The science of happiness

By Mike Rudin Series producer, The Happiness Formula
From the BBC News

We all want to be happy but the problem has always been that you can't measure happiness. Happiness has always been seen as too vague a concept, as Lord Layard, Professor of Economics at the LSE and author of "Happiness - lessons from a new science" points out. "There is a problem with the word happiness. When you use the word happy, it often has the sort of context of balloons floating up into the sky or something frivolous." Now scientists say they can actually measure happiness. Neuroscientists are measuring pleasure. They suggest that happiness is more than a vague concept or mood; it is real.

Measuring happiness
Social scientists measure happiness simply by asking people how happy they are. It is argued that what a person says about their own happiness tends to tally with what friends or even strangers might say about them if asked the same question. Most people say they are fairly happy.

The leading American psychologist Professor Ed Diener from the University of Illinois, told The Happiness Formula that the science of happiness is based on one straightforward idea: "It may sound silly but we ask people 'How happy are you 1-7, 1-10? And the interesting thing is that produces real answers that are valid, they're not perfect but they're valid and they predict all sorts of real things in their lives."

One type of measurement even tries to record people's levels of happiness throughout the day wherever they are. Ecological momentary assessment uses hand held computers. The person being quizzed is bleeped and then taken through a questionnaire. "The measures are not perfect yet I think they are in many ways as good as the measures economists use," said Professor Diener. It is a remarkable claim.

Simply by asking people, we have a measure of happiness that is as good as the economists' measure of poverty or growth. And if true, governments could be judged by how happy they make us. An adviser to the Prime Minister, David Halpern, told us that within the next 10 years the government would be measured against how happy it made everybody.

Power of happiness
Happiness seems to have almost magical properties. We have not got proof, but the science suggests it leads to long life, health, resilience and good performance.

Scientists work by comparing people's reported happiness and a host of other factors such as age, sex, marital status, religion, health, income, unemployment and so on. In survey after survey involving huge groups of people, significant correlations between happiness and some other factors are repeated.

At the moment scientists cannot prove causation, whether for example people are healthy because they are happy, or whether people are happy because they are healthy. However, psychologists have been able to identify some very strong links.

According to Professor Diener the evidence suggests that happy people live longer than depressed people. "In one study, the difference was nine years between the happiest group and the unhappiest group, so that's a huge effect. Cigarette smoking can knock a few years off your life, three years, if you really smoke a lot, six years. So nine years for happiness is a huge effect."

Richer but no happier
Happiness researchers have been monitoring people's life satisfaction for decades.

Yet despite all the massive increase in our wealth in the last 50 years our levels of happiness have not increased. "Standard of living has increased dramatically and happiness has increased not at all, and in some cases has diminished slightly," said Professor Daniel Kahneman of the University of Princeton.

"There is a lot of evidence that being richer... isn't making us happier." The research suggests that richer countries do tend to be happier than poor ones, but once you have a home, food and clothes, then extra money does not seem to make people much happier.It seems that that level is after average incomes in a country top about £10,000 a year.

Scientists think they know the reason why we do not feel happier despite all the extra money and material things we can buy. First, it is thought we adapt to pleasure. We go for things which give us short bursts of pleasure whether it is a chocolate bar or buying a new car. But it quickly wears off.

Second, its thought that we tend to see our life as judged against other people. We compare our lot against others. Richer people do get happier when they compare themselves against poorer people, but poorer people are less happy if they compare up.

The good news is that we can choose how much and who we compare ourselves with and about what, and researchers suggest we adapt less quickly to more meaningful things such as friendship and life goals.

What makes us happy?
According to psychologist Professor Ed Diener there is no one key to happiness but a set of ingredients that are vital.

First, family and friends are crucial - the wider and deeper the relationships with those around you the better. It is even suggested that friendship can ward off germs. Our brains control many of the mechanisms in our bodies which are responsible for disease. Just as stress can trigger ill health, it is thought that friendship and happiness can have a protective effect.

According to happiness research, friendship has a much bigger effect on average on happiness than a typical person's income itself. One economist, Professor Oswald at Warwick University, has a formula to work out how much extra cash we would need to make up for not having friends. The answer is £50,000. Marriage also seems to be very important. According to research the effect of marriage adds an average seven years to the life of a man and something like four for a woman.

