Proposed research on effects of progressive muscle relaxation Essay

Proposed research on effects of progressive muscle relaxation rechniques on chronic pain among cancer patients - Essay Example Research Strategy†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.11 c. Indexes and database†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦11 d. Exclusion and Inclusion principles†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦......12 Chapter 3 a. Reading and Evaluation of the study†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦13 b. Data Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..14 c. Data Extraction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦14 d. Evaluation of the Study†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦20 e. Summary and conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦20 f. References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦......24 g. Appendixes†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..25 Chapter 1 a. Abstract The proposed research for this study will discuss the progressive muscle relaxation and its techniques along with the effect that it has on chronic pain in patients with cancer. The techniques discussed can have a significant impact on reducing and relaxing chronic pain in patients with cancer. ... Chronic pain is extremely common in patients with cancer, especially those who are found in stage IV of the disease (Ahles, 2005). Pain can be divided into four types basing on the levels of intensity. These are weak, moderate, sever, and very severe (Godfrey, 2005). All analgesic therapy in cancer patients is based on the use of non-narcotic, narcotic, and support (adjuvant) drugs, the use of which forms the basis of a three-step approach to pain management which was developed and proposed by the world health organization (American Cancer Society, 2006). According to American Cancer Society (2006), one third of all cancer patients suffer from moderate to severe pain related to their cancer and over 50% of patients diagnosed with cancer suffer from some form of pain. The most common types of pain related to cancer are due to the cancer tumor and the treatment (Altice & Jamison, 2009). Unlike those who suffer from chronic pain that is unrelated to cancer, those with cancer experience pain in more than on area. (Melzack (2005) noted that pain can be both acute and chronic and often varies in presentation and that such pains are associated with the consequences of changes in psychosocial relationships, decreased quality of life, and increased rates of depression, as well as in anxiety. However, patients and providers often find that pharmacologic therapy does not completely control pain associated with cancer (Altice & Jamison, 2009). Altice and Jamison (2009) advanced a notion that Pharmacologic management of pain often comes with side effects such as nausea, constipation, drowsiness, pruritus, sedation, and delirium. Altice and Jamison (2009) concluded that complementary and alternative medical (CAM) therapies, including mind-body techniques, are

Religious Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Religious Summary - Essay Example The situation of famine in Canaan gave way for the men to move with their respective families towards Goshen in Egypt. The Jews within Egypt was not appropriate for the same. The Israelites became the slaves of the pharaohs and thus built the huge statues and monuments which exist even to this day. (Rousseau, 1983) The book of Exodus states that the new leader of the Jews - Moses led the people from their state of bondage within Egypt and thus the defining moment came within the Jewish tradition when God spoke to Moses and presented him the Ten Commandments which were engraved on different stone tablets. In a period of forty years, the Jews did come back to Canaan and thus drove out the present day inhabitants as well as named the city as Jerusalem, which was in essence the capital. The religion of Christianity is focused on the teachings of Jesus Christ while Islam derives its basis from Mohammad, the last messenger sent by God on earth. Christians believe Jesus Christ as the Son of God while the followers of Islam, called Muslims do not believe in God having anyone in His family, let alone anyone related to God. For the Christians, Jesus Christ has revealed the basis of God which is not different for the Muslims for whom Mohammad discovered that there was One God alone upon whom Muslims should base their thinking ideologies and beliefs. (Swidler, 2002) Christians are of the view that Jesus has ascended into heaven and he is the one who will eventually differentiate between the living and the dead whilst allowing the everlasting lives to those who follow the teachings preached by him. This is pretty true in the case of Islam where Mohammad will pave the way for the Muslims to enter heaven on the Judgment Day and will ask God to allow the followers of Islam to enter heaven and thus seek an everlasting life full of God’s bounties and splendor. Christians base their beliefs on the Holy Book

How Does Age Influence Linguistic Knowledge English Language Essay

How Does Age Influence Linguistic Knowledge English Language Essay From my experience in teaching English in a great number of mixed-age classes at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology foreign language center, I have received completely contrasting feedback from my students at the end of every course. By applying the same teaching method when I work with both young learners and adult learners, I discover a big gap in the result of their learning. In the pronunciation section, younger learners acquire successfully and effectively while older learners seem to fail in learning English sounds. From what I observe, most of young learners in my classroom have native-like pronunciation. In contrast, the complexity of English phonological system leads to adults failure in getting phonology accuracy when they have to fight with many non-existent sounds in their mother tongue. Unlike pronunciation, the success in learning vocabulary and grammar is in a reverse order. Adults find it easy to understand and use almost complicated vocabulary as well as gramm ar structures whereas young learners often make mistakes when learning new words and doing grammar exercises. Indeed, older learners feel at ease with most English grammar points while younger learners claim that vocabulary and grammar are beyond their reach. These differences