CESL TODAY
AE2 Projects
page 2
Vol. 9
No. 1
February 2, 1996
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American TV is very interesting. American TV has many more channels than Japanese TV.
THE DIFFERENCE OF TV There are about fifty channels in America, but Japanese TV has only seven channels. Also, there are many kinds of channels in America, for example, comedy, music, movie, and news. We can enjoy watching American TV.
My favorite TV channel in America is H.B.O. because I like seeing the movies on the H.B.O. channel. Also, H.B.O repeats the same movie several times. I am very glad to see my favorite movies on TV. However, I can't see my favorite movies on Japanese TV because we have to wait for a long time. It is very bad. I want to see the movies on TV soon. I think that American TV is better than Japanese TV.
American TV is very convenient for me to see the movies and to improve my English. Also, I can learn new information about America. It is very important to understand American culture. I want to use American TV more.
By Yasuko Sugiyama
Bangladesh is a developing country. It became independent in 1971 by sacrificing many lives.It is now over populated in comparison with its area. Today the people of Bangladesh have become more conscious about the education of their children.
EDUCATION PROGRESS OF BANGLADESH All parents in Bangladesh want to send their children to school because they realize that no nation can prosper in life without education.Parents want to spend more money on education.To increase the percentage spent on education, the government of Bangladesh has adapted a comprehensive program. First, elementary education has been become mandatory. That is why three hundred primary schools were established last year.To encourage adults. night schools have also been set up.
In rural areas people are poor and there are shortages of food, clothes,etc. That is why the parents in those areas do not want to send their children to school. Thus the government is giving them clothes, books, pencils,and paper. The government has adapted a very good policy: "food by means of education." Many many children are encouraged to go school and they go to school every day.
Today many college, institutions, universities, and vocational training institutes have been set up. Many many students are taking higher education classes. Some students are going abroad to attend higher education program.
Today almost fifty percent of the people are educated. We believe that within five years almost one hundred percent of the people will be educated.
By Mehedi
Sabah is a state in Malaysia. There are 32 ethnic groups in Sabah. I am going to write about the three biggest. They are Bajau 36 %, Kadazan 34 %, Chinese 15 %. The other 25 % consists of a wide variety of groups.
THE ETHNIC GROUPS OF SABAH The Bajaues usually 5 to 6 feet tall. Most of their skin is dark but not really. Their religion is ISLAM. They celebrate "Hari Raya." Prior to Hari Raya they have to do a month of fasting. During the fasting month they can't eat or drink during the day. They can only have food and drink at night. Bajau women wear clothes called " Baju Kurung " and men wear " Baju Melayu " on Hari Raya day.
Second, there are Kadazans. They are also 5 to 6 feet tall on average. Their skin is a little ligther. Most of them are Christian and some of them are pagan or have no religion. They celebrate " Pesta Menuai " once a year. During the Pesta Menuai celebration they wear traditional black clothes and drink a lot of "Tuak," a tradition beverage that makes them drunk.
Finally there are the Chinese. They are also 5 to 6 feet tall on average. Their skin is ligther than the Kadazans'. The Chinese usually have small eyes. Most of the Chinese are Buddhist and the others are Christians. They celebrate " Gong Xi Fa Chai " which means " Chinese New Year." During the Chinese New Year celebration families go home and have dinner together. They also celebrate Christmas.
Those are some of the charateristics of the three ethnic groups in Sabah. The interesting thing is that they can live in harmony, work, and develop their state together.
By Jee
I have been a teacher for 4 years. I had already known many types of excuses students use for missing class. I have clarified three types of excuses which students have. They are personal, family and classroom problems. These problems are not only from the elementary, junior high school, or high school student, but also from all students in college and university. Everyone has excuses for missing class depending on their condition and situation.
EXCUSES First, is the personal problem. It is a famous reason for every student. Each student thinks that sickness is a good reason for missing class. For example, when they don't want to attend classes, they just send a letter to me through a friend with a headache as one of the excuses. Sometimes they don't sent a letter, they just inform me when they attend the class the next day or the following day. I think it usually occurs in school in my country.
Second is the family problem and this is considered a big problem for every student in each school. Sometimes they won't go to school because of that. Usually, I have heard, their explanation is that their father and mother had a quarrel and got divorced. It made them stressful and tense. So, they think that going to school is not necessary, not helpful for them, and a waste of their time.
