The Spirit

GMP Inspectors Training
Communications Skills in English
Sherry Li, Pharmacist
Taiwan Biotech Pharmacy
November 14th, 2011

A Glimpse at Asia
Asia is the world’s largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth’s total surface area (or 30% of its land area) and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world’s current human population. Asia differs very widely among and within its regions with regard to ethnic groups, cultures, environments, economics, historical ties and government systems.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia

China
China, officially the People’s Republic of China (PRC), is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometers. The People’s Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China (CPC). The PRC exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (SARs), Hong Kong and Macau. Its capital city is Beijing.

The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third- and sixth-longest in the world, have their sources in the Tibetan Plateau and continue to the densely populated eastern seaboard. China’s coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometer long (the 11th-longest in the world), and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East and South China Seas.

The ancient Chinese civilization—one of the world’s earliest—flourished in the fertile basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. China’s political system was based on hereditary monarchies, known as dynasties, beginning with the semi-mythological Xia of the Yellow River basin (approx. 2000 BC) and ending with the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912. The Republic of China (ROC), founded in 1912 after the overthrow of the Qing, ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949. In the 1946–1949 phase of the Chinese Civil War, the Chinese Communists defeated the Chinese Nationalists (Kuomintang) on the mainland and established the People’s Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949.

The Kuomintang relocated the ROC government to Taiwan with its capital in Taipei. The ROC’s jurisdiction is now limited to Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and several outlying islands. Since then, the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of China (subsequently became known as “Taiwan”) have remained in dispute over the sovereignty of China and the political status of Taiwan, mutually claiming each other’s territory and competing for international diplomatic recognition.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China

Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan’s name mean “sun-origin”, which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the “Land of the Rising Sun”.

The four largest islands of Japan are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku. Japan has the world’s tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, and World War I allowed Japan to expand its empire during a period of increasing militarism. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II, which was brought to an end in 1945 by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military force in self-defense and peacekeeping roles. According to both UN and WHO estimates, Japan has the longest life expectancy of any country in the world. According to the UN, it has the third lowest infant mortality rate.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan

South Korea
The Republic of Korea, commonly known as South Korea, is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People’s Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China (Taiwan) to the south. South Korea lies in a humid continental and humid subtropical climate region with a predominantly mountainous terrain. South Korea has a population of almost 50 million. The capital and largest city is Seoul, with a population of 10,421,782.

At the end of World War II, Korea was divided into North and South Korea. After the invasion of South Korea by forces from the North on 25 June 1950, the resulting war between the two Koreas ended, but the border between the two nations is the most heavily fortified in the world. After the war, the South Korean economy grew significantly and the country had transformed into a major economy, a full democracy, and a regional power in East Asia.

South Korea is a presidential republic consisting of sixteen administrative divisions and is a developed country with a very high standard of living. It is Asia’s fourth largest economy. The economy is export-driven, with production focusing on electronics, automobiles, ships, machinery, petrochemicals and robotics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea

India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; the People’s Republic of China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east.

The Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence which was marked by non-violent resistance and led by Mahatma Gandhi.

India is one of the fastest-growing major economies. It is considered a newly industrialized country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, illiteracy, corruption, and inadequate public health. India is a federal constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system consisting of 28 states and 7 union territories. India is a pluralistic, multilingual, and multiethnic society.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India

Southeast Asia
South-East Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic and volcanic activity. Southeast Asia consists of two geographic regions: Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as Indochina, comprises Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Peninsular Malaysia, and Maritime Southeast Asia, which is analogous to the Malay Archipelago, comprises Brunei, East Malaysia, East Timor, Indonesia, the Philippines, Christmas Island and Singapore.

Geographically Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan are sometimes grouped in the Southeast Asia subregion, although such grouping is rare politically, since in political usage the definition of Southeast Asia is overshadowed by ASEAN memberships.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeast_Asia

The Successful Negotiation(win-win negotiation strategies)www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLz53M-n9uQ

Diffusing Verbal Criticism(Learn a 5-step process to respond effectively to verbal criticism)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXb3gQ5LoXY

Motivational coach speeches from basketball movies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4f-L7-5hsw

Asserting Yourself Effectively
Assertive people feel free to express their feelings, thoughts, and desires. Assertive people are able to initiate and maintain comfortable relationships with other people. Assertive people know their rights. Assertive people have control over their anger. This does not mean that assertive people repress their feeling; it means that they control anger and talk about it in a reasoning manner. Assertive people are willing to compromise with others, rather than always wanting their own way and tend to have good self-esteem.

