Sunday, January 26, 2020

What are the effects of violent video games?

What are the effects of violent video games? Running Head: EXPOSURE TO VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES INCREASES AUTOMATIC AGGRESSIVENESS 1 INTRODUCTION Playing video games have become a hobby among people especially children and teenagers. Some video games are violent at the same time addictive and when they are played, there is an impact on the person playing the game. This has led some people to state that children become more aggressive after playing such games (Koop, 1982; Zimbardo, 1982). Parents nowadays have to sacrifice their time to monitor their children and to control the amount of time their children spend playing these video games. There are many types of new video games being introduced because of the popularity of these games and the number of players playing these games. Many researches have been conducted over the centuries about violent media and violent video games and the empirical evidence regarding the negative effects of violent video games and media is overwhelming. Violence has been a big issue in societies around the world for centuries and violence on the media causes violent behaviour among people. Findi ngs suggest that one way in which the violent media may influence behaviour is through the changes in a persons’ automatic self-concept. There were no researches on this done before. Therefore this research was carried out to find out the possibility. CONTENT This journal is about the effects of exposure to violent video games on automatic aggressiveness. A sample of 121 students were used in this research. Playing the violent video game Doom lead participants to associate themselves with aggressive traits and actions on the Implicit Association Test. In addition, self-reported prior exposure to violent video games predicted automatic aggressive self-concept, above and beyond self-reported aggression. Many researches have been conducted in the past regarding the effects of exposure to violent video games as well as violent television shows on aggressiveness and results show a positive correlation between the variables. According to a research, trait aggression as well as self-reported, peer reported and teacher reported aggressive behaviour correlates with exposure to violent television shows and video games (Anderson Dill, 2000; Singer Singer, 1983, 1986; Singer, Singer, Rapaczynski, 1984). Experimental studies as well as longitudinal studies have been carried out in the past. Experimental studies have shown that watching violent movie scenes on television and playing with violent video games increases aggressive behaviours such as delivering electric shocks and blasts of noise to another person (Anderson Dill, 2000; Anderson, &Murphy; Bartholow Anderson,2002; Bushman, 1998; Bushman Huesmann, 2001; Wood, Wong, Chachere, 1991), increases agressive expectations for others ( Bushman Anderson, 2002 ) and reduces prosocial behaviour ( Anderson Bushman, 2001 ). Longitudinal studies on the other hand have shown that watching violent television is one of the best predictors of future violent behaviours for example, criminal behaviour. (Huesmann, Eron, Lefkowitzb, Walder, 1973; Johnson, Cohen, Smailes, Kasen, Brook, 2002). What is not so clear and well understood is the mechanisms by which exposure to violent media increases aggressive behaviour. In addition to other influences, such as learning of aggressive values (Bandura, 1978; Bandura, Ross, Ross, 1963), current models (Huesmann, 1986; Berkowitz, 1990; Bushman, 1998; Anderson Bushman, 2002) assume that the mechanisms underlying the effects of violent media are often automatic in nature. According to Berkowitz (1990), violent media automatically causes aggressive thoughts and feelings. Anderson Dill (2002) pointed out that playing violent video games increases the automatic accessibility of aggressive traits and actions in one’s memory. When one is repeatedly being exposed to violent media, one’s aggressive thoughts and actions are easily accessible causing an increase in the likelihood that the person will behave aggressively especially when the person is being provoked or in a frustrated state. (Anderson Dill, 2000; Berkowitz, 1990; Bushman, 1998; Todorov Bargh, 2002). Besides, according to researches there will also be an influence on automatic relations with the self when one is exposed to violent media (Greenwald Banaji, 1995; Greenwald, McGhee, Schwartz, 1998; Todorov Bargh, 2002). Research involving the area of automatic social cognition on the other hand suggests that people’s cognitive associations with the self and other attitudes objects would mediate the relationship between their environment and their behaviours. (Bargh Chartrand, 1999; Greenwald Banaji, 1995; Todorov Bargh, 2002). Measures of these associations (Fazio, Jackson, Dunton, Williams,1995; Greenwald et al., 1998) are strong predictors of relevant judgments and behaviours, including the actions that discriminate members of social outgroups (Bessenoff Sherman, 2000; Dovidio, Kawakami, Johnson, Johnson, Howard, 1997; Fazio et al., 1995; Gawronski, Ehrenberg, Banse, Zukova, Klaur, 2003; McConnell Leibold, 2001; Rudman Glick, 2001) and psychological abuse of oneà ¢â‚¬â„¢s spouse (Zayas Shoda, 1999). According to this journal, exposure to violent media may exert an influence on one’s behaviour through changes in a person’s automatic self-concept. For example, the extent to which one associates the self with aggressive traits and actions. It is time this research is carried out because till date, there are no researches that have explored this possibility. This study investigated the relationship between exposure to violent media and the automatic self-concept on two levels. The first one was, can exposure to media, in this case the violent video game Doom in the laboratory temporarily change the extent to which people associate the self with aggression ? Second, does the extent to which a person plays with violent video games in their own life predict their automatic self-concept with regard to aggression, above and beyond self reported aggressiveness? Violent video games have the tendency to influence the player more and cause the player to learn aggressive scripts compared to violent television and movies (Anderson, 2002). In this study, 121 introductory psychology students took part in the experiment in return for course credit. 