EFL Instructors

Writing Skills Teaching Guide for ESL/EFL Instructors Writing competence in a foreign language tends to be one of the most difficult skills to acquire. This is true for English as well. The key to successful writing classes is that they are pragmatic in nature targeting the skills required or desired by students. Students need to be personally involved in order to make the learning experience of lasting value. Encouraging student participation in the exercise, while at the same time refining and expanding writing skills, requires a certain pragmatic approach. The teacher should be clear on what skills he/she is trying to develop. Next, the teacher needs to decide on which means (or type of exercise) can facilitate learning of the target area. Once the target skill areas and means of implementation are defined, the teacher can then proceed to focus on what topic can be employed to ensure student participation. By pragmatically combing these objectives, the teacher can expect both enthusiasm and effective learning. Overall Game Plan Choose writing objectiveFind a writing exercise that helps to focus on the specific objectiveIf possible, tie the subject matter to student needsProvide feedback through correction activities that call on students to correct their own mistakesHave students revise work Choose Your Target Well Choosing the target area depends on many factors; What level are the students?, What is the average age of the students, Why are the students learning English, Are there any specific future intentions for the writing (i.e school tests, job application letters, etc.). Other important questions to ask oneself are: What should the students be able to produce at the end of this exercise? (a well-written letter, basic communication of ideas, etc.) What is the focus of the exercise? (structure, tense usage, creative writing). Once these factors are clear in the mind of the teacher, the teacher can begin to focus on how to involve the students in the activity thus promoting a positive, long-term learning experience. Things to Remember What will students be able to do after the exercise?Keep the focus on one area of English writing skills Having decided on the target area, the teacher can focus on the means to achieve this type of learning. As in correction, the teacher must choose the most appropriate manner for the specified writing area. If formal business letter English is required, it is of little use to employ a free expression type of exercise. Likewise, when working on descriptive language writing skills, a formal letter is equally out of place. Keeping Students Involved With both the target area and means of production, clear in the teachers mind, the teacher can begin to consider how to involve the students by considering what type of activities are interesting to the students; Are they preparing for something specific such as a holiday or test?, Will they need any of the skills pragmatically? What has been effective in the past? A good way to approach this is by class feedback or brainstorming sessions. By choosing a topic that involves the students the teacher is providing a context within which effective learning on the target area can be undertaken. Correction The question of which type of correction will facilitate a useful writing exercise is of utmost importance. Here the teacher needs to once again think about the overall target area of the exercise. If there is an immediate task at hand, such as taking a test, perhaps a teacher-guided correction is the most effective solution. If the task is more general (for example, developing informal letter writing skills), maybe the best approach would be to have the students work in groups thereby learning from each other. Most importantly, by choosing the correct means of correction the teacher can encourage rather discourage students.

