The FFL Journal - Volume 4

02 COFFEE TALK

Our voice - our reflection

COFFEE TALK A profile of today’s youth 2

OPEN VOICEWhere do you see yourselfin the next 10 years from now 3

DISCOVERYBeing in Norway 4A Forever Dreamer 5SSEAP 2011 - The Journey of Dreams 6Lifestyles of today's Vietnamese youth is very different 7Balance your studies and life 8How can I see my future? 9

FUNNY STORIES 9

LEARNING WORDHow Motivation and Learning Strategiesaffect learning 10 - 11

POCKET ADRESS LIST - QUOTATIONS 11

TALKSHOWFail. Try again. Fail again. Fail better 12

OPPORTUNITY PLANET 13

OU SPOTLIGHTS 13

BOOKAHOLIC CORNER 14 - 15

OU SPOTLIGHT HIGHLIGHT 15

ART GALLERY 16

COFFEE TALK

A PROFILE OF TODAY’S YOUTH

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

1. The new social environment2. New attitudes toward school3. Shifting views on parenting styles4. Some have more money than others5. A wealth of ambitions

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

Sources:http://www.mb.com.ph/node/304782/a-profile-today

Compiled by ĐẶNG PHƯƠNG THẢO

Theme of upcoming FFL Journal issues:- Volume 5 (April 2012): Job orientation- Volume 6 (May 2012): My parentsDon’t hesitate to send your writings aboutthose themes to [email protected].^^

Source of cover: photobucket.comDesigner: Trần Phú CườngAll replies, collaborations - please send to:[email protected]/theffljournalContact: 01212 115 855 (Ms. Vy)

Source: http://youth_healthtotal.net

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)Lê Thống (L2)Quách Minh MinhTrần Nguyệt MinhChu Thị Như Trang Nguyễn Thùy TrangNguyễn Thiện PhướcNguyễn Trúc PhươngPhạm Ngọc TuyếtNguyễn Quốc VũNguyễn Thị Anh ThưHồ Đăng BảoInra Jaka

MEDIA – MARKETINGTrần Phú Cường (L)Huỳnh Bảo Trân

FINANCINGNguyễn Thị Mỹ Linh (L)Hà Nhật LinhBùi Thị Phương

HUMAN RESOURCESNguyễn Trúc Phương (L)Chu Thị Như Trang


03OPEN VOICE

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN THE NEXT 10

YEARS FROM NOW?Have you ever outlined your life, at least in the next 10 years? Different people will choose to act in differentways. Some may choose to do nothing but float with the tide to a place unknown, and more cleverly, some canhold their rein of life and do big things. So, let see how our students plan their life through the answers for thisquestion “Where do you see yourself in the next 10 years from now?”

Nguyễn Thị Minh Huệ - AV10A1I surely will see myself in a quiet hill. I am not sogreedy that I wish I would be rich or become a successful woman. I will live in this hill, with myhusband, my mom and my children. Every day, I getup soon to cook breakfast for my husband then Icome to school to teach children who live in remotearea - I am an enthusiastic teacher! This will be apeaceful and beautiful place for my soul to hidden.Moreover, I think it is not important that who youwill be, just live with present, not regret about thepast and hope for future.

Phan Thị Kiều Trinh – AV10A7The future is inherently uncertain. Yet, it would begood to think where we see ourselves 10 years fromnow. Living in my own house in Sai Gon with my future husband and kids, working in a field relatingto translation are what I can image ten years fromnow. It might sound a bit practical but life is not aswe know, we must be following its reality principlebefore going any further.

Nguyễn Thiện Phước – AV10A1I think that I will see myself as an artist ten yearsfrom now. I mean that I will not be really a classicalartist. I want to be an artist who design the characters or scenes for a game. I like moderndrawing especially Japanese style that calledmanga. Therefore, I will try my best to become whoI want to be.

Nguyễn Trúc Phương – AV10A7Dreaming is a privilege and miraculous energy foreverybody to reach success. Therefore, I never giveup dreaming in 10 years, 20 years or even further.But I clearly realize where I stand, how far I haveto go and what I have to do to gain my goals sothat I can set plans for my future. Although I havemy plans, I don’t “program” my future. I take it as

motivation to prompt my endeavor and adding to that I alsolike surprising turning points in my future.

