Asynchronous and Synchronous Essay Example for Free

Asynchronous and Synchronous Essay A bit is a singular digit represented by a binary number. A character is represented in computing terms but a code called ASCII There are 7 bits to an ASCII number With parity bit added there are 8 bits, parity is added to aid in error detection. 8 bits is equal to a byte. 1 1 0 This diagram represents an 8 bit binary number (1byte). The step represents a 1 and the flat part represents nothing. This number would then look like this, 100000001. In ASCII this represents the character A. Packet Structure Instead of sending singular characters it is possible to send many in one go, this is called a packet. For example we use the ASCII code to represent a sentence and this may take up to 50 characters. When sent in the form of a packet we must split the packet up, this is done by using control characters. The control characters are; SYN = Synchronise STX = Start of text ETX = End of text Above is an example of a packet structure used with Asynchronous sending. Bit and Baud Rate When the term bit rate is used, it means the amount of bits per second that are sent. A single character is to be sent for example, the character is ASCII code is made of 7 digits and a parity bit and this is called the useful data. The standard speed for transmission sending is 8bits a second. This number or ASCII code that is sent will not only comprise of the 7 bit and parity, it contains a start bit and an end bit to represent where the character starts and stops. The bit rate is then combined to include these two extra bits and this is called the baud rate, this would then be 10 bits a second (8+2). Start bit Stop bit Parity bit Asynchronous and Synchronous Asynchronous communications do not depend on the synchronisation of a transmitter or a clock. It can be said that they are never independent. When sending individual characters there is no need for synchronisation at all. Asynchronous has a very simple interface and the data rate is normally at 64kbps. It can be used for connecting Printer, Terminal, Modem and home connections to the internet. Asynchronous protocol was one of the first around and was popular with the early invention of the tele typewriters. It requires the use of start and stop bits as previously said and this provides byte timing and overhead. No clocks are needed and a parity bit is also sent to help with error detection. Asynchronous transmission will send single bits of data at a time. There is a standard for this form and it is called RSC323C. Asynchronous represents negative voltage as 1 and positive voltage as 0. Information is sent in a packet with the start and stop bit plus parity for error detection. This method of transmission is suitable for low speed. This is because for every character that is sent a further 2 bits (start and stop) must be added. For example, 1000 characters are to be sent, there are 8 bits per character plus a start and stop for each thats a total of 10000 bits. This is very in efficient. Its packet structure is known as a packet frame. Asynchronous Transmission Start bit Stop bit Parity bit The synchronous transmission form occurs when bits are sent in the packet form. This form of data sending is normally sent through bigger Networks. To calculate the efficiency you must divide the bit rate by the baud rate and then multiply by 100. Synchronous communication is far more efficient than its counterpart. To start, there is no need for a start and a stop bit. This time however the data is grouped, and then sent with characters and the start and the end of the packet. This can be seen above with the syn x 3 which stands for synchronisation idol, stx for start of etx and etx for end of text. Synchronous can achieve much higher speeds than asynchronous and is preferably used within large network structures. It would be therefore worth bearing in mind that if large amounts of data were to be sent then the synchronous form would be far better. Less overhead means greater efficiency and asynchronous just cannot match this. However asynchronous does have its benefits and would be deemed worthy of smaller data packets. Its the lack of timing information sent with the data which restricts it so greatly. Synchronous Transmission Packet of data Effect Of Bandwidth Limitation And Noise Bandwidth is the sum amount of data being sent to a recipient in a given time through a form of communicational media. This sum is normally represented on bit per second. Bandwidth also has an alternative meaning and can represent the differing frequency ranges. All media types have their own forms of bandwidth limitation; this means we cannot transmit the same things on the differing types of media at the same speeds. If sending something with 10bits it will be sent at 10bits a second. This should apply for the bandwidth also (10 bits a second) however; it can be affected by something that is known as cross talk. This is interference on the line, also known as noise. Noise can occur in many forms and this will always affect speed. The only method of transmitting data without any electrical noise affecting it is by using a fibre optic cable. Fibre optic cables uses the use of light and mirrors, this is why it can not be affected. However it is also very expensive.

