Issuu

C a p p e l e n Il l u str a sj o n: Ing e r D a l e

nr01-2011

D a m m s

t i d s s k r i f t

f o r

e n g e l s k l æ r e r e

innhold

Leder I forrige utgave etterlyste vi nye bidragsytere til fagbladet. Tanken var at nye, friske og penneføre lærere kunne gi oss ﬂere perspektiver og innfallsvinkler på temaene vi alltid kretser rundt: det engelske språk og den engelsktalende verden. Nå har vårt lille nyttårsønske blitt besvart. I dette vårnummeret er det artikler av Fiona Ellingsen fra Narvik vgs. og Gyri Solberg fra Rosthaug vgs. Fiona er opprinnelig australsk, og hun skriver med stor innsikt om ‘the Aussie spirit’ og om hvordan denne spesielle mentaliteten hjalp det australske folket under den voldsomme naturkatastrofen tidligere i år. Gyri har valgt å presentere noen tilnærmingsmåter til bruk av språklab i undervisningen. Flere praktiske tips kommer fra Siri Hunstadbråten, som har gjort seg noen tanker omkring kriterier for valg av roman å jobbe med i en klasse.

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

’Del og bruk’ er et slagord mange lærere kjenner til og praktiserer. Kolleger samarbeider om og deler gode tekster og forslag til undervisningsopplegg; andre deler og kommenterer på blogger eller gjennom sosiale medier. Fagbladet vårt er også en arena der det er mulig å dele det du mener andre engelsklærere kan ha bruk for. Så jeg gjentar oppfordringen: gjør som Fiona og Gyri og send oss tekster du har skrevet eller forslag til temaer du kan tenke deg å skrive om. Fagbladet gir oss også en mulighet for å supplere og oppdatere lærebøkene våre, på samme måte som vi bruker fagnettstedene våre. Robert Mikkelsen har laget et opplegg om ‘Flash Points in Multicultural America’, der to kontroversielle hendelser i nyere tid belyses. For dem som underviser i programfaget Internasjonal Engelsk kan Roberts tekst være verdt å studere – og kanskje dele med elevene?

Flash Points in a Multicultural America by Robert Mikkelsen, Høgskolen I Østfold

The Australian Spirit – You Have to Experience It by Fiona Ellingsen, Narvik vgs.

The Use of Language Labs in Teaching English by Gyri Solberg, Rosthaug vgs.

Denne og alle tidligere utgaver av bladet er tilgjengelig i bla-i-bok-format på nettet. Se f. eks. lærersidene på passage. cappelendamm.no eller access.cappelendamm.no. Der ﬁnner du også en oversikt over innholdet i alle utgavene.

[ mæg@'zi:n] '

CAPPELEN DAMM VIDEREGÅENDE

God lesning!

The Lovely Bon Bones ness and the Do’s and Don’ts of Choosing Novels by Siri Hunstadbråten, Drammen vgs.

Ansvarlig redaktør: Birger Nicolaysen

Cappelen Damm Akersgata 47/49

Redaksjon:

0055 Oslo

Kirsten Aadahl

Telefon: 21 61 66 54 / 55

15 16

E-post: birger.nicolaysen@cappelendamm.no

Produksjon: AIT Oslo AS

FLASH POINTS in Multicultural AMERICA by Robert Mikkelsen

pre-reading activity

Americans have been integrating new peoples and cultures into their nation since its beginning. This process is not always a smooth one, however. There have always been conflicts that have flared up between individual groups and the larger society in which they find themselves. Sometimes these have been caused

Before you read the two articles below, discuss the following: a Which of the following two statements do you think expresses the more important principle? – It is a human right to be able to go where one can be most successful. – Every country has the right to limit the number of people who enter it. Can these two be reconciled? b What do you know about the attack on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001? Do you think this attack affected the relationship of Islam to the rest of the world?

by events over which the group itself has had no control. The article below examines two such ﬂash points, one involving the large Mexican American community in America, the other involving the small community of American Muslims. They illustrate the ongoing debate about what it is to be an American.

Mexican Americans:

Murder Sets Off Debate on Illegal Immigration

01 02 03

On March 27, 2010, Robert Krentz Jr., a cattle rancher along the Mexican border in Arizona, called his brother on the radio saying, “I see an immigrant out here, and he appears to need help. Call the Border Patrol.” Hours later he was found dead, shot in the head. Many assumed he had been killed by an illegal immigrant afraid of being turned in (though later it appeared more likely the killer was a scout from a drug smuggling ring). His death set off a storm of protest against illegal immigrants in the state of

04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

©Thinkstock

Arizona. The conflict had been simmering for many years. Arizona is one of the main routes that illegal immigrants take when entering America across the southwestern border with Mexico. Strengthened border patrols and new fences had recently redirected even more of the flow through the state. Despite repeated attempts by the federal government, the situation seemed to many to be getting more and more out of hand. That is why a few weeks after Krentz’s death a law was pushed through the state legislature taking matters into their own hands. It required Arizona police officers to detain and question anyone they suspected of being an illegal alien and if that proved to be the case, to arrest them.

01 02 03 04 05 06 07

This law, in turn, drew an angry reaction from the large Mexican American community in the state. They claimed it would lead to the “racial proﬁling” of all Mexican Americans. That would violate their civil rights and spread prejudice against anyone who might be looked on as a “suspect” because of dark skin or Mexican American features. The American Civil Liberties Union immediately challenged the law in the courts.

08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15

spot-check

1 2

What happened to Robert Krentz Jr.? Why did this set off such a strong reaction in the state of Arizona? 3 What did the law passed by the state legislature empower policemen to do? 4 How did the Mexican American community react to this law?

