2012年9月30日日曜日

UK発音パーフェクトガイド

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「UK発音パーフェクトガイド」がひととおり終わったので、ノートをアップ。IETLS終わったらもう1回やろうかな。BBC Learning English Pronunciation tips」の他のページもやってみたい。
http://nabochainuk.blogspot.jp/2012/09/funny-pronunciation-tips.html

これも気になる・・・

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  • lad: a boy or young man
  • chap: a man, especially a man you know and like
  • mac: a coat which you wear to keep out the rain [SYN mackintosh]
  • crop circle: a pattern that appeared in British farm fields, which some people believe was made by creatures from another world
  • Boxing Day: a national holiday in England and Wales, on the day after Christmas Day
  • Bank holiday: an official holiday when banks and most businesses are closed
  • funny: feeling slightly ill e.g. I always feel funny after a long car ride.
  • cuppa: a cup of tea
  • return: a ticket for a journey from one place to another and back again [OPP single] [SYN round trip American English]
  • surgery: a regular period each day when people can see a doctor or dentist [SYN office hours American English]
  • plaice: a flat sea fish that is eaten
  • serviette: a napkin
  • Beefeater: a traditional guard at the Tower of London
  • cooker: a large piece of equipment for cooking food on or in [SYN stove American English]
  • hoover: to clean a floor, carpet etc using a vacuum cleaner (=a machine that sucks up dirt) [SYN vacuum]

【オススメ書籍とウェブサイト】
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Longmanの発音辞典、おもしろそう!

イギリス&アイルランド英語大特集

British Library: Sounds Familiar?

というかBritish Libraryいつか行きたい!
  • moor: a wild open area of high land, covered with rough grass or low bushes and heather, that is not farmed because the soil is not good enough
  • gammon: meat from a pig’s leg, preserved using salt
  • haddock: a common fish that lives in northern seas and is often used as food
  • solicitor(事務弁護士): a type of lawyer in Britain who gives legal advice, prepares the necessary documents when property is bought or sold, and defends people, especially in the lower courts of law
  • barrister(法廷弁護士): a lawyer in Britain who can argue cases in the higher law courts
  • torch: a small electric lamp that you carry in your hand [SYN flashlight American English]
  • tariff: a list of fixed prices charged by a hotel or restaurant, for example for the cost of meals or rooms
  • high tea: a meal of cold food, cakes etc eaten in the early evening
  • teletubbies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teletubbies
  • plimsoll: a cotton shoe with a flat rubber sole [SYN sneaker American English]
  • clingfilm: very thin transparent plastic, used to cover food and keep it fresh [SYN plastic wrap American English]
  • draught: cold air that moves through a room and that you can feel [SYN draft American English]
  • marmite: a type of soft, dark brown substance with a strong salty taste, which is a yeast extract. It is usually spread on bread in small quantities, but it can also be used to give taste to soups. It is a typically British food, sold in a round brown glass container. There is a similar product sold in Australia called vegemite.
  • Number Ten: 英国首相官邸(Downing Street 10番地にあることから)
  • Duracell: a type of battery for use in radios etc. The company that makes them claims that Duracell batteries last longer than ordinary batteries.
  • haggis: a food eaten in Scotland, made from the heart and other organs of a sheep, cut up and boiled in a skin made from the sheep’s stomach

2012年9月29日土曜日

The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs 3

「スティーブ・ジョブズ 驚異のプレゼン」のまとめ、これが最後!
http://nabochainuk.blogspot.jp/2012/09/the-presentation-secrets-of-steve-jobs-2.html.html


これをまとめているのは・・・留学のきっかけが彼のスピーチだから。

ACT 3 REFINE AND REHEARSE


SCENE 14 Master Stage Presence

Jobs is one of the best showmen in corporate America, rarely glancing at scripts and quick with off-the-cliff jokes.

Jobs comes alive when he is up and moving onstage. He has seemingly boundless energy.

He makes eye contact, maintains an open posture, and uses frequent hand gestures.

Research has discovered that eye contact is associated with honesty, trustworthiness, sincerity, and confidence. Avoiding eye contact is most often associated with a lack of confidence and leadership ability.

Say It with Style
He told a magnificently woven story, and his vocal expression provided just the right amount of drama.

Nothing is more dramatic than a well-placed pause.

He will often remain quiet for several seconds as he lets a key point sink in.