Assertiveness is a way of thinking and behaving that allows a person to stand up for his or her rights while respecting the rights of others. Nonassertive people may be passive or aggressive. Passive individuals are not committed to their own rights and are more likely to allow others to infringe on their rights than to stand up and speak out. On the other hand, aggressive persons are very likely to defend their own rights and work to achieve their own goals but are also likely to disregard the rights of others. Additionally, aggressive individuals insist that their feelings and needs take precedence over other people’s. They also tend to blame others for problems instead of offering solutions.

Assertive attitudes and behaviors are at the heart of effective communication. A person with an assertive attitude recognizes that each individual has rights. These rights include not only legal rights but also rights to individuality, to have and express personal preferences, feelings and opinions. The assertive individual not only believes in his or her rights but is committed to preserving those rights.

An assertive attitude is important in recognizing that rights are being violated. The passive person is so concerned with being liked and accepted that he or she may never recognize the need to advocate. The assertive person clearly expresses his or her rights or needs. They tend to face problems promptly and they focus on solutions rather than problems.

Assertive listening goals are: (1) to let the other know that you want to understand his or her point of view; (2) to understand accurately what another is saying; and (3) to let the other know that he or she has been understood. Understanding is different from agreement. We can understand what another is saying but still disagree with him or her.

With nonverbal behaviors we communicate who we are and how we feel.

1. Eye contact. Eye contact means looking directly at another, focusing on his or her eyes. Direct eye contact is assertive. Maintaining eye contact while the other is speaking shows your interest in listening. There are times when you will want to minimize eye contact while others are speaking, perhaps to avoid revealing your reaction to what is said or to give you time to think. When this occurs, concentrate on note taking since this also gives the impression that you are listening.

2. Posture. The moment you walk into a room, your posture and carriage communicate messages about your confidence, how you expect to relate to others, your energy level and emotional state. An erect and relaxed posture while standing and sitting communicates confidence, self-control, energy and an expectation that you be taken seriously. When sitting, leaning forward slightly communicates interest and a sense of purpose. Leaning back communicates disinterest or disagreement. Crossing your arms and legs suggests a tense and closed attitude while uncrossed arms and legs suggests a relaxed and open attitude.

3. Facial expression. We say a lot through our facial expressions. Our face tells others the degree to which we are alert, interested, in agreement, or relaxed. It reveals the types of emotions we feel. It is best to keep your facial expression as neutral as possible.

4. Gestures. Gestures can be used to accentuate and support your message or to distract and discredit. If you have trouble controlling nervous and fidgety movements, channel your nervous energy by taking notes. Hand and arm movements can be used to emphasize what you say. Do not emphasize everything, however. Keep your gestures relaxed, fluid and moderate in size. Gestures which are too large make you look grandiose while gestures which are too small make you look nervous.

5. Dress Code. Whether we like it or not how we dress affects credibility. It also affects how we feel. Being extremely overdressed or underdressed in relation to others makes most people uncomfortable. Dress appropriate to the situation. If you do not know how to dress for a particular situation, ask questions of people who should know such things. The way in which you dress carries distinct messages about power. When dressing for business it is best to dress neatly, conservatively and as professionally as possible.

6. Tone of Voice. There are many aspects of voice that affect the impact your words have on others. The most important of these and the easiest to control are loudness and speed. Nervousness can make us speak too softly to be heard or so loudly that we distract from our message. Speak loudly and slowly enough to be heard and understood. It is also important to control how you end your sentences. Raising the pitch of your voice at the end of a sentence makes the sentence sound like question. A slight lowering of pitch at the end of a sentence makes it sound like a statement. Make your statements sound like statements in order to strengthen your message.

Writing in English (for ESL learners, to learn the skill of writing in English)
Writing is the 4th of the four language skills, and usually the one that we learn last, listening, speaking, reading, writing. Keep in mind, the English alphabet (Aa Bb Cc…), use of large letters (Capitals), spelling rules, punctuation, sentence variety, peer editing, plagiarism. Join a creative writing forum to practice writing at a coffeehouse in your neighborhood.

