After watching the movie about Idi Amin last week it seems that quite a few of you didn't actually go and do as I asked and look him up on the 'Net. It also seems that some people didn't read last week's article either!
Guys, although it might seem that we cover a lot of ground [talk about a lot of things] in class, this is also a class where there is no set text-book. These articles ARE your text book. I'll often say things we didn't cover in class, or make some things clearer, or explain how things link up, only in these articles. Also, as I said at the beginning, I don't think of you as children. I am not going to test you to see if you did your homework as if you were middle-school kids. Nor punish you if you don't. I can't give you a sense of responsibility, its something you have to develop for yourselves.
One and a half hours per week is not very much time for you to gain enough knowledge to be able to discuss things like adults. While you may (and, I hope, do) gain extra knowledge from your classmates, the person who gives you the most knowledge is yourself. The name of the class is "Class Discussion". We can't discuss things if you don't arm yourself with knowledge about them.
Idi Amin was a very colourful and controversial character in world history. Which is every bit as much YOUR history as Chinese history is. There has been heaps written about him, lots of images, songs, cartoons, funny stories, anecdotes. It really was disappointing that some people didn't even know if he was a bad guy or a good guy!
This is your world. In a few years time you are going to be the ones running it, managing it and taking responsibility for it. You simply have to find out a little more about it.
Now, although this is not an Oral English class at all, as a native English speaker there is help I can give you with the spoken language. Until now I haven't paid too much attention to the way the language is spoken, but have concentrated instead on getting you to start talking with a little more confidence.But to-day, in line with some of the other classes, we started to look at the way the spoken language is different from the written language. Mostly today we spoke about ways to express the simple concept of how to greet our peers and how to express approval or disapproval.
Because we started doing language work in other classes as well, you might like to look through the vocabulary lists of the other classes this week. I don't teach exactly the same class to different groups so you will find different things on different class vocabulary lists.
What we covered was different ways to say a thing is good or nice. These included
It rocks,
cool,
awesome,
yummy (usually only food, but sometimes a really wicked -looking person!)
mad,
wicked
sick.
these last three words all actually have different meanings to "good" if you look them up in your dictionaries but, in oral speech, they have the completely opposite meaning.
The reason this is possible without confusion is because the meaning of English words is often contained as much in the way we say them as in the words themselves. Thus o.k. can mean good, bad, or show indifference, all depending on the way we say it.
Words to express that we didn't like something include calling things
crap,
bullshit,
yucky
and not-good.
Putting so or totally in front of something has come to replace the word very and is used for emphasis. So something can be not good, so not-good or totally not-good on a descending scale. If something is described as totally cool, or totally rubbish, or totally crap and we agree we just say Totally!
We also talked about greeting people and how the text-book greetings, which are fine for introducing us to the language, are not actually part of informal or every day English. In fact the most common greeting is the simplest of all: Hey. We say it to someone, they say it back and that's that.
The main problem with the Hello,howareyou - I'mfine thanksandyou? - I'mfine. model is that it was a greeting learned when we didn't know much English and were not looking to start a conversation but wanted to appear polite. As a conversational starter, however, it is a dead end. It leads nowhere. Which is fine when that's the only English you know!
More appropriate are the common greetings which ask not how a person's health is ( like asking whether a person has eaten or not is hardly a burning issue) but what is happening in their life. Or whether or not they want to do something with us, or have time for a chat. These are all covered by
Wassup
How r thingz with you? (Usually said with no pauses as if its one word)
Wotcha been upta?
What's happening?
we have the option of just replying Nuthen much or same ole same ole, or of actually answering by replying that we are on our way to class, or thinking about going to have something to eat, or planning on going downtown etc. This allows not just a conversation, but the opportunity to hang out [do things together]
Remember, language is just a tool for communication and so we should learn to use that tool properly. Communicate!
Friday, 27 March 2009
062Y54A00 26/03 Differences Between Oral & Written English
This week I started talking about the differences between spoken and written English in most classes. Those who are really interested could scroll down and have a look at some of the vocabulary in other posts this week as its all part of the same subject and there are gonna be things in there we didn't deal with in this particular class.
I know its difficult for you guys who are learning two foreign languages at the same time and bound to get mixed up at times: I often use French words when I am trying to speak Chinese myself.
I think that one of the values of having a foreign teacher is that so much of the spoken language is not available to you in books. But you must keep in mind that each person has their own personal lexicon [lists of words]. This personal lexicon depends upon their nationality, interests, education and other factors. For example, a foreign teacher from America might use the word 'swell' a lot; an Australian would use 'mate' a lot, a South African 'man' and an English person 'sorted". So each foreign person you meet might come up with words you are not familiar with - because I move around a lot I am always learning new English words I have never heard before.
We all ask each other what these words mean and tease each other or argue about them so I have tried to give only the ones which are used by all English speakers.
More important though, I think, is trying to show how the spoken language works. And, though English is not tonal, it does work on stress. We have already spoken of how, usually, it is the second syllable of a word that is stressed and most of you know that a sentence that asks a question always goes up at the end. But stress works throughout the whole rhythm of English.
We all learn to speak originally through our ears: that is we come to recognise that a particular collection of sounds indicates a particular object or action. In most languages the words for mother and then father are usually the first ones learned - closely followed by "No!"
As English speakers we learn from the very beginning to recognise the pattern or rhythm of a collection of words. My eldest son, whenever he was looking for something started saying "r u theadjoyse?" in a high-pitched voice. It was only one day day, when I was at his Carer's house that I saw her go to the wooden fence that separated her garden from her neighbour and call "Are you there, Joyce?" that I realised why: he thought that particular collection of sounds was the one everybody used when looking for someone or something!
Because nouns and verbs are the most important words in any sentence the rhythm of English speech patterns goes up and down due to the stress that we automatically stress these words - and sometimes adjectives. The words that come in between are not as important and so we tend to say those faster - almost as if we were racing to get past them to the most important stuff.
This is why, sometimes, an English speaker has difficulty understanding someone who is not a native speaker: we are used to that up and down rhythm and our ear is trained to catch the important words. When someone speaks English to us with no rhythm or stress we are easily confused for a minute and often ask to have the sentence repeated. This is unfortunate in China where the Chinese person immediately thinks they have made a mistake, gets embarrassed, starts searching their mind for another way to say what they just said and, nine times out of ten, completely refuses to say exactly what they had said the first time. Or sometimes, to even say anything at all!
So one rule to remember is that, if a native English speaker says "I beg your pardon?" or asks you to repeat something, its not because what you have said is wrong. Its because our ear has to adjust to the different rhythm. The worst thing you can do is try to say the same thing again in a different way because then the process starts all over again. We really DO want you to say exactly what you said before.
For this reason too we sometimes find it difficult to understand a particular word. Its usually not because the word is not correct, but because we have not heard it said in that way before and it sounds completely different to the sounds we associate with that word. So remember...its not your mistake, its ours. Don't be embarrassed or confused, just clearly repeat yourself and have pity of daft [silly] foreigners who can't even recognise our own language!
There are certain words that are often said together and so always said very quickly. So quickly in fact, that they sound like just one word. For an ESL students this is confusing as they are waiting for us to separate each word by a tiny pause and when they don't hear us pausing, think we have said something unfamiliar. We started with a list of things commonly said so quickly together:
would you...woodja
could you...koodya
what's up?...wassup?
don't know...dunno
going to...gunna
want to...wanna
are you...arrya
what are you...wotcha
We tend to pronounce an ing ending as en. So,
doing = doowen
going = gowen
having = haven
the words to and the are the most common words we use and so not terribly important so we rarely say them clearly. Instead we don't pronounce the vowel so that
to = t'
the = th'
Thus the sentence I am going to go to the shop sounds like : I'mgunnago t'th'shop. Which is fine because all you really need in that sentence is the word shop which, being a noun, is stressed and quite clear.
In the same way, the sentence What are you doing? sounds more like wotchadoowen?
We'll do some more of these next week and then, as promised, we'll look at some of the photos of what English Universities look like.
One of the very first nursery rymes little kids learn is Mary Had a Little Lamb. Kids who can even make a sentence on their own yet can still recite this little poem. It also clearly illustrates the up and down, stress/no stress rhythm of English which is why it is so easy for them to both say and remember. How would you say it?
Mary had a little lamb,
It's fleece was white as snow,
and everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go.
I know its difficult for you guys who are learning two foreign languages at the same time and bound to get mixed up at times: I often use French words when I am trying to speak Chinese myself.
I think that one of the values of having a foreign teacher is that so much of the spoken language is not available to you in books. But you must keep in mind that each person has their own personal lexicon [lists of words]. This personal lexicon depends upon their nationality, interests, education and other factors. For example, a foreign teacher from America might use the word 'swell' a lot; an Australian would use 'mate' a lot, a South African 'man' and an English person 'sorted". So each foreign person you meet might come up with words you are not familiar with - because I move around a lot I am always learning new English words I have never heard before.
We all ask each other what these words mean and tease each other or argue about them so I have tried to give only the ones which are used by all English speakers.
More important though, I think, is trying to show how the spoken language works. And, though English is not tonal, it does work on stress. We have already spoken of how, usually, it is the second syllable of a word that is stressed and most of you know that a sentence that asks a question always goes up at the end. But stress works throughout the whole rhythm of English.
We all learn to speak originally through our ears: that is we come to recognise that a particular collection of sounds indicates a particular object or action. In most languages the words for mother and then father are usually the first ones learned - closely followed by "No!"
As English speakers we learn from the very beginning to recognise the pattern or rhythm of a collection of words. My eldest son, whenever he was looking for something started saying "r u theadjoyse?" in a high-pitched voice. It was only one day day, when I was at his Carer's house that I saw her go to the wooden fence that separated her garden from her neighbour and call "Are you there, Joyce?" that I realised why: he thought that particular collection of sounds was the one everybody used when looking for someone or something!
Because nouns and verbs are the most important words in any sentence the rhythm of English speech patterns goes up and down due to the stress that we automatically stress these words - and sometimes adjectives. The words that come in between are not as important and so we tend to say those faster - almost as if we were racing to get past them to the most important stuff.
This is why, sometimes, an English speaker has difficulty understanding someone who is not a native speaker: we are used to that up and down rhythm and our ear is trained to catch the important words. When someone speaks English to us with no rhythm or stress we are easily confused for a minute and often ask to have the sentence repeated. This is unfortunate in China where the Chinese person immediately thinks they have made a mistake, gets embarrassed, starts searching their mind for another way to say what they just said and, nine times out of ten, completely refuses to say exactly what they had said the first time. Or sometimes, to even say anything at all!
So one rule to remember is that, if a native English speaker says "I beg your pardon?" or asks you to repeat something, its not because what you have said is wrong. Its because our ear has to adjust to the different rhythm. The worst thing you can do is try to say the same thing again in a different way because then the process starts all over again. We really DO want you to say exactly what you said before.
For this reason too we sometimes find it difficult to understand a particular word. Its usually not because the word is not correct, but because we have not heard it said in that way before and it sounds completely different to the sounds we associate with that word. So remember...its not your mistake, its ours. Don't be embarrassed or confused, just clearly repeat yourself and have pity of daft [silly] foreigners who can't even recognise our own language!
There are certain words that are often said together and so always said very quickly. So quickly in fact, that they sound like just one word. For an ESL students this is confusing as they are waiting for us to separate each word by a tiny pause and when they don't hear us pausing, think we have said something unfamiliar. We started with a list of things commonly said so quickly together:
would you...woodja
could you...koodya
what's up?...wassup?
don't know...dunno
going to...gunna
want to...wanna
are you...arrya
what are you...wotcha
We tend to pronounce an ing ending as en. So,
doing = doowen
going = gowen
having = haven
the words to and the are the most common words we use and so not terribly important so we rarely say them clearly. Instead we don't pronounce the vowel so that
to = t'
the = th'
Thus the sentence I am going to go to the shop sounds like : I'mgunnago t'th'shop. Which is fine because all you really need in that sentence is the word shop which, being a noun, is stressed and quite clear.
In the same way, the sentence What are you doing? sounds more like wotchadoowen?
We'll do some more of these next week and then, as promised, we'll look at some of the photos of what English Universities look like.
One of the very first nursery rymes little kids learn is Mary Had a Little Lamb. Kids who can even make a sentence on their own yet can still recite this little poem. It also clearly illustrates the up and down, stress/no stress rhythm of English which is why it is so easy for them to both say and remember. How would you say it?
Mary had a little lamb,
It's fleece was white as snow,
and everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go.
Sino-Swedish class Wednesday 25/03 Oral English
In this lesson we started discussing the difference between a spoken or a written language. In English, as in Chinese, the spoken language often is unrecognisable from the written language. Students who get high marks for written English, or who are top students in a classroom situation often cannot understand anything a foreigner says to them.
Most of you are more able to read English than to understand it as a spoken language. While this is fine for studying from text-books, you are going to an environment where everyone around you will be speaking English. All your classes will be given in English as well. If you want a little more hel with this go and look at the other articles posted for Thursday's and Friday's classes which will have some vocabulary that we did not discuss but which is important to spoken English.
The first thing learners of any foreign language complain about is how fast it always seems when people are speaking. In class you have always heard it spoken very slowly, with each word pronounced very clearly. Unfortunately that's not how native speakers use a language.
However, with English, as with any other language, there are differences in the spoken language that always apply. We started to look at these, as well as at the difference in vocabulary.
For one thing, words that are usually used together are said together without a pause between so that to the ear they sound like one word.
Thus the common combination "how are you..." when followed by another word or words becomes "howya"...the word are disappears completely. So the sentence "How are you doing?" - a common greeting, becomes "Howya doowen?". This is because the ending ing is rarely pronounced the way it looks, but as en. The g disappears. So, also, going sounds like gowen.
But it is the vocabulary we use in the spoken language that changes a lot too. While the English language contains more words than any other language, the vocabulary used in common speech is surprisingly small and rather than, as in writing, trying to use the precise word which gives our meaning exactly, we use a smaller selection of words repeatedly to mean broadly the same things. We also substitute a lot of words with other words.
reckon...often used instead of think. You reckon he likes it? instead of Do you think he likes it.
chick...literally means a baby chicken. Used in spoken English to mean girl
bird...a creature with feathers. But used, mainly by English and Europeans for girl
guy...literally means a life-sized, home-made sort of doll meant to represent a real person.
But it's used instead of boy/man. The plural guys, represents both genders.
dude...is not even an English word! But guys use it to each other meaning boy/man
cool...means not hot. But is the most common way of stating approval "s/he's cool." The movie
was cool. This song is cool. Carries the meaning of fashionably good
awesome...literally means to inspire an almost religious wonder. But used to mean very good or very nice.
