20130209 Chinese New Year BBQ.
At a Chinese New Year barbecue a few friends were talking about their career plans. They are all teachers at a ‘prestigious international school’ and have impressive credentials in regards to the places they have worked and their long and continuing education. The fact that this is known is part of the social customs of Americans. While most other civilised societies consider the amount of money earned in a year to be a matter only discussed with an accountant, a solicitor while making a will and maybe your closest friend, the Americans seem to ask this question as way of quickly establishing a pecking order among colleagues.
One particularly bright chap regaled the assembled merry-makers with tales of working for and with such great minds as Jacob Goldman and for companies that have brought amazing and innovative products and inventions such as ‘the wheel’, double-sided sticky tape and the photocopy machine. In an effort to counter his like-minded science teacher and best friend, another teacher told his story of his involvement with the creation of the Internet while studying at Berkley and the life-saving research into the American obsession with ridding the world of the scourge of the remote probability of eating an egg contaminated with salmonella.
Sitting around a fire, just like our early ancestors, holding a piece of dead animal on a stick in the glowing embers it became apparent that as a civilisation, in terms of social customs, we have not progressed that far.
After all was said about their education, their research into lasers, radiation and optical physics, the brightest teacher of them all, the one who had worked for xerox and who currently held 4 masters degrees in physics and education, considered his primitive meal slowly roasting on the end of a stick by the heat of a open fire and asked a simple question: “How can you tell when chicken is cooked?”
References:
Note:
The term “prestigious international school” appeared on the Wikipedia entry with the conspicuous footnote of “citation needed” and had since been changed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_International_School
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/22/business/jacob-e-goldman-founder-of-xerox-lab-dies-at-90.html?_r=0
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/3M-Defense-US/Defense/Products/Air/~/3M-Double-Coated-Urethane-Foam-Tape-4026-Natural-1-in-x-1-in-1-16-in-1000-Squares-per-pack-1-per-case?N=4294649436+5420242&Nr=AND(hrcy_id%3AGSC2NWK1YZgs_RPS963T64K_N2RL3FHWVK_GPD0K8BC31gv)&rt=d
Showing posts with label Hong Kong. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hong Kong. Show all posts
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Friday, December 7, 2012
Bridge TEFL Module 6.
20121207 Teaching English as a Foreign Language.
Bridge TEFL. Module 6.
Hello good people and fellow teachers of a language other than English.
There are many aspects to language: humour, seriousness, soliloquy, sarcasm, just to name a few. A comedian once quipped that English is impossible to learn, it must be memorised.
So once again, I pretend to be sincere while being disingenuous to the good people at Bridge TEFL for their wonderful charade of insincerity.
As the good people at Bridge TEFL said in the final lessons: Please compare your answer to this example and provide your own assessment.
=================================
o Lexis
o Phonics
o Function
Date Level
– Primary 1 (age 6 – 8) Duration – 1 hour.
What is the Weather Like Today?
This lesson is typical for
level one to three (ages 6 to 8) and introduces concepts about the weather,
days of the week and temperature. It can
be used as a lead-in for calendar, counting, use of numbers, what clothes to
wear. Grammar subjects such as present
and future can be explored.
Lesson type and subject:
·
Vocabulary and Grammar.
Materials:
Recording of the weather report for the week. MP3 or CD. Suitable means to play recording.
Worksheets with days of the week.
PowerPoint or flash cards with new vocabulary words and meanings.
Lesson Objectives:
Teaching the subjective descriptions of
weather: sunny, raining, cloudy and fine.
Teaching the quantative measurement of
temperature.
Assumptions:
Students will be familiar with the General Reading text regarding
weather.
Students will be familiar with the order of the days of the week.
Anticipated Problems and Solutions:
Problem: - RSVP – Rhythm,
Speed, Volume and Pitch.
Solution: - The rate of speech on the recording will be slower than
normal radio presenters. A rate of 0.8
on media player is usually sufficient.
Problem: - Initially
overwhelmed by information.
Solution: - Reassure the students that the recording will be played
several times.
Problem: - Pronunciation of
Sunny vs Sunday.
Solution: - One on one practice with the problem students.
Presentation.
Duration: 10 minutes
Activity.
Introduce the new vocabulary: Sunny, Fine, Cloudy,
Raining and Typhoon.
Introduce the weather by eliciting a response “What is
the weather like today?
Write a few of the different ways that this question
is asked in English:
·
How’s the weather.
·
Is it a nice day outside?
·
What is the weather like where
you are?
