Eh?

Is this blog going to be closed after this semester?

Possible questions

1. Explain the work of Gregor Mendel. Who was he? Why was he important?
2. Explain how scientists traced the path of humans out of Africa.
3. What's the difference between mtDNA and nuclear DNA?
4. When leaving Africa and going to Europe, what route did humans use and roughly when did they pass points x, y & z?
5. Why did humans take a particular route at a particular time?
6. Why did humans use the southern route out of Africa?
7. Explain how a given human gets their own particular genotype.
8. Summarise the main ideas of the reading.
9. Paraphrase the following sentences: blah, blah, blah
10. what happened at what date?
11. What is the distribution of tone vs. non-tone languages?
12. What is the distribution of the new alleles?
13. What are the two genes in question?
14. What alleles of the genes exist?
15. Why were the geneticists so interested in these two alleles? (3 points)
16. Why were the linguists so interested in these two alleles?

The real Eve

See here

Exams

The reading exam will be on Friday, Dec 14.
The exam will be similar to past reading tests. There will be one new reading.

The listenting exam will be on Monday, Dec. 17.
For the listening exam, listen to this file and take notes. Give your outline notes to me on Friday. I will tell you if they are OK, or not. If they're OK, I will initial them. On Monday, you can bring in only notes with my initials.
The exam will be similar to past listening tests. There will be one new listening.
These maps will help you understand the listening.
These posts will also help you understand the listening:
here and here

Presentation #2

• Your second presentation will be on Tuesday, December 11.
• The subject is the advertisement analysis that you did in Hamid's class.
• Why did you choose it?
• What are the various aspects of the ad that make it effective? Are there any weaknesses?
• How well are the visual aspects related to the particular product or service?
• So, what general conclusion can you draw?
  
• Please have a copy of the ad that everyone can see. If you need colour, you should probably use the computer or get the copy centre to make a colour overhead copy for you. If black and white is OK, I can make an overhead copy for you. Don't make paper copies for everyone.
  
• You have 3-5 minutes. Practice a number of times before the presentation and check your timing.
  
• Please keep in mind all comments from today's presentations.
• Start preparing for this TODAY.
  

from gene to chromosome

Click on this image to see the full thing.

An early New Year's greeting

Click here.

Summaries

In the lecture, the author points out some differences between interpersonal and mass communications. The process of communication involves four basic elements: sender, the person who sends information, receiver, the person who receives the information, message content of information send by sender, and feedback response from receiver. Interpersonal communication is the process of sending and receiving information between two people. In contrast, mass communication refers to using many devices and materials to communicate to millions of people simultaneously. Message in interpersonal communication is flexible. The source can modify the message, but in mass communication message is produced by a production team, so it is not particularly flexible. When we are talking about the source, we can say in interpersonal communication it is individual and in mass communication it is usually a team. Noise is a kind of interruption which can be divided into two parts. First, physical noise is an interruption by sound or any kind of the voices. Another interruption is semantics noise, which interferes with the main message.

There are some differences between interpersonal and mass comunication . The interpersonal communication is between two people, usually face to face. In contrast, in the mass comunication the identical message is created by a team of people usually professional and also is produced and distributed by technology to large numbers of people. The source in the interpersonal comunication is individual and people have control over what they want to say. On the other hand, mass comunication this is not true. In addition, in the interpersonal comunication the message is used to inform, to persuade and to entretain. The message usually is flexible. However, in the mass communication the message is not flexible at all because of the lack of the media feedback. The reciever in the interpersonal comunication has a direct contact with the source. Whereas, mass communication doesn't. Similary, both types of communication can be affected by semantic and physical noises, which interrupts the decoding of the message.

In the lecture, the author points out some differences between interpersonal and mass communications. The definition of interpersonal communication is face-to-face between 2 people; in contrast, the mass communication is distribution which is using technology. The difference of source between interpersonal and mass communication is that in interpersonal communication the source is an individual with a high level of control, whereas the source in mass communication is a group and is much less controled. Likewise, the receiver in interpersonal communication is usually one person, and the source is connected to that person. Additionally, noise can be physical or semantic. The noise is more of a problem in mass communication because of lack of feedback. Lastly, the message is different in interpersonal and mass communications. Interpersonal comm uses both sound and gestures.

Party ideas

Put your ideas here.

AC6 update

1. Communication model discussion on Thursday
2. Vocabulary test on Friday
3. Communication model write up with well-formatted references for 5 models for Friday
4. Record and transcribe your model for Monday
   
5. Listening test from communication chapter on Tuesday
6. Communication model formal presentation on Wednesday

Communication audio files

Activity 8
Activity 9
Activity 12
Activity 13
Activity 24

Comparing models

1. Unlike Laswell's uni-directional model, SW's model indicates the importance of the noise.
2. L's model is more related to linear human communication. Similarly, SW's model reflects a uni-directional communication process.
3. Whereas Honda's civic 2-door is a sports car, the Mazda 6 is a sedan.
4. S's model concentrates on the individuals rather than on how the message is sent in contrast to/with the others two models.
5. Different from L's model, the SW model reconizes the possible influence of noise.
6. SW's model, which shows semantic noise, is different from L's & S's model.
7. SW's model shows that information source, in contrast with destination, should be at the beginning of the model.
8. While S's model contains a clear source and destination, only the other two models transmit directly.

