Now that the course is finished, exams are over and you are all relaxing ;-) I thought you might find this article from Foreign Policy on Obama's speeches interesting to read.
giovedì 26 febbraio 2015
giovedì 29 gennaio 2015
Final evaluations
Dear all,
Sorry about the delay with your marks - it has taken me a while to get all your work together and have a global overview of your work to evaluate you - but I finally have and you'll find your marks here on this page. and also information for registering.
Thank you for your participation in the course, I hope you got something out of it.
I'd like to have some feedback from you in order to be able to improve the course next year - so I'd be grateful if you could complete this evaluation form for me, it is anonymous. It is based on the questionnaire that student reps provided us with a few years ago and I have added a few questions.
Thanks again, and see you for registration.
Francesca
Sorry about the delay with your marks - it has taken me a while to get all your work together and have a global overview of your work to evaluate you - but I finally have and you'll find your marks here on this page. and also information for registering.
Thank you for your participation in the course, I hope you got something out of it.
I'd like to have some feedback from you in order to be able to improve the course next year - so I'd be grateful if you could complete this evaluation form for me, it is anonymous. It is based on the questionnaire that student reps provided us with a few years ago and I have added a few questions.
Thanks again, and see you for registration.
Francesca
giovedì 15 gennaio 2015
giovedì 8 gennaio 2015
Regarding what happened in Paris, here are some links to the articles from the quiz exercise, expressing a diversity of viewpoints:
We are not all Charlie
The gunmen in Paris attacked more than a Muslim-baiting magazine
Deadly attack on satirical magazine in Paris
We are not all Charlie
The gunmen in Paris attacked more than a Muslim-baiting magazine
Deadly attack on satirical magazine in Paris
mercoledì 7 gennaio 2015
Guest speaker on Friday - Francis Rolt
On Friday at 8.45 we will have a guest speaker, Francis Rolt from Radio for Peace Building. He has extensive experience of working with media for conflict transformation, and he has worked with international organizations such as Search for Common Ground, UNICEF and the BBC . Please read up about him and the work he does, and prepare some questions for him. The title of his talk is Media Works: from building peace to countering violent extremism, and in light of what happened in Paris today I think it will be very interesting to hear what he has to say.
Here is a quiz on Headlines from web news sources yesterday
Participants and processes
Today in class we looked at how we can analyse texts by looking at participants and processes, voice, and the use of nominalisation.
We briefly analysed this article about Shell in the Niger Delta
Tomorrow we will compare it with a Greenpeace article on Shell and Niger Delta. Then I will test your critical skills by asking you to analyse this video: We are sorry
We briefly analysed this article about Shell in the Niger Delta
Tomorrow we will compare it with a Greenpeace article on Shell and Niger Delta. Then I will test your critical skills by asking you to analyse this video: We are sorry
venerdì 19 dicembre 2014
Homework:
1. Academic Essay:
What are some of the causes and effects of the spread of the English language across the world?
Write an essay of about 1500 words on this topic, making reference to the texts we have read and any other information you may find. Remember to organize your thoughts into PARAGRAPHS, with a topic sentence for each paragraph. Also remember this is an academic piece of writing, so it should have a formal register and use academic vocabulary.
2. Blogs:
Write another post for your blog, and also read some other students' blogs and post a comment on at least one other blog.
1. Academic Essay:
What are some of the causes and effects of the spread of the English language across the world?
Write an essay of about 1500 words on this topic, making reference to the texts we have read and any other information you may find. Remember to organize your thoughts into PARAGRAPHS, with a topic sentence for each paragraph. Also remember this is an academic piece of writing, so it should have a formal register and use academic vocabulary.
2. Blogs:
Write another post for your blog, and also read some other students' blogs and post a comment on at least one other blog.
giovedì 18 dicembre 2014
It's Christmas time ...
A quick review of what we did on Wednesday this week!
