AA:
I’m Avi Arditti and this week on WORDMASTER: another conversation from
last month’s international convention in Denver, Colorado, for Teachers
of English to Speakers of Other Languages.

MARTINA MBAYU NANA: “I am Martina Mbayu Nana. I teach English as a foreign language in Lycee Joss, Douala, Cameroon.”

AA:
“And so you were telling me that you’re trying to promote the teaching
of English. Tell me how, what you’re doing, what the problem is and
what you’re doing about it to promote English.”

MARTINA MBAYU
NANA: “You know, Cameroon has two official languages, English and
French. French dominates English because it has a larger population. So
for the English teachers teaching in the French-speaking zone, they
have to work hard to get the students interested in learning English.
So once a year we in the Littoral Region, we organize a prize award to
deserving students in English language. We have two hundred and fifty
students as laureates. They all come from different areas and they come
to Douala.”

AA: “And how old are these students?”

MARTINA
MBAYU NANA: “Between the ages of seven to about eighteen years. Because
we take them from elementary through middle to high school.”

AA: “And what kind of English are you teaching — is it American English or British English?”

MARTINA
MBAYU NANA: “Oh, that’s the trick. Cameroon is typically British
English. But the Americans have come in forcefully. So now you find
teachers going towards American English. But originally it was British
English, but now the Americans are fighting to have us go more into the
American English.”

AA: “That sounds scary, they’re fighting to have you — “

MARTINA MBAYU NANA: “No, it’s not like fighting. They’re encouraging the use of American English.”

AA: “And what kind of resources do you have at your school in terms of technology.”

MARTINA
MBAYU NANA: “Well, we are lucky to have computers that were donated by
the government to our school, because it’s a public school. But not all
schools — as English language teachers, we have really limited
resources. Could I say no resource? Yes, if you put it that way. And we
teach very large classes. You have about eighty to one hundred twenty
students in your class. And, for example, you might have in a whole
class of a hundred just one pupil with a book. So you have to
photocopy, divide them up into groups, give the same or different tasks
from that, and the different groups do them.”

AA: What about the Internet — how much connection do you have to the Internet?”

MARTINA MBAYU NANA: “Very limited. Very limited.”

AA: “What about, for example, mobile phones or texting, do your students use that a lot?”

MARTINA
MBAYU NANA: “A lot, a lot. That is another technique I use. You know,
it’s cheap for us to have mobile phones. So sometimes you make them do
work with their mobile phones.”

AA: “For example?”

MARTINA
MBAYU NANA: “You could have them text — the essence is to make them
write in English, yes, and communicate in English, so they could text a
message to their friend in English. Something, just anything. For
example, Valentine’s Day, you might tell your friend a small story: ‘I
love you because you’re beautiful.’ So you make them use adjectives,
all of these, they are using them in the text. It’s fun to them.”

AA: “Do you ever have students send you texts so you could grade them?”

MARTINA
MBAYU NANA: “Yes, they do, they do. A lot. Because to them it’s fun.
But to me it’s learning indirectly, and I accept it because my
intention is to make them, encourage them, to use the English language.”

AA:
“Well, of course now texting has almost like a language of its own –
very casual, informal. Do you enforce standards for standard English
when they’re texting, or do you let them use some of the shorthand?”

MARTINA
MBAYU NANA: “I don’t allow them [to] use the shorthand because it
defeats my purpose. I tell them there is a shorthand but don’t send me
a text in that. I encourage them to write to me as if it were a real
text you were writing with your hands.”

AA: Martina Mbayu Nana
teaches English at the Lycee Joss in Douala, Cameroon. And that’s
WORDMASTER for this week.We have interviews with other English teachers
– and much more — at voanews.com/wordmaster. And you can follow us at
twitter.com/voalearnenglish, all one word. I’m Avi Arditti.

Source:luyennghe.com

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

We continue our discussion of plagiarism. Last
week, we said colleges and universities in the United States define plagiarism
as representing another person’s work as your own. It is considered a kind of
cheating.

Professors at American colleges have tried many ways to
stop student plagiarism.

Some use online detection services.  They also may discuss plagiarism with their
students at the start of every term.  Some
require their students to turn in early versions of term papers, research
papers and essays they are writing. This makes it more difficult for students
to buy papers from companies that some call “plagiarism mills” or “essay mills.”

A
recent report in The Chronicle of Higher Education described such businesses. Many
can be found on the Internet. They sell newly written papers on many subjects.
The cost depends on the difficulty of the subject and how soon the paper is
needed.  The cost could be from twenty to
forty dollars a page.

Such companies say their writers have advanced degrees,
and will target the papers to any educational level. Investigators say the
writers may be working in countries like India, Nigeria or Indonesia and are
poorly paid.  Most of these companies say
their work should only be used as models and should not be turned in as a
finished work. But students do it anyway.

Some
students claim that they order such papers as a way to organize their
research.  But many also say they do not
have enough time to do the work themselves and are under great pressure to do
well in school.

University
of Notre Dame anthropology professor Susan Blum wrote about this in a new book,
“My Word! Plagiarism and College Culture.”
She writes that academic cheating is a result of communication failure
between students and professors. And she says international students must be
sure they know the rules of the college they are attending.