lead me to the wonder whether or not there is a correlation between age and second language acquisition (SLA). Hence, my paper examines the role of age in SLA in terms of the rate and success of learners linguistic knowledge. From the explanation of the effect of age, I suggest some implications to help not only young learners but also older learners to acquire their language knowledge perfectly. SLA refers to the process of learning of individuals and groups who are learning a language subsequent to learning their first and that language (Saville-troike, 2006, p. 3). In learning a second language, a number of variables influence students actual acquisition including age, personality, motivation, learning style, group dynamics, aptitude, attitude to the teacher and course materials and so on. Among them, age the most frequently discussed factor has been paid much attention by many linguists. Countless studies and researches have recently been conducted on this topic in order to know how age affects second language acquisition It is a common belief that children are more successful L2 learners than adults. Meanwhile, many linguistic researchers argue that the older are better. However, the belief about SLA in different ages is actually equivocal. Saville-Troike (2006) explained this controversy in his study. Some studies define success as initial rate of learning where older learners have an advantage while other studies define it as ultimate achievement where learners who are introduced to the L2 in childhood indeed do appear to have an edge. Also, some studies define success in terms of how close the learners pronunciation is to a native speakers where children are superior to adults, others in terms of how closely a learner approximates native grammaticality judgments where older learners are better than younger learners (p. 82) In terms of the effect of age on the rate of SLA, according to Ekstrand (1976), Snow and Hoefnagel-Hà ¶hle (1978) and Snow (1983), in naturalistic situations, children normally have a slower rate of development in the target language and do not perform as well as older learners in the short term, but they quite often surpass older learners in the long run (as cited in Miralpeix, 2007, p. 62). Undoubtedly, younger learners are better at SLA in the long run while older learners are better at learning languages in the short run. Concerning grammar and glossary, Krashen, Long and Scarcellas research paper pointed out that adults proceed through early stages of syntactic and morphological development faster than children (p. 573). In comparison with younger learners, older learners have an initial advantage in the rate of SLA when they deal with a complicated system of syntax as well as morphology. Ellis (1985) supported advantages of older learners that when we take the rate into consideration, older learners are better then younger learners as they can reach higher proficiency levels if learners at various ages are matched according to the amount of time they are supposed to the target language (p. 105). However, other studies suggest that adults do not make progress as rapidly as children when acquiring pronunciation. According to Harmer (2007), children who learn a new language early have a facility with pronunciation which is denied by older learners (p. 81). Also, Cochrane (1980) gave a clear illustration to this belief. He investigated the ability of 54 Japanese children and 24 adults to discriminate /r/ and /l/. The average length of naturalistic exposure was calculated as 245 hours for the adults and 193 hours for the children (i.e. relatively little). The children outperformed the adults. (as cited in Ellis, 1994, p.486) In general, adults seem to be able to acquire grammar as well as lexis more quickly than children and vice versa in the field of pronunciation. Where success is concerned, it goes without saying that the longer the exposure to the L2, the more native-like L2 proficiency becomes (Ellis, 1985, p. 106). Actually, Ehrman and Oxford (1995) pointed out younger learners are more likely to attain fluency and native-like pronunciation, while older learners have an advantage in understanding the grammatical system and in bringing greater world knowledge to the language learning context (p. 68). Hence, it is likely that younger learners will pronounce in a more natural way than older learners. Most young individuals who begin their studies of the L2 at the early age do achieve native-like fluency. The earlier they start the more professional at pronunciation they become. Supporters of this belief claim that children are able to learn second language pronunciation easily, automatically, effortlessly and gain an indistinguishable frequency level from that of native speakers. As Ellis (1994) indicated, learners who start as children achie ve more native-like accent than those who start as adolescents and adults (p. 489). Oyama (1976) also supported the younger-is-better notion in her investigation of 60 male immigrants settling down in USA at various ages from 6 to 20. She found that the youngest arrivals performed in the same range as native-speakers control (as cited in Ellis, 1994, p. 489). Conversely, some adult learners may succeed in acquiring native levels of grammatical accuracy in full linguistic competence (Ellis, 1994, p. 492). When the success of second language lexical acquisition, younger learners do not perform as well as older learners in the short term (Muà ±oz, 2006, p. 90). Snow and Hoefnagel-Hà ¶hle (1978) conducted a research in the Netherlands with English learners of Dutch and then showed that adolescent and adult learners results in the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test were better than those of the younger learners. (as cited in Muà ±oz, 2006, p. 90) We clearly see that there is a great difference in the rate and success of SLA between adult learners and young learners in the aforementioned empirical researches. Hence, the question Why do the contrasting results exist? is raised. When we know the causes we will know how to deal with the problems both younger and older learners encounter in SLA. A number of studies in the light of explaining the role of age in SLA point out that neurological, cognitive and affective factors account for this issue. Many longitudinal and cross-sectional researches assert that the ability to learn a foreign language is biologically linked to age. The biological factor is supported by the Critical Period Hypothesis which