The Magic Seven Elements of Better Writing
1. Better writing is an extension of you, think what you want to say, why you’re writing, what you want to communicate
2. Better writing is clear, Reading makes a full man, but writing makes an exact man ~Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
3. Better writing has good grammar and spelling
4. Better writing considers your audience
5. Better writing is patient, writing is a process. Don’t expect to sit down and create a masterpiece overnight.
6. Better writing involves reading widely, reading takes time. There is no short cut to success.
7. Better writing chooses a good place and time to write

 Twelve steps are: 1. start strong (a catchy title, a hook—opening of the article, a provocative opening sparks curiosity);  2. use strong nouns; 3. employ strong verbs; 4. use simple words; 5. use some glue (make your ideas stick together, transitions as first,however, on the other hand, and apply the rule of three; 6. cut clutter; 7. practice parallelism / adjectives, nouns, verbs, adverbs, phrases, clauses; 8. produce powerful punctuation; 9. vary sentence lengths & patterns; 10. use active voice; 11. end with a bang; 12. finish with formatting.

Excerpted from “Write Like a Champion—including 12 steps to Better Writing” by Scott Dreyer

GMP Inspectors Training
Communications Skills in English (II)
Sherry Li, Pharmacist, Taiwan Biotech Pharmacy

The Art of Negotiating For some reason people fear negotiations almost as much as they fear speaking in public. This probably has to do with a fear of being rejected, or maybe a fear of lawyers. Whether you fear rejection or lawyers, the art of negotiating is based in our ability to communicate effectively, and influence others, or more simply our ability to speak and listen.

When it comes to the art of negotiating, listening to the other side and understanding the other side is critical to success. By listening I don’t mean just hearing what they have to say, I mean listening to their verbal and non-verbal communications.

Listening to the non-verbal communications during the negotiation process can save you a significant amount of time and energy. If you truly understand how to read non-verbal communication, you will be able to know if someone is happy or unhappy with how the negotiations are proceeding, or whether they are holding out.

Another important aspect of listening is understanding. If you listen, but don’t understand the viewpoint or position of the other person, than you’re not going to know how to effectively respond.

By taking the time to prepare before negotiations to understand and to learn the position of the other side. You’ll be more effective in achieving your outcome by being able to effectively respond to arguments that might arise. How well you know and understand the other side can determine the success or failure of the negotiation process.

Speaking is the other side of negotiating; it is how we influence others. When negotiating it’s important to remain confident and objective at all times. Emotions can result in a breakdown of negotiations, especially if negative emotions are involved.

If you stay positive and keep the negotiations positive you can influence others more effectively. When people are positive they are more open to compromises while negativity fosters a defensive position resistive to change.

It is also important to be clear during negotiations. If you are clear in what you want, than you don’t run the risk of having any miscommunications, which can lead to negativity and a breakdown of communications.

The art of negotiating is to create a win-win situation forboth sides. By going into negotiations with a win-lose mentality, you automatically start the negotiations off on a bad foot.

Negotiating is supposed to be a process where both parties make concessions towards each other in order to achieve the goal of obtaining what they desire. It is a give-give situation not a give-take situation. A give and take situation fosters negativity which can cause communications to break down. http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Art-Of-Negotiating-Simplified&id=6187942

The Forgotten Art of Listening by Ed Brodow http://www.brodow.com/Articles/ArtOfListening.html

Angry Birds Peace Treaty Video Rovio’s popular game for the iPhone and Android platforms is popular among users. Here is a video titled as Angry Birds Peace treaty! www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMltvlqEM54

GMP Inspectors Training
Communications Skills in English (I)
Sherry Li, Pharmacist, Taiwan Biotech Pharmacy

Individual culture introduction—Native English speaking countries, US, Canada, the Great Bratain, Australia, New Zealand

Code of Ethics (GMP Inspectors)

Etiquette is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group. Etiquette is dependent on culture; what is excellent etiquette in one society may shock another. Etiquette evolves within culture.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etiquette

Culture is a term that has many different related meanings. The word culture is most commonly used in three basic senses:
 Excellence of taste in the fine arts and humanities, also known as high culture
 An integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for symbolic thought and social learning
 The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization, or group
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture

The way of life of a culture is not an explicit set of beliefs held by the people living in it. It is much deeper than that. A person brought up in a culture learns its way of life the way he learns to speak in the language and with the accent of his family and peers. But a way of life is much broader than this. It involves a sense for how it is appropriate and inappropriate to act in each of the social situations one normally encounters; a familiarity with how to make sense of things and of how to act in the everyday world; and most general of all, a style, such as aggressive or nurturing, that governs the actions of the people in the culture although they are noramlly not aware of it.

