Book reflection--Breath,eyes,memory( Edwidge Danticat,New York,1999) Essay - 1

Book reflection--Breath,eyes,memory( Edwidge Danticat,New York,1999) - Essay Example Breath Eyes Memory, a novel written by Edwidge Danticat, tells of a young, Sophie Caco, who matures up to be a woman as she was delimited by the Haitian culture. The story starts with Sophie who is aged six and living with her aunt Atie in Haiti. Born after her mother, Martine was sexually molested. Danticat puts together a narrative of a young woman of Haitian origin coming to terms with her mother, her nation, and her own identity. Sophie’s mother, Martine, leaves her behind with her aunt since she is trying to pull through from her problems. At only twelve, Sophie’s mother sends for her to come reside with her in America. Nonetheless Sophie refuses to go as her mother forced her to undergo a traditional virginity test. At18, Sophie falls in love with Joseph, a neighbor who is much older. Joseph is a musician whom Martine does not approve of. Consequently, Sophie is not able to forget the truth that her mother made her undergo the test and each time she sleeps with he r husband she likely remembers the testing. Martine and Sophie begin to work on their mother-daughter bond and problems they have faced all through their lives. The story however has a tragic ending leaving readers in suspense if Sophie learns to accept the bond with mother. At 12, she is to joins her mother as she moves from an impoverished town of Croix-des-Rosets to America to live with her. However there are hidden memories from Haiti buried away that afflict both Sophie and her alienated insomniac mother (Danticat, pg. 85). She uncovers hidden secrets no child ought to ever make out, that her mother is distraught from a rape ordeal that happened years ago. Later when Sophie is all grown up and has a family of her own, she realizes that her mother condition is worsening. Neither Sophie nor Martine can run away from the burden of the past, which ultimately leads to sexual trauma, bulimia, insomnia and mental torture