Effects Topics - AW6

Hello everyone,

Here are your topics for the in-class writing test on Monday, November 26. Choose one topic and do some research on it. Your supporting details must include statistics / facts / expert opinion, etc. Like your first assignment (Advertising), you will have to write at least 3 paragraphs.

You must bring a one-page, typed outline to the test on Monday. You might want to use your time off tomorrow to do some of this.

Check the "comments" area for your topics.

Good luck

Adjective (Relative) Clauses - AW6

Hi again class,

Click on "comments" to see your homework.

The due date is end of next week (November 29).

Passive Voice - AW6

Hello all,

Click on "comments" to see your homework.

Do the homework by next Monday.

Advertisement Assignment - AW6

Hello everyone,

As I promised in class yesterday, I am posting a sample assignment from last term, complete with the ad, the information chart, and the actual essay.

you can find the ad here

you can find the sample essay here

you can find the sample information chart here

Have a great weekend. You can post questions under the comments section of this post.

Homework from Friday, Nov 16

• Study vocabulary for test on Wed.
• Finish graded reader for discussion on Thursday
  
• Review all readings from Obesity chapter
• Complete ex 24 outline (p 176)
  
• Complete ex 30 & 31 test preparation (pp. 184 & 185)
• Listen again to the lecture from yesterday. Take notes on paper & give the notes to me on Monday. Again, just include main ideas. Dates, names, kinds of bacteria, etc. are not needed.
  

Homework for Thursday, Nov 15

1. Finish your outline or paragraph comparing the two article and send it to me.
2. Do a quick read of selection #3, on pp. 169-175. You don't need to take notes or read it carefully yet.
3. Listen to this podcast (you can download it and put it on an MP3 player) and take notes. It's about 20 minutes long (you can skip the first 60 seconds). Take notes about the main ideas. You DO NOT need to note details such as names, dates, kinds of bacteria, etc.
   
   Podcast vocabulary:
   gut = stomach & intestines
   microbe = bacteria, fungi, etc.
   lean & slim = thin; not fat
   

Compare & Contrast

In the Reading Textbook, we find two articles describing obesity. Despite the fact that these two articles are both from newspapers and both regarding obesity, there is a difference in their focus and the types of data used. While the first article looks at causes, the second one is more about treatments.

The first article reports a scientific study of the number of obese and overwieght children in a specific school, and it also gathered data on the amount of physical activity and level and type of food intake. The study found that obesity occurred in 7.4% of the sample and that, of all the children, only 19% had daily physical activity. The survey also showed that 46% of the sample visited fast food restaurants once or twice a week. The article doesn't have any data that actually shows cause and effect, but it speculates that the lack of activity and fatty foods are major causes of weight gain. This seems fairly obvious.

In contrast, the second article is an unscientific description of one particular "fat farm" in China and how it is treating obesity. The information is mostly anecdotal, coming from interviews with the director and a number of patients. They say that the farm uses an alternative holistic treatment. Specifically, they use accupuncture, a special diet, and exercise along with education. Although the institute claim to be alternative, many of the treatments appear to be quite standard.

Homework from Wed, Nov 14

Tests
Vocabulary: Wed, Nov 21
Reading: Friday, Nov 23

Homework

• Find an article in English that is really just an advertisement OR an article that seems to be a comparison but really only looks at one group at one time.
• Review all the obesity readings
• Write and hand in a COMPLETE outline for reading #1
  

Changing numbers

Post your comments about the difference between 200 -> 300 & 100 -> 50.

For a change from 200 to 300:

1. it increased by 50%
2. it increased to 150% of the original
3. it went up by 100 units
4. It added 100 units
5. it went up by 1/2 (from the base amount)
6. The base amount was 66.66% of the final amount
7. The base amount increased by 33.33% of the final amount
8. The rate of increase is 50%
9. There's a difference of more than 30% of the final

For a change from 100 to 50

1. It decreased by 50%
2. it is now (0).5 times the original value
3. the final amount is half of the original amount
4. it went down by 50 units
5. it went down to 50 units
6. it decreased by 1/2 of the based amount
7. it dropped by the result of 2x = 100 (solve for x)
8. The original value is twice the final amount
9. The original value is double the final amount

Noun Clause Homework

Post your sentences under the "comments" section of this post.

Advertising Methods - AW6

Read this article on advertising methods and be prepared to discuss it in class on Thursday (Nov. 15).

You can find the article here.

Homework from Monday, Nov 12

1. Complete Activity 9 (outlining)
2. Read News Report 1, pp. 159-160
3. Prepare for your graded reader discussions on Tuesday

By the way, here are two related articles from last Saturday's Toronto Star. You may find them interesting and useful.

Heavy noun phrases

1. Increased consumption of more energy-dense nutrients or foods with high levels of sugar and saturated fat, combined with reduced physical activity, has led to obesity rates that have risen.
2. A major cause of obesity and being overweight is the variety of junkfood.
3. Our society has many misconceptions about overweight children.
4. The people who were undernurished in early life and become obese in adulthood tend to develop worse conditions.
5. Nowadays the percentage of people that do daily physical activity has decreased.
6. Obesity and being overweight pose a major risk of serious chronic disease including type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and stroke, and certain forms of cancer.
7. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally with more than 1 million adults overweight and this is a major contribution of chronic disease.
8. As we can tell, people need motivation and orientation regarding weight management.
9. Interestingly, people in many countries, who eat very heavily daily, not only face overweight problems, but also suffer a lot of diseases.
10. Taking daily physical activity is helpful for us to build a healthier, stronger body condition and decrease hypertension and type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and stroke, and certain forms of cancer.