The weather report is on the radio after the news
every hour. Draw a picture of a radio on
the board.
Show the Hong Kong weather web site as an authentic
example of how to check the weather.
The website has a simple chart showing the day of the
week and a symbol to represent the forecast.
Elicit a response from the class asking:
- what will the weather be like on a random sample of days.
- if they have seen the weather website.
- if their parents use the website.
- if they used the website to see what the weather will be like for an important event in the next week e.g. the school picnic or sports day.
Practice.
Duration: 20
minutes.
Distribute the worksheets with a personal greeting.
Referring to the worksheet, elicit a response
regarding the weather on Sunday.
Elicit a response – “What will the weather be like on
Monday?”
Elicit a response – what will the weather be like on Tuesday? We don’t know!. How can we find out?.
Lets listen to the weather report on the radio.
Production.
Duration: 30 minutes.
Reassure the students that the weather report will be
played a few times and that there is no need to hurry.
Start the recording that has 15 seconds of quiet time
– during the 15 seconds, pretend to tune the picture of the radio to the news
station.
After the first sentence, pause and elicit a response
– can you hear?, is it too fast? – adjust if needed.
Replay the recording from the start and elicit a
response from a random student – what will the weather be like on Thursday?,
ask another student – “Is that correct?”
If there is an incorrect answer or it the answer is
unknown – then elicit a response asking how they could find out. Wait for an answer like – listen to the
weather report and then use this prompt to replay the recording. Replay the recording as needed or often as
time permits.
Assessment and final discussion.
Elicit a response from the class for a self correction
exercise.
See each student personally and elicit a response for
a few of the entries and reward them with a stamp on their worksheet.
Follow up lesson:
What clothes do I wear today?
Use the weather information on the worksheets to prompt
for a discussion about what clothes the students would wear according to the
weather.
Elicit a response to the class on what will you wear
on Wednesday?
Why would you wear that?
What is the weather like today.
Listen to the report to hear what will it be
like for the week.
Listen for - Sunny, Fine, Cloudy, Raining
and Typhoon 1.
|
Day
|
Temperature
|
Weather
|
|
Sunday
|
26° C
|
Cloudy
|
|
Monday
|
28° C
|
|
|
Tuesday
|
|
|
|
Wednesday
|
|
|
|
Thursday
|
|
|
|
Friday
|
|
|
|
Saturday
|
|
|
Weather report.
Script:
- Now here is
the weather report for this week:
- Sunday,
the temperature will be 26 degrees and it will be cloudy.
- On
Monday, it will be 28 degrees and sunny.
- Tuesday,
the temperature will be 25 degrees and it will be cloudy.
- Wednesday,
the temperature will be 23 degrees and it will be rainy.
- Thursday,
it will be rainy and the temperature will be 22 degrees.
- Friday,
the temperature will be 26 degrees and there will be a typhoon level one.
- Saturday,
the temperature will be 27 degrees and it will be fine.
==============
Instructor's comments:
Listening:
Very nice work. Your choice of activities demonstrates your ability to handle the unique demands of teaching the skill of listening. The recording you´ve chosen, the activities you´ve created, and the problems you´ve anticipated show your experience with this level of student and your skill at creating appropriate listening lessons for them. Your warm-up ensures that students will be prepared for the listening and your additional listening tasks are appropriate for them. It was particularly nice to see that you include a follow-up activity that gives students the chance to reinforce new language in an interesting way.
Reading:
Well done! Your selection of material and activities shows a sensitivity to your students´ levels and interests as well as an understanding of how to create an excellent reading lesson. Your lesson flows well from introduction to gist questions to more detailed questions. It was particularly nice to see your class ending with an activity getting the students to use their new language in a practical, personal way that involves other skills.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
0809241930 Typhoon Day
One of the amazing differences between Australia and the Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China are the spontaneous public holidays brought on by the weather. These days are locally called T8 days, which roughly translated means “Typhoon 8 day”. The Chinese have such a sincere regard for the safety of their fellow humans that the Hong Kong Observatory will call a holiday so that no one is at risk of injury during a storm. The risk of personal injury increases significantly during a typhoon and this fact is well known and documented so yesterday afternoon the Hong Kong Observatory called a T8 typhoon warning at six o’clock at night and as a result, this morning, everyone had a day off to go fishing.