Others vs. leaders Essay Example for Free

Others vs. leaders Essay To further test why there was a difference in the above results, t-test was further conducted between the two groups to identify the items where there are possible differences between the two groups under study. B. 1. Leadership, Item 1: There was no significant difference between the Leadership mean scores of the Others Group and the Leaders Group. This means that as far as the Leadership indicators were concerned the two groups could be considered as belonging to the same population, Table 4. Table 4. T-Test Results of Leadership Mean Scores of the Others Group and the Leaders Group Variables Others Leaders t-test Significance. Leadership 3. 805 4. 186 -1. 68 p=0. 10n. s. n. s. = not significant (accept hypothesis: mean scores of others = leaders) * significant at 1% level (reject null hypothesis) This implied that although the respondents belonged to different echelons in the organization studied, as far as the Leadership, Item 1, measures are concerned; the Junior Officers and the Senior Officers perform at the same level. B. 2. Strategic Planning, Item 2: The t-test showed there was no significant difference between mean scores of the two groups suggesting uniformity in perception as far as the indicators of strategic planning were concerned, Table 5. Table 5. T-Test Results of Strategic Planning Mean Scores of the Others Group and the Leaders Group Variables Others Leaders t-test Significance Strategic Planning 3. 852 4. 19 -1. 13 p=0. 265n. s. n. s. = not significant (accept hypothesis: mean scores of others = leaders) * significant at 1% level (reject null hypothesis) B. 3. Customer and Market Focus, Item 3: The t-test on comparing the mean scores of the Others Group and the Leaders Group showed a significant difference between the two groups with the Leaders Group considerably had higher mean score, Table 6. Table 6. T-Test Results of Customer and Market Focus Mean Scores of the Others Group and the Leaders Group Variables Others Leaders t-test Significance Customer and Market Focus 2. 708 3. 143 -2. 09 p=0. 043 * n. s. = not significant (accept hypothesis: mean scores of others = leaders) * significant at 1% level (reject null hypothesis) B. 4. Measurement, Analyses and Knowledge Management, Item 4: There is no significant difference between the Measurement, Analyses, and Knowledge Management mean scores of the Others Group and the Leaders Group, Table 7. Table 7. T-Test Results of Measurement, Analyses, and Knowledge Management Mean Scores of the Others Group and the Leaders Group Variables Others Leaders t-test Significance Measurement, Analyses, and Knowledge Management 3. 795 3. 531 0. 64 p=0. 527n. s. n. s. = not significant (accept hypothesis: mean scores of others = leaders) * significant at 1% level (reject null hypothesis) B. 5. Human Resource Focus, Item 5: There is no significant difference between the Human Resource Focus mean scores of the Others Group and the Leaders Group, Table 8. Table 8. T-Test Results of Human Resource Focus Mean Scores of the Others Group and the Leaders Group Variables Others Leaders t-test Significance Human Resource Focus 3. 217 3. 35 -0. 55 p=0. 587n. s. n. s. = not significant (accept hypothesis: mean scores of others = leaders) * significant at 1% level (reject null hypothesis) B. 6. Process Management, Item 6: There is no significant difference between the Process Management mean scores of the Others Group and the Leaders Group. Table 9. T-Test Results of Process Management Mean Scores of the Others Group and the Leaders Group Variables Others Leaders t-test Significance. Process Management 3. 772 3. 819 -0. 24 p=0. 813n. s. n. s. = not significant (accept hypothesis: mean scores of others = leaders) * significant at 1% level (reject null hypothesis) B. 7. Business Results, Item 7: There is significant difference between the Business Results mean scores of the Others Group and the Leaders Group. The Others and the Leaders Group differed in their responses for Business Results. The Leaders Group had higher responses for these types of questions, Table 10. Table 10. T-Test Results of Business Results Mean Scores of the Others Group and the Leaders Group. Variables Others Leaders t-test Significance Business Results 2. 245 2. 926 -2. 23 p=0. 031* n. s. = not significant (accept hypothesis: mean scores of others = leaders) * significant at 1% level (reject null hypothesis) B. 8. Implications of the t-test Results The t-test conducted revealed significant difference between the two groups on two items, namely Customer and Market Focus, Item 3 and Business Results, Item 7. According to the Baldrige Criteria, the Customer and Market Focus Category, Item 3, â€Å"examines how the organization determines requirements, needs, expectations, and preferences of customers and markets. Also examined is how the organization builds relationships with customers and determines the Key Factors that lead to customer acquisition and satisfaction, loyalty and retention, and to business expansion and sustainability. † We take note that this concern is a concern essentially external to the organization but defines the rationale or importance of the organization to the bigger society through which the organization was dedicated in serving. In the military service, the â€Å"customer and market† are presumably not only the men and women in the service but the public at large and all its agencies. It could be expected that the top echelon of the military leadership surveyed in the study were concerned not only with how the organization works but whether the expectations of its function to serve the public at large were being met. Another item which showed significant difference with the Leaders Group scoring higher than the Others Groups is Business Results, Item 7. Based from the Baldrige indicators, this item is customer-oriented and measures performance geared at satisfying the â€Å"customer† as well as performance in the â€Å"marketplace†. In other words, this item is concerned with results which would accomplish the mandate or mission of the organization. Again, we take note that this item is external to the organization which leads us to a possible explanation for such a result. The differences between the two groups suggested that there was a sort of a transformation in perception of officers as they go up in the hierarchy. This support the earlier observation that positions in the organization may have its own requirements given its functions which shape the perception or point of view of those occupying such positions. C. Excerpt from the Correlation Matrix for the Leaders Group To further probe into the nature of the difference of point of views or priorities between the two groups, cross-correlation between the items were conducted on the Leader Group. The results revealed a negative or inverse correlation between Strategic Planning, Item 2, and Customer Market Focus, Item 3; whereas, a positive correlation between Strategic Planning, Item 2 and Process Management, Item 6, Table 11. Table 11. Excerpt from the Correlation Matrix for Leaders Strategic Planning Item 2. Customer and Market Focus, Item 3 -0. 811 0. 027 Process Management, Item 6 0. 955 0. 001 Cell Contents: Pearson correlation p-Value These results further showed us some trends which were not shown in the cross correlation test conducted for the Others Group. That is, for leaders in key positions, the concern is satisfying the goals and achieving the results and the details like strategy become a lesser concern. Arguably, the top echelon of the military leadership has the whole organization working under its wings which would deliver and perform. Specifics, then have to be largely delegated to the Junior Officers. The positive correlation between strategy and process management suggested that top leadership in the case of the respondents surveyed in this study, likewise did not bother much with the details of certain processes possibly as in the case of strategy relegating the meticulous tasks to Junior Officers. Again, this supported the previous trend of position based perspectives suggesting opposing point views may be due to position occupied.

