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2. Learn nonverbal social-communication skills: Give Criticism Properly.

3. Learn verbal social-communication skills: Give Comment.

Ⅰ.Warm-up Activities

1. Read the following well-known sayings and try to translate them into Chinese. Then, discuss the impressive ones with your group members about your understanding.

1) “Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them—every day begin the task anew.” —Saint Francis de Sales

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2) “A pearl is a beautiful thing that is produced by an injured life. It is the tear [that results] from the injury of the oyster. The treasure of our being in this world is also produced by an injured life. If we had not been wounded, if we had not been injured, then we will not produce the pearl.”　　　 —Stephan Hoeller

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3) “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”　　　　　　　　　　　—Thich Nhat Hanh

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4) “Good humor is a tonic for mind and body. It is the best antidote for anxiety and depression. It is a business asset. It attracts and keeps friends. It lightens human burdens. It is the direct route to serenity and contentment.”　　　—Greenville Kleisser_

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5) “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”

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2. Four students work as one group. Each of the group members should choose one of the following jokes, retell the joke to your group members and then explain why this joke is interesting.

1) Two Kinds of People

There are two kinds of people. Those who wake up in the morning and say, “Good morning, Lord,” and those who wake up in the morning and say, “Good Lord, it’smorning.”

2) Waking Up for Church

One Sunday morning, a mother went in to wake her son and tell him it was time to get ready for church, to which he replied, “I’m not going.” “Why not?” she asked. “I’ll give you two good reasons,” he said. “One, they don’t like me, and two, I don’t like them.” His mother replied, “I’ll give you two good reasons why you should go to church. One, you’re 54 years old, and two, you’re the pastor!”

3) Good News, Bad News

After Friday prayers an Imam announced to the people: “I have good news and bad news. The good news is, we have enough money to pay for our new building program. The bad news is, it’s still out there in your pockets.”

4) St. George and the Dragon

A tramp knocked on the door of the inn known as St. George and the Dragon. The landlady answered the door. The tramp said, “Could you give a poor man something to eat?”“No,” said the woman, slamming the door in his face. He knocked again and said, “Could I have a few words with George?”

From http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Joke-of-the-Day/ Daily-Joke.aspx#ixzz19BjYIJ95

3. You will watch a video, named “Aquarius, a Day in the Life”. And then discuss the following questions with your partner.

1) What are the personality traits of an Aquarius?

2) What will an Aquarius do, when he/she is at home, at work and at play?

3) What is your horoscope?

4) What are your personality traits?

A: You know, many people just believe in star signs, don’t they?

B: Not me. I’m a rational thinker so I’ll stick with scientific systems.

A: Well, that’s typical of a Pisces, always thinking they’re right!

B: And you’re a typical Taurus—argumentative!

A: There are many ways to classify people’s personality. By the way, do you like Barry?

B: No, not very much. He’s too ambitious and dishonest.

A: I agree. I like his brother Paul. They are not alike.

B: Yes. They are completely different. Paul is very sociable and much more honest than his brother.

A: What kind of person do you consider yourself to be?

B: I think I’m polite, careful, relaxed and shy.

A: Oh, I don’t think you’re shy! You are always chatting with new people when we go to a party.

B: Well. Yes, but those people always start talking to me. I never talk to them first. Perhaps I’m not as shy as I think. Anyway, you’re certainly not shy!

A: You’re right. I love going out and making new friends.

B: It is said that people’s personality is decided by their horoscope. Do you believe it?

Capricorn　　　　 Aquarius

Cancer　　　　　　 Leo

Virgo 　　　　　　　Aries

Gemini　　　　　　　 Libra

Scorpio　　　　　 Sagittarius

aggressive　　　　 righteous

optimistic　　　　　 sensitive

enthusiastic　　　　 idealistic

analytical　　　　 determined

personality traits　　　tolerant

1. Please answer the following questions by making a conversation with your partner:

1) Do you believe in horoscope? Why or why not?

2) Would you choose a job on the basis of your horoscope? Why or why not?

3) Do you think your personality traits are related to your horoscope? Why or why not?

4) The person of what horoscope would you most like to meet? Why?

2. Role-play: Student A will interview student B about two of the following topics:

1) How does personality matter? Talk about situations where personality seems important.

2) How would you summarize your own personality? Can you use some of your personal experiences to support your points?

3) Do you know anything about Chinese Zodiac?

4) What kind of horoscope do you hope your future spouse can be? Why?

B.Socio-Communicative Skills

Verbal communication refers to the communication which is carried out in either oral or written form with the use of words. Nonverbal communication refers to the communication through one’s voice quality, facial expressions, gestures, bodily movement, attitudes towards space and time, and so on.

