Introductory+Course


 * Teacher code in ESLvideo - AIM333**

Headway Pre-Intermediate Unit 1 [|ESLvideo - I just haven't met you yet]


 * Reading task 1**

//**International Friend in Need is in Need Indeed **//

//Read the text and answer the questions: // //How difficult is it to study abroad? // //Would you like to be an international student? // //Write tips for international students who want to study in Russia. //

Striking as it is, a person from another continent can be closer to you than your neighbor. When two people from different countries meet on common land, they have at least one thing in common: the distance that separates them from their roots. They may have different values, represent different cultures or speak different languages, but they are in the same boat. They are miles away from their homeland and they have to make friends. Making friends in America is not the same as in Russia. The expression “to make friends” in America means to shake hands with an unknown person that someone introduces you to. It means to have a nice talk during lunch and say, “See you,” even though you may never see this person again. Americans make friends in line for an ice cream or at a party where they don’t know half of their guests. To make friends is part of American culture and, indeed, a rather positive part. I like to meet new people. I think of it as adding a new drop to my knowledge of the world. On the other hand, once you make a stop in the swirling rhythm of life you realize that you do not remember half of the names or that you cannot dial a single number when you need it, even though you have a bunch of your friends’ business cards sitting on your desk. In Russia, what Americans call friends, we call “acquaintances.” Friendship in my country is not only a conventional exchange of phrases, “How are you?” and “How is it going?” or the more typical for teenagers, “What’s up, man?” because Russians rely on people they call friends. When your friend asks how you are, he doesn’t expect you to say a stale “OK,” but he is interested in details and wants to listen to you. You can spill your guts to your friend, complain about the person who is a pain in your neck, ask for advice, share your problems and successes, as well as deep sorrow or even boundless happiness. You do it because you trust your friend. This is what I mean by saying people make friends miles away from home on neutral turf. They create a meaningful relationship. International students especially need someone to rely upon in a new country. They are extracted from their familiar environments and are immersed into a strange culture. One day I asked a student from Germany, “How are you?” His answer was, “Trying to survive.” This phrase perfectly describes the situation in which newcomers find themselves in America. Many international students feel helpless in the U.S. They don’t even have the transportation to go out and explore their new world. You need a car to go out or to buy some toiletries, even in such a small town where I lived. It forces you to be dependent on other people in a country where freedom and independence are supreme values. No wonder a car is the primary objective for most young Americans. In my public speaking class, we had to deliver a “million dollar speech,” where we described the first three things we would spent a million dollars on. Listening to my American classmates, I felt like I was at a car dealership. Nobody forgot to explain the advantages of their dream car. It seems Americans grow up with the idea of a car as an absolute ideal. Car is idol. Car is God. However, the absence of a car is just a hint of the difficulty international students cope with. Homesickness is also a major problem. It’s not when you are sick and tired of domestic chores - that’s easy. Homesickness means you are sick because you miss home so much and not only home but everything connected with it (even if it’s a cup of tea with jam in a country where coffee is more common). I don’t think we can count this feeling in miles, but it makes a difference whether your family is several miles away or across an ocean. My friend told me she once burst into tears in the middle of the class. She wasn’t thinking about her grades, she was thinking about her fiancé on the other side of the world. At such a time nobody wants to hear an acquaintance ask, “How are you?” But a friend’s shoulder to cry on is essential because an international friend in need is in need indeed - more so than an American freshman who can drive home every weekend. Here is another example. An international student from Kyrgyzstan came down with chickenpox at the beginning of the semester. It was Labor Day, an American national holiday, so University Health Center was closed. He had a high fever, no telephone and no roommate nearby. So he went to the president of the International Students’ Association. This student woke up in two minutes, without having breakfast and took the sick student to the emergency room with another international student acting as an interpreter. They both stayed in the hospital until evening. That’s what real friends do. Only a friend can sacrifice his time whether it is to take you to the hospital or to help you buy a bathing suit or choose a laptop on the internet. Only a friend can send you homemade cookies to help you forget your loneliness or take you to see her mother’s dogs to lighten your heart. Only a friend can talk with you for an hour about his country if you need it for your class. Miles away from home I make real friends who helped me to cope with disappointing trifles and enormous homesickness. They helped me to survive in a foreign country because an international friend in need is a friend indeed.