Peer Correction in Teaching Writing Skills

Peer Correction in Teaching Writing Skills CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1. Background of the problem Writing skill which includes language, private knowledge and skill, emotion and the interaction of personal opinion is difficult and challenging to learn and develop for many students in EFL contexts in general and in Vietnam in particular. In Vietnam, there are many teachers of English who even believe that teaching writing skill to EFL learners is more complex than teaching other communicative skills (Mazdayasna Tahririan, 2001). Although language learners have to learn hard to have good compositions, they still have made a variety of errors or mistakes when writing. In other words, EFL learners often feel stressful and anxious when writing in a foreign language (Spratt Leung, 2000). Consequently, language teachers and researchers have made an effort to know how they can do to help students be able to minimize their mistakes in their writing. However, they also admit that it is impossible for them or any teacher to read and correct all the students compositions on writing lessons because â€Å"correcting written work is time-consuming† (Ur, 1999, p.74), especially for large classes. Peer feedback (also peer correction, peer response or peer review) with its advantages can be a promising way which can be used to encourage students to read and give comments and suggestions together for enrichment of their peers writings before the final versions of their products are submitted to their teachers. Peer correction works as a vital part in the process approach to teaching writing because it helps learners realize their learning level as well as their demands for enhancement of writing ability. Brown (1994) and Gipps (1994) have the same opinion that feed back is one of the main factors in the process of English learning and teaching. Many other researchers, for example, Paulus (1999), Min (2006) promote the idea that verbal and written feedback should be applied to foster writing skills. This strategy, thus, has been used popularly on the writing lessons of many English classes in Vietnam consisting of those at centre of Informatics and Foreign Language, Thai Nguyen College of Education, Thai Nguyen Uni. Ur (1999, p.74) states that peer correction can help us not only save time, but also develop the â€Å"critical reading† skill for â€Å"content, organization, style and language accuracy†. Additionally, peer feedback can receive an efficient method to make students to have critical thinking of writing and assessment skills than teacher feedback. In other words, peer feedback helps learners make good use of their own effort to make their writings expressive and effective. However, in spite of its roles and impact on the process of writing, peer feedback has not been paid much attention in Vietnam. Some researchers such as Tran (2007), Phan (2007) who are interested in peer response in writing introduce their point of view, knowledge and experience about this topic in their researches which show the present state of emplo ying peer feedback learners attitude and especially offer some suggestions to better the current response training. 1.2. Purpose of the study As mentioned above, it is not difficult to find out studies which research the role of peer feedback in writing skill on the way to foster it. However, the writer of this study with to do the research to know about the fact of peer feedback in Vietnam in general and the Centre of Informatics and Foreign Language, TNCE, TNU more clearly. This study also investigates whether peer feedback can have positive impact on ESL writing process among pre-intermediate non major students at this Centre or not; they can revise their own writing works to develop their writing skill or not and how this process really happens. Bearing in mind, the writer decides the research with title â€Å"Using peer correction in teaching writing skill to help Vietnamese college non-major students at CIF, CE, TNU reduce errors in their written compositions† 1.3. Research question(s) or statement of hypothesis This study aims at finding answer to the following research question: How can peer correction help EFL learners reduce mistakes in their written compositions? The question is addressed to one of the writing classes that I am teaching this term in Centre of Informatics and Foreign Language, College of Education, Thai Nguyen University with the aim to examine how peer correction affects the process of revising and writing a complete composition of my students here. 1.4. Organization of the study This study can be divided into five chapters. In this chapter, background of the EFL writing in local context is given and the aim of this study is also identified. Chapter 2 mentions some reviews of the literature which go through related literature and researches, in which, general of writing teaching and a brief idea of peer feedback in writing skill will be focused. In chapter 3, the writer describes the methodology and processes of the research. Chapter 4 presents data analysis and findings. Chapter 5 gives some implications of the study, summarizes main point discussed in the study, indicates some limitations and proposes some suggestions for the further researches. Lastly, the final parts of the study are appendices and references. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1. Overview of writing process Lannon (1989) claims that writing is a process delivering meaningful messages and including its own specific goal. This process requires students to work hard instead of regarding it as an uncomplicated act (Byrne, 1988). However, in language teaching and learning process, Tribble (1996, p.3) defines writing as a language skill that involves â€Å"not just a graphic representation of speech, but the development and presentation of thoughts in a structured way†. This means writers need to arrange their ideas logically and systematically. There have been different approaches to teaching writing EFL classes but two most popular ones are product approach and process one. Product approach can be the traditional method of writing which stresses the final outcome of the writing process as well as grammar, usage, form and mechanics of the composition. Students are often asked to write a similar paragraph basing on the model and using new taught structures, vocabularies or any aspects of language. After that, the teacher will correct students writings or â€Å"feedback in the class commonly means the correction of the students language errors† (Mazdayasna Tahririan, 2001, p.56). Therefore, students find difficult to know why and how they made errors to avoid repeating them on the next tasks. Though thanks to this method students can sometimes reject errors (Tribble, 1996), it does not encourage students create in writing at all, â€Å"the use of language is manipulate of fixed patterns; the patterns are learned by imitation† (Pincas, 1962, p.185). Over the last forty years, there has been remarkable interest in writing process. There are