SELF-ASSESSMENT

- WRITING A SUMMARY considensing large quantities of information into a shorter of the original text not only checks if you manage to summarize the text that you have read, but also tests your grammar knowledge.The biggest problem with summary writing is deciding what to include and that to leave out, grammar‘s mistakes as well.So I must admit that writing a summary was one of the most difficult tasks in this semester.
-PERFORMANCE IN ESP VOCABULARY TEST was not as challenging as previous semester. I have understood the texts quite well. On the other hand, my marks of this activity is quite bad, because of the reason that I can not remember all specific definitions of modules.
-LISTENING PRACTICE IN CLASS listening tasks were quite easy. I had a lot of practice at university and I have done podcastings at home, which helped me to improve my listening skills.On the other hand, listening practice in class tested my grammar knowledge, which were not so excellent.
-SHORT TALKS ON ESP THEMES IN CLASS was quite easy task for me. In my classes I learned how to organize my thoughts, speak clearly, focuse my message.
-MAKING POWER POINT PRESENTATION was interesting and fun activity. It is very useful to show your point in a manner people can see visually. Also,making power point presentation is a good way of showing presenter's supporting material in a way people can see, so it was very effective way to learn ESP.

SUMMARY " YOUR TRUE COLOURS"

The marketing world reacts to consumer reactions to colours. Food manufactures think that colour dyes make their products more fascinating.
Food without specific colour looks like unappetising. Moreover, researchers discover colour influence on nervous system. Experiments record that red colour evokes reactions of increased energy and hunger and blue colour evokes relaxation. Furthermore, red colour increased the appetite, but does not encourage customers to stay longer in the restaurants. Last, colour of the packet influence customers fascinating of the products.
Colours influence people reactions to products. Furthermore, colours play big rolle in the marketing and people world.

The most needed ability in everyday communication is skills of listening. Listening to podcasts helped me to improve my listening skills.
The first podcast which I have listened to was " Psychology of deal-making"(http://tinyurl.com/5wed3x). The second podcast I have listened to was named " Near-death experiences" (http://tinyurl.com/6d7fh3). I have enjoyed both podcasts, while :

· Topics of podcasts were interesting for me;
· The rates of speakings were slow, so I had ability to understand everything;
· I had ability to understand authentic speech clearly;
· I have listened my selected podcasts only one time;
· I have done some exercises which were useful for improving listening skills, for example: open-ended questions.

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Podcasting offers language learners extra listening practise , which helps to improve listening skills.

SELF-ASSESSMENT

- WRITING A SUMMARY taking large quantities of information, understanding what that information means and considensing it into a shorter of the original text wasn‘t very difficult, but the biggest problem with summary writing is deciding what to include and that to leave out, grammar‘s mistakes as well.
-PERFORMANCE IN ESP VOCABULARY TEST was very challenging as well as previous semester, because writing comprehension tests on modules takes so many time. Generally speaking, your performance in ESP depends on how long you have been mindful of your preparation.

-PERFORMANCE IN CLASS DICTATION improved my writing skills, even I have many troubles with that activity. I have made many grammatical and spelling errors, which is good because of the reason that I have had the opportunity to practice in comprehending and transcribing clear English language.

-LISTENING PRACTICE IN CLASS still looks very complicated activity. May be I am not very focused on my mind. Also the causer of my bad performance in this activity can be the time. I don‘t have many time to think about what I am hearing.

-LISTENING TO PEER’S POWER POINT PRESENTATIONS was very interesting activity, which improved my listening practice, I learned , handling and asking questions.
- MAKING POWER POINT PRESENTATIONS it was very effective way to learn ESP. improved my speaking skills. I learned clarity in speech and phrasing, linking and control language, timing interventions.

-SHORT TALKS ON ESP THEMES IN CLASS The biggest advantage of speaking in public is that it will increase your confidence in your abilities in other forms of communication. In my classes, I learned how to organize my thoughts, speak clearly, focuse my message.

Phobias

A phobia is an inappropriate sense of anxiety or fear triggered by exposure to a specific object or situation. People with phobias have a strong desire to avoid whatever it is that is causing their fears.

There are three main types of phobia: Specific or Simple phobias, Agoraphobia, Social phobia. Firstly, Specific or simple phobias are very common in children, where they are essentially thought of as normal. But some phobias carry on until adult life. These specific phobias can be divided up as fears of: animals, nature, blood, certain situations. Secondly, Agoraphobia means a fear of open spaces. However, it's often used to refer to a fear of being away from home and family, often because of worry about having a panic attack. Thirdly, Social phobia occurs when there is an excessive fear of social situations, such as small groups of people at parties.

