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The FFL Journal vol 7

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Laugh, and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone. For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth, But has trouble enough of its own. Sing, and the hills will answer; ~

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Page 1: The FFL Journal vol 7
Page 2: The FFL Journal vol 7

CONTENT - COFFEE TALK02

Our voice - Our reflection

THE FFL JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD

CONSULTANTLecturer Nguyễn Thúy NgaLecturer Lê Phương ThảoBoard of lecturers of Faculty of Foreign Languages

EDITORIAL MANAGERTôn Nữ Tường Vy

DEPUTY EDITORIAL MANAGERNguyễn Thị Mỹ Linh

WRITERĐặng Phương Thảo (L1)Quách Minh MinhTrần Nguyệt MinhChu Thị Như TrangNguyễn Trúc PhươngPhạm Ngọc TuyếtPhan Thị Kiều TrinhĐoàn Phương HạnhLê Thị Kim NhiNguyễn Thị Huỳnh NhiPhan Thị Huyền TrâmTrần Thị Thảo TrâmBùi Thị PhươngTrần Thị Thiên KiềuNguyễn Quốc Vũ

MEDIA – MARKETINGTrần Phú Cường (L)Lê Lập ĐứcVõ Nguyễn Trúc LinhNguyễn Nhật Phụng

FINANCINGNguyễn Thị Mỹ Linh (L)Bùi Thị PhươngLâm Hoàng Thiện

HUMAN RESOURCESNguyễn Trúc Phương (L)Đoàn Phương HạnhHà Nhật Linh

CREATIVE ART

Page 3: The FFL Journal vol 7

DISCOVERY 03

Our voice - Our reflection

Can you love others buthate yourself?

“People often consider the way they behave to others and others’ behavior tothem, but they do not think about how they behave to themselves.”

First year at collegeIf someone asks me: “How was your first year

at college?”, the answer will be: “So bad! It was a difficulttime to me, but it helped me realize many valuablethings.

Entering Ho Chi Minh City Open University wasmy second option. I was not disappointed with thisschool but with me. The first semester of the first yearwent by tastelessly. I did not care too much about mystudy. Perhaps because I knew that at home my parentswere trying to support me in college life, I still attendedclasses fully, was still on time for class everyday in ordernot to feel guilty.

When I entered the second semester, everythingwas even worse. I had to face a lot of pressure when mynew classmates were so excellent. I lost confidence inmyself. I could not raise my hand to express my opinions,and looked down at the table all the time. I was disap-pointed in myself. However, my situation would have notbeen awful if my health had not been worse and worse.My backache was more serious. I could not seat con-stantly within thirty minutes. Seating was really a night-mare to me. I was also infected with inflammation of skin(a kind of disease) at the same time. All of my body be-came ulcerous. It hurt me a lot. I was exhausted. Iwanted to cry when I thought about my friends. “Whyam I not healthy like them? Why?” I asked myself. Ihated myself. I was absent from class regularly and didnothing all day. I was furious with other people. I knewthat I was rolling in the deep…

Home…Having ended the semester, I went home. My

parents were so happy, but they looked older. I wantedto cry when I met them, but I did not. One night, Iopened the album of my family. There were photos takenwhen I was one month old, 3 years old, 5 years old, 10years old. I looked so cute, and my parents were sohappy. My mother got along with me, looked at thosephotos and said that I was infected with smallpox whenI was 4 years old. They had to wrap me inside a piece ofmaterial to avoid the perch of flies and brought me tothe doctor… At that time, I cried. I understood how dif-ficult it was to rear me up, how much their love for me.I realized that I did not have the right to refuse myself.I was the reason for my parents to live, and to workhard. Unless I did not change myself, I would regret forthe rest of my life. I had to change myself, then or never.

I of TodayI of today… is still a student like others, not so excellent,not so impressive, still have some health problems, butI of today is more confident, : I do not compare myselfwith other people anymore, I know how to live mean-ingfully and how to take care of myself, and I’ve learnedto love myself and share my love to others.

And the lesson…I tell my story just to say that: love and respect yourself!People often consider the way they behave to others andothers’ behavior to them, but they do not think abouthow they behave towards themselves. Love and respectyourself! You are the belief and pride of your parents.They gave you your body, your life. You have no reasonto refuse them, because the way you behave towardsyourself is the way you behave towards others. Do youthink that you can be respected by someone who doesnot respect even himself? Can you take care of otherpeople while hating yourself? Love yourself before think-ing about sharing your love to someone else. However,love yourself enough to give, not too much to keep.

Lê Thị Kim Nhi

Laugh, and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone.For the sad old earth must borrow itsmirth, But has trouble enough of its own.Sing, and the hills will answer; Sigh, it is lost on the air.The echoes bound to a joyful sound, But shrink from voicing care.

Rejoice, and men will seek you; Grieve, and they turn and go.They want full measure of all your pleas-ure, But they do not need your woe.Be glad, and your friends are many; Be sad, and you lose them all.There are none to decline your nectaredwine, But alone you must drink life's gall.Feast, and your halls are crowded; Fast, and the world goes by.Succeed and give, and it helps you live, But no man can help you die.There is room in the halls of pleasureFor a long and lordly train, But one by one we must all file onThrough the narrow aisles of pain.Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Solitude

~ P

OEM

~

Page 4: The FFL Journal vol 7

DISCOVERY04

Our voice - Our reflection

GROUP WORKING: Creating A Mountain From Separated Trees

I’m sure that many students said the this statementwhen they were reluctant or compelled to work ingroups. Some suppose studying in individuals individ-ually will help them promote their own abilities andperformances rather better than studying in groups.Others believe students learn best when they are ac-tively involved in the process. In this volume, I willtherefore share the interesting things of group workwith you in order that you can consider carefully be-fore deciding to join in a group, which are what groupworking is and what its aims are, why students likeand don’t like to work in groups, and last but not least,fruitful tips helping to help you work in groups effec-tively.