many researchers and educators suggesting language teachers that they should pay attention to students writing process instead of only their final writing version (Paige Way, Joiner and Seaman, 2000). Process writing can contain stages such as rewriting, writing, revising and rewriting or editing. However, Reid (1993) supplement this process with three more stages, namely, responding, evaluating and post-writing, in which peer feedback is focused more in responding. Prewriting: something done before drafting such as choosing a topic, brainstorming, collecting data, organizing. Composing / drafting: actually writing. Revising: selecting organization, structures, edition or collection word. Rewriting: completing stage step by step. Responding: getting the teacher and peers responses, discussing with them about papers to improve the content. Evaluating: receiving marks or scores from the teachers. Post-writing: any activities happened after completing rewriting and getting assessment (role-play) Cresswell claims that to as students to exchange their writing draft is an effective way to foster their learning autonomy and help them become alert reader when proofreading their partners written tasks (2000). As the result, they also have critical thinking when they read their own paper to find and correct themselves their mistakes in those, i.e. their writing ability can be develop (Markino, 1993). It is necessary to allow students to have more time to write and get feedback from their teachers and classmates, and then rewrite the drafts so that they can let reader be abele to understand their idea expressed on the paper better (Frankenberg-Garcia, 1999). 2.2. Definition and some types of errors Different researchers have different ways to categorize errors. In this study, the writer only wishes to refer one of classification strategies based on the relation to comprehensibility given by Burt and Kiparsky (1972) because of its close concern with the notion of mistakes mentioned in this study. These researchers divided error into two main types: global errors and local ones. Hendrickson (1978) notes that we will be able to realize which error is global or local, because error can be regard as â€Å"communicative† or â€Å"non-communicative† ones. According to Ellis (1997), while global errors such as over generalization or simplification have an effect on explanation of the whole structure of sentence, local error just affect a single factor in sentences, i.e. word, phrases, closures or grammatical morphemes. Burt and Kiparsky (1974) also claim that global error have higher hierarchy than local errors. Thus the global ones seem to be care about and be corrected more than local ones Norish (1983). However, those local errors can be considered as â€Å"minor ones†, error in tense and aspect†, they are popular mistakes of English writing learners. 2.3. Peer feedback and its impact on reducing mistakes and developing writing skill â€Å"Knowledge is best acquired through negotiated interaction† (Grabe Kaplan, 1996, p.380). There are many approaches to error correction and also definitions of peer feedback from many linguists and experts. According to Richards, et al, Peer feedback is an activity in the revising stage of writing in which students receive feedback about their writing from other students-their peers. Typically students work in pairs or small groups, read each others compositions and ask questions or give comments or suggestions (1992, p.268). Some other researchers of EFL writing state that feedback play an essential role in the process of writing. Keh (1990) claims that giving feedback means giving comments and suggestions, which helps the writer edit his or her composition. Through teachers or classmates feedback, students can know what kinds of mistakes they made and how to cope with those mistakes. Therefore, if students can get a â€Å"productive feedback†, they can correct their own errors and avoiding making the similar mistakes in the later writing tasks. It is wise for teachers to require learners responsibilities for their own writing performance and their peers ones because of the strong effect of peer feedback on students review as well as their writing skill. Zamel (1987) supposes that peers are actual and direct readers or reviewers. In the fact that, there are a number of methods teachers utilize to assist students check their mistakes but indeed teachers seem to not be able to resolve the problem individually. Students play the parts of both writers and readers or givers and receivers. Hefernik (1983) regards peer editing as learning and teaching instrument for teachers and learners because students can give helpful feedback each other. Peer writers can edit their own written compositions basing on the readers remarks and comments (Mendonca and John, 1994; Rollison, 1998), so the writers can be better at learning writing. Students can also have superior performance by the student-to-student activities because these activities are often more detailed than teacher feedback (Caulk, 1994). Also, Mangelsdorfin thinks that peer review can help many students to have diverse perception about their topics as well as foster the ideas and make them more clearly in the EFL writings. Therefore, researchers believe that â€Å"peer feedback can have a positive effect on classroom dynamics and can help to train learners in skills they need to become autonomous† (Spratt et al, 2005, p.157). Joyce (1997) employs a research to explore main strategies so as to respond to the EFL students composition writings. After the twelve-week period, by comparing the initial writing sample and the third one after using peer editing, he shows that writing competency of students grows strongly and concludes this strategy is efficient and necessary. In the research conducted by Wong (1999), peer correction was carried out and discovered by qualitative data to ease the process of EFL writing in four factors: grammar, rules and concepts, meaning and emotional elements. In addition, it helps students improve awareness of writing skill. Quantitative findings of this study introduce 97% students admit that they want to apply peer correction in the future. It is important to stress that the writer of this study learns a lot from Wongs research, and longs to use some his methods in this research to examine whether it is suitable for the writer teaching fact. Kurt and Atay (2007) also experimented with 86 Turkish Prospective Teachers of English. Those participants are divided into 2 groups: Experimental group (writing an essay and receiving peer feedback) and control group (writing an essay and receiving teacher feedback only). This study concluded that peer feedback helps Turkish PTs reduce writing anxiety and it is really considered as a complementary factor of the teacher feedback. Despite its advantages, peer response has its own weakness. Its procedure requests the training and organization from the teacher as well as it depends on students ability of collaboration with peers. Many students give their partners too general and ambiguous reviews. They