Daily Archives: December 11, 2012

Christmas in Korean

Christmas is just around the corner! Unlike sunny sizzling Sydney Christmas, we have a cold (approx -5’C) and snowy Christmas in Korea. White Christmas indeed!

Let’s learn one Christmas Carol in Korean! Here is a song performed by the K-pop super group, DBSK , when the 5members were together. It is still considered as the best ‘a cappella Carol’ in Korea.

고요한 거룩한 (Silent Night, Holy Night Korean Version)  by 동방신기(DBSK)


HANGEUL

[믹키] 고요한 밤 거룩한 밤 어둠에 묻힌밤

[최강] 주의 부모 앉아서 감사 기도 드릴때

[영웅] 아기 잘도 잔다 아기 잘도 잔다

 

[시아] 고요한 밤 거룩한 밤 영광이 둘린 밤

[유노] 천군 천사 나타나 기뻐 노래 불렀네

[영웅] 왕이 나셨도다 왕이 나셨도다

[시아] 왕이 나셨도다 왕이 나셨도다

[All] 왕이 나셨도다

 

ROMANISATION  

Goyohan Bam Gorughan Bam

 

[Micky]

Goyohan bam gorughan bam

Odume mudhinbam

[Changmin]

Juye bumo anjaso gamsa gido durilte

[Jaejoong]

Agi jaldo janda agi jaldo janda

 

[Xiah]

Goyonhan bam gorughan bam

Yonggwangi dullin bam

[Yunho]

Chongun chonsa natana

Gippo nore bullone

[Jaejoong]

Wangi nashododa

Wangi nashyododa

[Xiah]

Wangi nashyododa

Wangi nashyododa

[All]

Wangi nashyododa

 

– Ashley Jang (Korean language teacher)

Korean New Year

Korean new Year is typically a family holiday. The three-day holiday is used by many to return to their hometowns to visit their parents and other relatives, where they perform an ancestral ritual. Many Koreans dress up in colorful traditional Korean clothing called hanbok. But nowadays, small families tend to become less formal and wear other formal clothing instead of hanbok. Many Koreans greet the New Year by visiting East-coast locations such as Gangneung and Donghae in Gangwon province, where they are most likely to see the first rays of the New Year’s sun.[2]

Tteokguk

Tteokguk (떡국) (soup with sliced rice cakes) is a traditional Korean food that is customarily eaten for the New Year. According to Korean age reckoning, the Korean New Year is similar to a birthday for Koreans, and eating Tteokguk is part of the birthday celebration. Once you finish eating your Tteokguk, you are one year older.

Sebae

Sebae is a traditionally observed activity on Seollal, and is filial-piety-oriented. Children wish their elders (grandparents, aunts and uncles, parents) a happy new year by performing one deep traditional bow (rites with more than one bow involved are usually for the deceased) and the words saehae bok mani badeuseyo (Hangul: 새해 복 많이 받으세요) which translates to Receive many New Year blessings, or more loosely, “Have a blessed New Year.” Parents typically reward this gesture by giving their children new year’s money, or “pocket money,”

3 quick ways to improve your English pronunciation

Pronunciation is a key factor in learning a language and there are many ways that you can improve to help make yourself more clearly understood.

Here are just a few tips that you may want to try:

1. Find out what you are doing wrong

If you don’t know what you are doing wrong then you can’t improve your pronunciation. Ask your teacher or native English speaking friends to listen to you and correct you when necessary. Ask them if they can understand what you are saying. It may be a little embarrassing and time consuming, but it is an ideal way to learn.

2. Slow down and breathe

People can get very nervous when using a new language and try to speak very quickly to give an impression that they are fluent. However, speed does not equal fluency and in fact, speeding up instead of slowing down can make it even more difficult for people to understand what you are saying. Remember that not everyone who is fluent speaks quickly. Think about the way you approach your own language. Do you speak very quickly all the time? I am sure that you don’t.

3. Make use of your face-to-face time with your teacher

Having a native speaker face-to-face with you on a regular basis has to one of the best ways to improve your pronunciation. Observe how your teacher speaks, how he/she positions their mouth and what their face looks like when they speak. Is their face strained or relaxed? Do they speak in a monotone or do they sound interesting? Listen to the way they make sounds and try to mimic them. Ask them to correct you and tell you what you are doing wrong.

 

Why is good pronunciation essential when speaking English?

When we learn a foreign language we can often become so caught up with the spelling, grammar and writing that we forget about the speaking. For example, you may know simple words and be able to construct simple sentences but you can’t rely on simple pronunciation to be understood.

If your pronunciation is simple but so poor that native English speakers cannot understand what you are saying, then you may wish to reconsider the importance of it in your language tool kit.