Hugo and I went to the waterfront, that is, we went to the edge of the pier which is just outside our house to watch the waves come in. The water of the usually peaceful Stanley Bay was churned into an earthy brown colour and we sat and watched the waves roll and were memorized by the rhythm and movement. We noticed that the waves were breaking far out into the bay. The size of the waves was such that anyone who had travelled a fair distance to Surfers Paradise for a leisurely swim and a half-serious body surf would probably frown and hope that the surf would improve later with the
incoming tide and now would be a good time to light the barbecue and have a decent lunch and a game of cricket while waiting, however, for a sheltered cove in Hong Kong the size and power of the waves was causing a minor public spectacle and attracting a curious crowd.
Hugo and I watched a few waves come in and noticed one wave in particular that could be described as a hill of water slowly coming towards us. This wave was clearly much bigger than the other waves around it, it was nicely proportioned and rounded with undulating curves. If it really was a hill and not a wave, it would have been a
dainty little hill, like the hill on which Charlie Brown and Linus laid down on, flat on their backs, and looked at the clouds. It made such a pleasant sight and moved silently and gracefully towards us when all of a sudden, without changing its character at all, it became menacing. I took a step back from the edge and asked Hugo in a calm voice that was intended not to convey, but, due to the tone of my voice had completely the opposite effect, panic. “ Hugo, do you feel a sense of impending doom?” The innocence of his answer reflected how secure he must have felt standing behind a solid granite wall on a concrete platform elevated a few 
meters above the water level – “No” he said, indicating that he was unaware of the afore mentioned doom. There was an audible thud as the weight of the wave heaved itself against the barrier wall. We were instantly surrounded by a blast of water as the energy of the wave was dissipated into spray. We saw white, we felt wet. One second later we were soaked, standing in the aftermath, dripping wet and laughing. The wave hit with such force that it dislodged some of the masonry bricks. The wave, the sea, nature herself simply demonstrated her power by disregarding all man-made barriers and the wave barged its way out of its bounds and onto what was previously known as dry land. We, and a nearby family, burst out laughing at the spectacle.
Hugo and I went to the waterfront, that is, we went to the edge of the pier which is just outside our house to watch the waves come in. The water of the usually peaceful Stanley Bay was churned into an earthy brown colour and we sat and watched the waves roll and were memorized by the rhythm and movement. We noticed that the waves were breaking far out into the bay. The size of the waves was such that anyone who had travelled a fair distance to Surfers Paradise for a leisurely swim and a half-serious body surf would probably frown and hope that the surf would improve later with the
incoming tide and now would be a good time to light the barbecue and have a decent lunch and a game of cricket while waiting, however, for a sheltered cove in Hong Kong the size and power of the waves was causing a minor public spectacle and attracting a curious crowd. Hugo and I watched a few waves come in and noticed one wave in particular that could be described as a hill of water slowly coming towards us. This wave was clearly much bigger than the other waves around it, it was nicely proportioned and rounded with undulating curves. If it really was a hill and not a wave, it would have been a
dainty little hill, like the hill on which Charlie Brown and Linus laid down on, flat on their backs, and looked at the clouds. It made such a pleasant sight and moved silently and gracefully towards us when all of a sudden, without changing its character at all, it became menacing. I took a step back from the edge and asked Hugo in a calm voice that was intended not to convey, but, due to the tone of my voice had completely the opposite effect, panic. “ Hugo, do you feel a sense of impending doom?” The innocence of his answer reflected how secure he must have felt standing behind a solid granite wall on a concrete platform elevated a few 
meters above the water level – “No” he said, indicating that he was unaware of the afore mentioned doom. There was an audible thud as the weight of the wave heaved itself against the barrier wall. We were instantly surrounded by a blast of water as the energy of the wave was dissipated into spray. We saw white, we felt wet. One second later we were soaked, standing in the aftermath, dripping wet and laughing. The wave hit with such force that it dislodged some of the masonry bricks. The wave, the sea, nature herself simply demonstrated her power by disregarding all man-made barriers and the wave barged its way out of its bounds and onto what was previously known as dry land. We, and a nearby family, burst out laughing at the spectacle.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
0807271400 Mission to the Trade Commission.
0807271400 Mission to the Trade Commission.
My friend Alvan Ormsby is an interesting chap. He works as a computer programmer for a company called Meridian Systems that writes software for emergency services. Seeing as he is in Hong Kong on holiday, he decided to arrange a meeting with the good people at the Hong Kong office of Trade Queensland to see what was needed to expand into China. I tagged along to show him where the office is located and seeing that I had nothing planned I thought that I might be able to help by taking some notes during the meeting. That seemed to be the extent of my role – show Alvan where to go and then keep quiet. This is his project and his job – just don’t stuff anything up. I have been to meetings with Ericsson and Alcatel where contracts, livelihoods and dollar values using the sort of numbers common to astronomers were at stake, but this was different, these people are my friends, I actually care about them.