54 were males, 65 females and another 2 did not give an answer. All the participants were 18 years old and above. The materials used in this study were violent games,non-violent video game, implicit association test, feeling thermometers, semantic differentials, Buss and Perry aggression questionnaire and previous game exposure questionnaire. A popular 3d game, Doom was selected as the violent video game. The non-violent video games used was â€Å" Mahjongg : Clicks†, a puzzle game. The Implicit- Association Test ( IAT ) was used to measure the automatic aggressive self-concept. This test was developed by Greenwald (1998). The participants completed two feeling thermometer measures whereby they rated themselves on a scale from 0( not aggressive ) to 100 ( extremely aggressive ) and on the other one they rated â€Å"other people† on the same scale. They also rate d themselves and other people on three semantic differential scales and also completed the Buss and Perry (1992) Aggression Questionnaire to measure trait aggression. Besides, participants were also asked on their previous game exposure. All the participants were asked to play Doom or Mahjong for 10 minutes. They were then assessed using the IAT, feeling thermometers, semantic differentials, Buss and Perry Questionnaire and the previous game exposure questionnaire in a fixed order. This was the procedure conducted. Various results were found soon after that. Overall, participants associated themselves more with â€Å"Peaceful† than with â€Å"Aggressive† on the IAT. The more positive a person’s IAT score, the greater their association of Aggression with Self. A 2 (game condition : violent vs non violent ) Ãâ€" 2 ( gender ) ANOVA on participant’s IAT scores. Participants in the Doom game condition were more likely to automatically associate themselves with aggression than participants in the Mahjongg game condition and there seem to be no interaction between the participants’ gender and game condition. As hypothesised, playing violent video games did increase automatic aggressiveness and it applies to both males and females. However on the feeling thermometers, semantic differential measures and Buss and Perry measure, participants reported a low level of aggressiveness. The same was done whereby a 2 (game condition : violent vs non violent ) Ãâ€" 2 ( gender ) ANOVA on participants’ scores on the 3-self reported aggressiveness measures. The results gained from this was that there were no significant effects of game condition on the feeling thermometer measure, semantic differential measure and Buss and Perry scale. There were no gender effects on both feeling thermometer and differential measures but on the Buss and Perry scale, there was a significant gender difference whereby the score for aggressiveness for men were higher than for women. Overall, the results suggested that exposure to violent video games did not significantly influence the self-reported aggressiveness of both males and females. For the prior game exposure questionnaire, the results showed that more men played video games and spent more time playing violent video games compared to women. However, both these genders did not differ in their exposure to non violent video games. Both the IAT and the Buss and Perry scale were positively correlated with self-reported prior exposure to violent video games and neither correlated with prior exposure to non violent video games. The relationship between the measures and prior exposure to violent video games remained significant after controlling for game condition. Therefore, long term exposure to violent video games makes largely independent contributions to automatic and self-reported aggressiveness. The author came up with a good discussion about this research and several conclusions were drawn. Most people have the belief that exposure to violent media has no effect on them personally but they do believe that it has an effect on other people (Innes Zeitz, 1988). As a conclusion, in this study participants that played the violent video game, Doom for 10 minutes associated the self more with aggressive traits on the IAT. However, they did not associate self with aggressive traits on the other self-report measures. Thus, the findings suggest that the short term effects of game exposure on the self-concept in this study were strongest at an automatic level. It is easy to imagine how playing a violent video game could temporarily increase the accessibility of aggressive concepts, feelings, and thoughts through priming or spreading activation (Anderson Dill, 2000; Berkowitz, 1990; Bushman, 1998). There have been many correlation, experimental as well as longitudinal studies over the decades that suggest that exposure to violent media is a cause of aggressive behaviour (Bushman Anderson, 2001; Singer Singer, 1983). From the results of this study, it is found that violent media may also exert their effects through changes in automatic associations with the self. There will be several strengths as well as limitations when it comes to research. First, the critique will be on the strengths of this research. There are a few strengths that must be highlighted. The hypothesis and purpose of study of this research is clear and understandable. This is one plus point of this whole research because without a clear and proper purpose of study, the readers would not understand the whole research and what it is all about. Therefore, having a proper purpose of study in all researches is important. The purpose of study for this research was to examine the relationship between exposure to violent media, in this case the violent video game and the automatic self concept on two different levels as mentioned previously. This research is different from other research because this research focuses more on the self concept. Another strength of this research is that it provides cognitive awareness through its clear explanations in the discussion section of the research. According to social cognitive models, the self is a knowledge structure, organized as a network of associations (Greenwald et al., 2002). It provides a clear knowledge on how priming can increase the automatic accessibility of a possible self. There are other studies, Wheeler Petty, 2001 ; Blair Ma Lenton, 2001 that explains more on how priming increases the automatic accessibility of a possible self. Participants will gain more knowledge in the sense that they know and have an idea on what is actually going on and why they react in such ways. Therefore this research in other words will create awareness among people. Every research will have strengths as well as several limitations. The limitations of a research need to be pointed out so that future researchers would take the weaknesses into consideration when conducting their research. The first limitation identified in this research is that the researcher did not really get the expected results from the participants. There were no significant effects of game condition on the feeling thermometer measure, semantic differential measure and Buss and Perry scale. Therefore the first limitation of the study would be the self report measures. Several