Most of you are more able to read English than to understand it as a spoken language. While this is fine for studying from text-books, you are going to an environment where everyone around you will be speaking English. All your classes will be given in English as well. If you want a little more hel with this go and look at the other articles posted for Thursday's and Friday's classes which will have some vocabulary that we did not discuss but which is important to spoken English.
The first thing learners of any foreign language complain about is how fast it always seems when people are speaking. In class you have always heard it spoken very slowly, with each word pronounced very clearly. Unfortunately that's not how native speakers use a language.
However, with English, as with any other language, there are differences in the spoken language that always apply. We started to look at these, as well as at the difference in vocabulary.
For one thing, words that are usually used together are said together without a pause between so that to the ear they sound like one word.
Thus the common combination "how are you..." when followed by another word or words becomes "howya"...the word are disappears completely. So the sentence "How are you doing?" - a common greeting, becomes "Howya doowen?". This is because the ending ing is rarely pronounced the way it looks, but as en. The g disappears. So, also, going sounds like gowen.
But it is the vocabulary we use in the spoken language that changes a lot too. While the English language contains more words than any other language, the vocabulary used in common speech is surprisingly small and rather than, as in writing, trying to use the precise word which gives our meaning exactly, we use a smaller selection of words repeatedly to mean broadly the same things. We also substitute a lot of words with other words.
reckon...often used instead of think. You reckon he likes it? instead of Do you think he likes it.
chick...literally means a baby chicken. Used in spoken English to mean girl
bird...a creature with feathers. But used, mainly by English and Europeans for girl
guy...literally means a life-sized, home-made sort of doll meant to represent a real person.
But it's used instead of boy/man. The plural guys, represents both genders.
dude...is not even an English word! But guys use it to each other meaning boy/man
cool...means not hot. But is the most common way of stating approval "s/he's cool." The movie
was cool. This song is cool. Carries the meaning of fashionably good
awesome...literally means to inspire an almost religious wonder. But used to mean very good or very nice.
bitch...is actually the correct word for a female dog. Used to mean a nasty woman
bastard...the child of an unmarried mother. Used to refer to a nasty man
bloody...adjective meaning covered in blood. Used simply as an adjective with no other meaning than to express our annoyance: My bloody bike broke down!
seedy...really means worn-out, cheap. Used to describe an unpleasant person
sleazy...the real meaning is to be vulgar, not respectable. Used to describe an unpleasant, uncool person
balls...well we know what a ball is. But used to mean "Oh, that's not true"
bullshit...the excrement (pooh) of a male cow. Used to mean untrue or rubbish e.g. That movie was a load of bullshit or Its bullshit to say she did that!
in...again we all know what the little word means. However, although this meaning is fading in many places, it is still used often in Northern Europe to mean fashionable
out...the opposite of in e.g. unfashionable
tired...unfashionable, common
so yesterday...same as above
not-good...while not correct grammar, using not-good with so in front of it has come to mean really bad e.g. that movie was so not-good! Therefore we often use not -good simply as bad e,g, How was the exam? Not-good
so...putting so in front of something has become more common than using the word very e.g. She is so bitchy!
Finally, we dealt again with the fact that we use a lot of facial and body expressiveness in English which is why we can afford to use so few words in the spoken language. Our faces and bodies make our meaning clear. And we often say the exact opposite to what we mean, because our expression carries the real meaning.
So, if a person asks someone what the exam was like, they might say "Wonderful!". But if they are pulling a face, drooping their shoulders etc. we know they are being sarcastic and meaning the exact opposite. This is one of the reasons foreigners keep eye-contact too: we "read" each others meaning as well as listen to it.
Because of this there are some things we don't actually use words for e.g. "I don't know" which is said as the single word Dunno, is usually said with a shrug of the shoulders. Therefore simply shrugging our shoulders means that we don't know. In the same way simply nodding or shaking our heads signals yes or no in most languages.
Often we simply make the noise like Mmm- hmm for yes or no. Saying it with an upward tone means yes or a downwards tone means no.
And PLEASE: my most hated word "delicious"! Not really used in spoken language. We usually say:
yummy... great; good; really good. Its HOW we say it that counts.
Yucky... is a common way of saying something is NOT delicious, as is Yuck..pronounced as a sort of disgusted noise in the back of our throat: - Yeucchhh!
Thursday, 26 March 2009
062Y55A03 24/03 Mrs. Henderson, WW2, Good Movies
I said I wanted to show the same movie to two classes because I was sure that the reactions would be different and they were, to a certain extent. What ended up being completely different was where the discussion ended up going.
The Monday class ran into such a different direction that I would like each of you to read it as well as this one. You will find it posted under the heading of062Y55AFX 23/03. I have also asked them to read this one because we didn't talk about any of this stuff at all in that class and yet it all came about from the same movie.
We got a little more involved in discussing the actual qualities of the film and what makes a good movie or bad one.
Although, of course, not everyone like the movie (its pretty hard to find a movie, a book or a poem that everyone will agree or disagree on), I think that, in the end, we did conclude that this had been a good movie. Being a good movie does not necessarily mean that we'll like it, of course.
One of the reasons for calling Mrs. Henderson Presents a good movie was its breadth. In this case the word breadth means all the different things it presented. Of course, just because a movie present lots of ideas does not in itself prove its a good movie either. It could end up being too broad and just leaving us confused. Or never actually making any particular point at all.
But a good movie is one which presents different issue in a subtle way. By subtle what is meant is not being too obvious or, as I called it, in yer face. This movie brought in not just the things I had asked you to think about: sexism, ageism etc. but the whole (almost) vanished world of British class privilege, language and the futility of war. Those scenes where Mrs. Henderson went to visit her son in France were very subtly done.
Her son could have been buried in the local church yard or a family grave in England. But instead, all over Europe and the Pacific, there are these huge war graveyards set out as reminders to us of what war is really about. Often the are constructed at the sight of different particular battles. We might read in a book that 60,000 soldiers died in a particular battle but the number don't make much of an impact.
Yet, when we go and visit a war grave site there will 60,000 graves all set out in identical rows and rows of headstones and stretching across the quiet countryside. It is impossible for anyone to stand in the middle of one of them and not feel how stupid and obscene and even immoral the idea of war is. Especially as so many of them don't actually have a name on them: they just say "The grave of an unknown soldier". This means that there wasn't enough of a body left for anyone to recognise it. It was just a collection of bits and pieces of flesh and, without a uniform no-one could even tell which side it had fought on.
Also, rather subtly done was when Mrs. Henderson asks the soldier who brings her something to stand on where he is from and he says America: "Oh, America" she says "Strange people. Lovely manners." These few words actually said so much about colonialism and the British attitude towards America that a whole article could be written about it, yet it was approximately 2 seconds in length and easily missed.
The other things that made this a good movie was that it strove for realism. Mrs. Henderson was not a beautiful young woman and Mr. Van Damme was short, fat and elderly. Yet there was no doubt that this too, was a story of a love affair. A love story that challenged all our ideas about older people and our own ageism. The scenes of Mrs. Henderson standing naked in front of her mirror playing with the feathered fans were cut with scenes of the young and doomed girl who was doing the same in front of an appreciative audience.This was, in fact, one of the saddest scenes in the whole movie and, if we think about what it was actually saying we could also write an essay about this - even though it made several people actually laugh out loud.
Actually, I think it was this scene that got us talking about the whole subject of The Hollywood Dream, and societies acceptance of old men married to twenty year olds but its outrage if an old lady marries a young man of 20.
In fact, it was the number of things and the different subjects that were brought up, and the disagreements about the movie which all went to prove the point: this really was a good movie.
Any movie that makes us think - either positively or negatively -, that challenges us, that presents things we haven't thought about before, that teaches us something, that shows a different part of life to us that we didn't know existed....that's a good movie.
So, love it, hate it or be unable to make up your mind. Mrs. Henderson Presents showed what makes a good movie.
Finally: I was amused that so many of you couldn't understand much of the dialogue. The other thing about this movie was that it presented the English language as it is supposed to be spoken. Actor Judy Dench who played Mrs. Henderson is a very famous and highly regarded actor and her diction in this movie was wonderful - as was that of Bob Hoskins, equally famous and a wonderful actor. The way they both spoke is the kind of precise, cultured and educated English that was once the standard that elevated those that spoke it far above those who spoke it any other way.Yet it was almost incomprehensible to most of you. Ahh, that says a lot too!
Vocabulary:
catch-phrase...a phrase that becomes popular for a period of time then disappears
trashy...rubbishy; bad; second-rate
toy-boy...the very young sexual partner of a much older woman
protagonist...the main her or heroine of a story
the Hollywood Dream...a fantasy world that exists nowhere except in movies
in-yer-face...something very obvious; impossible not to understand or to ignore
inconclusive...room for doubt; impossible to make a definite conclusion about
objective...presenting the facts without sentiment or trying to influence us
subjective...presented with the intention of making us think a certain way; propaganda
class distinctions...differences in social divisions
The Monday class ran into such a different direction that I would like each of you to read it as well as this one. You will find it posted under the heading of062Y55AFX 23/03. I have also asked them to read this one because we didn't talk about any of this stuff at all in that class and yet it all came about from the same movie.
We got a little more involved in discussing the actual qualities of the film and what makes a good movie or bad one.
Although, of course, not everyone like the movie (its pretty hard to find a movie, a book or a poem that everyone will agree or disagree on), I think that, in the end, we did conclude that this had been a good movie. Being a good movie does not necessarily mean that we'll like it, of course.
One of the reasons for calling Mrs. Henderson Presents a good movie was its breadth. In this case the word breadth means all the different things it presented. Of course, just because a movie present lots of ideas does not in itself prove its a good movie either. It could end up being too broad and just leaving us confused. Or never actually making any particular point at all.
But a good movie is one which presents different issue in a subtle way. By subtle what is meant is not being too obvious or, as I called it, in yer face. This movie brought in not just the things I had asked you to think about: sexism, ageism etc. but the whole (almost) vanished world of British class privilege, language and the futility of war. Those scenes where Mrs. Henderson went to visit her son in France were very subtly done.
Her son could have been buried in the local church yard or a family grave in England. But instead, all over Europe and the Pacific, there are these huge war graveyards set out as reminders to us of what war is really about. Often the are constructed at the sight of different particular battles. We might read in a book that 60,000 soldiers died in a particular battle but the number don't make much of an impact.
Yet, when we go and visit a war grave site there will 60,000 graves all set out in identical rows and rows of headstones and stretching across the quiet countryside. It is impossible for anyone to stand in the middle of one of them and not feel how stupid and obscene and even immoral the idea of war is. Especially as so many of them don't actually have a name on them: they just say "The grave of an unknown soldier". This means that there wasn't enough of a body left for anyone to recognise it. It was just a collection of bits and pieces of flesh and, without a uniform no-one could even tell which side it had fought on.
Also, rather subtly done was when Mrs. Henderson asks the soldier who brings her something to stand on where he is from and he says America: "Oh, America" she says "Strange people. Lovely manners." These few words actually said so much about colonialism and the British attitude towards America that a whole article could be written about it, yet it was approximately 2 seconds in length and easily missed.
The other things that made this a good movie was that it strove for realism. Mrs. Henderson was not a beautiful young woman and Mr. Van Damme was short, fat and elderly. Yet there was no doubt that this too, was a story of a love affair. A love story that challenged all our ideas about older people and our own ageism. The scenes of Mrs. Henderson standing naked in front of her mirror playing with the feathered fans were cut with scenes of the young and doomed girl who was doing the same in front of an appreciative audience.This was, in fact, one of the saddest scenes in the whole movie and, if we think about what it was actually saying we could also write an essay about this - even though it made several people actually laugh out loud.
Actually, I think it was this scene that got us talking about the whole subject of The Hollywood Dream, and societies acceptance of old men married to twenty year olds but its outrage if an old lady marries a young man of 20.
In fact, it was the number of things and the different subjects that were brought up, and the disagreements about the movie which all went to prove the point: this really was a good movie.
Any movie that makes us think - either positively or negatively -, that challenges us, that presents things we haven't thought about before, that teaches us something, that shows a different part of life to us that we didn't know existed....that's a good movie.
So, love it, hate it or be unable to make up your mind. Mrs. Henderson Presents showed what makes a good movie.
Finally: I was amused that so many of you couldn't understand much of the dialogue. The other thing about this movie was that it presented the English language as it is supposed to be spoken. Actor Judy Dench who played Mrs. Henderson is a very famous and highly regarded actor and her diction in this movie was wonderful - as was that of Bob Hoskins, equally famous and a wonderful actor. The way they both spoke is the kind of precise, cultured and educated English that was once the standard that elevated those that spoke it far above those who spoke it any other way.Yet it was almost incomprehensible to most of you. Ahh, that says a lot too!
Vocabulary:
catch-phrase...a phrase that becomes popular for a period of time then disappears
trashy...rubbishy; bad; second-rate
toy-boy...the very young sexual partner of a much older woman
protagonist...the main her or heroine of a story
the Hollywood Dream...a fantasy world that exists nowhere except in movies
in-yer-face...something very obvious; impossible not to understand or to ignore
inconclusive...room for doubt; impossible to make a definite conclusion about
objective...presenting the facts without sentiment or trying to influence us
subjective...presented with the intention of making us think a certain way; propaganda
class distinctions...differences in social divisions
067Y18A02 23rd Feb. Classwork Semiotic of Stagework
As the first part of the class involved your own understanding of the importance of the beginning of a narrative or story I was pleased to see that each group had chosen a different way to underline this lesson.
While this is not an acting class but a class about how to interpret film or theatre I am not here to coach any would-be actors. However, even when you are presenting something in class, try to remember some of the points that we have mentioned.
The main one is not to present things with your backs to the audience. There are two reasons I urge you to remember this.
The first is because its a good lesson to learn in any dealings with people at all. We should always try to be aware of where everyone else is in relation to us. As a boss, as an employer this is just as important as to an actor. An employer who cannot connect effectively with all their staff will not be as effective as one who seems to care about and include everyone who is being addressed. Employees that feel important and included make good employees!
As an employee it is also important to harmony in the workplace as to good workplace relations, if we do not seem to be favouring some of our workmates more than others or to be ignoring some.
Socially, of course, the same thing applies. Maybe some of you have had the experience of wanting to join in a group but finding everyone's back turned to you so that you feel left out or excluded. Its not a very nice feeling. If we are part of a group - of friends or of classmates, we should try to ensure that all of them feel equal and not as though some are being forgotten or ignored.
The second reason is directly concerned with learning about Drama. If you know how difficult it is to keep the position of everyone on-stage, as well as the audience, from being presented with your back (however nice your back view is) you will learn and appreciate more about an actors skill, You will also understand better things like why the set is constructed the way it is, why the director has included certain moves, omitted certain pieces of dialogue and, sometimes, why a play just stinks!!
