Success throught a foreing language.

In our 21^st century with its tremendous technological and cultural progress everyone tries to find their own places and to be a success. And there’s no doubt that today knowing at least one foreign language opens many doors and helps to get on in life.

A foreign language is a vital key to benefit professionally and it gives you a lot of opportunities and chances that can increase the communication and negotiation potential of any business situation. For instance, the process of learning a foreign language flexes your creative muscle. Your long-term memory gets a good work-out. Moreover, you feel more confident when communicating, because your interpersonal skills will grow. It’s a great way to demonstrate your sensitivity to the diversity in our world’s population.

Knowledge of any foreign language gives you a good opportunity of getting a well-paid and rather prestigious job. Practice shows that employees often have technical and managerial abilities but lack the necessary foreign language skills. So in order to have a competitive edge you should have at least one foreign language under your belt for the employers to give preference to you.

I also believe that any foreign language widens your horizons and liberalizes your outlook. While travelling, you’re able to meet new people, get acquainted with their customs and traditions. And this, in its turn, makes you more broad-minded, educated and build up your confidence and self-esteem.

Steering clear of unnecessary information, listening to interactive cassettes, watching foreign films and reading books in the original will help you to converse easier and succeed in learning.

I’m convinced that knowing a foreign language will help you to stay current with global changes, land your dream-job.

Variants of the English language.

English has been an international language for only 50 years. Geographically it’s the most widespread language on Earth. It’s the language of business, technology, sport and aviation. But there is a great number of dialects and accents of this language. A dialect is a variety of language spoken in one part of a country which is different from other forms of the same language. And an accent is a particular way of speaking, connected with the country, area, social class, background, etc.

The most famous varieties of English is American and British English. It isn’t only the question of accents, spelling and vocabulary are different too. Words like “colour” and “honour” are spelt without the “u” in the United States. While the British have kept the original spellings of many foreign words now used in the English language, Americans have made a point of simplifying spellings and often change them in ways that seen curious to their conservative cousins. In some cases the British seem more modern in their use of English that the Americans – American English dates back to the language of the Pilgrim Fathers.

Some people would say that the differences are getting fewer. Now “language” we call Transatlantic English is helping to bridge the gap between two countries. It’s a mixture of British and American characteristics in accent and vocabulary, invented by the increasing number of tourists and businessmen who cross the Atlantic frequently.

But these are differences in language in 2 countries. There is a variety of dialects within one country: Cockney, queen’s English, BBC English, Scouse, Brummie, Glaswegian accent, upper-class accent, welsh accent, etc. Though it isn’t always easy to distinguish between people from different parts of Britain. That’s because British people move about the country more than they used to. More people settle in London and Southern regions. The North still has a character of its own and Southerners who settle in the North usually take on the Northern way of life. Their children soon pick up the accent form their school friends.

Northern accent is characterized by pronouncing [u] in words mother, much, done. [a:] in dance, chance.

Cockney have a pronunciation, accent and vocabulary unlike any other dialect. Cockneys live in the East of London and there is a legend about them. One who was born within the sounds of Bow Bells. There are some peculiar features of Cockney accent: [ei] becomes [ai]The Queen’s English is spoken by younger royalties, their language is posh, plumy, overripe.

Standard English is taught at schools and regarded to be right.

English is the national language in many other countries, and India is among them. (Hindish.)

Increasing number of English words are creeping into different language as the influence of American culture. But in some countries governments try to keep their language pure like it is in France. 127 popular English words were banned. English is one of the richest languages in world concerning its dialects and different accents. The differences between them can lead to misunderstanding. Hunting for a job becomes more difficult for those who doesn’t speak not PR. But many people think that we should change our attitude to the accent, not judging people at the same time, because variety is the spice of life.

 

Leaders and leadership.