make their peers find it difficult to understand and catch messages or information. The writing ability, thus, seems to not improve (Tsui Ng, 2000). CHAPTER 3: METHODS AND PROCEDURES 3.1. Methods of the study The research is done qualitatively in the context of a 30-student English class. They are non-major students; their level of English proficiency is pre-intermediate and their writing ability is average. In this report, the writer uses two research tools to collect and analyze the needed data, i.e. recording and interview. Recording is used to record the process of peer correction. Chosen subjects were invited to record their discussions and then they were transcribed (Appendix 4) for analyzing. Voice recorder is chosen instead of video recorder to prevent their discussions from the presence of another people, which may interrupt their current process of peer correction. The writer also hopes that through recordings she can derive how students check and correct their writings each other and what types of mistakes are corrected most. The second tool used in this study is interviews with students at the end of the research to study whether this strategy is really suitable for them or not, that is, expose students attitude toward peer correction strategy as well as their opinions and get their suggestions to make this process better. According to Herbert and Irene (1995), in interviews students need to know the way of actual listening. Because they are pre-intermediate non-major students, they can only use English during the interviews, so they can speak in Vietnamese and then the writer record and translate them into English. 3.2. Procedure As a matter of ethics, the whole procedure of teaching and learning is implemented similarly to all students of the class after all of them give consent to be part of the research (Appendix 1). However, due to the limit of the study, I only focus to record and interview the learning engagement of two students (who I call anonymously in this report as A1 and A2 as a matter of ethics) during this process as the data for analysis. The writer after considering carefully decide to make peer correcting tasks in class. Before the real peer correction, the writer design some exercises to introduce the way to check a composition. They were guided to focus on some discrete mistake. Items are subject-verb agreement, spells, tense, verb form, number, part of speech. The structure of sentence, content, and organization of the composition/essay is also asked to be commented. Firstly, the students were asked to check sentence by sentence and then, they worked in pairs to check the paragraph (Appendix 2, Appendix 3) This research lasted for 8 weeks, and the writer chose 3 topics to ask students to write, discus and correct and then rewrite before submitting to give the teacher. These topics are informal letter to a pen friend; a descriptive passage about a close relative in your family; a biography passage of a famous person. Topic 1: Describe a person in your family Topic 2: Write an informal letter to your pen-friend Topic 3: Write a brief biography of a famous person you admire During this process, the writer asks students to give them tape-recorder to record their own discussions. In this paper, interviews are well-prepared. After recording them, the writer will transcribe and translate them (Appendix 6). CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 4.1. Data analysis à ¼ Analysis of data from the recordings The writer, in this part, wishes to learn about the process of peer correction through discussions taken recordings of subjects and interviews between the writers and them. After that, the writer would assess the result of the recorded discussions and interviews. It is undeniable that peer correction helps students improve EFL writing a lot, although the level of subjects is not high, they can give comments on a variety of types of mistakes language such as article, preposition, S-V agreement, infinitive or gerund an sometimes even whole structure of the composition or word choice. When correcting mistakes, they also give some suggestions and explain the reasons for those mistakes. Below are some examples in collected data. Extract 1(topic 1, A1s composition) Before correction: She and I are very different but we got on well together. She is short and Im tall. She likes stay at home and watch television with my parentss. A2: Ok. Sentence 1 is ok. In sentence 2, you should use get, not got, simple present. Next sentences let me see, here, like add v-ing not bare verb. My parentss, I dont know my parentss here mean, without possessive mark is correct. Do you agree? A1: Yeah of course After correction: She and I are very different but we get on well together†¦. She is shorter than me†¦.. She likes staying at home and watching television with my parents Extract 2 (topic 1, A2s composition) Before correction: My young brother is a 15 year old and I am 20 year old. My brother learn at Song Cong town and I learn at TN college of education. A1: My young brother is a 15 year old. You dont need an article here, it is not a noun and years, not year. Its plural. My brother learn at Song Cong town and I learn at TN college of education, wrong form of the verb the third singular person. A2: Okie. Learns not learn After correction: My young brother is 15 years old and I am 20 years old. He learns at Song Cong town and I learn at TN college of education. Extract 3 (topic 2, A1s composition) Before correction: I was born in a family of farmer. My parents are workers in a company and my brother is married and works for the post office. A2: I dont understand the next sentences. I was born in a family of farmer. My parents are workers in a company. Why? A1: Oh, so so sorry, I mean classes in society. But I cant express this idea. A2: Working class, you mean? Or you will not ? sentence. Are you clear? Now, next, any brother is married, was, not is and works for the post office. After correction: My parents are workers in a company and my brother is married and works for the post office. Extract 4 (topic 2, A2s composition) Before correction: Its verry wonderful. A1: Verry? Wrong spelling. Its Very. Can you find out the sentence? A2: Yes. Thats right. After correction: Its very wonderful! Extract 5 (topic 2, A2s composition) Before correction: I am looking forwalk to learning from you. Write soon! A2:†¦ And the last sentence, forwark, what do you mean? Forward, you mean that, wrong word. Learning what here? I think its hearing. A1: Yes. Thats terrible. After correction: I am looking forward to hearing from you. Please write soon to me! Through recordings, the writer also realizes that apart from getting knowledge to improve their writing skill, students are very interested in their discussions. They seem to feel confident and have responsibilities with their task. Extract 6 (topic 1, A2s composition) A1: Your handwriting is beautiful and their writing makes only a few mistakes. A2: Kaka. Thanks Extract 7 (topic 1, A1s composition) A1: Ok. Many thanks. I think I need to rewrite this topic carefully, a