{Topics on 3.13} Please Make Sure to Study Hard in Advance & Post a Comment＜정참,지참,불참＞

[Doo ^^]

[Topic 1] The 10 deadliest conversation sins

Conversation is the crossroads of an individual's personality, intelligence, and spirituality. What someone says, and how they say it, becomes more important than their looks as a relationship matures.

Bad conversation habits like the examples below can doom a relationship:

1. Conversation Hijacking

So you've just finished telling a story about a funny memory. The Conversation Hijacker makes their move: "you think that's funny, let me tell you this." The Hijacker doesn't intend to listen to you, but they expect you want to listen to them. They like to top your story and belittle it, while allowing little time for discussion or reaction to it. It ends up as an unbalanced conversation dominated by the Hijacker, frustrating the hijacked victim.

2. Eye Contact Issues

The other day someone presented to us in our office, and they looked at me too much. It made me uncomfortable. On the other hand, when a girl seems to be looking "through" me, or around me as if anything is more interesting, I assume she's not into me. Just like words in a conversation, good eye contact has a certain rhythm to it.

3. Ghost Listening

Don't you hate when you're in an loud environment and you have to ask the person to repeat themselves more than once? By the time I hit "excuse me" number two, I'm already feeling awkward. I sometimes bail out and react with a fake (usually positive) reaction without hearing accurately. So you might get something like this:

"My grandmother is sick."

"What?"

"My grandmother is sick."

"I'm sorry, say that again?"

"My grandmother is sick."

(Ghost Listener panics/gives up) "Wow, that is so great!"

It's a toss up: do I want to keep asking someone to repeat themselves, or do I want to end the misery by assuming and reacting even though I risk making things worse?

4. Making Tasteless Jokes

Growing up with sisters, I learned that girls also discuss bathroom humor. So, I often talk "bathroom humor" shop with the ladies. But when I meet someone, it is a turnoff for them in the beginning. I guess the obnoxiousness  has to be introduced slowly.

5. Shameless Self Promotion

It's obnoxious to berate someone with your accomplishments, or how you know cool person/celeb A, B, or C. You'll look insecure and look like you're trying too hard. Putting the best foot forward gently is not an easy art to master.

6. Me, Me, Me

A variation of the Shameless Self Promoter, the Me, Me, Me broadcasts insignificant stories about their life, but completely forgets to ask the other person about their life. It may not be on purpose, but they magnify everything in their own world which shrinks the importance of everything in the other person's world.

7. My Name is Negativity

They might describe their average day like this: "of course my boss made me stay late, and of course I locked myself out of my apartment because that's my life. Everything sucks." Another form of negativity is self-deprecation. I love making fun of myself, but sometimes it gets to be too much and my friends tell me to ease off on it. Don't fake positivity but remember: no one wants to spend time with a person who is too negative.

8. Dead End Answering

Answering with simple "yes," or "no,", like a guilty criminal being grilled by a detective. So, use short answers when you're trying to get rid of someone, but if you like someone you should be naturally inclined to say more.

9. "Word Machine"

You don't want to be Dead End Answer, but if you talk too much you will overwhelm someone. The person you're with is more likely to remember that you talked too much than the actual content over your conversation. I talk a lot (too much sometimes), and when someone talks as much as me, we fight for time. Conversation is about balance: sharing the stage at the right rate creates a good conversation rhythm.

10. "I Only Read Us Weekly, OR Russian Literature"

There are girls who only talk about pop culture, but there are also the condescending "too smart" types that are not down to earth. Everyone wants an intelligent partner, but they don't want a preachy person or someone who makes them feel stupid. My dream girl talks Us Weekly then pulls out the Russian Lit from time to time.

QUESTIONS:

1. When it comes to conversations, what kind of person makes you feel bad or uncofortable? 

2. Which one do you think is the worst type among above bad conversation habits? Why?

3. What kind of person do you think you are when you have a conversation with someone? or If you have not recognized who you are, please ask for your type to the people around you

4. Do you know any other bad conversation habits except for above?

[Topic 2] Active reading boosts English speaking skills

Hosting a daily radio program is stressful, to say the least. But Lee Hyun-suk hosts not one but two programs on EBS: "English Speaking" in the morning and "English Headquarters" in the evening.

