Two Factors Theory Essay Example for Free

Two Factors Theory Essay The organization in question has been completely evaluated based upon Herzberg’s motivational theory the results were astounding.   According to Herzberg’s theory much of the dissatisfaction in the environment can be eliminated with regular care and maintenance.   The company policies and procedures are weak; therefore, employees do not feel the practices implemented communicate the company’s vision and expectations in a solid manner.   The quality of supervision is low, as our leadership staff has not been fully trained to support the company vision.    As a result of poor supervision and weak company policy, employees feel they are unable to develop a working relationship with their direct superiors. Keeping the above in mind as well as the physical surroundings, working conditions can be improved so that employees feel they are working in a supportive and safe environment.   Salaries are low, compared to our competition and need to be increased in order to obtain quality employees.   The result of the conditions described above, it is almost impossible for employees to develop relationships with their peers. In order to properly function as a company we must satisfy our employees’ needs by not only improving the conditions listed above, but also implementing several motivators.  Ã‚   Employees must feel a sense of achievement daily, as well as receive recognition for their hard work.   Implementing something as an employee of the month program and having some type of goal setting for performance will give the staff a way to measure their productivity and feel recognized for their efforts. Employees must also enjoy their work and many are unable to do so due to lack of training and poor supervision. Our employees also feel that there is no room for advancement and personal growth within the company. Implementing a training program for new employees as well as our long-term employees will improve morale.   The new employee training program will ensure that staff is given the right tools to perform their duties and the proper training to perform them efficiently. Training programs for the long-term employees will open the doors for advancement.   Through effective employee training programs we will be able to accurately measure performance, improve morale within the teams, develop positive working relationships between team members and provide various opportunities to our staff. References Stroh, Linda K. (2002).   Organizational Behavior:   A Management Challenge. Mahwah, NJ, USA:   Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Incorporated.

Euro note and euro commercial paper

Euro note and euro commercial paper Difference Between The Euro Note Market And The Euro Commercial Paper Market Introduction The Euromarkets are the single most important source of commercial loan funds for the developing countries. The development and operation of Eurocurrency markets have played a very significant role in the post war international financial system. Indeed the explosive growth in international banking and bank lending could not have come about but for the Eurocurrency markets. Simply stated, the term Eurocurrency refers to a currency deposited in a bank outside the home country of that currency. Therefore, Eurocurrencies and Eurocurrency markets are outside the regulatory framework of any monetary authority-the monetary authority of the place where the deposit is made is not concerned with non-residents depositing or borrowing foreign currencies, which does not affect the domestic money supply. It is also outside the control of the monetary authority of the home country of the currency concerned because the transaction takes place outside the country. Inter-Bank Markets Apart from customer transactions, there is an extremely active inter-bank market in Eurocurrencies. Banks acting in the market are continuously trading Eurodollar deposits in the inter-bank market. Such active banks would readily offer a two-way quote-the rate at which they are willing to take a deposit, and the rate at which they are willing to place deposits. The two rates are referred to as bid and offered rates-hence the terms, London inter-bank rate (LIBID) and London inter-bank offered rate (LIBOR)-and the differences between the two represents the trading margin of the bank. Generally, it is of the order 1/8 percent. For calculation of interest on currencies other than the British pound, Eurodollar deposits in particular, the year is reckoned to be of 360 days. Thus, the actual interest would be worked out on the actual number of days divided by 360. Note Issuance Facilities Note Issuance Facility (NIF) is a medium term commitment on the part of underwriting banks which obliges them to purchase any short term notes which the borrower is unable to sell in the market, at an agreed spread over a suitable benchmark. The benchmark could be LIBOR, the T-bill rate, etc. Once a note issuance facility is in place, the borrower can issue short term paper and sell it in the capital market. To the extent the borrower can sell notes at a spread lower than that at which the underwriters are committed to buy, this helps in reducing the cost of borrowing. Another major advantage of a note issuance facility is that, since the notes are short term, this may allow the borrower to access investors who may not be interested in committing medium term funds but may be quite happy to buy short-term paper. The NIF can thus be used to diversify the investor base. To an extent, the NIF is something of a halfway mark between syndicated loans on the one hand and bond issues on the other. With some marginal variations in the basic structure of the facility, NIFs are sometimes also referred to as revolving underwriting facilities (RUFs), note purchase facilities or Euro note facilities. Euro-Notes Euro notes are short term bonds sold by a borrower directly to the investors with or without the underwriting support of the commercial banks. Euro-Commercial Paper Like Euro notes under NIFs, CPs is also short term paper issued by non-bank borrowers. The principal distinguishing feature is that commercial papers are not underwritten by a bank and the issuer, therefore, is one with very high credentials. The paper is usually issued in higher denominations of the order of $ 100,000 and the market is dominated by large professional investors. Although these can be issued in interest -bearing form, they are usually issued at a discount to face-value and quoted in the secondary market on a yield basis. Euro Notes And Euro-Commercial Paper Markets A recent innovation in nonbank short-term credits that bears a strong resemblance to commercial paper is the so-called Euro note. Euro notes are short term notes usually denominated in dollars and issued by corporations and governments. The prefix†Euro† indicates that the notes are issued outside the country in whose currency they are denominated. The interest rates are adjusted each time the notes are rolled over. Euro notes are often called Euro-commercial paper. Typically, though, the name Euro-CP is reserved for those Euro notes that are not underwritten. There are some differences between the U.S. commercial paper and the Euro-CP markets. For one thing, the average maturity of Euro-CP is about twice as long as the average maturity of U.S. CP. Also Euro-CP is actively traded in secondary market, but most U.S. CP is held to maturity by the original investors. Central banks, commercial banks and corporations are important part of the investor base for particular segment s of Euro-CP market; the most important holders of U.S. CP are money market funds, which are not very important in the Euro-CP market. In addition, the distribution of U.S. issuers in the Euro-CP market is of significantly lower than the distribution of U.S. issuers in the U.S. CP market. An explanation of this finding may lie in the importance of banks as buyer of less-than-prime paper in the Euro-CP market. Another important difference in practice between the two markets is in the area of ratings. Only about 45% of active Euro-CP issuers at year end 1986 were rated. Credit ratings in the United States, on the other hand are ubiquitous. This difference may prove transitory, however as investors become accustomed to the concept and the rating agencies facilitate the use of their services.

