Raymond Carver Cathedral Analysis - 1231 Words

In Raymond Carver’s â€Å"Cathedral†, it tells the story of a man whose wife one summer, worked for a blind man. The blind man and the husband’s wife, kept in touch throughout the years by sending cassettes back and forth in the mail. The blind man’s wife recently died and the husband’s wife invites him to say in her home, but her husband is displeased by this request. In the beginning of the story, the husband is very rude to the blind man and finds amusement by making fun of the blind man’s disability. Throughout the story, the husband’s opinion about the blind man changes and eventually the husband puts himself into the shoes of the blind man. The husband has a set opinion of how blind should look and act. They should have a white cane,†¦show more content†¦The husband then goes to get the drinks and sits down with his wife and the blind man and have a conversation. After the drink, they eat dinner and the husband is surprised by the fact the blind man can find all the food on his plate. So far in the story, the blind man is breaking every stereotype that the husband thought would be true about blind people. The husband after dinner goes and turns on the TV and his wife gets annoyed. The wife asks the blind man, â€Å"Robert, do you have a TV?† (46). The blind man responds, â€Å"My dear, I have two TVs. I have a color set and a black-and-white thing, an old relic. It’s funny, but if I turn the TV on, and I’m always turning it on, I turn on on the color set. It’s funny, dont you think?† (47). The blind man just keeps proving the husband wrong and the husband slowly disc overs that maybe his mold of what the blind man should have been, is all wrong. In the last part of the story, after the wife has fallen asleep between the two men on the sofa and both the husband and blind man have smoked pot, the husband then turns on the TV. On the TV, there is a cathedral. The blind man has never had a cathedral described to him and asks the husband to describe one to him. The husband goes on and starts trying to describe the beautiful building to the blind man but thinks that he is not doing a very good job. The blind man then says, â€Å"Hey,Show MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Cathedral By Raymond Carver Essay830 Words   |  4 PagesMistakable Judgments An Analysis of â€Å"Cathedral† Raymond Carver wrote a long-lived short story name â€Å"Cathedral†. Where a divorced women remarried after a hard experience to a person who is struggling to accept his wife’s very long relationship with a blind man. Her new husband suspiciousness controls his emotions and draw his thoughts falsely. As her very old friendship was having an unfortunate event that his wife had passed away, he arranged with her a visit to their house, which concerned herRead MoreAnalysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral1696 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction: Everyone has ghosts in their closets; something they are running from, or trying to bury alive. Cathedral, written by Raymond Carver, takes place in the early 1980’s. Originally published in The Atlantic Monthly in 1981. Carver slightly revised the story and re-released it in 1983. At a time when the blue collar working class lived paycheck to paycheck, working hard for newfound luxuries such as color television, this short story is humorous and eye-opening for the reader. For adultsRead MoreCathedral Raymond Carver Analysis1212 Words   |  5 PagesIn â€Å"Cathedral,† Carver’s use of visualization and climactic change of character emphasizes the theme that looking and seeing are two very different things. When Raymond Carver had his wife’s blind friend, Robert, join them for a few days, he should’ve been more understanding and empathetic with Robert’s blindness instead of just avoiding it or brushing it off as if it’s not there. Car ver did very well in changing his ways and learning to accept and understand Robert. Carver also did a good job ofRead MoreAnalysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral 1648 Words   |  7 Pages Cathedral is a capitivating story based on the lives of the narrator, his wife and a blind man. Raymond Carver is the author of this story, and he does an excellent job allowing the reader to delve into the lives of these characters. Through using the thoughts of the narrator, the reader is able to grab our attention because the story is made more realistic. The views expressed by the narrator in many senses exemplify the views of many in society and therefore the reader is able to make an emotionalRead MoreAnalysis Of `` Cathedral `` By Raymond Carver920 Words   |  4 PagesRaymond Carver’s unnamed narrator in â€Å"Cathedral† provides a first-person point of view. This perspective opens a clear window into the feelings, attitudes, and the isolation of the unnamed narrator. The narrator’s tone of voice reveals his feelings and personality. This contributes to the story’s themes because the reader comes to understand things that the narrator never dir ectly or deliberately reveals; as a result, the reader comes to empathize with the narrator more deeply. Isolation and lonelinessRead MoreAnalysis Of Raymond Carver Cathedral1260 Words   |  6 PagesRaymond Carver is often known for his writing style known as minimalism, a style that often uses short phrases or sentences that convey a great amount of meaning. Carver’s â€Å"Cathedral† is full of minimalism, whether it be short and repetitive dialogue or brief thoughts that go through the narrators mind. These intentionally precise sentences are full of meaning, whether it be the importance of communication, or the lack of, the underlying tones of death and jealously, or even the psychological connectionRead MoreAnalysis Of Cathedral By Raymond Carver1541 Words   |  7 PagesA New Perspective Everyone at one point has judged a book by its cover. In the short story, â€Å"Cathedral†, Raymond Carver creates a narrator who bases off ideas and assumptions about blind people from movies. The narrator has never interacted with a blind person before the day where his wife invites her friend, who is named Robert, to stay. The narrator and Robert have never met, but the narrator has a strong dislike towards Robert before meeting. The narrator’s closed-mindedness and misconceptionsRead MoreRaymond Carver Cathedral Analysis985 Words   |  4 Pages In Raymond Carver’s story, â€Å"Cathedral,† we meet the nameless protagonist who is about to meet an old friend of his wife’s. The friend’s name is Robert and he is blind. In the beginning of the story, the narrator is uncomfortable with the idea of having someone with a disability, like Robert’s, in his home. He makes judgments about Robert and assumes that he is going to be like the b lind people he has seen in the movies. We also learn the background information about how hife wife and Robert metRead MoreCathedral By Raymond Carver Analysis1631 Words   |  7 Pages Cathedral is a short story written by American writer and poet Raymond Carver. (2017) The story was first published in The Atlantic Monthly in 1981 and appeared in The Americas Best Short Stories in 1982. (2012) In the short story cathedral, the narrator’s wife’s blind friend is coming to visit. The narrator isn’t thrilled about his wife’s blind friend coming to visit nor is he happy that the man is blind. Later in the evening the narrator experiences a life changing realization of the true meaningRead MoreAn Analysis Of Cathedral By Raymond Carver1441 Words   |  6 Pages Cathedral Research Paper The short story â€Å"Cathedral†, by Raymond Carver, is a thought provoking piece that focuses on the transition a man goes through to see the world with his soul. The story gives hope that people can change if given the chance to be better people. Over the course of the story, Carver uses both diction and description to explore themes in religion and morality. â€Å"Cathedral† depicts a husband and a wife as they prepare and entertain a friend of the wife. The husband, the narrator

The Last Duel by Eric Jager Essay - 1709 Words

Story of the duel to end all duels In the story The Last Duel by Eric Jager, fourteenth century in medieval France, a knight by the name of Jean de Carrouges challenges a squire, Jacques Le Gris, to a duel. The reason for this trial by combat, a court-ordered duel intended by fate of God to determine the truth, was to seek vengeance for the sake of his own honor. The wife of Jean Carrouges was the young, beautiful, good, sensible, and modest Marguerite. She was expected to maintain a ladylike mannerism and remain loyal to her husband. When the couple traveled to Capomensil to visit Carrouges mother-in-law Marguerite stayed under her watch while Carrouges set out on a journey in desperate need of cash. While away on his journey†¦show more content†¦It wasnt possible for him to succeed in this crime alone, so he had to of had help from someone. His companion in this attack was a squire by the name of Adam Louvel, who Jacques secretly summoned after he learned of Carrouges plan to visit Paris. Louvel served unde r Carrouges in the Cotentin campaign and actually knew him well. Ironically Louvel had a house in Capomesnil, where Marguerite was staying with her mother-in-law. It is very possible that since Le Gris knew Carrouges was leaving on a journey he could have traveled to Capomesnil and stayed with Louvel until his opportunity arose when Nicole de Carrouges left the house for a short amount of time to handle business in Saint-Pierre. This is where my suspicions of Le Gris having everything planned grew because he must have known Nicole was called away to a town six miles away, and accordingly planned and timed when he would enter the home, how long it would take to complete the brutal attack, and enough time to leave and form an alibi. Jacques Le Gris was established as a man who was known for seducing women. It was rumored his approach to Marguerite was an offer of money for sex, but she did not care for his money and wouldnt submit herself to his will. This is when the encounter became physical because Le Gris was going to get what he wanted wether she liked it or not. For a woman, Marguerite fought long and strong, but with the muscle between a man

