Week6: Online discussion Topic4:Nuray's response

The idea of going overseas for university study is a good opportunity for students.I think,there [are] more advantages than disadvantages beceuse if a student goes overseas for university she/he learns how to dial [deal] with difficulties on her/his own [?]. A unversity student must be brave enough to succeed. the college students should be prepared for the difficult life.
This is also significant for their future career. [why and how?] Students should learn communicating [with other] people. They dont need to go abroad for this but they learn this kind of things when they are away from home..

Week 6: Online Discussion Topic 4

Hi,
Here is the first topic for this week's online discussion:
The idea of going overseas for university study is an exciting prospect for many people. But while it may offer some advantages, it is probably better to stay home because of the difficulties a student inevitably encounters living and studying in a different culture. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement? Give reasons for your answer.

The partners for discussion:
1. Nuray K.
2. Hatice C.

ps. The others can also participate the discussion, but wait till one of the assigned people starts the discussion.

Week6: Online Discussion Topic 3

Hi,
Here is the first topic for this week's online discussion:
Technology is making communication easier in today's world, but at the expense of personal contact as many people choose to work at home in front of a computer screen. What dangers are there for a society which depends on computer screens rather than face-to-face contact for its main means of communication?

The partners for discussion:
1. Meltem E.
2. Hulya T.

ps. The others can also participate the discussion, but wait till one of the assigned people starts the discussion.

Week5: Feedback on Online Discussion Topic 1

Nilgun,
I agree with you. Only natural ability does not bring success. I would like to give another example from football. Sergen Yalcin is one of the few who was born naturally gifted and skilled to play football. But Sergen has lacked hardwork, he relied too much on his natural ability and thus failed to be a worldwide known football star. Yes he was a very successful player in Turkey but he could have been a world star if he'd worked hard enough.So this example shows how hard work is as important as natural ability...
Thank you Nilgun.
Any other ideas on that?..

Week5: Feedback on Online Discussion Topic2

Dear Zeynep, Gokay, Meltem, and Ozge C,
Thank you all very much for the valuable contributions to the discussion topic:
How do you think success comes in life: from taking risks or chances, or from careful planning?
I agree with Gokay that success in life depends on our ability to see possibilities where noone else can, and yes there are many who have achieved success by taking risks in their lives. Yet, I also believe many of these successful people have calculated the risks and weighed their chances of success by carefully planning each step they have taken. So here I also strongly agree with Zeynep's point of view that planning must be made at ecery stage, even when preparing to take risks.
Meltem and Ozge C, you took the issue from a different angle and said that what we call "experience" is actually taking risks and using opportunities and learning from these experiences. I agree with you, but we should also remember that there are many people around us who have taken risks they cannot handle, because they lacked careful planing, and so faced failure instead of success. Ask these people, and they would say what they have is "regrets", not experience!..
All in all, I see the point you all are trying to make. I think, both careful planning and taking risks and chances are important. My point is, even taking risks requires careful planning. I think successful people are those who work hard, plan their steps carefully so that they achive success, and they take chances, opportunities and risks that they think are affordable and attainable according to their plan...
Thanks,
ps. You're welcome to comment on my ideas.

Week 5: Online Discussion Topic 2

Topic 2
How do you think success comes in life: from taking risks or chances, or from careful planning?
The partners for discussion are:
1. Zeynep Es
2. Gokay Özkan
Thanks in advance for your contribution.
ps. Other students, please feel free to participate the discussion; however, please wait first for one of the assigned students to start the discussion.

Week5: Online Discussion Topic 1

Topic 1
Which one is more important for success: natural ability or hard work?
The partners for discussion are:
1. Özge Ac1lar
2. Nilgun Arsak
ps. Other students, please feel free to participate the discussion; however, please wait first for one of the assigned students to start the discussion.

