Sunday, June 21, 2020

Kompetenzerweiterung II, Last Post Before the Exam

Please make sure that you are registered for my exam via the eassessment platform. On exam day, I will be accessible to you for assistance via Zoom. Contact me if there are any emergencies. Please use the following meeting ID and password:

Meeting ID: 839 6443 2028
Password: 3wM8Sa

I will be hosting a final Zoom session this Monday (for the Monday/Wednesday Group) and this Tuesday (for the Tuesday/Thursday Group) at 10 am to do a trial run on the eassessment platform. The login information for this Zoom session can be found in the Week Seven post (i.e. it is not the login information featured above).

Here are some additional exercises for practice:
open CLOZE:
https://www.english-grammar.at/online_exercises/open-cloze/open-cloze-index.htm
https://www.esl-lounge.com/student/advanced-open-cloze.php

verb gap fills:
https://www.english-grammar.at/online_exercises/tenses/t114-mixed-tenses.htm
http://www.languageguide-online.com/mixed-tenses---exercises.html
https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/tests
https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/verb-tenses.html

verb patterns:
https://elt.oup.com/student/solutions/advanced/grammar/grammar_03_022e?cc=de&selLanguage=de
https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/verb-patterns-exercises.html

error correction:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/11/11/insider/copy-edit-this-quiz.html
(There are over a dozen quizzes like this from the NY Times, just type "NY Times Copy Edit This quiz" into a search engine and you will get all of them.)

Pages 265-280 of your Destination book also provide a number of exercises for review.

I will accept written work via email until this Wednesday, June 24th by midnight. You are welcome to submit one essay to any of the prompts you have not written to from this semester. (Consult my previous blog posts from this semester for the prompts.) Please keep it to 250-350 words and double space your text!
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Kulturraumstudien USA, Information for the Exam

Please make sure that you are registered for my exam via the eassessment platform. I will be posting the exam there and posting the 12 questions on a blog post, if you prefer to simply copy/paste them into a document from this website. On exam day, I will be accessible to you via Zoom. Contact me if there are any emergencies. Please use the following meeting ID and password: 

Meeting ID: 839 6443 2028
Password: 3wM8Sa

This Monday (June 22nd), I will be hosting one last Zoom to test drive the eassessment platform with you and answer any final questions you have about the year's course content or about the exam at large. (The Zoom login info for this session can be found in the Week Seven post. It is NOT the information featured above.)

To round out our semester, I would like you to read the following article and be able to answer the question, "Whom does Joe Biden need to target in order to win this November?" https://www.vox.com/2020/5/26/21264719/joe-biden-election-coalition Note that the article was written at the end of May. Should the protest events of June change the analysis in any way?

In addition to this, have a look at the campaign websites of Donald Trump and Joe Biden:
https://joebiden.com/
https://www.donaldjtrump.com/
Who are the target audiences of each respective website?

If you would like me to have a look at any of your written work, please submit this to me by this Friday, June 16th at noon (i.e. 12 o'clock in the afternoon).

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Kulturraumbezogene Wirtschaftsthemen, Final Post Before the Exam

For Kulturraumbezogene Wirtschaftsthemen, the exam will be posted on both the eassessment platform and Ilias on exam day. (On our class' Ilias page, it will appear under the file name "Exam" and will therefore be the first item in the list under "Inhalt".) On exam day, I will be accessible to you via Zoom. Contact me if there are any emergencies. Please use the following meeting ID and password: 

Meeting ID: 839 6443 2028
Password: 3wM8Sa

This Tuesday, I will be hosting one last Zoom session to do a trial run with you on the eassessment platform and answer any final questions you might have on course content/questions about the presentations or the exam itself. The meeting ID and password for this meeting can be found in the Week Seven blog post.

There is no new work for this week. Please start studying for the exam. The sample answers for Week 12's work has been posted on Ilias in the Week 12 folder. Below are some links for practicing multiple choice for business English terms and language. (Bear in mind that these links do NOT contain all of the content relevant for the exam -- any vocab introduced this semester is fair game for the multiple choice items; the last link contains some content that is difficult and irrelevant for the exam; these links are simply provided for practice of the question type):

https://www.englishhints.com/support-files/business-english-vocabulary-quiz.pdf

https://www.espressoenglish.net/business-vocabulary-quiz/

https://www.goconqr.com/p/921824-HSC-Business-Studies-Quiz--2013-Exam-Paper-quizzes/




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Sunday, June 14, 2020

Kompetenzerweiterung II, Work for Week Twelve (June 15-19)

Your task for this week is to learn ALL of the vocabulary for Unit 24 (Relationships and people) and complete all of the remaining accompanying exercises. Much of it will be review, but please pay attention to sections (those other than topic vocabulary and word formation) that we did not cover last semester. Please also review the verbs that take the gerund or the infinitive from Unit 23.

