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Posts Tagged ‘IB’

  1. Translations by Brian Friel

    18/03/2020 by axonite

     

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    “Thou art translated”  – A Midsummer Night’s Dream (III. i. 112-13)

     

    While Shakespeare’s play is clearly not about interlingual translation in any overt sense, there nevertheless is a respect in which it reflects the issue of what is involved in the translation from one language and cultural tradition to another, and most particularly the fact that such an activity inevitably entails a displacement and transformation as well as a potential deformation of its object.
    Oxford Journals: Essays in Criticism

     

    Because the Qur’an stresses its Arabic nature, Muslim scholars believe that any translation cannot be more than an approximate interpretation, intended only as a tool for the study and understanding of the original Arabic text.
    Just Islam

     

    Do we mean what we say?

    Language is an approximation of meaning, but as meanings change, so the language must too. However, for many people, particularly those from marginalised groups, language is an important expression of identity. To deprive a people of their own language and to impose another is a form of cultural imperialism. French was the legal language in England for 200 years, but while English survived, it emerged different, transformed – a reflection of new realities. However, some languages vanish without trace.

     

     IMG_6019Honesty in advertising?

     

    Why do we learn?

    In Friel’s play Translations, the initially innocent-seeming translations of place names are gradually revealed to have more sinister implications – but he does not stop there. As many critics note, this is not a two-dimensional play. No matter what the rights and wrongs of displacing a language, many will wish to learn the oppressors’ tongue (Hence the Latin and Norman French roots of words that survive even today in English) for practical reasons. The language of poetry or of love may be replaced by the language of commerce – and this issue strikes deep, going far beyond words to values. Do we learn to edify alone or to fit ourselves with skills for the world? And if we only learn to acquire skills, are we then missing some essential part of our humanity? Those who study purely for edification become irrelevant, whereas those who study purely for skills become philistines.

     

     IMG_7591Poor old Pete

     

    It’s a kind of magic!

    My words when they speak me

     

    Do we speak the words or do the words speak us? This is a question that has puzzled the brightest of minds (and which we will encounter again in other plays in this unit). Some claim that the concepts embedded within a language (and even the sounds of the words) shape our thoughts. Words have power over us, we are told. In its extreme form, we see in the Bible that Peter’s words condemn him – he denies three times that he knew Jesus (Matthew 26:72), then later must undo this curse that he has brought upon himself by saying three times that he loves Jesus (John 21:14).

     

    IMGP0673

    Productions

    Rose theatre, Kingston

    Crucible, Sheffield

    Syracuse University

     

    Dying Languages

    Intl Business Times

    The Independent

    BBC

     

    Language

    Structuralism and Semiotics

    Category Drama | Tags: ,, | No Comments

  2. Getting into the Zone (Exam Prep)

    16/03/2020 by axonite

    For those of you with exams coming up, here is some advice. For those who don’t have exams, read anyway – it may well be of use later.

     

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    It’s not all about knowing the texts and demonstrating your command of the English language. What about you as a person? It’s natural to feel nervous before an exam. Use that energy. Channel it into your revision and exam practice, but don’t let nerves get the better of you. In the exam, breathe in slowly through your nose, hold for a moment, then breath out slowly through your mouth – you will find yourself becoming calmer.

     

    Ensure that you get a good night’s sleep the night before the exam.

     

    Use the toilet before the exam, but don’t feel embarrassed about asking to use the loo during the exam – it’s better to concentrate on your answers than on your bladder.

     

    Make your table your world. Ignore everyone and everything else in the room – nothing else matters. Put your watch on the table and ignore the clock on the wall.

     

    Ensure that you have two pens (at least) in the exam hall. There are always some students who have pens that run out of ink (and some even forget to bring pens with them!).

     

    Start with whatever section gives you the possibility of the most marks (You can always rearrange the order of your papers at the end). Give yourself at least five minutes at the end to proof-read what you’ve written – you wrote fast under pressure, so there will inevitably be mistakes.

     

    Don’t think that you can fob the examiner off with waffle. Here’s a genuine Year 11 essay:

     

    This poem written by … is a poem that gives the reader a thought of the poem. As the reader reads the poem, he/she would get an image of the poem. The reader would be able to imagine a picture of what is going on in the poem. The choice of words that the poet uses makes it easier for the reader to get an image of the poem.

     

    This bland, fault-ridden opening tells us nothing. One could apply it to any poem or prose excerpt that one has never bothered to read. No examiner will ever be fooled by this nonsense. It is waffle that the student hopes will disguise the fact that he/she does not understand the piece. Do not waste time writing this rubbish – instead, make meaningful and specific comments about the piece.
    Now compare it to this response from the same class about the same poem:

     

    …is a romantic piece about two estranged lovers who live in different places.

