ENGLISH LANGUAGE CHALLENGES

 Learning English in pandemics has not been an easy task. I believe that the learning of any language depends on the way it is used in its different dimensions: speaking, listening, writing and reading. For me it has been complicated to attend synchronous classes because of the high academic load I have had this semester. However, I think that through the blog posts, I have been able to make progress in my writing in English. At the beginning, I didn't measure the length of sentences, which is different in English and Spanish. In Spanish, you tend to write long sentences, with lots of commas in between, and sometimes they tend to be very redundant. When I write university papers, I try to keep my style more synthetic and simple. I don't like sentences that are too long. But in English sentences are very short! Learning to be synthetic when writing in English has helped me to improve my writing style in Spanish as well. 

As for the aspects of my English that need to be improved, I think that increasing my vocabulary is a fundamental one. The basis of any language is words. In that sense, the more words you know, the more possibilities of expression you have. However, it is not enough just to know the words. You have to integrate them into your daily use. Now that English classes are over, I am going to try to read some books in English, trying to internalise the words I don't know. 

Another aspect that I struggle with in English is the use of phrasal verbs. I think the only way to practice them is by speaking the language. By using them, it's the only way to internalise something that seems very foreign. 

Nowadays English is present in everything. Especially in a country like Chile, which is highly westernised. In films is where I use English the most. Lately, I've been trying to watch films with English subtitles. Or also, watch them with Spanish subtitles but only look at them when I don't understand the word in English.