The article is about how Google tries to influence opinion.
How might Google do this?
Why might Google do this?
How effective is it?
What is your range of linguistic choice for the gapped-combinations below?
“Google uses its (1)________wealth and power to attempt to influence policymakers at every level,” said Daniel Stevens, CfA executive director. “At a minimum, regulators should be aware that the (2)___________ independent legal and academic work on which they rely has been brought to them by Google.”
Google described the report as “highly (3)__________” as it included any work supported by any organisation to which it has ever donated money.
As well as reading the article in the link below, read through the comments and find 4 + that you find (interesting, strange, new, stupid, insightful… etc)
Which other companies may be trying not to pay backtaxes?
If Google didn’t pay tax in FRance, where did it pay tax in Europe?
Google (1)_____ $.127 billion bill for back taxes in France ………………………….
Court ruling comes after six-year (2)___________with French tax authority over taxes due for years 2005 to 2010, and could have big implications for (3)___________________________________. ………………………………
The court added that Google France doesn’t have the human resources or the technical means to allow it to carry out the (4)_____________advertising services on its own…………………………………………….
Read the report below from Microsoft’s 2016 annual report. Think about as many words as you can for each gap. When you finish click on the link below
I’m proud of the progress we’ve made as a company this past year and (1)__________ )about the opportunity for even more progress in the year ahead. We’ve advanced our mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to (2) ___________ more. We’ve continued to cultivate a Microsoft (3)______________ in which people connect their individual energies and passions for technology to this mission. We’re leading profound digital transformation both for people and institutions. We’ve (4)____________ strong financial results. And we’re building a (5)____________foundation for an even brighter future.
We generated (6) $______ billion in revenue. These results reflect exciting new product innovations as well as increases in customer usage and engagement across our businesses.
……………………………………….
The next generation of ubiquitous computing and ambient intelligence is going to transform every life, every industry, and every country.
What this means for organizations is that Microsoft is their partner in digital transformation – engaging (7) _________, empowering employees, (8)_____________operations, and transforming products.
Here is a linkto an anki deck that has flashcards for the “motivation ” topic. The cards are linked to the questions in the ” ☯active thinking, listening, noticing and speaking section ☯
⛏ Building and activating topic related vocabulary ⛏
In the link below there are two boxes, a vocabulary box and an exam questions box. After clicking on the link, look through the questions in the vocabulary box. If you see an epxression in a question that you want to activate, make a note of it in your “to activate” list and then ask yourself the question and answer it out loud, or make a video of yourself doing so.
☯ activethinking ☛ activelistening ☛ activenoticing ☛ active speaking ☯
On the link below you will find 4 questions related to motivation and an example for each. Rather than just “listening and noting new words”, the following activites will help you
generate your own ideas and react to others (this is what langugae is for!!)
become aware of your linguistic choice at the moment
help you choose specific expressions that you want to activate
help you develop the habit of speaking more and using this speaking opportunity to activate recently noted expressions
so…
before clicking here to access the 4 questions and examples, read through the 10 steps below so you can then follow them.
Your ideas and linguistic choice (LC) before listening
think about your ideas to the question
answer the question out loud and record yourself doing it (video or sound)
listen to / watch the recording and make a note of your active linguistic choice “before” listening, then……..
Listening, reacting and learning4
listen to the example answer once to compare ideas
listen again (pausing and repeating) where necessary to make a note of expressions used that you like and want to activate
click on the green button to fill in the gaps in the text of the example answer
listen again to check
again make a note of expressions you would like to activate
Post-listeing: Speaking to activate
Do one or both of the following…
Look at the expressions that you noted and identify the speaker’s ideas in the text that the expressions are in. Think about your opinion / reaction to these ideas,paying attention to linguistic choice. Then make a video in which you re-tell these ideas (activating the expressions you wanted to activate) and giving your own opinion on these ideas (re–activating the expressions where possible)
Look at the question and again think of your own ideas to answer the question. When you have your ideas, plan how you can activate expressions from your “to activate list” in your own answer. Then make a video of yourself giving your own answer and activating the expressions.
Video 1 ►
Your ideas before watching a video about leaders inspiring action
Why do you get out of bed in the morning?
What motivates you to choose the products you choose?
