Reading

4th Semester

Ta-Nehisi Coates - Between the World and Me

This book is definitely a valuable contribution since it is full of difficult words and the style is not very understandable. Coates' book is dealing with a fairly difficult motive and that is Racism. Vocabulary connected with this topic is very specific and is not usually taught. 

I must admit that I have to read several passages twice or three times since it was sometimes incomprehensible for me, but despite that, I am glad I have read this book because I was another challenge I succeeded in. It could be interesting to note that whole book is written as a letter. 

I don't know if you remember how the film we saw at the Petersburg battlefield ended as though the fall of the Confederacy were the onset of a tragedy, not jubilee. I doubt you remember the man on our tour dressed in the grey wool of the Confederacy, or how every visitor seemed most interested in flanking manoeuvres, hardtack, smooth-bore rifles, grapeshot, but virtually no one was interested in what all of this engineering, invention and design had been marshalled to achieve. You were only 10 years old. But even then I knew that must trouble you, and this meant taking you into rooms where people would insult your intelligence, where thieves would try to enlist you in your own robbery and disguise their burning and looting as Christian charity. But robbery is what this is, what it always was.

Article submitted on  24.4.2017


 Michelle Alexander - The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

This book further exploits the issue of racism. It is immensely difficult for someone who is not familiar with the terminology but at the same time extremely enriching because every third word is advanced and needs to be searched for using the vocabulary. This book deals with a specific issue and as evidence focuses on court cases and legal documents, which is extremely demanding for an English learner no matter how advanced he is. 

How did I cope with this book? I am quite surprised I read it until the end. It was extremely hard for me to understand - the topic was very hard and serious and needed at leat some background information to be fully understood. But I managed, it was an extreme challenge for me, but luckily our professor was there to clarify any problems we had with this text.  


In the years [from 1982 to 1991], the Court has heard argument in 30 Fourth Amendment cases involving narcotics. In all but one, the government was the petitioner. All save two involved a search or seizure without a warrant or with a defective warrant. And, in all except three, the Court upheld the constitutionality of the search or seizure. In the meantime, the flow of narcotics cases through the courts has steadily and dramatically increased. No impartial observer could criticize this Court for hindering the progress of the war on drugs. On the contrary, decisions like the one the Court makes today will support the conclusion that this Court has become a loyal foot soldier in the Executive's fight against crime 

Article submitted on 24.4.2017 


3 semester

Andrzej Sapkowski - Witcher - The Last wish

Why do I think, this is a valuable contribution? This book was originally written in Polish, but I have chosen the English translation. It was very demanding. The language is very colourful and very raw. There are several expressions of killing somebody, with a detailed description. Moreover, there are several dialects and it was hard to understand the pattern in their speech.

The book was very difficult, but still very enjoyable. The topic is one of my favourites, so the difficulty was not a problem, I tried my best to understand everything. Still, I had to look up the meaning of some words because I wasn´t sure what it was. I found the language used very pleasing.

"You've a right to believe that we're governed by Nature and the hidden Force within her. You can think that the gods, including my Melitele, are merely a personification of this power invented for simpletons so they can understand it better, accept its existence. According to you, that power is blind. But for me, Geralt, faith allows you to expect what my goddess personifies from nature: order, law, goodness. And hope."

Article submitted on 17.10.2016





University textbook on British History

The main part when preparing for my British History exam was re-reading the materials given to us by Mr. Janík.

Why do I think this is a valuable contribution? The textbook is very extensive and contains many difficult expressions, closely connected to history. It is written solely in English and sometimes contains citations of famous people. It was hard to understand it at first because I am not generally interested in history and therefore I am not familiar with the vocabulary and expressions. It is also valuable example because it is a work I would not normally read. Moreover, I learned very much about British history.

As I said before, reading this textbook was very challenging. Even more so, because I am not interested in history. Yet, having read this piece, I now can hold a conversation about British History and use the vocabulary accordingly.

