Final Self-Assessment

My ESP classes are coming to the end, so I want to do some self-assessment.

Writing: For me, writing a summary isn’t a hard work. To paraphrase a text is easy, main problem I face with a grammar. I do lots of mistakes, but it is same for me and in other languages. How to deal with this problem I don’t know, I tried a few strategies, but it didn’t help.

Speaking: Main problem I’m too shy and too stressful when I speak. I’m trying to stay calm as long as I can, but often it doesn't help. I can come out with a good speech on a paper, but I often just forget what I have written. Second my big problem, knowing three different languages doesn’t help me.

Listening to: Here is the field there I am the best at. Listening to online material was the easiest for me. It was little harder with a cassettes, background noises there disturbing, and sometimes accent of the speaker.

ESP vocabulary: Here I faced my biggest problems. The main reason why was that I haven’t studied well. So, I the main reason why I was performing was my laziness. And now I will give few comments on a moodle. They weren’t hard, but as last term I wasn’t very happy about them, this term isn’t an exception. Almost in every test were one or two questions, which were incorrect. Sometimes there could be a few different answers, but test allows only one, in other cases, by theory and logic, answer must contain three words, but moodle test shortened them to one. Idea of having tests like in moodle, is very good, students can better learn main ideas and theories, but there must be invested more effort in those tests.

Year of English had some loses and wins, and think, that it was a good year.

Personality Tests

While we were going through personality model, we have done 2 online personality tests. First was Jung Typology test and second one was Big Five test. Now, I’m going to give a few comments on results.

First was Jung Typology test. By it results I’m slightly expressed introvert, I agree with it because some time I like to be alone. Also I have moderately expressed feeling personality, I scored 25%, and was the highest score of all, and it means that I rely on my feelings. And in the end I have slightly expressed perceiving personality.

Second test was the Big Five test, and its results have shocked me. By them I am very passive person, almost dead. For example I’m nether organized or disorganized, nether particularly social or reserved, neither particularly nervous nor calm.  If the count on this results, so I’m not living my life, but I just existing. Last two parts of test, Openness to Experience/Intellect and Agreeableness, showed that I’m relatively open to new experiences and I find easy to express irritation with others. I can agree with because I am a curious person, and sometimes I can be very rude to other peoples.

To sum up, this to test weren’t interesting to me because, I found them kind a weird.         

Multiple Intelligences Test

Last year, a few weeks until New Year, we have done a Multiple Intelligences Test, so now I will give a few comments.

Twenty one points I have scored from Intrapersonal, myself smart. I can’t fully agree with it, because sometimes I can found that I am I mystery for myself. Second was Kinesthetic, body smart, I scored nineteen points and I fully disagree with it. Next was Intrapersonal, eighteen points, I agree with it because, I really like to communicate with other people, spent my time with friends. Fourth was Linguistic, sixteen points, and with it I can agree, because in my native language I have a big word vocabulary. Next was Visual/Spatial, fourteen points, I can’t fully agree, as an example my visual memory isn’t very good, I found hard to remember people faces from first meet. Sixth was Logical, I fully disagree, because I’m very good in math. Last was Musical, only eleven points, I don’t have any musical skill.

To sum up, this test was accurate and it almost correctly characterized me.         

Happiest countries

The University of Michigan's World Values Surveys (WVS) has compiled data on the happiest countries in the world for over twenty years. Their results are considered the most authoritative by happiness researchers. WVS measures the happiness of individuals by two different means. The first is to simply ask them how "happy" they are. The second is to ask them how "happy" they are, and also how "satisfied" they are.  The results are then combined to arrive at a measure of their "subjective well-being," a term generally considered synonymous with happiness.

Canada is in tenth position. It isn’t a surprise, because Canada one of world richest, highly developed with the eighth-highest Human Development Index.

Second country, about which I want to talk, is Netherland. It is in ninth position it top 10 of Happiest countries. Situation is similar to Canada, very high Human Development index, rich country. But apart from  Canada, Netherland has its own few interesting options. For example prostitution is legalized, Euthanasia is legalized, drugs aren't legalized, but in special places some drugs can be sold.

And the last country about I want to talk is Columbia. I choosed this country because I was very stunned, then I saw the position what this country secured. Fourth. Country where civil war has been going since 1960, country with high corruption, drug, 47% of population are poor, But on the other hand life expectancy is 72 years (for example life expectancy at birth in Lithuania for men are only 66yaers), high education level.      

To sum up, maybe people are happy, when they can find good sites in their own life and country.

English language invasion

Every country has its own unique mindset, language and culture, and they all are connected, so if even one element of this chain is changed, all other two will be altered too. Because of this countries are trying to save their legacy, especially now, in age of globalization, then language like English are being widely used all over the world.

Today a lot of countries are trying to prevent the invasion of English language. One of the best examples is China. To save their language from invasion they have banned YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, also almost all western movies are banned. Mr Huang, the head of the China International Publishing group, gave a comment, that English language will endanger the future of Chinese language. Now he is trying to convince government to make a law which would ban using English in names of companies or places. In his opinion, if Chinese words are not used in American newspapers, there will be no English words in China. But not all people thinks like Mr Huang. One of professor of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences suggests that without English words the Modern Chinese language will be destroyed.

Another good example of resistance is France. In 1994 they made a law, which forced to make a footnote in French to every billboard in English. Nowadays it is not helping, because companies have found loopholes in this law. Now in France are a lot of groups, like Avenir de la langue français – Future of France language, which are trying to convince government to save native language.

To sum up, it is very important to save legacy of country, but also it very hard to fight with an enemy which is more stronger and is hiding in the shadows.