Plagiarism may also be a problem in other
countries.  A recent e-mail to us from
Iran described an incident in an English class. Students were supposed to
research tourist places in Iran.  But one
student copied information from a book.
The student changed “China” to “Iran” but forgot to change the names of
the places.  When the teacher asked about
his research, he said: “One of the most beautiful tourist places in Iran is
Shanghai.”

Source:luyennghe.com

More
than four million people around the world are bitten by snakes each year. At
least one hundred twenty-five thousand of these people die.  Almost three million others are seriously
injured. Doctors and researchers say the world does not provide enough good treatment
for poisonous snakebites.  To help improve
the situation, experts have formed an international project called the Global
Snakebite Initiative.

Laboratory workers in Costa Rica collect venom from a highly poisonous Fer de Lance snake.  The venom is used to make a treatment for the snake’s bite.

Poisonous snakebites are common in rural areas of many
developing countries with hot climates.  Many
victims are agricultural workers and children in Asia and southern Africa.  Shortages of antivenom medicines, the
treatment for snakebite, are common there.
Existing supplies may not be high quality or developed correctly for
local needs.

Ken Winkel directs the University of
Melbourne’s Australian Venom Research Unit.
Doctor Winkel and university scientist David Williams are among the organizers
of the Global Snakebite Initiative. Other project leaders are from Britain,
Brazil, Sri Lanka, Costa Rica and Singapore.

The International Society of Toxinology
officially supported the Initiative last month at the World Congress of Plant,
Animal and Microbial Toxins in Recife, Brazil.

Doctor
Winkel says antivenom treatment is too costly for many poor people who need it
most.  The drugs are developed from the
venom of poisonous snakes.

The Global Snakebite Initiative is trying to increase the
availability of good quality antivenom treatments and improve medical training for
patient care.  Another goal is to help
manufacturers of antivenom medicines improve their products.

The
project also wants communities to learn about snakebites and first aid. It wants
more research and reporting systems.  And
it aims to help national health officials choose antivenoms for their countries’
special needs.

The antivenom that cures the bite of one kind of snake may
not be effective for another kind of snake.
And the medicines for a cobra bite in the Philippines may not work for someone
bitten by a similar snake in West Africa.

Experts look forward to improvements in
worldwide treatment for snakebite.  But they
say the best ways to reduce death and injury from snakebites are education and
prevention.

Source:luyennghe.com

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

The World Bank and the International Monetary
Fund will meet in Washington, D.C.  Saturday and Sunday.  One subject for discussion will be falling
expectations for world economic growth.

A new report by the
I.M.F. estimates that the world economy will shrink by one and three-tenths
percent this year.  That would be the
worst performance in more than sixty years.
Three months ago, the I.M.F. predicted a small growth for this year.

I.M.F. Chief Economist Olivier Blanchard, left, speaking in Washington Wednesday

Major
industrialized economies are expected to see the biggest decreases, shrinking
by almost four percent. The I.M.F. predicts developing countries will continue
to grow for the year, but only by about one and one-half percent.

The
I.M.F. says the world will slowly return to growth of almost two percent next
year.  But the lending organization warns
that strong policies to supervise and support the financial system are needed
if the world economy is to fully recovery.

Olivier
Blanchard is the chief economist for the I.M.F.
He has said that banks are still in the process of rebuilding their
financial positions.  He added that
securities markets are still operating poorly.

Economic experts believe
the world financial industry is moving towards recovery but with more losses to
come.  In all, the I.M.F. says worldwide
financial losses could be as high as four trillion dollars by the end of next
year.  World trade is expected to drop
eleven percent this year, after expanding by three percent last year.

The
I.M.F. report says international lending may not fully recover until two
thousand eleven. The financial crisis has made the I.M.F. more important than
ever.  The world’s largest economies
promised to increase the size of the fund by about five hundred billion dollars.  They did so at the G-Twenty meeting in London
earlier this month.  This week, President
Obama proposed that the United States lend the I.M.F. one hundred billion
dollars as part of that promise.

Last week, Mexico became the first nation to borrow
from the I.M.F. under a new program to provide emergency credit to nations with
strong economies.  Mexico received a
forty-seven billion dollar line of credit for one year.  Poland and Colombia are also seeking loans
from the program.

And that’s the VOA Special English
Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter.
You can find more financial news, plus transcripts and archives of our programs
at voaspecialenglish.com.  I’m Steve Ember.

Source:luyennghe.com

Procrastination

Dialogue

We listen to Andrews story about not doing anything.

Key vocabulary and phrases that are discussed in the podcast:

I wasn’t thinking of anything in particular

Nothing specific. Hard to say exactly what you were thinking or doing.

I’m not going anywhere in particular.

What restaurant were you thinking of going to tonight?

Nowhere in particular

I was in a daze

Thinking about something, maybe not moving your eyes much. Just staring at the wall and thinking

Walking aimlessly around the house

No direction. Just walking around with no idea of what to do.

I’d had it.

I was sick of it. I had enough, I couldn’t take it anymore. I needed something to change.