claims that learners past the age of puberty are in all probability unable to achieve native-like pronunciation in any case (Saville-Troike, 2006, p. 142). There is a time when language acquisition is easy and complete. However, beyond that time SLA is difficult and almost incomplete. If SLA takes place during that period, in all likelihood learners will achieve native-speaker ability. That is why Pujol (2008) divided the hypothesis into two versions. The strong version is that language must be learned by puberty or it will be never learned from subsequent exposure; the weak version is that after puberty language learning will be more difficult and incomplete (p. 13). Various studies about the critical period hypothesis suggest that younger learners are superior to older learners as they acquire a foreign language before the puberty. Penfield and Roberts (1959) study explained why it is easier to learn the target language within the first ten years of life. During this period the brain retains plasticity, but with the onset of the puberty this plasticity begins to disappear. We suggested that this was the result of the lateralization of the language function in the left hemisphere of the brain. That is, the neurological capacity for understanding and producing language, which initially involves both hemispheres of the brain, is slowly concentrated in the left hemisphere for most people (as cited in Ellis, 1985, p. 107). With regard to pronunciation acquisition, Seliger (1978) indicated that there are many critical periods for different aspects of language. The period during which a native accent is easily acquirable appears to end sooner than the period governing the acquisition of a native grammar (as cited in Ellis, 1994, p. 492). Actually, learners who begin studying L2 as adults are unlikely to have native-speaker competence in pronunciation. Not only neurolinguistic studies but also affective researches have been carried out to explain that children are better than adults. As Brown (1980b) proposed, SLA is related to stages of acculturation including initial excitement and euphoria, culture shock, culture stress and assimilation (as cited in Ellis, 1985, p. 109). The ability of learner to relate and respond easily to the foreign language culture strongly determines the success of SLA. Schumann came to conclusion that the learner will acquire the second language only to the degree that he acculturates (n.d., p. 29). Valdes (1986) offered a more persuasive account of the notion the younger, the better. A young child, because he has not built up years and years of cultural-bound view and view of himself, has fewer perspective filter to readjust, and therefore moves through stages of acculturation more quickly, and of course acquires languages more quickly. (as cited in Tallapessy, n.d., p. 16) At the early age, young learners have socio-cultural resilience as they are much less culture-bound than older learners. Thanks to their strong resiliency, children can overcome stages of acculturation quickly and then acquire the target language rapidly. In addition, as Ellis concluded, child learners are more strongly motivated to communicate with native speakers and to integrate culturally. Also, child learners are less conscious and therefore suffer less from anxiety about communicating in an L2 (1994, p. 494). They learn a foreign language because of the need to be accepted by the native community. That is why most of younger learners can successfully achieve native-like pronunciation as they are exposed to the first language environment. Besides the biological and emotional factors aforementioned, various cognitive abilities between younger learners and older learners lead to their differences in SLA. Leaver, Ehrman and Shekhtman (2005) defined cognition as thinking. There are many processes involved in thinking, and all of them are considered part of cognition. Some examples are noticing, paying attention, making guesses and hypotheses, monitoring what you say, interpreting what you read or hear, and so on (p. 38). Cognitive strategies enable the students thinking process to be unique. This uniqueness is called high level control i.e. consciousness. Ellis (1985) noted that older learners can learn about the language by consciously studying linguistic rules and apply these rules when they use the language whereas younger children consider language as a tool for expressing meaning (p. 108). According to Halliday (1973), the young child responds not so much to what language is as to what it does (as cited in Ellis, 198 5, p. 108). Additionally, Rosansky (1975) believed that L2 development can take place in two different ways. While the young child sees only similarities, lacks flexible thinking and is self-centered older learners are predisposed to recognize both common and different features about the language, to think flexibly and to become increasingly de-centered (as cited in Ellis, 1985, p. 108). Understandably, most social attitudes towards the use of a certain language in younger learners have not been developed, Furthermore, at the early age, children often lack meta-awareness, which results in their open cognition of a new language. Unlike children, older learners own a strong meta-awareness and hold social attitudes towards the target language. That is the reason why Ellis (1994) pointed out that adults possess more fully developed cognitive skills, which enable them to apply themselves studiedly to the task of learning a L2 (p. 493). Thus they will experience more negotiation of meanin g and better input by using general and inductive learning abilities. Actually, various studies and researches show that adults are better language learners because they have not only better cognitive skills but a better memory as well. Whenever they deal with syntax and morphology system they will memorize them quickly and easily. Moreover, many teachers commonly notice that adults have a longer concentration span than children. Children cannot concentrate on certain activities as long as adults. As Hermar explained, older learners do exhibit noticeable superiority because they tend to be more self-disciplined. (2007, p. 288) From the analysis of the strong correlation between age and SLA, I clearly realize that my teaching methodology should be various when I work with younger learners and older learners although I carry out the same lesson about pronunciation, grammar or vocabulary. With the same content, I should change my teaching way