The second vital ingredient is having meaning in life, a belief in something bigger than yourself - from religion, spirituality or a philosophy of life. The third element is having goals embedded in your long term values that you're working for, but also that you find enjoyable. Psychologists argue that we need to find fulfillment through having goals that are interesting to work on and which use our strengths and abilities.

Unhappiness
However, there are also many things we experience in life that can produce lasting unhappiness. Professor Ed Diener identifies two key events which can have lasting effects. After the loss of a spouse it can take several years to regain the previous level of well-being. The loss of a job can affect a person for years even they are back to work.

So if you are born grumpy are you always going to be grumpy? The question of whether we can actually use our knowledge of what makes us happy to lift our levels of happiness permanently is hotly debated by psychologists. According to the positive psychologist Professor Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania it is possible to lift our biological set range of happiness, at least to some extent if we work at it. "The best you can do with positive emotion is you can get people to live at the top of their set range. So I think you've got about 10 to 15% leverage but you can't take a grouch and make him giggle all the time."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/happiness_formula/4783836.stm

Analysis of Journalistic Texts

Version 1: Rats Bite Infant
An infant left sleeping in his crib was bitten repeatedly by rats while his 16-year-old mother went to cash her welfare check. A neighbor responded to the cries of the infant and brought the child to Central Hospital where he was treated and released in his mother’s custody. The mother, Angie Burns of the South End, explained softly, “I was only gone five minutes. I left the door open so my neighbor would hear him if he woke up. I never thought this would happen in the daylight.”

Version 2: Rats Bite Infant: Landlord, Tenants Dispute Blame
An eight-month-old South End boy was treated and released from Central Hospital yesterday after being bitten by rats while he was sleeping in his crib. Tenants said that repeated requests for extermination had been ignored by the landlord, Henry Brown. Brown claimed that the problem lay with tenants’ improper disposal of garbage. “I spend half my time cleaning up after them. They throw garbage out the window into the back alley and their kids steal the garbage can covers for sliding in the snow.”

Version 3: Rat Bites Rising in City’s ‘Zone of death’
Rats bit eight-month-old Michael Burns five times yesterday as he napped in his crib. Burns is the latest victim of a rat epidemic plaguing inner-city neighborhoods labeled the “Zone of Death.” Health officials say infant mortality rates in these neighborhoods approach those in many third world countries. A Public Health Department spokesperson explained that federal and state cutbacks forced short-staffing at rat control and housing inspection programs. The result, noted Joaquin Nunez, MD, a pediatrician at Central Hospital, is a five-fold increase in rat bites. He added, “The irony is that Michael lives within walking distance of some of the world’s best medical centers.”

New Year and the Story Goes On

I.E.S. Lola Mora – English Department
English Language IV - 2008
Mg. Carlos Lizárraga,
calizar@arnet.com.ar

Schedule
Tuesday 8:20-10:30pm
Thursday 9:10-11:20pm

Overview of class
This is an annual language class for prospective teachers of EFL/ESL whose main objective is to enable you to hone your linguistic skills in English up to a native or near native speaker’s level of proficiency. By the end of the year, you will have acquired a level of fluency and precision that will allow you to excel as a teaching professional.

By going through the process, you will be able to empathize with the experience of your future students acquiring a second or foreign language. Furthermore, you will need not only to reach a [near] native level this year but also to acquire a solid foundation of academic skills every educator needs to develop. For this reason, this class has a strong emphasis on reading, writing and global awareness.

Objectives
By the end of this year you should:

• Read with ease virtually all forms of the written language, including abstract, structurally or linguistically complex texts such as manuals, specialized articles and literary works.
• Have no difficulty in understanding any kind of spoken language, whether live or broadcast, even when delivered at fast native speed, provided you have had some time to get familiar with the accent.
• Take part effortlessly in any conversation or discussion and have a good familiarity with idiomatic expressions and colloquialisms.
• Express yourself fluently and convey finer shades of meaning precisely. If you do have a problem you can backtrack and restructure around the difficulty so smoothly that other people are hardly aware of it.
• Present a clear, smoothly-flowing description or argument in a style appropriate to the context and with an effective logical structure which helps the recipient to notice and remember significant points.
• Write clear, smoothly-flowing text in an appropriate style.
• Write complex letters, reports or articles which present a case with an effective logical structure which helps the recipient to notice and remember significant points.
• Write essays, summaries and reviews of professional or literary works.