Firstly, we students must do the group work manytimes in schools; so have you ever wondered why stu-dents have to work in groups and what it is it is? Es-sentially, group work is a form of cooperative learning.This activity aims to cater for individual differences,develop students’ knowledge, generic skills and atti-tudes. More practically, the purpose of group work isto produce better presentations and reports.

In reality, many students have never worked in collab-orative learning groups. Frankly speaking, group workis a learning method being not easy to “swallow” atall. There is a person having asked me,” Is there anyprofit in it?” If anyone likes group working, he or shewill grasp of benefits from it. Actually, a number of stu-dents like group work because it gives them necessaryskills, such as communication ones when you arewrong or “raw” in saying and other members will helpyou correct or “polish” it, collaborative collaborationones when you cannot solve a problem by yourselfand the rest will join forces with you, and critical think-ing ones when you produce normal or “unripe”thoughts about an aspect and you will be open ex-posed to sensitive ideas or extraordinary thoughtsfrom others about that aspect as well. Besides practi-cal skills, you also will will also get two noticeable ad-vantages from group working, which are that theworkload will be divided into small pieces (or at leastyou do not have to endure all of them by yourself),and different skills from members will be put on thetable and participants freely pick various “dishes” to“eat”.

Unfortunately, many are not in love with this approach sinceone difficulty in group work is that you cannot desire the workspeed to be as quick or slow as you can by yourself. In a team,one has to be dependent on each other! My friend from theFaculty of Business Administration shared he had hated doingthe group work before on account of the unreasonable divi-sion in work. While his partners had a lot to do, he had noth-ing. He was envious of that for he‘s was impossible to give ahand. Another sophomore told me that she did not want tocooperate with others as there was no the same not a com-mon voice. “Everyone always puts their own self first”, saidshe. “Every three people have ten unlike views and no oneagrees to listen to others”, added she.

Each work of team working is as a separated material of a hotpot. It is very difficult to harmoniously mix diverse materialsto make a tasty hot pot. Mixing with no care, the pot will bespoiled! But if being “skillful”, with only some small tips, thosedifferent materials make a delightsome hot pot. The materialscan be ASSIGNMENTS that fit the students’ each member’sskills and abilities, ENCOURAGEMENT to members in commu-nicating and cooperating in the group in order that partici-pants always feel they are not on the shelf, ASSESSMENT ofindividual student member performance and KNOW howmembers in the group are doing in order that each memberstrive for mastery through knowing where they are standingin the group, and a TALENTED LEADER to regulate businessesand accommodate competence of each member in the groupmost rationally as well. One notion is to limit groups to nomore than six students. You know, a group with larger thansix will have several drawbacks: it is too easy for students tobecome passive observers rather than active participants; stu-dents may not get the opportunity to speak frequently sincethere are so many people; students’ sense of community andresponsibility may be less intense in larger groups. Thus, ef-fective group work requires each member to focus on theprocess rather than just the product. Each one should practicein such skills as active and tolerant listening, helping one an-other in mastering content, giving and receiving constructivecriticism, and managing disagreements.

To achieve success in learning, we students have too manyvarious approaches for ourselves, of course. And group workin some specific cases will be an “efficient assistant” on yourstudying path. You and I maybe are quite different pieces ofthe jigsaw puzzle; but once the picture is done completely, weboth become a firmly seamless block. You want to win gamesof team building, for example, you must be definitely in a rightgroup and be a real participant first!

Quach Minh Minh

“I paid my tuition to learn with my professors, not my classmates.”

Page 5: The FFL Journal vol 7

DISCOVERY 05

Our voice - Our reflection

Do you have good manners onthe bus?

“I think I have good manners on the bus. Minding good manners is alwaysa good rule to follow for every age and position in society. What a pity! Ithardly happens in real life. Students’ behavior is an example! Some studentsdon’t care about their manners. One time, on a bus, when the conductorasked a boy sitting next to the door to give up his seat for for an old man,he declined and replied , “First come, first served”. I felt sad about that.However, most students are good”, said Van Xuan Hien - AV10A5.

This is the comment of Van Xuan Hien – a student who has commuted to school by bus for two years. She is proud that she hasgood manners on the bus. How about you? Let’s have a look at the following notes to check what you have done and what you haven’tdone:

Jostle the others out: You are afraid of coming to class late, so you push the others out to get on the bus quickly. How dangerousyour action is! You may make the others fall down, especially the elders and pregnant women. Moreover, this is the best chance for pick-pockets to work. You had better estimate how long it takes you to go to school so as to be on time. Concede your seat to the old, the handicapped and pregnant women: Some people make a long list of reasons why they can’t give uptheir seat, such as a very long trip ahead, no need to be righteous to strangers, no relations with others, and so on. They, furthermore,wonder why they must do good deeds, but not anybody else. Remember that those ones aren’t as strong as you are. Your behaviorshows how good-hearted and well-educated you are.

