Corpora are of Little Practical Value to Most ELT Practitioners Essay

Corpora are of Little Practical Value to Most ELT Practitioners - Essay Example Identifying the importance of language as an important means of communication and other language-related activities, language researchers and teachers use corpora as viable means of conducting practical classroom-centered research and meeting specific language teaching needs. Though the use of corpora in English language teaching has made a significant progress in recent times, it is assumed that corpora are of little practical importance to most ELT practitioners (Ghadessy, et al, 2001, p.208). Thus the present study is aimed to analyze the aforementioned statement with reference to corpus-based pedagogical activities. Languages evolve and develop over a period of time and they are used differently by various speakers. According to McDonough and Shaw (2003, p.4), the overall goal of the language teaching programme is mainly derived from an analysis of the reasons why a group of learners in a particular environment needs to learn English which can be stated in general, educational or specific norms. The curriculum for English Language Teaching may differ from country to country and in such circumstances, the ELT practitioner needs to develop a framework based on the language teaching, for a country, an age group, whole school, a class or an individual. It is further stated that teachers are affected directly and indirectly by various factors upon which the curriculum is prepared like the role of English in the country, school, materials, time, etc. which makes it clear that singular approach to English language teaching is not suitable in all conditions. According to Richards and Rodgers (2001, p.71 ), the quest for an alternative to grammar-based approach led to several other methods like communicative approaches as it didn’t focus on grammar as the core component of language instead focused on communication and making the classroom environment for authentic communication.

Globalization at general electrics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Globalization at general electrics - Essay Example First, GE chose to invest aggressively in foreign expansion for the obvious reason of desire to grow the company. Foreign investment results in more branches of the company, and this is directly linked to increased revenues for the company due to the additional branches, which will generate additional profits for the company (Rugman & Collinson 2008). Therefore, GE bought other companies in various countries, which were in a financial jeopardy, and were on the verge of collapsing. GE bought the financially unstable companies at a faster rate, mainly because, this was the only opportunity it had to acquire those companies and expand, since these would be seized by other companies, if GE would not act fast. This is a strategy, which GE used to ensure that its expansion was rapid. Aggressive expansion of GE might have been aimed at ensuring that the company moves closer to most of its customers, since this would be easier and cheaper for the company to address the various concerns and n eeds of its customers, while increasing its total sales revenue. In addition, international expansion by GE was intended for the company to increase its customer base, since this would acquire more and new customers in the new geographical locations that it established itself. In addition, GE chose to expand because of the company’s wish to deal with their foreign markets on a higher level. By adopting globalization, GE wanted to prove that the relationship between the company and its foreign markets was strong enough to allow the country to directly invest in the foreign countries, while being assured of profits. Rugman & Collinson (2008) argued that it not enough for a company to be shipping its products to foreign countries. Instead, a company should consider getting closer to its customers in the foreign markets, and establish a close relationship with them, to boost revenue and address consumer needs appropriately. Finally, GE might have chose to expand internationally i n order to save on the costs it incurred in the form of wages for its employees. Employees in other countries outside the United States are paid lower salaries and wages, mainly because of the economic status of their country, which is usually lower, compared to the United States. Therefore, most American multinationals choose to expand outside the United States in order to explore these lower wages (Rugman & Collinson 2008). Question 2 According to Birkinshaw, Braunerhjelm, Holm & Terjesen (2006), the corporate headquarters of a company plays a valuable role in influencing the relationships between the company and the financial markets, as well as its stakeholders. Stakeholders of a company include customers, as well as the competitors of the company, which are the most important stakeholders of a company. Therefore, by moving its headquarters to foreign markets, GE wanted to influence the relationship with its customers in the foreign countries. This would result in a stronger rel ationship than the one that existed previously. Most companies claim that the decision to move their headquarters to foreign countries is influenced by their desire to be in close proximity with their international customers (Rugman & Collinson 2008). In the case of GE, like most companies, this company has moved most of its headquarters of its other businesses from the U.S.A. to other foreign countries.