Week5: Prep for FINAL EXAM_Weekly discussions online

Dear all,
Each week, I will put up "two" discussion topics on the blog (these topics are similar to the ones that will be asked in the final exam, and are intended to prepare you for the exam). For each discussion topic, I will assign two students from the class list to lead the discussion.
When you see the post on the blog and the names assigned, these two students will click on the COMMENTS button under the post and will leave their opinions on the discussion topic. To keep the discussion going, you can take turns (i.e., after reading your partner's comments, you can reply by leaving another comment). By the way, the other students who follow the discussion can also participate and leave their comments.
For Week 5, check my next post.
Thanks.
ps. I plan to allot 5 % of your total class mark based on your fulfillment of this task assigned.

Week5: Persuasive Speech- CALL for TOPICS

Dear all,
As you all know, you will start your 5-min presentations in week 6. Have you started looking and searching for topics yet?
I would like you to do some google search and find sources that suggest persuasive topics, offer sample outlines and content and presentation tips, etc.
Below I would l'ke to share you a link I have found online:
http://www.persuasive-speechesnow.com/persuasive-speech-OUTLINE.html

This link tells you how you should prepare your speech outline. The website is intended for professionals (e.g. businessmen), but you too can learn some tips from it. Also, the home-page:
http://www.persuasive-speechesnow.com/
offers much more related with persuasive speech, including sample topics:
http://www.persuasive-speechesnow.com/persuasive-speech-TOPICS.html

Now it is your turn to suggest more web sources. If you would like to see how your friends in the other group suggested some useful web sources, visit
http://elte108-02.blogspot.com

Week 4- Persuasive Speech: Sample student speeches on YOUTUBE

Dear all,
As you know, we start our major topic for this semester: PERSUASIVE SPEECH.
You will start giving your mini persuasive talks in Week 6 and on. Next week is the 4th week and you'll have two weeks to learn about this kind of speech and then prepare for your own persuasive speech.
For the next week (week 4), I would like you to start reading the related chapter in your course pack. Also, to get an idea about persuasive speech, you can watch the sample student speeches I linked from the YouTube.
Have a nice weekend and I'll see you on Monday...
ps. Check the blog on Saturday again, I might set some specific tasks from the chapter for Monday...

Week3- Communication Styles: Men & Women differences- Task for Classwork (for Wednesday)

Dear all,
Tomorrow (Wednesday) our speaking activity will be about men & women. Basically, men and women of the class will get into two groups and prepare a 5-steps to undertstanding women/ men speech. To help you prepare your talk, you can use the information from the following sources. Please read the information in the sources below, so that you can have some ideas about how men and women are two different species when it comes to communication. Prepare a nice guideline showing the differences so that men/women can understand you better...

1. Men and Women in Conversation is Cross-Cultural Communication:
http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/bassr/githens/tannen.htm
2. Gender differences in communication styles:
http://employees.oneonta.edu/vomsaaw/w/psy257/handouts/gender_diffs_in_communication.htm
3. COMMUNICATION STYLES- Understanding the Differences Between Men and Women:
http://www.marlenelathrop.com/print001.html
4. 6 tips for bridging the communication gap:
http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/management/leadership-training/women-vs-men-6-tips-for-bridging-the-communication-gap.aspx
5. 5 Things Women Do That Drive Men Away:
http://www.marsvenus.com/members/articles.php?id=42

bad drivers: women..

Women… strange creatures. They can be perfect for many things but ı dont think that they are actually good at driving. There are many reasons about this situation, for instance gender.. as we know gender also effects driving habits. Maybe because women are so sensitive and coward, they can not think what have to be done in emergency situations or they cant behave courageously, which makes things much worse. And nowadays we can clearly see that women also use alcohol while driving and even do many things wrong. Another reason for this is stamina. Women are more sensitive than men and that’ s why they cant bear long miles. There are many reasons about that topic and this shows us that men are much better than women but at driving (:

Women- bad drivers?

Meltem,
Yes I agree with you on this panic or not to panic matter while driving. And yes women tend to have a more panicky character and tend to panic more in an emergency situation compared to men's being calmer in these situations. And tight dresses, highheels and mini skirts; why women insist on putting themselves in such uncomfortable clothing and put themselves and others at risk trying to drive and make-up at the same time!...