5 6

Arizona’s law also drew a response on the national level. President Obama – a former constitutional law professor – called Arizona’s policy “misguided.” He said that it threatened “to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as American.” He ordered the Justice Department to seek a court order against it. This was not only because it could cause “racial profiling.” It was also because regulating immigration was a federal, not a state, matter. He pointed out that if “other states and localities go their own ways, we face the prospect… (of) a patchwork of local immigration rules, where we all know one clear national standard is needed.” On July 29, 2010, Judge Susan Bolton of the Federal District Court found in favor of the Obama Administration and put the law on hold while the state of Arizona appealed the decision. On February 10, 2011, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer announced that her state will file a countersuit against the federal government, claiming Washington has failed to enforce immigration law along the southern border. The two sides continued to stare at one another across the divide. The debate was far from finished.

Quotes on Arizona’s Law vernment “The Mexican go proval of the condemns the ap iminalization law [and] the cr of migration.” t Felipe Calderón Mexican Presiden

“The culture is b You call anyw eing destroyed. here, it’s ‘Pu sh One for Engli sh, Two for Spanish’. All it does is ma ke it easier for people to live here once the y sneak into the country.” Gary Arbitter

, carrying a “S ilent No More” sign supporti ng the Arizon a law.

How did President Barack Obama react to the law? Why was Obama concerned that individual states would start making their own immigration laws? What did the courts decide about the law?

©Fotolia

spot-check

Gary Arbitter said “The culture is being destroyed.” What culture was he referring to? 2 What evidence did Arbitter have of this? Do you ﬁnd it convincing? 3 Who is Felipe Calderón and what does he think of the new law? Can you explain why? 4 Who is responsible for the situation in Arizona according to Governor Jan Brewer? 5 Why is it ironic that Ross Canyon was pulled over as a possible illegal immigrant? 6 What is it that Alfonsso Garnica dislikes?

American Muslims:

Of Mosques and Men

©Fotolia

“People don’t like the idea that they will be stopped and *carded because of their skin color. I’ve had the sheriff stop me, and I’m not from the other side of the border.”

Ross Canyon, Navajo born in Arizona.

(*Asked for a “green card” proving legal immigration status)

“We in A riz more tha ona have been n patient w for Wash ington to aiting act. But decades of misguide federal inaction and d policy ha a danger ous and u ve created naccepta situation ble .” Governor

of Arizon

a Jan Bre

wer

art messing “They’re going to st over and with us, pulling us n’t like asking for ID. We do have to that. We’re going to get rid of we ﬁght the law until it.”

lding a “Stop The Alfonsso Garnica, ho g the Arizona law. Hate” poster opposin

One quiet February evening in 2010 in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, Dr. Manoor Mirza became aware of the full extent of the damage that had been done by the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington nine years earlier (9/11 = September 11). He was seeking permission from the county Building Commission to set up a small mosque in the town of Wilson (pop. 3,200) for the 100 or so Muslims in the local community. Most were refugees from Bosnia and Albania. Dr. Mirza expected no trouble. He was a respected citizen. Instead he suddenly found himself the center of vicious attacks on his religion. He was told Islam was a religion of hate. Muslims were out to wipe out Christianity. They murdered their children. “I just think it’s not American,” one of them summed up. Mirza was deeply shaken, “I never expected that the same people who came to me at the hospital and treated me with respect would talk to me like this.” He was not the only one to be surprised. A month later there was a much larger national uproar over plans to build a Muslim cultural center and mosque two blocks from Ground Zero in New York City, the place where the Twin Towers had once stood. Although the plan – referred

September 11, 2010: For the ﬁrst time since the 2001 attacks, September 11 was marked by divisive political rallies in Lower Manhattan, as both supporters and opponents of Park51 held dueling protests. ©Scanpix

to as Park51 – had been approved by the authorities and was supported by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, opponents were outraged. They claimed it was an insult to the victims of 9/11. This was “sacred ground,” they declared. Protesters carried signs declaring “All I Need To Know About Islam, I Learned on 9/11.” Bloggers condemned the center as an example of “Islamic domination and expansionism.” The rhetoric in the blogosphere grew rabid. Altogether, six other new mosque projects across the U.S. also faced bitter opposition in 2010. Does this mean that hatred of Islam (Islamophobia) is on the rise in America? Well – yes … and … no. On the one hand, this concerned only six out of an estimated 1,900 mosques in America. Clearly, having trouble was the exception, not the rule. Polls have shown that most Muslims in America feel safer and freer in the U.S. than anywhere else

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13

Fearing further attacks, some American Muslims have argued that the Park51 project should be scraped. Others believe backing down would be a mistake. “If they don’t build it, they will be agreeing with those who say Muslims are not proper Americans” said a recent immigrant from Iraq. “In that case I might as well go back to Baghdad.” Like the American public, the American Muslim community was divided in its attitude towards Park51. Returning to Sheboygan County, the town’s executive council eventually granted the local Islamic Society permission to convert a building on Dr. Mirza’s property into a mosque. Imam Mohammed Hamad now leads prayers there. Protests have died down in Sheboygan, but the wounds inﬂicted by 9/11 on the relationship between American Muslims and the larger American society remain open. Only time will heal them.

14 15 16

Based on: http://www.time.com/time/nation/ article/0,8599,2011798,00.html

What was Dr. Manoor Mizra applying for in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin? 2 Why did the reaction to his application surprise him? 3 What is “Park51” and why have some people opposed it? 4 How many Muslims live in the United States? 5 Do most American Muslims feel safe and secure living in the United States? 6 Why are some American Muslims afraid of increasing Islamophobia? 7 Why are American Muslims divided about Park51? 8 What eventually happened to Dr. Mizra’s application?