Forwarding HMail

If you don't check HMail regularly, you can set it to forward to another mail address. The instructions are here.

How to search

1. Use Google's various tools including images, news, and scholar
2. Use quotation marks " ~ " to search for a phrase instead of searching for individual words
3. Use the Humber library
   
4. Search in particular web sites such as NewScientist, History Chanel, Discovery Chanel, etc.
5. Use English Wikipedia and Simple English Wikipedia
   

Homework from Thursday, November 8

1. prepare for test: bring 1 page of notes from the lectures
   
2. read "obesity". Make note of sections you find difficult and be prepared to ask questions on Monday.
   
3. do ex 8-12 for Monday.
   
4. study vocab
5. read graded reader #2 and prepare for discussion on Tuesday.
   

Paraphrases from p. 145

Around the world, there are about 1 billion overweight adults. At least 300 million of them are obese.
Around the world, there are more than 1 billion overweight people. 1/3 of them have obesity.
About 13% of the population of the world are overweight. And 300 million of them are obese.
In the world there are more than 1 billion "fat" adults. At least 300 million of them are obese.
All around the world statistics point out that from 1 billion overweight adults, there are 300 million who are obese.

Obesity and being overweight can be a major risk of chronic disease and certain forms of cancer.
Being obese and being overweight can cause a serious risk for chronic disease including...
Obesity and being overweight make some problems for health, for example....
Obesity and its initial stages create a major risk for chronic disease including...
Obesity and being overweight cause the main risk for long-term disease including...

Homework from Wed, Nov. 7

1. Looking at exercise 2, write a paragraph comparing/contrasting TWO of the following diets.
   a. your personal diet
   b. the traditional healthy Asian diet
   c. the traditional healthy Latin American diet
   d. the vegetarian food pyramid
   e. the Canadian food guide

Homework from Tuesday, Nov 6

1. Prepare to recite the poem
2. Do activities 25-27 on pp. 24-25
3. Preview chapter about obesity.
4. Study vocabulary (test on November 20)
5. If you haven't already, get a new graded reader
6. Answer the following questions:
1. In a short paragraph, explain what Edison's main purpose related to movies was and give three examples from the lecture to support your view.
2. What two mistakes did Edison originally make in planning his movie business?
3. What legal, political, geographic, and labor factors attracted the independent producers to California? Write a short paragraph explaining why each of these factors was important.
4. Explain why a government would take power away from a monopoly.

Transcription

Here's the transcribed text from Activity 12 b.

So, let’s turn to the beginning of the 20 century, when Edison and his business partners tried to monopolize the film industry in the same way that other business people in the US were trying to control other parts of the economy. Some of you might remember studying about Ford with the automobile industry and Rockefeller and the oil industry.

In December 1908, Edison and nine other producers formed the Motion Picture Patents Company—that’s MPPC. The Motion Picture Patents Company. The MPPC set up many rules for all movie producers to follow, and if they didn’t, they faced legal problems. One of the rules was to keep movies short because they believed, although the Lumiere brothers probably thought differently, that audiences wouldn’t want to sit for a long time and watch a movie. Second, the MPPC didn’t give actors any credit for the movie so that they wouldn’t ask for more money. In other words, the MPPC didn’t want the names of the actors to be recognized by audiences, which is obviously much different from what we have today. Third, in order to make the most money, they only distributed movies to those who used equipment and film that was patented. An example of this is George Eastman of Kodak film. Do you know the name? He got in on the money-making prospects and sold his film only to producers who were authorized by the MPPC. Lastly, the MPPC controlled the price of the ticket. If the MPPC found out that studios were not following their rules, they sent people to interrupt the filming and even threatened to stop the distribution of the film.

Friday's listening test

The test will have three main parts.

The first part will be a new lecture which is about 10 minutes long. The topic will be related to what we've read and listened to. Here, the focus will be on taking notes and answering short, factual questions.

The second part is a dictation from the reading on page 7 and will be about 100 words long. This is scored out of 10. With each mistake you lose 0.1 marks.

The last part is based on the lectures from the chapter (mainly activities 12 & 24). For this part you may bring in one piece of paper with notes on one side. The notes should be regular-sized writing (if typed, use a 12-point font.) The lectures will NOT be played during the test, so you must rely on your notes and your memory. There will be some short answer questions about dates, people, etc., but mostly the questions will focus on why or how something happened, or on explaining or comparing.

Homework from Monday, Nov 5

• Prepare for graded reader discussion on Tuesday. Be ready to talk about your book for 5 minutes. You'll be talking in pairs.
• Study the poem and be ready to recite it on Wednesday.
• Listen to activity 24 and take notes.
• Prepare sample test questions for Friday's listening test. Focus on questions that ask: why, how, explain, & compare.