other studies for example Rushbrook (1986) have measured the aggression using self reports. The problem with the research is that the correlational evidence is not so convincing and sometimes the observed positive correlations may not only be due to aggressive individuals having a greater desire for video games. It can be due to other factors such as low educational level or low socioeconomic status. Vid eo games studies with better methods typically yield greater effects, suggesting that heightened concern about harmful effects of exposure to violent video game is warranted. Another limitation would be health issues of the participants were not taken into consideration during the experiment. For example, when one plays violent video games, some biological processes occur inside the person’s body. This could be dangerous. A study carried out by Lynch (1994) proposed that playing video games with violent content would produce greater cardiovascular responses. Besides, exposing one to violent video game is not good even if it was for an experiment purpose. Researchers in the British Journal Nature (1998) reported that the brain releases a hormone called dopamine when one is playing video games. Dopamine is a pleasure chemical hormone. Those exposed to these video games then tend to get addicted to it. It can be addictive even if exposed once. New brain research (Bartholow, Bushman Sestir, 2006) stated that violent video game players are showing less healthy development, brain tend to be more response to real-life violence such as gun attacks and th at those with these less empathic brain responses were more likely behave aggressively in the laboratory. Future researches should take this seriously before conducting any kind of experiments. It would be better if surveys on consumption of violent video games are used rather than carrying out experiments. CONCLUSION Although previously there have been many researches on violent video games from many aspects, this research showed something new. According to this research, there is a relationship between exposure to violent video games and the automatic self-concept. Therefore, it is proven that exposure to violent video games increases one’s automatic aggressiveness. Video games are not always bad. It depends on what video game one is playing. There are video games that are quite beneficial that can be used as training aids in classrooms and therapeutic settings. Violent video games on the other hand definitely have negative effects and causes aggression among children and teenagers. There are many different types of violent video games that which probably have different effects. Therefore researchers should carry out more studies to find out all the different effects caused by playing violent video games. Future studies perhaps could use more surveys instead of experiments because experi ments sometimes could be quite harmful if certain measures and precautions are not taken into consideration. This journal is quite useful in the sense that it gives a lot of information to readers about this new aspect of violent video games that never have been studied before. Studies such as this would create awareness among people and hopefully would have an impact on them as well. Such researches are carried out with the aim that somehow or the other the information and results that the researchers have found could help people for example reduce the amount of consumption of violent video games in the future. REFERENCES Uhlmann, E, Swanson, J. (2003). Exposure to violent video games increases automatic Aggressiveness. Journal of Adolescence. Retrieved from, http://www.lionlamb.org/research_articles/study 3.pdf Carnagey, N.L ., Anderson, C.A ., Bushman, B.J. ( 2007 ). The effect of video game violence on physiological desensitization to real-life violence. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. Retrieved from, http://www.psychology.iastate.edu/faculty/caa/abstracts/2005-2009/07CAB.pdf Griffiths, M.(1998). Violent video games and aggression : A review of the literature. Retrieved from, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359178997000554 Hasan, Y. , Begue, L. , Scharkow, M., Bushman, B.J. (2013) The more you play, the more aggressive you become: A long-term experimental study of cumulative violent video game effects on hostile expectations and aggressive behaviour. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.Retrieved from, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022103112002259

Saturday, January 18, 2020

My own communication and interpersonal skills Essay

I will be assessing my own communication and interpersonal skills in relation to each interaction. Verbal Communication My placement is at a pre-school, I have good verbal communication as I interact well with the children when I am speaking to them I listen to what their saying when they are speaking to me, I keep an open mind and concentrate on the main direction of the children’s message to me, I avoid distractions to make sure I am effectively listening to them at all times, usually the children speak to me about the toys they are playing with and they tell me about the activities they are doing. For example the in my last one to one interaction I was talking a girl in the nursery about her pets at home and if she looks after them, even though I don’t have any pets I listened to the girl and gave her appropriate feedback and questions. I make sure I am in a comfortable environment so I can hear the children effectively so it’s not noisy; I am always prepared to listen to everything the children say to me. In a one to one interaction I find it easier to communicate verbally as I’m only speaking to one child so I can stay focused on that particular child and what they’re saying to me to make sure I am actively listening to the child, this is an area I communicate well with and many skills in this area improve every time I go. Whereas in group interaction I find verbal communication harder so I need to improve on this, I find it hard to speak to more than one child at a time because they are children they are all speaking at the same time so I am getting a lot of information at the same time I try my best to effectively listen to them but with a lot of information being told to me it’s hard to process the information, I need to improve on this by making sure the children are taking turns so I can listen to them without getting bored. For example in my last group interaction I was making a puzzle with the three children and they were all asking me questions at the same time to I found it hard to listen to all the questions. I also need to improve on the questions I ask the children to make a conversation with them; I ask them questions but then I run out of questions to ask them so then the conversation