Act Like the Leader You Want to Be
... how Steve Jobs speaks and carries himself leaves his audience with a sense of awe and confidence in him as a leader.

"always act confident."

Steve Jobs is an electrifying communicator because he is expressive in both voice and gesture.

Director's Notes
  • Pay attention to your body language. (...) gesture reflect complex thinking and give the listener confidence in the speaker.
  • Vary your vocal delivery by adding inflection to your voice, raising or lowering your volume, as well as speeding up and slowing down. Also, let your content breathe. Pause. Nothing is as dramatic as a well-placed pause.
  • Record yourself. Watch your body language, and listen to your vocal delivery. Watching yourself on video is the best way to improve your presentation skill.
SCENE 15 Make It Look Effortless

Jobs rehearse for hours. To be more precise: many, many hours over many, many days.

Behind the Magic Curtain
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2006/jan/05/newmedia.media1

What Steve Jobs, Michael Jordan, and Winston Churchill Have in Common
Ericsson discovered that star performers refine their skills through deliberative practice.

They set specific goals, ask for feedback, and continually strive to improve over the long run.

Star performers practice specific skills again and again over many, many years.

Practice is essential, particularly if you want to sound spontaneous. The world's greatest communicators have always known that "spontaneity" is the result of planned practice.

Every slide was written like a piece of poetry. We spent hours on what most people would consider low-level detail. Steve would labor over the presentation. We'd try to orchestrate and choreograph everything and make it more alive than it really is. Making your presentation "more alive" takes practice.

Ten Thousand Hours to Mastery
... ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert - in anything.

no one has yet found a case in which true world-class expertise was accomplished in less time. It seems that it takes the brain this long to assimilate all that it needs to know to achieve true mastery.

Ten thousand hours is equivalent to roughly three hours a day, or twenty hours a week, over a period of ten years.

You can achieve the same level of proficiency of the world's greatest communicators if you work at it much, much harder than everyone else.

You owe it to yourself to practice, practice, and practice some more!

Energy
We all enjoy being around people with energy. They inspire us. They are stimulating, fun, and uplifting. An energetic person has passion in his voice, a bounce in his step, and a smile on his face. Energy makes a person likable, and likability is a key ingredient in persuasive communications.

LEAVE YOUR COMFORT ZONE
Try this exercise - practice leaving your comfort zone.

Break out of your comfort zone. Ham it up. Raise your voice. Use broad gestures. Put a big smile on your face. Get to a point where you would feel slightly awkward and uncomfortable if you actually delivered the presentation that way.

When they are asked to go "over the top" and to leave their comfort zone, they hit the right one.

Get out of your comfort zoneといえば、スタンフォード白熱教室でおなじみのTina先生。
http://ecorner.stanford.edu/authorMaterialInfo.html?mid=2267

Best Antidote to Nerves
Shift the focus to what your product or service means to the lives of your listeners, and be confident in your presentation.

This particular executive even knows where the lights are in the room, so he is never in shadow. That's preparation! He might get nervous, but his routine makes him feel much more confident.

SCENE 16 Wear the Appropriate Costume

He was well aware of the impression clothes could leave on people.

Eversmann told me that great leaders dress a little better than everyone else. He said that when he would meet a subordinate for the first time, his shoes were shinier, his whites were whiter, and his pants were better pressed.

Great leaders dress a little better than everyone else in the room.

Wear clothes that appropriate for the culture.

SCENE 17 Toss the Script

Practice allows him to work largely without a script.

Most presenters create "slideuments": documents masking as slides.

Yes, Steve Jobs appears conversational, but by now you should know that being "conversational" requires a lot of practice. And how you practice makes all the difference.

Above all, toss the script.

Theatrics can turn an average presentation into an extraordinary event. A script gets in the way.

Use the visuals on your slide to prompt you to deliver just one key theme - one main message - per slide. Think "one theme per slide."

SCENE 18 Have Fun
Nothing rattles Jobs, because his first goal is to have fun!





Jobs reacts with a cool confidence. The audience sees a showman in complete control of his material.

He smiles, has fun, explains to the audience what they should have seen, and moves on.

No matter how much you prepare, something might, and probably will, go differently from how you had planned. Notice that I did not say something will go "wrong." It goes wrong only when you call attention to the issue or you let it ruin the rest of your presentation.

Now, That's Infotainment!
Audience want to be informed and entertained.


Treat presentations as "infotainment."