Bilingualism is a controversial issue

Bilingualism is a controversial issue However, defining bilingualism and bilinguals is more difficult than what the people think. This is due to bilingualisms multidimensional aspects as been stated by many linguists, educationalists, and psycholinguists. For example, Hofmann (1991), mentions that the multi-faceted phenomenon of bilingualism is the most remarkable and significant feature which is expected to centre the point of difficulty when defining bilingualism from one dimension. Moreover, Hamers Blanc (2000, pp. 3 23) provide a similar point of view and they highlight multidimensionality as being one weakness of bilingualism because when defining it, only one dimension would be taken into account, ignoring other sides of bilingualism. They add a number of various definitions of bilingualism which are one sided as they believe. For example, a definition of bilingualism may concern competence, without the other significant dimensions. Baker Jones (1998) become more specific in explaining the multidimensionality of bilingualism and they assert that there are five main issues that show the difficulty of defining bilingualism very concisely. Also, they show that there might be degrees of bilingualism which vary in the same person over time. The five issues are as the following: There is distinction between ability in language and use of language. They are two separate things. For example, a bilingual person has the ability to speak two languages very fluently, but he or she uses and practices only one of the two languages regardless whether it is the native language or the second language. Another bilingual person has the ability to speak two languages but he or she has some problems in speaking one of the two languages regardless whether it is the native language or the second language, but this person uses and practices both languages regularly. This distinction can be referred to the degree of difference between proficiency or competence of language (ability) and function of that language (use). Proficiency may vary in a language. For example, the abilities of a bilingual person will vary in using a language among the four skills of that language (listening, reading, speaking, and writing), where that person might be very good in speaking A language but when it comes to writing, the person will use B language to write or read, because his or her ability of writing in A language is weak or low. Another bilingual person might have good abilities (proficiency) in speaking and writing of a language, but he or she cannot use and practice (speak or write) that language, so he or she tends to use another language. This is called receptive competence. Few bilingual people are equally proficient in both languages, but one language tends to be stronger and better developed than the other language. It is called the dominant language and it is not necessarily to be the first or native language. Few bilinguals possess the same competence as monolinguals in either of their languages. This is because bilingual individuals utilize the languages they acquired for different functions and purposes. A bilinguals competence in a language may vary over time and according to changing circumstances. For example, a child starts to learn a minor language at home or in the childhood. As time goes, he or she learns another language in the school or community and he or she will gradually lose the minor language, because it is out of use and that person became away from the childhood; the situation where the minor language is used (Baker Jones 1998). Mackey (1967) supports Bakers Jones issues in a different way that there are four aspects should be taken into account when defining and describing bilingualism. They are overlapped to each other and cannot be treated separately. These aspects are degree, function, alteration, and interference. The degree of bilingualism indicates the proficiency and competence of language, which is the extent to which the bilingual knows each of the languages. The part of function focuses on the use and practice a bilingual has for the languages. How much each language is used and practiced by the bilingual? Alteration concentrates on the extent to which the bilingual switches between the languages (code switching). And interference is the degree to which a bilingual manages to keep the two languages separate or fused. Mackey adds that the four questions are overlapped to each other and they cannot be treated separately. For example, a bilinguals knowledge of a language will to some extent specify the functions to which it is put; and the vice versa. The contexts in which bilinguals have the opportunity to use language will affect their competence in it Adding to the previous points, Romaine (1995), states that proficiency and function are the factors which are related to the definition and description of bilingualism. Bilingualism should be carefully viewed with great consideration to certain variables appearing in the coming definitions. Auer (1995) shows that bilingualism can be referred to the linguistic competences in more than one language. This bilingual competence can be accessible via the analysis of well-formed sentences involving two languages which may be treated as a window on the bilingual mind (Auer, 1995, p.115). Clearly, psycholinguists deem bilingualism as hidden competence in bilinguals minds, and it can be revealed as bilinguals produce utterances. Conversely, Saunders (1988) declares that bilingualism has different associations in peoples minds. In the issue of the definition of bilingualism, two distinctive sides have appeared which have been opposing each other in the way of defining bilinguals and bilingualism. The debate is centred about two definitions. In one side, there are some people who assume that bilingualism is being proficient in speaking two languages just like the native speakers. This is related to Leonard Bloomfield the most famous linguist on the first side of the issue. According to Hofmann (1991), Bloomfield pays special attention to users who become so proficient in the new language that they cannot be distinguished from the native speakers and he considers these users are bilinguals. He relates bilingualism to those individuals who speak a second language with high native level of proficiency. In 1933, Bloomfield published a book called Language which was an early book of modern linguistics and it defines bilingualism as In the extreme case of foreign language learning, the speaker becomes so proficien t as to be indistinguishable from the native speakers round him. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦In this case where this perfect foreign language learning is not accompanied by loss of the native language, it results in bilingualism, (the) native-like control of two languages (Bloomfield, 1933, p.55-56). As a consequence of Bloomfields definition, Hoffmann (1991) raises some questions, where he believes that Bloomfield has a clear idea of bilingualism, but there is some inconsistency on his definition of bilingualism. For example, if there is no definition for a degree of perfection in bilingualism, so how could Bloomfield talk of perfect foreign language learning? Continuing with Romaine (1995), who says that the previous definition identifies native like control of two languages as being the norm for bilingualism. Moreover, Hamers Blanc (2000) add that Bloomfield concentrates on the one dimension which is proficiency in language and this is not satisfying, because it is one of the weaknesses in defining bilingualism. As a consequence of Bloomfields definition, Also, Saunders (1988) stresses that this definition is restrictively limited to bilingual individuals who master their two languages completely. The previous views towards Bloomfields definition show the reasons of having another side of defining the term bilingualism. Moving to the other most different side of defining and describing bilingualism, bilinguals who have no native speakers competence in both languages reject that definition utterly and a number of definitions opposing Bloomfields notion have been placed by many linguists. For example, Saunders (1988) argues that many bilinguals comprehend a foreign language without having the ability to speak it fluently. Therefore, linguists define bilingualism as the bilinguals capability of using and speaking two distinctive languages at any level of competency. After all these various arguments regarding bilingualisms nature, it is clear that bilingual individuals have different degrees of competence in the second language. Also, comes in the other side, Haugen (1953, p.7) who shows that if an individual of any language could produce complete meaningful sentences in any othe r language, he or she would be a bilingual. One more definition contradicting Bloomfields is Macnamaras definition. Macnamara (1967a) cited in Hamers Blanc (2000, p.6) who defines a bilingual as anyone who possesses a minimal competence in only one of the four skills, listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing in a language other than his mother tongue. There is a collection of other definitions of bilingualism between the above most two distinctive sides of definitions. That collection appeared to align for either side. For example, Hamers Blanc (2000, p.6-7) note that Titone (1972) defines bilingualism as the individuals capacity to speak a second language while following the concepts and structures of that language rather than paraphrasing his or her mother tongue. All the previous distinguishing definitions show the degree of difficulty in providing a concise definition of a bilingual and bilingualism, because most of the definitions are seen to be lacking specifity and clarity in the main points on them like native-like competence, minimal proficiency in a second language, and following the concept of structures of the second language (Hamers Blanc, 2000, p.6-7). In the case of bilingualism at HCT, Macnamaras definition of bilingualism seems to be the most appropriate one to the foundation year students capability of English and this is due to their level of English which is not as much as Bloomfields notion of native like control of two languages. 2.2 Types of bilinguals: Bilinguals in the world have been categorised into groups depending on certain points. The Finnish linguist Skutnabb-Kangas (1981) discusses this part of the issue of bilingualism and she proposes that bilinguals in the world can be classified into four different groups and there are some factors should be taken into account to distinguish between these groups. The factors are: the pressure to become bilingual, the prerequisites for bilingualism, the method used to achieve bilingualism, and the consequences in the case of failure. Skutnabb-Kangas focuses mainly on children bilinguals in her classification, but this classification to some extent might apply on bilinguals other than children. She classifies the groups as the following: Elite bilinguals: this group consists of people who have chosen to learn another language and become bilingual and in most cases they are not forced to bilingualism. Most of the bilinguals in this group are upper and middle class people. For example, some of them become bilinguals for the sake of studying or working abroad such as wining scholarships or having business, while others move and change their country of residence, so they want to learn the language of the target country. Regarding the factor of pressure, elite bilinguals volunteer to learn a second language and there is mostly no pressure, unless the children from the families who move to other countries might feel the pressure since they have to learn the language of the new country. In this group, the bilinguals prerequisites are seen to be most often suitable for them, because this is their choice of being bilinguals. In the case of children, the parents make their children acquire the mother tongue very well, so they will not lose it when learning another language. When they live abroad, the children then will be encouraged to learn a second language which is expected to be used most often, however they will still use the mother tongue at least within the home environment. The method of achieving bilingualism for elite bilinguals is a combination of the natural method and teaching as Skutnabb-Kangas states, where children or other bilinguals will face situations in which they must speak and communicate in the foreign language. Besides, they will be taught the foreign language in their home country as well as in the target country. In the case of failure for elite bilinguals, there are no serious consequences when not making a positive progress in learning a second language. For example, children or bilinguals might have less contact with native speakers and in some cases they will accompany speakers of their own mother tongue. Children from linguistic majorities: this group consists mainly of children who learn a language at school other than their mother tongue and this language is more likely to be a minority language, where children or bilinguals from such groups will learn it for certain reasons. This minority language is used either for the enhancement of its prestige, Hoffmann (1991) provides an example of learning French in Canada. Skutnabb-Kangas (1981) continues that a language might be regarded as being highly beneficial in the field of education and also in getting good occupations in a country, so this language will be used in immersion programmes or in foreign language classes, Hoffmann (1991) mentions the case of using English as a foreign language in Netherlands as an example for the second reason (Hoffmann, 1991). Another example for the later reason could be the situation of teaching English in almost all the educational institutions in Oman and using it widely in most of the occupations i n the various fields of work. There is little or no pressure on the children or other people of this group to learn a second language. The family and the society might be a source of pressure for the children; the parents will motivate their children to become bilinguals for either of the