In addition to this, please watch the following videos and complete the following exercises: 
The next Zoom sessions will be offered at the following times:
I will be offering a Zoom session at the following times to cover error correction, essay writing, and the exam procedure:
Monday/Wednesday Group: Monday, June 15th from 10-11 am
Tuesday/Thursday Group: Tuesday, June 16th from 10-11 am

 I will be offering one last Zoom session for this semester to address any final questions you have and the exam procedure at the following times: 
Monday/Wednesday Group: Monday, June 22nd from 10-11 am
Tuesday/Thursday Group: Tuesday, June 23rd from 10-11 am

Attendance at Zoom meetings are optional. If you attend, please attend the meeting of your respective group (i.e. Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday). (If you must attend the session of the other group, let me know in advance via email.) There will also be a normal post on this blog for next week. (The meeting ID and password for our Zoom sessions can be found in Week Seven's blog post. Please be advised that the a zero starts both passwords, not the letter "o".)

Your optional essay topics for this week are:
1. Is family overrated? 
2. What a makes a true friend? 

Choose one of the above questions for your optional essay of 250-350 words and submit it to me via email in an MS Word document by Wednesday, June 17th at midnight. (The deadline has been pushed up due to the holiday on Thursday.) Essays must meet the word-limit guidelines and be submitted by the deadline in order to receive feedback. Please provide ample space (e.g. double space) between the lines of your essay so that I can write my corrections/remarks. 
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Kulturraumbezogene Wirtschaftsthemen, Work for Week Twelve (June 15-19)

You will find a new folder ("Reading and Listening Comprehension Tasks for Week Twelve (June 15-19") on the Ilias page containing new reading and listening comprehension tasks for this week's topic, advertising. I have also included some exercises and the answers to those exercises in the folder. (I also included an article on Carolyn Davidson, the creator of the Nike logo, who is referenced in the Vox video. Trust me: there was negotiation involved in her getting that Nike stock, so...negotiate!)

Sample answers to the tasks for Week Eleven can be found in that folder on Ilias. 

There two optional writing tasks (250-350 words) in this set of materials, one at the end of the video on brand activism and the other in the document about logos. You are welcome to respond to both essays prompts. Essays aredue to me via e-mail by Wednesday, June 24, 2020 at midnight. This is the last day that I will be accepting any optional work for this class. Please make sure that your essay stays within the word limit and is submitted on time. Please also give me ample space between the lines of your essay (e.g. double space) so that I have sufficient space for my written comments and corrections. 

I will be hosting two more class Zoom sessions this semester at the following times:
Tuesday, June 23rd from 2-3 pm 
Please find the ID and password for these two sessions in my Week Seven blog post.

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Kulturraumstudien USA, Work for Week Twelve (June 15-19)

This week, I'd like you to review all of the posts and your notes from this year (starting in October 2019) as content from the entire academic year is fair game for the exam. Please do any catch up that you need to do for missed weeks. Write down any questions you have and we can address them in next week's Zoom session (Monday, June 22nd from 4-5 pm). We will also be addressing the exam procedure at that time. Next Monday, I will also be dedicating a post to content concerning the election, which will also be fair game for the exam.
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Sunday, June 7, 2020

Kulturraumbezogene Wirtschaftsthemen, Work for Week 11 (June 8-12)

You will find a new folder ("Reading and Listening Comprehension Tasks for Week Eleven (June 8-12") on the Ilias page containing new reading and listening comprehension tasks for this week's topic, advertising. Advertising, marketing and branding (including in social media contexts) will be our focal points for the remainder of the semester. 

This week's optional writing task (250-350 words) can be found in the Economist text. This is due to me via e-mail by Wednesday, June 10, 2020 at 5 pm. (I've moved up the deadline due to the holiday on Thursday.) Please make sure that your essay stays within the word limit and is submitted on time. Please also give me ample space between the lines of your essay (e.g. double space) so that I have sufficient space for my written comments and corrections. 

I will be hosting two more class Zoom sessions this semester at the following times:
Tuesday, June 16th from 2-3 pm
Tuesday, June 23rd from 2-3 pm 
Please find the ID and password for these two sessions in my Week Seven blog post.

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Kompetenzerweiterung II, Work for Week 11 (June 8-12)

Your task for this week is to learn ALL of the vocabulary for Unit 22 (Quality and the arts) and complete all of the remaining accompanying exercises. Much of it will be review, but please pay attention to sections (those other than topic vocabulary and word formation) that we did not cover last semester.