stops, I should ask more questions that interest the children so my communication skills improve. In a group interaction I am better, so I am good at asking questions as there are more children with more questions to ask me so the  conversation run more better and information is shared quicker and more effectively, compared to a one to one interaction I run out of questions to ask the child as I do not obtain information well. I need to improve on this skill to I can communicate better with a single child to give them more involvement in the conversation. I can respond to questions more effectively as I find it easier to understand the question they have asked me because they are children and the questions are quite simple. I let the children tell me what they want to say to me so I can clarify my info rmation. Reflective speaking I think this skill is something I need to improve on; I do try my best to give the best feedback to the children in both types of interactions. In a one to one interaction I find it easier to communicate as I can understand the child’s message clearly and I am able to give feedback as the how the message is received, however sometimes I struggle to speak back to them if I haven’t understood what they are saying, this skill is vital and I need to improve on it every time I go to placement. In a group I interaction it’s the same with the listening as lots of children are speaking to me at the same time I need more time to process and give feedback but as they are children they get impatient waiting for me, I do have an interest in what the children are saying it’s just a matter of finding balance in my communication and interpersonal skills. Even though I am good at speaking to them effectively but I can’t give them feedback or start a conversation if I struggle to make a conversation but I can speak to the children and make sure they understand what I am saying to them. For example I was speaking to a child about her family and what jobs her mum and dad does but I couldn’t think of what to respond back to her so she got confused even though I did try my best. Non-verbal communication skills My non-verbal communication skills could do with some improvement, when I am communicating one to one my body movements can sometimes show to the child that I am not enjoying a conversation with them I try and show as much interest in possible but sometimes things like my posture if I am slumped while talking to a child it can communicate to them that I have a negative attitude to the conversation. In both types of interaction I struggle to  make eye contact it’s something I need to improve on I often don’t look at the children, in a group interaction I can’t keep eye contact with every child but I try my best to make them realise that I am going to talk to them and to let them know when it is their turn to speak to me, in a one to one I only have one child to focus one so I find this easier to do, however I am still nervous and this is why I struggle to keep eye contact , I think with more confidence I will be able to keep eye contact with the children when I am speaking to them. My closeness towards the children is a thing that I am doing well I make sure I give the appropriate space for the children to feel relaxed and for me to also to feel relaxed to effectively communicate with them. I thing I think I am good at in both type of interactions is my facial expression I always make sure i am smiling at the children to make it seem like I am interested in what they are saying to me so it then makes them realise that I am interested in what they have to say to me it makes sure that my communication with the children is effective. I am also good at gestures I do gestures a lot to express to the children what I am feelings, if I am speaking to them about something exciting I use my hand gestures to show them that I am interested in what they are saying to me. In my one to one to interactions I can focus more on what a child Is saying to me so my hand gestures express to them how I am feelings about what they or saying or what I am saying to them, this is the same with group interactions as I am able to use gestures to what all the children or saying as they are often talking about near enough the same things. However, I need to improve on negotiating with the children, a s they often argue with each other and I find it hard to stop the argument and reach an agreement. I need to make sure a negotiation is best for themselves, this is in a one to one interaction I do not need to negotiate but in a group I need to find common interests so they don’t argue. I need to improve on ending the conversation as I often don’t end the conversation so then the children might still have something they want to say to me, I should tell the children that I am going to go elsewhere so that they know the conversation is over or make it aware by body language or my facial expressions. One of the main things I need to improve on is my communication with the staff; I don’t communicate with the staff much. When they ask me to do something like helping the children wash their hands, I listen effectively and give appropriate feedback this is  something I can do well. But I need to speak to them more if I am unsure of things, but it is the children who I communicate with every time I go, the staffs are busy doing other things and they communicate with me when it is needed. I don’t really need to improve on this but I can talk to the staff and communicate with them if I need to for the benefit of the children. Overall I have more things I need to improve on for my communication and interpersonal skills. I find it easier to communicate in a one to one interaction as it is only one child and I can speak to them better as I am able to process my information faster and give the correct feedback to the child in order for them to understand. In a group interaction there is more than one children speaking to me and sometimes too much information is given to me at once and I can then not give feedback to the children, this is something I need to improve on and this can be done through effective turn taking so the children understand that they need to take turns in communication this will then make my skills better so I will be able to communicate more effective. I am able to stay calm and stay focused when communicating with both the staff and the children this is my main skill that I can do well, but my main skill that I need to improve on is my non-verbal communication skills as this is where I often find myself communicating that I am bored to the children because they can go on for a while and I do get bored of what they are saying so I can fold my arms and yawn portraying bad body language , this is why I need to make sure I am listening to what