Finally there are classroom problems. Most students have had these problems. For example, students dislike one or two of their classmates. Usually, in this situation, they escape their class for one or two hours or just miss class. In this situation, I have to find out what happened, maybe the students haven't finished their homework, so they don't want to go to school because they are afraid their teacher will get angry.
In my opinion, those types of excuses always occur in every school in my country. I think every teacher in every school knows about it. As a teacher, I think the way to face those situation is to try to find out what their problem is and try to advise them. I try to find out my students' problems and try to give them good advice.
By Ana
Hundreds and thousands of American Muslims and other Muslims are abstaining from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from dawn to sunset. They do that because they are fasting. They do that for 30 days.
FASTING While medical experts tell us that better health, body detoxification, and physical conditioning also result from fasting, this is not what the Muslims are after. They are fasting to fulfil their covenant with the lord of the universe. To understand this is to understand the Islamic view of life itself.
Ramadan is the month of fasting. For specified hours each day even the normally permitted things (food, drink, and sex with one's spouse) become prohibited. Senses are sharpened to allow for a much deeper and richer spiritual awareness. This is an experience that chronically satiated persons are deprived of.
Those who can stay away from even the permitted things out of their own choice, can be expected to maintain balance, to resist temptations and impulsive behavior, to be in control of their self, and to have fear of God if the fast is broken. This can be monitored by non but the person himself.
One also gets a first hand experience of what hunger is. Those used to three square meals a day with plenty of snacks in between may never know how a hungry person really feels. Those who are lucky enough to fast by their own choice would feed the hungry people and help the needy from a very personal sense of their fate.
By Adam Alamin
If you see the map, you can find this small country as part of Southeast Asia. The position of Indonesia is very strategic; it lies between two oceans and two continents, that's why Indonesia has two seasons, the hot season (musim panas) and the cold season (musim hujan). The population of Indonesia is approximately 170 million, flourishing with different cultures, religions, and languages (traditional languages). The variation of ethnic and traditional languages makes Indonesia rich when compared with other countries.
A GLIMPSE OF INDONESIA Indonesia also has beautiful and fantastic natural sights. For instance, Bali, a small island in the west part of this country, is the favorite place for people from other countries, including America's people, to visit. Almost all people in the world know Bali very well. But this famous island is only one of the "tourist" islands in Indonesia, the others are Toraja, Yogyakarta, Lombok. However, there are many other places that usually welcome tourists. That' s why Indonesian people love and are very proud of their country.
There are negative impacts from the "openness" of Indonesia. Indonesia can make money from this source (tourism), but at the same time, Indonesia has to face risk. Anything can happen because of tourism, foreign cultures begin to penetrate the country, especialy the people. But of course, anything which gets into this country brings positive and negative impacts, so there is a "big task" for all Indonesian people to protect their own languages and cultures.
By Truly Wangsalegawa
Holidays are important to all countries and people from different countries have different cultures. For example, American and Taiwanese people have different celebrations.
HOLIDAYS In America the first holiday that comes to mind is Christmas, which is indeed the most important holiday for most Americans. It is a religious holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated on December twenty-fifth. On that day, family and friends exchange gifts with each other. During this time people sing songs, decorate their homes with colored lights and a Christmas tree, visit old friends and spend time with their family. Another special holiday is Thanksgiving which always falls on the fourth Thursday in November. People have a feast of roast turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. The family members play games and catch up on family happenings.
In Taiwan, we have Christmas, but we celebrate just by exchanging gifts with family members and friends. Only some families also decorate their homes and have a Christmas tree. In our culture there are no religious holidays. If asked "What holiday is important to the Chinese?" A lot of people might answer the "Chinese New Year". The Chinese New Year is important to the Chinese because for a long time the transportation all over the country was terrible. Since we have five days vacation for the New Year, people who were studying and working in places far away from their families had time to go home. However, even now, when transportation is very good, this Chinese tradition is still important to us.
Holidays are important to us. Americans and Taiwanese have two different holiday systems. In different cultures many people celebrate in different ways. Therefore, we must learn a different country's culture when we stay in another country, because we should enjoy and celebrate their holidays.