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Reading task 2 **

//**<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Dorm Life - Crazy College or a Box of Rules? **//

//<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Read the text, write out words connected with student and daily life in the USA. // //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Answer the question: what surprised you most about life in an American dormitory? // //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Write out advantages and disadvantages of life in a dorm in Russia and in the USA. //

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Dorm life in the U.S. and Russia is as different as our mentality. That’s why I listened to Americans’ complaints with an ironic smile: they wouldn’t survive our dorms.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">College life is for doing crazy things. However, the word "crazy" can have different colors. Americans love to call things crazy or mad. Let's take "Meijer Madness," for example, when crowds of people rolled their carts along the supermarket in hopes of finding good sales. There were free buses to the supermarket from my university and a rare student would miss an opportunity to grab something on sale or just to walk around in a good company. Or "Midnight Madness," a step show with wild yelling in the dark, was also very popular with students.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"There was something mad in Wise Hall yesterday!" my classmate said, excited, referring to an ice-cream "war" in his dormitory, where they threw ice cream at each other.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">American students expect crazy life from college. That's why they may become very disappointed with so many regulations college imposes on them and do not realize what opportunities they have.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A simple everyday life in an American dorm is a tremendous opportunity in itself. But I often heard EMU domestic students complain about campus regulations. An American freshman in my dorm began packing her things right after she moved in.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Too little space for me," she remarked naughtily. No wonder she was upset, because "me" includes a TV set, a microwave, a toaster, a fridge, an armchair and a computer. Well, with such a luggage there is hardly enough space for two Americans in one room.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In American dorms if you do not have a shower in your room, there is a shower two to three steps away from your door. Having lived in a Russian dorm for three years, I can tell this is very convenient. In Tula I had to go all the way downstairs from the fifth floor just to take a shower. But it is not a problem though, if you manage to take a shower in the end. There is usually a line of five people, if you are lucky enough. When I did not see anybody, I began to worry. Is the shower out of order? Or did they cut off the hot water?

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Water in Russia is like weather in England. In England they say about weather, "If it rains in the morning, it can be sunny in the afternoon, but a splendid morning can turn into a nasty afternoon." In Russia we say about water, "If you enjoy the hot water in the morning, there can be no cold water in the afternoon." Moreover, hurry up and brush your teeth before midnight. There will be neither cold nor hot water afterward. We have a bit different "deadlines" in my country. You can hand in your paper a couple of days later, but you must brush your teeth before midnight while the water is running.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That's why when I heard American students’ complaints I suppressed an ironic smile. A day in a Russian dorm would have driven them mad without going to "Midnight Madness."

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In American dorms guests could stay overnight in the room three days in a row and six days in a month. "Not bad, not bad," my American roommate commented. It is excellent compared to Russian rules. Only my parents and members of my family were allowed to go into my room but not to stay there.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">No wonder Russian students are so inventive as far as rules are concerned. We have not only night watch but also day watch. Dorms in my home city are not big and day watch persons know most students by their faces. That's why students do not always present their ID at the entrance. It makes it easy to get your friends inside. We used to change clothes with our friends, so that they looked like students living in the dorm.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Students who had lost their keys to the front door had to pay a fee, which didn’t make them happy. But hearing their grumbling I usually advised them to be happy about having keys to their dorm at all. Keys to the entrance door of the dorm are usually a luxury in a Russian residence hall. My dorm in Tula was closed at 10.30 p.m., and there was no official way to get in after that. Private life became a problem; no guests, no dates late at night were allowed.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Can you imagine a senior student hurrying up from his date to get into his dorm? No? Me either, that's why there were a lot of ways to cheat the night watch person. Students from the second floor found an original way out. They used bed sheets as a rope and acted like Tarzans. Jungle rules lead to jungle solutions on how to live a full college life with those rules.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So EMU regulations were not bad in the end. And I advised American peers to enjoy their college years and get rid of nagging; youth has no place for it. And our Russian students I would wish to be more inventive until the authorities realize that absurd rules won’t bring order.


