Posts Tagged ‘Language’

US Brings Case Against Apple, 5 Publishers Over E-Books

Wednesday, May 16th, 2012

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report from voaspecialenglish.com | http The United States government says Apple and five book publishers illegally fixed prices of e-books. Three publishers — Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster — agreed to a settlement announced April eleventh with the Justice Department. The agreement says they must repay millions of dollars and stop giving Apple special treatment. Attorney General Eric Holder said the department will continue to take legal action against Apple and two additional leading publishers, MacMillan and Penguin. He says Apple and the publishers conspired to increase the prices that consumers pay for e-books. He said the Justice Department wants to make sure Americans can buy e-books at a fair price. The department says Apple and the five publishers made an illegal deal to set higher prices for electronic books. Because of this, it says, Americans paid millions of dollars more than they should have. The dispute centers on the influence of Amazon.com. The Internet store had been selling e-books for nine dollars and ninety-nine cents. But the government says Apple made a deal with the publishers two years ago as it prepared to launch the iPad tablet computer. The deal guaranteed Apple thirty percent of the money earned on each e-book sold. It also created a pricing model that required stores to sell at a price set by the publishers and Apple. The price was several dollars higher than the one offered by Amazon

Learn Business Conversation English 87 (gross income, disposable income)

Tuesday, May 15th, 2012

Today’s words: Gross income, pretax income, disposable income, net income, discretionary income. This business English as a second language (ESL) video helps students learn fluent speaking skills in a professional environment. We learn new vocabulary and words every day. I hope you are having fun (or at least productive time) with these tutoring practice videos. Free video lessons every day! yay! TeacherPhilEnglish is here to teach the world!

Real English – Lesson 17 – The Italians

Thursday, May 10th, 2012

The Lesson for this video begins at www.real-english.com then click on “Execise 1″. What are the Italians like? For intermediate students.

China, Mexico and Brazil Lead Gains in US Graduate School Applications

Wednesday, May 9th, 2012

This is the VOA Special English Education Reportfrom voaspecialenglish.com | http Graduate schools in the United States are reporting a nine percent increase in applications from international students this year. The increase is the same as two years ago. Last year’s gain was eleven percent.China, Mexico and Brazil showed the biggest increases in applications to enter master’s and doctoral programs this fall.Engineering is the top area of study for international students and had the biggest increase in applications. Gains in business and physical and earth sciences were close behind. Life sciences showed no growth in the latest survey by the Council of Graduate Schools.The survey includes the top five countries that send graduate students to the United States, plus Mexico and Brazil. The top five are China, India, South Korea, Taiwan and Canada.Applications from China climbed eighteen percent this year. That was down from last year. India’s number increased just two percent. Applications from South Korea and Taiwan decreased by one to two percent.Applications from Africa were down five percent, while the Middle East and Europe showed growth. Council President Debra Stewart says final results will not be available until the summer.She pointed out that applications do not necessarily convert to enrollment. About forty-seven percent of all international applications to US graduate schools come from students from China. But the share of the applicant pool that actually ends

My Rocket Spanish REVIEW Learn to Speak Spanish Online.mov

Monday, May 7th, 2012

The coupon is here: www.rocketspanishworks.com I used this coupon for 67% off the price and I think it still works you just have to put in your email and it sends you to the discount page (wich i think is private?) anyway, enjoy!

How Gold Became the Gold Standard for Trade

Sunday, May 6th, 2012

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report, from voaspecialenglish.com | http The best example of something is often called the “gold standard.” It sets the standard against which other things are measured. In economics, the term describes how major trading nations once used gold to set currency values and exchange rates. Many nations continued to use the gold standard until the last century. In the United States, people could exchange paper money for gold from the eighteen seventies until nineteen thirty-three. Then-President Richard Nixon finally disconnected the dollar from the value of gold in nineteen seventy-one. From time to time, some politicians call for a return to the gold standard. But in nineteen seventy eight, the International Monetary Fund ended an official gold price. The IMF also ended the required use of gold in transactions with its member countries. Since that time, gold prices have grown. But the growth was uneven. Prices — uncorrected for inflation — continue near record highs. Gold is trading above one thousand six hundred dollars an ounce. An ounce is about twenty-eight grams. But people keep buying. Some people are “gold bugs.” These are investors who say people should buy gold to protect against inflation. People have valued gold for thousands of years. The soft, dense metal polishes to a bright yellow shine and resists most chemical reactions. It makes a good material for money, political power — and, more recently, electrical power

Linguistics and English Language at Edinburgh – Student Interview: Zosia Jasinska

Saturday, May 5th, 2012

Thinking of studying Linguistics and English Language at the University of Edinburgh? Listen to what one of our current undergraduate student, Zosia Jasinska, thinks about her programme, the University and life in Edinburgh.