Muslims ha ve to practice the same right the anyone else ir religion as in this coun try. And that in cludes the right to build a pla ce of worsh ip a community center on p nd a riva property in lower Manh te attan, in accordan ce with loc al laws and ordinan ces. President B

arack Obam

sor of Je Mark R. Cohen, Profes n University eto nc Civilization at Pri

Opponents and Supporters of Park51: to build The folks who want e really ar o this mosque, wh don’t have radical Islamists ... hing out any interest in reac zis don’t to the community. Na t up a sign have the right to pu t Museum next to the Holocaus would never in Washington. We putting up accept the Japanese Harbor. a site next to Pearl r of the

er Speake Newt Gingrich, Form es and possible tiv House of Representa 12 tial candidate in 20 Republican presiden

This building w ill serve as an emblem for the rest of the world that Americans recognize that the evil acts of a few must neve r damn the innoce nt. Donn a O’Connor, whos

e pregnant daug

hter died on 9/11

The pain never goes away. When I look over there and I see a mosque, it’s going to hurt. Build it someplace else.

C. Lee Hanson, whose son, daughter-ind law, and baby granddaughter were kille on 9/11

ques The presence of mos d near like the one planne will be an Ground Zero, which as well as a educational center e good way place of prayer, is on rance. of transcending igno wish

I don’t think the Muslim leadership has fully appreciated the impact of 9/11 on America. The wounds remain largely open [...] and when wounds are raw, an episode like constructing a house of worship — even one protected by the Constitution, protected by law — becomes like salt in the wounds. Akbar Ahmed, Professor of Islamic Stud

ies at American University

spot-check

On the other hand, prominent American Muslims fear that opposition to Park51 is part of a “pattern of intolerance” that started after 9/11 and has deepened over the past years, perhaps reﬂecting America’s involvement in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A poll taken in September 2010 showed that 61% of Americans opposed Park51, while just 26% supported it. Fully 44% viewed it as an insult to those who died on 9/11, while only 23% said it would be a symbol of religious tolerance. This troubles American Muslims. “The core argument emerging from [the anti-mosque protests] is that Muslims are not and can never be full Americans,” remarked Eboo Patel, a prominent American Muslim.

spot-check

in the Western world. As one American journalist put it, “Islamophobia in the U.S. doesn’t approach levels seen in other countries (like France and Switzerland) where Muslims are a minority.” Perhaps this reﬂects the American Constitution, in which both freedom of religion and the separation of church and state are guaranteed. In addition, with an estimated population of 2.6 million, Muslims remain one of America’s smallest and most varied groups, coming from many different nations and cultures. Their numbers pose a threat to no one.

Why does Donna O’Connor support building Park51? 2 What leads a leading Muslim American like Akbar Ahmed to oppose Park51? 3 Why might some think it surprising that Mark Cohen supports Park51? 4 What does Newt Gingrich compare Park51 to? Is this justiﬁed? 5 Why does C. Lee Hanson want Park51 built somewhere else?

Activities Activ it Getting your facts straight

Discussion: Articles

Read the two fact boxes and answer the questions:

Discuss one set of questions below in pairs or groups.

Fact box

Mexican Americans:

Illegal Immigration (2009 ﬁgures) – – – – – – –

Arizona has a total population of 6.6 million An estimated 375,000 are illegal immigrants 1.7 million Arizonians are of Mexican American heritage. The United States has a population of 310,000,000 There were an estimated 11.1 million illegal immigrants in America 60% of all illegal immigrants are from Mexico. President Obama has proposed that a national immigration reform should let illegal immigrants pay a ﬁne, learn English and become citizens.

Where do most illegal immigrants come from?

Work out the percentage of illegal immigrants in relation to the total population of America. Then compare this with the percentage of illegal immigrants in relation to the total population of Arizona. Which is highest?

In addition to racial proﬁling, how might the Arizona law be damaging to the Mexican American community in the state?

Which “basic notions of fairness” in America do you think President Obama felt were being threatened by the law?

Why do immigrants come to America illegally, do you think?

President Obama has proposed a way for illegal immigrants to become American citizens (see fact box above). Others think this would be unfair because it would allow them to “skip ahead” of people already waiting to get into the country legally. What do you think?

There are foreigners living illegally in Norway today. How should they be treated? Should they be allowed an opportunity to become citizens?

Fact box

American Muslims: American Muslims – – –

– – – –

The majority of American Muslims were born abroad. Most American Muslims are middle class. By 2030 the Muslim population of the United States is projected to increase from 2.6 to 6.2 million. 58% of Americans said there was “a lot” of discrimination against Muslims in 2009. Violence towards American Muslims did not increase after 9/11. More than half of American Muslims say that it has been difﬁcult to be Muslim in America since 9/11. About a quarter of Muslims say that they have experienced discrimination in the U.S.

Some Americans apparently believe that a person can be either a Muslim or an American, but not both. Why is this, do you think? What is your opinion of this?

Why would America’s involvement in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have increased tensions between American Muslims and the larger American society? Is this also true of Norway?

Do you think that American Muslims are justiﬁed in their fear that Islamophobia is increasing in the United States?

Do you think that Park51 should be built? 01 02

Discussion: First Person Statements a

Do most American Muslims feel they have experienced discrimination?

To what income class to most American Muslims belong?

Do most Americans believe that American Muslims have suffered discrimination? How large is the American Muslim population expected to be by 2030?

03 04

Read the statements below, and then discuss the questions in pairs or groups. I was brought here illegally at age 1. I think everyone born in the United States is so lucky. We say the pledge of allegiance every morning. I am the one that does it every day and doesn’t sit right down. I say it right. I want to be here. I want to learn. I love this country more than they do and they were born here. I want to go to college. I want to be a teacher. But I must be a legal citizen. I lose hope a lot. Grace, San Diego, CA

05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

the troublemakers who come in with no discipline or speaking abilities much less willingness to go to school. They eat our free meals, require special teachers and bi-lingual helpers and interpreters. This is a major problem and a drain on our tax-paying. Sally, Oregon

We in Virginia Beach are overrun with Mexicans and everybody and his brother are joining them. There are no jobs here. They play Mexican music at the malls and in stores, sell Mexican food, and even write about selling to Mexican markets in the local rag for grocers. At the rate we are going, the entire USA will become a colony of Mexico. Miss Ross, VA

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all. People call it the country of dreams … I often would ask my mother why she brought us here. We are only discriminated and not wanted. She answers with a sad expression on her beautiful face. We brought you and your brothers and sisters so that you wouldn’t be hungry anymore. So that you would have a better life. This country indeed has given our family so much and here I haven’t ever been hungry. But there is also a lot of hate against us Latinos.