The programs share target audiences - English learners of Korea - but their angles are different. "English Speaking," as the title itself amply suggests, is designed to encourage Korean learners to improve their speaking competence, while "English Headquarters," launched just this month, sums up all the key expressions taught on various EBS programs for an effective refresher.

The sheer amount of broadcast hours is daunting, but Lee said what's not broadcast is more demanding.

"Hosts of EBS radio's language learning programs are offering lessons based on the textbooks they write each month, and I'm also spending about 100 hours on the monthly textbook," Lee told The Korea Herald.

Despite the heavy workload, Lee said it's exciting to host shows for English learners willing to tune in to a radio program to improve their language ability.

Lee, who lived in Hong Kong for four and a half years in his childhood, said his career in the English education field started with his sense of hitting his limit when he graduated from college, majoring in English education.

"Since I attended a foreign language high school, I was exposed to not only speak English but also other languages such as German and Chinese. I also studied Japanese in college, and enjoyed talking with others. But when I studied foreign languages, I realized I should learn more to become an English teacher," Lee said.

Lee's choice was to attend a simultaneous interpretation and translation school - not in Korea but in the United States. He went to the Monterey Institute of International Studies, California, and even served as the college's student council president.

"My idea was that studying translation and interpretation would boost my English competence, and since the field requires high levels of fluency in both Korean and English, I think the courses helped me a lot when I entered the English education field," he said.

The interpretation and translation school curriculum was challenging, but rewarding because he not only expanded his horizon as a future interpreter but also acquired a key learning technique - active reading.

Lee said he set aside an hour and a half reading newspapers early each morning, which was part of his active reading sessions. Plenty of immersive reading helped him collect new expressions that he wanted to use.

Active reading, Lee said, is a process in which learners recognize useful expressions in text and then try to appreciate their usage and practice them repeatedly. Using the technique favored by interpretation school students also helps. For instance, the learner reads an English newspaper article on a given topic such as a nuclear power plant, and highlights key expressions. Writing down those expressions in a separate notebook is also effective. The final step is to read a Korean newspaper article on the same subject, this time trying to sum up the content in English while trying to recall and use the expressions from the English article.

Lee said a thematic approach also matters when it comes to English speaking. Dealing with diverse topics through active reading paves the way for boosting the learner's speaking skills that can be readily applied to real situations.

Lee recommended that students should focus on memorizing entire sentences rather than vocabulary items. "Some students still favor memorizing vocabulary items separately but I think memorizing sentences is much more effective for improving speaking competence," he said.

1. As you know, we are gathering here to improve our English skill or make friends through English. So, I wonder how you have studied English. Share your method... and let's find the best way to study English.

2. Above article, Lee recommended that you should concentrate on memorizing entire sentences to improve speaking skill. Do you agree with Lee's opinion? or If no, Is there any other good way to develop my speaking competence?

3. Nowadays, Korean parents are very aggressive about their children's English education. If you have a child, how will you make your children receive English education?

4. What is English for you?

[Doo ^^]

저의 개인적인 사정 상 토픽이 늦었습니다. 그런 의미에서 토픽을 좀 가벼운 마음으로 가볍게 정해 보았습니다. Are you ready to be crazy about English...^^ See all you this saturday night...^^

[Teddy~*]

WOW~~ Good job~~ let's talking about with good members~ ^^

[Dexter(한동욱)]

정참 ~!

[Gina(진아)]

토픽 감솨^0^ 토욜날 봐요^^/

[우야(현우)]

대박 아리클 잘읽고 준비해서 갈게요 ㅎ^^

[도르도르]

정참... 프린트 왕창 해감!! ㅋㅋ

[Gina(진아)]

죠아^^/

[titicaca]

저도 참석^^

[Joe(조형섭)]

일끝나면~~~~ ㅎㅎㅎ...

[Harry(해인)]

저는 지참입니다..^^