William Shakespeare - Relevent Classes

I discussed Shakespeare in a few classes already and it is probably that I might do so in the future with others. Hence[that is why] I have titled this article for all relevant classes. This means that you can come read it whenever we get around to talking about it. I would, of course, hope that even those with whom I never get to discuss the topic would read this. The man is, after all, an important part of Western culture and, therefore, relevant to an understanding of Western culture.

It seem that the first thing that gobsmacked [suprised] many of you was that Shakespeare did not, in fact, come up with the stories in his plays by himself. The plays that he wrote were a re-telling of stories that all English people of the time would have known already - just like The Butterfly Lovers here in China.

This is one of the reasons that I said that being made to read the stories behind the plays in Chinese was a bit of a waste of time from the point of view of understanding what the man was all about. It is not the actual plots and tales that are important. What has given W.S. his position as the world's best-known English writer is the words he used. These cannot be translated into Chinese so an understanding of his value is not possible for students who read him in translation.

The second thing that seemed to surprise many was that he did not spend hours and days and weeks agonising over his work, and searching alone in his room for inspiration to write the works which would be resound down the centuries. Instead, as a busy actor in a troupe[a group or company of theatrical people] he was often called upon to produce an entire play for the next night's performance.

Also, he did not write strictly alone, but collaborated [worked with others] for ideas and inspiration in the early plays at least. Of course, he wrote far more plays than the ones we know about. However, at the time, no-one knew he was going to be regarded as a genius one day, so many plays have been lost to us forever. We only know about the ones we have because, after he died, his friends got together and collected the ones they could find to put them all together in one book or Folio as it was called at the time.

Which leads to another point that surprised some, though not all, of you. He was not particularly famous or well-known when he was alive. Amongst the small group of London writers at that time, of course, he was well-regarded, but to the average person - who could neither read nor write - a play was all about being entertained. How it was written was not such importance: after all, if you have anjoyed a movie, how many of you know who actually wrote the script for that movie?

Some of you , who have taken my classes before, were aware that those beautiful Sonnets or poems, with their romantic lnguage and talk of love, were not all directed towards a particular woman. His poems are divided, in fact, between those he wrote for his male lover and those he wrote for his female lover.

So another reason for interest in Shakespeare is that, reading his sonnets in the order they have now been put, reveals a personal love story which is exciting, mysterious and beautifully expressed. However, if one is not aware of this, once again, there is not so much point in reading these poems. There were many wonderful poets around at the same time whose works survive down through the ages and who are just as well known in the field of Literature.

In one class I asked people if they considered Shakespeare was a genius? Many people answered that yes, they did. When we got right down to it, however, it seemed that the only reason some people have for believing this is because they have been told it.

Reading Shakespeare is difficult even for Westerners as his works are written in a language called Early Modern English which only a few academics understand fluently. As students of English as a Second Language, its impossible to understand this language. Shakespeare is no longer taught automatically in Western schools for the simple reason that the average students can't understand him. And they are native English speakers!

Guys, the whole purpose of our discussion classes is to get you to talk about and discuss things so you can arrive at your own conclusions. The word "genius" is pretty subjective, really. One person's 'genius' is another person's half-wit. I personally do not agree with the 'genius' lable...which is not to say that I do not appreciate Shakespeare's work. There are many reasons for my holding this view and I have outlined them and argued them in Academic circles for a long time. Mine is not a popular opinion among many people. In fact when I first presented it I was treated with disdain by many!

Once I have given my reasons for this opinion and backed it up with research, however, it has opened up new ideas to others and, though they might not agree with me (my lecturer from University thinks Shakespeare is God and nothing will shake him from that position) they respect the idea and it gives us a point from which to continue research and thinking to support or change our own particular beliefs.

Holding on to your own ideas, arguing them convincingly and proving them, is what knowledge and education is all about. Just accepting something because someone has told us this, or because it is what most people think, does not cause advances in thinking or open the way for new ideas.

So there is no reason either to swing over to my way of thinking - especially as you are not aware of all the reasons for which I hold it.

So...was Shakespeare a genius? Was he the greatest English writer who ever lived? Are his works wonderful? Should everyone who learns English be made to study him, whether they are Westerners or Chinese? Perhaps the only answers to most of those questions is "I dunno". But if we are going to answer a question - any question - with either a yes or no it is important that the reason we do so is based on our own personal knowledge and not simply because everybody else thinks so.

067Y18A02 Dram. Crit, Indepenent Movies

I was surprised that you all hated the movie 'Stay' so much. I know it was a difficult one, but I had thought that perhaps you would get interested in trying to figure out what it was all about. However, I guess movies like this are hard enough, without having to figure them out in a foreign language!

There were two reasons I wanted you to see this movie.

The first was because it was not a Dream Machine movie. It was a different genre completely and belongs to the class we call Independent. What this means is that someone - or a group of someones - puts up the money for the movie to be made: it is not one of the big studios who do so. This means that the Director has more independence - s/he does not have to conform to the usual Hollywood standards. Some Independent movies have gone on to become incredibly famous, popular and lucrative [ made lots of money], but this is not the reason behind them.

Not just Directors, but writers, actors, producers - everyone gets tired of making movies with one eye always on the Box-Office receipts [i.e. for financial success]. As we have said before - Dream Machine movies usually always have a happy ending, characters are pretty one-dimensional (i.e. they are usually good or bad; not a mixture of both as are most people), everybody is good looking, people's hair and make-up is always perfect; and, unless you are a complete idiot, they are usually predictable - you know pretty much where the movie is going and, often, exactly how it is going to get there.

Sometimes, of course, brilliant directing, acting or a happy combination of the two, can all work together to make a movie that, while it conforms to these standards, does not, while one is watching, seem to do so. These, while not coming along too often, are the kinds of movies that, in time, become classics like The Shawshank Redemption, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, etc.

But, in the main, Dream Machine movies follow a particular pattern and standards. For the truly artistic, the imaginative, the creative, it can be frustrating to spend a lifetime making these kinds of films. So the Independents allow true artistic expression. This is why they are sometimes known as Art House movies. Sometimes they fail miserably, sometimes they succeed, but they are always interesting and thought provoking, and definitely not the kind of thing you sit around with your girl/boyfriend and a bag of popcorn and watch when you just want to chill. There are millions of people who only watch Art House movies and festivals all over the world attract substantial followings. Within the genre there are also awards and trophies given which, Art House aficionados [people who are experts or appreciators of a certain field]will tell you, are far more valuable than a mere Oscar.

It is usually University students who make up a large proportion of the following of Independent movies.

The second reason I wanted you to see it is, I guess, pretty obvious. It was to prove how the 'rule' of Beginning, Middle and End does not always need to be followed - especially in the hands of a master of their craft. Although you might not have liked the movie particularly, you will have to agree, I'm sure, that the cinematography, the script, the acting, - every aspect in fact - of this film was wonderfully handled. Rules are, in fact, not always applicable ...in fact there are those who pride themselves on being able to defy them.

The thing is, of course, is to spot the difference between someone who is just trying to break rules, or go against conventions simply for the sake of doing so;and someone who is just so genuinely gifted that obeying or disobeying rules simply does not occur to them. They are the true originals. So that no discussion of Film or Theatre could be said to be complete without diving into their world and taking a look.

Although you may have disliked this move, and although you might not have understood it, it is possible that, years from now, when all the movies you have seen become a blur inside your mind, this movie - for whatever reason - will still be inside your head.

Sino-Swedish Programme 22/04 & 29/04 Cleaning & Clothes Vocab

Sorry for the delay in posting this. However, as it seems that as the majority of you do not access this site, and as I was incredibly busy, perhaps this was not such a huge oversight on my part?

I am combining last week and this week's class in one article as they were mainly about vocabulary. The discussion from the second half of last week can be found in the article simply called "William Shakespeare."

The lesson on 22/04 was all about household cleaning. Quite a few of you looked as though you were quite bored with the topic and I don't blame you - cleaning IS boring. I hate the chore myself and the only way I get through it is by turning some good ole Rock n'Roll up really loudly and singing and/or bopping[moving to the music] along with it!