Homework

1. Watch this trailer from the movie, Chaplin. Then watch this clip. Then watch clips from The Great Dictator. Finally, write two pages (double spaced) about your reaction to this. Don't summarise it; just say what it made you think or feel.
2. Review reading from p. 7
3. Review lectures.
4. Prepare for vocabulary test on Monday.
5. Prepare for graded reader discussion on Tuesday: finish reading your graded readers from the library and be ready to spend 5 minutes explaining about it.
   

Daylight Saving Time

Remember that daylight saving time ends this Saturday (November 3). This means the time will move back one hour. Don't forget to set your clocks/watches at midnight on Saturday.
Enjoy the extra hour!

AW6 Verb Tense Homework

Please post your completed homework under the "comments" section of this post.

Wikipedia history of US Cinema

Here's the link to the Wikipedia page and here are some early films from the Lumiere brothers.

Time words

Hollywood Listening files

Here are the files for the listening unit we'll be starting on movies
page 6, activity 6
p 8, ac 9
p 10, ac 11
p 10, ac 12-1
p 10, ac 12-2
p 23, ac 24

AWL

Today we talked about the Academic Word List and a lot of you wanted to get a copy. I've been working on making definitions for all the words and I'm finally finished. You can access the whole list along with definitions here. If you are interested in working on learning these words, I recommend starting with Sublist 1 and working up in the order that the words are listed. As you click on each word, it will take you to the relevant definition.

Also, if you're interested in trying the JVLT, you can download it here. Most of you should select first link that says " Download jVLT-1.0.4 binary". If you decide to use this, please send me the files that you make so that I can share them with future students.

Welcome Level 6, November, 2007

This is the place for all of us to communicate. You'll find information from Hamid and me here, but you can also post your own messages. These can be questions, suggestions, or just social stuff. Please be creative and make good use of it.

You don't need to look at the old stuff (anything below this message), but if you're interested, please feel free to do so.

If you need to contact us, you can mail me at brett.reynolds@humber.ca and Hamid at hamid.rezaeiyazdi@humber.ca.

birds

coal tit
chickadee tit
Siberian tit
black-throated tit
blue tit
varied tit
great tit

Harry woodpecker
Golden-fronted woodpecker
Hoffmann woodpecker
Three-toed woodpecker
Lesser golden-backed woodpecker

Gene maps

The distribution of tone languages in the Old World populations we studied in our paper. Each square represents one population: yellow stands for non-tone languages and gray for tone languages.The distribution of the new allele of Microcephalin in the Old World populations we studied in our paper. Each circle represents one population and the intensity of green reflects the allele frequency (min 3%, max 100%).The distribution of the new allele of ASPM in the Old World populations we studied in our paper. Each circle represents one population and the intensity of blue reflects the allele frequency (min 0%, max).

Genetics

Here's a diagram that clearly shows the how base pairs fit into genes and how these fit into chromosomes. And here's a map that shows the migration of humans out of Africa, which goes with the reading "The Real Eve".

Finally, here's one listening for the final exam. Download the MP3 (this one), listen, and take notes.

Possible reading exam questions

1. Define effiveness & efficiency. What is the difference?
2. What is the meaning of management? Give some examples of good/bad management.
3. What are the five components of the definition of management?
4. Explain the difference between working with employees and working through them. Give examples.
5. What shortcomings do unsuccessful managers often have?
6. Read the following case study. Decide whether the company is balancing effectiveness & efficiency. Explain.
7. Explain the challenges facing the Allstate management in hiring decisions today.
8. Contrast an integrated approach to (diversity, teaching vocabulary) a segregated (non-integrated) approach. Give examples.
9. Diversity has benefits for certain aspects of business but no all aspects. How can managers strike a balance between begin too diverse and too homogeneous?

paraphrase

Paraphrase of paragraph 11 (p. 114)

Effectiveness and efficiency are two concepts that have practical importance for managers. If you are effective, you reach your goals, but if you are efficient, you use as few resources as possible. Though it is a challenge, managers must balance effectiveness with efficiency. If you were to use a sledgehammer to kill a fly, you would be effective because the fly would be dead, but you would have achieved your goal inefficiently because you would have used more energy and caused more damage than necessary. A balance of effectiveness and efficiency can be achieved by using a flyswatter.

Summary of paragraph 11

If you are effective, you reach your goals, but if you are efficient, you use as few resources as possible. Managers must balance effectiveness with efficiency to reach their goals while using the least possible resources.

Choose-your-program day

Nancy is organising a day for you to meet with the coordinators of various college programs. Please leave a comment here or e-mail me so that we'll know which programs you're interested in.

Parking

TO: STUDENTS PARKING ON NON-HUMBER PROPERTY
R.L. CLARK WATER TREATMENT PLANT

Please note that students and the general public who utilize the parking lot at the R.L. Clark Water Treatment Plant will have their vehicle tagged and towed. Parking at this industrial facility is reserved for staff and visitors on official business only.

Also, please respect residents who live on the west side of 16th Street, by not parking next to the AN Building.

Your cooperation would be greatly appreciated.

Dr. Ian Smith
Principal
Lakeshore Campus

Discussion

Please answer question number 8 in your textbook (p. 101) by clicking on the "comment" link below. You should give your own idea, and then respond to other people's ideas agreeing, disagreeing, and offering suggestions.

