International English

This year in international English we have learned a lot. Some of the topics we have looked into are global challenges and the media world. This has been very interesting and instructive. Among other things, we have watched movies and read books. The kite runner is one example. In this book we meet themes like relationships, war, betrayal and forgiveness. This is a very emotional book, and we have gotten a lot of impressions and thoughts around these themes. All of the films that we have seen fit the requirements of the curriculum goals, especially global challenges.

Through the whole year, each of us wrote one personal blog in English. Here, we wrote our own thoughts around what we had done in class, and other things about international English. We also had conversations with students in other countries via skype. This was very fun and interesting!

Chinese Pidgin English

One of the curriculum goals this year is to”give examples of other varieties of English than those that are used in the Anglo-American area core”, and reflect on their distinctive character”. First I had to determine which countries that are not considered Anglo-American. Wikipedia states that: “Anglo American is often used in legal, economic and political writing to refer to those countries that have similar legal regimes that are generally based on the English common law.” A lot of countries are that, so giving examples might be a little hard.
When I was googeling facts on Japanese English, I came across some words on the Chinese Pidgin English. So I continued my research on that topic, and found some interesting facts. For example does people who speak Chinese Pidgin English use b instead of v in the word have (hab). Thay also use the personal pronouns in a very different way than in regular English; Tumoro mai no kan kum (Tomorrow my no can come/tomorrow it can’t rain)*. The language is only based on 700 words inits vocabulary, and the grammar is very simple. I watched a movie on youtube where two people were talking to each other in this language, and I realized; you don’t have to have a rich vocabulary or perfect grammar to be able to hold a conversation, but still, it was almost impossible for me to understand!

*Example borrowed from Wikipedia

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Gran Torino

Today we watched a movie called Gran Torino, starring Clint Eastwood. The film is about an old man, Walt Kowalski (Eastwood), who clings to a world that no longer exists. He feels threatened by the changes in America, and when a young Hmong boy, who is also the new neighbor, tries to steal his car, he realizes a few new things about himself, and the world around him.
Thao, the boy who tries to steal his car, the Gran Torino, and Walt becomes very good friends, and when Thao and family is threatened and hurt by the major gang in the area, Walt sacrifices himself to protect them in the future.

I love this movie, and I believe this was the 10th time I saw it! It is something about how prejudice and ethnical differences is displayed that captures me. I don’t know how this is in real life because I have never visited the United States. Therefore my reliance lies only on this movie and other sources when it comes to that theme. But do Hollywood movies portray people of different races and ethnicities? In that case, how? Personally I think that a lot of Hollywood films show people in the most stereotypical way for their culture. The same goes for Gran Torino, but in this movie it is not negative because it also corrects these prejudices in the end and along, a powerful message is brought up; Have respect for other human beings, and not just those with the same skin color or traditions that you have. Be loyal and show the people you love, that you care for them.

I really recommend this movie; it is both filled with action and drama, but also political challenges, sorrow and most important of all, friendship.

Here is the Trailer for the movie.

The picture is taken from this site.

The world population living in urban areas

The world’s urban population is growing faster and faster. According to the UN, there will be 26 cities in the world with over 10 million inhabitants. Those big cities are called megacities, and today there are already about 20 of them. Tokyo, with 33.4 million habitants is the city with the biggest population in the world followed by New York that has 24.1 million habitants. Mexico City is the third biggest, and Seoul comes after that.
In the 1800s, it is estimated that only 2 percent of the world’s population lived in urban areas. In 1950, the urban population had grown to 30 % of the world’s habitants. In 2000, 47% lived in cities or urban areas, and scientists have estimated that the urban population will grow till 52% of all the people in the world, and in 2030 60%.
The different regions in the word have a singular development when it comes to population growth and urbanization. Asia did in 1995, 1180 of 3429 million habitants living in urban areas, and in 2015 it is estimated 1970 million people are the urban population. But then of course, the total population will also increase. In Africa and America, the growth will according to statistics made by BBC, have a quite similar expansion. But in Europe, the urban population will probably not enlarge that much. That might be because of the fact that most people already lives in urban areas in Europe.

Tokyo, megacity. Picture taken from here

English around the world

One of our curriculum goals this year is to learn about how English is used outside the Angelo-American heartland. We are also supposed to learn about how English is used as a communication method even though the people who communicate are not fluent or very good English speakers.
This Christmas I had the opportunity to study this very closely when I went to visit my family in South Korea. Honestly, I had not thought a lot about the language before I actually got there.

In South Korea it lives almost 49 million people, and of them knows little or no English at all. I experienced that every time I went to a store, or tried to talk to some of the native inhabitants. On the other hand, the little amount of people who knew a little English almost ran up to us on the street just to ask us what we thought about the weather or how we were. In other words, when they saw that we were foreign, they assumed that we spoke English, and they really wanted to try what they had learned in real life.