Source: C2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages,
which equals the Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English examination.

General expectations
The basic tenets of this class are respect, honesty, work ethic, and curiosity. As a prospective teacher, you should develop the qualities that you will expect from your own students. A love of learning, hard work and empathy toward others are the characteristics that will ensure you will be a successful student and teacher.

As part of your training to become a teacher, you are expected to achieve a high level of proficiency. Therefore you should plan to devote a minimum of two hours in preparation for every class period you attend. This includes reading and writing on a daily basis.
You are expected to read every day. Being informed of the latest news in town, the province, the nation and the world is a good way to build a solid knowledge foundation. Also, articles from respectable publications and literary works available online are a valuable option. Your daily reading is a formal component of your grade for this class.

You are expected to write your morning pages every day. You should plan to devote between 25 and 30 min. to your creative journal writing. Extensive practice in expressing yourself freely is indispensable for you to become accustomed to articulating your ideas coherently and cohesively. This writing should be collected in a journal that is also required to pass this class.
If you are not already, you are expected to acquire some basic computer literacy. Part of the assignments will be available only online, and their completion will be online as well. Therefore you should expect to become adept at using the Internet, email, and computer-produced texts.
Attendance and involvement are expected in every class. You should get to class on time, have your material and assignments ready, use only English throughout the entire period, and strive to excel in every activity. In a word, you should be a good language learner.

The good language learner
… is highly motivated to learn the language. He is willing to practice the new language. He actively seeks opportunities to use the new language and communicates with it whenever possible.
… wants to communicate with native speakers of the language. She empathizes with them and is interested in their ideas, experiences, attitudes and customs.
…is relaxed about his new language and can live with uncertainty. He is willing to abandon his first language reference system and to think in the second language.
… tolerates difficulties and frustrations. She is not afraid to make mistakes and learns from errors.
… is self-critical, adventuresome, independent, open, outgoing and friendly.
…understands that language is arbitrary and makes inferences about the language he is learning. He constantly searches for meaning.
… has an aptitude for learning languages. She can distinguish different sounds in a second language and understands the grammatical functions of different kinds of language elements.
… relates new things to those previously learned and can convert passive knowledge into active knowledge.
… is systematic about language learning and uses specific techniques of effective study. He can adapt to almost any learning condition.
… accepts responsibility for her own learning and sets her own goals.

Source unknown

Evaluation
The evaluation consists of parciales, prácticos and attendance. The grade for the class is determined by outstanding class performance or by your performance in the final exam.
There will be three parciales: two written term tests and the presentation of your portfolio. Prácticos include essays, unit tests on textbook and literary works, journal, reading logs (article summaries and reactions), oral presentations, class involvement and participation, etc. If you cannot be present to any of these evaluation instances, it is your responsibility to let your instructor know ahead of time. If you do not or cannot, you will be excused only if you provide written proof of the reason for your absence. If you fail to do so, you will get a grade of 0 on that particular instance. In any case, alternative arrangements are at the discretion of your instructor.
There are two ways to pass this course. One is through class performance (promoción), and the other by taking a final exam.

Class performance (promoción)
Students who fulfill the following requirements will be exempt from the final exam:
a) a passing mark in at least 75% of prácticos – with no make-up opportunities;
b) a passing mark in all three parciales with an average of at least 70% - you will get a chance of taking a make-up exam for each written parcial;
c) 75% class attendance.

Final exam
At the end of the year, there will be two types of final exam, one for students in good standing (alumnos regulares), and another one for auditing students (alumnos irregulares)

Final exam for students in good standing (regulares)
Students who fulfill the requirements listed below will be considered ‘in good standing’ (regulares) and will take a final exam consisting of a written and an oral component. For the oral section, students are required to present their Portfolio.
Requirements:
a) a passing mark in at least 50% of prácticos;
b) a passing mark in all parciales with an average below 7
c) 50% attendance

Final exam for auditing students (alumnos irregulares)
Students who do not fulfill these requirements will need a take a final that may include any content from prácticos. This means that the exam is likely to be longer. Also, the instructor will require the presentation of a portfolio with all of the contents listed below, such as journal entries, reading log, essays, etc. The exam will be written and oral, and a passing mark in both is demanded.

