Senin, 27 Desember 2010

How To Finance Your Way Through College

Choosing which college to go to is not as hard as figuring out how much money you'll need and where you're going to get it from. Now if you come from rich family than you might have your college funds tucked away in a bank however if you're like the rest of us then you're going to worry about where you'll find your college funds from.

If you're thinking of studying and getting a part time job to cover your college fees, you should really think again. How can you get top marks and stay up late at night working at restaurants or retail jobs?


Getting A College Loan.
You can always apply for a college loan to help you with your annual fees and expenses. However you'll need to consider a few things before you get yourself a college loan. Firstly you have course fees, books and equipments. Then you have living expenses, rent, food, social life, and it goes on. Once you've figured out how much you need look for the best college loan you can find.

Federal Loans For Students.
If you apply for a federal student loan you're entitled to apply for a subsidized or unsubsidized loan. Subsidized loans are really helpful because the government will pay for all the interest that you accumulate on your student loan. However to apply for a subsidized loan you need to prove to the government that you're in desperate need of a loan and you have no financial help. Last but not least unsubsidized loans are available for anyone.

Can I Get More Than One Loan?
Yes you can get as many college loans as you want but you'll have to pay them back. The trick is not to get too many loans however if you've already got more than one loan then you should know that you're repayments are very high at the moment.

For everyone who has more than one student loan, there is a way to save money on your repayments. It's called Consolidating your student loans. To consolidate your student loans you'll need to talk to a lender who specialises on the topic. How it works is really simple. When you consolidate your student loans, you're putting all your loans with different lenders and combining them with one lender.

Can Consolidating My College Loan Save Money?
If you're monthly repayments is around $250 at 5% interest, once you consolidate your loan you can save up to 50% of your repayments. So you're new repayments should be around $130 a month.

You can also take up to 20 years to pay of your newly consolidated college loan. Now you know the risk and rewards of consolidating your student loans, your financial future is up to you. Good luck with the rest of the year and I hope it's a profitable one soon.

Source: Free Articles
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Senin, 01 November 2010

How To Overcome Procrastination

Procrastination is unfortunately something that a lot of us suffer from regularly, whether it's just an occasional ‘put off ‘til tomorrow' or a recurrent lack of drive and motivation. Procrastination can often hold us back from what we really want in life, and unfortunately, it's something that can crop up at any time of life, no matter who you are. A lot of people often assume that procrastination is simply being lazy, but this isn't always the case. Often, feelings of tiredness, hopelessness, panic or even depression can cause us to put things off and avoid reality completely.



Procrastination is a trap, and once we've fallen in it can be very difficult to get back out, so why do we do it? Well for many people, procrastination is simply a way of coping with emotions and physical symptoms that often come with depression, often caused by panic. The unfortunate truth is that often, a ‘snowballing' effect can happen, you may be stressed and under pressure at work, then causing you to panic, which may then trigger depression which in turn can make thing very difficult for you to do. However it happened, it's important you get out of it, otherwise you may find that nothing will ever get done because you're too miserable and negative to bring yourself to do it.



There are 5 main ‘style's of procrastination, you may feel that you fall under one mains style, or a mixture.



*

Organization and keeping track of things is very difficult
*

You fear people disapprove of you, or fear disapproval itself
*

Important tasks seem futile, and so overwhelming it feels stupid to even attempt them
*

Hostile feelings towards someone, and punishing them by putting things off
*

Routines and Schedules cause you to feel rebellious



These styles of procrastination can often also overlap in one of four different themes: Self Doubt, Discomfort Dodging, Guilt Driven and Habitual. Self Doubt is people who feel that there are rigid standards about how certain things need to be done and often fear they will fail, they often second guess themselves and will delay taking action against procrastinating. Discomfort dodging is when a person will avoid activities that will cause them anxiety, discomfort or even distress, however, often by dodging the activity, feelings and tension don't go away, and instead mount due to the avoidance. Guilt driven people often feel extreme guilt when tasks go done, but instead of acting on their guilt and working, they instead procrastinate, avoiding the issue and the guilt completely. And finally, Habitual people are people who have found procrastination to be an automatic response within their lives, they have put things off so often, that they feel it is just a part of them now, and there is nothing they can do to change it.



But there are things you can do to change it, and get out of your procrastination cycle once and for all. The first thing is a simple idea, but it works all the same – make a list! It sounds ridiculous, but it does actually work. Just go to your local stationary store and get yourself a large notebook, and make lists and plans for yourself to stick to, prioritize everything on your list in order of importance, and allocate times for these tasks to be done (1 hour, 2 hours etc). The key to battling procrastination is organization, by allocating specific times; you're ensuring that you have enough time to do everything and get it done! If a task is particularly big, then split it up into manageable time slots, making sure that progress is steady, and you're not giving yourself too much to do.



However, you also need to create some time for yourself, or ‘reward time'. Reward time gives you an incentive to get things done, because you know once it's done you can have a break and reward yourself for your hard work. Procrastination is a tough mountain to climb, but once you reach the top you're free to reap the rewards of an organized, healthy and happy lifestyle, as well as the true relief and satisfaction that comes with having nothing weighing you down!


Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/motivational-articles/how-to-overcome-procrastination-1986368.html#ixzz145W62cTu
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Mind Management

Root cause of tension....

In the present world all are talking about the work pressure, tension etc which all can be avoided if we are able to understand the root cause.

If we analyze all the cases in detail that are causing this so called "tension", "pressure" etc, we alone are the culprit. But then we are taken away by the materialistic point of view & simply putting the blame on others.



Our human body is the most complex where in no one is able to understand how all the functions are synchronized with in no time. We all are gifted with decision making capabilities, but then still when it comes to critical situations at which a decision has to be taken; we try to play a safe game so to avoid criticism. The saddest part is not escaping from the game, but commenting on the action behind the scene.



We are all hung up in the head. This is the main problem & the one & only solution for that is get down from the head into the heart & all problems disappear. All the problems are created by the head. Mysteries remain but problem will disappear.

All the experiences that happen in life are like the small clouds; they come & go& are not worth paying much attention to. One should always remember that they are the sky, the clear blue infinite sky & then no clouds can distort you. Take no notice of such small clouds & they will never come uninvited.



We should be able to live our life in such a way that nobody is harmed neither by our actions nor by our words. We should live in a creative way, with skill & art. Live in a sensitive way & never become attached.

Root causes of all depressions are expectation & anxiety. The only solution is to remain detached.

The example of bee is worth mentioning here in this context.

The bee gathers honey from all kinds of flowers but it remains unattached. It will go the rose, to the marigold, to the lotus etc. It will move from flower to flower gathering honey, but it is not attached, it does not cling.

Another beauty is that, although the bee gathers honey from many flowers, it never destroys any flower. It collects what so ever it needs, but in such an artful way with such skill that the flower remains absolutely the same.



Life is never static; it is in a constant moment. So if we cling to anything, it will bring misery. When there is a beautiful sunset, let us all enjoy that, but do not cling on to it. It will soon disappear while watching itself. Then the night will fall, but let us not worry about that, the night has its own beauty. (Shining stars will decorate the sky).

So if someone has been attached to the beauty of the sunset, they will be crying because it is no longer there, & in that crying they will miss the beauty of shining stars appearing the sky.

We all are living in a world surrounded with anger, with jealousy, with possessiveness, with ego. One should refrain from all these gross elements because all these are destroying so much energy, wasting many good opportunities. All these energies should be transformed into good actions by helping others & serving the society there by adding more joy leading into peace.





There is a systematic process which is ongoing in whatever actions we perform.



Step 1- Creating a feeling:-

This is the basic step & naturally all the actions that are following us are because we have creating a feeling towards the object in the very first glance. That is why the famous statement "First impression is the best impression" holds always true at all times. But then there will be lots of questions in all your mind that will be against this logic. Let's wait & see……..

For example:-

When one person appears for the interview, & if he is directed neatly from the front desk, he automatically creates a feeling in his mind that this place will provide a good working atmosphere. But then in reality it might not be appealing to all. Still if the mind has created a positive feeling in the first moment it will really help to perform well in the interview too.

Another example:-

When i see a flower in the garden, i am creating a feeling that this is the most beautiful flower & is adding value to the garden as such. This feeling is re-emphasized many times & our mind accepts that feeling. Even there can be situations that this plant might be in the garden from a very long time; still we might not have noticed the same. But once the mind creates a feeling it will strongly keep on hold.

Step 2 – Thought:-

Once our mind accepts that feeling, it encourages us to think more. We will start to compare the color, look, appeal, fragrance etc of the flower with other & re-assures that this is the best flower in the entire lot. This thought strengthens the idea that this is the most beautiful flower. Even this is very much applicable at all our daily life.

We might be planning to buy some clothes for birthday & we will create a feeling that, I should buy both cool denim and a sexy check shirt. Now even in the statement itself how can I state that denim is cool and check shirt is sexy? Because I have created a feeling in my mind that this will be the best & is in fashion. Now this thought will be literally bothering me all the time & i will be thinking as to from which store I should purchase? Which brand will be better? How good I will be in that and all.

Whatever matter you take all these plays the same role. It can be anything starting from setting a wakeup call in the morning to choosing your better half.

Step 3- Attitude

This thought really shapes our attitude towards that object or the idea that we have already conceptualized. We always feel & compare whatever we see & feel with that of the idea which has been framed in our mind.



Step 4- Habits

These attitudes will be clearly reflected in our habits. This can be better explained with an example.

Example:-

If a person has created a feeling in his mind that alcohol consumption will help him/her to relieve from all his tensions, then that feeling will create a thought in his mind that drinking is the only option for a stress free life. This thought will be inscribed deeply into his mind & he/she will have an attitude that all drinkers will be tension less beings. Even in the reverse dimension, all non-drinkers will have a stress full life. Even we can very often hear from many people that "Life is a waste if you are not drinking. You will not enjoy the beauty of life". If we seriously analyze that statement, does that add any value? Such attitude frames his habit & he/she will feel that daily will be so boring if at least two pegs are not consumed.