Language Learning Autobiography

Language Learning Autobiography I came from Johor, Malaysia. I was Chinese and my native language was Mandarin. I took a long time to learn English and from hating it to loving it. Learning English is not an easy task and I encountered some difficulties during my learning experience of English. Although I study at Kirkby International College for teacher training course now, there is still need an improvement for my English as I will become English primary teacher in the future which I will teach proper use of English to the students. I started to learn English since I was six years old. My parents sent me to a kindergarten where I learnt English and Mandarin there. The teacher taught us about the four basic skills of learning English, namely reading, writing, speaking and listening. For example, I learnt how to pronounce the 26 letters (A, B, C, Dà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦), how to read and how to write it correctly. At first, I did not interest in learning English during English lesson in class. However, the high patience and hardworking teacher used interesting ways of teaching to let me paying more attention to their lesson, do not feel boring and understand the lesson easily. For example, the teacher organized a mini game about pronunciation of 26 letters and the students were rewarded if pronounced the letters correctly. Due to the excellent hard work by the teacher, I passed my English Test with flying colours for all the three semesters. I continued my studying in primary Chinese school. My primary school opened a special English class for all students from standard one to standard six in order to improve and increase Englishs standard of the students. At the beginning, the teacher taught a few of repeated simple words and sentences such as, Can you lend me your pencil? or May I help you? The teacher was very nice and always praised us and encouraged us to pay more effort in studying English. I began to think that I was a genius at that time as I was easily mastering the language. However, when I became standard six students, I became very playful and not interested in studies including attending for English class. I always ran directly towards my room and started playing computer games such as Left 4 dead 2, and Pro Evolution Soccer after I came back from school. I became addicted to the games. Because of English class was started every afternoon which took away my time for playing computer games, I decided to stop going for English class. Thinking back, I made a wrong decision for giving up this class. If I had continued, maybe I did not need to put more effort in studying English today. My remarkable moment for learning English began when I studied Form Four in secondary school. At that time, my English teacher Mrs. Hwang was very strict. She wanted us to read English storybook every week and wrote the summary of the story and the moral values from the story. Moreover, she also made us to read all the articles in the textbook and made a presentation about it. During the presentation, she would correct our pronunciation. It was losing face if being corrected in front of other students. To avoid this, I practiced my pronunciation again and again at home and even referred to my English teacher if anything about the pronunciation or grammar I did not know. Furthermore, Mrs. Hwang also made us to read a newspaper like The Star or New Straits Times every day and asked us to jolt down the difficult words into the notebook and made five sentences about it. After that, she asked us to memorize the difficult words which would be stated in English Monthly Test. As a result of all these hard works, I achieved an excellent result for my English subject in my school examination and even As in my Malaysia Education Certificate (SPM) examination. After finishing my secondary education, I furthered my study by taking Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) course which will become primary English teacher in the future. There were several reasons that I wanted to become English teacher. If I became English teacher, I could improve my English further during the five and a half years of training in Kirkby International College. As a result, I was able to communicate with the foreign people in English when I travelled to foreign countries in the future. Besides that, I also wanted to help the students that living in rural areas to increase their Englishs standard as they were poor and unable to access to multiple resources such as reference book to improve their English. Before I was chosen to study at this college, I needed to go through the interview. In order to pass the interview, I needed to have higher proficiency in English. Although I had achieved excellent result for English subject in SPM examination, I needed to in tensify my practice on English to get ready for the interview. Apart from reading the storybook every week, I also watched English channels such as movies, dramas and documentaries. For movies, I liked to watch action and scientific movies such as Predator and Fast and Furious while for dramas, I like to watch CSI Miami and Oh my English. Drama Oh my English is the educational channel suitable for the students to improve their English. In this drama, students could learn the correct way of speaking English, grammar and vocabulary. For documentary channels, I liked to watch Discovery as this channel not only improve my English, and also provided scientific knowledge. Besides that, I also updated myself by reading the current news online. Hence, I was able to know what had happened in my country and other country and I would check the dictionary for the words that I did not understand. As a result, this improved my reading skill and learnt new words. According to my personal experience, I think there is no short cut to studying English. We need to go through all the hardships before we get sweet return. We need to practice more, learn more, read more, listen more and speak more in order to increase the proficiency of our English. These are only the ways to master English. (1050 words)