Make noises: Does it mean you shouldn’t talk with your friends on the bus? Absolutely not. In fact, no students can keep silentwhen they get on a bus with their friends. However, you should avoid disturbing other passengers. If you want to gossip or answer aphone call, turn your voice down during your conversation. In addition, avoid playing music loudly and disturbing the driver.Drop litter: On leaving a ticket or a pity thing on a bus, you think “just a small piece”. But what would happen if everyone thinks and doesthe same? The bus turns out to be a garbage dump. One more thing is that lots of young people spit out chewing gum on the bus withoutusing any cover. Just magine that you could be a victim one day! Now, it is time to LOOK, THINK, and ACT to make our society more and more civilized.

Trần Thị Thảo Trâm

Does university prestige matter?

To many people, it does matter that someone must have an Ivy degree to be in the short list. In spite of this bias, much more valuesoutstrip a moderately-recognized degree. Well, just imagine that you are preparing a resume to apply for a job or a scholarship. Isthere anything that makes you feel proud of to put in your résumé? Is it a transcript of high scores or an impressive academicachievement? Is it a long list of extra-curriculum activities or voluntary work you’ve contributed? How many strong points can youcount for yourself? As long as you head for true value of life accomplishment – true value of self development, degrees and certificatesare only small parts of the picture of you.

So knock down the feelings that you can’t enter a prestigious university. The university you are studying is the one that best suitsyou. Just start to find out your own interests and expose to new ideas of what you can do in a period of four years. Opportunitiesat school are a lot, inside and outside classes. Once you find one, make effort to have it, complete it, and be proud of it. Isn’t thatan excellent way to enrich of your qualities? Isn’t that a practical way to enlarge your résumé?

Lecturer Nguyễn Thị Hoài MinhPride of being an OU student

Have you ever read “Đã từng có một đại học Mở như thế” by Mr. Cao Văn Phường? Just read the first pages of the thick memoir,you can be definitely surprised and proud of the school named “Open”. The university is a pioneer for:- Being the first university of self-financing, independent from state fund,- Being a flagship in distance learning in Vietnam, in order to facilitate all people to have a chance “to be studied”,- Transforming from school-year system to credit system,- Establishing new faculties in Vietnam: Business Management, Woman Studies, Southeast Asia Studies.

Moreover, “Tiếp sức mùa thi”- a meaningful and practical program, was launched successfully first time by HCMC Open University(HOU). Besides, the school is the first in testing the quality of the teacher's input, which makes students assured of the quality ofteaching. The worthiest thing, above all, to learn when exploring the history of our school is “Open mind, open opportunity, openlearning, and open development”. You know alumni Mr. Quoc Bao, Mr. Thien Son, Mr. Quang Truc, Mrs. My Phuong, and Mrs. PhuongThao? They have been excellent students at the Faculty of Foreign Languages, and now they are enthusiastic teachers blowing firefor their students in learning and living.

With those, I am completely confident in showing that “I am an OU student.” The following student generations take the greatpride, keep it, and “release” it fully in order when referring to HOU, people think the image of “A UNIVERSITY WAS IS AND WILLBE ALWAYS SUCH OPEN in the south of Vietnam” immediately.

Quach Minh Minh

OPEN VOICE

Page 6: The FFL Journal vol 7

LEARNING WORLD06

Our voice - Our reflection

THE STORY NAMED “OPEN”…WHAT IT SEEMS TO BE!

PHAM THI DUY YENWhen I became a student of HCMCOpen University, I met some situationsthat upset me. Some people seemed toignore me or treated me disrespectablywhenever I introduced our school. Itmade me angry because of their bias. Tobe honest, I was rueful, for I had notlearned harder for the entrance exam tostudy in a better school. Still, having achance of talking to my class advisor hadchanged my mind. No matter what school you are studyingat, the most significant thing is your ability. If you have goodknowledge, good capacity for your job, you can succeed likestudents in other prestigious universities. Thanks to myclass advisor’s encouragement, I attempted to learn indus-triously for my bright future.

HO DANH NGHIEP When I was a freshman, I used to receive many unfriendlyand negative attitudes from other people, especially stu-dents who came from prestigious universities in HCM city.At first I felt extremely shocked. However, after 2 yearsstudying at Open University, I can evaluate the quality ofour university. I no longer care much about what peoplethink about our university. Which university you are studyingat is not as important as how good you are sudying for yourhigher education at that university. In my opinion, the pro-fessional recruiters will pay more attention to your real abilityrather than your label.

NGUYEN NU HUYEN TRANG It was the first time when I joined the English-speaking clubof the Youth Union. At the beginning, I felt very excited andconfident to introduce myself to other people. By chance, ayoung man in my group asked a student, “So, both of youare from the same school?” Without any hesitation, this stu-dent replied, “Oh no! I am studying at Pedagogy University.Of course, we are not from the same school!” These wordscame as a shock to me; moreover, she always tried to inter-

rupt me whenever I said. Luckily,I could calm myself and kept ontalking with her politely until theend of the discussion. By theend of this meeting, I told her,“You should have known that areal talent never shows off theirability like that. Never!”

HCM City Open University was founded in 1990 and underwent many stages. Then, our school transformed from asemi-public into a public university since 2006. Besides, our school has improved tremendously the facilities as wellas educational standards so that we step by step become one of the premier universities. However, some people withtheir prejudice still consider us as semi-public university. Due to these rumors, our beloved students have been victimsof circumstances. Let’s listen to some “openers” to see if you have ever been in such situations.

TRAN LE TUYET VANI am very proud of being a stu-dent of HCM City Open University,so I always want to introduce ourschool to my friends. One day, Iattended an educational seminar.Truly, at first, everybody was veryfriendly; we talked and sharedmany valuable experiences in ap-plying for studying abroad. They,however, had pretended to be

busy and even ignored me since I introduced I wasfrom Open University. Maybe, they considered theiruniversities as premier universities; therefore, we werenot in the same “class” to talk to. Who knows!

