Courses

Some Stories About Our Japanese Course 17

Hi everyone, 皆さん、こんにちは。

My Japanese classes/lessons included the practices to develop speaking, reading, listening, writing, interacting, constructing and performing dialogues or speech apart from cultural and social issues and concepts. As usual, we used textbooks, pictures, ads, children’s books, magazines (including cooking ones), CDs, videos, DVDs, songs etc.

As for performing their own dialogues, the class, Beginners 2, esp. James and Yvonne did very well. The dialogue was at a shop and the contents were funny or distinctive. And they used an apple for the play. James perfectly spoke the dialogue from his memory and Yvonne relatively well spoke from her memory. Well done.

One of the books that I got excited and used in classes was “Raion –no Kazoku”. That is a beautiful and educational picture story book of a lion family (big family with many relatives!) that are in Fuji Safari Park). The whole book was made with pictures taken at the above large Park with the experts. All the lions shown are gorgeous. They look more neat, content and relaxed than lions in Africa or somewhere else. I said to my classes that those lions were ones of the luckiest lions in the world. I checked websites of Fuji Safari Park. There are many websites. The Park is in Shizuoka prefecture and about 2 hours taken from Tokyo. The huge park is right facing Mt Fuji and all those animals can enjoy exquisite Mt Fuji in daily life and are fed with well balanced food. (What great animal life!) One of the website, Images of Fuji Safari Park has “many” pictures of plenty of kinds of animals. If you like animals (like me), you will greatly enjoy them. The Park is open 24 hours/day. It has night time ride (about 50 minutes will be taken per course) and you can see the night time life of many animals. The Park is very scientific minded and there are many species of animals that are not heard in general. If you visit Japan, it will be one of excellent places to visit (seeing Mt Fuji and enjoying the Park in one package!) Last year the Park had 4 gorgeous lion cubs’ births. That took many Japanese people’s hearts.

In recent media, I heard the current Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe’s (the Liberal Democratic Party) earned 70% at the opinion poll. That is excellent. You have never seen such positive one in recent years among Japanese political leaders.

Related to a film, Japanese NHK TV news recently reported that the foreign film, Les Miserable earned the highest ticket sales (highest record) at cinemas in Japan, among foreign movies. Later, when I was watching “Late Show” of D. Letterman, Hugh Jackman was the guest speaker. He mentioned his trip to Japan. He said he climbed Mt Fuji with his son. (He said climbing the mountain takes two days.) When they almost reached the top, his son was asleep and Jackman had to carry his son to go to the top. What an amazing man and actor of young, challenging spirit! (I respect Jackman enormously as well as D. Day-Lewis!) I am sure there must be a big number of Jackman fans in Japan without a doubt.

There were a few delightful emails from previous students about my course and what they learned was very useful to their trips in Japan that included having learnt Hiragana script. That was very encouraging and nice to hear.

 

Japanese Teacher, Toshiko Jackson

5.3.13

How to Score Maximum Marks in OET Listening

Students think the OET listening task is difficult for multiple reasons, for example: “The speakers talk too quickly!” or “I can’t write fast enough!” or “It’s so hard to think about spelling and grammar whilst listening!”, etc.

Below are a few simple tips to help you score maximum marks:
1.    SKIM through the questions and get a general idea of the topic at the time given at the start
2.    UNDERLINE and listen out for the key words of each question so you can listen out for them during the dialogue
3.    PREDICT some answers if you can – e.g. if the question says “What risk factors are mentioned by the speaker for cardiovascular disease?”
4.    WRITE concise phrases instead of full sentences
•    For instance, “runny nose” instead of “he had a runny nose”
5.    DO use common abbreviations such as:
•    “HR” for heart rate
•    “SOB” for shortness of breath
•    Arrows to indicate INCREASE or DECREASE
•    Check the OET website for what abbreviations are allowed!
6.    USE your own abbreviations (for example, ‘yrs’ instead of ‘years’) then correct them when you have time later
7.    WRITE as you listen – and work on improving this!
8.    DON’T try to rephrase what is being said as this will waste time
9.    FIX up spelling, grammar and tenseduring the pauses between the questions, and during the time given at the end of the task
10.    MOVE on to the next question if you realise you have missed one, then go back and GUESS an answer if you can
11.    PRACTISE as much as you can!!!!!

-Carol L, OET Teacher

OET Reading – How to Practise for Faster Reading and Understanding

The reading section of the OET is about reading quickly and actively as well as having a good understanding of the passage. These skills can be practised.

You should practise increasing your reading speed by finding new medical passages online or in a printed journal and reading them at home. Time yourself and challenge yourself to increase your speed each time.

You also need to be able to retain the information – so try writing down what you remember after reading the passage. You should then aim to increase the amount you remember each time you practise.

Eventually, you will have increased the speed at which you read as well as the amount of information you remember from your reading. As an extra plus, you will have expanded your medical vocabulary (which can definitely be helpful in the OET and your professional life!) because of all the new scientific articles/passages you have read!

…. so practise, practise, PRACTISE!