The meeting was with Angela To, the Deputy Commissioner for Trade Queensland and Mandy Shing, the Business Development Manager. The office overlooked the Hong Kong harbour and was adorned with pictures of the trade commissioner with famous people from Queensland industries and past, present and I dare say future Premiers of Queensland.
We were not kept waiting long before introductions were over and the Deputy Commissioner went straight to the point. Why were we there, what did we want and how can we show her exactly what it is that we are doing. She mentioned that she had just arrived from Queensland that morning, so she must have left Brisbane at midnight and been on a late night flight. She was in no mood to be stuffed around by a bunch of amateurs. Her time was clearly precious. I was notably quiet during the exchange of business cards and this was explained that mine were not ready yet.
“What is the scope of the product, who are your current clients, what customer references do you have?” asked the Deputy Commissioner, obviously calling on years of business management experience and expecting an answer in a similar caliber.
It was soon apparent to the Deputy Commissioner and the Business Development Manager that Alvan had done some impressive research into the Hong Kong fire service in preparation for the meeting and he was there for advice on what to do next as part of a wider plan to expand into Asia. He explained how the Hong Kong Fire Service compared to the Queensland Fire Service and that Meridain Systems have been working with the Queensland Fire Service for the last ten years or so. The Deputy Commissioner seemed visibly relaxed when she recognized that Alvan was representing a company that has a real and viable possibility to be as big as Mincom. It was not long before Meridian Systems being mentioned favorably in the same sentences as Mincom, Octopus card and IBM.
Alvan clearly demonstrated his knowledge and passion for the product. He was excited and animated when he explained how this version of the emergency services software was a step up from the automated paper of the first generation. This version uses maps instead of addresses and displays the incident information with animated location cards similar to Monopoly title deeds.
It takes more than a fair bit of effort to pique a woman’s interest in computer programming, but that is exactly what Alvan achieved with his lively and enthusiastic explanation.
“Do you have a working demonstration?” asked the Deputy Commissioner showing more than a little interest. Alvan looked at me and I looked at him – no we didn’t. I noted it down that he needs to make a working demonstration and have it ready by the time China and Hong Kong are no longer distracted by the Olympics.
“Do you have a representative in Hong Kong?”, came the next question – well, once again Alvan looked at me and I looked at him as if to say “Sure I’ll help out where I can” we will discuss the details later.
“What is David’s role?” asked the Deputy Commissioner for Trade Queensland.
“I’m a technician” was my modest reply.
“He has been working for Telstra for 15 years” added Alvan.
“Oh that’s good - It is very important that there is local support.” – came more welcome advice from the Business Development Manager while taking note.
They made a few assumptions about my role because they kept adding to my “job description” as the meeting progressed. I had automatically been included in meetings with the Hong Kong Fire Services and IBM in China. The next part was unexpected – they started to offer money. It seems that a Queensland company can apply for a grant to expand into other parts of the world that are not Queensland. This was the part of the meeting when I started to say “we” when I mentioned Meridian Systems.
The meeting ended with Angela To, the Deputy Commissioner for Trade Queensland and Mandy Shing, the Business Development Manager happily offering, volunteering, actually telling us that they are now be the marketing department in Hong Kong for Meridian Systems.
Alvan left the meeting very happy and excited saying that it was more than he had expected. It was more than I had expected. We went to a nearby restaurant for a strawberry milkshake to collect our thoughts and discuss the future.
My friend Alvan Ormsby is an interesting chap. He works as a computer programmer for a company called Meridian Systems that writes software for emergency services. Seeing as he is in Hong Kong on holiday, he decided to arrange a meeting with the good people at the Hong Kong office of Trade Queensland to see what was needed to expand into China. I tagged along to show him where the office is located and seeing that I had nothing planned I thought that I might be able to help by taking some notes during the meeting. That seemed to be the extent of my role – show Alvan where to go and then keep quiet. This is his project and his job – just don’t stuff anything up. I have been to meetings with Ericsson and Alcatel where contracts, livelihoods and dollar values using the sort of numbers common to astronomers were at stake, but this was different, these people are my friends, I actually care about them.