Tamara Draut Essays

Tamara Draut Essays Tamara Draut Paper Tamara Draut Paper The Growing College Gap In her essay The Growing College Gap Draut makes the claim that attending college is a decision students are faced with nationwide. She argues that there’s a gap between class and race dealing with financial problems. The gap has increased due to many cuts in the educational system and how Financial Aid helps the less fortunate but it doesn’t make higher education any more affordable to the masses. Therefore, since the socioeconomic breach continues to grow, security for a middle-class student, which is earning a four-year degree, is now decreasing because of the expense to actually achieve the said degree. This essay focuses on college students and their future, while making a comparison of their social class. It shows the government has a major impact in this situation because it offers some statistics to give a vision of what the employment rates have changed according to previous studies about now. In addition, the author differentiates the futures many college students have as a result of their parents’ financial past and present. Tamara Draut dissected every aspect of the American college system and thoroughly backed up her argument with undeniable statistics and facts. For example, persons with some college experience can expect to earn $1. 5 million while with an Associate-degree they can expect to earn $1. 6 million. Also, persons with a Bachelor’s degree can expect to earn $2. 1 million, persons with a Master’s degree can expect to earn $2. million and with a Professional degree they can expect to earn $4. 4 million (1). Surprisingly only seventy percent of high school graduates attend college; one would think that with estimated earnings such as those that more than eighty-five or ninety percent of graduates would go onto higher education. If college were less expensive, this percentage would increase drastically. According to Draut, â€Å"While the Federal government is spending more than ever before on student aid, over $70 billion to be exact, funding has not kept pace with enrollments or tuition prices† (2). This quote it is confusing, because of the amount the Federal Government is spending is quite a huge number itself and yet it’s not enough to fund most students. There are cuts in education, and a lot of students are affected by it. It will be hard for them to pay off the tuition and loans because some of these students are from a low income family. It has been difficult for them to consider how much money they will end up paying off after they’ve graduated from college. It would be good if the Federal Government can find ways to help give the poor more funding for college. Economic status is a major factor in the college process. For most people, it is the only factor. Unfortunately, the first question middle-class and low-income families ask about a school is how much it is because of the insane burden that college loans place on the student and their family. With the extremely competitive job market as well as the intense competition between college students, as long as tuition rates continue to increase, the economic classes will grow further and further apart. In the nineteenth century, there were really only two classes: the upper class and the lower class. It seems that soon enough, there will no longer be a middle class based on the economy and competition alone. The lower class cannot get ahead because they do not have the money; especially when college is extremely expensive. The upper class will continue to get ahead because they have enough money to do with it whatever they want. Another part of Draut’s argument should make all college degree seeking Americans fight against the injustice of government aid programs; providing aid on merit based performance only (3). It is fair the money being granted to students who study hard and make sacrifices in order to obtain their secondary education, but what happened with the students who come from low income backgrounds? Aid programs do not take into consideration that many low income students come from inner cities, where secondary education is at the bottom of categorized education scale and these students lack the crucial knowledge that being taught at the more prestige’s high schools of the suburbs where middle and upper class students attend. The college tuition rates are increasing and soon enough only the wealthy will be able to afford going to receive their degrees. Even with the various grants, legislation and financial aid opportunities, students and families alike still struggle to muster up enough money to be able to enroll in one’s preferred institution. Hopefully, more legislation will be instilled so that many more students, of minorities and low-income families predominantly, will have better chance of being able to attend a university. Draut, Tamara. â€Å"The Growing College Gap†. The Allyn Bacon Guide To Writing. Ed. John D. Ramage, John C. Bean and June Johnson. New York: Longman, 2010. 270. Print. Draut, Tamara. â€Å"The Growing College Gap†. The Allyn Bacon Guide To Writing. Ed. John D. Ramage, John C. Bean and June Johnson. New York: Longman, 2010. 271-272. Print. Draut, Tamara. â€Å"The Growing College Gap†. The Allyn Bacon Guide To Writing. Ed. John D. Ramage, John C. Bean and June Johnson. New York: Longman, 2010. 272. Print.

Predicting the 20 Most Populous Countries in 2050

Predicting the 20 Most Populous Countries in 2050 In 2017,  the UN Population Division released a revision of its  World  Population Prospects,  a regularly-issued report that analyzes world population changes and other world demographics, estimated out to 2100. The recent report revision noted that the world population increase has slowed a bit, and is expected to continue to slow, with an estimated 83 million people added to the world every year. Population Overall Grows The United Nations forecasts the global population to reach 9.8 billion in the year 2050, and growth is expected to continue until then, even assuming that the decline in fertility would increase. An aging population overall causes fertility to decline, as well as women in more developed countries not having the replacement rate of 2.1 children per woman. If the fertility rate of a country is lower than the replacement rate, population declines there. The world fertility rate was 2.5 as of 2015 but declining slowly. By 2050, the number of people over age 60 will more than double, as compared with 2017, and the number over 80 will triple. Life expectancy worldwide is projected to rise from 71 in 2017 to 77 by 2050.   Overall Continent and Country Changes by 2050 More than half of the forecast growth in world population will come in Africa, with an estimated rise in population of 2.2 billion. Asia is next. Asia is expected to add more than 750 million people between 2017 and 2050. Next are the Latin America and Caribbean region, then North America. Europe is the only region anticipated to have a lower population in 2050 as compared with 2017. India is expected to pass China in population in 2024, Chinas population is projected to stay stable and then to slowly fall, while Indias is rising. Nigerias population is growing the most quickly and is forecast to take over the United States number three position in world population around 2050. Fifty-one countries are projected to see a decline in population by 2050, and ten are estimated to drop by at least 15 percent, though many of them are not largely populated. The percentage per person is higher than in a country with a large population, such as  Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (territory counted independently from the United States population). The least-developed countries grow more quickly than those with mature economies, but also send more people as immigrants to the more developed nations. What Goes Into the List Following is a list of the 20  most populous countries in the year 2050, presuming there are no significant boundary changes. Variables that go into the projections include trends in fertility and its rate of decline over the next decades, infant/child survival rates, numbers of adolescent mothers, AIDS/HIV, migration, and life expectancy.   Largest Populations by Country in 2050 India: 1,659,000,000  China: 1,364,000,000Nigeria: 411,000,000United States: 390,000,000Indonesia: 322,000,000Pakistan: 307,000,000Brazil: 233,000,000Bangladesh: 202,000,000Democratic Republic of the Congo: 197,000,000Ethiopia: 191,000,000Mexico: 164,000,000Egypt: 153,000,000Philippines: 151,000,000  Tanzania: 138,000,000Russia: 133,000,000Vietnam: 115,000,000Japan: 109,000,000  Uganda: 106,000,000Turkey: 96,000,000Kenya: 95,000,000   Source World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, June 21, 2017.

