Flight or Fight Response

Flight or Fight Specific Purpose: Inform people about the â€Å"Fight or Flight† response and the better understand the way the body responds to certain stress. I. Introduction: Driving your parents home one night you begin to lose control of the car and crash. You're able to escape the car unharmed, but notice one of your parents are stuck inside with the door jammed and the car on fire. Your heart rate begins to rise and you feel this surge of energy flow through your body. You react and rip the door off the car and save your parent. This may sound like a story off a movie, but could and has actually happened in reality for some people.The surge of energy that allows our bodies to do extraordinary and unreal things is called adrenaline. This adrenaline comes from the body’s response, which is called the â€Å"Fight or Flight† response. Today I’m going to inform you about the chemical adrenaline, what the fight or flight response is, and how it is both go od and bad for us. A. Attention Getter: I’m going to use a narrative introduction, which involves loved ones in distress. B. Relevance to Audience: Everyone will want to know how the fight or flight can be activated and also everyone experiences stress throughout their lives. C.Thesis: What is the chemical adrenaline and the fight or flight response and also what are the pros and cons. D. Credibility: I experience adrenaline in sports every day and have done many research papers on it in High School. E. Preview Main Points: The main points include what adrenaline is, what the fight or flight response is and what the pros and cons are. F. Transition to First Main Point: So what’s adrenaline? Most of you might already know about it and may have experienced it in your life. II. First main point. The chemical adrenaline. A. Adrenaline is a chemical reaction that is produced by two adrenal glands, located by kidney. Harrison) 1. The glands produce the chemical and pump into the bloodstream when the body is exposed to a potential threat. (Harrison) 2. Since the adrenaline must go through the whole body, it may take a couple seconds to fully feel the effect of the adrenaline rush. a. It raises the heart rate and blood pressure. b. Changes the flow of the blood directly to the muscles. (This makes you faster and stronger. ) B. Some people have different effects to it than others as well. 1. A person might feel energized, have a weak stomach, and or shaky and confused during the rush. ( Harrison) 2.Some people might even feel like they are in slow motion or have tunnel vision. a. Sometimes may not feel pain at all. b. Not all these experiences may occur during the rush but some will. Transition to Second Main Point: All of these effects are helping prepare the body to flee or fight. This is the â€Å"fight or flight† response. III. Second main point. Fight or Flight response. A. The fight or flight response is the body’s self-defense mechani sm, that prepares the body to flee or fight from a dangerous or harmful situation. (Babu) 1. When our bodies experience an overwhelming amount of stress that may seem harmful the reaction is triggered. . The action is able to be triggered because of the hypothalamus. Which is an area of the brain the starts a sequence of cell firing and chemical release that prepares our body. (Babu) a. People may be able to lift cars during the response or run at world record speeds. b. The chemical that is released is adrenaline. Transition to Third Main Point: Now that you know what and how the response works, you need to know what the pros and cons are of the response. IV. Third main point. Pros and Cons. A. The pros of the response. 1. When the response is triggered it changes the flow of blood directly to our muscles and limbs more.Allowing us to be stronger and faster. 2. Also are pupils dilated and our awareness increases, allowing us to scan the environment. (Babu) a. All these signs allow the body to be put in the best physical and mental shape. B. Cons of the response. 1. As the response makes us more aware of things around us, some may become paranoid and hurt innocent people. 2. It can also change the way we feel pain. Our body might allow us to lift a car, but afterwards we may be feeling the pain of lifting the car. Some muscles might tear without us knowing. (Babu) C. Optional)So while the response might be good, it can also be very devastating. Transition to Conclusion: Now knowing what adrenaline is, how it is used in the flight or fight response and the pros and cons of response, you can be more aware of your body’s reactions to harmful stress. V. Conclusion. A. Is included in the transition. B. So the next time you feel harmed or threatened, you will feel the adrenaline rush and activate your bodies fight flight response. And who knows may even pick up a car. Note: Must meet collegiate standards of grammar, full Sentences throughout, double spaced, o ne inch margins, 12 inch Times New R

In times of war one of the casualties is truth Essay

The word war to many people conjures up images of death and destruction and this is shown in the two poems, ‘Dulce et decorum est’ and ‘Disabled’. Wilfred Owen, who was a solider and experienced war first hand, wrote both of the poems, he did this from personal experience. In Both poems a negative view is portrayed, by describing the pain, suffering and the general consequences of war. The message he is trying to put across by writing these poems is that war is bloody, a waste of life and may leave you in a horrific state. The aim of the poet is to warn people of what war is all about: mainly death. On the other hand, war can also be shown as being honourable, heroic and patriotic, we know this from the poems ‘The Volunteer’ and ‘In Flanders Fields’. The poem ‘The Volunteer’ was written by a man called Herbert Asquith who was a politician and his aim was to get people to sign up and volunteer them selves to go to war, so his poem gives off a positive view of war. Herbert Asquith, in his poem, says that you will become a hero if you go to war and although you may die it is worthwhile because your country will be proud. These words create the positive view that Herbert Asquith was aiming for. A Canadian called John McCrae is the author of the poem ‘In Flanders Fields’. John was a military medical officer and viewed war from the sidelines and got a positive view from what he saw. His message is to other soldiers to tell them they must be brave and fight with pride or the soldiers who died previously will feel they have wasted their lives fighting. The poems differ a lot from each other as they create different images of war and disagree with each other. Two of the poems mention the good side of war, whereas the other two, shows the bad side of war. All four poems represent the truth in one way or another as War has many truths. The authors of the four poems are motivated by their different relevant experiences of the things they were doing during the war. Owens’ experiences on the front line in the battlefield influenced him to write the poem ‘Disabled’ as he witnessed the many casualties of war, also his poem ‘Dulce et decorum est’ describes the horrific conditions soldiers had to live and fight under during the war. Asquith, not being a solider himself, but a politician didn’t really understand what it would be like to experience war but it was his duty to persuade people to sign up and therefore this influenced his poem. John McCrae was only a medical officer but he saw the pain and suffering of the soldiers. He took this to be a good sign as it shows a result of being brave and fighting for your country. Wilfred Owen in both his poems wants the readers to feel moved by the message they portray and does this by using emotive language and emphasis. Owen also hopes that his poem will make people consider the consequences of war before volunteering. On the opposite side, Herbert Asquith wants the readers to be taken in by his poem, which describes being in the army as essential and honourable, something that Owen does not appear to agree on. John McCrae makes the readers feel mournful for those who died but also that they died as a duty to their country. The structures and tones of these poems are different. â€Å"In Flanders Fields† is concise but to the point. Whereas â€Å"Disabled† and â€Å"Dulce et Decorum est† are long and descriptive, the tone of these two poems is very serious, depressing and shocking. â€Å"The Volunteer† is short and persuasive. All of the poems have strong description of war and create powerful images, whether they are good or bad. From the two poems â€Å"disabled† and â€Å"Dulce et Decorum est† we can get images of bloody deaths and horrific consequences. â€Å"Disabled† tells us about a young man who went to war to serve his country, became a hero but suffered severely from it; He ended up in a wheel chair and has no future ahead of him. â€Å"Dulce et Decorum est† however describes war conditions in detail and paints a dreadful picture in our heads, using description such as â€Å"the froth-corrupted lungs† and â€Å"blood-shod†. Death is discussed in all 4 poems, but more evidently in Wilfred Owens’ work. In â€Å"the Volunteer† Herbert Asquith tells of man who is dull and seems to carry out the same duties day after day â€Å"Half his life had spent toiling†. Asquith then goes on to describe the glorious lifestyle of the man when he as became a soldier, implying that joining the army is a way of escaping a dull and boring life. In this poem and â€Å"In Flanders Fields† death is described in a soft way by using the word â€Å"falling† and terms such as â€Å"now we lie†. Emotions run high in all of the poems, contrasting happiness and fear. I agree with Owen’s view on war, it is dreadful and a waste of time. There are more consequences than you can imagine, why put yourself through War, the glory is minimum. â€Å"The Volunteer† is a reflection of my down side of war, as I don’t think people should be encouraged to go to war, although I do understand that people have to fight for their country.

4 response essays ( about Chemical waste disposal ) Essay

4 response essays ( about Chemical waste disposal ) - Essay Example Had he chosen to write about one particular technique and given details about that method it would have been a better article. Even if he wanted to include all the information he should have structured the essay well. He should have explained the waste that he was talking about and how a particular method is directed against a particular waste. However, he simply mixes it all. Having said that, his effort to provide information about the main methods is pretty commendable. I think he manages to correctly introduce the topic of waste management. He explains why we need waste management-for conservation of our environment. Methods like recycling are perhaps the best method for waste management. Further, water pollution can mainly be controlled through sewage treatment. Besides these methods solid waste management is a very important aspect to waste management since solid waste is generally ignored and it has been piling up over the years creating havoc in our environment. The author mentions the need of renewable energy. However, it is only related to conservation of environment and most would not consider it related to waste management. But I think the writer is clever enough to realize it as a secondary method to waste management. Since use of renewable energy sources would mean less use of conventional energy sources like coal and hence there will be less waste that is produced by conventional energy sources. The reason I mention this article here is because this article is a very optimistic article among all the pessimistic views that we hear daily. The article does provide good basic information but it could have been better. article. He is not just able to mention why exactly we need to look for a method for waste management but in choosing to write about perhaps the newest technology of waste management he has saved the both his time and the time of the reader, directly jumping on the possible solution to the problem. He believes

Canadian Shield Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Canadian Shield - Case Study Example Speaking of the person who is responsible for making the key decision concerning the company’s software, one should mention that at the present moment Seamus possesses a considerable amount of power in this area. On one hand, he is the head of the IS department; so, it is his call when it comes to implementation of new IT solutions. On the other hand, he has been focused on developing the in-house ISS that he is experiencing troubles with. In other words, at the present moment he is the expert on the new software that is being developed. Additionally, he has been conducting research on commercially available software and found that there is software out there that can be compared with the system that he has been working on. This means that he was able to collect a lot of knowledge about the current situation, and he has made a reasonable decision. However, it is quite understandable that such an important decision can hardly be put on the shoulders of a single person. Therefor e, the board of directors should make the call regarding the decision to move on with the custom software or switch to systems which were developed by other companies. Indeed, this is a rather important change that is likely to affect numerous people and there might be situations where its effect will not be positive. That is why the board of directors should weigh all the possibilities and choose the variant that suits the company best both in the short term and the long-term perspective. It is quite possible that Seamus’s decision can be biased.

