End-of-term self-assessment

Writing (a summary)
This term I saw that I make the same mistakes then I am writing summary. In order to correct it I rewritten all my mistakes in my exercise book and until now I am analyzing it. So I think that this technique will help me and I will pass my exam.

Performance in ESP vocabulary tests
My performance in this task was not very good, my marks were worse, but I am not worrying about it. In my opinion marks do not show knowledge.

Performance in class dictations
I am very happy, because this year I have a chance to write dictation. Also I am happy about my performance at spelling skills, because I have done only few and not very serious mistakes.

Listening practice in class
I do not know if there were easier tasks or my listening skills have improved, but this term I cope with it much better. I believe that exam paper won’t be very difficult and I can prove for myself that I can hear and understand.

Listening to peers’ power point presentations
Sometimes this task is very difficult for me, because majority of presentations are boring, so it takes a lot of efforts to listen intently.

Making power point presentation
My performance in this task was very good, because this year I made it on the right time and I do not feel fear to speak for auditory. I try to give right answers for my peers’ questions and I think that I do my best.

Short talks on ESP themes in class
Speaking is the biggest my problem not only in English, but also in other lectures. This term I direct all efforts to reduce my fears and gain more experience on talking. All in all, I think I manage to perform in this task.

Your true colours

Summary

In this text, Paul Kerton and Deirdre McQuillan introduces an influence of colours. According to authors, colours can affect nervous system, rise blood presure and influence to buy certain products.

The marketing world uses colours meaning in all spheres in order to influence consumers. The colour operates on saleable and appetizing of a commodity. According to text consumer buy a sweet depending on its colour. Moreover, the influence of colours is different in different cultures.

Experiments of John Ott have shown that colour may directly affect nervous system. The blood pressure raises in red surroundings and lowers in blue.

These discoveries are now used in fast food chains. Red and orange colours create an atmosphere which increases appetite and makes people to eat much more faster. Furthermore, colours are used to strenghtened effect in markets. The colour of the packet can influence consumers opinion about commodity quality.

To sum up, this information shows that our choices, behavior and minds are directly influenced by the colours.

Self-assessment of podcasting skills

The aim of this online listening is to analyze my success and try to understand if I should work harder. From the list of podcasts I have chosen "Influence of attractiveness of sales assistants on clothing purchases by women" and "Creative thinking".

The rate of speaking was a little bit too fast in first podcast and about average in second. However, I understand almost all words and catch not only the idea of the programme but also answer in all questions. I have listened both podcasts two times like in exam.

In my opinion, the most useful exercise for improving listening skills is multiple choice exercises. Different options sometimes are very misleading, so we are concerned to pay more attention to text.

To my mind, my listening skills are satisfactory, so I have to work harder if I want to say that I am excellent at it. It is very easy to understand peers in English classes, but authentic speech is much more complex for me.

If I had to take a listening exam today I believe I pass it, just because I am lucky person. However, I can't trust only luck, so before exam I will improve my listening skills. I think it is important listen to authentic cassette recordings in class and I will watch films in English in order to improve.

I believe that my experience of English school exam is truthful and because of that university exam won't be very difficult.

References:

http://martinmcmorrow.podomatic.com/entry/2009-08-19T00_27_21-07_00

http://martinmcmorrow.podomatic.com/entry/2009-06-11T21_52_00-07_00

End-of-term self-assessment

Writing (a summary)
My performance in this task was not very good. I have made some mistakes in all written summaries. I think the main my mistake was that I did not differentiate analytical from restatement summaries, but now I know how to distinguish between them.
Performance in ESP vocabulary tests
It was not difficult to write tests in first semester, so in second I only improve my learning time. I spend less time to it, because I found my own method how to do it faster and more effective.
Performance in class dictations
I am very upset that I did not write this dictation, because now I do not know either I am good at it or I have to practise.
Listening practice in class
I improve my listening skills, because all practice in class was not very difficult to me. Also, in this semester I pay attention to my listening quality and try to practise not only in class, but outside it too.
Listening to peers’ power point presentations
I do not know how good I am at that, but I try to listen all presentations carefully.
Making power point presentation
I faced with some problems in this task. Firstly, when I made my presentation I saw that it is a little bit boring. Secondly, every day I delay to show my presentation in class. I do not like to present something when I am doing it alone. I know that it is my problem and I have to resolve it. So, my presentation is only made, but not showed.
Short talks on ESP themes in class
In my opinion I did advancement in speaking, but not very visible. For me, there was days when I feel quite good at it. Despite the fact that I afraid speaking, I was trying to fight with this fear and improve my skills.

Picture reference:

http://www.seemoney.co.uk/pages/news/ESMART9/tax4.html

Phobias

A lot of people around the world have an abnormal fear called phobia. Phobia is an irrational, intense, persistent fear of certain situations, activities, things, or even people. The main symptom of this disorder is the excessive, unreasonable desire to avoid the feared subject. It is generally accepted that phobias arise from a combination of external events and internal predispositions. It is believed that heredity, genetics and brain chemistry combined with life experiences play a major role in the development of phobias.


Catoprophobia is the fear of mirrors. People with this phobia start fearing looking into mirrors, especially Body length or large ones. This fear often is grounded in superstitions, sufferers may worry that breaking a mirror will bring bad luck or that looking into a mirror will put them in contact with a supernatural world inside the glass. Also, sufferers may fear mirrors for a variety of reasons, usually because of some emotional trauma involving mirrors or of the low self esteem. Catoptrophobia is characterized by individuals suffering from shortness of breath, heavy breath, sweating, and anxiety.