While this might not seem to be a problem in movies where more than one camera is used in most scenes, it is every bit as important in both setting, shooting and editing a scene. It also explains why some Directors or camera-persons or actors are considered far superior to others. Setting up a scene for the camera is every bit as important as for the stage and can also make the difference between a good movie and a bad one.
Finally, it is almost impossible to hear someone who is talking with their back to you!
I've said we're going to watch Anthony Hopkins movies nest week but I warn you in advance that it is not a linear [in a straight line] narrative. We spent a couple of weeks talking about beginnings and a little about endings. This movie challenges all those ideas. I'm going to be very interested in your reactions.
Btw, the pop quiz was kinda interesting. NOW I know who reads these articles and who doesn't!!
While this is not an acting class but a class about how to interpret film or theatre I am not here to coach any would-be actors. However, even when you are presenting something in class, try to remember some of the points that we have mentioned.
The main one is not to present things with your backs to the audience. There are two reasons I urge you to remember this.
The first is because its a good lesson to learn in any dealings with people at all. We should always try to be aware of where everyone else is in relation to us. As a boss, as an employer this is just as important as to an actor. An employer who cannot connect effectively with all their staff will not be as effective as one who seems to care about and include everyone who is being addressed. Employees that feel important and included make good employees!
As an employee it is also important to harmony in the workplace as to good workplace relations, if we do not seem to be favouring some of our workmates more than others or to be ignoring some.
Socially, of course, the same thing applies. Maybe some of you have had the experience of wanting to join in a group but finding everyone's back turned to you so that you feel left out or excluded. Its not a very nice feeling. If we are part of a group - of friends or of classmates, we should try to ensure that all of them feel equal and not as though some are being forgotten or ignored.
The second reason is directly concerned with learning about Drama. If you know how difficult it is to keep the position of everyone on-stage, as well as the audience, from being presented with your back (however nice your back view is) you will learn and appreciate more about an actors skill, You will also understand better things like why the set is constructed the way it is, why the director has included certain moves, omitted certain pieces of dialogue and, sometimes, why a play just stinks!!
While this might not seem to be a problem in movies where more than one camera is used in most scenes, it is every bit as important in both setting, shooting and editing a scene. It also explains why some Directors or camera-persons or actors are considered far superior to others. Setting up a scene for the camera is every bit as important as for the stage and can also make the difference between a good movie and a bad one.
Finally, it is almost impossible to hear someone who is talking with their back to you!
I've said we're going to watch Anthony Hopkins movies nest week but I warn you in advance that it is not a linear [in a straight line] narrative. We spent a couple of weeks talking about beginnings and a little about endings. This movie challenges all those ideas. I'm going to be very interested in your reactions.
Btw, the pop quiz was kinda interesting. NOW I know who reads these articles and who doesn't!!
062Y55AFX 23/03 Mrs Henderson and Change
I hadn't actually intended to sound like the End of the World was coming! But I had suddenly realised that, because I am at last leaving this University, there is so much that I would still like to get you thinking about and such a short time to do it in.
Talking about Mrs. Henderson Presents was interesting - especially as I had not considered that the title could have been interpreted in another way...or at least was capable of involving a play on words. I also showed it to another class and our discussion went in a somewhat different direction. So I would like you to read about that too. You'll find it if you look up the post for 062&55A03 24/09
I quite see how most of you thought I must have showed the movie for the reasons you gave - all of which were, of course, part of the reason. But the other big part was the bit that got me started talking about Change.
I had thought that this movie was a good illustration of how changing circumstances change our lives. Changes are part of the theme running all the way through it.
The most obvious change that takes place is the change in Mrs. Henderson herself. She goes from being a rather thoughtless, social butterfly[a rather shallow person who thinks only of parties and shopping and having a good time in society] to being a person who actually makes a contribution to society albeit [even if; in spite of the fact] a rather unusual contribution!
Along the way she changes her ideas a lot and comes to experience a world in which she had previously had no experience. The most encouraging thing about this change in Mrs. Henderson is that these changes begin at the age of 78. I think this was also a really good message in this movie -that it is never too late for our character to keep growing, to learn new things and ...well..to change. We tend to think that once a person gets older they stop growing intellectually and that their personality is fixed forever. This is what Ageism at its worst: we make assumptions about old people and think they are no longer useful or relevant in our world.
Mrs. Henderson had previously changed from being a mother to being the mother of a dead son and from being a wife to being a widow. Other changes included having always been dependant on her husband to have control now of her own life and her own money, as well as from living in India to staying in England.
The business that she entered also went through some enormous changes: she bought a theatre with the idea of putting on a normal Variety Show[shows with different "acts" - comedy, dancing, singing etc.]. She turned an old theatre into a huge success only to see it start to go downhill [decline].
It was at this point really that the whole story changed too. It was no longer just a movie about how amusing it was for an Upper Class widow to go into show business. Now it became a movie about one individual who actually changed show business - and the ideas of a whole nation - forever.
What changed then was everything: World War 2 broke out. This was, as mentioned before, the first war to involve civilians as much as soldiers.A war in which a soldier could go away to fight for his country, only to survive and find that his country and his family, had been destroyed.
The whole world changed during this war and continued to change as a result of it. Things have never returned to the way they were before 1939. Traditions, class structure, living conditions, the position of women in society, standards of living, innocence: all have changed irrevocably [unable to be undone or restored. Permanently]since 1946.
I'm always commenting on how much you guys amaze me - you come up with different ideas, make me see different way of thinking about things, present ideas in a way I had never seen them before. But this time you amazed me in a different way: - I couldn't believe that you didn't seem to see the connection between the changes brought about by war and the changes another world wide event brings: the 08 Collapse. Your own children are going to be learning about this at school, you know!
Since Reform and Opening there have been lots of wars in different countries, Leaders of different countries have risen and fell, places in the world have been affected by tsunamis, earthquakes, and changing politics.
But this is the first time that China, having embraced the concept of Globalisation, has been involved in a Global event. In fact, at the moment China, along with the rest of the world, is involved in two things that will affect her: global warming and the recession.
I know that traditionally China has stood apart from the rest of the world but it has now been thirty years since that changed. The time for thinking of her as separate from the rest of the world has passed and while this does not for one minute mean that China has to change to become like the rest of the world, it does mean that she is going to be more and more affected by it.
I asked you therefore to get onto the Internet, or newspapers or magazines as a matter of urgency. While most of you are interested in knowing about the world outside, I think most of you are still doing this from a position of polarisation [being completely opposite; at different ends]. You are still thinking of Us and Them instead of We and Us. Whether you ever step a foot outside of your own country or not your are part of a huge community: The World. To understand yourselves you need to understand your position not just as part of your own family/community/country but as part of this greater community: the world.
The financial crisis may have started in America but it doesn't end there. Events happening in other countries can be events that change everything: just like the second world war did. It started in Poland - a country people in England or Australia or America or South Africa and elsewhere had barely heard of and certainly knew nothing much about. But it affected all those people.
I look forward as I always do to our next class, and to seeing what stories you have come up with. I also look forward to the day you come to realise why I am so concerned. And to the day you join the dots [make the connection] between what started in America and how it will (and already has) change things in Ningbo, China.
Vocabulary
Chink... a derogative word for Chinese people
Wogs... a derogative word for people from the Middle East
Frogs...a derogative word for French people
Eyeties...a derogative word for Italians
poofta...a derogative word for a gay man
humanity...to be used instead of the word "Man" as a collective noun for all people
sexism...treating people differently/making general assumptions about people because of their gender
racism...the same as above but because of a persons nationality or skin colour
ageism...doing the same as the first two because of a persons age
Talking about Mrs. Henderson Presents was interesting - especially as I had not considered that the title could have been interpreted in another way...or at least was capable of involving a play on words. I also showed it to another class and our discussion went in a somewhat different direction. So I would like you to read about that too. You'll find it if you look up the post for 062&55A03 24/09
I quite see how most of you thought I must have showed the movie for the reasons you gave - all of which were, of course, part of the reason. But the other big part was the bit that got me started talking about Change.
I had thought that this movie was a good illustration of how changing circumstances change our lives. Changes are part of the theme running all the way through it.
The most obvious change that takes place is the change in Mrs. Henderson herself. She goes from being a rather thoughtless, social butterfly[a rather shallow person who thinks only of parties and shopping and having a good time in society] to being a person who actually makes a contribution to society albeit [even if; in spite of the fact] a rather unusual contribution!
Along the way she changes her ideas a lot and comes to experience a world in which she had previously had no experience. The most encouraging thing about this change in Mrs. Henderson is that these changes begin at the age of 78. I think this was also a really good message in this movie -that it is never too late for our character to keep growing, to learn new things and ...well..to change. We tend to think that once a person gets older they stop growing intellectually and that their personality is fixed forever. This is what Ageism at its worst: we make assumptions about old people and think they are no longer useful or relevant in our world.
Mrs. Henderson had previously changed from being a mother to being the mother of a dead son and from being a wife to being a widow. Other changes included having always been dependant on her husband to have control now of her own life and her own money, as well as from living in India to staying in England.
The business that she entered also went through some enormous changes: she bought a theatre with the idea of putting on a normal Variety Show[shows with different "acts" - comedy, dancing, singing etc.]. She turned an old theatre into a huge success only to see it start to go downhill [decline].
It was at this point really that the whole story changed too. It was no longer just a movie about how amusing it was for an Upper Class widow to go into show business. Now it became a movie about one individual who actually changed show business - and the ideas of a whole nation - forever.
What changed then was everything: World War 2 broke out. This was, as mentioned before, the first war to involve civilians as much as soldiers.A war in which a soldier could go away to fight for his country, only to survive and find that his country and his family, had been destroyed.
The whole world changed during this war and continued to change as a result of it. Things have never returned to the way they were before 1939. Traditions, class structure, living conditions, the position of women in society, standards of living, innocence: all have changed irrevocably [unable to be undone or restored. Permanently]since 1946.
I'm always commenting on how much you guys amaze me - you come up with different ideas, make me see different way of thinking about things, present ideas in a way I had never seen them before. But this time you amazed me in a different way: - I couldn't believe that you didn't seem to see the connection between the changes brought about by war and the changes another world wide event brings: the 08 Collapse. Your own children are going to be learning about this at school, you know!
Since Reform and Opening there have been lots of wars in different countries, Leaders of different countries have risen and fell, places in the world have been affected by tsunamis, earthquakes, and changing politics.
But this is the first time that China, having embraced the concept of Globalisation, has been involved in a Global event. In fact, at the moment China, along with the rest of the world, is involved in two things that will affect her: global warming and the recession.
I know that traditionally China has stood apart from the rest of the world but it has now been thirty years since that changed. The time for thinking of her as separate from the rest of the world has passed and while this does not for one minute mean that China has to change to become like the rest of the world, it does mean that she is going to be more and more affected by it.
I asked you therefore to get onto the Internet, or newspapers or magazines as a matter of urgency. While most of you are interested in knowing about the world outside, I think most of you are still doing this from a position of polarisation [being completely opposite; at different ends]. You are still thinking of Us and Them instead of We and Us. Whether you ever step a foot outside of your own country or not your are part of a huge community: The World. To understand yourselves you need to understand your position not just as part of your own family/community/country but as part of this greater community: the world.
The financial crisis may have started in America but it doesn't end there. Events happening in other countries can be events that change everything: just like the second world war did. It started in Poland - a country people in England or Australia or America or South Africa and elsewhere had barely heard of and certainly knew nothing much about. But it affected all those people.
I look forward as I always do to our next class, and to seeing what stories you have come up with. I also look forward to the day you come to realise why I am so concerned. And to the day you join the dots [make the connection] between what started in America and how it will (and already has) change things in Ningbo, China.
Vocabulary
Chink... a derogative word for Chinese people
Wogs... a derogative word for people from the Middle East
Frogs...a derogative word for French people
Eyeties...a derogative word for Italians
poofta...a derogative word for a gay man
humanity...to be used instead of the word "Man" as a collective noun for all people
sexism...treating people differently/making general assumptions about people because of their gender
racism...the same as above but because of a persons nationality or skin colour
ageism...doing the same as the first two because of a persons age
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
062Y55A00 20/03 The Last King of Scotland. Movie
Someone has already posted a comment to me and said that this is not the kind of movie they usually watch: that is the reason I like to show movies in my classes.
I make a point of never showing American movies because, over the past three years, I have learned that most people honestly think that what they see in those movies is what the whole of the world outside China is like!
Africa is a huge Continent and contains many different countries. Over time many other countries have simply gone over to Africa and taken over one or more of these countries for themselves: England, Portugal, France, The Netherlands (Holland) etc. have all taken a piece of Africa for themselves at one time or other.
The Twentieth Century however, when the world finally realised that Colonisation was actually immoral, was a century during which many African countries either took back, or were given back, their Independence. In the West therefore, events in Africa have always been important.
Now, in the Twenty First century, China has become involved in Africa. Not only should Chinese therefore have some interest in that huge, beautiful and violent country, but they should know some its history.
I have had students who have told me that they want to go to certain African countries for a holiday - without having any idea of either the history or present of those places. Some of the places they mentioned are still involved in guerrilla warfare!
The art, music and culture of the many different countries in Africa is wonderfully alive, vibrant, colourful and beautiful. From Egypt in the north to South Africa in the south, there are hundreds of different cultures with their own traditions and long and proud history. But violence is also an integral part of Africa. To try to understand the people there one has to be aware that many people say that the dust or earth of Africa is red because of the centuries of blood that has been shed there.
I love many of the people in Africa very much and know how much laughter and music is part of their culture: I have also wept for many of my African friends because of the violence they are unable to to avoid.
The guy in the movie we saw knew nothing about Africa - remember how he just spun a globe around and pointed a finger to see where he would go? This movie is his story as much as the story of Idi Amin. Unfortunately, its the story of many people who go to Africa unarmed with knowledge of this complicated country.
I found it difficult to accept that many of you had never heard of Amin - so please do find out even a little about him. Now that China has established ties, with not only Africa but many other places on this earth, perhaps things will change and more Chinese people will start to look around at the world outside of their own country.
The world is HUGE. Its so full of different kinds of people, cultures, scenery, animals, weather, history, traditions...and thirty years ago China opened her doors to all of them.
The world that exists in the kinds of Hollywood movies that a lot of you watch doesn't exist anywhere except in movies themselves!! To think that they reflect the world outside China is to get an erroneous [incorrect] view not only of this incredibly diverse planet, but of your own place in it.
So, while people may not always like the kinds of movies I show, at least I hope some of you will learn that a world full of beautiful people, driving expensive cars and living in clean beautiful houses is just a fantasy. I hope some of you at least will try to find out what the real world is actually like. Its a huge adventure!
I make a point of never showing American movies because, over the past three years, I have learned that most people honestly think that what they see in those movies is what the whole of the world outside China is like!