However, I have explained to you twice now that this was one of the things that the University in Sweden complained about: Chinese students were not being clean in their habits. Now, I don't know about you, but I, personally, would be hugely[ very big;very much] embarrassed if other people considered not just me, but people from my country, to be dirty. Because, let's face it - the opposite of 'clean' is 'dirty' so if students are not being clean they are being dirty, right?

All over the world, in hostels, apartments, dormitories, houses etc. where people have to share living arrangements, the number one complaint that can make people really angry and cause them to fight with others, is when someone leaves either the kitchen or the bathroom in a bad state. EVERYONE hates cleaning, but its a part of our lives that just has to be done.

In China kitchens are usually quite small and are usually just places where food is prepared. In other countries the kitchens are bigger and are traditionally considered to be the heart of the household. They are where everyone gathers together, where babies and small children play, where we often eat, do our homework, entertain guests, listen to music, write letters, discuss our problems and, yeah, where we cook as well. A dirty kitchen prevents us doing all these things and is, of course not just a hazard to our own health, but to that of everyone who uses the place as well.

A lot of Chinese food is cooked in a wok or a frying pan and so it is inevitable [something that can't be prevented; certain] that oil or fat is going to splatter [get splashed around], bits of food fall out and things spill. However, a quick wipe down of the stove and the benches with hot water while the fat or food is still hot immediately cleans it up.

Then, after we have finished washing up our cups and bowls etc. a clean wet sponge dipped in hot, soapy water, makes things sparkling again, while a wipe with disinfectant kills all germs. The wok or frying pan often has to be scrubbed with a scourer and hot water to get rid of cold oil and fat - just using cold water will neither clean it nor get rid of decaying traces of food which cause germs and illness. People are gonna get mad [angry] if you don't do this.

Outside of China people don't fry things as much - there are other uses for pans and woks. Things are simmered in sauces, or poached or prepared in different ways, so an oily, greasy pan cannot be used. Also kitchen benches [the counter tops where food is prepared] are used to write things, to put things down on - even sometimes to sit on - so if you haven't wiped up and cleaned them after you and someones homework assignment or jeans or clean washing get food or oil stains on ...you are going to be very unpopular!

I have lived in China, teaching students, for three years and have come to learn that children and young people in many families are not encouraged or taught to do housework. And that boys and men are often not expected to do these things. However, you will be living in a different society where no-one will know how things are done in your home. They will expect you to know how to do these things. Even if you told them you have never done this stuff before they would not be sympathetic. Cleaning is just something that has to be done. Remember how I keep saying no-one will think of you as children? They won't. They will consider you an adult and, if you can learn how to speak English or do mathematics etc. they will expect you are capable of learning how to clean.

The other place where people will not accept uncleanliness are the toilets and bathrooms. These are the biggest sources of germs and illnesses if left dirty - and no-one wants another person's germs.

Outside of China all toilet paper gets flushed away down the toilet. People will be horrified if you throw used toilet paper or tissues in a bin. It is also completely unacceptable for women to throw away used sanitary napkins in a bin without wrapping them up in toilet paper or a small bag. Tampons are flushed down the toilet. If you are throwing such items in a bin in the bathroom make sure it is emptied EVERY DAY. NEVER throw them in the kitchen rubbish bin.

(Last summer I was working in Cambridge in England where two Chinese students - who had not been told this - threw both used toilet paper and used, unwrapped sanitary napkins into the bin in the bathrooms. All the other students were outraged and refused to even go into the bathrooms; while several rang their parents and asked to be allowed to leave!)

If the toilet is dirty after you have used it the CLEAN IT. There will always be a toilet brush next to the toilet. Use it. When it is your turn to clean the toilet or, if you have your own toilet, use toilet cleaner: spray or squeeze it into the toilet bowl, use the brush to scrub inside the toilet, as far down the pipe as you can reach and underneath the rim(the part where the water comes down from when it flushes. Then wipe the toilet seat, toilet seat cover, the handle for flushing AND THE DOORKNOB with disinfectant. These are all places which are touched before people leave the toilet to wash their hands and germs all live and multiply there. Also, always clean the floor at the same time with hot water and disinfectant. There should not be any smell whatsoever in a toilet - unless you leave a sweet-smelling deodorizer in there. I personally disinfect the toilet seats, handles etc. every day in my own house but if that is too much at least make sure its done every couple of days. A proper cleaning once a week is also needed.

Showers also need cleaning once a week - if you take a bath it should be cleaned each time after you have used it yourself - someone who is dreaming of a long, relaxing bath and walks in to find someone elses hair, dirt marks, used soap etc. in there is going to get very, very cross[annoyed]. If you share a bathroom be considerate: - don't leave your shampoo, conditioner etc. spread out all over the place; hang the bath/shower mat up after you have used it; if you have made the floor wet dry it before the next person comes in. Don't leave toothpaste all over the hand washing basin. Clean the bathroom once a week.

If you are sharing a bathroom don't take too long. Half hour showers are considered a waste of the planets water resources. They are also inconsiderate if others need to use the bathroom.

Remember: there will be no shortage of hot water so use it for cleaning. Cold water does not kill germs or dissolve dirt and oil or grease.(If there does happen to be a shortage of hot water then boil some on the stove).

Cleaning Vocabulary:

Broom - for sweeping the floor
Vacuum cleaner/hoover - the machine for cleaning carpets
brush and shovel - the small brush and pan you sweep the dirt into after using the broom
duster - cloth for wiping away dust
polish - liquid or spray for preserving[keeping in good condition] and shining furniture
dish cloth - cloth or sponge to wash plates, cups etc. clean
bucket - container for water
disinfectant - liquid to kill germs
bleach - very strong germ killer - also to keep clothes white
washing up liquid - to put in the water when we wash dishes
tea towel - a large cotton cloth for drying dishes after they have been washed
draining board - the place next to the sink where we stack dirty dishes or put clean ones after washing
drainer - a wire or wooden rack we put dishes into to dry
mop - the sponge or cotton on a long handle for washing floors
cutlery - the collective name given to knives, forks and spoons
scourer - a strong, coarse cloth or metal used to get rid of heavy dirt or grease
mould - the green slime that can grow between bathroom tiles or floors if not cleaned
pegs - plastic or wooden things used to pin our washing to the line to dry
deodorizer - a block or jar of sweet smelling stuff to make a room smell sweet
bin - container where we throw rubbish

Clothes Vocabulary (Remember it is clothes, not Clotheses)

top - anything (shirt, blouse,jumper) worn on top of a skirt or jeans/pants. WOMEN ONLY
jumper - made of knitted wool or cotton to keep us warm
short-sleeved jumper - a light jumper with sleeves only above the elbow
t.shirt - made of cotton with a round neck
polo shirt - made of t.shirt material but with a collar (and often a top pocket)
blouse - a woman's top with buttons
shirt - a man's or woman's top with a collar, buttons and cuffs on the sleeves
jacket - worn over a shirt, blouse, t.shirt etc.
hoody - a loose jacket with a sort of hat attached to the back
jeans - pants made of denim
track-suit pants (tracky daks)- loose pants (usually with a stripe down sides)
jocks - short, tight underpants
boxers - loose underpants with legs - like Boxers wear
pants - trousers
underpants - what men wear under their pants
knickers - women's underpants
bra - what women wear over their boobs
petticoat - worn under a dress or skirt to keep warm or because you can see through the dress
underwear - anything worn under our clothes i.e. knickers, jocks, bra, petticoat etc.
stockings- women wear one on each leg instead of sox
tights - like stockings, but also like tight pants
nightie - a kind of loose dress we wear to bed
pyjamas (p.j.'s) - loose pants and shirt worn to bed
dressing gown - worn over nightclothes
suit - matching jacket and trousers or skirt
tie - worn around our neck, often with a suit
scarf - woolen material wrapped round our necks and face in winter
shawl - worn by women around their shoulders
trainers - running shoes, "sport shoes"
boots - shoes that come up past our ankles, calves, knees - usually in winter
high heels - women's formal shoes with very high heels
sox - worn with shoes
toe-sox - sox with a separate piece for each toe
stripes - lines going across(vertical) or up and down (horizontal)
checks - intersecting vertical and horizontal stripes
spots - small round dots
polka dots - mixture of small dot and large dots
multi-coloured - a whole lot of different colours in a pattern that is not checked or striped
mauve - light purple
button - round plastic or wooden things to fasten our shirts, coats together or as decoration

Sinopec 17/04 Lesson 2 Pronunciation

Right: well I finally have got your company name right after our last class - so hopefully if anyone didn't find their first week's class notes they will find them from now on.

