Self assessment on learning ESP.

The goal of this article is to access my achievements in learning ESP. This semester went by really quickly. I still can not believe that it has almost come to an end. So what have I achieved so far.
Writing a summary. I have written some summaries this semester. I believe I did this assignment pretty well. Of course I do admit that some mistakes were made but no one is perfect.
Writing vocabulary tests. I did write a couple of these tests and my performance improved quite a lot compared to the first semester’s tests. Although I admit that they are harder.
Performance in class dictations. I did not get the chance to write this dictation. But i=I believe this task could not have been too hard for me as I do not tend to do any spelling mistakes.
Listening practice in class. Listening tasks were always my favorite ones. It is easy for me as I have had a lot of practice in listening to native English and American languages. I have no problems with this assignment.
Listening to peers’ power point presentations. It is always fun and relaxing to look at some colorful and interesting presentations made by group mates. On the other hand, all the information that is presented is not new for us so sometimes it might get a little bit boring.
Making power point presentations. I have not made a presentation myself yet so I can not say anything about it. Not really the most interesting part of ESP class.
Short talks on ESP themes in class. Those talks sometimes put me in an awkward position as I often do not agree with my group mate’s opinion. I do not want start arguing with them so I just have to keep to myself. I am comfortable with speaking in English on any subject as I do not find it difficult too.
To sum things up, I should mention that I was not participating in a lot of classes but that is not because they are uninteresting or boring. English is a must in the 21st century and ESP classes are really useful. It is a pity that I have missed and have not learned so much.

The English language

The English language has changed a lot since its foundation. It was influenced by occupations by the Roman Empire, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings and Normans. Anglo-Saxons formed the basis of modern English. A lot of words have assimilated, changed their meanings or were forgotten. The vocabulary was enriched with words from other languages.

English now is not the same as it used to be. It has a different way of putting words together then back then. The flexibility and simple grammar made English language an effective medium of international communication in spite of the difficulties caused by the difference between written and pronounced language.

Today English is the most popular language in the world. It became the international language for sports, business, commerce and other fields. Most of the mail is written and even most of the popular songs are sung in English. Even people who speak English with a different dialect can communicate with each other without any problems.

Good knowledge of English language opens up a lot of opportunities and enables us to communicate with almost everybody anywhere. It is the language of the world.

Picture reference:
http://www.dailygalaxy.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/10/11/language_2.jpg

Psychology studies in MRU and the University of Brighton.

To start with - psychology is a young science. And despite this fact you can study it almost on every corner of the earth. Europe, America, Asia – you name it. You can choose a university that mostly fits your needs without any problems. And what are the differences between them? I would like to compare two universities that provide psychology studies – Mykolas Romeris, the university I study in, and the University of Brighton, which is in England.

Mykolas Romeris universities studies of psychology take 4 years. It gives a comprehensive general knowledge of the central topics of psychology. A lot of attention is drawn not only to individual work but also to a work in groups. A lot of assignments are given to three-to-five student groups. This is a very good thing, to my mind, as it makes us debate on certain aspects of psychology, thus encouraging us to look deeper in to the matter that is being discussed. The semester lasts 4 months plus one month for the exam session. But it has no training during undergraduate studies.

The University of Brighton offers a bit different approach to psychology. Undergraduate studies take 3 years. The main thing that this university is concentrating on is sociology. It mainly explores the relationship between the individual and society in a wide range of different theories and perspectives. It also focuses upon notions of equality, diversity and difference, particularly in the context of understanding behavior, development and identity at the level of the individual, interpersonal and group interaction, and social and cultural formations. Semesters and exam sessions are similar to Mykolas Romeris University. It does not have training too.

To sum things up, there are a lot of differences between these two universities. But that is the beauty of it – you can always choose the one you prefer more. I like it here in Mykolas Romeris University and I would never change it to any other. While new and undecided students can compare and choose the one they think is the best.

Picture reference:
http://www.mruni.lt/mru_lt_dokumentai/naujienos/foto/nauji_rumai.jpg
http://tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:TOxLhDSjAi4w5M:http://www.idrottsforum.org/features/sport_and_politics/gregynog.jpg

Happiness

How happy are we? Can we state that we live in a country where everybody is happy? O can we think that life somewhere far far away is better? Runt Veenhoven decided to do researches on happiness in 95 nations.

He found out that the happiest countries are Denmark, Switzerland and Austria. While Lithuania takes only 83rd place. Why is that so? Better economic conditions, education or even different free time activities that are available for everybody. How can a person feel good while he has to think about how to get food on the table for the next day? When you have that sorted out you start to think about other things that matter. Like future perspectives for you or your children. Education is what matters a lot. And of course free time. For example here in Lithuania, when we want to have a good time, we have to choose from a little variety of different clubs. While in other, richer countries we get to choose the music we like first and then go to a club accordingly.

This is only a narrow space I have covered. There are a lot of other things that matter while talking about happiness. And it would take quite a while to talk about them all. But still facts are facts – Lithuanians are very unsatisfied with their lives and it is up to us only to change that.

Picture reference:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq1iKdId2Rrt0M2t0qZN4OzqGfTWAMj34IvQq3sSFocOBBUpWv_x6vP51qX2ZVAjHKP8LKGDcwL4hU3ssto3fxq3XMlt1BuKEoBNLcX-sISHnTJB5fycQwxevoEFGLOVuQpoCN6sJXp9s/s1600-h/happiness-web.jpg