Model assignment, more info

Hi Brett,

could you give more description on the model assignment.
What is the proper structure we need to have? I did not understand if we need to compare our model with the other 5 existing one? Please give the example of the structure for this assignment.

My Resume

Hooman was asking about my resume. You can see it here if you're interested. I haven't updated it for a couple of years, but this gives the most important stuff.

The history of TV

The video is here.

Business management vocab

achieve/ achieving / achievable
acquisitions
adapt
alternative / alternatives
annual
approach (v)
approximately
attained
capacity
components
consequently
consultant
contributions
corporate
demonstrate
distributed
diversity / diverse
economics
establish/ established / establishing
ethical
evolution
factors
financial
focus
goals / goal-oriented
highlight
impact (n)
incorporate
initiative
input
integrated
interact
involve
labor
mode
objective
ongoing
overall
partnership
perceived
priority
relevance
require
resources
strategic / strategy

Test questions

1. Compare MPPC and MPPA.
2. Compare interpersonal and mass communcation.
3. Compare intrapersonal and interpersonal communcation.
4. Which model includes noise?
5. Define a kinetograph.
6. Define interpersonal communcation.
7. Describe the Shannon-Weaver model. (5 points)
8. What are the similarites and differences between Lasswell's and Shannon-Weaver's models.
9. Explain why Hollywood production moved to California. (5 points)
10. Explain why Edison chose to have personal viewers initially. (2)

Brett's Presentation

My model
Other models.

Chapter 3 listening

Here is the audio from chapter 3:
p. 62, ac 8
p. 64, ac 9
p. 67, ac 12
p. 68, ac 13

Compare & contrast sentences

1. Lasswell's model is simple, in. In contrast Schramm's model is more specific.
2. Both Lasswell's model and Shannon-Weaver's model are one-way (unidirectional/linear) models.
3. Shannon-Weaver's model mentions the noise in communication, unlike Lasswell's model.
4. Whereas Lasswell's and Shannon-Weaver's models are expressed in one direction, Schramm's model has no direction.
5. Lasswell's model is similar to Shannon-Weaver's model because they are both model one-way communication.
6. Shannon-Weaver's and Schramm's models include the expression signal, however. Lasswell's model, however, doesn't use signal.
7. Lasswell's model has specific questions whereas Shannon-Weaver's model expresses the steps of communication with words.
8. Both Shannon-Weaver's and Schramm's models analyze communication mechanically.
9. Lasswell's model is abstract, but Shannon-Weaver's and Schramm's models are concrete in describing communication.
10. In contrast to Lassell's and Schramm's models, Shannon-Weaver's model uses the common area between the two parts of the models.
11. Lasswell's model focuses on people while Shannon-Weaver's and Schramm's models are like encoding forms.
12. In the same way, Lasswell's and Shannon-Weaver's models are based on the concept of transmission.
13. Whereas Considering the different aspects of the three models showed in the lectures, we could infer that the development of mass communication was pari-passu.
14. In contrast to Schramm's model, Lasswell's and Shannon-Weaver's models emphasize teh linear communication process. That is, the message in these models flows in one direction.
    

good search terms

Shannon & laswell model images.

Disagreeing/debating

I think everyone enjoyed the discussion the other day. Please feel free to continue the discussion here.

This graph displays the price of BCE vs. the TSX index for one year from late Sept 06. By the end of the year, BCE was up almost 33% and had exceeded the TSX by more than 10%. The TSX had some fluctuation over the year, but generally followed a smooth upward line. Overall, the two prices tended to move together, the main differences coming in Nov 06 and April 07. In Nov, BCE's price dropped sharply to more than 10% below the initial price. Thereafter, it lagged the TSX by about 10%. In April, however, there was a dramatic jump in BCE's price from where it had started the year up to over 30% above that price. From April until the end of the year, BCE's price remained above the overall TSX by about 12%. Both prices dropped briefly in August, but by the end of the year, they had recovered all their losses.

TV watching

The other day, Hooman asked me about what TV shows are easiest to understand. I don't watch TV, so I told him I'd ask around. Here are some answers from other teachers around the world. I'll also add in more as they arrive, so keep checking back here.

1. One thing you might suggest to your student is that the American networks have most of their shows on line. The student can go to any of the network websites and watch as much tv as he/she wants for free. Unfortunately, only CBS allows access from Canada.
   
2. My guess is that you would have good luck with older, late 1950s or early 1960s programs in the 25-minute per episode range, for example: Peter Gunn, Twilight Zone, I Love Lucy, Dragnet, Perry Mason. You can find many of these shows on DVD.
   
   These shows are generally well-edited, contain relatively little material that many students might find objectionable, and dialog is, as a rule, quite clearly spoken.
3. My students here in Brazil tell me that they usually understand and enjoy watching the sitcom 'Friends'. They get a lot from facial expressions and accompanying gestures that helps them understand at least the gist if not always all the details of dialogues.
   