~exercepted from Hubert Dreyfus & Sean Dorrance Kelly, All Things Shining—Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age, page 14
http://www.amazon.com/All-Things-Shining-Reading-Classics/dp/1416596151

The culture of the United States is a Western culture, having been originally influenced by European cultures. Today, the US is an ethnically and racially diverse country as result of large-scale immigration from many different countries throughout its history.

American culture includes both conservative and liberal elements, military and scientific competitiveness, political structures, risk taking and free expression, materialist and moral elements. It also includes elements which evolved from Native Americans, and other ethnic subcultures; most prominently the culture of African Americans and different cultures from Latin America.

Many cultural elements, especially popular culture, have been exported across the globe through modern mass media. The United States has often been thought of as a melting pot, but recent developments tend towards cultural diversity, pluralism and the image of a salad bowl rather than a melting pot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_the_United_States

The great revolution of modern times has been the revolution of equality in the American Commonwealth.

Reference:
1. 「What It Felt Like—Living in the American Century」 by Henry Allen, Pantheon Books, New York, 2000
1. 一言難盡美國人，竟鴻、吳華著，花神出版社, 2002

The culture of Canada has historically been influenced by European culture and traditions, especially British and French. Over time, elements of the cultures of Canada’s Aboriginal peoples and immigrant populations have become incorporated into mainstream Canadian culture. It has subsequently been influenced by American culture because of its proximity and migration between the two countries.

Canada’s culture, like that of most any country in the world, is a product of its history, geography, and political system. Being a settler nation, Canada has been shaped by waves of migration that have combined to form a unique blend of customs, cuisine, and traditions that have marked the socio-cultural development of the nation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Canada

Reference:
1. The truth about Canada—Some Important, Some Astonishing, and Some Truly Appaling Things All Canadians Should Know About Our Country by Mel Hurtig, Emblem McClelland & Stewart 2008
2. A little History of Canada by H.V. Nelles

The culture of the United Kingdom refers to its composition of four countries—England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales—each of which have preserved and distinct customs, cultures and symbolism.

British cultural influence (such as the English language) can be observed in the language and culture of many countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, the United States, and the British overseas territories.

The Industrial Revolution, with its origins in the UK, brought about major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, and transportation, and had a profound effect on the socio-economic and cultural conditions of the world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_the_United_Kingdom

Reference:
1. Behind the Palace Doors—Five Centuries of Sex, Adventure, Vice, Treachery, and the Folly from Royal Britain, Michael Farquhar, Random House, 2011

The culture of Australia is essentially a Western culture influenced by the unique geography of the Australian continent and by the diverse input of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and various waves of multi-ethnic migration which followed the British colonisation of Australia.

The predominance of the English language, the existence of a democratic Westminster system of government, Christianity as the dominant religion and the popularity of sports such as cricket and rugby evidence a significant Anglo-Celtic heritage, but Australia today hosts a great diversity of cultural practices and pursuits.

The World Wars profoundly altered Australia’s sense of identity – with World War I introducing ANZAC, and World War II seeing a reorientation from Britain to the United States as a major ally. After the second war, 6.5 million migrants from 200 nations brought immense new diversity, and Australians grew increasingly aware of proximity to Asia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Australia

The culture of New Zealand is largely inherited from English and European custom, interwoven with Maori and Polynesian tradition. An isolated Pacific Island nation, New Zealand was comparatively recently settled by humans.

Maori culture has predominated for most of New Zealand’s history of human habitation. Maori voyagers reached the islands of New Zealand some time before 1300, though exact dates are uncertain. Regular European contact began approximately 200 years ago, and British immigration proceeded rapidly during the nineteenth century.

European New Zealanders, despite their location far from Europe, retained strong cultural ties to “Mother England. After sustained political efforts, biculturalism and the Treaty of Waitangi became part of the school curriculum in the late 20th century, to promote understanding between Maori and European New Zealanders. Many citizens prefer to call themselves New Zealanders or Kiwis.

