How do you feel that Native Americans were portrayed in the works of Essay

How do you feel that Native Americans were portrayed in the works of Ben Franklin and John Smith Do the authors treat them in a - Essay Example However, at the same time, he started viewing Native Americans favorably on the same lines as the White Americans, degrading or belittling the Black Americans in some of his writings. In his 1751 essay, â€Å"Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind,† Franklin wished that America could be for whites and Native Indians only, writing, â€Å"Why increase the Sons of Africa, by Planting them in America, where we have so fair an opportunity, by excluding all Blacks and Tawnys, of increasing the lovely White† (). In addition, Franklin understood the culture of Native Americans and also lobbied to protect them, against any retribution by the majority population. He wrote, â€Å"If an Indian injures me, does it follow that I may revenge that injury on all Indians? ... If it be right to kill men for such a reason, then, should any man with a freckled face and red hair kill a wife or child of mine.† (). Capt. John Smith, an English soldier, explorer and author, was known for establishing the first English settlement in North America in Jamestown, Virginia.

Translating the Sixties Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Translating the Sixties - Essay Example According to Joshua, this 60s decade was also termed the Swinging Sixties due to the relaxation or fall of some of the social taboos especially those that are related to the racism and sexism that took place during that time. However, the 1960s decade has resultantly become synonymous with the new subversive and radical trends and events of the period, which developed continually between the 1970s through to 1990s and beyond. Therefore this paper seeks to highlight how Tim O’Brien’s novel, The Things They Carried, translated the period, what was different about the story in illustrating the events of the sixties than the real thing. In addition, the paper will assess how the constellation of the historical moments of the 60s ended through discussion of the social, cultural, economic, and political events of the decade ended or changed according to the story, The Things They Carried. In accordance to Tim O'Brien's writings, the 1960s decade was also characterized by war movements. The Vietnam War eventually would have resulted to the commitment of more than a half a million troops of Americans that could result into the deaths of over 58500 Americans that may have produced an anti war movement in large scale in the American nations. By 1965, some few Americans made efforts to protest the involvement of America in the Vietnam War. The war however continued and the dead counts multiplied leading to the escalation of the civil unrest. The students and campuses of various Universities became so powerful and had disruptive force which sparked debates over the war nationally. Doubts about the war within the administration itself arose as the ideals of the movements spread beyond the university campuses. There was a mass movement that opposed the war of Vietnam that eventually ended the mass of the Moratorium protests in the year 1969 alongside the movement that resisted conscription for the war. In Tim O'Brien's short story The Things They Carried, the a trocious physical fears and conditions of a man that he is subjected to in order to have his reputation save is clearly revealed. The story illustrates the events of 1968, a story concerning the Infantry Platoon who fights in the Vietnam jungles including the weight which were both emotional and physical that they had to carry. The modern warriors of the day were particularly equipped with everything one could imagine. The book tries to translate the events of the sixties from what happened to the real things, according to Tim O'Brien, necessity determined most of the things they carried. Some of those things they had to carry as dictated by necessity were the pocketknives can openers, flak jackets, and helmets (O'Brien 281). Additionally, they carried other things that were basically determined by particular ranks of the warriors and their specialty such as weapons, radios, and ammunition (O'Brien 283). Superstition also contributed to the selection of some of the items they carrie s. These are things that were common with war in the sixties. For instance, a particular soldier carried a thumb cut from a dead VC body and another had the foot of a rabbit. The soldiers also carried other items that served the purposes of emotional comfort such as a pair of the pantyhose belonging to their girlfriends and bibles (O'Brien 287). The conditions of the weather in Vietnam were particularly harsh, humid and hot days and nights which were