Keep the big picture in mind, have fun, and let the small stuff roll off your back.

Encore: One More Thing
Stay hungry, stay foolish.
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html


He discovered his core purpose, a messianic zeal to change the world, and never looked back. Share your passion for your subject, and your enthusiasm will be contagious.

Again, passion is a central theme in Job's life. Jobs is convinced that he's successful because he followed his heart, his true passion.

None of his presentation techniques will work if you don't have genuine passion for your message. Find the one thing you love to do so much that you can't wait for the sun to rise to do it all over again. Once you do, you'll have found your true calling.
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice.
15分近いスピーチの中で、この箇所だけは忘れられない。全文暗唱にトライしていたとき、この箇所で、何かが乗り移ったようになってしまって、急に打たれたように涙が止まらなくなった。このままでいいの、私の人生?って。

This paragraph is an example of a powerful rhetorical device called anaphora, repetition of the same word(s) in consecutive sentences. Thins of Martin Luther King's "I have a dream that ... I have a dream ... I have a dream today." Great political speakers from Churchill to King, from Reagan to Obama, have all used anaphora to structure strong arguments. As Jobs demonstrates, this classic sentence structure need not to be reserved for political leaders. It is available to any person who wants to command an audience.
And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become ... stay hungry, stay foolish.
Carmine Galloは引用してないけど、最初の文のあとのEverything else is secondary.の一文は、いま私にとって迷ったときのmantraになってる。ほんとうに大切なもの以外は二の次、って。

Job's speech reveals the secret to his success as a business leader and communicator: do what you love, view setbacks as opportunities, and dedicate yourself to the passionate pursuit of excellence.

Jobs believes in his life's work. This is the last and most important lesson Jobs can teach - the power of believing in yourself and your story. Jobs has followed his heart his whole life. Follow yours to captivate your audience. You'll be one step closer to delivering insanely great presentations.

Postscript: Steve Jobs by the Book



2012年9月26日水曜日

The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs 2

「スティーブ・ジョブズ 驚異のプレゼン」まとめの続き。何だかすごく長くなってきちゃった。まとめというか、quote集ね。
http://nabochainuk.blogspot.jp/2012/09/the-presentation-secrets-of-steve-jobs-1.html.html


ACT 2 DELIVER THE EXPERIENCE

Steve Jobs does not deliver a presentation. He offers an experience.

SCENE 8 Channel Their Inner Zen

Devoid of bullet points. That's right - no bullet points.

Putting the same information on a slide in text form that is coming out of our mouths usually does not help - in fact, it hurts our message.

Hint: bullets demand note taking. The minute you put bullets on the screen you are announcing, "Write this down, but don't really pay attention to it now." People don't take notes when they go to the opera.
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/10/nine-steps-to-p.html

"The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak."

Wordy slides detract from the experience. Simple slides keep the focus where it belongs - on you, the speaker.

White Space
"In Job's slides, you can see evidence of restraint, simplicity, and powerful yet subtle use of empty space."
http://www.presentationzen.com/


It takes confidence to deliver your ideas with photographs instead of words. Since you can't rely on the slides' text as a crutch, you must have your message down cold. But that's the difference between Jobs and millions of average communicators in business today. Jobs delivers his ideas simply, clearly, and confidently.

Einsten's Theory of Simplicity
If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.

Plain English Campaign
Since 1979, this UK-based organization has been leading the fight to get governments and corporations to simplify their communications.
http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/

Author and advertising expert Paul Arden says that people go to a presentation to see you, not to read your words. "Instead of giving people the benefit of your wit and wisdom (words), try painting them a picture. the more strikingly visual your presentation is, the more people will remember it."
(from "It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be")

Leonardo da Vinci stated, "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."

著者Carmine Galloのページ
http://www.carminegallo.com/

SCENE 9 Dress Up Your Numbers

Few people can grasp the concept of 700 billion, but they know lattes and college tuitions. Those numbers are specific and relevant.

SCENE 10 Use"Amazingly Zippy" Words

Jobs speaks the same way onstage as he does offstage. He has confidence in his brand and has fun with the words he chooses.

Don't be afraid of using simple words and descriptive adjectives. If you genuinely find a product "amazing," go ahead and say so. After all, if you're not excited about it, how do you expect the rest of us to be?

