Internet and foreign language education Essay Example for Free

Internet and foreign language education Essay A new technology has surfaced and now it has caught the imagination of millions of people on this planet. Surfing through it, the internet has put everybody eager to explore more of it and to become a real part of it. The effects of this technology have permeated both small and large establishments, schools, universities, and even governments. Composed of a collection of computers worldwide commonly connected via telephone lines, Internet’s main objective is to share information. From early beginning in 1960s as a decentralized network connecting some military and academic computers, the number of host computers on the Internet has ballooned much. The World Wide Web now forms the most popular part of the Net. With the development of the Web, which was first designed for using text links only, further refinement into multi-media links resulted with pictures, audio, and video links. This has made the Web more popular. Today, fast modems can carry extra large files of graphics and sound linking target resources on the Net. With the ballooning number of websites and Internet users worldwide, educators could benefit much from this. Internet and Foreign Language†¦3 Educators now see the application of the new technology in the field of learning and teaching as very promising. They now scrutinize a wider application of Internet and the Web in language education. The shifting scenes from laboratory-based educational setting, computer-assisted learning is now the fad. From monitored teaching process to interactive computer applications, the tedious and boring process has been replaced by promising results. Good software like CALL helps facilitate the language learning process though others see some degrees of â€Å"rigidity† of the program. Developers of CALL have to moderately go back to remedy the situation. Whatever type of computer, one can access the Net from any place, any time. Within the Internet is a multi-media information system called the World Wide Web or WWW or simply the Web. The Web has two systems: the Web servers and the Web clients. The former dispenses information while the other receives information. Through the use of Web browser, one receives educational webpages or otherwise. Educators are now reaping benefits from the use of the Internet. Language teachers so far are exploiting the electronic mail to create mutual interaction between and among students and teachers in learning language skills. With such innovation, multinational Internet and Foreign Language†¦4 student participants have been encouraged to develop communication and mental skills from varying cultural backgrounds. A study by Davis and Chang (1994) using electronic mailing system has set up an exploratory pattern as to what could be achieved in using electronic mail at improving the student writing in terms of fluency, usage, and organization. This study has practically defied language and cultural barriers. Knowing the culture is knowing the language. This adage holds true in learning languages preserved in a cultural environment. Accessing information on social, cultural, economic, and geographical data on a particular language increases one’s repository for both the learners and teachers. Searching the Net for a specific subject needs fine tuning. One should remember though that a series of messages having the same subject coming from the original message has replies and replies to replies that follow. And this is how one comes about learning incidentally. This interactive intercourse increases one’s learning experience applicable in the area of language teaching or learning. Besides, fellow language teachers offer site listings valuable to avid learners. Internet and Foreign Language†¦5 The use of the Net is not always in short order. It is not without fuss, which becomes a challenge to users. Technical glitches can spoil one’s plan. Similarly, little familiarity on computer and Internet use can block one’s initiative in pursuing to learn. Another roadblock in implementing such innovation is the cost of maintaining the system, which holds back institutions with little funding. Besides, censor may enter the scene when language program becomes offensive or indecent. Despite all odds, this technology will simply flourish as people continue to interact with each other. And with the emergence of a global community that seeks to find a common world language, the burden now rests upon the application of this technology today. Works Cited Davis, B. Chang, Ye Ling (1994/95). Long distance collaboration with on-line conferencing. TESOL Journal, 4(2), 28-31.

A Deconstruction of Erich Maria Remarques All Quiet on the Western Fro

A Deconstruction of Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front The young soldiers depicted in Erich Maria Remarque's text All Quiet on the Western Front represent a generation without precedent, constancy, or forethought. The men, answering their elders' calls to become national heroes, have lost their innocence on the battlefield and remain forever altered in belief and spirit. Remarque contrasts the cold realities of war in the present to the tranquility of the past in order to illustrate the psychological transformation of the men stationed on the frontlines. The soldiers appear trapped in the present and alienated from their pasts; however, deconstruction of the text rejects the present and past as opposing states of time and identity, and reveals them as related conditions that are intimately and permanently intertwined. Much of the critical literature regarding All Quiet on the Western Front concerns the binary relationship between the symbols of present and past. For example, critics Barker and Last assert: "This rupture with the past is one of the most dominant themes of Remarque's work, the discontinuity of life, this jolting from one place of existence to another, for which man is completely unprepared" (54). This opposition is represented in Remarque's descriptions of the contrasting environments of present and past.? The present is depicted as a state of unpredictability, uncertainty, and impermanence in which the soldiers merely exist on the edge of life. The narrator, Paul Baumer, imparts the dismal desperation of the front: "Shells, gas clouds, and flotillas of tanks--shattering, corroding, death. Dysentery, influenza, typhus‑scalding, choking, death" (Remarque 283). In contrast, the past is... ...between the present and the past. Defining symbols, customs, and allegations of the past, both real and perceived, provoke a human battle between rival notions of an ideal present. Literary deconstruction approaches a text in much the same manner, confronting and dismantling fixed signs, traditions, and assertions. Yet like war, a deconstructive reading does not provide a final answer or the ultimate truth. Works Cited Barker, Christine, and R.W. Last. Erich Maria Remarque. London: Oswald, 1979. Culler, Jonathan. On Deconstruction. New York: Cornell University Press, 1982. Leitch, Vincent. Deconstructive Criticism. New York: Columbia University Press, 1983. Remarque, Erich Maria. All Quiet on the Western Front. New York: Ballantine, (1928)1958. Wagener, Hans. Understanding Erich Maria Remarque. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1991.

