The FFL Journal - Volume 4 by the FFL - Journal Falculty of Foreign language

COFFEE TALK

COFFEE TALK A profile of today’s youth

OPEN VOICE Where do you see yourself in the next 10 years from now

A PROFILE OF TODAY’S YOUTH

4 5 6

I have found a summarization by Henry S. Tenedero of a study made by advertising agency McCann Ericson. In that study were highlights that still hold true until this time.

DISCOVERY Being in Norway A Forever Dreamer SSEAP 2011 - The Journey of Dreams Lifestyles of today's Vietnamese youth is very different Balance your studies and life How can I see my future?

7 8 9

FUNNY STORIES

LEARNING WORD How Motivation and Learning Strategies affect learning

10 - 11

POCKET ADRESS LIST - QUOTATIONS

TALKSHOW Fail. Try again. Fail again. Fail better

OPPORTUNITY PLANET

OU SPOTLIGHTS

BOOKAHOLIC CORNER

14 - 15

OU SPOTLIGHT HIGHLIGHT

ART GALLERY

COFFEE TALK

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

The new social environment New attitudes toward school Shifting views on parenting styles Some have more money than others A wealth of ambitions

However, today, how many of them would prefer a pen, if laptop is given, as one of the options? How many of them would prefer playing outdoor games if video games are given as one of the options? How many of them would prefer calm walk if a two-wheeler is provided?

THE FFL JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD CONSULTANT Lecturer Nguyễn Thúy Nga Lecturer Lê Phương Thảo Board of lecturers of Faculty of Foreign Languages EDITORIAL MANAGER Tôn Nữ Tường Vy DEPUTY - EDITORIAL MANAGER Nguyễn Thị Mỹ Linh WRITER Đặng Phương Thảo (L1) Lê Thống (L2) Quách Minh Minh Trần Nguyệt Minh Chu Thị Như Trang Nguyễn Thùy Trang Nguyễn Thiện Phước Nguyễn Trúc Phương Phạm Ngọc Tuyết Nguyễn Quốc Vũ Nguyễn Thị Anh Thư Hồ Đăng Bảo Inra Jaka MEDIA – MARKETING Trần Phú Cường (L) Huỳnh Bảo Trân FINANCING Nguyễn Thị Mỹ Linh (L) Hà Nhật Linh Bùi Thị Phương HUMAN RESOURCES Nguyễn Trúc Phương (L) Chu Thị Như Trang

Source: http://youth_healthtotal.net

Sources: http://www.mb.com.ph/node/304782/a-profile-today Compiled by ĐẶNG PHƯƠNG THẢO

Theme of upcoming FFL Journal issues: - Volume 5 (April 2012): Job orientation - Volume 6 (May 2012): My parents Don’t hesitate to send your writings about those themes to theffljournal@gmail.com. ^^ Source of cover: photobucket.com Designer: Trần Phú Cường All replies, collaborations - please send to: theffljournal@gmail.com www.facebook.com/theffljournal Contact: 01212 115 855 (Ms. Vy)

Our voice - our reﬂection

OPEN VOICE

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN THE NEXT 10 YEARS FROM NOW? Have you ever outlined your life, at least in the next 10 years? Different people will choose to act in different ways. Some may choose to do nothing but float with the tide to a place unknown, and more cleverly, some can hold their rein of life and do big things. So, let see how our students plan their life through the answers for this question “Where do you see yourself in the next 10 years from now?” Nguyễn Thị Minh Huệ - AV10A1 I surely will see myself in a quiet hill. I am not so greedy that I wish I would be rich or become a successful woman. I will live in this hill, with my husband, my mom and my children. Every day, I get up soon to cook breakfast for my husband then I come to school to teach children who live in remote area - I am an enthusiastic teacher! This will be a peaceful and beautiful place for my soul to hidden. Moreover, I think it is not important that who you will be, just live with present, not regret about the past and hope for future.

motivation to prompt my endeavor and adding to that I also like surprising turning points in my future. Trần Khánh Nhi – AV10A6 What will I be next 10 years? That is always the biggest question which I try to find out the best answer in my life. Everyone likes to become a beautiful girl, a rich man or a famous person...but I only hope that I will be a successful person and have enough money so that I can take care of my parents. I remember that when I was a little girl, they worked hardly to bring up me carefully and to give me anything they can. Now I realize that it is not only my dream or hoping but also my parents’ belief and dream. It will be happy that I can do that.

Phan Thị Kiều Trinh – AV10A7 The future is inherently uncertain. Yet, it would be good to think where we see ourselves 10 years from now. Living in my own house in Sai Gon with my future husband and kids, working in a field relating to translation are what I can image ten years from now. It might sound a bit practical but life is not as we know, we must be following its reality principle before going any further. Source: http://principleﬁrst.co.uk

Source: http://angelapaige.com

Nguyễn Thiện Phước – AV10A1 I think that I will see myself as an artist ten years from now. I mean that I will not be really a classical artist. I want to be an artist who design the characters or scenes for a game. I like modern drawing especially Japanese style that called manga. Therefore, I will try my best to become who I want to be. Nguyễn Trúc Phương – AV10A7 Dreaming is a privilege and miraculous energy for everybody to reach success. Therefore, I never give up dreaming in 10 years, 20 years or even further. But I clearly realize where I stand, how far I have to go and what I have to do to gain my goals so that I can set plans for my future. Although I have my plans, I don’t “program” my future. I take it as

