A visit to our southern neighbour

See “Motoring through Malaysia”, Horizons section, page

From  John Ross

Good morning everyone. Now that it is summer in the region it is a good time to travel if you don’t mind the heat. This week’s Horizon section features a story about a road trip through Thailand’s southern neighbour Malaysia. The writer was involved in some kind of game called ‘the Malaysian International Media Hunt’, an event that was held to promote self-driving tours of the country. In the game the players had to drive around Malaysia looking for clues.

 
At the beginning of the article the writer gives information about this event as an introduction. After that, he begins to describe the tour itself.  Fill in the list below to complete the information so that you understand the itinerary of the tour. You can use this map http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/malaysia_adm98.jpg

(click on the map to make it bigger) to see the location of the states (provinces) such as Selangor and Perak and the larger cities, but some of the places are too small to appear on the map.

 

Starting point:_______________________

Destination 1: _______________________

          Attractions: ___________________

                   _______________________

Destination 2: _______________________

          Attractions: ___________________

                   _______________________

Destination 3: _______________________

          Attractions: ___________________

                   _______________________

Destination 4: _______________________

          Attractions: ___________________

                   _______________________

Destination 5: _______________________

          Attractions: ___________________

                   _______________________

 

After filling in the information you can work with your friends to discuss travel by self-driving and travel in Malaysia.

1) Do you like travelling by self-driving? How do you prefer to travel?

2) Have you ever been to Malaysia?

3) If yes, how was it?  Where did you go?

4) If not, would you like to go? Why or why not?

Posted by Terry Fredrickson at 10:22 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Analogies and complicated mobile devices

See “Waiting for the Lego approach to mobile devices” (Database, page 7)
By Jon Fernquest

Today’s article in the Database section is about innovative mobile devices (or gadgets). Analogy is used as a tool to dream-up new devices.

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War zone no longer

 From John Ross

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Experiencing the 'Eternal City' 

From John Ross

See “Roman holiday”, Horizons section, page 7

Good morning everyone and welcome back to our weekly look at tourism related articles from the Horizon section.  It’s been a long time since we last looked at a story about a trip outside of Thailand and today’s Horizon includes a very interesting article about a short journey to Rome in the World Travel section.

You can get familiar with the sights of Rome by looking at the photos that accompany the article.  You may know many of the names already such as the Colloseum, the Fora (Forum), St Peter’s and Michelangelo.  After this, you can read through the article using the vocabulary below to help you and then check your understanding by answering these questions:

1. How did the writer book her accommodation?

2. Was he satisfied with the accommodation?

3. What was the writer worried about at the beginning of her trip?

4. What places in Rome did he visit?

5. Was he happy with his trip to Rome?

After checking your answers, you can work with your friends to discuss the trip to Rome.  One person can pretend to be the tourist who has travelled to Rome and the other one can be a friend asking about the trip.  After greeting each other, use these questions to get started.

1) How was your trip to Rome?

2) Where did you stay?

3) Where did you go?

4) What did you see?

5) Was it expensive?

6) Would you like to go back again?

Try to think of more questions that you can add to the conversation, such as questions about the food, weather, flight, etc.

a tad – a little bit
harboured – held
a fortune – a lot of money
stunned – shocked
was going for – cost
putting up – staying
a stone’s throw – nearby, not far from
high-end – expensive
flanked by – beside
perils – dangers
uneasy – uncomfortable
pick-pocketed – robbed by having someone take your wallet from your pocket
belongings – things
prior to – before
a host of – many
it dawned on me – I realised
splurge – spend a lot of money
mammoth – big, very large
luminaries – famous people
outstanding – excellent
render – make
encountered - met
mugging – robbery
thinned – became fewer
sojourn to – stay in
pricey – expensive
devoid - without

Posted by Terry Fredrickson at 11:07 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Samsung’s new music player design and
The 4 P’s of marketing

See “He helped build the iPod; now he has built a rival” (Database, page 5)
By Jon Fernquest

What can you do to increase the sales of your company’s product? The 4 P’s or marketing mix (Product, Price, Place (distribution), and Promotion) describe the marketing tools you can use to increase sales. You can also use the 4 P’s to analyze new product ideas and learn useful things from them. Let’s read today’s article on Samsung’s new Z5 music player with the 4 P’s as our guide.

Product

1. Can you list all the product features of Samsung’s Z5? What is the shape of the new music player? What similar products will the player be competing with? What iPod Nano features will it probably have? (See answer key at end).

2. In this article there are many different ways to describe this kind of product: music player, personal device, and hand-held device. Can you find more?

