What have I learned so far?

I have learned that the Prime minister in the UK, David Cameron does not think there is an answer that can be achieved simply by taking in more and more refugees. He want to grab the root of the problem, which is in the homeland of the refugees. He will make sure there are worthwhile jobs and stronger economies in these countries. Yet has he suggested a target of 10,000 refugees being taken by the UK.

                                http://news.bfnn.co.uk/prof-stephen-hawking-calls-david-cameron-a-right-twat-on-twitter/

I have also learned the difference between refugees and economic migrants. Refugees are people who had to escape from their home country because they have suffered or feared. Race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion are typical reasons why. Economic migrants seek an improvement in living standards by immigrating to another region. This is often provided of living conditions or job opportunities.

Frontex is an agency of the European Union or a “filter”, to detect and stop illegal immigration, human trafficking and terrorist infiltration.

People trafficking is the trade of humans. Mostly used for sexual slavery, forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. They are exposed for forced marriage and the extraction of organs. Human traffickers do also smuggle refugees across borders. 

Spot check, page 102

a)  Why is culture important for communicaton? 

     Culture is important for communications because it provides a common basis for us to understand      one another. English has led to the meeting and mixing of many cultures. 

b) Why is command of English in itself no longer enough for accurate communication? 

    Command of English in itself is no longer enough for accurate communication because English is       increasingly used in intercultural communications, it has become important for English speakers to     train themselves to be aware both of their own culture and of the culture of the people they speak       with.

c) Into what three parts can comunication be divided? 

    Communication can be seen as having three parts: a sender, a message and a receiver.

d) What is ethnocentrism? 

    Ethnocentrism: when someone views the world as if your culture is the centre of the universe from     which everything and everybody is judged. It is based on ignorance of other cultures that your             own.

e) What is cultural relativism? 

   Cultural relativism: when someone view other cultures as equals with your own. However, you are      conscious of your own beliefs. You understand other people's values and you accept them. 

The Australian Variety Of English

Australian English differs from other varieties of English in vocabulary accent, pronunciation, register, grammar and spelling. They love to find their own words and expressions. Sadly, Australian slang is dying out among young people, and it is not really present or relevant in city life, but here are some typical slang words.

Other typical slang words and funny expressions:

• G'day mate - hello my friend
• Sheila - a girl or a woman
• Ripper - amazing
• Stoked - really happy/pleased
• Snag - sausage 
• Come a guster - accident/misstake
• Stubby - a bottle of beer
• Mad as a cut snake - very angry
• Grinning like a shot fox - smugly smiling
• Ratbag - naughty children
• Off their rocker - mentally challenged
• Shonky - bad quality
• Crack onto - flirting
• Dunny - bathroom
• Built like a shithouse - strong and big
• Arvo - afternoon

Questions about English as a world language

What is the history of the English language after WWII?

After WWII, England was totally bombed. USA helped them and became a global superpower. This is the reason that English is the number one world language today.

What is meant by ESL, EFL, ESP?

ESL is English people learn in addition to their mother tongue so they can take part in the life of the country in which they live. Spanish-speaking Mexican Americans for instance.

EFL is English learned by people who have no daily contact with the language. They start from scratch and learn it as a foreign language.

ESP is to give people some specific English skills in, for example, trades, business or other professions.

Do you think that international English enriches the cultures of the world, or does it drain them of their uniqueness?

I think English helps other cultures and languages by allowing them to communicate and spread their culture to different countries. They learn to respect other cultures and they can develop an understanding for people different from themselves.

Explain the terms inner - outer - expanding circle.

The inner circle: Countries where native English speakers live.

The outer circle: Countries in which English is spoken as a second language.

The expanding circle: The many countries in which English is spoken as a foreign language.

Why is it necessary to have standard forms of English?

It is important and necessary to have standard forms of English because today the non-native English speakers is a majority. They make their own version of English. For example, for them it might be “right” to say “she look sad” instead of “she looks sad” which the right way to say it is. If we keep doing this, the proper English dies. It just fades away, because there are so many other versions exceeding it.

Which forms of English does David Crystal believe we will have in the future?

David Crystal believes that we will have three different forms of English in the future:

One they speak locally as their dialect

One variety for education and business

One standard international English for communicating with foreigners

English has become important in six different fields - which?

International education

International business and trade

International diplomacy

Art and entertainment

Science and technology

Digital communications

Why English Is Important!

English has become important in six different fields - which?

It has become the language of:

•           International education. Pupils from all over the world are taking exchange years abroad where they meet people from other countries and use English to communicate. English textbooks is essential in different studies in higher education.
•           International business and trade. Shipping, production of goods, movement of goods, services, employees. All of these use English as their communication language.
•          International diplomacy. Both for nations and large international organizations like the United Nations or The Red Cross.
•           Art and entertainment. British and American TV programs, movies and popular music have been exported all over the world. Authors, song writers, movie makers and performers, have chosen English as their means of dissemination.
•           Science and technology. Researches from all around the world meet in conferences to exchange their ideas and findings in English.
•           Digital communications. Net surfing, social networks, online gaming, virtual worlds and much more.

NASA discover most Earth-like planet yet

I have found two different newspapers which writes about the same news. I am going to compare them and see if I can find any similarities and differences. Both of these articles writes about that NASA have discovered a planet remarkably similar to our own Earth, located 1400 light years away, in the constellation Cygnus. Kepler, as they call it, is positioned about as far from it's parent star as Earth is from the sun, completing and orbit in 385 days, compared to Earth's 365 day orbit. At that distance, surface temperatures would be suitable for liquid water. 

https://www.nasa.gov/ames/kepler/nasas-kepler-discovers-first-earth-size-planet-in-the-habitable-zone-of-another-star

Both of these articles include facts about the planet and the headlines absolutely suits the content. They use sources like astronomers, scientist and NASA, there is no random people talking about things they don't know anything about. The authors write in objective terms and expresses nothing subjectively. The content is quite similar in these articles. They convey facts and contains quotes spoken by scientists and people from NASA. Good quality and complementary content. I will say there is used some loaded language, Words that engages and creates interest to the readers keeps coming up, such as "huge, large and massive"

    http://topinfopost.com/2015/02/15/earth-like-planet-found-kepler-186f

It was easy to find similarities between these news, but I had some struggle finding differences. They had very similar structure and content. However, one thing I noticed, was that the news from CNN mentioned what the plan was further. How they would proceed to do more reaserch on this planet. It also had more pictures and a video showing what they think Kepler looks like. That way CNN shows more expertise and thorough work.

CNN's article:

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/23/us/feat-nasa-kepler-planet-discovery/

Reuters article:

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/07/23/uk-space-usa-nasa-planet-idUKKCN0PX22720150723

If you want to learn more about this planet Click here! and watch the video.

Mark Zuckerberg

(the creator of facebook)

Hi!

My name is Mark Zuckerberg and I am 31 years old. I was born in West Palm Beach in Florida in 1984. I am a chief executive of corporation and I studied computer-programming games at Harvard University. During my studies I developed various Internet solutions. Later in life, I took the initiative to create the famous networking site, Facebook. Facebook was founded Februray 4th, 2004 in Massachusetts. At one point in life, I was considered the world's youngest billionare. The movie "The Social Netwok" provides a portrait of me after working with the development of Facebook.

http://newsroom.fb.com/media-gallery/executives/mark-zuckerberg/

Click here to watch the trailer!

Click here to read about the movie!