Assignments
Portfolio
It should include the following artifacts:

• Your research on a current topic or a collection of articles on current issues. It will include:
  Summary of articles, or extracts from books, etc. – cite source and date of publication.
  Reaction paper.
• General longer essay or report on topic of choice based on a set of articles – due at end of the process.
• Reflection piece on your learning with each topic.
• Essays assigned in class. You should include
  - Corrected drafts if applicable and/or correction of a graded essay
  - Analysis of your own strengths and weaknesses on each corrected essay with improvement goals you set for your next writing assignment
  - Personal reflection on any content from class, any current or philosophical issue.
• A selection of your best journal entries.

Creative Journal/blog writing:
Three weekly entries of about 20/30 min each. Handwritten or online.

Oral presentations
On topics of your interest based on your research for your portfolio or specifically assigned by your instructor.

Required texts
Evans, Virginia & Jenny Dooley (2002). Upstream Proficiency. Newbury, Berkshire, UK: Express Publishing.
Evans, Virginia & Jenny Dooley (2002). Upstream Proficiency Workbook. Newbury, Berkshire, UK: Express Publishing.
Golding, William (1954). The Lord of the Flies.
Guilford, Chuck. Paradigm Online Writing Assistant at http://www.powa.org/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/
Hosseini, Khaled (2003). The Kite Runner.
Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye.
Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass.

Recommended texts
Vince, Michael. English Advanced Practice. (You should plan to complete all of the exercises in this book as preparation for the final exam)

Essay topics coming soon...

As I´m currently with neither PC nor Internet connection, you´ll have to wait for a few days till I can post the essay topics I promised. Sorry about the delay!

About the final exam

First of all, by Monday November 26 I´ll be checking your blogs and the Lola Mora News blog to determine whether you´ll be a regular student and thus be able to sit for the final exam in December. If you do not have your blog with 50 entries plus a total of 30 reading reports, you´ll become "libre" and will have to complete this assignment to be able to sit for the oral final exam as a "libre" student.
For further information, I transcribe the exam program requirements. Should you have any questions, pls let me know...



Requisitos para Alumnos Regulares
Para el examen oral deberán presentar su portfolio con el siguiente contenido:
· Índice con los contenidos en páginas numeradas.
· Una selección de por lo menos 50 entradas de su blog en un CD.
· Una selección de las 10 mejores entradas de su blog impresas en papel.
· 15 artículos auténticos recientes con sus correspondientes informes escritos completos.
· Las cuatro críticas de artículos publicadas en el blog Lola Mora News.

IMPORTANTE: No tener cualquiera de los artefactos aquí enumerados significará la desaprobación automática del examen oral y por ende del examen final.

Requisitos para Alumnos Irregulares (Libres)
Para el examen oral deberán presentar su portfolio con el siguiente contenido:
· Índice con los contenidos en páginas numeradas.
· Una selección de por lo menos 50 entradas de su blog en un CD o en papel.
· Una selección de las 20 mejores entradas de su blog impresas en papel.
· 30 artículos auténticos recientes con sus correspondientes informes escritos completos.
· Las cuatro críticas de artículos publicadas en el blog Lola Mora News.
· Un comentario de reacción personal para cada uno de los cuentos cortos de Ernest Hemingway: ‘Hills Like White Elephants,’ ‘A Clean Well-Lighted Place,’ ‘The Snows of Kilimanjaro,’ ‘The Short and Happy Life of Francis Macomber’. Cada comentario deberá tener un mínimo de 300 palabras. No se pide un ensayo sino una reacción subjetiva con impresiones personales sobre cada cuento.

IMPORTANTE: No tener cualquiera de los artefactos aquí enumerados significará la desaprobación automática del examen oral y por ende del examen final.