History 101 Constitution Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

History 101 Constitution Assignment - Essay Example Before the approval and implementation of the new US Constitution, the existing 13 member colonies used the Articles of Confederation established and ratified in 1787, by Second Continental Congress as a guide in governing the union (Bederman 89). The national government that operated under the Articles of Confederation proved too weak and therefore could not effectively handle and regulate the numerous conflicts emerging between the states. Therefore, some of the leaders proposed for a new instrument of government to replace the weak one. Due to the emergent weaknesses, the purpose of the Philadelphia Convention was to rectify the weaknesses witnessed in the Articles that had existed even before the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War. Even though the aim of the Convention was to rectify the Articles, some of the leaders in attendance, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, coming from New York and Virginia respectively, intended to create a new government rather than rectify the existing one (Whittington 119). The two leaders came together and vigorously campaigned for the new Constitution. According to them, improved stability of the Union government was necessary in order to protect commerce and property. Being federalist, they vigorously campaigned for a very powerful central government with a large republic to control factions. According to Hamilton, the common people are ignorant and thus, incapable of rul ing themselves (Education Portal 1). Therefore, he asserted that the only people to rule should be the elites. Consequently, since the common people cannot rule, Hamilton proposed of unequal voting qualifications between the elites and common people. Thus, elites need to be accorded higher voting qualifications compared to the common people. However, Thomason Jefferson championed for states? rights as well as the trueness of democratic principles. Unlike Hamilton and his group, Jefferson believed in the capacity of the common man to rule or self-govern (Education Portal 1). Due to this, he supported lowering of voting qualifications of the elite in order to march those of the elite in society. It is therefore true that some leaders wanted a new system of government in order to address several issues related to governing. 2.Using citations from the Constitution, identify and explain the structure and function of the three Branches of government. Is this more in line with â€Å"Hamil tonian† or â€Å"Jeffersonian† political philosophy? The American Constitution is considered the oldest constitution in the world, and which exists in the contemporary world. Since its adoption and inception on September 17, 1787, it has guided and created governmental institutions within America as well as contributed to the political stability, economic freedom, social progress, and individual freedom in USA for over 200 years (Amar 70). It forms the main instrument of the U.S government as well as the supreme law within America. Its simplicity and flexibility has made it a model for other constitutions in the world. Constitution was established in the 18 century to guide 4 million people. However, after undergoing 27 amendments, the constitution currently serves over 260 million people in 50 different states within the U.S. Since the U.S Constitution forms the central instrument of the government, it provides direction on how the country is governed. It outlines the structure and functions of the three branches of the U.S Government; The Executive Branch; The Judicial

Royal Opera House, Muscat sultant of Oman Essay

Royal Opera House, Muscat sultant of Oman - Essay Example Another factor that makes experiences unique is its variability. Two music concerts with similar genres might produce different experiences as the artists are different. Therefore, it can be said that experience marketing needs different techniques and strategies for customer satisfaction and building customer loyalty. ROHM or The Royal Opera House Muscat is one of the premier venues for culture and arts, based in Muscat, Oman. This opera house has been built by the king displaying contemporary architecture of Oman. The Opera House can accommodate up to 1,100 people. Equipped with latest technologies such as Mode23, the opera house was officially launched in the year 2011 (Royal Opera House Muscat, 2014). The Royal Opera House is a comparatively new theme in the Gulf Region. As a result, it is important to prepare and effective and long-reaching marketing plan that will help in generating required awareness and response for the opera house and garner local and foreign visitors. The purpose of the current project is to create a marketing plan looking into the external environmental factors and international strengths and weaknesses and of the opera house and subsequently create meaningful and feasible marketing mix strategies. The project will also throw light on the marketing and promotional strategies that are presently followed by the opera house. In order to ensure a successful marketing plan, it is important that the objectives and action plans are measurable, attainable and feasible. The objectives based on which marketing strategies will be based are as follows; Vision: The vision of the Royal Opera House Muscat is very inspiring and as a result the architectural foundation of the opera house is unique and undisputed. It is built is a region which does not boast any established opera culture or even classical or western music culture. The Gulf Region is majorly known for its