Oscar Wilde Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Oscar Wilde - Essay Example The main male characters reflected society as viewing the rich as being effeminate dilettantes. In today's society, the rich are not viewed in this same way. There was also some indication that the plays contained subversive homosexual codes, in that the main male characters were really gay, and Wilde couldn't show this because polite Victorian society would not have condoned it. It would be different in contemporary American society, as contemporary American society is much more accepting of homosexuality in general, therefore, if a playwright wants his character to be gay, he would just be gay. And there is also a portrayal of the hypocrisy of Victorian society – how the accepted mores of how things should be was in direct contradiction to how people actually behaved. This is similar to American society, where there is also hypocrisy. Thus, the plays of Oscar Wilde reflected Victorian society, and these same plays would mean something different to American society, because A merican society today is completely different from Victorian society during Wilde's time. Homosexuality Sinfield states that one of the hallmarks of Wilde's comedies is the effeminate man, and that, since Wilde was a known homosexual, this was his way of disguising the content – the content being homosexuality. He couldn't just write about gay men – he had to write about them in a subversive way. ... Algernon's Bunbury, like Jack's Ernest, was allegedly an invalid brother in bad health, who was in constant need of care. Sinfield states that Bunbury not only denotes that Algernon, and Jack for that matter, lived a double life, much like a homosexual, but also denotes homosexuality just by its name – Bunbury. Bunbury could have been British slang for a male prostitute, according to Sinfield (1), and others state that Bunbury could have also been used as slang for a homosexual pickup (2). Furthermore, Algy and Jack in The Importance of Being Earnest demonstrate their feminine qualities, according to Sinfield, by the fact that they are idle, do not care about moral conventions, exploit their romantic devotions to their women and make suggestions regarding future profligacy – such as when Algernon complains about how difficult it is doing nothing (Wilde, 683). Sinfield also states that the play Lady Windermere's Fan contained homosexual subversive messages. Sinfield stat es that Cecil Graham is a â€Å"dandy† in that play (3). This is shown through the language of Graham in the play – he refers to Mrs. Erlynne as being â€Å"handsome,† (Wilde, p. 487), and that he, Graham, was â€Å"one of her admirers† (487). Further, Sinfield states that when Graham was asked how long he could love a woman who didn't love him back, when his reply was â€Å"all my life,† this meant that Graham might â€Å"have a preference for relations that never get anywhere† (3). Sinfield further states that there are other effeminate characters in this play. Lord Augustus is one of them – Sinfield states that Lord Augustus is effeminate because he is flabby, other men make fun of him, he falls to easily for feminine charms, has been

Major HR issues and International managers Essay

Major HR issues and International managers - Essay Example Thus, â€Å"globalization is mainly process driven by international trade and investment for the benefit of the investor as well as the host country, with particularly emphasis on the employees as well as employees on both sides† (Rothenberg 2002, p.1). While employing local employees in the host country as well as employees from the foreign countries or expatriate employees, organizations have to implement certain International Human Resource Management (IHRM) aspects to manage those employees optimally and effectively. This is where the role of international managers assumes importance. That is, the international managers by using IHRM concepts have to play a prominent role in the management of human resources or employees particularly foreign or expatriate employees. Human Resource Management (HRM) is concerned with the way in which organizations manage their people (Redman and Wilkinson 2001). So, this paper will discuss how the employee centric HRM aspects like appraisal and assessment techniques, rewarding system and importantly training has to be managed effectively by the International managers to enhance the manageability of the local employees working in an MNC under foreign management as well as the expatriate employees working in an MNC under foreign management, in total employees who are working under foreign or international management. Role of International Human Resources Management (IHRM) Organizations particularly MNCs, will not remain â€Å"static†. They will or have to break ‘boundaries’ both from geographical perspective as well as economical perspective to utilize the opportunities in the new markets or countries and emerge successful. Thus, internationalisation is a happening concept which is being used by many firms to expand their reach globally. â€Å"As the global economy expands, as more products and services compete on a global basis and as more and more firms operate outside their countries of origin, th e impact on various business functions becomes more pronounced† (Briscoe and Schuler 2004, p. 20). When the organizations enter new countries as part of their global expansion plans, they will recruit employees from the local population. They will do that as a feasible as well as a responsible thing. That is, feasible thing in the sense, as the MNC will be stationed in those host countries, recruiting from local places will be an easy process than bringing employees from their home country or other Third countries. (Scullion and Collings 2006). In addition, as they will be manufacturing and marketing product or service for the local population, local employees will be the best choice. Importantly, it is a responsible thing because through recruitment of local employees, MNCs will try to give a share of their benefits. Although it is an unwritten rule, organizations are duty bound to recruit the local employees. Apart from fulfilling their responsibility, this recruitment of lo cal employees importantly will provide the MNCs with cheap and surplus labour. Thus, with the recruitment of local employees being a key component of MNC’s operations, the recruited employees have to be managed optimally by the International managers on the basis of effective HR policies or IHRM policies. After the

Case study part A and B Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Part A and B - Case Study Example Legislative law states that any person having more than 8000 pounds of capital entitled to his name shall not be allowed to claim the allowance. The court argues that the second house must not be disregarded when calculating his capital. Mr. Doyle says that he wants the second house exempted in assets determination. The commissioner refutes this claim. By occasionally using the second house across the street, it does guarantee it as his house. In the real sense he had purchased both the houses. The court is of the opinion that the second house is ‘annex† of the other. The two houses are seen as one house being used to serve different purposes. House A is used as a dining area while house B acts as a bathroom and bedroom. Therefore Mr. Frank should not ask the court to disregard the second house as his part of the capital. After calculations are done, it is found that his capital exceeds the one stipulated by the law. He is denied the allowance in the end. Legal issues in the case The claimant wants his rights to allowance entitlement respected. He legally contributed to the allowance. When he wants to claim the payment, the court has fast thrown away his case. It claims that the case lacks a basis. Legally, the victim feels that the second house that he purchased should be not be used when calculating his assets. ... This according to court is a violation of the job seekers act. An ownership conflict is being outlined in this case. For any dispute concerning properties, legal actions are the best option. The language and the approaches used in interpretation Contextual approach Lord Ward uses contextual approach. This is using the use of words the way they appear in the statutes but changing their meaning when interpreting. This ensures clarity in judge’s deliverance. The discipline has ambiguities which ought to be avoided. In reading the first paragraph of the statute he states that â€Å"under regulation 88 the capital and income partner or polygamous â€Å"wife†, which by virtue of section 13 (2) of the Act are assumed as his, are to be aggregated with his†. His wife agrees to be using the house as hers. Therefore, the words are used the way they appear but are applied in the case before the court. Literal meaning method The judge himself explains the meaning of using the words literally. The word dwelling has been used to mean a house. He states that â€Å"dwelling has been chosen, not, for, example, dwelling –house nor residential accommodation. To quote the judge â€Å"a residence† is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as place of residence; dwelling - place, habitation, house†. He goes further to say â€Å"dwelling place is a place of abode whereas dwelling house is a house occupied as a place of residence†. Present is a clear distinction of a dwelling house from the office, a business house or a warehouse. The judge only plays with this word to confuse the proceeding. It sinks in entire people’s minds that the dwelling is rightfully belongs to Mr. Doyle and cannot be excluded in determining his asset. Golden rule: This is a

Necessary Leadership Alberto Fujimori Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Necessary Leadership Alberto Fujimori - Essay Example When Alberto Fujimori was elected President of Peru in 1990, the country was suffering from massive external debt which could not be paid, uncontrolled hyperinflation, non-existent international reserves, and food shortages (The World Bank, 1997). Basic government services like education, health, and basic infrastructure had been neglected and were eroding away. The government was perceived as weak, and two terrorists groups, Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) and the MRTA (Movimiento Revolucionario Tupac Amaru), were competing for control of the country. Both of these groups had formed alliances with Peruvian drug dealers. Violence and intimidation were common, and law-biding Peruvians were very afraid of what the future might hold for their country and their lives. As one commentator noted, "The intense violence of the 1980s created a content in which many Peruvians were willing to cede citizenship and other rights to an extremely personalistic, authoritarian regime in exchange for or der and stability" (Jo-Marie, 2006 p32). Alberto Fujimori was the "extremely personalistic" and politically unknown candidate that was elected president in 1990. After his election, Fujimori vigorously attacked Peru's economic and crime problems. Even Fujimori's critics conceded that Fujimori's policies brought Peru's hyperinflation under control and got the nation's legal economy moving again (Jo-Marie, 2006).Critics also admit that it was under Fujimori that the leaders of Shining Path and MRTA were captured and the guerilla warfare that had characterized terrorist activity in Peru was virtually eliminated (Jo-Marie, 2006). At the same time, the Fujimori administration increased spending on social programs, built schools, repaired or created new infrastructure, and provided funds for community-based economic development (Jo-Marie, 2006). These were all necessary steps in correcting Peru's economic problems and making it safe from terrorists.Fujimori's actions, however, were severely criticized as an abuse of power by his political opponents and by those who saw his policies as violations of human rights. After being reelected to a third term in 2000 under questionable circumstances, Fujimori went into exile in Japan and eventually resigned as President (Peru's Fujimori Resigns, 2000). Since his resignation, additional charges of corruption, death squads, and other abuses of power have surfaced, leading the current Peruvian government to call for Fujimori's extradition from Japan so he may be tried on criminal charges in Peru (Judge Blocks Fujimori Extradition , 2007). AnalysisLeadership in Challenging Times Any reasonably competent elected official can lead during times of peace and economic prosperity, when the only real duty of government is simply not to do anything that would interfere with economic growth or destabilize the peace. Effective leaders can make the most of these opportunities; ineffective leaders allow circumstances to erode and lose the gains that were made during prosperous times. As noted above, Fujimori came into power at a time when Peru was enjoying neither peace nor economic success. Data from public opinion polls