The enjoyment that they are proclaiming is purely again a feeling that we are creating in the mind. Even if such a comfort is felt, that is purely for a short time.



Step 5- Personality

Such habits form part of our personality. The habits are not evolved suddenly; we have made up our mind so strongly that it takes a very long time to unwind the bad habits & re-learn the good ones.

This can be explained with an example (positive dimension).

Example:-

If a kid has been brought up in a family where they used to help the deserving persons, it helps the kid to have an understanding that service to mankind should be our primary duty. This will not be grasped by the kid in a day or a week's time. The parents or the elderly members will be explaining as to why they are doing such good deeds and all. During the course of time, the kid grows & in his mind a feeling might have come across that like his parents he should also help the needy with in his limit & capacity. Such a feeling will lead to thinking & he will indulge in a thought process as to how he can help the needy. This will create a frame work & his attitude towards life will change & his mind always wishes to do good things. This clearly can be depicted from his personality. He will be approachable to all & always will have a helping mind at all times.









Conclusion:

Most of us live our lives in the world of time, in memories of the past & anticipation of the future. Only very rarely do we touch the timeless dimension of the present- in moments of sudden beauty or sudden danger, in meeting with a lover or with surprise of the unexpected.

Everybody is trying to remain a separate entity: trying to protect themselves, defend themselves. We are not separate, no man is an island. We are part of the continent, so it's baseless & useless to fight with the continent.

Let us all dissolve into the whole, drop the ego. We have to forget ourselves that we are separate, let us make ourselves a part of the whole & feel & visualize how beautiful & sweet it is.

Hell & heaven is within oneself. We can be the hell & we can be the heaven, it is always us & it is our decision. Heaven is not somewhere else; we have to create it just as we create hell. It is a psychological state. Once we release that we are the creator there is great freedom.

We are ready to travel miles & miles in search of bliss. We make ourselves ready to visit many pilgrimage & temples that are very very far off & that prayer is nothing other than a business or a trade. In that sense we all are traders. We always expect something in return. We go to the temple & pray & give donations, but in return we pray to the god to give this & that. This is nothing other than a trade. We are business minded.

The temples & sacred places are having positive vibrations & is a good place for meditation. These places will help us to uplift our mind-set to a higher level. But for that the temples will only guide us, we only have to make our mind & proceed on with the journey.

A true seeker is not after knowledge, he is after knowing. He wants to learn the very process of learning. He is not at all interested in arriving at the conclusions. He is not interested in goals. But he is very much interested in the journey as such itself.

The very idea of a goal is created by the lazy mind so that one can rest once it is achieved. The people who are interested in goals always will be interested in short cuts. A true seeker has no desire, no ambition. He will be interested in this moment, & will enjoy every now & here.

The ego is the only problem & then it creates & thousand & one problems. It creates greed, lust, anger, jealousy so-on & so forth. The people will go on fighting with greed, with anger, with lust. But it's futile. Unless the root is cut, new branches will be coming up in geometric progression.

We all have to serve the mankind without any expectation & the dissolution of the ego is the greatest revolution. If we service the needy one's now, it is pretty sure that we will get the return of all the good deeds at a later point of time. But let us not work for that with such expectation.


Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/stress-management-articles/mind-management-2474082.html#ixzz145VXJZ9E
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Minggu, 26 September 2010

What Is Earth Science

Earth science

Earth science is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the study of the earth and of the universe around it, making it a wide scientific discipline covering all facets of how the earth works. It is a special case in planetary science as the earth is the only known life-bearing planet. Earth Science is also known as the Earth Sciences, Geoscience, and the Geosciences.

There are four major disciplines in earth sciences, namely geography, geology, geophysics and geodesy. These major disciplines use physics, chemistry, biology, chronology and mathematics to build a quantitative understanding of the principal areas or spheres of the Earth system.

Let me give you a brief idea about the various disciplines of earth science. Soil science is the study of soil as a natural resource on the surface of the earth including soil formation, classification and mapping; physical, chemical, biological, and fertility properties of soils; and these properties in relation to the use and management of soils


Geography is the study of the Earth and its lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". Our historical traditions in geographical research are the spatial analysis of natural and human phenomena (geography as a study of distribution), area studies (places and regions), study of man-land relationship, and research in earth sciences.

The stratosphere is the second major layer of Earth's atmosphere, just above the troposphere, and below the mesosphere. It is stratified in temperature, with warmer layers higher up and cooler layers farther down.

Geodesy, also called geodetics, a branch of earth sciences, is the scientific discipline that deals with the measurement and representation of the Earth, including its gravitational field, in a three-dimensional time-varying space.

Well, above is a description about earth science and its' major branches. The study of Earth Science is vital to understand our "Mother Earth" properly and to develop a responsibility for preserving and maintaining the biodiversity and natural habitat.

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Senin, 23 Agustus 2010

Autism and Anxiety

Children with Autism are known to be more naturally ‘anxious' than their non-ASD peers. The challenges presented by the 5 characteristics of Autism (social impairment, communication impairment, sensory sensitivity, repetitive behaviours and difficulty with change) potentially make their world a confusing and frightening reality. Add anxiety to the mix and you may have a child who is anxious and worried 100% of the time. Anxiety and stress over sustained periods of time is shown to lead to exhaustion, the development of allergies and illness.


Children with Autism demonstrate their anxiety through a variety/combination of behaviours:-

* Physical symptoms (stomach pains; headache; racing heart; sweaty palms; constricted chest; tight muscles; insomnia)
* Avoidance desire
* Inattention and
* Irritability

Anxiety in children with Autism can be triggered unconsciously; when this is coupled with their inability to verbalise effectively it compounds the effects of anxiety – the child with Autism can be extremely anxious, and unable to tell you why (they may not know themselves). They may be able to tell you they have a stomach ache, or don't wish to go to Joey's birthday party, but not know why.

Children with Autism are known to have ‘perfectionist' attitudes towards many areas of their lives, and this can be witnessed through their ‘obsessive/compulsive' behaviours, their repetitive patterns of behaviour and their difficulty coping with change. This self-imposed ‘perfectionist' attitude can contribute to their anxiety and ‘pressure to perform'. In other words, children with Autism usually place extreme/unrealistic demands on themselves. It's important to remember this when dealing with an anxious ASD child.

Some useful techniques for supporting an anxious child with Autism include:

* Redirection/distraction
* Physical energy ‘burn' (physical activity such as running, bike riding, jumping on a trampoline, swimming etc)
* ‘Whole-body' activities (tug-of-war; monkey-bar; rolling on floor/ground)
* Body brushing/massage
* Deep pressure activity (lying under a heavy blanket/cushions/mattress)
* Chewing/sucking (relieves pressure in the jaw)
* Listening (hearing what the child can tell you)

Anxiety levels in children with Autism are ‘cyclic' in nature, making it more difficult for parents/teachers/carers to identify anxiety triggers. Cycles vary from 4-6 weeks (often linking with lunar cycles). What causes the ASD child mild anxiety one week, may cause extreme anxiety ( and/or avoidance desire) the next.

When our son with Autism was 9 he progressed from a child who was slightly more anxious than his peers, to a child who was extremely anxious, paranoid and agitated in the space of 6 months. Various methods of dealing with anxiety were introduced by the many therapists/professionals treating our son, much of them with conflicting advice. All of them failed to acknowledge the physical symptoms our son with Autism experienced, tending to present the attitude that the anxiety was "self-imposed", and "if he's not going to speak about what's causing the anxiety, then we can't help him dispel the physical symptoms of that anxiety".

Our son with Autism is now nearly 16, and in the last year has begun to verbalise much more about his experience of that time. He tells us he was very frightened by his physical symptoms, and most of the time he didn't know what it was about a situation or event that was causing him anxiety, he just knew that the thought of participating sent him into panic. The ‘fight or flight' response occurred almost immediately (before he'd had a chance to process the feeling of panic) and he felt he had no control over his world.

He also says we should've listened to him more. For example, if he said didn't want to go to Joey's birthday party, we should've understood that he:-

a) knew birthday parties were fun
b) liked eating party food
c) liked singing Happy Birthday
d) knew all the other kids were going
e) wanted to be like all the other kids

We should've understood that if there was any way he could've coped with the party, he would go. At that point he'd already tried 100 things in his head to talk himself into going. In saying he didn't want to go, his real message to us was "I can't cope with that today".

As you support your child with Autism to cope with their anxiety be mindful of ‘hearing' them – not all avoidance desire is ‘manipulative' behaviour. Yes, children with Autism can be manipulative, but their desire to not be ‘different' together with their ‘perfectionist' attitudes is a strong, internal force that drives them to be all they can be.

www.autismchild.org
©Nelle Frances 2005

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The Quran School Online

Quran is the Holly Book which revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).Literally meaning of Quran "A reading or reciting".However, the "Quran" has been historically used specifically to refer to the book which was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).Quran is a literary masterpiece which the world has seen, nothing can be compared to the Holy Quran millions have become muslims upon simply hearing a verse from this amazing book, yet still the majority of humanity don't know much about it.

The Quran is the final and the last revolution from Allah Almighty to his creation.It was revealed in the year 610 AD to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and completed round about 23 years.These 23 years of revolution resulted in a book which comprised of 114 chapters and more than 6000 verses.All from this Quran is the primary source of law to live and die by for the whole mankind.The Quran preserved into original language.The contents of this amazing book are stored in the hearts of millions of muslims worldwide.Childern and adults have memorized the entire Holy Quran.There is no other religious scripture on earth which is orally preserved by so many and over such a period of time,without having been any changing somewhere along the line.Through out history many have tried to find out any mistake and error in Holy Quran to this day but no one has been able to bring any proof showing that this book is not from Allah Almighty.Quran spreading his light day by day and guiding the humanity to the rightous path.
http://www.teachingquran.com/registration.php

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The history of umbrellas

The umbrella was invented in China. It appeared for the first time in China 3500 years ago. There are several popular legends about the invention of this famous accessory, including the most sent out, concerning Luban. According to the text "Eclats de Jade", the umbrella was invented by the wife of Luban, Yun, who was both very attentive and anxious for her husband who worked hard all the day. According to the folklore, it always rained when Yun brought Luban his daily meal. Therefore Luban built shelters on the way of his wife in order to keep her dry. Then inspired by children who used leafs of lotus to protect them against the rain, Luban contrived the first umbrella creating a bendable structure covered-up with fabrics.