     

    Don’t rely on the teacher or think to blame everything on him/her. Even before the Internet, students were expected to demonstrate initiative and do their research in the library. Today, you have a wealth of information at the touch of a button. Use it – and don’t be tempted to make excuses. If something is unclear, don’t wait until the lesson. If you have a problem with your written expression – fix it (You will find many useful links on this very site).

     

    Remember that you are students of Language primarily – in a sense, there is no such thing as a student of Literature – because it’s all about the words and their construction! With this in mind, don’t shy away from the poetry in the unseen exam – because you should be writing about pace, fluency, pitch and other such devices even when writing about prose.
     
    Take the time to explore the texts and the language exercises to discover what you think. Don’t just blindly repeat what your teacher has said. CIE say:

     

    “Examiners can easily differentiate between students who have genuinely responded to literature for themselves and those who have merely parroted dictated or packaged notes.”

     

    Smell is a great aid to memory (apparently). Try wearing the same perfume/aftershave on the day of the exam that you use when revising.

     

    Timing! Plan your time properly. Start by answering the questions that have the potential to give you the greatest numerical score. Allocate your time appropriately. Read the questions three times to ensure that you understand – but don’t ever waste time on first drafts! Try to finish at least five minutes before the end of the exam – spend the last few minutes proof-reading – you can pick up valuable extra points this way.

     

    Practise! Practise! Practise!

     
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    Here are the funniest (and most alarming) mistakes from previous exams. Enjoy.

     

    “strucked…striked…hitted…builted…digged out”
    “…about how they survived this disaster and geologists.”
    “The earthquake was informed.”
    “The speaker reveals everything that happens, using words.”
    “Seamus uses some words to depict the mood and foreshadowing and metaphors.”

     
    [n.b If you do not understand the words illustrate, depict and foreground, it is probably best not to use them]
     
    Next, we have those who waste time with the blindingly obvious or the completely vague:
     

    “The Mid-term Break is either ironic and not ironic.”
    “Heaney expresses his feelings through various techniques.”
    “The poet uses the word ‘angry’ to show that the mother is angry.”

     

    And finally, we have the Just Plain Weird category:
     

    “Geogolists”
    “The message will be sent forth” (Presumably with Moses from Mt Sinai)
    “lossness”
    “The destruction was handmade”
    “…a warning to warn.”
    “The poet instigate alliteration and assonance to emphasize the stopping of blood and life.”
    “This past member is dead with bloods.”
    “An illustration of a picture or the creation of imagery was extrapolate in the concluding stanza of the poem.”
    “Seamus wants the conveys.”
    “Seamus ironicly twisted both the tone and mood of his poem.”
    “This poem consists of irony, sad mood and tone, and symbolism.”
    “He was alone with his brother and many literary terms.”
    “The person is Death.”
    “emotional feelings”
    “Heaney adds assonance and alliteration.”

     

    Just relax, do your best and don’t panic

    Good luck

     

    Exam Skills (University of New South Wales)

    Category Exams, IGCSE, Study Skills | Tags: ,,, | No Comments

  3. Ditch the phone and open a book

    07/10/2017 by axonite

    While nuclear energy, global warming, deforestation and Donald Trump continue to be major threats to the environment, mobile phones can rob us of our very humanity.
     

     

    Students arrive for my lessons with their phones in their hands – despite signs on the doors clearly indicating that phones are forbidden in my classroom. The very concept of leaving the phone in a locker is horrifying to most students. They even have to reach out and touch their phones periodically just to be reassured that they’re still there. This is ADDICTION. No ifs, no buts. ADDICTION. Forgot to bring your books to school? We have reading lessons at the same time every week, and yet about six students in each class forget to bring books with them. The same six students would never dream of being without their phones. This is ADDICTION.
     

    Walk around the school. You’ll see many students playing with their phones, but very few actually talking to each other and none at all reading books. This is a change that has occurred gradually over the last few years so that most never even noticed it.

     

    You may well think that this is a gross exaggeration – but if so, perhaps you haven’t observed the slow slide into a digital dystopia, a world of social exclusion where families stare mindlessly at their phones rather than talk to each other. Even dating couples are to be seen romantically gazing into each other’s eyes the screens on their mobile devices.

     

    Paul Lewis, writing in The Guardian says that:
     

    There is growing concern that as well as addicting users, technology is contributing toward so-called “continuous partial attention,” severely limiting people’s ability to focus and possibly lowering IQ.