Africa is a huge Continent and contains many different countries. Over time many other countries have simply gone over to Africa and taken over one or more of these countries for themselves: England, Portugal, France, The Netherlands (Holland) etc. have all taken a piece of Africa for themselves at one time or other.
The Twentieth Century however, when the world finally realised that Colonisation was actually immoral, was a century during which many African countries either took back, or were given back, their Independence. In the West therefore, events in Africa have always been important.
Now, in the Twenty First century, China has become involved in Africa. Not only should Chinese therefore have some interest in that huge, beautiful and violent country, but they should know some its history.
I have had students who have told me that they want to go to certain African countries for a holiday - without having any idea of either the history or present of those places. Some of the places they mentioned are still involved in guerrilla warfare!
The art, music and culture of the many different countries in Africa is wonderfully alive, vibrant, colourful and beautiful. From Egypt in the north to South Africa in the south, there are hundreds of different cultures with their own traditions and long and proud history. But violence is also an integral part of Africa. To try to understand the people there one has to be aware that many people say that the dust or earth of Africa is red because of the centuries of blood that has been shed there.
I love many of the people in Africa very much and know how much laughter and music is part of their culture: I have also wept for many of my African friends because of the violence they are unable to to avoid.
The guy in the movie we saw knew nothing about Africa - remember how he just spun a globe around and pointed a finger to see where he would go? This movie is his story as much as the story of Idi Amin. Unfortunately, its the story of many people who go to Africa unarmed with knowledge of this complicated country.
I found it difficult to accept that many of you had never heard of Amin - so please do find out even a little about him. Now that China has established ties, with not only Africa but many other places on this earth, perhaps things will change and more Chinese people will start to look around at the world outside of their own country.
The world is HUGE. Its so full of different kinds of people, cultures, scenery, animals, weather, history, traditions...and thirty years ago China opened her doors to all of them.
The world that exists in the kinds of Hollywood movies that a lot of you watch doesn't exist anywhere except in movies themselves!! To think that they reflect the world outside China is to get an erroneous [incorrect] view not only of this incredibly diverse planet, but of your own place in it.
So, while people may not always like the kinds of movies I show, at least I hope some of you will learn that a world full of beautiful people, driving expensive cars and living in clean beautiful houses is just a fantasy. I hope some of you at least will try to find out what the real world is actually like. Its a huge adventure!
Sino-Swedish Programme 18/03 Being Ill (Sick)
Sorry, guys,
Been a long time getting round to writing this: its been an exceptionally [out of the ordinary] busy time lately.
To follow up on last weeks vocabulary concerning the face, the last class was all about the rest of our bodies and naming the various parts in English - most of you know where your shoulders are so lets go from there:
armpits...the pits [holes] underneath our arms from which sweat comes out of our bodies
upper arm...the top part of our arm from shoulder to...?
elbow...the joint which allows our arms to bend
forearm...part of our arms from our elbow to our..?
wrist...where most of us wear our wristwatch
fingers...there are eight of them.
thumbs...a thumb on each hand lets up pick things up.
palm...the part of our hand we use to smack things with
chest...upper body from neck down on both men and women
boob...informal word for women's breasts
pecs...informal name for men 's breasts
nipple... the part of the breast used in both animals and humans to give milk
midriff...from the end of our rib bones to our waist
waist...the middle of our bodies
tummy/belly...our stomach
belly button...our navel: often pierced these days
hips...where our legs join our bodies; where we wear our jeans
bum/bottom/arse/ass(American)...the part we sit down upon
genitalia...refers to the private or reproductive parts of all creatures bodies, male & female
penis...male reproductive organ
vagina...female reproductive organ
thighs...the tops of our legs to our...?
knees...the part of our legs which bend
shin...front of our lower leg
calf...the muscles at the back of our lower legs
ankle...where our feet join our legs, easily broken in sport
toes...the "fingers" on our feet. There are ten.
We also spoke about going to the doctor.
surgery...A doctors office and rooms: in the West these are not at the hospital but, usually, in shopping areas
receptionist...person who makes the appointment for us
nurse...helps the doctor. A nurse must ALWAYS be in the room if you are asked to remove your clothes. If not, refuse to do so until one comes
prescription...the paper on which the doctor writes the names of the medicine you need
Chemist...a shop, a little like Watsons, where you exchange your prescription for medicine
Chemist...also the title of the person who dispenses [gives out] your medicine
a cold...when your nose is red and watery and you sneeze a lot
flu...often starts from a cold: your bones are sore, you cough and feel exhausted (tired)
pneumonia...sometimes develops from flu: you find it difficult to breathe
period pains/cramps...pain some women get each month when they...?
menstruate...the formal word for a period
S.T.D...means a Sexually Transmitted Disease
U.T.I...Urinary Tract Infection. It hurts to pee, you get stomach (tummy) cramps. This has nothing to do with STD's but means your kidneys aren't working properly.
Sprain...when you hurt one of your muscles and cannot move it (most common with ankles)
Acute pain...very sharp pain that feels you are being stabbed with a knife
dull pain...constant pain which doesn't stop
sore...how our throats often feel when we have a cold
headache...pain in our heads. If you get a headache that a) doesn't go away b) keeps coming back or c) makes you vomit go to a doctor as soon as possible.
backache...pain in our back - usually the lower back
paracetamol...the tablets we take to cure a headache or pain
aspirin...tablets we take for a cold
vitamin c...needed for colds. Also found in oranges and lemons so drink plenty of this juice too
You must ask about your Medical Insurance when you arrive: this usually means that visits to the doctor are free and medicines are either free or very cheap.
Don't go to class if you have a heavy cold or the flu. You will not be considered a good student if you do: people will think you are very inconsiderate and bad-mannered as you might make them sick(ill) as well.
ALWAYS use a tissue when you sneeze, but if you can't get one in time NEVER sneeze into your hand. Sneeze instead into the inside of your elbow so other people don't catch your germs if you shake their hand or touch something.
It is not considered rude to blow your nose in public or at the table: sniffing (the noise you make when you try to stop your nose from running(dripping) is considered bad manners. Make sure however, that if you blow your nose you turn away from other people. Same with sneezing.
When you have a cold or flu throw your used tissues down the toilet and flush them away so the germs don't spread. If you are not always going to be near a toilet take a small plastic bag with you and put all your used tissues in it. When it is full empty it down the loo(toilet) or tie the top together very tightly and put it in a rubbish bin.
ALWAYS cover your mouth if you have to cough. Usually we do this with our fist (bent knuckles) and not an open hand as we do for a yawn.
If you are told by the doctor or University nurse to take "bedrest" that means go straight to bed, keep warm and sleep. NOT "Go to your room and play video games"!! Try to keep away from other people even if you don't go to bed. Spreading germs and sickness is not appreciated
by anyone.
Been a long time getting round to writing this: its been an exceptionally [out of the ordinary] busy time lately.
To follow up on last weeks vocabulary concerning the face, the last class was all about the rest of our bodies and naming the various parts in English - most of you know where your shoulders are so lets go from there:
armpits...the pits [holes] underneath our arms from which sweat comes out of our bodies
upper arm...the top part of our arm from shoulder to...?
elbow...the joint which allows our arms to bend
forearm...part of our arms from our elbow to our..?
wrist...where most of us wear our wristwatch
fingers...there are eight of them.
thumbs...a thumb on each hand lets up pick things up.
palm...the part of our hand we use to smack things with
chest...upper body from neck down on both men and women
boob...informal word for women's breasts
pecs...informal name for men 's breasts
nipple... the part of the breast used in both animals and humans to give milk
midriff...from the end of our rib bones to our waist
waist...the middle of our bodies
tummy/belly...our stomach
belly button...our navel: often pierced these days
hips...where our legs join our bodies; where we wear our jeans
bum/bottom/arse/ass(American)...the part we sit down upon
genitalia...refers to the private or reproductive parts of all creatures bodies, male & female
penis...male reproductive organ
vagina...female reproductive organ
thighs...the tops of our legs to our...?
knees...the part of our legs which bend
shin...front of our lower leg
calf...the muscles at the back of our lower legs
ankle...where our feet join our legs, easily broken in sport
toes...the "fingers" on our feet. There are ten.
We also spoke about going to the doctor.
surgery...A doctors office and rooms: in the West these are not at the hospital but, usually, in shopping areas
receptionist...person who makes the appointment for us
nurse...helps the doctor. A nurse must ALWAYS be in the room if you are asked to remove your clothes. If not, refuse to do so until one comes
prescription...the paper on which the doctor writes the names of the medicine you need
Chemist...a shop, a little like Watsons, where you exchange your prescription for medicine
Chemist...also the title of the person who dispenses [gives out] your medicine
a cold...when your nose is red and watery and you sneeze a lot
flu...often starts from a cold: your bones are sore, you cough and feel exhausted (tired)
pneumonia...sometimes develops from flu: you find it difficult to breathe
period pains/cramps...pain some women get each month when they...?
menstruate...the formal word for a period
S.T.D...means a Sexually Transmitted Disease
U.T.I...Urinary Tract Infection. It hurts to pee, you get stomach (tummy) cramps. This has nothing to do with STD's but means your kidneys aren't working properly.
Sprain...when you hurt one of your muscles and cannot move it (most common with ankles)
Acute pain...very sharp pain that feels you are being stabbed with a knife
dull pain...constant pain which doesn't stop
sore...how our throats often feel when we have a cold
headache...pain in our heads. If you get a headache that a) doesn't go away b) keeps coming back or c) makes you vomit go to a doctor as soon as possible.
backache...pain in our back - usually the lower back
paracetamol...the tablets we take to cure a headache or pain
aspirin...tablets we take for a cold
vitamin c...needed for colds. Also found in oranges and lemons so drink plenty of this juice too
You must ask about your Medical Insurance when you arrive: this usually means that visits to the doctor are free and medicines are either free or very cheap.
Don't go to class if you have a heavy cold or the flu. You will not be considered a good student if you do: people will think you are very inconsiderate and bad-mannered as you might make them sick(ill) as well.
ALWAYS use a tissue when you sneeze, but if you can't get one in time NEVER sneeze into your hand. Sneeze instead into the inside of your elbow so other people don't catch your germs if you shake their hand or touch something.
It is not considered rude to blow your nose in public or at the table: sniffing (the noise you make when you try to stop your nose from running(dripping) is considered bad manners. Make sure however, that if you blow your nose you turn away from other people. Same with sneezing.
When you have a cold or flu throw your used tissues down the toilet and flush them away so the germs don't spread. If you are not always going to be near a toilet take a small plastic bag with you and put all your used tissues in it. When it is full empty it down the loo(toilet) or tie the top together very tightly and put it in a rubbish bin.
ALWAYS cover your mouth if you have to cough. Usually we do this with our fist (bent knuckles) and not an open hand as we do for a yawn.
If you are told by the doctor or University nurse to take "bedrest" that means go straight to bed, keep warm and sleep. NOT "Go to your room and play video games"!! Try to keep away from other people even if you don't go to bed. Spreading germs and sickness is not appreciated
by anyone.
Saturday, 21 March 2009
ATTENTION 062Y54A00
I'm so sorry, guys, but we have to cancel Sunday's outing.
The problem is with transport. I had not realised quite so many of you wished to go and really, it is not practical for a large number of us to go by public transport.
However 1) the private bus is not available this Sunday and 2) it will cost around 30RMB per person to travel this way; there and back..
If you would still like to go on Sunday week the Sunday after this one)I have to book a bus on Mondauy. But I didn't want to do that without talking to you about it: 30RMB is much higher than the 16RMB it would cost, in total, per person, to go by public transport.
Could one person be responsible please, for finding out if people still want to go and, if so, how many? If there aren't enough people I can invite people from some of my other classes. I just need to know by Monday if enough people still want to go to make it worth booking the bus. Final numbers won't be taken until Thursday.
Unfortunately ONCE AGAIN, there is a problem with my Internet which is why I haven't been able to write before this. I am doing so now on a borrowed computer so don't want to take up too much time in describing the place and what is available. I have a web site address for you though:
www.c-c-city.com.cn
haven't accessed it myself yet but no doubt it will answer your questions.
I am hoping to get my Internet problems sorted out[fixed] by tomorrow afternoon .
I do apologise for the situation.
The problem is with transport. I had not realised quite so many of you wished to go and really, it is not practical for a large number of us to go by public transport.
However 1) the private bus is not available this Sunday and 2) it will cost around 30RMB per person to travel this way; there and back..
If you would still like to go on Sunday week the Sunday after this one)I have to book a bus on Mondauy. But I didn't want to do that without talking to you about it: 30RMB is much higher than the 16RMB it would cost, in total, per person, to go by public transport.
Could one person be responsible please, for finding out if people still want to go and, if so, how many? If there aren't enough people I can invite people from some of my other classes. I just need to know by Monday if enough people still want to go to make it worth booking the bus. Final numbers won't be taken until Thursday.
Unfortunately ONCE AGAIN, there is a problem with my Internet which is why I haven't been able to write before this. I am doing so now on a borrowed computer so don't want to take up too much time in describing the place and what is available. I have a web site address for you though:
www.c-c-city.com.cn
haven't accessed it myself yet but no doubt it will answer your questions.
I am hoping to get my Internet problems sorted out[fixed] by tomorrow afternoon .
I do apologise for the situation.
Tuesday, 17 March 2009
067Y18A02 10/03 Life on Mars - Series for TV
The made-for-television series feature we watched this week was a British show called Life on Mars.
We have been discussing Beginnings and the beginning of LOM gains full marks in this category. It seems to be following the well-trodden path of the average tv cop show: smart, ambitious protagonist, Love Interest with one of his co-workers, a mystery for Our Hero to solve, blah, blah, blah.
Then come the scene that actually shocked some exclamations from some of you - and it certainly did from me: the violent, totally unexpected collision of a speeding car with Our Hero. For a moment we are completely confused: Where did that come from? What's going on? Isn't Our Hero the hero after all: is he going to get killed off in the first episode?
The partial consciousness a few seconds later is also good: not just the standard "Is he alive?" but other questions crowd our mind. Is the strange title of the show going to take us into Science Fiction? Is he going to become Our Crippled (but brilliant) Hero? Will The Girlfriend actually become the protagonist and set out to revenge her mate? and, above all, the mark of a truly excellent production: - what's going to happen next?
When we were talking about the three components of any story - Beginning, Middle and End, it doesn't usually become necessary to spend much time talking specifically about the Middle. After all, that is what drives the story. Its something we expect to talk about more in the general talk about Plot.
But LOM manages also to defy our expectations. The middle of not only this, the first episode, but the entire show, manages to keep up the suspense to a point where we are never sure exactly where we are. A typical cop-show after all, but just transferred to another time? The "break-through" voices he keeps hearing mean he is in a coma and just dreaming it all, yeah? Then how does he manage to dream the realities he encounters? And what about the whole thing about finding that the suspect in his 'real life' as a little boy had contact with a real killer in 1973? How does that work?