GIANG KHIET MAN I am a junior student. The story happened last yearwhen I took part in an English-speaking club. From thebeginning, we discussed enthusiastically about thetopic that the teacher gave us. After a while, theteacher suggested we introduce ourselves. “I am fromOpen University…” confidently I said, some of thembegan to behave strangely. They were not friendly tome as they used to; they ignored me and did not talkto me much. I felt hurt at that time! I wondered whythey behaved like that; was there anything wrong? Iam studying at Open University and I am proud of it. Ido believe that no matter what school or university westudy at, hard working is the most important thing thathelps us to achieve success.

It is upset, right? Es-pecially, I am reallyannoyed with the waypeople talk about ourschool as if we don’tdeserve what we aretrying to.(ANGRY PIC)Take it easy! Whetherthese subjective

stereotypes pushed the Open down or…?

TO BE CONTINUED…Doan Phuong Hanh.

Source: Như Trang

Page 7: The FFL Journal vol 7

OPEN VOICE 07

Our voice - Our reflection

Multiple choice exam tips

1.Don't guess too soon! You must select not only a correct

answer, but the best answer. It is therefore important that you read all of the optionsand not stop when you come upon one that seems likely. 2. You must select not only a technically correct answer, butthe most completely correctanswer. Since "all of theabove" and "none of theabove" are very inclusivestatements, these options,when used, tend to be cor-rect more often than wouldbe predicted by chancealone. 3.Be wary of options which in-clude unqualified absolutessuch as "never," "always,""is," "are," "guarantees,""ensures." Such statementsare highly restrictive andvery difficult to defend. They are rarely (though they maysometimes be) correct options. 4. The less frequently stated converse of the above is thatcarefully qualified, conservative, or "guarded" statementstend to be correct more often than would be predicted bychance alone. Other things being equal, favor options con-taining such qualifying phrases as "may sometimes be," or"can occasionally result in." 5.Be wary of the extra-long or "jargony option." These are

frequently used as decoys. 6. Use your knowledge of common prefixes, suffixes, andword roots to make intelligent guesses about terminologythat you don't know. A knowledge of the prefix "hyper,"for instance, would clue you that hypertension refers tohigh, not low, blood pressure. 7. Be alert to give-aways in grammatical construction. Thecorrect answer to an item stem which ends in "an" wouldobviously be an option starting with a vowel. Watch alsofor agreement of subjects and verbs. 8. Utilize information and insights that you've acquired inworking through the entire test to go back and answer ear-lier items that you weren't sure of. 9.If you are not certain of an answer, guess... but do so me-thodically. Eliminate some choices you know are incorrect,then relate each alternative back to the stem of the ques-tion to see if it fits. Narrow down the choice to one or twoalternatives and then compare them and identify how theydiffer. Finally, make an informed guess.

10.If you have absolutely no idea what the answer is, can't use anyof the above techniques, and there is no scoring penalty for guess-ing, choose option B or C. Studies indicate that these are correctslightly more often than would be predicted by chance alone.

General Rule: Break each question into the stem and the alternatives. Get an understanding of the stem before look-ing at and choosing an alternative. Underline key terms and clue words in the stem. When you run into vague termi-nology, define in your own words. Think of the correct answer and then look for it among the alternatives.

11. When you get "all the above," "none of the above," or "a,b,not c" type questions, treat each alternative as a true-falsequestion and relate it back to the question stem.

12. Think the answer is wrong? Maybe you should change it?

Studies indicate that whenstudents change their an-swers they usually changethem to the wrong answer.Therefore, if you were fairlycertain you were correct thefirst time, leave the answeras it is.

13. Finally, the best way to en-sure selection of the correctoption is to know the rightanswer. A word to the test-wise is sufficient.Academictips.org

Chu Thị Như Trang

YOU HAVE A MESSAGE

Đặng Huy Hoài (DH11LK08)Oh Phu Nhuan Team! Give my regards to all the team’s mem-bers! Although we study at different campuses but I, Hoai Dol-lar, hopes everyone always unites to help each other in ourwork, study and life! I wish everyone in the team is alwayshappy and full of enthusiasm, good learning, and healthy! I dolove and remember Phu Nhuan team as well as our slogan"Phu Nhuan. Phu Nhuan: Not afraid of arduousness – so stan-dard the student companion!"

Quách Minh Minh (AV08B1)Happy birthday to my new but close friends - Nguyễn Đức Huy(born Aug 23rd, from Faculty of Sociology), Nguyễn XuânThông (born Sep 11th, from Faculty of Banking and Finance),and Hàn Hồng Nguyên (born Sep 13th, from Faculty ofBiotechnology). You and I made friends from Green Summer2012 in Kontum, but as being well acquainted before. Maintainthis friendship always! Wish you success and happiness! Keepin touch! And my younger friend - Nguyễn Thị Mỹ Linh (born17 Sep, from FFL). Wish you be sanguine always! Youth comes,but once in a lifetime!

Lê Thị Diễm Hương (KT09DB1)To a student living far from home like me, phone calls from myparents are the biggest consolation. Sometimes when I hadfinished those calls, I burst out crying for homesick. But I havenot ever uttered it. If I had chance, I would speak out loudthat, “Mom, Dad! I am so happy to be your daughter. I missand love you so much.”