Reference:
1. 100 NZ short short stories, edited by Craeme Lay, Tandem Press, 1998
2. From N to Z—A Humorous Survey of New Zealand 1947, by C.V. Smith, Hicks Smith &Wright Wellington, 1979
3. The Godzone Dictionary of favourite New Zealand words and phrases, by Max Cryer, Exisle Publishing Limited, 2006

Cross-Cultural Communication among races, geographical areas, classes, genders, etc.

Cultures & Communications
1. Culture affects languages
2. Culture affects ideology
3. Culture affects information exchange
4. Culture affects communication styles

Language is the key to communication. We talk heart to heart to win the heart.

Pronunciation of English (Consonants, Vowels, Stress, Syllabification)

General American, Received Pronunciation, Canadian English, South African English, Australian English, and New Zealand English pronunciations, Scottish and Irish English.

AN ENGLISH POEM

If you’ve learned to pronounce every word in the following poem correctly, you will be speaking English better than 90% of the native English speakers in the world. How many English words can you pronounce correctly?

If you find it tough going, do not despair, you are not alone. Multinational personnel at North Atlantic Treaty Organization Headquarters near Paris found English to be an easy language … until they tried to pronounce it.

To help them discard an array of accents, the verses below were devised. After trying them, a Frenchman said he’d prefer six months at hard labour to reading six lines aloud.

*English is Tough Stuff.*

Dearest creature in creation,
Study English pronunciation.
I will teach you in my verse
Sounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse.
I will keep you, Suzy, busy,
Make your head with heat grow dizzy.
Tear in eye, your dress will tear.
So shall I! Oh hear my prayer.
Just compare heart, beard, and heard,
Dies and diet, lord and word,
Sword and sward, retain and Britain.
(Mind the latter, how it’s written.)
Now I surely will not plague you
With such words as plaque and ague.
But be careful how you speak
Say break and steak, but bleak and streak;
Cloven, oven, how and low,
Script, receipt, show, poem, and toe.
Hear me say, devoid of trickery,
Daughter, laughter, and Terpsichore,
Typhoid, measles, topsails, aisles,
Exiles, similes, and reviles;
Scholar, vicar, and cigar,
Solar, mica, war and far;
One, anemone, Balmoral,
Kitchen, lichen, laundry, laurel;
Gertrude, German, wind and mind,
Scene, Melpomene, mankind.
Billet does not rhyme with ballet,
Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet.
Blood and flood are not like food,
Nor is mould like should and would.
Viscous, viscount, load and broad,
Toward, to forward, to reward.
And your pronunciation’s OK
When you correctly say croquet,
Rounded, wounded, grieve and sieve,
Friend and fiend, alive and live.
Ivy, privy, famous; clamour
And enamour rhyme with hammer.
River, rival, tomb, bomb, comb,
Doll and roll and some and home.
Stranger does not rhyme with anger,
Neither does devour with clangour.
Souls but foul, haunt but aunt,
Font, front, wont, want, grand, and grant,
Shoes, goes, does. Now first say finger,
And then singer, ginger, linger,
Real, zeal, mauve, gauze, gouge and gauge,
Marriage, foliage, mirage, and age.
Query does not rhyme with very,
Nor does fury sound like bury.
Dost, lost, post and doth, cloth, loth.
Job, nob, bosom, transom, oath.
Though the differences seem little,
We say actual but victual.
Refer does not rhyme with deafer.
Foeffer does, and zephyr, heifer.
Mint, pint, senate and sedate;
Dull, bull, and George ate late.
Scenic, Arabic, Pacific,
Science, conscience, scientific.
Liberty, library, heave and heaven,
Rachel, ache, moustache, eleven.
We say hallowed, but allowed,
People, leopard, towed, but vowed.
Mark the differences, moreover,
Between mover, cover, clover;
Leeches, breeches, wise, precise,
Chalice, but police and lice;
Camel, constable, unstable,
Principle, disciple, label.
Petal, panel, and canal,
Wait, surprise, plait, promise, pal.
Worm and storm, chaise, chaos, chair,
Senator, spectator, mayor.
Tour, but our and succour, four.
Gas, alas, and Arkansas.
Sea, idea, Korea, area,
Psalm, Maria, but malaria.
Youth, south, southern, cleanse and clean.
Doctrine, turpentine, marine.
Compare alien with Italian,
Dandelion and battalion.
Sally with ally, yea, ye,
Eye, I, ay, aye, whey, and key.
Say aver, but ever, fever,
Neither, leisure, skein, deceiver.
Heron, granary, canary.
revise and device and aerie.
Face, but preface, not efface.
Phlegm, phlegmatic, ass, glass, bass.
Large, but target, gin, give, verging,
Ought, out, joust and scour, scourging.
Ear, but earn and wear and tear
Do not rhyme with here but ere.
Seven is right, but so is even,
Hyphen, roughen, nephew Stephen,
Monkey, donkey, Turk and jerk,
Ask, grasp, wasp, and cork and work.
Pronunciation-think of Psyche!
Is a paling stout and spikey?
Won’t it make you lose your wits,
Writing groats and saying grits?
It’s a dark abyss or tunnel
Strewn with stones, stowed, solace, gunwale,
Islington and Isle of Wight,
Housewife, verdict and indict.
Finally, which rhymes with enough-
Though, through, plough, or dough, or cough?
Hiccough has the sound of cup.

