Level II

Chapter 1
Listening Speaking

IC3 Section

IC3 | IT | TOEFL | Best Answer
Languages
Assessment

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Topic: Identity / Bản sắc

فارسی

سطح ۱ فصل ۱

هویت

 

Guiding Question: Who in the world am I?	Câu hỏi hướng dẫn: Tôi là ai trong thế giới này?
Pregunta de guía: ¿Quién soy yo?	من چه کسی در دنیا هستم؟

 

Skills:

In this chapter you will do these things:

English Language:

Vocabulary: Personality Traits and Characteristics
Vocabulary Strategy: Cooperation and Selectivity
Synonyms
The Verb “Be”: Patterns for Statements in the Present Tense
Contractions
Affirmative and Negative
Yes/No Short Answer
Using Adverb Clauses With Expressions of Cause and Effect
Finding Personality Traits in Signs of the Lunar Calendar and Western Zodiac
Describing Oneself Speaking English with an Emphasis on Personality Traits

Vietnamese Language:

Practice/Review of Tones
Usage Point: Chủ NghĩaTư Bản, and Cộng Sản
Grammar Point: “Nếu” and “thì” to express “if-then” relationships
Speaking about Identity

IC3: Good Friends IT: Blackboard

Taking It Further: Taking It Further Explanation Sketching the Web Foreign Film Series Explanation Best Answers Explanation

Appendix:

Personality Traits in Categories (Adjectives)
Glossary of Personality Traits (Not Your Normal List)

Intercultural Communicative Competence

An American magazine called The Sun asks its readers to write short essays on various topics. In the March, 2007 issue, it published readers’ responses to the topic “Good Friends.” Below you can read three of the entries.

For people in other countries, explain what a good friend is for you. You may use anecdotes and stories to describe your friendships.

Readers Write: Good Friends
From The Sun, March 2007, p. 30

When we were young parents , my husband and I moved in next door to Ma Baker. A widow in her mid-seventies, Ma had raised thirteen children and still scrubbed her laundry on a washboard, pieced together quilts on a treadle sewing machine, and grew her own food.

Eager to start a garden, I called on Ma for expert advice. Following her instructions, I tilled an area to match the size of her large plot, and we spent many hours planting and cultivating our adjoining gardens. Ma’s gardening methods were not exactly scientific. “You can get more beans from a crooked row than a straight one,” she’d say. She worked in the early morning to avoid the heat and the early morning to avoid the heat and often knocked on my door, calling me out to dig potatoes or fight “the vine”: the dreaded creeping Charlie that constantly threatened the fruit of our hard work.

At harvest time I realized I’d planted more than I could ever eat. I was overwhelmed by this bounty. Again, Ma came to the rescue, teaching me to can and “put up” the abundant produce. When I didn’t think I could handle the chore, she came over and said, “We’ll just work side by side.”

Celeste Poole
Carlock , Illinois

I never felt close to my family and demonized them, which made it easier to leave home. When my father tried to tell me family was important, I told him that my friends were my real family.

Bernie was one of my closest friends. We met in college . . . and rode motorcycles together, often talking of how free our lives would be after graduation. One day . . . I crashed my motorcycle, crushing my left leg. The next hour was the longest of my life: I was brought to the hospital in an inflated rubber bag to hold my leg together. Only when my father shoed up at the hospital did I feel safe.

During my two-week hospital stay, Bernie visited me only once. . . I didn’t see him or any of my other friends for the rest of the summer. The non-stop party went on without me while my parents nursed me back to health.

Today my father is dead. I long ago made peace with him and told him that the and my mother were my real family.

Bernie, who’s still my friend, is now a lawyer whose life revolves around banker boxes of insurance-company paperwork. On the pone not long ago, Bernie was voicing his work-related frustration to me when, out of nowhere, he brought up my accident. He asked what had happened because he could not remember.

“Oh, that was a long time ago,” I said. “It’s not important now.”

Recently I visited a cousin I’ve seen only occasionally over the last thirty-five years. When I arrived, she organized a backyard barbecue in my honor. All those family members I’d demonized were there, just as weird as I remembered, but also happy to see me. I was glad to see them too.