Trần Khánh Nhi – AV10A6What will I be next 10 years? That is always the biggest ques-tion which I try to find out the best answer in my life. Everyonelikes to become a beautiful girl, a rich man or a famous per-son...but I only hope that I will be a successful person andhave enough money so that I can take care of my parents. Iremember that when I was a little girl, they worked hardly tobring up me carefully and to give me anything they can. NowI realize that it is not only my dream or hoping but also myparents’ belief and dream. It will be happy that I can do that.

Phạm Nguyễn Việt Hà – AV10A1I have a dream. Every time thinking about it, I see myself confidently and attractively walking on lecture days. Just thesimple dream, but I feel it's quite hard to reach. In my ownword, teaching is different from other jobs. It needs some-thing not only right but also totally real, so with knowledge inschool, it's not enough. I'm preparing for my future with vol-unteer experiences. Moreover, I also learn how to not give up.And I hope one day in next 10 years, I can touch my dream.

Trần Nguyệt Minh – AV10A1I hope that I will be one of the happiness women who successin both career and marriage, and I hope that I will be able tosupport my mother and my aunt, and make them happy andcomfortable for the rest of their life. Therefore, I absolutelyknow that now I have to try my best to study and improvemyself better and better so that my dreams come true in thenear future.In general, each person has their own picture about the rest of theirlife ahead. As can be seen, it has many things to do with money, career,marriage, family, to-be-fulfilled dreams and the like. No matter whereyou see yourself in the next 10 years, just believe in the pathwayyou’ve chosen and remember one thing: All you need is the plan, theroad map, and the courage to press on to your destination (EarlNightingale). Hope success fill find you someday in the next 10 years.

CHU THỊ NHƯ TRANG

Source: http://angelapaige.com

Source: http://principlefirst.co.uk


04 DISCOVERY

Beautiful winter in Norway, Source: Hồ Đăng Bảo

My name is Hồ Đăng Bảo, a Vietnamese student of Micro-electro-mechanical systems in Vestfold University College in Norway. I hopethis sharing can help some of you know more about life of an international life, especially in Norway.

BEING IN NORWAY

Studying is the most concern of Vietnamese studentsin Vestfold and also the top time-consuming andhead-attacking work of the day. The university hasmodern facilities and knowledgeable professor, mak-ing it easy for all the bookworms and lab-addicts tosatisfy their desire of studying. However, being abookworm is not the best way to succeed in re-searching, I think it is better to balance betweenschool work and enjoying life.

Sport is an indispensable part of student life. Unlikethe hot weather all over the year in Ho Chi Minh City,low temperature of Nordic region prevents chancesto have many outdoor games like soccer orbadminton as can be seen in many parks in thecity. Instead, indoor soccer, volleyball, basketball orworking out at gym is more preferable. Swimming isalso a favorite activity, but of course, swimming poolsare covered by glass walls, water has to be heatedto appropriate temperature because sunlight is notavailable.

That is why in summer, when the sky is high, blueand bright from 6 am till 10 pm, we often gatheraround wooden table in grass fields or near beachesto enjoy outdoor barbecue parties and having funwith energy-consuming games like kicking shuttle-cock. It is also the chance for everybody to warm upand burn their skin with the northern sun. Whenwinter comes with snow and cold wind, parties areorganized in cozy rooms with Vietnamese food, somebeer cans and a lot of chit-chat about various topics,from school work to love and relationship or justtelling joke to laugh out loud to conclude a busy day.

Karaoke rooms which are pervasive in Ho Chi MinhCity are in contrast, not popular in Vestfold and aremuch more expensive. We found an alternativesolution to that by playing music by ourselves.Keyboards and especially guitars are the maininstruments. In every party, lovely songs are still sungout loud by our sweet voices with the aid of amateurmusicians.

Another free time activity of Vietnamese studentshere is cooking or making cake. Hardly can we findany Vietnamese restaurant in town, so the best wayto enjoy country’s food is “rolling into the kitchen”.Since vegetable is rare and as expensive as beef,making an original Vietnamese food is not an easytask. Nevertheless, it is not an impossible mission andafter sometimes practicing with the “googled”ingredients and trial and error method, we can enjoy“bun rieu” or “pho”, not so delicious, but tasty enoughto remind us of the hometown.