reasons been mentioned previously at least. The members of this group are taught to learn a second language and the methods used in teaching are believed to be better than the methods used for the rest of the groups, because these methods involve well-prepared materials that aid the learning of the second language. The consequences of failure in learning the language and being bilingual are small and this might result that people of this group will use the mother tongue in the society and they will have less opportunities of getting better jobs. According to Hoffmann (1991) the members of the preceding two groups come from monolingual backgrounds. In the contrary, the members of the following two groups are from bilingual backgrounds Children from bilingual families: this group consists of children who come from bilingual families which are the families that the parents have two different mother languages. For example, a family in Finland where the fathers mother language is Finnish and the mothers is Swedish. In this case there is some pressure on the children to be able to speak with their parents in their mother tongues. Besides, the society will push and encourage the children to learn the language used officially in the country which is more likely to be the mother language of either parent, and this helps the children to integrate in the society and to be successful at school. However, in this case the children become monolingual and there are some possible problems in the relationship between them and one or both of their parents, because these children lack complete bilingualism of both parents mother tongues. In the case of failure, the children of this group will face some problems and there might be ne gative consequences within the family environment. For example, a child has negative relationship with one of the parents because he or she fails in being bilingual and learning the mother language of the father or mother. Children from linguistic minorities: this group consists of children whose parents use a language of the minority. For example, a family in Canada, where both parents speak French (minority). In this case, there will be strong pressure from the society and the family on this group of children to become bilingual and learn the language of the majority (English) in order to successfully contact in that society and cope up with the others from majority groups. The methods and materials used to achieve bilingualism need to be more developed, because they still have not reached the level of the high expectations. In the case of failure, the children of this group will face consequences that are thought to be greater than for any of the other previous groups as Skutnabb-Kangas shows that the failure of being bilingual may be catastrophic. For example, the children might lose most of the educational and future opportunities and their contact with the society will be very limited. 2.3 Reasons of being bilingual: Saunders (1988, p.1) states that Fishman, a well-known writer in bilingualism, declares that more than half of the worlds population today uses more than one language while engaging in activities basic to human needs. Also, Baker Jones (1998) add that nowadays, most people in the world live in bilingual environments where two or more languages are used. Numerous causes contribute to the emergence and dominance of bilingualism. There are various optional or compulsory factors. According to Baker Jones (1998), emigration, economic trade and colonisation are main factors that facilitated the dominance of bilingualism over monolingualism. Emigration is a major factor of being bilingual, whereas emigrants move from their own countries to other countries, because of various reasons. For example, some of them escape from wars or poverty in their countries to search for better life in foreign linguistic communities. As a result, they will be forced to learn the language of the host countri es and in order to have wider contact opportunities and more employment availability. According to Saunders (1988), most emigrants speak the language of the new culture and environment. In Australia, for instance, 86.3% of emigrants speak their second language more than their home languages. Saunders also states that commerce and trade are critical factors motivating people to acquire a second language. Most economic business and commercial markets involve bilingual individuals to deal with customers from multicultural areas. Furthermore, Baker Jones (1998) highlight that the existence of bilingualism has also increased because of the mass communication systems such as television, telephone, radio and computers which increased the contacts between members of a variety of languages. (Baker Jones 1998). Another factor is the Geographical proximity of two countries which is a possible factor leading to bilingualism, where people of the two communities need the communication among each other for different purposes like trade and other social relations like marriage resulting in bilingual families. 2.3.1 Education as a great reason of being bilingual: Education is one of the most fundamental factors pushing or motivating individuals to learn a second language. Being bilingual through education can be optional or obligatory. I notice that, in all Arab Gulf countries, most school students become bilingual due to their learning of English as a compulsory subject. However, there are some students, including colleges and universities students, who learn their second language English as an optional subject. The learning of English in these countries seems to be the result of the international relations between them and the United Kingdom. It is worth mentioning that the main focus of my research paper is being bilingual due to education. Adding to the above motives of bilingualism, there are different bilingual education programmes that have been suggested as aiding the increase of bilingualism. (Baker Jones 1998). According to Baker Jones (1998), bilingual education has been widely considered as the capability of using two languages at school. However, it is a more complex phenomenon. Baker (1988) notes that bilingual education could be referred to any program aiming to teach students a second language besides their mother tongue at school Moreover, Hamers Blanc (2000, p.321) mentions that the term bilingual education is used to describe a variety of educational programs involving two or more languages to varying degrees. While, Bialystok (2001) asserts that Brisk describes that the term bilingual education is used in a different way in a number of different countries. For example, in the USA, bilingual education means teaching English to children whose native language is not English. In Europe, it refers to the education used in schools where two languages are involved in teaching different school subjects. These various definitions of bilingual education assure the complexity of this pheno menon. Ferguson et al., (1977) cited in Baker Jones (1998, p.465) provides a number of aims of bilingual education. Some of them are as the following: Bilingual education used to assimilate individuals or groups into the mainstream of society to socialize with people for full participation in the community. To enable people to communicate with the outside world. To provide language skills which are remarkable, aiding employment and status. To deepen understanding of language and culture. To give equal status in law of language of unequal status in daily life. The above aims show that bilingual education does not always concern the use of two languages in the classroom and it takes various classifications, where there are weak and strong forms of bilingual education programmes. The weak forms of bilingual education programmes aim to make children of minority language learn and transfer to the language and culture of majority resulting in monolingualism or limited bilingualism. In contrast, the strong forms of bilingual education aim to make students proficient in their own language as well as the language of majority resulting in full bilingualism. According to Baker (1988), bilingual education is classified to elitist bilingualism and folk bilingualism in accordance to the incentives of being bilingual. Elitist bilingualism is regarded as a reward offered to certain special individuals by government. Some students, for instance, are rewarded by being allowed to study abroad or study in prestigious universities in their countries. On the other hand, folk bilingual education is deemed a crucial need people have to meet in order to remain alive. As mentioned in the previous section that when immigrants move to a new place, they acquire the language of that place so that they can interact with people there. Bilingual education is also categorised into immersion and submersion bilingual education based on the use of both languages in learning. The immersion education is belongs to the strong forms of bilingual education. In immersion education, students are allowed to speak their mother tongue while experiencing their subjects and communicating with teachers. They learn the second language gradually as time goes by. Baker (1993) states that the immersion bilingual education started in Canada in 1965 where an experiment was done on a class of pupils and the aims were to make those pupils competent in using French and to reach good achievement levels in the curriculum involving the English language as well as appreciating the culture and traditions of French speaking Canadians and English speaking Canadians. On the other hand, students are not allowed to speak their home language in the submersion bilingual education, which is one of the weak forms of bilingual education. They are taught a ll their subjects in their second language. According to the major used language, bilingual education can be also categorised into transitional and maintenance or enrichment bilingual educations. The weak form transitional bilingual education essentially aims to develop and make students fluent in one language only, which is the majority language. Therefore, this bilingual education focuses on the bilinguals first language in the learning procedures with few extra classes to learn the second language leading to a limited bilingualism. For example, in the USA and Europe, the minority of languages are taken into account and cured in order to make the minority groups to be able to continue the education in English or other majority languages. While, the strong form maintenance or enrichment bilingual education aims to teach children their subjects with both languages to guarantee that children get good levels of proficiency in both languages. Baker indicates that some students are taught some subjects such as grammar in their nat ive language, while mathematics is learned in the second language. Consequently, students master both languages, and the two languages are developed simultaneously with complete bilingualism. This type of education is used for example in Canada and Wales as Baker (1988, p.47) shows that English speakers are taught French or Welsh to enable them to be fully bilingual (Baker 1988). I assume that maintenance or enrichment bilingual education refers to the same kind of education used in Oman but, here, the government uses the term dual education to refer to it. 2.4 Social attitudes towards bilingualism: Attitudes are the internal thoughts, feelings and tendencies in behaviours that an individual embodies in various contexts. They are difficult to be measured and significant in the thinking and they influence behaviours of individuals and groups. Language attitudes have a pivotal role in the learning of a second language or the loss of the native language. For example, research indicates that an individual will learn a language faster and better than others if his or her attitudes towards that language are positive. Moreover, bilingual education is also influenced by the attitudes of bilinguals being taught where their attitudes will be the reason behind the success and development or the failure of a bilingual education programme. (Baker Jones 1998). According to Baker Jones (1998), there are different types of attitudes to languages. The one related to this research study is the attitude to learning a new language since this paper considers the effects of learning English as a new language on HCT foundation year students social life in Oman. International research focused on the motivations and reasons that make students learn new languages has found that some individuals have the ability to learn a second language quicker and better ways and this due to their positive attitudes towards that certain language and this has been indicated by a research as I mentioned in the first paragraph of this section that positive attitudes to a language will aid the learning of that language. Also, research has found that people in England and the USA have less positive attitudes towards learning a second language than people in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and mainland Europe, where in the latter places; bilingualism is more typical, desirable, and valuable. The reasons might be the consideration of English as a dominant language across the world, so people need to learn it for better employments purposes, wider range of contacts and relationships, as well as travel (Baker Jones 1998). Attitudes to a language are categorised into integrative and instrumental attitudes. Integrative attitudes are the ones that people have when they seek for example, jobs require a second language, read the literature of a second language, socialise with natives of a second language and all this in order to learn that second language and identify different language communities. In the contrary, Instrumental attitudes are the ones that people have when learning a second language for different purposes. For example, they learn a language to pass exams, to find better and more job opportunities, or to help their children in their bilingual education programmes (Baker Jones 1998). Baker Jones (1998) also note that research explains that integrative attitudes and motivations are more helpful in making