in order to suit students of different ages. On the basis of the theoretical framework, younger learners are more intelligible then older learners in the process of acquiring native-like pronunciation. The former are not strongly affected by old habits of their mother tongue whereas the latter find it difficult to form new habits of L2 because of the influence of the first language. Nevertheless, adults have higher awareness than children. As a result, when I teach pronunciation I usually use some kinds of explicit explanation to enable adults to use their critical thinking. For sound formation, I use a sketch of mouth to describe the pronunciation of sound in terms of lips, tongue, teeth, etc. For example, when I teach the target sound /ÃŽÂ ¸/, I will show the following picture and give the description. In order to pronounce it, you should put your tongue between your teeth. Then blow out air between your tongue and your top teeth. Explicit explanation will be followed by demonstration, imitation and practice. (Baker, 2003,p. 133) Moreover, older learners feel at ease with distinguishing two similar sounds thanks to their problem-solving talent. That is why I consider minimal pairs as a powerful tool to draw their attention to differences among some English sounds. Lets take the vowel /I/ as an example. Firstly, I ask them to say the sound /i:/ by opening the mouth a little and lengthening it. Then open the mouth a little more to make the sound /I/. Contrasting two seemingly similar sounds will help adults produce the sounds more accurately. (Baker, 2003,p. 6) On the contrary, when I teach children pronunciation, I overuse imitation and repetition with a model video clip of English sounds. As you know, children are quick at imitating a certain sound even when the sound does not exist in their mother tongue. As a result, I often use clips from the program English have a go in which a native speaker Professor Say It will pronounce the target sound slowly enough for young children to imitate. Because the lecturer in the clip has a good sense of humor to add fun to pronunciation, I find it useful especially when I work with younger learners. As I know both children and adults suffer a lot from such boring pronunciation lessons, I always think of some games to arouse students interest and let for them relax during the lesson. They will not have a feeling of suffering from language learning. Who is a poet? is a common game in my teaching pronunciation. I ask my students (intermediate level) to make a poem with the last word containing the target sound. I will begin with the sentence Jim has a wife (the diphthong /ai/ is the objective of my lesson). Then my students make a poem like this. Jim has a wife She is very nice She is only 25 She has big eyes They have a happy life But Jim suddenly died Then she ends her life They never say goodbye Wish them happy life In the paradise In regard to teaching grammar, three very most important sources of interest for children in the classroom are pictures, stories and games to enhance young learners intrinsic motivation (Ur, 1996, p. 288). Hence, when teaching my younger learners I use a great number of pictures to contribute towards their interest in learning process. As a result of childrens low cognitive capability, I conduct mechanical drills, gap-fills, and sentence transformations to familiarize them with the structure and help them have the confidence to use it in a controlled environment. These tasks can be made into games through which they can get enjoyment, fun and pleasure. For instance, I ask my young children (Lets go) to recognize verbs of past tense in terms of regular ones and irregular ones by marking them with different colors as children are keen on coloring very much. Firstly, I set the rule regular verbs = green, irregular verbs = blue. Secondly, I divide the class first into teams and then show them sentences one by one. In the end, the group which can get the most correct answers is the winner. Conversely, so as to make adults learn structures thoroughly and produce correctly, I use a sequence of activities from accuracy-oriented exercises in the beginning to fluency tasks for the free use of the grammar in a certain context in the end. As Ur (1996) suggested, there are seven types of grammar practice like awareness, controlled drills, meaningful drills, guided, meaning practice, free sentence composition, discourse composition and free discourse (p. 84). These kinds of activities focus mainly on both form and meaning practice with the aim of promoting adults cognitive skill and self-discipline. In terms of vocabulary, I consider visual aids a useful artifact to convey the meaning of the new word when I teach younger learners vocabulary items. I put a lot of efforts in preparing the pictures as well as concrete objects for my young children to learn effectively as what we hear, we forget; what we see, we remember. In contrast, older learners are provided with concise explanations, detailed descriptions, antonyms, synonyms, hyponyms or co-hyponyms whenever they study vocabulary items. Another difference in my vocabulary teaching between children and adults is that I draw the formers attention to the form, meaning, spelling and grammar of a new word while I further introduce the latter the denotation, connotation and appropriateness of a vocabulary item. In short, we can clearly see that age differences have a strong influence on SLA between younger learners and older learners. While children who start to learn a language at the early age have a facility with the pronunciation while adults possess high cognitive abilities which help them benefit from abstract language teaching approaches. We can jump to conclusion that an early start to foreign language learning is likely to lead to better long-term results. Start as early as you can. Furthermore, the age of students is a major factor in our decision about what and how to teach. Students of different ages will have different advantages and learning styles in acquiring L2 linguistic knowledge. As teachers, we should know their strength and weakness to guide them study more efficiently and effectively. Thanks to this paper, I know I should adjust my teaching approach in a way more flexible and appropriate to students of various ages, thus I can be a better language instructor. In this way, I should ensure that my materials and tasks are age-appropriate so that all individuals can learn best regardless of being young and old.