     
    If this weren’t bad enough, serious scientific research (not funded by the industry) indicates that mobile phones can cause cancer and “may be exposing us to harmful levels of electromagnetic radiation.”
     
    At parent teacher conferences, I am often asked, “how can my son/daughter raise his/her grades?” The answer is simple. But like the rich man who asks Jesus how he can enter heaven, you may not like the answer – Ditch the phone and open a book. Lewis goes on to note that many people within the mobile phone and computer business severely limit their own children’s access to digital technology:
     

    It is revealing that many of these younger technologists are weaning themselves off their own products, sending their children to elite Silicon Valley schools where iPhones, iPads and even laptops are banned.

     

     
    Is buying a mobile phone a form of self-destruction? Is buying a mobile phone for a child actually a form of child abuse? The very people who design these products think so.

     

    Links:
    Our minds can be hijacked
    Aki vs the devil

    Category Brain Death, IGCSE, Reading, Study Skills, University, Writing | Tags: ,,,,,,, | No Comments

  4. Imagery

    29/09/2017 by axonite


     

    “Why is the imagery there?” someone asked me this week.
     

    To ask this question is perhaps indicative of thinking about the poem or lyrical prose passage too much and (to paraphrase Charlie Chaplin) feeling it too little. One might as well say, “what is the purpose of poetry?” (Sadly, one joyless Mr Spock type Science teacher once did, before going on to declare that it “serves no function”! It seemed that for him love, humour and enjoyment in general were illogical and thus “irrelevant, captain”).

     

    Figurative language is essentially poetic language. When we read lyrical passages in works such as Laurie Lee’s As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning, we need to ‘experience’ it with our senses. What Lee does is share with us, first and foremost, the feeling of being in those ‘exotic’ places, so we can understand on an emotional level something of what it felt like for him to have that peculiarly paradoxical mix of revulsion and attraction, of culture shock and exoticism. Imagery hits us in our hearts. We are intended to respond to it as human beings – yes, we may think about it, but feelings precede thoughts in this case.

    Category IGCSE, Novels, Poetry, Prose | Tags: ,,,,, | No Comments

  5. Tackling the ‘Unseen’ poem

    14/03/2017 by axonite

    Poetry often seems to scare people. Here’s a straightforward video presentation that demystifies and helps you to understand and appreciate poetry:

     

     

    n.b. The definition of alliteration in the video above is wrong – alliteration is the repetition of the initial (first) sound in a string of words. If those repeated sounds happen to be consonants, then it is also consonance – but if they’re vowels, it is also assonance.

     

    Don’t forget that poetry is a different country (They do things differently there). Where you may think about a prose or drama excerpt, the poem is more for feeling. One good way of approaching a poem is to ask yourself how it makes you feel. This may or may not be the poet’s intention, but that’s beside the point – try to work out why it makes you feel this way. Then just ensure that you remove personal pronouns and focus it instead on the poet and his/her writing techniques (Always WHAT, HOW and above all WHY). Thus, “I feel uneasy when I read this poem” becomes “This poem generates a sense of unease through…” Finally, don’t forget that it is no good just to identify the ‘WHAT’ – you have to explain the HOW and the WHY.

    Category Exams, IGCSE, Poetry | Tags: ,,, | No Comments

  6. Connecting content and form

    28/10/2016 by axonite

    The Lost Albums Loved by the Stars

     

     

    The write-up for the first album cited here is a very good example of how to connect form and content in poetry. This is specific and focused, a far cry from empty claims or vague references that sometimes occur in poetry essays for IGCSE and IB. Take note.

     

    P.S. Don’t forget that these are also the kinds of comments that you should be writing about prose too – it’s not just poetry that has rhythm, repetition and so on.

    Category Exams, IGCSE, Poetry, Prose, Writing | Tags: ,,,,,, | No Comments

  7. The Return of the Native

    06/09/2016 by axonite

    Return of the Native

     
    IMG_5068

    “To be loved to madness – such was her great desire.”

     

    The characters are perhaps not as ‘flat’ as they initially appear. Hardy takes stereotypes (the virtuous woman, the fallen woman, the hero, the rake etc.), then holds them up to the light. Like jewels (sorry to be pretentious here) each facet suggests a different aspect of the character(s). Is Eustacia selfish, vain, a witch, just a naïve young girl, a vibrant youngster stuck in a dull backwater, a fallen woman, a simple victim of the romances that she reads? Yes. No. Maybe. Possibly all. It is as if the situations themselves suggest roles for the characters (one in which the villagers are happy to believe). They are, in a sense, victims of circumstance and appearance – or are they? Hardy provides no easy answers.