Almost everyone today wants to become a leader. Leadership is an inseparable item of our fast-moving world; the world of high technology, of international business, fast-growing economy, international tourism. LEADER – is a person who guides or directs a group of people and who makes the most important decisions. In other words it’s a person who stays under the leadership of others. I suggest that everyone, to some degree, wears the hat of a leader, even if it is self-leadership (which, to my point of view, is the most important leadership of all).

Another question is “What qualities should the real leader possess?”

He must be:

1. Self Starter - Leaders are made, not found.

2. Ability to see the big picture - vision.

3. Selector of good people - People are the most important asset.

4. Trainer of people - Motivator - Build a team.

5. Good communicator - Good listener.

6. Risk taker.

7. High energy level - hard work is the only career plan.

8. Sense of Humor - Doesn't take himself/herself too seriously.

9. Strategic thinker.

So, the first and most important step for a leader is the decision to become a leader. At some point in time, leaders decide that they want to provide others with vision direct the course of future events and inspire others to success, they want toinstill (внушить) in others a hope and belief that they can create change for the better. They want to bring out in people their best talents.

In conclusion I would like to say that leadership is the ability to work hard and get real results, to set goals and obtain them. I think that leadership is a great responsibility, rather than a privilege.

 

Modern family values.

A lot of things in this world can change us but we start & end with the family. It’s the corner stone of our society. More than any other force, it shapes our attitudes, our hopes, our ambitions & and our values. the family is definitely a powerful institution.

Few can doubt that our modern family unit is in a state of crisis. Psychologists & sociologists all over the world calling for a return to traditional family values, which naturally a thing of a past. When I thing about a typical traditional family, I imagine an extended family with a great number of children, which is characterized by fixed gender roles. The father is the only bread-winner (so it’s male-dominated) while the mother’s duty is to take care of children & keep the house. This family is noted for stability, devotion & even self-denial, high moral standards.

In comparison with a traditional family, a modern family is associated with a nuclear family. Besides, gender roles isn’t fixed anymore. Usually both parents work, thus they don’t spend much time with their children. This actually leads to a great number of “latch-key children”, who constantly left at home without required parental care. Modern families faced with the problem of frequent divorces. Parents can split up easily just because they lack understanding & tolerance. However, those who really suffer in this case are children. It’s a deep emotional trauma for them. What is more, we can see such deviations as homosexual marriages, group marriages, communal living arrangements & swingers’ group.In my view, it’s important to strengthen traditional families. It’s necessary to put the traditional family into the center of social policy.

 

Single-parent families.

To my mind everything has its beginning in the family. It's the family that should give you support and stability. It's a place where one should be able to find understanding. And it's parents, who are responsible for their child, as we come into this world absolutely helpless and we need support and care from the very first minute of our life. No doubt it's not an easy task to bring up a child, to give him a rounded upbringing, but it's twice as difficult to do it, when one is a single parent. Some think that a single parent can't bring up children as well as a couple. A child is considered to feel better off in a two-parent family where he is treated fairly, gets a rounded upbringing and proper discipline. Alongside with this there may exist the following problem: sometimes lack of affordable childcare keeps single parents in the poverty trap, and in a two-parent family a child can feel financial security. Besides, a child in a single-parent family is considered to miss out parent's attention and care. And on the whole many people thought that kids go off the track more often than children from a full family, to be influenced into short crime stuff, to be on drugs, to commit a crime....

But lots of people, especially single parents and children from a single-parent family, can argue about it. They say that all sorts of things can make kids go astray - it depends on the quality of child's home environment, not on how many parents a child has. There are people who have been brought up by a single parent and they are doing really well. Children in a single-parent family have more freedom, maybe they learn, to be much more independent. Besides sometimes it's even better to stay with one parent only, for example in the case when children witness lots of rows and fights between Mum and Dad. Actually I also stick to the opinion, that one parent CAN be a success in the upbringing of a child if creates a favorable environment and atmosphere. The last thing I'd-like to say is that anyway single-parent families should be supported by the government; they usually need someone to back them up. And there is no doubt that a parent is the one who is responsible for bringing up children and he deserves a pat on the back.