Vocabulary

Here's the AWL vocabulary for this chapter. Please learn it. The words are linked to dictionary definitions. Sometimes these definitions are for a related word. Be careful.

accessible accompany acquire appropriate area aspect challenging code constitutional convinced couple created (creator) credit decades depression distributed (distributing distribution distributors) economic (economy) equipment factors filed finally financially immigrants individual initial involvement labor legal located (locations) migration obvious (obviously) occurred partners period prior projecting prospects regulate (regulations regulatory) released roles sex (sexual) shift site subsequently

Graded-reader stuff

Please, remember that tomorrow (Friday) you should be handing in your graded-reader assignment. You should

1. record yourself talking about the book for three minutes (don't read, talk)
2. listen to what you read and write it down exactly as you heard it, words for word
3. using a different coloured-pen, fix the mistakes that you find.

Also, remember that you should be reading your second book already. Get a new book every week. We will be discussing the second book next Tuesday.

Topics of Interest

Hi Folks,

My name is Valerie. I am currently working towards my TESL Certificate at Humber College. As part of our course work, we are required to present a thematic workshop to an EAP class. We will be coming to your class on October 3rd. We will meet with you prior to this date, but not before our workshop proposal due date. (The workshop proposal is due next Wednesday.)

We are very interested in providing you with a workshop topic that best suits your needs. If you have any suggestions, please post them here.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Valerie and Maria

History of Movies Listening files

Here are the files for the listening unit we'll be starting on movies
page 6, activity 6
p 8, ac 9
p 10, ac 11
p 10, ac 12-1
p 10, ac 12-2
p 23, ac 24

Textbooks

We will NOT be using For Your Information. If you bought it, please return it to the bookstore.

Friday's test

On Friday, Sept 14, we'll have a test in two parts: listening & reading.

The listening is here (this is not an MP3). The important part starts at 0:01:45 and ends at 0:09:00. Listen and takes notes. You may bring one page of notes (one side, in 12-point font) into the test. I will not play this during the test. You must listen before the test. Questions will include main ideas, but there will also be specific questions about dates and numbers.

The reading section will be based on the second reading from the textbook (pp. 14-19). You will not have access to the text during the test. You may, however, bring one page of notes (one side, in 12-point font) into the test. Questions will include main ideas, but there will also be specific questions about dates and numbers. There will also be a short reading that you have not seen before.

Welcome level 6

Hi!

Welcome to the blog! The stuff below is from the last time I ran the course. Feel free to look at it or ignore it, as you wish.

If you want to make a new post, click on "sign in" in the top right hand corner. If you want to make a comment about an existing course, click on "Comments" below the post.

Have fun!
Brett

The Real Eve

From gene to chromosome

Maps

People per doctor

Literacy Rate

MDC vs. LDC

Debt as a % of GNP

HDI

Female Literacy

Calories as a % of requirements

Study Questions

Concept Review [1 point each]

1 The Human Development Index (HDI) recognizes which of the factors listed below as a function of level of development?

a. literacy rate
b. gross domestic product per capita
c. life expectancy
d. education
e. all of the above
f. none of the above


2 While the South Pacific has a high human development index, the region is much less central to the global economy because

a. it has fewer inhabitants and a peripheral location.
b. it has a warm climate.
c. lamb, a major commodity, is not in demand in the rest of the world.
d. none of the above.


3 Four economic indicators distinguish more developed from less developed countries. Identify one of them.

a. level of automation
b. amount of raw materials
c. gross domestic product per capita
d. all of the above
e. none of the above


4 According to this map, which Asian country listed below has the highest literacy rate?

a. Thailand
b. China
c. Indonesia
d. Mongolia


5 This graph illustrates the percentage of all countries that rank below the United States or India according to the particular measure, and tells the following story.


a. About 40 percent of the world's countries are more literate than the United States.
b. The United States has the highest per capita consumption of electricity use in the world.
c. Approximately 25 percent of the world's countries have a higher crude birthrate than does the United States.
d. All of the above.
e. None of the above.


6 Logging and fishing are two occupations belonging to which economic sector?

a. Primary
b. Secondary
c. Quaternary
d. Tertiary


7 The average worker in the United States adds what amount to the GDP?

a. $1,000
b. $10,000
c. $40,000
d. $70,000


8 What does MDC stand for? [1]


9 Give a clear explanation for the term value added. [2]


10 Where are the MDCs and LDCs distributed? [3]



11 Of the various factors that are included in the HDI, identify one that is almost always the result of higher development and one that is, initially at least, never the result. Explain briefly the cause-and-effect links. [4]





12 Explain one example of a virtuous cycle in development. [4]



13 Give an example of a demographic factor that affects a social factor. Explain how this happens. [4]
14 Compare and LDC and an MDC in terms of the types of jobs that are common now and were common in the past. [6]













15 Choose an LDC and make specific suggestion for improving development. Explain why your suggestions are useful. [6]


10. Where are the MCDs and LDCs distributed?

Generally speaking, the MCDs tend to be in the North, while LDCs are in the south. The major exception to this is Australia and New Zealand which are in the south.