3. The style of Apple products (color, shape, user interface) has always differentiated their products from other companies and created a market for them. Is Samsung just imitating Apple’s style or is it improving on it?

4. Longer battery life differentiates Samsung’s product from Apple’s. Samsungs Z5 is 35 hours compared to 14 hours for the iPod. The battery makes Samsung’s player larger:

Samsung's Z5: 1.66" x .45" x 3.54, 1.8" LCD
iPod Nano: 1.6" x 0.27" x 3.5, 1.5" LCD

What is more important to you and your friends, longer battery life or smaller size? Do some marketing research with your friends. Take a survey.

Price

5. How much more expensive than the iPod will the Samsung Z5 be? Why do you think the price is higher?

Place (distribution)

6. What is the target market for this product? Asia? The west? Does the article say? South Koreans will probably own a lot, but what about Thais, Europeans, Japanese, or Americans?

7. Where do you usually find Samsung electronics products sold in Thailand? Are they popular in Thailand? How do they compare in price to similar products?

Promotion

This Bangkok Post article as well as other articles in high profile publications such as the New York Times and Slashdot has already given Samsung good publicity and created some buzz and word of mouth marketing around the new product launch.

Vocabulary (in article)

to mount a challenge – to put great effort into making a challenge
cluttered – messy, untidy (especially with many useless things sitting around)
tucked away – located in a hard to find, hidden place
forged – create with a lot of hard work to make it last a long time
culmination – something important that happens at the end of a series of events
vision – the way you imagine and hope things will be like in the future
mimics – imitate, try to be like
seamless connection – continues without stopping, without any breaks or gaps
hampered by – made difficult to do by
win broad consumer approval – many customers will like it
fluid quality– smooth and graceful
refined– polite with good manners and good taste
flourish – done in a showy way so that people notice you
detail-oriented – pays attention to details
done on a tight schedule – done without a lot of time in the schedule

Alliances between small and big companies

If you have some free time, let's look more closely at the biography of software designer and entrepreneur Paul Mercer in the article:

Outsourcing is in the news nowadays, but it is usually “offshore outsourcing” in which a western company uses an Indian company, let’s say, to save on labor costs. Outsourcing can also happen in the same country with a larger firm hiring a smaller firm to do part of a project. In the extreme, a company outsources everything and becomes a virtual company.

8. Using dates in the article can you create a timeline for the events in Paul Mercer’s career and the companies he’s founded? (See answer key at end)

9. What was the problem with Mercer’s original company Pixo? How is he avoiding this problem with his new company Iventor? What is the goal of Iventor? (See answer key at end).

10. What is Mercer’s dream product for the future?

Vocabulary (in discussion)

Product differentiation – to add product features that make a product different from similar products (and attract customers with these features) (See Wikipedia)
High profile – people notice what you do

Answer Key:

1. Samsung Z5 product features:

1. Touch-sensitive scroll screen for making selections
2. Shaped like a stick of gum
3. 1.8 inch colour screen
4. 35-hour battery life
5. Works with subscription music services that support the Microsoft PlaysForSure
digital music standard
6. Priced at $199 to $249 to compete with with the iPod Nano, which costs $149 to $249
7. Transparency effects

8. Paul Mercer Timeline:

1994 - Leaves Apple and founded Pixo
2000 – Founds Iventor
2003 – Sun acquires Pixo

9. Pixo problem was size. It grew to employ 100 software developers. This was too large to maintain its focus. Iventor’s goal is to build a software platform to use in products like MP3 players.

Posted by Jon Fernquest at 11:34 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Night cruise

From John Ross

See “Visual spectacular”, Horizons section, page 5

Good morning everybody.  This month it is getting hotter each day as the summer comes to Thailand.  This kind of weather can cause problems for tourists who want to go sightseeing during the day.  The article that we look at this week suggests another way that visitors can enjoy the sights in the former capital of Ayutthaya which is taking a dinner cruise in the evening.  Read through the article then check your understanding of the main points by answering the questions below.

1) What are the advantages of taking a dinner cruise?

2) Where does the cruise mentioned in the article start and end?

3) What are some of the highlights of the tour?

4) Why are there churches in Ayutthaya?

    Now that you are familiar with the Ayutthaya dinner cruise, work with a partner and pretend to be a tourist and a travel agent to discuss the details of this type of sightseeing trip. After greeting each other, use the following questions for the tourist.

I’d like to do some sightseeing around Ayutthaya. What do you suggest?

Why do you suggest a dinner cruise?

What is included in the cruise?

What will we see on the cruise?

About how long does the cruise last?