I can understand why people come into this country illegally but it doesn’t make it right. I feel sorry for the children of illegal immigrants. If you need to deport someone deport the parent. The children are the innocent parties. I know people are going to say that is unfair to the children and yes this very well may be the case but then isn’t it unfair to deport children back to a country they know nothing of?

b 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 13 14 15 16

Charlie, San Diego, CA

Based on http://www.myimmigrationstory.com/

d I live in an area that borders California and Oregon on the coastline. There are many, many, many illegal Mexican children attending our schools. They are

Find answers to one or more of the following questions. Mexican Americans: a Has immigration reform been passed on the national level since this article was written? If not, is there legislation being proposed? b What happened to the Arizona law? Did the courts declare it “null and void” or did they accept it or some parts of it? c How many illegal immigrants live in the United States today? d When did “racial proﬁling” become illegal in the United States? American Muslims: a Has the building of Park51 gone ahead as planned? What is its status today? b What are the major countries and cultures from which American Muslims come? c Have there been any recent protests in America against the establishment of other mosques? d Who are the “Black Muslims” of the United States? How do they differ from the other Muslim groups?

Kerri, Indiana

Maritza, Scroggins, TX

I’m an 18 year old kid who can’t travel, drive, and get a job anywhere else than Jack-in-the Box (restaurant), my record is completely clean but I’m not an American citizen and because of this I can’t achieve my goals in life, nor can I have the normal life a teenager should live. I’m trapped and all because I was born a little too south of a dumb imaginary line.

Quick Research

Compare the statement of Grace in San Diego with Sally in Oregon. Grace seems to be highly motivated to go to school. Yet Sally seems to believe that illegal immigrants like Grace are troublemakers with no discipline. How can this difference be explained? Kerri in Indiana believes that the children of deported illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay in the country. Do you agree? What difﬁculties would such a solution create ? Why do you suppose an 18-year-old illegal immigrant like Charlie cannot get a driver’s license, start a career or travel abroad? He blames his fate on being born to south of “a dumb imaginary line.” Can a border be thought of as an “imaginary line”? If so, who “imagines” it? Maritza believes there is “a lot of hate against us Latinos” (Spanish speakers in America). What evidence of this do you ﬁnd in these First Person Statements?

Being an American The following are characteristics which some view as important to deﬁning a person’s nationality: – – – – – – – – –

language family and ancestry physical characteristics religion citizenship place of birth place of residence loyalty values

Judging from the two articles you have read, which of these characteristics do you think lead some people in the United States to be skeptical of Mexican American? How? Are these the same characteristics that lead others to be skeptical of Muslim Americans? Is there an overlap between the two? Which of these do you consider to be most important in deﬁning someone’s nationality? Why?

The Lovely Bones and the Do’s and Don’ts of Choosing Novels why the novel they preferred would be our best choice. by Siri Hunstadbråten, Drammen videregående skole

Alice Sebold’s bestselling novel The Lovely Bones (2002) is the story of Susie, a 14-year-old girl who, one day, disappears on her way home from school. To start with, her family do not know what has happened to her, but once a part of her body is found, there is little doubt she is dead. Susie has in fact been raped and killed by her inconspicuous neighbour, Mr Harvey. The story is told from Susie’s point of view, the setting alternating between 1970s small-town America and Susie’s heaven, from where she observes how her family struggle to cope with her death. Although her heaven is quite pleasant, she refuses to accept her fate. She desperately wants to be with her family and friends. Some of them ﬁnd consolation in their ability to feel her spiritual presence. Once she sees that her family, though traumatised, are able to move on, she is ready to go to another part of heaven, where she will be disconnected from life on earth. Mr Harvey is never caught, but at the end of the novel he is hit by a large icicle and dies. A movie based on the novel, directed by Peter Jackson, was released in 2009. Choosing a novel This year I wanted my ﬁnal-year students to choose which novel we were going to read in class. I gave them a list of three titles, the opening passages of each book and links to selected reviews. Then they were told to write a paragraph arguing

The do’s and don’ts of selecting novels for teaching purposes • Do look for a striking beginning.

If I had only intended to let my students make the decision, I could simply have asked them to cast their votes. By asking them to give reasons for their choice, however, I expected to achieve more. Having been assigned a task, they would have to read the material I had provided properly. Once they had made their choice, I expected that their process of ﬁnding arguments would turn into a process of pre-reading. Their curiosity about the novel would be aroused, and they would start asking questions and making predictions. In brief, I was hoping to give their reading a kick-start. My students’ choice was practically unanimous – they wanted to read The Lovely Bones. The arguments they presented and the aspect(s) of the novel they emphasized, did of course vary. They argued quite persuasively – the more I read about the assets of The Lovely Bones the more I found myself looking forward to our discussions. What I had not foreseen, however, was that their brief texts also gave me useful information about what 18-year-olds generally consider important qualities in a novel. Below you will ﬁnd their most interesting arguments. From these I have extrapolated some general advice on choosing novels that are suitable for students. The items on my list are far from sensational news. In fact, the novels you love to teach probably share most of these characteristics. Still, once in a while I think it is worth reminding ourselves what our students’ incentives for reading really are.