As I mentioned, the show went for four seasons and, although I watched the whole thing over a very short period, I found myself changing my mind about what was going on several times. There are shows such as Lost which also keep us in suspense for the life of the whole production but, by the end we are often left with a few loose ends that never get actually cleared up, and some departures into the completely unrelated , not to mention the occasional cheats like dream sequences or contrived solutions. This never happens in LOM.
Another factor that kept many viewers interested was the irony. I'm not sure how well that translated in a cross-cultural context. But one of the delights of this show was when it would suddenly - and so briefly one was left wondering whether it was intentional or not - stage a complete spoof [mockery]of itself. This is called, in England, taking the mickey. It means to make fun of. And all of the way through LOM one found oneself waiting for these seemingly random [without any purpose or warning] little scenes.
There was one small example even in this first show where, having solved part of the case (yep. It was only part!) the camera suddenly goes into slomo. (slow motion) and shows the two men coming through the door with triumph and waving arms etc. Standard cop-show stuff. But instead of coming into a room of congratulatory colleagues and the big, celebratory cake/party that usually happens, they pull a bottle out of a file cabinet and each take a swig [a drink ]. Alone. As I said, perhaps it doesn't actually work in another culture.
The ending of this first episode shows what ensured the success of this show over four seasons: it left us with unanswered questions. This is one of the advantages of tv series over a standard movie. Following the Greek (remember them?) recipe, the End has to be the place where all the pieces come together; where good triumphs over evil; where rewards or punishments take place.
It is very difficult to have a picture which still leaves us with questions but yet has completely satisfied us. There have been a few notable exceptions over the years and these movies usually end up becoming 'cult classics' [considered classic not by the general public but by a group of specialised people]. But a TV series has the option of inviting us to tune in again next week for the answers to our questions. Yet, even so, not many manage this so successful as LOM. The general premise of Prison Break, for example, is whether or not justice will ever be served. Yet each episode becomes a completed story on its own. Missing an episode or two will neither advance the over-all plot nor retard [to stop] it.
The difference in LOM is that we are never completely sure of exactly what the plot is: we watch each episode hoping we'll start to understand which one of our guesses is correct.
I don't know how many British tv shows you are familiar with but, in general, they are very different to American tv. One aspect of this difference is in the reality. American cops seem, in spite of the reality that the police force does not pay highly, to live in houses, have new model cars, be handsome or pretty, and be either good cops or bad cops.
By contrast British cop-shows are not so glamorous. The cops themselves often live in rented apartments - some still live at home which American cops never seem to do - are not particularly beautiful or handsome, often wear terrible clothes and either don't have their own cars or else have rather smaller, or older models.
Also American cop shows usually feature a lot of shooting and gun fights which is very different to Europe and the UK.
It is probably this lack of glamour that makes them not very popular in China. Which is actually a great shame, because there are some really good British shows. Watching them would perhaps give Chinese people a more balanced idea of what the world outside of China is actually like.
Humour is one of the marks of most British shows also, and this doesn't seem to feature very much in American shows with the consequence that, to other foreign audiences, they often seem too serious and violent to make comfortable viewing. Although, when British shows do violence it tends to be more personal combat rather than clean, long-distance shots from a gun. Which, because it is more realistic, tends to have more of an impact.
I hope you have all given a little thought to the presentation of Beginnings next week? Although I did not want you to rehearse out of class, I'm hoping that, when I do assign you your groups there will be enough ideas for you to discuss them between yourselves and come to a co-operative decision on what is going to work well and what is not.
We have been discussing Beginnings and the beginning of LOM gains full marks in this category. It seems to be following the well-trodden path of the average tv cop show: smart, ambitious protagonist, Love Interest with one of his co-workers, a mystery for Our Hero to solve, blah, blah, blah.
Then come the scene that actually shocked some exclamations from some of you - and it certainly did from me: the violent, totally unexpected collision of a speeding car with Our Hero. For a moment we are completely confused: Where did that come from? What's going on? Isn't Our Hero the hero after all: is he going to get killed off in the first episode?
The partial consciousness a few seconds later is also good: not just the standard "Is he alive?" but other questions crowd our mind. Is the strange title of the show going to take us into Science Fiction? Is he going to become Our Crippled (but brilliant) Hero? Will The Girlfriend actually become the protagonist and set out to revenge her mate? and, above all, the mark of a truly excellent production: - what's going to happen next?
When we were talking about the three components of any story - Beginning, Middle and End, it doesn't usually become necessary to spend much time talking specifically about the Middle. After all, that is what drives the story. Its something we expect to talk about more in the general talk about Plot.
But LOM manages also to defy our expectations. The middle of not only this, the first episode, but the entire show, manages to keep up the suspense to a point where we are never sure exactly where we are. A typical cop-show after all, but just transferred to another time? The "break-through" voices he keeps hearing mean he is in a coma and just dreaming it all, yeah? Then how does he manage to dream the realities he encounters? And what about the whole thing about finding that the suspect in his 'real life' as a little boy had contact with a real killer in 1973? How does that work?
As I mentioned, the show went for four seasons and, although I watched the whole thing over a very short period, I found myself changing my mind about what was going on several times. There are shows such as Lost which also keep us in suspense for the life of the whole production but, by the end we are often left with a few loose ends that never get actually cleared up, and some departures into the completely unrelated , not to mention the occasional cheats like dream sequences or contrived solutions. This never happens in LOM.
Another factor that kept many viewers interested was the irony. I'm not sure how well that translated in a cross-cultural context. But one of the delights of this show was when it would suddenly - and so briefly one was left wondering whether it was intentional or not - stage a complete spoof [mockery]of itself. This is called, in England, taking the mickey. It means to make fun of. And all of the way through LOM one found oneself waiting for these seemingly random [without any purpose or warning] little scenes.
There was one small example even in this first show where, having solved part of the case (yep. It was only part!) the camera suddenly goes into slomo. (slow motion) and shows the two men coming through the door with triumph and waving arms etc. Standard cop-show stuff. But instead of coming into a room of congratulatory colleagues and the big, celebratory cake/party that usually happens, they pull a bottle out of a file cabinet and each take a swig [a drink ]. Alone. As I said, perhaps it doesn't actually work in another culture.
The ending of this first episode shows what ensured the success of this show over four seasons: it left us with unanswered questions. This is one of the advantages of tv series over a standard movie. Following the Greek (remember them?) recipe, the End has to be the place where all the pieces come together; where good triumphs over evil; where rewards or punishments take place.
It is very difficult to have a picture which still leaves us with questions but yet has completely satisfied us. There have been a few notable exceptions over the years and these movies usually end up becoming 'cult classics' [considered classic not by the general public but by a group of specialised people]. But a TV series has the option of inviting us to tune in again next week for the answers to our questions. Yet, even so, not many manage this so successful as LOM. The general premise of Prison Break, for example, is whether or not justice will ever be served. Yet each episode becomes a completed story on its own. Missing an episode or two will neither advance the over-all plot nor retard [to stop] it.
The difference in LOM is that we are never completely sure of exactly what the plot is: we watch each episode hoping we'll start to understand which one of our guesses is correct.
I don't know how many British tv shows you are familiar with but, in general, they are very different to American tv. One aspect of this difference is in the reality. American cops seem, in spite of the reality that the police force does not pay highly, to live in houses, have new model cars, be handsome or pretty, and be either good cops or bad cops.
By contrast British cop-shows are not so glamorous. The cops themselves often live in rented apartments - some still live at home which American cops never seem to do - are not particularly beautiful or handsome, often wear terrible clothes and either don't have their own cars or else have rather smaller, or older models.
Also American cop shows usually feature a lot of shooting and gun fights which is very different to Europe and the UK.
It is probably this lack of glamour that makes them not very popular in China. Which is actually a great shame, because there are some really good British shows. Watching them would perhaps give Chinese people a more balanced idea of what the world outside of China is actually like.
Humour is one of the marks of most British shows also, and this doesn't seem to feature very much in American shows with the consequence that, to other foreign audiences, they often seem too serious and violent to make comfortable viewing. Although, when British shows do violence it tends to be more personal combat rather than clean, long-distance shots from a gun. Which, because it is more realistic, tends to have more of an impact.
I hope you have all given a little thought to the presentation of Beginnings next week? Although I did not want you to rehearse out of class, I'm hoping that, when I do assign you your groups there will be enough ideas for you to discuss them between yourselves and come to a co-operative decision on what is going to work well and what is not.
Combined Post for 062Y55AFX 09/03 & 062Y55A03Mrs. Henderson & World War 2 10/03
As I gave two classes this week the same movie to discuss, I am directing this article at both of you. I do hope you all find it.
Although we are going to talk about the movie next week, I left you with the question..."Why do you think I showed you this particular movie?" I'm quite interested in the reply because this movie, while seeming to be a light, sorta funny story about something that was not exactly earth-shattering [a common phrase to indicate something of extreme importance and/or consequences], it actually covered a lot of ground. [ see, discuss or write about a lot of different things]
In it were aspects of racism, ageism, sexism, war, social class, changing times, morality, the function of the Arts, entertainment, love and friendship. Quite a lot of important subjects.
There is one aspect though, that might have escaped you: the attitudes of civilians to war.
I think I have have told you that my mother was 45 when she gave birth to me - and I am now even older than that, so both of my parents were involved in the Second World War. My mother stayed in England for the duration [literally means 'for the whole time that something happened.' Older people call the whole war period - 1939 to 1945, the 'duration'. ] while my father, who was an officer in the Air Force, went all over the various war-fronts.
They mentioned in the movie that everyone had 'war-work'. This meant that civilians, whether they were working or not, were asked to do extra, unpaid, work to help the war effort. They turned their gardens _ and you know the English LOVE their gardens - into vegetable patches, learned how to do First Aid [basic medical procedures], patrolled the streets at night on the look-out for stray bombs, lights, (everyone had to hang black cloth over their windows so no light would show which would help enemy bombers) or fires, dug people out of the ruins, knitted socks etc. etc.
My mother's war work, like the people in the movie, was entertainment. (She was also a nurse) She turned her house into a place where people could stay as so many had their houses bombed that accommodation was hard to get. Mostly the people who stayed with her were from the Theatre. At one stage she had a woman who did an act with a python [large snake] staying with her, another who had six dogs, a man with a parrot - and there was always room for American or British Air Force guys who came to London on leave. They were bombed out a couple of times (in other words, the house got directly hit from bombs).
Phyl (my mother) was a wonderful dancer (ballroom), and an incredible pianist. Like me, she couldn't sing very well, but the audiences didn't mind. Apart from classical music, she would play popular music (the pop music of the time) and get everyone to join in and her personality was so wonderful no-one ever noticed she had a really rotten voice! As an Acter she was crazy in comedy roles...something I guess I inherited from her.
As a child I remember the wonderful parties my parents used to give: at some stage Phyl would always end up at the piano and everyone would sing very loudly all the songs from the War. From my place under the piano I learned all of them and would listen to the stories everyone would tell. These stories were never dark or sad. They were always hilarious!
Phyl would tell how one day one of the American Air Force bods [I also know all the wartime slang: 'bods' means 'guy"] walked in on Leave and put his hand on the banister [the hand rail on stairs] only to find that it moved! She said that the scream the brave pilot gave could be heard two houses away: - the python had curled itself round the banister and was taking a nap!
Also, hearing that my grandmother's house had been bombed, she hurried around to find my Grandmother who, as I said, was very like Mrs. Henderson, bent over the staircase with a tiny brush trying to sweep up all the dust and stuff from the bomb and muttering "What will the neighbours think if they see this mess!" Except that the only part of the house left standing WAS the staircase and my bent-over grandmother was unknowingly displaying her pink silk knickers [women's under pants] to everyone who went past!
The first and second World Wars were called that, of course, because most of the countries in the world were involved. However the second world war was the one in which more civilians than ever before were involved - except in America which was the only major country in the world never to have a bomb dropped on it.
For this reason most of the foreign war movies you will have seen will involve only soldiers. Some Americans went to the wars, but wars haven't gone to everyone in America. This is a very great difference between the experiences of people from Europe/U.K. etc. and the people of America. It affects their cultures, backgrounds and their foreign and financial policies. It is also the reason that the 9/11 bombing affected America so much. And for the resentment many people felt when President Bush claimed that "The world" has been changed forever by 9/11.
Understanding of the West and the diversity of thought between the many countries there has to take this into consideration. Perhaps you might be able to think of some of the ways understanding of this fact helps?
Although we are going to talk about the movie next week, I left you with the question..."Why do you think I showed you this particular movie?" I'm quite interested in the reply because this movie, while seeming to be a light, sorta funny story about something that was not exactly earth-shattering [a common phrase to indicate something of extreme importance and/or consequences], it actually covered a lot of ground. [ see, discuss or write about a lot of different things]
In it were aspects of racism, ageism, sexism, war, social class, changing times, morality, the function of the Arts, entertainment, love and friendship. Quite a lot of important subjects.
There is one aspect though, that might have escaped you: the attitudes of civilians to war.
I think I have have told you that my mother was 45 when she gave birth to me - and I am now even older than that, so both of my parents were involved in the Second World War. My mother stayed in England for the duration [literally means 'for the whole time that something happened.' Older people call the whole war period - 1939 to 1945, the 'duration'. ] while my father, who was an officer in the Air Force, went all over the various war-fronts.
They mentioned in the movie that everyone had 'war-work'. This meant that civilians, whether they were working or not, were asked to do extra, unpaid, work to help the war effort. They turned their gardens _ and you know the English LOVE their gardens - into vegetable patches, learned how to do First Aid [basic medical procedures], patrolled the streets at night on the look-out for stray bombs, lights, (everyone had to hang black cloth over their windows so no light would show which would help enemy bombers) or fires, dug people out of the ruins, knitted socks etc. etc.
My mother's war work, like the people in the movie, was entertainment. (She was also a nurse) She turned her house into a place where people could stay as so many had their houses bombed that accommodation was hard to get. Mostly the people who stayed with her were from the Theatre. At one stage she had a woman who did an act with a python [large snake] staying with her, another who had six dogs, a man with a parrot - and there was always room for American or British Air Force guys who came to London on leave. They were bombed out a couple of times (in other words, the house got directly hit from bombs).
Phyl (my mother) was a wonderful dancer (ballroom), and an incredible pianist. Like me, she couldn't sing very well, but the audiences didn't mind. Apart from classical music, she would play popular music (the pop music of the time) and get everyone to join in and her personality was so wonderful no-one ever noticed she had a really rotten voice! As an Acter she was crazy in comedy roles...something I guess I inherited from her.