     

     

    Map of Hardy’s Wessex
    Queen Eleanor’s Confession

    Category Novels | Tags: ,,, | No Comments

  8. The Scottish Play

    24/04/2014 by axonite

     

    110ea

     

     

    Macbeth (or The Scottish Play, as actors call it) is pure propaganda. Your teachers repeatedly tell you that “all stories are lies,” that everything we read (or every film or play we see) is an expression of the author’s views. Sometimes this is subtle, sometimes obvious – but human beings can never be impartial in their writing. The evidence suggests that this play was the result of one particular event in British history, a defining moment that is still commemorated yearly in the U.K. – The Gunpowder Plot.

    When Protestant monarch King James VI of Scotland became James I of England too, the Catholics were hoping for a lessening in religious oppression. However, as their early hopes were dashed, many became disgruntled. A group of conspirators thus decided to take radical action – they would attempt to blow up the king by planting explosives beneath The Houses of Parliament (and killing numerous politicians along the way). The Gunpowder Plot failed – and James was determined that no one should try this crime again.

    Despite being elected king (Elizabeth I died without an heir and appeared undecided whether he should succeed her), James was convinced that God had ordained him monarch. He believed in The Divine Right of Kings (no one could question him, since above him was only God) and so to kill a king was thus a crime against God.

    In the aftermath of the Gunpowder plot, James immediately subverted an existing pre-Christian festival and re-named it Guy Fawkes Night (after one of the conspirators, whose face you may recognise from V For Vendetta and the Occupy the City anti-Capitalist excess protests). He then appears to have commissioned Shakespeare to produce Macbeth, a play that tells us in no uncertain terms that those who kill their monarchs are creatures of the devil and will go to Hell.

    arnie 

     ➠➠➠➠➠➠➠Hero➠➠➠➠➠➠➠➠➠King ➠➠➠➠➠➠➠➠Monster➠➠➠➠➠➠➠➠➠

     

    The play is set in Scotland and contains some of James’ supposed ancestors (who, Shakespeare is eager to exonerate from any possible blame). It charts the moral decline of a man whose ambition leads him to listen to the voices of women (another of King James’ directions for the play, perhaps?) who, in terms of the drama, act as visual representations of the temptations within his own mind. At the start, Shakespeare repeatedly emphasises that this is a brave, fearless and heroic man, equating him with Mars (The God of War). He is like an American comic book hero – and when we first hear of him, he has just literally “carved” his way through the enemy ranks to disembowel their leader! (Think Captain America with a Scottish accent) However, when he murders the king to become king, this pivotal moment sets him on a course which will ultimately change him from hero to monster. This is why the play is a tragedy – a man with such incredible potential throws it all away by allowing himself to be seduced by evil desires.

     

    In the course of the play, Shakespeare never misses an opportunity to flatter King James (“What, will the line stretch out to the crack of doom?” Act 4, sc1, ll.112–117) and to assert that those who (like one of the defendants in the Gunpowder Plot) “equivocate” (deceive without technically lying), cheat and (above all) murder, will certainly be doomed to “the everlasting bonfire.”

     

    “His fiend-like Queen”

    In this play, very little is what it seems (A sense of paranoia pervades all). Lady Macbeth appears to be a monster – but Shakespeare later subverts and re-frames this perspective…

    Links:
    The play on-line
    BBC Bitesize
    MacDeath!
    The real Macbeth
    The Globe Theatre: Macbeth
    Shakespeare’s Life and Times
    Macbeth on-line lesson
    Macbeth cartoon
    Thailand bans Macbeth
    Enjoying Macbeth
    Macbeth: Paranoid Killer?
    Britannica study Guide: Macbeth

    Category Drama, IGCSE | Tags: ,,,,,, | No Comments

  9. Advice for Commentary Writing

    29/01/2014 by axonite

    At IGCSE and IB level, the skill of commentary writing (sometimes called Practical Criticism) is something that students need to develop. Whether writing on a whole text, an excerpt from a text or a poem, there are guidelines to help you.

     

    I often have the feeling that even at the best of times literary criticism is fraudulent… One’s real reaction to a book, when one has a reaction at all, is usually “I like this book” or “I don’t like it”, and what follows is a rationalisation.
    – George Orwell

     

    6747835

     

    Always focus on the HOW? WHAT? and WHY? questions (not necessarily in this order). 

    WHAT type of text is it? (Biography, travel writing, narrative etc).

    WHAT is the topic and WHAT does the author say to us?

    WHAT tone emerges?

    HOW does the writer shape his/her work – and to what effect?

    WHY? Even though you will spend the bulk of your essay explaining HOW a writer says something, the WHY is the most important question. We can never know what an author “intended” – only what the text says. Nor is there a “hidden meaning.” However, from the choices that the author makes and the effects of those choices, we may infer.

