Refreshed, reawakened, raring to go!

Hi everyone, welcome to the Sec 2 EL blog, 2010. If you look for the first post of the blog, you'll find out why it's called biggestbellyboutique :)

It's been a great start to the new year and decade. 2DL and 2MD, you guys are lively and responsive, and I look forward to discovering new things with you in the amazingly ancient yet modern and constantly changing world of language.

"Language has power".

Yup, that's what we discussed in our introductory lesson, and looking back at the evolution of language, we can see how closely it is linked to issues of cultural, economic, even military power. In our everyday lives, language has a great impact, because it is the medium through which we communicate (in fact, I was watching this documentary on TV, I think it was 'Our Earliest Ancestors' or something, that suggested that the physical evolution of our jaws made it possible for us to produce complex sounds and hence develop sophisticated language, something we assume is unique to humans...).

One thing we talked about too is how learning a language is not just about learning how to communicate (we can all communicate; most if not all living things can communicate), but about learning how to communicate effectively. Language empowers us, and the more effectively we use it, the more 'powerful' we are. Let's hope we all use our powers for the greater good, of course! :)

For our English files, can we all use green ring files? Im hoping we can recycle files from last year (save our planet!). Do keep up with the self-study exercises too. Although these will not be marked, they are a very useful activity for your independent learning, and will be checked periodically, according to register numbers. Most of the exercises can be done in our journals (the rest can be done in the textbooks themselves when possible). And feel free to write about anything you want in our journals, and decorate them any (creative and decent) way you like. Prolific writers are encouraged to hand in your journals voluntarily anytime you have something for me to read :)

My second post will be on book reviews, which we discussed during our second lesson. In the meantime, take care, and have a good weekend!

~Mr. Ahmad