Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Language

How does Chimamanda define 'the single story'?

She defines 'the single story' as the tendency to reduce individuals or groups to a single narrative or perspective, often based on stereotypes, preconceived notions, or limited information. A single story shows a group of people as one thing and only one thing over and over again until that is what they become.

Name four 'single stories' that she discusses in this talk

Chimamanda's roommate who had a single story of Africa. She had a single story of catastrophe. In this single story, Africans weren't similar to her at all. She just felt pity for them. She stereotyped Chimamanda as a woman who shouldn't know how to speak English, listened to tribal music, and not well-known authors...

Chimamanda's... Continue reading "Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The Danger of Single Stories" »

Options and Futures Contracts Fundamentals

Options vs. Futures Contracts: Key Differences

• Option Buyer: Has the right, but not the obligation, to transact. The buyer can abandon the option if desired. The option premium paid is the maximum financial exposure.
• Futures Contract Buyer: Cannot abandon the contract. The buyer is obligated to transact, leading to theoretically unlimited exposure.

Types of Options

• European Options: Can be exercised only at the expiration date.
• American Options: Can be exercised at any time up to the expiration date.

Call Options Defined

A Call Option gives the holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy a given quantity of an asset on or before some time in the future, at prices agreed upon today (the strike price, $... Continue reading "Options Trading Basics: Definitions, Payoffs, and Sensitivity Factors" »

Vocabulary Distinctions

1. Build vs. Construe

   • Build: To make something by putting bricks or other materials together.
   • Construe: To understand the meaning, especially of other people's actions and statements, in a particular way.

2. Freeze vs. Congeal

   • Freeze: To make food last a long time by storing it at a very low temperature so that it becomes hard.
   • Congeal: To change from a liquid or soft state to a thick or solid state.

3. Human vs. Humane

   • Human: Of or typical of people; a man, woman, or child.
   • Humane: Showing kindness, care, and sympathy towards others, especially those who are suffering.

4. Answer, Reply, and Response

   • Answer: A reaction to a question, letter, phone call, etc.
   • Reply: To answer; to react to an action by someone else.
   • Response: An answer or reaction.

Business and General Vocabulary

Exhibitions and Trade Shows

• brochure
• business card
• competitor
• exhibition
• free gift
• leaflet
• LED screen
• name tag
• promotional material
• stand (noun)

Countries and Nationalities

• American / USA
• Britain / British
• France / French
• Germany / German
• Ireland / Irish
• Italy / Italian
• Japan / Japanese
• Nigeria / Nigerian
• Peru / Peruvian
• Thailand / Thai

Weather Terminology

• cloudy
• cold
• cool
• freezing
• hot
• rainy
• snowy
• stormy
• sunny
• warm
• windy

Transportation and Travel

General Transport Methods

• aeroplane
• bus
• ferry
• motorbike
• ship
• taxi
• train
• tram
• underground

Giving Directions

• bus stop
• catch a bus
• cross (verb)
• entrance
• exit (noun)
• get off
• get on
• junction
• pass (verb)
• platform
• route map
• sign (noun)
• traffic light
• train station
• zebra crossing

Booking Flights

• arrival
• book a flight
• business class
• departure
• direct

Essential English Words and Their Meanings

Believe

Definition: To think that something is true.

“She's arriving tomorrow, I believe.”

Since

Definition: From a particular time in the past until a later time, or until now.

“I've long since forgotten any Latin I ever learned.”

Trade

Definition: The activity of buying and selling.

“70 percent of the country's trade is with Europe.”

Whole

Definition: Complete or not divided.

“I spent the whole day cleaning.”

Show

Definition: To make it possible for something to be seen.

“On this map, urban areas are shown in grey.”

Achievement

Definition: Something very good and difficult that you have succeeded in doing.

“An Olympic silver medal is a remarkable achievement for one so young.”

Somehow

Definition:

A value is an organized pattern. FALSE

A characteristic of a low-context culture is that messages are explicit and specific. TRUE

A few years ago, Philips Electronics developed a new consumer product. Innovators bought it, but early adopters didn't. FALSE

A massive effort was dubbed the "Moses Project" to prevent flooding. TRUE

A number of authors, journalists, and food critics have a sense of shame. TRUE

A vice-president of an American software company noted that customs, hierarchies, and the class structure of Korean culture have to be respected. TRUE

According to Geert Hofstede, which of the following is a key cultural dimension? Long-term orientation

According to Hofstede's research on cultural values, aesthetic elements are not a key dimension.... Continue reading "Global Marketing Insights: Cultural Nuances and Business Success" »

Dotadots

Reading

1. False "They are easily transportable and difficult to trace."
2. True "By checking an online register, police are able to identify owners of the stolen items once they have been recovered."
3. False "Identification numbers are not new."
4. False "One particular product."

Lexicon

• possess --- own
• moveable --- transportable
• decreased --- fallen
• lifeless --- inanimate

Phonetics

1. personal, permanent
2. mobile
3. developed

Use of English

1. "My iPod was stolen last night," Sue said.
   Sue said that her iPod had been stolen the night before/the previous night.
2. The dots can even be incorporated into thread.
   It is even possible to incorporate the dots into thread. / For the dots to be incorporated into thread.
3. Car theft in Australia has fallen dramatically.
   There has been a

Total Physical Response (TPR)

TPR stands for Total Physical Response. It is based on the coordination of language and physical movement. In TPR, instructors give commands to students in the target language, and students respond with whole-body actions. Therefore, grammar isn't taught explicitly but can be learned from the language input. TPR is a good way to learn vocabulary, especially idiomatic terms. For example: "Put your hands up."

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)

CLIL stands for Content and Language Integrated Learning. It consists of learning content through an additional language, by teaching both the subject and the language. The idea is to use the language as the medium of instruction. It provides exposure to the language... Continue reading "Effective Language Learning Methods and Classroom Analysis" »