Essay --

Philos 25B SID 22340925 Paper 1 Explain the method that Descartes adopts in the First Meditation and how it leads him to the supposition of an evil genius. Descartes starts his meditation by dream argument. First, he recalls himself having the same perception and sensation while he is dreaming, and finds it difficult to distinguish dreaming experience from waking experience. Therefore, he raises the possibility that he might be dreaming through which all the perceptions he has are illusionary. However, as Descartes realizes that even if all the perceptions are illusionary, those images and components can only be derived from something actual and true, such as mathematical truth and geometry. Yet is there any other reason to support that even mathematical property doesn’t stand true as they appear? Descartes keeps wondering, and develops the idea of the deceiving God. A deceiving God, in his mind, is someone omnipotent, and is fooling him with all his reasoning and perceptions, including granted mathematical truth and geometry. For example, one thinks 2 plus 3 accounts for 5 by addition rule but the rule has already be twisted through God’s scheme. Therefore, it is possible that even the basic ideas of the world structure one has can be deceiving and that all the granted belief he had are false or non-existing. Therefore, Descartes decides to doubt everything that he finds with even a slightest objection. While applying universal doubt, Descartes finds the idea of deceiving God contradictory, because God is supposed to be perfectly good, so good that God cannot deceive people on their knowledge. Instead, he states, that there should be something else if doing all the malicious tricks. Therefore he raised the idea of â€Å"evil g... ...ble proof. The possibility that thinking exists itself without â€Å"something† processing it can be stated as: There is thinking occurring, Therefore thinking exists. In this case, it is justifiable that the concept â€Å"I† is unnecessary and only appears as a part inside contingent thoughts. Nevertheless, it could also be argued that that Descartes is actually referring â€Å"I† to a broader sense, which has included the interpretation that â€Å"I† is equal to â€Å"thinking† itself, and the argument can be as such: There is thinking occurring. (1) I am the thinking. (2) Thinking exists because of (1). (3) I exist because of (2) (3). (4) Which of the speculations represents Descartes’ idea better is still in question and needs further clarification. With these proposed speculations, I look forward to reading the rest of Descartes’ text to find out the answer.

Analysis of Southern Gothic Literature Essay

Southern Gothic literature, which is a sub-genre of the Gothic writing style, is unique to the American South. Southern Gothic literature has many of the same aspects as Gothic literature; it focuses on topics such as death, madness, and the super natural as well has having many mystical, bizarre, violent, and grotesque aspects. These tools are used â€Å"to explore social issues and reveal the cultural character of the American South (Wikipedia). † The authors of Southern Gothic writing use damaged characters to enhance their stories, and to show deeper highlights of unpleasant southern characteristics. These characters are usually set apart from their societies due to their mental, physical, and or social disabilities. However not all the aspects of the characters are bad â€Å"it is more often the case that a mixture of good and bad is found in most of the characters (McFLY)† The authors of these stories do give the main character some good qualities; this is so the reader will fill sympathy and understanding for the character. Two authors who exhibit the Southern Gothic writing style are William Faulkner, who wrote â€Å"A Rose for Emily†, and Flannery O’Conner, the author of â€Å"Good Country People† and â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find†. William Faulkner’s â€Å"A Rose for Emily† is an example of Southern Gothic literature. It contains many aspects of Southern Gothic writing, such as an old dark mansion, death, mystery, bizarre events, and the crazy Miss. Emily. The story takes place in a small town in Jefferson Mississippi. The narrator tells us the story of Miss. Emily Grierson, from the town’s point of view. â€Å"? A Rose for Emily’ is the remarkable story of Emily Grierson, an aging spinster in Jefferson, whose death and funeral drew the attention of the entire town (Faulkner n. p. ). † The first sign that this story is going to be Southern Gothic is when Faulkner describes her funeral. According to the narrator, when Miss. Emily died, everyone attended her funeral; â€Å"the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument, the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house (Perrine’s 281). † The narrator then goes on to tell the story of Miss. Emily. Miss. Emily lived in a once beautiful, white, seventies style home, but as the years went by her home became â€Å"an eyesore among eyesores (Perrine’s 281). â€Å"This may be a reflection of how the town saw Miss. Emily herself, once beautiful and now an eyesore to the entire community. After Miss. Emily’s father had died, Colonel Sartoris told her that she would not have to pay taxes on her house, due to the fact that her â€Å"father had loaned money to the town, which the town, [. . . ], preferred this