Richard D.
Seattle Washington

I’ve known Keith for nearly twenty years . We share a love of art and literature, and once discussed politics, science, and the nature of God. Now a series of strokes has left Keith unable to verbalize his thoughts. He’s reduced to a few phrases such as “Please,” “Love you,” “Thank you,” and “Oh baby.” His frustration is plain to see.

At first I was scared of this new Keith. It was as if the friend I’d known was dead. Eventually I realized that Keith is still himself, and still my friend, despite his limited ability to communicate. To some extent, Keith can carry on a conversation using shrugs, nods, and head shakes. Smiles say a lot.

Several of Keith’s old friends have abandoned him; others talk to him only on rare occasions and speak loudly and slowly when they do. They’d be surprised to learn that Keith’s cognitive abilities—and hearing—are largely intact.

Although I’ve gotten past my initial discomfort with my friend’s diminished state, I know I’m not completely over it. One side of Keith’s body is now withered, his arm and hand drawn into a ball. He could use a massage, I’m sure, but sometimes I can’t bring myself to touch him. Maybe I’m not such a good friend after all.

W.E.C.
Springfield , Illinois

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Taking it Further

Taking It Further Explanation

Near the end of each IC3 chapter, professors or instructors are asked to plan "applied learning" events, interviews, research, or service projects on- or off-campus. "Taking It Further" means that our on-campus, classroom learning are just a first step in broader learning that affects our vocations, professions, and community service.

For instance, throughout our completion of chapter 1, all participating campuses and partners to this IC3 exchange are completing "web profiles" that will be used extensively by members of each pod. This "takes further" the relationship building of pod members. Another example, at the end of chapter 2 (Food and Water Security), a language class using IC3 could link with a biology department to examine "best practices" in protecting a clean watershed. In Vietnam, this could involve the students' applied learning of water security in terms of the health of the Mekong River, upstream and downstream inter-state concerns, and the long-term viability of industries alongside fish and rice farming. Here in Virginia (USA), our students will examine our watershed, which flows into the Shenandoah River and the Chesapeake Bay, and from there the Atlantic Ocean. Or at the end of chapters 6, 7 and 10 (Domestic Economics, Regional Trade, Globalization), a class could interview merchants and vendors of one's village or city to discern their wisdom in making a living in an age of globalization.

There is no single set of learning objectives for the Taking It Further exercises. Hopefully, each participating campus and partner to IC3 can share through pod dialogues your lessons learning through this exercise. There may even be collaborative study, research, or service for certain Taking It Further ventures among IC3 partners.

Sketching a Web :

This lesson within each IC3 chapter presents ways for “communities of learning” to further their inter-cultural experience. First, these lessons open your classroom out onto a much bigger world. Take the learning from in-class exercises and begin to make applications outside of class and off campus. In this way, practice applying your knowledge in real life situations.

Second, these lessons make possible a more three-dimensional relationship with other “communities of learning.” You are linked through an online learning platform with youth in another culture, on another continent, and embedded in a different way of “knowing.” Make the most of this online link and imagine ways in which you can shape and give depth to this relationship.

But there is a critical first step! You must first identify who you are. Do so here through examining the “web” of influences in your own life. Who has shaped you? Who has suggested to you possible directions in life? With whom do you spend your most meaningful time? The initial “Taking It Further” lessons provide steps for your own creation of a web of relations and influences. Use this and the step-by-step web platform to post a three-dimensional picture of your personality and community.

As other “Taking It Further” exercises take you more deeply into your community and links with other “communities of learning” around the world, you are free to go back and modify your posted identity on the IC3 web.

So let us get started! Take out a blank piece of paper. Draw lines from three corners toward the center of page. Imagine that as a spider spins a web, you too have “anchor points” from which you drop threads of experience, learning, received wisdom, environmental influences, and meaningful relationships. Think long and hard about the most significant of these influences in your life. With a pencil (for you will likely be going back and erasing and rewriting a lot), write in words or short phrases that could label these influences. On separate sheets of paper, write and rewrite a paragraph about each of these “anchor points.” In Lesson 2, you will be asked to use this information to post online your “lifelong learning web.” You will be given space to submit five brief entries. Keep this in mind as you write and rewrite your paragraphs.