they are saying, I could ask different questions to change the subject of the conversation to something that I understand better. Good communication and interpersonal skills are vital when I am in my placement setting as I need to communicate well with service user to develop a good relationship with them so they understand what I am saying and for me to give them feedback to them. As I now know the things I need to improve on every time I go to placement I can improve my communication skills with the children and adults in order for my communication and interpersonal skills to be effective. I am going to be evaluating factors that influenced the effectiveness of both the one to one and group interaction. (D1) Effective Factors in one to one interactions Having good confidence– In my one to one interactions I have more confidence  as I am only talking to one child, I felt like I had more control over the conversation as I only had to deliver information to and from the person. Only talking to one child made me less anxious and nervous and I was speaking clearly and calmly as my nerves weren’t making me stumble on my words so this meant that the child could understand what I was saying so she was able to give me good feedback and I was able to respond without feeling anxious that I was going to mess up. My good confidence influenced my communication to make it better because I felt like I was enjoying the conversation instead of it being all over the place this enabled the conversation to run more smoothly and fun. Only having one child to speak to doesn’t overwhelm me with information so as I said earlier I had more control over what I was saying to the child and what I would respond so it made me feel better a bout the communication I was saying so I could then think of more questions to ask so the conversation between me and the child would last longer. It also helped that the child I was speaking to had good confidence she’s outgoing and she always has something to say to me so this influenced the effectiveness of the interactions because she wasn’t quiet and this helped me to speak to her so it didn’t effect my nerves as she kept asking me questions so it made the conversation more enjoyable. Knowing the child well– In my one to one interactions I speak to a child I know best, a child that I feel more comfortable speaking to because I speak to them a lot compared to the other children. It helps me because if I know the child then I have more things that I know about them e.g. favourite singers or their favourite foods, so I can then speak to them about a specific thing that they like to talk about then that child speaks to me a lot about that, so I am then able to respond better as I already know things about the child from previous conversations. The conversation is influenced by this as my confidence is better when I speaking to them because I know them better and I know how they interact with me so this then enables me to be more engaged with that child. As I know more things about them I can ask them questions related to something they like so they feel happier speaking to me about it as it excites them to tell me more about it so I more information is given and the conversations runs more effectively. When I child knows me better it helps as they then feel more comfortable speaking me as they know who I am so when I’m having a conversation with the child like in my last one to one  interactions we are happier speaking to each other so we are more likely to find common interests and make the communication more effective as we can listen better to each other and respond better. Environmental factors – good amount of space- In my one to one interactions I have more space a around me as I am only talking to on e child compared to several in a group interaction. Having more space around me made me more relaxed and comfortable to talk to the child as I don’t feel like I am consumed to one area, this makes me more less nervous when I’m speaking to a child as I know that I have more space around me to express how I’m feeling in a conversations through gestures and this can make a conversation more funnier. Having personal space around me means I can move around while I’m speaking to a child and I can do some actions to get the child more involved. Space influenced the effectiveness in my one to one interactions as when I have a good amount of personal space around me I can think my thoughts through better without getting paranoid that I don’t have enough space this enables me to deliver my information clearly and effectively so the child understand what I am saying to them. The amount of space I have is always at a reasonable amount as there is only one child, so this means I can effectively respond to what the child’s saying to me without getting panicked and I can then think of more questions to ask so this means that the communication is effective. Also this meant that the child had space to talk to me effectively so she didn’t get panicked that she didn’t have enough space to move around like through her gestures, so we were able to speak to each other clearly and all these reasons enabled me to communicate effectively with the child. Environmental, Good noise level – When I’m having my one to one interaction with a child the room has some background noise but its fairly quiet and it makes sure I am able to concentrate on the children without getting distracted by other noises that the staff or children could be making, I can listen to them effectively to them as the noise is at a respectable level, as I am listening to them effectively the conversation runs faster and more smoothly. Being able to hear everything the child is saying helped them to understand what I was saying to them therefore I gave them appropriate feedback. It also allowed me not to misunderstand anything the child said to me so I didn’t make mistakes in what I said back to them so this influenced the effectiveness of my  communication between the child as it helped me to have full concentration on everything the child was saying, as the room was at a good noise level and the information to be delivered effectively and me and the child was able to carry on the conversation without the noise level being to loud, as it was just one child I could understand what she was saying to me as she was close to me so the noise levels were good so I was relaxed and so was the child so it made our communication effective as we were ab le to talk more freely. Group interactions Questions being planned out – In my group interaction there was four children in the group and all of them were confident and they each had lots of questions to ask me and each other. On child asked a question to me and I was able to answer it effectively as the questions were straightforward and every