What inspiring leaders can you think of (business, politics, sport..)?
Can you see something common that makes them inspiring?
Now watch the video to compare ideas and pick out new ones
Building expressions
Go through the tapescript briefly and choose five expressions you would like to activate
React to the ideas (activate expressions)
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements (for each question, think of your ideas, then before answering look through your expressions from the previous and your “to activate” list in general to see if you can activate them)
if you hire people just because they can do a job, they’ll work for your money,but if they believe what you believe,they’ll work for you with blood and sweat and tears.
If you talk about what you believe,you will attract those who believe what you believe.
The goal is not just to sell to people who need what you have;the goal is to sell to people who believe what you believe.
The first 2.5% of our population are our innovators.The next 13.5% of our population are our early adopters.The next 34% are your early majority,your late majority and your laggards.
Dr. King believed that there are two types of laws in this world:those that are made by a higher authority and those that are made by men.And not until all the laws that are made by menare consistent with the laws made by the higher authoritywill we live in a just world.
We follow those who lead, not for them, but for ourselves.And it’s those who start with “why”that have the ability to inspire those around themor find others who inspire them.
Video 2 ►
Your ideas before watching the Professor talking about “getting yourself to work towards goals”
How conscientious are you / were you as a student? Who is the most industrious person you know? What makes them so industrious?
Do you set up aims for yourself?
The speaker mentions the big five personality groups. Read through them below and answer two questions
Are you in one or more of the groups?
How might being in one or another group affect what motivates you?
Neuroticism – A tendency to easily experience unpleasant emotions such as anxiety, anger, or depression.
Extroversion – Energy, surgency, and the tendency to seek stimulation and the company of others.
Agreeableness – A tendency to be compassionate and cooperative rather than suspicious and antagonistic towards others.
Conscientiousness – A tendency to show self-discipline, act dutifully, and aim for achievement.
Openness to experience – Appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, and unusual ideas; imaginative and curious.
What things do you value most in yor life (think about relationships, work, free time, possessions, health)?
The professor says “you won’t do what you tell yourself to do, you must have noticed that.” Hsa this ever been true for you? If no, then for someone you know? Why does it happen?
Now watch the video (from “Biology traits: performance and prediction) to compare your ideas and react to new ones
The Professor’s linguistic choice
Read through the sentences below and choose the word (in the brackets) that Peterson chose (both are correct English, but what was his linguistic choice to convey his idea). When finished check your answers at the end
“The more you (like / value) the end goal, the more the micro-processes conneceted with that end goal start to take on a postive charge
“You want to specify a goal that make so say “oh, if that could happen as a consequence of my efforts that would (probably / clearly) be worthwhile”
“(At university / At some stage) you should figure out who it is you’re trying to be and then you use everything you learn as a means building that.”
“It’s important to distinguish between between who you (want to / could)be and who you should be”
“People (usually / often) don’t like to specifiy goals because they don’t like to specify conditions for failure.”
“A schedule can be (very / indredibly) useful, so you should make a damn schedule and stick to it.”
“I ‘ve got tomorrow, if I was going to set it up to have the best possible day I could have , (honestely / practically) speaking, what would it look like?”
People can end up cracking the whip and then procrastinating because they do not think about what the right ratio of responsibility to reward is, which leads to them (tyrannizing / demotivating)themselves
Active reacting to linguistic choice
Keeping in mind his linguistic choice, to what extent do you agree / disagree with the above statements / advice?
Reflection on language use
Did you use any of the expressions you recently added to your “to activate list”?
Looking at your list, can you see where you could have activated more when reacting in the previous exercsie?
Extended speaking practice (more “activating” opportunites)
Go back to the page in the link below, only this time answer the questions in the “Exam speaking questions” box.
Answer without preparing first.
Record if possible.
Listen to yourself
If you’re not happy and want to improve your active LC, look through your “to activate list” and plan how you can activate expressions for the question then answer again.
Is the way maths is learnt in your country different from the way that people learn musical instruments or karate?
How important were / are test scores in your country?
Does the coming of the digital age mean we need to change education in our country?
What do you think a “mastery approach” to learning is?