Learning knowledge and effective performance Essay

Learning knowledge and effective performance - Essay Example Investment is learning is made possible through training and development of individuals and it is quintessential to harness such strengths so that the employees could manifest their truest selves within the workplace settings. On the same token, it is also important that organizations give the employees a choosing policy so that they could opt for the courses which they think are essential for their future training and development needs. However some studies could be made mandatory so that all the employees make sure that they take it for their own betterment. Indeed the organizational regimes would benefit in the long run and this is an important consideration for the top management, who is always enacting policies to suit the needs of the employees at the workplace. This paper takes a keen look at the ways and means through which training and development has assisted the learning quotient; and the methods which are deemed as significant in such activities are also touched upon in m eticulous. As an HRD advisor, it would be my duty to properly align the training and development activities under those methods which bring out the best value. This value is measured through the application of training and development activities towards the employees. The long term benefits are envisaged and the same are manifested in a manner which is close to their tasks and processes that they undertake at the workplace. Learning has taken the front seat in most organizations because the top management understands its due role and thus gives the best possible mechanism for learning to develop within the workplace settings. Learning is deemed as essential as it outlines the strengths within the processes that are held under the aegis of training and development activities (Kraiger 2002). As an HRD advisor, it is of utmost concern to me that I lay the basis for properly attuning the salient aspects which work alongside the

The Iliad Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Iliad - Assignment Example On a different level, patriarchy represents different configurations of male interaction, within a society that is male-centered and based on power relationships. It may relate to father-son but it may also be an ‘older-younger man’ connection. Homer clearly sees the rule of the father as a desirable situation, but this dominance is not always benign, as evidenced even among the Gods in the relationship between Zeus and Hephaestus (I. 571 pp). Within the Iliad, all men are subject to the laws patriarchy, with the kings enjoying father-son relationships with Gods. Thus ‘Zeus is hard: who before this time promised me and consented†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ that Agamemnon might sack Ilion. Now he is punished ‘in dishonor having lost so many people’ (IX. 19pp). Like a father, Zeus offers or withholds approval. Here we have the example of the stern, exacting father but when Priam morns Hector, whose body is dragged around the grave of Patroklos every day by Achilles, Zeus mediates between Hera and Apollo to bring help to Priam (XXIV, 64pp). So, kings may be sons of the Gods but there are also times when they may need to bow to humans in supplication, as Priam does, when he clutches the knees of Achilles in great distress, like a son might do (XXIV, 476 pp). And this is not the only time, when Achilles acts like a father.