My advice is to give up!
From: roberto carlos; Date: Tue, Aug 23, 2011 at 10:20 PM

Videoclip 1. Learn the English BBC
Better Speaking
• Don’t be afraid of making mistakes.
• You can prepare your listener for the fact that you might make a mistake.
• Think of your studies as preparation for speaking. In class focus on how you say things; when speaking, think about what you want to say.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ukchina/simp/elt/audio/100812_audio_fluency_1_story.shtml

Videoclip 2. Learn the English Voice of America
Ocean Storms and the Science of Nature’s Power Special English 12 September 2011
http://www.voanews.com/learningenglish/home/Severe-Ocean-Storms-The-Science-of-Natures-Power-129665273.html

Videoclip 3. The English Language In 24 Accents by a London Boy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dABo_DCIdpM

Videoclip 4. Jock Elliot Just so lucky
http://www.youtube.com/toastmasters#p/u/4/m0a_EcZyQts

English Quiz 1: Vocabulary

Interpersonal Communication—Conversing with Ease

Advanced Toastmasters Manuals—Interpersonal Communication
http://www.d4tm.org/Education/manualsAC.php

English Quiz 2: Grammar

GMP Inspections
1. Proper Business Attire: dress to impress
2. Adequate Demeanor: social interaction with people
3. Positive Attitude: add colors to life; add value to your life and others’.
4. Good Conversation Skills: paraphrasing with clarity. People can talk and talk and not get it right. We need to learn to do it well by a lot of practice.
5. Teamwork: Together each person achieve more.
6. Note taking: jot down as much of the conversation as you can during the inspection and discussion, listen carefully to the tones of the speakers, pay attention to the facial expressions and the hand gestures.
7. Stamina: After GMP inspection, summarize and write up the brief inspection report as soon as possible at a coffee shop before dinner. Before going to bed, flash back the inspection journey, and edit the inspection report. If possible, record your voice with a MP4.
English Quiz 3: Listening Comprehension—Care for the Five Senses

Remarks:

I’m happy to have the chance to speak to the GMP inspectors at TFDA. It has been fun and challenging for me to prepare for the training, to collect and absorb information from internet and from Libraries in Taipei and in New Taipei.

I’m grateful for the chance to excel in knowledge, skill and personality, to become a person of active life, positive thinking, hard workingers, action Taking. I learn that it is important to always wear a smile on face, to accumulate the success experiences, t o help others to benefit ourselves, to lead a meaningful life.

For the past two weeks, I have been obsessed in singing Ode to Joy in German. I want to be ready when I join the alto part of Kitakyushu Freude Chorus to practice An die Freude by Beethoven Tuesday evening, Nov. 16th.

Two years ago, Toastmaster Masaki Oshiumi, Lydia Lin and I sang for the first time of Ode to Joy in German at the joint anniversary dinner party of Success Toastmasters Club and Kumamoto Toastmasters in October. Masaki sang the tenor part, Lydia and I sang the alto part, and we were accompanied by the DVD of Kita-kyushu Freude Chorus 2006 . We wowed the audience!

When Masaki knew that I would attend D76 Fall Conference 2010 in Kumamoto, he was eager to sing Ode to Joy again at the dinner party with more Toastmasters singers this time. In order to deliver the best performance, Masaki even got the consent from the Director of Kita-kyushu Freude Chrous for me to practice with the group of alto part. It was a rare and precious opportunity and I just can not wait to meet up with the singers.

I am short of breath while singing. At the very first vocal lesson in September, I was advised to go swimming and jogging on the daily basis to increase my vital capacity, while improving my abdominal breathing skills in the meantime.