Child Poverty free essay sample

The evidence reviewed suggests that, although policies to increase earned incomes among low-wage workers can help, these earnings gains will not be sufficient to reduce child poverty substantially. Government income support programs, tax policy, and child support payments from absent parents can be used to supplement earned incomes of poor families with children. State of America’s Children: Child Poverty America is one of the riches countries in the world it is home to approximately 406 billionaires and many millionaires, babies are being born into poverty about every 32 seconds everyday (Children’s Defense Fund, 2010). The Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) reports one is every five children are born in to poverty and children constitute for the poorest age group in America (Children’s Defense Fund, 2010). Extreme poverty exists when a family of four lives below or half the annual poverty level of $22,050 (Children’s Defense Fund, 2010). The National Center for Children in Poverty states that in order for families to cover basic expenses they would need  double that amount (National Center for Children in Poverty, 2013). This standard would confirm that 45% of children living in America are from low-income families (National Center for Children in Poverty, 2013). In America at least one in 12 children lives in extreme poverty (Children’s Defense Fund, 2010). The United States has the largest division between the rich and poor on record according to The Children’s Defense Fund (CDF). For less than $140 billion dollars poverty could be eradicated in the United States (Children’s Defense Fund, 2010). The findings of the report conducted by The Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) estimates that Pennsylvania (the state in which I reside) ranked sixth in the ten states with the largest number of poor suburban children and ranked ninth in the ten states with the largest number of poor urban children (Children’s Defense Fund, 2010). The report also stated that California ranked first in both the ten states with the largest number of poor suburban and urban children (Children’s Defense Fund, 2010). The children who are exposed to poverty often times have parents who work but their jobs pay them low wages and their work is unstable (National Center for Children in Poverty, 2013). This causes the children and their families to struggle to make ends meet on a day to day basis (National Center for Children in Poverty, 2013). Research has shown that children who live in poverty display difficulties in their learning capabilities and also have issues with behavioral, emotional, and social problems (National Center for Children in Poverty, 2013). Poor physical and mental health is also contributed to childhood poverty (National Center for Children in Poverty, 2013). The risks due to poverty also increase in children who were exposed to poverty at a young age and/or experience profound constant poverty (National Center for Children in Poverty, 2013). The reason why the data and the information I researched is important to understand in the context of child development is that it justifies some of theories presented by psychologists concerning poverty and child development. Research has clearly proven that poverty in children has the most largest and detrimental effect on a child’s well-being (National Center for Children in Poverty, 2013). Studies have shown that there is a link between poverty and early childhood development (Beck, T., 2002). Various scholars over many years have tried to answer the well-established question â€Å"To what extent does childhood poverty adversely affect cognitive,  language, and social development and thereby reduce opportunities for success and happiness in adulthood (Beck, T., 2002)?† To begin to answer the question much research had taken place (Beck, T., 2002). There had been extensive research completed over two decades on both developmental psychology and economics. First with regard to economics the study would speculate on how the consequences of poverty affected children in various ways. Secondly the research conducted would bring about valuable information that would be vital to aid policymakers in assisting in helping poor children (Beck, T., 2002). Research was done on the relationship between a child’s behavioral, language, and cognitive development and their family’s economic resources by Professor Kathleen McCartney and Dr. Eric Bearing, developmental psychologists at Harvard University (Beck, T., 2002). Data was collected by using a new and intriguing data set from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care (Beck, T., 2002). It measured the differences between poor and non-poor children and their outcomes (Beck, T., 2002). The finding of their research on poverty and child development were that a child’s early childhood development (children from newborns to 3 years) was impacted significantly by his or hers family income and that the level of poverty the child was exposed to also played a vital role in the child’ development as well (Beck, T., 2002).Maternal intelligence was also measured and deemed important in a child’s development but the effects of the family’s income still had more effect on a child’s development which measured at 73.5% (Beck, T., 2002). Although the findings of this particular study are alarming and overwhelming both psychologists feel that more research needs to be done for a better understanding of how economics can be made available to aid in the increase of children’s developmental outcomes in the future (Beck, T., 2002). After researching the dilemma of child poverty it is sad to acknowledge that even it exists here in America. Most people believe that is only happens in faraway countries such as Africa and India which is far from reality. America is one of the riches countries in the world it is home to approximately 406 billionaires and many millionaires, babies are being born into poverty about every 32 seconds everyday (Children’s Defense Fund, 2010). About 22% of children in American families are officially considered poor (National Center for Children in Poverty, 2013). According to the  Children’s Defense Fund child poverty can be eliminated here in the U.S. for less than $140 billion dollars (Children’s Defense Fund, 2010). The recommendations I would offer to address the issue of child poverty for future generations would be first for them to obtain an education beyond high school for themselves so they can attain well-paying steady employment so that their own childre n will not have to be exposed to child poverty which will eliminate the negative effects that child poverty can bring. I would also recommend that they do not put a blind eye to the problem of child poverty so that they themselves and society as a whole can put measures in place to combat and ultimately end the vicious cycle of child poverty.