Problems Of EFL Speaking In Thailand

Problems Of EFL Speaking In Thailand Introduction This chapter provides introductory description regarding the pronunciation of English sound by Thais. It describes the problems of EFL speaking in Thailand, function of English in Thailand, and the teaching pronunciation in EFL curriculum in Thailand providing the content designed of communicative speaking skills. This is followed by significance of the study, the purpose of the study, research questions, scope and ending with limitations of the study. 1.1 Background to the study Problems of EFL Speaking in Thailand In line with the role of English as an international lingua franca, Thailand has taken several measures to incorporate English into its education system. For example, in 1995, the Thai government made English language study compulsory from primary school (Sedgwick, 2005). Based on my two-year English teaching experience at school, Narathiwat, Thailand, however, many Thai students still have problems using English, especially in the area of pronunciation. One of the reasons for this is the lack of exposure to English language use outside the classroom. Another could be due to the differences between the phonetic and phonological systems of English and their first language. Next, they all might be taught and emphasized only the rule of grammar and increasing their English vocabulary but might not be practiced English pronunciation properly. On the one hand, formal pronunciation instruction should not be neglected in all foreign language classrooms since pronunciation plays important ro les in communication which is the fundamental element of foreign language learning: as it has been claim from the most of Thai people that teachers should speak the target language during their foreign language class. Due to the lack of time on teaching English pronunciation in the classroom, Thai students have not been instructed in the area of pronunciation sufficiently. In Thailand, only the students doing bachelor degree in English field are aware of how the sound is produced correctly and of the English vowel sound both in terms of vowel quality and vowel length but not for others. Hence, some students are aware only of quantity differences of the vowels but never being realized of quality of the vowels. Moreover, some are not aware of both the quality and the quantity differences between each pair of the vowel sound. Previous studies on the English pronunciation of Thai speakers have found that they do not contrast vowel length (Chantachorn 2003). For instance, Thai speakers tend not distinguish between vowel pairs like /É ª/-/i/ and /ÊÅ  /-/uË /, resulting in words like ship and sheep, and fool and full being produced as homophones. However, most of the published studies on the production of English vowels by Thai speakers are impressionistic in nature, and hence, the current study aims to examine the production of English vowels by Thai speakers through acoustic analysis. It also aims to examine the extent to which the production of vowels is influenced by Thai vowels. Those problems of spoken English by Thai students are influenced by the following factors: functions of English, English language education, and teaching of English pronunciation. Functions of English in Thailand In Thailand, recently, the role of English is obviously important as it is used for international communication. New technology and World Wide Web have been developed rapidly resulting in a greater transition in education, business, tourism and economic affairs which all interrelate commanding high English proficiency. Thai government officials use English for international conference and communication. For example, ASEAN summit which is a meeting held by ASEAN in relation to economic growth, social progress and cultural development of Southeast Asian Nations. In the commercial part, English is used by entrepreneur, tourist agencies, hotels, airlines and even bank to communicate with foreigners, as well as business for import and export. Beside this, English is the most important for the tourist area in Thailand. For instances, Phuket island, Krabi and Phangna located in southern of Thailand are very popular among Westerners. Therefore, Thais who leave in tourist area need to communicate with them in English even sometimes they do not communicate effectively. This may be due to faulty pronunciations which lead to communication breakdown. Some researchers foreign friends have blamed that most of the Thai people cannot communicate well, especially for people who come from Deep South of Thailand which are Narathiwat, Pattani, and Yala provinces. This could be due to there are not so many foreigners come there and Deep South is not a tourist area. This also cause the students in the area do not have much motivation in learning English. Another group of English user is in mass media and publications. Some news channels and variety shows in Thai television program use English as a medium to perform their program. The examples of such programs are English breakfast program on TV Thai channel providing English knowledge together with entertainment such as idiom for everyday life, grammar as well as English pronunciation. Chris Delivery once famous English teaching program on channel TTB5 and English minutes a short program on channel 5. Furthermore, the Hollywood movies are played in the cinemas around Thailand with English sound track and Thai sub-title. However, most Thais prefer to watch the Hollywood movies playing Thai sound track to English one. Moreover, there are also News program using English as a medium played on channel MCOT. Thailand outlook channel is a 24 hours English language news channel broadcasted by ASTV (Asia Satellite television) which provide news and insight into Thai affairs