Wirtschaftskommunikation Vertiefung, Homework for June 4th

For homework, please:

- complete the exercises on the idioms worksheet distributed in class

- read the article "Travails in Tech" and watch this video for background on Huawei: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUA76spIbWQ

- read the Economist article on Huawei and answer the following questions:
1) What does "excruciating" mean and imply in the title's caption?
2) Why does the import ban "hardly matter"?
3) What is Huawei's plan B?
4) In what ways does the article argue that Huawei would be dependent on US technologies?
5) How does the US ban affect non-US and non-Chinese companies?

Kompetenzerweiterung II, Tuesday/Thursday Group, Homework for June 5th

For homework, please:

- complete the exercises on pp. 120-121 and pp. 273-274 of the textbook

- read the article on Eurovision from the Economist distributed in class and 1) look up all unknown words and 2) highlight spots that reveal the author's opinion of Eurovision and/or the EU (identify where there is overlap)

- read/watch a positive and a negative review of one of your favorite products/books/albums/films/TV shows/etc (essentially, anything that can be reviewed)

Journals:

- What is the key to a successful first semester at university/first quarter in a new job?

- 10 sentences using unreal time (Unit 13 of the textbook)

Kulturraumstudien USA, Homework for June 3rd

For homework, please read David Foster Wallace's essay on 9/11 (featured under the title "The View from Mrs. Thompson's" in his essay compendium Consider the Lobster) and highlight at least 10 details in how he describes the cultural and political climate one month after the attacks (What linguistic and metaphorical tools does he exploit to paint the scene? What allusions does he make? How do you interpret the last sentence of the essay?): https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/david-foster-wallace-on-9-11-as-seen-from-the-midwest-242422/

In addition to this, please have a look at this video on The Falling Man and consider the factors that have made it an iconic image (an artifact) of September 11th: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMDkvJRHaNM

If you're interested: here's a Newsweek article on the critique the New York Times has received for the photograph chosen for its story on Hope Hicks, Trump's former director of communications: https://www.newsweek.com/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-slams-ny-times-using-glamour-shot-former-trump-comms-1436414

Kompetenzerweiterung II, Monday/Wednesday Group, Homework for May 29th

For homework, please:

- complete the exercises on pp. 120-121 and pp. 273-274 of the textbook

- read the article on Eurovision from the Economist distributed in class and 1) look up all unknown words and 2) highlight spots that reveal the author's opinion of Eurovision and/or the EU (identify where there is overlap)

- read/watch a positive and a negative review of one of your favorite products/books/albums/films/TV shows/etc (essentially, anything that can be reviewed)

Journals:
- What is the key to a successful first semester at university/first quarter in a new job?
- 10 sentences using unreal time (Unit 13 of the textbook)

Kompetenzerweiterung II, Tuesday/Thursday Group, Homework for May 28th

For homework, please:

- find a poorly written piece of writing, bring it with you to class and identify specifically where it misses the mark (please don't Google "poorly written writing" because you will most likely get pupils' essays, which are not generally on our level)

- have a look at this video, jot down interesting vocab and expressions, and put in your own words what the speaker proposes as a solution to the problem(s) presented in the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCj8-MIhvaA

- study the vocab for Unit 14 extensively and complete all of the exercises on pp. 114-121

Journals:
prompts: Are online reviews reliable?
10 sentences: sentences containing words/expressions from Unit 14

Kompetenzerweiterung II, Monday/Wednesday Group, Homework for May 27th

For homework, please:

- assess the quality of the responses to the yes/no debate question "Are online reviews reliable?"

- have a look at this video, jot down interesting vocab and expressions, and put in your own words what the speaker proposes as a solution to the problem(s) presented in the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCj8-MIhvaA

- read the article on Morehouse and 1) look up all the words you don't know and 2) identify 10 good clauses/phrases/sentences

- have a look at the vocab for Unit 14 and complete all of the exercises on pp. 114-121

Journals:
prompts: Are online reviews reliable?
10 sentences: sentences containing words/expressions from Unit 14

Kompetenzerweiterung III, Homework for June 5th

Please be aware that there will be no class on May 29th. I will be offering an open office hour for our class from 11-12 on that date (my office is room 411). Let me know via email if you already know in advance that you will attend; drop-ins are of course welcome.

For homework, please:

- please read through the responses distributed in class to the question "Are online reviews reliable?" and assess both responses using our classic five categories

- complete the gap fill on the back of that page for the video game review. Each gap requires a certain form of the infinitive in the brackets to be used ("modal" means use a modal verb). In addition to this, please look up all of the words you don't know.

For your journals:

- consider writing a response to the question "Are online reviews reliable?" and/or a film/concert/album/book/TV show review of your own

I will be collecting journals next on June 5th (our next class).