Linguistic Choice
Each gap represents one missing word. How many different words can you think that could be the missing word
A lot of them were having trouble with math at first,because they had all of these gaps ______________in their learning
they’d get to a calculus class,and they’d be a little bit ____on the algebra
in a lot of ways, this is how you _____ master a lot of things in life.
the whole class will then ______ on to the next subject
I might be in an algebra class or trigonometry classand I hit a _____
it’s important to realizethat not only will this make the student learn their exponents better,but it’ll _______the right mindset muscles
a lot of skeptics _________ say, well, hey,
“What percentage of the population do you think is capableof ____mastering calculus
if we let people ____into their potentialby mastering concepts they can get there.
check the answers below
Reacting to the ideas with planned LC
Read through the questions below, before answering, think which expressions from the previous exercise you can activate when discussing the questions below. Feel free to also look back through your vocab book / the rest of Khan’s speech.
What points did Khan use the analogies of music / karate and later building a house to demonstrate? How effective are the analogies?
Do you agree that if someone gets a C in a subject it means they have a C branded in their DNA, or will they inevitably be able to improve if they work on it?
How important is grit when it comes to improving in different fields?
How effective do you think the mastery approach to learning is for things like developing a growth mindset, instillling grit or allowng children to take agency over their learning?
Do you agree that the logistics of implementing the mastery approach is doable nowadays? Does it depend on the subject?
Khan says it is imperative to implement such an approach due to the fact we’re entering a digital revolution. What reasons does he give? To what extent do you agree with his idea and reasoning?
Answers to Linguistic Choice (what Khan actually used)
accumulated
shaky
would
move on to
hit a wall
reinforce
might
truly
tap into
Further watching
below is another video about “fixed mindset versus growth mindset” in children. Think of 5 questions you think may be answered then watch the video
the next video is about schools killing creativity. What points raised in hte last two videos might be raised in the video below about how schools kill creativity?
You are going to watch a video in which Besos gives 10 pieces of advice about starting / running a business. Before watching, look at Amzaon’s top 10 core values and answer the question
“Which one (and only one) of these Amazon core values will be mentioned directly in the top 10 tips video?
Customer Obsession
Ownership
Invent and Simplify
Are Right, A Lot
Hire and Develop the Best
Insist on the Highest Standards
Think Big
Bias for Action
Frugality
Vocally Self Critical
Earn Trust of Others
Dive Deep
Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit
Deliver Results
Now watch and see
Affer watching
Which of the core values could be in some way at least connected with the tips?
Which pieces of advice are the best in your opinion?
The newspaper article (from the Sydney Morning Herald – SMH) for you to read below is about a conservative journal editor and his criticism of the ABC (ABC = Australian Brooadcasting Corporation = the Australian Version of the BBC, in Canada it is CBC). Activate your ideas before reading by answering these questions:
Why do you think the editor of Quadrant, the conservative Australian journal, is crtical of the ABC?
Why might he be critical of the ABC in relation to a terrorist attack in Britain?
Read the ideas in the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) article heading and the beginning of the text
“Quadrant online editor Roger Franklin laments that Manchester blast was not against ABC”
“the online editor of the Australian conservative journal Quadrant wrote an opinion piece saying that, “had there been a shred of justice”, the Manchester blast would have “detonated in an Ultimo TV studio (=ABC headquarters).” He added that, if such an attack took place, “none of the (ABC) panel’s likely casualties would have represented the slightest reduction in humanity’s intelligence, decency, empathy or honesty”
Pause and react to the ideas and linguistic choice (LC) in the first part of the SMH article
Would you say that Roger Franklin is critical, highly critical, or incredibly critical of the ABC?
How does his linguistic choice of actions, actor/actees and describors show this?
Do you agree with the SMH newspaper author’s choice that Franklin is “lamenting”?
Why does Franklin need to use 3rd conditional to convey his idea?
What is the difference in LC between “had there been a shred of justice” and “if there had been a shred in justice”?
How do you feel about Roger Franklin’s choice of language to convey his ideas?
Predict ideas before reading more
What will be the reaction of the ABC?
Apart from ABC / Quadrant representatives, who else might be quoted in this article?
Will Franklin, the editor of the conservative journal, try and justify his LC?
Will the SMH newspaper article be critical of Rogers or supportive of him?