The Lovely Bones opens like this: “My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on Dec 6, 1973. In newspaper photos of missing girls from the seventies, most looked like me: white girls with mousy brown hair. This was before kids of all races and genders started appearing on milk cartons or in the daily mail. It was still back when people believed things like that didn’t happen.” (Bold text – mine) A dead young girl speaking? My students were instantly hooked: “I felt addicted from the first word, the writer apparently knows how to attract the readers’ attention,” one girl wrote. Beginnings are crucial - just think of memorable lines such as “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” or “There is a truth universally acknowledged …”. Even if the opening of The Lovely Bones may not be quite as memorable as those of Dickens and Austen, the first few lines of this novel certainly have that intriguing quality that compels the reader to go on. David Lodge has summed up the effect of openings rather more eloquently: “The beginning of a novel is a threshold, separating the real world we inhabit from the world the novelist has imagined. It should therefore […] draw us in. […].”1

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14

1 David Lodge, The Art of Fiction (London: Penguin, 1992), p. 5.

15 16

• Don’t underestimate the pull of a bestseller. “The fact that it is a bestseller shows how many people who liked it, so I think our class will too.” Like The Lovely Bones, many bestsellers do have literary merit and are worth considering as options for our students. • Do choose a novel that has been adapted into film. As the film version of The Lovely Bones was released recently, some of my students had already seen it: “I have seen the movie based on the book and it is very good. I have always wanted to read the book because in my experience the book behind a movie is always better than the movie itself.” As adaptations contribute to creating more interest in novels, I was not surprised by my students’ decision. After all, The Lovely Bones was the only one of the novels on my list that had been made into a film. Naturally, many of my students suggested that we watch the film, too, but only after having read the novel. They know the deal – the film is the prize that they get once they have dutifully finished reading. One girl was quite strict: “It is common knowledge that reading the book is a must before watching the film.” There are of course no hard and fast rules about how

01 02

to approach literature and film, but such comparative studies in the classroom are often rewarding. Students of all abilities are able to take part in discussions, it brings out the characteristic devices of each medium, and it is a great way of showing how different narrative techniques work. We all agreed, for example, that in the film we get a much better impression of Susie’s heaven than in the novel. Jackson’s impressive computer generated images turned her heaven into quite a spectacular place. The many close-ups of Susie with her fine blonde hair blowing in the wind make her come across as so innocent that it breaks the viewers’ hearts. In the novel we are also made to empathise with her fate, but it is done in a much more subtle way. There are of course a great many more differences between the novel and the film. Why don’t you try out The Lovely Bones yourself? Perhaps you will be as impressed by your students’ perceptiveness as I was. • Do look for a multi-faceted novel. As students are different, a novel studied in class should, ideally, have something to offer everyone. “The Lovely Bones contains sorrow, love, mystery, murder,

ghost stories, life after death, happiness – a bit of everything actually.” So what more could we possibly ask for? • Do choose a novel whose theme comes across as unusual. What happened to Susie actually does happen in real life. Even so, The Lovely Bones is not just about loss and grief; it is as much about life after death, a theme which my students found refreshingly new. It is a comforting thought that Susie’s soul is able to return to her near and dear ones. Such supernatural elements, including the depiction of Susie’s heaven, were readily accepted by my students. None of them rejected the idea of an afterlife. On the other hand, many of them said that Susie’s heaven in many ways corresponded to their own ideas of heaven. In the novel heaven is stripped of any speciﬁcally religious connotations. In an age where alternative spirituality seems to be gaining ground at the expense of traditional religions the popularity of a novel like The Lovely Bones is only to be expected.

• Do choose a novel whose genre and narrative technique make for interesting discussions. The following two student observations show that the way a story is told does matter: “It is an alternative kind of crime novel,” and “The twist with the victim telling her story from heaven makes it all the more fascinating.” Fortunately, The Lovely Bones is so much more than an alternative crime novel. It contains elements of various other genres, too, and one of them proved to be particularly interesting for teenage readers. The story of Susie’s younger sister Lyndsey is a novel within the novel. Susie is a keen observer of her sister’s achievements and developments, and we follow Lyndsey from early adolescence to adulthood.

03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

This element of The Lovely Bones reads like an initiation story and makes the reader all too aware of how Susie has been deprived of everything. As opposed to Lyndsey, Susie never gets to have a boyfriend, graduate from high school or from college. Tragically, Susie is stuck in her early teens – she will always be 14. For her family, however, life does go on, if only after many years of struggle. Despite its tragic subject matter, the novel ends on a harmonious note. The conclusion seems to be that even in the bleakest moments there is hope, even though it may be very difﬁcult to see.

The– You Australian Have to Experience It There are moments in time when you can’t comprehend the reality confronting you: moments when the world as you know it fails to make any sense and you can’t absorb what’s happening. Natural disasters, like the recent Cyclone Yasi and massive ﬂooding in Queensland induced such moments. But amidst all the devastation to lives and property there were countless examples of bravery, sacriﬁce and of communities banding together.

by Fiona Ellingsen Narvik vgs.

©Fotolia

The ﬂoods in Queensland set records ds not ally in only to their depth but also ﬁnancially business, mining, agriculture and tourist industries. Indeed, to the very basic infrastructure such as roads, bridges and railway lines. It was also an incredible test of Australian resilience or “Aussie Spirit” which through it all, has shone brighter than ever before. Do Australians have their own unique way of coping with catastrophes? And if so can we

learn anything from the way they coped with these recent natural disasters? Australians in disaster mode Historically Aussies face tough times with determination and good humour – like the people who when surrounded by ﬂoodwater, sat on their verandas with beers in hand. In the midst of all that water, they still managed to ﬁnd a beer, and whilst drinking it, cracked jokes. Or the lady who in the middle of the devastation of Grantham, was

interviewed by the ABC news, her home was gone, her neighbours and friends dead or missing and her town basically destroyed. One moment she was in tears, the next she was laughing. Why? Because the pub was gone and she couldn’t even get a cold beer! What she was saying, along with everyone

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

©Fotolia

An important question here is why someone from West End in England is so overwhelmed by the way Australians tackle disasters and, more importantly, why Australians are so community minded?

