60 way immersion in Japanese, which began three years ago in a Eugene, Ore., elementary school has spread to Portland, Anchorage, and Detroit. And the French Program at Sunset Elementary School in Coral Gables, Fla., recently received a grant from the French government. 9. Being a stranger in a strange land is never easy. “All the English-speaking kids should learn a foreign language. Then they’d know how hard it is for us sometimes,” says 17-year-old Sufyan Kabba, a Maryland high-school junior, who left Sierra Leone last year. But here they are, part of the nation’s future, young Yankees who in the end must rely on the special strength of children: adaptability. Explain what is meant by: 1. In small towns and big cities, children with names like Oswaldo, Suong, Boris or Ngam are swelling the rolls in U.S. public schools… 2. How to teach in a tower of Babel? How is the Tower Of Babel connected with the main topic of the article? 3. Proponents say that even with bilingual education it takes between four and seven years for a non-native to reach national norms on standardized tests. 4. It’s not economically feasible to hire bilingual teachers unless there are 20 or more students who speak the same language in the same grade. 5. What does the abbreviation ESL stand for? QUESTIONS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION. 1. What facts are exposed in the article to support the points raised? 2. What teaching methods are recommended? Which one do you think is more efficient? Explain why. 3. What problems did the schools face? 61 4. What indication did the author mention to prove that one of the methods did not work? Do you consider the indication appropriate? EXPAND YOUR VOCABULARY Match the words in Column A with their definitions in Column B. 1) To quiz a) a good standard of ability and skill 2) Swell b) that is possible and likely to be achieved 3) Estimate c) to arrange for yourself or for sb else to officially join a course, school, etc 4) Proficiency d) something that you can choose to have or do; the freedom to choose what you do 5) Proponent e) to care for and protect sb/sth while they are growing and developing 6) Feasible f) Put into water, involve deeply 7) Dropout g) a person who supports an idea or course of action 8) Option h) to form an idea of the cost, size, value etc. of sth, but without calculating it exactly 9) Nurture i) a person who leaves school or college before he has finished his studies 10) Enroll j) to ask someone a lot of questions (to check general knowledge) 11) immerse k) to become greater in volume 62 YOUR TURN 1. Visit the Yerevan State University or the Medical University where a significant number of foreign students from Iran, India, and Syria study. Interview some of them to find out what difficulties, if any, they have in adapting to their new lifestyle in Armenia. Write an essay on the topic using the outcome of your interview as supporting sentences. 2. Find out how your peers who are married and have children manage to combine family life with university life. Tips for Successful Writing Concluding Paragraphs A good conclusion should fit with the introduction like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. In other words, the conclusion should tie together what you have said just as the introduction interested the reader in what was to come. The conclusion finalizes the essay, drawing it to a close. The concluding paragraph has two functions. Its first function is to provide a short summary of the main points by restating the thesis statement in different words. It also can have a final thought- provoking statement or comment on the subject you discussed, so that the reader is encouraged to explore it or think about it further. As with the other parts of the essay, the conclusion may be developed in a number of ways, and these ways may also be combined. Once you have paraphrased your specific points, you may, for example, want to: 1. write two or three more general statements on the subject as a whole; 63 2. finish off with a thought provoking statement or question; 3. comment on the future, or make predictions about possible outcomes; 4. offer advice; make a call to action; 5. close with a statement or quotation readers will remember; 6. respond to a question in your introduction. Note: Always re-read your introduction before you start writing the concluding paragraph. Avoid repeating every key point you wrote in the essay, changing your point of view, bringing in new ideas, or sounding unsure of yourself. 64 TEXT 3 Doctor Shanna - Can any living being get education? - What are the necessary steps to get higher education? - Have you heard of “Diploma Mills”? - How do they operate? As you read the following text try to find the answers to these and to some other questions. 1. Almost all of the colleges in this country can be regarded as respectable institutions. In return for tuition money, they offer a variety of useful courses and, ultimately, a degree for those who qualify. There are a few colleges, however, that operate in a shady manner, providing degrees to which people are not entitled, for courses that they never took. One of the most notorious in recent years was Pacific College in Los Angeles, California, sometimes called “the dropouts’ Harvard.” 2. To illustrate how easy it was to get an advanced degree from such “diploma mills,” New York legislator Leonard Stavisky enrolled his German shepherd, Shanna, at Pacific College. “Ms. Shanna Stavisky” presumably sent his admission fee of $150 and by return mail received a breezy letter from “Dean Ashby” that read, “Your talent and experience are going to be recognized sooner or later. Welcome, my friend, to Pacific College.” 3. Shanna was placed in a Ph.D. program in “recreation management.” “That is very appropriate,” joked Mr. Stavisky, “since 65 Shanna has had field experience in the backyard and supervises child recreation because she is a watchdog.” 4. The reason for interest in the case is that some citizens who need degrees to gain employment can bluff their way through by producing phony degrees that they bought from disreputable institutions. “How would you like to undergo brain surgery at the hands of someone who had gotten his medical certification from Pacific College?” asked one of Stavisky’s assistants. 5. Mr.Stavisky’s committee kept a close eye on all degree-offering institutions in New York. Some states, however, have been lax in supervising the diploma mills. Mr.Stavisky is hoping for a national crackdown on all crooks in the education field. 