In Ancient China, the umbrella was not only a common daily accessory but it also had a sociological meaning. A the end of the Wei dynasty, the umbrella was used for official ceremonies and rites. It was named the "Luo umbrella". According to the Zuo Zhuan, Jin book, the Luo accessory was the symbol of both the dignity and status, as was the official gown. For instance, the official members of the Han dynasty used green umbrellas and the Emperor of the Song dynasty used red and yellow ones. Emperors and officials used this accessory to show that they protected their nation.

As the umbrella pointed to both the fortune and the honour, it was often used during wedding ceremonies in China. It was also used for opera, song, dance and acrobatic art.

With the increase of exchanges with others countries, umbrellas gradually spread in the whole world. For example, under the Tang dynasty, Japan dispatched nineteen groups of missionaries to learn about the Chinese civilisation. Thus, the technical of umbrellas conception were introduced in Japan. At the middle of the 18th century, English businessman brought back umbrellas after their trip in China, which caused an important "revolution" in the United Kingdom. Nowadays, this famous accessory is indispensable for Great Britain …

Currently, in China, umbrellas may be the most common accessory with bikes. More than 90% are made in this country and then exported all around the world. Chinese use them when it rains as well as sunny days. They have created bikes and motorbikes with a support behind the saddle or on the handlebars, in order to fix their favourite accessory on their vehicles. Thus they can go everywhere whilst being protected against the rain and the harmful sun's rays. You can find in China many different and amazing models of "brollys" as they are used as fashionable accessories for the inhabitants of the country. That is why they provide a wide range of the famous products with many shapes and colours. The most common umbrella in Japan is transparent, made of transparent plastic and you can buy it almost everywhere, in kiosks and supermarkets. The traditional one, named wagasa, is made of bamboo and Washi, a Japanese paper. It is a really beautiful accessory which can be used to protect you against the rain as well as an object of decoration for your house. There are also the wagasa parasols, which are non oil-applied but which are as nice as the other ones and more durable
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We can love Math!

Many people consider math the curse of educaiton, the bane of learning, and most have a love hate relationship with it. Sure math can be difficult, but circumstances are definitely a defining factor. How math is presented makes a huge difference in how it is received.


Math is what we call a core subject. That means that math study is an integral part of all education. Math develops critical thinking skills, abstract concepts, process logic, and helps us put order to our thinking. Yes, it does involve numbers and number concepts, and even the manipulation of those numbers… but it is so much more than that. When students study math – it prepares them for many other school subjects along the way. Math helps them develop the crucial skills they need in order to think in an abstract manner. Many high school level courses require abstract understanding, logic, and critical thinking skills as a foundation for success, and all of these come from learning math.



Math is obviously very important, but this still doesn't change the fact that many people HATE math. The best advice to conquer this negative feeling toward math is to pull the old "switcheroo." When teaching a math concept the math challenge should always be present in an interesting manner as a puzzle. This frequently alleviates the stress that the student has put on themselves. Almost everyone loves a puzzle, and when we see a subject as something fun it definitely becomes less intimidating and more appealing! Making math fun, or at least interesting is the key to making it less hated! There are many ways to teach math painlessly from math flash cards to interactive math programs. There are limitless tools out there through curriculum and internet resources that will help you - help your child begin to LOVE math.
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Character Education Can Help Avoid Embarrassment

Ever happened to be in a store or restaurant where a child starts misbehaving and he is having a fit or his parents trying to discipline him thus catching everyone's attention? Throwing tantrums, whining, power struggles and yes, the list is endless. It's enough to drive every parent crazy. Moreover, those spectators tend to assume that parents are responsible for the child's bad behavior or character. Almost all of us seeing such a child should have definitely hoped that our own child should never behave as worse as that. It is teenagers or older children who very often receive the brunt of blame for their ill behavior even after their parents who had shaped their behavior and character. Who is to be blamed here? Is it the children who are to some extent capable of choosing their own behavior or is it their parents who are to a great degree have an influence on their character and behavior?


People often fail to question what bad behavior is. Why does this happen. A child whining or creating tantrums can simply be a sign that the parent is not properly attending to the child's needs and this can lead to an escalation of the misbehaviors and seldom fails to corrects them permanently. They do lack the training, experience, and understanding needed to behave properly in any given circumstance. Good behavior is usually determined by whether it's socially, culturally or developmentally appropriate. Knowing your child's expectations at each stage will definitely help you to decide whether his or her behavior is normal or not.

Parents should try different strategies for character education among their wards. And, it should begin when they are calm and the best place to begin is at home, the most secure place to practice proper discipline and character such as timeouts and denial to the likes of toys and treats. As mentioned above, home is the most secure place to start character education as parents won't receive any negative attention for teaching their children and moreover, children don't get distracted by the chaotic nature of public places. On the other hand, if a child misbehaves in a public space, he needs to be punished by the parents but only after removing him or her way from the public until proper behavior is observed. And, this is not a task that can be done as easy as it being said. Hence, they must aim to arrange situations where they can teach or punish their misbehaving children by removing them from a public arena. It is also imperative that parents implement age appropriate character education to correct their children's poor behavior before their children leave their influence and head out to adulthood.

As said above character education should start at home and it should only start from home even though it is included in the teaching curriculum at your child's school. Character education has a major role to play in molding your child's future and career. Character education often offers a child, simple, eloquent and even fun filled techniques to manage his or her aggressive behaviors. Character education helps to build self-esteem, resolve conflicts peacefully, encourages diversity tolerance and also practice core values.

So, the next time you see a child throwing tantrums at a store or at a restaurant, think the value of character education and the value that it brings. At least you can impart those values in your child and maybe you yourself can avoid being in an embarrassing situation as the parent of the child at the store.


By: Francis David

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Character Education Making the World a Better Place to Live

Surviving has always been a challenge in this competitive world. To win in all circumstances and be successful seems to be on everyone's mind. Being successful is generally synonymous to being famous or financially independent. But to be able to contribute to the society positively, we need individuals who believe not only in personal growth but growth of the entire society.


A couple of day's back I happened to be in a department store. A senior citizen had finished his shopping and was billing at the counter. He found a mistake in the bill, thus requested the staff to recheck. The young lad was extremely rude and did not apologize for the mistake. The old man was very upset and put across his grievance and left. I'm sure the shop owner would not have expected his staff to be so complacent. This shows the character of his staff; plainly insensitive.


Let us look at a positive example of character. This is an incident that has not washed away easily from my memory. While boarding a train I accidently dropped my wallet. When I realized it, it was too late. I assumed that I will never get it back. After almost a month, I found two young lads at my door. I didn't know them. I asked them, who they were and they said they had come to return the wallet. They had traced my address and had taken the pains to get it home for me. I was so touched.


We in our daily lives come across positive and negative examples of character. Why is building character so important even in today's competitive world? The rule of the jungle should not prevail if we claim that the society today is civilized. For a civilized, peaceful and prosperous society we need to build our future which has talent accompanied with character.


Developing character among children has been an integral part of growing up. Character was a result of the environment at home, at school, and interaction among peers. Now it is a part of formal education. Character education is developing character that is socially desirable and responsible. Character education is to develop positive emotions of altruism, and compassion. To train, to empathize, understand the power of forgiveness and learn to be grateful to the society, for the contribution that it has made towards individual growth. It helps to use our creative imagination through visualization.

We all want to be successful at what we do, and success brings happiness. But with the right character we develop the right attitude to tackle failures, because mistakes and failures are an integral part of learning.


May it be elders or children, we strive to be happy and character education helps to achieve all of this. Character education lays the foundation among children to develop beliefs that will benefit them all their life. We need to take ethical decision and set an example for our future. Trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship, are the six pillars of character. School education has made these pillars an integral part of their curriculum. Schools are training children to develop these values in their lives and we can see a future that has talent, creativity and character. All of this will lead to a peaceful and prosperous society.


By: Francis David

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he Benefits of Online Learning

Spell there are all kinds of benefits that are associated with learning and furthering your educational goals there are still statesman benefits to those who wish to react online acquisition in prescribe to succeed those goals. I comic you instrument hear that more of these benefits are quite enlightening and carefully count whether or not online acquisition for your collateral education needs will be in your superfine interests.

1) Lavatory. This is a speech we are quite usual with. Paw along with instant gratification. We are a gild of group who get lived with road thru banking and prestissimo nutrient and are apace flaring in the instruction of aim thru pharmacies and dry cleansing. We elastic in a swift paced experience and when we can touch activity into our laboring schedules and on our own damage we undergo that this is something we run to like a lot. I suggest that you timepiece for a more their degrees and their careers.

2) Malleability. You can necessitate these classes or do the work during your meal occurrence, patch the kids are practicing football, or spell cookery dinner (depending of series on how excavation you multitask). You do not necessity to be in the schoolroom every nighttime at 6:00 pm for the incoming quint eld in organisation to get the very grade of instruction. This by no means indicates that you leave not know to do the energy. The process give not replace nor will th

dead the production. What gift alter is that you will get the deciding of doing the work in the greeting, afternoon, or after those 2 a.m. feedings when you can't seem to get hindmost to period.