Set aside your penciled-in “lifelong learning web” of explanatory paragraphs. Talk this exercise over with classmates and instructors.

Foreign Film Series (2004-2008)

Eastern Mennonite University has helped facilitate a foreign film series linking Iranian, Vietnamese, and U.S. campuses over the last four years. This year, we approach the 60 th film screened and discussed online among these youth. New countries have joined the series and dialogue, including Mozambique, India, Tibet, Uganda, Bolivia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Japan.

Students of each culture first select a film that speaks to an important point of their culture. We purchase copies for all participating classes and forward these by courier. Each group then views at roughly the same time each film. A brief post-film intra-cultural discussion precedes comments posted online to the other nodes of the web. Students work in pods of fifteen or so participants representing all parts of the web. After reading the posts within one’s pod, students comment again online as to what they’ve learned from one another’s perspective.

The goal of each film screening is to gain perspective on other cultures and then to dialogue across boundaries. Given the initial partners to this film series, this dialogue has been primarily among youth whose countries have identified “the other” as an enemy – past and present – Vietnam, Iran, and the United States. We link to learn more about one another; we gain some empathy and perhaps transform our knowledge of and relations with others. That is, we seek to grow a new sense of “we” and diminish the existing sense of “they.” If such inter-cultural skills and experiences are critical to the learning objectives of your class, please join this web of viewers and discussants. Link to learn, empathize to transform.

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Information Technology

IT Exercises and Activities for Developing Ideas:

Lessons and Exercises for this chapter are found in Level 1 Writing Chapter 1 in the IT Exercises and Activities for Developing Ideas Section.

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TOEFL Exercises

 

Vocabulary Instructions:

The following twenty TOEFL exercises draw upon the vocabulary introduced in this chapter. Each sentence has an underlined word or phrase. Below each sentence are four other words or phrases: A, B, C, or D. Choose the one word or phrase that best keeps this meaning of the original sentence if substituted for the underlined word or phrase. On your answer sheet saved to your disk, find the number of the question and type in A, B, C, or D. It is suggested that you read carefully for "context." That is, study the vocabulary (even new words that you have never seen before) in the broader meaning of a sentence. For instance, in the following example, one can guess what "occupation" means from the context of a sentence talking about choices of "work." Another hint: you can eliminate some choices because of the context of the sentence structure. The second clause has the word "instead" in it, which means that the meaning of the second clause is different than that in the first clause. So the word "occupation" cannot be about marriage or age. You can, therefore, be sure that "marital status" is not the correct answer in this example.

Example: It is hard for young people to plan for marriage or old age, when instead they are thinking where they’ll work and their future occupation.

1. service
2. career
3. place
4. marital status

The correct choice is B, career. On your answer sheet, you would type in B.

1. The widowed man felt so dejected after she died.

1. divorced man
2. remarried man
3. bachelor
4. man who lost his wife

2. Susan expects to double her salary as a receptionist.

1. a practitioner
2. a sales assistant
3. an office greeter
4. nursing aid

3. Williamsburg is a remodeled colonial village with workshops featuring artisans of the 18^th Century.

1. archeologists
2. artists
3. craftspeople
4. guild members

4. Once my second niece was born, this made seven siblings in my brother’s home.

1. brothers and sisters
2. children
3. youth
4. cousins

5. The xyclo driver was convinced that he could squeeze another 5,000 dong out of his customer when she shouted that his fair was ridiculous.

1. funny
2. unfair
3. way too expensive
4. sumptuous

6. The Boston silk merchant’s fabrics ranged in price from twenty to thirty dollars per meter.

1. bolts of cloth
2. clothing
3. suits
4. sales clothing

7. After a week of work, I am most content to recline comfortably in my favorite chair.

1. pleased … relaxingly
2. used … easily
3. inclined … rigidly
4. inclined … easily

8. Studies of university life indicate that it is only second-year students who finally get over being strongly attached to thoughts of home.