child on the table understood them so they were able to effectively listen to the question and they all responded well, this allowed the conversation to run smoothly without any arguments happening as the children all agreed on the questions and they were interested in them so it made the conversation more enjoyable so it was effective as all children participated because they were interested in the questions being asked or explained. Having the questions being planed out before hand allowed me to have some kind of structure to what I was going to ask so I had a basic idea of how the children would respond and how I would respond to them, I looked at what children was in the gro up and what type of questions they would enjoy answering to help the communication be effective, this then made sure no-one was left not knowing what to say as I always had a back up question. Once one child asked a question all the rest of the children thought of a question to ask as it related to the first question, so they all took turns and asked their questions it influenced the effectiveness of the interaction as questions were being asked so more information was being shared and the communication was effectively being listened and responded to. I had some good questions to ask the children and they were all interested in them so they listened to what I was saying and if a child got stuck on a question I aided them along. Having good and relatable question effectively helped the conversation as the more information was being responded to, as the children understood and were interested in what was being asked the listen nicely to  other children’s answers, I was listening to the children and giving good feedback and the overall conversation was enjoyable and fun and all the children were interacting well with me and each other from the questions said. Me bein g the group leader – As I was talking to a small group I was in charge of the conversation as I was the oldest and the most responsible in the group. Having a group leader helped me to have control of the conversation as I was able to help the children if they were struggling with the activity I was doing to I guided them through step by step so they understood what they had to do. When we had a group discussion I guided the group and made sure that everyone was having a turn so it was a fair conversation and it gave chance for other children to think of something to say. I had control over the conversation so when the children started disagreeing with each other I can stop them from arguing so this made sure that the conversation was running smoothly and calmly without arguments. I made sure that the if a child wasn’t speaking much I prompted them to speak so everything was fair and in order, and when the children went of topic I could ask a question to that was related to what we were previously speaking to, me being their made sure that the communication was effective as it could make sure that the children were listenin g to each other and responding to each effectively so I could make the group function better without the children getting frustrated. For example, I was making sparkles with my group and I talked them through step by step and made sure that they were sharing out the equipment fairly without them arguing with each other so I could effectively communicate and that they could listen and respond with each other, all these reasons helped me to effectively guide the group conversation so the communication was effective, so I was effectively interacting, listening and speaking to them as a group leader and that they were effectively listening and speaking to me. As a group leader me smiling and being open armed encouraged the children to participate with me as I was the group leader so they were looking up to me. Having a good amount of time to speak – In my group interactions I have a good amount of time to listen to what the children are saying to me, having a good amount of time to listen to the children allows to think through what I am saying and what I will say to them without being rushed by other things tha t are happening. I also allows the children to have enough time to listen to what I am saying  so they didn’t misunderstand what I was saying to them, this influenced the effectiveness of the conversation as having time to communicate made things not rushed so I was more relaxed when speaking to the children. I could then speak to the group of children without feeling that I had to rush things with them so I was speaking clearly, as it was a group and there was more then one person having an effective time to communicate helped me to speak to all of the children and it made sure everyone had a turn so there was no arguing. I was able to clarify my information so it was correct and it helped me and the children as I wasn’t anxious about what I was saying, my body language showed that I was relaxed and I was interacting well with the children, having enough time to do the discussion/activity with the children helped me to not rush things and it influenced the communication as it was pla nned out well and everyone was listening and responding well to each other. Having common interests – In my group interaction, picked a group of children that were all doing the same activity which was playing with the dinosaurs, I then went over and started to talk to the children and asked them questions like ‘what is your favourite dinosaurs’ and ‘what shall we call this dinosaur’, this influenced the communication as they were all doing the same thing so all the children were interested in what I was asking them, so this helped the conversation to flow better as more information was being delivered from each child. As I was interested in what they were playing with so I listened well to the children and then I responded well to them to keep the interested, having common interests helped the effectiveness of my group interaction as everyone was interested in the topic of the conversation so it made me and the children more relaxed. My good confidence, knowing the child well, having a good amount of space and it not being noisy influenced the effectiveness of my one to one interactions they each helped in different ways and they allowed me to have good listening and speaking skills as well as portraying good non-verbal communication skills. They helped me to understand the child better and to give good feedback to him/her. Questions, common interests, having enough time and me being a group leader all influenced the effectiveness of my interactions with four children in different ways, having more children to speak and listen helped me in some ways compared to my one to one interactions, but all these factors helped me to communicate  better with the children and for them to communicate with me. References Sheet given in class on what to do for the tasks (Accessed 08/12/14) PowerPoint on learning box – ‘Barriers to effective communication’ (Accessed 08/12/14)