The words Jobs chooses to announce a new product have three characteristics:
  • Simple. Free of jargon and with few syllables.
  • Concrete. Very specific phrases. Short, tangible descriptions instead of long, abstract discussions.
  • Emotional. Descriptive adjectives.
All I care about is that the information I'm imparting empowers the listener or reader of my material... If your intention is to impart a message that will create change for the person listening, then if you ask me, it is respectful to that person to make the message as simple as possible.


Don't sell solutions; create stories instead. (...) The Bad Pitch blog is a must-read for PR, marketing, and sales professionals.
http://badpitch.blogspot.jp/

Your listeners and viewers are attempting to categorize a product - they need to place the concept in a mental bucket. Create the mental bucket for them. If you don't, you are making their brains work too hard.

Director's Notes
  • Edit, edit, and edit some more.
  • Run your paragraphs through thee UsingEnglish tool to see just how "dense" it is. http://www.usingenglish.com/
  • Have fun with words.
SCENE 11 Share the Stage

He features supporting characters who perform key roles in the narrative.


Great actors are often said to be "giving"; they help other actors in the scene give better performances.

Everyone needs to shine for the good of the show.

Know What You Don't Know
He knows what he doesn't know. Jobs shares the spotlight with other actors, who add credibility and excitement to the plot.

Give Credit Where Credit's Due
Don't forget to credit the people who make it possible. I shows your customers that you are a person of integrity, and, by praising your employees or colleagues publicly, you inspire them to work harder for you.

Jobs built a rapport with his audience by acknowledging the people who matter - the people who build the products and the people who by them.


SCENE 12 Stage Your Presentation with Props

Kawasaki Method
Jobs introduces stage props in every presentation, usually during demonstrations. In The Macintosh Way, Guy Kawasaki writes that master communicators give good demo.


According to Kawasaki, good demos are as follows:
  • Short.
  • Simple.
  • Sweet.
  • Swift.
  • Substantial.
"We're going to make some history today".


I've rarely seen anyone use more props than a young Italian entrepreneur and television host, Marco Montemagno.
http://marcomontemagno.com/

Here are three guidelines he follows to create dynamic moments:
  1. Give your audience something to do.
  2. Ask someone to share the stage.
  3. Make use of your skill onstage.
これ時間あるとき見たい(1時間40分もある・・・)


It makes more sense to bring in an outsider who speaks directly to the intended audience.



Remember: individuals are more likely to act on information they have a connection with, but they cannot connect with anything that they have not internalized. Visual learners connect through seeing.

Commit to the demo. Commit to your demo, especially if your product has any entertainment value at all. Have fun with it.

SCENE 13 Reveal a "Holy Shit" Moment

People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

The "holy shit" moment had been scripted to elicit an emotional response; the presentation as theater.


One Theme
The secret to creating a memorable moment is to identify the one thing - the one theme - that you want your audience to remember after leaving the room.

They will forget many of the details, but they will remember 100 percent of what they feel.

The presentation was meant to create an experience and to bring the headline to life. It struck an emotional connection with the listener. 

The brain doesn't pay attention to boring things. It does pay attention to an "emotionally charged event."

If you can get the brain to put what amounts to a chemical Post-it note on an idea or a piece of information, the item will be more "robustly processed" and easily remembered.

Just as playwright sets the stage early and reveals the plot over time, Jobs never gives away the big moment right out of the gate. He builds the drama.


Every Steve Jobs presentation (...) is scripted to have one moment that will leave everyone talking.

Jobs has changed many things about his presentation style (...). Through it all, one thing has remained consistent - his love of drama.

Director's Notes
  • People crave beautiful, memorable moments. Build them into your presentation. The more unexpected, the better.
  • Script the moment. Build up to the big moment before laying it on your audience. Just as a great novel doesn't give away the entire plot on the first page, the drama should build in your presentation.
  • Rehearse the big moment. Do not make the mistake of creating a memorable experience and having it bomb because you failed to practice.
INTERMISSION 2 Schiller Learns from the Best

http://www.slideshare.net/

ACT 3に続く。
http://nabochainuk.blogspot.jp/2012/09/the-presentation-secrets-of-steve-jobs-3.html.html

2012年9月25日火曜日

Westminsterのbook list

今度はWestminsterから返事が来た。エラスムスプログラムはなし、past dissertationは公開してないって。ちょっと返事冷たい・・・事務局員より先生の方が熱心だったりするんだろう。
でもbook listは公開されてるというので、これもメモ。
http://www.westminster.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/152275/MA-Public-Relations-E-and-O.pdf