Phạm Nguyễn Việt Hà – AV10A1 I have a dream. Every time thinking about it, I see myself confidently and attractively walking on lecture days. Just the simple dream, but I feel it's quite hard to reach. In my own word, teaching is different from other jobs. It needs something not only right but also totally real, so with knowledge in school, it's not enough. I'm preparing for my future with volunteer experiences. Moreover, I also learn how to not give up. And I hope one day in next 10 years, I can touch my dream. Trần Nguyệt Minh – AV10A1 I hope that I will be one of the happiness women who success in both career and marriage, and I hope that I will be able to support my mother and my aunt, and make them happy and comfortable for the rest of their life. Therefore, I absolutely know that now I have to try my best to study and improve myself better and better so that my dreams come true in the near future. In general, each person has their own picture about the rest of their life ahead. As can be seen, it has many things to do with money, career, marriage, family, to-be-fulfilled dreams and the like. No matter where you see yourself in the next 10 years, just believe in the pathway you’ve chosen and remember one thing: All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination (Earl Nightingale). Hope success fill find you someday in the next 10 years. CHU THỊ NHƯ TRANG

Our voice - our reﬂection

DISCOVERY

BEING IN NORWAY My name is Hồ Đăng Bảo, a Vietnamese student of Micro-electro-mechanical systems in Vestfold University College in Norway. I hope this sharing can help some of you know more about life of an international life, especially in Norway. Another free time activity of Vietnamese students here is cooking or making cake. Hardly can we find any Vietnamese restaurant in town, so the best way to enjoy country’s food is “rolling into the kitchen”. Since vegetable is rare and as expensive as beef, making an original Vietnamese food is not an easy task. Nevertheless, it is not an impossible mission and after sometimes practicing with the “googled” ingredients and trial and error method, we can enjoy Sport is an indispensable part of student life. Unlike “bun rieu” or “pho”, not so delicious, but tasty enough the hot weather all over the year in Ho Chi Minh City, to remind us of the hometown. low temperature of Nordic region prevents chances to have many outdoor games like soccer or From Vestfold, traveling to other European countries badminton as can be seen in many parks in the is simpler than from Ho Chi Minh city since visa is not city. Instead, indoor soccer, volleyball, basketball or required. Cheaper airplane ticket is also an important working out at gym is more preferable. Swimming is advantage for travelling across Europe. But if it is still also a favorite activity, but of course, swimming pools expensive, then travelling around Vestfold is still an are covered by glass walls, water has to be heated to appropriate temperature because sunlight is not interesting activity to try, especially in spring or summer, when flowers bloom everywhere, apples ripen in available. many houses’ garden and wheat fields are covered by a bright yellow color. Discovering Norwegian forest is also nice experience since trees are sparse and not accommodate many dangerous animals. However, knowing well about the forest and going in groups have to be ensured for safety reason.

Studying is the most concern of Vietnamese students in Vestfold and also the top time-consuming and head-attacking work of the day. The university has modern facilities and knowledgeable professor, making it easy for all the bookworms and lab-addicts to satisfy their desire of studying. However, being a bookworm is not the best way to succeed in researching, I think it is better to balance between school work and enjoying life.

In the countryside, Source: Hồ Đăng Bảo

That is why in summer, when the sky is high, blue and bright from 6 am till 10 pm, we often gather around wooden table in grass fields or near beaches to enjoy outdoor barbecue parties and having fun with energy-consuming games like kicking shuttlecock. It is also the chance for everybody to warm up and burn their skin with the northern sun. When winter comes with snow and cold wind, parties are organized in cozy rooms with Vietnamese food, some beer cans and a lot of chit-chat about various topics, from school work to love and relationship or just telling joke to laugh out loud to conclude a busy day. Karaoke rooms which are pervasive in Ho Chi Minh City are in contrast, not popular in Vestfold and are much more expensive. We found an alternative solution to that by playing music by ourselves. Keyboards and especially guitars are the main instruments. In every party, lovely songs are still sung out loud by our sweet voices with the aid of amateur musicians.

Last but not least, meeting and talking with international students are the good chance of getting to know more about diverse cultures. For example, we learned making pizza and bread from European students and in return, we let them taste our Vietnamese food. Sometimes they like the food, other times they cannot eat the second bite; but what for sure is that Vietnamese people and culture are more and more familiar to them. HỒ ĐĂNG BẢO

Beautiful winter in Norway, Source: Hồ Đăng Bảo

Our voice - our reﬂection

DISCOVERY

A FOREVER DREAMER I am Inra Jaka, a Champa. I am still new to the land of FFL Journal, but I hope my sharing can be a little contribution to you the youth of HCMC. Open University. A forever dreamer Being student, I saw and felt more about life. We all started so hopeful the first day the first time at the gate of our university, but what changed it months or years after? We started to see that life is not just dreams but all other ugly things.