way of repaying (Perrine’s 282). † So for many years, Miss. Emily went on with out paying taxes. When the next generation came into office, a tax notification was sent to Miss. Emily, who sent it back to them with no other comments. The â€Å"Board of Aldermen† was sent to her house; they â€Å"knocked at the door through which no visitor had passed (Perrine’s 282)† through for eight to ten years. When they were let in, by â€Å"the old Negro†, they house smelled of dust and disuse (Perrine’s 282). † When Miss. Emily entered the dimly light living room â€Å"she looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water (Perrine’s 282-283). † The spokesman asked why Miss. Emily had not paid her taxes, to which she replied â€Å"I have no taxes in Jefferson. [? ] See Colonel Sartoris (Perrine’s 283). † What Miss. Emily did not know was that Colonel Sartoris had been dead for almost ten years now. On one occasion, a neighborhood woman went to the mayor to complain of a smell coming from Miss. Emily’s house. The mayor thought nothing of it until two more complaints were received the next day. Finally the Board of Aldermen sent four men out to her house the next night, after midnight, and sprinkled lime all around Miss. Emily’s house and outbuildings; â€Å"After a week or two the smell went away (Perrine’s 284). † After that incident, the people began to feel sorry for her. They believed that â€Å"the Griersons held themselves a little too high for what they really were (Perrine’s 284). † No man was good enough for her by her father and by the time she was thirty she was still unwed. After her father died, the people finally had a reason to fell bad for her. She was alone in the world with only her house left; this left her humanized. The day after her father’s death, the women of the town went to give their condolences to Miss. Emily. To their surprise, Miss. Emily was â€Å"dressed as usual† and had â€Å"no trace of grief on her face (Perrine’s 285). † Emily told the women that her father was not dead. Finally after three days of trying to hold on to her father, â€Å"she broke down, and they buried her father quickly (Perrine’s 285). † The town’s people tired to justify Miss. Emily’s actions, by saying that she had nothing left, and was clinging to the one thing that had robbed her for so long they convinced themselves that she was not crazy. The summer after her father died, the town hired contractors to pave the sidewalks. The foreman, Homer Barron, and Miss. Emily became quite fond of one another. On Sunday afternoons they could bee seen driving in his buggy together. Soon the people began to whisper about Emily and Homer. Emily held her head high; she would not be seen as anything other than respectful. The town’s people believed that Miss. Emily should have kinfolk come to stay with her for a while. While Emily’s two cousins were visiting her, she went and bought rat poison. When she got to the drug store, she would not tell the druggist why she wanted arsenic, but when she got home, under the skull and bones on the box the druggist had written â€Å"For rats. † Everyone believed that she was going to kill herself. But then, Miss. Emily was seen in buying a silver toilet set for men, with H. B. on each piece, and then she bought a complete men’s outfit. Everyone said â€Å"They are married,† referring to Miss. Emily and Homer Barron. When the streets were done, Homer left. Three days after Emily’s cousins had left, Homer was back in town; he was seen going in to Miss. Emily’s house through the Kitchen door at dusk. No one say Homer or Emily for some time. When she was next seen, she had grown fat, and her hair was turning gray. Year after year, the people watched as the Negro man grew older and older. The only sign of Miss Emily was when she was seen through one of her downstairs windows. Then one day Miss. Emily died. The women and men came to pay respects, and to see what Miss. Emily had kept hidden for so many years. After she was buried, the town’s people went back to Emily’s house to look at the room which had not been used in over forty years. What they found would explain many things that had happened over the years. After the door was forced open, and the dust settled, they looked about the room. On the dresser an outfit and tie were laid out, along with a pair of shoes. In the bed, they found Mr. Homer Barron. Finally, someone noticed that on the pillow next to Mr. Barron’s, someone had been sleeping on it. A head indention was in the pillow, along with a single strand of Miss. Emily’s gray hair. Miss. Emily â€Å"killed Homer largely to placate society, although that, in her deranged mind, also secured him as her lover forever (Dilworth n. p. ). † Flannery O’Conner is another author who writes in the Southern Gothic style. His story â€Å"Good Country People† takes place in south. He uses attributes such as lies, faithless ness, and deception to make his story Southern Gothic. The main character, Hulga, finds many things to be wrong with the world she lives in; she also finds many things wrong with mother. Hulga is a large girl with a crippled leg. She does not believe in God, and she uses her studies as an excuse to escape the world. Mrs. Hopewell tries to convince herself that Joy, who changed her name to Hulga, is still a child, even thought Hulga is thirty- two years old. â€Å"Nothing is perfect† and â€Å"that is life! † where