lot of mistakes A2: Try hard! Extract 8 (topic 2, A1s composition) A1: Yes. Thats terrible. A2: No, its very normal, me too. A1: Thanks Extract 9 (topic 2, A2s composition) A1: Theres few mistakes in their writing. Well-done! Hi Hi. I only give mistakes, you try to look at the writings. A2:Yes, Its OK. No problems. Be quick! However, when facing a little bit more difficult topic, both of them have difficulties in the way to express their ideas due to their lack of vocabularies, explanation of rules of grammar. They suppose that for those mistakes they need the support from the teacher. Extract 10 (topic 3, A1s composition) A2: Due to 1954, you mean? Since 1954, †¦This paragraph, you need to read again and correct structure to clarify. Honesty, I am not sure to edit this section exactly. I just give some comment. For example, you should use fight to liberation, not fights to unify whole country; instead of using comma and then unify country. A1: OK. I will try. After that, we can ask teachers help. à ¼ Analysis of data from the interviews The information from the interviewed reveals students thoughts, feelings and ideas toward this process. Although A1 has not tried peer correction before, she is convinced of this strategy after this study. She feels that she can realize her mistakes clearly and correct them. She is also able to avoid repeating on the next task. She wants to work in group of 3 or 4 to get more feedback from her peers. That means she admit the role of the peer feedback in developing her writing skill. Extract 11 (interview between the writer and A1) W: Will you use this strategy again? A1: Yes, of course. W: Can you give some suggestions to make the process better? A1: I like working in group of three or four. Thats all. W: Thank you very much! Unlike A1, A2 has used this strategy many times. Therefore she has a lot of experiences. Her ideas express her deep understanding of peer correction. She also likes it and she knows how it assists her in her writing process. However, she stresses the role of the teacher in the process of revising. Extract 12 (interview between the writer and A2) A2: I like it. But I still want teachers correct it finally. W: Why do you think so? A2: Because I myself sometimes find out my own mistakes. My partner can help me that. Moreover, when reading the text of my partner, I can learn something from it. However, there are some mistakes we cant correct we need teacher. 4.2. Findings Through the data collected from 3 writing assignments with recorded discussions and recorded interviews of students, the study has had the answer to the research question: Does peer correction help students reduce mistakes in their writing skill? The findings shows that peer correction affect pre-intermediate students writing ability, i.e. it has positive impact on students writing ability. There must be different factors or element affecting students changed writing versions. However, at various levels, students can profit from peer feedback to reduce mistakes in their composition. The result can help students review the writing process of an assignment, especially careless mistakes, grammatical and â€Å"discrete mistake item† rules of word choice (Wong, 1999, p.23). In contrast, the result says that students have difficulties in supporting the content, and the organization, structure depends on different opinions, so it is flexible. For students of low level, the teacher feedback is also very necessary when they can not cope with their problems alone or in pairs or in groups. Besides, the attitude toward peer feedback is quite favorable and sympathetic, they consider it useful and appropriate for them to use and they long to apply it to their learning in the future. CHAPTER 5: REFLECTION AND CONCLUSION 5.1 Reflection This study can be seen as a good opportunity to know more about my students, about what is the reason for the fact that they are not good at writing. In the study, I also have chance to access a number of researches of many experienced language educators and teachers, from which I obtain new knowledge of language teaching and learning in general and knowledge of peer correction in teaching writing composition in particular. Besides, during the process of doing this research, I can learn more about the methods of doing research scientifically and seriously. I also realize that it is important to learn looking at the practice of my English learning and teaching by critical thinking and make research questions with the hope of improving it. I also learn to arrange and organize my ideas and my work systematically to fit the timetable of the research procedure. However, the thing I feel sympathizing fully is that I get the way to put my background knowledge into the knowledge repertoire of related previous researches to have a more general view of my situation and to utilize my research skills, i.e. summarizing or synthesizing effectively by stimulating them actively, creatively and critically. However, the research still has some limitations regarding the methods of data collection and analysis that I might change in my next research if I have any chance. Firstly this study was conducted with 2 subjects, so it is difficult for the researcher to have an overall view of peer feedback and its impact on the writing process of students. This affects the validity of this research. Secondly, the study has not categorized students into different pairs with different levels such as high-high, high-low, and low-low. In the other word, this study has not generalized about the effectiveness of peer feedback in different students level of English teaching and learning. Thirdly, because the writer of this research can be seen as an inexperienced one, and there exist time limit, the writer is hoped to be able to do a further and better research which is expected to overcome the shortcomings in this study. 5.2 Conclusion To sum up, the research has brought to the writer some important lessons of English teaching and learning in general and of working with my students in particular. The research affirms for the writer that peer feedback activities are useful and suitable ones that students want to do regularly when learning writing. It is not because in the activities, students have opportunities to get productive responses and suggestions from their friends in order to edit errors in their own writing and avoiding repeating them but also because those activities let them read their peers writing, they can learn a lot from this, and also in those activities they feel confident and relaxing. Thus, they can comfortably improve their English fluency. The writer also realizes that to have peer feedback activities, teacher needs to arrange and organize carefully and systematically. The role of the teacher need to be cared for because in any case, the correction of the teacher is the most important and exact one. However, since the research is not totally as good as the writer expected, the writers would like to do further research on this topic to overcome the limitations of this study mentioned above.

