Kulturraumbezogene Wirtschaftsthemen, Homework for June 9th

 ***Please be advised that there is NO class on June 7th. (The Tuesday after Pentecost/Whitsun is "vorlesungfrei" at our institute.)***

In advance of our session on June 9th, please have looked at the exam from last semester which was posted on Ilias back in March (file name: "Kulturraumbezogene Wirtschaftsthemen Exam WiSe 2021_22 PDF"). Ideally, you will set aside 90 minutes in order to complete the entire exam as a practice run, but please at least have read through it in its entirety and have completed the multiple choice questions. We will discuss these in our June 9th session. 

Kompetenzerweiterung II (Tuesday/Thursday Group), Homework for June 9th

In advance of our June 9th session, please have reviewed vocab units 2 and 4 and grammar units 11 and 13. Bring any questions regarding any of the vocab or grammar content as well as any of the accompanying exercises. For extra practice, it would be a good idea to complete reviews 1, 3, 6 and 7, if you haven't done so already. 

Here are some additional exercises for specific exam 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
https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/tests
https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/verb-tenses.html

verb patterns:
https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/verb-patterns-exercises.html

There is no optional essay posted here because you will have your last in-class essay writing opportunity on Thursday, June 2nd from 11:30-12:30. 

Kulturraumstudien USA, Homework for June 13th

It is arguably impossible to understand the modern US political landscape without engaging with Ronald Reagan, the 40th US president. One of the US' more iconic presidents, he has been dubbed by many as the "Great Communicator". Select one of his speeches given during his two terms as president (1981-1989) and analyse the speech using techniques we have used throughout the academic year (bear in mind that question #12 on the exam will be an analysis of a speech, poem, or letter). Bring at least three key pieces of data with you to our next session. (I also recommend looking into who his speech writers were during the time of the speech's delivery.)

Kompetenzerweiterung II (Monday/Wednesday Group), Homework for June 8th

In advance of our June 8th session, please have reviewed vocab units 2 and 4 and grammar units 11 and 13. Bring any questions regarding any of the vocab or grammar content as well as any of the accompanying exercises. For extra practice, it would be a good idea to complete reviews 1, 3, 6 and 7, if you haven't done so already. 

Here are some additional exercises for specific exam 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
https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/tests
https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/verb-tenses.html

verb patterns:
https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/verb-patterns-exercises.html

Your optional essay can be written in response to ONE of the two following prompts:

1. Is necessity truly the mother of all invention?

2. Is change good, more often than not?

Please DO NOT include the words/sentiment "well, it depends" in response to the questions above. Use the tools we have discussed in class to address the question directly by situating it in a specific content about which you can write with authority. This essay is due in June 8th's class, either in hand-written or printed-out form. 

Links of interest:

Team Is or Are: Are Collective Nouns Singular or Plural? | Editor’s Manual (editorsmanual.com)

Comma usage (cornell.edu)

Word division (editorsal.com)

A Woman Who Can Smell Parkinson's Is Inspiring New Research Into Diagnosis : Shots - Health News : NPR

Kompetenzerweiterung II (Monday/Wednesday Group), Homework for May 30th

 ***Please make sure to register on PSSO for the written exam by the deadline and to register in class for a time slot for your second Teilleistung, if you haven't done so already.***

For homework, please review Units 7 (passives and causatives) and 9 (modals and semi-modals) in advance of our next class. I recommend doing Review 4 (pp. 68-69) and Review 5 (pp. 84-85) for review.

Your optional essay prompts for this week are:

1. Is the 9 euro national public transportation ticket a good idea?

2. Has social media made us better communicators?

Your essay is due in class on May 30th either printed-out or hand-written.

Kulturraumbezogene Wirtschaftsthemen, Homework for May 31st

***Please make sure to register for the written exam on PSSO by the deadline. Make sure to also submit the slides for your presentation (the second Teilleistung) by May 27th at 5 pm.***

For homework, please: 

- read the files "management styles 1" and "intercultural teams" in the "management" folder on Ilias and complete the accompanying exercise files. 

- read the files "management styles overview 1_2" and "management styles overview 2_2" and "coaching and mentoring 1_2" and "coaching and mentoring 2_2". What distinction do these pages make between coaching and mentoring? German uses has adopted both of these words as anglicisms. Does German use these words the same way English does?