Kompetenzerweiterung II, Tuesday/Thursday Group, Homework for May 23rd

For homework, please:

- complete all exercises on pp. 269-272

- review Unit 13 and complete all exercises from pp. 108-111

- complete all exercises on pp. 184-185

- read the article on Morehouse and 1) look up all the words you don't know and 2) identify 10 good clauses/phrases/sentences 

- visit the TED talk website and watch one talk of your choice: https://www.ted.com/

Wirtschaftskommunikation Vertiefung, Homework for May 28th

For homework, please:

- read the Fortune magazine article "About Face" and take notes on how Facebook is handling the hit it's taken to its image in the past few years

- watch this video and answer 1) how Facebook got too big according to the interviewee and 2) what he proposes as a solution to fixing this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCj8-MIhvaA

- watch another video from the So Expensive series and answer the following questions https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmur3Z0Afau69Bc9Uo5A1IXAwCv_KsF6w
1) Why is the product so expensive?
2) What good vocab did you glean from this video?
3) Can brands/companies learn anything from the approaches taken by the brand/company/market featured in your video?

- complete the exercises on the "present perfect continuous" and "present perfect simple" as well translation

- complete the vocab exercises distributed on the handout

- read the yes/no responses to the question "Are online reviews reliable?" and assess the quality of their arguments

Kulturraumstudien USA, Homework for May 27th

For homework, please read the article "Why You Should Try to Be a Little More Scarce" (available here: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/18/smarter-living/benefits-of-being-scarce.html ) and identify what makes it a product of US business discourse. Identify ten spots (can be anything from whole paragraphs to single word items) that would require a radical translation shift.

Kompetenzerweiterung II, Monday/Wednesday Group, Homework for May 22nd

For homework, please:

- complete all exercises on pp. 269-272
- review Unit 13 and complete all exercises from pp. 108-111
- complete all exercises on pp. 184-185
- find a poorly written essay/article and bring it with you to class (ideally it's coming from a journalistic source and is not a the result of googling "poorly written essays" because these are often pupil essays, which are not the level we want to look at); make sure you can articulate what specifically is poorly executed in it
- visit the TED talk website and watch one talk of your choice: https://www.ted.com/

Journals:
- 10 sentences using unreal time
- a review of your own

Project Week, Additional Links

You might be interested in this short film from Paris, je t'aime referenced in class: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UsZr5wvI4Q

And this article/video "The Trauma of Sanctuary/El Vacío" from today's New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/14/opinion/undocumented-immigrants.html

See you tomorrow!

Trump's Wall - El muro de Trump, Homework for May 15th

For homework, please take extensive notes on the following sources (including questions that they spur) and bring your notes with you to class:

Articles:
Guardian article (distributed in class)
Immigration Courts Overwhelmed by Indigenous Languages  (distributed in class, but also available here with an audio clip of Mayan and  a Spanish edition) https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/19/us/translators-border-wall-immigration.html
Lo que necesita saber sobre el muro fronterizo del presidente Donald Trump:
https://www.telemundo20.com/noticias/inmigracion/Lo-que-necesita-saber-sobre-el-muro-fronterizo-del-presidente-Donald-Trump-508171031.html

Videos:
Walking to America with the Migrant Caravan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWq0v4ucav0
Altar: el último pueblo antes de la frontera: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJcxwCbaxvo

In addition, please find one English-language article/video and one Spanish-language article/video relevant for your presentation on Thursday. Bring your answers to the question, how is the film Roma a product of these times?

Trump's Wall - El Muro de Trump, Homework for May 14th

For homework, please:

- read/watch the following sources, take extensive notes (respond to the texts with questions), and bring these with you to Tuesday's session:

"How Latinos Are Shaping America's Future" https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/07/latinos-hispanic-power-america-immigration-future/

Exacerba migración
https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/mundo/segun-eu-mexico-exacerba-migracion

El Paso https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtZuTS2MWjo

En Texas, el muro de Trump divide a los estadounidenses: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If0oGq-IbBM

- answer the question: how does one legally immigrate to the United States? Keep track of the sources you use to answer this question.

If you're interested, here's the link to the video we started in class:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o4d6Wp3u2Q&t=328s

Kompetenzerweiterung II, Tuesday/Thursday Group, Homework for May 21st

Please complete all exercises for Unit 22 vocab.

Have a great project week!

Kompetenzerweiterung II, Monday/Wednesday Group, Homework for May 20th

Please complete all exercises for Unit 22 vocab.
Have a great project week!