How Do You Respond To Mid-Term Break? What techniques does Heaney use? :: English Literature

How Do You Respond To Mid-Term Break? What techniques does Heaney use? Having read the title Mid-Term Break, I assumed that the poem Having read the title ‘Mid-Term Break’, I assumed that the poem was about a student’s holiday abroad or something similar, however as I progressed through reading the play, I realized that it had a different meaning. The poem has a very deceiving title, a mid-term break is supposed to be a joyous time of holiday but here Heaney must deal with the death of a family member. This misleading title is the first technique used by Heaney to attract the attention of the reader. The poem is also told in first person and this gives the effect that the emotions come straight from the boy to the reader. We respond directly to the boy, which provokes greater sympathy in us when we find out that his brother dies. The first stanza is telling us that the boy is away from home, isolated, upset and waiting. It is made up of short sentences to build up tension and create shock as though the reader is expecting something to happen. One phrase that struck me was ‘our neighbors drove me home’. This suggested to me that something had happened as usually a student’s parents take them to and from school. We then find out that the father, apparently always strong at other funerals, is distraught, while the mother is too angry to cry. Also the euphemism used by ‘Big Jim Evans’ – ‘it's a hard blow’. Having read this I thought it suggested that he probably is afraid to express his condolences and tries to make it as manly as possible. But later I realized that ‘Big Jim Evans’ is speaking of a metaphorical ‘blow’ as we find out that the boy was killed in a car crash. Heaney then walks into the living room and is met by older men. They stand to greet him and they shake his hand and one says ‘Sorry for my trouble’. This was rare for him because these men were treating him as an equal and I was confused at this point as to why older men were apologizing to a young boy and turned to respect him. This is another technique used to create more tension. By telling us his emotions "I was embarrassed" we have a better idea of the atmosphere around him. We can tell by the tone in which the boy introduces his family, that he is not content with the current situation. He then enters the bedroom of his brother.

Ambiguity in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Essay -- Young Goodman Br

Ambiguity in â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   Peter Conn in â€Å"Finding a Voice in an New Nation† makes a statement regarding Hawthorne’s ambiguity:   â€Å"Almost all of Hawthorne’s finest stories are remote in time or place. The glare of contemporary reality immobillized his imagination. He required shadows and half-light, and he sought a nervous equilibrium in ambiguity† (82). There is considerable ambiguity in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† and this essay will examine this and its causes.    R. W. B. Lewis in â€Å"The Return into Rime: Hawthorne† mentions the ambiguity associated with the key imagery in â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†:   â€Å"For Hawthorne, the forest was neither the proper home of the admirable Adam, as with Cooper; nor was it the hideout of the malevolent adversary. . . . It was the ambiguous setting of moral choice. . . .† (74-75). Henry James in Hawthorne, when discussing â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† mentions how allegorical Hawthorne is, and how it is not clearly expressed with this author:    The only cases in which it is endurable is when it is extremely spontaneous, when the analogy presents itself with eager promptitude. When it shows signs of having been groped and fumbled for, the needful illusion is of course absent, and the failure complete. Then the machinery alone is visible and the end to which it operates becomes a matter of indifference (50).    When one has to grope for, and fumble for, the meaning of a tale, then there is â€Å"failure† in the work, as Henry James says. This unfortunately is the case of â€Å"Young Goodman Brown.† It is so ambiguous in so many occasions in the tale that a blur rather than a distinct image forms in the mind of the reader.    The Norton Anthology: Amer... ...    Lang, H.J.. â€Å"How Ambiguous Is Hawthorne.† In Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.    Lewis, R. W. B. â€Å"The Return into Time: Hawthorne.† In Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.    Martin, Terence. Nathaniel Hawthorne. New York: Twayne Publishers Inc., 1965.    Melville, Hermann. â€Å"Hawthorne and His Mosses.† In The Norton Anthology: American Literature, edited by Baym et al.   New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 1995.      Ã¢â‚¬Å"Nathaniel Hawthorne.† The Norton Anthology: American Literature, edited by Baym et al.   New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 1995.    Wagenknecht, Edward. Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Man, His Tales and Romances. New York: Continuum Publishing Co., 1989.         

Inclusion of Children with Disabilities Essay -- Education School Spec

Inclusion of Children with Disabilities Along with many other topics of special education, the topic of inclusion has been surrounded by uncertainty and controversy for as long as the concept has been around. This controversy may stem from the fact that inclusion is expensive and experts disagree about how much time disabled students should spend in regular classrooms (Cambanis, 2001). Although this topic is controversial, it cannot be ignored. Inclusion will, at some point, affect 1% of all children born each year, who will have disabilities and the families and educators they will come in contact with (Stainback, 1985). There are two major federal laws that deal with the education of children with special needs. One of these laws is, The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, also known as IDEA (W.E.A.C, 2001). This law passed in 1975, was the first act to guarantee all students with disabilities a public education (Kluth, Villa & Thousand, 2001). This law requires that the school district supply an IEP, individualized education program (Merritt, 2001), for every child with disabilities. This law also requires that the IEP team consider placing each child in the least restrictive environment possible (W.E.A.C, 2001). The least restrictive environment possible refers to the environment that would benefit the handicapped student the most, both academically and socially. The IEP team usually considers three possibilities for the student. One possibility is that of a self-contained