Ophidiophobia or in other words - snakephobia is a fear of snakes. A lot of people fear snakes and their venom, but people with phobia have irrational fear of all snakes: on the ground, in the cage, on TV, even in their imagination. Causes of this fear can be different: childhood experiences, Biblical symbol of evil, which may tend to heighten the fear in some, also snakes attacks on TV and movies. Symptoms may include shaking, crying, running away from snakes, heart palpitations, difficulty breathing and etc.

The most frequently used treatment for phobias is a type of cognitive-behavioral therapy called exposure therapy. It is important, though, to choose a therapist that you feel you can trust to help you through this process. Moreover, there are self-help tips for overcoming phobias:

• Learn about phobia;
• Challenge negative thoughts;
• Learn relaxation techniques (deep breathing, meditation...).

To sum up, all phobias can be treated. So people who have irrational fear of something should ask for the help to the institutions which treat such as disorders.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phobia

http://www.depression-guide.com/phobia/catoptrophobia.html

http://www.way2hope.org/Illnesses/ophidiophobia-fear-snakes.htm

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/phobia_symptoms_types_treatment.htm

Picture:

https://www.caremark.com/wps/portal/HEALTH_RESOURCES?topic=drfear

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62771413@N00/472442193/

Learning Languages

One of the best ways to broaden your minds and know something really useful is languages learning. Although the most important role in learning is for us, teacher is very important too.

There are some ways how teacher can help students. Firstly, it is important to give plenty of practice in speaking. Also, work in pairs or groups can be very useful, because when students communicate with each other they are more inclinable to learn. Regular tests, practice in pronunciation, different writing tasks are very important for students if they want to learn language better.

Moreover, when I’m learning I can help myself by discovering my own learning habits. Sometimes I record new vocabulary in a short phrase or sentence. It is very useful for me to read magazines and listen to spoken foreign language. In this way I can learn more unknown words which we don’t use in class. Furthermore, I think asking questions in class is very important too.

There are some habits which can be setbacks in learning. Students sometimes translate from their own language to another before they speak or write. It is bad because languages are very different: grammar, word order in sentences can be not the same. Also, a lot of people are bashful and afraid to speak in class because of their pronunciation or some other things. They have to be more self-confident and speak more due to improve their speaking habits.

Finally, there are a lot of different learning techniques and every person should choose the best for him. Even so, our achievements in learning depend only of our efforts.

Richard Wisemans' experiments

Professor Richard Wiseman has made research into several unusual areas of psychology, including luck, humour, deception, and the paranormal. His investigations spread all over the world and now Professor Wiseman and his experiments are very popular.

One of his works is about lucky and unlucky people. Professor Wiseman tried to understand why some people are happy ant lucky without any talents. This research identifies four basic principles which use lucky people in order to make their lives better and create good future.

Moreover, Professor Wiseman has made a widespread research about humour. This project was an internet-based and called ‘LaughLab’. The project was reported across the globe, resulting in receiving over 40,000 jokes and 1.5 million ratings. It discovers the world’s funniest joke.

All Professor Richard Wiseman experiments are very interesting. His magic tricks coherent with psychology are breathtaking. This modern-day psychologist can expand our knowledge and everybody should read about him and his experiments.

References:

http://www.richardwiseman.com/

Psychology studies in mruni and abroad

All over the world are plenty of universities in which people can study psychology. In some cases these studies are similar, but also the syllabus at our Mykolas Romeris University has some fundamental differences from other universities. I’ll compare our and University of Bradford studies of psychology.

At first, in our University studies continue four year and involve more subjects which are not directly concerned with psychology. In Bradford University people study three year and there aren’t any extra subjects.

Moreover, there are more differences in syllabus than similarities. At our Mykolas Romeris University psychology students encompass much more different subjects, such as Logics, Philosophy, Language of Specialty, Human Anatomy and Physiology. Whereas Bradford students learn fundamental subjects, such as The Psychology of Learning and Study, Cognitive Psychology, Psychobiology and Perception, Social Psychology. Comparing with our university there are similar lectures of Neuropsychology, perception, personality, developmental psychology. Bradford University in the first year gives a foundation in a number of core subjects, and in the second year build upon the foundations that were laid in the first year, by expanding and deepening knowledge of these areas. In the third year Bradford students have to write dissertation and they learn how to do it. Also, they take modules from a range of options, which will reflect the lecturers’ research interests and areas of specialism. Therefore, our University students have to write term papers after forth and sixth semesters and the dissertation only after four year.

In my opinion in our university are too many not very necessary subjects. I think that it will be better to learn only those things which are really essential for our specialty. But if I can choose there I want to study I will pick Mykolas Romeris University.

References:

http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/socsci/course/undergraduate/psychological/psychology.php

http://www.mruni.lt/en/

Happiness

Happiness is a state of mind or feeling such as contentment, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy. It can mean different things to different people.

The sociologist Ruut Veenhoven has made a study about happiness in 95 nations. According to his studies happiness doesn’t correlate with gender, age, education, income or other material things. The happiest people are in Iceland and Denmark. Also, independent of lack of food, water and good living conditions people from Africa or Australia are happy too. As we can see from World Database of Happiness people from rich countries aren’t very happy. Moreover, Lithuania is in the end of the list – 83. What are the reasons of such as situation? Maybe our countrymen are so unhappy because of volatile climate, unemployed, low salaries or something like that. But in my opinion some people just doesn’t understand that happiness brings trivial, daily details such as meetings with friends, their smiles, sunny days, the first spring flower…

“Happiness is like a butterfly; the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder…” said Thoreau. It doesn’t matter how much money you have, how old are you, what is your gender or nation – everybody can and must be happy.

References:

http://worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl/

http://www.whatismykarma.com/entrance/images/happiness.jpg

Picture:

http://docwhisperer.wordpress.com/2007/08/11/positive-psychology-the-science-of-happiness/