Kant, irrationalism and religion Essay Example for Free

Kant, irrationalism and religion Essay Abstract Kant is a philosopher, which dealt with human recognition. He has been considered as an irrationalist. Many philosophers think that he used the irrationalism to justify the trust in religion and to protect the religion from the science. In this paper I shall take a view to the philosophy of Kant on recongition and to the question if Kant is an irrationalist or not. Did he use the irrationalism to protect the religion from science? This paper shall show that Kant wasn’t an irrationalist, but he simply tried to determine the limitations of the recognition and to distinguish between what we recongize and what we simply believe. His philosophy of recognition didn’t aim at protecting the religion from the science. He tells us in some pasages of the book â€Å"The critique of pure reason† that when his theory would be accepted, the men wouldn’t concluded of what they couldn’t know really, and maybe the religion would have some benefits from it. But I think that he meant the trials to prove either the existence of God or the non-existence of God. Kanti, Irrationalism and Religion Kant was firstly influenced in his philosophy by Leibnitz and later by British empiricism. By Locke and Hume he came to the conclusion that recognition stems from the senses and he also received from Leibnizs belief that although the mind does not have any idea born, she has the innate abilities that give shape to the experience brought to it by the senses. Fundamental problem that Kant raised was on how to reconcile the absolute security that gives us mathematics and physics with the fact that our knowledge comes from the senses? Kants goal was to build the foundations of a new rationality that would be incontestable. In efforts to achieve security he assumed that the mind has three skills: 1. Reflection 2. Will 3. Feelings and he devoted a critique to each of them. Kants critique created for both rationalists and empiricists a method of transcendent or critical method, by which he meant a study of its reason, an â€Å"investigation of pure reason† to see if its judgments have universality beyond human experience and again, are necessary and related to the human experience. The logic involved in these trials may be absolutely safe and can also be applied to the world of things. Kant believed that the thought, feeling and the will are forms of reason and he decided the transcendental principles of the reason in the realm of thought, the transcendental moral principles to the will and the transcendental principles of beauty in the realm of feeling. In this paper we will try to treat if Kant is an irrational that used irrationalism to justify the religion. To clarify this we must first demonstrate his theory of knowledge and whether Kant was indeed irrational and then if he used this irrationalism to make room for faith in religion. Kant says that his goal of writing the Critique of Pure Reason was to put Metaphysics on the basis of sound and to transform it into a science. In the first entry of Critique of Pure Reason he writes: Our age is the age of criticism, to which everything must be subjected. The sacredness of religion, and the authority of legislation, are by many regarded as grounds of exemption from the examination of this tribunal. But, if they on they are exempted, they become the subjects of just suspicion, and cannot lay claim to sincere respect, which reason accords only to that which has stood the test of a free and public examination. † (Kant,2002 pg. 7,) Kant sought for the metaphysics to achieve the security of mathematics and logic. He was not a skeptic who saw the world as mere sensory appearance, but quite the contrary he was prompted to write this book as a response to the skepticism of David Hume. Kant aims to determine whether it can reach a metaphysical knowledge, and if so whether it can be arranged in a science and what its limits are. The main aim of th Pure Critique is to demonstrate how the answers to these questions can be achieved, provided that the subject is reviewed under a new angle. Kants own words regarding this are: â€Å"This attempt to alter the procedure which has hitherto prevailed in metaphysics by completely revolutionizing it . . . forms indeed the main purpose of this critique. . . . It marks out the whole plan of the science, both as regards its limits and as regards its entire internal structure† (Kant,2002). â€Å"The critique of pure reason . . . will decide as to the possibility or impossibility of metaphysics in general, and determine its sources, its extent, and its limits—all in accordance with principles. . . . I venture to assert that there is not a single metaphysical problem which has not been solved, or for the solution of which the key at least has not been supplied† (Kant, 1998). Kant divided metaphysics into two parts: the first part deals with problems that are knowable by experience such as causality, while the second part deals with the whole in general and as such we do not refer to an object that we are able to perceive, because we cannot perceive the universe as a single thing. According to Kant we can have confidence only in the first part of metaphysics (general metaphysics) and it may have scientific certainty because its facilities are given in experience and is subject to verification. On contrary, the metaphysics of the second part (special metaphysics), which is so abstract that it overcomes any kind, cannot achieve scientific safety because its concepts are blank. In the first part, metaphysics deals with everything within the universe and that it is accessible to the senses, while the metaphysics in the second half deals with the universe as a whole and undetected by the senses. Of the first questions can get a correct answer while the latter not, even though these questions is well to be made. Kant was primarily interested in clarifying whether metaphysics is possible as a science or not. He was convinced that mathematics and natural sciences were true science. But is metaphysics a science? What Kant must do to achieve a scientific metaphysics was to identify the criteria for a science and then to produce metaphysical conclusions that met these criteria. Kant believed that the first criteria of a true science were that its conclusions were both necessary and universal, as much as judgments in mathematics, and geometry are. To have such universal judgments, it’s necessary to find out how they are produced, and to do this we need to see how mathematicians and scientists achieve this. When Kant asks how metaphysics is possible, he is asking how a science of everything that exists can reach the safety of pure mathematics and natural sciences. To understand this we must understand what the concept of science is and what its elements to Kant are. We must understand the use of this concept as the standard for determining whether metaphysics in both its parts is a real science. Kant conceives the science as a system of real judgments in a specific field of research. All judgments Kant divides into two types, empirical and a priori. An empirical judgment is the judgment coming from experience and can be verified by the observation itself. Kant calls all not empirical judgments as a priori. Example of an a priori judgment is: All triangles have three angles . We verify this by observing not all triangles, but by analyzing what the subject to the judgment triangle means. We find that the real concept of the triangle is already incorporated to the concept of triangle, which is predication of our judgment. It would be contradictory to deny that the triangle has three angles. A trial verified in this way is called by Kant analytical; predicate simply explains the concept of the subject without adding anything new to him. All analytic judgments are a priori known without recourse to any particular type of experience. If all a priori judgments are analytic is another matter entirely. On the other hand we get judgment â€Å"the apple is red†. Analysis of the concept apple is not leading us to the concept red†. We need to see the apple to understand the subject. This is an empirical judgment and all empirical judgments Kant called synthetic, because they connect the subject with the predicate of the ways that are not analytical, the predicate adds a new recognition of the concept of the subject. All empirical judgments are synthetic; the survey supports the connection between subject and predicate. If all synthetic judgments are empirical-in other words if the observation is always the one that provides the link for the synthesis- is from Kant’s view of a very different matter. If metaphysics is a science consisting of judgments, these judgments are empirical or a priori? First they need to contain any existence as such, so they must be universal and necessary. For example, lets look at a judgment of metaphysics in the first part: â€Å"everything has a cause†. We cannot allow any exception to this judgment. The opposite of it would be contradictory. Lets see a judgment that belongs to the metaphysics of the second part: â€Å"the universe is eternal. Even this judgment does not allow exceptions. This means that any empirical judgment is not metaphysical. They are a priori, but are they analytical? Lets see once more the judgment â€Å"every event has a cause. † Predicate here is not included in the concept of the subject. Lets see another judgment: the universe is eternal. Even here the predicate is not included in the subject. So the typical judgments of metaphysics are synthetic and a priori. Even though they are necessary and universal, their predicates are not related to the subjects either by empirical observation or by logical connections. What makes them universal and necessary? What relationship may exist between subjects and predicate that comes neither from the experience nor is conceptual? How are synthetic judgments possible a priori? To explain the a priori synthetic judgments Kant introduces the notion of pure intuition and differentiates it from the thought. He declares that there are two basic skills of human consciousness, intuition, which is directly aware of a specific individual unit, and the thought which is indirectly aware of things through their abstract types. Each of these skills is to recognize conditions that are a priori limitations on what you can know and what cannot know from their use. A priori conditions of intuition are time and space. A priori conditions of thought are, first, a priori conditions of valid conclusions, and secondly, the conditions a priori to think about objects, forms of judgment and categories. Kant claimed that he had managed to put metaphysics of the first part in the way of science. As for Kant metaphysics is the study of everything in general, it is the study of everything that can be recognized. In this way, its findings will be a priori synthetic judgments applicable to anything that can be recognized. Kant called these researches for these a priori synthetic judgments transcendental investigation , while he is in search of conditions for recognition of all. To discover these terms means to discover to what extent is metaphysics possible as science. In the first part of metaphysics we seek transcendental conditions, universal and necessary knowledge of all things, and we are committed to stay within the limits of possible experience. The knowledge in this area consists of a final judgment S is P. We are dealing with things or objects and therefore judgments cannot be simply concepts and hence must be synthetic, adding to our knowledge. Our goal in the first part of metaphysics is to bring these items under the categories. But the categories are in themselves as empty files. They can be filled only if we look them by experience. How can one give to an abstract concept an experiencing filling? It is easy to illustrate with a first empirical content. Kant states: â€Å"The possibility of experience is . . . what gives objective reality to all our a priori cognitions. Experience, however, rests on the synthetic unity of appearances, that is, on a synthesis according to concepts of an object of appearances in general. Apart from such synthesis it would not be knowledge, but a rhapsody of perceptions which would not fit into context according to rules of a completely interconnected possible consciousness. . . . Experience, therefore, depends upon a priori principles of its form, that is, upon universal rules of unity in the synthesis of appearances. (Kant 1998). Have we arrived at the essence of metaphysics of the first part? Since the categories are a priori concepts that apply to each item, the corresponding rules for their application should be a priori rules with sensory content, unlike empirical content, a rule whose application is a retrospective sensory content. Kant is fulfilling his promise by providing us metaphysical principles which are synthetic a priori. Since all our perceptions are temporarily connected to each other, rules of application of the categories will be expressed in terms of different temporary connections that we know are a priori possible. Each of these predications, Kant calls the schema. The Schema of the category of reality is being in a specified time. The Schema of substance category is consistency of real in time. The result is vindication of metaphysics in its first part and the production of current metaphysical conclusions in this discipline. Kant believed that he had found the conditions that make possible empirical knowledge of things in general, and furthermore to show that metaphysics is possible as a science in the first part. But, what about the constituency for metaphysics in the second- in other words the study of all things considered collectively? This includes rational cosmology, the study of the universe as a whole, rational psychology, the study of the soul as something which refers to any possible knowledge, and rational theology study of the Creator and manager of everything. Kant argues that the attempt to demonstrate each of these issues is pointless. The major difficulty is that we cannot have an intuition of the universe as a whole, of the soul or God as a whole. Consequently, there is no possibility to connect the subject with the predicate in a synthetic judgment about these things, no way to verify or refute them. His conclusion is that although we may have certain knowledge in the first part of metaphysics we are excluded from the recognition in the second part of it. He reached this conclusion from a general argument, but he gives particular argument against the possibility of recognition in the second part of metaphysics. All of the alleged evidence for or against the thesis of the so-called science lead to logical absurdities. The whole universe, God, soul, his own free will and immortality can be thought of, but cannot be recognized, and the same can be said about things in themselves. All these things are noumena or simply understandable. Kant made the distinction between phenomenal and the noumenal reality. There is a difference between things we perceive and those that really do exist. The things we perceive he calls a phenomenon, while those that actually exist he calls noumena. Not only a phenomenon can be addressed to two different noumena (when two different things look the same) but also two different phenomena can be addressed to a single phenomenon (when the same thing looks different in different perspectives). Noumenon is a physical object and the phenomenon is how it looks. We cannot have any idea, what noumena are. We cannot know what is behind appearance, behind the information we receive from our senses. We cannot talk about what exists, if we don’t refer to phenomenal reality. We cannot know neither where nor noumena are, if they exist. We do not know for sure, if there is any different reality outside the reality we perceive. We cannot ever have real knowledge about noumenon in Kant’s opinion. Kant uses the word â€Å"knowledge† to refer more to what we know about the phenomenon than what we know about noumenon. This may seem like a contradiction: should not recognition be for real things, rather than simply for their appearance? But, the recognition for real things is impossible according to Kant, because we have no transcendental insight. We can think about real things, we can form beliefs about it, but we cannot have any knowledge about it because our knowledge of the world has only one source: the sensory data. (There are also other types of recognition but they do not apply to the world but only on the concepts and abstractions as mathematics. ). Since all our knowledge about the world is created by the sensory information and the sensory data are all phenomenal, then all our knowledge about the world is knowledge about the phenomena and not about noumena. I think Kant meant that although the phenomenon may be reason to talk about how something really is, only phenomena are not sufficient to show that something exists because the existence is the only feature noumena. To tell the truth one cannot have certain knowledge to show that something exists, we can only have faith that it exists. This means rocks and trees, as well as means God and the soul, but the difference is that for the trees and rocks it is not important if noumena actually exist. Even if a stone is nothing but a phenomenon, it kills again if someone hits with it, so I have to bow to avoid. Ultimately even my own head is also a phenomenon. No matter what is beyond what we know, because everything we have in the physical world are only phenomena, and this is what really counts. What can we know about things in themselves and other noumena as: God and soul? It is possible to know something about things in them, that they may not be space-time or be recognized by the application over to the categories. But this does not tell us how they are. Kant thought that we have a secure knowledge of things in themselves, that they exist, that they affect the way they affect the senses and contribute (help) content as opposed to the empirical form of recognition. We know that they exist by the fact that it would be absurd to talk about appearance if would not be out of something. We don’t know anything else about noumena. We do not know whether God exists or if everything is fixed or if we have free will, etc.. This does not mean that these concepts do not have a function. The concept of the universe as a whole, the concept of a legislator to the concept of rule and power over the universe, even though unverifiable, can serve as ideas of reasoning – as Kant calls them, that are regulatory to unify all knowledge into a system. Let us assume that we cannot know anything about noumena: is there any justification for believing that they exist or have this or that feature? By doing this question Kant did the distinction between belief and verification of a justification to accept it. The verification provides a full justification for accepting a belief and a refutation provides a justification to reject it. As long as we can prove or retort, the theoretical knowledge prevails and we are justified in accepting its results. But Kant thought he had shown that there are some things that cannot ever be prove or rejected. Then a question is arisen: is there any justification for believing than knowing? Kant said that once to the theoretical reason is given to what is up, the priority of practice asserts its interests. Where theoretical reason is concerned with what is, practical reason is concerned about what should be. The theoretical reason could not give us knowledge about subjects that go beyond the experience, therefore we should deny all its claims in this area and give these practical reason issues to the people. Kant says, â€Å"I must, therefore, abolish knowledge, to make room for belief† (Kant, 1998). Deny the knowledge and no reason, for practical reason is part of the reason, and because it limits the confidence in the minimum of required arguments, in Kants view, it is done to protect the morale -existence of God, freedom and immortality. Kant condemns the faith based on religious feelings. If we understand Kant upon his words, it will be said that he was defending the Enlightenment, the reason and the warning of disaster to come, if these will be abandoned in the name of feeling. Kant doesn’t deny the recognition, it is not a irrationalist. Kant raises a theory of knowledge, which wants to create a scientific metaphysic, rather than makes room to believe in God (religion); he tells us what we can know and what is beyond the scope of human knowledge. Kant had understood that his method would help religion. He writes that once one accept his theory, people will not disclose to unjustified conclusions on things that they cannot recognize and that religion would benefit from this, but I think he meant this as attempts to validate the idea that God exists or to prove that God does not exist. What Kant tells us is: we cannot ever know for sure that God and soul exist because we cannot have accurate knowledge of the noumenal existence. This is not an expression of irrationality, but quite the contrary, is an attempt to use rational thinking in order to distinguish it from what we know and what we simply believe. References Kant, I. (2002). Kritika e mendjes se kulluar. ( Ekrem Murtezai, Trans. ) Prishtine. (Original work published 1787) Kant, I. (1998). Critique of pure reason. (J. M. D Meiklejohn, Trans). Electronic texts collection. (Original work published 1787) Kant, I. (2002). Kritika e gjykimit. ( Dritan Thomollari, trans. ). Plejad. Bonardel, F. (2007). L’irrazionale. (Lucias della Pieta, Trans. ) Mimesis edizioni. Sgarbi, M. (2010). La logica dell’irrazionale. Studio sul significato e sui problemi della Kritik der Urteilskraft. Mimesis Edizioni(Milano-Udine)