two of Mrs. Hopewell’s favorite sayings (Good Country People n. p. ). Mrs. Hopewell and Mrs. Freeman, the landlord, talked about many things together. One thing that they both agreed on was â€Å"there aren’t enough good county people (O’Connor n. p. ). † While Mrs. Hopewell was making dinner one night, a young man, by the name of Pointer, came to the Hopewell’s house to sell bibles. Hulga, who was atheist, was not to fond of the young man, but once Mrs. Hopewell found out that he was from â€Å"good country people† she couldn’t get enough of him. She even invited him in for dinner. During dinner Pointer talked to Hulga about his family and where he was from and why he sold Bibles. After dinner, Hulga walked the young man out. The next day, Mrs. Freeman and Mrs. Hopewell were talking about the Bible salesman. Mrs. Freeman said she had seen Hulga talking to him at the fence, and wandered what she had said to the boy. Hulga over heard all this, and tried to make a scene by getting up and stumping â€Å"with about twice the noise that was necessary, into her room (O’Connor n. p. ). † When Hulga got to her room, she went over the conversation that she had with Pointer the day before. Hulga and Pointer had made plans to go on a picnic the next day. Hulga tried to act as if she did not really want to go, but she had other plans of her own. While she was in bed that night, she went over all the different ways that she could seduce Pointer. Hulga â€Å"imagined that the two of them walked [? ] until they came to the storage barn [? ]† and â€Å"that she very easily seduced him (O’Connor n. p. ). † When she got up the next morning to met Pointer at the gate, he wasn’t there, she thought she had been stood up, and then she saw him he had been behind a bush. He was there in the same dirty old clothes as yesterday, only this time he had on a hat. Hulga asked, â€Å"Why did you bring your Bibles? † They just keep on walking though, until they got to the barn. Once inside the barn, they climbed up into the hay loft. Once they were both in the loft, Pointer started kissing Hulga; â€Å"When here glasses got in the way, he took them off of her and slipped them into his pocket (O’Connor n. p. ). † Once Hulga returned his kisses he told her that he loved her, to this Hulga had no reply for many minutes. After she said she did love him, he wanted her to prove it, he told Hulga to â€Å"show me where your wooden leg joins in (O’Connor n. p. ). † Hulga couldn’t do this, not at first anyways. Finally after she had taken off her wooden leg, but when she wanted it back on, Pointer refused to give it back, instead he placed it in his Bible suitcase. Hulga cried and pleaded for her leg to be returned, but all Pointer could say was â€Å"you needn’t to think you’ll catch me because Pointer ain’t really my name (O’Connor n. p. )† Flannery O’Connor also wrote â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find. † The story takes place in Georgia. In this story a grandmother and her family were deciding on where to go for the family vacation. The grandmother did not want to go to Florida, which is where the rest of the family wanted to go, she wanted to go to Tennessee. To try to convince the family not to go to Florida, she told them that she told them that she had just read on article about a prisoner, The Misfit, who had escaped form the Federal Penitentiary. She also tries to convince the family to go to Tennessee by saying that the children â€Å"never have been to east Tennessee (O’Connor 495). † The family would not listen to her, and decided to go to Florida anyways. On the way down to Florida, the family stopped at a little diner to get lunch. While they were there the owner and his wife were talking about the Misfit as well. After leaving the dinner the grandmother remembered a house that she had once been to; it was an old Southern Plantation. She nags and nags her son to just stop in and see the house; she even implies that it would be good for the children by saying that â€Å"it would be very educational for them. † Finally after her grandchildren pleaded their father to stop, her son finally decided to take a short drive down the driveway of the house. Once they had turned down the long dirt road, which went to the plantation, the grandmother suddenly remembered that the house she had been thinking of was not even in Georgia, but in Tennessee. Rather than telling her son that she had made a mistake, she just sat back and keeps it to herself. As they were driving down the driveway, the grandmother’s cat sprang form its resting spot and landed on her son’s shoulder. The car went out of control, â€Å"the children where thrown to the floor and their mother [? ] was thrown out of the car; the old lady was thrown into the front seat (O’Connor 502). † The children were ecstatic about being in a wreck. While the parents and grandmother while trying to recuperate form what had just happened, a truck pulled up. The grandmother had a feeling that she knew the man who stepped out of the truck. The man said he had seen the accident happen, and told one of the boys in the truck with him to go check and see if the car would still run. That’s  when the grandmother knew who the man was; it was The Misfit. â€Å"You’re the Misfit† exclaimed the grandmother. â€Å"Yes’m [? ] but it it would have been better for all of you, lady, if you hadn’t of reckernized me (O’Connor 503). † The