Intercultural Conmmunication free essay sample

All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent on the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI 3523438 PR EV Copyright 2012 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This edition of the work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P. O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 1346 IE Published Doctor of Education dissertation, University of Northern Colorado, 2012. This study explored how the learners-as-ethnographers (LAE) approach facilitated intercultural learning among American students learning Chinese as a foreign language. learning experiences in a non-immersion context. I designed six ethnographic tasks for the 15 university students who registered for the Elementary Chinese class in 2010. The students were required to complete four of the ethnographic tasks, write an essay for each, and report their explorations of the linguistic and/or cultural phenomena in the U. We will write a custom essay sample on Intercultural Conmmunication or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page S. and a Chinese-speaking community. At the end of the semester, I conducted two focus groups and interviewed 11 of the students. A total of 56 students’ essays and two interview transcriptions underwent thematic analyses. Results show that the ethnographic tasks created learning opportunities for students to recognize and evaluate cultural stereotypes, impacts of contextual or situational factors on cultural artifacts/practices/perspectives, culture-specific connotations or misunderstanding, and potential bias in the intercultural exploration. Moreover, the intercultural learning assignment added an important dimension to the foreign language course, motivating learners to notice, contemplate, and inquire into the taken-for-granted linguistic and cultural phenomena in their native community. Students PR EV IE W Two research questions addressed the effectiveness of the LAE approach and students’ became aware that culture was situational and contextual. Gradually, their intercultural communicative competence developed. These findings confirm the benefits of the LAE approach reported in the previous studies. Analyses of students’ reflections upon their explorations yield five themes concerning (1) design of the intercultural learning assignment and ethnographic tasks; (2) accessibility to native speakers and validity of the interview information; (3) selection and use of the information from the Internet; (4) influence of having study abroad experiences; and (5) cultural representations. The five themes reveal the complexity of collecting and interpreting information. Discussions on the revealed issues point to directions for future researchers on intercultural education and propose suggestions for classroom practitioners to expand the benefits of the LAE approach. PR EV IE W intercultural learning in a non-immersion context, particularly the difficulties of ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Dana Walker, for her auspicious modeling, thorough guidance, and endless encouragement. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Deborah Romero, Dr. Madeline Milian, and Dr. Elizabeth Franklin for their insightful suggestions and assistance in increasing the value of this dissertation. Factual knowledge, linguistic competence, and communicative competence— which are promoted by the traditional grammar translation approach and communicative language teaching approach, respectively—are not the only attributes to PR EV IE W plenty of opportunities to communicate with the local people in the school community 2 successful intercultural communications. When I took an ethnography class and read research studies on using the learners-as-ethnographers (LAE) approach in language classrooms (e. . , Carel, 2001; Byram Feng, 2005; Roberts, Byram, Barro, Jordan, Street, 2001), I was convinced by those scholars’ assertions that language learning requires cultural learning and that LAE is an effective approach to learning culture and language. I began to consider integrating the LAE approach into the Elementary Chinese course that I was teaching to enhance the American students’ intercultural learning. This chapter reports my exploration of intercultu ral education, the LAE Language Education and Intercultural Learning The growing mobility of people as well as the escalating access to the World Wide Web has resulted in escalating cross-cultural encounters (Pugh Hickson, 2003). These abundant cross-cultural contacts and communications point to the importance of intercultural education. Learners need opportunities to develop intercultural awareness or intercultural communicative skills for effective communication with people from different socio-cultural backgrounds and use language in different ways. Research has found that misunderstandings and communication breakdowns among people from different social groups often result from the culture-embedded schema the speakers use to perceive the situations and each other and the meanings they associate with the settings rather than different languages (Gudykunst Kim, 1992; Gumperz, Jupp, Roberts, 1979; Littlewood, 2002; Paige, Jorstad, Siaya, Klein, Colby, 2003). There have been historical and theoretical shifts in language educational goals from linguistic competence to communicative competence and increasing attention to PR EV IE W approach, and how to integrate the LAE in intercultural education. 3 intercultural learning. In the 1960s, linguistics and language education were dominated by the sentence-level paradigm led by the theoretical linguist Chomsky. In the 1970s, the functional linguists Halliday and Hasan (1976) challenged the narrowness of Chomsky’s model of language and innate mechanism for learning language, while the anthropological linguist Hymes (1972) proposed communicative competence. Hymes and Halliday and their associates (e. g. Halliday Hasan, 1976; Heath, 1983; Hymes, 1972; Trueba, Guthrie, Au, 1981; Watson-Gegeo, 1988) argued that language has social and cultural origins and should be analyzed with its context considered. Since enhancing learners’ communicative competence rather than linguistic competence (for discussion, see Leung, 2005). Intercultural education entails an affective domain and an ethical purpose for improving intercultural understanding and commu nication, in addition to the linguistic understanding. The goals include developing â€Å"empathy toward a second culture and its people† (Hammerly, 1982, p. 24), â€Å"attitudes toward other societies† (Seelye, 1984, p. 9), and willingness to de-center and to relativize one’s values, beliefs, and behaviors (Byram, Nichols, Stevens, 2001). Intercultural education also stretches learners’ imaginations and world views. Stern (1992) insists that the foreign language (FL) course syllabus should consider language learners’ perspectives on the culture of the social community speaking the target language (TL) because the cultural syllabus can build background and context and bring the speech community to life for foreign language learners. The cross-cultural syllabus helps foreign language learners, to whom the target language community is usually physically remote and the cultures PR EV IE W then, the predominant school of thought has viewed language educational goals as 4 shaping the language are psychologically distant, to â€Å"vicariously experience that reality† (p. 223). Integrating Intercultural Learning into Foreign Language Curricula The ties of language and culture and of cultural education and affective domains are fully illustrated in Agar’s (1994) notion of â€Å"Languaculture† (p. 0) and Lange and Paige’s (2003) view of culture as the core of language education. Language educators have achieved a consensus that communicative competence for foreign language learners should be developed in conjunction with intercultural learning (Byram Feng, 2005; Byram et al. , 2001). Researchers have confirmed that when people learn a cultural norms or procedures for interpretation and forms of reasoning (Trueba et al. , 1981; Watson-Gegeo, 1988). In order to maximize understanding in international communication, foreign language education must help learners develop the awareness that culture affects the values, attitudes, and behaviors of people from different sociocultural communities (Gaston, 1992). Kramsch (1993) echoed Gaston, asserting that the purpose of foreign language education is â€Å"cultivating international understanding, responsibility, and effective participation in a global age† (p. 258). Indeed, there has been increasing advocacy for integrating intercultural learning into foreign language curricula. The National Standards (1996) issued by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) includes culture as one of the five core contents and unambiguously relates three of the standards to culture. The post 9/11 survey U. S. Business Needs for Employees with International Expertise reports that a majority of employers value â€Å"an appreciation for cross-cultural differences† and PR EV IE second language, they learn not merely a structure for communication, but the socio- W 5 â€Å"a global perspective† (Kedia Daniel, 2003). More recently, the document Foreign Languages and Higher Education: New Structures for a Changed World issued by the Modern Language Association (MLA) in 2007 places considerable emphasis on the role of culture in a transformed approach to language education. It explicitly states that â€Å"recent world events have demonstrated, deep cultural knowledge and linguistic competence are equally necessary if one wishes to understand people and their communities† (p. 2). Current Problems in Intercultural Education challenges to decide what aspects of culture should be taught and how (Corbett, 2003; Stern, 1992). In this section, I will discuss difficulties in teaching culture. Then, I will narrow the focus to three particular challenges facing classroom teachers: the lack of attainable instructional objectives, workable pedagogic approaches, and practical material. Problems in Intercultural Syllabus Stern (1992) observes five interwoven difficulties in the cultural syllabus: the vast concept of culture, incoherent educational goals, lack of access to required information, incorporation of cultural teaching in a predominately language-oriented pedagogic approach, and integration of the substantial subject material in a mainly skilloriented program (p. 07). Among the five problems, the vast concept of culture is the basic problem leading to the others. Culture was viewed as a noun, which could be and must be pre-defined to be implemented in teaching (e. g. , Brooks, 1964; Chastain, 1976). Such an assumption has limited the educational goals to memorizing fragmental â€Å"facts† PR EV IE W Despite the increasing attention to intercultural education, educators face 6 and analyzing available information. While The Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century (National Standards in Foreign Language Educational Project, 1999) has given cultural learning a prominent role in American foreign language education in three (out of five) content areas (culture, communication, and comparison), a close examination of the Standards reveals that knowledge is prioritized over skills and attitudes and that there is a general vagueness regarding cultural learning processes (Erin, 2008). Limiting the content of intercultural syllabi to factual knowledge is not only ata and the limited access to information increase the difficulty for foreign language teachers to decide what they should teach, how they should teach, and why they should be teaching cultures. A survey funded by the U. S. Department of Education was conducted among 1,566 high school foreign language teachers. The results show that the major difficulty in adopting the culture syllabus and attaining the Standards was the lac k of a â€Å"conceptual framework into which cultural information can fit that is described in the standards† (Social Science Education Consortium, 1999, p. 5). Goals of Intercultural Education The convenient access to information via multimedia and advanced telecommunication technology in this era of information explosion has changed the perspective on culture, altered educational contexts, and directed the challenges in intercultural education to another paradigm. The goals of intercultural education have moved from transacting information and analyzing certain cultural behaviors to equipping students with skills to explore cultures. One decade after Stern’s PR EV IE W problematic but impractical. As Fischer (1997) points out, the lack of â€Å"representative† 7 bservations in 1992, Corbett (2003) defines the educational goals of the intercultural syllabus as goals to overcome the limitations of the prescriptive knowledge in textbooks, to develop skills of exploring cultures, to motivate interest in exploring cultures, and to avoid intercultural misunderstanding. Indeed, intercultural learning cannot be evaluated by quantity but should be seen as â€Å"the process of acquiring the culture-specific and culture-general knowledge, skills, and attitude†¦ a dynamic, developmental, and ongoing process which engages the learner cognitively, behaviorally, and affectively† (Paige et al. 2003, p. 177; emphasis process-oriented teaching objectives, such as the portfolio approach (e. g. , Abrams, 2002; Allen, 2004; Byon, 2007) and the LAE approach (e. g. , Byram Michael, 1998; Schulz, 2007). Intercultural Communicative Competence Among the proposed cultural learning objectives, the intercultural communicative competence (ICC) promoted by British scholars may be the most wellknown and widely-applied learning objective in the literature of intercultural education (Byram, 1997; Byram et al. , 2001; Byram Zarate, 1994). Byram and his associates argue that intercultural education should be incorporated into foreign language curriculum and that cultivating ICC should be the ultimate goal of foreign language education. The four components of ICC in their intercultural model of foreign language education are attitude, knowledge, skills, and critical awareness. Intercultural attitude refers to language learners’ curiosity and openness. Intercultural knowledge refers to the understanding about how social groups and social identities function. Intercultural PR EV IE W added). The current pedagogic approaches to intercultural learning have adjusted to the skills include the skills of comparing, interpreting, and discovering. Intercultural speakers also need critical awareness of their values and others’. The ICC