 

Adoption of children.

Adoption of children is a very tricky question for many people. It’s difficult to say why some people go though long procedures and finally have their adopted child and some people can’t even think about adopting a child.

Some of them just can’t have kids because of health troubles. There are people whose motivation to adopt isn't because they can't have kids. These are the people whose children are in their teens or have left home, or if they have young children they realize they have a lot to give a child with special needs. But everyone knows that it is not easy at all to adopt a child.

Only seven of up to 10,000 children in Britain awaiting adoption every year. Despite these flexible rules many children still stay in care and a large number of desperate couples search for a child abroad.

But what is the cut off point for suitable parents? You can adopt if you are over 21, in good health and have the energy to care for children. Ideal adopters should be from the same ethnic background as the child. It doesn't matter whether you are single, married or living together. Besides you can adopt whether you own your own home or are renting accommodation.

Unfortunately most couples who think of adoption automatically hope for a young baby. Finding prospective parents willing to take on an older child has always been harder. And, unfortunately, it is often the most needy children who are not adopted: those who have special needs, the abused, and the neglected. And for them the hopes are even bleaker. So, if one wants to adopt, he should go through an approved agency. Then your suitability to be a parent will be assessed. Then medical, family and police checks will be carried out on you If you are approved for adoption you'll have to live with this child for 13 weeks. When the adoption order has been passed in court, the child or children will legally become yours.

 

Ageism

There is no doubt that our society is highly competitive. Modern pace of life is tremendously fast and requires a person to be in good physical and spiritual health. If you don't want to be an outsider, you'll have to keep up with others.

There have always been stereotypes about old people. nowadays they are no longer passive victims but they can go on safari or climbing mountains, complete Open University degrees.

On the one hand the new image seem refreshing and liberating. The "young old" are lithe and sizzling at the age when our foremothers were spent and sagging. But on the other hand, this image of the "young old" is only a new stereotype. Ageing has become a social crime. Those who had emotionally harder lives, who were widowed young or brought up kids alone, those whose genetic inheritance didn't include elastic skin, whose faces are mapped with past exertions don't look like these "young old". But they shouldn't be punished for it. Just as we like our disabled people smiling and exceptional so we want the oldies that have bags of energy, who've never felt better, who are endlessly self regenerating and "amazing for their age" not those who merely show it. We have reached such a pitch that instead of admiring and learning from those who feel they've had enough and are ready to die, we're forever trying to jolly them up and yank them back to life.

But perhaps we shouldn't be hard on the new stereotype of ageing-- it is only a response to the previous one. When everyone was portraying old people in a negative way, one antidote was to reverse the image, deny ageing, and remark the old as glamorous and athletic.

Finally, I'd like to say that society should respect and accept any personal choice, it should help old people to retain their vitality and develop their creativity as long as they want. In my opinion the statement “You are only as old as you feel” is quite true. But these attempts to look younger by any price are really frightening for me. I think that a person shouldn’t be in conflict with his age, because the process of getting older is inevitable.

 

Problems in the family.

In fact, when your children become teenagers it is really difficult to keep everything in order, to contact with them and not to go mad. That’s why there are special courses where parents are about to study the worst years of their children's lives.