Read and react to the ideas in the rest of the SMH article by clicking here
Further ideas to read and react to
Below is the original article by Franklin. Follow the active reading steps of
reading the heading and introduction to understand the topic of the article
thinking about the aim of the author and how his / her LC shows this
reacting to the author’s ideas with your own
predicting what ideas / LC will the further in the text (by formulating questions you think may be answered)
Is your social care system complex or straightforward?
Does your government provide free winter fuel for everyone (to keep houses / flats warm in a cold winter)? How expensive is this? If you’re in a hot country, what about cooling?
When elderly people need social care, be it in a nursing home or if a social care worker comes to their house, does the family or government pay for this? E.g. if someone has dementia but the children are busy working, who pays for the social care that is given to the person with dementia?
Do your politicians meet their pledges?
Watch and react
Hunt’s Linguistic Choice
Read the questions and answer from memory, then watch and fill in the remaining answers. After you’ve finished, scroll down to check the answers below
What describors Did Hunt use to describe the socal care system at the moment?
When talking about the opposition leaders tax plan, what action does Hunt use: “that would ____ jobs for _______ , _______ families”
When talking about the trade-off, why does Hunt keep saying “we’re being very open”?
What expression does Hunt use to emphasize that there is no easy solution “there are no ____ ______”
Hunt refers to “poor / the poorest pensiones”, what is his LC for “rich pensioners?”
When talking about people losing money due to the need to pay for social care down to the last 27,000 pounds, Hunt says “the famileis will be ____ out”
After talking about a negative, Hunt says “at the sametime” and then lists positives. What describors does he use when listing the positives
___ cancer survival rates / the ____ expansion in mental health in Europe / t he ________ improvement in stroke and heart atack survival rate of any OECD / you’re seeing NHS staff working ___________ well / outcomes are ____________better than five years ago
that would destroy jobs for ordinary, working families
to balance the fact that he doesn’t give any specific figures, and also win votes from ordinay, working families
there are no silver bullets
better-off pensioners
they will be cleaned out
record cancer survival rates / the biggest expansion in mental health in Europe / the biggest improvement in stroke and heart atack survival rate of any OECD country . you’re seeing NHS staff working brilliantly well / outcomes are dramatically better than five years ago
THe UK is currently in the middle of an election campaign. The Prime Minister, Theresa May of the Tory / Conservative party, in her election manifesto pledged she would abolish free lunches in schools, with the exception of those for children from poorer backgrounds. They would continue to receive the free lunch.
Background information:
Over the last several years the chilldren have been provided a free school lunch.
This free school lunch is for the first three years of schooling.
After the first three years they have to pay for the lunch.
Your ideas before watching:
Below is a video with chef Jamie Oliver, whosays he is apolitical, criticizing May’s plan. Before you watch…
What are the benefits of providing free school lunches for everyone?
Why is it only for the first three years?
What are the arguments against it?
Do you think it should be cut?
watch the video and make a note of reasons why Oliver is against the cut.
Linguistic choice questions:
Read the questions, answer from memory, then watch again:
What does Jamie say to show is he apolitcal?
When talking about how the NHS has to pay for diseases, why does Jamie use and stress “the NHS is overtly paying”
Why did Jamie choose to say “the school is the frontline in the battle against diet related disease?”
How strongly does he stress “completely” in “it’s (the plan is) completely short-sighted”?
When talking about how kids with a proper diet do better in the school leaving exam (SAT), what expression does Jamie use “kids that are fed right are 5% …… in their SATs”
Does Jamie use his linguistic choice when talking about the opposition leader’s (Jeremy Corbyn) proposal or the interviewer’s choice?
Scroll down for the answers before doing the discussion questions
Discussion questions:
Do you believe the research findings quoted by Oliver that well-nourished children are 5% better off in their exam results?
Do you believe that, by and large, British children are the unhealthiest in Europe?
How important is the role that schools play in kids’ nutrition compared to the one that parents play?
Does Jamie come across as being apolitical or do you think he is biased against the conservative party?
The three positions are
(May: PM / conservative party): Free lunches only for the poor children
(Oliver): free lunches for all in the first three years only
(Corbyn: Opposition party / Labor): free lunches for all throughout schooling
Where do you stand on this issue?