We had a critical look at the lyrics of the song It's Christmas Time and discussed why they caused some controversy when the song was first released in 1984 to raise money for Ethiopia which had suffered a famine
Controversy again this year when the slightly adapted version was recorded - (this time the cause was Ebola). Here's the video which we didn't look at in class, unlike me, you'll probably recognise more of the singers in this one than the last one!
We also briefly discussed this text in class: How to write about Africa, who it was written for, who it was written by and the extent to which the lyrics from It's Christmas Time fall into the stereotypes of Africa that Binyavanga Wainaina evokes.
It would be good if you could add your opinions on the video in a comment to this post.
We had a critical look at the lyrics of the song It's Christmas Time and discussed why they caused some controversy when the song was first released in 1984 to raise money for Ethiopia which had suffered a famine
Controversy again this year when the slightly adapted version was recorded - (this time the cause was Ebola). Here's the video which we didn't look at in class, unlike me, you'll probably recognise more of the singers in this one than the last one!
And here are some critiques of the various versions of the song - first of all "Condescension sells well but doesn't end famine" and another one, "clumsy, patronising and wrong in so many ways", and finally, here's a young woman's video reaction to the video.
We also briefly discussed this text in class: How to write about Africa, who it was written for, who it was written by and the extent to which the lyrics from It's Christmas Time fall into the stereotypes of Africa that Binyavanga Wainaina evokes.
It would be good if you could add your opinions on the video in a comment to this post.
venerdì 5 dicembre 2014
Materials from last week's lessons
Here are some of the materials which we used during the lessons last week. Here is a link to Rosemarie Brisciana's presentations, first of all the one she used for PID students, and then for the SEU and SGP students.
Here is the powerpoint from the lesson on Political Speeches. For homework I asked you to prepare a post for your blog analysing a political speech (either a whole speech or part of it) which somehow relates to your group's topic.
mercoledì 3 dicembre 2014
Political Speeches
This week we're going to look at two important political speeches
Bush's speech to congress 20/09/2001
Obama, A New Beginning 4/06/2009
In particular part of Obama's speech which regarded the Palestine-Israel issue, and an issue which we will look at more during lessons as we look at CDA and accusations of bias in the media.
For next week choose a speech which somehow relates to the topic of your blog, and try to analyse it looking out for the aims of the speech, the audience, how the speech is organized and how it seeks to accomplish the aim, lexical choice, rhetorical devices ... there's plenty for you to look for. In your groups you can either each choose one speech or each look at one or two aspects of the same speech. Up to you!
http://www.slideshare.net/franhelm/political-speeches-bushobama
Obama, A New Beginning 4/06/2009
In particular part of Obama's speech which regarded the Palestine-Israel issue, and an issue which we will look at more during lessons as we look at CDA and accusations of bias in the media.
For next week choose a speech which somehow relates to the topic of your blog, and try to analyse it looking out for the aims of the speech, the audience, how the speech is organized and how it seeks to accomplish the aim, lexical choice, rhetorical devices ... there's plenty for you to look for. In your groups you can either each choose one speech or each look at one or two aspects of the same speech. Up to you!
http://www.slideshare.net/franhelm/political-speeches-bushobama
venerdì 28 novembre 2014
Guest speaker next week
Next week professor Rosemarie BRISCIANA, « Maître de Conférence» in Civilization, Geopolitics and American language, SciencesPo, Paris will be giving us a guest talk on US Public Diplomacy: Language and Communications Techniques. She will be talking to PID students on Wednesday 3rd December, and SEU/SGP students on Thursday 4th.
Here is some diplomacy vocabulary which will help you prepare for her talk.
Here is some diplomacy vocabulary which will help you prepare for her talk.
mercoledì 26 novembre 2014
Exploring the blogosphere
According to wikipedia the blogoshpere is "...the collective term encompassing all weblogs or blogs as a community or social network. Many weblogs are densely interconnected; bloggers read others' blogs, link to them, reference them in their own writing, and post comments on each others' blogs. Because of this, the interconnected blogs have grown their own culture."