A lot of Korean stores, cafes and brands have their name in English, and some of them were actually quite funny to read. One of them said “Angel-in-us Coffee- the world best coffee”. Several places had signs or slogans like this. What I find interesting with it, is that even though grammar and spelling might be wrong, there are no doubt about what they want to say.

9/11

9/11 2001 I was eight years old. Now, nine years later I am 17 but the event of the day eight years ago still sticks to my mind. Today I remembered the day, because we saw one of the many movies made about the disaster. The movie we saw was originally a documentary made about the fire department in New York. The main goal of the movie was to follow Antonio (Tony) Benetatos on his journey from a rookie firefighter, or a probie as they call it in the film, to "becoming a man" or a real firefighter. They knew nothing about what the movie would end up being about. Even though this is a documentary, it also gives a fictional impression because this incident is so unreal itself. There are no doubt that this, for me, was the best visualization and information source about 9/11 I have ever seen.
The film shows how the whole world can be changed and turned upside down on only one day. The people’s common fear of terror and war was extremely reinforced. In the movie one of the firefighters talks about the 10th of September and says: “Then I realized how evil evil can be”. Tony, the probie, states that before 9/11, he wanted to become a fireman to save lives, but now, if his country sends him to kill, he will do it. That is a disquieting alert of how war spreads and how cruelty affects the victims.

Merry Christmas!

Today we watched the movie Narnia in class. We were supposed to watch a Christmas movie because of the time of year we are in, but the majority decided that we should watch this one. Somehow, I still would call Narnia a Christmas movie. A lot of details that has to do with Christmas is included in the film; snow, music and even Santa clause appears for a minute or two. I love this movie. Firstly it is because I have read the books, and loved those too. Second of all, because some of the themes are related to the society as we know it, which is something I find quite fascinating in movies and books. Another relation to Christmas found in the movie, is Aslan. The true meaning of Christmas derives from the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Somehow, I find a similarity between Aslan and Jesus. They are both hailed, both of them are killed in atonement and both resurrect from the dead after. So maybe Christmas is a more significant theme after all?

War is definitely also a big topic in this movie. This might be related to the author who wrote the books of Narnia, Clive Staples Lewis (mostly known as C.S. Lewis). He served in the World War II. He is also well-known for his friendship with John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (J. R. R. Tolkien), the author who wrote The Lord of The Rings.
I would like to wish my readers a merry Christmas and a happy new year!



- Tuva

Dear Santa

This Christmas I want you to bring the world together.

This Christmas my wish for you is cheap.
It is not something you can touch or eat,
but something you can feel and give away.

This Christmas I want you to give the homeless warmth,
the hopeless hope and the thankless gratefulness.
Please send ghosts to the greedy at and angels to the giving.
Give the Christmas a new main goal, or should I say “new-old”.
Make Christmas the way it once was
where family and friends joined together to cross,
the routines of the days before.

This chistmas can you show us that Christmas is in our hearts, not under a tree?
And that giving away our abundance, is a gift for ourselves indeed.
Show us that there is a whole other world outside our windows.
Let no one be alone this Christmas, let no one cry without homes.

Santa, this Christmas I want you to bring the world together.

The kite runner - last part

Now there are three days since I read the last page of Khaled Hosseini’s “The kite runner”. It has been stuck to my mind since. You know that feeling when you read the last page of a book you really enjoyed, when you delay the last sentences because you don’t want it to be over. And when you realize it is, it is somehow sad. The kite runner was that kind of book. The perfect balance between superstition and pure human feelings made me long for the same experiences and emotions. I think that has a quite odd irony considering the fact that it is the carefree and peaceful existence we live in, most people want. I can’t explain those feelings further than that, but I sense them as good feelings, which is why I would rate the book with 6 out of 6 possible if I were to.
What I liked most about the book is that it ends with hope. In some parts it could seem like it would turn out tragically. This would, in my opinion, ruin some of the book’s purpose. I like to think that the author meant to give this hope not only to Amir, the main character, but also to us readers, so that we can make our own ending, or beginning if you like.



The picture is taken from this site.

- Tuva

The kite runner – beginning

(This post is written 30.09.2010)
About two weeks ago, I started reading a book called “The Kite Runner”, by Khaled Hosseini. After one week I had read about 50 pages, and the fact that I was not captured, and thrown into the story’s troubled world caught my attention. After reading dozens of laudatory reviews, I was expecting a greater fascination than what occurred to be my reality. But still, there was something about it that grabbed my mind and stirred it around. I experienced putting the book away, and then later thate day, I actually thought of the way I acted compared to how Amir, the rich Afghan boy in the book, would have done it. It was more similarity between my acts and Amirs, than between Amir and his underprivileged servants son Hassan. That shocked me. Due to my small amount of spare time between homework and school, I did not get to read more until three days later. At that time I had actually started to feel a hunger to know the story, Amir’s story. So I sat down to continue. And as the pages turned, so did my first impression. Now I have started reading chapter fourteen and I am both caught and bound. It is something about the relationship between Amir, and Hassan that amazes and shocks me at the same time. How can something that appears to be that strong and deep, be perceived that differently? How can Amir not call Hassan his friend? Still, it is Hassan’s commitment and love that strikes me as the strangest. Why does he continue to idolize and value Amir that much, when Amir is not acting like the friend he is supposed to be? I hope to get some answers to my questions further in the book, and I am very excited to see how the story develops!


