cosas que leo y veo con el curso he adoptado una mente mas critica y a no tragar entero lograr descifrar textos dejar a un lado las ideas vagas...

Student 3

In this moment I have acquire more concepts that help me identify when in an article the author is hiding important information and/or just saying his opinion; making argument in favor of one part or trying to manipulate the opinion of the readers.

One student reports how linguistic deficiencies have stopped her from reaching the course's goal.

Student 4

En el aspecto de ser lectores críticos, en ocasiones no entiendo las palabras y esto hace que no pueda identificar las posiciones del autor o que me confunda.

Given the length of the questionnaire, fewer students were willing to articulate elaborate answers when asked about the relevance of the course outside the classroom. However, it is interesting to see how, at least some of them, find the English class as a space not only to discuss real-world issues, but also to develop the skills needed to make sound judgments as active members of society.

Student 5

Sometimes when I don't watch the news, I think: it doesn't matter at the English class I can learn about the real world and their problems or events. So for me this course gives me a lot of benefits, no just gramar

Student 6

It is important for us as students, citizens and professional, because media is a mechanism to manipulate, control and tell us what to think, act and do. So critical reading help us to identify when an author is trying to exert influence in the way we think about any subject.

Student 7

A mi parecer los temas si son súper interesantes, dan bastante polémica y nos permite analizar las cosas de manera mas profunda las situaciones que se nos presenta, pero sobre todo estos tipos de temas tan interesantes nos permite respetar o aprender a tolerar los puntos de vista de las otras personas y si pienso que he tenido todas las oportunidades para expresar lo que pienso y siento, y realmente lo he hecho.

Conclusion

The results of this study suggest that instruction in aspects of Systemic Functional Linguistics in the foreign language classroom may help students develop critical reading skills. While this training included complex skills such as assessing evidence; distinguishing facts, supported inferences, and opinions; and noting instances of unsupported inferences, fallacious reasoning, and propaganda in texts; only the ability to identify the author's position was measured. Almost 80% of the students involved in the course showed some level of improvement from the first to the final test. Furthermore, most of these (over 60% of the total) obtained scores of above 90% in the final evaluation. In addition to this, students reported having developed critical skills that allow them to question the information presented in texts, to identify instances of manipulation or mystification of the information, and that encourage them to search for different sources before forming an opinion on a particular issue. If these results are replicated in studies carried out with a larger population and a wider range of skills, educators will have a strong basis for the implementation of language courses based on a SFL framework. Hopefully, these would yield citizens capable of making sound decisions based on the evaluation of facts obtained from different sources.

It is this kind of citizens us teachers have the responsibility to form to overcome the social and economic challenges that Colombia is facing, a globalized market, the technological race, but most importantly the negotiated solution to our internal conflict and the construction of a democratic society.

References

BARLETTA, N., BOVEA, V., DELGADO, P., DEL VILLAR, L., LOZANO, A., MAY, O. et al. (2002) Comprensión y competencias lectoras en estudiantes universitarios: Resultados y recomendaciones de una investigación. Barranquilla: Ediciones Uninorte.

FAIRCLOUGH, N. (2001) Language and power. London: Pearson

FOWLER, R. (1991) Language in the news: Discourse and ideology in the press. London: Routledge.

GRECO, P. (2007, Sept.) Science and Society of Knowledge. Journal of Science Communication. 6 (3). Retrieved January 25, 2007, from http://jcom.sissa.it/archive/06/03/Jcom0603%282007%29R01/

HALLI DAY, M.A.K. (1978) Language as social semiotic: The social interpretation of language and meaning. London: Arnold.

HALLI DAY, M.A.K. (1985) An introduction to functional grammar. London: Arnold.

HODGE, R. & G. KRESS (1993) Language as ideology. London: Routledge PIRLS. (2001) PIRLS International Report. Retrieved March 27, 2007, from http://pirls.bc.edu/pirls2001i/pdf/P1_I R_Ch01.pdf

WALLACE, C. (1995) Reading with a suspicious eye: Critical reading in the foreign language classroom. In Cook, G. & Seidlhofer, B. (eds.). Principles and practice in applied linguistics. (pp335- 347) Oxford: OUP.