J.R.R. Tolkiens Lord of the Rings Essay -- Tolkien Lord Rings Essays

J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings "Three Rings for the Eleven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, One for the Dark Lord on his Dark throne, In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. One Ring to rule them all, One ring to find them, One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them, In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie(Tolkien)." Master of storytelling J.R.R. Tolkien continues the lives of the fictitious creatures that he introduced in The Hobbit, in his modern classic The Fellowship of the Ring. He artfully illustrates the truths of the evil that plague the hearts of man. He tells a story of greed, destruction and how mortal men are enslaved by their delusions of grander and how they feast upon the misery of others to elevate their own pitiful egos, that prove to be their worst vices.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is a struggle of good and evil that begins with a cursed gift of a powerful ring, the One Ring, that leads one wise hobbit on the most important journey of his life-time thus far, for he isn't only fighting for his own soul that is threatened to be claimed by the very ring he is given, but those of all of his people. The ring is sought after by its very creator Sauron the all powerful sorcerer, and Dark Lord of the middle-earth to aid in his evil deeds.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In his sin blackened hands the ring has the power to rob the creatures of middle-earth of their one fundamental right endowed by God himself; their precious freedom. The story follows Frodo on his journey to the Crack of Doom a fiery mountain in the layer of Mordor where the Dark Lord himself reigns with a swift hand. There and only there may he not only destroy the symbolic ring but put to rest the very demons that drove at his soul and threatened to over power him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  J.R.R. Tolkien was Bloemfontein, Orange Free State, South Africa on January 2, 1892 and died on September 3, 1973. (St. James 558) He delighted and titillated readers of all ages by first introducing them to the middle-earth in The Hobbit, a story of Frodo's cousin Bilbo. The story detailed his mythical journey in which he was accompanied by wizards and elves in search of rumored treasures. The One Ring that plays a major role in The Fellowship of the Ring was the fruit of Bilbo's struggles in The Hobbit. Although The Hobbit was a large success... ...e the evil of so many?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I believe that Tolkien is a supreme storyteller. The very idea of creating a mythical land of middle-earth to allow so much versatility is ingenious alone. The characters are so real they seem to leap from the pages. They are the result of great thought. They have their own very developed vocabularies, eccentrics, and weaknesses yet each character draws an impeccable strength from one another. I believe that this work is a classic because of the very developed plot, characters, and its openness to each individuals interpretation. Whether the reader believes it is implying religious values, social values or telling a unique story unlike any others it is a must read for anyone who enjoys great literature. Works Cited Grotta~Kurska, Daniel. J.R.R. Tolkien Architect of Middle Earth. Philadelphia: Running PRess, 1976. Miller, David M. â€Å"Narrative Pattern in The Fellowship of the Ring.†A Tolkien Compass. Ed. Jared Lobdell. La Salle Il.:The Open Court Publishing Company,  1975. Pringle, David. Ed. St. James Guide to Fantasy Writers. New York: St. James Press, 1996. Tolkien, J.R.R. The Fellowship of the Ring. New York: Ballantine books, 1955

