Before the Great War the position of women in society depended on birth, class, marriage, and men Free Essays

Women had to live up to an ideal created by men. This meant women had to appear less intelligent than their husbands, women had to be well mannered, and modest in behaviour and speech. Women from richer middle and upper class families had servants to look after their homes and weren’t expected to work. We will write a custom essay sample on Before the Great War the position of women in society depended on birth, class, marriage, and men or any similar topic only for you Order Now Upper class women were brought up and educated to be a dutiful wife. Lower class women had to look after their husband, manage everything in the house as well as finance, be utterly faithful to her husband and willingly manage a large family Some women did go to work; in 1901 55% of single women and 14% of married women were at work. In 1914 the largest employer of women was the Domestic Service with 1,600,000 this is because the Domestic Service was regarded as better than working in factories. About 656,000 women worked in the factories of the textile industry – especially the cotton mills of northern England. Lots of women were in work but many of them hardly made enough money to live on. Married working class women faced a lot of problems. Families were large: 71% of women had four or more children and 41% had seven or more. Many women however lost children to diseases like Scarlet Fever, Diphtheria, and Tubercular. Children died because they didn’t have any health care and doctors were expensive and hard to find. Poverty, bad housing and child bearing affected the health of working class women probably because they put the health of their husbands first as they had to be at work to earn money. Lots of women wanted the vote before the Great War. Suffragists wanted the vote and played by the law where as Suffragettes were more militant. The Suffragettes committed many acts of violence such as destruction of property and arson. Lots of people were against giving women the right to vote, even queen Victoria was. This meant women’s suffrage had to gain support, so they continued with their marches and put posters up to try to gain support. The government passed a cat and mouse act which allowed Suffragettes to be released when they became ill because of their hunger strike and as soon as they were better again they were arrested and sent back to prison to finish their sentence. The outbreak of the First World War brought an end to the Suffragettes campaign. How to cite Before the Great War the position of women in society depended on birth, class, marriage, and men, Essays

The Origins of Judicial Review Essays - , Term Papers

The Origins of Judicial Review In 1717, Bishop Hoadly told King George I, "Whoever hath an absolute authority to interpret written or spoken laws; it is he who is truly the lawgiver to all intents and purposes and not the person who wrote or spoke them (Pollack, 153)." Early sentiments similar these have blossomed into a large scale debate over which branch of our government has the power to overturn laws that do not follow the foundations of our democratic system; the constitution. In this paper I will discuss the history of judicial review in respect to the U.S. Supreme Court, but more importantly, I will discuss the impact that judicial review has had on the Supreme Court and our system of government and the various arguments behind this power that the Supreme Court now possesses. The first instance that the Supreme Court showed its power under the cloak of judicial review was in the legendary case of Marbury v. Madison. In the confusion of leaving office, President John Adams failed to have delivered four commissions that he had made before having to surrender his power to Thomas Jefferson. In fact, the responsibility of delivering the commissions was left in the hands of John Marshall, the former Secretary of State under Adams, who was now the chief justice of the Supreme Court. When Jefferson took office, he refused to have the commissions delivered, and the case was filed by Marbury and the three other marshals that failed to receive their commissions. As the Chief Justice, Marshall wrote the opinion of the court by answering three questions concerning the case; did Marbury have a right to the commission, did Marbury have a remedy to receive the commission, and was a writ of mandamus the proper remedy to receive the commission. Marshall answered yes to the first two questions, but said that the Supreme Court could not give him the commission he was entitled to through a writ of mandamus. Through this decision, Marshall not only asserted the power of the court with judicial review, but also avoided a potentially devastating confrontation with the presidency in the early years of our fledgling government. Marshall was able to establish the judiciary's role in our government with this decision by answering the question that if the courts do not have this power, which does. The significance of the Marbury v. Madison decision is far reaching. Before the 1803 decision, the court had never really been a factor in our government, so much that the 1802 session was terminated by President Jefferson. The case established the Supreme Court's authority to review and strike down governmental actions that did not follow the Constitution. Marshall believed that although the framers of the Constitution did not explicitly write the power of judicial review into the constitution, it was what the framers intended. I will discuss this argument in greater detail later. After the Marbury v. Madison decision, the Marshall court enjoyed a new found power, but rarely found occasion to use it since most of the cases that were heard were rather trivial private law disputes. However, the court was able to hand down a number of important opinions interpreting various aspects of the Constitution. After Marshall's death in 1835, Roger B. Taney ascended to the chief justice. Taney, unlike Marshall, was a Jacksonian Democrat, and a strong supporter of President Jackson and his view of state's rights. It was Taney who passed down the infamous 1857 decision in Dredd Scott v. Sandford, which displayed the court's belief that blacks had no real Constitutional status and that the court strongly supported state's rights. Furthermore, the Dredd Scott decision worsened conditions for nationalists, and inevitably pushed our nation closer to civil war. After the war had ended, the court again found itself busy with a large caseload due to the many commercial and private disputes raised by the war. Chief justices Salmon Chase and Morrison Waite helped to reestablish congressional power over the defeated South, but had little chance to use its power of judicial review during this time or repair. The close of the war brought the Industrial Revolution and newfound problems to our country and government. Two questions which