I don’t think so much about results and benefits, they are inevitable. What is more important is not what is achieved but how we feel during and after the journey of achievement. My wish then is we all would do all that we are doing, not because they are good things to do but because we feel good doing them. One of the beautiful things about youth is that they follow their open hearts and willing to make contributions for a better community.

Champa life, Source: http://inrajaka.com

Well, we are made by our thoughts. Sometimes I dream, and see the beauties of it: I feel the freedom, the enormous energy, the pure bond with others and life. I then told myself: hey Jaka, say something now so you won’t stop or give up when life suddenly comes tough or others are against you. Then I said: I am a forever dreamer. I do what I love, I love all that I am doing, courage to live how I want to be. But dreaming is not like being ambitious, it is more about the beautiful connection between you and the whole world. Of course we can make a dream better by changing our old discouraging thoughts and habits, or learning skills of life so there won’t be much of misunderstanding. And as anything else, being a dreamer needs “practice, practice and more practice”.

Talking to the children in Japan, Source: http://inrasara.com

Live as a fine human-being Self-awareness for me is the only most important thing. That can help purify all the doubts, fears, worries. Only then can we (with all differences) live with one single beautiful harmony.

Some people can say Jaka is a non-conformist. However, it actually is a judgment of the thinkers. Then I will answer by saying, I am… Jaka, living the way I (not others’ expectation) feels. Make what people say a reference, not decision. Make contributions for a better community I love charities and social works in general. Besides founding Jaka English Course, Jakana Foundation, Champa cultural tours, I also made websites, take photos, write plays and act, teach guitar, English, and soft skills, all the rest of it. If you take flight, the sky brings no boundary. How about my expectation from those activities for my Champa community?

Standing on Mount Fuji, Japan

My passion is to live as a fine humanbeing. Sounds a little strange, but I am asked the question so many many times. My reply is usually very long: a singer, a teacher, a trainer, a coach, an artist, a businessman, a researcher, a traveller… After all, there are so many good things out there in the world for us to try before the day that we individually leave. Why hold on to just a few things? INRA JAKA

Our voice - our reﬂection

DISCOVERY

THE JOURNEY OF DREAMS “Rarely are you able to live in a diﬀerent and fully “isolated” life as in this SSEAYP journey: no internet, no telephone, no contact with the outside world. You are experiencing new things that you haven’t ever known for 20 years since you were born…” (Hồ Đăng Chinh – VPY 2011)

f you ask me what the most memorial experience I’ve ever had is, I will tell you about The Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program (SSEAYP). I am Nguyễn Thị Anh Thư, a young lecturer of Faculty of International Affairs of Huế University. I have recently come back from SSEAYP program, starting from Japan to 5 nations in ASEAN after 53 days.

The destiny leading me to SSEAYP I heard about SSEAYP from my friend while doing my dissertation, but I still applied for SSEAYP. Then, I hardly believed that I was selected to be 1 of 28 Vietnamese representatives. I hardly believed what I had heard through the call on that day. From then on, I was called VPY (Vietnam Participating Youth) of 2011 Vietnam Contingent. 2 weeks of challenging training Before the departure, we had 2 weeks for all members to gather in Hanoi for practicing and training. We were divided into many groups, each group was assigned the works clearly throughout the journey. We had some memorial moments discussing tensely with beads of perspiration and tears. However, after all, we, VPYs become more sympathetic and close-knit like a family.

Promotion, Environment (Climate Change), Food and Nutrition Education, Health Education (Measures against HIV/AIDS), International Relations (JapanASEAN Cooperation) and Education. Being one of two representatives stating the Vietnam Contingent Country Report is my great honor. Another interesting thing that SSEAYP yielded was granting a chance for each nation to express its cultural beauty through the National Day Presentation. It was considered parties of sound and light with excitement, palpitation and pride. Vietnamese show was the last one but was assessed highly owing to both optimistic spirit and the Vietnamese youth. The most fascinating and impressing cultural features I was impressed by the cities where I set my foot and by people whom I met. I was excited with boisterous atmosphere of a festival at the Japanese University; enchanted with communal spirit and optimism by the songs of the Philippines; a peaceful and small Brunei, unforgettable with veils, yashmaks, deep eyes of Islamic women; the young energy and prosperity of the youngest city – Putrajaya, Malaysia; and home stay families in these 6 countries. All of above created such special feelings.

No SSEAYP – No LIFE 53 days – 1272 hours of sailing on the ship Fuji Maru to 6 nations: Japan, Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam was a wonderful time period with series of activities. As usual, the main activityis discussion about 8 subjects: Corporate Social Contributions, Cross-cultural Understanding At the Yokohama harbour, Source: Nguyễn Thị Anh Thư

Vietnamese lotus at the International Night, Source: Nguyễn Thị Anh Thư

Our voice - our reﬂection

DISCOVERY

I really admire the determination, disciplinary spirit of Japanese, the generosity and friendliness of the Philippine, and affirm the important role of language to “Dòng máu lạc hồng”, Source: Nguyễn Thị Anh Thư international exchange, integrity and development of a country. Only 2 months of vision expanding, my thought has changed greatly, and I discovered the concept of “global citizen”. I love friendly, confident, knowledgeable, wholehearted PYs since they themselves made me apprehend a motto “Think globally, act locally”. Written by NGUYỄN THỊ ANH THƯ Translated by NGUYỄN TRÚC PHƯƠNG