Hi everyone,
I think women are bad drivers. Or we can say that they are worse than men. Sometimes when I walk on the street, I see some drivers who do some mistakes, while driving. And I wonder that is the driver a man or a women; that`s why I look. And mostly I come across a woman. Also women have a panic personality. When they come across an emergency situation, they get panic. And they can`t do anything with a healthy concious. Think them in this situation! They can`t drive, can they? But men can be more serious, coldbloodeed in an emergency situation. And the last thing for me is women` s wearings. Most of them choose skirts, highheet shoes. And of course these shoes are not suitable for driving.
When I look at these points, I think women are bad drivers. I hope we can drive without mistakes in the future :) meltem

Week2- New Discussion: Who are better drivers, men or women?

Dear all,
I wanted to take the discussion online so that we can carry that on for a little further. The topic was:
Women / men are better drivers.
Here is the ground, speak up your mind. I'll start first, here is what I think, backed up with some statistics:

Those who think women are good drivers, here is some statistics from a report in the US, which says the rate of accidents involving female motorists increased 14 percent in the last 30 years, while there has been a 11 percent decline in the accidents in which male drivers were involved. How about that? And the same study argues that more and more women today are driving agressively and show road rage. I think the gap is closing between male and female drivers in bad driving behavior!...

Week 2-online discussion continued

Hi all,
Each week we lead an online discussion about a topic (an argumentative topic like the ones asked in your final exam). Last week's discussion was:
Universities don't prepare the young people for the real world.
It is only Hatice and me who stated their ideas on the issue so far (see the posts below). We expect you too to speak up your ideas on the topic.

Universities do prepare us for the real world- agreeing with Hatice

Hatice,
I agree with you. I think universities do prepare the students for the real world! As someone who has gone through the experience already, I should say my university experience helped me prepare for the real world afterwards. I not only learned academic skills but also survival skills. What I mean is the university taught me how to live on a limited budget, deal with household, manage a social life, pay the bills, etc. You learn to stand on your own feet, mature intellectually and emotionally. To cut it short, you enter the university as a kid, walk away as a grown up...

Universities prepare us for the real world

Actually I strongly believe that universities prepare us for the real world. First of all, when we come to university, we start studying more comprehensively, which lets us improve both our skills and thoughts. And with this extensive progress, we can be kind of individuals that have so much abilities. As we know universities are situated in many places and this gives us the opportunity to take care of ourselves. Because we start to live apart from our families,we have to live on our own and have to do all our works by ourselves. And we can meet many kinds of people from everywhere in the world. Thanks to universities, we can be aware of the real world. In addition to them , universities includes many social and cultural activities that everyone can join and enjoy themselves. For all these things and even much more them, it is graphically seen that universities provide us many oppartunities (sp) and prepare us for the real world.

* red parts show the sections edited by Erkan.

Becoming a member!

Dear all,
Here are the steps to become a member of our website:
1. Check your gmail. You will see an invitation e-mail from me.
2. Open the e-mail message. The message says: "To contribute to this blog, visit:" Click on the link just below it.
3. When you click on the link, it will take you to the blogger site.
4. Type in your gmail password and click on "accept invitation".
5. Type in your name, which will be seen on the website. Tick "I accept terms of service".
6. Click on "continue". Now you can click on "view the blog", and view the blog.
When you visit the website http://elte108.blogspot.com/ next time, see the top right corner and click on "sign in". Sign in the blog and now you can write a post or comment on the blog.
1. To post a message, click on the "new post" on the top right corner. A window will pop up. Type in a title for your message. And type in your message in the space. And click on "publish" to post the message.
2. To respond to a message posted on the blog, click on the comments link just below the post. A window will pop up. Type in your message and post it.
Thank you, and enjoy the experience.

Topic for DISCUSSION

Dear all,
Here is the topic for this week's discussion:
Universities don't prepare young people for the real world.
Do you agree or disagree with the statement?
Please click on the comments link below (next to the date and time of posting) and type in your argument. Defend your argument by giving support, examples and evidence.
Thank you.