Friday's assignment

Task 1:

Below are words from the article. Write the correct letter on each line to match the words with their meanings.

1. intention           l	a. to explain, make clear
2. assume             g	b. to give a wrong meaning to; misunderstand
3. empathize         e	c. to call attention to; make important
4. disapproval       d	d. lack of approval
5. misinterpret      b	e. to understand another’s feelings or motives
6. emphasize        c	f. a general rule or idea that is inferred from particular facts or examples
7. clarify              a	g. accepted to be true without proof
8. rapport             j	h. an oversimplified mental picture of a group of people
9. stereotype       h	i. to help something happen
10. claim             k	j. a harmonious relationship with someone
11. promote         i	k. to maintain; say as a fact
12. generalization  f	l. the purpose behind an action or statement




Task 2:

Write a noun for each of the verbs below. Use either the noun or the verb form in sentences.

VERB	NOUN and SENTENCE
perceive	Perception: Some people have rather good sensitive perception
assume	Assumption: Assumption is a common way used by scientists.
empathize	Empathy: Even a murderer can show his empathy in special situations.
disapprove	Disapproval: His disapproval made me felt very frustrated.
misinterpret	Misinterpretation: Sometimes misinterpretation can cause disastrous result.
emphasize	Emphasization: Our teacher has given his emphasization on English learning.
clarify	Clarification: Timely clarification is very important when misunderstanding happened between both sides.
generalize	Generalization: An adult tend to give a generalization whenever he try to understand unfamiliar things or areas.

Task 3: 

Click on this link to record your answer for the following questions. Then, copy the link once you are satisfied with your recording, and paste it on your blog, together with your previous answers.

Talk about an experience you once had when you misunderstood or were misunderstood by another person and that created an argument. What was your reaction and what did you do to resolve the problem?

Argument-led essay:

Caring for the elderly, some people think that it is the government responsibility; However, others believe it is their immediate family responsibility.

Caring for the elderly

With the population of the elderly increasing gradually, people pay more attention regarding elderly’s caring. Some people hold the opinion that the government should take the responsibility to take care of the elderly; however, others think it is their immediate family’s responsibility. In the following essay, the two points of view will be analyzed.

One point of view is that the government should take the responsibility to take care of the elderly. First of all, people who paid taxes to government every month should receive something or some care at their old age; it includes this pension plan Secondly, most seniors have devoted their time, their energy to the society when they were young, so they would want a payback; Finally, also one most important reason, some seniors have no immediate family and some seniors really have but their immediate family are not  available because of various reasons. So the government's role is very important to care for the elders.

The other point of view is that the immediate family should take care of their elderly. Firstly, only family members can give their elders the love that they need regarding their spiritual and psychological aspects. Then, most of elderly raised their children up by devote all their energy and money when they were young. It's the right time and chance for their children to payback. Lastly, caring the elderly is a vivid lesson and an excellent example/model for the young couple to educate their children to form good character and morals. 

To sum up, all mentioned above, both the government and the immediate family have the responsibilities to care for the elders. Personally, I totally agree with this, the government can provide a certain part of financial and materially help and support to the elderly, and at the same time the immediate family can give the elder the spiritual and psychological comfort and love. This can help the elders a lot during their old age. Furthermore, if the immediate family can understand well that the government can’t provide the perfect services to the elderly by now because of public resources limited and try to provide as much effort as they can to take care of their elderly, that will be much better for the elderly.

Monday's assignment

Monday's assignment

Good morning everybody, Today we have a few tasks to do. 

First, click on this link and read the handout well, and then answer the exercises provided. 

Second, listen to these songs, pick out three to four new words for you from each song, and use them in sentences of your own.

 Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer

Oh Canada

So, this is Christmas

New voc.	Rudolph	Oh  Canada	So this is  Christmas	Sentences
	dasher	thee		In one's daily life, it's not difficult to meet dasher or vixen.
	vixen	glowing		Only after I  listened the song " Oh Canada", I knew the word thee means you.
	glee			I have a glowing heart to my native country and I'd like to sing the national anthem with glee.
	go down in the history			It's so hard to make one's name go down  in the history.