individuals proficient in the second language, because they provide them with positive attitudes resulting in long term motivation to learn a language, while instrumental attitudes provide short term motivation that will fade for example, an individual has passed in the exam and reached the goals of learning a second language. However, the opposite is a possibility where instrumental attitudes and motivation would be more powerful than integrative attitudes and motivation in learning a language. For example, in India, some Indian students gave instrumental reasons for learning English rather than integrative reasons. They show that English is important in education and future employment and without the need for them; the students would not have learned English. In accordance to the data collected for this research study, the case is that most of the foundation year students at HCT in Oman provided a mixture of both instrumental and integrative reasons for learning English and it can be noticed that instrumental reasons have greater effect than the integrative reasons and this will be discussed in the following chapter. Skutnabb-Kangas (1981) states that bilingualism has been seen in a very negative way in the past and as time was passing by the attitudes towards bilingualism have changed and the negativity has diminished. For example, at the beginning of the twentieth century, there were many statements and investigations that have negative attitudes to bilingualism. They stated that bilingual individuals are for example, lazy, stupid, unreliable, morally inferior, and so on. Romaine (1995, p.303) has conducted a study to investigate attitudes relating to a second language in the Punjabi/English bilingual community in Britain. Romaine has found out that most of her subjects believe that culture is deeply affected by language, for culture cannot be protected without conserving language. In this particular studied community, learners are only taught their second language, which is English, in schools regarding to the assumption that they have already mastered their home language. Therefore, Romaine has reported that the majority of her samples, including parents, prefer their children to be taught using their home language rather than the second language regardless of the latters language qualities. Romaines study shows that monolingual parents feel embarrassed when their bilingual children speak the second language, widely in the society and even in front of the traditional and older generation relatives and guests. Romaines study somehow conforms to the r esults that Huddy and Sears (1984) have found in their survey implemented for 1,570 non Hispanic subjects. They have discovered that people often consider bilingual education as a great factor affecting their culture and language. However, it is obvious that most countries all over the world implementing bilingual education, regardless of its classifications, teach their students English. Those countries believe in the great benefits of having a second language like English. White et al., (2002) declare that New Zealand offers non-English native speakers great opportunities to learn English, for it believes that English is currently very crucial in all life aspects. English skills should be improved as it is critical in facilitating social contacts, in enhancing employment and educational opportunities, and in providing the basis for p

Alice Munros Boys and Girls Essay examples -- Boys and Girls, Alice Mu

â€Å"Boys and Girls† is a short story, by Alice Munro, which illustrates a tremendous growing period into womanhood, for a young girl living on a fox farm in Canada, post World War II. The young girl slowly comes to discover her ability to control her destiny and her influences on the world. The events that took place over the course of the story helped in many ways to shape her future. From these events one can map the Protagonist’s future. The events that were drawn within the story provided the Protagonist with a foundation to become an admirable woman.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the story there are several aspects of the Protagonist’s character that play a major role in the shaping of her future. During her childhood she often demonstrates a sense of fear when she is sent to her bedroom. â€Å"We were afraid of the inside, the room were we slept (pg. 549).† She is intimidated by her personal space because she does not have control over it. Later, she gains control by adding lace to her side of the room; symbolically adding personality to herself and slipping into womanhood. When she felt uncomfortable she exercised her imagination, to psychologically regain control over the confusion in her life. Her subconscious effort to control confusing times were carried on to her later years as she was constantly put in difficult situations, which helped her to adjust quickly to change during adulthood. The dreams she created changed when she began to place emphasis on her appearance-that which she could control, other than past dreams of heroism that seemed so distant from reality. The Protagonist filled her childhood with much pride and maintained a consistent focused upon the activities that filled her childhood. She relished working at the side of her father, taking immense pride in every aspect of her assigned duties. She proclaimed, â€Å"I worked willingly under his eyes, and with a feeling of pride (pg. 551)† Once after her father introduced her to a feed sales man as â€Å"my new hired man (pg. 551),† the Protagonist was flooded with pride as she â€Å"turned away and raked furiously, red in the face with pleasure (pg. 551).† In her later years her pride helped her to assemble strong self-confidence she used in her years of growing. Passion and depth were characteristics that impacted her future as a woman. Her passion and depth was revealed early on in the story ... ...uide boys and girls through a difficult transition period. During her childhood she loved to have influence upon her younger brother. Her need to influence carried on to her adulthood. Story telling was an essential part of her class. It was her conscious way of helping her students to deal with the confusing and threatening world around them. As a child her imagination was a comfort zone for her. She provided her students with that atmosphere. As a child she dreamed of a different world, on she described as â€Å"On that presented opportunities for courage, boldness and self sacrifice (pg 550).† Teaching was an ideal job for the protagonist to attain as it allowed her to remain influential and child like.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Boys and Girls† describes a major turning point in a girl’s life, turning down a path towards womanhood. Her childhood fears of the dark and fears of being less than a perfect worker to her father and her control of her brother slowly dissolve. Her decision to free the terrified horse highlights her pivotal journey into adulthood. And her ability to cry with sensitivity over her decision of freedom, demonstrates the acute sensitivity of a woman.