What is the cost of the cruise?

visual – an adjective describing something we can see
spectacular – a thing that is exciting to see (Later this word is used as an adjective: ‘spectacular view’.)
illuminated – lit up
spice up – make more interesting
dusk – the time just after the sun sets
glitter – shine
exquisite – wonderful and excellent
intricate – very complicated and detailed
mesmerised – amazed
taxing – making you tired
venture out – travel
prominent – important
barge – a boat with a flat bottom
configured – designed and constructed
belie – appear different from
as relations warmed – as the two sides became more friendly
rapid – quick, fast
confluence – where two or more rivers meet
obscured from view – difficult to see
loop – a circle
complex (noun) – a group of buildings

Posted by Terry Fredrickson at 11:01 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

The way of learning

From Kaj Jordison

See “Preparing the brain to remember”, Outlook section page 5

Today we’re going to read about the brain and how it works when it’s memorising new information. This should be of much importance to students in general, even though, I imagine, most students have already left school and colleges for the long awaited summer break. Anyway, this information, which we’ll receive from reading the article, is going to be most useful in the upcoming academic year.

Most people have at one point or another become very frustrated of not being able to recall something that you thought you’d stored in your memory; for example, the needed information for a test. I myself remember several exams at university were I was unable to recall things that I knew, most definitely, that I had read in preparation for the tests. And after reading this article, I now know why that might have happened.

 According to neuroscientists, we successfully remember information if we have an appropriate frame of mind while studying, and not just during and after the time of studying, but also before it. They conducted several memory tests, and the tests showed that we have to prepare our brains for the information before we actually receive the information. Thus, just reading whatever’s going to be covered on an exam isn’t enough, preparations also has to take place before the books are opened. You have to put yourself in the correct frame of mind to be able to remember all that you strive to remember.

The results of the research are, at least according to me, important to how many subjects should be taught in the classroom. What do the scientists say about learning? How should we learn? Do you agree with the scientist? How is learning perceived in your school?

Vocabulary

recall – to remember; recollect
store – to put away for future use; to reserve
neuroscientists – scientists who specialise in the study of the brain
frame of mind – a certain way to think about things; the way your mind is set up at a certain time
primed – made ready; prepared
scanning – examining
predict – to foretell something; to make something known in advance
subsequent – following in time or order
appeared – became visible
sprung – appeared or came into being quickly
electroencephalogram – a graphic record of the electrical activity of the brain
as opposed to – in contrast to; opposite something else
conscious – having an awareness of one’s own existence, sensations, and thoughts 
ensuing – following immediately and as a result of what went before
accurate – errorless; within acceptable limits from a standard
aurally – with regard to sound or the ear; something that you hear
evident – easily seen
hammers home – states or proves that something is probably true
rote – a memorising process using routine or repetition, often without full attention or comprehension
regurgitate – to rush or surge back
inevitably – impossible to prevent or avoid
subtle – so slight it’s difficult to see or describe

Posted by Terry Frederickson at 10:33 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

From John Ross

Lanna-style wedding

 

See “Tying the Knot”, Horizons section, page 8

 

Although Valentine’s Day was last month, the subject of love is always popular. The phrase “tie the knot” is used in English as a idiom meaning “to get married”.  This is easy to understand if you imagine the two pieces of rope or string being joined together to form one strong bond that is not separated easily.

 

This week’s article is about Northern-style wedding ceremonies organised by the Lanna Folk Museum.  You can look at the pictures of the museum, the wedding ceremony and the wedding reception surrounding the story to help you understand the subject.  Read through the article using the vocabulary below to help you and then check your understanding by answering these questions.

 

1)      Where did the teak house of the museum come from?

2)      Where do many of the couples that come to get married come from?

3)      How much does it cost to enter the museum?

4)      What can we see in the museum?

5)      Why does the museum organise wedding ceremonies?

 

After checking your answers, you work with your friends to design an advertisement promoting this tourist attraction.  Include the following information:

 

1)      The location of the museum

2)      The cost of the wedding package

3)      What is included in the package

4)      The reasons why couple should get married here

 

Be sure to use adjectives that describe the package that you are trying to sell in a very attractive way, for example, exciting, unique, lovely, etc.

 

draw – attract

embracing – holding, experiencing

dismantled – taken apart

venue – the place where something happens

artifacts – ancient objects such as jewellery, tools, etc.

coordinator – the director

to click – an idiom meaning to succeed or to become popular

competent – skilled and experienced, able to do a good job

reception – a party held after a wedding to celebrate and welcome the couple to their new

way of life

exceeding – more than

touching – emotional in a happy way

keen – interested in

staging – holding, having

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