As a child I remember the wonderful parties my parents used to give: at some stage Phyl would always end up at the piano and everyone would sing very loudly all the songs from the War. From my place under the piano I learned all of them and would listen to the stories everyone would tell. These stories were never dark or sad. They were always hilarious!
Phyl would tell how one day one of the American Air Force bods [I also know all the wartime slang: 'bods' means 'guy"] walked in on Leave and put his hand on the banister [the hand rail on stairs] only to find that it moved! She said that the scream the brave pilot gave could be heard two houses away: - the python had curled itself round the banister and was taking a nap!
Also, hearing that my grandmother's house had been bombed, she hurried around to find my Grandmother who, as I said, was very like Mrs. Henderson, bent over the staircase with a tiny brush trying to sweep up all the dust and stuff from the bomb and muttering "What will the neighbours think if they see this mess!" Except that the only part of the house left standing WAS the staircase and my bent-over grandmother was unknowingly displaying her pink silk knickers [women's under pants] to everyone who went past!
The first and second World Wars were called that, of course, because most of the countries in the world were involved. However the second world war was the one in which more civilians than ever before were involved - except in America which was the only major country in the world never to have a bomb dropped on it.
For this reason most of the foreign war movies you will have seen will involve only soldiers. Some Americans went to the wars, but wars haven't gone to everyone in America. This is a very great difference between the experiences of people from Europe/U.K. etc. and the people of America. It affects their cultures, backgrounds and their foreign and financial policies. It is also the reason that the 9/11 bombing affected America so much. And for the resentment many people felt when President Bush claimed that "The world" has been changed forever by 9/11.
Understanding of the West and the diversity of thought between the many countries there has to take this into consideration. Perhaps you might be able to think of some of the ways understanding of this fact helps?
Saturday, 14 March 2009
062Y55A00 13/03 Parental Leave
Wow! I only saw now that yesterday had been Friday the Thirteenth. Traditionally the unluckiest day one can have. Last month I flew back from Thailand on Friday Thirteenth and, although I am not a superstitious person, if I could have changed my booking, I would have!! As it was, everything that could possibly go wrong, went wrong but not to the extent of the aeroplane actually crashing - (which was the stupid thought that kept going through my head!)
As I told you, the topic we discussed was one I had also given to another class this week - and it was amazing what a different discussion I had with both classes. Anyone who is interested can go to the article on 062Y55A03 dated 10/03 and have a look.
At the end of the class, amongst the guys, the reactions were pretty much equal: three supported the idea of 6 months as the Primary Carer [the person who does most of the duties of caring for someone who is not independent: a sick person, a baby, someone who is mentally retarded etc.], three were against it and one was undecided.
That was pretty much how we had started out, so no-one actually changed their mind. But that's not the reason for these discussions. The whole purpose is to allow everyone to share the reasons for their opinions, to defend those reasons if need be, [if its necessary] to explore whether our reasoning is based on factual evidence or blind prejudice but, most of all, to understand different points of view. As I keep on saying, the key to harmony is understanding and tolerance. Just because someone holds a different view to us it doesn't mean they are "against" us.
Sometimes, after discussion, someone might change their mind about something but this, of course, is why I really want YOU to discuss things. If I am just standing up and talking about something and someone changes their mind then its possible they are doing so for the wrong reasons. I love it when you defend your own positions and express yourselves. There is a very famous saying in English (most people seem to think it was the French philosopher Voltaire who said it, but it wasn't. It was a person who wrote a book about Voltaire):
"I might not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
The whole idea of a long period of paternity leave where the father is sole carer came about because, traditionally, men have been excluded from the world of babies and children. Although individual families have always, since the beginning of history, refused to go along with certain ideas or behaviours ( we call such persons individualists and they are highly regarded by most, but thought to be strange or stupid by others), society is organised around an idea that no longer exists: that the man, who is physically stronger, should be the one to go out and defend his family, while the woman stays inside the home and nurtures.
This idea worked very well in primitive societies but, as civilization has speeded up and changed, it is something that people - especially men - have started to question in modern society.
Once women started to go outside the home to work they also started to question this way of thinking. If both partners are both working to support the family and are not staying inside the home why should one person still be expected to work outside the house AND inside it as well? Things have therefore changed in modern society where most couples share both monetary support of the household and the work inside it.
But child care is still, in many societies, expected to be done by one person exclusively for the early years of a child's life.
Because traditionally the mother's role was to nurture the child and the father's role to discipline and "toughen up" the child, many people firmly believed that there was something innate [built in; part of] a women that gave her special knowledge of children and babies. However, once women became part of the work force it soon became obvious that these "special skills" were only a result of her spending more time with babies and children - whether she wanted to or not - it was something she learned. Once this was recognised fathers started to question why they couldn't learn these skills themselves.
It became obvious as divorce often left a father alone to care for the children, that he could do so just as well as a mother who is left alone could do. Of course in each case, being a sole parent is not the best way for a child but, given these limitations, sole parents of either gender either managed successfully to bring up children alone, or failed: in equal numbers. Gender had nothing to do with it. (Most, btw, succeed).
When a new baby is first brought into the household both parents are equally scared, ignorant and confused. But, after a couple of weeks, once the father has returned to work, the mother is left alone (or with another female relative) to get to know and understand the child. Of course, as she spends the most time with the child she learns more about it than does the father. She becomes the one who can soothe it when it cries, (which, apart from eating and poohing, is about all a baby does for the first few weeks) and get it to go back to sleep.
Thus the father even when he is home, relies more and more on the special "mother's touch" to comfort the baby so that, in time, it is the mother to whom the baby looks for nurturing, reassurance, comfort. More and more the father's role becomes just to do practical things or to play with the child. The process of alienating the father from the child has begun. And the myth that "only a mother understands" is kept alive.
Of course, there are many people who are perfectly content with this situation. They expect it and don't want it to change.
But, more and more, young couples want to share their lives and their children completely. Father's want to be equally as important in all ways as mothers. Mothers want to share the heavy burden and responsibility.
Numerous studies, conducted since the 1970's and tracing children's progress from babyhood to adulthood have shown that a child who has two carers rather than one Primary Carer, grows with more confidence, less hang ups and actually seems more intelligent. Parents, by sharing their roles, also suffer less stress and resentment and the result is a stronger, happier family unit. Not always, of course. People aren't machines, so there will always be exceptions. Nothing is ever guaranteed.
The idea of giving both mother and parent equal opportunities to parent their child, even if made law, is not mandatory [forced on anyone]. It is simply put in place for those couples who choose to make use of it. As our discussion proved, some people will not want to make use of it. But without it, those persons who believe that it is the best way to bring up their child, are denied the opportunity to do so.
As I told you, the topic we discussed was one I had also given to another class this week - and it was amazing what a different discussion I had with both classes. Anyone who is interested can go to the article on 062Y55A03 dated 10/03 and have a look.
At the end of the class, amongst the guys, the reactions were pretty much equal: three supported the idea of 6 months as the Primary Carer [the person who does most of the duties of caring for someone who is not independent: a sick person, a baby, someone who is mentally retarded etc.], three were against it and one was undecided.
That was pretty much how we had started out, so no-one actually changed their mind. But that's not the reason for these discussions. The whole purpose is to allow everyone to share the reasons for their opinions, to defend those reasons if need be, [if its necessary] to explore whether our reasoning is based on factual evidence or blind prejudice but, most of all, to understand different points of view. As I keep on saying, the key to harmony is understanding and tolerance. Just because someone holds a different view to us it doesn't mean they are "against" us.
Sometimes, after discussion, someone might change their mind about something but this, of course, is why I really want YOU to discuss things. If I am just standing up and talking about something and someone changes their mind then its possible they are doing so for the wrong reasons. I love it when you defend your own positions and express yourselves. There is a very famous saying in English (most people seem to think it was the French philosopher Voltaire who said it, but it wasn't. It was a person who wrote a book about Voltaire):
"I might not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
The whole idea of a long period of paternity leave where the father is sole carer came about because, traditionally, men have been excluded from the world of babies and children. Although individual families have always, since the beginning of history, refused to go along with certain ideas or behaviours ( we call such persons individualists and they are highly regarded by most, but thought to be strange or stupid by others), society is organised around an idea that no longer exists: that the man, who is physically stronger, should be the one to go out and defend his family, while the woman stays inside the home and nurtures.
This idea worked very well in primitive societies but, as civilization has speeded up and changed, it is something that people - especially men - have started to question in modern society.
Once women started to go outside the home to work they also started to question this way of thinking. If both partners are both working to support the family and are not staying inside the home why should one person still be expected to work outside the house AND inside it as well? Things have therefore changed in modern society where most couples share both monetary support of the household and the work inside it.
But child care is still, in many societies, expected to be done by one person exclusively for the early years of a child's life.
Because traditionally the mother's role was to nurture the child and the father's role to discipline and "toughen up" the child, many people firmly believed that there was something innate [built in; part of] a women that gave her special knowledge of children and babies. However, once women became part of the work force it soon became obvious that these "special skills" were only a result of her spending more time with babies and children - whether she wanted to or not - it was something she learned. Once this was recognised fathers started to question why they couldn't learn these skills themselves.
It became obvious as divorce often left a father alone to care for the children, that he could do so just as well as a mother who is left alone could do. Of course in each case, being a sole parent is not the best way for a child but, given these limitations, sole parents of either gender either managed successfully to bring up children alone, or failed: in equal numbers. Gender had nothing to do with it. (Most, btw, succeed).
When a new baby is first brought into the household both parents are equally scared, ignorant and confused. But, after a couple of weeks, once the father has returned to work, the mother is left alone (or with another female relative) to get to know and understand the child. Of course, as she spends the most time with the child she learns more about it than does the father. She becomes the one who can soothe it when it cries, (which, apart from eating and poohing, is about all a baby does for the first few weeks) and get it to go back to sleep.
Thus the father even when he is home, relies more and more on the special "mother's touch" to comfort the baby so that, in time, it is the mother to whom the baby looks for nurturing, reassurance, comfort. More and more the father's role becomes just to do practical things or to play with the child. The process of alienating the father from the child has begun. And the myth that "only a mother understands" is kept alive.
Of course, there are many people who are perfectly content with this situation. They expect it and don't want it to change.
But, more and more, young couples want to share their lives and their children completely. Father's want to be equally as important in all ways as mothers. Mothers want to share the heavy burden and responsibility.
Numerous studies, conducted since the 1970's and tracing children's progress from babyhood to adulthood have shown that a child who has two carers rather than one Primary Carer, grows with more confidence, less hang ups and actually seems more intelligent. Parents, by sharing their roles, also suffer less stress and resentment and the result is a stronger, happier family unit. Not always, of course. People aren't machines, so there will always be exceptions. Nothing is ever guaranteed.
The idea of giving both mother and parent equal opportunities to parent their child, even if made law, is not mandatory [forced on anyone]. It is simply put in place for those couples who choose to make use of it. As our discussion proved, some people will not want to make use of it. But without it, those persons who believe that it is the best way to bring up their child, are denied the opportunity to do so.
062Y54A00 12/03 Nouns & Verbs
I don't know about you guys, but I really enjoyed Thursday's class! The purpose of the class was a) to show you that nouns really are quite easy to describe without words - though most of us think that it would be verbs. b) to show the importance of our bodies and faces when communicating with others and c) help you get over your shyness a little.
I don't know about the shyness thing, but you certainly proved a) and b) - in ways that all of us enjoyed. I hope you will all remember that communicating with others in another language can be achieved in different ways - and that you don't have to let the fact that you don't know a particular word stop you having a conversation.
Once again I was surprised at the variety of different words that you chose to show us. While you knew what everyone was saying in Chinese, there were a few words some of you were not so familiar with in English so lets go over those:
scratch...what we do when a mosquito or an insect bites us
rampage... (v) to angrily destroy things (n) a riot or destructively raging
bow...a weapon made of bent wood with a string (usually made from a cat's gut or intestine!)
arrow...the thin sticks with a sharp metal tip and feathers at the end, used with a bow
marksman...an expert with a gun (or bow and arrow)
sharp-shooter...an oustandingly accurate person with a gun only
barber...a person who cuts men's hair only
barber's...the shop or place where men get their hair cut and their faces shaved
hairdresser...someone who can cut, colour and style hair
hairdresser's..place where men and women get their hair styled, cut or coloured
fireworks...what we light at New Year celebrations. Very beautiful and colourful
bangers/crackers...the red fireworks which just make a big noise when they explode
ski...(v)to move quickly across the snow, (n) a smooth wooden strip we strap to our feet
skate...(v) to move across the ice (n) a shoe with a metal blade
stumble...to trip; to "lose our step" to bump our foot against a stone or something on the ground
crawl...to move on our hands and knees as babies do before they learn to walk
sway...to move slowly from side to side while our feet don't move;trees move gently in breeze
collide..to run straight into something or someone
collision...(n) a car or aeroplane or train crash
arrest...to be taken into custody by the police
Scandinavian..(adj) describes people or things from Norway, Denmark, Sweden, etc
Viking...fearsome warriors from Northern Europe who sailed in wooden ships to trade and fight
Pop Quiz...? find out next class!!
I don't know about the shyness thing, but you certainly proved a) and b) - in ways that all of us enjoyed. I hope you will all remember that communicating with others in another language can be achieved in different ways - and that you don't have to let the fact that you don't know a particular word stop you having a conversation.
Once again I was surprised at the variety of different words that you chose to show us. While you knew what everyone was saying in Chinese, there were a few words some of you were not so familiar with in English so lets go over those:
scratch...what we do when a mosquito or an insect bites us
rampage... (v) to angrily destroy things (n) a riot or destructively raging
bow...a weapon made of bent wood with a string (usually made from a cat's gut or intestine!)
arrow...the thin sticks with a sharp metal tip and feathers at the end, used with a bow
marksman...an expert with a gun (or bow and arrow)
sharp-shooter...an oustandingly accurate person with a gun only
barber...a person who cuts men's hair only
barber's...the shop or place where men get their hair cut and their faces shaved
hairdresser...someone who can cut, colour and style hair
hairdresser's..place where men and women get their hair styled, cut or coloured
fireworks...what we light at New Year celebrations. Very beautiful and colourful
bangers/crackers...the red fireworks which just make a big noise when they explode
ski...(v)to move quickly across the snow, (n) a smooth wooden strip we strap to our feet
skate...(v) to move across the ice (n) a shoe with a metal blade
stumble...to trip; to "lose our step" to bump our foot against a stone or something on the ground
crawl...to move on our hands and knees as babies do before they learn to walk
sway...to move slowly from side to side while our feet don't move;trees move gently in breeze
collide..to run straight into something or someone
collision...(n) a car or aeroplane or train crash
arrest...to be taken into custody by the police
Scandinavian..(adj) describes people or things from Norway, Denmark, Sweden, etc
Viking...fearsome warriors from Northern Europe who sailed in wooden ships to trade and fight
Pop Quiz...? find out next class!!