3) Activity. There isn't sufficiency that can really be said some this. Online activity comes to you wherever you befall to be healthy to unite to the Cyberspace. Whether you are at base, at energy, or your challenger Cyberspace caf

4) Little Dear. No author suitability meals, service expenses, or gas guzzling trips to a college campus that cardinal minutes departed. You can now savor in your own institution the benefits of an activity without many of the business hardships that are oft associated with present college. Net operation seems like specified a littlest terms to pay when compared with all the reasons mentioned above.

5) Expect it or not, online courses refrain you brush up your online abilities. Earnestly. You gift be advisable at dealing with email, bulletin boards, online explore, and you will larn infinite opposite skills along the way that you probably never realized had anything to do with the courses you are actually taking-because they don't. In else line, you are deed much of an activity than you bargained for when it comes to online learning.

6) Particular attention. Online students ofttimes have writer one on one interaction with their professors than students in a schoolroom. The online classroom is virtual and compatibility through email is basal in this particular acquisition environment. For this reason it is quite possible that your professors gift pair writer near you and your learning patterns and needs than they instrument hump active most of the students they see two or triplet nowadays a period in their classrooms.

Piece these are retributive a few of the benefits of taking online classes you should carefully count the benefits with the things that may be questionable virtually this item write of acquisition state before you the start. Acquisition is a long process but if you are hunting a qualification you do not essential to menace that by winning a way that will not accost your specialised learning needs. If you feel positive that you can be undefeated in this part identify of acquisition environment than I conceive you will really bask the see and the malleability it brings to the educational transmute.

é you can possess the toilet of winning your operate with you and enjoying the surround in which you are completing your transform.
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Emotional Intelligence - Wow!

Emotional Intelligence Aint Common Sense

If you are involved in leading executive teams, the sale of product

or services, or teaching, you need the knowledge in a 15 year old book called Emotonal Intelligence, by Daniel Golemen.

So What

Fact: decision-making is only 20% logical and reasonable, and 80%

emotional. If you have not connected with the feelings of the person

you want to influence, persuade or convince – you fail.



Fact: decision-making requires seeing in your mind's eye owning and

enjoying the new product or service. Mental movies involve your right-

hemisphere – the seat of emotions and pattern recognition. No picture,

then no – Yes-decision.



The brain operates chemically and decides through mental imagery (pictures)

using our Limbic System (emotions).



Name Memory



If you want to alienate clients, avoid new social relationships and make enemies,

just mispronounce or fail to remember their name. It is a high-order insult.



Most of the memory tricks to remember names is too complicated for folks who

have a life. Here are a few that are easy-as-pie and really work in the real world.



1. Affirmation: if you mentally repeat three-times – "I Am Remembering

the names of people I meet today because it is important to my career,"

your attention is fixed on this goal.



Enter the room and quickly repeat 3x – "I am remembering the names of people I meet today because it is important to my career." Your non-conscious mind doubles your concentration to enhance this behavior.



1. As-If: If you Think-Feel-Act As-If you have a great working memory,

your brain accepts the challenge and makes it a reality. Thinking and feeling

so, in fact helps make it so. You activate your attention and concentration.

Make-believe you are an Actor and choose to influence and convince others.



1. Crazy but true: imagine the name of the person you meet Printed on their

forehead in large-sized letters. Repeat it silently as you read it from his/her

forehead – three-times and you own it.



1. Rhyming-Simon: John F. Kennedy used this memory trick to recall the names of folks he met daily. The name of his speed reading teacher was
2. Elton Y. Mears. He associated the name Elton with Elvis, Y with the symbol for a question, and he mentally imagined the professor with Big Ears! He whispered mentally (internal dialogue) "Professor Mears has Dumbo's big-ears!"



He never forgot Dr. Mears' name because he associated it with Disney's

character – Dumbo's gigantic ears. The rhyme makes it easy and fun.



Seven Ways to Get Folks to Hate You – Forever



First off, figure out how to remember these dangerous characteristics.



a) Blaming b) bribing c) complaining d) criticizing e) nagging

f) punishing g) threatening



Answer: put them in alphabetical order – B comes before C etc. Next,

create a simple, baby-easy mental picture of each negative tactic.

Example: "You did it. It is your fault. You're guilty!" Blaming.



Bribing: picture patting someone on the back and smiling at them, when

you would rather strangle them. We bribe others by false praise, not just

with filthy lucre.



See yourself filing a report Complaining about their behavior. Create your

own imagery (mental-pictures) with the last four. It is easy will stick like glue.



Remember this, when someone says to you, "please tell me the honest truth

about my article, speech or talent, folks will never, I mean NEVER, forget or

forgive your Criticism – especially if it is true. They will hate you forever.



If you are a parent and tell the truth (negative criticism) to your child,

it will require five-years of therapy from a certified psychiatrist to wipe

out their anger and hatred.



School



In a recent research study of attitudes toward school – in excess of 90%

admitted they HATED almost every day in class, and each of their teachers.



You are not supposed to admit you hate school because it is a principle of

faith in our left-brain Knowledge Economy that all you have came through

education. Maybe not, I would be bet on experience.



Why do we hate school and remember it as torture? Answer:

We were always in a subordinate, inferior, submissive position. How do you

like feeling humble and being controlled?

The teacher is the dominant person, top-dog, and master. That make us the

slave, subordinate and controlled, right?



So What



When we have negative feelings and moods our ability to learn and remember

is reduced up to 25%. How do you feel in an adult situation when others are

judging you leading to a positive or negative review?



Emotional intelligence requires a self-understanding and a powerful under-

standing of how others react to you. Mood and emotions are formed based

on how we see others treating us: we see their facial expressions, gestures,

posture and body language.



We copy what we see in others. Emotions are like a virus or the flu, it is

"catching". When we smile and are outgoing – it affects others in how they

react to learning and memory.



Endwords:



There is more practical, useful knowledge in the book Emotional Intelligence

than two more college degrees. Check it out.

---



Would it give you a competitive advantage to read-and-remember three (3)

books, articles and reports in the time others can hardly finish one?

Would it affect you studies and career?



Request our free –no strings attached report on Speed Reading. It can change

your life for the better.



See ya,



copyright © 2010 H. Bernard Wechsler

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Senin, 26 Juli 2010

Learning and communicative strategies

Introduction

Communicative strategies are systematic techniques employed by a speaker to express his meaning when faced with some difficulty and the difficulty here refers to the speaker's inadequate command of the language used in the interaction (Faerch & Kasper, 1983:16). On the other hand, the term learning strategies has been defined as "the higher-order skills which control and regulate the more task-specific or more practical skills" (Nisbet & Shucksmith,1986:26). Based on the previously mentioned definitions, it could be said that learning and communicative strategies refer to language learning behaviors that contribute directly or indirectly to learning. I am not very concerned here with the definition of the two terms as much as I am concerned with the fact that most if not all non-native speakers and second-language learners use these strategies throughout their second/foreign language learning journey. They tend to use them to compensate for their lack of sufficient language knowledge and to get themselves out of troubles when interacting in the target second/foreign language. These are only some of the short term benefits of using learning and communicative strategies. In fact, the successful use of these strategies can promote longer term language development.


In the first part of this paper, I will provide examples on some of the commonly used strategies and at the same time, I will focus on the ways in which these strategies promote the language learning process and the development of the learner's speaking skill. I will also highlight the short and long tem benefits of using both learning and communicative strategies in learning and developing speaking skill. In the second part of the paper, I will show how the knowledge of learning and communicative strategies has influenced me to change my old style of teaching the speaking, and how it has encouraged me to adopt a set of new methods of teaching that make utmost use of these strategies. Finally, I will give examples on some of the speaking activities that are based, in some ways, on these strategies, and are designed to promote and develop the learner's speaking skill.

Part One:

Teaching writing skill has been given the priority over teaching speaking skill in almost all educational syllabus and plans and the case in my country, Oman, is no exception. Writing skill has been considered the most important especially in the area of second/foreign language teaching. On the other hand, speaking skill has neither been given sufficient focus in our teaching syllabi nor has it been represented fairly in our classrooms as opposed to the other skills. In my context, most people in general and educationalists in particular, seem to have taken this skill for granted; maybe because they think it is an easy one and that almost everyone can speak. Speaking is, however, a skill which deserves much more attention in both first and second language. I have chosen to write about this skill because I know very well how important it is as a means of communication especially, for second/foreign language learners. Throughout my teaching of English as a foreign language, I noticed that speaking was the area of weakness for the majority of my students. On the part of teachers, not so much time was devoted to teach this skill, and on the part of the curriculum designers, not so much effort was exerted to promote the development of this skill. Consequently, speaking was regarded by the students as an obstacle in the way of learning English rather than as an important skill. In the following sections, I will attempt to show how this problem can be addressed by the use of some strategies.

1/ Examples on some learning and communicative strategies used by ESL and EFL students

So many studies and research have been conducted in both areas learning strategies and communicative strategies, and many researchers and linguists have been involved. Consequently, different definitions and classifications of strategies have been stated. However here, I will focus on the classification of communicative strategies suggested by Faerch and Kasper (1983), and on the classification of learning strategies suggested by Wenden and Rubin (1987). I will also show how each set of strategies are used by ESL and EFL learners. I have chosen the previous classifications because they confirm with the knowledge of strategies I acquired throughout my teaching experience.