The Role Of Communicative Language Teaching

The Role Of Communicative Language Teaching Introduction Foreign languages play a very important role in our system of knowledge. They are not only an effective tool for us to exploit information to acquire scientific technology, to share experiences with or to learn experiences from others in specialized fields but also a useful means of improving peoples material and spiritual lives. In the sixteenth century English became known as a communication language for people around the world. Its popularity as a foreign language has been increasing since then and been developing into the second language of many countries (Richards and Rodgers, 2002). English is now the most popular foreign language in Vietnam and English competence is considered one of the most necessary characteristics for anyone who would like to integrate themslves into the global society and access the worlds knowlege to be sucessful in life. English gradually becoming the main communication language in parts of education, business, entertainment and culture exchanges with o ther cultures excitingly taking place in daily life in Vietnam require appropriate recognition of English speaking from Vietnamese learners, especially teachers and those who are working in education. Language teaching profession has experienced many changes and a number of different language teaching methods and approaches have been proposed and applied for the sake of teachers and learners benefits in their teaching and learning so far. However, which one is the most appropriate for teachers and their learners depending a lot in their teaching and learning context. Therefore, Communicative Language Teaching has been employed in most of Vietnamese classrooms, especially in PVMTC, for its advantages in improving the speaking skills though it is not the latest one. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND THE MAJOR TRENDS OF LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODS AND APPROACHES. Since the begining of the twentieth century, communication between people of different cultures in differrent parts of the world has became urgent request. Teaching and learning a foreign language became more and more popular. However, to teach a foreign language effectively requires a lot of effort from the teachers who have direct and significant impact on their students achievement which is controled by the methodology they choose to apply to their language teaching in different learning and teaching contexts. Understanding the importance of the matter , linguists and teachers themselves have been done a large number of studies on language teaching in order to find out and introduce more practical and effective language teaching methods and approaches that help teachers in performing well their job. The two recent centuries have witnessed ceaseless changes and innovation in language teaching in terms of teaching methods and approaches. These decide how the language is taught and what materials and activities are used in the classroom to help learners get the best achievement in their language learning. Thus, each approach shows its own view of the nature of the language and how the language is learnt. According to Richards and Rodgers (2002, p. 3), Latin was the dominant language of education, commerce, religion and government in the Western world until the sixteenth century when French, Italian and English gradually replaced it to become the languages of communication. However, the tremendous impact of Latin teaching and learning principles and procedures on the way of teaching and learning the newly emerging languages was still occuring until the nineteenth century. This language teaching method has been known as Grammar Translation Method (GMT). As the result, the language lessons occured mostly in students first language, heavily focused on grammar rules which were deductively taught to students in order to guide them to decoding written texts and producing correct writing in target languages (Prator Celce-Murcia, 1979). Translation activities with the assistant of billingual dictionaries were conducted to achieve the accuracy. Students were expected to memorize a number of w ords and their meanings and all grammar rules and then apply them to make sentences. They were also expected to read, comprehend literature and write sentences without errors. Listening skill and speaking skill were completely ignored (Larsen-Freeman, 1986) in GMT classrooms. However, the changes in the society at the time resulted in the change of learners goal of learning languages: learning languages to communicate. The Grammar Traditional Method then couldnt meet the requiement since it appeared to fail to equip learners with interaction and communication skills in the target language (Larsen-Freeman, 2000, p. 23). In 1880 Francois Gouin, a teacher of Latin in France introduced a famous book called Art of teaching and learning of languages to the public. His assumptions of how a foreign language could be taught together with those of Henry Sweet, an English philologist, came together on encouraging students to think in the target language in learning process (Nagaraj, 1996, p. 71-72). This shaped the early version of the Direct method, a revolution in foreign language teaching, which went against the current traditional one. The Direct Method (known as Natural Method) was first introduced in Germany and France and it was the strong response to the dra wbacks of the Grammar Translation Method. It then became popular in The United States in the late of nineteenth century. At the time, Lambert Sauveur, an extraordinary man and his colleage, Gottlied Henness, first applied object lesson technique to teach German and French in their classrooms and they enjoyed great success. Sauveur after that developed this teaching method to the one known as Natural Method and used it widely in his language schools (Howatt, 2004, p. 217). At the same time, Maximilian D Berlitz also used this teaching method in his language schools in the US but in another name: Berlitz Method. Basically, the Direct Method based on the assumption of using the target language to teach itself and that oral practice could help students assess the target language in terms of forms and meanings. It was also the advocacy for the natural language learning principles and teaching of oral skill. So all instructions in the classroom were in the target language. Pronunciation a nd speaking skill were strongly emphasized by conducting question-and-answer activities to motivate and encourage students in using the language confidently (Larsen-Freeman, 1986). Interaction between teacher and students in the target language was considerd a way to present it. Grammar, vocabulary and translation skills which were very important under the Grammar Translation method was now marginalized to guaratee the acquisition of oral proficiency because the proponents of the method had a strong belief that everyday vocabulary used in the classroom could be learnt effectively through visual presentations and that grammar rules could be worked out by students through the teachers inductive grammar teaching. By means of its innovation in language teaching, the Direct method, which negated the effectiveness of the Grammar Translation method, became the first and the most concerned language teaching method that marked the begining of the method era (Richards Rodgers, 2002, p. 14). However, apart from being a breakthrough in teaching interactive speaking skills, the Direct Method also showed its weaknesses in terms of applied linguistics which made the method not take well in public education where the constraints of budget, classroom size, time, and teacher background made such a method difficult to use (Brown, 1994, p. 54) or to Richards and Rodgers it was a dramatic alteration in language teaching which firmly focused on oral skill but lacked a systematic basic in applied linguistic theory and practice (2002, p. 38). In the 1920s and 1930s in Britain, British applied linguists led by Harole Palmer and A. S. Hornby exerted themselves to establish an approach called Oral Approach (or Situation Language Teaching) to language teaching based on more scientific foundation, in which sponken language was important, only general and useful vocabulary was introduced, grammar was graded strictly and all practice took place in situations. The approach also enjoyed the popularity in English for decades there and many textbooks and courses were designed under it principles (Richards and Rodgers, 2002, p. 36-41). Another method became known as the Army method fisrt and then Audio Lingual Method (ALM) as we know it now was a new creative trend in language teaching methodology in The US in the second World War. It was first applied in a special language training programs of Military of the United States. It was devised by an American linguist, Leonart Bloomfield for the servicemen who were going to work as translators, interpreters and quickly needed to have perfect communicative proficiency to perform their jobs in different parts of the world. The method was the combination of language teaching through intensive practice of speaking skills to develop communicative competence with the language learning method based on the disciplines of descriptive linguistics and behaviuor pychology (which considers language learning is a set of language). In this method, immitation, repetition, memorization and reinforcement were impressed within speaking practice with variety of drills. Limited vocabulary w as introduced. Grammar was important but was taught inductively and inexplicitly throughout the conversational dialogues that learners practised orally but no errors were accepted because according to them errors could become bad habits. It was Charles Fries, another American linguist advocating Audio Lingual Method applied the method widely in his English language center, who deserved credit for making this method popular in foreign language teaching in the United States particularly in the 1950s and 1960s (Wong, 2006) and the world. However, the effectiveness of Audio Lingual Method on oral proficiency got questioned in the 1960s. Many experiments were done and according to Scherer and Wertheimer (1964), this effectiveness was not significant. In the 1970s, the new method based on the wiew of language learning as active mental processes, which was advocated J.B. Carroll and K. Chastain in the 1960s, Cognitive-code-Method was born. As Carrol stated, this deductivist method was a modified, up- to-date grammar-translation theory (1966 cited in Stern, 1987, p. 469). It adopted generativist grammatial theory (Danesi, 2003) and focused on grammar structures and all four skills. Clear examples and grammar structure explanation to learners came first. Learners were then asked to pracise them in meaningful contexts. Despite the fact that the method did not win the teachers and linguists favour for long, it deserved merit in leaving contexttualized gramar tranning and the technique of Error Analysis to language teaching ( Danesi, 2003, p. 11). In the early 1980s, the Natural Approach was developed by Tracy Terrell and Stephen Krashen based on Krashens theory about second language acquisition. It looks at language as a set of messages which can be understood. Vocabulary and meaning are primary (Terrell Krashen, 1983 cited in Richards and Rodgers, 2002) and the principles for teaching a language are based on the five hypotheses in Krashens second language acquisition theory. The approach was widely welcomed in the US and around the world for its positive influence on forming more overall principles for effective language teaching that have been considered in the later approaches. In the 1970s, the need for communicative competence continued to increase in line with the changes of economic and political situation in Europe. But teachers and linguists did not satisfy with the current language teaching methods and approaches which were not effective in helping learners use the target language to interact or communicate in real life situations. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) or Communicative Approach to the teaching of foreign languages then emerged as the answer to the problem. It has didfferent features from those of the other approaches since one of the most characteristic features of Communicative Language Teaching is that it pays basic attention to functional as well as structural aspects of language (Littlewood, 1992, p. 1). To serve communicative goal of language learning, the Communicative Approach is based on the premise that what we do in the classroom should have some real life communicative values or it looks at what people do with language and how they responde to what they hear (Flowerdew Miller, 2005, p. 12). Therefore, all activities used in a CLT classroom are appropriately designed based on these principles. Teachers measures language learnerssuccess by looking at their development in communicative competence which is implied in their making use of any means of communication, verbal or nonverbal, within the limited knowledge of the language they have to. To some extent, CLT makes use of presenting and practising speaking and listening in real life situations to help students complete tasks and build their fluency and confidence. The last approach I would like to mention is Task-Based Approach popularized by Prabhu. The method has attracted teachers and linguists in recent years. It impresses on using authentic language in real life, classrooms are managed to take place in real world communicative context in form of tasks and the tasks outcome, not the accuracy of language forms, is used to evaluate students progress and competence. The activities in the classroom mainly focus on speaking and students are required to be highly active and cooperative. The approach is rather new and not very familiar to teachers and students in some Southeast Asian countries. However, nobody who concerns linguistics negates its state of the art in the field and it is considered the development of CLT. ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING IN VIETNAM: STATE OF THE ART In the last twenty years, the demand for communicating between people of different cultures has pushed English to its recent status as a popular global language. English has become an official languge in Singarpore, India, the Philipines, Hongkong and a popular foreign language in most Asian nations for economic and political reasons. English teaching profession in the region, as the result, receives more concern of teachers, educators and linguists. In line with the current language teaching trends of the world, English language teaching in Asia has also been inspired by a more effective alternative, Communicative approach which emerged in the ash of less effective approachs and methods of language teaching that had big impact on English language learning and teaching for a long time. The wind of changes prevails and results in a lot of other changes related to English language teaching. Teachers have been encouraged to employ CLT in their English classrooms to improve students spea king skill. However, in some Asian countries of ESL where CLT and other later approaches have been imployed in English classrooms and claimed for some success whilst in Asian EFL classrooms whether CLT has been really applied or not, and if it has, how effective it has been, is still questioned. So, what has been the problems? In his study, Hird (1995, cited in Lewis McCook, 2002) stated that the differences in cultures led to the differences in interpreting CLT. The Asian traditionally appreciate the perfection such as acurracy in learning, CLT to their understanding, however, emphasizes more on fluency, appropriateness and spontaneity, not acurracy. Therefore, teachers as well as students were dubious about the effectiveness of CLT. A study of Musthafa Personal author, compiler, or editor name(s); click on any author to run a new search on that name. (2001, p. 1-10) on CLT in Indonesian argued that the communicative approach has failed to help students become any more competent in the use of the English language for real-life purposes. Or Manajitt (2008, p. 83-87) pointed out, although most of the Thai EFL school teachers in Bangkok were very intersted in CLT, learnt about it in many ways and had clear CLT conceptualization, their teaching and their students learning was still a combination between trad itional and communicative approach or still stayed traditional because of difficulties they faced while organizing a CLT classroom. In Vietnam, English became one of the subjects at school in 1987 after Vietnam started Doi Moi in 1986. English appeared in classrooms in some parts of the country. The course books at the time focused on reading skills and grammar and the Grammar Translation Method was applied widely in English teaching in Vietnam (Denham, 1992) beacause the new approaches and methods of teaching English did not reach the country yet and the teachers who were trained before 1986 felt most confident using it (Pham, 1999). Speaking skills were overlooked. Students had to work very hard with grammar rules to past the examinations. Teachers taught to test and students studied to do tests. In 1996, English proficiency at different levels was required to high chool and university students when they finished their study. English joined the rank of major subjects at education institutions. However, teacher-centred or teacher-fronted classrooms remained typical ones in Vietnam (Sullivan, 2000). Students cont inued with their rote learning in teacher-centred classrooms and the English teaching methods of the teachers in Vietnam in the late of 1990s were out-of-date (Kennett Knight,1999). The fact that teaching and learning English in Vietnam for over a dacade was staying the same. Yet the social demands for English for communication purposes were increasing because more and more activities in different fields needing poeple with good communicative English competence urgently required a significient change in language teaching profession. In an attempt to improve the quality of teaching and learning English especially the speaking skill, a movement to transform curriculum, text books, and teaching methodologies (Kim, 2001, p.140) was launched. Now, CLT has been announced to be the best choice to replace Grammar Translation approach in Vietnam. Teachers are annually invited to attend workshops about CLT. The new versions of English text books for students at secondary and high schools have replaced the old ones. The new text books, however, include more every day dialogues as the only evidence for the change since long reading texts and grammar exercies which promise to be the most in typical tests that students are going to take still predominent these books. As a result, speaking skills are skipped in class. Teachers spend most of the time on explaining grammar rules and translating reading texts to students. Students have to work with reading and grammar even harder than ever to survive the exams which mainly compri se long reading texts and extremely complicated grammar points. So, CLT although is officially prefered in Vietnam but whether it is really applied in classrooms to enhance students communitive competence or not is still a big question to anyone who has ever taught English in Vietnam. These lead to far-reaching consequence. At universities and colleges, Communicative course books are also chosen for students like the Lifelines set (Hutchinson, 2001), International Express set (Taylor Lane, 2007). The course books cover four macro skills. However, no oral or listening tests but reading and writing tests are carried out during the course. Inconsistencies between teaching and examinations lead to serious consequence like speaking skills are inorged in such these test-oriented tertiary EFL classrooms, students dont even have oppotunities to use the language verbally inside their classrooms because Vietnamese is used by teachers and students most of the time (Bui, 2006). Under these con ditions, students suffer from the failure in communicating or interacting. In terms of applying effectively new methods to teach English to students to help them use English communicatively, teachers fail to teach their students how to speak or listen but read and write in the target language. According to Pham (1999), there are socio-cultural factors against success in tertiary English language training programs in Vietnam. He emphasizes the fact that not only students but also teachers who lack ability of communicating in the target language get so scared to be in CLT classrooms where speaking skills are focused. The new method required both teachers and students really work actively in class. However, they got used to learning and teaching passively with Grammar Translation Method and they have to struggle to overcome their inherent passiveness, shyness, inferiority and fear to deal with the lesson in the new method. To these teachers and students, their English class put them in a state of panic. These have resulted in the quality of teaching speaking skills at university in Vietnam is still poor. And the explanation of the poor quality speaking teaching in English language tertiary education in Vietnam which results in a large number of graduates who have difficulty with communicating English (Bui, 2006) must take into account the concrete factors such as teachers and students conceptualization and practice of CLT, teachers ability and enthusiasm for their badly paid jobs, budget for language education, syllabus design, material and assessment which are the same in most developing countries (Gorlach, 1995). PetroVietnam Manpower Traning College (PVMTC) belongs to the system of vocational schools in Vietnam but mainly funded by Petrovietnam. For nearly fifteen years, the Streamlines set was used as the main course books and Grammar Translation Method was applied in teaching English in our college. But since 2007, we have replaced the course books with the Lifelines and International Express set. CLT has hardly received any warm welcome from the senior teachers beause they do not want to change the method that they have used for such a long time and as for them, they do not believe in the effectiveness of the new method and they even do not exactly know what CLT is and how to apply it. However, it has enjoyed the popularity among the younger teachers like me. We have been sent to have training courses on CLT together with our colleagues from other schools and colleges. We have excitingly discorvered it and applied or adapted it to our classes when we teach thousands of both types of stude nts studying English there: regular students and project students. Most of the students in PVMTC now are project students who are recent graduates or experienced technicians and engineers from different parts of Vietnam recruited to work for projects of Petrovietnam. They are paid to take a special intensive English course at PVMTC to improve their English skills, especially speaking skills, to perform their job together with foreign experts in their field at industrial facilities or in offices. They are highly motivated because they are given test of four skills and they are expected to achieve at least 650 marks on TOIEC when they finish the training course. They already took a placement test before doing the course and their English proficiency is Pre-intermediate. These are also advantages to us to apply CLT in these classrooms. International Express set is chosen for the course for its characteristics which support teachers and students a lot in conducting a communicative approach classroom. Inductive approach to grammar employed to guide stude nts to work out rules and usage which is usually a foreseen failure to many regular classes for regular students can be acceptable in these classes although both teachers and students have to work extremely hard when dealing with complicated grammar points and occasional failures are inevitable. Students are offered oppotunities speak, to discuss to complete all the task given by the teacher or to solve the problems emerging in the lessons. They are encouraged to use their own experiences, limited language they have learnt and appropriate learning strategies to deal with the English language in particular situations together in pair and group work activities. They are encouraged to keep speaking English with their classmates and teachers as much as they can without caring much about making mistakes when speaking. Authentic materials such as video clips or articles from the internet or newspapers, or any sourses relating to the topics of the lessons can be taken into the classroom to link the language they learn in the cousre book and those in real life. Although English is used by teachers and students most of the time in class, most of the students, especially more advanced and senior ones, generally appear to be successful and get progressed in their learning in terms of using the language communicatively, fluently and confidently. With regard to applying CLT in teaching English speaking effectively in these kinds of classrooms, we proudly claim that both the teachers and students in PVMTC have worked increadibly hard to make it success. We, however, confess our less successful outcome when applying CLT to most of the classes for regular students who are young adults at college and are being trained as workers to work for PetroVietnams subsidiaries. Most of them have been studying English for at least three years at high school but their English proficiency level is still beginner only. They are required to pass an English reading and writing test after finishing 90 hours of learning English in the first semester. Then they are offered a free optional 200 hour course of English to get the A level certificate as the education policy of PetroVietnam. The impacts of the different learning context on English teaching and learning are obvious in this situation. Therefore, as motivated language teachers, we have been doing our best to adapt the most appropriate teaching methods we have known to teach our students to get them improved and to these classrooms, an adapted combination of Audio Lingual Method and CLT has appear ed to be the most appropriate. To a large extent, CLT has enjoyed the popularity in PVMTC for proving itself a more effective method in teaching and learning English speaking skills in PVMTC context in this stage. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION FOR FUTURE DIRECTIONS In conclusion, language teaching profession has undergone great changes. Teaching approaches and methods ranging from Grammar Translation to Task-based were born in different stages in teachers, linguists tireless attempts to improve quality of teaching and learning languages. The later coming into the world does not completely exclude of the previous ones but it maintains the quintessence and condemns the drawbacks of them and contributes innovation to the field ensuring its appropriateness for teaching and learning contexts in a particular period. A number of studies have been done for centeries on teaching approaches and methods reflecting increasingly concerns about speaking skills and the recognition of the importance of the the skills in teaching, learning and using the target language. Improving the quality of teaching and learning English are the main chalenges facing Vietnam educators and government beacause it has been considered part of its social, economic and political development strategies. The first step as access to expected success has been made. In Vietnam, CLT has just really been popularized and used in English classrooms to ameliorate learners English competence. A lot of objective and subjective factors impacting on the effectiveness of this communicative method are still existing in Vietnam education system. So CLT will be the most appropriate one to use in the next years in Vietnamese teaching and learning context before trying to exploit the later ones. PVMTC have become aware of the neccessary of choosing and applying CLT in teaching English to acheive the proposed objective of any English courses to satisfy our students need, to prepare them for their future jobs by getting students involved in using English communicatively effectively, And as I mentioned early, we have enjoyed remarkable success but sometimes our teaching ends in falures. In spite of those, I believe that no teaching methos or approaches are perfect to all types of learners and that depending on object of the courses, as asthusiastic language teachers and if we are creative enough in teaching art, we will know how to adapt the methods we have known for use in each of our particular teaching and learning contexts and we will be successful in preparing our students with communicative competence.