Wednesday's assignment

Wednesday's assignment

Good afternoon folks,

Consider the following argument and follow the tasks below.

Some people argue that the gap between parents and children can be bridged, while others believe it is impossible to do so.

Write a balanced argument to address this statement. Make sure to state your opinion and support it with relevant ideas from your experience.

Task 1:

Is it an argument-led or thesis-led approach and why?

It can be developed in both way.

Task 2:

First, brainstorm your ideas, and then write an introduction that does not exceed 50 words to address the topic.

Some people argue that the gap between parents and children can be bridged, while others believe it is impossible to do so. Both sides can bring tons examples to support their opinions. Personally I agree with both sides under certain conditions and in specific environment because each individual whoever he is, parents or children, has his own characters, growing environments and educated level, those partly limit their attitude, patience and cooperated style to others.Personally, I agree that the gap between parents and children can be bridged. First of all, it's parents bring their child to this world and cultivate him/her to grow up. This is a good chance to eliminate the gap between the parents and their child and establish a good relationship with him or her. Secondly, as parents, they must study continuously and grow up same as their child in knowledge area.

Task 3:

Write your thesis statement for this topic.

Monday's assignment

Good afternoon folks,

We are currently working on our writing skills. Read the topic below and write one to two paragraphs in response to this topic.

Working on my language                                                     

Task 1:

Here are some guiding ideas to help you construct your paragraph:

·                     Why I joined the class

·                     My needs were

·                     I learnt

·                     I want to still work on

After landed on Toronto of Canada, the first important thing for me is working on my language –improving my English because the first official language in Toronto is English and I would work in a totally English environment. That will be a supper challenge for me. So I jointed an English training class to work on it.

My needs for English were improving listening, spoken, writing skill and reading comprehension. All I did in English class during the past four months was kept learning and practicing base on these needs. Now I feel I have made some progresses. For example, I can talk more in English and understand daily live news on radio much better than before. But I know it’s just on the right track and far away from the final goals, I still need to work on it until I can speak as a native speaker and communicate freely in English. In one word, English ability ranks first in my present situation and I should plan a certain time to work on it.

Yvonne's edit

After landed on Toronto of Canada, the first important thing for me is working on my language –improving my English, because the first official language in Toronto is English and I would work in a totally English environment. That will be a supper challenge for me. So I jointed an English training class to work on it.

My needs for English were improving listening, speaking, writing skill and reading comprehension. All I did in English class during the past four months was kept learning and practicing base on these needs. Now I feel I have made some progresses. For example, I can talk more in English and understand daily live news on radio much better than before. But I know it’s just on the right track and far away from the final goals, I still need to work on it until I can speak as a native speaker local people and communicate freely in English. In one word, English ability ranks first in my present situation and I should plan a certain time to work on it.

Task 1: Look at this picture below and describe the person in it. You need to describe the surroundings, what she is thinking of, what you think is her emotional state, and what might have been going in her life. Use at least 10 different adjectives/adverbs and make sure to write all in third person speaker (he/she/it).

This is a black and white picture. In the picture a young girl is sitting on the ground against a concrete pillar staring the grey mountain faraway with a sad mood. The sun is just rising from the sea horizontal line and the environment is very quiet.

The girl like the scenery and the quiet atmosphere. The huge mountain and quiet surroundings makes her calm down when she felt losing her self-control. It can also remind her how marvelous the nature is and comparing with this endless space nothing worth to worry about.  Looking up the sky and take a deep breath, she feels better and better, she know clearly that a new day is waiting for her.

30th Nov. 2015

Since we are getting closer to the end of 2015, we need to come up with some new year’s resolutions for 2016.

Task 1:

Write one paragraph on your new year’s resolution; what you want to quit or have less of, and what you feel like working on or increasing, and why.

Task 2:

Ask one of your peers to proofread it for you, and then publish on your blog for class and instructor review.

Since we are getting to close the end of 2015, It's time work out my next year's resolutions base on the last year's performance.

First of all, as a new immigrant, improving my English level shall rank first in my action list because my native language is Chinese and I had never take English as my working language before. 