Grades Make-up 2nd Parcial

DNI last 3 digits + Animal Farm (A) + Exercises (B) + Essay (C)


796: A. 64 B. 57 C. P = Pass

621: A. 94 B. 56 C. F = Fail

965: A. 68 B. 50 C. F = Fail

233: A. 64 B. 60 C. P = Pass

524: A. 88 B. 61 C. P = Pass

494: A. 76 B. 56 C. P = Pass

9457: A. 80 B. 65 C. P = Pass

989: A. 60 B. 45 C. F = Fail

615: A. 55 B. 65 C. F = Fail

033: A. 48 B. 59 C. F = Fail

0457: A. 72 B. 45 C. F = Fail

775: A. 80 B. 57 C. P = Pass

Grades 2nd Parcial

Instructions:
1. Find your DNI last 3 digits.
2. The first score is the percentage you got in Animal Farm (A).
3. The second score is the percentage you got in the grammar, vocab and reading comprehension exercises (B).
4. In third place, there is a letter, either P (pass) or F (fail), for your essay (C).
5. Finally you'll find the overall result: either Pass or, if you need to take the make-up test on Monday, it tells you which sections ONLY you need to take. 'A' is for Animal Farm, 'B' for the exercises, and 'C' for the essay, i.e. if it says "Make-up: A, C" it means on Monday you need to take these two sections of the exam only, in this example, Animal Farm and the essay.

Your make-up test is on this Monday, November 19, at 7pm. Unfortunately, if you were not present last Wednesday and did not get a chance to have a look at your parcial, you won't be able to do so till Monday - the date of the make-up test.

Should you have any burning question, please send me a text message at 154-659790.

796: 22 - 57 - P... Make-up: A

621: 94 - 56 - F... Make-up: C

965: 33 - 50 - F... Make-up: A, C

223: 11 - 46 - F... Make-up: A, B, C

145: 83 - 69 - P... Pass

684: 78 - 50 - P... Pass

550: 94 - 70 - P... Pass

524: 22 - 61 - P... Make-up: A

355: 61 - 58 - P... Pass

535: 44 - 47 - P... Make-up: A, B

9457: 39 - 65 - P... Make-up: A

989: 28 - 49 - F... Make-up: A, B, C

615: 55 - 65 - F... Make-up: C

033: 19 - 59 - F... Make-up: A, C

0457: 72 - 41 - F... Make-up: B, C

775: 44 - 57 - F... Make-up: A, C

New Blog for News Reviews

Here's the new blog address: http://lolamoranews.blogspot.com/
IMPORTANT: please, leave your updated email address in a comment below so that I can add you as an author of the new blog. Make sure you include your full name as well!

Blogs II

If your name does not appear on the list of links of students' blogs, it means you have not posted for the last two months. This also means that your status is 'libre'. Should you catch up, you'll need to email me your blog address again so you can be added back to the list -and the class.

IMPORTANT: Regarding your blogs

I have been looking at your blogs and noticed that most of you have stopped writing in them. Unfortunately, if you don't keep up with the assignment you won't be able to take the final as a 'regular' student, and when you have to present a portfolio for the oral, you won't be able to without any posts in your blog. For the last month and a half of class I'm changing the assignment to a News Magazine, and we'll all work on one blog instead of your individual blogs. It'll be less work perhaps but you will still be required to write on a weekly basis. We'll discuss this in class. However, you'll be expected to have your posts complete for the months of August and September as assigned at the beginning of the year. Unless you're planning to drop the course and not sit for the final until you take the subject again, you'll be better off completing the requirement for the class which includes your blog entries. I'll check them again next week and see if there's any progress. Take advantage of the extra time you're getting this week. Please, pass the word on to your classmates...

No class this week! So HAPPY STUDENTS' DAY!

As I'm attending FAAPI, I won't be able to celebrate your day with you. Anyway, I know you will somehow manage to do so without me ;)
Hey, you'll be present in one of my workshops at FAAPI!
So wish me luck!

Student response to blog assignment

I appreciate your honesty and openness to discuss both the pros and cons of the blog assignment. Below please find a summary of your responses to last class written task. The figure after some of the comments represents the number of times that particular issue was mentioned. I'll discuss this in class further but, meanwhile, here you can see the details.

Negative

Economic effort/too expensive – the assignment does not consider our socio-economic reality: 12

Time consuming: it takes me more than 30 min. – when it becomes a race against time it can be really exhausting – I’ve no Internet at home so I have to go to a cybercafé: 9

Difficult to keep up with weekly assignments: a lot of work – I dislike the idea of working under pressure: 5

Frustrating to learn to use a comp: creating and using a blog should be taught as part of the curricula: 4

I’d like to know if I’m using the right expressions and structures – most of us don’t get a comment from the teacher: 3

Don’t think using blog helps to improve language skills - it’s been an obstacle rather than help to improve language skills – I haven’t noticed any improvement in my learning a foreign language: 3

