Saturday, January 25, 2020

Awareness Of Culture And Language Teaching Cultural Studies Essay

Awareness Of Culture And Language Teaching Cultural Studies Essay This project aims to outline the main principles of cultural awareness like also its potential advantages and disadvantages in the language teaching. There are many definitions of culture, because culture means different things to different people. The well known definitions include one made by Hofstede, who said that culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another, like also stated by Wederspahn, culture is the set of shared assumptions, values and beliefs of a group of people by which they organize their common life. Literature Review and Principles of Culture Awareness This project will focus on Cultural Awareness, although it is worth mentioning that Language Awareness is used for language teaching as well. In fact, according to Byram (1989), Cultural Awareness and Language Awareness have in common a dual purpose which aims at supporting language learning and extending general understanding of the nature of culture. Cultural and Language Awareness are both connected with specific and general learning. According to Hymes, language plays an important role in the social life of the community and lack of cultural understanding among members of some communities leads to social inequality that has been recognized. In order to communicate well with the second language speakers, students need to establish a good connection with the target language and its culture. Cultural Awareness helps learners broaden the mind, increase tolerance and achieve cultural empathy and sensitivity. According to Tomalin and Stempleski (1993), Cultural Awareness contains three qualities, such as awareness of ones own culturally-induced behaviour, awareness of the culturally-induced behaviour of others, and ability to explain ones own cultural standpoint. Culture takes a crucial part in teaching and learning foreign language. Every culture has its own cultural norms, for instance, when speaking to somebody the person can use formal or informal styles which differ from one culture to another. Some of the norms might be completely different, such as in many countries when you nod it means yes and while you shake your head it means no while Bulgarians do it the opposite way. It is very important that the learner while learning a foreign language needs to become aware of such norms within the target culture in order to avoid the communication problems. Cultural awareness teaching should involve both points of view, from the learners point of view, like also from the point of view of the other culture. It should allow learners to gain a perspective through comparison which is neither entirely one nor the other.(Byram, 1989). According to Hinkel(1999), developing cultural awareness means being aware of members of another cultural group. Factors, such as their behaviour, expectations, values, beliefs and perspectives should have been taken into account. Help and encouragement from teachers is needed in order to realize how to learn about cultures. In order to achieve it learning skills might also include learning how to learn from one to another, especially in multicultural groups (Nelson, 1995). Teaching a language can be seen as imposing elements of another culture into the students own life space. For example, in order to learn Polish, students need to develop a Polish identity, in other words they need to learn to think Polish and although only partially and temporarily become a bit like Polish person. As cited in Dà ¶rnyei(2001) , according to Douglas (1989) every person is part of a culture and everyone uses a language to express that culture, in order to operate within that tradition. Therefore, in order to carry on some sort of communication with people who speak or write a target language, the person needs to understand the culture out of which the language emerges. According to Sapir (1920), a language and a culture of its speakers cannot be analyzed in isolation. Barth(1969) as cited in Byram( 1989)stated that treating cultures as if they were isolated from each other is to miss a significant dimension. Kramch(1993) stated that second language learners become learners of the second culture because a language cannot be learned without an understanding of the cultural context in which it is used. These statements support the situations in which students for some reasons do not like the second language community and refuse to incorporate elements of their culture into their own behavioural repertoire. For instance, when some Polish people were forced to learn Russian in the time of communism and now they even cannot recall the basic sentences. It leads to conclusion, that language belongs to a persons whole social being :it is part of ones identity and it is used to convey this identity to other people. The learning of a second language involves apart from learning grammar and vocabulary the adoption of new social and cultural behaviours and ways of being , and has an important impact on the social nature of the learner ( Williams, ( 1994) as cited in Dà ¶rnyei, (2001). On the other hand, Byram and Morgan (1994) claimed that learners cannot easily forget their own culture and step into another, because their culture is part of their identities and created them as social beings. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Learners are committed to their culture and to deny any part of it is to deny something within their own being. Culture Awareness in published materials There exist different criteria for textbook evaluation. One of the lists of criteria belongs to Byram(1993), which focuses on the cultural context, such as social identity and social groups. Other involve social interaction and national history; social interaction; belief and behaviour; social and political institutions; socialization and the life cycle, stereotypes and national identity. Byram(1989) cites Huhns criteria (1978) for evaluating the treatment of cultural content of textbooks. These criteria involve avoiding stereotypes by raising awareness like also presenting a realistic picture; presenting phenomena in context rather than as isolated facts. Unfortunately, very few published materials include these criteria. Advantages and disadvantages of Culture Awareness in language teaching Developing Cultural Awareness in English language classes in not native countries of English may be influenced by a number of constraints, such as the teachers cultural knowledge. The second language learners will depend on teachers own cultural knowledge as the main source of learning about the target culture. The availability of native English speakers, and the system of education in a particular country could be other constraints. On the other hand, students are now able to get access to many cultural resources and explore the target culture themselves. Native English speakers are also available in many countries to come and teach English. There should have been made some changes to the educational system, for example, in Poland there is a strong emphasis on examinations, which should be changed so people would be more interested in gaining new experiences by speaking another language and perhaps not so much obsessed with the assessment of their language proficiency. Conclusion and Suggestions for further research Development of peoples cultural awareness leads them to more critical thinking. Teachers can try to raise cross-cultural awareness by focusing on cross-cultural similarities and not just differences. Supplementing the course book with authentic materials and encouraging learners to discover interesting information about the countries where the second language is spoken on the Internet and to tell them to prepare the presentation might be a great idea as well. In the future research the assessment of students acquisition of cultural knowledge could be interesting. Potential ways of assessment may include interviews in other to measure the extent of effect of intercultural language learning on their second language learning.