The meeting was with Angela To, the Deputy Commissioner for Trade Queensland and Mandy Shing, the Business Development Manager. The office overlooked the Hong Kong harbour and was adorned with pictures of the trade commissioner with famous people from Queensland industries and past, present and I dare say future Premiers of Queensland.
We were not kept waiting long before introductions were over and the Deputy Commissioner went straight to the point. Why were we there, what did we want and how can we show her exactly what it is that we are doing. She mentioned that she had just arrived from Queensland that morning, so she must have left Brisbane at midnight and been on a late night flight. She was in no mood to be stuffed around by a bunch of amateurs. Her time was clearly precious. I was notably quiet during the exchange of business cards and this was explained that mine were not ready yet.
“What is the scope of the product, who are your current clients, what customer references do you have?” asked the Deputy Commissioner, obviously calling on years of business management experience and expecting an answer in a similar caliber.
It was soon apparent to the Deputy Commissioner and the Business Development Manager that Alvan had done some impressive research into the Hong Kong fire service in preparation for the meeting and he was there for advice on what to do next as part of a wider plan to expand into Asia. He explained how the Hong Kong Fire Service compared to the Queensland Fire Service and that Meridain Systems have been working with the Queensland Fire Service for the last ten years or so. The Deputy Commissioner seemed visibly relaxed when she recognized that Alvan was representing a company that has a real and viable possibility to be as big as Mincom. It was not long before Meridian Systems being mentioned favorably in the same sentences as Mincom, Octopus card and IBM.
Alvan clearly demonstrated his knowledge and passion for the product. He was excited and animated when he explained how this version of the emergency services software was a step up from the automated paper of the first generation. This version uses maps instead of addresses and displays the incident information with animated location cards similar to Monopoly title deeds.
It takes more than a fair bit of effort to pique a woman’s interest in computer programming, but that is exactly what Alvan achieved with his lively and enthusiastic explanation.
“Do you have a working demonstration?” asked the Deputy Commissioner showing more than a little interest. Alvan looked at me and I looked at him – no we didn’t. I noted it down that he needs to make a working demonstration and have it ready by the time China and Hong Kong are no longer distracted by the Olympics.
“Do you have a representative in Hong Kong?”, came the next question – well, once again Alvan looked at me and I looked at him as if to say “Sure I’ll help out where I can” we will discuss the details later.
“What is David’s role?” asked the Deputy Commissioner for Trade Queensland.
“I’m a technician” was my modest reply.
“He has been working for Telstra for 15 years” added Alvan.
“Oh that’s good - It is very important that there is local support.” – came more welcome advice from the Business Development Manager while taking note.
They made a few assumptions about my role because they kept adding to my “job description” as the meeting progressed. I had automatically been included in meetings with the Hong Kong Fire Services and IBM in China. The next part was unexpected – they started to offer money. It seems that a Queensland company can apply for a grant to expand into other parts of the world that are not Queensland. This was the part of the meeting when I started to say “we” when I mentioned Meridian Systems.
The meeting ended with Angela To, the Deputy Commissioner for Trade Queensland and Mandy Shing, the Business Development Manager happily offering, volunteering, actually telling us that they are now be the marketing department in Hong Kong for Meridian Systems.
Alvan left the meeting very happy and excited saying that it was more than he had expected. It was more than I had expected. We went to a nearby restaurant for a strawberry milkshake to collect our thoughts and discuss the future.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
0702242200
We will pick this up as we go...
070224 - Saturday.
I signed out a car from work and finally cleaned up that mess under the back verandah. Not very exciting so far.
Last night I applied for a job a Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong as a flight simulator technician - what was thinking?! As long as the thing is still under warranty and all I have to do is call Boeing then I should get away with it.
The move to Hong Kong now has a departure date of 25th July 2007. Every other action depends of this date - leaving my job, finding a home for the cat, painting the house, selling the house, selling my motorbike, selling one car, selling everything that does not fit in one suitcase.
It sounds like a relief to be free of all my worldly goods if only for a few days.
070224 - Saturday.
I signed out a car from work and finally cleaned up that mess under the back verandah. Not very exciting so far.
Last night I applied for a job a Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong as a flight simulator technician - what was thinking?! As long as the thing is still under warranty and all I have to do is call Boeing then I should get away with it.
The move to Hong Kong now has a departure date of 25th July 2007. Every other action depends of this date - leaving my job, finding a home for the cat, painting the house, selling the house, selling my motorbike, selling one car, selling everything that does not fit in one suitcase.
It sounds like a relief to be free of all my worldly goods if only for a few days.
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