The picture is taken from this site.

- Tuva

Advice to fellow students!

I read an article about statistics on the usage of Facebook compared to the results of the final exam. The consequences of using Facebook while working shows quite obvious in the surveys. It is consistently a larger amount of low grades among the students who used Facebook and other social networks than those who did not. That means that there is a connection between bad results and the usage of social networks. But still I feel that there are some holes in the statistics. In the article it said that the “participants” was in the age of 19-54, and then I thought: isn’t there a large difference between 19 year olds and 54 year olds? Well, at least I think so, and there is probably not as many 54 year olds as there are 19 year olds on Facebook.

All in all I still believe that most of what the article said was true. Facebook is a giant disturbance when it comes to concentrating -I have experienced than myself. I think everyone should use some time to work on their restraint, and become better on stay away from sites like facebook when doing homework!

-Tuva

Alan November - Myths and opportunities

The American educator and educational consultant, Alan November, Is famous for his thoughts about learning, and use of modern technology in the learning process. He has written a book called “Empowering Students with Technology”, was one of five Christa McAuliffe Educators, and co-founded the Institute for education leadership and technology at Stanford.
Alan November feels that it is important to use all the possible methods in the world of teaching and learning. He is especially interested in modern technology. But he also says that it is the way we us technology that is important, not the technology it self. We should use the internet to communicate, not just to collect information. One of the learning methods he mentions in several of his presentations, is global communication through the internet. This is a theory that I find very interesting. Personally, I love to use the internet to communicate with friends and family that live far away from me. For example, I have a friend in the Netherlands, and one in Ireland that I often talk to via e-mail, facebook and skype. This makes me use English in my daily life, witch helps me improve my language skills. If we use these forums in class to connect with other learners from different parts of the world, I believe that will inspire students to help one another to learn internationally.



Alan November also think that we need to globalize the curriculum. Then everyone, regardless of where they live in the world, can go through a required education that covers the same subjects and syllabus. I agree with this. When I was in the Netherlands with a school class, we lived together with Dutch exchange mates. We were all the same age, but our curriculums were very different. It would have been easier to schedule the classes we had there if we all had learned the same things.
Alan November believes that modern technology will make learning easier. Programs like Google docs and OneNote, where the students can write in the same documents, is examples on ways to do that. I think that this is very true. If students work together, they will learn how to solve different types of problems by themselves, and to become more independent. At least that is what I think.
If we slowly change the concept of learning, by using technology in the right way, we can make the curriculum global, and give every student in the world the same opportunities.

No legs, no arms, no worries?

In English class today, we saw a short movie called "The butterfly circus". It is a beautiful story about a man called Will, who was born with no limbs. The movie shows how he manages to go from being in a state of mind where everything is hopeless, to hoping for a better life witch he in the end accomplishes.



The film takes place in America during the great depression. In the beginning, we meet Will, the man with no limbs, and a very small amount of hope. But this changes when one day he meets a circus director who gives him hope for his future. Through the movie, we do not only follow the men, women, and their progress, but also a caterpillar. I think that this little ant, symbolizes the change Will goes through. He is a beautiful butterfly, captured in a caterpillar’s body, waiting for his time to shine.


Nick Vujicic, who play will, was born with no limbs.

I loved this movie, everything about it; the setting, the plot, and of course the moral of not giving up the hope. I would defiantly recommend this short film!

The pictures are taken from: here, and here.

This is me

Hi!

My name is Tuva, and this is my very first English blog. I am a student at "Sandvika VGS" in Norway. In English class we were given an assignment, it said: "make your own blog". So this is it. I will try to update it regularly, but it will mostly consist of tasks given to us at school.

I recently started my second year at high school. In Norway it is optional to continue teaching English further than first grade. What I said earlier in this post probably states what I chose. I decided to keep learning English in the class called "International English" both because I love the language and really want to improve, and because I am planning to go to the USA to study when I get older. Therefore I can say that I have high expectations to the upcoming year with International English.

Besides that, I can tell you that I love music and I play some guitar. I am working on getting my drivers license on a motorcycle, so that is taking most of my spear time at the moment.

My favourite thing to eat is strawberries, and I could not live without my Ipod.



Currently, my worst habit is talking too loudly in public, and that I always bounce my knee when sitting and being very time poor!

I am really looking forward to enhance my English this year, and to get to know all my new classmates!

Have a nice day!

Tuva