Purpose: To search the Internet for blogs that interest you in order to become aware of how large and varied the blogosphere is and to get ideas for your own blogs. To start analyzing some of the characteristics of blogs as a genre.
Task: Search for blogs that might interest you. The Council on Foreign Relations has some blogs you may find interesting. Read some of the blogs. Choose one that interests you. Come back to our course blog and write a comment to this post about one of the blogs you have found. Give us the url and explain what you like about the blog and why you would recommend others visiting it.
Start considering how blogs are written and how links are used in blogs. What kind of language is used (formal, informal, vulgar, elegant)? How do bloggers make use of links in their posts? At the end of your post, write a few sentences about your initial observations of the styles used on the blogoshpere.
Start considering how blogs are written and how links are used in blogs. What kind of language is used (formal, informal, vulgar, elegant)? How do bloggers make use of links in their posts? At the end of your post, write a few sentences about your initial observations of the styles used on the blogoshpere.
N.B. Be concise ;-)
Deadline: Next week
Your blog project
Aims of blog project:
Choose a topic that you are interested in, and also relates somehow to your studies. It could be a particular area or country, it could be an area of European policy, it could be a cause you feel strongly about and want to write about and even campaign for, such as public goods (like water...), racism, poverty, media, it could be an aspect of life in Italy or Europe, or how Italy or another country is viewed by the international press (here's an Italian version).
If you're interested in political blogs, here's an interesting summary of different kinds of political blogs
Make sure that it is a topic all group member have some interest in, or a topic which each group member could focus on from different perspectives.
At least one person in your group should feel comfortable with using technology and be able to resolve technical issues.
ALTERNATIVELY you could choose to FOLLOW and comment regularly on an English language blog on a topic of interest to you, or contribute to a blog such as Italia dall'estero
Each group member should post at least one entry a week. Your posts can be a personal commentary or reflection on the topic, a summary of information from other sources (with links to these), applications of what we do in class to the topic you are writing about.
Your posts can contain links to other websites, embedded videos and photos.
Make sure you do not use images with copyright. If you want to include a picture on your blog, this is a good site http://compfight.com/ but remember to select Creative Commons Licence.
Here's some advice on writing blog posts:
http://www.wikihow.com/Be-a-Good-Blogger
Every week one or two group members will give a 2-3 minute presentation to the class on the group's blog
Every week each group member should post at least one comment on another group's blog.
Your blogs should be up and running by next week: 3rd December.
ONE member of each group should send a comment to this post with a short description of the blog, the URL of the blog and names of group members.
- to read, listen and write in English on a topic of interest to you and also related to your studies.
- to develop online literacies, such as evaluating websites, selecting sources, re-presenting and paraphrasing information, writing for an audience, developing critical thinking skills
Choose a topic that you are interested in, and also relates somehow to your studies. It could be a particular area or country, it could be an area of European policy, it could be a cause you feel strongly about and want to write about and even campaign for, such as public goods (like water...), racism, poverty, media, it could be an aspect of life in Italy or Europe, or how Italy or another country is viewed by the international press (here's an Italian version).
If you're interested in political blogs, here's an interesting summary of different kinds of political blogs
Make sure that it is a topic all group member have some interest in, or a topic which each group member could focus on from different perspectives.
At least one person in your group should feel comfortable with using technology and be able to resolve technical issues.
ALTERNATIVELY you could choose to FOLLOW and comment regularly on an English language blog on a topic of interest to you, or contribute to a blog such as Italia dall'estero
Each group member should post at least one entry a week. Your posts can be a personal commentary or reflection on the topic, a summary of information from other sources (with links to these), applications of what we do in class to the topic you are writing about.
Your posts can contain links to other websites, embedded videos and photos.
Make sure you do not use images with copyright. If you want to include a picture on your blog, this is a good site http://compfight.com/ but remember to select Creative Commons Licence.