Faerch and Kasper suggest that communicative strategies are classified into two categories each of which is classified or comprised of other subcategories. The first category is avoidance behavior and this consists of formal reduction and functional reduction strategies. Formal reduction strategies could be phonological, morphological, syntactic and lexical strategies. Learners tend to use formal reduction strategies either to avoid making errors and/or they want to increase their fluency (Faerch& Kasper 1983: 40). On the other hand, functional reduction strategies include reduction of speech act and reduction of propositional context and these two are used by learners to reduce their communicative goals in order to avoid problems in interactions (ibid: 43). Achievement strategies are also called compensatory strategies and they consist of code switching, inter/intralingual, cooperative and non-linguistic strategies. These strategies are used by learners to expand their communicative resources in interactions (ibid:45). The following figure has been designed based on what was mentioned above:

Wenden and Rubin classified learning strategies into cognitive strategies and metacognitive strategies. Cognitive strategies are used by learners when they deal with steps, operations, or problem-solving that require direct analysis, transformation, or synthesis of learning materials (Wenden & Rubin,1987:23) and these strategies include clarification/verification, guessing/inductive inferencing, deductive reasoning, practice, memorizing and monitoring. On the other hand, metacognitive strategies are used when the learner deals with knowledge about cognitive process and regulation of cognition. These strategies consist of choosing, prioritizing, self-management, advance preparation, advance organization, directed attention, selected attention and delayed production. The following figure has been designed based on the information mentioned above:

2/ The short term benefits of training learners on the use of learning and communicative Strategies

Research and theory in second language learning strongly suggest that good language learners use a variety of strategies to assist them in gaining command over new language skills. In her study of five Chicano students who were learning English, Wong-Fillmore as quoted in Wenden & Rubin, (1987:27), identified some learning strategies used by successful language learners. Wong-Fillmore found that by using a few well chosen strategies, learners could continue to participate in speaking activities (ibid: 21). Moreover, O'Malley (1983), reports on an experiment in which students received training on the use of learning strategies with three language tasks; vocabulary, listening skill and speaking. His major conclusion was that strategy training was effective for listening and speaking, but not for vocabulary.

One of the major short term benefits of the use of learning strategies is the fact that they help learners to compensate for their lack of adequate language knowledge. Bygate (1987), states that the use of these strategies can bridge the gab between knowledge of the rules and the students' ability to express their own meaning. In other words, these strategies help learners to practice using acceptable language with reasonable fluency and reasonable ability to convey meanings and express opinions. On that basis, it could be inferred that training learners on using these strategies would help them a lot in their language learning. Language learners will not be hesitant or afraid of being involved in an interaction where they do not have sufficient language knowledge for it. Bygate adds that being trained to use learning strategies helps the learner to succeed in autonomous interaction. According to this, using such strategies in learning represents a transitional process where control of learning is moved from teacher to learners, leaving the learner with responsibility for his own thinking and learning. In addition, Wenden& Rubin (1987), mention that learning strategies help learners to better utilize the experience they bring to their language class. As a result, learners grow appreciation of their power ability and become critically reflective of the conceptual context of their learning.

The efficiency of communicative strategies training in learning languages has been proved in so many occasions. For instance, Spilka (as cited in Faerch & Kasper 1983:10), points that some trained French learners tend to use specific phrases in order to avoid liaison in French; to avoid French partitive en, the learners may produce the specified form J'ai trios pommes, rather than J'en ai trios. So, the French learners are making use of the avoidance strategy which is one of the communicative strategies. In another occasion, Kasper (1983:43), gave some examples of how trained German learners of English reduce their IL performance with respect to politeness making. Moreover, Faerch (1983:43), gave other examples of speech act reduction, in which learners in conversation with native speakers often do not use initiating acts (reduction strategy). Based on all that has been mentioned, we could say that strategies be they learning or communicative ones, are important for language learning for they are tools for active, self-directed involvement, which is essential for developing communicative competence. I shall now move to discuss the long term benefits of the use of learning strategies.

3/ The long term benefits of training language learners on the use of learning and communicative strategies

As we have seen previously, there are so many short benefits for training learners on using learning and communicative strategies. Likewise, there are other long term benefits for strategy training as well. Faerch and Kasper (1986:189), report the findings of a study where an attempt was made to train learners to use interaction strategies (some of the communicative strategies). They were Danish learners of English and the training for strategy use lasted for three months. The findings were that:

a) Middle proficiency level learners made considerable progress in using interaction strategies.

b) Low and high proficiency learners made less progress.

g) The general attitude in the class towards errors and towards risk-taking had changed. More learners accepted the need to make an attempt even if they did not get the right answer.

Based on the findings of this study, we could say that training learners to use communicative strategies raises their confidence and encourages them to participate in different communicative interactions even when they don't have enough language for it (e.g. when they don't have the answer for a question). In another study, Knowles (1975), finds that training learners to use these strategies helps them to develop the attitude that language is a lifelong process and to acquire the skills of self-directed learning. Most importantly, he points out that communicative strategies help learners to be equipped with the skills necessary to continue learning on their own when they leave formal education experience.

Many other studies have been carried out by different researchers and the long term benefits of communicative and learning strategies training have been proved. For instance, O'Malley and Chamot (1990) looked at learning strategies used both by ESL and EFL students and they found that training students to use these strategies helped them become more aware of the whole process of learning a second language. Based on the findings of one of their studies, Wenden & Rubin (1987), state that training learners to use learning strategies helps learners to better utilize the experience they bring to their language class and help them as well, to become critically reflective of the conceptual context of their learning.

Part Two:

1/ The influence of learning strategies on my teaching style of speaking

I have previously mentioned that speaking is an undervalued skill in Oman. All focus and emphasis are placed on the other skills as if the speaking skill does not exist or as if acquiring it has been taken for granted. Out of my own experience as an English teacher, I have noticed that the Omani students' biggest difficulty when learning English falls in the area of speaking. As teachers, we have not been working so much on this skill due to the fact that there are no formal speaking tests in the whole low-intermediate, intermediate and high-intermediate levels of teaching English in most of the academic institutions in Oman in general and in the Language Centre at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in particular. We were basically preparing our students to be able to pass the final test which normally contained listening, reading and writing only. Personally, I used to rely on specific activities in my speaking classes and these activities were not always suitable for my students' levels of English. However, since it was "the speaking skill", I did not bother to search for more activities or even try to design a simple syllabus for teaching it.

Having read about learning and communicative strategies and having known about their crucial role in promoting and developing the learning process in general and the verbal interaction skills in particular, I have decided to adopt a new teaching approach that makes full use of these strategies. I have realized that the new teaching capacities should include identifying students' learning and communicative strategies, conducting training on these strategies, and helping learners become more independent. That is because when students take more responsibility in the speaking activities, more learning occurs, and both teachers and learners feel more successful and satisfied. Teachers including me, (especially when teaching speaking) should attempt to discover what strategies their students are already using by interviewing them or questioning them about the strategies employed for specific language learning tasks (Wenden & Rubing, 1987). And then, they could direct them to utilise learning and communicative strategies for a variety of speaking activities. Metacognitive strategies such as self-management and self-monitoring can be practised in communicative situations in which the learner wishes to gain the maximum amount of comprehensible speech from others (ibid). Moreover, teachers can provide students with practice in useful strategies for the negotiation of conversational encounter outside of class. They can also suggest alternative strategies for organising and storing information and they can encourage students to consider which strategies work best for them. O'Malley and Chamot (as quoted in Macdonough,1995:122) summarise what has been previously mentioned by stating that the Cognitive Academic Learning Language Approach consists of five phases:

1/ Preparation: develop student awareness of different strategies.

2/ Presentation: develop student knowledge about strategies.

3/ Practice: develop student skills in using strategies for academic learning.

4/ Evaluation: develop student ability to evaluate their own strategy use.

5/ Expansion: develop transfer of strategies to new tasks.

According to these phases, teachers should go through several steps while teaching speaking tasks in order to make sure that students would get benefits from them and would develop their speaking skill. We should base our explanation of the tasks as well as our instructions on the students' communicative and learning strategies, and we should try focus our activities on developing these strategies. Furthermore, we could provide students with various activities that would enable them to use their strategies in new speaking tasks and to evaluate their use of these strategies.

Macaro (2001:176) gave another way of training students on using and developing their strategies. The following figure shows the sequence of steps that are to be followed by teachers in order to best utilise their students' learning and communicative strategies while teaching English skills in general and speaking in particular.

Another important aspect every teacher should take into account is materials and syllabus design. In Oman, both syllabus and curriculum design are prescribed by the Ministry of Education (for schools), or the Ministry of Higher Education for some colleges and universities. Teachers have an almost passive role in that process. On the other hand, researchers and educational inspectors play the major role and impose their ideas and opinions which are not always in favor of the learning process, learning situations and students. Teachers are not allowed to innovate or create additional materials and they are severely penalized if they deviate from the prescribed curriculum. It is really a hard task for the teacher to change or at least modify this traditional curriculum but is not impossible. Teachers should attempt to change such curriculum gradually and they should have their role in the curriculum design task. They should be creative, eclectic and adaptive in terms of producing educational materials. Educational authorities on the other hand, should take into consideration that aspects of learning and communicative strategies are to be incorporated in each and every syllabus or curriculum. Finally, it really makes a great difference in teaching and learning if teachers bear in mind the fundamental knowledge of learning and communicative strategies while teaching.

