Urbanization Rates

There are some interesting demographic differences among the nations represented in our class.

from Index Mundi,  in particular this webpage ,  select a country, then demographics, then urbanization and you will find the following statistics.

Country              Rate of Change                Urbanization
                          (2005-2010)


Canada                    1.1%                              81%

Thailand                   1.8%                              34%

Vietnam                    3%                                 30%

Saudi Arabia             2.2%                              82%

China                        2.3%                              47%


McKinsey Global Institute also has an interesting report on urbanization trends here

Blog task for March 18th

Your writing/thinking task for this week is to create a joint blog post that lists and discusses 10 ways to become a more fluent reader.    (You may have to do a little bit of research.)

I want you to also discuss the problems you have when you engage in reading these days, and how these ten solutions can help solve these problems.   Which 3 of the ten do you think are most critical?

Finally,   include 2 links to good websites that can help you improve your reading in line with your ten tips.
(Don't forget to introduce/summarize the websites and how they relate to your ten tips).

I would expect this post to be between 400 and 600 words.  This blog post is due Thursday.

Another great learning and listening resource

One of my favourite interviewers (when I am feeling that I want to be mentally stimulated) is Charlie Rose.



His own website (www.charlierose.com) describes him thus:

Acclaimed interviewer and broadcast journalist Charlie Rose engages America's best thinkers, writers, politicians, athletes, entertainers, business leaders, scientists and other newsmakers in one-on-one interviews and roundtable discussions.     


Unfortunately,   his website videos require flash player, so they won't work on iOs devices.   However,  you can access his latest interviews though the free Bloomberg TV app available from the app store.

Find a person or topic that interests you and have a listen.  Interviews range from 15 to 45 minutes.  The panel discussions are great.

A couple of interviews I recommend are these:

Michael Lewis: (a writer on international business and economics)

Larry Page:  (founder of Google)

Gloria Steinem  (about Women leaders in America)


Explore the website for other topics or personalities that interest you.   Listen for 5 minutes and then decide if you are interested or able to follow the discussion.   They won't all suit you, but you can find some gems that can provide many new ideas and assist learning.

Flipboard for mobile devices

I mentioned this wonderful app to you in class yesterday.   It is one of the best for reading (but there are audio, video and visual links as well).

This is the homepage of Flipboard.    If you have an Apple or Android device, download the app and try it out (in English).   Then share your favourite contents with a friend.

Podcasts

Do you know what a podcast is?    Have you ever listened to or viewed one?

As described by wikipedia,  

A podcast is a type of digital media consisting of an episodic series of audio radio, video,PDF, or ePub files subscribed to and downloaded through web syndication or streamed online to a computer or mobile device.


Podcasts are therefore an excellent way to improve your knowledge,  English vocabulary and listening skills as you can utilize mobile devices to conveniently listen to podcasts of interest to you.   You can listen while on the bus or waiting for a bus.   You can listen before going to bed.   There are five minute podcasts and there are two hour podcasts.   You can choose the topic and length.    You can download or stream them.     You can share them.    Podcasts can be monologues or dialogues.    You will find the dialogues better for developing your listening skills.

You can access podcasts through the Apple podcast app and/or iTunes.  Android can also do this.    You can use an old fashioned computer as well.      Have a purpose when you listen.  Share with a friend and discuss the podcast.

Some of my favourite podcast sites are:

http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/
http://charlesadler.com/
http://www.cknw.com/podcasts.aspx

There are many more as a quick Google of  “podcasts” will show.


Finally, while not exactly a podcast,  here is a great resource for interesting interviews.

http://www.cbc.ca/strombo/   

A great movie about employment trends

You can watch this movie -- Outsourced  (this is an IMDB overview) -- on Netflix.  It is about a call centre in India and the cross-cultural communication and management issues that arise when an American is sent to manage the Indian-staffed office.





If you have not yet subscribed to Netflix,   I highly recommend it.   You can get the first month free.