We’ve no skills to use tech: 2

Two entries per week would be better

No typing skills

Resistance to tech

Mental effort

Usually run out of ideas to write about

We’re not prepared with the best tech support

Social problems (did not specify)

Difficult to find good articles to read

Oral presentations are scary

Screen light affects eyesight

Positive

Learning to use computers – I’ve learnt many things about using a computer – good to be pushed to use a comp: 5

Improves writing: developed my fluency – I write and think faster in English – when I read my entries I realize I use expressions that I picked up from other people and I thought I would never use – journal writing improved my language: 4

Good to keep up with tech – keeps us involved with the world of tech: 3

I enjoy it: 3

More positive than negative – quite beneficial to me – writing in a blog keeps students in a continuous hard-working task: 3

Enlarged my vocab – you need to develop a rich vocabulary in order to remain faithful to those thoughts: 3

Good experience – future teachers should be familiar with tech: 2

Idea is great: 2

The experience helps me explore my thoughts: 2

Not difficult to create and use it

Interesting: I had to create an email address

I can now communicate with friends via email

I’ve learnt to use the Internet and a blog

I’ve improved my typing skills

I have my own personal space in the blog

I’ve written more things in English than in all the three years since I started at Lola Mora

Interesting resource

Choosing the topics to write about, ok

I generate ideas better and faster

We can be spontaneous and creative

By going through the process of writing a journal entry, we can express our ideas, experiences, stories, etc. fluently and spontaneously, and mainly use language flexibly

Gives me the chance to let my classmates know a little bit more about me, and me to learn more about them

It’s motivational

Writing helps me overcome stress: I talk about what bothers and makes me sad – like going to my shrink but cheaper!

Easier to communicate with teacher and classmates

IMPORTANT: Wrong message about Tuesday Class

I want to apologize for my confusion with the schedule of class for today, Tuesday August 21. I do not have class with you today, SO you are not attending J. Etcheverry's lecture with me. I'm sorry again and hope this will cause no further inconvenience. Please, pass the word. See you tomorrow! (when we DO have class)

Tomorrow's Parcial

Sorry I could not make it to class yesterday. I just wanted to clarify a few points about tomorrow's parcial. It'll include:

• Fahrenheit 451: the whole book even though we could not finish our analysis in class.
• Textbook: the first four (4) units. You need to study Unit 4 on your own. Your workbook has plenty of exercises.
• Creative writing piece: you need to bring a revised piece of writing from your blog. It should be a hard copy, typed with a complete header and double-spaced. It counts as a practico.
  

The blog entries and your reading log are due in August. If so far you have not started a blog, you should do so over break. I will not accept handwritten journals in August.

Best luck and inspiration for tomorrow's parcial, and have a great winter break!!!

News for your relief!

In recognition of your good work since the beginning of the year, I've decided to postpone the deadline for the blog completion and presentation of article reviews until the first week of class when we're back in August. This way you can focus on preparing for the first parcial. HOWEVER, your best piece from your blog MUST be turned in on Thursday - in hard copy, double-spaced, etc.

Hope this encourages you to keep working as hard and as well as you have throughout this very intense first term.

Calendar Update for the Remainder of this Term

Week 11
Tue Jun 5
F451 discussion Part II

Thu Jun 7
F451 Practico or Writing workshop

Week 12
Mon Jun 11
Practico Units 1-3

Tue Jun 12
Oral presentations (Practico) (a)

Thu Jun 14
Oral presentations (b)

Week 13
Mon Jun 18
Oral presentations (c)

Tue Jun 19
F451 Whole book discussion

Thu Jun 21
Unit 4 TB (a)

Week 14
Mon Jun 25
Unit 4 TB (b)

Tue Jun 26
General Review and Consolidation

Thu Jun 28
1st Written Parcial. Includes TB: units 1-4; F451 plot and analysis;
Journal Presentation Practico: 39 entries; turn in 2 best entries.
Reading Log: 24 articles

Winter recess reading assignment: To be announced

Intro & Conclusion Practico

This is just a reminder that you need to email me an introduction and a conclusion, adding
a) a brief statement of what the article is about;
b) include the title, copy and paste the introduction and the conclusion;
c) describe the strategy the author used to introduce the essay and to conclude it;
d) include the link to the article at the end.

The weekend is over and I've only received two practicos assigned last weekend. I hope you'll be emailing it before class on Thursday.