Those who were looking for the class notes for the second week probably got a little confused because it wasn't there.

I had said that I would combine your notes with those of another class with whom I also did pronunciation...but I don't think that too many people actually understood that. So I have now cut and pasted and provided you with this, written under your Company name which, I hope, will mean everyone can find it.

I have, however, posted those little sayings, which we call in English "tongue Twisters" on a blog all to themselves. That's because I teach them to every single class I give - whether they are English Majors or beginners. So if you want to find them, look to the left of this article where all the separate entries are listed, and find one called, simply, "Tongue Twisters". For anyone who find the ones I gave in class too easy, there are a couple of extra one there that we did not do in your class!


Guys, because this is an oral English class the focus of this course is to get you speaking English with confidence. That's why I don't correct mistakes like he/she when translating "ta", and other little slips of the tongue. I am convinced that the best way to learn English is just to speak it: if you keep getting corrected each time you speak its very easy to lose confidence. I am just happy if you can communicate your ideas to us: that is, after all, the whole purpose of language.

However, involving the whole class, without singling out[choosing;picking on] one particular person can also help, I think, and that's where tongue twisters are very handy[useful] as they concern themselves with the actual building block of language: the way certain sounds are said.

However, I can only give you these things to practice by yourselves: I can't do that for you.

As you know, I am a terrible drawer: I wish I could draw those neat little diagrams that appear in Speech books and which show the exact placing of the tongue in your mouth so its easily understood.

The best I can do is to try to describe how to make the sound and try a sort of picture on the board which, even I have to admit, is probably not very helpful.

However:the sound "th" which is the trickiest for many people as it is only made in a few languages, is one that's easy for you do practise by yourselves. As I suggested in class: say this in front of a mirror. The rounded tip [end] of your tongue should be visible[ able to be seen] in between your upper and lower teeth.

As you get more proficient[expert] in making this sound you will realise it can be made just by placing the tip of the tongue underneath your top teeth.

But the important thing to understand is that this is not a voiced sound. It is only made by blowing out air. Not by our vocal chords. So practice with a candle or lighter if you like. If you can blow out the flame by pushing air out you are making the "th" sound in the right way.

The way to make the "th" sound in words like "them" "they" "this" "that", is to put your tongue into the exact position for soft "th" ("Cathy" "thinks" etc) but this time use your vocal chords as if you are making the "err" sound. You don't have to blow air out.

The correct sound is made when your tongue, underneath your top teeth, actually cuts off the sound!

Another sound which is difficult for many is the "r" sound. Once again, I wish I could draw! To make this sound, your tongue is drawn back a little so that the tip of your tongue is in the middle of your mouth.

It should very slightly curve towards BUT DOESN"T TOUCH the roof of your mouth. Instead, the sides of your tongue should be touching your top back teeth.

If you isolate the sound made it sounds very like the sound made in the Chinese word for "play". It is a sound very familiar to those from the North of China.

The sound usually substituted for the correct "r" sound is "l". So people say "lolly" instead of "lorry". But both sounds are made in different ways.

The "l" sound is made by opening your mouth a little more than for "r". This time the tip of your tongue should rest at the point where the roof or your mouth ends and your teeth begin. So actually the top side of your tongue is touching the roof of your mouth and the underside of your tongue is touching your teeth.

For this reason the quick change over in "Red lorry, yellow lorry" between the two sounds is ideal practice. And not to worry - we did not come up with these tongue twisters just for second language speakers, but also for native English speakers. We have to practise them ourselves too, because many of us do make mistakes even though its our own native language!

I hope that this is not to difficult to understand, but I am hoping you will remember how we said these sounds in class. Please do try to keep on practising...its the only way to improve.

Now...you might remember that I had problems with my UHB device at first? Well for some reason my computer here is not reading it at all. So I have not yet posted Lesson 3 as I am hoping someone will come and work out what's wrong with my USB.

062Y55A03 28/04 Miss Potter

As I explained to a couple of you - the movies I usually show you are carefully chosen so that they will appeal to a mixed audience of both male and female. But to-day's movie was a far gentler kind of movie that, I expect, had more appeal for women than for men. However, like all of them, it was a true story.



One thing that the film did not show was that Beatrix Potter was also a scientist, or that from the age of 15 until she was past 30, she recorded her everyday life in journals, using her own secret code which was not decoded until 20 years after her death. [2]

Some of you may have picked up from the film that one of the things that made Beatrix remarkable was that, despite the restrictions put on women, she lived a remarkable life for her times. It was not easy, in those days, for a woman who had a brain to be able to use it. An encyclopedic reference to her notes: "An uncle attempted to introduce her as a student at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, but she was rejected because she was female."

However, her knowledge and interest in nature led her to become extremely well-known and respected in scientific circles - much to her mother's disapproval. "She was later one of the first to suggest that lichens were a symbiotic relationship between fungi and algae.[3]" [In other words she did some new work and made discoveries about mushrooms and other kinds of plants]

"As, at the time, the only way to record microscopic images was by painting them, Potter made numerous drawings of lichens and fungi. As the result of her observations, she was widely respected throughout England as an expert mycologist. She also studied spore germination and life cycles of fungi. Potter's set of detailed watercolours of fungi, numbering some 270 completed by 1901, is in the Armitt Library, Ambleside".

"In 1897, her paper on the germination of spores was presented to the Linnean Society by her uncle Sir Henry Enfield Roscoe, as women were barred from attending meetings. (In 1997, the Society issued a posthumous official apology to Potter for the way she had been treated.)" [Posthumous means something that is awarded or given after someone is already dead]

Also, because she was a woman "The Royal Society also refused to publish at least one of her technical papers. " However, "She also lectured at the London School of Economics several times."

Even if you can't understand some of the technical language you will see that Beatrix, had she not been born female, could have been one of the leading scientists in her field. As it was, she had to struggle extremely hard just to get her children's stories printed. Stories of talking animals and cuddly rabbits were at least regarded as a more suitable subject for a woman to be writing about than things like plants and mushroom and real science. I often privately wonder how much knowledge and possible inventions have been lost to the world simply because of the stupid traditions that have operated all over the world regarding what women are and are not allowed or expected to do!

However, In the end it was through those little cuddly animals and children's books that she was able to have a lasting effect on nature.

It was not only through her books that she made money - her character, Peter Rabbit, was the first animal toy ever to be licenced - long before the days of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse. Since then, every Peter Rabbit or Gemima Puddleduck toy that sells, each cup or plate or mug with the same pictures on it, and every image of hers that is ever printed earns money. {Beatrix Potter bowls etc. for children are very expensive and are as fashionable etc. as Versache or any other top fashion label).

During her own lifetime this money enabled Beatrix first to buy up and preserve her first farm, but also to preserve not only others, but vast areas of the English landscape in The Lakes District. To-day this whole area is known as one of the most beautiful and peaceful anywhere in the world and artists of all kind go there every year searching for the tranquility and inspiration Beatrix herself first found there.

The on-going money from her books and merchandise continues to go to the National Trust which is the society that preserves historic and beautiful landscape, houses, garden and beauty spots in England. The Lakes District is one of Britain's National Treasures. Perhaps it would have all been turned into ugly towns and cities if it were not for one little talking rabbit in a bright blue coat.

Beatrix Potter is one of the best known and well-loved of English authors.

062Y55AFX 27/04 Evil Under the Sun (Film)

So, guys, what did you think of Agatha Christie?



Usually the movies I show are those with a message or a lesson behind them - and I know that often they shock or horrify students. So this time I opted for [chose] something completely different.



It wasn't until I was actually watching it with you that I realised that quite a lot of the charm of an Agatha Christie movie/play lies in the language. Just as Shakespeare wrote in the language of his day, so too did Ms. Christie. Her dialogue is very clever and witty in places, and through it she present a lots of the sub-text, or undercurrents, for her plots. I found myself grinning and giggling to myself at a lot of the conversations and sadly, when I looked around at you all, realised that neither the sub-titles nor the pieces you could understand would carry the meaning across to you.