Thursday, 12 March 2009
Sino-Swedish Programme Students 11/03 Vocab. - Face
I had suspected that people hadn't been logging on to their class blogs - so perhaps it was my fault because I hadn't stressed the need to do so enough. I know that there are some of you who find it difficult to follow what I am saying so reading these articles is absolutely necessary if you are going to get any benefit from this class.
However, I also suspect that most of you don't take this class very seriously: you feel that, now you know you have been chosen to go overseas, you don't need to worry any more, Some of you may even think that you will be doing the same things there as you do here only it will be a bit colder and the countryside will look different.
Guys, your whole lives are going to change once you get on that aeroplane. Nothing is going to be familiar and you won't have your family around to support you. Its a huge adventure, sure, but it could be a huge failure or the worst time of your life if you are not prepared.
There are some of you who cannot follow what I say in class - its going to be almost impossible for you to follow what your foriegn teachers, people in shops, your classmates, in fact all the people around you, are saying. This need not be too much of a problem if you are able to work on your own...but you have to have the skills to do this. As I have tried to tell you: - your childhood is over and once you land overseas people who know nothing about China won't understand that you are not used to doing things for yourselves: and that includes your work.
Even people going on holidays to a different country spend a lot of time researching: finding about the customs, the way of dressing, what is considered polite and what is considered absolutely unacceptable before they go. Your not going on holidays - you are going to live there AND, as I have said a few times, you are going to represent your country. Plus, of course, you are going to have to learn as much as you possibly can about your subject so that you can bring skills back with you to benefit your own country.
Getting the most you can out of these classes and at least reading these articles is the very least you can do. I know that you probably think I am a very unsympathetic teacher but honestly, the reason I may seem to stern is because I worry about you and want you to be happy and content. I don't want one single one of you to feel sad or lost or unhappy in Sweden- especially as there is no need for you to feel that way. Even if you all dislike me and your classes, I will be happy if only you are happy in your new adventure.
We spoke in class about the whole Hippy movement yesterday which, I actually wrote about in the last article, so I'm not going to repeat that information here. I hope it helps you to understand why people are not always going to react in the same way to certain things as you are used to - and that older people, your teachers etc. are probably not going to seem the same in their thinking as, for example, your teachers here.
We also did some vocabulary work about something very ordinary - our faces. Most of you will have learned about ears, noses, etc. way back in primary school. But there were other things that many of you were not clear on, so I hope my wonderful picture of the beautiful face helped you!
wrinkles...the lines on our faces we get as we become older
pimples...those horrible little spots that always seem to appear just when we don't want them
freckles...the little brown spots many Westerner have on their skin, usually from the sun
dimples...the cute little holes some people have in their cheeks when they smile
bald...a person whose hair has fallen out: mostly older men
skin-head...someone who had removed all their hair: mostly younger men (though I did it once!)
ear-lobe...that little piece at the bottom of our ear where most people wear earrings in China
rim...the very top part of our ear where not quite so many people wear little earrings
cheeks...the two fleshy parts of our face - and also of our bottoms (bums)!
nostrils...the two holes in our nose through which we breathe
bridge...the hard, bony part of our nose. Easily breakable. Also on glasses
eye-brow...the line of little hairs above our eye
eye-lid...the skin which allows us to close our eyes
eye-lashes...the hairs around our eyes on which females put mascara (make-up). Many of us also put make-up on our eye lids: this is called eye-shadow. People also draw a darker line around the edge of their eye lids, this is called eye-liner.
iris...the coloured part of our eye
pupil...the black hole in the middle of our eyes through which we see
lens...the part which enables us to see: so the glass part of a pair of glasses
The liquid in a bottle some women put on their faces to make it looks smooth is called base,or foundation or liquid make-up; over this, or instead of this we put powder; the pink colour some use on their cheeks is called blusher. Some also make their eye-brows look darker by using an eye-prow pencil. But before we put any make-up on at all , or even when we don't use make-up at all, most people (even men in the West)
glasses are made up of glass lenses, a bridge which fits over our nose and arms which hook around our ears.
However, I also suspect that most of you don't take this class very seriously: you feel that, now you know you have been chosen to go overseas, you don't need to worry any more, Some of you may even think that you will be doing the same things there as you do here only it will be a bit colder and the countryside will look different.
Guys, your whole lives are going to change once you get on that aeroplane. Nothing is going to be familiar and you won't have your family around to support you. Its a huge adventure, sure, but it could be a huge failure or the worst time of your life if you are not prepared.
There are some of you who cannot follow what I say in class - its going to be almost impossible for you to follow what your foriegn teachers, people in shops, your classmates, in fact all the people around you, are saying. This need not be too much of a problem if you are able to work on your own...but you have to have the skills to do this. As I have tried to tell you: - your childhood is over and once you land overseas people who know nothing about China won't understand that you are not used to doing things for yourselves: and that includes your work.
Even people going on holidays to a different country spend a lot of time researching: finding about the customs, the way of dressing, what is considered polite and what is considered absolutely unacceptable before they go. Your not going on holidays - you are going to live there AND, as I have said a few times, you are going to represent your country. Plus, of course, you are going to have to learn as much as you possibly can about your subject so that you can bring skills back with you to benefit your own country.
Getting the most you can out of these classes and at least reading these articles is the very least you can do. I know that you probably think I am a very unsympathetic teacher but honestly, the reason I may seem to stern is because I worry about you and want you to be happy and content. I don't want one single one of you to feel sad or lost or unhappy in Sweden- especially as there is no need for you to feel that way. Even if you all dislike me and your classes, I will be happy if only you are happy in your new adventure.
We spoke in class about the whole Hippy movement yesterday which, I actually wrote about in the last article, so I'm not going to repeat that information here. I hope it helps you to understand why people are not always going to react in the same way to certain things as you are used to - and that older people, your teachers etc. are probably not going to seem the same in their thinking as, for example, your teachers here.
We also did some vocabulary work about something very ordinary - our faces. Most of you will have learned about ears, noses, etc. way back in primary school. But there were other things that many of you were not clear on, so I hope my wonderful picture of the beautiful face helped you!
wrinkles...the lines on our faces we get as we become older
pimples...those horrible little spots that always seem to appear just when we don't want them
freckles...the little brown spots many Westerner have on their skin, usually from the sun
dimples...the cute little holes some people have in their cheeks when they smile
bald...a person whose hair has fallen out: mostly older men
skin-head...someone who had removed all their hair: mostly younger men (though I did it once!)
ear-lobe...that little piece at the bottom of our ear where most people wear earrings in China
rim...the very top part of our ear where not quite so many people wear little earrings
cheeks...the two fleshy parts of our face - and also of our bottoms (bums)!
nostrils...the two holes in our nose through which we breathe
bridge...the hard, bony part of our nose. Easily breakable. Also on glasses
eye-brow...the line of little hairs above our eye
eye-lid...the skin which allows us to close our eyes
eye-lashes...the hairs around our eyes on which females put mascara (make-up). Many of us also put make-up on our eye lids: this is called eye-shadow. People also draw a darker line around the edge of their eye lids, this is called eye-liner.
iris...the coloured part of our eye
pupil...the black hole in the middle of our eyes through which we see
lens...the part which enables us to see: so the glass part of a pair of glasses
The liquid in a bottle some women put on their faces to make it looks smooth is called base,or foundation or liquid make-up; over this, or instead of this we put powder; the pink colour some use on their cheeks is called blusher. Some also make their eye-brows look darker by using an eye-prow pencil. But before we put any make-up on at all , or even when we don't use make-up at all, most people (even men in the West)
glasses are made up of glass lenses, a bridge which fits over our nose and arms which hook around our ears.
Tuesday, 10 March 2009
062Y55A03 10/03 Paternity Leave
It was so wonderful to see the sun again! I hope you weren't too uncomfortable being outside - but I just couldn't bear the thought of being stuck inside the building on the first good day we have had after all the rain, rain, rain.
So...once again you have surprised me, people. I was really pleased when most of you seemed to agree that both parents taking leave to look after the child was a good idea. I was also pleased to see that one of you (John?) had actually interviewed a young mother for her views. Yep. Research means getting information from wherever you can and if you can research from a Primary Source [ someone who is actually involved] that's wonderful. After all, Internet sources are great but on questions like this going direct to a person involved is even better. Good work, mate.
But "Paternity Leave" means just that: the father taking leave to look after the baby. Not "Maternity AND Paternity" leave. And there I was gobsmacked![ informal word for really, really surprised; amazed; astounded]. Most of you thought that was a bad idea. Actually, I strongly suspect that not many people actually did go on-line for any research on this, or you would have found out, on English Google, just how much information there is on this subject.
Now, don't get me wrong. I wasn't surprised that everyone didn't support the idea - what surprised me the the REASONs given for not supporting the idea.
Currently men in Britain both are entitled to, and take two weeks paternity leave around the birth of their baby. An idea pretty much all of you thought was a good idea. They are also entitled, in many firms, to use up their holiday entitlements and so quite a few end up taking a month off. However, a new move is taking place for men to take up to six months off. It is felt that with the mother taking the first six months off and the father taking the next six months off the baby is cared for by a parent for the first year of its life before people have to start thinking about baby care centres. Remember, most people overseas are not in a position where grandparents can just stop working and stay at home to look after children.
Men in The Netherlands, and Scandinavian countries already get paternity leave for much longer periods - as do the mothers who can take up to 18 months off in some places.
Men in America are entitled to two weeks paternity leave at any time in the first year of their child's life but, by contrast with English or Northern European men, very few of them take it. Far too many of them feel that they will lose face with the other men or that, in the cut throat[very competitive; rather brutal] American work place, they will lose career opportunities.
So, I was quite prepared for many of you to disagree with with the idea from an economic or career perspective. What really blew me away [another way of saying amazed or very surprised] was the idea that so many of you thought that men would not be as good at parenting as women.
I cannot actually remember ever hearing this point of view. Even very prejudiced, or old-fashioned men who believe that it is women's work to look after babies do not think so because they think that men couldn't do it as well. In fact they think that it is something men could do just as easily or even better than women, but because it is so repetitive and boring that men's superior brains would be wasted doing it!!
I realise that many of you are very young and so have not had mature relationships with the other gender yet - but even so, to hear that men are not so "gentle" was another new idea for me. Men may be bigger or stronger than women, but they are capable of infinite gentleness and tenderness. Men work in highly-skilled jobs like technical work, as surgeons and, of course as paediatricians [doctors who only treat small babies] - in all of which fields they cannot be rough or careless. Hey, even male criminals who break into safes or houses, need to have very gentle, sensitive hands in order to work quickly and quietly and not get caught!
The idea that women, somehow, have more knowledge about babies is also surprising. It's not programmed into female DNA, you know. Its something we all have to learn so I simply don't see why it would be thought that women learn quicker or better than men? The only reason that a women might know more about her own particular child is if she spends more time with it...and the whole purpose of paternity leave is for men to be able to share that time.
As in the example I gave about the safety pin sticking into my own baby and causing him to cry, women makes mistakes that can harm their babies. Sometimes too, men come up with different or even better solutions. Like most of you, I was an only child too, so I had had nothing at all to do with babies until I had my own. My husband, on the other hand, had looked after his younger brother and sister and had a lot more knowledge than I. I kept thinking I would break the baby! He told me that babies are a lot more unbreakable than we realise.
I think that one of the reasons I love my job is that you guys, my students, are always surprising me and causing me to look at things from different angles. The winds of change are blowing very strongly through China...they are almost becoming a hurricane. One day you might remember this discussion and wonder how you could have ever thought this way. Then again, you might go through your whole lives with this thinking unchanged. I however, will always look back on this and many other discussions and realise how little I know about the world and how many different ways there are to look at it.
So...once again you have surprised me, people. I was really pleased when most of you seemed to agree that both parents taking leave to look after the child was a good idea. I was also pleased to see that one of you (John?) had actually interviewed a young mother for her views. Yep. Research means getting information from wherever you can and if you can research from a Primary Source [ someone who is actually involved] that's wonderful. After all, Internet sources are great but on questions like this going direct to a person involved is even better. Good work, mate.
But "Paternity Leave" means just that: the father taking leave to look after the baby. Not "Maternity AND Paternity" leave. And there I was gobsmacked![ informal word for really, really surprised; amazed; astounded]. Most of you thought that was a bad idea. Actually, I strongly suspect that not many people actually did go on-line for any research on this, or you would have found out, on English Google, just how much information there is on this subject.
Now, don't get me wrong. I wasn't surprised that everyone didn't support the idea - what surprised me the the REASONs given for not supporting the idea.
Currently men in Britain both are entitled to, and take two weeks paternity leave around the birth of their baby. An idea pretty much all of you thought was a good idea. They are also entitled, in many firms, to use up their holiday entitlements and so quite a few end up taking a month off. However, a new move is taking place for men to take up to six months off. It is felt that with the mother taking the first six months off and the father taking the next six months off the baby is cared for by a parent for the first year of its life before people have to start thinking about baby care centres. Remember, most people overseas are not in a position where grandparents can just stop working and stay at home to look after children.
Men in The Netherlands, and Scandinavian countries already get paternity leave for much longer periods - as do the mothers who can take up to 18 months off in some places.
Men in America are entitled to two weeks paternity leave at any time in the first year of their child's life but, by contrast with English or Northern European men, very few of them take it. Far too many of them feel that they will lose face with the other men or that, in the cut throat[very competitive; rather brutal] American work place, they will lose career opportunities.
So, I was quite prepared for many of you to disagree with with the idea from an economic or career perspective. What really blew me away [another way of saying amazed or very surprised] was the idea that so many of you thought that men would not be as good at parenting as women.
I cannot actually remember ever hearing this point of view. Even very prejudiced, or old-fashioned men who believe that it is women's work to look after babies do not think so because they think that men couldn't do it as well. In fact they think that it is something men could do just as easily or even better than women, but because it is so repetitive and boring that men's superior brains would be wasted doing it!!
I realise that many of you are very young and so have not had mature relationships with the other gender yet - but even so, to hear that men are not so "gentle" was another new idea for me. Men may be bigger or stronger than women, but they are capable of infinite gentleness and tenderness. Men work in highly-skilled jobs like technical work, as surgeons and, of course as paediatricians [doctors who only treat small babies] - in all of which fields they cannot be rough or careless. Hey, even male criminals who break into safes or houses, need to have very gentle, sensitive hands in order to work quickly and quietly and not get caught!
The idea that women, somehow, have more knowledge about babies is also surprising. It's not programmed into female DNA, you know. Its something we all have to learn so I simply don't see why it would be thought that women learn quicker or better than men? The only reason that a women might know more about her own particular child is if she spends more time with it...and the whole purpose of paternity leave is for men to be able to share that time.