1. committed to returning home
2. jealous of thoughts concerning home
3. homesick
4. distraught

9. The Cu Chi tunnels remain an important historical venue, as well as a profitable tourist attraction.

1. arcade
2. shopping district
3. prominent museum
4. commercial site for interested visitors

10. If one rides the Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi train, you are likely to find more backpackers than if you flew on Vietnam Airlines.

1. peddlers
2. foreigners traveling cheaply
3. beggars
4. middle-class citizens

11. My most valuable guidebook for the Shenandoah Valley is called Blue Ridge Parkway.

1. dictionary of local language
2. thesaurus
3. information book with maps, tours, prices, and websites
4. picture calendar

12. There is nothing so dangerous as bicycling the wrong way down the street.

1. comical
2. whimsical
3. treacherous
4. ridiculous

13. In the South of Vietnam, the given name of a child follows the superstitious tradition of picking ugly or unappealing names to fool unwanted evil spirits.

1. rationale
2. quackery
3. deeply held convictions
4. long-held custom

14. Following the awards ceremony, many well-wishers bestowed one compliment after another on the distinguished recipient.

1. overly flattering statement
2. polite and positive statement
3. well-intended criticism
4. critique

15. After four years of university, students still need practice at handling well an interview for their prospective career choices.

1. quiz
2. job-related meeting
3. final exam
4. personnel update

16. The news reporter was unaccustomed to the late nights of following and writing about the campaign speeches of so many candidates.

1. politician
2. journalist
3. contender
4. writer

17. Eastern and western ways differ in terms of whether it is polite for a younger scholar to question the points made by their senior colleagues.

1. permissible
2. improper
3. customarily accepted
4. legal

18. When entering a country, one must show his or her passport and visa to the receiving country’s civil servants in immigration.

1. military guard
2. police officers
3. government officials
4. policymakers

19. The ultimate success of the Internet Age will depend on whether all parts of the world will enjoy connectivity.

1. the ability to log-on easily and promptly
2. software and hardware
3. knowledge-based learning
4. relations

20. It is impossible to gauge the level of learning that one might imagine through interactive distance learning.

1. guess the meaning
2. measure the depth
3. grade the extent
4. miss the value

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"Best Answer"

Best Answers to Guiding Question

This "Best Answers" forum allows students and teachers to learn from one another inter-culturally. On each side of the world where classes are immersed in www.emu.edu/ic3 curriculum work, there has been consideration of an important development question. In Level 1, Chapter 1 students have wrestled with a key developmental question, "Who in the world am I? Am I undergoing significant change?" To answer this fully in another language, many steps have been taken. First, classrooms discussed this question through Listening/Speaking, Writing, and Reading exercises in a second language - either in Vietnamese or in English. Second, students have thought "internally" (within themselves) about this question. Third, they have written and corrected a draft of this response on the computer, using new second-language and IT skills. Third, they are now prepared to take the extraordinary step of sharing this work product with students in another land. Their counterparts are simultaneously trying their best to communicate to you. They are likewise posting their answer to this same developmental question, using their own new second-language and IT skills. Once the postings are complete on the "Best Answers" forum, classrooms at each end of the inter-cultural exchange may decide how best to read, comment upon, and respond to the answers posted by students at the "other end of the dialogue."

Instructors and students, alike, may judge whether or not this exchange is deepening your learning. As one examines one's own answer in light of another's response from another culture, how does this sharpen or deepen your own understanding of self? Begin to write down and discuss whether you see small steps of progress in thinking across the North American and Vietnamese cultural boundaries as a result of your participation in this IC3 forum and curriculum. In the chapters and levels ahead, more and more developmental questions are posed. As participants progress from the Llevel 1 to the five levels of instruction, the same development concerns are examined with more challenging and sophisticated materials. The dialogue, therefore, is expected to gain momentum and depth, even as it requires more critical examination of one's own, another student's, and world expert analysis of key development questions.

After you have completed the Reading, Listening/Speaking, and Writing chapters 1, how would you answer the following question?