PR primers – overview of PR
  • Cutlip, S, Center, A and Broom, G (9th edition 2004) Effective Public Relations, Prentice Hall 
  • Grunig, J. (ed), (1992) Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management, Lawrence Erlbaum
  • Grunig, J. & Hunt, T., (1984) Managing Public Relations Holt, Rinehart and Wenston
  • Heath, Robert L. & Vasquez, G.M. (ed) (2004) Handbook of Public Relations Sage 
  • Tench, R and Yeomans, L (2nd ed 2009) Exploring Public Relations, FT Prentice Hall 
  • Wilcox, D, Cameron, G, Ault, P and Agee, W (9th ed 2009) Public Relations: Strategy and Tactics, Pearson Education
Critical thinking – issues and context
  • Ewen, S. (1994) PR! A Social History of Spin. Basic Books
  • Goldsworthy, S and Morris T (2008) PR a persuasive industry? Spin, PR and the shaping of the modern media Palgrave McMillan L’Etang, J.,(2009) Public Relations: concepts, practice and critique Sage Publications 
  • L'Etang, J .and Pieczka, M. (eds) (2006) Public Relations: Critical debates and contemporary practice Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
  • Sriramesh, K. and Vercic, D. eds (2009) The Global Public Relations Handbook: Theory, Research, and Practice. 2nd ed New York: Routledge. 
  • Moloney, K. (2006) Rethinking Public Relations: The Spin and the Substance, Routledge
How to do PR (CIPR and Kogan Page series)
  • Green. A. (2006) Creativity in Public Relations CIPR Kogan Page 2006
  • Bland, M. et al (2005) Effective Media  Relations: How to Get Results 3rd edition CIPR Kogan Page 
  • Gregory, A. (2000) PR in practice: Planning and Managing a Public relations campaign 2nd ed, CIPR Kogan Page 
  • Parsons P (2008) Ethics in PR – A guide to best Practice (CIPR Kogan Page)
  • Philips, D, and Young P. (2009) Online Public Relations 2nd ed, Kogan Page 
  • Tom Watson, Paul Noble (2007) Evaluating Public relations (CIPR Kogan Page)
Digital media and PR
  • Levine, R et al (2009) The Cluetrain Manifesto, 2nd ed Basic Books
  • Shirky Clay (2008) Here comes Everybody: The power of Organising without organisations. (Penguin press)
  • Solis and Breakenridge (2009) Putting the public back into Public Relations
Dissertation 
  • Daymon and Holliway (2010) Qualitative Research Methods in Public Relations and Marketing Communications (Routledge) 
  • Cottrell, Stella (2005), Critical Thinking Skills: Developing Effective Analysis and Argument, Palgrave Macmillan
  • Davies, Martin Brett (2007) Doing a Successful Research Project using qualitative or quantitative methods, Palgrave Macmillan
  • The Tipping point
コースの終わりには全部読んでなさい、少なくともdip intoしなさいね、とのこと。Westminsterの目当てのコースは、Public Relations, MA。
http://www.westminster.ac.uk/courses/subjects/journalism-and-mass-communication/postgraduate-courses/full-time/p09fppcp-ma-public-relations

2012年9月24日月曜日

Newcastleのbook list

Newcastleに問い合わせをしたら、ディレクターの先生から早速返事。ここは海外短期研修(エラスムスプログラム)はないって。dissertationのリストも送ってくれた。book listは公開されてるので、ここにメモしておこう。

For Public Relations modules:
  • Tench and Yeomans (2009)  Exploring Public Relations, Prentice Hall 2nd edition - if you're going to get one book this is the one!
  • Gregory A (2010) 3rd edition, Planning and Managing PR Campaigns, Kogan Page
  • Davis A (2007) 2nd edition, Mastering Public Relations, Palgrave
  • Regester and Larkin (2005) 3rd edition, Risk Issues and Crisis Management, Kogan Page  
  • Hendrix, J.A.(2004) Public Relations Cases, Thomson Wadsworth (6th edition)
  • Oliver, S. (2007) 2nd edition, Public Relations Strategy: Kogan Page
  • Theaker, A. (2005) The Public Relations Handbook: Routledge
  • Meerman Scott, D. (2007) The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, 
  • Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly, John Wiley & Sons.
  • Philips and Young (2009) 2nd edition, On-line Public Relations (PR in Practice), Kogan Page
1つ選ぶならExploring Public Relationsとのこと。Meerman ScottのThe New Rules of Marketing and PRも入ってる。いろんな大学のbook listを比べたら、ある程度必読書が分かってきそう。どうせなら今のうちから読み始めたい。
ちなみに目当てのコースはMedia and Public Relations, MA。
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/sacs/macs/postgraduate/pr_ma/