2/New teaching approach and examples on some speaking activities

In Oman, most if not all the teaching approaches adopted by teachers seem to be teacher oriented. Teachers are doing all the work; they teach, explain, ask, provide answers and help students. The students' role is passive in one way or another; they are being spoon-fed throughout the academic year without being asked to contribute to their studying activities or even being taught how to do it. Being a teacher in that country, my teaching style was influenced to a great extent with the teaching methods used there. For instance, in my speaking class, I used to do all the talk, control activities, come up with ideas, and choose the suitable speaking tasks. I did not use to allow students to express their ideas and if I did, it would be to a very limited extent. Even when my students were giving a presentation or performing a dialogue, I used to interfere either by giving my own opinion or by correcting them every now and then. It is only now after knowing about learning and communicative strategies that I have realised the pressing need for some teaching strategies especially in the area of speaking. I have realised also that it is the turn of the students to do most of the talking in the speaking class, while the teacher's main function is to provide them with maximum amount of meaningful practice. In this section, I will attempt to give some examples on speaking activities and show how they are best taught taking into account the students' learning and communicative strategies.

a/ Dialogue and negotiation

Dialogue and negotiation present the language as directly in the contexts in which they are most commonly used, and permit the learners to practise it in the same way, thus establishing a firm link between language and situation (Byme, I976:2 I). My teaching of dialogue was a kind of memorisation task; I used to type the dialogues or negotiation task and give copies to the students. All that they had to do was to read them, memorise them and present them in front of the class. Taking the students' learning and communicative strategies into account, I should do some pre‑speaking activities and prepare the learners in terms of vocabulary items and tenses that are going to be used throughout the dialogue/negotiation. This will direct their attention to the task and will help them operate their planning strategies so that they are ready to some extent to tackle the task. During the task, I would interfere where possible to provide the learners with suggestions and to give some alternatives. I would not focus so much on correcting their mistakes since I am concerned in the first place with developing their communicative abilities. I would rather compliment and praise the good performance in order to create a stimulus and motivation for the rest of the learners to improve their work. I guess this way would work well with my students since they are very afraid of making mistakes and they are easily motivated by praise, compliments and marks.

b/ Imaginary situation

I did not really make use of this task although it is very important in developing the students' ability to be involved in problem‑solving tasks, to improvise, guess and brain storm. I was not really aware of it and of its role in promoting speaking skill. However now, after realising the importance of this task, I would try to prepare and design some imaginative tasks that are culturally appropriate and related to the learners' day to day life. For instance, I might ask them to imagine that there is a specific problem in their village (e.g. water is getting salty due to overuse) that needs to be solved and then, will ask them to come up with solutions and to try to talk about their own solutions in front of the class. Since the topic represents a very serious problem due to the scarcity of water sources in Oman, most of the students will be involved and will participate in the discussion. I might ask them to discuss it together in groups or I might ask individual students to talk about and justify their opinions. Of course, there are so many other exciting and relevant tasks (to the students' daily life activities) that could be made use of in order to hook the students' attention, sustain their interest in the subject and appeal to their needs and desires.

c/ Role‑play and Narration

I taught this task before and I noticed that students liked very much especially when it is incorporated in a narrative task. I used to give my students a story and ask them to play the roles of the different characters; it was really very simple and fun. Actually, it was another way to train them to memorise some language phrases. If I am to do this task now, I would ask the students to compose their own story (in an attempt to focus on past tense for example), and then to act it out in front of their colleagues. I strongly think that this task would work very well with most of the students even the weak ones because they would be working in groups and they will have the chance to choose the role that they really like and that suits their linguistic ability. While performing this task, the learners will be practising speaking, prioritising and choosing their role, and memorising some language chunks. In other words, they will be practising the language and developing their learning and communicative skills.

Conclusion

The research evidence that has been mentioned throughout this paper proves to some extent the short and long term benefits of using strategies in learning second/foreign language. It also suggests that some learners are using more strategies more effectively than others. For this reason, teachers and researchers should work closely together to discover the role of motivation in learner strategy use (Macaro, 2001). It has also been shown that strategy training is effective in promoting a great predisposition towards language learning and a framework which enables the learner to take more responsibility for their learning in the immediate, medium and long term. In this regard, policy‑makers should be closely involved in supporting teachers' effort by facilitating local and national programs of strategy training. They should not set up learning frameworks (curriculum, syllabus) which place obstacles in the way of teachers to adapt their teaching to the strategy­-related needs of their learners. They should rather allow teachers some freedom so that they can be creative in terms of designing tasks and activities that would appeal to their students because teachers are the ones who are in direct contact with the students and therefore, they should be the ones who know exactly what their students need. On the hand, teachers should bear in mind that the strategies which plan and evaluate learning and the strategies assumed by the learners who go out and make contact with language outside the classroom are the ones that teachers should increasingly tum their attention to (ibid).

Bibliography

Bygate, Martin.(1987). Speaking. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Faerch, Clans & Kasper, Gabriele.(1983). Strategies in Interlanguage Communication. London: Longnnan,

Byrne, Donn.(1976). Teaching Oral English. London: Longman

Faerch, G. and Kasper, G.(1986).Strategic competence in foreign language teachin. Aarhus University: Aarhus University Press.

Knowles, M.(1975).Self Directed Learning: A Guide for Learners and Teachers. Chicago: Association Press.

Macaro, Ernesto.(2001). Learning strategies in foreign and second language classroom. Great Britain: CPD, Ebbw Vale

Macdonough, Steven H.(1995). Strategy and Skill in Learning a Foreign Language. London: Edward Arnold, a division of Hodder Headline PLC.

Nisbet, John & Shucksmith, Janet.(1986).Learning Strategies. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Plc.

O'Malley, IM & Russ, R.P, et al.( 1983). A study of Learning Strategies for Acquiring Skills in Speaking and Understanding English Language. Rosslyn, Va: InterAmerica Research Associates.

O'Malley, J.M and Chamot, A.U.(1990).Learning Strategies in Second Language Acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wenden, Anita & Rubin, Joan.(1987).Learner Strategies in Language Learning. Cambridge: Prentice Hall International.

Rivers, Wilga M. (1972). Speaking in Many Tongues, Essays in Foreign‑language Teaching. Cambridge: Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge.

Wong‑Fillmore, L.(1976).The Second Time Around. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Stanford University.

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What is Good Teaching ?

All students must have had hundreds of teachers in their lifetimes. A very few of these teachers they would remember as being exceptionally good. What are the qualities that combine to create an excellent, memorable teacher? Why do some teachers inspire students to work three times harder than they normally would, while others inspire students to avoid their class? Why do students learn more from some teachers than others?

Here I have focused on the four essential qualities that distinguish exceptional teachers:

* Knowledge,
* Communication skills,
* Interest, and
* Respect for students.



An Experiment

Here's an experiment I had done in one of my earlier assignments. The results may surprise you. Go into one of the classes you are teaching and have your students take out a sheet of paper. Ask them to list for you the qualities they feel are important in a good teacher. Ask them to identify the qualities they admire in the best teachers they have had. Then give the students enough time to think about it and write something down. Five minutes is good, but ten might be better. Let them answer the questions anonymously if they desire.

What you will get if you combine all of the responses is a fascinating collage of ideas. I have found that most of the responses fall into two specific categories:

1) a set of "core qualities" that students recognize in good teachers, and

2) a set of "specific skills" that are developed by good teachers.

"Core qualities" are the essential characteristics needed to be a good teacher. I would like to concentrate on these core qualities in this article as under.

1. Knowledge

Students have consistently and clearly targeted as the number one quality of a good teacher exactly what you would expect: knowledge of the subject. You must be an expert in your field-both theoretical and practical –preferably with an industry interface
and experience if you are going to be a good teacher in a Management college or Business School. This is a prerequisite.
2. Communication

The second core quality that good teachers possess is the ability to communicate their knowledge and expertise to their students. You may be the greatest expert ever in your field, but what would happen if you lectured in a style and language the students are not able to comprehend clearly? How much would your students learn?

It is a common misconception at the College level that knowledge of a subject is all that's required to be a good teacher; that the students should be willing and able to extract the meat from what you say- regardless of how it is delivered (even if it is delivered in a incomprehending language or different style). This might be true at the post graduate level, but elsewhere it is definitely untrue. It is especially untrue at the undergraduate level. The teacher's job is to take advanced knowledge and make it accessible to the students. A good teacher allows students to understand the material, and to understand what it means (because it is one thing to understand how nuclear bombs work, but quite another to understand what nuclear bombs mean).

A good teacher can take a subject and help make it crystal clear to the students. A bad teacher can take that same material and make it impenetrable. Or a bad teacher can devote so little time and effort to preparation that the material presented is intrinsically confusing and disorganized. A good teacher is willing to expend the effort needed to find innovative and creative ways to make complicated ideas understandable to their students, and to fit new ideas into the context available to the student. A good teacher can explain complicated material in a way that students can understand and use.

There is a saying, "Give me a fish and I eat for a day, teach me to fish and I eat for a lifetime." This is the philosophy of a good teacher. Give your students an answer and they can solve one problem, but show students the techniques needed to find the answer for themselves and they can become self-sufficient in the field. Students need to be shown how to apply the new techniques you teach to problem solving.

3. Interest

A good teacher starts with a firm knowledge of the subject, and builds on that with a clarity and understanding designed to help students master the material. The best teachers then go one step further. Because good teachers are interested in the material being taught, they make the class interesting and relevant to the students. Knowledge is worthless unless it is delivered to the students in a form they can understand. But the effort expended making the material understandable is wasted if the students are disinterested when it is delivered, or if the students can see no point in learning the material.

Good teachers recognise this, and work hard to make their material relevant. They show students how the material will apply to their lives and their careers. Bad teachers make material "relevant" by threatening students with failure on a test. Good teachers go far beyond this: they make students want to learn the material by making it interesting.

This is one of the things that makes industry and business examples so important and vital to learning in a business school or college.Industry interface and practical real life examples make the ideas discussed in class exciting and important to the teacher, as well as to the students. If the teacher isn't interested in what's being taught, then why should the students be?


4. Respect

Good teachers always possess these three core qualities: knowledge, the ability to convey to students an understanding of that knowledge, and the ability to make the material interesting and relevant to students. Complementing these three is a fourth: quality: good teachers have a deep-seated concern and respect for the students in the classroom. Why else would a teacher put in the time and effort needed to create a high quality class?

The creation of a good class requires an immense amount of work. You don't simply come up with clear explanations,industry cases and examples and experiments for the class off the top of your head. You don't create fair, consistent, high quality tests
,questionaires and homework assignments (read "learning experiences") five minutes before you hand them out. You don't figure out ways to integrate new materials and research into a class in an understandable way on your way to your college or institute in the morning. You work at this sort of quality all the time. You spend time with your students so you can learn about holes in their understanding. You read and write and create to build an exciting and interesting class every day. The only thing that would drive you to do that is a concern and respect for the students in your classroom.



Conclusion

When you strive and work to become a good teacher and to create a good class, the four core qualities are essential:knowledge,the skills to convey that knowledge,the ability to make the material you are teaching interesting and relevant,and a deep-seated respect for the students.Without these four core qualities,good teaching will just not exist and take place.