Friday, January 10, 2020

Top Tips of Free College Admission Essay Samples

Top Tips of Free College Admission Essay Samples If you're beginning to feel frustrated or overwhelmed by your essay, take a rest and do something different. Inventing a thesis statement can be difficult, but it helps in case you pick a topic you feel strongly about. You don't have to get a story that's one in a million. Everybody's story differs. There's, clearly, a limit on the range of pages even our very best writers can produce with a pressing deadline, but generally, we figure out how to satisfy all the clients seeking urgent assistance. The cost of an essay is dependent upon the quantity of effort the writer has to exert. The first idea to take into consideration when learning how to compose essays is that you should be in a position to check at the full assignment from the view of someone that will get it done no matter what. Moreover, our English-speaking writers make sure every order has original content and an appropriate structure. The essay is your opportuni ty to tell the folks in a college admission office. It is the most important part of a college appllication, see sample essays perfect for applying to schools in the US. In many cases, it can make or break your chance to get into your dream school or to win a lucrative scholarship. A strong essay can provide you the ideal opportunity to get in the school that you dream about. High school is going to be a hospice near the following day of. Students lead busy lives and frequently forget about a coming deadline. Every student necessitates help with homework from time to time. College life includes writing essays and application letters whether you're in the business of company or literature. Admission officers are interested in someone to add to what Their University is. College education is extremely pricey and it matters a whole lot in the expert world from which college you've gained your degree. In addition to its growing cultural and ethnic diversity, State University is turning into a master at developing a niche for each student. Whispered Free College Admission Essay Samples Secrets You may also secure different discounts on our site which will help you to save some more money for future orders or anything you want to spend them on. You could also get in touch with your writer to supply some additional recommendations or request information regarding the order's progress. Our customer support will gladly tell you whether there are any special offers at the present time, along with make sure you are getting the very best service our business can deliver. Writing services which you just offer you wish to provide help. The Free College Admission Essay Samples Cover Up They may be the letter important elements of your applicationthe essays. What's more, you also need to do other varieties of paperwork like coursework. The revisions are unquestionably free! Academic papers cannot contain any signals of plagiarism. If you don't find out how to compose an application essay, don't get upset and ask application essay help, which will bring about a custom made application essay that will force you to truly feel relieved. Thirdly, an application essay is a chance to demonstrate your distinctive personality. It is one of the most important components in the university application process. Our application essay writing service is regarded as the best by our clients, that are located all over the world and contact us on a standard foundation for their difficulties related to application essay writing. Free College Admission Essay Samples: No Longer a Mystery Although you ought to be creative whilst writing your essay, resist the temptation to acquire creative with the facts. Nowadays it is quite hard to locate a trustworthy essay writing service. Narrative essay demands the nearly all of school will be certain of writing essay. A personalized admission essay written by our writers can help you to be successful. When the job of creating an essay was determined, the possible author should just initiate the practice of writing, with no fear or comprehension. Sometimes, deeper reflection can aid you in finding an even greater subject to write about than your very first impulse. Get your creative juices flowing by brainstorming all the potential ideas you can imagine to deal with your college essay question. Make sure in any academic paperwork which you do, never forget the significance of coherence, essay analysis of ideas, and last, creativity. The rules for writing a superb essay are the same. There's not any reason to rush your essay. The conclusion and recommendation portion of the essay would decide on just what the essay is truly all about. Sharing a personal story that's related to the prompt is an exceptional way to produce your essay stick out from the crowd.

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Common Job Interview Questions for ESL Learners

The first impression you make on the interviewer can decide the rest of the interview. It is important that you introduce yourself, shake hands, and be friendly and polite. The first question is often a breaking the ice (establish a rapport) type of question. Dont be surprised if the interviewer asks you something like: How are you today?Did you have any trouble finding us?Isnt this great weather were having? This type of question is common because the interviewer wants to put you at ease (help you relax). The best way to respond is in a short, friendly manner without going into too much detail. Here are some examples correct responses: Common Interview Questions -  First Impressions Interviewer: How are you today?You: Im fine, thank you. And you? OR Interviewer: Did you have any trouble finding us?You: No, the office isnt too difficult to find. OR Interviewer: Isnt this great weather were having?You: Yes, its wonderful. I love this time of year. OR Interviewer: Did you have any trouble finding us?You: No, the office isnt too difficult to find. Here are some examples of incorrect responses: Interviewer:  How are you today?You:  So, so. Im rather nervous actually. OR Interviewer: Did you have any trouble finding us?You: As a matter of fact, it was very difficult. I missed the exit and had to return via the highway. I was afraid I was going to be late for the interview. OR Interviewer: Isnt this great weather were having?