Samples of good writing from essays on video gaming

Two good introductions:

Typical of our culture is to make use of technology, especially computers, as a way of entertainment. And in this respect, video gaming is at the top of the list. Despite the widespread criticism it has attracted, there will always be defenders ready to point out a number of good reasons to go on playing without feeling any kind of remorse. (TN)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Have you ever imagined that a simple video game could ever become as real as life? Over the years, video games have increasingly developed into a widespread form of entertainment, and, while the characters and situations they present are made even more lifelike, the heated debate of its social impact is intensifying. (MM)


Two good discussion paragraphs:

First of all, video gaming starts as a form of entertainment, but it can become an addiction so the primary reason for playing is not fun anymore, but inner necessity. The consequence of becoming an addict is alienation and social isolation. This has become a main point of discussion since the mass public shootings occurred in the United States. The teenagers who killed their classmates were thought to have found inspiration in a very well-known video game. Therefore, video games can create addiction and promote violent behavior. (PC)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

There is a widespread idea that video games are very violent and that they are polluting gamers' minds. A lot of people think that playing violent video games might be bad for children, as it might turn them into violent adults. However, millions of people around the world play these games and the vast majority of them are very peaceful people and never pick up a gun in real life. The violence in video games after all is very crude, exaggerated, and cartoon like. It bears no relation to real life and people who play video games know this. Now, it is certainly true that if a slightly disturbed child plays these video games too much, he might become more violent, but then it is also true that sort of child would become violent if he watched a film or listened to heavy metal, or did any one of a number of other activities. Video games themselves cannot be blamed for causing people to act violently in real life. (AS)

Answer Key to Unit 1

Page 5
Exercise 2.
a.
Poor: penniless, poverty-stricken, improverished, badly off, broke, skint, hard up
Mean: stingy, tight-fisted, penny-pinching, miserly
Rich: wealthy, well off, prosperous, comfortable, loaded, affluent
c.
informal: stingy, loaded, tight-fisted, broke, skint, hard up
d.
noun forms: wealth, prosperity, stinginess, comfort, affluence

Exercise 3
1. To gain money by working / to gain money through a competition, etc. as a prize
2. An allowance given to children by parents / simple to earn
3. Set aside for the future; avoid wasteful spending / throw away money on silly things
4. Have cash in one's pocket, purse, etc. / be rich
5. Get value for money / support what you say with appropriate action
6. Money has power / money isn't in endless supply

Exercise 4
Loan: money lent that must be paid back
Grant: sum given by the state or company to pay for educational study
Expenses: money spent on necessary items
Rent: money paid weekly or monthly for accommodation
Mortgage: loan given by a bank, etc. to buy property
Interest: a charge for using borrowed money
Taxes: money paid to the government according to your income or property owned
Fee: amount paid for a professional service
Deposit: sum paid as security when buying, e.g. on credit
Profit: money gained from doing business
Salary: amount paid monthly by company to employee
Pension: weekly or monthly amount from the state or private company paid to retired people
Inheritance: money, property, etc. received from someone who has died
Fare: amount paid to travel on transport
Fine: a penalty for breaking rules / the law
Wages: weekly payment for work or services
Tip: payment left in a restaurant, etc. for good service


READING
Exercise 1
a.
Text A is about a woman winning a million pounds on a TV quiz show; it is from a newspaper.
Text B is from a leaflet or brochure about the services offered by a bank.
Text C is a magazine article about teenagers making money in e-business

Exercise 3
Text A:
Appeal: ability to please or interest
Scooping: winning
Sound: good, sensible
Gamble: to risk / to take a chance
Intensified: increased
Tidy sum: a considerable amount of money
Text B:
Account: sum of money kept by a customer with a bank
Key: means of using
Access: to use
Secure: safe
Excluding: apart from, not including
Text C:
Fortunes: great amounts of money
Bother: to annoy
Driven: motivated
Invention: new

Exercise 4
a.
Keppel's age; what she would have won if she'd answered the last question incorrectly; the number of hours per day various band services are available; the number of hours per week the teenage millionaires work
b.
Henry II; Businesscall; in the bath / launderette; Microsoft

Exercise 5
A. They were showing ads; Mrs Keppel was waiting in suspense.
B. Business people: your business finances, etc.
C. Don't misunderstand me; informal; kids, I'm, you.