For those interested:
Half-way down the page you'll find the infographic (Plastikmüll in Europa) that highlights the amount of plastic thrown away per EU Country (it's similar to a infographic I saw in Greenpeace Magazine that highlighted Romania as the country that throws away the least): https://diepresse.com/home/ausland/welt/5568395/Plastik-wir-haben-ein-Problem

Here's a short video on the Indian inventor of an edible spoon for takeout: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4Cc5zmy0eY

Kompetenzerweiterung III, Homework for May 22nd

For homework, please:

- assess the advice given to "Name Withheld" distributed in class

- complete the participle clause exercise by rewriting the sentences by employing participle clauses (Number 1 should read: Feeling sick, Sam left school early.)

- read the article "The ultimate coffee machine" and answer the question "Will robots be replacing human baristas in the future?" Why or why not?

- correct the sentences on the "error correction" sheet and proofread the online reviews of the tex-mex restaurant "Juan in a Million" on the back

Wirtschaftskommunikation Vertiefung, Homework for May 21st

- Complete all of the exercises (except for "over to you") from the handouts entitled "Green issues" and "Climate Change"

- Complete the exercises for "No greenwash!" (most are fairly straightforward, with "4. Materials matter" and the translation exercise being the most difficult, but I'm aiming for these items to not just be recognized but also for them to enter your active vocabulary) Please also answer the question posed at the bottom of the front page of "No greenwash!" concerning PLAYgreen.

- Have a look at the following TED Talk and do the following: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2DhwxbWeO8
a) answer the question posed in the title of the talk
b) identify good business vocabulary used in the video (ex. "pivot")
c) assess the quality of the speaker's argument

- Respond to the business advice question "Should a nonprofit splurge on Management?" either in notes or a complete written response

- Assess the Economist's articles for the graphs on Amazon and underemployment in Britain

Kompetenzerweiterung II, Tuesday/Thursday Group, Homework for May 9th

- study the vocab for Unit 16 and complete exercises A-G

- watch one of the Art Trip videos from this playlist and consider what vocab from Unit 16 you could apply to its content: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4leoa9gKKY&list=PLdGqz6dgvIzYVoVZ79A290S6td-WA9nPO

- assess the "Bitter Brew" article distributed in class in terms of the humor it employs

Journals:

- find an advice question to respond to on either the Ethicist or other advice columnist websites like Dear Abby or Miss Manners (try inserting some humor in your response!)

- write 10 sentences using Unit 16 vocab

Kulturraumstudien USA, Homework for May 20th

For homework, please:

- develop a research question (related to studies of the US), with a hypothesis, data set and theoretical framework/methodology for our next class

- read through the Vonnegut letter (available here: http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/10/they-surely-are-not-violent.html) and consider what data set it could be a part of for a particular research project

- browse the Letters of Note website (link above) and read through another letter that could be used as a text in a data set for another research project

- skim through the following article: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/05/us/new-army-greens-uniform.html

Kompetenzerweiterung II, Monday/Wednesday Group, Homework for May 8th

For homework, please:

- complete all of the exercises on tense and aspect distributed in class on Thursday EXCEPT for the past simple exercise (it's too easy); check the answers at the bottom of the pages and bring in any questions you have

- study the vocab for Unit 16 and complete exercises A-G

- watch one of the Art Trip videos from this playlist and consider what vocab from Unit 16 you could apply to its content: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4leoa9gKKY&list=PLdGqz6dgvIzYVoVZ79A290S6td-WA9nPO

- assess the advice given in response to "Name Withheld" on both the mechanics and content levels

Journals:
- find an advice question to respond to on either the Ethicist or other advice columnist websites like Dear Abby or Miss Manners
- write 10 sentences using Unit 16 vocab

Kompetenzerweiterung II, Tuesday/Thursday Group, Homework for May 7th

For homework, please:

- have a look at this video and identify the three factors that dictionary makers take into account when considering a word for the dictionary and how this editor defines English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLgn3geod9Q
- have a look at one food debate video from this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOKoMX_ZYUQ&list=PLpfv1AIjenVPhFrwcZGIzBWnz89YrS14a
- watch one of the NY Times Op-Docs from this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDXo83OtzgE&list=PL4CGYNsoW2iCb4uQUNgWK6TJJgNVp-MpP
- think of one of your favorite foods and make sure you're able to spontaneously tell someone the recipe for it in English (even better if it's a recipe from your native culture with some potentially hard-to-translate ingredients)
- complete all exercises for Unit 16, review the answers for exercises from Unit 15 and complete Review 8 (Units 15 and 16)
- complete all of the exercises on tense and aspect distributed in class on Thursday EXCEPT for past simple exercise (it's too easy); check the answers at the bottom of the pages and bring in any questions you have
- read this article and answer the question "why we shouldn't ditch the adverb": https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/29/dont-ditch-the-adverb-the-emoji-of-writing

Journals:
- write 10 sentences using modals
- essay prompt: Are food cultures and sustainability incompatible?