Her stories, while several hundred years later that Shakespeare's, are centred firmly in the heart of an England that no longer exists - but the difference is that many of us, through our grandparents, parents, our own childhoods, stories, movie and film are much more familiar with Ms. Christies world. In fact, even though it finally disappeared after the Second World War, enough of it remains in our culture, our language, our stereotypes and, even in small pockets of reality, for us all to be familiar with it.



Indeed, just as there are some people who still think that the people of China still walk around in blue Mao suits and caps and only talk in phrases from The Little Red Book, so many people think that England and the English are still like the world we find in an Agatha Christie book.



According to an on-line Encyclopedia "Christie has been called by the Guinness Book of World Records as the best-selling writer of books of all time and the best-selling writer of any kind, along with William Shakespeare. Only the Bible is known to have outsold her collected sales of roughly four billion copies of novels.[1] UNESCO states that she is currently the most translated individual author in the world ---Christie's books have been translated into (at least) 56 languages."

The kinds of books Agatha Christie wrote are called murder mysteries, detective novels or, more commonly "Whodunits" This is said exactly as it is spelled: - Who done it. The reason the incorrect grammar is used is to infer [give the impression; say indirectly] that such kinds of novels are not exactly Great Literature. However, neither were the works of Shakespeare considered Great Literature at the time they were written. Who knows, in time the works of Agatha Christie may be held in the same sort of regard for she was definitely a master of her craft.

She was also a playwright and in November 1952 her famous play 'The Mousetrap' opened in a London theatre. Today, in 2009, the play is still being presented, and enthusiastically watched every night making it the longest-running play ever as it has been presented 23,000 consecutive times! Many tourists to London make sure they book at seat at one of its performances just to be able to say they have seen it. The amazing thing is that those who go to see it have to promise not to reveal to others who the murderer turns out to be at the end...and no-one ever does. The play has been shown all through my lifetime and I still have no idea!

So, while she may not be in the same category as Jane Austen or the Bronte sisters, Agatha Christie is the most famous English writer, along with Shakespeare, the world has known. If you have all been introduced to Shakespeare then it is only fair that you should know about her as well.

(ps - the second Literary prize I ever won was in a country-wide competition to see who could provide the most ingenious explanation for a real-life mystery:- At one time in her life Ms. Christie disapeared and, to this day, no-one knows where she was for 11 days of her life. The competition was to write a story which accounted for what happened to her during those eleven days.)

TONGUE TWISTERS.

I give these to many individual students as well as to different classes at different times. So, instead of including them in individual class articles, I have grouped them to-gether. If you are really anxious to improve your pronunciation you should try to practise these regularly.

1. The difference between the "l" sound and the "r" sound. English doesn't say R the same rolling way the French do. It is made with the top of our tongue just below (not touching) the middle of the roof of our mouth. The sides or the tongue touch the back top teeth.

L is made by placing the tip of the tongue right at the front of our mouth, just above our front teeth. So saying this is just a matter of sliding our tongue quickly back and forward from middle to front position and back again:

Red lorry, yellow lorry.

2. The difficult 'th' sound is best practised at first with a mirror so you can actually see the tip of your tongue IN FRONT of your top teeth. With tongue in this position 'th' is said - not by using our vocal chords, but simply by blowing air.

Cathy thinks thugs are thick


3. Another one which uses the 'th' sound. Although it is only used twice it is difficult because we are using 's' and 'sh' sounds as well. This one ensures we pronounce all three as separate sounds, rather than using 's' for 'th'.

The sick sixth sheik's sixth sheep is sick.

4. The purpose of this one is to correctly form rounded and clear vowel sounds. It uses the 'r' sound as the initial consonant so is particularly helpful for Asian students. Both the words rugged and ragged are two syllable words which is unusual in English with words that end in 'ed'

Around the rugged rocks the ragged rascal ran.

5. Here's another which ensures you are saying vowels correctly. The main difficulty with this one comes when you are reading it because it includes one of those horrid English words which is pronounced differently to the way it is written! It is also a very good one for those who doubt that English is a stressed language. If you are using correct English stress or rhythm, it won't be so difficult. But, it is important in this one to sound the final consonants 'n' and 'm' clearly as well.

Swan swam over the pond,
Swim swan swim.
Swan swam back again,
Well swum, swan.

6. The most famous of all English tongue twisters: Peter Piper. The purpose of this is to ensure you are pronouncing ALL your words clearly. Also, if you are using correct English rhythm or stress it is much easier to say.

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

7. Most of you find this the easiest. Its purpose is to ensure clarity between the single 's' and the 'sh' sound.

She sells sea-shells by the sea-shore.

062Y55A00 24/04 Bad Weather Adjectives

Friday was a horrible day. Although I had planned on doing an entire class of what makes a work of Literature into a Classic I decided instead that this was a good opportunity to do some practical vocabulary work.

Often - especially if we are talking about things around us - its good if we can see them at the time when we are trying to describe them. Friday was a good illustration of this: adjectives more easily spring to our mind if we can look out the window and see the soggy [damp; saturated] ground, dripping trees and grey skies. You came up with some beauties [really good ones] - even if we did have to put in a few pretty obvious ones to get started.

Since the loss of the all-important Blue Book I am a little disordered so I might not have the complete list here: if anyone can think of others I miss out please post them below and we'll add them. Also, if you have found any more good ones we didn't mention feel free to add those too.

Words to use for a Rainy day.

depressing: lowers the spirit
murky: unclear; difficult to see things sharply or clearly
damp: not actually wet, just not dry to the touch
miserable: sad; that which makes us feel sad
gloomy: miserable or depressing
grey: although a colour we often use this word to describe sad, gloomy things or even people
glowering: means to look angry or forbidding; a rainy day can be like that
squally: squalls are gust of wind that have rain in them; or the sound a crying baby makes
windy: as well as being an adjective for weather, "wind" is the name we give to body gasses like a burp or a fart: we call this 'passing wind'. So windy can apply to a person who has a lot of gas

The following are just used to express negatives, or to mean 'bad' and can be used equally about people, the weather, a movie, a book; anything we don't like:

nasty
yukky
horrible
terrible
shitty
bad
not-good

the word 'bloody' is mainly used as a superlative. That means it takes the place of 'very'. Thus something can be terrible or bloody terrible, horrible or bloody horrible.

It is often used in the middle of a (usually 3 syllable) word - especially by Australian and English people: fan-bloody-tastic( really fantastic), out-bloody-standing( really outstanding), and the humerous horri-bloody-bubble(horrible).

062Y55A00 17/04 Assignment - Advertising

When we talked about advertising it was something I had already discussed with a previous class, though in a slightly different direction. You can read the post for class 062Y55A03 ( 14/04) for this.

However, I also gave you your assignment topic, so lets just mention a couple of things here to make it clearer:

1. This assignment is NOT for your final mark.

2. This assignment is PRACTISE all the points covered in the article "How To Write an Essay"...

3. I will expect ALL the points covered in "How To Write an Essay" to be obeyed.

4. This means I will not even accept assignments that are not typed, double spaced, etc.

5. I will expect you to contact me: DO NOT leave problems until you hand in the assignment

6. The due date for this is May 1st. As this is a holiday and many of you will go away, you can leave your work in my post box in the Faculty of Foreign Language building before May 1st if you like.

7. EVERYONE can leave their work in my post box on May 1st as we will not have class.

8. Assignments left AFTER May 1st will lose 5 marks for each day they are late.


O.k.,? Just one little point: I said that there is NO excuse for spelling mistakes, because of the Spellcheck feature on Word and other programmes. However, someone pointed out something on one of my articles which I should mention:

Spellcheck will correct SPELLING errors but not always TYPING errors. In an instance the student pointed out to me, I had typed "classes" instead of "glasses". Because classes is a genuine and correctly spelled English word, it wasn't corrected. Computers can't actually read, after all. So it didn't know I meant something else.

For this reason, we always read essays over even after they have been Spellchecked (guess who didn't do this in the article mentioned!!). However, even if an error like this doesn't get picked up, you won't lose marks, because it is easily seen that this was what we call a 'typo' (typing mistake) and not an error in spelling. What I will be looking for is people who haven't used Spellcheck, not people whose fingers slip on the keyboard.