that really matter and affect both Thai and foreign residents. The Nation and Bangkok Post are well known and widely read by foreigners and educated Thai readers all over Thailand. For the English magazines, Nation Junior and Student Weekly have been well-liked among Thai teenagers. Since English is a global language, Thai government has tried to get all mass media involved with English language in order to serve Thais and support them to learn English. Finally, English, therefore, works as a language for basic informal education in Thailand. Although English is not a medium of teaching in school level, it enables students to learn and understand differences of languages and cultures, customs and traditions, thinking, society, economy, politics and administration (Ministry of Education 2001). All in all, these functions reveal that Thailand has attempted to use English in many ways to make Thais get use to English language however these approaches only work on some Thai groups and some of Thais still not getting familiar with English perception and production skills which are listening, speaking , reading and writing. English language education in Thailand Learning foreign language serves an important and essential tool for communication, education, seeking knowledge, livelihood and creating understanding the culture and vision of the world community (Ministry of Education 2001). Although English is not only the foreign language in Thailand, clearly can be seen that English language still play a dominant role as it is mainly used to communicate to make a connection and cooperation between people around the world. English has been known as an international language and many Thai people have been getting involved with it for decades. Most of them implicate with English language used in their daily lives from many media such as text, television, radio and newspaper. The people who get into school, of course, they have known English language at the beginning of the first primary school level. As mentioned above that English language has been made as compulsory subject starting at primary school in 1995 in Thailand. However, the curriculum was revised once more in 1996 and English is now taught as a subject in Grade 1 to 12(Sarmah, Gogoi Wiltshire 2009). All students have to take English language as a compulsory subject every semester for primary and secondary school levels. This means that they have to take English course at least 9 credits for primary level and 12 credits for secondary level. In the upper secondary level, at least 6 credits are required for them (240 hours). Due to limited time as for 2 periods/hours a week, leading to limited lesson for pronunciation. Furthermore, six English courses are required for all learners in four -year curriculum at the undergraduate level (Chusanachoti 2009). These few English courses are only a little period of time exposed to English language use. The Thai Ministry of Education has encouraged several approaches in English course syllabus to enhance the intelligibility in English language used such as a learner-centered approach, communicative language approach as well as language for specific purpose. Within those approaches, the area of pronunciation has also been taught in terms of conversation and reading out loud. Nevertheless, the most of the contents still focus on reading and writing skill for examples reading comprehension, grammar and vocabulary. This could be primarily due to a difficulty in teaching pronunciation, especially at primary level and lower secondary level: students feel shy to express and utter an English sound making them not to cooperate with the activities provided. As a consequence, most of the teachers feel oppressed to teach pronunciation. At the primary school level (grade 1-6), students should be able to know the English Alphabet, to read a simple word aloud, to spell an easy vocabulary, to read simple conversation and story. However, the course syllabus has been focused very few on the pronunciation and reading out loud. Furthermore, in a period of secondary school, the fundamental English course requires the students to be able to listen, read, write and speak communicatively at the level of their own. For instances, at grade 6 level, they are requires to be able to communicate naturally in everyday life, to explain or tell a story of their own lives and history. But, as can be seen obviously that students still speak English poorly, even though they have studied English for 12 years (primary school-secondary school). This could be due to less attention on pronunciation lesson and a lack of exposure to English language used out side the class room. In addition, they tend to pay more attention on reading to be able to comprehend the content of the text and grammar in order to pass the final exam for all grade level students and to success in getting a high score from the national university entrance exam. Beside this, to emphasize on pronunciation and let students learn and know each sound correctly, teachers should instruct students to learn the relationship of each letters and its sound. This will not only help them in reading and spelling but also will master them in speaking. Moreover, teaching students to know how the sounds are produced will also support them to be aware of different sound and its characteristics. Teaching pronunciation in EFL curriculum in Thailand Pronunciation instruction has sometime been neglected in most EFL classroom. In another word, it is not given much more attention by the teacher in the classroom. In EFL curriculum in Thailand, spoken English has been played through these following main contents: language for communication, language and culture, language and relationship with other learning areas and language and relationship with community and