To achieve successful conversations, it is necessary to learn the skills of both the verbal and nonverbal communication.

Unbridled criticism given without praise will destroy relationships. It not only kills self-assurance; it kills love. Whether the recipient is family, friend or lover, the message is clear: “You are not good enough.” Some victims of criticism will try to win approbation by changing for the critic, but over time if it is not forthcoming, they will give up.

? Never criticize your spouse’s faults; if it weren’t for them, your mate might have found someone better than you.

? There is a place, of course, for criticism; it is part of teaching. So, if you must criticize, be sure to lace it heavily with praise before and after you give it. In order to motivate someone to become better, remember this formula: Praise—Critique—Praise.

? Critics think they are doing us a service; they think they are helping us improve our work, but what they frequently do is destroy our motivation by demoralizing us. Newspaper editor, Frank Atherton Clark, got it right with this wisdom, “Criticism, likerain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man’s growth without destroying his roots.”

Please prepare a short conversation with your partner about one of the following topics, and be sure to give criticism properly.

1) Your student is late for class.

2) Your employee has made a mistake in his work.

3) Your child has broken a vase.

4) Your student has forgotten to do his homework.

Learn the following conversations and make conversations with your partners based on the situations given below.

1) A: What do you think about the movie?

B: I think the plot was first-rate. But I don’t think the character development was so strong.

A: Yes, the characterization was rather weak. Do you think it is because of the casting of the movie?

B: No, the cast is strong. But the acting is rather poor. And the lines are not interesting at all.

A: Well, maybe. But I like the heroine of the movie. She is excellent.

B: Yeah, I like her too. She’s adorable!

2) A: What did you think about The Lion King?

B: Well…I think this cartoon was pretty good, but not as good as Beauty and the Beast. It’s a killer flick.

A: Really? But I think The Lion King was unbelievably good.

B: I thought it was just OK. Why do you think so?

A: Well, it’s so interesting that the lives of the lions were similar to the lives of human beings.

B: You’re right. The murder in The Lion King was almost the same as the murder in the Shakespearean play Hamlet.

Now, make conversations of giving comments based on the following situations by using the expressions above:

1) A asks what B thinks about a movie. B thinks it’s good, but not as good as he has expected. A insists it is very good. B asks for reasons.

2) What’s the best/worst movie you’ve ever seen? Make comments on it.

3) Who are your favorite actors or actresses in China? Make comments on them.

4) How do your like the food in your school canteen? Make comments on it.

1. Read the following short passage first and then answer the questions below it.

Of all the animals of the Chinese horoscope, the dog really stands out. Which other animal can compare to the dog? The horse? No，he’s always horsing around. The monkey? No，he’s always monkeying around.

The dog is a loyal companion. He makes us feel safe. He helps us keep thieves out of our homes. The dog has also helped us with our English. For example，if there were no dogs，how could people complain about leading a dog’s life? And how could the weatherman say，It’s raining cats and dogs?”

The dog is truly man’s best friend. So the next time a dog lifts a leg to your car，don’t get angry. Just let it obey the call of nature.

1) What’s your Chinese Zodiac?

2) Do you know anything about dog’s characteristics?

3) Of all the Chinese horoscopes, which one do you like most and why?

2. Read the article named “Starry Tales” in the appendix, and then answer the question: Which tale and horoscope do you like most and why?

3. Read the article “Following Your Sign?” in the appendix first, and then answer the following questions.

1) Do you believe in astrology and do you resist your star sign? Why or why not?

2) What personality traits do you have? Do you think they are related to your star sign?

3) Can you give an example to show that your decision-making or you action is exactly what described in your horoscope?

4) Do you think it’s reasonable to avoid responsibility by reason of your horoscope?

1. Game: Add a Phrase & Add a Sentence. It is said that different horoscope can decide different personality. Play the following game practicing words about personality.

Students take turns to add a new phrase or a sentence to the previous one. For example:

A: People are mostly nice.

B: People are nice and friendly.

C: People can be friendly, but be aggressive too.

D: People can be aggressive and cruel.

A: I like people who are considerate.

B: He/She likes people who are considerate, but I am fond of people who are righteous

C: He/she is fond of people who are righteous, and I admire people who are positive

D: He/she admires people who are positive, and I dislike people who are negative.

2. It is said that your horoscope can decide your fortune and character. Please read the following sentences on horoscope and try to translate each into Chinese. Then, discuss with your group members about questions: do you believe that your horoscope can decide your fortune and character? Why or why not?.