Inclusion Essay -- essays research papers

Within the past decades and a big discussion has occurred regarding the most appropriate setting within which to provide education for students in special education. Although the change in the educational environment is significant for handicapped student the concepts of inclusion also bring up new issues for the regular education classroom teachers. The movement toward full inclusion of special education students in general education setting has brought special education to a crossroad and stirred considerable debate on its future direction. Proponents of full inclusion argue that the needs of students in general education. Full inclusion is "an approach on which students who are disabled or at risk receive all instruction in a regular classroom setting" (Hardman, Drew, Egan, & Wolf, 1993). Those who are for inclusion claim that segregated programs are detrimental to students and do not meet the original goals for special education(). Recent analysis show a small to moderate beneficial effect of inclusion education on the academic and social outcome of special needs children. Those who support inclusion believe that the child always should begin in the regular environment and only be removed only when appropriate services cannot be provided in the regular classroom. Physical accommodations, sufficient personne l, staff development and technical assistance, and technical collaboration are all brought into the classroom to assist the special needs child in a regular classroom. Another study assessing the effectiveness of inclusion was done at John Hopkins University. In a school-wide restructuring program called, Success for All, student achievement was measured and several positive changes were noticed: a reduced fear of human differences accompanied by increases comfort and awareness, growth in social cognition, improvement in self- concept of non-disabled students, development of personal principles and ability to assume an advocacy role toward their peers and friends with disabilities, and warm and caring friendships. Inclusion is more effective when students with special need are placed in a general education classroom after adequate planning. Inclusion does not mean unilateral changes in student's placements without appropriate preparation. &n... ...assroom teacher. Teacher who collaborate must be honest and open about concerns and feelings. Collaborators must be willing to plan activities that ensure success. Involving students as peer helpers for students with disabilities is a very effective strategy. Teachers will need to model strategies for students and allow students to be involved in problem-solving sessions. Peer assistance and support can help nondisabled students build and maintain relationship with their disabled peers. Teachers must be willing to be a team player. The team must be willing to plan and work together on all issues, especially student behavior. Each team member must be prepared for his or her part of all planning and lesson responsibilities. Special Education Inclusion November 5, 2001 Katie Schultz Stout, WEAC's Director of Instruction and Professional Development Preparing for Inclusion: Involving Everyone in a Inclusion Classroom Setting Creative Educators at Work: All Children Including Those with Disabilities Can Play Traditional Classroom Games," by Donna Raschke, Ph.D., and Jodi Bronson, Ed.S., 1999 Kids Together, Inc. Colleen F. Tomko,1992http://www.kidstogether.org/inc-what.htm

Child Shift

The article entitled â€Å"Children Caught in the Crossfire† explores the effects of proper and dysfunctional parenting on Caribbean children. This article identifies dysfunctional homes that foster improper parenting and the impact of psychological and physical absence of parents on their children. It also assesses the consequences of â€Å"child shifting† on affected children. The social impairments of children suffering from â€Å"child shifting† were cross-examined with the various parenting styles they would receive through continuous domestic relocation. Children Caught in the Crossfire† is an interesting article that exploits numerous factors involving parental negligence which causes child shifting. This has become a cliched situation in the Jamaican society as a vast percentage of Jamaican parents have become surprisingly negligent. Whether by improper parenting or defaulted situations, children have suffered from these mal-outcomes and this has become evident through child development assessments explored within the article. This matter of unnecessary mobilitychild shifting is of personal and public interest which has become the drive upon which the research will be carried out. As a tertiary level student that lives and has been cultured within the assessed environment (Jamaican society), my interest has been stimulated to assess the factors surrounding the nature of this negative lifestyle pattern. This article has highlighted my sensitivity to this situation due to personal reflections (to some extent); analytical efforts will be made to completely understand this critical matter that decreases national productivity and development. Conclusively, after assessment of the article putting concepts into proper perspective, the research topic and question is as follows respectively: The impacts of child shifting on the psycho-social development of Jamaican children and what are the effects of child shifting on the psycho-social development of Jamaican children in changing family structures? The subsidiary questions are: what is child shifting and how does it affect child development, what are the causes of child shifting and will victimized children transit consequent behavior into adulthood, what are the social and psychological factors that affect child development and what are the long term implications of child shifting on the social and psychological development of Jamaican children? Tentative Thesis Child shifting strongly impairs the psycho-social development of Jamaican children which causes their inability to function normally during daily social and psychological situations. Relocation of children after divorce and children’s best interests: New evidence and legal considerations. 17 (2), 206-219. Arizona State University & University of California. The article assesses the effects of child relocation after divorces through a persisting legal issue. The article incorporates statistical date with the views of Wallerstein and other theorists that assess the best interests of a relocated child. This legal issue assesses which caregiver would have the least negative effects on child development. This article is a follow-up on another article explored during the research. This article supports the research through the additional clarity gained from a second assessment of Wallerstein’s theory. The article highlights positive and negative aspects of child relocation. This adds to the research’s objectivity bringing about views that support and oppose the researcher’s stance. Jackson, T. (1957). The differential impact of family disorganization. In Johnston, N. , Savitz, L. , Wolfgang, M. E. (Eds. ). (1962), The sociology of crime and delinquency (pp. 331-338). New York & London: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. This chapter assesses the occurrences of delinquency in children from broken homes. These broken homes were not stated as causes of juvenile delinquents though aspects of disorganized families contribute to the development of delinquency and personality problems. The article states that more critical factors affect delinquency as family disorganization complicates the issue. This article directly contrasts the researcher’s views as disorganized families is directly associated with delinquency. Family disorganization via broken homes is the most common cause of child shifting. This broken home fosters child shifting and the negative psycho-social development of the child which commonly causes juvenile delinquency in the Jamaican society. Pasahow, R. (2005). A critical analysis of the first empirical research study on child relocation, Journal of Critical Analysis of Relocation Study, 19, 321-328. This journal assesses Wallerstein’s study of the best interests of children and the effects of child relocation. However, Wallerstein is opposed by several theorists with supportive research findings. Wallerstein posits that child relocation with their custodial parents is in their best interest while opposing views disprove Wallerstein. The scholarly article explores opposing views of several theorists which gives the researcher an understanding of contrasting arguments on child relocation. The source outlines the effects of child relocation in child development depending on custody. This aids the research in finding out the effects of custodial and non-custodial parents on child development. Samms-Vaughn, M. (2005). Children caught in the crossfire. In Ramsay, P. (2009). Blooming with the pouis. Ian Randle Publishers. This article outlines functional and dysfunctional parenting of children in Caribbean homes. It further assesses the effects of child shifting in various domestic settings. These varying domestic settings included dysfunctional homes which are known to be a cause of impaired psycho-social development. This article supports the research as it sets the basis on which the research is done. The article connects child shifting to the dysfunctional homes that typically cause child shifting. This article also states the effects and what would typically happen in later years.