- read the file "problems with the team" and answer the questions included after the dialogue. Try to use specific business terms (esp. from the domain of management) in your response. 

The remaining files in the "management" folder are optional and intended for extra practice/extension. 

Optional essay prompt: Some managers might assume that millennial and Gen Z employees prefer Theory Y management. Is this necessarily true? Submit your response in an essay of 250-350 words in hand-written or printed-out form in class on May 31st. 

Kulturraumstudien USA, Homework for May 30th

Consider the expression "the silent majority" that we discussed in the context of Richard Nixon's 1969 speech today in class. Where else in historical and contemporary US rhetoric does one see this expression used? Bring examples with you to our next class and keep notes concerning how you compiled these examples. 

Links of interest:

Nixon's "Great Silent Majority" - YouTube

Johnny Cash - San Quentin (Live at San Quentin, 1969) - YouTube

Merle Haggard - Okie From Muskogee (Live) - YouTube

Patton (1/5) Movie CLIP - Americans Love a Winner (1970) HD - YouTube

Kompetenzerweiterung II (Tuesday/Thursday Group), Homework due May 31st

***Please make sure to register on PSSO for the written exam by the deadline and to register in class for a time slot for your second Teilleistung, if you haven't done so already. Remember that there is no class this Thursday (May 26th) due to the public holiday.***

For homework, please review Units 7 (passives and causatives) and 9 (modals and semi-modals) in advance of our next class. I recommend doing Review 4 (pp. 68-69) and Review 5 (pp. 84-85) for review.

Your optional essay prompts for this week are:

1. Is the 9 euro national public transportation ticket a good idea?

2. Has social media made us better communicators?

Your essay is due in class on May 31st either printed-out or hand-written.

 

Kulturraumbezogene Wirtschaftsthemen, Homework for May 24th

***Please be advised that there will be no session on May 19th due to an interview taking place during our class time. Our next session will be on May 24th. Please have a look at the material below in advance of that session.***

For homework, please: 

- access the "gender pay gap listening and reading" file and complete the accompanying comprehension questions. 

- watch the following video and put Voss' three tips in your own words (Voss is the author of the bestselling book on negotiation Never Split the Difference): 

3 Tips on Negotiations, with FBI Negotiator Chris Voss | Big Think - YouTube

- read the interview in the two files "preparing for a negotiation" and explain the following concepts: SPIN, BATNA, and the triangle featured in the interview.

- read the file "negotiations situations and negotiators" and complete the accompanying exercise file.

- the files "negotiation reaching a deal" are optional and are posted for further enrichment (the vocab in part C is particularly useful). 

Optional task for this week: A friend of yours is going to interview at the corporation you work for. You think they would be perfect for the job. You will not be present at the interview and will have no influence on the hiring decision. What interview advice would you give them? Provide your answer (ideally written after you have completed the activities in the blog post above) in an essay of 250-350 words and submit it to me hand-written or printed-out in class on May 24th. 

Links of interest:

The effects of snobby salespeople at luxury stores: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW-3RXknUdo&t=142s

Prenups and intellectual property: https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/12/21/should-couples-get-prenups-for-their-ideas

Kompetenzerweiterung II (Tuesday/Thursday Group), Homework for May 17-20

Please make sure to register for the exam on PSSO before the deadline and to sign up for a time slot for your second Teilleistung (i.e. the oral exam concerning the logs with your partner) in class. 

Your task for this week is to learn ALL of the vocabulary for Unit 22 (Quality and the arts) and complete any exercises you didn't last semester. Much of this will be review, but please pay attention to sections that you did not address in your own study last semester and return to exercises you had difficulty with.

Please review Units 1, 3, and 5 in the textbook and your answers to the exercises you completed last semester. Bring in any questions that you have with tense to our session on May 24th. 

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

https://www.englishapple.ru/index.php/exams/cae/reading-and-use-of-english/key-word-transformations

We will discuss strategies for word formation and key word transformation exercises in our May 24th session. 

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

Bring in some of your favorite examples (not just from these lists) to our May 24th session. 

Complete this punctuation quiz and bring in any questions you might have to our May 24th session: 

https://www.proofreadnow.com/blog/advanced-punctuation-quiz

There is no optional essay this week as your essay writing opportunity will be offered in class on May 19th.