Playing by Heart Movie. Relations Between Paul And Hannah Essay

Playing by Heart Movie. Relations Between Paul And Hannah - Essay Example Theirs is a case of true love that conquered all and is the kind of marriage that is permanent and not fleeting. Gracie and Hugh’s marriage was on the rocks because boredom set in and Gracie did not think Hugh had enough imagination to make their marriage more exciting, that is why Hugh kept trying to invent stories and sell these to women in bars to prove to himself that he is still an interesting man. Gracie, however, goes off to have a physical affair with a man he thought was exciting. Their marriage was not built on a strong foundation because the commitment to each other was flimsy and consistently needed concrete proof that they were worthy of each other. Meredith and Trent’s relationship is new, thanks to Trent’s devotion and persistence in breaking down the high wall that Meredith had built around herself. Being able to get through to her was a major breakthrough that both he and Meredith had a great chance of a successful relationship. The same is true of Joan and Keenan who met casually at a bar. Although their lives seem to be shallow, once they opened up to each other and decided to become vulnerable, they discovered what love was. The movie seemed to point out that once walls are broken down and the person inside agrees to be exposed until another person gets to love him or her for what he or she is, then the love that will grow from it is true. The couples Meredith and Trent and Joan and Keenan have chances to have happy marriages and probably children to complete their families. This is because they have made a decision to be honest with each other and to live without pretenses. 2. Discuss and evaluate the primary relationship between Paul and Hannah. Explain how they deal with intimacy, power, and love and how they understand marriage. Give examples of how their behaviors express their hopes and aspirations about love, marriage, children, and family. Paul and Hannah had very different philosophies with regards to relationsh ips. Paul was in love with Wendy 25 years ago but he chose to stay with his wife and children when Wendy moved away. Hannah took everything in just to save the family from breaking apart until both of them reconciled without talking about issues that bothered them. It was only until later when they discovered how ill Paul was that they endeavoured to be open to each other. Paul revealed that he fell in love with another woman because he wanted to feel again what made Hannah fall in love with him. With Wendy, he felt great and â€Å"vindicated† as a man who had a successful wife and left in the shadows. However, no matter how he felt for Wendy, he still knew that he was committed to his family. On they both journeyed through life as marriage partners, and have now reached a milestone, celebrating 40 years of marital togetherness and raised three lovely and loving daughters who had lives of their own. 3. Did Paul have an â€Å"affair† with Wendy? Is this kind of relation ship wrong for a marriage? How do you understand the explanation that Paul gives to Hannah about his relationship with Wendy? How would you compare Paul’s relationship with Wendy and Gracie’s relationship with Roger? Paul had an emotional affair with Wendy however, they never engaged in

Aging and Health Among the Senior Population Essay

Aging and Health Among the Senior Population - Essay Example These items were reviewed individually and then summed up as a total to establish an assessment about the driver. The covariates of the study were age, gender, race, health status, physical functioning, vision and driving exposure. Driving exposure was calculated by the DHQ assessment, among other things. Further covariates were self-filled by the drivers. The sample included participants from an ongoing Senior Driver Research Project, which was designed to examine the validity and reliability of the OFOV test. There was collaboration with State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, and licensed drivers aged 75 and above who live in Alabama were chosen. The potential participants were contacted via a letter, were given a toll-free number to return to, and those who had agreed to participate were met by trained staff at 11 designated locations. There they were tested in the UFOV and performed satisfactorily in the test and were eligible for the study. A total number of 1,543 people participated, their mean age was 79.73. 41.7% were women, 2.7% were non-Caucasian. The University of Alabama approved all the procedures, and participants signed on consent to the study (Ozioma, Okonkwo, Virginia & Karlene, 2008). The study found that drivers of over 75 avoided driving in bad weather more than they avoided any other type of situation. Other avoidance situations were driving at night, at traffic roads, in unfamiliar territories and making left-hand turns. Another important find of this study was that drivers with higher risks for motor vehicle accidents due to deficits in visual attention reported greater avoidance relative to those who had a lower risk of being involved in car crashes. This was fairly the same in all the situations (Ozioma, Okonkwo, Virginia & Karlene, 2008).. These findings were consistent with previous ones,

A persuasive arguement Was Saddam Husseins execution an essential Research Paper

A persuasive arguement Was Saddam Husseins execution an essential point in establishing democracy in Iraq - Research Paper Example dictator was responsible for various war crimes, said to have been the reason behind many assassination of various political figures and other crimes. His campaign againt the Kurds in the north of Iraq and the use of chemical weapons against innocent people was something that would be unjustifiable at any stage or at any forum. Not only was his regime responsible for countless deaths and near genocides in the country of Iraq itself but it was also responsible for deaths and environmental disasters in Iran and Kuwait. Saddam Hussein was born in Iraq in a village to the north of Baghdad in 1937 and grew up in very humble surroundings. He led a life of poverty and even illiteracy from which he crawled out of by scratching his way and taking any opportunity that was given to him. At the age of ten he moved in with his uncle in Baghdad who was an army officer and from there he began to indulge in politics (Moore, n.d). Saddam’s political affiliation and his manner of engaging in political activities was not always a great way of doing things. He was only twenty one years old when he was involved in a failed assassination attempt at the then prime minister General Abdel-Karim Qassem and had to leave the country (N.A, Saddams Rise To Power, n.d). From the start the life that was led by this man was considered as that of a man on a criminal path. He was jailed for in 1963 after his party the Ba’ath lost power in the country and then in 1968 he once again led this party to power via a coup. Many hold that Saddam was a messiah for the nation and did many good things. He had nationalized the Iraqi oil industry that lead to wealth coming into the pockets of the Iraqi citizens and caused quite a bit of harm to the international companies that were making profits. He also made education compulsory in order to improve the literacy rate of the nation. This program was made mandatory and a punishment of three year jail time was to be enforced and during this time many