Western Table Manners - all classes

As I did this for two classes last week, and will be presenting it to everyone, I have decided to make this into one article, instead of just repeating myself to each one. So here goes:



One of the main differences between a Western Meal and a Chinese one, is that, instead of all the food arriving at the table at once, we eat different courses.



The first item available of all menus and at all formal dinners, is soup. This will be brought to the table already served into soup dishes or bowls. From the bewildering [confusing] assortment of cutlery [ the collective name for knives, spoons and forks] at your place, it's easy to pick out the one for soup. A soup spoon is round. It looks different to the shape of all other spoons which are oval. It will either arrive with the soup or, if not, will be across the top of your place setting or be on the side where the knives are: it will be the first spoon you can see. It is considered very ill manners to make a slurping sort of noise when drinking soup. Of course, you know we don't pick up our bowls. So, how do we get the soup into our spoon without making a horrible scraping noise as we get to the bottom? We simple tip the soup bowl AWAY from us. Thus all the liquid rushes to that side and we can more easily scoop it up.



The next course to arrive is the Entree or Appetiser. This always comes in its own dish. It is usually just a small dish - prawns, fruit, an avocado pear - and, if it doesn't come with its own small fork or spoon you will find a small one of each next in line to your soup spoon or, if your soup spoon was at the top, they will be the first pieces of cutlery on the outside.



After the entree comes the Main Course. Now, in a very good (5 star) restaurant or Hotel, this will also arrive on its own plate. The reason for this is that a good Chef takes pride not only in the way the food tastes, but in the way it is presented. It has to not only taste good, but look good too, and colour is very important. If your main course is steak or a piece of meat like this, you will see a knife with a very sharp edge on your right hand side. That is the one you use. If you are not having steak you will know which knife and fork to use by counting in from the outside: they should be the third knife and the first or second fork: in any case, they will be the BIGGEST ones. If unsure, just look at your Western neighbours. Or ask.



If you are eating at someones house your food won't be served on an individual plate. Like a Chinese dinner, dishes will be put on the table and you can choose how much and what you eat. The big difference is that you NEVER just reach for the dish you want unless it is right in front of your plate. Usually the dishes get passed around the table from right to left. If you don't want any you just pass it straight on and wait until the ones you want get passed to you. After the dishes have all been passed round the first time you can just ask for a particular dish if you want some more. Even if the dish is sitting right next to you in front of your neighbour, don't reach for it. Ask your neighbour please to pass it to you. Reaching in front of someone is considered rude. Of course, never take the last piece of something. If there is only one potato left wait until the host/ess asks who wants it or, if it looks like everyone is finished, ask your host/ess if you may have it.



Whether in a private home or in a restaurant, however, always put your knife and fork neatly together when you have had enough. The fork should be resting with its tines[the three prongs]facing up; opposite to the way we actually use it. If you don't do this people will think you want more and, while other peoples dirty dishes might get cleared away, yours will stay there because everyone will think you are still hungry.



Food and drink is always put on and taken off the table from the right hand side so lean a little to your left so you don't get any spilled on you, burn yourself if the plate is hot, and you make it easier for the person serving/clearing.



After the Main Course come the bit everyone looks forward to: dessert. There are hundreds of different kinds of Western desserts, most of which one never sees in China. So even if you are enjoying the rest of your meal, leave a little space for dessert; its yummy! If you don't like sweet things (you're crazy!) you can have cheese and biscuits instead. The cheese usually comes after dessert, but if not you will usually be asked if you prefer cheese or dessert. There are also hundred of different types of Western cheese: soft cheeses, hard cheeses, blue cheeses, cream cheeses, goat's cheeses, fruit cheeses, herb cheeses...and all kind of savoury biscuits. In China I have only ever seen about four different kinds of cheese for sale so, if you want to taste some real cheese this is the time to do it. Just sample little tiny bits on a savoury cracker and see what you think. After, or with, cheese, comes fruit.



Coffee usually comes next and, often a sweet liqueur or a good brandy. If you are not used to alcohol I advise you to just stick to coffee as these kinds of drinks, which we only sip slowly with our coffee, are very strong which is why they come in tiny glasses.



It is when the dessert arrives or has finished that we usually push our chairs back, loosen our belts and start to really talk. In a private home it will probably be suggested that we move to another room where the chairs are more comfortable and cheese and fruit etc. will be taken in there with us. We do not just finish our meal and get up to go. This is the time we do business, get to know each other better, tell jokes, or ask for favours.



As you will see, with each course coming separately, a Western meal takes a lot longer to eat than a Chinese meal. If you are invited to dinner don't plan on leaving before around 11 o'clock. As we never talk with food in our mouths, we pause between each bite, putting our knife and fork down on our plate while we chew and swallow. Then, between each course there is also a pause (a good time to go to the loo!), and because we eat so much more slowly, it all takes a longer time. We also talk a lot and as you can't talk and chew at the same time, this makes us a lot slower too.



This kind of leads into the thing about alcohol. Food is looked on not merely as a pleasure and a time to get together, but as an important part of our health. The slower you eat, the better it is for your digestion: your stomach can process the food better and send it to the parts of your body that need it. This is also the reason we drink wine with our meal: a custom that goes back thousands of years. There is an enzyme in grapes (which is the fruit wine is made from) that also helps our digestion by breaking down the food. So we drink red wine which has more of this enzyme with red meat - beef, etc - because more of this enzyme is needed to break down red meat. We drink white wine with chicken and fish because they are more easily digested and don't need so much enzyme. Being a vegetarian (well, I was until I came to China) I mostly drink white wine.



Remember that the larger of the wine classes is for red wine and the smaller is for white wine. If you don't want any you don't have to say so: - simply lay your hand flat across the top of your glass. This is the symbol for "Thank you very much, but I don't want any wine." However, as in China, its wise just to allow a little to be put in your glass in case any toasts are drunk. Toasts, however, are not as common as they are here in China...and there is no equivalent of "Gambei" (spelling?) where one is expected to drain the entire glass.


Also, there is no need to call over a waitperson .(because we no longer call people genderized titles like "waiter" - male, or "waitress" - female, a lot of people call them "waitron". I don't. I think it makes them sound like robots. Others call them waitpersons which is also a little clumsy. I prefer, actually just to write 'waitor' but I thought that might confuse you as you would think I had made a spelling error.) Waitpersons also may get offended if you call out to them or think you are rude. We simply raise our hand. In good restaurants the staff are always on the look-out for that signal and will come over when they see you doing so. They will often be there to take out your chair if they see you are getting ready to stand up, to replace a fallen napkin or cutlery that you drop on the floor.

Another thing which is completely different to Chinese table manners is that once you have put anything in your mouth it stays there. It is considered highly objectionable to spit out anything, the chew or talk with your mouth open and half-chewed food visible to others. In fact, some people consider it so objectionable that it actually makes them feel physically ill! We do not eat bones or skin or fat or gristle - in fact dishes that contain these things are considered to be badly prepared or the mark of a very poor restaurant. We cut around the bones and other indigestible items and leave them on our plate. If there are too many of them we will probably complain.

However, once in a while we do put something it is impossible to swallow into our mouths. In this case we cover our moth with our napkin, push the item into it with our tongues, fold our napkin around it, and put the folded napkin on, or next to, our bread and butter plate. If the waitperson doesn't see it, you can beckon them over if you want a clean napkin and they will take the dirty one away.

If someone asks you a question when you have food in your mouth just make the little gesture I showed you: briefly put your hand across your mouth and raise your other hand to show you cannot answer straight away - people understand this and will wait until you are ready. However, this doesn't happen too often - we are usually pretty much aware of when one can answer or not...that's why we put our knife and fork down between bites.

All of this, when written down, looks impossibly complicated and many of you might be thinking you hope you never have to eat out with Westerners because there is too much to remember.
As long as you remember the main thing is never to spit out food, chew with an open mouth or make noises while eating (and of course, never to yawn, burp or fart!!) then all the rest you will probably see from looking around at the other people.

ALSO: if you eat out in China with Westerners, remember this is your country and these are foreign manners. If you make a "mistake" then don't worry. Foreigners make lots of mistakes when eating with Chinese people too. For us, Chinese table manners are difficult to remember or adapt to and we don't always get it right, either. The sky doesn't fall on our heads when this happens. It won't fall on yours either!