Human nature as a struggle between reason and desire Essay

Human nature as a struggle between reason and desire - Essay Example Pictures and images are suitable to those only who lack more sophisticated expressions (Falzon 3). Plato has stated in Plato's Cave that when inside the cave, shadows on the wall are taken as real by persons not enlightened but the truth is that one need to come out in the sunlight to see reality.This prejudice against visual images is further enhanced in cinema. Since there also we sit in the dark hall and see images moving in front of us. Le Doeuff (1989 as cited in Falzon 4) stated that images are illustrative which enter deep and help form our thoughts.. Still some may argue that let films be just films. Why distort or bend these to fit into some philosophical definitions The answer to this may be, using films to interpret philosophy is just one more perspective to looking at these. One may argue that films are prejudiced in having the maker's view and thus may influence our interpretations. Certainly, but you can use the film as a base to think of presenting the story in differe nt way or find what the maker has left out. We remember longer what we have seen and that continuously constructs our thinking till our reasons satisfy the outcome. In the movie Cape Fear (Scorsese 1991), Max Cady is a vicious redneck who has just served a 14-year prison sentence for a hideout incident of rape and battery. Now, he's arrived to seek vengeance on Sam Bowden, the lawyer who defended him but was so repulsed by his client's crime that he buried a crucial piece of evidence. The latter could have reduced severity of Cady's punishment. Scorsese and De Niro are taking the sort of brutish, menacing, perversely unreasonable criminal as a phantom. If there, truly, is such a character in our life then this absolutely self-destructive person presents conflict between passion and reason. Cady begins to practice a sleek form of cat-and-mouse terrorism, and without really stepping outside the law harasses Bowdens. What's more, He feels strongly that Sam, by failing to defend him to the best of his abilities and also stepping outside the law, took it into his own hands. Cady emphasises that, now, he no longer has the right to expect that same law to protect him. Cady seems to have a good reason for his act. He is also trying to save Bowdens' from their sins by punishing them. How does philosophy explain the conduct of Cady and Sam The latter has scores of infidelities as well and thus shows weaknesses in his personality. Was Sam right in deciding that Cady's crime is too repulsive to be allowed any respite And was Cady right in being obsessed with the revenge against Sam's whole family Our reasons, feelings, thought and behaviour are controlled by different parts of minds. Both Freud and Kant consider mind as divided entity rather than a single unit. While hiding the report that could have reduced Cady's punishment, Sam was in conflict between reason and passion (to do lawyers duty well for his client), finally the reason yielded to passion that a criminal of Cady's level should be given severe punishment. It is also possible that during the course of our life, we develop many unconscious thoughts and wishes that keep on influencing our conscious decisions (Critchley et al 169). Similarly the overemphasised view of the fault of Sam, by Cady is due both to breach of trust as well as the conflicts of passion and reason. When the latter two were in harmony, he succeeded in creating fear in Bowdens family. But when these two were in conflict, he lost his own life.

Individual reflective assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Individual reflective assessment - Essay Example many skills and the module ‘Academic Skills for Accountancy’ has helped me a lot in developing some of the skills required for the profession of auditing. Following are skills related to accounting that I have developed throughout the module. One of the most important skills for an auditor is to be able to critically evaluate the audit evidence obtained as a result of the audit procedures which include inquiries from the management, observation of the procedures done by management and inspection of accounting records. Through this semester, I have developed this skill significantly. The course has introduced me to specifics of the skills required for critical evaluation of evidence. For the forthcoming year, I plan to develop this skill by conducting further research on the audit and by studying practical examples regarding audits of significant entities. One of the most important areas that would be focused would be of professional scepticism. Professional scepticism is the ability of an auditor to keep a questioning mind and this attitude helps the auditor not to generalize the results of the evaluation of evidence obtained. I would learn how to develop professional scepticism. An ability every accountant must have is the ability to analyse the information provided and to draw conclusions with sufficient rationalization. The same skill is also important for an auditor because it is the responsibility of an auditor to analyse the evidence obtained and to provide a reasonable assurance backed by rationalized conclusions. The semester helped me significantly in improving this ability (Cottrell 2008). In accounting, each transaction has a dual effect therefore if any one part of the transaction is not recorded, it can be traced from the other part. Thus, everything in the financial records becomes linked and the missing links can be found by analysing the recorded information. The same skill is also highly important for the profession of auditing. Since this is