How to Listen Well

1. You must be willing to listen. (Intention leads to attention and retention.)
2. Language proficiency, both verbal and nonverbal. (vocabulary, intonation, knowledge resources)
3. Related critical and creative abilities. (association, organization, evaluation)
4. Ask follow-up questions (for clarification, explanation, implication and application)

The moral of "The Fox and the Crow"

Moral (n.) a piece of guidance (or advice) on how to live one's life, how to act more effectively, etc., that can be learnt from a story or event. [It is not a description of the story.]

Some creative (and insightful) morals from "The Fox and the Crow" written by your fellow students:
* Beautiful words are not always friendly.
* We should finish eating before singing.

優良示範答案Q2b

An excellent answer for A in Q2b for Friends Season 6.22

Discussion Forum for Mid-term

Procedure

1. Preparations in advance.

Each team will be the unit of presentation. The order of the presentation is drawn one week ahead. The instructor will announce, in advance, a list of topics taken from course material—text book and material on line.

2. Drawing topic:

At the presentation time, each team will take turns drawing a topic. Each topic will be used only once.

3. Preparation (10 minutes):

After the group has drawn a topic, it will have ten minutes to finalize and coordinate its preparation outside of the classroom. Students should apply words and phrases they learned in class.

4. The Forum (8 minutes)

Each group has ten minutes for the forum—five or six minutes for presentation and two to three minutes for discussion. (If the group is small, the duration may be reduced)

(a) In the presentation phase, members take turns to present their ideas on the topic. Each person has about one minute (about 150 words).

(b) The discussion phase is two minutes. Group members will ask questions, voice opinions, suggestions and comments to their peers. The primary goal for the discussion phase is to keep alive the flow of conversation. (Avoid dramatization. Just discussion.)

5. Follow-ups from the audience (2 minutes):

After each forum finishes, the instructor as well as the whole class will have a follow-uptime. They may ask questions or add to the discussion of the forum topic.

6. While one team starts the forum, the next group draws their topic and go outside to prepare for ten minutes. This procedure repeats until all groups finish their forums.

7. Time management is important. The presentations will be timed.

Evaluation

Each student will receive two scores: one for their individual performance and and one for group performance. Both evaluations will be based on content (including organization) and English.

Topics for Mid-term, Spring 2008

1. Cuttlefish—master of camouflage

2. Traffic jam on the internet

3. Complain about public conduct

4. Social responsibilities

5. Life in Mega Cities

6. The benefits of (certain) pets

7. Opinions about the treatment of animals

8. Compare/contrast animal characters

9. Values of animal conservation

New York Times Selection #2

Video Road Hogs Stir Fear of Internet Traffic Jam

By STEVE LOHR

Published: March 13, 2008

Caution: Heavy Internet traffic ahead. Delays possible.

For months there has been a rising chorus of alarm about the surging growth in the amount of data flying across the Internet. The threat, according to some industry groups, analysts and researchers, stems mainly from the increasing visual richness of online communications and entertainment — video clips and movies, social networks and multiplayer games.