Unit 4/5 Portfolio by Sofia Canhas https://padlet.com/sofiacanhas/unit45 International English and its influences and Comparing culture en-us 2019-04-05 20:00:25 UTC 2025-12-09 15:31:30 UTC hello@padlet.com Unit 4 - International English and its influences sofiacanhas https://padlet.com/sofiacanhas/unit45/wish/370914013 Unit 4 was about English as a global language. So, we had 3 classes about this unit. In the first class, if I remember correctly, the students had to form pairs and each student would read a text and then the pair would make a conceptual map about them.
The text I read was about, among other things, how the widespread of English, in its path to become a Global Language, is a menace to other languages.
It was a very interesting text and mentioned something that usually is not spoken of in our area, that is, the homogenization of world culture, in this specific case, of human languages.
Over the years, English has built an ever broader base of fluents, but this has happened through aggressive processes such as colonization and the Rise of American hegemony.
It is undeniable that most people nowadays choose to learn English by their own free will, unlike what happened in the colonial times, but that doesn't stop the destruction of the ancient and indigenous languages that has started in that period.
Even though this process is happening in its own pace and natural progress, it is undeniable sad that every year we lose a piece of culture with the gradual extinction of languages throughout the world.

]]> 2019-07-12 00:14:26 UTC https://padlet.com/sofiacanhas/unit45/wish/370914013 Unit 5 - Comparing cultures sofiacanhas https://padlet.com/sofiacanhas/unit45/wish/370914042 This unit can be divided in two parts. The first about cultural shock and how the world is filled with different customs that can lead to awkward situations. And the second is about Global Awareness.
First things first. I enjoyed the cultural shock content, it was entertaining, I suppose. The more relevant thing I learned in this classes were how is crucial for a International Relations professional, while interacting with other cultures, to seek as much information as possible in order to avoid offending our employers or clients. Also, cultural shock it's completely normal, has fases, but with time everytime turns to be alright.]]> 2019-07-12 00:14:48 UTC https://padlet.com/sofiacanhas/unit45/wish/370914042 I had to erase unit 1 portfolio sofiacanhas https://padlet.com/sofiacanhas/unit45/wish/370914522 because you can't make more than 3 padlets per user. But I received 9,5 in that one, if you wondering]]> 2019-07-12 00:21:14 UTC https://padlet.com/sofiacanhas/unit45/wish/370914522 sofiacanhas https://padlet.com/sofiacanhas/unit45/wish/370916809 2019-07-12 00:47:19 UTC https://padlet.com/sofiacanhas/unit45/wish/370916809 sofiacanhas https://padlet.com/sofiacanhas/unit45/wish/370917149 “Every two weeks the world loses a language. Out of approximately 7,000 languages spoken on earth today, at least half will have fallen silent by the end of this century,” Lena Herzog]]> 2019-07-12 00:49:38 UTC https://padlet.com/sofiacanhas/unit45/wish/370917149 sofiacanhas https://padlet.com/sofiacanhas/unit45/wish/370917346 You can show this to your friend, professor]]> 2019-07-12 00:52:12 UTC https://padlet.com/sofiacanhas/unit45/wish/370917346 Unit 4 - Part 2 sofiacanhas https://padlet.com/sofiacanhas/unit45/wish/370918076 Then it was brought a David Crystal's video about english as a global language and for how long. I really liked this video because it really puts in perspective how Language, and Culture as a whole, it's exchanged in fluxes which size depends on power. Right now, the United States are the world's biggest superpower and a gigantic cultural influencer, therefore english has become the global language and will stay that way as long the great nations continue to speak English, and non-english speaking nations continue to have to desire to interact with them.
In the other hand, the future is unpredictable. It is possible to image a scenario where the american power diminishes and other language spoken country finds its way to influence over global culture.]]> 2019-07-12 00:58:42 UTC https://padlet.com/sofiacanhas/unit45/wish/370918076 Unit 4 - Part 3 sofiacanhas https://padlet.com/sofiacanhas/unit45/wish/370919930 Lastly, it was presented an article about reasons 

why native speakers need to learn to speak English internationally. Mainly the text was about how the native speakers, usually, has little patience and empathy with non-native speakers because they don't understand the language learning process and they often speak very fast, use slangs and internal codes, which is not what non native students tends to learn, therefore they don't undestand it. 

The most relevant insight I get from this text is that it is in fact important to native speakers of English to learn English internationally, but more important, it is essential to have empathy and patience. 
And FYI, if you just know your native language, that means you know, at least, one language less than the guy you're disrespecting. 
]]> 2019-07-12 01:19:25 UTC https://padlet.com/sofiacanhas/unit45/wish/370919930 Unit 5 - Part 2 sofiacanhas https://padlet.com/sofiacanhas/unit45/wish/370923310 The second part is Global Awareness. So, we've read a lot of texts about this subject and I guess the most important thing I learned is that, in the current time, with the widespread of immigrants, exchange students and etc we need to prepare the new generations for that fact. Empathy and respect are always important, but the specificity of knowing how to deal with people of all kinds of culture is a necessary knowledge in contemporary society that goes beyond basic values.
The world is gigantic, but is getting and smaller and smaller. I think that the knowledge that, more than ever, there is an ease in knowing other cultures and immersing yourself in completely different lifestyles than you are accustomed to, is invaluable. The next step is to be open to different perspectives of the world, even when we do not seek them, and teach the next generations to look at the world with a curious but critical look.]]> 2019-07-12 01:58:08 UTC https://padlet.com/sofiacanhas/unit45/wish/370923310 sofiacanhas https://padlet.com/sofiacanhas/unit45/wish/370925095 emojis are also a type of language]]> 2019-07-12 02:18:25 UTC https://padlet.com/sofiacanhas/unit45/wish/370925095 sofiacanhas https://padlet.com/sofiacanhas/unit45/wish/370925482 2019-07-12 02:22:48 UTC https://padlet.com/sofiacanhas/unit45/wish/370925482