Why do they spend their time at such classes? As one mother put it: "We've come because we don't want anything drastic to go wrong. I want to know that if a problem arises, I can deal with it.” Caring for teens demands special tactics. For some it is an innate skill, but others struggle tremendously. Their young ones are treading two paths — being children and young adults. They switch from one to the other and that is one of the things that makes it so difficult for parents. The course runs once a week for a month and is crucially aimed at parents whose children are aged 11 and 12: pre-teen. Start now, is the central message, and problems will be easier later. The rules are straightforward. It’s known that explosions occur when lifestyles drive early wedges between parents and their offspring. You remove those wedges by building confidence in your child, by learning to talk to them properly, and by defusing individual conflicts in an ordered, unemotional style. Easier said than done, of course, and the trouble with teaching parents to suck eggs is that it takes tact. So a major emphasis is on prompting students themselves to share their own solutions to individual flashpoints. For instance, how on earth do you manage to talk to your child when most evenings they are out rigorously improving themselves at drama, music, sports? One mother had come up with a neat solution: she had arranged for her three children to do their homework together around the dining-room table so that she could chat to them while cooking in the kitchen. Another mother (three-quarters of those who turned up were women) had stopped sending her two daughters to bed at the same time. With a year's difference in their ages she had an excuse to spread bedtime so that she could read each their own story instead of sharing the moment. A father said he had learnt to put his newspaper down when his daughter started chattering, explaining privately: «She just doesn't stop talking, and when I came here last week and they wrote up the subject heading: "How To Stop Your Child Talking To You" I thought: yes, I want that. But it was ironic. It was about the way we stop children communicating. It made me think."

Families facing individual conflicts — dirty rooms, late homecomings — were urged to adopt a six-point problem solving process to eliminate the utterly impossible and arrive at a compromise. The classes help parents and teachers to team up at a difficult stage, and there is a spin-off benefit: sitting in a classroom makes parents more comfortable about coming back at other times to discuss their child's general education.

In my opinion it’s really amazing when people understand that they need help and they want to get it from qualified people. It isn’t so dreadful to learn how to bring up your children because it influences your relationships and probably the future of your child.

Look deeper at a person.

We all know that appearances are really deceptive and it is better not to judge people only according to the way they look. But, however when we meet people for the first time we generally pay attention at their appearance, clothes and face at first. And in fact it is quite right, because we can learn some information about the person based on his physical appearance and that can help us to understand this very person better in future. Probably that’s why it becomes more and more popular to learn and analyze peoples’ faces. There is even a science physiognomy (face reading) that is to say the art of judging human character by facial features.This science can be really useful. Physiognomy isused in many ways today. Businesses use them to assist in hiring the right people for the right position and to do team building. Casting Directors use Face Readers to match the part with someone who would appropriately fit the character. Authors do the same with the characters in their stories. In fact this science takes into consideration everything: 'body language', Posture, Facial Shape ( People with round faces are emotional. They are known to be sensitive and caring. people with Square shaped faces are thought to have an intelligent, analytical and decisive mind. The face sharp is associated with an aggressive and dominating nature), Eyes ( The eyes are said to be the windows of the soul, your eyes reveal how open you are to life and experiences), lips (attest to your sensuality, communication, love & affection and how you express yourself Narrow lips: Unemotional).

This science can be used in different case and there was an experiment when face readers tried to discover the inner world of Mona Lisa, who is really famous with her enigmatic, sinister and slightly crooked smile, that suggest that she often told lies. Her distinct glint in the eyes attests to her fun-loving nature and good sense of humour. She was a spendthrift because of her nostrils. She was also a fickle and unreliable friend, because of the perfectly rounded hairline. And so on. All these hypotheses in fact can not be proved, because nobody knows who this woman was. But in fact it is really difficult to decide whether a genius is one who is touched by the divine finger or his prodigies is the result of gruelling ['gruəlɪŋ] periods of training. In fact it is highly possible that geniuses are born, not made, but at the same time the development of their abilities greatly depend on the style of parental behaviour, for ex. simulative and supportive behaviour can be really important, because parents can give their children a head start in the increasing competition for growing up into successful adults.

The British press.

British people watch a lot of television, but, nevertheless they R the world’s third biggest newspaper buyers.

Newspaper publication is dominated by national press, which is an indication of comparative weakness of regional identity in Britain. Most local papers do not appear on Sundays, so on that day the dominance of the national press is absolute. The ‘Sunday papers’ R so-called because it is the only day on which they appear. Some of them R sisters of daily ones. The Sunday papers sell slightly more copies than the national dailies & R thicker. Papers R usually delivered in the morning by a teenager, & it is called the morning ‘paper round’.