Political Correctness | Learn English | Vocabulary

Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012

EXTRAS: linguaspectrum.com A term that has become increasingly popular in English since the 1970s has been political correctness or PC. In simple terms, this means avoiding the use of words or phrases that might upset someone’s sensibilities. In more complex terms, this means being afraid to say what you think because it just might be deemed offensive by the PC Brigade. It is a curtailing of our freedom of speech. We can’t call someone short anymore; we must call them vertically challenged. Nor can we call someone bald. Bald people are now follicular challenged. That is, according to the PC Brigade. When I was a young boy and someone called me names, I would tell my mother. She would say, “Sticks and stones may break your bones, but names can never hurt you.” On a purely physical level, she was right. On a psychological level, however, she was a little off the mark. Calling people names can hurt them. Name calling is a favourite technique of the bully. Calling the child who wears glasses, four-eyes, or the child who is not as tall as his peers, shorty or squirt is bullying, plain and simple. Children are natural bullies, but most mature and grow out of the tendency to bully others. Those sad people who fail to mature and take their bullying behaviour into the workplace are to be pitied as inadequate excuses for human beings. Bullies bully in order to achieve a sense of self-worth that is otherwise lacking in their sad and sorry little lives. As a way of stamping out the

The Pronunciation, Spelling, and Usage of Contractions – English Language Lesson

Tuesday, May 1st, 2012

In this lesson contractions will be studied and examined in detail. I will show you how to use, spell, and pronounce contractions. CONTRACTIONS examples: can’t, we’ll, he’ll, she’ll, arn’t (yes you can spell it that way) aren’t ——————————————– The Pronunciation, Spelling, and Usage of Contractions – English Language Lesson Pronounce, spell, and use contractions in sentences is very fun ——————————————– Links ——– 25 most common words in the English language youtu.be My channel www.youtube.com ——————————————– I will provide lessons on the english language to those who want to learn more about it. I am a native english speaker whom of which speaks professionally, slangly, and I make my own words and grammar up sometimes to fit the situation. Remember, it’s all about getting the point across. ——————————————– super duper tags ——————————————– English Lessons learn English articles ESL learn contractions beginning English grammar online English lessons learn English course English grammar rules how to learning english english for learning learning in english learning of english who to learn english how i learn english learnenglish learningenglish english to speak the verb to be how speak english how i learn english language English for beginners American English pronunciation

Another Look at Massive Online Open Courses

Tuesday, May 1st, 2012

This is the VOA Special English Education Report, from voaspecialenglish.com | http Last time, we talked about Massive Open Online Courses, also called MOOCs. Tens of thousands or even more people can take these classes all at once. You can be anywhere in the world to take a MOOC. All you need is a computer and a network connection. MOOCs add to a tradition of what is known as distance learning. For years, many colleges have offered classes that are taught partly or mostly online. MOOCs are available in subjects like computer science, engineering or mechanics. Can MOOCs in subjects like arts or the humanities be as effective? Scott Anderson teaches philosophy at the University of British Columbia in Canada. He sees both good and bad sides to online courses. Mr. Anderson believes that some parts are fine. For example, when a teacher gives a presentation to the class, there is no special reason why students need to be physically present to hear it. And, he says there is no reason why they need to be physically present to do readings. Mr. Anderson says increased numbers of people taking MOOCs can mean less communication between students and teachers. He says two ways to deal with this are by adding more teachers and graders, and setting up online discussion groups. Lisa Jadwin teaches English and American literature and writing at St. John Fisher College in New York. She says online education has some weaknesses for her subjects. She says the teaching of literature requires