the world (Ministry of education 2001). The Thai Ministry of Education has placed teaching pronunciation instruction to all school level at primary and secondary school. Generally at Grades 1-3, students are expected to be able to know and pronounce the English alphabet, words, phrases, and simple sentences simultaneously with observing the principle of pronunciation. The tasks focus on learning basic phonology system which involves specifying the letter sound and vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u), spelling the words correctly and reading some basic words and sentences out loud as well as getting students practice on producing initial and final consonant, rhythm and intonation. Besides, the students would be engaged in interpersonal communication by asking them to use short and simple word that they have heard. These include using requested words such as pleas do not make a noise and can you help me, please?. Moreover, Students grade one, two and three should be able to differentiate the consonance sound and speak common sentenc es in imitating a real situation in the classroom. At Grade 4-6 primary education level, students are trained to speak English through expressing their needs feeling and opinion. They also should be able to tell story about themselves, friends and family to others. The ability in using English to communicate in various situations is required for them. During secondary education, speaking activities in the EFL curriculum, students are required to be able to listen, speak, read and write appropriately with their own grades both at upper and lower levels. Generally at the lower secondary level, communicative speaking tasks are played through various speaking activities such as dialogue speaking, speaking for short conversation, speaking for giving the information around them and showing opinion about the matters around them in the current situation. Reading aloud is also emphasized by training students to read some story in text books, newspaper and some simple English poem out loud in front of the classroom. By these school levels, in fact, the practice on production of English vowel sound appears in the curriculum designed. For instance, students should be able to read all text out loud by observing the basic principle of pronunciation. This means they would discriminate the differences of English vowel sound in term of vowel lengt h. The emphasis of communicative speaking at the upper secondary level is on asking for information, accurately read out loud text, news, announcement, advertisement, skits and poem and having conversations to exchange some information, experience, opinion in current situation in Thailand and overseas. These activities will be done by having a role-play in the classroom. For example, divide students in a group and ask them to create some situation by imitating the real situation in day life. Some students play as news reporters and some play a short drama in front of their friend. As a matter of fact, although there are some contents on English pronunciation practice, the limited time as mentioned above is one of obstacles of practicing pronunciation. In addition, in the EFL context, Thai secondary students appear to use and give attention on English literacy skills of reading and writing rather than listening and oral skills (Bennui 2003). Significance of the Study An acoustic analysis of English vowels produced by Thai speakers will yield more reliable information on the characteristics of the vowels produced, in particular vowel quality and vowel length for monophthong vowels, and the former for diphthongs. Such information will enable comparisons with the acoustic characteristics of vowels in Thai, making it possible to compare the vowel systems of English and Thai, and henceforth to determine the influence of L1 on English. The findings on the extent to which Thai speakers can perceive English vowel contrast will help in the understanding of the relationship between perception and production of vowel contrast in English as it can be argued that if they are unable to perceive vowel contrast, they may not be able to produce the contrast. The information will also provide valuable insights to the area of pronunciation teaching in Thailand. The Purpose of the Study The current study is based on an instrumental analysis of English vowels produced by native speakers of Thai and investigates if there is any acoustic evidence of vowel contrast between vowels in Thai and English. It also aims to examine the extent to which the vowels produced by the Thai subjects share similar characteristics with a native and neighboring variety of English. The study also intents to examine the perception of English vowels by Thai speakers. In relation to these, the purpose of this study is to answer the following research questions: What are the acoustic properties of English vowels produced by Thai speakers? To what extent is there vowel contrast between traditional vowel pairs of /iË / /É ª/, /e/ /Ó†¢/, /ÊÅ   / /uË /, /ÊŒ/ /É‘Ë / and /É’/ /Ɇ:/? To what extent is the production of English vowels influenced by the speakers L1? To what extent do the vowels produced by Thai subjects share similar characteristics with British (BritE) and Malaysian English (MalE)? To what extent can Thai speakers perceive vowel contrast in English? The Scope and Limitations of the Study This work is limited to the acoustic properties of English monophthong and diphthongs as produced by 15 female students from one secondary school in one particular area of Thailand Narathiwat. Moreover, the data were collected by recording the subjects in word list and informal speech context. Thai speeches were recorded by 5 female subjects in order to enable comparison of Thai vowels with the English produced by the target subjects.