Answers
He uses present perfect to show his life experience of dealing with different prime ministers “I’ve been through four prime ministers” “I’ve worked with 4 prime ministers”
to emphasise that this is not a hidden cost to society, but a clear and identifable one
to create a war metaphor which emphasizes that this point is the most critical
highlight 3-5 statements, or opinions, or pieces of advice, or reflections that you think are interesting, or boring, or strange, or new, or stupid
find 3-5 expressions you like and want to activateand highlight them
Note, the expressions can be from the ideas or separate from them.
Discuss, react to and extend the ideas
Discuss the 3-5 statements, or opinions, or pieces of advice, or reflections that you highlighted
Discuss to what extent you agree with the following advice / opinions:
You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.
the onlyway to do great work is to love what you do.
Remembering that you are going to die is the best wayI know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.
Idea development and language check:
Did you do the following when discussing?
extend your ideas with reasons and examples?
connect your ideas to that of the speaker / writer?
compare your linguistic choice to their linguistic choice at all?
activate expressions from the phrasal verbs exercise?
activate the 3-5 expressions you highlighted?
activate expressions from the ideas you highlighted?
use any of these activated expressions to talk about your own life / opinion / advice, or only when re-telling?
Text 2: Writing
Activate your ideas
Below is a text, apparantly the last one Jobs wrote before he died. Before reading
What do you think he will say about the pursuit of wealth?
He gives some examples of matters apart from wealth which we should pursue. What examples do you think he gave?
He says we should cherish certain things, what do you think they are?
Read and find out about his ideas ..
In others’ eyes, my life is an epitome of success.
However, aside from work, I have little joy. In the end, wealth is only a fact of life that I am accustomed to. At this moment, lying on the sick bed and recalling my whole life, I realize that all the recognition and wealth that I took so much pride in, have paled and become meaningless in the face of impending death.In the darkness, I look at the green lights from the life supporting machines and hear the humming mechanical sounds, I can feel the breath of god of death drawing closer…
Now I know, when we have accumulated sufficient wealth to last our lifetime, we should pursue other matters that are unrelated to wealth… Should be something that is more important:Perhaps relationships, perhaps art, perhaps a dream from younger days … Non-stop pursuing of wealth will only turn a person into a twisted being, just like me.God gave us the senses to let us feel the love in everyone’s heart, not the illusions brought about by wealth.
The wealth I have won in my life I cannot bring with me.What I can bring is only the memories precipitated by love.That’s the true riches which will follow you, accompany you, giving you strength and light to go on. Love can travel a thousand miles. Life has no limit. Go where you want to go. Reach the height you want to reach. It is all in your heart and in your hands. What is the most expensive bed in the world? – “Sick bed” …
You can employ someone to drive the car for you, make money for you but you cannot have someone to bear the sickness for you.Material things lost can be found. But there is one thing that can never be found when it is lost – “Life”.
When a person goes into the operating room, he will realize that there is one book that he has yet to finish reading – “Book of Healthy Life”. Whichever stage in life we are at right now, with time, we will face the day when the curtain comes down.
Treasure love for your family, love for your spouse, love for your friends…Treat yourself well.
Cherish others. – Steve Jobs
Find ideas and language to activate
Go through the text again and
highlight 3-5 statements, or opinions, or pieces of advice, or reflections that you think are interesting, or boring, or strange, or new, or stupid
find 3-5 expressions you like and want to activateand highlight them
Note, the expressions can be from the ideas or separate from them.
Discuss, react to and extend the ideas
Discuss the 3-5 statements, or opinions, or pieces of advice, or reflections that you highlighted
Idea development and language check:
Did you do the following when discussing?
extend your ideas with reasons and examples?
connect your ideas to that of the speaker / writer?
compare your linguistic choice to their linguistic choice at all?
activate the 3-5 expressions you highlighted?
activate expressions from the ideas you highlighted?
use any of these activated expressions to talk about your own life / opinion / advice, or only when re-telling?
Text 3: Video
Activate your ideas
You are about to watch a “Steve Jobs top 10 rules for success”. Note, the 10 rules are taken from different times of his life.
What do you think his top 10 rules are? Try and guess at least 4.
As you watch the video, stop after 5 of the rules, and guess possible remaining ones.
Watch and listen to his ideas …
Fly solo 🙂 No text, no exercises, from the video …
Recent Comments