062Y55A03 14/04 Advertising

So...our "discussion" on Tuesday actually turned into more of a lecture, didn't it? I think, however, that it is time people learned a little more about this subject because not only does it affect us, ourselves, but it also shapes society.

We all agree that companies and manufacturers must advertise their goods - but the way that they do it has become increasingly dishonest. More and more is being spent on advertising which, in turn, pushes up the prices of products. If companies didn't pay such ridiculous amounts of money to advertise they would be able to keep the prices much lower.

Advertising long ago stopped giving us information about the product and started being about selling us dreams instead. Dreams that no product we buy will ever make come true.

Most of us, when we are going to buy a phone, camera, computer, car - or even a house - have to do quite a lot of research first. Long, long ago...we used to go into a shop and ask a salesperson to explain things to us. We trusted them. And they knew about the products.

Now, however, with most sales assistants working on a commission basis, they will tell us anything about the product just to ensure they make a sale. Most of them know nothing more about the product itself than its price. One of the things that really enrages me[makes me angry] is that women, in particular, are looked upon as having no brains at all, and salespeople pounce on us simply because they believe that we are all stupid.

Most women now would never go and buy a car, computer, phone, camera etc. without taking a guy along. Salespeople assume that men know more than women and don't tell so much complete untruth when a man is around. Numerous documentaries, "hidden camera's", experiments, etc. have been done in every country in the world which bears this out[proves the truth of this] so that we women know we are going to get cheated if we go on our own. So, like children, we are forced to take along a "daddy" or "brother" .

Advertisers, of course, are aware of this, which is why so much advertising is aimed at men. It isn't only men who buy cars, computers etc. yet the advertising, we discover, usually features a pretty girl, or a very successful-looking business man in an expensive suit, beautifully styled hair and an important air[we use 'air' like this to mean 'atmosphere' or 'look'], We also know that it is not only expensively dressed, successful businessmen who buy these products.

But the guy who accompanies us probably, in this increasingly technological age, knows no more about the product than we do. He does, however, recognise the brand names. Most women look at advertisements for clothes or make up rather than for cars or computers, so don't pay much attention to brand names. But if a guy, every time he opens a magazine, or looks at a billboard [large adverts], sees his favourite female star, or a gorgeous girl, or a successful man advertising a certain brand, that name will stay in his mind. He will often laugh at our choice and tell us that "x" brand is so much better. What is probably the truth is that "x' brand advertises a lot better than the brand we chose.

It should not be necessary to spend so much time reading (often very boring) articles and comparing them to others, or researching lots of technical lists and strange words, or finding Trade Magazines (remember I told you about these and mentioned the most famous -Choice Magazine - which objectively tests all different kinds of products and compares them on everything from quality to price to customer service?) when we want a new phone. Thank god the Internet makes this task a little easier, though.

Long, long ago also...that was what advertisements were supposed to do: tell us about the product so we could make up our own minds.

If you look at the adverts shown here, www.bestrejectedadvertising.com/ban/C.html you will find it impossible to know what the product is actually advertising. One is an advertisement for an airline company. There is nothing which tells us whether the airline is cheaper, safer, luxurious - there is also no way of contacting the airline given except for a very small website address.

The entire advertisement consists of a pair of women's breasts. It is plain to see who the advert is directed at but, as a woman, does it make us want to fly with this airline? Of course not and, as the advertising companies are not stupid they know this. So, how does this then lead us to think of ourselves? As completely unimportant, of course. So, no matter how 'liberated' and 'free' we may tell ourselves we are, advertisements continue to tell us that we matter very little - except as sexual partners.

This article at www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/may/02/advertising regards an advertisement for a fast food outlet. The reason for posting this site is to show how people are constantly complaining about advertising. As is this one where an advertisement for a particular face cream has now been banned. This is not because the advertising is sexual but because the supposed "magic ingredient" - which is given a long name starting with 'p' - simply does not work. The advert also suggests that women have to go and get facial surgery as they get older.

Finally, here is an article and, at the end, some comments about television advertisements in America. But, just because these particular products are made and advertised in America, doesn't mean that the same sort of advertisements don't get shown in Australia, France and yes, even China.

When we add to these advertisements the kinds of movies that flood the market featuring those wretched "handsome guys" and "beautiful girls' its no wonder there are so many unhappy people in the world .We are surrounded by images of a make-believe world that just doesn't exist. People go looking for Mr. or Mrs Right (who doesn't exist in the real world) just so they can settle down in the perfect house, with a wonderful job earning lots of money and live happily ever after with their perfect family.

So many of my students have told me that they think reality sucks. It doesn't you know. Reality is beautiful and scary, boring and wonderful, exciting and ordinary. But we will never learn that if we go on letting advertisers ruin it for us.

062Y55A03 14/04 American and British English

POSTED THIS PREVIOUSLY, BUT WITHOUT CLASS NUMBER SO YOU PROBABLY DIDN'T SEE IT. MY APOLOGIES.

For Tongue Twisters, find the post that is simply called Tongue Twisters. I give them out at many classes so it doesn't have your class number on it.


So really, there is nothing very much to write about today, as we spent the whole class on pronunciation.

As I said, it is important to get the pronunciation right but please, please, don't let that stop you from talking. The MOST important thing is communication and you can do that by sign language, body language, or just repeating something until the other person understands. Don't think that because you mix up your "a"s and "e"s you should not talk in case someone misunderstands.All this class was about was helping. Each one of you speaks English very well (truly) so this was just about making things maybe a little clearer.

I did not realise myself that in Speech competitions they deduct marks if you mix up American and British pronunciation. I wouldn't worry too much about it (unless you are taking part in a competition) as many Chinese people do it. I think this is because those of you who have had foriegn teachers have listened to the different accents. One time you may have an American teacher, another time an English one, so its difficult to seperate the two ways of speaking.

In any case, no matter which accent you use, many of the words used as Standard English in China are American words and not British ones anyway: e.g. Apartment for Flat. Escalator for Lift, Gas for Petrol, Candy for Sweets. As you will see, in most cases American English uses the longer word - the rest of us are too lazy! Also, since I came here I and other British English speakers have had to learn some new words like Freshmen, Sophomore etc. which are American and we have never heard before.

I think by the time a Chinese English emerges it will be a mixture of the two different forms anyway.

The tongue twisters I give out are really very helpful and, for those of you who are interested in learning English for your future careers, practising them often will be a big help. They were not made up just to help non-native users, they are the ones we ourselves use to ensure that we are speaking clearly. I used to teach The Art of Speech to native English speakers and, before they were going to give a speech or enter a competition, we would repeat many of them to ensure that the pronunciation was clear and correct. As an actor, too, I use many of them before going on-stage.

O.k. I hope to be able to do a lesson using hip-hop and rap next week: unfortunately my USB device picked up a virus from one of those classroom computers (which made me very cross), so I am hoping one of my friends can de-bug it for me by then.

That's also the reason why I haven't posted photos that people have sent: they were downloaded onto the device and I haven't dared to use it since it became corrupted.

Thursday & Friday classes 09/04 & 10/04 Pronunciation

I'm utterly helpless: I've left my book in a taxi. The big blue book I bring to class is where I make notes of the class, its number, place, time and, most importantly, what we talked about and the words we learned. On Saturday I seem to have dropped it in the taxi and, without it, I find it very difficult to remember which lesson was which, and what words we used for the first time.

So please bear with me [be understanding; support me; have patience] if I don't get this right.

The first part of the lesson was taken up, once again, with pronunciation. I know this is not an oral English class as such and the focus of this course is to get you speaking English with confidence. That's why I don't correct mistakes like he/she when translating "ta", and other little slips of the tongue.

I am convinced that the best way to learn English is just to speak it: if you keep getting corrected each time you speak its very easy to lose confidence. I am just happy if you can communicate your ideas to us: that is, after all, the whole purpose of language.

However, involving the whole class, without singling out[choosing;picking on] one particular person can also help, I think, now that you have become a little more talkative in class. That's where tongue twisters are very handy[useful] as they concern themselves with the actual building block of language: the way certain sounds are said.