classroom, where the student would be in a class with all disabled students and be taught by special education teachers. A second possibility is that the student be placed in a general education classroom for half of the... .... Learning Disability Quarterly, 24(4), pp.265-74. Retrieved March 11, 2002 from WilsonSelect Database. Palmer, David S., Fuller, Kathy., Arora, Tina. (2001). Taking Sides: Parent View on Inclusion for Their Children with Severe Disabilities. Exceptional Children, 67(4), pp.467-484. Retrieved March, 11, 2002 from WilsonSelect Database. Choate, Joyce S. (1997). Successful Inclusive Teaching- Proven Ways to Detect and Correct Special Needs. Massachusetts: Allyn& Bacon. Stainback, Susan & William. (1985). Integration of Students with Severe Handicaps into Regular Schools. Virginia: The Council for Exceptional Children. Special Education Inclusion. (2001). Retrieved February 25, 2002 from http://www.weac.org.htm Active Inclusion-Facilitating Active Inclusion in Secondary Education. (2000). Retrieved February 25, 2002 from http://www.faise.com

Focus on the Learner Essay

1.Group Profile It’s a mixed group with a very mixed cultural background as only three students are actually from Germany. Four of the students were born in another country e.g. Lithuania, Turkey, France and Romania. They all moved to Germany as adults and all share German as a common language. The group is heterogeneous concerning the age they started learning English. Two students started learning as adults while the others started learning at school. Most of the students have learnt another language as an adult and therefore have previous language learning experience. The motivation for doing the course is quite high and the group can be divided into two groups – students who need English for their job/university and students who want to learn for their own enjoyment. They are all at upper intermediate level. Except for one student (who could be classed as a converger), the overall group could be classed as concrete learners. They enjoy the social aspects of learning and like to learn from direct experience. They are interested in the language and they enjoy games and group-work in class. The entire group could also be classed as communicative learners because they show a degree of confidence and a willingness to take risks. They are much more interested in social interaction with other speakers of the language than they are with analysis of how the language works. (Learning styles based on Keith Willing [1987]). 2.Strengths and weaknesses Grammar The students are weak when forming the present simple (especially 3rd person singular) (e.g. â€Å"I must to take the train†, â€Å"She like climbing†, â€Å"Stephen come from Australia†) very often confusing it with the present continuous. (â€Å"Sometimes I’m reading Turkish books†). Most students also have problems when using the simple past (â€Å"we seed it’s ill†, I gone to school with her†, â€Å"We can found this in a school†, â€Å"Where are you born?†, â€Å"She were †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). Some students also have problems with verb-noun collocations (e.g. â€Å"She make all the housework†) Vocabulary The students have a good basic knowledge of vocabulary. They can talk about themselves, where they come from, their profession, their families, experiences they have had in the past and things they like to spend more money on. (Example of good language: â€Å"My picture is a technical object but I really don’t know what it is used for†, â€Å"Because you met the Pope, you changed your mind† â€Å"You said dug – so it is dig, dug, dug† = verb orientation). Many of the students try to translate directly from German into English (â€Å"The cat was by us†) and sometimes use a German word in a sentence, using it questioningly enabling other students to help out with the correct English word. The students respond very well, offering suggestions until correct answer is found. Most of the students focus on finding the exact translation of the unknown word rather than trying to paraphrase their idea. Pronunciation All the students have a strong L1 interference and speak with an accent. The group responds well to drilling the right pronunciation and where to put stress on the words. They are keen to sound natural and like repeating after  the teacher. Some students pronounce the endings of words that aren’t necessary e.g. â€Å"clothes†, â€Å"See† instead of sea, â€Å"Lus their jobs† Words: 208 3.Strengths and weaknesses skills Reading The students are able to read a text fairly quickly in order to understand the overall meaning. After enquiring about a few words of vocabulary (sometimes looking this up themselves in a dictionary) they are able to answer all the questions quickly and correctly. Listening The students are able to listen to texts read to them and in most cases understand the general meaning already after the first time. After hearing the text for the second time, they are able to answer questions, in most cases correctly. The students react well to instructions and during conversation they wait patiently until their dialogue partner has finished. One student is a panicky listener, the others all seem to be relaxed listeners. Writing The students have a wide range of vocabulary appropriate for the given tasks. Their sentences are well-structured and they make few mistakes. Speaking The students try to use structured sentences. If they are confident with the vocabulary hesitation is less frequent, with new vocabulary or grammar most students hesitate frequently. The students are motivated to improve their speaking ability and they make a great effort to only speak English. Some of them use gestures when they do not know a word, others switch between German and English, using the German word to fill in the gaps in the sentence (â€Å"I go with the Straßenbahn†, â€Å"I make Teig with Zimt and †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). 