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How to Find the Volume of a Cube,rectangular Solid Or Cylinder

After reading this you'll be able to Define Volume, Explain how volume is computed and find the volume of basic figures and objects in the 3 dimensional world. You will also find out about a common mistake concerning volume denominations.

So, here we go:


Volume refers to the total space contained within a three-dimensional figure.Volume is expressed in cubic denominations, such as cubic feet or cubic inches.

[Rectangular Solid]
The volume of a rectangular solid found by multiplying the Length by Width and then by the Height. You can also think of volume as taking the area of the rectangle:

(L x W) and multiplying by the H. So the formula is:

V = [Rectangular Solid's Width] x [Rectangular Solid's Length] x [Rectangular Solid's Height]

V = L x W x H

[Cube]
A cube is a rectangular solid whose edges are all equal. And since all the edges are equal (L=W=H) the formula can be simplified as follows:

V = [Cube's Width] x [Cube's Length] x [Cube's Height]

V = L x L x L (or L in the third power)

[Cylinder]
A Cylinder is an object that has a circle for its base, but it also has height. To find the volume of a cylinder, use the formula below which is the area of the circle multiplied by the height of the cylinder:

V = [Area of circle] x [Height of cylinder]

V = (π x R x R) x H

There are many useful applications of the volume formulas. Home builders may use volume to determine such things as how much concrete to purchase or how much cubic living space will be present in the completed house.

Cubic living space is found by finding the total living area and then multiplying by the height of the ceilings in the house. Amount of cubic living space is important. For example, it is important to purchase an air conditioning unit that is neither too large or too small for your home. A unit that is too large will waste energy and as well as money.

[Don't let this happen to you!]
A very common mistake is to say that, since there are 100 centimeters in a meter, then there must be 100 cubic centimeters in a cubic meter. That's
wrong! Let's see how this works:

1 liter = 1000 cm3 X (1 m3/100 cm3) = 10 m3

Since a cubic meter is the volume of a cube 1 meter on a side, and a meter is just a little more than a yard, then it should be obvious that there is no way that a liter (just a little more than a quart, remember?) is the same as TEN cubic meters!

This example illustrates the dangers of trying to convert units after using an equation. As a general rule of thumb, always convert units before plugging in to an equation!

Meaning of variables:
V=Volume
L=Length
W=Width
H=Height
R=Radius; Length of a line segment from the center of a circle to the circle's edge.
π=Pi; constant approximately equal to 3.14; used in determining the area of a circle.
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Senin, 19 Juli 2010

Learning And Communicative Strategies

Learning and communicative strategies

Introduction

Communicative strategies are systematic techniques employed by a speaker to express his meaning when faced with some difficulty and the difficulty here refers to the speaker's inadequate command of the language used in the interaction (Faerch & Kasper, 1983:16).


On the other hand, the term learning strategies has been defined as "the higher-order skills which control and regulate the more task-specific or more practical skills" (Nisbet & Shucksmith,1986:26). Based on the previously mentioned definitions, it could be said that learning and communicative strategies refer to language learning behaviors that contribute directly or indirectly to learning. I am not very concerned here with the definition of the two terms as much as I am concerned with the fact that most if not all non-native speakers and second-language learners use these strategies throughout their second/foreign language learning journey. They tend to use them to compensate for their lack of sufficient language knowledge and to get themselves out of troubles when interacting in the target second/foreign language. These are only some of the short term benefits of using learning and communicative strategies. In fact, the successful use of these strategies can promote longer term language development.

In the first part of this paper, I will provide examples on some of the commonly used strategies and at the same time, I will focus on the ways in which these strategies promote the language learning process and the development of the learner's speaking skill. I will also highlight the short and long tem benefits of using both learning and communicative strategies in learning and developing speaking skill. In the second part of the paper, I will show how the knowledge of learning and communicative strategies has influenced me to change my old style of teaching the speaking, and how it has encouraged me to adopt a set of new methods of teaching that make utmost use of these strategies. Finally, I will give examples on some of the speaking activities that are based, in some ways, on these strategies, and are designed to promote and develop the learner's speaking skill.

Part One:

Teaching writing skill has been given the priority over teaching speaking skill in almost all educational syllabus and plans and the case in my country, Oman, is no exception. Writing skill has been considered the most important especially in the area of second/foreign language teaching. On the other hand, speaking skill has neither been given sufficient focus in our teaching syllabi nor has it been represented fairly in our classrooms as opposed to the other skills. In my context, most people in general and educationalists in particular, seem to have taken this skill for granted; maybe because they think it is an easy one and that almost everyone can speak. Speaking is, however, a skill which deserves much more attention in both first and second language. I have chosen to write about this skill because I know very well how important it is as a means of communication especially, for second/foreign language learners. Throughout my teaching of English as a foreign language, I noticed that speaking was the area of weakness for the majority of my students. On the part of teachers, not so much time was devoted to teach this skill, and on the part of the curriculum designers, not so much effort was exerted to promote the development of this skill. Consequently, speaking was regarded by the students as an obstacle in the way of learning English rather than as an important skill. In the following sections, I will attempt to show how this problem can be addressed by the use of some strategies.

1/ Examples on some learning and communicative strategies used by ESL and EFL students

So many studies and research have been conducted in both areas learning strategies and communicative strategies, and many researchers and linguists have been involved. Consequently, different definitions and classifications of strategies have been stated. However here, I will focus on the classification of communicative strategies suggested by Faerch and Kasper (1983), and on the classification of learning strategies suggested by Wenden and Rubin (1987). I will also show how each set of strategies are used by ESL and EFL learners. I have chosen the previous classifications because they confirm with the knowledge of strategies I acquired throughout my teaching experience.

Faerch and Kasper suggest that communicative strategies are classified into two categories each of which is classified or comprised of other subcategories. The first category is avoidance behavior and this consists of formal reduction and functional reduction strategies. Formal reduction strategies could be phonological, morphological, syntactic and lexical strategies. Learners tend to use formal reduction strategies either to avoid making errors and/or they want to increase their fluency (Faerch& Kasper 1983: 40). On the other hand, functional reduction strategies include reduction of speech act and reduction of propositional context and these two are used by learners to reduce their communicative goals in order to avoid problems in interactions (ibid: 43). Achievement strategies are also called compensatory strategies and they consist of code switching, inter/intralingual, cooperative and non-linguistic strategies. These strategies are used by learners to expand their communicative resources in interactions (ibid:45). The following figure has been designed based on what was mentioned above:

Wenden and Rubin classified learning strategies into cognitive strategies and metacognitive strategies. Cognitive strategies are used by learners when they deal with steps, operations, or problem-solving that require direct analysis, transformation, or synthesis of learning materials (Wenden & Rubin,1987:23) and these strategies include clarification/verification, guessing/inductive inferencing, deductive reasoning, practice, memorizing and monitoring. On the other hand, metacognitive strategies are used when the learner deals with knowledge about cognitive process and regulation of cognition. These strategies consist of choosing, prioritizing, self-management, advance preparation, advance organization, directed attention, selected attention and delayed production. The following figure has been designed based on the information mentioned above:

2/ The short term benefits of training learners on the use of learning and communicative Strategies

Research and theory in second language learning strongly suggest that good language learners use a variety of strategies to assist them in gaining command over new language skills. In her study of five Chicano students who were learning English, Wong-Fillmore as quoted in Wenden & Rubin, (1987:27), identified some learning strategies used by successful language learners. Wong-Fillmore found that by using a few well chosen strategies, learners could continue to participate in speaking activities (ibid: 21). Moreover, O'Malley (1983), reports on an experiment in which students received training on the use of learning strategies with three language tasks; vocabulary, listening skill and speaking. His major conclusion was that strategy training was effective for listening and speaking, but not for vocabulary.

One of the major short term benefits of the use of learning strategies is the fact that they help learners to compensate for their lack of adequate language knowledge. Bygate (1987), states that the use of these strategies can bridge the gab between knowledge of the rules and the students' ability to express their own meaning. In other words, these strategies help learners to practice using acceptable language with reasonable fluency and reasonable ability to convey meanings and express opinions. On that basis, it could be inferred that training learners on using these strategies would help them a lot in their language learning. Language learners will not be hesitant or afraid of being involved in an interaction where they do not have sufficient language knowledge for it. Bygate adds that being trained to use learning strategies helps the learner to succeed in autonomous interaction. According to this, using such strategies in learning represents a transitional process where control of learning is moved from teacher to learners, leaving the learner with responsibility for his own thinking and learning. In addition, Wenden& Rubin (1987), mention that learning strategies help learners to better utilize the experience they bring to their language class. As a result, learners grow appreciation of their power ability and become critically reflective of the conceptual context of their learning.

The efficiency of communicative strategies training in learning languages has been proved in so many occasions. For instance, Spilka (as cited in Faerch & Kasper 1983:10), points that some trained French learners tend to use specific phrases in order to avoid liaison in French; to avoid French partitive en, the learners may produce the specified form J'ai trios pommes, rather than J'en ai trios. So, the French learners are making use of the avoidance strategy which is one of the communicative strategies. In another occasion, Kasper (1983:43), gave some examples of how trained German learners of English reduce their IL performance with respect to politeness making. Moreover, Faerch (1983:43), gave other examples of speech act reduction, in which learners in conversation with native speakers often do not use initiating acts (reduction strategy). Based on all that has been mentioned, we could say that strategies be they learning or communicative ones, are important for language learning for they are tools for active, self-directed involvement, which is essential for developing communicative competence. I shall now move to discuss the long term benefits of the use of learning strategies.

3/ The long term benefits of training language learners on the use of learning and communicative strategies

As we have seen previously, there are so many short benefits for training learners on using learning and communicative strategies. Likewise, there are other long term benefits for strategy training as well. Faerch and Kasper (1986:189), report the findings of a study where an attempt was made to train learners to use interaction strategies (some of the communicative strategies). They were Danish learners of English and the training for strategy use lasted for three months. The findings were that:

a) Middle proficiency level learners made considerable progress in using interaction strategies.

b) Low and high proficiency learners made less progress.

g) The general attitude in the class towards errors and towards risk-taking had changed. More learners accepted the need to make an attempt even if they did not get the right answer.