LIFESTYLE OF TODAY’S VIETNAMESE YOUTH IS VERY DIFFERENT

y parents tell me when they were as young as we were now, the young people like them did not dare to have their own dreams because people’s common ideal at that time was to drive off aggressors away and bring the peace for the country. Although they were always in ready position for struggling, those young patriots’ face gave a proud and satisfied smile all the time with their hard life they experienced every day. They thought and cared about their brothers, comrades, and other people much more than they were interested in their own hobbies and needs. Now, the country is peaceful, we, of course, cannot force today’s youth to continue sacrificing, even cannot quell their dreams. Society has changed; human being has also changed to fit developments of the world. The youth, as a result, have changed and their life quality has been improved so much. They have inherited achievements of previous generations; they have had specific goals to pursue, and totally had the right to decide their lives.

were, but they are too individually confident instead. They may be expert in many fields, but the topics they are fond of most are fashion and music; in contrast, the world’s economic and political problems are often not included in their talks. They want to live in their way and would like to show off themselves at any time and at any places. For example, today’s youth are so “free” to love people with the same gender; “thoughtless” girls like to wear scanty shirts and skirts; new and immature artists “inadvertently” place their “hot” clips on the Internet to polish their names; a lot of young friends “love” their Source: http://diendanlequydon.com miserable parents so much that they imitate their rich friends and want to have those luxurious things at any cost; a number of present youngsters dare to “die”, not for the homeland, but for their lovers. They enjoy life and spend money much more than they can earn; thus, incurable diseases and social evils increase more and more, such as Lê Văn Luyện’s murder rings the bell in the youth’s awareness of the lifestyle and behavior to everyone, or the proportion of HIV infections among the youth has grown steadily (In 1994, 10% of newcases were among young people; today the number of cases has reached 65%.) Those are the dark sides of a part of the youth in our society, which worries people, especially their parents. It’s time for us to look back at whether our path we are walking is in the right direction, whether it is useful to our family, our country, or at least to ourselves. In addition, we live not only for ourselves but also for others; we should care and help elderly, disabled and poor people and those around us; we do our best to study for our future and for the country; we need to bravely accuse of wrong and criminal acts and get them out of our pure life. Lead a sanguine, pleased and meaningful life. QUÁCH MINH MINH

However, the change of today’s Vietnamese youth is very different! They are quite different from the not too distant past. They are not so shy and innocent as forefathers Source: http://photopucket.com

Our voice - our reﬂection

DISCOVERY

BALANCE YOUR STUDIES AND LIFE Recently, lots of my friends have told me that they feel exhausted to complete all their work planned in the schedule. There are many things they have to do while their time and health are limited. Therefore, I would like to share my experience in balancing my studies and my own life, and I hope it will be helpful for you.

efore a new semester starts, normally, we have to register for some school subjects required. In my opinion, a logical schedule is the one that fits your learning capacity and your time. A full-time students and part-time students, of course, have different schedules. Therefore, before you register any subject, remember to reevaluate your learning capacity and your time so that you can guarantee that you will get the marks you’re satisfied with.

For full-time students, you must not forget 3 things before registering: - Time for studies (for courses at school and extra- activities) - Time for homework - Time for your own life (relaxing, doing housework, spending time with family, go to extra – courses like guitar, Japanese, Chinese, etc.) In my opinion, you should register for 10 subjects or less. Tuesday

Wednesday

Thrusday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Part-time job

Homework

Part-time job

Homework

Part-time job

Homework

Clubs

School time (1 or 2 classes)

Homework time

School time (1 or 2 classes)

Homework time

Personal life

Extra courses

Personal life

Extra courses

Personal life

Afternoon School (1 or Homework 2 classes) time

Evening

Personal life

Extra courses

Source: http://photopucket.com

Morning

Monday

For part-time students, your schedules must satisfy 4 things: - Time for work - Time for studies - Time for homework - Time for your own life In my opinion, you should register for 5 subjects or less. For example: Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thrusday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Morning

Working

Homework

Afternoon

Working

Personal life

Evening

School + Homework (30’)

Personal life

Learning capacity + Time: combining these two things suitably, you won’t feel exhausted. NGUYỄN THÙY TRANG

Our voice - our reﬂection

DISCOVERY - FUNNY STORIES

HOW CAN I SEE MY FUTURE? “Have you ever thought about how you will be in the future?” is a big question for everyone all over the world. Someone may say: “I don’t know”; however others may show you their fantastic dreams that may never come true because it is out of their ability. For me, I had never cared about my future until my father told me about it.

n my own experience, there are two parts of the process of preparing for the future: the time I was guided by my father and the time I have shaped my own dream.

kind of job, I have to be very good at English at first, and I am confident with my English! Therefore, there is no problem for me to promote myself as I just have to practice using designing program on the computer.

Guided by my father

This is my story about how to prepare for my future. I am sure that you have your dreams, too. Have you ever thought about how to fulfill your dream or you just leave it alone in your memory? If not, try to think about it and see what you can really do!