Keith ‘Cowboy’ Burnett (L) and Brian ‘Moose’ Malone (R) drink beer at the ﬂood-bound Pioneer Hotel in Rockhampton, Queensland on January 6, 2011. ©Scanpix

else was this – “we can take it”. Whatever comes our way we can take it, we can laugh at it, and then we will bounce back. These are Australians in “disaster mode”. Bruce Woodley and Dobe Newton in the last verse of their song from 1987, “I Am Australian”, capture what they think it is to be an Australian:

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

I’m the hot wind from the desert, I’m the black soil of the plains, I’m the mountains and the valleys, I’m the drought and flooding rains, I am the rock, I am the sky, The rivers when they run, The spirit of this great land, I am Australian. In other words being an Australian is being at one with the landscape and the climate. Australians accept cyclones and monsoonal rain; however this year’s wet season has severely tested their resilience. It just didn’t stop raining. Up the north the worst floods in Queensland’s history submerged an area four times the size of Norway. Whole towns were swamped, major roads blocked, homes, businesses and farms destroyed and animals killed. Only one out of the 73 shires in Queensland was spared from floods, cyclones or persistent heavy rain. This story posted on ABC‘s news site may help us understand how Australian cope with disaster;

©Fotolia

Our house is going under water The washer, dryer, wine, fridge, boxes of books, clothes and more under the house are gone Our son is visibly sad when he found out that the water would come upstairs Up to the ceiling or roof even Could we move to somewhere else? he asked We had just moved in A few weeks ago to be near to the Cat, Glider and the Brisbane River We have always loved West End which has given us so much grief in turn in a mere few weeks but when Maryanne, Lauren & Wayne and others whose names we didn’t even know from the apartments next door and across the road and Neil, Bev and Harry and others from Gray Road all of whom we’d never met before came to ask to help, pack, load and store our stuff together with some of our friends, workmates and friends neighbours who all came to help And we are staying so comfortably at friends And in such good company Strangely, in so much personal distress, Though I don’t want to speak for others in the family: I know for certain I love Queensland For the first time ever Since moving here eight years ago In the midst of this 2011 floods disaster Its real: this thing called the Australian spirit. You don’t even have to be born here to catch it. And in this epic flood There is such a thing called the Australian Spirit You have to live here to know it. 1

The answer may lie in the fact that when trouble strikes, Australians traditionally don’t wait around for governmental help. Their ability to spontaneously organise community groups who calmly and collectively fight bushfires, droughts and other natural disasters has amazed many. The country is so huge that in earlier times it took days if not months for help to arrive, so Australians became very self-sufficient and a culture of “mateship” arose where everyone helped each other in times of need. In an article The Amazing Australian Spirit – “Mateship” Should Be Required Everywhere,2 an American living in Brisbane since 2001, reflected over how differently people reacted to hurricanes in his home country and how his neighbours reacted to the floods in Brisbane. He said that in the US during a severe hurricane in 1998, he saw the worst of what people can do. Short tempers and emotionally charged arguments erupted between complete strangers in stores and gas-stations. He described panic buying and horrific scenes where people grabbed what they could from shop shelves, struggling against each other. It was a “get out of my way, that’s mine” attitude and people seemed to be less supportive and more and more aggressive as the hurricane closed in. In Brisbane in the days before the flood, he was amazed that people were so easy-going and wondered why no-one was “stocking up”. When authorities suggested that workers in the Central Business District should vacate the city, and everyone realised what was about to happen, it caused mass panic buying, but not in the way he had experienced back in the States. In Brisbane the stores were bare of basics like batteries, bottled water and fresh meat. But there was one major difference which he called “disaster mode” – a friendly supportive attitude and a strong community spirit. He said; “I watched a man offer a pack of bottled water to a woman who couldn’t reach the top shelf, despite that there only being two packs left. He was totally willing to share one of the last two packs. That wouldn’t happen where I come from. The lines at the check-out were expectedly quite long, but they were alive with chatter as complete strangers were chatting and supporting one another.” “The check-out cashiers were interested in how each customer and their family were

faring, and this was heart-felt interest, not fake or patronizing. And each customer was asking after each of the cashier’s families because obviously they were stuck working while everyone else was in preparationmode.” North of Brisbane, the resilience of floodaffected residents of Queensland’s central highlands amazed a helicopter crew from Mackay’s CQ rescue service. General manager Philip Dowler said; “The first thing that happened when we landed, was that we were offered tea and biscuits and coffee and cakes, and it’s especially surprising when we’re out there to help them and the first thing they’re trying to do is feed and look after us”. 3 Perhaps we can conclude that Australians in “disaster mode” pull together and need only one basic survival ingredient – a hot cuppa and/or a beer. Even in faraway “mother” England the Prince of Wales sent a message of solidarity to the victims of the Queensland floods saying “What I can never get over is how wonderfully resilient the Australian people are when these sorts of disasters occur.” 4 When the Prince of Wales was with the Royal Navy he spent time in Queensland, and knows the region well. As a gesture of support Prince William visited the cyclone and floodaffected areas of Queensland late March. Volunteers A further example of how Australians cope with disasters is the huge number of unorganised volunteers who spontaneously turned up to homes in Brisbane, armed with shovels, mops, buckets and other tools to help complete strangers clean out their homes. As one Australian newspaper noted: “An army of mud warriors has been mobilized”.

