End-of-term self-assessment

• Writing (a summary). Writing summaries this term was even more successful that the last one. I was able to do it quicker and the job was done more fluently. It helped me to compute the information more effectively of the given topic.
• Performance in ESP vocabulary tests. ESP vocabulary tests were grate than ever before. The grades were higher than I expected. I’m really happy about it.
• Performance in class dictations. I feel just a slight increase of my performance writing class dictations. Just like the last term it was the hardest task.
• Listening practice in class. This term I had even grater success in listening tasks. I feel improvement in quick text interpretation.
• Listening to peers’ power point presentations. I had grate experience listening to peers’ power point presentations. It gave a wider range of information about certain topic.
• Making power point presentations. Making power point presentations was the most interesting task for me. This term I liked my presentation more. I have chosen the topic that better suits my interests and that made me to study it more.
• Short talks on ESP themes in class. Because of dictionary improvement during these 3 terms my speaking abilities had increased. So I could express my thoughts more fluently.

Your true colours

Summary

Color is a powerful thing, which influence the mind in mysterious way and we can make this process work to our advantage.

John Ott, the researcher of light, has discovered that color could directly affect our nervous system. This idea was fortified by experiments, which showed that color influences the blood pressure.

Color is the factor, which may increase your energy and hunger, evokes tranquility and relaxation or just create our view about a certain thing.

Self-assessment of podcasting skills

· The rate of speaking. Speakers talked not too slow and not to fast. I think the rate of speaking was about average.

· How many times I listened to select podcast? It was difficult for me to find the answers immediately, so I had to listen twice. The first time I listened without much thinking about the answers, just for getting the idea what it was about. The second time was for searching necessary answers for questions. I also had to stop the record, in order to write down these answers or turn the recording back if I didn’t got something.

· Which exercises are useful for improving listening skills? I did just two types of exercises – multiple choice and open-ended questions. I think that both exercises were useful for improving my listening skills. Although I didn’t do true/false exercise, I think it would be useful too.

· How do I evaluate my ability to understand authentic speech? I managed to find all of the answer, so I think my ability to understand authentic speech is good. But it actually could be better.

· Do I think I would be able to pass a listening exam paper if I had to take an exam today? Listening exercise is one of the most difficult for me and I’m not sure about my ability to pass a listening exam if I had to take it today.

· How can I improve my listening skills? I think it’s a good idea to listen to your friend in English classes, watch English films, listen to podcast or authentic cassette recordings in class, also if it possible talk to native speakers.

End-of-term self-assessment

• Writing (a summary). I have written a few summaries during this term. It was a good exercise to improve my skills in information understanding and sighting the most essential things. I think that my summaries were quite good.
• Performance in ESP vocabulary tests. My performance in ESP vocabulary tests was quite successful. I had higher grades from these tests, so I could say that my achievement was better than last term. It’s really great.
• Performance in class dictations. Speaking about my performance in class dictation, it was the most difficult task for me. Everything happened so fast that I had no time to think what to write and how to write.
• Listening practice in class. Listening tasks was really difficult for me last term and I had some troubles with it. But this term I found listening practice easier and my result was better.
• Listening to peers’ power point presentations. I was really interested in listening to peers’ power point presentations. It was useful to know new things in the themes we are learning about.
• Making power point presentations. Making power point presentations was the most enjoyable task for me. It was great to know more about the body language and the expression of emotions. Furthermore, I had opportunity to improve my speaking skills.
• Short talks on ESP themes in class. Speaking about short talks on ESP themes I could say that I had fount many interesting and useful things while preparing to talk. Also, it was good for improving speaking skills, too.

Phobias

Sometimes people confuse fear and phobia. But these two things are actually different. Fear is a normal and healthy part of life. Fear plays an important role in keeping us from entering harmful situations and helping us decide when to get out of situations that are not necessarily the best. It does not take over our lives or cause us to become irrational. A phobia, however, twists the normal fear response into something that is difficult or impossible to control.