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Reading task 3 **

//<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Read the text and answer the questions after it. //
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Cultural Rainbow **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">America for me is a country of diversity as if painted with a magic brush to create the cultural rainbow.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I came to America with a Russian soul, to tell Americans about “the mysterious Russian soul” and began desperately searching for the American soul at Eastern Michigan University. What I found, though, was not a rainbow of all nations, not even a modern desktop color palette, but all the hints and shades of life mixed together. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Cultural and ethnical diversity make this country painted by millions of brushes, and I feel pity for those who do not realize it. But there are people who do not see the beauty of colors, and there are Americans who manage to keep away from the diverse environment. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">An international student went to a party for swimmers at EMU with his non-American friend. With a sparkle of irony, he told me afterward he and his friend were the only international students there. There is nothing extraordinary in the fact some Americans keep in touch only with Americans. People are free to choose whom they want to communicate with. But it is shameful some girls at that party asked to touch those poor international students as if they were a wonder or a comet you see once in 200 years. And that happened at the university, where there are about 1000 international students from 54 countries. With all those figures, it’s hard to perceive how some American students can create an “iron curtain” around their lives. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In my home university in Russia I saw only a bunch of Chinese students, who hang out together and lived their own Chinese life, staying away from the bulk of Russians. I saw them playing soccer in front of the dorm, hurrying downstairs, hiding their chins in the collars of their jackets. I heard professors complain about their poor Russian and watched staff in the cafeteria irritated at their inability to ask what they wanted. It was more of a look from outside, a drawing by a 3-year-old child with two blots of a different color. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But a rainbow of nations cautiously showed its corner to me at EMU. Before most students arrived, the campus was empty except for international students who usually come in advance. After a pouring rain of emotions and first impressions I found myself playing volleyball with people from all over the world. It was the first time I did activities with somebody from South America or Africa, but I didn’t ask to touch them. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I would advise those Americans who don’t see anybody except themselves to “touch” a different culture instead of international students, which is very simple in an American university. For example, every year at Eastern Michigan students organize International Week full of cultural events, such as playing African drums. It’s not just an animal skin on a wooden body; it’s a magic brush to color American reality with a shade of diversity. And what is most important, anybody could be a wizard. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“Basically, you pick up the sound; it could be very simple, but it adds,” said an African drum lover. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Such events help develop a further interest in other cultures. I am glad this was not an exception in my university but rather a rule. There were students at EMU who didn’t treat representatives of different countries like comets, messengers from space, but created awareness of other cultures. There were at least 15 international student organizations at EMU; their names were wide spread on the world map, but their goals had much in common. All of them were painters, though they probably didn’t go to art school. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">During the International Week at EMU the year I was there everybody could become a painter and add a stroke to the rainbow, joining African Drums Circle Celebration or watching a movie or taking part in the international soccer tournament. It’s up to students to decide whether to get involved with wide-open eyes or to stay away with curtains firmly drawn together. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I chose picturesque diversity, but somebody can be happy with “iron” monotony. We can paint our life the way we want. Even if you are a fan of black and white, why not try other colors first, especially when America offers all the hints and shades of life mixed together.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Answer the questions: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1.What did the author search for and what did she find? <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. What does the author think about cultural and ethnic diversity in America? How does she illustrate cultural ignorance? <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. Was the environment in the author’s university in Russia also diverse? Give examples of the author’s encounters with Chinese culture in her home university. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4.Enumerate the ways of creating awareness of other cultures in the U.S. university. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">5.What are the alternatives of treatment of diversity does the author suggest? What is the author’s choice? What is your choice?

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Write a short paragraph expressing your opinion on the statement: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. We can paint our life the way we want. Do you agree? Why? Why not? Are you a painter of your life or a colouring book that somebody else paints in? <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. What is “the mysterious Russian soul”? Is there such a notion as an American/English/ German, etc. soul? <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. America is the country with extreme diversities in every sphere of life. Explain. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4. People are free to choose whom they want to communicate with. Discuss.