The Impact of Lenin on Russia and the Russian People Essay -- Papers

The Impact of Lenin on Russia and the Russian People Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (a.k.a Lenin) was born in 1870, into a middle class family. In the year 1887 when Lenin was 17 his elder brother Alexandra was executed for conspiring to assassinate the tsar. Lenin who was already well educated and fond of reading and writing was encouraged to enter politics to make changes and to somehow avenge his brothers' death. The long term effects of this were that Lenin would later become one of the great revolutionary leaders of all time. Lenin begins to study law and the works of Karl Marx. He is then exiled to Siberia by the authorities as he becomes more politically involved. Whilst he is there he marries another revolutionary in 1898. After this he spends some time travelling abroad with his wife Krupskaya but, he continues to write political material laying down the foundations for revolution and communism in Russia. Lenin is in Britain in 1903 and it is there that he forms the Bolshevik party to help the working class Russians who he has been brought up to have compassion for. The immediate effects of this are the formation of the Bolshevik party. The Long term effects of this are that the Bolshevik party stays in power and Russia becomes a communist country. Between 1903 and 1917 Lenin spends his time moving around Europe. Also at the time he writes pieces for political newspapers and builds the foundations for the Bolshevik party. Lenin spends a great deal of time raising money for the party to enable them to print their revolutionary literature and newspapers such as 'Zvezda'. Lenin uses this time to create the fundamentals neede... ...ere were great improvements in Russia. The results of the N.E.P brought about Trotskys criticism of Lenin. He accused Lenin of being capitalist. Lenin realised that in order to take a giant leap sometimes one must take a couple of paces back first. The creation of the N.E.P brought about the rise of the Russian economy. Lenin and the communist party brought many changes to Russia. Russia had been governed by the tsar and his family for three hundred years. When Lenin gained power he brought about a lot of reforms and in effect modernised Russia to some extent. He also brought Russia through the civil war. The major effects of Lenin on Russia and the Russian people are the introduction to communism in Russia and that he will be remembered as a great leader and had the respect and admiration of a lot of Russian people.

Unbranded to Branded

Eyewear market in India remains buoyant despite recession Despite the economic crisis, the eyewear market in India as a whole displayed healthy growth in volume sales in 2009, while growth in its value sales slowed marginally relative to 2008. The demand for premium lenses, frames and sunglasses slowed more than that of the low-price and economy segments, so there was an overall slow-down of growth in value sales at the end of review period. Spectacles still preferred over contact lensesWhile marketers of contact lenses made an aggressive push into the Indian consumer market, especially the young adult segment, the mass market continued to favour spectacles over contact lenses. The two factors that have kept the level and growth rate of sales of contact lenses below those of spectacles are concerns about their use and their price. The prescription market remains biased in favour of spectacles and opticians rarely prescribe contact lenses unless the patient specifically requests them. Direct imports keep market completely fragmented Retail shelves across the country are full of imported spectacle frames and sunglasses. These low-priced imports played an important role in sustaining demand, especially for sunglasses, whose sales enjoyed the highest growth of any subsector in 2009, as they had in 2008. These imports have also kept the spectacles market entirely fragmented, with only eight companies holding even a 1% share of retail sales in Indian eyewear market. Chained specialists enjoy significant growthThe review period saw the growth of several chained specialist retailers, such as Titan Eye+, GKB Opticals and Vision Care. Titan Eye+ has been a game changer in that it has modernised the retail sector and forced others to follow suit. In order to remain competitive, opticians feel compelled to increase their ranges of frames, offer eye-testing services and carry contact lenses as well. Reliance’s Vision Express is another large player that is likely to i nfluence marketing and distribution in the years to come.Chained specialists are also able to negotiate better deals with suppliers, undertake promotions, offer better prices to customers, and provide greater visibility for new products and launches. Demand for spectacles expected to continue driving retail sales of eyewear The prescription market is expected to continue to drive demand in the forecast period, as literacy rates increase, more children become prospective wearers of spectacles, and economic growth sustains the increase in purchasing power.

Christian Worldview Reflection Essay

In the book, Be thou my vision: Pursuing God’s perspective in a pluralistic world it states , â€Å"provides life events and experiences that deposit eternal truths in our minds and lives, and make room for intimacy with Christ†. When I read this phrase it picked up my attention right away because I am a true believer that God always help us and never is going to leave us alone but, at the same time, I believe it is our job to be smart and choose the best choice. When I was 18 years old, God opened a door so I came to United States to play Soccer and to get a scholarship. Before that opportunity, I was not very close from Christ and never went to church and read the bible very often. Being here, I meet great people, the family that I stay with help me to get closer to God and I started going every Sunday to church and reading the bible more often. Since that moment, God is more present in my life and working through my life showing me His intimate love. With Christ being in my heart, my life has grown stronger and I try to follow His way the best that I can. The NIV of Proverbs 3:5-6 states, â€Å"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; acknowledge Him and He will make you path straight.† I believe that choosing that opportunity changed my life. I’m glad to be here and I am very grateful to God for giving me so good opportunities in my life. Now, it just depends on me to be successful in what I want and follow his word to be better follower of Christ