You like to rise to the occasion and show what you can do. You like to put on a show. Andthat’s good because the entry of Mars into the work area of your chart will bring some pretty stiff challenges over the next few days. No effort will be too much for you but make sure you labor only for yourself.

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2) ARIES (3.21-4.20)

As your ruling planet Mars crosses the midheaven angle of your chart today you will have to deal not only with employers and other authority figures but also with colleagues who try to pull rank. Let them know right from the start that you are not the sort to be intimidated.

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3) TAURUS (4.21-5.21)

As energy planet Mars moves into one of the most dynamic areas of the sky you will take on tasks that others are afraid of and make them look easy. Travel plans will also be uppermost in your mind. Where to go? Make it somewhere hot.

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4) GEMINI (5.22-6.21)

You cannot bear it when others keep secrets from you and that could be a problem today as certain people obviously don’t want you to know what’s going on. The more you pry the quicker the shutters will go up, so pretend you don’t care what they are up to—most likely it’s not in the least bit interesting anyway.

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5) CANCER (6.22-7.22)

Mars, planet of ego, moves into your opposite sign of Capricorn today, so it is odds on you will clash with someone whose views and ambitions are the opposite to your own. You don’t know it yet but you could make a very good team and something will happen over the next few days that brings you together.

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6) VIRGO (8.23-9.23)

Anything of a creative or artistic nature will go well today, and for several weeks to come. Now is the time to get serious about an idea you have no more than toyed with. You have the vision, you have the ambition and now you will have the energy too, so there is no reason to hold back any longer.

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3. Role-play: Matchmaking

Student A: a male clerk of a marriage agency

Student B: a female clerk of the same marriage agency

Student C: the mother of a 30-year-old female white collar

Student D: the mother of a 32-year-old male white collar

Two mothers of unmarried children came to a marriage agency trying to find an ideal partner for their children. The two clerks showed them many cards of the single men or women. But, none satisfied the two mothers’ need. However, the matchmaking turned out to be unexpectedly successful. Try to work out a creative and dramatic conversation.

Read the following article and then prepare a presentation to be delivered in the next class. Topic: What do you think of the phenomenon that young people want to study abroad?

More U.S. students are studying abroad than ever before, and they’re choosing an increasingly diverse array of destinations, a new report says.

A record of 241,791 U.S. students went abroad for academic credit in 2006-2007, up 8% from the previous year, and nearly 150% more than a decade earlier, the report says. It was released today by the Institute of International Education, a non-profit New York-based group that tracks international enrollment trends with U.S. State Department funding.

“U.S. students recognize that our world is increasingly interdependent,” says Goli Ameri, assistant secretary of State for educational and cultural affairs. “There is tremendous interest on the part of other countries for Americans to study there.”

Among report highlights:

● Europe continues to host the largest share of students, 57%, but that’s down from the year earlier. Some of the fastest growth is occurring in Asia and Africa, where the number of students increased by 20% and 19%, respectively. By country, some of the biggest increases occurred in students going to South Africa, up 28%; China, up 25.3%; Argentina, up 26.2%; Ecuador, up 29.6%; and India, up 24.2%.

● The top three major fields of study are the social sciences (21.4%), business and management (19.1%), and humanities (13.2%). Students studying foreign languages represented 7.2% of the total; that was the only field to see a drop in the number of students going abroad.

● A trend toward shorter durations continues. More than 55% of students study abroad for periods of eight weeks or less, up from 53% the previous year. The number of students spending an academic year abroad has dropped from 5.5% to 4.4%.

More colleges and universities are creating partnerships with institutions abroad. Goucher College, near Baltimore, now requires all incoming students to study abroad. This summer, the former chair and vice chair of the 9/11 Commission urged Congress to approve a bill that aims to increase to 1 million the number of students studying abroad in a decade.

The United States “cannot conduct itself effectively in a competitive international environment when our most educated citizens lack minimal exposure to, and understanding of, the world beyond U.S. borders,” they argued in an op-ed in The Christian Science Monitor.

Even 1 million students would be a tiny share of all U.S. students; last year, more than 17 million students were enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities.

Institute president Allan Goodman suggests 1 million may be overly optimistic. If trends continue, he says, about half that number would be more realistic.

Even then, he says, challenges await. U.S. students are increasingly choosing to study in less-developed countries, for example, but those countries are already short of space. And countries that would welcome more U.S. students aren’t prepared to accommodate a growing preference among U.S. students for shorter programs.

“Where will another 500 000 U.S. students go? There is not an inexhaustible supply in other countries,” Goodman says. “There is a mismatch in terms of programs and capacity.”