THE FLYING BOAT
Interviewer: I know you've travelled by flying boat. When was this?
Mrs Carrel: I went by flying boat to Singapore in October 1946. At six in the morning on Wednesday we left Poole Harbour, on the south coast, and we arrived in Singapore at four o'clock in the afternoon on the Saturday. I believe now they do it in about fifteen hours flying time. Of course, it was much more comfortable the way I did it.
Interviewer: Yes, I've heard there was a lot of room in the flying boats. And these days in aeroplanes there isn't.
Mrs Carrel: That's right. It was without doubt the most comfortable journey I've made by air in my life. There was also the advantage of slowly getting used to the change in temperature. It was mid- October when I left England, and it was beginning to get cold. At the other end it was very hot, but we were able to get used to the change very gradually.
Interviewer: Yes, that's a major problem these days with air travel ...
Mrs Carrel: Yes, particularly in the winter. You fly out from here and fifteen hours later you're suddenly hot and uncomfortable. But I remember flying over France we were really hot. They had heating in the plane, you see. And outside, I knew it was freezing because I could see ice on the wings. The only time we were really cold was between Rangoon and Singapore. The heating was off and we were all wrapped up in blankets.
Types of Listening DISCRIMINATIVE LISTENING – It involves identifying the difference between various sounds. It also enables one to differentiate between familiar and unfamiliar language.
COMPREHENSION LISTENING – It involves attaching meaning to what is being listened to. It may also include comprehending the non verbal messages being conveyed by the speaker.
EVALUATIVE LISTENING – It involves evaluating and analyzing the message being received. It involves judging the acceptability of what is said depending on how logical one finds it to be.
ATTENTIVE LISTENING – It involves paying attention to the words that are being spoken.
PRETENCE LISTENING – It involves more hearing than listening. It means pretending through facial expressions that one is listening when actually one is not.
SELECTIVE LISTENING – It involves selecting the desired part of the message and ignoring the undesired part of the message.
INTUITIVE LISTENING – It means listening through the intuitive mind by silencing the other forms of internal dialogues going on simultaneously.
TYPES OF DISCUSSION TASKS 1. GUIDED DISCUSSION TASK The goal of guided or directed discussion tasks is to give students a chance to develop critical thinking, clear oral expression, as well as experience in posing and responding to questions. Stage 1: The teacher poses a discussion question to the whole class. Guidelines are given on discussion etiquette and criteria for evaluation. Each student contributes an original answer in response to the discussion question. Stage 2: Students offer responses or questions to each other's contributions as a means of broadening the discussion's scope. Stage 3: Students present their views or the views of their groups, either orally or in writing at the end of the guided discussion task.
INQUIRY-BASED DISCUSSION TASK This task guides students through a series of questions to discover some relationship or principle, and to help students acquire reasoning skills to analyze new information. The beginning stages are similar to those in the guided discussion task, but in an inquiry-based discussion task, students are further required to bring in information and issues from outside the textbook or classroom for discussion. Stage 4: The teacher poses a discussion issue that requires argumentative reasoning and elaboration. Students are required to go beyond the textbook to evaluate this discussion issue. Stage 5: Students identify and highlight main issues relevant to the discussion. In doing so, they appraise the new information they have acquired for its validity and relevance as well as test their ideas against insights and perspectives provided by their peers. Stage 6: Students summarize the discussion in light of other discussants' reactions and interpretations. This helps them to synthesize supporting and opposing ideas that are relevant to the issue.
REFLECTIVE DISCUSSION TASK Teachers use this task to help students become more aware of the learning process and to enable them to derive meaningful insights from their learning experiences. Stage 7: The teacher asks students to prepare a self-analysis of their roles and contributions to the discussion process. Stage 8: Students analyze "how they learn" and think about what will help them be more effective in future discussions. They respond to introspective questions that help them to reflect on conditions that facilitated or hindered their learning processes.
EXPLORATORY DISCUSSION TASK This task assists students by honing their analytical skills to arrive at alternative explanations in a variety of real-world scenarios. Here, students are compelled to first examine their personal opinions, suppositions or assumptions and then visualize alternatives to these assumptions. Stage 9: The teacher poses a real-world problem that requires students to consider- in context - the premises or ideas they have been discussing. Stage 10: Students assess their beliefs or opinions and evaluate how alternatives to these beliefs and opinions apply in a variety of real-world situations.