Firstly, when I was in secondary school my father asked me if I wanted a teacher to teach me to draw. Because at that time, I was a little bit good at drawing, my father wondered if I would like to make it my career in the future. However, my parents just made ends meet, so we could not pursue such expensive dream. Therefore, I told him that it was not necessary and I just wanted to draw because it was my hobby even though I would be very poor if I became an artist. Since many people do not have much money to afford their daily life, how could they dare to waste their cash on pictures? Afterwards we have never mentioned that thing again. My father began to teach me a lot of English and helped me to be as good as possible at English. At first, I did not think it was a good idea, but later, I realized the value of what my father had done for me. Shaping my own dream For the second part of the process of preparing my future, I want to share with you how I have shaped myself with the help from my father. With advantage in English, I can read and understand most of foreign books and documents, and use the computer with no difficulty as well. I have found out that I just love drawing, but not want to be an artist or a comic drawer which may destroy my love of drawing. Therefore, I think that the only way to work well and enjoy my hobby is to become a designer for a game company. Like most kids, I love playing video games owing to the way people create impressive things in this world, but I would be very happy to create things I like with my own hands. Furthermore, I have seen some things imperfect in every work of games I have experience and want to create my perfect figure. This is the reason why I want to create my fantastic world, too. To get this

NGUYỄN THIỆN PHƯỚC

FUNNY STORIES

Leave it all to me Robert went to his lawyer and said, 'I would like to make a will but I don't know exactly how to go about it.' The lawyer smiled at Robert and replied, 'Not a problem, leave it all to me.' Robert looked somewhat upset and said, 'Well, I knew you were going to take a big portion, but I would like to leave a little to my family too!' “Yeah, right!” A linguistics professor was lecturing his class one day. 'In English', he said, 'A double negative forms a positive. In some languages, though, such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative. However, there is no language wherein a double positive can form a negative.' A loud voice from the back of the room piped up, 'Yeah, right.' Collected by LÊ THỐNG

Our voice - our reﬂection

LEARNING WORLD

HOW MOTIVATION AND LEARNING STRATEGIES AFFECT LEARNING Diﬀerent language learners have their own ways to study and acquire the target language. In this paper, I will describe how I learn English as a foreign language. I also discuss how two factors motivation and learning strategies (metacognitive strategies) inﬂuence on my learning process and outcome.

Types of motivation

Motivational phases

A social psychological factor which affects my learning process and outcome is the motivation. Motivation is “some kind of internal drive which pushes someone to do things in order to achieve something”. Motivation in second language learning is a complex phenomenon. The reason why some L2 learners doing better than others is that they are better motivated. Indeed, high motivation may cause successful learning and vice versa.

Since language learning is a long-life process, my aims of studying English have changed over time, which leads to the change of motivation. Some researchers suggested three motivational phases: “reasons for doing something”, “deciding to do something” and “sustaining the effort or persisting”. Another researcher introduced a process-oriented model of motivation with three phases: “choice motivation”, “executive motivation” and “motivation retrospection”. In my learning process, I have cycled through these phases many times.

There are two types of motivation: instrumental motivation and integrative motivation. A learner with instrumental motivation wants to learn a language because it will be useful for certain goals, such as getting a job, reading a foreign newspaper, passing an examination. On the other hand, a learner who is integratively motivated wants to learn a language in order to communicate with people of another culture who speak it. Some researchers noted that integrative motivation is the primary factor that accounts for L2 achievement and a learner can both have two types of motivation. In some situations or the social context of the learning, instrumental motivation affects the learners more than the integrative even though integrative motivation may be more powerful in facilitating successful L2 learning. It is true that I have both two types of motivation. Although I like to practise English with native speakers of English, the exams and my career as an English teacher motivate me to learn more and more. Furthermore, researchers suggested another two kinds of motivation: intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is “doing something as an end in itself, for its own self-sustaining pleasurable rewards of enjoyment, interest, challenge, or skill and knowledge development”. In contrast, extrinsic motivation refers to doing something for some outcome, such gaining a qualification, getting a job etc. Both instrumental and integrative motivational orientations constitute forms of extrinsic motivation. However, in the scope of this essay, I only focus on instrumental and integrative motivation.

As mentioned above, I like to keep the vocabulary notebook as my mini dictionary. First, I decided to keep the vocabulary to learn new words (choice motivation). After a few months, I felt daunted by the revision of words from vocabulary notebook since the number of lexical items had increased over time (executive motivation). However, when I was reading the newspaper in English, I found out that I understood the articles easily since I have taken note and learned many words from the article in my vocabulary notebook. For this reason, I made decision to keep the vocabulary notebook and I have got five notebooks up to now (motivation retrospection). Metacognitive strategy Metacognitive strategy is one of the general kinds of learning strategy which learners may use in language learning. Metacognitive strategies involve thinking about the mental processes used in the learning process, monitoring learning while it is taking place, and evaluating learning after it has occurred. When learners reflect up their learning, they become better prepared to make conscious decisions about what they can do to improve their learning. Learning strategies can be learnt to enhance an individual’s ability to learn language. In my case, my father is my teacher who taught me metacognitive strategies and raised my metacongitive awareness. It is true to the definition of learning strategies that metacognitive strategies do help me to “learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, Our voice - our reﬂection