Module Procedure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Module Procedure - Essay Example It is also contempt of court for a jury member to ask for opinions and views on case from a person who is not part of the jury. However, in order to determine the facts and background information of the case in question, some jurors have gone ahead and fetched information from the internet. It is highly unlikely that the information available on the internet is reliable.1 A good percentage of the information on the internet is either exaggerated or false. Hardly do you find substantial facts on a case on the internet and it is illegal to use it for legal reasons. Basically it is the obligation of jurors to base their verdict only on the facts presented at the courtroom and not outside. It is also against the rules of a just deliberation to use the internet as a source of information to back up a case. Jury deliberation is where the jury, after a court proceeding thoughtfully, exits the courtroom to the deliberation room, listens and considers both sides of a case or a trial in order to reach a just verdict. Here, they share and exchange elements of a case that has just been presented before them with utmost fairness, analyze them and settle on a common decision. Usually, the deliberation is facilitated by a fair, strong opinionated juror.2 Basically, this is where the jury spits out their interpretation or understanding of t he case, collectively analyze and test each other’s points without biasness or bullying in order to come up with a reasonable common verdict, usually within law. The deliberation usually set the basis for any judgment that will be passed. The jury is usually not allowed to hold any external consultation to come up with a verdict. The advancement in technology and easy access to the internet has enabled jurors to obtain information on cases and parties involved with ease. Internet research by jurors is not allowed in criminal and civil trials because it has been described as a cause of the increasing cases of mistrials in the modern l aw courts. 3Judges have a responsibility of instructing jurors to avoid doing internet search on the case at hand. Despite the instructions from judges, many jurors have not refrained from using the internet in getting extra information about a case in which they are involved or the people who are involved in the case. It is also important to note that jurors are instructed to refrain from sharing case information with the public but among themselves. However, the access to social networking and electronic media has caused jurors to share with other people about cases and as a result they obtain questionable information about the case which plays a role in their perceptions about those who are being tried. The restriction that the jurors are given in the access of the internet is however limited to that period when deliberations on the case has began. The misuse of the internet by jurors has become a serious problem within the justice system.4This is illustrated by the easy with whi ch jurors can access obscure information on the individuals involved in cases through blogging or accessing information on Facebook or Twitter. These sites do not offer credible information because online community would post malicious or exaggerated information about individuals involved in case proceedings and thus make jurors to have a biased perception about a case. It has been revealed that jurors fall into the temptation of web search and which

Australias forward defence policy Essay Example for Free

Australias forward defence policy Essay ?Interact with History Question: The Australian policy of forward defence was based on the notion that it was better to fight potential enemies in Asia rather than wait and have to fight them on Australian soil. Write a letter to the Sydney Morning Herald in which you either support or oppose the concept of forward defence'. Dear Sydney Morning Herald, Im writing to you today in order to discuss the main reasons in which I support the concept of forward defence. During the 1950s and 1960s the fear of communism remained the political issue that gripped Australia. The governments defence policy was dominated by the idea that sending troops overseas to fight against possible enemies was the best way to prevent a war from being fought on Australian soil and I agree with this idea. Like the war in Korea, the outbreak of war in Vietnam was seen as the result of communist aggression. Australia extremely feared the domino effect which was believed to mean that if one nation fell under communist domination, its neighbours would fall like a line of dominos. So the decision to send Australian troops to fight in Vietnam war was at the time a smart strategic idea and not at all surprising given the belief that the takeover of South Vietnam would be a direct military threat to Australia. On April 19th 1965 Prime Minister Robert Menzies announced Australian involvement in Vietnam and stated We do not and must not overlook the point that our alliances, as well as providing guarantees and assuring for our security, make demands upon us. I believe Australia needed to continue the fight against Communism far from our soil because it would connote the most disastrous defeats abroad and the most incredible difficulties for its friends and allies desiring to help them. Defence alliances were so important because with Australias vast territory and small population it would not of been able to survive a surging communist challenge abroad without the cooperation of powerful friends including in particular U. K and U. S. A. The forward defence policy was a brilliant policy, Australia showed a sign of loyalty to a powerful ally the U. S. A which was a diplomatic gesture aimed at ensuring that Australia could call on her allies for protection in the event of a Communist attack on Australian soil. This strategy was based on the belief that Australia could be most effectively defended if any threat was met and fought before it reached Australian shores. I support this policy one hundred percent and am glad Australia ensured it.