Secondly Strengthening my adaptability to this new environment, especially for the minus temperature in cold winter. I know it will not be easy but have to cope with it if i finally decide to settle down here. Considering this rather long and cold winter, I need to draft a detailed action plan to ensure this goal achieved.

Finally I'd like to improve my cooking skills since I'm far away from my hometown but only interested in Chinese style food.  

There is an old saying:'"New year means new life", with my goals I'm looking forward to a wonderful  year coming.

Job Interviews

Job Interviews

Job interviews are your chance to show what you have to offer to potential employers. It is important to prepare before each interview.

Task 1:

Listen to this mock job interview; list all the Dos and Don'ts which the interviewer has mentioned. Click here to listen to it.

Dos and Don't s list:

• Dress properly;
• Handshaking properly;
• Give a concise summery;
• Focus on area that can be improved upon;
• When discussing your weaknesses ,avoid personality or character flaws;
• Stand up and greet your interviewers;
• Don't wear too much perfume;
• Bring a copy of your resume
• Ask for your interviewer's business card;
• Turn off your cell phone

Task 2:

Search the internet to find the 10 most annoying gestures during a job interview.

• Can't give a good eye contact;
• Shake hands too softly
• Sit too stiff or too relax
• keep hands busy even during answer the questions
• Hesitation 
• Repetition

Task 3:

Telephone interviews can be as stressful as the one-on-one too. Here is another video you will watch to give you some tips for telephone interviewing.

List all the dos and the don't s that the presenter has mention in this video.

• Character
• Skill
• Work history
• Experiences
• List your strength and your weakness
• Link your special skills to your new job
• Connect your goal with company's goal

Thursday's Assignment

Thursday, 5 November 2015

Thursday's Assignment

Reading practice:

Read the following passage below and then answer the following questions. Be ready to explain it to the rest of the class.

The interview

 “We would like to interview you ...“ . Joyful words for the job-seeker, but my letter carried a warning: ´You will be required to take a psychometric test.´ More than 70 per cent of companies now use these ´objective´ tests for potential employees. They are meant to give a true picture of candidates that removes the unfairness that may result from the personal opinions of interviewers. 

 On the day of my interview for the job of assistant to a company Public Relations consultant, my nerves were made worse by finding that the office was close to a hospital with particularly unhappy associations. Luckily, I had deliberately got there early so that I was able to calm myself down before a secretary rushed me upstairs for my test.

 Keeping to a strict time limit, I had to assess groups of adjectives, marking which most and which least matched my ideas of myself at work. Choosing one quality out of four when all seemed appropriate was difficult, more difficult than the interview that followed – though I felt I hadn´t impressed in that either.

 Confirmation of this arrived a week later. My rejection letter was accompanied by a copy of the Private and Confidential Personal Profile Analysis – two and a half sides of paper, based on that 10-minute test.

 The Profile’s rude inaccuracy and its judgemental tone were harder to accept than the fact that I had been turned down for the job. Apparently, I have ´no eye for detail´; I am also ´a forceful individual ... who leads rather than directs´ and am ´motivated by financial reward to pay for good living´. The words ´impatient´, ´restless´ and ´strong-willed´ also came up.

 ´A portrait of an ambitious, power-mad person´, said a psychologist friend of 15 years to whom I showed the Profile. She said it didn´t apply to me at all. I know myself to be a careful, industrious checker. I am shy but cheerful and a bit over-anxious to be thought creative. I am not a power-crazed person.

 What would I do, I worried, if I had to take another test for another job, and this unattractive personality emerged again?

 I sent the company a polite disagreement with the Profile, purely for the record.

Meanwhile, I made a few enquiries.

 Had my emotional state of mind made the results untypical of me? I had been disturbed to find the office so close to a hospital that held unhappy memories for me.

 ´State of mind will have an impact´, said Shane Pressey, an occupational psychologist, ´but on the whole its effect will be relatively minor. It appears that the test was an inadequate tool for the amount of information they were trying to get out of it, and it is not surprising that there were inaccuracies.´

 Too late for that particular job, I arranged to sit another psychometric test. This one took much longer and was more thorough; the profile was also more detailed and accurate – it showed my eye for detail and the fact that I have a problem meeting deadlines.