Based on the findings of this study, we could say that training learners to use communicative strategies raises their confidence and encourages them to participate in different communicative interactions even when they don't have enough language for it (e.g. when they don't have the answer for a question). In another study, Knowles (1975), finds that training learners to use these strategies helps them to develop the attitude that language is a lifelong process and to acquire the skills of self-directed learning. Most importantly, he points out that communicative strategies help learners to be equipped with the skills necessary to continue learning on their own when they leave formal education experience.

Many other studies have been carried out by different researchers and the long term benefits of communicative and learning strategies training have been proved. For instance, O'Malley and Chamot (1990) looked at learning strategies used both by ESL and EFL students and they found that training students to use these strategies helped them become more aware of the whole process of learning a second language. Based on the findings of one of their studies, Wenden & Rubin (1987), state that training learners to use learning strategies helps learners to better utilize the experience they bring to their language class and help them as well, to become critically reflective of the conceptual context of their learning.

Part Two:

1/ The influence of learning strategies on my teaching style of speaking

I have previously mentioned that speaking is an undervalued skill in Oman. All focus and emphasis are placed on the other skills as if the speaking skill does not exist or as if acquiring it has been taken for granted. Out of my own experience as an English teacher, I have noticed that the Omani students' biggest difficulty when learning English falls in the area of speaking. As teachers, we have not been working so much on this skill due to the fact that there are no formal speaking tests in the whole low-intermediate, intermediate and high-intermediate levels of teaching English in most of the academic institutions in Oman in general and in the Language Centre at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in particular. We were basically preparing our students to be able to pass the final test which normally contained listening, reading and writing only. Personally, I used to rely on specific activities in my speaking classes and these activities were not always suitable for my students' levels of English. However, since it was "the speaking skill", I did not bother to search for more activities or even try to design a simple syllabus for teaching it.

Having read about learning and communicative strategies and having known about their crucial role in promoting and developing the learning process in general and the verbal interaction skills in particular, I have decided to adopt a new teaching approach that makes full use of these strategies. I have realized that the new teaching capacities should include identifying students' learning and communicative strategies, conducting training on these strategies, and helping learners become more independent. That is because when students take more responsibility in the speaking activities, more learning occurs, and both teachers and learners feel more successful and satisfied. Teachers including me, (especially when teaching speaking) should attempt to discover what strategies their students are already using by interviewing them or questioning them about the strategies employed for specific language learning tasks (Wenden & Rubing, 1987). And then, they could direct them to utilise learning and communicative strategies for a variety of speaking activities. Metacognitive strategies such as self-management and self-monitoring can be practised in communicative situations in which the learner wishes to gain the maximum amount of comprehensible speech from others (ibid). Moreover, teachers can provide students with practice in useful strategies for the negotiation of conversational encounter outside of class. They can also suggest alternative strategies for organising and storing information and they can encourage students to consider which strategies work best for them. O'Malley and Chamot (as quoted in Macdonough,1995:122) summarise what has been previously mentioned by stating that the Cognitive Academic Learning Language Approach consists of five phases:

1/ Preparation: develop student awareness of different strategies.

2/ Presentation: develop student knowledge about strategies.

3/ Practice: develop student skills in using strategies for academic learning.

4/ Evaluation: develop student ability to evaluate their own strategy use.

5/ Expansion: develop transfer of strategies to new tasks.

According to these phases, teachers should go through several steps while teaching speaking tasks in order to make sure that students would get benefits from them and would develop their speaking skill. We should base our explanation of the tasks as well as our instructions on the students' communicative and learning strategies, and we should try focus our activities on developing these strategies. Furthermore, we could provide students with various activities that would enable them to use their strategies in new speaking tasks and to evaluate their use of these strategies.

Macaro (2001:176) gave another way of training students on using and developing their strategies. The following figure shows the sequence of steps that are to be followed by teachers in order to best utilise their students' learning and communicative strategies while teaching English skills in general and speaking in particular.

Another important aspect every teacher should take into account is materials and syllabus design. In Oman, both syllabus and curriculum design are prescribed by the Ministry of Education (for schools), or the Ministry of Higher Education for some colleges and universities. Teachers have an almost passive role in that process. On the other hand, researchers and educational inspectors play the major role and impose their ideas and opinions which are not always in favor of the learning process, learning situations and students. Teachers are not allowed to innovate or create additional materials and they are severely penalized if they deviate from the prescribed curriculum. It is really a hard task for the teacher to change or at least modify this traditional curriculum but is not impossible. Teachers should attempt to change such curriculum gradually and they should have their role in the curriculum design task. They should be creative, eclectic and adaptive in terms of producing educational materials. Educational authorities on the other hand, should take into consideration that aspects of learning and communicative strategies are to be incorporated in each and every syllabus or curriculum. Finally, it really makes a great difference in teaching and learning if teachers bear in mind the fundamental knowledge of learning and communicative strategies while teaching.

2/New teaching approach and examples on some speaking activities

In Oman, most if not all the teaching approaches adopted by teachers seem to be teacher oriented. Teachers are doing all the work; they teach, explain, ask, provide answers and help students. The students' role is passive in one way or another; they are being spoon-fed throughout the academic year without being asked to contribute to their studying activities or even being taught how to do it. Being a teacher in that country, my teaching style was influenced to a great extent with the teaching methods used there. For instance, in my speaking class, I used to do all the talk, control activities, come up with ideas, and choose the suitable speaking tasks. I did not use to allow students to express their ideas and if I did, it would be to a very limited extent. Even when my students were giving a presentation or performing a dialogue, I used to interfere either by giving my own opinion or by correcting them every now and then. It is only now after knowing about learning and communicative strategies that I have realised the pressing need for some teaching strategies especially in the area of speaking. I have realised also that it is the turn of the students to do most of the talking in the speaking class, while the teacher's main function is to provide them with maximum amount of meaningful practice. In this section, I will attempt to give some examples on speaking activities and show how they are best taught taking into account the students' learning and communicative strategies.

a/ Dialogue and negotiation

Dialogue and negotiation present the language as directly in the contexts in which they are most commonly used, and permit the learners to practise it in the same way, thus establishing a firm link between language and situation (Byme, I976:2 I). My teaching of dialogue was a kind of memorisation task; I used to type the dialogues or negotiation task and give copies to the students. All that they had to do was to read them, memorise them and present them in front of the class. Taking the students' learning and communicative strategies into account, I should do some pre‑speaking activities and prepare the learners in terms of vocabulary items and tenses that are going to be used throughout the dialogue/negotiation. This will direct their attention to the task and will help them operate their planning strategies so that they are ready to some extent to tackle the task. During the task, I would interfere where possible to provide the learners with suggestions and to give some alternatives. I would not focus so much on correcting their mistakes since I am concerned in the first place with developing their communicative abilities. I would rather compliment and praise the good performance in order to create a stimulus and motivation for the rest of the learners to improve their work. I guess this way would work well with my students since they are very afraid of making mistakes and they are easily motivated by praise, compliments and marks.

b/ Imaginary situation

I did not really make use of this task although it is very important in developing the students' ability to be involved in problem‑solving tasks, to improvise, guess and brain storm. I was not really aware of it and of its role in promoting speaking skill. However now, after realising the importance of this task, I would try to prepare and design some imaginative tasks that are culturally appropriate and related to the learners' day to day life. For instance, I might ask them to imagine that there is a specific problem in their village (e.g. water is getting salty due to overuse) that needs to be solved and then, will ask them to come up with solutions and to try to talk about their own solutions in front of the class. Since the topic represents a very serious problem due to the scarcity of water sources in Oman, most of the students will be involved and will participate in the discussion. I might ask them to discuss it together in groups or I might ask individual students to talk about and justify their opinions. Of course, there are so many other exciting and relevant tasks (to the students' daily life activities) that could be made use of in order to hook the students' attention, sustain their interest in the subject and appeal to their needs and desires.

c/ Role‑play and Narration

I taught this task before and I noticed that students liked very much especially when it is incorporated in a narrative task. I used to give my students a story and ask them to play the roles of the different characters; it was really very simple and fun. Actually, it was another way to train them to memorise some language phrases. If I am to do this task now, I would ask the students to compose their own story (in an attempt to focus on past tense for example), and then to act it out in front of their colleagues. I strongly think that this task would work very well with most of the students even the weak ones because they would be working in groups and they will have the chance to choose the role that they really like and that suits their linguistic ability. While performing this task, the learners will be practising speaking, prioritising and choosing their role, and memorising some language chunks. In other words, they will be practising the language and developing their learning and communicative skills.

Conclusion

The research evidence that has been mentioned throughout this paper proves to some extent the short and long term benefits of using strategies in learning second/foreign language. It also suggests that some learners are using more strategies more effectively than others. For this reason, teachers and researchers should work closely together to discover the role of motivation in learner strategy use (Macaro, 2001). It has also been shown that strategy training is effective in promoting a great predisposition towards language learning and a framework which enables the learner to take more responsibility for their learning in the immediate, medium and long term. In this regard, policy‑makers should be closely involved in supporting teachers' effort by facilitating local and national programs of strategy training. They should not set up learning frameworks (curriculum, syllabus) which place obstacles in the way of teachers to adapt their teaching to the strategy­-related needs of their learners. They should rather allow teachers some freedom so that they can be creative in terms of designing tasks and activities that would appeal to their students because teachers are the ones who are in direct contact with the students and therefore, they should be the ones who know exactly what their students need. On the hand, teachers should bear in mind that the strategies which plan and evaluate learning and the strategies assumed by the learners who go out and make contact with language outside the classroom are the ones that teachers should increasingly tum their attention to (ibid).


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