6. “I knew Shanna couldn’t be a Ph.D.,” said Mr.Stavisky. “After all, she flunked out of obedience school.” Explain what is meant by: 1. There are a few colleges, however, that operate in a shady manner, providing degrees to which people are not entitled, for courses that they never took. 2. One of the most notorious in recent years was Pacific College in Los Angeles, California, sometimes called “the dropouts’ Harvard.” 3. … New York legislator Leonard Stavisky enrolled his German shepherd, Shanna, at Pacific College. 4. Shanna was placed in a Ph.D. program in “recreation management.” 5. Some states, however, have been lax in supervising the diploma mills. 6. Mr.Stavisky is hoping for a national crackdown on all crooks in the education field. 66 QUESTIONS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 1. How does the author introduce the problem he intends to discuss in the essay? Point out the thesis statement of the story? 2. Comment on the example used as support. Is it reliable? Why? 3. Why did Mr.Stavisky think that the College had made a wise choice about Shanna’s area of specialization? 4. Why is a New York legislator interested in a California diploma mill? 5. Who is the story addressed to? 6. In what way is it written? 7. How does the author sum up his essay. Account for the quotation included at the end of the essay. 8. Should anything be done about organizations such as the Pacific College? What specific recommendations could you make? 9. Mr.X bought an advanced degree from Pacific College and is now a respected vice-president of a medical supply company. If his boss finds out the truth, should he fire Mr.X? Why or why not? EXPAND YOUR VOCABULARY Match the words in Column A with their definitions in Column B A B 1) bluff a) finally, in the end 2) disreputable b) supposedly, taken for granted 3) lax c) of doubtful honesty 4) notorious d) not genuine, unreal 5) ultimately e) deceive by pretending 6) to illustrate f) a dishonest person 7) presumably g) discredited, having lost respect 8) recreation h) to fail in an exam 9) shady i) not strict or severe 67 10) phony j) widely known as bad 11) to flunk k) form of play or amusement 12) crook l) to explain by examples or pictures YOUR TURN Visit the school you have attended and finished and choose one problem to write about. Problems may vary from building facilities to equipment facilities, from books available (in the library) to pupil-teacher-parent relations, from teaching methods to discipline and even to refreshment room provisions. Interview teachers, schoolchildren and use their comments as supporting sentences. 68 UNIT 4 Argument The argumentative essay is often called a pro-con or persuasive or even an assertion-with-proof essay, but whatever name you use, the bottom line is that, in it, you are presenting two sides of an argument. Often just using the word argument makes people uneasy, but contrary to widespread belief, argument is not simply a fight in words (‘I had a quarrel with my roommate last night, and today we aren’t talking.’). Argument, as we will use it, means “a debate or discussion,” not “an angry disagreement.” Argument is the use of language for the purpose of persuading the reader or listener to accept a certain opinion or belief as true or good, to feel in a certain way about something, to act in a certain way. In other words, in an argumentative essay you are attempting, through the strength of your logic, to convince the reader to accept your reasons for supporting one side rather than the other. The subject matter of an argumentative essay need not be earthshaking, but it does have to involve some debatable issue; that is, it must have two sides-a pro side and a con side. There has to be the possibility of a difference of opinion, or there is no argument. In writing your pro-con essay, you will try to argue that your opinion is right by backing it up with reasons and evidence. While emotions may be involved in persuasive speaking or conversation, the argumentative essay appeals more to the reasoning or understanding of the reader. Judgments (opinions) and feelings are legitimate parts of many arguments and we use them to influence one another. Judgments should be distinguished from facts. Facts can usually be checked, judgments cannot. They refer to personal feelings and evaluations. You may share them, resent them, argue against them, disagree with them, consider them ridiculous or wicked, but you cannot prove them 69 either true or false the way you can prove the facts. However, the topic you write about must involve an opinion rather than a fact, because facts are not debatable. And it must be an opinion for which there are arguments for and against. While writing an argumentative essay you must be acutely aware of your audience - the reader. The most important things to consider about the members of your audience is why they hold their opinion. What reasons do you think they might use to support their stance? Trying to understand your opponent’s point of view is important, if you do not understand your opponents’ reasons and you just argue your reasons, you are not likely to convince the reader at all. Of necessity, argument provokes resistance; therefore, you should not expect your audience to agree with you wholly. Since people rarely change their minds without a good reason, you must anticipate some opposition to your viewpoint and have a way to overcome it. Knowing who your audience is helps you know whether you will be able to persuade readers easily. Thus, the argumentative essay, like other essays, has a thesis, but it also has an antithesis-that is, a statement that supports the opposite point of view. Both the thesis and the antithesis have points to support them, and you need to acknowledge both. The thesis, however, must have more support than the antithesis. Put yourself in the position of the audience--see things their way before you argue your way. If you find that your argument is not strong enough for you to believe it, you can be sure that your audience will never believe it either. Although there is no set pattern for organizing the argumentative essay, there is a basic, workable approach that is commonly used: 1. The argumentative essay should introduce and explain the issue or case. It is often necessary to define any ambiguous terms that are essential to the discussion. Thus, sometimes . us sometimes,” says 17- year-old Sufyan Kabba, a Maryland high-school junior, who left Sierra Leone last year. But here they are, part of the nation’s future,. for and protect sb/sth while they are growing and developing 6) Feasible f) Put into water, involve deeply 7) Dropout g) a person who supports an idea or