​You: Yes, its wonderful. I can remember this time last year. Wasnt it awful! I thought it would never stop raining! OR Interviewer: Did you have any trouble finding us?You: No, the office isnt too difficult to find. Getting Down to Business Once the pleasant beginnings have finished, its time to begin the real interview. Here are a number of the most  common questions  that are asked during the interview. There are two examples of excellent replies given for each question. Following the examples, you will find a comment describing the type of question and important things to remember when answering that type of question. Interviewer:  Tell me about yourself.Candidate:  I was born and raised in Milan, Italy. I attended the University of Milan and received my masters degree in Economics. I have worked for 12 years as a financial consultant in Milan for various companies including Rossi Consultants, Quasar Insurance and  Sardi  and Sons. I enjoy playing tennis in my free time and learning languages. Candidate:  Ive just graduated from the University of Singapore with a degree in Computers. During the summers, I worked as a systems administrator for a small company to help pay for my education. Comment:  This question is meant as an introduction. Do not focus too specifically on any one area. The above question will often be used to help the interviewer choose what h/she would like to ask next. While it is important to give an overall impression of who you are, make sure to concentrate on work-related experience. Work related experience should  always  be the central focus of any interview (work experience is more important than education in most  English-speaking  countries). Interviewer:  What type of position are you looking for?Candidate:  Im interested in an entry-level (beginning) position.Candidate:  Im looking for a position in which I can utilize my experience.Candidate:  I would like any position for which I qualify. Comment:  You  should be willing to take an  entry-level  position in an English speaking company as most of these companies expect non-nationals to begin with such a position. In the United States, most companies provide many opportunities for growth, so dont be afraid to start from the beginning! Interviewer:  Are you interested in a full-time or part-time position?Candidate:  I am more interested in a full-time position. However, I would also consider a part-time position. Comment:  Make sure to leave open as many possibilities as possible. Say you are willing to take any job, once the job has been offered you can always refuse if the job does not appeal (not interest) to you. Interviewer:  Can you tell me about your responsibilities at your last job?Candidate:  I advised customers on financial matters. After I consulted the customer, I completed a customer inquiry form and  cataloged  the information in our database. I then collaborated with colleagues to prepare the best possible package for the client. The clients were then presented with a summarized report on their financial activities that I formulated on a quarterly basis. Comment:  Notice the amount of detail necessary when you are talking about your experience. One of the most  common mistakes  made by foreigners when discussing their former employment is to speak too generally. The employer wants to know exactly what you did and how you did it; the more detail you can give the more the interviewer knows that you understand the type of work. Remember to vary your vocabulary when talking about your responsibilities. Also, do not begin every sentence with I. Use the  passive voice, or an introductory clause to help you add variety to your presentation Interviewer:  What is your greatest strength?Candidate:  I work well under pressure. When there is a deadline (a time by which the work must be finished), I can focus on the task at hand (current project) and structure my work schedule well. I remember one week when I had to get 6 new customer reports out by Friday at 5. I finished all the reports ahead of time without having to work overtime. Candidate:  I am an excellent communicator. People trust me and come to me for advice. One afternoon, my colleague was involved with a troublesome (difficult) customer who felt he was not being served well. I made the customer a cup of coffee and invited both my colleague and the client to my desk where we solved the problem together. Candidate:  I am a trouble shooter. When there was a problem at my last job, the manager would always ask me to solve it. Last summer, the LAN server at work crashed. The manager was desperate and called me in (requested my help) to get the LAN back online. After taking a look at the daily backup, I detected the problem and the LAN  was  up and running (working) within the hour. Comment:  This is not the time to be modest! Be confident and  always  give examples. Examples show that you are not only repeating words you have  learned,  but  actually  do possess that strength. Interviewer:  What is your greatest weakness?Candidate:  I am overzealous (work too hard) and become nervous when my co-workers are not pulling their weight (doing their job). However, I am aware of this problem, and before I say anything to anyone, I ask myself why the colleague is having difficulties. Candidate:  I tend to spend too much time making sure the customer is satisfied. However, I began setting time-limits for myself If I noticed this happening. Comment:  This is a difficult question. You need to mention a weakness that is actually a strength. Make sure that you always mention how you try to improve the weakness. Interviewer:  Why  do you want to work for Smith and Sons?Candidate:  After following your  firms  progress for the last 3 years, I am convinced that Smith and Sons are becoming one of the market leaders and I would like to be part of the team. Candidate:  I am impressed by the quality of your products. I am sure that I would be a convincing salesman because I truly believe that the Atomizer is the best product on the market today. Comment:  Prepare yourself for this question by becoming informed about the company. The more detail you can give, the better you show the interviewer that you understand the company. Interviewer:  When can you begin?Candidate:  Immediately.Candidate:  As soon as you would like me to begin. Comment:  Show your willingness to work! The above questions represent some of the most basic questions asked  on any job interview  in English. Probably the most important aspect of interviewing in English is giving detail. As a speaker of English  as a second language, you might be shy about saying complicated things. However, this is absolutely necessary as the employer is looking for an employee who knows his or her job. If you provide detail, the interviewer will know that you feel comfortable in that job. Dont worry  about making mistakes  in English. It is much better to make simple grammar mistakes and provide detailed information about your experience than to say grammatically perfect sentences without any real content.