In addition to this, please watch the following videos and complete the following exercises: 
Here you will find a wealth of word formation exercises. I recommend doing as many as you can before the exam: https://www.english-grammar.at/online_exercises/word-formation/word-formation-index.htm
Here you will find a wealth of key word transformation exercises. I recommend doing as many as you can before the exam: 
https://www.englishapple.ru/index.php/exams/cae/reading-and-use-of-english/key-word-transformations
Most of you are aware of various German false friends with English, but some of you are not aware that French and Spanish interference is something to watch out for now that you are studying two languages at once. Avoid false friends in your work on the exam and have a look at these lists below:
French: https://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/vocabulary-lesson-faux-amis.php
Spanish: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/57195/50-spanish-english-false-friend-words

The next Zoom sessions will be offered at the following times:
Monday/Wednesday Group: Monday, June 8th from 10-11 am
Tuesday/Thursday Group: Tuesday, June 9th from 10-11 am 
In abovementioned sessions, we'll be doing work on vocabulary items covered in your book together. I will also be offering a Zoom session at the following times to cover error correction, essay writing, and the exam procedure:
Monday/Wednesday Group: Monday, June 15th from 10-11 am
Tuesday/Thursday Group: Tuesday, June 16th from 10-11 am
Attendance at Zoom meetings are optional. If you attend, please attend the meeting of your respective group (i.e. Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday). (If you must attend the session of the other group, let me know in advance via email.) There will also be a normal post on this blog for next week. (The meeting ID and password for our Zoom sessions can be found in Week Seven's blog post. Please be advised that the a zero starts both passwords, not the letter "o".)

Your optional essay topics for this week are:
1. When does graffiti become art? (Have a look at the essays here for context and input concerning argumentative approaches: https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/07/11/when-does-graffiti-become-art ) 
2. Do we need professional art critics? (Have a look at the essays here for context and input concerning argumentative approaches: https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/10/07/do-we-need-professional-critics ) 

Choose one of the above questions for your optional essay of 250-350 words and submit it to me via email in an MS Word document by Wednesday, June 10th at 5 pm. (The deadline has been pushed up due to the holiday on Thursday.) Essays must meet the word-limit guidelines and be submitted by the deadline in order to receive feedback. Since I will be doing the corrections by hand in the next couple of weeks and scanning back the results to you, please provide ample space (e.g. double space) between the lines of your essay so that I can write my corrections/remarks. Please also take the time to proofread what you've written BEFORE you submit it to me. At this stage of the game, I should not be correctly basic spelling errors and grammatical errors that I have drawn your attention to in previous corrections. Your goal should be to learn something NEW about your writing with each batch of feedback you receive from me.
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Kulturraumstudien USA, Work for Week Eleven (June 8-12)

***Exam update: as of Sunday, June 7th, I have not yet been informed concerning which platforms at my disposal for the exam. I am therefore strongly considering simply posting the 12 exams questions as a blog post on exam day and accepting your exams per email. I'll address this in our Zoom this Monday (June 8th from 16-17).***

I know that the past two weeks have been hard for all of us following what happened to Mr. Floyd and the developments in the United States. If you would like to talk to someone about this (or anything else that is troubling you), feel free to contact me via email. In the meantime, take comfort in knowing that you have the power to be fair and just in all of your dealings, no matter how small the scale. Indeed, it is often the smallest of scales that make the biggest impact.

Please watch the videos below (you will notice that they were released several years ago in the context of other cases of police brutality):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8AfohSyqAw
1. What does the NYPD implicit bias training entail?
2. What spurred the NYPD to incorporate this training into their police academy's curriculum?
3. What is implicit bias?
4. How has implicit bias training been critiqued?
5. What are some of the principles of implicit bias training that are addressed in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7aicxAM-Ds
1. How can the US Justice Department intervene in police departments?
2. What is the ACLU?

Read the following article published this past week in The Atlantic and answer the questions below:
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/how-actually-fix-americas-police/612520/
1. What is meant by the "hyperlocalized nature of policing" and why is it a problem, according to the article's authors?
2. What, according to the article, should happen on the federal, state, and local levels with regards to "fixing" the police in the US?

Some of you will have seen #defundthepolice on protest signs and on Twitter and Instagram. This article does a good job of explaining what this means:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/05/defunding-the-police-us-what-does-it-mean

As a student of multilingual communication, what would you include in police training that could prevent abuse of force in the future?

On a personal note, this article was also recently published by The Atlantic by my beloved college sociology professor:
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/06/i-cant-breathe-using-tear-gas-during-pandemic/612673/

To continue with our protest music theme, you might be interested in this song compilation:
https://www.cbc.ca/music/black-lives-matter-30-powerful-songs-about-police-brutality-anti-black-racism-and-revolution-1.5598202

Questions presented in today's Zoom session (our next Zoom session will take place on June 22nd from 16-17):

Why is college so expensive in the United States?


As a student of multilingual communication, what would you include in police training that could prevent abuse of force in the future?


Will Trump win in 2020?


Where do we see the differences between the US’ and Germany’s risk aversion in their respective responses to corona?


Why do you think that the majority of people from US/Americans find protest effective? 


Will free college ever be implemented on a national scale in the US? 


How are the associations people from the US/Americans make with “racism” and the associations Germans make with “Rassismus” different?


In what ways is Netflix a product of US culture? 


How have protest songs influenced and shaped pop culture in the United States? 
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