From Vestfold, traveling to other European countriesis simpler than from Ho Chi Minh city since visa is notrequired. Cheaper airplane ticket is also an importantadvantage for travelling across Europe. But if it is stillexpensive, then travelling around Vestfold is still aninteresting activity to try, especially in spring or sum-mer, when flowers bloom everywhere, apples ripen inmany houses’ garden and wheat fields are coveredby a bright yellow color. Discovering Norwegian forestis also nice experience since trees are sparse and notaccommodate many dangerous animals. However,knowing well about the forest and going in groupshave to be ensured for safety reason.

Last but not least, meeting and talking withinternational students are the good chance of gettingto know more about diverse cultures. For example,we learned making pizza and bread from Europeanstudents and in return, we let them taste ourVietnamese food. Sometimes they like the food, othertimes they cannot eat the second bite; but what forsure is that Vietnamese people and culture are moreand more familiar to them.

HỒ ĐĂNG BẢO

In the countryside, Source: Hồ Đăng Bảo


05DISCOVERY

A FOREVER DREAMER

I am Inra Jaka, a Champa. I am still new to the land of FFL Journal, but I hope my sharing can be a little contributionto you the youth of HCMC. Open University.

A forever dreamer

Being student, I saw and felt more about life. We allstarted so hopeful the first day the first time at the gate ofour university, but what changed it months or years after?We started to see that life is not just dreams but all otherugly things.

Well, we are made by our thoughts. Sometimes I dream,and see the beauties of it: I feel the freedom, the enormous energy, the pure bond with others and life. Ithen told myself: hey Jaka, say something now so youwon’t stop or give up when life suddenly comes tough orothers are against you. Then I said: I am a foreverdreamer. I do what I love, I love all that I am doing,courage to live how I want to be.

But dreaming is not like being ambitious, it is more aboutthe beautiful connection between you and the wholeworld. Of course we can make a dream better by changing our old discouraging thoughts and habits, orlearning skills of life so there won’t be much of misunderstanding. And as anything else, being a dreamerneeds “practice, practice and more practice”.

Some people can say Jaka is a non-conformist. However,it actually is a judgment of the thinkers. Then I will answerby saying, I am… Jaka, living the way I (not others’ expectation) feels. Make what people say a reference, notdecision.

Make contributions for a better community

I love charities and social works in general. Besides founding Jaka English Course, Jakana Foundation,Champa cultural tours, I also made websites, take photos,write plays and act, teach guitar, English, and soft skills,all the rest of it. If you take flight, the sky brings no boundary.How about my expectation from those activities for myChampa community?

I don’t think so much about results and benefits, they are in-evitable. What is more important is not what is achieved buthow we feel during and after the journey of achievement. Mywish then is we all would do all that we are doing, not becausethey are good things to do but because we feel good doingthem.

One of the beautiful things about youth is that they follow theiropen hearts and willing to make contributions for a bettercommunity.

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

My passion is to liveas a fine human-being. Sounds a littlestrange, but I amasked the question somany many times. Myreply is usually verylong: a singer, ateacher, a trainer, acoach, an artist, abusinessman, a re-searcher, a traveller…After all, there are somany good things outthere in the world forus to try before theday that we individu-ally leave. Why holdon to just a fewthings?

INRA JAKA

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

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

Standing on Mount Fuji, Japan


06 DISCOVERY

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

If you ask me what the most memorial experi-ence I’ve ever had is, I will tell you about TheShip for Southeast Asian Youth Program

(SSEAYP). I am Nguyễn Thị Anh Thư, a younglecturer of Faculty of International Affairs of HuếUniversity. I have recently come back from SSEAYPprogram, starting from Japan to 5 nations in ASEANafter 53 days.

The destiny leading me to SSEAYP

I heard about SSEAYP from my friend while doingmy dissertation, but I still applied for SSEAYP. Then,I hardly believed that I was selected to be 1 of 28Vietnamese representatives. I hardly believed whatI had heard through the call on that day. From thenon, I was called VPY (Vietnam Participating Youth)of 2011 Vietnam Contingent.