Nguyễn Trúc Phương

Page 8: The FFL Journal vol 7

LEARNING WORLD08

Our voice - Our reflection

“SCAPEGOAT”The baby was hideous. I don't know how to begin to describehow ugly this baby was. It deserved its own charity or telethon.In certain parts of the world, they'd drown it like a kitten the sec-ond it slipped out of the womb. The spawn of witchcraft or a dealwith the devil.

The baby had squinty black eyes and a wide mouth like a baskingshark. If its lopsided skull were an egg, someone at the egg factorywould yell "Wrong!" and throw it down a chute. The nose wascompletely fucked, a gnarled parsnip of a thing.

Thank Christ the baby wasn't real. He came out of one of thosemachines in the mall. My wife Gretchen and I squeezed togetherin the curtained booth and a flash went off. A minute later outcame a picture of what our baby might look like. Our hypotheticalbaby.

Gretchen made a face like she'd just caught a whiff of somethingfoul. I retched and clutched my throat like I was choking.

This was not what we were expecting because we were both rea-sonably photogenic people. Maybe the machine was broken. Ilooked for a manager or a complaint box, but there was neither.

For kicks, we named him Little Baby Boris.

At home Gretchen hung the picture of Boris on the refrigerator.Over my wife's shoulder, as I ate my dinner, I could see the mon-strous face gawk across the room. With their faces side by side,there was a resemblance. Small, but unmistakable. The slightbulge of forehead, how the eyes were spaced apart. I tried toshake the thought out of my head, because I knew if I didn't itwould wedge there like a splinter.

I got up, snatched the picture down, tossed it in the junk drawer.Then I sat across from Gretchen again.

"It was ruining my appetite," I explained.Gretchen pinched her lips and wrinkled her brow and tucked herchin into her chest. Her eyes got wet and quaky. I knew this look.I'd seen it many times before. Maybe the mood would blow overif I didn't acknowledge it.

But then she asked, "What if he was ours?"

"Gretchen," I said.

"I would still love him."

I said nothing.

"It's biological," she said. "You would too."

"Maybe." I shrugged.

Gretchen fell silent and sipped her wine. I figured that was enoughof that. Still, I found myself wondering what would happen tosomeone like Boris. No doubt his life would be fraught with heart-break. I pictured a child with butter-colored hair, a duckish waddle,a pear-like body. As an adult, he'd never know the touch of awoman unless an exchange of currency was involved. Therewould be long years of hardship and depression, a trail of badchecks and eviction notices. He'd develop a sweet tooth for violentpornography, the black-market German type with guys in blackcloaks wielding cudgels. One thing would lead to another and he'dcareen into a life of crime, entangled in some moon-worshipingcult. I pictured how such a life might end. This is what I came upwith: Boris in an assassination attempt on the President, rifleclutched in hand, shot down dead from a Texas clock tower. So Iwas thinking when Gretchen got on the subject of whether I'd stillwant a baby if we knew there was something wrong with it.Clubbed feet, a malformed heart, some kind of syndrome, what-ever. I said it would be a bad idea, even cruel, to let any child into

the world with that kind of disadvantage.

"What if somebody rang the doorbell in the middle of thenight and left him on our porch?" Gretchen said.

"Like, in a little bassinet?"

Gretchen nodded.

"That only happens in movies," I said. "Bad movies."

"But what if?"

"I'd call the police."

"The police stations and all the orphanages or whateverare closed. Hypothetically."

I would hypothetically shit in my pants, I thought, butknew better than to say. "I would leave him on someoneelse's doorstep."

"That's horrible," she said.

After dinner she was rough with the plates, clattering themback into the cupboard. I scotched up from behind andclutched her hips, buried my nose in her hair. She wentstiff and I let go. I started to say we were making a bigdeal out of a dumb picture. A dumb picture of a dumb kiddidn't exist.

"Don't," she said, and there was something sharp in hervoice that made me flinch.

Hands in the air, I backed off.

She poured another glass of wine and padded down thedarkened hall toward the bedroom. Then she turnedaround. She came back to the kitchen and rummagedthrough the junk drawer. She took out the picture of Borisand hung it back on the refrigerator.

I sat at the kitchen table with another glass of wine andstared at the photograph. Boris stared back. I searchedfor some resemblance between us, but could see nothing.I was thankful.

That was years ago and I burned the photo over the stoveafter Gretchen left. I don't know where she is now, if she'swith another man, or what. Funny, I'm starting to forgether face, even after being married all that time. But I re-member Boris's, and when I think of it, a dark flavor fillsmy mouth. Anger twists through me. So help me, if hewere here, I'm afraid I might grab his arms and shake himuntil that ugly little head snapped off.

by Thomas Cooper

Source: http://www.smokelong.com

Page 9: The FFL Journal vol 7

DISCOVERY 09

Our voice - Our reflection

NO PAIN, NO GAIN1. In your point of view, what are the differencesbetween students in the past and students nowa-days?

I don’t know what is going on in other classes, but in myclasses I think the criteria of students have been going upin which to have higher level in terms of English proficiency,they seem to be more active and confident in interactingwith me…and some students, they have better fluency inspeaking.

2. Besides your literature classes, you also teachsome writing classes; in such classes how is stu-dents’ attitude when they are given group work orclass activities?

This semester, I have a writing class which I am teachinga course teaching with another teacher. The students inmy class work seriously as well as explain their awarenessin some important problems and I think they do a goodjob. Chatting or ignoring the lessons does not occur in myclass.They seem to be happy doing group work in both lit-erature and writing classes. I am amazed by their passion.They do group work not because they have to do it but be-cause they want to.