of 4204 millimetres. When ABC news asked a local, Dennis Garcia from Tully Heads, how he was coping he replied; “What hasn’t happened to my place, really? We’ve just had my house blown apart, been inundated with water and then this deluge came”. He had just replaced all the white goods destroyed in the cyclone and stood there waste deep watching them bob up and down in his garage. He quietly added; “I’m freaking out for the ﬁrst time in my life, maybe I’m not handling it too well, but hey, I’ll get by…” When a staggering 366 millimetres – nearly 10% of the annual rainfall – fell in just four hours you can understand his despair. In fact he wasn’t freaking out. He was an Australian in “disaster modus”, who for the second time that summer was replacing the furniture in his home. A local sugar cane producer, Michael Passano, said local growers desperately needed dry weather, so the cane can fully recover from the cyclone and added, “We’ve almost forgotten what it looks like to see blue sky these days.” 6 A pretty strong statement considering that Queensland is also known as “The Sunshine State” owing to its long hours of sunshine. For Queenslanders used to cyclones and monsoons it has been a summer of sorrow as they endure the latest chapter in a long and destructive wet season. However what is common for them all is the stoical way they coped with these disasters. The ﬁrst four lines of the second stanza of the famous poem “My Country” by the Australian poet Dorothea Mackellar (18851968) gives a description of Australia that

remains just as accurate a century later. It goes like this: I love a sunburnt country, A land of sweeping plains, Of ragged mountain ranges, Of droughts and ﬂooding rains. I love her jewel-sea, Her beauty and her terror – The wide brown land for me.

All Australian know these lines, partly because they are learnt by heart at school and partly because they ﬁt into the way Australian’s think about their country and climate. Mackellar writes about a country of great beauty and where people accept natural disasters as a part of the way of life and are not overwhelmed by its violent extremes. What are the lessons learnt from this disaster? Firstly, never underestimate the power of nature; it can touch anyone anywhere, and secondly, there is such a thing called the Australian spirit and it is a good way of coping with catastrophes. And lastly, if you ever are in a natural disaster, you should hope you’re surrounded by Australians. If you ever get a chance to bring an Aussie into your life, treat them well, because they will lay down their life for you. 1 13th January 2011 2 http://curtischappell.com/blog/archives/3906 3 http://www.abc.net.au/news/ stories/2008/02/01/2152143.htm 4 http://www.abc.net.au/news/ stories/2011/01/15/3113462.htm 5 a type of truck with only two seats in the front and a pickup (storage) area at the back 6 http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/201103/ s3156911.htm

One of the worst affected towns was Ingham, north of Townsville which was hit by two major ﬂoods in one week. The Mayor of Ingham, Mr Pisasale spoke of the amazing spirit of people; “They’re out there supporting each other and people are just stopping with a hammer and a nail saying «what can I do to help».” Businessman Stephen Pyle said the whole community rallied behind those in need; “One day we were cleaning, and come lunchtime, a ute5 came round handing out hot sausages. It was just something that they did – their houses weren’t affected, so they helped out in the only way they could.” Summer of Sorrow Further up the Queensland coast, Mission Beach received half a meter of rain in just three days in mid-March. For some residents the string of disasters proved to be too much. Nearby Tully Heads is the wettest town in Australia with an average yearly rainfall A volunteer adds personal items to a pile on the edge of the street as he helps clean a ﬂood damaged house after the Brisbane River receded in the suburb of Westend, January 14, 2011. ©Scanpix

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

©Fotolia

The Use of Language Labs in Teaching English By Gyri Solberg Rosthaug vgs.

Language labs have been in use for decades in the language classroom and teachers have included them in their toolbox of teaching aids. In this text I will present some activities that I ﬁnd useful in my teaching of English and towards the end I have included some tasks and tests.

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Assessment The advantages of language labs are fairly obvious for a teacher. One such advantage is that they provide a quick and accurate way to assess oral skills. In a busy school day it is tempting to spend 30-45 minutes on an oral test, instead of spending too much valuable time on oral tests in the classroom. It takes time to listen to the recordings afterwards, but not more time than it would take to let all the students give presentations in class, which is rarely very useful for the students. Neither does it take more time to listen to their recordings than to test each and every one in an adjacent room, which is not an option in classes that are inefﬁcient without a teacher in the classroom. Another advantage is the possibility of listening to the students over and over again, to sort out indistinct or complex passages. When listening to students in a classroom, the teacher may fail to hear certain parts of their talks because of all the factors that demand his or her attention. Students’ perspective There are of course different reactions to the use of the language lab. Some students need time to get accustomed to hearing their recorded voices. Others dread people nearby hearing what they say. Most students are, however, delighted by the fact that only the teacher will listen to their performance instead of the whole class. My experience is that most students feel, when they are being

honest, that the language lab helps them to improve their oral skills. They use the language more actively because they all record their answers at the same time. When they cooperate with other students in pairs or groups, they experience what it is like to keep a conversation going in a foreign language. By using the language lab, they get the chance to rehearse certain aspects of the language more thoroughly, because of the opportunity to listen to what they do when they speak. This often reveals aspects of their oral skills that they have not been aware of previously. The language lab also offers numerous possibilities when it comes to adapted tasks. Each student can work with their particular task to practise a speciﬁc aspect of the way they speak and at their own level. Teachers’ perspective Most teachers see the advantages of using a language lab, but some need to overcome their fear of technology and spend time on understanding how to operate the lab. In the age of computers, some schools have installed digital language labs, while others still use the more mechanical ones. At my school, we have entered the digital age (to some teachers’ despair). The stepby-step manual of different activities was my “Bible” when I started using the lab. By trying out one activity at a time, I slowly expanded the number of activities I mastered.