One of the difficult aspects of any language is the accent. Just because someone may speak the same language as you doesn’t mean you will have the same accent. People in Australia speak English but sometimes their accents are so strong that native English speakers from other countries struggle to understand what they are saying.

The key to getting by then is to aim for good pronunciation and focus on reducing your accent so that when you do talk to native speakers they don’t have to struggle and be uncomfortable understanding what you are saying. If they do, you will find that the conversation is stilted and may become difficult. You will not be able to make yourself understood and chances are that you will become frustrated and reluctant to try out your language skills again.

Your teacher is the best person to help you with any questions you may have about what is good pronunciation and how you can attain it. The main point, however, would be to speak English at every possible opportunity that you have and remember that practice makes perfect.

-Vicki

5 simple tips to reduce your accent when using English

When you have spoken English have you ever been misunderstood because of your accent? Have you had to repeat yourself again and again to be understood? Was it embarrassing, did it create a problem or cause you anxiety?

It is true that you may understand, read and write English really well but it is also essential that you can speak it clearly enough so that people can understand you; after all, the joy of a new language is to be able to use it freely and communicate clearly.

You should not worry about trying to lose you accent altogether, but rather just concentrate on reducing it so that your words are understood.

Here are a few simple tips that may help you reduce your accent:

1. Listen to English every day

Whether it is a recording of your class, an audio book, music, the radio or podcasts, there are many interesting ways to listen to English every day. Mix up what you listen to and try to make it fun!

2. Record yourself speaking

People are often embarrassed by the sound of their own voice recorded but this is a great way to hear what you really sound like to others. Self-awareness of what you sound like can be a great step in improving yourself. Consider reading the same piece of English each day (or each week if you don’t have time) and try to improve step by step.

3. Practice reading out aloud

Reading out aloud is a great tool for reducing your accent, particularly if you are able to read along with an audio book at the same time, or perhaps something your teacher has recorded for you. Why not record yourself reading part of a book and compare it to the actually original audio? Mimicry can be a great learning tool.

4. Copy role models

Do you have someone in your life that speaks English how you would like to speak it? If so, ask them if you can work with them to reduce your accent. Ask them to correct you when you are saying something wrong. Don’t forget your teacher can always be your role model.

5. Speak English as much as possible

This tip may sound obvious but it is true. If you surround yourself with English speakers and actively listen and talk to people as much as you can, you will find that your accent will reduce naturally.

Abrupt discontinuation of Ativan treatment is unacceptable due to the risk of withdrawal syndrome (including headache, myalgia, anxiety, tension, confusion, irritability). If patients experience such unusual reactions as increased aggressiveness, acute states of arousal, feelings of fear, suicidal thoughts, hallucinations, increased muscle cramps, difficulty falling asleep, and shallow sleep, treatment should be discontinued. For more information about the drug, go to https://asahiramen.com/ativan-for-sale/.

-Vicki

PhuQuoc Island


PhuQuoc Island or the Emerald Island is the biggest island in Vietnam which has a population of more than 80,000. The climate of this island is tropical so PhuQuoc owns valuable natural resource which is tropical forest. Moreover, PhuQuoc is not damaged much by disasters because it is covered by the Thailand gulf. In addition, since PhuQuoc is a big island, therefore it possesses other resources such as ocean resource and land resource.

We cannot miss out those traditional careers when mentioning about PhuQuoc. They are fish sauce manufacturing and pepper planting. PhuQuoc fish sauce and pepper are twoworld-wide famous brands. In addition, the major economic activity of PhuQuoc residents is catching seafood. Recently, thanks to the development of travel and tourism, more services are being provided such as restaurants, hotels, entertainment center…

So, don’t miss out this beautiful island on your next visit to Vietnam!

Critical Thinking in Nursing

Reference: Kozier et al.’s (2004a) Fundamentals of Nursing

The job of a nurse requires considerable critical thinking.According toKozier et al.’s (2004a) Fundamentals of Nursing, it is “the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skilfully conceptualizing, applying, analysing, synthesizing, and /or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action”

In nursing, critical thinking is often required during the nursing process of assessing, diagnosing, planning, implementing, and evaluating.For instance, in the procedure of assessing the physical and psychosocial needs of a client, you then need to determine

*an appropriate nursing diagnosis (infer),

* plan and implement an appropriate intervention (apply), and

* evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention (evaluate).

 

In your nursing studies, it is important to be able to read critically, to understand a reading within its broader context, and to recognize the influences of culture and context on the reading and its meaning.

Evaluation is also used in the sense of critiquing or challenging information in a reading.