Example from the book: Causewayed camps - These are some of the oldest remains in the English landscape, dating from around 3500 B.C. They consist of a series of from one to four concentric rings of banks and ditches enclosing an area up to 9 hectares. The ditches are bridged by ramps of earth, or causeways, in several places, sometimes with corresponding gaps in the banks to form an obvious place of entry. In a masterful attempt at confusion, archaeologists have named these enclosures "camps", which they aren't. In only one case out of a score of these camps is there any evidence of even a temporary dwelling within the enclosed space.What were they used for, then? Probably as a multi-purpose gathering place, combining the functions of livestock pen, trading centre, church, feasting area, and ceremonial arena. Unfortunately, the causewayed camps, most of which have been found in south and west England, are generally unspectacular to visit, and have often been appropriated for other uses by future generations, making it difficult to get a sense of their original state. The best preserved and perhaps the most important camp archaeologically, is Windmill Hill, near Avebury in Wiltshire

Article submitted on: 3.10.2016


1 and 2 semester

Harry Potter

The first artifact I would like to present is a book. To be concrete it is the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer´s stone. The last time I have read this book  was shortly after my translation which took place on the 29 of April. 

Why do I think this book is a valuable contribution? It is written in Brittish English, which is the one I am aiming to acquire. Reading this book showed me where and how to use Brittish expressions -like "rubbish", and "bloody hell". Actually, the whole Harry Potter series reeks with Brittish culture and when you notice the subtle hints, you can get a nice idea how it works in there.   Moreover, there is a great amount of variety between words. One word is there expressed in more than 10 different ways, which is very valuable. This book improved my vocabulary and even showed me where I should use it. 

When I was reading the book for the first time, it was very challenging. For one thing, it was a paperback and therefore it had no built-in dictionary and it made the reading very slow and difficult. I tried to look up the words at first but that turned out to be non-efficient. As I was getting deeper in the book, I stopped using the dictionary and I usually went with my gut feeling and it turned out to be working.  Thanks to this experience I now know that it is not vital to know the exact translation of each word. 



Bi-literal brain 

When preparing for my presentation for Pj1A class, I have read a paper by Anne Mangen On how our brain changes styles of reading depending on what and where it reads. The full name of the study is Reading linear texts on paper versus computer screen: Effects on reading comprehension, this paper can be found on Researchgate.net

Why do I think this is a suitable example for my reading artifact?

This is a research paper and has everything a research paper should have.  There is a list of references, citations, notes, and tables. Overall it is written exactly how we should write our assignments ( Speaking of subject Academic style: writing and The Psychology of mental development.) This paper illustrates how our papers should look and it is a valuable illustration of researcher´s work. 

In spite of the difficult style I have enjoyed this paper since the topic is very gripping and informative.  The text is written in an academical style and it was very demanding to understand the meaning.  On the bright side, I have a very complex idea how my seminar assessments should look and how should the be constructed. Even though I fear that I won´t reach this level any time soon. 

For this particular text, I was forced to look many words up in the dictionary to understand the full meaning. 

Abstract

Objective: To explore effects of the technological interface on reading comprehension in a Norwegian school context.
Participants: 72 tenth graders from two different primary schools in Norway.
Method: The students were randomized into two groups, where the first group read two texts (1400 - 2000 words) in print, and the other group read the same texts as PDF on a computer screen. In addition pretests in reading comprehension, word reading and vocabulary were administered. A multiple regression analysis was carried out to investigate to what extent reading modality would influence the students' scores on the reading comprehension measure.
Conclusion: Main findings show that students who read texts in print scored significantly better on the reading comprehension test than students who read the texts digitally. Implications of these findings for policy making and test development are discussed.

Source:

Mangen, Anne, Kolbjorn Bronnick, and Bente R. Walgermo. "Reading Linear Texts on Paper versus Computer Screen: Effects on Reading Comprehension."International Journal of Educational Research 58 (2013): 61-68.Www.researchaget.net. 2 Dec. 2012. Web. 1 April 2016. 


Article submitted on 7.5.2016


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