Friday, January 17, 2020

Consciousness is self-awareness Essay

The brain is the physical collection of cells combined into the body’s computer. The mind is the personality that thinks and feels, the intangible thinking part that constitutes â€Å"you.† The brain is the portion where the fusion of both physical and metaphysical takes place. An affect on the metaphysical can directly equate to a change on the physical being. An affect on the physical can have a direct change on the metaphysical person. We as humans share a common thread among life forms and that is the fact that we are conscious. We think and comprehend unless we happen to be politicians. Concentrating on humans, the biochemical processes that regulate our bodies are in delicate arrangements and when a sabot (French: à §abot or wooden shoe) is thrown into the system, functions will become erratic and altered from the norm. Some methods for achieving these altered states of consciousness are hypnosis, meditation/prayer, biofeedback and drugs. Hypnosis is a â€Å"setting† or â€Å"mode† that a conscious mind can be manipulated into causing a waking-dreamlike state where the brain is more open to suggestion to the subconscious mind. Hypnosis is a treatment used in conjunction with other forms of therapy and not to be considered a † be all, end all † solution to life’s problems. A person who makes the decision to have hypnosis performed as a tool must be prepared for and open to suggestion. He or she must also be a willing participant and play a â€Å"hypnotic roll† for the full positive effects to be attained. Some hypnosis can be used for the retrieval of boxed up memories. The things that a person did not want to deal with at the time can be repressed and put away for processing later. Oddly enough, many people rarely want to open those memories after having had t hem stored in the recesses of their minds. The ‘monsters’ growing inside these containers can begin to scratch and claw at the doors of the hidden rooms from whence they were locked. They can begin to affect the individual from deep within over a period of time. Hypnosis and the proper hypnotist /counselor can assist with putting these monsters on a leash and letting them out one at a time so a patient does not become overwhelmed. The act or art of meditation has many categories and covers a broad spectrum. There are transcendental, mindfulness and guided meditation to name three. Meditation aids in the achievement of spiritual goals that cannot usually be attained during the normal conscious daytime activities. The way that the mind can settle and focus on relaxation both physically and mentally can have influential effects that are observable. Some effects are of a spiritual nature and others are reflected in bodily health. Meditation can be more effective than pharmaceutical assistance proven by various studies. Some meditation is conducted by directing certain body parts to relax in a certain order. This can eventually result in attaining a very calm mental and physical state. Other forms are directed at suspending worrisome thoughts and feelings allowing the problems of the day to slip away. Everyone is different and these differences lead to different treatments for various ailments. What works for one may not work for another and in some cases, all that is needed for a solution is a placebo. The belief that a treatment will work is enough to do the trick. Belief is a powerful thing and should not be taken lightly. Biofeedback is the control the body can learn to have over some key functions such as heart rate and sexual desire or gratification fulfillment. Bodies can be trained through manipulation, and a series of reinforcements, to achieve a desired outcome. In the same way that we learn as children to stay away from hot things, many times we were burned in order to learn the lesson. A consistent regimen of positive or negative reinforcements can evoke certain actions or outcomes. Sometimes people will, when on the journey of life, attempt to take shortcuts. Some of these paths lead to enlightenment while others lead to much darker places. Not all drug use is bad and not all problems can be solved with a pill. However, some humans are not in places physically or emotionally that are conducive to reaching their perceived goals. At times, a mood-altering drug can have very beneficial effects. Psychoactive substances can open doors that, through meditation, would take a lifetime to open.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