Misfit had no other choose, he told Bobby Lee to take the father and the boy and go back into the woods. The whole time, the grandmother was trying to talk The Misfit out of hurting her. She told the Misfit, â€Å"I just know you’re a good man (505). † To this he replies, â€Å"Nome, I ain’t a good man (505). † Then the sound of gunfire was heard coming form where Bobby Lee had taken her son and grandchild. Next the Misfit had the mother and the other two children taken back into the woods. The grandmother still tried to talk her way out of being hurt, but failed to ask that her family be saved as well. Three more rounds of shots could be heard from the woods, the grandmother only talked faster to try to save her own life. She told him that Jesus would forgive him of his sins if only he would ask for it. Finally when the grandmother looked at The Misfit she said â€Å"Why you’re one of my babies. You’re one of my own children! † to this The Misfit sprang back and shot the old land three times in the chest. All of the stories that are discussed in this paper have many signs of being Southern Gothic literature. They show sings of characters that are extremely flawed, stingy, and uncaring. The stories are mysterious, bizarre, and ironic in the end. Southern Gothic authors use these types of traits in their stories to catch the reader’s attention, and to show aspects of the south that are not perfect. Southern Gothic literature is suspenseful and awkward, but is a very well known writing style. Works Cited Definition of southern gothic as provided by Wikipedia: . Dilworth, Thomas â€Å"A Romance to Kill For: Homicidal Complicity in Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily† Studies in Short Fiction (36:3) 1999 251-62 O’Connor, Flannery. â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find† Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. 8th ed. Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle, 2001. 495- 509. O’Connor, Flannery. â€Å"Good Country People†. n. p. 31 Jan. 2006. . Faulkner, William. â€Å"A Rose for Emily† 2002 Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. 8th ed. Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle, 2001. 281- 289. Faulkner, William: William Faulkner on the web: . â€Å"Southern Gothic. † McFLY. n. d. 5 Feb. 2006 .

Academic Strategies for the Business Professional Essay

Academic Strategies for the Business Professional course was great for helping me develop into a very decent student. It was a great class with lots of information for school learning and use in the career field. It has assisted me to learn to use better time management skills. The more I use these skills the less stressed I will be. As I use the different styles of time management, it helps me determine which tool works the best for each activity I am doing. This also has helped me in my personal life. As I juggle school, kids, work, laundry, cleaning and a multitude of things that just pop up time management has become most important. It has allowed me the ability to work fulltime, go to school and still spend time with my family. My family is my number one priority! This class has been a blessing in disguise because it has helped me in many ways to still have that desired time. This course was able to show me a better me. I did not know how I learned the best until we had to take some quizzes in Unit 2 reading. According to EducationPlanner.org, I am an auditory/visual learner. I use all three types of learning. The one I scored the least in was tactical, which for me is true. I do use that the least. When I learn I like a visual example first, then auditory if, I do not understand it. Being able to see something physically done at least once is the most helpful to me. Depending on the situation, I find it helpful to be talked through it while doing it. Mostly though I find that just being shown how to do something while I do, it is the best learning style for me. This will make me a better candidate in the business world because I know my strengths and weakness and will be able to apply myself in a productive manner. This course is a wonderful learning experience and I hope all my classes are like this. As I go forward in my educational goal, I will use all the neat tricks and skills we have been exposed to. My education is my short-term goal and I will mostly use SRI that we learned about in Unit 6 reading to help me with studying. (pg.4) I will also use the note taking skills also addressed in Unit 6. I am use to the outline system but I really like the Cornell System that I never knew existed until this class. (pgs. 6 and 8) I will have to start using the writing skills to my advantage in the future to ensure a great grade and hopefully a very enjoyable job in the future. As I work towards my long time goal, the S.M.A.R.T. goal setting system is going to be my new comrade. It is easy to write up and break down the goal into smaller pieces. (pg. 6) Without this skill I would be going, â€Å"I do not know what I want to do in the future.† This skill helped me figure out my short-term and is helping work on the long-term. It is not fully there yet but it is always a work in progress. Once you finish one goal, you tend to start another. References EducationPlanner.org http://www.educationplanner.org/students/self-assessments/learning-styles.shtml Unit 6 Reading page 4, 6, & 8 Unit 7 Reading page 6