LEARNING WORD - POCKET ADRESS LIST - QUOTATIONS

more effective” during the time I was studying English at schools and universities. How metacongtitive strategies help me to learn English effectively? First, one group of metacognitive strategies helps learners manage themselves as learners. Knowledge of learning styles and self-knowledge strategies helps me choose strategies that comfortably fit with my learning styles. For example, since my learning style is auditory, I improve my listening skill through radio and conversations. Second, another set of metacognitive strategies help learners to manage the learning process. As mentioned above, I used to keep learning diary in order to record what I had learned and planned to learn something more. Lastly, other group of metacognitive strategies also helps learners deal effectively with a given language task. In my case, I used to plan to learn ten new words, some new grammar points a day and revise what I have learned during the week. Furthermore, learning strategies are influenced by the age and language proficiency. When I was at the age of between seven and sixteen, I used to read aloud a passage to improve my pronunciation. However, when I grew up, I never did anymore. At beginner level, I used to translate a reading passage form newspaper or books into my mother tongue and took note all of the words from the passage and learn them. Moving intermediate level, I just learned key words from the reading passage and tried to guess meanings of the new words though context. In conclusion, learners with strong motivation, integrative or instrumental, are likely to be successful in language learning. Language learning strategies is “an extremely powerful learning tool” for language learners. I believed that the two factors motivation and metacognitive strategies have positive influence on my learning process and outcome. So how motivation and learning strategies affect your learning? Lecturer NGÔ DUY PHÚC

QUOTATIONS OF THE MONTH

POCKET ADRESS LIST 360 Coffee Forum Address: 33 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai street, Ben Nghe ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City This new forum is mainly opened for college students with different topics such as education, skills, entertainment, career, etc. Joining in Source: tuoitre.vn the forum, students can get helpful knowledge about many aspects of life through talking with experts or experienced persons in a comfortable coffee space. It is organized twice a month, especially at the end of the second week and the fourth one. For more information, visit http://www.hotrosinhvien.vn Learning English Online http://www.tuoitrenews.vn/cmlink/tuoitrenews/education/nhip-cau-anh-ngu Tuoi Tre Newspaper introduced a new version of English learning section on its English online publication. The section provides students with an active Source: tuoitrenews.vn and effective English study method. With 7 areas including Lessons, Grammar, Listening, Vocabulary, Articles, Quizzes - Fun, and Ask us, it helps us improve our English skills perfectly. TRẦN NGUYỆT MINH

“Youthfulness is about how you live not when you were born.” Karl Lagerfeld

“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.” Sophia Loren (Italian Film Actress)

“Young people need models, not critics” John Wooden (American writer)

“You can only be young once. But you can always be immature.” Dave Barry (American writer and Humorist)

Our voice - our reﬂection

TALKSHOW

Fail - Try again - Fail again Fail better Full name: Lê Phương Anh Vũ Date of birth: May 5th, 1991 Class: QT09DB01 Hometown: Dak Lak Hobbies: playing guitar, flute, harmonica, organ, horn, reading books Achievements: 1st prize: Dream of the Vietnamese Youth – OU, Marketing Challenge Contest 2nd prize: singing contest of Faculty of Business Administration with his own song, Top three: Trainer Audition: Finding presenter Deputy Secretary of Youth Organization of the Faculty of Special Training Program (2009 – 2011) and Chairman of “Your Club” (2012) Good news for us today is that in Marketing Challenge Contest 2011, the honor was conferred on Mr. Anh Vũ for his excellent performance over 2,000 other competent candidates. To be the best in the contest, he remarkably exceeded two students from Foreign Trade University who won the 2nd and 3rd prizes. Today, we will talk to such a talented guy to know more about him. • Looking at your profile, no one can ignore a great deal of your admirable achievement. Do you think you are different from the majority of students? If yes, maybe it is because I am “over-active” and “overpositive”. My parents always teach me that idle hands are devil’s tools. Being free will result in doing something silly, which I think is true in most of the cases. I have been part of some organizations where I become aware of my own abilities and face first life trials since my first year of tertiary education. Moreover, I also focus and strive for my goals. Right now, I am running my own club called Your Club to help other students realize their true values. Last but not least, I always believe in Sourve: Anh Vũ myself no matter what I am labeled, because no one can trust us as much as we can. Therefore, I dare to create new chances and opportunities to experience new things with an aim of making my life colorful and interesting. • It seems that you are very positive. In what situations have you gained such thinking? It was my first days in university when a teacher asked us a very thorny question: “Did you ever wonder why you were born and lead a life?” This question took me two weeks to think about. Then the book “I am gifted, you are too”, which shares many helpful lessons like identifying, objectives correctly, being responsible, and sort