3. When each member in a group can’t get alongwith each other, how can the group works well?

This is a very interesting question. Remember, when youdo group work you can learn more than when you workalone. Group work is when you can develop your soft skillsand team spirit. It is one of many essential soft skills thatcan help you be substantial in the future. Even in your fam-ily, sometimes family members who love each others somuch still have conflicts. Therefore, conflicts in group is in-evitable. But by working in group, you learn to adjust your-self to achieve the ultimate goal of your group. You haveto think about responsibility and commitment. No pain, nogain!

4. Have you ever been in a situation which thestudents do an excellent job when you don’t ex-pect it?

Yes, not every student is as good as expected. Somestudents of mine may play games on IPad at the backof the class or some may tell lies. I know that some stu-dents are too arrogant and they think they are goodenough and ignore what I say. In those situations, Ithink we are supposed to be mature enough to beaware of what we are doing, but sometimes we are not.I don’t say anything, they are free to do what they wantand I don’t force them to listen to me or do anything,because I don’t feel comfortable at all doing so. But totell you the truth, I don’t respect them because theydon’t learn to expect respect others.

5. As we all know, the existence of students’ badbehaviors is an unavoidable reality, so what arethose typical behaviors that you may think of?

Many negative things to talk about the students now inthe faculty. First, a number of students are arrogant,they think of themselves as too- good- English usersand they may show their negative attitudes towardstheir classmates. Second, some seems to have noawareness of moral values. Third, a number of somestudents are very lazy to show their passion in learning.

However, I accept bad behaviors of students as an in-evitable part in any country. But I am always proud ofactive and excellent students from academic perspectiveto moral perspective. Moreover, I’d like to mention somerespectable students in this faculty as a mirror for otherstudents to follow:• Trịnh Thái Văn Phúc: graduated: 2010 – Work-ing at post-graduate program HCMC OU• Nguyễn Thị Bích Phương: graduated: 2011 –Teaching non-major English HCMC OU• Dương Đoàn Hoàng Trúc: graduated: 2009 –Master in English in England• Đ ặ n gPhương Thảo –Trần Phú Cường– Student courseof 2009 – 2013• Âu VĩnhTài, Trần MinhKhanh, Huỳnh VũKiến, PhùngTrường Thịnh.

PHAN THỊ KIỀUTRINH

Source: Đặng Phương Thảo

Source: Đặng Phương Thảo

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DISCOVERY10

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How To Make A Mini Hair Bow

1. Make a chipboard tem-plate as shown. Use 3/8" rib-

bon, 4" long.

2. 3.

4. 5.Thread elasticthread as shown

6. Wrap several times

7. Back view 8. Pull tight and makethe knot.

9 Right side view

10. Remove mini bowfrom the template

11. 'Unsnap' the snapclip, make the centerspring toward you.

12. Apply glue on rib-bon and on the clip

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DISCOVERY 11

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HOW TO HAVE BABY SKIN1. Protect yourself from the sunFor the most complete sun protection:• Use sunscreen. Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15. When you're outdoors, reapply sunscreenevery two hours — or more often if you're swimming or perspiring.• Seek shade. Avoid the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when the sun's rays are strongest.• Wear protective clothing.

2. Don't smoke

3. Treat your skin gently

• Limit bath time. • Avoid strong soaps. • Shave carefully. • Pat dry. • Moisturize dry skin.

4. Eat a healthy diet

A healthy diet can help you look and feel your best. Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins. Drink enough water.The association between diet and acne isn't clear — but some research suggests that a diet rich in vitamin C and low in unhealthy fatsand processed or refined carbohydrates might promote younger - looking skin.

5. Manage stress

Uncontrolled stress can make your skin more sensitive and can trigger acne breakouts and other skin problems. To encourage healthyskin — and a healthy state of mind — take steps to manage your stress. Set reasonable limits, scale back your to-do list and make timeto do the things you enjoy. The results might be more dramatic than you expect. Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com

10 STEPS TO A PERFECTLY CLEAN FACE!Cleansing is arguably the most important part of your basic skincare routine. Proper cleansing gets rid of old surface skin cells, dirt anddust, grime, make-up and bacteria, and keeps skin pores free of clogs and able to breathe freely.Here are some tips for proper facial cleansing:

1. Cleanse twice a day, no more.2. Choose an appropriate cleanser for your skin type: normal, dry, oily, mixed or sensitive.3. Cleanse with tepid water. 4. If you use sponges or washcloths, make sure they are clean and soft. They are not necessary for effective cleaning: your fingertipscan do just as good the job.5. Wash your hands thoroughly before you cleanse your face, or you will be working dirt into your facial skin. Use a headband to securehair away from the face.6. Start by splashing tepid water on your face and neck.7. Apply the cleanser with your fingertips or a soft sponge, using gentle circular massaging strokes and moving upward on the face andneck. 8. Rinse with lots of tepid water. Don’t forget to rinse off cleanser from the neck and hairline. 9. Gently blot off excess water with a soft towel. Do not Don’t scrub dry or drag towel along skin.10. Follow immediately with a water-based toner and a moisturizer appropriate for your skin type to seal in surface moisture and offernourishment when the skin is receptive.Source: http://www.bikram-yoga.biz

Collected by TRẦN NGUYỆT MINH

13. Cut ribbon, apply hotglue on ribbon

14. The lovely completed clip15. Decorate the center by

a tiny pearl or a narrowribbon

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DISCOVERY - OPPORTUNITY PLANET12

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OPPORTUNITY PLANET A planet is full of opportunities for you. Try and take chance!