Texts

GAVIN, P. (1996) Nazi euthanasia. The history place. Retrieved June 30, 2006 from http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/h-euthanasia.htm

HIGH NORTH ALLIANCE (1997) Modern and traditional, whaling in the Faroe Islands. Retrieved on September 8, 2006 from http://www.highnorth.no/Library/Publications/M-hunter/mo-an-tr.htm

KEMP, A. (1999) Euthanasia project sees 70,273 incurable retarded people put to death. March of the Titans - A history of the white race. Burlington: Ostara. Retrieved June 21, 2006 from http://www.stormfront.org/whitehistory/hwr64ii.htm

STOGEL, S. (July 14, 2004) Bin Laden's goal: Kill 4 million Americans. Retrieved July, 20, 2006 from http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/7/14/215350.shtml

WHALE AND DOLPHIN CONSERVATION SOCIETY (1999) Introduction to the Faroe Islands. Retrieved May 5, 2006 from, http://www.wdcs.org.au/info_details.php?select=1086829789

APPENDICES

Sample test - Appendix 1

1. What you should know before you choose

If you're thinking about getting an abortion you probably have a lot of questions. Here are the questions most frequently asked by women who are considering abortion:

"What will the doctor do to me during my abortion?"

During the first three months of pregnancy, called the first trimester, there are two common types of abortion. In a suction-aspiration abortion the opening to your womb (cervix) must be stretched open wide. This is difficult because the cervix is closed tight and is hard. Sometimes the abortionist uses long cylindrical rods. Starting from the smallest and moving up in size, he inserts them into your cervical opening, stretching it as he progresses. When the cervix is open wide enough, he will put a hollow plastic tube, with a knife-like edge on its tip, through your cervix up into your uterus. The suction it creates is 29 times more powerful than a vacuum cleaner. It tears the baby's body into pieces, and sucks it through the tube into a canister. The knife edge is used to cut the deeply rooted placenta from the uterine wall.

2. Wouldn't legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide make certain that patients can die peacefully, surrounded by their families and doctors, instead of being suffocated by plastic bags or gassed to death with carbon monoxide?

No. Legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide only legitimizes the use of plastic bags and carbon monoxide to kill vulnerable people.

During the campaign to legalize euthanasia in Australia's Northern Territory, supporters painted pictures of a calm, peaceful death with the patient surrounded by loved ones. The Australian law(49) (which was later overturned(50)) legalized both euthanasia and assisted suicide.

Draft guidelines for its implementation recommended that family members should be warned that they may wish to leave the room when the patient is being killed since the death may be very unpleasant to observe. (Lethal injections often cause violent convulsions and muscle spasms.(51))

3. Thinking about Drug Legalization

On Thursday, March 17, 1988, at 10:45 p.m., in the Bronx, Vernia Brown was killed by stray bullets fired in a dispute over illegal drugs.[1] The 19-year-old mother of one was not involved in the dispute, yet her death was a direct consequence of the "war on drugs."

By now, there can be little doubt that most, if not all, "drug-related murders"

are the result of drug prohibition. The same type of violence came with the Eighteenth Amendment's ban of alcohol in 1920. The murder rate rose with the start of Prohibition, remained high during Prohibition, and then declined for 11 consecutive years when Prohibition ended.[2] The rate of assaults with a firearm rose with Prohibition and declined for 10 consecutive years after Prohibition. In the last year of Prohibition--1933--there were 12,124 homicides and 7,863 assaults with firearms; by 1941 these figures had declined to 8,048 and 4,525, respectively.[3] (See Figure 1.)

4. By-products of Atomic Bomb Detonations

While the explosion from an atomic bomb is deadly enough, its destructive ability doesn't stop there. Atomic bomb fallout creates another hazard as well. The rain that follows any atomic detonation is laden with radioactive particles, and many survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki blasts succumbed to radiation poisoning.

The atomic bomb detonation also has the hidden lethal surprise of affecting the future generations of those who live through it. Leukemia is among the greatest of afflictions that are passed on to the offspring of survivors.

5. Greenpeace protest ties up resources

Mar 26, 2008 6:14 AM

Christchurch police say they are disappointed a Greenpeace protest tied up many emergency resources.

Six Greenpeace protesters were arrested after they blocked the coal ship

Hellenic Sea from leaving Lyttelton harbour.

They used the Greenpeace flagship The Rainbow Warrior to block the cargo ship, while protesters used ropes to climb the side of the vessel.

Police say 30 officers were fully involved at the scene for up to three hours. They say that left the Christchurch central city under-resourced and a traffic officer forced to attend a brawl without back-up was assaulted.

*This is a sample that includes only 5 texts. Students tests consisted of 10 texts.

You and the CONTENT:

1. How would you describe your level regarding the main objectives of the course? What do you feel you can do now that you couldn't do at the beginning of the semester? What concepts have you learned that you didn't know at the beginning of the semester?