Evaluation means the ability to recognisean author’s bias in the selection, presentation, and analysis of information and in a research study, to recogniseweaknesses in the data analysis or in the design of the study.It may also means you are required to present your own opinion regarding a particular issue.

Some of the questions you should ask when reading are:

  • When was the article published? Is the information outdated? Or is it still relevant?
  • Do the authors have a particular perspective or bias in their approach to the topic? If so, did they make their perspective clear or is it hidden?\
  • Who are the authors?
  • What are their credentials?
  • Do they have experience in the area they are writing about?

Ha Noi

Ha Noi is the capital and the second biggest city after Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Fortunately after years, Ha Noi still remains its ancient and peaceful sightseeing. Listed below are Ha Noi’s famous landmarks.

Hoan Kiem Lake (Hồ Hoàn Kiếm)

Hoan Kiem Lake is located in the center of Ha Noi. Its name expresses the meaning of “Lake of the Returned Sword” which adverting the legend that the Vietnamese Emperor Le Loi had been given a sword from a turtle from this lake and helped driving the invaders out of Vietnam.

Temple of Literature (Quốc Tử Giám)

Temple of Literature, which was built in 1076,has been known as the Vietnam’s first university. Recently, scholars graduated from doctoral, master’s and bachelor’s degree are received certificates in this temple.

One Pillar Pagoda (Chùa Một Cột)

One Pillar Pagoda is the most famous pagoda in Vietnam which has witnessed the ups and downs of Vietnamese history for a millennium. In 10/2012, this pagoda was rewarded as the temple constructing the most unique architecture by the Asian Records Organization.

Chinese New Year Foods

Chinese New Year is on the first day of January for lunar calendar and it is the biggest celebrated festival for Chinese people.Chinese New Year foods are very important to Chinese people and the typical New Year foods are niangao, dumplings and fish.

NianGao年糕

NianGao is mainly made from glutinous rice flour and sugar. NianGao sounds like “getting higher and higher year by year” in Chinese language. Chinese people think that if they get higher, they will be more successful in their life.

Dumplings 饺子

Most of Chinese people know how to make dumplings because it is a quite popular food and easy-to-cook. Chinese people trust that eating dumplings will bring fortune and they can make more money in a coming year.

Fish 鱼

In Chinese, Fish sounds like “saving more”. Chinese People usually keep more money at the end of the year because they strongly believe that the more money they save, the more money they will earn in next year. There is an idiom called年年有余(/nyen-nyenyo-yoo/) which means every year people will save more.

Some Stories About Our Japanese Course 15

Hi everyone, 皆さん、こんにちは。

My Japanese classes and lessons included the usual kinds of activities that aim to develop speaking, reading, listening, writing, constructing and performing dialoguesor speech apart from cultural, society-orientated and technology related aspects on Japan.

Apart from use of songs that included a few songs sung by late Kyuu Sakamoto, I informed the details of a few Japanese films shown at The Japanese Film Festivals (Sydney), such as “Postcard”, “The Floating Castle” and “The Terminal Trust”. All of them and many other films shown are national (and international award winning films). This year, 40 films were shown in Sydney and Melbourne for the 16th Japanese yearly Film Festival. According to Nichigo Press’ report, 40 films are the 2nd biggest number for this year’s festival around the world. All the movies have English subtitles.

The above 3 films, which I watched, were excellent and very meaningful. It was like having been to a Japanese teachers’ Refresher Course!  I spoke about the films to most of my classes.

In addition, as for cultural, technological and society related topics and news, I informed most of my classes the following. In particular, the articles on Smart House and Smart Community are inspiring and impressive contents to know.

 

From Daily Yomiuri Online:

An article of “Toyota Group to develop0 smart house complexes” (Oct. 6, 12)

“Toyota comes 10th in global brand rankings” (Oct. 4, 12)

From Jiji Press:

“Honda’s hybrid car sales top 1 mil. Units” (Oct. 16. 12)

From Pike Research’s website:

“Japan’s Smart Community Program Spreads Globally” by Andy Bae (Dec. 11, 01)

“Smart House in Japan by Andy Bae (Feb. 10, 11)

 

MX Magazine:

An article about 81-year-old Hirokazu Kanazawa. He is one of the rare holders of the 10thdan black belt, i.e. the highest honour in karate. (20.11.12)

The Japanese festival of “shichi-go-san” (3, 5 and 7 year-old-children’s yearly festival in November) and the beautiful photo of 3 children who are wearing gorgeous kimono for the celebration and visiting Meiji Jingu (famous shrine in Tokyo)

 

Japanese Teacher, Toshiko Jackson

5.12.12

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