Esay Douglas Essay

Esay Douglas Essay Esay Douglas Essay Zakaria Habi Mr. Cormier CLN4U1-02 October 11, 2012 Abortion: The Right to Life Abortion is the termination of a fetus (a developing human being in the womb) or an embryo prior to its due date.  ¹ In Canadian law, abortion was decriminalized in 1988 and is acknowledged by Canada’s Supreme Court and the government as a medical procedure covered under the Canada Health Act (CHA, 1984). All women regardless of age, economic status, or a place of residency, are to have access to the procedure.  ² The topic of abortion is a controversial issue that generates many opinions among the people of who are pro-life, pro-choice or just undecided on abortion. Reasons as to why abortion is such a heated topic has a lot to do with what is the definition of a human being. Is it when the sperm and egg start to fertilize and become an embryo? Or maybe it is after the first trimester of pregnancy ends (first three months of a pregnancy) when many parts of the fetus’ organs such as the heart and brain are already developed and workin g? People who advocate pro-choice come from a variety of backgrounds such as students, teachers, lawyers, health-care workers and lawyers. They are also from different ethnic, socioeconomic backgrounds and religions. Individuals who advocate pro-choice do not necessarily agree with abortion, but instead agree that women have the right to decide between the choice of carrying on with their pregnancy or having an abortion. They rather make the decision than having a politician or a law tell them what they can and cannot do. As the Republican Pro-Choice Coalition defines its as, â€Å" The pro-choice position is neither for or against abortions, instead, simply advocates that government should not interfere in such decisions that are best left to individuals.†Ã‚ ³ Many pro-choice religious groups find no condemnations of abortion in the bible, many believe that it is up to the individual and his/her conscious to determine whether abortion is or is not sinful or immoral.4 Many people feel that they do not want to take responsibility and care for another human being when they alone do not feel they know what they yet want to do. Especially in the cases of abortion many are teenage females who are still in high school and do not wish to be overburdened with adding the responsibility of another human being. Individuals who are pro-choice also believe in having the child and then giving it up for adoption, which is a popular choice for many pregnant females who are past the first trimester of their pregnancy. After the first trimester abortion becomes harder and involves more risk. Being pro-choice about abortion, in my opinion, is the better choice as abortion has to do with the individual as it affects the person psychologically, physically and the access barriers they might encounter in having an abortion, if it is illegal. Many studies have been performed to examine if having an abortion can and would lead to psychological effects and possible li nks to mental illness, anxiety or depression. The results that came back mainly showed that having an abortion does not lead to having psychological problems. In a study done a very small percentage, 3% to be exact, have long term feelings of guilt and some of those individuals feel that the abortion was a mistake.5 Many women feel relieved after the abortion was done although looking back they admit that it was regrettable, but the right decision at that time.6 A study done by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges found that unwanted pregnancies doubles the risk of having mental issues, however that the rate does not change whether the woman chooses to have an abortion or to keep the baby.7 Also abortions should be legal because many times unwanted pregnancies are due to rape and incest. If the woman keeps the baby, it will be a constant reminder of the harsh act of rape or incest. This will lead to emotional instability as the mother will have a hard time to

10 Genius Tips for Balancing Test Prep With School

10 Genius Tips for Balancing Test Prep With School SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Getting your SAT/ACT dream score will likely take a considerable time investment. The vast majority of high school students have to spend many hours of studying before they're able to get their desired score. However, your time is limited. You have school, homework, studying, and extracurricular activities. How will you be able to put in the necessary test prep time on top of your other responsibilities? In this article, I'll let you know how you can balance SAT/ACT test prep with school. If you follow my advice, you'll be able to effectively incorporate test prep into your schedule. General Guidance Before you embark on a path to successfully reaching your SAT/ACT goals, you need to have the right mindset. First, you need to believe that you're capable of succeeding. Confidence is crucial to complete any difficult task, including getting a wonderful SAT/ACT score. Most likely, you're not where you want to be right now, but it's essential that you have faith that you can get there. As an SAT teacher, I worked with hundreds of students of all different skill levels, and almost every student who was committed to improving saw significant results. You may not be naturally gifted at math, but with enough practice and focused studying, you can probably get a good Math score. You may struggle with grammar, but if you master the grammar rules that are tested on the SAT/ACT, you should be able to correctly answer the grammar questions. Don't just accept that a weakness will stop you from getting your desired score. You need to believe that you can improve your weaknesses (because you can). Also, you need to be motivated. If you're confident but aren't willing to put in the necessary study time, you won't see much improvement. I understand that many students find it difficult to care about studying for the SAT/ACT. They find the material dull and have so many other priorities and concerns. However, regardless of your college goals, you should realize the importance of the SAT/ACT. Getting a better score will increase your college options and the likelihood that you'll qualify for merit scholarships. Furthermore, a good SAT/ACT score can positively impact your professional future. Some employers ask job applicants to report their standardized test scores. If you find your motivation waning, think of how getting a wonderful SAT/ACT score can benefit you. Finally, if you're going to