     

    The ‘Unseen’ exam

    In the ‘unseen’ exam, you should only write about the excerpt on the page – not the rest of the text (unless specifically asked to do so) or irrelevant biographical details of the author.

    Don’t expect to find themes in short prose excerpts (or poetry). These generally emerge during the course of a longer work. Instead, ask yourself WHY the examiner has chosen this piece. The answer is that it exemplifies a particular technique. Identify the HOW? WHAT? and WHY? of this technique. Nine times out of ten, something ironic is going on in the text. However, merely labelling is insufficient. If you write, “This text is ironic,” the examiner will, no doubt, write “So what?” Instead, say WHAT the author does, HOW he/she does it and the effect (from which you may infer the WHY). For example, by juxtaposing X with Y, the author (No! Name him/her) Silas Scringestone creates a comical contrast between the two characters, thus implicitly mocking the blah blah blah (you get the idea).

     

    Use a formal register to match the formal nature of the work. While you may not wish to sound like a High Court judge, you should nevertheless avoid abbreviations, slang and colloquial expressions (the most common being kids, guys, cash, smart, kind of, pretty much and gonna).

     

    Do not merely paraphrase – you need to analyse (That’s HOW, WHAT and WHY).

    Focus on what the author does – not how “the readers” feel:

     

    When I read this text, I feel really sorry for Mr Bump. X

    Roger Hargreaves makes Mr Bump a sympathetic character, deserving of pity. √

     

    Any reference to yourself or “the readers” is a strong indication that you have your focus back to front.

    If you know the author’s name – use it! If you keep saying “the author,” you are effectively telling the examiner that you can’t be bothered to mention his/her name.

    …which reminds me… The word “mentions” is not the same as “states,” “cites” or even “says.” It refers to something of no particular importance.

     

    Be concise. Don’t include superfluous words:

    The excitement and the happiness that Leila is feeling makes the reader think of her as a girl who worked very hard to get to her goal and when she did, she celebrated because she was really happy. X

    Leila was very happy to achieve her goal. √

     

    Make specific comments – not vague ones:

    This poem written by insert name here is a poem that gives the reader a thought of the poem. As the reader reads the poem, he/she would get an image of the poem. The reader would be able to imagine a picture of what is going on in the poem. The choice of words that the poet uses makes it easier for the reader to get an image of the poem. X

    …is a romantic piece about two estranged lovers who live in different places. √ 

     

    Use the Present Perfect tense for commentaries. This is not history. Every time you open the book at the same page, Winston Smith is still in Room 101. Even though he is long dead, George Orwell still ‘speaks’ to us through the text. However, Julius Caesar invaded Britain once – he does not still invade today.

     

    Mr Toad drove his car in a reckless way. X

    Mr Toad drives his car in a reckless way. √

     

    16899

     

    The PEE technique

    Learning to Write

    Say NO to the 5 Paragraph Essay

    Category Exams, IGCSE | Tags: ,,,,, | No Comments

  10. IB Written assignment

    23/01/2014 by axonite

    cropped-110ea-13bux5q.jpg

    The procedure leading towards the eventual production of written assignments is a rather drawn-out affair.

    After each Works in Translation text, we first have an Interactive Oral:

    The discussions should address the following cultural and contextual considerations.

    • In what ways do time and place matter to this work?
    • What was easy to understand and what was difficult in relation to social and cultural context and issues?
    • What connections did you find between issues in the work and your own culture(s) and experience?
    • What aspects of technique are interesting in the work?

    Next, you write a Reflective Statement of between 300-400 words. 

    The reflective statement must be based on the following question.
    • How was your understanding of cultural and contextual considerations of the work developed
    through the interactive oral?

    Then, comes the Supervised Writing. This is in class and is between 40-50 minutes and “must be in continuous prose.” I will provide you with 3 or 4 prompts which will act as “a springboard to elicit ideas” from you.

    Once we have completed this process for each text, you “will choose one of their pieces of supervised writing and develop that into the essay required for submission. There must be an apparent connection between the supervised writing and the final essay, but students are encouraged to provide their own title and to develop the chosen prompt in an independent direction.”

    Each student is required to produce an essay of 1,200–1,500 words in length on a literary aspect of one work.
    The essay is developed from one of the pieces of supervised writing completed in class, with the guidance
    of the teacher.

    After this, I will give you feedback on the first draft, and you will then (finally) produce your Written Assignment without help.

    Phew! What a tortuous process!

    If in doubt, always look in the Literature Guide. Good luck.

    Category Novels | Tags: ,,,,, | No Comments

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