Complication In Grand Multi Parity

Complication In Grand Multi Parity Grand multi parity is the condition of giving birth after the 28th weeks of gestation, following 5 or more previous viable babies. Grand multiparae is relation to obstetric performance is labeled high risk. High risk pregnancy is define as one in which the mother, fetus or newborn will be at increased risk of morbidity or mortality at or after birth. The risk to the mother and child is relatively high in first pregnancy and then this risk decline during second, third and then slowly rises with increasing parity by the sixth pregnancy risks exceeds these of 1st and after that rises steeply with each pregnancy1. Grand multiparous have been considered to be at higher risk of developing antenatal complications. These complications include gestational diabetes, hypertension, anemia, placental abruption, placenta previa, preterm labour, mal-presentation, mal-position, fetopelvic disproportion and intra-partum complication, uterine intertia, dysfunctional labour, uterine rupture, intrauterine death, marosomia and subsequent operative delivery with its consequent risk of maternal mortality and morbidity2,3. Postpartum haemorrhage also more common in grand multipara. Munim noted in her study PPH was three times more common in grand multipara4. Grand multiparity reported to increased both maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality5,6. It is generally accepted that GMP is risk factor of obstetric complication but recently a few reports have appeared in the literature showing that this might be fiction rather than fact. Toohey et al, Fayed et al, and Kaplan et al, addressed the obstetric performance of great grand multipara but they concoluded that such women were not a high risk group7,8,9. Brunner et al, in 1992 concluded that grand multi parity should be regarded as an obstetric risk factor, mainly because of the higher frequency of placental complication and with good obstetric care there should be no advice affects to the mother or newborn10. The incidence of grand multipara has decreased in most western countries in recent years due to better socioeconomic status and high use of contraception11,12,13. In third world countries like Pakistan the large families are still common. Grand multi parity is a common problem in this part of world and when added to low socioeconomic status, it significantly increases the risk to mother and fetus8,14,15. OBJECTIVES The objective of our study were To compare obstetrical complications between grand multiparae and low parity women. To study the frequency of maternal and perinatal mortality associated with complications of grand multi parity. OPERATIONAL DEFINITION GRAND MULTIPARAE: Grand multiparae is woman who has delivered five or more babies after 28 weeks, weighing more than 500 grams. LOW MULTIPARAE: Low multiparae is woman who has delivered less than five (para 1-4). HYPOTHESIS: Obstetrical complication are more in grand multiparae than the low parity women. MATERIAL AND METHODS SETTINGS: This study was conducted in Obstetric / Gynaecology Unit-I, Civil Hospital, Karachi and Sheikh Zaid Women Hospital Larkana. DURATION OF STUDY: One year from 1st July 2008 to 31st March 2009 at Civil Hospital Karachi and 1st April 2009 to 30th June 2009 at Sheikh Zaid Women Hospital Larkana. SAMPLE SIZE: A total of 200 pregnant women were selected randomly, were divided into two groups with 100 women in each group. Group I consistent of women with parity five or more, and group II consisting of women with parity one to four. SAMPLING TECHNIQUE: Probability. SAMPLE SELECTION: Sample selection was done according to the following inclusion and exclusion. INCLUSION CRITERIA: All pregnant multiparous women. EXCLUSION CRITERIA: Primigravida. STUDY DESIGN: Comparative, cross sectional DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE: A 200 women were admitted in our ward through out patient department or emergency, or referred by private clinics or traditional birth attendants were selected. These cases were divided into two groups. Group I consistent of 100 women of parity five or more and group II consistent of 100 women were admitted during the same period with parity one to four. On admission patients history was taken in detail. Age, parity, socioeconomic status, detailed obstetrical history, past history were recorded and previous record was received to detect antenatal complication including anaemia, PIH, APH, and malpresentation , pre-term labour. Anemia was taken as haemoglobin of 11 g/dl, PIH was defined as blood pressure of > 140/90 millimeter mercury after 20 weeks of gestation with or without protenuria on two or more occasion 6 hours apart. Bleeding from genital tract after 24 weeks gestation was taken as APH. Ultrasonography was done in non-booked cases when there was suspicious of malpresentation which was defined as presenting part of fetus in other than cephalic in relation to maternal pelvis. Preterm labour was defined as labour before 37 complete weeks gestation. During labour patients were managed according to units protocol and partogram recording was used to evaluate the progress of labour. The intrapartum complications included prolonged labour and ruptured uterus. Mode of delivery was also recorded. After delivery, the patients were monitor for 24 hours for primary PPH which was taken as blood loss estimated to be more than 500ml after normal vaginal delivery and 1000ml after caesarean section. The maternal death if any was recorded with its cause in detail. Neonates were followed for neonatal complication which included, LBW, macrosomia, perinatal death. Birth weight of < 2.5 kg was taken as LBW and > 4.2 was taken as macrosomic babies. Admission to NICU. Perinatal deaths (PND) included all intrauterine death (IUD) and early neonatal deaths (ENNDs). Data was collected through special proforma, neonatal follow up recorded was also entered in the same proforma. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Data analysis was performed through SPSS version-10.0. Frequencies and percentages were computed for presentation of all categorical variables of the study including age, booking status, mode of delivery, pregnancy related complications, intrapartum and postpartum complications, maternal and fetal mortality, and birth weight. Chi-square test was applied to compare age, booking status, mode of delivery, pregnancy related complications, intrapartum and postpartum complications and birth weight between low parity and high parity groups. Fishers exact test was applied to compare maternal and fetal mortality and nursery care admissions between low parity and high parity groups due to typically low expected count (< 5). Statistical significance was taken at p < 0.05. RESULTS Commonest age group in both study groups was 20 25 years in which total 76 patients were observed, however this age group was significantly higher (46% vs. 30%, p=0.001) in low parity group that high parity group while older age group of the study 36 40 years was higher in high parity group than low parity group (4% vs. 15%). So the age distribution was significantly different in two groups (Table-1). Most of the patients in my study were unbooked, i.e. 131 % (Table-2). Booking status between two groups was statistically insignificant (p=0.344). Anemia was significantly higher in high parity group than low parity group (89% vs. 62%, P = 0.001); while abruptio placentae, PIH and malpresentations were significantly higher in high parity group than low parity group (p < 0.01). Placentae previa, preterm labour and twin pregnancy were insignificant between two groups (Table-3). Out of 200 women in this study, 21 (10.5%) underwent caesarean section and 179 (89.5%) normal vaginally delivered (Figure-1). In high parity group, proportion of women who underwent caesarean section was significantly higher in high parity group than low parity group (16% vs. 5%, p=0.011). Intrapartum and postpartum complications found insignificant between two groups at p < 0.05 (Table-4). No maternal death was observed in low parity group but one (1%) maternal mortality was observed in high parity group, however difference of maternal mortality rate was insignificant (p = 0.999) between two groups (Figure-2). Significantly high number of fetal mortalities was observed in high parity group than low parity group (16% vs. 4%, P = 0.999) (Figure-3). We observed 8% NICU admissions in high parity group that was not statistically significant (p 0.213) as compared with 3% NICU admissions in low parity group (Figure-4). Table 1: AGE DISTRIBUTION (n = 200) Age (years) Group Total Low parity (n = 100) High parity (n = 100) 20 25 46* 30 76 26 30 40 29 64 31 35 10 26 36 36 40 4 15* 19 * Shows significant difference (X2 = 18.6, d.f = 3, p = 0.001) Low parity: Parity 2-4, High parity: Parity > 4 Table 2: COMPARISON OF BOOKING STATUS (n = 100) Booking Group Total Low parity (n = 100) High parity (n = 100) Booked 32 23 55 Unbooked 62 69 131 Referred 6 8 14 * Significant difference (X2 = 2.13, d.f = 2, p = 0.344) Key: Booked = 3 or more antenatal visits. Unbooked = < 3 or no antenatal visits. Table 3: COMPARISON OF PREGNANCY RELATED COMPLICATIONS BETWEEN TWO GROUPS (n = 100) Complications Group p-value Low parity (n = 100) High parity (n = 100) Anemia 62 89 0.001 Placentae Previa 5 7 0.55 Abruptio placentae 2 11* 0.018 Preterm labour 5 6 0.760 Pregnancy induced hypertension 4 14* 0.024 Malpresentation 2 15* 0.001 Twin pregnancy 2 4 0.68 * Shows statistically significant difference at p < 0.05. Figure-1: COMPARISON OF MODE OF DELIVERY BETWEEN TWO GROUPS * Significant difference (X2 = 6.44, d.f = 1, p = 0.011) Table 4: COMPARISON OF INTRAPARTUM AND POSTPARTUM COMPLICATIONS BETWEEN TWO GROUPS Complications Group p-value Low parity (n = 100) High parity (n = 100) Obstructed labour 3 4 0.70 Ruptured uterus 1 1 Retained placentae 0 2 0.50 Postpartum hemorrhage 2 4 0.68 * Shows statistically significant difference at p < 0.05 Low parity: Parity 2-4 High party: Parity > 4 Figure-2: COMPARISON OF MATERNAL OUTCOME BETWEEN TWO GROUPS * Significant difference (p = 0.999) Figure-3: COMPARISON OF FETAL OUTCOME BETWEEN TWO GROUPS * Significant difference (Fishers exact test, p = 0.005) Figure-4: COMPARISON OF NURSERY ADMISSION BETWEEN TWO GROUPS (n1 = n2 = 100) * Significant difference (Fishers exact test, p = 0.213). Low parity: Parity 2-4 High parity: Parity > 4 NICU = Neonatal intensive care unit DISCUSSION This comparative, cohort study was conducted in largest hospital of Karachi to find out whether grand multi parity is risk factor for obstetrical complication when compare to low parity. Despite of availability of modern obstetric facilities, women in our society not intend to get book for antenatal care because they are too busy at their home and lack of awareness about health care, We found in our study that most of the patients in both groups coming in Civil Hospital, Karachi were non-booked and referred from different areas with complications. Unbooked 13% and 14% referred from different areas. In our study the grand multipara were older then low parity women. Increased age of GMP women put them additional risk for complication. As our study was not age matched study. So, the age matched study should be done for the proper risk assessment. This study shows that antenatal complication such as anemia was more common in grand multiparae. A Salick, et all also found same result in th eir studies 16. Anemia is more common in grand multipare because of poor nutrition, repeated pregnancies, low socioeconomic status. Pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) was more common in our study, these women were relatively older than low parity and my study was not age matched study. Munim S, et al., found in her study statistically significance difference in the induced of the PIH that was 15.4% in grand multipare compared to the 9.3% in low parity women 4. Although the patients in here study were booked patients, she reported that higher prevalence of these complications may be explained on the increased age of these women. In spite of increased incidence of PIH the superimposed pre-eclampsia and eclampsia was no more common in my study.4. Regarding the antepartum haemorrhage, abruptio placentae is more common in GMP. Although number of placenta previa was increased in grand multi parity than low parity but not statistically significant. Heija AA, also found in his study that abruptio placentae is more common in grand multipareae. He state that the high parity is significant etiological determinant of placental abruption 2. The malpresentation was more common in grand multipare especially breech was more common than the low parity. Malpresentation in grand multipara is common because increasing laxity of anterior abdominal wall musculature, failing to act as a brace to encourages and maintain a longitudinal lie, encourages malpresentation 17. Preterm labour was same in both groups. Aziz FA, studied the grand multipare Sudanese women and found the incidence of pre-term labour was increased in these women 18. The intra partum complication like obstructed labour result was same in both groups in both cases patients was referred and reason was abnormal fetal position. we found 1 case of Ruptured uterus in each group, both these are patient were referred from private hospital, both were older age, both were mismanaged with syntocynon but low parity woman was survive and grand multiparous woman was die. Our study showed no statistical difference in postpartum haemorrhage between both groups. Page L in her series of study has reported that same result. She found no direct association between grand multiparae and PPH.63 Some other studies have shown that increased risk of PPH is associated with increased age not with increasing parity. Munim et al, noted in her study PPH was three times more common in grand multiparae 4. Our study showed caesarean section is significantly increased in grand multipare than the low parity, this because of malpresentation and obstructed labour, antepartum haemorrhage. One maternal death found in my study this unfortunate woman belong to low socioeconomic class, had obstructed labor due to macrosomic baby and mismanaged with syntocinon referred in state of shock despite of emergency laparotomy, blood transfusion, and resuscitation she could not survive because she was already anemic had bleed a lot and die due to cardiac failure. As regard the neonatal outcome parity is considered as important factor in determining the birth weight of baby. Many investigators have reported association of LBW with grand multiparae. But in my study low birth weight was common in low parity as compare to grand multiparae. There was no significant increased incidence macrosomic babies in grand multiparae, compare with international literature. In our study perinatal mortality was significantly increased in grand multi parity it mainly because of abruptio placenta, PIH, obstructed labour and preterm birth. CONCLUSION It is concluded from my study that antenatal complications like pregnancy induced hypertension, abruptio placenta, anaemia, malpresentation, Caesarean deliveries and perinatal mortality were more common in grand multiparae then the low parity group and multi parity is still a major obstetric hazards in our set up with higher incidence of complications.