Au Revoir Les Enfants Essay

Throughout the book â€Å"Au Revoir Les Enfants† Louis Malle highlights at several points the typical associations which the majority of people have when discussing the role of the Germans during the war. However Malle approaches the topic from a more complex angle thus forcing the reader to question the general stereotypes and examine the varying attitudes of both the French and Germans, by portraying them in certain situations in which they adopt a sometimes unexpected attitude. During a scene in the beginning of the book whilst the boys are out in the village they encounter a group of German soldiers, Malle exposes this situation in order to immediately draw attention to the general hostility and fear which is evoked by the Germans. â€Å"Quelques soldats allemands.. les à ©là ¨ves restent debout, intimidà ©s..† The pupils reaction to the soldiers demonstrates the stereotypes associated with them, feelings of fear and uncertainty. During the forest scene, where Julien and Jean become lost during a game the author uses the fall of night in order to pre-empt that something bad is going to happen. â€Å"La nuit commence à   tomber.† As Julien and Bonnet begin to panick, and try find their way home the appearance of two German soldiers envokes a sense of danger and terror. When the soldiers discover the two boys, it is the immediate assumption of both the reader and the personnas that they will be cruel and sinister characters. The way Malle describes the boys as being cornered by the two soldiers suggests that they are cold and unthoughtful before they have even acted. The presumption that the soldiers are callous characters is based purely on the stereotype of Germans during the war. â€Å"Julien et Bonnet sont coinces entre deux soldats..† However, as the scene unravels we discover a different side to the two German soldiers, when they take Julien and Bonnet in their car to return them to the school they cover them with a blanket which demonstrates compassion and warmth. â€Å"Ils partagent une couverture et grelottent.† Furthermore, when they arrive at the school the soldiers are presented as having a sense of humour which softens their characters and sharply contrasts to the usual stereotypes about German soldiers, as being cold and aggressive. â€Å"Est-ce que vous avez perdu des enfants?† At this point in the book, Malle has succesfully introduced to the reader a controversial theme which demands a lot of thought and consideration, as we are made aware that not all German soldiers had the same principles. Continuously, it must be taken into account that the attitudes of the French differed during the war also, and it would be unfair and blatantly wrong to assume that the Germans were simply â€Å"bad† and the French were â€Å"good†, which is a common misconception. The restaurant scene is essential in under lining the way in which Malle does not see the French and Germans as merely â€Å"black and white† but instead evaluates each of their characteristics and exploits them thoughout many scenes in order to highlight the common misjudgements made by many people. Whilst Julien, his older brother Franà §ois, Bonnet and Mmm. Quentin have lunch they witness the French police randomly persecute a quiet, well dressed man and at first, politely request to see his papers. â€Å"Vos papiers monsieur† However, quickly their tone changes and they become aggressive and rude as they realise that the man is a jew. â€Å"Dis donc toi, tu ne sais pas lire?† The way in which they begin reffering to the man as â€Å"tu† as opposed to â€Å"vous† conveys their blunt and unnecissary hostilities, treating the man with rudeness and disrespect. Malle makes it apparent to the readers at this point that it is not possible to form judgements of people based on things as simple as their occupations, nationality or beliefs. Typically we assume that the French police would have been generally sympathetic and â€Å"good†, whereas here Louis Malle provides a clear example of quite the opposite. When the situation in the restaurant becomes heated and it looks like the French police are going to become violent and aggressive, a German voice is heard and rather unexpectedly the German soldier takes control, and stands up for the jewish man demanding for the young French policemen to stand down and leave him alone. â€Å"Une voix allemande couvre la brouhaha. † The stark contrast in this situation between the German soldier and the French police, the typical sterotype is reversed and Malle clearly expresses the way in which the characteristics of both the French and Germans can differ, thus it is not acceptable to categorise people in groups according to their nationalities. Throughout â€Å"Au Revoir Les Enfants† Louis Malle clearly exposes the use of different situations in order to exploit the misconceptions made by a vast amount of people, and he captivates the readers by presenting the characters from a different angle, and not simply in â€Å"black and white.†