By Kevin
Honduras is located in Central America between Nicaragua and Guatemala. It's 112,088 square km and has a lot of mountains. The capital is Tegucigalpa, and the industrial capital is San Pedro Sula. There also are lot of trade zones. Our national anthem is called Tu Bandera, and our national tree the pine because it lasts the whole year.
HONDURAS There are a lot of things you can do. We have a lot of tourist agencies that take you to really cool places. We have very delicious food like tamales, frijoles, tapado, and a lot of traditional drinks like rompopo, chicha, horchata, and guaro.
We also have some beautiful islands that you can visit like the Bay Islands. They contain the second best coral reef in the world. You can also visit the Mayan Ruins in Copan. We also have the best port in Central America because we have axcess to both coast the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean.
Honduras is a very fun place to be. Every town has different fairs that are very fun. They have holidays, they dance and sell all the traditional food and drinks.
We play a lot of sports like volleyball and basketball, but the most popular sport is soccer. We have a professional league. Every Wednesday and Saturday everybody goes to the games where we have a lot of fun. We have also a lot of fun billfishing every weekend.
I strongly recommend that you visit our beautiful country and learn about our culture.
By Hector Flores
Malacca is a beautiful and historical city which is situated in the south of Malaysia. It is only about 50 miles from our capital, Kuala Lumpur. It also is a famous travel place in Malaysia. Many of the western people like to visit and there are a lot of historic churches which were build by western people when they colonized the area. Besides that, it also has a lot of nice places to visit and to enjoy your holidays.
MALACCA A Famosa is one of the famous places in Malacca. It was build by Portugal in 1511 when they colonized Malacca. Some of the Portuguese people married with local people and stayed there. This caused Malacca to have a place call the Portugis Statement. This was, and still is, the place where these people live.
Holland colonized Malacca in 1642. They built a lot of buildings. The Clock Tower and the Red House are the famous buildings built by them. Besides that, they also built churches. Malacca still has one area which was built for the Dutch people, but only Malaysians live there now. "Cheng Won Teng" is the famous temple built by the Chinese when they did business in Malacca around 1400. In Malacca you can see a lot of people called "BABA" or "NYOYA". They are from the generation of Chinese who married local people. Besides the historical places, Malacca has a lot of beautiful beaches. These beaches are famous and many western people come to enjoy the sunshine.
Besides visiting all the sights, you can enjoy local food, "curry" and "satay", which is spicy and tasty.
Overall, Malacca not only is a beautiful place with historical places for you to visit , but it also has a lot of fun and tasty food for you to enjoy. And, you only have to spend a little money. I think Malacca is a nice place to visit.
By Lim
Malaysia is a multi racial country that is located in South East Asia. This country is very unique and special because there are many races living in this country in peace and harmony. Generally, there are three kinds of people that live in Malaysia, and still practice their own lifestyle. We can classify them in three tribes namely Bumiputera (native), Chinese, and Indian.
MALAYSIA -- PEACE AND HARMONY COUNTRY Bumiputera is the biggest tribe living in Malaysia. There are almost 52 types of Native Bumiputera in this country. Each type has a different culture and still uses their native language. The biggest type is Malay. The religions of most Bumiputera are Islam, Christianity, and Pagan. Islam is the official religion in Malaysia because the majority of the people in Malaysia are Moslem. However other people can practice their own religion. The Malay Language is the official language which is spoken by all people in Malaysia. Bumiputera has a lot of special occasions, such as "Moslem Day," "Christmas," "Pesta Menuai" (Thanks Giving), and "pesta Perahu" ( Bot Festival ). These big occasions, are celebrated together once a year. Since they come at different times, people of all religions can take part as a guest.
Another tribe in Malaysia is Chinese. This community came from China since Malaysia was a colony of Great Britain in the 19th century. Their religions are Buddhist or Christian. One of their customs is "Gong XI fa Chai" (Chinese New Year). On this day they invite other tribes to come to their house. They also have their own language, but it is only spoken among themselves.
The other tribe is Indian. In the past, these people came from India. Their religion is Hindu. They have their own culture. One of their festival days is called "Deepavali" and it is celebrated once a year. During this day, they invite the other tribes to celebrate it with them.
Bumuputera , Chinese, and Indian tribes in Malaysia came from different places and different cultures , but they can still live in peace. This is possible because the people in Malaysia respect each other and they have a responsibility to make sure the country lives in harmony.
By Bak
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