1. Asian Job Express (AJE)

Asian Job Express is a business report contest which aims to discover potential Asian leaders among the very talenteduniversity students in Asia. Join AJE to have the opportunity to travel Japan for 4 days, receive prizes that worth 5000USD and job offering from leading Japanese companies. Deadline for registration and report is September 30.Visit http://asianjob-ex.com/ for more information. Note: Send your basic information (Name, Date of birth, Name of School, Major, Address, Phone and Email) [email protected] for registration. Contact phone number: 0974555295

2. U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City – EDUCATIONUSA SeminarAdmission Decisions And Requirements

Time: Monday, 24 September 2012, 14:00 – 16:00Speaker: Ms. Maria Carvalho – University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire

Ms. Heather Catton – Stephen F. Austin State UniversityMs. Keila Ferree – Columbia College in Missouri

Student Life In Rural SettingsTime: Thursday, 27 September 2012, 09:00 – 11:00Speaker: Mr. Tim Phelps – Butte College

“Conncect” Webinar: Picking A School That Fits Who You Are Time: Friday, 12 October 2012, 10:00 – 12:00Speaker: Mr. Marco Dinovelli, Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey

Education SeminarTime: Friday, 19 October 2012, 14:00 – 16:30

Venue: 8th Floor, Diamond Plaza, 34 Le Duan, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, VietnamRegistration: (08) 3520 4610 or send your personal information to [email protected] www.facebook.com/educationusa.hochiminhcity for further informationRemember to bring your ID card or student card

3. EducationUSA Presents: “First Day of School” Photo Contest

Deadline: September 30, 2012.Prizes: Kindle Fire (Grand Prize), 6 Ipod (5 category winners, 1 randomly selected winner) and have a chance to haveyour photo on EducationUSA Posters along other EducationUSA prizes.Visit https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7BNmZe9nsNqOEZuMUVKaFpzdEk/edit?pli=1 for more information or email [email protected].

4. Foreign Volunteer Scholarship Program– VPV 2012

In order to receive Foreign Volunteer Scholarship, participants must go through 3 rounds

Round 1: Essay Writing (01/09/2012 – 15/12/2012). Write an essay about 500 words with topic: Millennium DevelopmentGoals – MDGs and send to [email protected] 2: Interview (15/12/2012 – 15/01/2013)Round 3: Volunteer Camp (15/02/2013 – 15/03/2013)

For more information, visit http://vpv.vn/index.php?module=news&id=134.

5. AC Public events September 2012

2012 Index of Economic Freedom

Time: Thursday, September 20, 2:00 p.m.

Venue: The American Center, 8th Floor, Diamond Plaza, 34 Le Duan Blvd., District 1, HCMC

Speaker: Mr. James M. Roberts, Research Fellow for Economic Freedom and Growth, the Heritage Foundation

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OPPORTUNITY PLANET - POEM CORNER 13

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Come hear Mr. Roberts, a Heritage Foundation Research fellow visiting Vietnam, talk about the 2012 Index of EconomicFreedom. The Index of Economic Freedom is a report published by the Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC, whosepurpose is to promote economic opportunity and prosperity around the world.

Software Asset Management

Time: Friday, September 21, 2:00 p.m.

Venue: The American Center, 8th Floor, Diamond Plaza, 34 Le Duan Blvd., District 1, HCMC

Speaker: Mr. Kent Craig, United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

Mr. Kent Craig of the USPTO is visiting Vietnam, and will speak to our American Center audience on important intellectualproperty issues. At USPTO, Mr. Craig is responsible for authoring, interpreting, publishing, provisioning, and promotingpolicies, standards, and best practices across IT-related areas with a special focus on Software Asset Management.

Hispanic American Heritage Month

Time: Wednesday, September 26, 2:00 p.m.Venue: The American Center, 8th Floor, Diamond Plaza, 34 Le Duan Blvd., District 1, HCMC

Speaker: Mr. Adam Stevens, Consulate Officer

Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15-October 15, honors the diverse people of Spanish-speaking backgrounds inthe United States — those who trace their roots to Spain, Mexico and the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America,South America and the Caribbean. Join us to learn more about this dynamic community.

Nguyễn Quốc Vũ

Press

“Cabin in the Woods” is obviously one of the two best horror movies I have seen. What

makes me love this movie so much? The answer lies in the plot. The movie is about a group of five young teenagersdriving their RV to a remote cabin in the woods without knowing that they are in deadly danger. Now, you must think,“Well, they will all survive in the end” or “Some may die but there will be a happy ending.” YOU ARE ALL WRONG! Thismovie is unpredictable. You cannot know what is going to happen next or who is going to survive until the end of themovie. Moreover, the twist of the movie is what makes the movie more interesting and creepier. Besides a good plot,“Cabin in the Woods” also has an attractive cast, good sound editing and great cinematography. Those are what make“Cabin in the Woods” become a gem in the bunch of 21st century horror movies.

CAUTION: Vietnam has banned this movie because of the violence and disturbance in it. If you’re into such extremehorror movies like “Cabin”, just press ‘Play’!). And it’s OK to use contractions in such an informal review!

Lê Thống

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OPEN VOICE14

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In order to respond to the students’ warm emotion at the Faculty of Foreign Languages in particular and other fac-ulties of Ho Chi Minh City Open University in general, we - Board of Editors of The FFLJ contacted the enthusiasticsponsor - Alphabooks to request an increase in the number of the books given and fortunately received their ac-ceptance. Therefore, from next term we will have four lucky students who will be given books from Alphabooks.