“Great Gatsby” by Scott Fitzgerald Essay

â€Å"Great Gatsby† by Scott Fitzgerald is one of the best American novels owing to its thematic strength. There are many social themes in the story including Dream, vision, honesty, time, wealth, superficiality and shallowness, societal expectation, disloyalty, immorality and selfishness. The surface study shows that its about love relation between Gatsby and Daisy. But the story has much broader theme rather than big romantic scope. The most dominating theme of the story is that of â€Å"American Dream† or rather â€Å"Perverted American Dream†. It is very symbolic story of â€Å"Roaring Age† of 1920s America, particularly the story of shattering of American Dream in that era of economic prosperity and material abundance. The Great Gatsby is the biggest example of skilled narrative art as it is based on the principle of â€Å"double vision†. Everything in the novel is seen in two ways: on the one hand it looks a romantic  love story of Gatsby and Daisy, and on the other hand it is about   â€Å"perverted form of American   Dream†. Scott Fitzgerald  is successful in writing a fiction which carries two parallel stories at the same time. The writer himself once stated,† The test of   a first rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time , and still retain the ability to function†. The story offers the reader to form quality of double vision to see everything in two ways.The surface study of the novel shows that its about love relation between Daisy and Gatsby, but if we probe into the theme, its about corruption of American dream and a failure to achieve ideals.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The writer attempted to make readers see through his eyes. The reader is made to believe in the possibilities of variety of opposed ideas. That’s why it is also called â€Å"an allegorical novel†. The reader forms different opinion about the novel when he starts reading, but he finds everything quite different when he reaches the end. The story shows that anyone in America can and can not achieve success to the best despite his level best efforts and hard work. The reader is trapped in enigma by thinking whether Gatsby would get Daisy or not. This is proved when Daisy rejects Gatsby and later accepts him and the reader is able to believe in both alternates.   Gatsby himself is the most real and the most unreal elite described in the story. The writer presents this principle of double vision more artistically by introducing character of Nick who tells us what he sees and gathers information about what he does not see himself. Everything in this novel is seen in two ways: on the one hand as glamorous , romantic   and exciting ,and on the other hand as crude, corrupt and even disgusting. This double vision applies to people, places and incidents of the novel. Gatsby, the protagonist of the story, struggles hard to achieve the desired American dream, but is also obsessed with  love of Daisy, his beloved. The most relevant scene to this double vision is the reunion between Gatsby and Daisy after long period of five years. Gatsby spends most of his time in earning wealth so that he would impress Daisy and get her love. Daisy, on the other hand, is highly indifferent to Gatsby and her marriage with Tom shows it clearly. Even their reunion has different effects on both of them. It seems as if Gatsby were having only one thing in mind: achieving American dream. But later we assess that he is only obsessed with Daisy’s love. The characters’ mind changes every minute and this change also affect the reader and help them expect any possibility. Some critic writes about Great Gatsby: â€Å"Fitzgerald called The Great Gatsby a â€Å"novel of selected incident,† modeled after Flaubert’s Madame Bovary.†What I cut out of it both physically and emotionally would make another novel,† he said. Fitzgerald’s stylistic method is to let a part stand for the whole. In Chapters I to III, for example, he lets three parties stand for the whole summer and for the contrasting values of three different worlds. He also lets small snatches of dialog represent what is happening at each party. The technique is cinematic. The camera zooms in, gives us a snatch of conversation, and then cuts to another group of people. Nick serves almost as a recording device, jotting down what he hears. Fitzgerald’s ear for dialog, especially for the colloquial phrases of the period, is excellent.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The reunion scene is the peak of dramatic point of the novel. The readers have been prepared to reach this point. The image of Daisy’s willingness is followed by an image of Gatsby seeing the greenish bay across from Daisy’ dock. colorful parties are followed by isolation in private life. The reader can’t realize at once what the characters already know. The reader reaching this scene takes interest to see whether Gatsby and Daisy renew their lost love. The reader is also interested in the response of Nick on whose intellectual prowess they depend on a lot. The clock scene also offers confrontation of ideas for the readers. The clock is the symbol of past which Gatsby ever yearns to  repeat so that he could again get love of Daisy. The breaking of clock indicates how awkward past moment looks when brought into the present. The facts that the clock does not work indicates flawed dream of Gatsby to win over Daisy. It is true that Gatsby can’t repeat his past and he can’t get best out of American dream and is rather disillusioned. The novel shows abstract philosophy that an idealist  reluctant to compromise can and can’t survive in this material oriented world. The principle of double vision is made more effective by using Nick as a narrator. The surface level study of the novel shows Gatsby’s thorough indulgence in love of Daisy. Nick is an ideal narrator in the story and is mouth piece of Fitzgerald. His physical proximity to the main characters proves that he is ideal narrator as he knows details of the story from many angels and observes everything quite clearly. It was rather impossible to keep two parallel stories in a single novel which had irreconcilable contradictions. The story of love has nothing to do with American Dream but the writer artistically puts them on right place. From the very beginning we find Gatsby prepared to get what Best America has to offer and he has staunch belief in the face that he will win over Daisy’s love, the  most loving woman he has ever seen. He can only win her if he measure up to the standards of old wealthy class. Nick holds the view that Gatsby’s dream was futile from the very start as he won’t be accepted by prejudiced old wealthy class and Daisy belonging to latter can never leave it resulting disillusionment for Gatsby. Here novel shows the fact that â€Å"American dream of equality for all† was a false promise. The story can be interpreted as juxtaposition of two opposed ideas. The ideals are shattered when they are confronted with reality. The ideals of American dream are shattered when  Gatsby gets love of Daisy, when he kisses her, and when he holds her in his arms. The ideal world, in Gatsby’s case, shatters in the face of the real one. The intricate weaving of the various stories within The Great Gatsby is accomplished through a complex symbolic substructure of the narrative. The green light, godly eye of Eckleburg,†brood on over the solemn dumping ground† which shows America as wasteland due to materialistic society and many other symbols make it easier for the writer to intricate stories containing opposing ideas. He also uses metaphors through which he hints at the standards of morality and immorality through out the novel. Daisy can’t change her luxurious living style and can’t accept the new wealthy class. Jordan Baker boasts of her careless driving. The proper utilization of dual symbolism and ambivalent expressions is truly profound and subtle art that Fitzgerald has mastered in this novel. There is no denying the fact that this beautiful novel offers the readers to form in them the habit to see things from more than one angle. The writer holds the opinion that seeing thing from one way may be faulty and it can be entirely different in reality. Thus it will be right to say that everything in the novel has got double meaning and the writer is successful in using principle of double vision in it.