Common mistakes in writing

When writing a referral letter, there are always some common mistakes that I have found students repeat over and over again.
The first is not making grammatically complete sentences. Since the patient file lists patient information in point form and not complete sentence form, it may be tempting to just list the information. However, markers can easily pick up on that because it does not flow grammatically correct. For example, when you are referring to a medical condition or treatment on a particular part of the patient’s body, then to be grammatically correct, you must use possessive pronouns. E.g. ulcer on his/her left lower thigh. This also applies for things that belong to the patient. E.g. her exercise program, his weight.

Another common mistake is the use of the word ‘diagnosis.’ A medical diagnosis refers to the process of finding out the cause of the disease or disorder and to the opinion reached by this process. This means that there is a level of difficulty or investigation required to find out the illness. For instance in the case of cancers or infections, blood tests or pathological investigations must be carried out. However, in the case of burns or cuts, fractures etc, you would not refer to them as being diagnosed with a burn or a cut.

The maximum daily dose is 10 mg. The course of treatment should not exceed 4 weeks. For transient insomnia, the recommended course of treatment is 2-5 days, for situational insomnia this number goes up to 2-3 weeks. Very short periods of treatment do not require the gradual withdrawal of the drug. In the case of long-term use of the drug to reduce the possibility of developing ricochet insomnia, the withdrawal of Ambien should be carried out gradually (first reducing the daily dose and then canceling the drug). For more information about the drug, go to https://opencuny.org/ambien-10mg-for-sale/ .

Finally the use of tense is often a challenge for students. Just remember that in general a letter is reporting a patient’s case so it is generally in past tense. When you are reporting on events or symptoms that occurred in the past then you use past tense. E.g. he had diabetes since he was 10 years old. When you are requesting a call of action for post-discharge then you use future tense. E.g. He will need regular blood pressure checks.

Of course there are a lot more ways that writing can be perfected, so practise is the key and regular proof checks from the teachers at Sydney language solutions the ultimate solution to passing OET!

Example of a Writing Task OET for students to practice during Christmas holiday

You are a health professional at the Royal North Shore Hospital. Read the case notes and complete the writing task as follows:

 

Patient: Mr James NaismithOET_Writing

DOB: 25.12.1940

History:

1.1.2010

Symptom A, symptom B, symptom C

Examination shows sign A and sign B

Diagnosis: disease A

Prescribe drug A 25mg tid

1.1.2011

Reports compliance with therapy A

Symptoms B and C are worse

Examination shows sign C

Increase dosage of drug A 50mg tid

PMHx:

Chronic condition A since 2002

Surgery A in location A – 1996

Episode of acute condition A in 1995, resolved

FMHx:

Father died of disease B at age 65

Social history:

Widower, lives alone in Sydney Retirement Solutions

Quit smoking in 2005

Emergency contact is son who lives in Homebush, mobile: 0555 555 555

Plan: refer to specialist to discuss possibility of therapy A

Using the information in the case notes, write a letter of referral for further investigation and discussion of a new management plan to the specialist Dr Michael Jordan, at 55 Main Street, Newtown.

In your answer:

–          Expand on the relevant notes in complete sentences

–          DO NOT use point form

–          Use letter format

The body of the letter should be approximately 180-200 words

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?

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

How to Become a Better Translator?

Planning to become a NAATI Accredited Translator?

Check the video below and get some tips to become a better translator 🙂

Thai Cooking Workshop (October 2012)

Are you curious about our latest Cooking Workshop?

Check the video below, it’s taken from our Thai Cooking Workshop in October 2012.

All About German Language

Guten Tag (G’day)

Standard German is known today simply as “Hochdeutsch” (High German), and this is used almost always for written German. Books and newspapers are printed in  standard German. “Hochdeutsch” is spoken by educated speakers everywhere; however, regional variants exist in the spoken language, for example, Swiss German in the majority of Switzerland.

German is part of the West Germanic group of languages within the Indo-European language family and is a close relative of English.

Some interesting facts about German:

– As is the case in many foreign languages, all nouns in German have a specific gender. German is different to  a lot of the Latin languages though, in that it has not 2 but 3 genders – in addition to ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ it also has ‘neuter’.

  • der – masculine
  • die – feminine
  • das – neuter

– Today German is spoken by more than 100 million people worldwide.

– It is spoken in Germany, Austria, a large part of Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the South  Tyrol region of Italy, the Opole Voivodship of Poland, parts of Belgium, parts of Romania and the Alsace region of France. Several former German colonies, such as Namibia, also have remaining pockets of German speakers.

– Following the American Wars of Independence, the Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia and considered adopting a new language for the future of the United States. When it came to the vote, English was chosen above German as the language of the new republic – reputedly only by one vote!

-The first printed book in the world was in German. Johannes Gutenberg invented book printing and printed the first book in the world – a 42-page bible – in 1455. Martin Luther had  translated the Bible from Latin into German to make it available to common people – who could not read Latin – that language of the Church.

– German is often considered to be one of the most important cultural languages worldwide. Many  famous musicians and scientists like Freud, Beethoven, Goethe, Mozart and Einstein wrote and spoke in German.

-German is the third most commonly taught foreign language worldwide.

As you can see, German is definitely a useful language to have in your repertoire. Due to its similarity to some English words, you will find that you can understand bits and pieces of a text straight away, even though they might be spelt and pronounced slightly differently. So, come and find out more about the German language and book yourself in for a German class at Sydney Language Solutions.

Bis Bald!

Danny Ruch – German Language Instructor

 

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