 

A phobia is defined as an irrational and intense fear of a specific object or situation. Phobias vary in severity from person to person. Some people are able to manage their symptoms and face the feared object, albeit with a great sense of terror. Others are motivated by the phobia to avoid the feared situation, sometimes at great personal cost.

 

Phobias can be divided into three types:

·        specific phobia (fear of a specified object or situation)

·        social phobia (fear of social situations)

·        agoraphobia (fear of being tapped in an inescapable place or solution)

Although the symptoms of each type will vary, there are some symptoms common to all phobias. These include:

Terror: A persistent and overwhelming fear of the object or situation. 
Physical Symptoms: Dizziness, shaking, palpitations. 
Obsessive Thoughts: Difficulty thinking about anything other than the fear. 
Desire to Flee: An intense instinct to leave the situation. 
Anticipatory Anxiety: Persistent worrying about upcoming events that involve the phobic object or situation.

I would like to speak about two phobias: arachnophobia and social phobia.

Arachnophobia: An abnormal and persistent fear of spiders. Sufferers from arachnophobia experience undue anxiety even though they realize the risk of encountering a spider and being harmed by it is small or nonexistent. They may avoid going barefoot and may be especially alert when taking showers or getting into and out of bed. This phobia tends to affect women more than men.

Social Phobia is a condition characterized by a marked and persistent fear of social or performance situations in which embarrassment may occur. Exposure to the social or performance situation almost invariably provokes an immediate anxiety response. Most often, the social or performance situation is avoided. In many people, the social phobia is limited to one or more specific social situations, such as public speaking or stage fright.

Researchers are still unclear on exactly what causes phobias. The latest studies show that there is likely a complex interaction of factors including genetics, brain chemistry, environmental triggers and learned behavior.

Speaking about the treatment of phobias, there are currently two major theories on how best to treat phobias, based on differing beliefs about the nature of mental illness. One of them suggest treatment by medication, other one – by therapy.

To sum up, phobia is the thing that really burden people life. It’s a big problem which is necessary to be solved.

Reference: http://psychology.about.com/od/phobias/a/phobialist.htm 

Learning Languages

In our days all of us must learn a foreign language, least one. To learn a foreign language is possible for most people. All it takes is willingness, work and method. If you do it the right way, you can learn a language fluently. So here is a few methods that will help you.

Firstly, most of us find trouble learning new words. There is one way to make it easier. You can write down words on the different sheets of paper and their definitions on the other side. By picking these cards randomly you can master these words more easily.

Secondly, broadening your dictionary and achieving better skills in grammar also is very important. It can be reached by reading books, journals and news papers in a certain foreign language. You can also watch movies and listen to music.

Finally, the most important skill of language is speaking fluently. The best way to achieve it is going abroad. You will be constrained to communicate. There also is more simple and cheaper way by finding a pen-friend or just practicing to speak with your friends.

In conclusion, learning languages is very essential, it opens up new opportunities and gives you perspectives that you might never have encountered otherwise.

The Research of Richard Wiseman

Professor Richard Wiseman is a person, who has established an international reputation for his research into unusual areas of psychology, including deception, humor, luck and the paranormal. He has published over 40 papers in refereed academic journals, including articles in one of the world’s most respected science publications, Nature.

Richard Wiseman has his own website and blog where we can find the information about his biography, research, books, talks, shows and media. Also we can participate in some experiments. So I would like to tell about few of them.

Firstly, it was fun to have a few not-so-serious tests that helped to know more about me. There was given three tests. “The Q Test” provided some insight whether I am ‘self’ or ‘other’ centered. “The Finger Test” analyzed the amount or testosterones and “the sex of the brain”. “The Thumb Test” exhibited what side of mine brain is dominant.

Secondly, I take part in experiment about identifying someone’s personality from their face. There was given two photographs of people each time and I had to choose that one which imaged a particular trait better.

In conclusion, Richard Wiseman has done plenty research, which are really interesting and useful. So, if you want to know more, go to his website and see it for yourself.

Reference: http://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/