GRAMMAR
Exercise 1
a.
Verbs + inf: expect, hope, offer, promise
Verbs + ing: avoid, consider, dislike, practice
b.
To inf: aim, afford, appear, choose, claim, dare, decide, fail, happen, intend, pretend, threaten, refuse, seem
-ing: admit, deny, fancy, mind, miss, resent, resist, risk, suggest

Exercise 2
a.
1. changed activity, continuation of the same activity
2. regret about what you're about to say, regret about a past action
3. stopped one action to do another, did not continue running
4. Will always remember something from the past, will remember to do something in the future
5. intended, entailed / involved
6. chooses to do, enjoys
7. the remembering before the action, the action before the remembering
8. attempted unsuccessfully, experimented to see if it helped the situation
9. heard part of the action, heard the whole action
Other verbs like Hear: see, watch, feel, notice, observe, overhear

Exercise 3
a.
1. taught my sister
2. helped her
3. pretended
4. agreed
5. caused it
6. hoped
7. wanted him

b.
The object is optional in 2 and 7. Without the object in 2, we do not know who the speaker helps. With the object in 7 he pays for the dress; without the object she pays.

Exercise 4
1. Us to work, sharing
2. Talking, to speak
3. Her to think, to look after
4. Setting, to spend
5. Me to take, me not to go

Exercise 5
1. She can't help eating chocolate whenever she is nervous.
2. He promised to love her forever.
3. They're opposed to oil companies increasing diesel prices again.
4. She can't afford to give her children presents.
5. I'd advise the manager to buy/buying eleven new players.

SPEAKING
Asking for clarification or repetition
Could you say that again, please?
I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that.
Additional expressions:
What was that again?
Sorry / Pardon?
I'm sorry, what did you say after… ?

Checking the listener understands
Do you see what I mean?
Is everything clear so far?
Additional expressions:
Are you with me?
Does that make sense?
Right / OK?

Giving clarification
Let me put it another way.
What I mean is…
Additional expressions:
The point I'm making is…
In other words…
That's to say…

Confirming understanding
Yes, that's quite clear.
Right, I've got that.
Additional expressions:
I see.
Right / OK


VOCABULARY
Exercise 1
2. a continuing or progressing b connecting
3. a moving away b ending or disconnecting
4. a failing b reducing
5. a moving inwards b participating

Exercise 2
1. In (moving inwards)
2. Up (increasing)
3. Off (disconnecting)
4. Up (finishing)
5. Down (failing)
6. Down (reducing)
7. On (progressing)
8. Up (finishing)
9. Off (moving away)
10. On (connecting)


IDIOMS
Exercise 1
Literally it means adjust their belts to a narrower waist; here it means to spend or use less money because they can't afford as much as before.
Idioms are expressions that are natural to a native speaker of a language and they are typically metaphorical (their meaning is not clear from the meaning of its individual words). They make the speaker or writer's point clear and they are an economical way of getting the point across.

Exercise 2
1. Pay for everyone
2. Neither gain nor lose money
3. Pay 50% each
4. Set aside cash for future needs
5. Use some money already saved
6. Not have much money
The one which is not needed is return stolen money to its owner.

Exercise 3
1. To be rich: He's worth a fortune / They're rolling in it.
2. To waste money: Throw money down the drain / Spend money like water.
3. To have money problems: The company's in the red / He's living on the breadline.
4. To be charged a lot / too much: That cost us an arm and a leg / She paid through the nose for that. / I was ripped off.

EXAM FOCUS
Exercise 2
1. Bright (day): sunny / bright (pupil) / (look on the) bright (side): be cheerful
2. Grows (phrasal verb grow up: to mature; contrast: to become; idiom money grows on trees: money is in endless supply
3. Set (synonym: to assign; phrasal verb set up: to get something working; contrast: to prepare)

WRITING
Exercise 1
1. Style
2. Ideas
3. Ideas; together; paragraph
4. Order; paragraphs
5. Text
6. Comments; text; dislike
7. Text; vocab; linking
8. Length
9. Relevant
10. Errors; punctuation

Publication of your blog links

I've included a list of blog links here, but I never asked you if you would NOT like yours to appear on this list. If that is the case, all you have to do is let me know and your link will not be on this list. I'm sorry I did not ask before the publication :(