Kulturraumstudien USA, Homework for May 23rd

For homework, please have a look at the graphs and short article featured in the file "Economist graphs" on Ilias. (You are welcome to also have a look at the accompanying two-page article, "Supreme Court Draft" for context, but this is not required.) What interesting/surprising data do these graphs reveal? What implications does this data have?

Please also have a look at the Pew Research Center's website, which furnished one of the graphs for the article: Pew Research Center | Pew Research Center

Browse the site and bring in two interesting findings connected to the US population with you to our next session. (This is an excellent site to bookmark/add to your favorites for future research.)

Links of interest:

Read Justice Alito's initial draft abortion opinion which would overturn Roe v. Wade - POLITICO

JFK RICE MOON SPEECH (nasa.gov)

Kompetenzerweiterung II (Monday/Wednesday Group), Homework for May 16th-May 20th

Please make sure to register for the exam on PSSO before the deadline and to sign up for a time slot for your second Teilleistung (i.e. the oral exam concerning the logs with your partner) in class. 

Please be advised that there will be no class on Monday, May 23rd from 9:45-13:00, as I will be involved in observing a practice lesson and conducting an interview with a candidate for the new English instructor position. On May 23rd at 11:30 am, you will find two essay prompts posted on my blog for you to write in response to if you would like. This optional essay is due by 12:30 pm (i.e. one hour later) to my university email address. The essay must be under 351 words and submitted by the deadline in order to receive feedback.

Your task for this week is to learn ALL of the vocabulary for Unit 22 (Quality and the arts) and complete any exercises you didn't last semester. Much of this will be review, but please pay attention to sections that you did not address in your own study last semester and return to exercises you had difficulty with.

Please review Units 1, 3, and 5 in the textbook and your answers to the exercises you completed last semester. Bring in any questions that you have with tense to our session on May 25th. 

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

https://www.englishapple.ru/index.php/exams/cae/reading-and-use-of-english/key-word-transformations

We will discuss strategies for word formation and key word transformation exercises in our May 25th session. 

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

Bring in some of your favorite examples (not just from these lists) to our May 25th session. 

Complete this punctuation quiz and bring in any questions you might have to our May 25th session: 

https://www.proofreadnow.com/blog/advanced-punctuation-quiz

Kulturraumbezogene Wirtschaftsthemen, Homework for May 17th

Please continue to work on your presentation with your partner. (The slides are due on May 27th.)

For homework, please do the following:

- watch the following video on ramen in US prisons and answer these two questions: 1) Why is ramen so valuable in US prisons? 2) What does this data tell us about how markets work?: Why ramen is so valuable in prison - YouTube

- read the article "Consider the Lobster Roll" in the "Markets and cryptocurrency" folder on Ilias and complete the accompanying comprehension questions.

- read through the scans entitled "cryptocurrency" and "Bitcoin" (each have two parts).

- finally, watch this video and answer the questions below Could digital currencies put banks out of business? | The Economist - YouTube

1. What is fractional reserve banking?

2. What challenges are intangible assets presenting banks with? 

3. Why does the video argue that digital currencies issued by governments might be more radical than cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin? 

4. What risk is involved in using digital currencies (think of risk from the perspective of different parties involved)?

(If you're interested in the blockchain technology at the heart of Bitcoin, this is a cool optional video, which is part of Wired magazine's "5 levels" series): Blockchain Expert Explains One Concept in 5 Levels of Difficulty | WIRED - YouTube

(And this is a Conan O'Brien sketch that captures quite nicely how the vast majority of the public has no idea how Bitcoin works: Bitcoin's COO Explains What Bitcoin Is - YouTube Again, this is optional ;-).) 

I've also posted another optional article in the folder this week ("case for bitcoin") that explains cultural perception of the Bitcoin community quite nicely. 

Your optional essay for this week is to answer the following question in an essay of 250-350 words: will digital currencies and cryptocurrencies change the way banking works forever? This essay is due either hand-written or printed-out in class on Tuesday, May 17th. 