A Christian Perspective on Nudity in Art Essay

The Association of Classical & Christian Schools John is a Christian who enjoys the arts and finds them edifying. He is particularly fond of the art of painting. Desiring to expand his art history knowledge, he visits the best, closest art museum he can find. Going from gallery to gallery, John begins to become discouraged and more than a little embarrassed because of all the nudity shown in the paintings. He finds himself wondering if he should leave the museum in a state of disillusioned protest. As a Christian, John understands the need to shun pornography; but what he is seeing is not Hollywood at its X-rated worst, it is Western Civilization. These are the paintings that make up the canon of art. What is he . what are Christians . to do with nudity as it is often shown in art? To answer the overriding question, one must first understand the difference between nudity and pornography. Nudity is nothing more than a human figure without clothing. There is no overt intention of sexual arousal. When nudity is used in art, it is often (but not always) with the goal of eliciting an admiration on the part of the viewer for the handy-work of his Creator. The Greeks believed that man was the measure of all things; as such they sought to find the perfect human form and show it in their art. The resulting nudes are not pornographic; rather, they are the outworking of the Greek ideal. As Christians, we rightly reject their philosophy, but we should not make the mistake of mislabeling their art. There has been much written on the beauty of the human body and it does not need be rehearsed here. It is clear that we are, indeed, fearfully and wonderfully made. When an artist shows nudity with this in mind, he is showing it to the praise and glory of the Creator. Pornography, on the other hand, has sexual arousal as its sole intention. It seeks to debase and lower both its subject, the person being looked at, and its object, the person doing the looking, to the level of mere animals. It is meant to feed our lusts, with the full understanding that they can never be sated. Sexual lust . like all other lusts . perates according to the Law of Diminishing Returns; the more a person feeds his lust, the harder it is to get even temporary satisfaction. This forces him to go back for increasingly more and more stimulation until it is almost impossible to derive any pleasure from his vice, no matter how much he indulges. It would be irresponsible to say that no part of Western Art leans to the pornographic side of things; for some of it does (much of Klimt, Schiele, some Courbet, etc. ); however, the difference is usually reasonably obvious with sober thought (if it. s not, then the artist has not done his job! ). There is also art that is quite charged with erotic content that doesn. t show so much as an exposed ankle. These paintings rely on context and subtlety to convey the true meaning of the work. For example, Gustave Courbet. s painting, Demoiselles on the Banks of the Seine of 1856, is widely understood to be a depiction of two lesbians in post-coital sleep . an obviously unacceptable situation for the Christian. There is no crass sexual imagery to suggest this relationship; however, when viewed in light of some of his other paintings, and when the painting is looked at carefully the relationship between the two women becomes clear. This is far from the only example of subtle erotic imagery, but it is illustrative of the issue. Like so many situations in life, context is the key to making a decision about whether or not to show or look at imagery like this. Song of Solomon (among other passages in scripture) is very explicit in its description of a sexual relationship between a man and a woman. It speaks quite openly of physical desire. We know from the context of the whole book that this is not a sinful desire and that it is proper for us to read about it and learn from it. So it is with art; when we properly understand the context of a picture we can make decisions on whether it is sinful to look at or not. We have to decide what our aim is in looking at it: are we indulging in an unlawful desire, or are we confronting an opposing worldview? If it is the former, then by no means should the image be viewed; however, if our education is to have any value we must confront opposing worldviews. To what are we objecting in pictures like this? It is obviously not the depiction of an unclothed human body. It is the representation and the implicit approval of promiscuity. This is what breaks the Law of God in Scripture . the sin does not necessarily occur when we look at such material, it happens when we approve of it. Things are rarely one dimensional; there are many reasons for showing nudity in art. We do a disservice to our students (and ourselves) when we teach them to be reactionary instead of thoughtful and discerning. There is a long tradition of depicting the nude human form in Western Art. I mentioned above that appreciation of the human form is one reason for showing nudity in art. However, it is not the only reason. Realism is another; nudity in varying degrees is a part of life, even public life at many times in the past and in different parts of the world. Many times artists were showing only what they saw as a part of everyday life. In the past there were public baths and public toilets that did not afford the same privacy that we, as 21st century Americans, have come to take for granted. There were even times when public nudity was accepted (for example, Peter worked in the nude while he fished (John 21:7). As such, people would have come to understand the concept of modesty as opposed to prudishness. Modesty reserves the exposure of the body to appropriate times and places, whereas prudishness sees the body as sinful in and of itself. As Christians, we must reject prudishness in light of the fact that God has given us many good gifts that are to be enjoyed in their proper context, our bodies being one of them. Since the Fall, nakedness in many situations has become shameful to us. Artists throughout history have recognized this fact and have used it in their art. For example, there are many depictions of the Last Judgment in art history (Rogier Van der Weyden, Hieronymous Bosch, Petrus Christus, the van Eycks, etc. ), many of which show those to be judged completely naked; the blessed are usually given a robe while the damned are sent into hell naked. This is done to emphasize their state before God; they have no covering, either physical or metaphorical to shield them from their Creator. The image of nakedness is used in the Scriptures to highlight our condition before God (Hebrews 4:13). God describes Israel as having been naked before He found her (Ezekiel 16, Hosea 2:1-5). He also uses literal nakedness when he commands Isaiah to go without clothing for three years as a sign of impending judgment (Isaiah 20:1-6). Whether in Scripture or elsewhere, a literary image of nudity is not really that much different from a literal image; both give the mind pictures of naked bodies to think about. It is the intended goal of depicting nudity (whether in words or pictures) that carries the weight of moral responsibility. If e take into account the Scriptures. use of nudity, it seems that it is proper . even edifying . at times to show nudity in art if it is done for the same reasons as the Scriptures. Many times in art the baby Jesus is shown quite openly nude. This is done for a very serious reason. His genitals were shown so that the artist might emphasize the very real human nature of the Christ. The artists wished to refute various Christological heresies (Nestorianism, Mo nophysitism, various forms of Gnosticism, etc. ) by showing that Jesus was both God and man. The attributes of Divinity are obvious and well known (the halo, lamb, and cross) but the tradition of depicting Jesus. humanity through showing His genitals is often misunderstood. At the other end of the spectrum of representing Jesus during His life on Earth is the cross. He would have been completely naked on the cross. The loincloth that we commonly see in paintings is a piece of pure fiction. Would it have been sinful for Him to be naked in public? Of course not, this was not a sexual context, nor was it meant to be. Was it sinful for Jesus. emale followers to be there and see Him in such a state? No. Again, context is the key. A common example of public exposure (albeit mild exposure) that many of us will encounter is breastfeeding. This is a context in which a woman’s breasts are not meant to be seen as sexual, but as motherly. If a man is aroused by the sight of this, does that not point to the sin in him and not in the act of breastfeeding? God ordained this method o f nourishment for children and alludes to it many times in Scripture as a good and proper thing. Again, context is the key to discerning the nature of this situation. Likewise, it is exceedingly rare for a medical doctor to be accused of being a pornography addict for giving physical exams to members of the opposite sex. The context of the examination room is not a sexual one. However, if a doctor mistreats his position and does look at a woman in a lecherous manner, does that mean that all physicals are pornographic and we should stop having them? There are other examples where images of nudity do not and should not elicit sexual arousal: childbirth, war pictures, anatomical charts and books, images from other (often indigenous) cultures, etc. The age at which it is acceptable for children to begin seeing paintings with nudity in them is a matter of debate. It seems that children should be exposed to nudity in art from an early age with the understanding that it is proper in some contexts and improper in others (many of which have been discussed above). If this is done, many aspects of the question of pornography will have been answered at an early age. Furthermore, if this approach is taken, children will gain an understanding of modesty and prudishness and know the difference between the two before it becomes an issue of practice for them (e. . skirt length, bathing suits, movies, etc. ). Of course there are many things that are perfectly good and right in and of themselves that are inappropriate for children. It is the responsibility of the parents to know their children and use their discernment in this question. The above arguments show that things are rarely as simple as nude = bad, clothed = good. This is not an exh austive treatment of the issue by any means; however, it should shed light on different perspectives on how a Christian is supposed to view nudity in art.