successfully balance your SAT/ACT studying with school, you need to have a plan. To reach any challenging goal, I think it's important to specifically figure out how you're going to achieve your desired goal. Having a plan will enable you to stay on task and use your time efficiently. Making a Plan Hopefully, you recognize that you can balance school with your test prep, and you realize that you're going to need an effective plan to make that happen. How do you go about making a plan, though? I'll provide you with the steps and detailed instructions to help you come up with a quality SAT/ACT study plan. Determine Your Target Score Before you go through any steps to balance school with your test prep, you should have a goal score for your SAT/ACT. Having a goal will motivate you to stick to your study plan, make you more likely to prioritize your test prep, and help you figure out how much time you need to study. You can determine your target score by averaging the 75th percentile scores for the schools you’re interested in applying to. If you reach the 75th percentile score for a given school, your score will make you an extremely competitive applicant. Find the 75th percentile scores by googling â€Å"(name of school) prepscholar average sat† or â€Å"(name of school) prepscholar average act.† For old SAT scores out of 2400, multiply the 75th percentile score by â…” to determine what the 75th percentile score would be on the current test with a maximum score of 1600. Figure Out How Much Time You Need to Study Once you have a target score, you can determine how much time you need to study before you take the SAT/ACT. Taking this step will allow you to come up with a plan that will help you balance your test prep with school. In order to figure out how much you need to study, you need to know exactly how much you need to improve. Calculate the difference between your target score and your last SAT/ACT. If you've never taken the SAT/ACT, I recommend taking an official practice SAT/ACT simulating real testing conditions to determine where you’re at and how much you need to improve. Once you know how much you need to improve, here’s an estimated breakdown of point improvement per number of study hours for the SAT: 0-50 SAT Total Point Improvement: 10 hours 50-100 Point Improvement: 20 hours 100-200 Point Improvement: 40 hours 200-300 Point Improvement: 80 hours 300-500 Point Improvement: 150 hours+ And here’s the same thing for the ACT: 0-1 ACT Composite Point Improvement: 10 hours 1-2 ACT Point Improvement: 20 hours 2-4 ACT Point Improvement: 40 hours 4-6 ACT Point Improvement: 80 hours 6-9 ACT Point Improvement: 150 hours+ How many hours do you need to study? Write Out Your Weekly Schedule At this point, you should know when you’re planning on taking the test and how many total hours you need to study. Then you can divide the total number of hours you need to study by the number of weeks you have until your test to determine how many hours per week you should be studying. For example, let's say you're planning on taking the ACT in 8 weeks and you want to raise your ACT score by 3 points. Because a 3 point improvement will take roughly 40 hours of studying and you have 8 weeks until the test, you'll have to average about 5 hours of studying per week to reach your target score. Before you determine exactly when you’ll be studying, write out your weekly schedule with all of your responsibilities. Include all of your weekly tasks: school, homework, extracurriculars, job, etc. Write out your schedule for each day of the week. Perhaps your Tuesday may look something like this: 7:00 AM- wake up 8:00 AM-3:00 PM- school 4:00-6:00- cross country practice 7:30-9:30- homework and studying Create a Plan Now that you know how many hours per week you need to study, you can decide when you’re going to study based on the time that you currently have available. Write your intended study hours into your typed out weekly schedule. Print out your plan. You can even print out multiple copies and place them where you'll regularly see them. Looking at your intended schedule will remind you of when you need to study, help you commit your schedule to memory, and motivate you to stay on task. Let's add some study time into the hypothetical Tuesday schedule I made: 7:00 AM- wake up 8:00 AM-3:00 PM- school 4:00 PM-6:00 PM- cross country practice 7:30-9:30 PM- homework 10:00-:30 PM- SAT studying This is a pretty challenging schedule. You'll be busy with only limited breaks from 7:00 AM-:30 PM. However, if you're disciplined and motivated, it's feasible to stick to this itinerary. If you're more of a morning person, you can wake up at 5:30 AM to do your SAT studying. Also, if you have to do 5 hours of studying per week, you may only have to schedule SAT/ACT studying for a couple of days. Furthermore, if you have more free time on the weekends, you can save the majority or all your studying for Saturdays and Sundays. Time for test prep! Hooray! Make Your Plan Doable When you create your study plan, be realistic and honest with yourself about what you're capable of doing. If your schedule includes studying for 12 hours on both Saturday and Sunday, you probably should make some adjustments. Even though you may have enough free time to study for 12 hours on Saturday and Sunday, you’re probably not going to have the energy or concentration to study for 24 hours every weekend. Similarly, if you have trouble waking up in the morning, you shouldn't schedule your SAT/ACT prep for 4:00 AM. You really want to create a schedule that you’re likely to stick to and will allow you to put in enough prep time to reach your target score. Unfortunately, it's possible that if you don't have much free time, you'll have to create a schedule that's less than ideal. However, you still want to create the most realistic possible schedule. Share Your Plan For accountability, I recommend sharing your plan with those who are willing to help you stick to it. If your parents, siblings, or close friends know your intended schedule, they can encourage and push you when they know it’s time for you to do your SAT/ACT prep. If you try to deviate from your schedule, you’ll have other people to remind you of your goals and what you should be doing. Keep in mind, though, that you'll be most likely to achieve your goals if you're primarily self-motivated. Evaluate and Adjust Your Plan Regularly During the first week or two of your study plan, keep track of how well you’re doing and how well your plan is working for you. If the plan you created seems too difficult for you to maintain, then you may need to adjust it so that it’s easier for you. If you have to make adjustments, do your best not to sacrifice study time you need to reach your target score. Ideally, you'll be