components have been criticized. Tomic (2000) points out that the concept of competence is problematic because it â€Å"implies that there is a measurable amount of ‘knowledgeâ €™â€  (p. 238). Even if cultural learning is measurable, it is difficult, if not impossible, to measure all the ICC components. For instance, the attitudinal shifts and awareness development may require observation for at least four years (Kramsch, 1993; Lafayette Schulz, 1997). Moreover, the ICC model is based on the intercultural contacts are extensive and where study abroad is popular. It is unknown yet whether the model is attainable in non-immersion foreign language programs for the majority of students who do not have opportunities to visit the countries speaking their target languages. Intercultural educationists have proposed that foreign language teachers should teach ethnographic skills to facilitate learning the skills of exploring cultures because ethnography has been a legitimate form of inquiry into culture (Corbett, 2003; EganRobertson Bloome, 1998; Leung, 2005; Roberts et al. 2001). Byram and Feng (2005) began their comprehensive review on intercultural education with an explicit statement: â€Å"Culture teaching is moving toward an ethnographic perspective† (p. 911). In cultural inquiry, ethnographers become able to view the knowledge of other societies with more open minds by involving themselves in recognizing their assumptions abo ut knowledge and its legitimization in their own society. Ethnographers develop the ability to reflect PR EV Ethnography as a Pedagogic Approach IE W observations of foreign language education and research results in Europe, where 9 critically on how their cultural backgrounds and standpoints influence their view of other cultures. Moreover, ethnographers also develop the critical consciousness, viewing ethnography as â€Å"a product of particular dominant societies at a particular period† (Roberts et al. , 2001, p. 93). According to Leung (2005), ethnographic inquiry processes facilitate development of epistemological relativity, reflexivity, and critical consciousness, all of which increase the ICC. Strengths of the Learners-asEthnographers Approach Educationists have attempted to incorporate ethnography in language education, foreign language education, and intercultural education. Variations of the learners-as- 2001; Egan-Robertson Bloome, 1998; Monahan, 2003; Roberts et al. , 2001; Robinson-Stuart Nocon, 1996; Su, 2008; Tanaka, 1997). The recognized contributions of the LAE approach to language learning include: (1) Learners may have a better understanding of the connection between language and culture and how language is comprehended or produced in the large context of communication; (2) Learners may change their attitudes towards their own language and the language of others and unpack their stereotypes about the target culture; (3) Learners will have alternative accesses to studying language components other than the traditional instruction of the rescriptive grammar; (4) Learners can engage in a variety of different writing such as field notes, reports, stories, etc. , realize the power of various kinds of writing to synthesize, generate, and transform knowledge, and position their writer identity as writing is an integral part in ethnography; (5) Learners will acquire a way of thinking about and analyzing language and a new mode of inquiry knowledge; PR EV IE ethnographers (LAE) approach have been developed ( e. g. , Barro et al. , 1998; Carel, W 10 6) Learners will feel that learning is meaningful and become more motivated to learn; and (7) Learners can practice life skills such as active listening, communicative strategies, as well as study skills such as collecting data, searching for sources, analyzing and synthesizing ideas, and writing reflection. The LAE approach, thus, influences foreign language learning in four ways. It provides learners with access to authentic language use in context, raises awareness of the language-culture connection, develops autonomy and exploratory skills, and enhances thinking skills. Students explore not only the social group speaking their target language and its cultural practices, but the native social group in which they are living. The positive effects of LAE initiated my interest in the LAE approach and lead learning. Need for Empirical Studies on Implementation Despite the benefits of the LAE approach, there have been insufficient empirical studies on its implementation in modern foreign language classrooms, and the existing studies have methodological problems. Most of the LAE studies ignored the fact that the worldwide communication systems have offered access and data for foreign language learners to obtain cultural information without staying in the community speaking the target language (Corbett, 2003; Heath Street, 2008; Lange, 2003). With technology assistance, the LAE projects may not need to adhere to the tradition of â€Å"extensive stay[s] in the field and participant observation† (Heath, 1983). Roberts et al. s (2001) comprehensive examination of LAE projects is based on an interdisciplinary international research project conducted over a period of three years. PR EV IE to my decision to use it to engage and enhance my American students’ intercultural W 11 Despite the encouraging results of the LAE’s effectiveness, these LAE projects were integrated into the undergraduate degree as an independent course and involved a one-year study abroad. Little was known about the effectiveness of the LAE approach applied in regular foreign language curricula which do not require study abroad. Moreover, the LAE cases in Roberts et al. ’s research as well as other LAE studies (e. g. , Byram Fleming, 1998; Egan-Robertson Bloome, 1998) only reported successful cases of learning in controlled contexts with participants of high homogeneity. Competing cases are needed for understanding the complexity of intercultural learning experiences, for example, of long-time residence or participation in a summer program, of being in a community speaking the target language or other languages, and consequently have different perspectives on intercultural learning. Researchers should avoid the danger of selecting theoretical segments from a large data base to prove the researcher’s point of view and rather investigate extensive learning experiences (Brown, 1992). In addition to the limitations, at least three other areas were unexplored in intercultural education and deserve attention. First, portfolios and reflective essay tasks have been suggested for evaluating students’ intercultural learning (e. g. , Corbett, 2003; Roberts et al. , 2001; Schulz, 2007), but their implementations were not fully investigated. Second, researchers tended to explore the implementation of LAE in contexts of English language learning from English-speaking researchers’ perspectives (e. g. , Egan-Robertson Bloome, 1998; Heath, 1983). Investigations of LAE’s implementation with learners of foreign languages other than English from the PR EV IE W in naturalistic settings where students might have had different intercultural learning 12 perspectives of researchers speaking languages other than English can contribute to our developing understanding of the LAE approach as well as intercultural education (Harklau, 2005). Third, students’ perspectives on intercultural learning have been underexplored but deserve attention as the inquiry into such may offer constructive suggestions to refine the LAE. The present study aims to add the missing pieces to the puzzle. I will explore divergent learning cases. I will investigate American students’ experiences of and perspectives on intercultural learning through the LAE approach. As an instructor- perspective to intercultural education which has been dominated by Anglo researchers studying the learning of European languages and cultures. The Present Study The present study explores the integration of the learners-as-ethnographers (LAE) approach in a Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) curriculum in a nonimmersion intercultural learning context. It assumes that the challenges facing instructors using an intercultural syllabus result from the absence of attainable learning objectives, a workable pedagogic approach, and legitimate teaching material. It also assumes that these challenges can be overcome by adopting the LAE approach in which students will be guided to complete ethnographic tasks and develop an intercultural learning portfolio. This study endeavors to bridge the gaps in the research on diverse learning experiences of the LAE approach and students’ perspectives on intercultural learning by examining how LAE facilitates (or does not facilitate) intercultural PR EV IE W researcher from a different country, my investigation may offer an alternative 13 awareness and engages (or does not engage) intercultural learning. Research questions include: Q1 How does the learners-as-ethnographers (LAE) approach facilitate intercultural learning among American college students learning Chinese as a foreign language? How do the learners perceive their learning experiences through the LAE approach? Q2 Learners’ development of intercultural awareness and understanding is operationally defined as the students’ completion of the intercultural learning portfolio and demonstration of their awareness and understanding of native culture (American culture) and target culture (Chinese/Taiwanese culture) in their ethnographic task essays target learning objectives which is indicated in students’ completed tasks and students’ reflections on the benefits of the LAE in the follow-up interviews. I utilized a qualitative research design, drawing upon the epistemological stances of constructivism and interpretivism. Research methods included a pedagogic intervention, participant observation, and focus group interview. I designed a onesemester-long portfolio project containing six ethnographic tasks for a class of CFL learners to explore the six aspects of intercultural learning. After completing the portfolio, I conducted two focus group interviews for students to reflect upon and talk about their learning experiences (Burch Seggie, 2008). Students’ intercultural learning portfolios and the transcriptions of the two interviews underwent thematic analysis. The results of analysis offer practical information to foreign language classroom teachers who might be thinking about adopting the LAE approach for intercultural PR EV IE written in English. The LAE effectiveness is evaluated by students’ achievement of the W 14 education and who might integrate it into their syllabus. For these practitioners, understanding learners’ perceptions and experiences of the LAE approach is critical. The results of the effectiveness and engagement of the ethnographic tasks and intercultural learning portfolio may provide material writers and classroom teachers with useful references in designing and/or implementing instructional activities. Furthermore, the investigation results of the LAE approach as a non-traditional, student-centered, skill-based approach bring fresh thoughts to the currently dominant teacher-centered, knowledge-based pedagogy, and, therefore, contribute to the ongoing bout how the CFL learners in the U. S. interpret Chinese culture and better our understanding of the socio-psychological process of cultural studies. PR EV IE W educational reforms. Learners’ narrations of intercultural learning offer information 15 CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter reviews the existing literature on teaching culture and researching intercultural education to provide readers with background information on intercultural education and also to foreground the research design of this study. In the first section, I will discuss different perspectives on culture and the goals of intercultural education. particularly the LAE approach. I will briefly introduce the history of using ethnographic inquiry in researching cultures, the rise of using ethnography in teaching cultures, and the LAE approach and its variations. The third section will discuss the integration of portfolios with the LAE approach and its application to intercultural learning in foreign language classrooms. Defining culture is essential to applying the cultural syllabus in foreign language classrooms because the definition shapes every aspect of intercultural education—from deciding learning objectives and educational goals to choosing the contents and techniques of teaching. Culture has been defined in terms of both outcome and process and as either a noun (e. g. , Tomalin Stempleski, 1993) or a verb (e. g. , Heath Street, 2008; Loveday, 1981). PR EV Definitions of Culture IE W Then, I will discuss the contents and techniques of intercultural educational syllabi, 16 Culture as a Noun The culture-as-a-noun view includes the â€Å"capital C† and â€Å"little c† definitions. The former limits Culture to the elite products and properties—literature, music, art, and philosophy, whereas the latter views culture as â€Å"incorporating products such as literature, art, and artifacts, ideas such as beliefs, values and institutions, and behaviors such as customs, habits, dress, foods and leisure† (Tomalin Stempleski, 1993, pp. 6-7, emphasis added). Still, another perspective sees culture as knowledge: â€Å"culture is what the individual needs to know to be a functional member of the community† (Saville- ndividuals â€Å"in different parts with different groups to which we belong; agglomeration of common knowledge, perceptions, values, and traditions† (Bowers, 1992, p. 32). Culture as a Verb In contrast with the culture-as-a-noun view based on the assumption that culture is bounded and static, the culture-as-a-ve rb view is concerned with the dynamic and changing features of culture, which â€Å"involves the implicit norms and conventions of a society, its methods of ‘going about doing things’, its historically transmitted but also adaptive and creative ethos† (Loveday, 1981, p. 34, emphasis added). Risager’s (1998) quote accurately explains why the culture-as-a-verb perspective is a useful working definition to investigate intercultural education in the 21st century: The interwoven character of cultures as a common condition for the whole world: cultures penetrate each other in changing combinations by virtue of extensive migration and tourism, worldwide communication systems for mass and private communication, economic interdependence and the globalization of the production of goods. (p. 248, emphasis added) PR EV IE W Troike, 1989, p. 7). Culture is a â€Å"multi-leveled group memory,† which is shared by