The Yellow Wallpaper Narrator By Charlotte Perkins Gilman

The Yellow Wallpaper Narrator Feminist author Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote The Yellow Wallpaper during a time of gender inequality, when women were expected to live a life in the home. It was an era when men were the more dominant gender and held more power than women. Gilman wrote this short story for enjoyment; however, there was point to the story that she wanted to get across to the nineteenth century people. At the age of 32, in 1892, her short story was published in the New England Magazine. The unidentified narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper used much of her time, like Gilman, writing in detail about the world that surrounded her. The narrator in the story could perhaps be portrayed as Gilman herself because she experienced psychological dilemmas, expressed herself through writing, and was placed under the treatment of Dr. S. Weir Mitchell. To begin with, the narrator is a young wife of a physician, and a new mother. The arrival of their baby created many emotions for her, which ultimately induced her to develop a nervous tension, or postpartum depression. Her condition is moderate to severe, which alerts her husband that she needs to be cautious. Like her husband, her brother was also a physician. They agreed that she needed to withdraw herself from her daily activities in order to recover from her illness. As a mental therapy, she and her family moved to the countryside for a short-term. She describes the colonial mansion that they reside in as â€Å"the mostShow MoreRelatedComparing The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Gilman Perkins And The Narrator s Similarities1456 Words   |  6 PagesCharlotte Gilman Perkins and the Narrator s similarities Women in the eighteenth century were confined by their husbands, and imprisoned in their own homes. Women had no rights to their own lives, or a say so in how to live it. Women at this time struggled for equality, and they were unable to think or live for themselves. If they showed any signs of being unhappy they were condemned by society and their master. In this process many women transcended into severe nervous depression. InRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper Enters the Canon1691 Words   |  7 PagesThe Yellow Wallpaper Enters the Canon What I want to see people get rid of... is the idea that home is sacred because the dinner is cooked there. Home is sacred because love and congeniality and companionship are there meaning home is beautiful and blessed because of the love that comes from the home (Gilman). Charlottes great use of detailed words proves that she is a professional when it comes to American gothic writing. Gilman is a master in creating stories that leave the reader completelyRead MoreYellow Wallpaper1095 Words   |  5 Pagestreatments and power structures. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s â€Å" The Yellow Wallpaper† is a perfect example of these themes. In writing this story, Charlotte Perkins Gilman drew upon her own personal experiences with hysteria. The adoption of the sick-role was a product of-and a reaction against gender norms and all of the pressures and tensions that their satisfaction demanded. Gilman’s essay uses autobiographical experiences displayed as doppelganger quality the in the main narrator of the story, Jane. SetRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman1362 Words   |  6 Pagesas freaks. In the short story â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, both of these elements are present. Gilman did a wonderful job portraying how women are not taken seriously and how lightly mental illnesses are taken. Gilman had, too, had firsthand experience with the physician in the story. Charlotte Perkins Gilman s believes that there really was no difference in means of way of