Reading The easiest activity, in my opinion, is reading practice. The teacher starts the recording and rewinds it afterwards, so that the students can listen to what they have read. Many of them are not aware of what kind of mistakes they make before they listen to themselves in the language lab. When the students are used to the language lab and are ready to operate the control panels themselves, they can start, stop, rewind and improve their readings at their own pace. A more challenging variant is to ask them to talk for a minute about a topic instead of reading, and then do it again to improve the presentation. This will force them to keep going and develop their skills in structuring sentences. Pronunciation One of the most common activities used in the language lab is to improve pronunciation. There are different ways of doing this. Some activities are ready-made in a file, and by activating one of those, the students can practise certain words. Another opportunity is to be the model yourself and ask the students to repeat. When it comes to improving, the students listen to what their pronunciation is like and the teacher can listen to them and give feedback. Listening comprehension First and foremost the language lab is an aid to improving oral skills. However, it is easily combined with listening comprehension as well. In the digital world, files from the Internet, CDs and other audio files can without difficulty be played in the language lab, and afterwards the students can talk about what they have heard and answer questions. There are also ready-made telephone conversations and interviews in which one part is recorded and pauses are included so that the students have time to fill in their part. These activities offer a fairly realistic experience in talking to a native speaker, and students learn what it is like not to see the person they are talking to. Any useful words,

©Fotolia

They can be given a set of questions to answer, or they can be asked to discuss certain topics in groups. Literature is a common topic at an oral exam, and the students can practise how to talk about literature in the language lab. In some courses they have to read a novel, but instead of presenting their novel or book review in class, they can do it in the language lab2. According to the English subject curriculum, one of the aims is that the student “shall be able to understand and use a wide general vocabulary and an academic vocabulary related to his/her own education programme.” 3 Instead of traditional vocabulary tests, students can be asked to explain terms. Such activities invite the students to make use of, for instance, vocational terminology.4

See the attached test for International English on Multiculturalism 2 See the attached test for International English on the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency 3 http://www.udir.no/grep/Lareplan/?laerep lanid=1097084&visning=5&sortering=2&kms id=1097092 4 See the attached test for Health and Social Services

The language lab is not to be used at all times. Obviously, students need to experience what it is like to present a topic to an audience. Sometimes it is easier to speak face to face, in order to express and interpret additional communication gestures, facial expressions and body language. As there are numerous variations on using the language lab, there are of course more functions and activities than those I

Chapter 6: Jenny from Birmingham In pairs: 1 Introduce yourselves or each other 2 Talk about Jenny 3 Explain these terms: a Physical development b Intellectual development c Language development d Emotional development e Social development 4 Give examples of different kinds of play and how they help children in developing skills a Physical play b Creative play c Pretend play d Exploratory play e Constructive play f Messy play 5 Discuss the following topics: a Child raising b Children’s development c How to work with children

oral test

Challenges Students encounter different challenges. For example, some ﬁdget too much with the control panel and headsets. Most students, however, follow the rules of behaviour in the language lab, because they like being there. Even the students that do not like learning languages, like being in the language lab as it provides variation. Silent students represent a challenge to the teacher. They need closer guidance and encouragement to overcome their fear. Repeat-after-me exercises and reading short dialogues are often successful warming-up activities. After a while, they might manage to structure sentences from a factsheet and talk about pictures. When they are conﬁdent enough, they can work with fellow students in pairs or groups. Then they can borrow words and expressions from each other. There are more participants who share the stage, so to speak.

Tracks 1: Health and Social Services

Some suggestions for short activities • Act out a dialogue in different ways (cheerful, sad, in love, angry) • Take turns asking and answering questions on a text • Practise how to pronounce and read the phonetic transcriptions of words listed • Explain terms • Repeat-after-me exercises • Read tongue twisters, dialogues etc. • Match expressions and pictures and give reasons for your choice • Describe pictures • Listen to a text and talk about it • Read a text and tell others about it • Present a topic • Talk about a topic for one minute • Discuss a topic (in pairs or in groups) • Self-assessment • Explain what you see in pictures. Use as many vocational words as possible • Talk about diagrams

oral test

Test variants During a school year several tests have to be given to assess the students’ oral skills. I have already mentioned why I like the language lab when it comes to oral tests. Students can be asked to talk about a cultural, historical, literary or vocational topic after having worked with it for a period of time1.

have presented here. In this text I hope to have encouraged teachers to try out more possibilities that will help students to improve their language skills and that will save valuable time for teachers.

oral test

expressions and structures can obviously be practised in the same way by preparing dialogues with the relevant phrases included.

International English Access to International English, Chapter 2: Multiculturalism 1 Explain these terms: a Culture b Multiculturalism c Ethnocentrism d Cultural relativism e The Commonwealth e The Seal of America 2 Compare multiculturalism in the UK and in the US. 3 What is non-Standard English? Include examples from the texts you have read in this course. 4 Relate the term culture to the ﬁlm East Is East. 5 How do cultural differences affect communication? Give examples from East Is East and texts you have read in this chapter.

International English The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Bring your copy of the novel. Explain the terms in italics before you answer the question. 1 Read page 1 of the novel. 2 What do you know about the author, Alexander McCall Smith? 3 Describe Precious Ramotswe according to: – speech – thoughts – effect on others – actions – looks 4 Is she a ﬂat or round character, do you think? 5 What do you think the author thinks about Precious? 6 What is the relationship between Precious and her father like? Feel free to relate your statements to passages in the novel.

7 Talk about the setting in the book. How does this affect the theme in the book? 8 How do you picture the agency? 9 What can you say about the point of view used in this novel? 10 Explain these literary terms: hero, villain, victim, and relate them to characters in the novel. 11 Talk about the plot in ﬁve sentences. 12 What is your impression of Botswana after having read this book? 13 How is this novel different from what we normally see/hear about Africa? 14 What do you remember best from the book? Did anything make a profound impression on you? 15 What do you think the author’s intention was in writing this book? 16 Relate this novel to the course International English.

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Nye utgaver!

Å lykkes til eksamen ... Å lykkes med-bøkene er grundig revidert etter Kunnskapsløftet! t t t t t

Effektiv lesing til eksamen og prøver Dekker sentrale læreplanmål Oversiktlige og pedagogiske Sentrale fakta og sammenhenger Test deg selv på nettstedet: alykkesmed.cappelendamm.no

Gå til www.cdu.no, velg videregående og bla i bøkene! vgsinfo@cappelendamm.no

Bla i bøkene på nett!

ISBN: 978-82-02-36439-7