En general, mi nivel de ingles se encuentra en un punto bueno, no puedo decir excelente porque me falta fluidez para expresarme, pero siento que en este curso encuentro mas libertad para hablar que en otros, no porque tenga la obligación de hacerlo, sino porque creo que puedo aportar cosas buenas a la clase. Este semestre me ha ayudado en muchas cosas que no esperaba aprender y que son fundamentales para nuestra profesión y para nuestra vida. He aprendido muchos conceptos, me siento en la capacidad de identificar el punto de vista de los autores, el principal objetivo de un texto, los hechos o las opiniones, como se forman los textos, entre muchos otros temas de gran importancia para el aprendizaje del idioma. Concluyo aceptando que he avanzado bastante en el ingles y me siento con mas capacidades que antes no tenía.

2. Your Responsibility

1. Do you attend classes regularly and punctually? Why? Why not?

Si, trato de llegar lo mas puntual que puedo ya que salgo de clase de francés los mismos días de esta clase y las veces que he faltado, que han sido pocas, lo he hecho por cuestiones de salud.

2. Do you participate in class as much as you can? Why? Why not?

Trato de participar todas las clases, aunque acepto que puedo participar mas, solo que algunas veces el temor a hacer las cosas mal, me lo impide.

3. Do you do homework on a regular basis? Why? Why not?

Siempre. Cuando no las hago, sinceramente es porque no sabía o no entendía lo que necesitaba hacer.

4. Do you work independently both in and out of class? Why? Why not?

La mayoría de las veces, aunque en clases es como más constructivo que fuera de ella.

Course evaluation

I. The content

1. How relevant do you find the objectives of the course to you as a language learner, a professional, and a citizen?

Los objetivos del curso son muy completos, por lo tanto reúnen todas las condiciones necesarias para el aprendizaje del idioma y el buen uso que le demos a éste en nuestro futuro profesional y también a la hora de viajar y conocer otras culturas.

I. The material

a. Critical reading

Do you find the texts interesting, appropriate, illustrative, relevant to the theme of the course?

Por supuesto, me han ayudado a identificar y a entender un poco mas los temas que enfrenta la sociedad actualmente.

Do you find the explanations (e.g. lexical relations, transitivity) in the book clear, complicated?

Todas las explicaciones que brinda el libro son muy claras y precisas, si existen dudas, revisando y leyendo varias veces se puede entender.

b. Writing skills

Do you find the grammar explanations clear? Useful?

Claro, todo es muy completo.

Do you find the exercises useful?

Siempre, me ayudan a entender de manera práctica los temas y saber aplicarlos en el futuro.

c. Oral argumentation skills

Do you find the topics for discussion interesting?

Los temas de discusión son muy interesantes y como dije antes son los de mayor interés actualmente.

Do you think you have enough opportunities to express your opinion?

Todo el tiempo, que no las aprovecho al máximo es diferente, pero me ha parecido la mejor clase para participar y expresar mis opiniones.

In general, what is your opinion on the design of the book? Think about the visual aspect, the clarity of the explanations and instructions.

El libro me parece que ha sido el mejor con el que he trabajado a lo largo de todos los niveles de la material, es muy completo y ofrece muchas alternativas de estudio.

The teacher

How would you describe the teacher in terms of

a. mastery of the subject La profesora es toda una profesional, me parece que sabe perfectamente lo que dice y se le nota la preparación y no quiero hablar solamente del área del idioma como tal, sino también respecto a los distintos problemas, hechos, noticias que hacen historia diariamente.

b. class methodology Excelente, me parece que es la mejor manera de aprender el idioma y aprender términos desconocidos dentro del mismo inglés que no son comúnmente expresados, sino en distintas áreas ya sea económica, política, entre otras.

c. Punctuality

Mas temprano creo que no puede llegar, en el buen sentido de la palabra, es muy puntual, nunca ha llegado tarde y eso me parece muy bueno porque siempre la muestra como una persona responsable.

d. respect for students and their ideas Es muy respetuosa, escucha todo lo que tengamos que decir y aunque no este de acuerdo con nuestras ideas las acepta.

e. Enthusiasm

Bueno, no quiero darle a entender que es aburrida o algo por el estilo, pero a veces se puede decir que no puedo ver con claridad o identificar como se encuentra de ánimo por la expresión y que no es muy alegre, son muy pocas las veces que sonríe.

f. clarity of explanations

Es muy clara y explica de una manera excelente, no da rodeos y nos muestra los temas de una manera muy práctica y con ejemplos para hacer más fácil la comprensión.

Other comments are welcome.