Use of Duality in Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt :: Movie Film Essays

Use of Duality in Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt utilizes dualism to express the juxtaposition of good and evil. The dualism expressed throughout the film is not only done through the use of juxtaposing characters, it is also accomplished through the use of dualism within a character, as well as the literal duality of people as being placed in shots as two’s. This element allows the audience to be drawn in, creating intrigue and mystery around the plot and the characters, because the audience now wants to figure out the strange behavior that is being exhibited. Having the dualism of the two Charlie’s allows the idea of them being two sides of one person to come out. Young Charlie is an innocent young woman, while Uncle Charlie is a murderer. The two seem to have a connection that’s deeper than the average niece and uncle relationship. This connection allows the dualism of the two Charlie’s to take on a life of its own and create a game of cat and mouse or the s truggle between â€Å"hate and love† of oneself. The dualism that Hitchcock wants to create with the two Charlie’s is similar with the way he juxtaposes the all-American small town family with the â€Å"Merry-Widow Murderer† Uncle Charlie. It’s as though Hitchcock is making a social commentary on the nature of human beings, that we all have good and evil within us, the idea is choosing the part that will be expressed in your daily life. The ending of the film follows the dualism that is exhibited throughout the film. Uncle Charlie gets killed (the good won over the evil) and during his eulogy we see young Charlie talking about Uncle Charlie and his actions juxtaposed by the wonderful things being said about him in the eulogy. This blatantly points out the dualism that Hitchcock works hard to incorporate throughout the entire movie.

Alienation in Kafkas The Metamorphosis Essay -- Kafka Metamorphosis E

Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis In German, the word Kafka uses to describe Gregor Samsa's transformation is ungezieter, which is a word used by the Germans during his lifetime in reference to the Jews. The literal English translation is "monstrous vermin." Kafka uses Gregor's family to show how inhumane society can be. In The Metamorphosis, Kafka uses his experiences to create much of Gregor's life. He indicates that Gregor's family only saw him as a means of survival before the change and took advantage of him. After the change the family is unable to communicate with him because they are blinded by his outer appearance. Kafka's life of alienation directly relate to his development of Gregor Samsa, the outcast son who Kafka symbolically turns into a huge, repulsive creature.Kafka pulls much of his personal experience into the writing of this book. Kafka was a German-speaking Jew in a society where Jews were oppressed. He pulls this into the writing of the book showing Gregor's employer expecting more of him because he is a Jew. The company does not trust him, even though he has not missed a day of work in five years, and a chief clerk comes to check on him . Had this been a German employee, the company would not have so quickly questioned his absence. Kafka also had a rough time dealing with his family because he renounced his Jewish heritage and did not live up to the expectations of his domineering father. Kafka implies that Gregor's father to father feels the... Alienation in Kafka's The Metamorphosis Essay -- Kafka Metamorphosis E Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis In German, the word Kafka uses to describe Gregor Samsa's transformation is ungezieter, which is a word used by the Germans during his lifetime in reference to the Jews. The literal English translation is "monstrous vermin." Kafka uses Gregor's family to show how inhumane society can be. In The Metamorphosis, Kafka uses his experiences to create much of Gregor's life. He indicates that Gregor's family only saw him as a means of survival before the change and took advantage of him. After the change the family is unable to communicate with him because they are blinded by his outer appearance. Kafka's life of alienation directly relate to his development of Gregor Samsa, the outcast son who Kafka symbolically turns into a huge, repulsive creature.Kafka pulls much of his personal experience into the writing of this book. Kafka was a German-speaking Jew in a society where Jews were oppressed. He pulls this into the writing of the book showing Gregor's employer expecting more of him because he is a Jew. The company does not trust him, even though he has not missed a day of work in five years, and a chief clerk comes to check on him . Had this been a German employee, the company would not have so quickly questioned his absence. Kafka also had a rough time dealing with his family because he renounced his Jewish heritage and did not live up to the expectations of his domineering father. Kafka implies that Gregor's father to father feels the...