11. Amount of raw materials is almost never the result of development. Because the amount of raw materials is a natural situation, it is not the result of development. Countries cannot generally produce raw materials. The exception would be where a developed nation has used up its natural resources. In contrast, education and health care are almost always the result of development. These are large expenses and require a certain level of development before they improve.
12. A virtuous cycle is when one good thing leads to another and they keep building on each other. One example is in Japan: They invested money in education and they got highly educated people. As a result, they were able to move into high technology production. This creates wealth and the wealth, in turn, can be invested in even better education.
13. (short answer) Average age of the population can affect healthcare levels.(full answer) In Canada, the average age of the population is beginning to affect the healthcare system. As people get older, they retire and stop adding to the economy. This means there’s less money to support healthcare. However, these same people become heavy users of healthcare, putting extra costs into the system. As a result, the level of healthcare will probably decrease.
14. In the past, jobs in MDCs were concentrated in the primary sector, but these started to shift to the secondary sector at the beginning of the last century. Now these regions concentrate their jobs overwhelmingly in the tertiary sector. In contrast, LDC jobs have historically been concentrated in the primary sector and there has been little change, although in the last few years there has been a slight shift to tertiary jobs.
15. I think that China should take advantage of their huge supply of human capital just like Japan did after WWII. Similarly, using their cheap labour, they should create cheap products and export them. Once this has become popular, China should reinvest its new wealth in creating higher value products. Finally, as we know that MDCs are moving into tertiary jobs, China should invest in education that will help its population make that kind of move.

Mineral graphs

Development questions

Anglo-America: what is the dominant Lng & relig?
What does AA export?
How did AA become the word’s major producer?
What high-value things does WE produce?
What is globalization?
*What does WE import? (List two of Western Europe's main imports.)*
*What is the reason that the development process is going backwards in EU?
Why did communism lose power in the Balkan countries after 1980?
*List three steps that Japan took to become such a great industrial power?
Why does Japan concentrate resources in education and training?
How did the Japanese govn’t encourage manufacturers to sell their products?
*What are the largest countries in the SP?
What country colonized Australia?
*Why is the SP much less central to the global economy despite the fact that they have a relatively high HDI?
What languages are the most common in LA?
Name the biggest cities in LA.
*What is LA’s largest agricultural harvest & export?
Why do parts of LA speak Portuguese?
*Why is development in LA hindered?
What kind of climate does SEA have?
*What are SEA's main crops?
*Why is SEA’s HDI likely to decline?
*What natural factors disturb SEA’s economy?
*Why does the ME import many products from the other countries?
*What is the ME's main export?
*What kind of religion is most widespread in the ME?
*Among what group is there low literacy in the ME?
What is the result of the low literacy among women in the ME?
*What is the largest country in EA?
What dramatic changes have been made in China’s economy?
What does the Chinese govn’t control more than other countries’ govn’ts?
On what does SA’s agricultural productivity depend?
Name the biggest dessert in the world.
*In SSA what fundamental social problem do they have?
What retards the development of SSA?

Homework for Tuesday, June 5

o Write up graded reader discussion
o Complete self evaluation and submit
o Prepare for presentation next Wednesday
o Submit model write up WITH REFERENCES this is an assignment, not homework.
o Listening & reading test on Tuesday afternoon (focus on comparing & contrasting)
o Leave me a detailed phone message (fake)

Model description

Communication in a Second Language

This paper describes a communication model that is focused on interpersonal communication in a second language. I researched many different kinds of communication models (Devito, 2001), and generally found that a transaction model was a very common format, so I decided to use this as a basis for my model.

Transactions models tend to be more focused on mass communication. My model, however, is interpersonal communication, so I decided to add a feedback loop/channel/arrow. This changes the model from a unidirectional model to a circular one. The direction of flow in my model is clockwise. This results in a model that has X steps and Y processes.

Here, the first step is sender (English as a second language speaker). The sender initiates the communication process by formulating their original ideas or opinions in their own language and (then) translating them to English. The second step is to encode them in English. The third step is transmitting the message to a receiver. Moreover, the model has noise (culture gaps, pronunciation differences, etc.) and feedback (gestures, verbal requests, and information checking). In other words, my model shows communication between a native speaker and an English-as-a-second-language speaker. There are many similarities between my model and other models such as encoding, message, sender, receiver, feedback and noise because it is focused on communication. My model is different from others in that it has the added function of translation from the sender.

my model is similar to a transaction model but my model considers more details and is more complete.

Add examples?

More listening suggestions

Here are a number of 20-minute interviews with video.

Homework for Tuesday, May 29

Your primary focus this week is your research assignment.

1. Get background information on at least five different models of communication. You need to use at least one web page, one magazine/journal article, and one textbook. Keep track of all your sources.
2. Discuss these with a partner. Look at similarities, differences, strengths, and weaknesses.
3. Choose a specific aspect of communication. Some ideas are listed below:
• Teacher-student communication
• Communication in a second language
• Communication with very young children
• Communication with deaf or blind people
• Intrapersonal communication
• E-mail/text messaging/voice mail
• Radio news
4. Design a new model that uses the strengths of the models you researched. Make sure it fits your chosen aspect of communication. (Due on Tuesday, May 29)
5. Explain your model to other students informally in small groups. Get questions and suggestions to make your model and your explanation better. (On Tuesday, May 29)

For independent listening, the same as last week, please listen to at least 20 minutes of speaking, takes notes and summarise it. Some new ideas are:

• Penguin dossiers
• VOA special English stories, words, and news (this page is in Japanese, but just click around and you can find lots of stuff.)
• Go to Doors Open Toronto.
  

Next week I am attending a conference. So, on Tuesday afternoon, we will finish class at 3:45 and Wednesday's class is cancelled. We can discuss how to make up this lost time later.