Aspects of Differentiation within Subject Specialisms Essays

Aspects of Differentiation within Subject Specialisms Essays Aspects of Differentiation within Subject Specialisms Essay Aspects of Differentiation within Subject Specialisms Essay The aim of this essay is to analyse the main strategies of differentiation employed within secondary science to aid effective pupil learning and to reflect upon its ability to achieve intended learning outcomes. The main focus of this study will be to evaluate the mode of differentiation by grouping and its interplay with various other forms of separation due to differences. Secondary data will be used to gain an overall perspective of methods of grouping and its implementation, attitudes towards the variety of grouping strategies and outcomes of the various approaches. Primary data will give an insight into various strategies in action and will aim to take an in depth look at aspects of differentiation within the science department of a mixed comprehensive school (school X). Research for this study includes primary data obtained during placement at school X, and secondary data from a variety of reference sources. We can define differentiation as any process which divides pupils into subgroups which are then exposed to different educational experiences. Differentiation then covers a great range of phenomena from the allocation of pupils to different classes, subjects, sets, streams, bands or tracks within the same school, to the different treatment of pupils in the same classroom. (Smith 1981). Differentiation by ability grouping has had a long history as a key practice within UK schools. The definition above points to a number of methods which have been employed in education over more than half a century. Streaming was the favoured practice of the 1950s, and continued to dominate into the 1960s spreading beyond the realms of the secondary school into junior schools. Equality in education became the dominating policy of the 1970s and 1980s and thus a surge in the adoption of a mixed-ability grouping strategy was seen at this time. Ability grouping reappeared in the 1990s with government policy stating setting as a preferable approach (Boaler et al 2000). Unless a school can demonstrate that it is getting better than expected results through a different approach, we do make the presumption that setting should be the norm in secondary schools. (DfEE 1997) Streaming involves placing pupils in a class within their year group with regard to ability. It encompasses all subjects, thus those deemed to be most able are placed in the top stream and will remain in this grouping for all subject areas and the opposite is true for those considered to be least able they will be placed in bottom streams for all subjects. Mixed-ability grouping is a complete contradiction to streaming, as the name suggests it is the formation of classes containing pupils of a varied mixture of aptitudes. Setting like streaming is also a form of ability grouping but involves allocation to the most appropriate class with regard to ability within a particular subject specialism. The 1990s evolution of grouping from mixed-ability to sets may have occurred for a number of reasons, suggestions include; schools perception of the 1988 Education Reform Act as constraining, teachers views that mixed-ability teaching became incompatible with the tightening grip of the national curriculum, the assertion that setting is a popular ideology with middle class parents and the DfEE consensus that mixed-ability grouping was failing to address the needs of every child (Boaler et al 2000). Regardless of the origins of the change ability grouping is now widespread within secondary education in accordance with the White Paper Excellence in Schools (DfEE 1997) which stated that by 2002 we will have all schools setting pupils by ability. In practice it was noted by the Key Stage 3 National Strategy (2002) that, setting in Key Stage 3 science varies across schools although they did indicate that, most organise Year 9 pupils in ability sets and also that, more than half of all secondary schools organise Year 8 into ability sets. The science department at school X appears to follow the approach of the majority of schools its grouping policy is one of ability setting at the Year 8 level (Appendix 1). Even though setting is now customary practice within mainstream secondary schools it must be pointed out that the process by which it occurs is of great diversity (Ireson et al 2002). Ireson et al point to a number of practices associated with pupil placement with the most common being the use of internal school tests and examinations. In addition to these sources of information teacher judgement, pupil behaviour, motivation and social relationships were also influential factors. Observations and discussions with staff at school X reveal that it uses similar practices to those pointed out in the study by Ireson et al. Internal school tests are carried out at the end of each module and this in association with classwork, homework and teacher judgement form the predominant basis for grouping. Appendix 2 a-c gives an indication of assessed work within a mixed-ability Year 7 group before setting. The sample shows the degree of variation in ability within a class before placement, pupil A who obtained the highest mark on the internal test attained a place in the top set, pupil B with a mid range mark was placed in a middle set and pupil C who obtained a low mark was placed in a low set. The setting procedure at school X is constantly under review, assessments are commonplace after each module and continued evaluation allows for regular re-examination of the attribution of pupils to particular sets. Appendix 2 also highlights one of the major difficulties of mixed-ability grouping and advantages of setting. The degree of variation in ability observed within the provided sample gives an indication as to the difficulty faced by a teacher attempting to teach pupils at either end of the ability spectrum within the same class. A recent study of teachers opinions towards ability grouping indicated that there was an overwhelming consensus that teaching and classroom management were aided by setting (Hallam et al 2003). The DfEE stated in 1997 that, mixed-ability grouping has not proved capable of playing to the strengths of every child. (DfEE 1997). Setting at that time was seen as the answer to raising levels of achievement (Capel et al 1995). Although more recently with the setting policy very much in place it has been found that, There is no clear statistical link between the extent of setting in schools and the attainment of pupils (OfSTED 2001). Research is drawing attention to the possibility that setting not unlike mixed-ability grouping is besieged by its own concoction of intricate problems. There is a question mark over the ability of schools to accurately place pupils in the correct set, it has been indicated that factors other than ability and attainment may be influencing the procedure and creating room for error. These additional levering factors have also been indicated as contributory to the formation of unbalanced groups with regard to social class, ethnicity and gender (Ireson et al 2002). Tomlinson (1987:106) reports that, Factors related to class, gender, ethnicity and behaviour can be shown to affect the placement of pupils at option time, even those of similar ability. Compounding the concern that pupils are being placed in the wrong sets is the worry that once attributed to a particular set there is little scope for movement. It has been asserted that there can be practical difficulties accompanying group movement, constraints such as group size and curriculum organisation may factor. Also a lack of general in school assessment may contribute. The lack of scope for movement is thought to be of major concern when considering pupil motivation, the opportunity to advance to a higher set is thought to be a considerable motivational factor to those within the lower sets (Ireson et al 2002). In addition to the effect on motivation concerns have been raised as to the effect setting may have on self-esteem and general school self concept. Much research has focused on the inequities of ability grouping especially for the students within the low sets increasing awareness of the inadequacies of the system and its perpetuation of low self esteem and poor general school self concept for these pupils. This has for a long time been seen as an unfortunate symptom of the ability grouping process and has generally been brushed aside for the more favourable view that setting is advantageous and enhances the experiences of top set pupils. Recent research however has begun to bring to light what has been described as the top set effect; this has been accredited to negative effects of pressure causing anxiety and unhappiness for some pupils placed in high groups (Boaler 1997). Teachers opinions were found to be in agreement with the view of low self-esteem developing in those of low attainment they also believed that these pupils were in danger of being alienated and this situation cultivating difficult behaviour. They were nevertheless in disagreement as to the affects on high achieving pupils they retained the view that grouping was beneficial for these pupils and maximised their attainment also shielding them from negative peer pressure (Hallam et al 2003). There appears to be the risk of considerable problems with both mixed-ability grouping and setting. The DfEEs concerns that mixed-ability grouping was failing to address the needs of every child (Boaler et al 2000) would not be misplaced if also attributed to setting. Certain areas in both methods of grouping need addressing to ensure optimum success. The Key Stage 3 National Strategy 2002 highlights factors which may encourage greater success for setting they include, close teamwork, cooperative planning and careful monitoring by science staff to make sure that pupils can move from set to set as their progress demands and that expectations for all pupils are suitably high (www. tandards. dfes. gov. uk). It may be pointed out that to address the needs of every child a more individualistic approach may be required whatever the adopted grouping strategy (Postlethwaite 1993). Ireson et al 2002 also points to this fact and stresses that, Teachers may need to be reminded that sets are not homogenous. Thus in addition to differentiation by grouping other forms of differentiation with a more in depth regard for the individual must take place. If it is to be taken into account that even in a setting environment groups are not homogenous (Ireson et al 2002) then consideration as to whether or not a pupil may need to be given a separate task or if a different outcome needs to be expected should be taken into account. This problem was highlighted by OFSTED, secondary schools need to give attention to matching work more effectively to the knowledge and skills of pupils of different abilities (OFSTED 1993). Differentiation by task involves students within the same classroom either receiving different tasks or using different routes to complete the same task (Hall 1997). This strategy was observed in practice at school X, separate worksheets were used to provide the same learning outcome for all pupils and were mainly used as an aid to pupils of lower ability, those with literacy problems or those who were struggling to keep up with the pace of work of the rest of the class. This form of differentiation by task was employed both within a class and between sets. The use of such worksheets was observed in a year 8 middle ability set (Appendix 3a,b,c and d). It was a single period lesson and was an addition to the national curriculum scheme of work: unit 8L: Light, the lesson involved learning the parts of the eye and how light travels through the eye. The lesson began with closed questions regarding the work that had been carried out in the previous lesson, all pupils responded well and were keen to answer questions. A model of the eye was then used to demonstrate the appearance of the inner eye and to indicate the names of the different parts. The model was also utilised in explaining the path light takes through the eye, how and where an image is focused and how the information passes to the brain. Worksheets were then handed to the class by the teacher, appendices 3a and b were handed to the majority of the class with the exception of two pupils who had difficulties with literacy and were given appendices 3c and d. From looking at the worksheets the differences are obvious, 3a provides detailed descriptions of the different parts of the eye this sheet is coupled with 3b where detailed labels are expected on the diagram. Alternatively 3c has a much more basic layout with word cues already in place, the crossword that follows has descriptions in a simpler form using basic language. The same learning outcome is intended regardless of the worksheet received. When closed questions were used as a plenary successful learning outcomes appeared to have been achieved for all pupils. Differentiation by task appeared to be successful in the situation described at school X although there is a lack of provision with regard to worksheets for pupils at the more able end of the ability spectrum. After several weeks observations at school X the opportunity arose to teach the aforementioned year 8 group a similar lesson to the one described above. It was a single period lesson from the national curriculum scheme of work: Unit 8L: Sound and Hearing (Appendix 4), the lesson involved learning the parts of the ear and how sound is conveyed through the ear and transferred to the brain (Appendix 5). A starter of closed questions was used to review the work of the previous lesson on how sound travels through different substances. This was followed by a description of the anatomy of the ear using a model and this was built on using a PowerPoint slide to describe how sound vibrations pass through the ear and transmit to the brain. Worksheets were then distributed using the same protocol as the observed teacher; designated worksheets with more basic language were given to the pupils with literacy difficulties. In addition to these sheets extension question sheets were prepared for the more able pupils in the group who were working at a faster pace (Appendix 6). As in the observed lesson questions were used as a plenary exercise to review the work covered, all pupils were willing to impart answers to these questions and it was therefore concluded that objectives had been met (Appendix 7). Differentiation by task appears to work as a successful strategy at school X no problems were encountered in either the observed or taught lessons. A greater use of extension sheets for more able students may need to be addressed if their needs are to be fully catered for. This positive outcome however is in contradiction to a number of research studies, such as Hall (1997) that found this method of differentiation caused, students to become demotivated and even damaged as they appeared to perceive themselves as different from their peers. The perception of being different and being labelled within the class as being of lower ability was seen to not only demotivate but have a strong effect on self-esteem, this was proposed as a possible cause of declining behavioural standards (Hall 1997). The same study also made suggestions that differentiation by task should where possible be replaced by a mode of peer collaboration to alleviate problems encountered. This suggestion was also made by Turner and DiMarco (1998), the focus of much science work on group activity allows some pupils who are weak in certain skills to be supported by their friends. Differentiation is not simply about providing an extension worksheet for the faster pupils and a different worksheet for the slower pupils (Turner and DiMarco 1998). Neither is it solely a matter of grouping pupils with regard to ability, as stated by Postlethwaite (1993), children differ from one another in a great variety of ways, many of which are relevant to their work as pupils in school. The 1988 Education Reform Act highlighted the need for use of various teaching approaches to encompass the variety of learning styles. Differentiation of pupils by learning styles is a popular conception with educationalists and is strongly linked with the modality theory of learning styles and Gardners theory of multiple intelligences (Klein 2003). The modality theory suggests that there are differences in the perceptual channels through which pupils learn and that different groups learn through different channels and this needs to be accommodated for to maximise learning. Gardners theory is broader than this and suggests there are eight cognitive modules or eight different intelligences an individual is thought to possess a unique profile of intelligence with differing strengths and weakness in the different modules (Klein 2003). The eight intelligences laid down by Gardner are: logical-mathematical, linguistic, musical, spatial, bodily-kinaesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal and naturalist. His theory was not originally developed to become an educational framework but has nonetheless become an influential educational tool (Hopper and Hurry 2000). Gardner himself stated in the Times Educational Supplement (March 1995) that, the best possibility is when teachers use MI theory as a way of looking at kids more carefully. Im interested in whether it helps people notice differences they havent seen before. In utilising multiple intelligence theory to realise the individual and the individuals needs emphasis must then be placed on encompassing the variety of learning styles within set teaching strategies. This is emphasised by Bourdillon and Storey (2002) who suggest that Gardners theory, reminds us that a one size fits all method of teaching and learning is unlikely to produce uniformly high learning gains in classrooms. Although a one size fits all method may not be a successful strategy in practical terms devising a lesson to envelop eight different intelligence modalities is stretching the realms of even the most inventive teacher. This limitation was taken on board by Keogh and Naylor (2002), although teachers may not be able to plan to meet individual preferences, offering a broad range of learning styles will be helpful to all pupils. A survey carried out among year 8 pupils at school X gave an indication of learning styles through choice of activity (Appendix 8). A choice of activities covering a range of multiple intelligence modalities were included on the survey and pupils were asked to put activities in order of preference. Pupils within set 1 gave a high priority to practical and computer work, those in set 3 also favoured practicals but also placed poster creation as a preferable activity, set 5 had slightly different preferences moving away from practical work to select posters, videos and computer work (Appendix 9a-c). The results indicate a high priority for kinaesthetic and visual tasks rather than linguistic activities. However the survey is but a brief snapshot to give an indication of the variety of learning styles which can be found within any one year group. The investigation has taken into consideration a number of methods of differentiation namely grouping, task setting and learning styles. With regard to grouping, extensive discussion and evaluation of the research available fails to appropriate a clear preferable technique of group organisation. The general consensus from the point of view of teachers is that setting provides a preferable environment to achieve learning goals (Hallam et al 2003). This is however purely based upon what is perceived as a more congenial teaching situation and fails to take into account other issues raised such as the creation of low self-esteem for low ability pupils and anxiety for high achieving students (Boaler 1997). Differentiation by task setting appeared successful within the confines of limited practical research secondary studies viewed this method with a greater air of caution gathering worrying findings as to the effects on low ability pupils (Hall 1997). Focusing on individual differences with regard to learning style appears to attract considerable praise and seems to be a method that can only enhance the quality of education within the classroom although it may have its limitations within the stringent framework of the national curriculum. In overview differentiation is summed eloquently by Turner and DiMarco (1998:110), Adopting a differentiated approach to teaching is a matter of being on the lookout for opportunities to guide, encourage and support your pupils in as many ways as possible, using whatever resources, processes and tactics seem appropriate.