able to move your studying to times that work better for you. If your extracurricular activity or work schedule changes after you start your study plan, you may have to alter your prep time accordingly. Also, make sure that your SAT/ACT prep isn't getting in the way of your schoolwork. If your current prep plan is preventing you from finishing your homework or studying for school, then you'll have to make changes. You don't want to sacrifice your grades to reach your target score. In fact, generally, your grades are more important to colleges than your test scores. If your plan isn't working, change it. How to Stay Motivated Perhaps the biggest challenge to successfully balancing school with your test prep is maintaining your motivation up until test day. Many students are able to stick to their plan for a week or two, but they start to slip and neglect their test prep over time. Your study plan will only be effective if you stick to it up until test day. Trust me that I understand the challenges of maintaining your plan. I wasn't a perfect student, and I realize that you'll be tempted to stray from your plan when you'd rather be doing anything other than test prep. I've already mentioned a few tips like printing out your plan and sharing it to help stay on track. Here are some more strategies for you to make the best use of your study time and stay engaged throughout the study process. Set Smaller Goals for Motivation Remember that the number of hours you’re studying is only one part of the equation to reaching your target score. You need to make sure that you’re focused when you’re studying and studying efficiently. Set goals for yourself for each study session and on a weekly basis. For example, if during one of your study sessions, you’re trying to improve on transition questions on SAT Writing, you can set a goal of reviewing my article on transitions and then getting at least 9/10 transition questions right from SAT practice tests. Similarly, you could also set a goal for the week of raising your ACT Science score by two points from your last practice test. Then, you can focus your studying for the week on improving your content weaknesses and doing practice problems. At the end of the week, you can do a complete ACT Science section under test conditions, and hopefully, you’ll be able to achieve your goal. Leave Time for Fun In trying to balance school with your test prep, realize that outside of school, test prep, and your extracurricular activities, you should be having some fun and leisure time. All work and no play is sad, and you’re going to have a difficult time maintaining motivation if you’re not emotionally healthy. Furthermore, you should be enjoying your youth, spending time with your friends and family, and creating memories that you’ll probably look back on more fondly than your SAT/ACT prep. When you create your prep schedule, try not to have every minute of your day devoted to your studies or other obligations. It’s not terrible to spend a few hours per week engaged in fun activities that may not directly help you get into the college of your dreams. It might be time for a bouncy castle break. (Catrin Austin/Flickr) Reward Yourself Following all of the tips in this article (other than having fun) isn’t easy. Just reading this article is indicative of your determination and willingness to make sacrifices to achieve your goals. I’m a big believer in positive reinforcement. If you meet one of your daily or weekly goals, feel free to reward yourself for your hard work. You deserve it, and you can use your rewards as further motivation to reach your goals. If you reach your goal of improving your SAT Math section score by 50 points from the previous week, maybe you can reward yourself by going to see a movie you’ve been wanting to check out or spending an hour posting stories on Snapchat (isn’t that what the kids do these days?). Final Points Balancing school with your test prep isn’t easy, but it’s possible if you’re diligent, organized, and plan effectively. If you need help with motivation, organization, or holding yourself accountable, you may greatly benefit from a test prep program like PrepScholar. PrepScholar will help you identify your content weaknesses, inform you (and your parents) how much time you spend studying on a weekly basis, and it will organize your practice so that you’re able to reach your target score efficiently. What's Next? Are you getting ready for the SAT? Figure out the best way to study. Are you planning to take the ACT? Learn how to study. Are you plagued by test anxiety? Find out how to overcome test anxiety to get your target score. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

The strategic plan for NyShy Home Health Services Assignment

The strategic plan for NyShy Home Health Services - Assignment Example Moreover, the plan also has highlighted various organizational objectives including functional tactics, milestone tasks and implementations along with risk factors and their mitigating actions. Furthermore, the paper intends to highlight different challenging factors during the process of serving mentally challenged old age group people. Company Background, Organizational Mission, Vision, and Value Statements NyShy Home Health Services (NyShy) is well-known for associating the healthcare assistance services to the senior citizens above the age group of 50 years. The organization facilitates its intensive healthcare services for the people who are facing challenges in terms of behavioral and mental illness. The services of NyShy will be focused on providing homemaking assisting programs along with medical supports in a continual process for each person suffering from mental and behavioral ailments. ... The workforce of the organization will be associated with qualitative and interdisciplinary etiquettes in terms of serving each client under the operational process of NyShy. Organizational Mission, Vision, and Value Statements The mission, vision, and value statements of an organization encourage or draw its customers to be loyal towards the corporation for sustaining long-term commitment to be served by the products and/or services rendered by the company. Mission, vision and value statements can be considered as the major elements for the organization not only for the strategic plan purpose but they also enable to define the path that should be followed by the entire company. These also enable to provide a declaration of guiding principles for identifying the future steps that could be taken by the organization (Greer, 2012). An appropriate mission and vision statements along with effective value statement of an organization comprise encouraging aspects to increase the quality of the services that are rendered (McLeod, 2004). With this concern, the mission, vision and value of NyShy will be focused on transparent objectives for both the employees of the organization and its clients. The staff of the organization will be employed according to their quality and capability to serve the clients efficiently which reflects the enacted excellence of the mission, vision and value of NyShy. The mission, vision and value of NyShy is to deliver optimal healthcare service to each individual with extensive care from its workforce and the organization will also envision to be one of the leading healthcare service providers in offering community based mental healthcare programs/treatments. Moreover, the organization will be highly focused on the validation of mission, vision