Because of some problems in the number of the book “LUẬN BÀN MINH TRIẾT VÀ MINH TRIẾT VIỆT”, we tem-porarily cannot inform you who the lucky readers are. However, we will try to announce them as soon as we havean official list.

Now, we would like to send our honest compliments to the next providential readers who have already received in-teresting and meaningful books from The FFL Journal, Volume 06 (August 2012).

1. KHÚC CHIẾN CA CỦA MẸ HỔ:- Dương Thị Thúy Kiều (AV09A2)- Hà Hoàng Cẩm Thuy (AV09A3)

2. HÃY CHĂM SÓC MẸ:- Đoàn Thị Tú Trinh (AV10A4)- Nguyễn Thị Hồng (NB10A1)- Nguyễn Huỳnh Nhật Thu (AV10A3)- Nguyễn Thị Kim Tẩy (AV10A7)

3. NGỌC VIỄN ĐÔNG:- Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Vân (AV10A7)- Nguyễn Thị Cẩm Tiên (CDAV09A3)- Hồ Thị Thảo (AV09A4)- Phan Thị Kiều Trinh (AV10A7)

TỚ LÀ DÂU

Author: Joe RuellePublisher: Group of WritersPrice: 42.000 VNĐ

Joe, A very interesting trueborn Western guy who was born in Canada, used to work in Koreabut suddenly decided to stay in Vietnam after trying eating ‘nem chua rán’ at Hang Bong . Heisnow a student majoring in Vietnamese at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities –Vietnam National University—Ha Noi. He is working at Vietnam Television and also takes part insome programs like ‘Hành Trình Văn Hóa’, ‘Kết nối trẻ’ fairly often, although he has lived in Viet-nam for just 3 years. However, with his flexible Vietnamese ability, he can make stories in dailylives become very fascinating and delightful in the book “TỚ LÀ DÂU”, which sometimes due tofamiliarity we do not realize. These 220 pages can be considered a very special diary of a for-eigner who is living in Vietnam, does travel a lot and does know much. Surely, this is the bookwhich we cannot miss .

This book is available at Nha Nam Culture and Communications Incorporated Company – a young book trade name withaspiration to create new differences for publishing a series of literature books in Vietnam. Website: http://nhanam.vn

Now here we go to new books for this month, remember to cut and send your vouchers as quickly as possible to bethe next lucky readers. ^ ^ Note: please complete all the information in your vouchers correctly and carefully. Anycarelessness is not accepted.

SPONSORS

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OPEN VOICE - LET’S COOK 15

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vKHÔN NGOAN KHÔNG LẠI VỚI GIỜI

Author: Leonard MlodinowTranslator: Vũ Cẩm Thanh – Lê Thu HươngPublisher: Lao Dong Xa Hoi PublisherPrice: 99.000 VND

Another exciting book we would like to introduce to you is the one on the bookcase ofbestsellers of New York Times magazine: “KHÔN NGOAN KHÔNG LẠI VỚI GIỜI” byLeonard Mlodinow. With the born storyteller's command of narrative and imaginativeapproach, Leonard Mlodinow vividly demonstrates how our lives are profoundly informedby chance and randomness, and how everything from wine ratings and corporate suc-cess to school grades and political polls are less reliable than we believe. By showing usthe true nature of chance and revealing the psychological illusions that cause us to mis-judge the world around us, Mlodinow gives us the tools we need to make more informeddecisions. Let’s catch it!

This book is available at Alpha books - a bookshop with main product lines as: Alpha Biz (management), Alpha Edu (ed-ucation and thinking), Alpha Omega (classics), Alpha Kid (for children), and IMONE (literature).Website: www.alphabooks.vn

NGÀY TRÔI VỀ PHÍA CŨAuthor: Anh KhangPublisher: Group of Writers and Phuong Nam PublisherPrice: 36.000 VND

Is it true that when people are young, they do have spare belief to give and receive love? Toanswer this question, let’s read the book “NGÀY TRÔI VỀ PHÍA CŨ”. This is the maiden workof Anh Khang, a young pen coming to literature for the first time. Reading the book we willfeel not only belief but also disappointment, sweet and extremeness, but all of these thingswill leave the back and curl up peacefully in a “blanket” named “Memory”.Phuong Nam Culture Joint-stock Company, also known as Phuong Nam Cultural Corporation(PNC) is the leading company in trading products and services about culture and media. We will continuously innovateand improve it, create distinct features in order to achieve the best products to make the spiritual life of Vietnamesepeople more and more abundant. You can find more information about our services and products on our website: http://www.pnc.com.vn

CON TRAI CON GÁI VUI SỐNG CÙNG NHAUAuthor: Geneviève FraisseTranslator: Phấn KhanhPublisher: Tri ThucPrice: 32.000 VND

“Mixture”, “blend”, “sexual mixture”, “sexual blend”, “sexual equality” are appetizing wordsthat you will catch frequently when reading the book “CON TRAI CON GÁI VUI SỐNG CÙNGNHAU” by Geneviève Fraisse. Illustrated by funny pictures mentioning the sexual equality,sexual mixture and sexual blend in the history, this book disseminates philosophy for chil-dren. It would be regrettable if you miss such an interesting book.

This book is available at Publisher of Knowledge – where scholars, researchers and studentscan trust their quality .They focus on spreading great trends of thoughts in both classicand modern. Website: www.nxbtrithuc.com.vn

PHẠM NGỌC TUYẾT – LÂM HOÀNG THIỆN

Source: www.alphabooks.vn

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