Short and Quick Activities for the ESL Classroom

Short and Quick Activities for the ESL Classroom All teachers are probably familiar with this situation: Its five minutes before your next class is going to begin and you really dont know what to do. Or maybe this situation is familiar; youve finished your lesson and there are still ten minutes left to go. These short, helpful activities can be used in those situations when you could use a good idea to help get the class started, or fill those inevitable gaps. 3 Favorite Short Classroom Activities My Friend...? I like to draw a picture of a man or a woman on the board. This usually gets a few laughs as my drawing skills leave quite a lot to be desired. Anyway, the point of this exercise is that you ask students questions about this mystery person. Begin with: What is his / her name? and go from there. The only rule that applies is that students have to pay attention to what other students say so that they can give reasonable answers based on what other students have said. This is a great little exercise to review tenses. The crazier the story becomes the better, and more communicative, the activity is for the students. Short Topic Writing The idea of this exercise is to get students to quickly write about a topic they choose (or you assign). These short presentations are then used in two manners; to generate spontaneous conversations on a wide range of topics, and to take a look at some common writing problems. Use the following subjects and ask students to write a paragraph or two about a subject they choose, give them about five to ten minutes to write: The best thing to happen to me todayThe worst thing to happen to me todaySomething funny that happened to me this weekWhat I really hate!What I really like!My favorite thingA surprise I hadA landscapeA buildingA monumentA museumA memory from childhoodMy best friendMy boss Music Description Choose a short piece or excerpt of music you like (I prefer something by the French composers Ravel or Debussy) and tell the students to relax and listen to the music. Tell them to let their imaginations run free. After you have listened to the piece twice, ask them to describe what they were thinking about or what they imagined while they were listening to the music. Ask them why they had those particular thoughts.