As in the example I gave about the safety pin sticking into my own baby and causing him to cry, women makes mistakes that can harm their babies. Sometimes too, men come up with different or even better solutions. Like most of you, I was an only child too, so I had had nothing at all to do with babies until I had my own. My husband, on the other hand, had looked after his younger brother and sister and had a lot more knowledge than I. I kept thinking I would break the baby! He told me that babies are a lot more unbreakable than we realise.
I think that one of the reasons I love my job is that you guys, my students, are always surprising me and causing me to look at things from different angles. The winds of change are blowing very strongly through China...they are almost becoming a hurricane. One day you might remember this discussion and wonder how you could have ever thought this way. Then again, you might go through your whole lives with this thinking unchanged. I however, will always look back on this and many other discussions and realise how little I know about the world and how many different ways there are to look at it.
067Y18A02 09/03 Beginnings. Pride & Prejudice
Having at last got a classroom which lets us use a computer I planned a class which would make use of this straight away.(Its a good thing it was working - otherwise we wouldn't have had a class!)
I could see however, that some of you were disappointed. You had probably hoped that we would just watch a movie from the beginning to the end, and so were not very happy when we just looked at bits and pieces and you had to answer questions.
This class is, unfortunately Dramatic Criticism and not Watching Movies. The purpose is not only to tell you more about Drama - it's history and techniques - its to enable you to know the difference between a good and a bad movie and also to learn what the purpose is behind different movies.
You might still think that the purpose of a movie is purely entertainment. By looking at the way different movies are made and directed, by learning to "read" everything from the costumes to the scenery to the dialogue however, you soon become aware of the message behind every single movie that is ever produced. And, believe me, there is one. It is all part of the propaganda that is used to get us to think in a certain way. Hollywood itself has changed the behaviour and influenced the thinking of generations of people. If you want to make sure you are using movies (as recreation or entertainment or even education) you have to be able able to judge whether or not, instead, the movies are using you (to get you to think or act or simply accept a certain point of view)!
Nowhere have I ever been made more aware of the propaganda value of movies than here in China. For the majority of students, as well as the people in the shops and businesses, their whole idea of countries outside of China is based on American movies. So, for a start they think that every Western country is just like America: American products, American speech, American manners, American food - for them that is what everyone in the West is familiar with. Many people are shocked (and slightly disbelieving) when we (non-Americans) tell them that these movies are as "foreign" to us as they are to the Chinese.
However, the main propaganda value of these movies is that most Chinese people only see the "Block busters" or best seller - usually romantic comedies or movies about American High Schools or kids. Thus they think all foreigners are wealthy, live in large houses, drive big, shiny new cars, and wear beautiful clothes. Nothing wrong with that, you might think?
But it does have an effect: - it makes sure that everywhere foreigners go there are two prices for everything: a Chinese price and a Lou Wai price. Even street vendors will charge us 5 RMB for something that costs only 2RMB for everyone else!
But, most of all, these movies sell a fantasy world where everyone is young and beautiful and slim and falls in love forever. The fact that America itself has the largest proportion of fat people in the world, a divorce rate which now effects one out of every 2 marriages, and American cities have the highest percentage of Street People (homeless) than any other First World country is not reflected in the kinds of movies that make it to China. But it IS a good illustration of what I mean by propaganda: each of those movies is selling a fantasy world that hides the real problems.
So, to-day's lesson was about Beginnings. Every story or narrative in the world is constructed in the same way: it has a beginning, a middle and an end. And it is in the beginning of a movie that we first get an idea of what we are going to see: - another fantasy world of beautiful, happy people...or reality? We also get our first idea of the Directors own particular intention or idea; of what s/he himself thinks about life and what particular idea or interpretation s/he has and which s/he wants to pass on to us.
The first movie was the original old black and white movie that was made of the classic English story Pride and Prejudice. It taught us a number of things: We could tell it was an old movie - not just because it was made in the days before colour, but because the credits came on First. And they were very, very long. In the days when movies were a new form of entertainment; when they were a treat; when people actually got dressed up in their best clothes to go to a movie, putting the credits first added to the excitement and built up the anticipation. It all added to the experience.
To-days audiences, often watching at home with a remote control switch in their hand, would be bored senseless and probably switch off or fast-forward through those credits to get to the action.
Also, until movies, most people got their entertainment and fantasy from books. It was a reading culture. Even the opening of the movie was written about in order to tell us where we were...both the other movies, however, used film itself to convey that information. We didn't need to be able to read to learn that we were in the country, we were going to deal with both Upper Class (Bingham and D'arcey) and upper Middle class (the Bennets) people - and that it was probably going to be a love story with, no doubt, a few twists and turns.
The idea of a love story, a light plot and a little excitement was, on the other hand, conveyed to us in the first movie by music. Silly, light, completely forgettable music probably composed by one of the studio hacks [writers or musicians employed by the movie company to write or compose solely for movies. Not, in fact, actual professionals)
We also could judge, in those opening scenes, how the movie would be handled. In the first one no attempt was made to show reality. The women were all wearing "Hollywood" dresses, designed merely to show us that we were in another time and to show off the actor's figures. They were also all wearing make-up and had plucked eyebrows: very 20th century innovations [new things]. The fact that they twittered[the high-pitched noises birds make] together in a way that showed them to be rather silly and thoughtless was also quite unrealistic but audiences of the time would have just imagined that was the way women behaved in those long ago times.
The choice of opening the movie with this scene - with no leading male characters - very firmly set this as a chick-flick [movies made solely for women audiences], and also illustrated for us that, at the time this film was made, women writers were considered to be inferior to men and incapable of producing anything other than love stories. The fact that the book the film was based on is a Classic of English Literature would not have been taken seriously then.
The second movie, with Winona Ryder in the main role, reflected a different interpretation and also showed how the world had changed. To start with Ryder was not shown in a silly dress, wearing make=up or with her hair beautifully styled. She was, in fact, quite messy and untidy. She was also, quite sensibly for a country girl, wearing boots. As soon as she gets home the focus switches from her and we see her father and mother together. The father in this movie is untidy, a little eccentric, - exactly as the book would have us believe he was: a country gentleman without much money and with a household full of people to support.
The music was a recognisable piece of classic music showing that this movie was of a recognisable classic piece of literature. It did not advertise itself as a chick-flick but as a story which, for anyone not knowing the story, could go in any direction yet. It also made clear one of the most important points of the book: the poverty of the Bennetts was what set them apart. Money was one of the biggest causes of both pride and prejudice in England at that time and we were in no doubt that, while they may have been forced to live a certain life=style because of the class they were born into, they were, in comparison to others of their social class, poor.
However, this movie too was American. It reflected a modern American outlook and we realised we were in a fantasy land again. Ryder and the other merely behaved as modern Americans but were plonked down[put down rather carelessly] in their foreign setting.
With the final beginning, the BBC movie, we realised we were going to see not just a movie based on the book, but the book itself in visual form. The first sight of Elizabeth drew giggles from some of you: those horrible curls! Yet that is exactly what a young girl of the time was made to look like. She wasn't beautiful either: and nowhere in the book is Elizabeth described as beautiful. After all, realistically, how many people really are? Elizabeth's attraction in the book was not apparent at first to D'arcy: it was her character he began to love. So, we suspect, it will be in the movie.
Her clothes, too are authentic, as is the way a young English girl of her social class and time behaved and held herself. Not like Ryder's modern American 20th century girl who curls up on couches and walks like a labourer, but as a lady. Which is what the book is also about - the silly restrictions that were put on girls at that time.
In contrast, the two men, seen right at the beginning, were free to thunder around the countryside, racing on their horses, getting covered in mud, pleasing themselves and going where they wanted. The fact that Pride and Prejudice focuses on this inequality between the sexes from a woman's point of view is the whole reason behind the fact that it is regarded as part of our English heritage. That's what made it a classic. So, from the very first opening shots of the last movie we realise we are in good hands: we aren't going to see a chick-flick, or an American idea of an English book. At last we know we are going to see Pride and Prejudice, the movie.
I could see however, that some of you were disappointed. You had probably hoped that we would just watch a movie from the beginning to the end, and so were not very happy when we just looked at bits and pieces and you had to answer questions.
This class is, unfortunately Dramatic Criticism and not Watching Movies. The purpose is not only to tell you more about Drama - it's history and techniques - its to enable you to know the difference between a good and a bad movie and also to learn what the purpose is behind different movies.
You might still think that the purpose of a movie is purely entertainment. By looking at the way different movies are made and directed, by learning to "read" everything from the costumes to the scenery to the dialogue however, you soon become aware of the message behind every single movie that is ever produced. And, believe me, there is one. It is all part of the propaganda that is used to get us to think in a certain way. Hollywood itself has changed the behaviour and influenced the thinking of generations of people. If you want to make sure you are using movies (as recreation or entertainment or even education) you have to be able able to judge whether or not, instead, the movies are using you (to get you to think or act or simply accept a certain point of view)!
Nowhere have I ever been made more aware of the propaganda value of movies than here in China. For the majority of students, as well as the people in the shops and businesses, their whole idea of countries outside of China is based on American movies. So, for a start they think that every Western country is just like America: American products, American speech, American manners, American food - for them that is what everyone in the West is familiar with. Many people are shocked (and slightly disbelieving) when we (non-Americans) tell them that these movies are as "foreign" to us as they are to the Chinese.
However, the main propaganda value of these movies is that most Chinese people only see the "Block busters" or best seller - usually romantic comedies or movies about American High Schools or kids. Thus they think all foreigners are wealthy, live in large houses, drive big, shiny new cars, and wear beautiful clothes. Nothing wrong with that, you might think?
But it does have an effect: - it makes sure that everywhere foreigners go there are two prices for everything: a Chinese price and a Lou Wai price. Even street vendors will charge us 5 RMB for something that costs only 2RMB for everyone else!
But, most of all, these movies sell a fantasy world where everyone is young and beautiful and slim and falls in love forever. The fact that America itself has the largest proportion of fat people in the world, a divorce rate which now effects one out of every 2 marriages, and American cities have the highest percentage of Street People (homeless) than any other First World country is not reflected in the kinds of movies that make it to China. But it IS a good illustration of what I mean by propaganda: each of those movies is selling a fantasy world that hides the real problems.
So, to-day's lesson was about Beginnings. Every story or narrative in the world is constructed in the same way: it has a beginning, a middle and an end. And it is in the beginning of a movie that we first get an idea of what we are going to see: - another fantasy world of beautiful, happy people...or reality? We also get our first idea of the Directors own particular intention or idea; of what s/he himself thinks about life and what particular idea or interpretation s/he has and which s/he wants to pass on to us.
The first movie was the original old black and white movie that was made of the classic English story Pride and Prejudice. It taught us a number of things: We could tell it was an old movie - not just because it was made in the days before colour, but because the credits came on First. And they were very, very long. In the days when movies were a new form of entertainment; when they were a treat; when people actually got dressed up in their best clothes to go to a movie, putting the credits first added to the excitement and built up the anticipation. It all added to the experience.
To-days audiences, often watching at home with a remote control switch in their hand, would be bored senseless and probably switch off or fast-forward through those credits to get to the action.
Also, until movies, most people got their entertainment and fantasy from books. It was a reading culture. Even the opening of the movie was written about in order to tell us where we were...both the other movies, however, used film itself to convey that information. We didn't need to be able to read to learn that we were in the country, we were going to deal with both Upper Class (Bingham and D'arcey) and upper Middle class (the Bennets) people - and that it was probably going to be a love story with, no doubt, a few twists and turns.
The idea of a love story, a light plot and a little excitement was, on the other hand, conveyed to us in the first movie by music. Silly, light, completely forgettable music probably composed by one of the studio hacks [writers or musicians employed by the movie company to write or compose solely for movies. Not, in fact, actual professionals)
We also could judge, in those opening scenes, how the movie would be handled. In the first one no attempt was made to show reality. The women were all wearing "Hollywood" dresses, designed merely to show us that we were in another time and to show off the actor's figures. They were also all wearing make-up and had plucked eyebrows: very 20th century innovations [new things]. The fact that they twittered[the high-pitched noises birds make] together in a way that showed them to be rather silly and thoughtless was also quite unrealistic but audiences of the time would have just imagined that was the way women behaved in those long ago times.
The choice of opening the movie with this scene - with no leading male characters - very firmly set this as a chick-flick [movies made solely for women audiences], and also illustrated for us that, at the time this film was made, women writers were considered to be inferior to men and incapable of producing anything other than love stories. The fact that the book the film was based on is a Classic of English Literature would not have been taken seriously then.
The second movie, with Winona Ryder in the main role, reflected a different interpretation and also showed how the world had changed. To start with Ryder was not shown in a silly dress, wearing make=up or with her hair beautifully styled. She was, in fact, quite messy and untidy. She was also, quite sensibly for a country girl, wearing boots. As soon as she gets home the focus switches from her and we see her father and mother together. The father in this movie is untidy, a little eccentric, - exactly as the book would have us believe he was: a country gentleman without much money and with a household full of people to support.
The music was a recognisable piece of classic music showing that this movie was of a recognisable classic piece of literature. It did not advertise itself as a chick-flick but as a story which, for anyone not knowing the story, could go in any direction yet. It also made clear one of the most important points of the book: the poverty of the Bennetts was what set them apart. Money was one of the biggest causes of both pride and prejudice in England at that time and we were in no doubt that, while they may have been forced to live a certain life=style because of the class they were born into, they were, in comparison to others of their social class, poor.
However, this movie too was American. It reflected a modern American outlook and we realised we were in a fantasy land again. Ryder and the other merely behaved as modern Americans but were plonked down[put down rather carelessly] in their foreign setting.
With the final beginning, the BBC movie, we realised we were going to see not just a movie based on the book, but the book itself in visual form. The first sight of Elizabeth drew giggles from some of you: those horrible curls! Yet that is exactly what a young girl of the time was made to look like. She wasn't beautiful either: and nowhere in the book is Elizabeth described as beautiful. After all, realistically, how many people really are? Elizabeth's attraction in the book was not apparent at first to D'arcy: it was her character he began to love. So, we suspect, it will be in the movie.
Her clothes, too are authentic, as is the way a young English girl of her social class and time behaved and held herself. Not like Ryder's modern American 20th century girl who curls up on couches and walks like a labourer, but as a lady. Which is what the book is also about - the silly restrictions that were put on girls at that time.
In contrast, the two men, seen right at the beginning, were free to thunder around the countryside, racing on their horses, getting covered in mud, pleasing themselves and going where they wanted. The fact that Pride and Prejudice focuses on this inequality between the sexes from a woman's point of view is the whole reason behind the fact that it is regarded as part of our English heritage. That's what made it a classic. So, from the very first opening shots of the last movie we realise we are in good hands: we aren't going to see a chick-flick, or an American idea of an English book. At last we know we are going to see Pride and Prejudice, the movie.
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