4.Recommendations Language development 1.Total English Workbook (Pre-intermediate) Antonia Clare/JJ Wilson – Longman Publishers Page 8, Section 1.3Grammar : Present Simple vs Present Continuous Justification:All 3 exercises on this page help the students to distinguish between the present simple and the present continuous. It also concerns activities they can associate with 2.New Cutting Edge (Pre-intermediate Student’s Book) Sarah Cunningham/Peter Moor – Pearson/Longman Publishers Module 4, page 34Language Focus 1 Present continuous and present simple Justification:At the top left of the page there is a grammar exercise section where the students have to underline and give an example of the present simple/present continuous. Exercises 1 and 2 help to practice the use of them. 3.Language to go Student’s Book (Pre-intermediate) Gillie Cunningham/Sue Mohamed – Longman Publishers Lesson 3, page 9 – The Present (Grammar focus) Justification:Exercises for the students to practice distinguishing between Present simple and Present continuous. First of all filling in the gaps, then writing their own email and finally using the language by talking in pairs 4.Total English Student’s Book (Pre-intermediate) Richard Acklam/Araminta Crace –Pearson/Longman Publishers Chapter 1, page 14 – Review and practice Justification:Exercises for practicing both present simple and present continuous (including question-forming) 5.Clockwise Pre-intermediate Class Book Bruce McGowen & Vic Richardson – Oxford University Press Chapter 25, page 65 – Present simple and continuous Justification:Students can fill in the tables with the verb and then complete the rules for using Present simple and continuous themselves in exercise 1 6.New Edition Basis for Business David Christie – Cornelsen & Oxford Unit 2, pages 24 and 25 – Further study (Simple present and present continuous) Justification:On page 24 there is an explanation of when to use simple present and present continuous and on page 25 there are exercises to practice 7.New Edition Basis for Business David Christie – Cornelsen & Oxford Unit 3, pages 37 and 38 – Further study (Simple past and past continuous) Justification:On page 37 there is an explanation of when to use simple past and past continuous and on page 38 there are exercises to practice 8.Powerbase Pre-intermediate David Evans – Longman Publishers Unit 4, pages 30 to 33 – Going places Justification:The article on page 31 is quite interesting for the students. On page 30 they can fill-in the verbs in the past and present form and on page 32 the past simple can be practiced in exercises. 9.Business opportunities Vicki Hollett – Cornelsen & Oxford Unit 5, Growth and development, pages 50 and 51 – Past experiences Justification:The article on page 31 is quite interesting for the students. On page 50 they can fill-in a time line. On page 51 there is an explanation on when to use the simple past, questions for the students to answer and discussion exercise. Skills development 10.Business opportunities Vicki Hollett – Cornelsen & Oxford Unit 2, Telephoning to make arrangements, pages 23, 150 and 151 Justification: Students usually enjoy doing role play. In these exercises they work with a partner and discuss a) a conference programme and b) arranging a meeting. 11.Business opportunities Vicki Hollett – Cornelsen & Oxford Unit 7, Telephoning to exchange information, page 73 Justification: Students will probably find the stories on this page quite amusing. They will then discuss any car accidents or funny incidents that they have experienced themselves. References: 1.Total English Workbook (Pre-intermediate) Antonia Clare/JJ Wilson – Longman Publishers 2.New Cutting Edge (Pre-intermediate Student’s Book) Sarah Cunningham/Peter Moor – Pearson/Longman Publishers 3.Language to go Student’s Book (Pre-intermediate) Gillie Cunningham/Sue Mohamed – Longman Publishers 4.Total English Student’s Book (Pre-intermediate) Richard Acklam/Araminta Crace –Pearson/Longman Publishers 5.Clockwise Pre-intermediate Class Book Bruce McGowen & Vic Richardson – Oxford University Press 6.New Edition Basis for Business David Christie – Cornelsen & Oxford 7.Powerbase Pre-intermediate David Evans – Longman Publishers 8.Business opportunities Vicki Hollett – Cornelsen & Oxford

Should Andrew Jackson be on the 20 dollar bill

There are obvious reasons why Andrew Jackson shouldn't be on the twenty dollar bill. There was the Indian Removal Act, the Trail of Tears, and he closed the National Bank. But, who should replace him? One western leader, President Ronald Reagan, above all others, demanded the Soviets to give up the Brezhney Doctrine and abandon the arms race, brought down the Berlin Wall, and ended the Cold War at the bargaining table and not on battlefield (2013, Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism).The Brezhney Doctrine was a Soviet Union foreign policy. In the first inaugural address of Andrew Jackson, he said he would observe the Indian's rights which is a consistent habit of our government but, President Jackson turned his back and forced the Cherokee to move west because he found gold in their territory which at the time was in Georgia. Over 70,000 Cherokee had to move west. Many of which died due to diseases transferred by Americans and natural everyday colds.The term â€Å"Trail of Tears † was given to the period of ten years in which over 70,000 Indians had o give up their homes and move to areas assigned to tribes in Oklahoma (Indian Removal Act of 1830, November 3, 2013). The government promised this land to them â€Å"as long as grass grows and rivers run† (Indian Removal Act of 1830, 2013). Unfortunately, the land that they were given only lasted till 1906 and then they were forced to move to other reservations. Andrew Jackson also closed the National Banks. Due to this, inflation rose and the economy collapsed.Inflation is the result of higher rices and a decrease in the purchasing power of money. With the economy collapsing came the Panic of 1837. â€Å"Tear down this wall† (Tear Down This Wall, November 7, 2013). That is what President Reagan said when tearing down the Berlin Wall. Based on intelligence reports and his own analysis, the President concluded that communism was cracking and ready to tumble. Reagan took personal control of th e new strategy. When President Reagan took down the Berlin wall, it had made communicating and traveling easier.It had also stopped communism in east Germany and started to crumble communism in Russia. Ronald Reagan forced the Soviet Union to abandon its goal of the world socialization. He did this by challenging Soviet's legitimacy, by regaining superiority in the arms race, and by using human rights as a weapon as powerful as any in the U. S. or Soviet arsenal. A severe recession set in with an inflation decreasing from 13. 5% in 1980 to 5. 1% in 1982 and unemployment exceeding 10% in October, 1982 for the first time in forty years.After he 1982 downturn, the decreased inflation rate, under 5%, sparked economic growth. It also produced one of the lowest unemployment rates in modern U. S. history. Andrew Jackson was not the best president we have had. Jackson created the Trail of Tears, the Indian Removal Act, and the closing of the National Banks. On the other hand, President Reag an made a turn for the better. He tore down the Berlin Wall stopping communism in eastern Germany and started crumbling communism in Russia, forced the Soviet Union to abandon its goal of world socialization,