Case 2 for Advanced Corporate Finance - 1474 Words

â€Å"Case: Tianjin Plastics† Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Course Advanced Corporate Finance Students Fatin Azear Jos Kusters Maaike van der Steen Case: Tianjin Plastics This assignment considers the case of Tianjin Plastics. Pat Johnson, project finance analyst for Maple Energy (U.S.-based international power plant developer), has to make a recommendation regarding the financial viability of the Tianjin Plastics power plant project in China. The recommendation would require a final evaluation of all financing options, as well as reaching contract closure with his joint venture partners, Tianjin Plastics and Chinese Ministry of Power Industry (MOPI). The joint venture would be split 49% Maple, 46% Tianjin Plastics, 5% MOPI, with†¦show more content†¦Also the tax holliday for the first 6 years and the free coal feedstock for the life of the power plant lowers this risk. A very critical in this project is that the Chinese government does not allow registered capital, the equity capital initially invested under the agreements of the project, to be repatriated. This means that Maple can only return profits and dividend to the parent company. If there aren’t much profits to be expected, Maple faces the risk of not getting a healthy return. The only potential source of earnings from the Tianjin Plastic project are the 49% share of the net profits and dividends.quantifyen. The expected return (IRR) of the project for Maple Energy is 22%. Summary assumptions WACC Maple s cost of equity (hurdle rate) 18,00% Equity 16,50 E+D 110,00 Debt 93,50 Rd (weighted cost of capital) 8,26% Taxrate in first 6 years 0% Taxrate after first 6 years 40% WACC (first 6 years) 9,72% WACC (after 6 years) 6,91% Rd borrow locally 13,00% WACC borrow locally (first 6 years) 13,75% WACC borrow locally (after 6 years) 9,33% Scenario base case: Since the government restricted the registered capital, Maple would not be able to get the equity capital initially invested under the agreement of the project to be repatriated. Since Maple had always been able to repatriate a large part if not all of its capital invested in a power plant project, they started looking for a solution. 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