An Examination of Outsiders in Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford and North Essay

An Examination of Outsiders in Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford and North and South - Essay Example In Cranford, the outsiders and their relationship to the central characters are depicted with gentle satire and humor. Human foibles are examined with compassion and the tale holds out the promise of redemption. With typical narrative skill, Gaskell highlights the characteristics that mark both groups as unique in their own right and cleverly demonstrates the benefits to be enjoyed if their differences are ironed out. However she does not stress this point and brings out how it is also possible for the two to exist independent of the other, without too much hostility, overt or otherwise. In North and South, the role of outsiders is handled on a more solemn note, in keeping with the gravity of the subject matter. Gaskell reveals a thorough grasp of the situation as she depicts the painful antagonism that characterizes the mental framework of the outsiders and the inevitability of open conflict. Human existence itself becomes fragile under the oppressive, all - pervasive atmosphere of ill - concealed hatred, intolerance and mutual fear. She emphasizes the absolute need for reconciliation between the warring factions and the need for peaceful co - existence, improved communication channels, tolerance and better understanding. The novel reveals how such a ceasefire is not only possible but imperative in order to ensure better living conditions for all concerned. The difference in the depiction of outsiders in both the novels lies largely in the stronger stand she adopts in the latter. A thorough analysis of this subject helps one better understand the nature of the differences in the portrayal of outsiders and is likely to result in a better understanding of the content, themes and the narrative techniques employed, which in turn makes the reading experience far more rewarding and enriching. A Study of Outsiders in Cranford At the very onset of the text it is possible to identify the outsiders. Gaskell says, "Cranford is in possession of the Amazons; all the holders of houses, above a certain rent, are women In short, whatever does become of the gentlemen, they are not at Cranford" (1). Thereafter, men who arrive on the scene are perceived as the outsiders on account of their gender. From this point Gaskell sketches the peculiarities and peccadilloes that are the defining characteristics of both sexes with particular attention to the female sex. The traits unique to both sexes are seldom disparaged but often celebrated. Like the mythological Amazons, the women of Cranford had for the most part excluded men from their lives and are remarkably self - sufficient. However unlike their mythical counterparts they refrain from killing men, but do not baulk at driving them away by the sheer strength of their disapproval and superior numbers. Therefore the women are the central characters in Cranford; however despite the fact that theirs is a secluded community, insulated from the rest of the world, they cannot keep out men from their lives. Therefore male characters make their appearance at regular intervals for better or for worse and are essential elements of the plot. The community at Cranford is a close - knit one, where the genteel ladies are well established in their ways and are accustomed to the monotony of their uneventful lives. The ladies are used to each other's eccentricities and they take

Developing Communicative Competence In Foreign Language Students English Language Essay

Developing Communicative Competence In Foreign Language Students English Language Essay Corbett states that it has been commonly recognised in the language teaching profession that it is not enough for students to master grammar, lexis and phonology of a foreign language; they must also acquire the ability to use the language culturally and socially in appropriate ways. According to Michael (1997), learning about foreign cultures cannot nowadays be realistically separated from , therefore it is very important that foreign language learners become aware of both their own culture and that of others. Michael (1997) adds that recent publications introduced the communicative approach as a method of teaching, and hail it as the most widely accepted instructional framework in foreign language teaching, the ultimate goal of which must be to increase students communicative competence. Communicative competence means being able to use a linguistic system appropriately and effectively in the target language and culture. Recent publications emphasise the significance of the intercul tural dimension in language teaching because it helps language learners to communicate or interact with people of other languages and to be aware of their own identities and those of their interlocutors. According to Fred (1996), language learners who become intercultural speakers will be successful in communicating information and also in developing human relationships with individuals of other cultures and languages. Thus, this essay aims to demonstrate that concept of intercultural communicative competence can improve teachers classroom practices and that students can acquire communicative competence whilst being taught the four basic language skills. According to Rus (2003), developing intercultural communication in language teaching means identifying the following aims: firstly, to give students intercultural competence and linguistic competence; secondly, to prepare them for interaction with speakers of other cultures; thirdly, to enable them to accept and understand individuals from other societies as individuals with other distinctive values, behaviours and perspectives; and finally, to help them view such interaction in a positive light. This essay will first present a literature review, which offers definitions of intercultural communication and the importance of studying it in language teaching, communicative competence and intercultural communicative competence. It will then show how foreign students can improve their intercultural competence through learning the four basic skills. It will then conclude its findings. 