thinking between men or women is strongly. â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† is a short story about a woman whoRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper, By Harriet Beecher Stowe1603 Words   |  7 PagesThe Yellow Wallpaper is a feminist piece of literature that analyzed women’s struggle in the 1900s, such as medical diagnosis and women’s roles. Over the years, women struggled to attain independence and freedom. In order to achieve the se liberties, they were females who paved the way and spoke out about these issues to secure equal rights for women. In addition, these powerful females used their vulnerability to challenge the male domination through their literary work. The Yellow Wallpaper is aRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman1547 Words   |  7 PagesCharlotte Perkins Gilman s career as a leading feminists and social activist translated into her writing as did her personal life. Gilman s treatment for her severe depression and feelings of confinement in her marriage were paralleled by the narrator in her shorty story, The Yellow Wallpaper. Charlotte Perkins Gilman was born in 1860 in Hartford, Connecticut. Her parents, Mary Fitch Perkins and Fredrick Beecher Perkins, divorced in 1869. Her dad, a distinguished librarian and magazine editorRead MoreDon Robertson and Charlotte Perkins Gilman explore the theme of personal identity throughout their1300 Words   |  6 PagesDon Robertson and Charlotte Perkins Gilman explore the theme of personal identity throughout their works, from Robertson’s The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread, to Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper. Though both Don Robertson and Charlotte Perkins Gilman both illustrate and explore the theme of personal identity in very different ways, there are also many similar ways it is illustrated and explored by both authors as well. Don Robertson shows this theme of personal identity through Morris Bird’s cautiousRead MoreThe Way of Women‚Äà ´s Resistances to Patriarchy in ‚Äà ºthe Yellow Wallpaper‚Äà ¹1669 Words à ‚  |  7 PagesThe way of women’s resistances to patriarchy in â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† is on the surface a mysterious story about a woman suffering from depression to mad, but actually, it reveals the oppression of women from their patriarchal families. In the late 19th century, women couldn’t enjoy the freedom they do today, and most of them suffered from hysteria. The narrator of â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† is a typical example of those women who live with low socialRead MoreThe Deeper Meaning of The Yellow Wallpaper1257 Words   |  6 PagesCharlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story, The Yellow Wallpaper, is the disheartening tale of a woman suffering from postpartum depression. Set during the late 1890s, the story shows the mental and emotional results of the typical rest cure prescribed during that era and the narrator’s reaction to this course of treatment. It would appear that Gilman was writing about her own anguish as she herself underwent such a treatment with Dr. Si las Weir Mitchell in 1887, just two years after the birth ofRead MoreThe Cult Of The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman1371 Words   |  6 PagesMichael Zhao K. Keogh AP Lit. Period 3 22 January 2015 The Cult of Domesticity â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper,† by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, depicts a young woman’s gradual descent into insanity due to her entrapment, both mentally and physically, in the restrictive cult of domesticity. Through the narrator’s creeping spiral into madness, Gilman seeks to shed light upon the torturous and constraining societal conditions in which women are expected to live, that permeates throughout all aspects of their lives