Each of the national press can be characterized as belonging to one of the two distinct categories. The ‘quality papers’, or ‘broadsheet’ cater for the better educated readers while the ‘popular papers’, or ‘tabloids’ sell to a much larger readership. Broadsheet R twice as large as tabloids, all the articles R written in a formal & complicated style, & tabloids, just on the contrary, R characterized to have simple & informal style. Broadsheets R strong on politics, economics, serious news, while tabloids appeal to those who like reading human-interesting stories, sex & scandal. Broadsheets also devote some place for human-interested stories to attract more readers. Both ‘quality papers’ & ‘popular papers’ devote equal amounts of attention to sport. The difference between them is in the treatment of the topics they cover. Tabloids R notable for having more pictures, less print, lots of photos & all headlines R big & R in bold type. Broadsheets R ‘The Times’, ‘The Guardian’, ‘The Daily Telegraph’, ‘The Independent’, ‘The Observer’, ‘The Financial Times’, & tabloids R ‘The News of the World’, ‘The Sun’, ‘The Mirror’, ‘The Star’.

Although different papers have different political outlooks. The British press is controlled by a rather small number of extremely large multinational companies. That’s why the British press is renowned for its freedom from interference from government. It is so powerful that it can be referred to as ‘the forth estate’.

Unfortunately, tabloids often interfere in people’s private lives & that’s why the Press Complaints Commission was organized to deal with complaints regarding invasions of privacy.

 

Radio in GB.

Though the BBC might be said to be “the mother of information services”, the radio remains absolutely at the core of GB national life and there are still many people who are forcefully and energetically passionate about it.

Some people deem that making radio is easy because it is not as technically difficult as TV. I can’t concur with it. As any other, may I say, “organization”, radio requires complete dedication and ability to rise to the challenge. Radio reporters are an amalgam of a person who is a desk-bound and of one who thinks on feet and is able to broadcast from the spot and is eager to try his hand at everything.

All in all there are several different types of radio stations: state, independent, private and illegal or pirate stations. Speaking about BBC radio, I should say that there are 5 national radio stations. For instance, Radio 1 is devoted almost entirely to pop music; its birth was a signal that popular youth culture could no longer be ignored by the country’s established institutions. On the contrary to Radio 1, Radio 2 broadcasts mainly light music and chat shows. If you want to listen to classical music, you are to tune into Radio 3. A variety of programmes from plays to comedy shows to consumer advice programmes and in depth news coverage is presented on Radio 4. Radio 5 is largely given over to sports coverage and news. While Radio 1 and 2 seem reasonably stable, Radio 3 and 4 are challenging and gradually disappearing as they have problems with audience expectations.

In spite of frequent raids by the department of trade and industry, pirate or illegal stations still do not pay copyright levies and still manage to put out a professional-sounding 24-hour show. They work for the love of it and build up a following of young people who can’t get what they want from the legal stations and tune into a pirate one, dealing with risqué material.

So variety is the spice of our life, and I suppose that people who deal with radio and the media in general and prepare whizz-bang news for us invoke respect.

 

TV in GB.

Nowadays people can’t do without television & radio, because they R creeping into different spheres of people’s life. It’s common knowledge that the public gets most of the information about events & current pace of life from mass-media. Television brings the world to our room.

Television is the most significant form of broadcasting in Britain. Britain TV’s independence from the government interference. The BBC is the matter of information services. It has the reputation for being accurate & impartial in news broadcasting. The basic principles of broadcasting that the BBC adheres R: independency, decency, unity, creativity, respect, objectivity, impartiality.

The BBC depends neither on advertising nor on the government for its income. It derives financing from license fee which everybody who uses a television has to pay. However the government decides how much this fee is going to be. Its director general has the right to veto any BBC programme before it has been transmitted & even to take away the BBC’s license to broadcast. The BBC also runs 5 national radio stations. Today, the BBC World Service broadcasts around the globe in English and in several other languages.