2. Literature review 2.1 Intercultural communication and its importance in language teaching William (2003:132) defines intercultural communication as the exchange of cultural information between two groups of people with significantly different cultures. Jandt (1998: 36) also defines intercultural communication as face to face interactions amongst individuals of different cultures. Maletzke (1976:39) is a little more specific in his definition of intercultural communication when he describes it as a process of the exchange of meaning and thoughts between individuals of diverse cultures. Brislin (1986) pointed out that the increasing globalization and growth in international trade during the 21st century have made intercultural interaction with other languages and cultures inevitable and necessary (do you mean 20th century? Writing in 1986 means he only has experience of 20th century!). Michael (1997) found that most countries in the world are in contact, cooperate and exchange information with other countries more frequently than ever before. Nevertheless, difficulties do a rise once more in-depth intercultural interactions start to occur. Individuals from one country will naturally be accustomed to doing things in certain ways; this is inevitable. However, customs and behavioural patterns deemed appropriate in one country may be highly inappropriate in other countries. For instance, in several Asian countries, if a guest is invited for a meal to another familys house and he / she leaves immediately after the everyone has finished eating, the host might think that not enough food was served. If a guest were however to leave immediately the meal has ended in many American countries, this would be considered very rude behaviour and the host would think the guest has only come for the food and not the company (Brislin, 1990: 6) (both of your stories are similar in that the host is left thinking negative thoughts about the guest, it doesnt illustrate your point very well). Some countries have strict codes of public conduct and foreigners may inadvertently cause offence through their ignorance. Difficulties are therefore likely to occur during the interactions between individuals from two diverse societies, particularly when neither has an awareness of the others society. In order to make the interactions more effective and easier, intercultural communication should be studied in language teaching. As Rohrlich (1987) points out, intercultural communication studies helps people to understand not only the world in which they are living but also themselves. Moreover, it plays an essential function in many areas of the community, such as government, education and business. (this is a bit woolly) Communicative competence and intercultural communicative competence Foreign language teaching had language competence as its main goal before the appearance of the communicative language teaching approach. Methods like the audio-lingual method concentrated on the language competence of the learners. Hymes (1972) criticized the concept of Chomskys language competence and he put communicative competence ahead of it. This had a powerful effect on foreign language teaching and became one of the crucial theories of the Communicative Approach that was fashionable in the 1970s and 1980s. Bennett Allen (2003:244) state that foreign language students need the ability to relate appropriately and effectively in a variety of cultural contexts. Thus, the purpose of foreign language teaching is not merely help students to acquire language competence as well as communicative competence; it should be promoting intercultural competence ahead of language and communication, which could be considered less important elements of a culture. (I think much of what youve written in this next paragraph has been taken from various sources, some of the English is quite complicated and does not always make sense out of context. I would suggest you try and put some of it into direct quotes and give the sources) Pinto (2002) states that in a foreign language teaching context, intercultural competence is directly related to communicative competence in that intercultural competence builds on communicative competence and broadens it to incorporate intercultural competence. Communicative competence refers to the ability and skills of an individual to act appropriately in a foreign language environment, i.e. in a pragmatically, linguistically and sociolinguistically way. Byram (2000) explains that an individual with several degrees of intercultural competence (explain please) is able to see the relationships between diverse cultures, both external and internal, and is capable to mediate each in terms of the other, either for themselv es or for others. He has an analytical or critical understanding of (parts of) his own and other cultures, and he is conscious of his own perspective and of the way his thinking is culturally decided. Sercu (2005) suggests that for an individual to be able to successfully deal with different intercultural experiences, he / she needs a variety of recognizable intercultural competences such as the willingness to get involved with a foreign society, a strong self-awareness, the ability to view oneself objectively, the ability to see the world through the eyes of others and to cope with uncertainty, to act as a cultural mediator, to evaluate others viewpoints, to consciously use the skills of culture learning to read the cultural context, and the understanding that people cannot be reduced to their collective identities. Sercu goes on to classify different elements of intercultural competence under three main headings: behaviour / skills, knowledge and traits / attitudes. To interact ef fectively, speakers with intercultural competence should have culture specific and culture general knowledge, knowledge of the self and others, and an insight into ways in which culture can influence language and communication. Certain skills are also required of effective communicators and these include the abilities to relate and interpret, to interact and discover, to operate and acquire a new knowledge, skills and attitudes under the restrictions (constraints) of real-time interaction and communication and metacognitive strategies to guide (direct) own learning youve lost me here! The third element concentrates on traits or attitudes common to successful communicators. These include a predeliction towards learning intercultural competence, the inclination to to relativise oneself and value othersand a favourable