of, changed my mind substantially. I looked back to the time I had passed and decided that it was time for a change. • What is the key of your success? A Nike’s slogan, “Just do it”, leaves an overwhelming impression on me. My key is overcoming our fears to do new things. The biggest trial that most of us can’t confront with is our fears; we are scared of too many things. Just throw our fears away and leave “our safe inhabitant” to be involved in new challenges. If we think we can, we can. (Smile) I won’t make my dream – being a CEO – come true, unless I think and behave differently from what I used to. Act, or dream is just a dream. I like a saying of Samuel Beckett “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better”, since after failing, we can attain at least some valuable lessons and experiences for ourselves to be mature. • What is one trouble in youth lifestyle? I think a big problem is the habit of complaining. As we see, the majority of the youth complains all the time no matter how small the problem is. They just cry “Why this is me! Why I am a victim!” We all know that we can’t change what did happen, but we can change our attitude toward these matters. Magically, our positive attitude can pave a way for a lot of nice results. We are the persons who decide what we will be, so why aren’t we optimistic and responsible for our own life? • Do you think that you are leading a happy life? Sure, I have a very happy family where I can feel a great love of my caring and devoted parents. Every moment, I enjoy life by doing new things and get a lot of intoxicating experience. Also, I start helping my friends have positive attitude like me. Next year, I will set up two more clubs to help more friends. Thank you for your very amazing sharing. All the best to you. NGUYỄN THỊ MỸ LINH

Our voice - our reﬂection

OPPORTUNITY PLANET - OU SPOTLIGHTS

OPPORTUNITY PLANET A planet is full of opportunities for you. Try and take chance! 1. Bookaholic Club: Beyond The Cover Season, 3. Earth Day Writing Contest 2012 For Students, deadline 08/04/2012 deadline: 31/05/2012 Bookaholic Club now officially announced the amateur book cover design contest Beyond the Cover Season 3. This annual contest is held for young people who love the work of design, especially book cover design. Topic: A ticket to childhood. Time: 02/04/2012 to 31/05/2012. Prizes: 7.000.000 VND for the winner. Visit http://bookaholicclub.com/ for more information. 2. The Goi Peace Foundation and UNESCO: International Essay Contest for Young People, deadline 30/06/2012 This contest opens to anyone up to 25 years old. Theme: “ Create the Future We Want ” – Write about what kind of future you wish to create for yourself and the world, share your dream and ideas for making it a reality. Contestants write an essay (no more 800 words in English or less than 1600 characters in Japanese) with the above theme and send it online. The prizes range from 650 USD to 1.300 USD, certificate, gift and a chance to visit Tokyo, Japan. Visit http://www.goipeace.or.jp/english/activities/programs/1201.html for more information NGUYỄN QUỐC VŨ

OU SPOTLIGHTS Where you can receive announcements, interesting activities that will take place in our school. Check this out regularly so that you won’t miss any of them. ^ ^ 1. The Sun English Speaking Club – Member recruitment The Sun Club is currently recruiting new members. If you are interested in the activities of the Sun Club and would like to join, send your information (name, class, email, phone number) to the_sun_club@yahoo.com or contact Mr. Hà Hoàng Sơn (0939 343 994) to schedule your interview. 2. Student Union – Scholarships for ethnic students Student Union Secretariat announces the grant of 50 scholarships (1 million VND for each) for ethnic students. Ethnic students who are studying at Open University and have average score from 7.0 upwards in 2010-2011 school year, please send your profile to the Office of Youth Union (Room 106, 97 Vo Van Tan street, district 3). Deadline: 07/04/2012. For more information, visit www.hotrosinhvien.vn. NGUYỄN QUỐC VŨ

Our voice - our reﬂection

BOOKAHOLIC CORNER

SPONSORS CONGRATULATIONS!!! We have the very next readers who are so lucky to have our books for the The FFL Journal Volume 03 (February 2012)

1. TIỂU SỬ STEVE JOBS: Hồ Văn Thắng (XD10A6) Nguyễn Thị Thu Hiền (TN09ĐB2)

2. CÔ GÁI TRONG TRANG SÁCH: Đỗ Huyền Thanh (Lecturer) Nguyễn Xuân Hạnh Quyên (AV10A5)

3. KỶ YẾU HỘI THẢO - Về bản sắc văn hoá Hà Nội trong văn học nghệ thuật thế kỷ XX Ngô Ngọc Thuỳ Liên (AV09A3) Trần Thị Mỹ Vân (AV10A5) And now here we go to new books for this month, remember to cut and send your vouchers as quick as possible to us to be the next lucky readers. :D Note: please complete all the information in vouchers correctly and carefully. Any carelessness is not accepted. VÀ NỤ CƯỜI SẼ HONG KHÔ TẤT CẢ Author: Many authors Publisher: Hoa Hoc Tro,Vietnamese Students Magazine Price: 50.000 VND Whether you are a fan of Hoa Hoc Tro Magazine (HHT), you cannot miss the particular edition “Và nụ cười sẽ hong khô tất cả”. The book includes the most special and latest short stories of many popular teen writers at present. Each of them will give you an interesting piece of paper in their own style. Besides, the book is also attached 16 colorful pages and a very beautiful March 8th greetings card. Choose “VÀ NỤ CƯỜI SẼ HONG KHÔ TẤT CẢ” for this spring as well as Women’s Day. I am sure that you will be pleased and satisfy with this meaningful gift. This book is available at Vinabook.com- an online bookshop with the aims of having the best and fastest service for customers, developing the online book market in Vietnam. Website: http://www.vinabook.com