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

What should the Federal Government do i order to encourage...

1. What should the federal government do in order to encourage investment in human capital? The decision to invest in human capital is influenced by considerations similar to those that motivate a firm to invest in physical capital: the cost of the investment verse the expected return. For example, investing in a college education may require the one borrow the money for tuition. If the interest rates on the loan rise then people will most be less likely to invest in a college education. Thus, investment in education may be negatively related to the interest rate, much as physical investment is. This is one reason why, in order to encourage economic growth and productivity, the U.S government provides low interest loans for college†¦show more content†¦The first year of the tax generated $125 million in revenue (Forbes 2012). In 1940, the tax was raised to 1.5 cents per gallon, which would be equivalent of a rate of 24.26 per gallon in 2011 dollars (Forbes 2012). Current federal gas taxes adjusted for inflation, dipped below the effective rate of today after the wa r and during the early 50s, but then came the Federal Highway Act of 1956. Taxes went to a whopping 3 cents a gallon, equivalent to 24.97 cents per gallon today. Eisenhower raised the rate to 4 cents a gallon in 1959, popping it to an effective rate of 30.6 cents in today’s dollars. But then it stuck. The 4 cents per gallon rate stayed constant until 1983. Reagan, the alleged tax fighter, raised the rate to 9 cents per gallon in 1983. Subsequent hikes by Bush (14 cents a gallon in 1990 dollar or 24.4 cents today) and Clinton (18.3 cents or 28.8 cents in today’s terms) kept older rates higher (Forbes 2012). History tends to show gas taxes don’t seem to have that much impact on the overall economy. The hikes have occurred under both Republican and Democratic administrations: the most prominent increases, in fact, occurred under Republicans Hoover, Reagan and Eisenhower. 4. â€Å"Real economic growth is critical for the economy and desirable for the United States†Show MoreRelatedThe Dust Bowl Essay1038 Words   |  5 Pages (pg. 5) Worster proposes that in American society, as in all others, there are certain accepted ways of using the land. He sums up the capital ethos of ecology into three simply stated maxims: nature must be seen as capital, man has a right/obligation to use this capital for constant self-advancement, and the social order should permit and encourage this continual increase of personal wealth (pg. 6) It is through these basic beliefs that Worster claims the plainsmen ignored all environmentalRead MoreChallenges to Nigerian Housing Policies2833 Words   |  12 PagesConference on Housing Finance in Nigeria, Held at Sehu Yaradua Center Abuja, October 17-19, 2007 Introduction Housing is one of the most basic of human needs. Provision of houses through the creation of mortgages is taken for granted in developed countries; however, it remains a major challenge in developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. All governments in Nigeria since independence highlighted housing as a major priority. 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Over the years, policies were pursued in order to achieve the goal of a balanced national development that reflects the â€Å"Federal Character† of Nigeria. Since independence, the search for a political system, which enhances stability for social and economic development, has been going on. In recent times, many developing countries haveRead MoreShaping a Path for Growth and Prosperity in Nova Scotia2195 Words   |  9 PagesScotia has to control its own economy destiny and in the global economy. It has to adopt a much more disciplined and strategic approach in order to take advantage of the opportunities new emerging in the global market and the success of this government will be determined by its willingness to make the tough choices that can move Nova Scotia along this path. As I have read through the Economic advisory panel, the problems and opportunities Nova Scotia has faced are numeral. Even during the current recessionRead MoreSmall Scale Entreprise in Nigeria: Issues and Prospects4421 Words   |  18 Pagesto play significant roles in the growth, development and industrialisation of many economies the world over. In Nigeria, the SSEs have performed below expectation due to a combination of problems. This situation has been of great concern to the government, citizenry, practitioners, operators and the organised private sector groups. Small businesses are generally regarded as the driving force of economic growth, job creation, and poverty reduction in developing countries. They have been the meansRead MoreTaxation as an Instrument of Economic Growth and Development in Nigeria13527 Words   |  55 Pagesand Lawal Hammed Sholadoye for without them I would have not been able to complete this project and finally to my friends Abdul Rasheed Olabode, Abdul Quddus Ibrahim Muffeed, Bolanle Oloko, Damola Bello, Faruk Momoh, Fatima Ndanusa Mohammed, Fatima Zahra Zannah, Mopelola Bilquis Suleiman, Mubarak Muffeed, Oluwatosin Mohammed, Samia Alaka, Tola Agunbiade, Zainab Momoh and Amina Yasmeen Uthman for putting up with my weird personality and for believing I could accomplish anything, you guys are my world†¦Read MoreBusiness Ethics Essay1496 Words   |  6 Pagesregarding what we must do. c. a set of relatively unclear principles regarding what we should do. d. religious views about the world. ANSWER: B PAGE: 1 2. Laws must be static and unyielding in order to provide stability for a society. a. True b. False ANSWER: B PAGE: 1 3. 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This is generally believe to come at the cost of lower standards of living than an open economy would bring at the same time, but offers the advantages to the government in questionRead MoreThe Role of Agriculture in the Nigerian Economy8784 Words   |  36 PagesSelected Indicators of Agricultural Growth ââ€" ¡ Agricultural Constraints ââ€" ¡ Institutional Reforms ââ€" ¡ Major agricultural policies in Nigeria from 1960-2005 ââ€" ¡ Macro-economic variables affecting economic growth ââ€" ¡ Government expenditure ââ€" ¡ Investment ââ€" ¡ Foreign investment ââ€" ¡ The new Nigerian Agricultural Policy 2.0 The role of agriculture in an economy It is important to first define the term-Agriculture before talking about the role of agriculture in the economy. Oxford