However, I can only give you these things to practice by yourselves: I can't do that for you. As you know, I am a terrible drawer: I wish I could draw those neat little diagrams that appear in Speech books and which show the exact placing of the tongue in your mouth so its easily understood. The best I can do is to try to describe how to make the sound and try a sort of picture on the board which, even I have to admit, is probably not very helpful.

However:
the sound "th" which is the trickiest for many people as it is only made in a few languages, is one that's easy for you do practise by yourselves. As I suggested in class: say this in front of a mirror. The rounded tip [end] of your tongue should be visible[ able to be seen] in between your upper and lower teeth. As you get more proficient[expert] in making this sound you will realise it can be made just by placing the tip of the tongue underneath your top teeth. But the important thing to understand is that this is not a voiced sound. It is only made by blowing out air. Not by our vocal chords. So practice with a candle or lighter if you like. If you can blow out the flame by pushing air out you are making the "th" sound in the right way.

The way to make the "th" sound in words like "them" "they" "this" "that", is to put your tongue into the exact position for soft "th" ("Cathy" "thinks" etc) but this time use your vocal chords as if you are making the "err" sound. You don't have to blow air out. The correct sound is made when your tongue, underneath your top teeth, actually cuts off the sound!

Another sound which is difficult for many is the "r" sound. Once again, I wish I could draw! To make this sound, your tongue is drawn back a little so that the tip of your tongue is in the middle of your mouth. It should very slightly curve towards BUT DOESN"T TOUCH the roof of your mouth. Instead, the sides of your tongue should be touching your top back teeth. If you isolate the sound made it sounds very like the sound made in the Chinese word for "play". It is a sound very familiar to those from the North of China.

The sound usually substituted for the correct "r" sound is "l". So people say "lolly" instead of "lorry". But both sounds are made in different ways.

The "l" sound is made by opening your mouth a little more than for "r". This time the tip of your tongue should rest at the point where the roof or your mouth ends and your teeth begin. So actually the top side of your tongue is touching the roof of your mouth and the underside of your tongue is touching your teeth.

For this reason the quick change over in "Red lorry, yellow lorry" between the two sounds is ideal practice. And not to worry - we did not come up with these tongue twisters just for second language speakers, but for native English speakers. We have to practise them ourselves too, because many of us do make mistakes even though its our own native language!

O.K., now I know we discussed different things in the second half of both classes, but the pronunciation this week was really the most important.

I also told both classes (I hope) that this week I would be giving you a topic for a mini-assignment. That means that this is NOT the one you will be graded on, but one on which, I hope, we can see where mistakes or misunderstandings about essay-writing are occurring and get them sorted out before I give you your term assignment. You will have two weeks to do this essay and I expect you to use that time for research. If you do not include at least five different sources in your Bibliography you will lose points.

I will be very strict in marking these assignments and will fail to give a mark to anyone who simply cuts and pastes stuff from the Internet; or who researches in Chinese Google and then hits the "translate" button. This ALWAYS results in complete rubbish as the translator treats each word as translatable, rather than phrases or idioms. Of course, anyone who plagiarises will fail the assignment. I will NOT accept any essays that are handwritten, so be warned! I will also deduct marks from people who keep talking about the human race as if it is composed solely of men (e.g."MAN has always reached for the stars"." Throughout the history of Mankind") and I will also deduct marks if the assignment is not set out in the way I specified in the article "How to Write an Essay...." i.e. double spaced, correct punctuation, numbered pages, names on the correct side and stapled on the correct side.

O.k., that may sound draconian[unnecessarily strict] but it is the world-wide standard. No-one out there makes allowances for some Chinese students doing things differently, I'm afraid. Also, you have had many weeks to go over that essay and to absorb all the information in it.

O.k., guys. I am clinging on to the fact that maybe I didn't drop my blue book in the taxi after all, but left it in the last, small shop I visited. I certainly hope so because I feel completely lost without it.

Also, without it I have no idea of which classroom to go to, so I would really appreciate it if someone from each class would just remind me where I go on Thursday and where I go on Friday. Oh dear, I seem to be really turning into the absent-minded Professor people make fun of in books and movies, don't I?

Ningbo Engineering Business Class 10/04/09

If you're reading this you obviously found the site with no problems, so welcome aboard.

As you will have seen, I write for many of my classes and, though the topics might not all be concerned with the English language, they contain vocabulary words that may be new to some, insight into Western cultures, information of writing reports or essays as well as other things that may be of use.

Please feel free to click onto any article which appears in the menu at the left. At the top left you'll also find a short list of sites in English that might be of interest. You can click directly on the links if you would like to view any of them.

Many people say that one of the problems they encounter in language learning is that they don't get enough practice. I'm afraid I can do nothing much about this...but you could get together with colleagues once a week at, perhaps, lunchtime, and have a period where everyone must spend the whole lunch break talking in English. Or greet others from the class always in English. Or even just talk into a tape recorder and play it back to yourself!

But, if you can't get much practice talking, least keep reading English. Of course you will find words that you are not familiar with. I am always happy to help with pronunciation if you make a list of new words you have found during the week and bring them to class. It will benefit your class-mates too.

Right. Well our first lesson was mostly involved in getting to know each other and in learning how to say hello. I know that you have spent years being told that the "Hellohowareyou?" "I'mfinethanksand you?" approach is the one to use. While I'm not saying that is incorrect, the point of this class was to introduce you to the way real foreigners greet each other. Not the way they do it in textbooks!

The thing about the above greetings was that they are automatic: you say them as if they are simply a longer way of saying "hello", rather than actual questions.

"How are you?" is a question. Not a statement. It is asking the other person whether they are in a good mood or a bad one. If they are feeling healthy or not. Are they happy? Is everything in their world o.k.? Are they nervous? Sad? Stressed? Unwell?Joyful? Excited?

Although the answer to all of these questions CAN be 'fine', we are human beings, not robots. Of course we are not going to be 'fine' every minute of every day.

So, for a start, the answers to 'How are you?' can vary a lot. A real foreigner may reply "Not so bad", or "Terrible" or "I've had better days" or "Terrific" or "Scared stiff" [an expression that means apprehensive, nervous or, of course, scared] or "never better". Remember, they have not read your text books. They don't know they are supposed to answer "Fine thanks and you?"

So, the first thing to remember is to LISTEN to what they reply. It's amazing how many students don't do this. When they ask the question I have sometimes answered "Bloody awful." or "I feel lousy"[terrible; bad] and, sometimes, just for fun, have even said "Absolutely suicidal"[ready to kill myself].... but they will still respond with "I'm fine too"!

Also, of course, people will not always use the exact words: "How are you?" They will say it in other ways like "Howya doing?" "How'r things?" "Howya going?" . You can still answer 'fine' though more common is "good, thanks' or "I'm well, thanks." (The "thanks" is always used. Even with 'fine': - "Fine thanks."

But the main point of the lesson was that, over the last few years, we have moved away from greeting people with "How are you?" It is much more common to ask the question "What..." than "How...". In other words to ask WHAT are you doing right now, rather than how you are feeling. In this case the answer "Fine" is not appropriate.

That's why its important to LISTEN to whether you are being asked How or What.

Much more usual now is to greet someone by saying "What's up?" [Wassup] "What are you up to" [Wotcha upto] "What's going on?" [Wossgowenon] "What's happening?" [Woss hap'ning], or What are you doing" [Wotcha doowen].

In all these situations the quick and easy answer is not 'fine' but "Nothing much" [Nuthen much].

If you are just being introduced to a whole lot of people as a matter of courtesy - say at a business meeting - there is no need for question and answer greetings. Much more efficient is to a) just repeat the person's name or b) simply say "Its good to meet you" [Gootameetcha] "Nice to see you" [Nicetaseeya] or simply "Hello", "Hi" or "Hey".

However, the whole point about greeting someone usually is to start a conversation. Simply standing around telling each other that you are in good health doesn't make a conversation.

So the quickest and easiest way to get a conversation happening is to answer whatever their initial question was: e.g.

"Howrya?": -..... "Actually, I'm a little bit nervous about meeting you. I'm afraid my English might not be good enough". or: - "I''m o.k., but I'm exhausted[really tired] by all these meetings"

"Wassup?": - ..... "I'm on my way to my English class" "Nothing at all. I'm just grabbing[quickly taking] a few minutes to chill."[relax]

"Howrthings?": -...... "Hectic [Crazily busy] at the moment with the monthly figures to do" , "Absolutely perfect. I just got married!"