Source:china232.com

Dare

Dialogue

Key vocabulary and phrases that are discussed in the podcast:

Decent looking guy – Good looking or handsome guy, often guys describe other guys in this way. They don’t want to sound gay.

Gazing – Staring for a long time

Hot girls – Great looking or incredibly sexy girls. We often say hot to describe girls. Girls also use hot to describe great looking guys.

Dare – A challenge that you give to someone. It’s a kind of challenge that they normally would be scared or embarrassed to do. It’s a fun kind of thing between friends.

This can also be used as a characteristic to describe someone. We can call someone “daring”. That means the person is willing to take chances, bold or courageous.

Wimp – Weak man. Scared, babyish, not strong.

Backfires – If a plan backfires it means that it did not turn out the way you hoped that it would. It went the opposite of how you hoped it would go.

What’s the worst that could happen? –This is a question to ask yourself or someone else if they are considering not doing something. The idea is that if the worst thing that can happen isn’t really that bad, then you should do it.

Win-win situation – A situation where no matter what the result is, there is something still good about it. Here, if the girls like Tony, he wins. If they don’t like him, he will get free drinks for the rest of the night, so he wins again.

Source:china232.com

Dare 2

Dialogue

We hear the sequel to the dare

Key vocabulary and phrases that are discussed in the podcast:

Buzz

The good feeling after drinking alcohol. Not too drunk but feeling the effects.

Backing down

Not accepting the challenge. Back down from a fight, back down from a dare.

Chugged

Drink quickly. Drink the beer all at one time without putting the glass down.

Stumbled

Walked like a drunk person. Almost falling down walking.

Audacity

After doing something rude, like taking the wing, he didn’t apologize and just did something rude again. No shame.

That man stole $1000 from the girl and had the audacity to ask if she would be his girlfriend.

Pull up a chair

Sit down with us, or join us at the table.

Work wonders

Do a lot of good for something.

That investment will work wonders for your bank account.

If you find a beautiful girl who likes you it will work wonders for your confidence.

Self-esteem

Confidence or belief in yourself.

If you have a high self-esteem then you think you are a capable person and like yourself.

If you have a low self-esteem you get discouraged easily and don’t have a lot of self-confidence.

Source:china232.com

Frustration

Story

Key vocabulary and phrases that are discussed in the podcast:

Frustrating – you try hard at something and you feel that all your time and energy are wasted. Ex. working for 4 hours writing something on the computer and you forget to save it. Another example is Inviting your friends to a great restaurant and when you get there it is closed.

Accomplishing – getting something useful done. Mom used to always ask “what have you accomplished today?”

next to nothing – almost nothing or very little.  I accomplished next to nothing today.

totally worthless – means to have no value.  Jeff is somehow able to convince his boss that he isn’t totally worthless. This is funny here because if you are working for someone, you should try and show your boss that you have a lot of value and skills, not just better than being totally worthless.

Apparently – obvious, evident or easy to have seen.  Here Jeff had apparently taken the proposal off my desk and shown it to the boss.  We didn’t seen him take the proposal but we think it is obvious that he did.

Took credit –  say or show that you did something(even if you didn’t do it).  Here Jeff took credit for my work. He said he did the proposal even though he didn’t.

Pissed off – angry at someone or something.

Source:china232.com

Misunderstanding

Story

Key vocabulary and phrases that are discussed in the podcast:

Pig/slob – very dirty or messy person

getting really tired of this –  the feeling of being annoyed or bothered by something.  In this story the roommate was getting annoyed because Tony is a slob.

to bring this up – to talk to someone about something.  Here, the roommate wanted to “bring up” the idea that he didn’t like the place to be messy to Tony.

neat freak – someone who really needs things to be neat and organized at all times

getting out of control – was a problem here that was getting larger and larger. Here, the problem was of Tony’s habit of not cleaning anything.

come clean – telling someone the truth and what you are thinking.  In this story, the roommate “comes clean” with Tony about his feelings towards Tony’s cleaning habits.

be annoying or anything –  this phrase here meant that the roommate didn’t want to annoy Tony or make him feel uncomfortable or bother him.

Source:china232.com

China232 Story

ESL Conversation

Take our heads out of the sand: If your “head is in the sand” it means you aren’t facing reality.  It means you don’t want to see the truth because the truth is painful.

On the fence: If you are “on the fence” it means you haven’t made a decision yet.

She is still on the fence about whether or not to go to graduate school in the fall.

Business models: A business model is the way that a company earns money.

Google’s “business model” is to provide a free service and make their money from advertising.
Our new business model at China232 is to charge annual subscription fee.

Part of me: If you say “part of me” wants to to something.  It means that in some ways you want to do it, in some ways you don’t want to.  It means you can see the pro’s and con’s of making that decision.

Cough up: “cough up” is a slang term that means to “spend money”.

I coughed up 200 bucks for these tickets, and my girlfriend decided not to go at the last minute.

Put it that way: This phrase means to explain something in a certain way.

Sick: This slang phrase really depends on the context.  It often means really really good.

Kobe Bryant was sick in the 4th quarter of last night’s basketball game.