There’s no advertising on the BBC, but Independent Television (ITV) gets its money from advertising. It consists of a number of private owned companies, each of which is responsible for programming in different parts of the country. Both BBC1 and ITV show a wide variety of programmes. They R in constant competition with each other to attract the largest audience. They try to do the same type of programme better, but not broadcast a more popular one. This is known as the ratings war. These channels broadcast a relaxed style of news magazine with more formal news summaries, a mixture of popular discussion programmes, soap operas, dramas, comedies, films & various programmes of light entertainment & general interest.

BBC2 & Channel4 act as the main promoters of learning & culture. Both have been successful in presenting programmes on serious & weighty topics which R nevertheless attractive to quite large audience. Channel5 is a commercial one. Its emphasis is on the entertainment. However it makes all other types of programming too.

There is also a Welsh language channel for viewers in Welsh.

 

The Open University.

Since its founding in 1969, the university has opened up educational opportunities for millions students, has inspired and helped similar distance education institutions in many countries and won a worldwide reputation for its pioneering methods of distance education.

The OU, originally referred to as the University of Air, from the outset was open to all – there are no entry qualifications for the undergraduate programme, except the minimum age of 18. It is offered a second chance to thousands of people who had not had the opportunity to go on to higher education in the past. For them part-time study based at home opened a whole world of learning. It was particularly important in a country with the smallest percentage of students in higher education in Europe.

The university says that women looking after a family at home have been the main beneficiaries of the OU’s openness. Despite of the fact that the OU was accused of being the university catering mainly for bored housewives, today a half of all OU students are woman and many use it as a part of a planned career break.

The flexibility of OU study means that full time workers can retain or gain extra qualifications at the same time. Even if we consider the economic side, it is an insurance against the ebb and flow of the job market. The university caters for many students by correspondence tuition, backed up by TV programmes and face-to-face tutorials. Since the beginning the OU has been in partnership with BBC.

OU students are a dedicated brunch as a study requires 10-15 hours a week for ten months a year and it usually takes 6 years to complete a first degree. In addition it is not cheap: the cost of a degree works out 2000 pounds. Actually it offers not only degree courses, but it has a huge professional and vocational programme.

 

Children and TV.

As a matter of fact, children spend a lot of time watching TV. Television is even more pervasive in a child's world than school, so that is called the "first curriculum". That's why psychologists, authorities and certainly parents are deeply concerned about this matter and try to analyze TV's impact on children. Those who are against TV give a lot of proof for its disastrous impact on children. First, watching TV over a long span n seriously damages children's ability to think clearly. It shortens the attention span and erodes their linguistic power. The reason for it is quite clear: television is essentially a visual medium. It shows pictures moving very rapidly. Consequently, TV can never teach what a medium like a book can teach. Actually, children respond emotionally to what is shown. Thus, children who watch TV excessively find it difficult to analyze and express their ideas verbally.

Besides, not only does TV-abuse hurt children's academic performance and stunt their social development, but it also has a disastrous impact on their health. Sitting hourly in one and the same pose provokes backache, headache.

Moreover, it opens up all the society's secrets and taboos, thus erasing the dividing line between childhood and adulthood.

However, there are people who claim that we shouldn't blame TV for all the deadly sins, as it is families, school that shape children's behavior. First and foremost, parents shouldn't neglect their children, they shouldn't off- load their responsibility. Certainly it is easier to plonk your child down in front of a TV-set and have some peace and quiet.

I'm deeply convinced, that children won't fall prey to the negative influence of TV if their parents listen to them, read to them. Some videos arise compassion and allow a child to flirt with fear. Taken slowly, however, they can help to master fear and impart life-saving lessons. There are those parents who think it wrong to introduce a child to any concept of danger or threat. Indeed it is a delicate balance between needlessly scaring a child and making him or her streetwise.

Used sensibly TV can expand knowledge and understanding of the world around us and provide great enjoyment as well.