Kompetenzerweiterung II (Tuesday/Thursday Group), Homework for Weeks Six and Seven (May 3rd-May 17th)

  ***Please be advised that we will not have class during Project Week (May 9th-13th). The content featured below should be prepared in advance of our May 17th session.***

Make sure that you submit your log for the first Teilleistung by May 6th at 5 pm.

Your task for this week is to learn ALL of the vocabulary for Unit 18 (Reactions and health) and complete the accompanying exercises. Please also do all of Review 9 on pp. 152-153 (for those of you who want to get ahead of the game in terms of studying for the exam, I recommend taking this opportunity to review Unit 17 while you're in this part of the book this week).

We'll be looking at collocations more in depth in future sessions, so I recommend completing the following quizzes:  

https://speakspeak.com/english-grammar-exercises/intermediate/intermediate-grammar-exercise-collocations

https://www.english-grammar.at/online_exercises/collocations/coll001-adjectives.htm

https://speakspeak.com/english-grammar-exercises/upper-intermediate/collocations-3

Your optional essay prompts for this week are:

1. What should young people do to maintain sound mental health during their studies or apprenticeships? (This video might provide you with some ideas, but please don't simply summarize its content (the Mayo Clinic is one of the premier medical institutions in the US): Teens and mental health: Mayo Clinic Radio - YouTube)

2. Do companies have the right to monitor their employees' health? (This article might help, but, again, please don't just summarize its content and note that it was written pre-COVID-19): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/14/is-your-boss-secretly-or-not-so-secretly-watching-you ) 

Choose one of the above questions for your optional essay of 250-350 words and submit it either printed out or hand-written in our next class on Tuesday, May 17th. 

Kulturraumstudien USA, Homework for May 18th

***Please be advised that our next Zoom session will be on May 18th. Have a great project week!***

For homework, please have a look at the one-page scan (pg. 99) in the Eula Biss folder on Ilias. The excerpt comes from her book On Immunity, published in 2014 initially and, understandably, revisited by readers and publishers alike in 2020 with the emergence of COVID-19.  In this excerpt, she analyzes some representations of vampires in the time periods she focusses on. The archetype of the vampire is explored throughout the book, where she also states that vampires in series and films in the 2010s interestingly display confliction about their impulses (e.g. vampires consuming synthetic blood in True Blood). According to Biss (and other media scholars), what archetypes do at certain periods of history tell us a lot about the ethos and zeitgeist of those times. 

Try out taking this approach by selecting one archetype and analyzing its trajectory during at least three different time periods in US history. Archetypes can be any recurring figure used in narratives, e.g. zombies, superheroes, cowboys, lawyers, juries, etc. Try to see if you can include the post-WWII period in your analysis. What purpose does your archetype serve in media during this time?

Kompetenzerweiterung II (Monday/Wednesday Group), Homework for Weeks Seven and Eight (May 2nd-13th)

 ***Please be advised that we will not have class during Project Week (May 9th-13th). The content featured below should be prepared in advance of our May 16th session.***

Make sure that you submit your log for the first Teilleistung by May 6th at 5 pm.

Your task for this week is to learn ALL of the vocabulary for Unit 18 (Reactions and health) and complete the accompanying exercises. Please also do all of Review 9 on pp. 152-153 (for those of you who want to get ahead of the game in terms of studying for the exam, I recommend taking this opportunity to review Unit 17 while you're in this part of the book this week).

We'll be looking at collocations more in depth in future sessions, so I recommend completing the following quizzes:  

https://speakspeak.com/english-grammar-exercises/intermediate/intermediate-grammar-exercise-collocations

https://www.english-grammar.at/online_exercises/collocations/coll001-adjectives.htm

https://speakspeak.com/english-grammar-exercises/upper-intermediate/collocations-3

Your optional essay prompts for this week are:

1. What should young people do to maintain sound mental health during their studies or apprenticeships? (This video might provide you with some ideas, but please don't simply summarize its content (the Mayo Clinic is one of the premier medical institutions in the US): Teens and mental health: Mayo Clinic Radio - YouTube)

2. Do companies have the right to monitor their employees' health? (This article might help, but, again, please don't just summarize its content and note that it was written pre-COVID-19): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/14/is-your-boss-secretly-or-not-so-secretly-watching-you ) 

Choose one of the above questions for your optional essay of 250-350 words and submit it either printed out or hand-written in our next class on Monday, May 16th.