Guiding Question: Who in the world am I?	Câu hỏi hướng dẫn: Tôi là ai trong thế giới này?
Pregunta de guía: ¿Quién soy yo?	من چه کسی در دنیا هستم؟

Blackboard

1. When you have seen a movie or complete a chapter, you are going to practice using Blackboard to discuss them with other students participating in IC3. As an example, we will use the movie “A Dream in Hanoi” and you imagine that you are participating on Blackboard to communicate with students in other countries.
2. Open the Internet and go to www.emu.edu/ic3 . This is the IC3 homepage. Take a moment to look around at some of the links on the IC3 homepage.
3. To access Blackboard click on the words “Post Your Best Answers,” at the top of the page. This will open a new window that displays the Blackboard homepage.
4. Look to the left hand side of the page and click on the button that reads “Login.”
5. Enter your username and password in the blank spaces on the page.
6. If your username and password are correct you should be taken to your individual Blackboard homepage.
7. Look to the right hand side of the page for the “Foreign Film Series” link that appears in the “My Courses” box. This takes you to the main page for the “Foreign Film Series” course.
8. Since you will be participating in the forum click on the word “Forum” on the left-hand side of the page. This opens a page with links to forums for all of the movies that we have viewed as part of the Foreign Film Series.
9. Scroll down until you see the link “The White Balloon” written in blue. Notice to the right of this link there is a message that tells you the total number of messages in the forum as well as the number of messages that are new. Click on the link that reads A “A Dream in Hanoi”.”This opens the discussion forum for “A Dream in Hanoi.” Now you should be able to see all the postings on the movie.
10. Each posting is noted by a red link. By clicking on one of these links you will be able to read that posting. But notice that there are two links next to each other. On the left is the subject of the posting. In this forum it might read “A Dream in Hanoi” or mention some other phrase that has to do with the movie. The link to the right of the subject link is the name of the person who made the post. Clicking on the person’s name will allow you to send e-mail to that person. DO NOT click on the person’s name. To the right of the person’s name is the date and time that the posting was made; this information is not a link.
11. Notice now that the links to some responses are indented from others and have the letters “Re:” in front of them. Like e-mail, this means that this posting is a reply to another posting.

Replying to another student’s post is almost like carrying on a conversation with that student. You can ask questions that relate directly to his or her post, and then other people can reply to you. Later you can come back and see what new posts have been added to the conversation and then you can make another or several other postings in response.

12. When reading posts from other students understand that it is not necessary to read all of the posts in a forum. Skim the subject lines in the forum and look for a posting that interests you. Read that forum and the posts that were made as replies. Do this several times with different posts to get a better understanding of what people are saying in the forum. Notice whether there are any common themes among all of the postings. Practice reading some of the postings made by other students by clicking on appropriate links.
13. To post your own response in a forum you have two options. You can pose totally new questions or make comments that have not been made before OR you can reply to another posting.
14. First, posting your own questions or comments that do not relate to another student’s post is called posting a new thread so find the button that says “Post New Thread” at the top of the page and click on it. This opens up a new screen where you can type your post.
15. It is often wise to type your post in Microsoft Word so that you can spell check it and save it to your disk. Once you have your post typed in word save it to your disk and copy and paste it into the box labeled “Message” on Blackboard.
16. Notice that there is a blank box next to the word “Subject” above the box labeled “Message.” In the “Subject” box you should write a few words that will help other students understand what you are writing about without having to read your whole post. The “Subject” should be no more than 10 words.
17. When you are ready to post click the “Submit” button in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. This will take you back to the main page of the forum and you should be able to see your posting on the page.
18. Another option is to reply to someone else’s posting. To do this, open the post that you would like to reply to. Notice in the bottom right hand corner of the screen there is a button with the word “Reply” on it. Click on the “Reply” button. This will open the screen that you may write on to post your reply. Notice that the subject line is already filled in. It will have the letters “Re:” indicating that you are replying to someone else and then the subject from the post that you are replying to. You do not need to replace this subject with your own, but you may do so if you wish. Copy and paste your post in the “Message” box after spell checking it in Microsoft Word and click on the “Submit” button in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen.

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