The Definition of a Bar Graph

The Definition of a Bar Graph A bar graph or a bar chart is used to represent data visually using bars of different heights or lengths. Data is graphed either horizontally or vertically, allowing viewers to compare different values and draw conclusions quickly and easily. A typical bar graph will have a label, axis, scales, and bars, which represent measurable values such as amounts or percentages. Bar graphs are used to display all kinds of data, from quarterly sales and job growth to seasonal rainfall and crop yields. The bars on a bar graph  may be the same color, though different colors are sometimes used to distinguish between groups or categories to make the data easier to read and interpret. Bar graphs have a labeled x-axis (horizontal axis) and y-axis (vertical axis). When experimental data is graphed, the independent variable is graphed on the x-axis, while the dependent variable is graphed on the y-axis. Types of Bar Graphs Bar graphs take different forms depending on the type and complexity of the data they represent. They can be as simple, in some cases, as two bars, such as a graph representing the vote totals of two competing political candidates. As the information becomes more complex, so will the graph, which may even take the form of a grouped or clustered bar graph or a stacked bar graph. Single: Single bar graphs are used to convey the discrete value of the item for each category shown on the opposing axis. An example would be a representation of the number of males in grades 4-6 for each of the years 1995 to 2010. The actual number (discrete value) could be represented by a bar sized to scale, with the scale appearing on the X-axis. The Y-axis would display the corresponding years. The longest bar on the graph would represent the year from 1995 to 2010 in which the number of males in grades 4-6 reached its greatest value. The shortest bar would represent the year in which the number of males in grades 4-6 reached its lowest value. Grouped: A grouped or clustered bar graph is used to represent discrete values for more than one item that share the same category. In the single bar graph example above, only one item (the number of males in grades 4-6) is represented. But one could very easily modify the graph by adding a second value that includes the number of females in grades 4-6. The bars representing each gender by year would be grouped together and color-coded to make it clear which bars represent the male and female values. This grouped bar graph would then allow readers to easily compare the number of students enrolled in grades 4-6 both by year and by gender. Stacked: Some bar graphs have each bar divided into subparts that represent the discrete values for items that constitute a portion of the whole group. For instance, in the examples above, students in grades 4-6 are grouped together and represented by a single bar. This bar could be broken into subsections to represent the proportion of students in each grade. Again, color coding would be needed to make the graph readable. Bar Graph vs. Histogram A histogram is a type of chart that often resembles a bar graph. However, unlike a bar graph, which represents the relationship between two different variables, a histogram represents only a single, continuous variable. In a histogram, the range of values is divided into a series of intervals, known as bins or buckets, which are labeled on the charts x-axis. The y-axis, when the bins are evenly spaced, measures the frequency of the given values. Histograms can be used to produce models of probability and to estimate the likelihood of certain outcomes. How to Make a Bar Graph The easiest way to create a bar graph is to use the Charts tool in Microsoft Excel. This tool allows you to transform spreadsheet data into a simple chart, which you can then customize by adding a title and labels and by changing the chart style and column colors. Once you have completed the bar graph, you can make updates and adjustments by changing the values in the spreadsheet. You can also create simple bar graphs using free online tools such as Meta Chart and Canva.

Operation Management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Operation Management - Case Study Example In broad-spectrum, Operations Management endeavors to enhance the substance of value-infused ventures in a particular process. Essentially, the value-infusing resourceful ventures ought to be combined with market prospect for the best possible business performance. Traveling is in the contemporary world a major element or part of an institute's management. Based on this, major airlines constitute a vital importance in the achievements of enterprises or institutions around the globe. Enterprises are capable of widening their markets by journeying to various regions by means of airlines. The significance of airlines informs this essays' appraisal of British Airways public limited company in the present fiscal environment. It guides us to appraise their overall business plans and strategies in a bid to improve their management. This essay aspires to discuss the operations management of the British Airline and evaluates its efficiency in the Airline industry. British Airways is the biggest airline company in the United Kingdom. It has comparatively many flights across the Atlantic Ocean than any other airline and makes in excess of 550 trips to 130 or more countries internationally. British Airways is in p... British Airways has large and modern fleets in operation comprising Boeing 747-400, Boeing 777-200, Boeing 767-300, Boeing 757-200, Boeing 737-400 and the Airbus A391/ A320/ A321. It as well has CityFlyer fleet (RJ100) and OpenSkies Boeing 757-200. The British Airways offers various flight classes for the passengers. It offers the First class service, the Business class (club world and club Europe), The Premium economy class (World Traveler Plus) and the Economy class (World Traveler, Euro Traveler and UK Domestic). The airline operates assorted kinds of lounges for travelers using premium cabins and clients with class. The Concorde Room in The JFK New York Terminal 7 was revamped to similar standards as the one at Heathrow's Terminal 5A. The Galleries First lounges replaced the previous First Lounges. The Galleries Club lounges as well replaced the Terraces and Executive Club lounges. At the airports that British Airways does not run departure lounges, the airway provides "third party" lounges for first-class travelers. British Airways runs the British Airways World Cargo. The Subsidiary cargo handling facility has worldwide freight prospects that avails the British Airways World Cargo the opening to provide service to shipment destinations not accessible in the normal passenger routes. The Airline also offers flier programs for its customers, the Executive Club being its major programme. Affiliate passengers get full access to lounges and reservation lines. The other programme is the Premier programme that offers relatively more benefits to subscribed members, and the British Airways board signs up the members of this scheme. Problems British Airways is experiencing considerable fiscal meltdown. Its revenue nose-dived by a gigantic 20 percent. The high