2012年9月23日日曜日

University of Stirling

Graduate Admissions Essaysを読んで、今さらながら大学選びをやり直してる。

新品価格
¥1,350から
(2012/10/10 01:55時点)
その時とったメモ。

  • ランキングよりもどれだけ自分にフィットするかが大事
  • 1年間一緒に過ごす人(先生・クラスメイト・隣人など)が何より大事
  • 大学全体でなくapplyするコース・プログラムの評判を見る
  • 評判より、プログラムが自分に何を提供してくれるかをちゃんと見る

ずっと本命が見えてなかったんだけど、今さっき見つけてこれだ!と直感したのがUniversity of Stirlingのコース。CIPRのリストにはonlineコースしか載ってなくて見逃してた。何と、PRのコースだけで4つもある。


一きわ目を引くのが、ダブルディグリーのコースを2つ用意していること。Strategic Communication and Public Relations (1 year)はPompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, SpainとのJoint Degreeコース。そしてStrategic Public Relations (2 years)はUniversity of Lund, Swedenとのdouble degree programme。わー、これは面白そう!スペインもいいけど、スウェーデンにも行って2年、というのに思い切って挑戦してしまおうか(といっても奨学金次第だけど・・・)。




2012年9月21日金曜日

Degree or Not Degree

この前LBCを聞いていたら、話題が大学になったので(イギリスの大学の入学者が激減してること、Degreeに意味あるかetc)とりあえず録音していたのをディクテーションしてみる。

... backdrop in university applications. Many top universities still advertising places with less than a week to go to the start of term. Is it the 9 thousand pounds tuition fees that are putting students off, I wonder? Is it the fact that it's tougher to get a good grade now? Is it bad for the nation? -the fewer young people are going to university. And that seems to be less effect. Do you think, well maybe that's not such a bad thing - I wonder if maybe if I want to... myself in this, in this position, if you are a student or parents, or just looking back to that time of your life, when you had to make the decision about doing extra education or not. Is it actually worth it?

Here's the fact we learned today. Almost third of Britain's leading universities still have places available. 7 out of 24 institutions in the elite Russell group are still advertising vacancies on more than a thousand courses, days before the start of the academic year. 30,000 fewer students have secured places on course this summer compared with last year. And so there are so naturally, there are suspicions this is all down to the 9 thousand pounds a year tuition fees. Maybe that is what put off many school leavers. Unexpectedly, high level of vacancies British students, but places are likely to go unfilled as well because people have achieved the entry requirements. Fewer people have got the grades that they needed.

So I'd like to hear your... Do you think that... I remember not that long ago, people were out on the streets on behalf of students arguing and Nick Clagg was getting in the neck for this 9 thousand pounds tuition fee, now we can see it would appear that it is having an effect. Certainly, whether that is true or not, there are not as many people are going off degree, going off to study. Are there alternatives of doing degrees well? Haw valuable is going to universities? Do you look into universities now? It's not quite what it used to be?

Let's hear from Wendy Piatt. She is the head of Russell group of universities. Good evening, Wendy.

これ以上やると脇道の誘惑にはまるのでとりあえずリンクをメモ。

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/tuition-fees
http://russellgroup.ac.uk/Dr-Wendy-Piatt/
http://www.jsps.go.jp/j-kaigai_center/data/news/2012/uk_20120802.pdf

2012年9月20日木曜日

AGOSエッセイ作成セミナー

AGOSの国際関係/公共政策大学院 エッセイ作成セミナーに行ってきた。
https://www.agos.co.jp/onlineservices/modules/agendax/?op=view&id=2368&on=20120920


行ってよかった。やっぱりイギリスの大学準備校に比べて、アメリカの大学準備校は(というかAGOSは)ほんとうに実践的。夏に終わらせたつもりのpersonal statement、秋になってダメ出し受けて再出発するのはかなり厳しいんだけど、気がつかなかったらほんとに適当に出願してた。学校リサーチはほんとうに大事。IELTSと奨学金申請とPersonal Statementと推薦状が同時進行だなんて・・・でもやるしかない。全てはtime management。