2 weeks of challenging training

Before the departure, we had 2 weeks for allmembers to gather in Hanoi for practicing and train-ing. We were divided into many groups, each groupwas assigned the works clearly throughout thejourney. We had some memorial momentsdiscussing tensely with beads of perspiration andtears. However, after all, we, VPYs become moresympathetic and close-knit like a family.

No SSEAYP – No LIFE

53 days – 1272 hours of sailing on the ship FujiMaru to 6 nations: Japan, Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam was a wonderful

time periodwith series ofactivities. Asusual, the mainactivityis dis-cussion about 8subjects: Cor-porate SocialContributions,Cross-culturalUnderstanding

Promotion, Environment (Climate Change), Food andNutrition Education, Health Education (Measuresagainst HIV/AIDS), International Relations (Japan-ASEAN Cooperation) and Education. Being one of tworepresentatives stating the Vietnam Contingent CountryReport is my great honor.

Another interesting thing that SSEAYP yielded wasgranting a chance for each nation to express its culturalbeauty through the National Day Presentation. It wasconsidered parties of sound and light with excitement,palpitation and pride. Vietnamese show was the lastone but was assessed highly owing to both optimisticspirit and the Vietnamese youth.

The most fascinating and impressing culturalfeatures

I was impressed by the cities where I set my foot andby people whom I met. I was excited with boisterousatmosphere of a festival at the Japanese University;enchanted with communal spirit and optimism by thesongs of the Philippines; a peaceful and small Brunei,unforgettable with veils, yashmaks, deep eyes ofIslamic women; the young energy and prosperity of theyoungest city – Putrajaya, Malaysia; and home stayfamilies in these 6 countries. All of above created suchspecial feelings.

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


07DISCOVERY

were, but they are too individually confident instead. Theymay be expert in many fields, but the topics they are fond ofmost are fashion and music; in contrast, the world’s economicand political problems are often not included in their talks.They want to live in their way and would like to show off themselves at any time and at any places.

For example, today’s youth are so “free” to love peoplewith the same gender;“thoughtless” girls liketo wear scanty shirtsand skirts; new and immature artists “inadvertently” placetheir “hot” clips on theInternet to polish theirnames; a lot of youngfriends “love” theirmiserable parents so

much that they imitate their rich friends and want tohave those luxurious things at any cost; a number ofpresent youngsters dare to “die”, not for the homeland,but for their lovers. They enjoy life and spend moneymuch more than they can earn; thus, incurable diseases and social evils increase more andmore, such as Lê Văn Luyện’s murder rings the bell inthe youth’s awareness of the lifestyle and behavior toeveryone, or the proportion of HIV infections amongthe youth has grown steadily (In 1994, 10% of newcases were among young people; today the number of cases has reached 65%.)

Those are the dark sides of a part of the youth in oursociety, which worries people, especially their parents.It’s time for us to look back at whether our path we arewalking is in the right direction, whether it is useful toour family, our country, or at least to ourselves. In addition, we live not only for ourselves but also for others; we should care and help elderly, disabled andpoor people and those around us; we do our best tostudy for our future and for the country; we need tobravely accuse of wrong and criminal acts and get themout of our pure life. Lead a sanguine, pleased andmeaningful life.

QUÁCH MINH MINH

LIFESTYLE OF

TODAY’S

VIETNAMESE YOUTH

IS VERY

DIFFERENT

My parents tell me when they were as young aswe were now, the young people like them didnot dare to have their own dreams because peo-

ple’s common ideal at that time was to drive off aggres-sors away and bring the peace for the country. Althoughthey were always in ready position for struggling, thoseyoung patriots’ face gave a proud and satisfied smile allthe time with their hard life they experienced every day.They thought and cared about their brothers, comrades,and other people much more than they were interestedin their own hobbies and needs.

Now, the country is peaceful, we, of course, cannot forcetoday’s youth to continue sacrificing, even cannot quelltheir dreams. Society has changed; human being hasalso changed to fit developments of the world. Theyouth, as a result, have changed and their life quality hasbeen improved so much. They have inherited achievements of previous generations; they have hadspecific goals to pursue, and totally had the right to decide their lives.