disposition towards engaging with a foreign society. Text missing here words believes that intercultural competence requires culturally sensitive knowledge, a skill set and a motivated mindset. Also, Bennett ( 2003: 237) stresses that intercultural competence refers to the general ability to transcend ethnocentrism, appreciate other cultures and generate appropriate behaviour in one or more different cultures. Developing intercultural communicative competence through the four basic language skills Students learning English typically engage with a number of activities that encourage their use of the four main language skills: speaking, listening, writing and reading. These skills aim to develop their communicative competence, but can also encourage their cross-cultural awareness and understanding. Listening activities Pinto (2002) suggests a variety of listening activities: tape-recorded interviews with native speakers; video-taped cultural conversations; video- or audio-taped cultural misunderstandings, all of which encourage listening skills but with a particular focus on intercultural competence. Tape-recorded interviews with native speakers White (2006) states that this activity is a particularly useful activity for practising intercultural competence. Teachers divide students into groups and ask them to record an informal interview with a native speaker they know. Students should select a cultural topic and prepare some questions for the interview on that topic (an example would be good!). In the class, the interviews are re-played and students compare the interviewees opinion on the particular topic with their own opinion. These spontaneously recorded conversations present two advantages. Firstly, they give students the opportunity to listen to naturally, unrehearsed spoken language while they listen to the answers of the native speaker, something that is difficult to find in scripted classroom material. Secondly, in hearing themselves posing the questions on the tape, they are made aware of any pronunciation, intonation, vocabulary and grammar problems they might have. A teacher might also use other recorded material such as jokes, anecdotes, or songs from films in the target culture to help students feel closer to the target culture and to give them examples of how to communicate more naturally. Video-taped cultural conversations The students watch a video sketch where two persons of diverse cultures are discussing topics about the culture on which the project is based. One of them is from the target culture while the other is from students own culture. The instructor plans pre-listening, while-listening and post-listening questions to stimulate the students inter-cultural awareness and promote their listening skills. For instance, learners could ask some questions in a pre-listening stage to predict the views of the two people on the topic in question. During the listening process, the teacher could ask students to reject, refine or confirm the predictions made earlier. At the post-listening stage, the teacher could ask learners to give a critique of the opinion of the person from the target culture. After the discussion on the content is complete, students could spend some time discussing the different ways in which the two actors interacted: differences in their intonation, the use of pauses or periods of silence and non-verbal communication elements such as facial expressions, eye contact, body movements and so on. Video or audio-taped intercultural misunderstanding According to Lynch and Mendelsohn (2002), this kind of activity is useful in honing students awareness of cultural diversities. Students could be asked to listen to / and or watch a situation, which demonstrates an intercultural misunderstanding in a real-life situation where individuals are offended or confused. The students then pair up or work in small groups in order to explain or clarify the misunderstanding, thus increasing their intercultural awareness. (this is a bit woolly, an example would help explain it better) Speaking activities Michael (1997) describes several activities that could be designed by a teacher for students to assist in developing speaking skills with a special focus on intercultural components. These include face-to-face tandem learning, thinking up questions for a native speaker and role-playing. 1. Face-to-face tandem learning, or collaborative oral learning between speakers of different languages, is an activity especially appropriate to developing the intercultural communicative competence of foreign learners according to Fred (2002). A great example of tandem learning is the Erasmus plan that involves learner exchanges between the European Union countries. Students in one country are partnered with students in another. Once students have got to know their partners, the teachers arrange for them to engage in face-to-face discussions on particular cultural topics. Students are asked to tape-record all of their discussions and must also prepare an oral report on the specific topic. In preparing an oral report, students are being given the opportunity to reflect on the topic in more detail and practise their speaking skills. 2. Omaggio (2001) suggests that thinking up questions for a visiting native speaker is an interesting and productive activity. Students work in groups to formulate questions that they then use to interview the native speaker. Questions must be relevant to a particular topic such as education, politics or eating habits in the native speakers country. This activity can help foreign learners to get an insight into life in a foreign country thus minimising cultural shock when the students travel abroad. 3. (This next section is not very clear, you dont define speech act, you only talk about speech acts, no other sort of role-playing etc) According to Lanzaron (2001), role-playing is a good activity for highlighting cultural differences in speech such as, suggesting, complimenting and apologizing. Olshtain Cohen (1995) identify five stages in the process for the teaching of speech acts. The teacher should firstly assess the students level of speech act awareness. Secondly, the teacher provides some examples of the speech act in question, namely model dialogues and the students must guess the details, for example the relationship between the participants, their social status and the importance / relevance of the particular speech act. In the third stage, students are given a number of characteristic situations in the target society and they must establish how contextual variables influence the selection of the linguistic form of the speech act. During the fourth stage, students act o ut the speech act in a role-playing situation. Olshtain Cohen (1995) emphasise the need to provide