Economic Downturn and Crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Economic Downturn and Crime - Essay Example According to the findings, it can, therefore, be said that the Economic downturn is a period characterized by declines in the economic activities in an economy, an economic downturn may last from months to years and is normally visible within employment, real income, production, and other indicators. As per the past research conducted by Finklea, for example in the United States, the economic downturn does fuel crimes. Figures show an increase in the crime level that resulted from opposition parties, members of different parties fighting each other. In England and Wales, the figures of crime have changed as a result of the economic downturn; records show that the domestic burglaries raised by four percent, forgery and fraud rose by 16% while the burglaries within the businesses rose by 3%. The annual crime statistics for 2014 also show that the crime rate increased in terms of â€Å"fatal stabbings†, the records show an increase of 16% in the number of knife robberies. As per the journal by Finklea the assumptions made by the security officials in 2014 also show that the number of property crimes increased which in most cases accounts for 70% of all the recorded crimes. The estimates are that with the increase in the economic crisis then the crime rate will keep increasing. The public even with the increasing crime rates is still very hopeful in that the crime rates will reduce.

Organizational Behavior Unit 2 Discussion Essay Example for Free

Organizational Behavior Unit 2 Discussion Essay Attitudes and Behavior interrelates with each other. Important attitudes such as â€Å"self-interest† (Robbins, S. P., Judge, T. A.2007) or that identifies with a group that is valued shows a strong relationship to behavior. Job involvement, job satisfaction and organizational commitment are moderating factors that can improve the statistical relationship between employee behavior and attitudes. An employee’s job involvement relates to how strongly they can identify with the work they care about in which they consider â€Å"their perceived work performance level important to self-worth† (Robbins, S. P., Judge, T. A.2007). This basically means that employees who are deeply involved in their job are mostly satisfied and maintains a high performance in productivity than the employees who are dissatisfied. When an employee is satisfied with their job they are more confident and perform more positively with their productivity and maintains efficiency. Organizational commitment is a job attitude in which an employee identifies with an organization and its goals. Affective commitment (emotional attachment). Continuance commitment (someone remaining with the organization because of the salary and benefits) Normative commitment (when an employee hesitates to leave the organization because they â€Å"don’t want to leave the employer in a lurch†) (Robbins, S. P., Judge, T. A.2007). Employee attitudes and behavior are important to an organization due to the negative impact that will cause a downfall in revenue and inefficient work flows in the organization. When an employee shows negative attitudes and behaviors towards their work ethics can at times negate the other employees’ behavior and attitudes, especially in a union environment.

Louis Braille Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Louis Braille Louis Braille was born in the Coupvray, France on January 4, 1809. His mother and father were Monique and Simon Renà © Braille. Louis was the youngest of four other children. Their names were Louis-Simon, Catherine-Josephine, and Marie-Celine.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Louis’ father, Simon Renà ©, was a saddler. He made saddles and harnesses for horses. His father had also been a saddler. Louis family led a simple, ordinary life. They owned their farmhouse and seven and a half acres of land. Louis dad’s workshop was also on this land. The Braille’s didn’t have that much money, but there was always plenty of food on the table. The family lived on a road called Chemin des Buttes. It would later be renamed to Rue Louis Braille.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Louis would often visit his dad in the workshop. To Louis the shop was an exiting adventure every time he would walk in there. The workshop smelt of leather, and bridles, reins, and straps hung everywhere. In the middle of the workshop stood a bench with many sharp tool. Not a very safe place for a three year old.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The tragedy is not known in perfect detail. Nor is the exact date known. But it happened sometime in the year 1812. The investigating three-year-old boy climbed onto the workbench in the workshop when his father was not looking. Louis reached for an awl or knife. Soon after, people nearby heard yelling coming from the workshop. Louis was crying, and blood gushed down his face. His hands had slipped off the sharp tool, and the awl had cut into his eye. Louis mom and dad did every thing they could for the helpless child. They cleaned the bleeding eye and covered it up with bandages. When the bleeding stopped, they took Louis to the doctor. In those days doctors didn’t know a lot about helping infections. Powerless the doctor and the Braille family looked on as Louis’ infection spread to the other eye. Every thing became blurry for Louis. He began to bump into things; he would drop things, and began to stumble constantly. His family took him to an eye doctor in a adjacent town, but the doctor couldn’t help the poor child. Louis’ sight got even worse each day. Eventually, he lost all sight in both eyes.   Ã‚   ... ... of teaching for two years before he was able to come back to work. Only about a week after he was teaching he began to bleed. So the doctor sent him home once again.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many years past before he go back to school. When he was able to get back on his feet there was a new school in place. Many famous people visited the school. The new buildings were ready in 1843. The students moved to the new school with all their belongings. The new building was clean and airy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By 1850, Louis was feeling very sick again. The school director let Louis stay at the school and teach a few piano lessons. By December 1851, Braille knew he was dying, so Louis put his will in order. He left many of his belongings to his friend Coltat, who gave them to the students who loved Braille. Louis gave the rest of his stuff to his mother.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Louis Braille died on January 6, 1852. He had just turned forty-three. Louis was buried at Coupvray. His final ride home was the same road he had traveled to Paris with his father. In 1854, France adopted the Braille system as its official system for blind people.

The Bible References in Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales

The very first reference to a religious aspect is that they are twelve as the apostles of the Bible, and one of them, the youngest had the name of one bible character – Benjamin- who was too the 21st son of Jacob also, who had a daughter too.The next reference is the Golden Star on the girl's forehead, which is a compost symbol with two pieces, the first is gold, and it evokes what is illuminated, sacred and durable. The second is Star, it symbolize â€Å"the presence of divinity' (Cooper, 156). Like the brothers on this fairy tale, Jacob once had to flee from the wrath of his brother Seas. When the princess took off the flowers from earth she deflowered her brother she committed an incestuous act.The brothers turned into Ravens, which are in the Bible god singers and prophets, as a punishment to the Incestuous act and she was not punished too because of being a divinity and sacred being. The seven years of silence that she had to obey can be a reference to Mary of Sorrows, w hich symbol Is a heart pierced by seven swords, each sword meaning one of the sorrows that she had to face. The latter reference is the step-mother who persuades the King to send his beloved wife to the fire, acting like the Devil stacking his claim of the sinner princess.

Jubilee Essay

â€Å"Jubilee† is a narrative written by Margaret Walker and was first published in 1966. The writer, instructor as well as intellectual was born in 1915 and is best recognized for her civil war narrative Jubilee as well as for her influential anthology of poems concerning ethnic assertion. Walker’s narrative is one of the initial tales to present the African-American’s nineteenth century experience within the South from a feminine as well as a black’s perspective. The narrative won the Houghton Mifflin’s Literary Fellowship Award, and is a fictionalized explanation of the life of Margaret Duggans Ware Brown, Walker’s great-grandmother who was born in Dawson in Terrell state as a slave and lived during reconstruction inside South West Georgia. The narrative is based on tales Walker’s maternal grandmother narrated to her. (Walker. M, 1999) The seriously celebrated historical narrative/long fiction centers on the story of Vyry, a bi-racial slave in the Civil War in America and deals with a number of subjects like racism, freedom, slaves or slavery, Civil war, women, christianity, reconstruction, African- Americans among other major themes. The narrative is set in Georgia and afterward in diverse sections of Alabama during the mid-1800s prior to, during, as well as following the civil war. The following is an explanation of the setting in place and time, the manner in which the author takes the reader there, the major characters, the history studied from the narrative, what the reader can study concerning civil war, slavery and reconstruction, whether the author views slavery as paternalistic or autocratic as well as what the narrative states concerning why reconstruction was not successful.

The Adulthood of Children

The Adulthood of Children The adulthood of children‚“Kevin, your shoe‚s untied.‚”His sister, Jane, sits on the doorstep, grinning. An old Japanese Maple stands beside her, its bare arms outstretched towards the empty sky as if pleading for better times. Above, magpies silently circle overhead, framed by a blanket of blue. He limps forward towards the door, a muffled crackling emanating from his feet as a mass of red and brown foliage is pounded underfoot.‚“I‚m not kidding, Kevin, your laces are undone. You‚re going to trip‚”, Jane insists, her 7-year-old voice causing him to wince in annoyance. Her attempted jests irritate him; he is too old for this nonsense.As he attempts to move past the doorstep, his right foot unexpectedly clings to the pavement, as if on wet concrete. Surprised, he staggers, yet manages to jerk his foot upwards and moves as if to continue walking.‚“You‚d better look down,‚” Jane taunts in her singsong voice, her unnatural g rin fixed at maximum width across her face.Species: Acer palmatum Family: Aceraceae Image No....