Like most people, my breathing is shallow.  I only use the top half of the lungs. In order to sing well, I need to breathe correctly, using the whole lungs to get more air. I aim at becoming a singer with the natural action of the diaphragm and abdominal muscles surrounding the lungs to control the amount of air that is exhaled when singing a note.
When there is a will, there is a way. This morning, while working on the vocalization at home, I came across two animates of the Breathing Company, demonstrating the breathing development. Now I can follow the optimal breathing pace, a cycle of inhale, exhale, pause, to know better how to breathe and to get used to deep breathing.

The breathing exercises recommended by the Vocalists Organization in UK are very helpful. And I shall practice the steps before I get up in the morning and prior to sleeping at night for 5 to 10 minutes gradually increasing this to 3 or 4 times a day.

1. Lay flat on the back.

2. Place hands on the waist, fingers pointing towards the belly button.

3. Take a slow deep breath to inhale enough air to fill the stomach from the bottom then spread upwards. Feel the rise of the stomach and hands being raised gently up and outward until the chest expanding. The expansion includes the front of the body and the sides and back as well.

4. Breathe out slowly to a count of 5

5. Repeat the exercise 10 times

6. Practice as often as possible, sitting, standing, walking on the street, until breathing naturally from the abdomen.

7. Hold a finger close to the lips and breathe out slowly, the breath should be warm and moist. Feel the action of the diaphram while exhaling.

8. Count on one breath singing each number out loud, using one breath at any comfortable pitch. Start with a small number like 5 or 10 and increase this gradually until 25 or more without straining, tensing or running out of breath.

I place two heavy dictionaries at my bedside. Every morning before I get up, I place them on my tummy to sing for 30 minutes. When I sing, I feel the beats of my tummy. I hope I can master the skills of abdominal breathing, because I’m determined to become a singer.

Every Tuesday morning, I have a private vocal lesson with Ms. Chou after the chorus practice. No sooner than later I start to voice out, I can hear a strange noise coming from down under. When Ms. Chou places her hand on my tummy, I sense the movement of internal organs.

I bend my body to sing. I stand up on the toes to sing. I press my hands on my tummy to sing. I smile to sing. I feel exhilarated after the singing class. I know more about my muscles, I know more about my body, I know more about myself.

“Lie down on the floor, place two feet on the table, breathe in to fill your lower abdomen with air”, requested by the Sung-chiang Women Choir Conductor Miss Chou. I followed her instructions to uptake as much air as possible with a big breath. To my disappointment, my stomach swore. My abdomen didn’t move at all, like a piece of rock.

I tried again and again to breathe in and out, thinking of a balloon between my pubic bones, but the air just couldn’t reach down to the imaginary balloon. I couldn’t control of my body. I had no idea about abdominal breathing. Feeling frustrated at the first vocal singing class, I took Miss Chou’s advice to practice abdominal breathing while walking on the street from now on.

Miss Chou showed me how to improve the vocal resonation by bending the body, facing down with the back and the legs straight to pronounce N sound, followed by exercising different mouth shapes to pronounce vowels like “aah”, “ee”, “i”, “oh”, and “u”. Miss Chou asked me to concentrate on the flow of the air from the back to the head. Before the first class came to an end, Miss placed a piece of tissue in front of her mouth to demonstrate the good control of the blowing the air from the mouth.

I love singing. Whenever there is an opportunity, I’m audacious to sing in public. I sang at the Walhalla with a permission of the doorkeeper before it was closed. I sang in front of a group of business associates in Lahore. I sang at the Rotarian Installation party held at National Theater in Ulaanbaatar. I had the heart and the guts to sing, but not the skills.

After chartering the Toastmasters chorus in August 2009, I became fervent to upgrade my singing skills. I joined two singing groups in April this year, to articulate the voice, to learn the harmony, and to make friends. It is time I focused on the vocal singing skills to contribute better voice to the chorus groups. Who knows, maybe a Taiwanese Susan Boyle is about to be born!

Frustration aside, I deserved a big hurrah, because I took the action today. I started my first vocal singing lesson today. It’s the first step of a long and challenging singing journey in front of me. I am contented to have the chance to hone my vocal skills, the chance to know my body, the chance to lift up my spirit.