 But a peculiar result is hard to challenge without seeming unable to take criticism. It is simply not acceptable to refuse to take a test, in case the job candidate seems uncooperative and eccentric. The interview, with its yes/no personal feeling, is here to stay, but so is objective testing.

 If my experience is anything to go by, the job candidate should be suspicious of 10-minute tests that result in generalised – and possibly wildly inaccurate judgements. I accept that it would be costly to arrange for face-to-face discussions of test results with all job candidates, but a telephone call would be preferable to simply receiving a written ´profile´ through the post and having no opportunity to discuss its contents.

QUESTIONS:

1. Before the writer took the test, she

A felt that she was unlikely to do it very well.

B made sure that she was mentally prepared for it.

C believed that such tests were fair to candidates.

D did some research into tests of that kind.

2. Of the qualities the writer was asked to match with her personality

A some seemed more suitable than others.

B all seemed equally suitable.

C none seemed really suitable.

D the writer was not able to decide which were suitable.

3. What did the writer think when she took the test?

A She could not understand some of the questions.

B She found that there was not enough time to do it.

C She felt that she had not done it very well.

D She decided that it would not prove anything.

4. What does the writer mean by ´judgemental´ in the fifth paragraph?

A critical

B impatient

C impersonal

D thoughtful

5. When the writer received the Personal Profile Analysis, she

A was offended by the comments made about her answers.

B was glad that she had not been offered the job.

C regretted some of the answers she had given in the test.

D realized that her personality would not have suited the job.

6. Why did the Profile worry her?

A It made her feel that she had been too self-confident before.

B It indicated that she might have trouble getting a job in future.

C It did not show that she was capable of being a creative person.

D It told her things about herself that she had not noticed before.

7. According to the occupational psychologist,

A state of mind has no influence on the result of a psychometric test.

B state of mind has a significant influence on the result of a psychometric test.

 C the influence of state of mind is not significant.

 D the influence of state of mind is decisive.

8. What did she find out after taking the test for the job?

A way she was feeling had badly affected her performance in it.

B Psychometric tests seldom provide reliable information about people.

C Many job candidates are unwilling to take psychometric tests.

D It may have been an unsuitable test for its intended prupose.

 9. What does the writer recommend?

A Candidates should be able to talk about their test results with employers.

B Employers should pay no attention to the results of psychometric tests.

C Candidates should not be concerned about taking psychometric tests.

D Employers should stop asking candidates to take psychometric tests.

10. Why does the writer describe her experience?

A It is typical of experiences that a great many other people have.

B It shows that no method of selecting job candidates can ever be fair.

C It is an example of how difficult it can be for someone to get a job.

D It illustrates faults in a new method of assessing job candidates.

Oct.28, 2015 Wednesday's Assignment

Oct.28, 2015  Wednesday's Assignment

Listen to this video once, and then respond to the following tasks:

Task 1:

Take dictation from 3:45 - 4:07, listen to this part once more, and then check it with a partner.

Task 2:

Fill in the transcript below.

I mean there's a ..commitment involved.: Time spent serving ..your .. clients ..today.., time spent ..billing.., time  spent doing ..the work you have to do... That's today's ..revenue.., I'm ..not.. here to tell you that ..is.. not important. It is ..important.. That's how ..we all get paid.. We got to do a ..great job.for the clients we already have.

But building a ..network of professional.. contacts who can and will ..refer your business..--that's your ..investment..for ..tomorrow..!

Task 3:

1. What is the main idea that the speaker is talking about?

        Every single person and every single business have many choice and try to build your business network to make your target clients easily to refer your business that could strengthen your competition.

     2. Summarize this video in five or six sentences max; share your summary with one or two of your peers and compare yours to theirs.

       Every person faces lots of choice everyday and makes decision everyday. some of them know what they prefer or what they want.  For business its face the same situation and competition exist everywhere. so building a network for your business as a investment for tomorrow to get all contacts who can and will refer your business easily.

         

     3. Pick up at least ten new vocabulary from this video, and then create a short story with them. Write it down on your blog and ask one of your peers to edit it for youà you can use this story on your Thursday’s presentation J