2012年9月19日水曜日

Balti Triangle

ニューエクスプレスイギリス英語を見ていたら、主人公がバーミンガムに行くということでBalti Triangleが紹介されてた。


何でもバーミンガムがcurry capital of the nationなのはここからきてるそうで。Bradfordも有名みたいだけど。


バーミンガムは移民が多くて、それはかつての大英帝国の植民地時代の影響で、インドやバングラデシュ、中国系も多いみたい。この前テレビで井上岳久さんがカレーをいっぱい紹介してて(PRで知ったけど、カレーが本業なのね)、食べたくなってきちゃった。。。

2012年9月18日火曜日

GMAT CAT: Answers to the Real Essay Questions


P先生がコピーしてくれた元本が安く出ていたので注文してしまった。

これはいい!GMAT用だけど、サンプル回答はILETSに使える。ちょっと構文難しめだけど、コンパクトにまとまってる。テーマも類似。ここからトピック語彙集つくるといいかも。

2012年9月17日月曜日

Graduate Admissions Essays


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あわてて注文したGraduate Admissions Essaysを職場最上階の小部屋にこもって読む。
どうしてもっと早く読まなかったのか・・・留学エージェントのことを信じきってた私がバカだった。どうせ簡単な添削しかしてくれないのだ。出願書類の中身をどこまで持ってくかは自分次第。奨学金や学校選びのことも丁寧に書いてあって参考になる。アメリカ中心だけど。

2012年9月15日土曜日

Cardiff University 個別相談会

予約していたbeoのカーディフ大学個別相談会へ行ってきた。
http://www.beo.jp/event/002_001.html#6364


とても若い女性だったけど、かなりしっかり答えてくれる。うちの大学院のAOスタッフではまず無理だわ・・・

MA International Public Relations and Global Communications Managementにapplyする予定なんだけど、ここはCIPR認定コースだし、カーディフはCommunication & Media Studiesの中ではハイランクだし、その理由とかね。以前はInternational Public Relationsだったけど、いまはそれにGlobal Communications Managementもついてる。

http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/jomec/degreeprogrammes/pgmasters/mainternationalpublicrelations/index.html
http://courses.cardiff.ac.uk/postgraduate/course/detail/447.html

http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?s=Communication+%26+Media+Studies

Russel Groupの一つというのは知らなかった。ラッセル・グループってアメリカのアイビーリーグのようなものらしい。
http://www.russellgroup.ac.uk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Group

エラスムスプログラムはあるのか、奨学金はあるのか、過去の修士論文は公開されてるか、book listはあるか、など質問。だいたい分かるんだけど、しゃべるの速くて全部は聞き取れない・・・分からないことは後で教えてくれるって。奨学金は11月にはオープンで5月6月がdeadlineというから、とにかく早めに出願すること。

追記:
ロアルド・ダールってカーディフ出身だったのね。あとC・W・ニコルも。

2012年9月14日金曜日

Funny Pronunciation Tips

最近「UK発音パーフェクトガイド」を1日3ページ進めているのだけど、一緒に「BBC Learning English Pronunciation tips」を合わせてやっていて、


笑えるシーンを発見。こういうのを密かに入れ込んでるところがイギリスっぽくておかしい。

二重母音(diphthong)ですが・・・
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/sounds/vowel_dip_7.shtml

いわゆるschwaの説明。これも後半に注目。
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/sounds/vowel_short_5.shtml

2012年9月12日水曜日

Putting the Public Back in Public Relations

職場の図書館でなにげにPR本があることに気づく。
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0805862951/

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1420062778

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0719060699/

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0137150695/

最後の"Putting the Public Back in Public Relations"はいっぱいコメントついてるしちょっと興味あり。はやりのソーシャルメディア本かもしれないけど。

Amazonで一緒にオススメされるDavid Meerman Scottの"The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use Social Media"は日本語で以前読んだけど(マーケティングとPRの実践ネット戦略)わりとよかった。大学広報のことも書いてあったし。

2012年9月7日金曜日

IELTS参考書


P先生に英語のIELTSの参考書で勉強しなさい、と言われ今さら注文。5週間でライティングのスコアを上げるのは無理、と厳しい言葉。

The best advice I can give you is to practice. Try to write at least one essay every day.

できるだけのことをやるしかない。



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