As you can see, answers like these give the other person the chance to respond. They can ask another question ("Really? When did you get married?") agree with you ("Yeah, our department always seems to be having meetings these days. They really put us behind with our work.") or disagree ("There's no need to be nervous. You should hear my Chinese!").

But if you really can't think of anything to say try paying a compliment. Comment on their earrings/shoes/glasses/jacket (But NEVER, NEVER ask a foreigner how much something cost, or tell them how much you paid for something). This will relax them and you may both get into a conversation about shared likes and dislikes.

Or ask them a question: "So. Have you been busy at work, lately?"

DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE WEATHER!! This has become a sort of joke, and we regard 'weather talk" as the last refuge of the truly boring person. Unless, of course there is/has been some unusual weather like an earthquake or hurricane.

English speakers are very lazy. We don't bother very much with unimportant stuff[dong shi] like asking long, often meaningless questions. We don't even bother pronouncing all the letters in a word. You already know this, of course: for example, we long ago stopped pronouncing the "k" in "knife" or 'knee". So we often don't pronounce the "g" in "ing". That's why "Doing" often sounds like "Doowen" and "Going" like "Gowen".

Also, oral language - any oral language - is always spoken a lot faster than we expect. This results in words being spoken without a pause between them. In Chinese, for example, the two words "shen" and "ma" are not separated, but sound like "shemma". So many English words that are often said together sound like one word when spoken. We will deal with these a little more fully in our next lesson.

While some of you may not found it easy to actually speak English like this, it doesn't matter. The foreign person you are speaking to understands that you are trying to communicate in a language that is rather difficult. However, unless they are a teacher, they will not realise how different the oral language sounds from the written. They have probably never even thought about the English language and how it sounds to other people.

It is for this reason that we are exploring the way common words and sentences sound when spoken by a native speaker - even if unable to imitate this way of speaking, you must be able to recognise just how different the language sounds when spoken by a native speaker.

Just like people from most cultures, they will probably not think to speak slower and to separate their words: they will just repeat them louder and louder as if you were deaf! I hope this class gets you used to hearing how different the oral language sounds and so to understanding it better.

Sino-Swedish class. Wednesday 08/04 Giving Directions

O.K., I shall make it short to-day as it seems that many of you are not reading these articles.

To-day, apart from some more pronunciation work, we focused on directions. This is a subject which, in a strange country and campus, you will find relevent as its always difficult finding our way round at first. We just discussed the very common words that are used in giving directions to-day, like;

motorway...the word used instead of Highway by people in Europe, the Continent and U.K.
road...a road is of course, much narrower than a motorway. Usually links one town to another
so there are not necessarily many houses or buildings lining it
street...is what we usually call a road with houses and shops on it
High Street...the main shopping area in a town or village
path...narrow, paved walkway
track...not paved, a narrow way through field or grass made by many people or animals walking
junction...where more than two roads meet
crossroad...where two roads meet (rural)
intersection...where two roads meet (urban)
t.junction...where one road runs into another
veer...to curve in a certain direction

Search & Rescue, Animal Rescue, Wildlife Rescue, can be accessed through the Emergency Number in Western Countries. PLEASE enter the emergency number for your area into your phone as soon as you arrive.

Also enter the number for Inquiries as they are equally useful.

062Y55A03 07/04 Advertising/Assignments

Although the topic of Love was not scheduled to be the main discussion topic of this particular class, as usual, I got so interested in your responses that it did take up more time than I had planned. For anyone who is interested, you can view the discussion that I was involved in on this topic at: http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=2660#59781 The discussion is called Crazy Little Thing Called Love and I am the poster Romany.

Consequently we didn't spend as much time as I had planned on the topic of Advertising. I was somewhat shocked to find that so many of you actually admitted to believing advertising hype [short form of the word Hyperbole, which means completely exaggerated speech. We call advertising copy Hype because most of it is exaggerated and untruthful]. I think that here we have encountered yet another of the very large differences between East and West.

Of course there are people outside of China who believe in advertisements too. If there weren't advertising wouldn't be one of the biggest industries in the world. But one of the huge differences is that it is very rare to find a tertiary educated person who believes ad.copy( We refer to advertisements as "ads" because, remember, we are very lazy when it comes to spoken language. "Copy" is a term used in the print and advertisement industries which refers to the actual words that are written about the product.) In fact, tertiary institutions are constantly involved in running surveys, experiments, inquiries etc. into the world of advertising and the effects it has on the population.

I asked you to do a little research. Just a very casual and quick flip through some magazines or Internet sources at advertisements should reveal a world very different from the world around us. Especially if you are looking at magazines.

The reason for this is that a huge part of any advertising budget is devoted to children and adolescents. This is one of the reasons people are constantly calling for changes in advertising regulations: this section of the market is where the most action takes place. Also, this section of the market often does not have so much disposable income {money to spend] as, say the 20 - 30 year old demographic, but it is the one that influences all the higher income sections.

You may have noticed that a tiny dress for a little baby - one that they will outgrow in a very short time - will often cost as much...and more...than an adult item of clothing. This is because parents use their children to compete with each other. Hmmm. Wondering about that sentence? Think about it a little and we will talk about it in class.

Adolescents are usually very self-conscious and advertisers play upon this shamelessly. Although the major cause of pimples are hormonal and dietary, millions is spent convincing teenagers that, if they only use this cream...and face wash...and toner...and...and...and......their pimples will disappear miraculously. An unhappy teenager can develop into a very troubled teenager and so it easy for the kid to put pressure on parents to buy these products for him/her. Some poor parents are forced to go without high quality products themselves simply in order to buy such useless items for their children. Hmmmn again. "Useless" products? We'll talk about that in class, too.

By now you may be getting some idea of why advertising is such a huge industry. And why it is such a huge, gigantic scam.

I'm hoping that some of you by now will be starting to get interested in this topic and start looking up some information for yourselves. But even if you don't want to go any further, think hard about the pictures and images you have been asked to find. Draw some conclusions from them. You'll find out why I want you to learn about the Advertising Industry in class.

O.k., now, I also said in class that I will give you a topic for an essay this week. I will. but this will NOT be the Term Assignment. This will actually be a much shorter project and is designed as a sort of practise run for your Term Assignment.

All the classes who had a term assignment last semester were given 5 weeks to research, re-write, polish and ask for assistance. I offered to read peoples First Drafts as well, which is something many University teachers refuse to do. Not one person contacted me or showed me a First Draft. So, this semester I am giving this first topic so we can discuss problems with setting out essays, punctuation, research, drafts. etc.

Any piece of Academic writing usually goes through several drafts. This is because it is almost impossible to produce a piece of work that is acceptable the first time it is written. Authors, writers, playwrights...even Shakespeare ...use the first piece they write merely as a starting point for the final piece of work. After reading the article How to Write an Essay you will all know how many different things there are to remember and get right. This is another reason students are given plenty of time.

The other reason is because of research. Research is what any academic essay depends upon. Of course we want to hear your original ideas - but those ideas must develop from facts. And the only way to find facts is to search for them. In books, on the Internet, through discussion, in newspapers, from people who are experts.

The vast majority of assignments last semester were based not on fact but on incorrect personal assumptions. For example: one student wrote an essay comparing "Western" food to Chinese food. The statement was made that " Western food is either fried or boiled." Without any research I was able immediately to scribble in eight more different ways of food preparation. With less than ten minutes research I finally arrived at a list of more than 20 different ways that food is prepared in all the many different countries from The Continent to Europe etc. that make up "Western" countries. (I also discovered some pretty yummy recipes, too!)

Had this student done research, enough information to base an entire essay on food would have been easily done and would have been interesting and educational. Instead it contained barely half of the minimum number of words required, was full of inaccuracies and showed that the student had done no preparation but written "off the top of their head" [without thought, preparation, or factual basis]. The essay, of course, did not receive even a pass mark.

So, we'll talk in class about this first essay. But chill. Don't get all anxious about it. It's purpose is only to give you some practise and to help you get a good mark on your final assignment, ok?

Seeyalada guys.