How to Research German Ancestors

How to Research German Ancestors Germany, as we know it today, is a much different country than it was during the time of our distant ancestors. Germanys life as a unified nation didnt even begin until 1871, making it a much younger country than most of its European neighbors. This can make locating German ancestors a bit more challenging than many think. What Is Germany? Prior to its unification in 1871, Germany consisted of a loose association of kingdoms (Bavaria, Prussia, Saxony, Wurttemberg...), duchies (Baden...), free cities (Hamburg, Bremen, Lubeck...), and even personal estates - each with its own laws and record keeping systems. After a brief period as a unified nation (1871-1945), Germany was again divided following World War II, with parts of it given to Czechoslovakia, Poland,  and the USSR. What was left was then divided into East Germany and West Germany, a division that lasted until 1990. Even during the unified period, some sections of Germany were given to Belgium, Denmark,  and France in 1919. What this means for people researching German roots, is that the records of their ancestors may or may not be found in Germany. Some may be found among the records of the six countries which have received portions of former Germany territory (Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Poland, and the USSR). Once you take your research prior to 1871, you may also be dealing with records from some of the original German states. What and Where Was Prussia? Many people assume that Prussian ancestors were German, but this isnt necessarily the case. Prussia was actually the name of a geographical region, which originated in the area between Lithuania and Poland, and later grew to encompass the southern Baltic coast and northern Germany. Prussia existed as an independent state from the 17th century until 1871, when it became the largest territory of the new German empire. Prussia as a state was officially abolished in 1947, and now the term only exists in reference to the former province. While an extremely brief overview of Germanys path through history, hopefully, this helps you understand some of the obstacles that German genealogists face. Now that you understand these difficulties, its time to go back to the basics. Begin With Yourself No matter where your family ended up, you cant research your German roots until you have learned more about your more recent ancestors. As with all genealogy projects, you need to begin with yourself, talk to your family members, and follow the other basic steps of starting a family tree. Locate the Birthplace of Your Immigrant Ancestor Once youve used a variety of genealogy records to trace your family back to the original German ancestor, the next step is to find the name of the specific town, village or city in Germany where your immigrant ancestor lived. Since most German records are not centralized, it is nearly impossible to trace your ancestors in Germany without this step. If your German ancestor immigrated to America after 1892, you can probably find this information on the passenger arrival record for the ship on which they sailed to America. The Germans to America series should be consulted if your German ancestor arrived between 1850 and 1897. Alternatively, if you know from which port in Germany they departed, you may be able to locate their hometown on the German passenger departure lists. Other common sources for locating an immigrants hometown include vital records of birth, marriage,  and death; census records; naturalization records and church records. Learn more tips for finding the birthplace o f your immigrant ancestor. Locate the German Town After youve determined the immigrants hometown in Germany, you should next locate it on a map to determine whether it still exists, and in which German state. Online German gazetteers can help locate the state in Germany in which a town, village or city can now be found. If the place appears to no longer exist, turn to historic German maps and finding aids to learn where the place used to be, and in which country, region or state the records may now exist. Birth, Marriage Death Records in Germany Even though Germany didnt exist as a unified nation until 1871, many German states developed their own systems of civil registration prior to that time, some as early as 1792. Since Germany has no central repository for civil records of birth, marriage,  and death, these records may be found in various locations including the local civil registrars office, government archives, and on microfilm through the Family History Library.   Census Records in Germany Regular  censuses  have been conducted in Germany on a countrywide basis since 1871. These national censuses were actually conducted by each state or province, and the original returns can be obtained from the municipal archives (Stadtarchiv) or the Civil Register Office (Standesamt) in each district. The biggest exception to this is East Germany (1945-1990), which destroyed all of its original census returns. Some census returns were also destroyed by bombing during World War II. Some counties and cities of Germany have also conducted separate censuses at irregular intervals over the years. Many of these have not survived, but some are available in the relevant municipal archives or on microfilm through the Family History Library. The information available from German census records varies greatly by time period and area. Earlier census returns may be basic head  counts  or include only the name of the head of household. Later census records provide more detail. German Parish Registers While most German civil records only go back to around the 1870s, parish registers go back as far as the 15th century. Parish registers are books maintained by church or parish offices to record baptisms, confirmations, marriages, burials and other church events and activities, and are a major source of family history information in Germany. Some even include family registers (Seelenregister or Familienregister) where information about an individual family group is recorded together  on  a single place. Parish registers are generally kept by the local parish office. In some  cases, however, the older parish registers may have been forwarded to a central parish register office or ecclesiastical archives, a state or municipal archive, or a local vital registration office. If the parish is no longer in existence, the parish registers may be found in the office of the parish which took over for that area. In addition to the original parish registers, parishes in most areas of Germany required a verbatim copy of the register to be made and forwarded annually to the district court - until the time when vital registration took effect (from about 1780-1876). These second writings are sometimes available when the original records are not, or are a good source for double-checking hard-to-decipher handwriting in the original register. It is important to keep in mind, however, that these second writings are copies of the original and, as such, are one step removed from the original source, introducing a greater chance of errors. Many Germany parish registers have been microfilmed by the LDS church and are available through the Family History Library or your local  family history center. Other sources of Germany family history information include school records, military records, emigration records, ship passenger lists and city directories. Cemetery records may also be helpful but, as in much of Europe, cemetery lots are leased for a specific number of years. If the lease isnt renewed, the burial plot becomes open for someone else to be buried there. Where Are They Now? The town,  kindom, principality or  duchie  where your ancestor lived in Germany may be hard to find on a map of modern Germany. To help you find your way around German records, this list outlines the states (  bundeslnder) of modern Germany, along with the historical territories that they now contain. Germanys three city-states - Berlin, Hamburg,  and  Bremen - predate these states created in 1945. Baden-Wà ¼rttembergBaden, Hohenzollern, Wà ¼rttemberg BavariaBavaria (excluding Rheinpfalz), Sachsen-Coburg BrandenburgThe western portion of the Prussian Province of Brandenburg. HesseFree  City of Frankfurt am Main, Grand Duchy of Hessen-Darmstadt (less the province of Rheinhessen), part of Landgraviate Hessen-Homburg, Electorate of Hessen-Kassel, Duchy of Nassau, District of Wetzlar (part of the former Prussian Rheinprovinz), Principality of Waldeck. Lower SaxonyDuchy of Braunschweig, Kingdom/Prussian, Province of Hannover, Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe. Mecklenburg-VorpommernGrand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (less the principality of Ratzeburg),  western  portion of the Prussian province of Pomerania. North Rhine-WestphaliaPrussian province of Westfalen, northern portion of Prussian Rheinprovinz, Principality of Lippe-Detmold. Rheinland-PfalzPart of the Principality of Birkenfeld, Province of Rheinhessen, part of the Landgraviate of Hessen-Homburg, most of the Bavarian Rheinpfalz, part of the Prussian Rheinprovinz. SaarlandPart of the Bavarian Rheinpfalz, part of the Prussian Rheinprovinz, part of the principality of Birkenfeld. Sachsen-AnhaltFormer Duchy of Anhalt, Prussian province of Sachsen. SaxonyKingdom  of Sachsen, part of the Prussian province of Silesia. Schleswig-HolsteinFormer Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein,  Free  City of Là ¼beck, Principality of Ratzeburg. ThuringiaDuchies and Principalities of Thà ¼ringen, part of  Prussian  province of Sachsen. Some areas are no longer part of modern Germany. Most of East Prussia (Ostpreussen) and Silesia (Schlesien) and part of Pomerania (Pommern) are now in Poland.  Similarly,​  Alsace (Elsass) and Lorraine (Lothringen) are in France, and in each  case,  you must take your research to those countries.

Current resources and support available to SME's in the UK to support Essay

Current resources and support available to SME's in the UK to support them overcome linguistic and cultural barriers - Essay Example SMEs have currently recognised language skills and cultural awareness as critically important for achieving success in the international trade. Furthermore, it has been reported that language prevents SMEs from developing exporting market. It has been widely proclaimed that absence as well as acquisition of language skills has tremendous commercial and financial impacts. It has been further observed the SMEs in the UK have generally low language skills (House of Lords, 2013; Senik & et. al., 2010; Hornby & et. al., 2002). In this backdrop, the essay intends to present a critical report on the current resources and support available to SMEs in the UK to support them overcome linguistic and cultural barriers. In addition, the essay also intends to outline key recommendations pertaining to language management strategy (LMS) towards a one stop shop solution. It has been argued that exporting is similar to conducting business in domestic trade in terms of challenges faced by the business for gaining substantial profit from the operations. In this regard, success of exporting largely relies on identifying the potential barriers to businesses that are likely to be faced by SMEs. Notably, SMEs dealing with exporting are often faced with certain imperative challenges associated with complexity and fear of unknown related to foreign market. These challenges associated with SMEs dealing with exporting are ascertained to be a combination of various complexities which include language and cultural differences, political turmoil, poorly established legal and regulatory institutions and ordinary infrastructure (Parcelforce Worldwide, 2014). However, among this combination of challenges, it has been ascertained that a lack of language skills and cultural awareness has resulted in considerable amount of loss of business across Europe. SMEs were repo rted to lose their