I burst into a rage of tears at last when my piano teacher asked me to play CDEFG again and again. I still didn’t know how to place my fingers properly on the keyboard. I still didn’t know how to grab the keyboard with an individual finger to produce a single proper sound. What happened to me?

I had brought a piano at home. I had practiced at least one hour a day. But my fingers didn’t follow orders and my brain didn’t know how to give orders. I brought along the music notes of G Major and F Major, but I couldn’t work on them. It was a moment of frustration, the last piano lesson of year 2009.

Who wouldn’t feel a little sentimental on the last day of the year? I began my last day of 2009 crying when I saw a big group of people singing Ode to Joy on Japanese satellite TV this morning. Maestro Kurt Masur at the age of 82 was full of passion conducting NHK Symphony Orchestra to perform Ludwig van Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. When I saw the joy of Maestro Kurt Masur, I seemed to see Beethoven singing along.

I was a little reluctant to go to the last piano lesson in the rain this afternoon. I didn’t make any improvement in the past week. My fingers were paralytic when they were on the keyboards. What would I say to my daughter if I had one? So I went to the class as planned.

Yi-hwa gave me a good pep talk when she saw tears in my eyes. She understood how difficult it was for a middle-aged woman to learn piano from scratch. She advised me to take one step at a time and gave me a children book of piano lessons as the new year gift to cheer me up. I burst into laughters at the end of the class.

I was full of excitements to see Yi-hwa. It has been one entire month since my last piano lesson with her. I wanted to impress Yi-hwa with my diligence in the past week since I owned a piano all to myself.

Yi-hwa instructed me to play the music notes I brought along, she noticed that the index finger of my right hand stuck-up subconsciously. The whole one hour piano lesson for me was to struggle with my index finger which I might have overused to point at people or give directions in the past.

From now on, I should keep a good eye on my index finger to make sure it is well placed humbly and gracefully on the keyboard. Of course, I shall distribute equal love to ten fingers. All of them are created equal, they should be powerful enough to produce the same volume of sound regardless their individual length and strength. I can’t help wondering if a massager can play piano better. Or a piano player can massage better. Who knows, one day when I play piano better, no doubt I shall add weight to my fingers touches.

Yi-hwa was not only a piano teacher, but also a cheerleader. In order to motivate me to continue the piano lessons, she gave me a children book full of famous songs as a gift. I opened the book immediately and Ode to Joy was on page one. Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven has uplifted thousands of thousands spirits around the world with Ode to Joy. He was completely deaf when he composed his ninth symphony.

I don’t know where the long and winding river of life journey would take me. I follow my heart and drift along. I wouldn’t have imagined a week ago that I would purchase a piano for myself.

Dana LaMon was the keynote speaker of District 67 Fall Conference 2009. He was the first Toastmaster to respond (in two hours) to District 67 Governor James Lin’s request for keynote speakers from the Toastmasters International. Dana won himself the chance to inspire Toastmasters in Taiwan for the first time.

Being a blind at age of four, Dana proves visually impaired persons can achieve just as much. Dana got mathematics degree from Yale University, and law degree from Southern California. Dana joined Toastmasters in 1989, won the world champion of public speaking in 1992, and aspired to be a professional speaker in Toastmasters.

In order to serve as an interpreter for Dana’s one-hour speech at Taipei School for Visually Impaired Thursday, December 3rd, I went to Taipei City Library for Visually Impaired a day before to get familiar with the jargon. By chance, I met a friendly lady at the Parents Association for Visually Impaired. She told me the various functions of the Association to help the visually impaired persons, including the training course of piano tuners.

I didn’t know that I left my camera at the Association till Thursday evening. I rushed to the Association first thing Friday morning, I found my camera, and I bought myself a second hand piano without a second thought (many kind people donate used pianos to the Association). I have no reason not to buy a piano, I can always donate it back to the Association when I lose interest in piano.

The piano was delivered to my brother Jimmy’s place Monday afternoon. Jimmy was excited about the new piece of toy. This afternoon, a young blind womandispatched by the Association came to Jimmy’s place to tune the piano for two hours. From then on, I shall make it a habit to play piano for one or two hours a day.

There is a river called THE RIVER OF NO RETURN
Sometimes it’s peaceful and sometimes wild and free!
Love is a trav’ler on THE RIVER OF NO RETURN
Swept on forever to be lost in the stormy sea
Wail-a-ree I can hear the river call
[ no return, no return ]