Here's some advice on writing blog posts:
http://www.wikihow.com/Be-a-Good-Blogger
Every week one or two group members will give a 2-3 minute presentation to the class on the group's blog
Every week each group member should post at least one comment on another group's blog.
Your blogs should be up and running by next week: 3rd December.
ONE member of each group should send a comment to this post with a short description of the blog, the URL of the blog and names of group members.
Lingue, Linguaggi e Politica
Here is a link to the programme of the conference I told you about in class, which runs from the 27th to 29th November.
Lingue, Linguaggi e Politica
I strongly advise you to attend a session or two, even though most sessions are in Italian, to get more of an idea of some of the links between language and politics.
Lingue, Linguaggi e Politica
I strongly advise you to attend a session or two, even though most sessions are in Italian, to get more of an idea of some of the links between language and politics.
Today's lesson - 26th November
Today we looked at the story about Emily Thornberry's tweet and the consequences of her publishing it. A pdf of the slides and some links are available for you below.
´Emily Thornbetty’s Twitter account
´"Snob Labour
MP's Twitter dig at White Van Man's England Flags“´http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/11/21/uk-britain-politics-flag-idUKKCN0J515Z20141121´Guido Fawkes’ blog´The Guardian explains the story´Article we will be analysing in class on Friday
Here are links to some quizzes on vocabulary related to social media
venerdì 21 novembre 2014
Homework:
Write a cv and/or cover letter for one of the following internships or in response to an advertisement that you yourself find.
World Bank
OECD Young Professionals Programme
To help prepare yourself and understand your skills try some of the quizzes on the University of Kent website, and follow their advice on writing a cv and cover letter.
You will have to bring a printed copy of the cv and/or letter (and the ad if you are applying for a job other than those posted above) to class next Wednesday 26th November.
Write a cv and/or cover letter for one of the following internships or in response to an advertisement that you yourself find.
World Bank
OECD Young Professionals Programme
To help prepare yourself and understand your skills try some of the quizzes on the University of Kent website, and follow their advice on writing a cv and cover letter.
You will have to bring a printed copy of the cv and/or letter (and the ad if you are applying for a job other than those posted above) to class next Wednesday 26th November.
mercoledì 19 novembre 2014
I've seen from some of your comments in the texts you wrote is that one of the main issues you have as students is that of career opportunities, some of you even mentioned the likelihood of having to go abroad to find work, others the desire to do an internship abroad with Erasmus+, which I think would be an excellent opportunity for you! So this week, as well as getting ready for the blog project and discussing other issues we will also look at cover letters and cvs.
University of Kent has an excellent university website providing advice for graduates on writing cvs, cover letters, online application forms.
iHipo This is a useful website with links to international internships and jobs, and also advice on cv and coverletter writing. Prospects is also a useful site.
Wikihow has advice on How to write a letter of Intent
Eurodesk is also a useful site with plenty of opportunities.
University of Kent has an excellent university website providing advice for graduates on writing cvs, cover letters, online application forms.
iHipo This is a useful website with links to international internships and jobs, and also advice on cv and coverletter writing. Prospects is also a useful site.
Wikihow has advice on How to write a letter of Intent
Eurodesk is also a useful site with plenty of opportunities.
martedì 18 novembre 2014
Welcome
Hi everyone,
This is the course blog for the 2014-2015 Advanced English courses in the Master's degree courses in International Politics and Diplomacy, European Studies and SPG, at the University of Padova. This is where you will find messages and materials related to what we do in class, and also where students will post written work in the form of comments to posts, links and also their own blogs as the course progresses.
This is the course blog for the 2014-2015 Advanced English courses in the Master's degree courses in International Politics and Diplomacy, European Studies and SPG, at the University of Padova. This is where you will find messages and materials related to what we do in class, and also where students will post written work in the form of comments to posts, links and also their own blogs as the course progresses.
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