Source: http://www.vinabook.com

LÀM NÊN – 400 điều trường học vẫn không dạy bạn Author: H.N. Casson Translator: Group of Alphabooks translators Publisher: Labor and Society Price: 49.000 VND “This is the first book which shows me how to be successful in life. I followed the advices in the book and got a lot of achievements. Therefore, I believe that the young will also succeed like me if they obey what it points out” said Nguyễn Cảnh Bình – C.E.O of Alphabooks. Indeed, “Làm nên” is really a necessary and useful book. Its content provides us with a lot of knowledge, living skills and valuable lessons for doing business in particular and daily life in general. Nobody tell us these things, and also we are not taught at university. Surely, “LÀM NÊN” is the indispensable handbook for all of us. This book is available at Alpha books- a bookshop with main product line as: Alpha Biz (manSource: http://www.alphabooks.vn agement), Alpha Edu (education and thinking), Alpha Omega (classics), Alpha Kid (for children), IMONE (literature). Website: http://www.alphabooks.vn

Our voice - our reﬂection

BOOKAHOLIC CORNER - OU SPOTLIGHT HIGHLIGHTED

NHẬP MÔN NGHIÊN CỨU DỊCH THUẬT - LÝ THUYẾT VÀ ỨNG DỤNG Author: Jeremy Mundays Publisher: Tri Thuc Price: 53.000 VND This third edition is written in exceptionally clear and user-friendly style. To reflect the nature of the link between translation theories and practice, Jeremy Munday has added case studies in each chapter to offer practical examples of how theories can be applied in the real world. Readers who may have no previous knowledge of translation studies may also find the book interesting and illuminating. It has become a key source for generation of translation students on both professional and university courses.

Source: http://nxbtrithuc.com.vn

This book is available at Publisher of Knowledge - where scholars, researchers and students can trust their quality, focus on spreading great trends of thoughts in both classic and modern. Website: http://nxbtrithuc.com.vn PHẠM NGỌC TUYẾT

OU SPOTLIGHT HIGHLIGHTED

FFL GALAXY II -

SOAR

The FFL Galaxy, an art playground for students of Faculty of Foreign Languages of Open University who want to express their aptitude through singing, dancing or playing drama, was successfully celebrated on March 24 at 422 Dao Duy Anh meeting-hall. Held every 2 years, FFL Galaxy created good impression on everybody attending on that event. The key idea throughout the contest was “SOAR”, which inspired the impressingly decorating style of the stage with kite, wings, stars and colorful balloons. In addition, another highlight of that night was the bright orange color of organizing board like “orange storm”. To open and warm up the night show, the organizer drew the audience to take part in a game. At 6 pm, everybody was already to SOAR. Surprisingly, the contest’s co-host with Bich Tram, a familiar MC face, was Mr. Ngo Duy Phuc, a new young teacher of FFL, received enthusiastic cheers from students. They greeted to everybody and introduced the first act, which was a tender song named “Oi que toi” (my hometown). The contest became hotter with various kinds of performances. Everybody was from mixing with soft and emotional songs such as “Nhat ky cua me” (Mom’s diary), “Xe dap” (Bicycle) to the vivid modern dance of FFL’s Generation and the English song “Space down”. Not all that, the well-known Chinese song “Tong Hua”, Japanese traditional dance “Yosakoi” and a comic drama “Tam thoi Facebook” (Tam in the Facebook age) add more vivid taste to the performance. Specially, the FFL Galaxy also welcomed invited guests, who were ex-winners from old music contests, Mr. Au Tuyen Dieu (the ex-student of FFL of Open University)

and Mr. Phuc to contribute to special performance of the contest. Palpilatingly, we came to the most expected moments of the night, the result was: • The 1st prize: “Bien va anh trang” (beach and moonlight) by Lu Do Minh Hoang (AV11A3) and Trinh Minh Hang (AV11A5) • The 2nd runner-up: “Tam thoi Facebook” (Tam in the Facebook age) by class AV10A1. • The 3rd runner-up: “Yosakoi” by Le Lap Duc (AV10A5) and Phung Duc My (HV08A1) • 3 encouragement prizes: traditional dance-“Lung linh mua xuan” (HV11), “Dong Thoai” (Tong Hua) by Lai Dac Thanh (HV11) and Trieu Kha Dinh (HV11), “Just the way you are” by Huynh Thien Truc (AV10A6) and Nguyen Van Duan (AV10A5) To conclude the contest, Mr. Tran Thien Son gave some heartfelt words to candidates taking part in the contest, the organizing board and all students attending to the show. Source: Trúc Phương

The slogan of FFL Galaxy II was “Keep faith, keep going, keep searching, you’ll see”. “Dream doesn’t cost any amount of money, so why don’t you keep dreaming, believing in yourself and turning your dream come true?”, said Truc Linh (AV10A2), a member of organizing board. NGUYỄN TRÚC PHƯƠNG

Our voice - our reﬂection

ART GALLERY -

ART GALLERY

Moments of Faculty of Foreign Languages

National defence education - 02/2012, AV11A1

Japanese performance of Kendo - 10/2009

Dynamic FFL, 02/2010

Spring of volunteer, 01/2012

Chinese bridge - HV07, 05/2010

Football team, 2010

Song for love - 12/2012

FFL - Fight For Love! :) Our voice - our reďŹ&#x201A;ection