There are several different theories about why phobias develop. They do seem to run in families. But how much this is to do with picking up phobias from your parents and how much is inherited through your genes is uncertain. Young babies seem to be naturally afraid of animals such as snakes and of heights for instance, even though they need to learn to be afraid of man-made objects such as guns. So there is probably a natural fear response that gave our ancestors a survival advantage. It's possible that when phobias develop this natural fear response has gone wrong. Sometimes the start of a phobia may be triggered by a stressful life event, such as bereavement, illness or divorce. It might be possible to avoid phobias by encouraging children to face up to feared situations rather than stay away from them. However, this doesn't always work.

The best way to get over a phobia is to expose yourself to the feared object or situation and to tolerate the anxiety until it starts to decrease. Some people find that they can do this on their own, perhaps with the help of self-help books, support groups and friends and family. Others may need professional help from a psychiatrist or other therapist. For many people, the best treatment for phobias is a treatment called behavioral therapy.
Behavioral therapy involves a one-to-one session with a therapist trained in treating phobias. During the sessions, you learn to tolerate the anxiety triggered by exposure with the help of relaxation techniques. For some people with social phobias, the best treatment is cognitive behavioral therapy. This involves exercises to alter the inappropriate patterns of thinking you have developed and the behavior that stems from them. Another way, how people can treat their phobias is medicines. However, treatment with medicines alone is usually not enough to treat your phobias effectively.

In the end, here are 10 well-known celebrities and famous historic figures who have had or currently have their own phobias : Johnny Depp - Clourophobia, fear or clowns; Sigmund Freud - Siderodromophobia, fear of train travel; Howard Hughes - Mysophobia, fear of germs; Marilyn Monroe - Agoraphobia, fear of public or open places; Billie Bob Thorton - Panophobia, fear of antique furniture; Alfred Hitchcock - Ovophobia, fear of eggs; Natalie Wood - Hydrophobia, fear of water. She died by drowning; John Madden - Aerophobia, fear of flying; Christina Ricci - Botanophobia, fear of indoor houseplants; Madonna - Brontophobia, fear of thunder.


http://www.medicinenet.com/phobias/article.htm
http://www.toptenz.net/10-famous-people-and-their-phobias.php

Richard Wiseman's Experiments

Richard Wiseman is Professor of the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. Wiseman started his professional life as a magician, before graduating in Psychology from University College London and obtaining a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Edinburgh.
Professor Wiseman is known for his luck, deception, humour, and the paranormal experiments. In addition, he is well known for designing and conducting mass-participation projects, including LaughLab, one of the world’s largest interactive experiments involving.

The most interesting experiment of all Richard Wiseman experiments is paranormal experiment – ghost photo, even it is very spooky. The picture appears to show a man or woman in a ruff peering out of a barred window at Tantallon Castle. No mannequins or costumed guides are employed at the castle, and three photographic experts have confirmed that no digital trickery was used on the photo. In addition, more than 250 pictures were received and more than a quarter of a million people voted for what they considered the most convincing. The Ghost in the Castle took first place.

Also, I have enjoyed Richard Wiseman‘s Psychology of Magic. Prof. Wiseman has utilised backgrounds in magic to gain unique access to leading international magicians, interviewing them about the psychology used to create and perform magic.
The results of this work revealed how psychology plays an important role in the performance of magic, including, for example, ways in which magicians manipulate an audience’s attention and reduce suspicion at key moments during a performance.


In conclusion, Richard Wiseman is one of the greatest up-to-date psychologist, who takes a big part in nowadays experiments.

LEARNING LANGUAGES

Learning to speak, read and write a language fluently is very useful and possible, on your own or with specialists help. Some basic principles are fundamental if you want to do useful work.

Firstly, you have to want to learn the language, not just wish. It's no magic power of the will, just that you will have to study on your own for some months, and everything will rest in your hands. You have to be very motivated to learn new language.

Secondly, you have to read, listen to radio, watch TV in that language, which you want to learn. There are thousands of resources on the Internet, hundreds of magazines and newspapers where you can see your language "live" and confront your skills.

Thirdly, you have to find people you speak your language, be it trough travel, ads, local community centers, or whatever other mean. Speak with them, listen to what they say. Also, you should not be happy with being understood. It's easy to be understood and you will not command respect from the people you talk to if you speak to them in what will look to them like baby talk. Instead, you should always try to make your pronunciation perfect, including intonations. When you make a mistake, insist to be corrected and write the correct phrase.

Fourthly, you have to find specialist who can help you in language learning. Specialists can help you to develop good learning methods, give practice in different types of tasks, in pronunciation, regular tests. Specialist can revise all major areas of grammar thoroughly and give plenty of practice in speaking.

‚He who learns but does not think, is lost He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger‘- Confucius. This Confucius saying seems to suggest that we should enjoy learning for its own sake, that almost every situation in life gives us the opportunity to learn something.

References: http://www.everyday-taichi.com/confucius-sayings.html