students with lots of information and details about the role-relationship between the communicators and also about the situation. The role-playing session is followed by feedback and additional discussions and in this final stage, foreign students are brought to an awareness of the similarities and differences between speech act behaviours in their own culture and in the target culture. Shumin (2002) suggests that non-verbal videos could also be played in the classroom and students would describe or act out what they see. This activity is particularly useful for drawing students attention to important role that body language plays in communication in general, and specifically in the target language. Similarly, acting out short scenes from films or documentaries or pictures can be used to highlight a given cultural topic and encourage further discussion. Reading activities There are several different kinds of classroom activity that can be used by teachers for developing foreign students reading skills to include an intercultural component. These include critical reading, cultural bump activities and activities that place an emphasis on cultural extensive reading or written genres (not well explained). 1. According to Williams (2001), critical reading is reading a text in order to comment on it critically. This is a reflective activity, useful for promoting intercultural competence of learners while they practise their reading skills. Celce-Murcia Olshtain (2000) propose that in performing this activity, the common framework, which allows for pre-reading, during-reading and post-reading instruction, could be of help. For instance, a pre-reading activity could see a teacher asking foreign students to preview the passage and make a judgement as to whether the identified content is representative of their own culture or of the target culture. In the while-reading activity, the teacher could ask the students to not only discuss what is written but to also look at how the passage is describing the given topic. Finally, in the post-reading activity, students could be asked whether or not they think the content of the text would be different if it were to have been read by another reader or written by another writer in a different cultural context. 2. A culture bump is used to describe a situation where an individual from one culture finds himself or herself in a different, strange, or uncomfortable situation when interacting with persons of a different culture. Day Bamford (1998) suggest that teachers can use cultural bump situations as a means to educating students in the ways of another culture. This could be done by getting students to read about such a situation and follow this with a selection of written explanations of the behaviour of the individuals involved in the situation in multiple-choice format. The students can discuss these in order to arrive at an explanation for the bump. These discussions can increase students awareness of cultural differences and increase their tolerance of other types of behaviours. 3. Williams (2001) found that the examination of written genres is a useful activity for foreign students. He suggests that students are asked to analyse two written texts of similar genres but from different cultures, for example, an advice column in a daily newspaper. Students can gain a useful insight into the different ways everyday concerns are dealt with in different cultural contexts. Celce-Murcia Olshtain (2000) suggest that teachers could scramble the sentences of a cultural anecdote and ask their students are asked to put the anecdote back into the correct sequence. This type of activity is a beneficial one as it helps learners to establish and solve organizational problems in a given text (not sure this is of use, or maybe it needs more explanation?) Writing activities There are a variety of writing activities such as tandem email learning, inventing stories and story continuation, all of which can promote foreign students writing skills with a special focus on the intercultural component. 1. According to Dodd (2001), tandem email learning activities is considered to be an effective learning activity because it develops cross-cultural dialogue and engages learners in extended writing in a motivational way. Students learning English are offered native English speaking email contacts and they go on to develop the relationship whilst practising their writing skills. This benefits both parties as both are learning about the others language and culture. The teacher could further promote this by asking students to bring in some of the email exchanges in printed format and to present a short report on the exchange, with particular emphasis on what has been learned. 2. According to Omaggio (2001), inventing stories can be used to promote the cultural imagination of learners through writing. The teacher collects several magazines and chooses a number of pictures, which show people in the target culture in strange situations. Students are then split into small working groups and each group should describe what they see in their picture. They should also make some educated guesses as to what is happening in the picture. Each group then shows the picture and presents their findings to the class as a whole. The other class members then have the opportunity to agree or disagree with the groups interpretation. 3. Story continuation could be used to develop understanding of cultural differences. The teacher should choose passages, which ideally are narrative texts with varied paragraphs leading the reader towards a cultural misunderstanding. Having let the students read the first part of the text, the teacher then encourages them to continue in their own words. Students can then compare their results with the original text. (this is very vague, an example would help, any quotes you can use?) Conclusion Intercultural communication is communication in all its forms between individuals or groups from different cultures. Hitherto, foreign language teaching sought to develop linguistic competence whereas now, the major goal of foreign language teaching is to develop students intercultural communicative competence. Teaching the four basic language skills with intercultural communication competence as the main focus ensures that students are taught to communicate appropriately and fluently in the target language and culture. It also ensures they can interact appropriately with people from other countries in real life. The teaching activities as described above, all of which encourage intercultural communication, ensure that students are equipped with not only useful background information, but the skills required for intercultural communication, such that they can use the target language in a native way.