Have a great weekend!

homework

Dear Brett,

I am looking for tomorrow homework, but i can't find anything.

I have alreday listening (that was optional) , i am going to do it.

Thanks again

Nasim

Languages of China

Yesterday, Girl and I were discussing whether China has one main language or many. Here is a map that shows what a linguistically diverse place China is.

Chapter 3 files

Here is the audio from chapter 3:
p. 62, ac 8
p. 64, ac 9
p. 67, ac 12
p. 68, ac 13

Homework for next week

1. Listen to something that interests you. Your listening should total over 20 minutes of talking time (you can listen to a number of short pieces or one longer piece.)
   
1. Write a summary of the content and write your reaction. These should be in paragraph format and should be at least 200 words in total.
   
2. Good places to find audio are: YouTube, and CBC's podcasts. I especially recommend "Quirks & Quarks" (a science show), "As it happens" (current events) and "And sometimes Y" a show about language. On YouTube, I recommend "In my language". For something funny, try "Monty Python".
   
2. Collect 20 words from anywhere that are you would like to learn or be able to use better. Check them in the dictionary and write an example sentence for each (a different one from the dictionary.) Send these to me by e-mail by 12:00 on Monday night.
3. Spend some time checking the self-evaluation sheet. Send me a e-mail telling me what your main goals are.
   
4. On Wednesday, we will be discussing our graded readers. This week, I'd like you to focus on one character from your book.
   
1. What does he/she look like?
2. Age?
3. Personality?
4. Socioeconomic situation?
5. Experiences/background?
6. Job?
7. Compare this character to another person, real or fictional. How are they similar and how do they differ?
   

"Academic idioms"

Here are the "academic idioms" that we talked about today:

on the other hand
the end of the
at the same time
as a result of
on the basis of
at the end of
the way in which
the fact that the
one of the most
the rest of the
that there is a
in the case of
the nature of the
in the context of
the extent to which
in the form of
in the absence of
it is important to
it is difficult to
is likely to be
a wide range of
a result of the
a large number of
in the same way
the development of the
the size of the
the basis of the
in a number of
are likely to be
in the development of
it is likely that
the position of the

as a whole
a series of
the need for
the concept of
the possibility of
the effects of
in this way
between the two
the result of
the most important
of the two
the study of
the problem of
a range of
be regarded as
each of the
related to the
analysis of the
the lack of
the introduction of
appears to be
there may be
half of the
the degree of
in some cases
the distribution of
involved in the
in the second
understanding of the
a group of
knowledge of the
the range of
can be made
some of these
the difference between

Using the blog

I'm happy to see everyone using the blog. I think Girl's post about homework the other day was a good effort to communicate. Please feel free to post about any topic here. Do, however, keep in mind that not everyone will understand some things, such as jokes, the way you intended. As such, be careful about to express yourself precisely, and try not to get upset when someone writes something that you think is rude; maybe they didn't mean it the way you think. If you see something that upsets you, try to explain to the person how it makes you feel. They might learn something about writing English.

Best,
Brett

Homework: due Wed May 16

Sorry I'm late posting this. If you can't do it for today, tomorrow is fine. Listen to this lecture and take notes.

about homework....

Brett, i think our homework is really too much; moreover, they seems really strange, I mean they are all extremely hard...much + hard, i feel like the time is not enough.
Because I get an IELTS test in July, so I have to prepare it during Level 6, but now I even don't have time for my IELTS test preparation. In order to prepare my IELTS test, every day I have to go to bed nearly 3 o'clock. Therefore, even though our class changed to 11:00, I still can't go to school on time, cause I really can't let myself get up early. To be frank, nowadays I can't concentrate on my class, I have less and less energy for my class, everyday I'm too tired to listen to your lecture carefully, and I feel I hate class more and more, I can't enjoy studying like before, I think homework is the biggest problem. I suggest that you can give us some flexible homework, something not so hard. If possible, we can just do some of our homework in class, for example, we can do listening in class, it probably will make our class more interesting. I hope that you will considerate about my opinion. Thanks
Girl

Homework for Tuesday May 15

1. Look at your notes from yesterday's homework (p. 98 & 99). Then put your notes away (DON'T LOOK AT THEM) and write down (paraphrase) the lecture's main ideas using full sentence format.
   
2. Write a paragraph to explain graph B. Use the sample paragraph from p. 105 as an example.
3. Read the blue textbook (FYI) p. 201-206 & make notes (is there any misleading or false information?)
4. Listen to this teacher giving a homework assignment. Take careful notes and write down any questions you have about anything that isn't clear. (You don't actually have to do everything he says; just take notes.)
   

Have a good weekend!

Lunch

Hey, let's go for lunch next week.

Listening #1

To listen to the first lecture, click here. Write down EVERYTHING that the speaker says in the first 60 seconds of the lecture.

Also, watch this video and write down:

1. the time that the speaker introduces a new major point
   
2. the words he uses to tell us that he's introducing that point
   
3. what the new point is (if #2 doesn't already tell you)
   

For example, you can answer like this:

• 1:35 he says, "I want to look at two kinds of advertising--two new kinds of advertising--in detail, OK?"

You should have more than five changes of topic.

Bring this to your next class.