However, the change of today’s Vietnamese youth is very different! They are quite different from the not too distantpast. They are not so shy and innocent as forefathers

Source: http://diendanlequydon.com

Source: http://photopucket.com

I really admire thedetermination, disci-plinary spirit ofJapanese, thegenerosity andfriendliness of thePhilippine, and affirm the importantrole of language tointernational exchange, integrity and developmentof a country. Only 2 months of vision expanding,my thought has changed greatly, and I discoveredthe concept of “global citizen”. I love friendly, confident, knowledgeable, wholehearted PYs sincethey themselves made me apprehend a motto“Think globally, act locally”.

Written by NGUYỄN THỊ ANH THƯ

Translated by NGUYỄN TRÚC PHƯƠNG

“Dòng máu lạc hồng”, Source: Nguyễn Thị Anh Thư


08 DISCOVERY

BALANCE YOUR STUDIES

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

Before a new semester starts, normally, we have to register for some school subjects required. In my opinion, a logicalschedule is the one that fits your learning capacity and your time. A full-time students and part-time students, ofcourse, have different schedules. Therefore, before you register any subject, remember to reevaluate your learning

capacity and your time so that you can guarantee that you will get the marks you’re satisfied with.

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

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

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

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thrusday Friday Saturday Sunday

Morning Part-time job

Homework Part-time job

Homework Part-time job

Homework Clubs

Afternoon School (1 or2 classes)

Homeworktime

School time(1 or 2classes)

Homeworktime

School time(1 or 2classes)

Homeworktime

Personallife

Evening Personal life

Extra -courses

Personal life

Extra -courses

Personal life

Extra -courses

Personal life

Sour

ce: h

ttp:

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Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thrusday Friday Saturday Sunday

Morning Working Working Working Working Working Working Homework

Afternoon Working Working Working Working Working Working Personallife

Evening School +Homework

(30’)

School +Homework

(30’)

School +Homework

(30’)

School +Homework

(30’)

School +Homework

(30’)

School +Homework

(30’)

Personal life


09DISCOVERY - FUNNY STORIES

HOW CAN I SEE

MY FUTURE?

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

In my own experience, there are two parts of theprocess of preparing for the future: the time Iwas guided by my father and the time I have

shaped my own dream.

Guided by my father

Firstly, when I was in secondary school my fatherasked me if I wanted a teacher to teach me to draw.Because at that time, I was a little bit good at drawing, my father wondered if I would like to makeit my career in the future. However, my parents justmade ends meet, so we could not pursue such expensive dream. Therefore, I told him that it wasnot necessary and I just wanted to draw because itwas my hobby even though I would be very poor ifI became an artist. Since many people do not havemuch money to afford their daily life, how could theydare to waste their cash on pictures? Afterwards wehave never mentioned that thing again. My fatherbegan to teach me a lot of English and helped meto be as good as possible at English. At first, I didnot think it was a good idea, but later, I realized thevalue of what my father had done for me.

Shaping my own dream

For the second part of the process of preparing myfuture, I want to share with you how I have shapedmyself with the help from my father. With advantage in English, I can read and understandmost of foreign books and documents, and use thecomputer with no difficulty as well. I have found outthat I just love drawing, but not want to be an artistor a comic drawer which may destroy my love ofdrawing. Therefore, I think that the only way towork well and enjoy my hobby is to become a designer for a game company. Like most kids, I loveplaying video games owing to the way people createimpressive things in this world, but I would be veryhappy to create things I like with my own hands.Furthermore, I have seen some things imperfect inevery work of games I have experience and want tocreate my perfect figure. This is the reason why Iwant to create my fantastic world, too. To get this

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

This is my story about how to prepare for my future. Iam sure that you have your dreams, too. Have you everthought about how to fulfill your dream or you justleave it alone in your memory? If not, try to think aboutit and see what you can really do!

NGUYỄN THIỆN PHƯỚC

FUNNY STORIES

Leave it all to me

Robert went to his lawyer and said, 'I wouldlike to make a will but I don't know exactly howto go about it.' The lawyer smiled at Robertand replied, 'Not a problem, leave it all to me.'

Robert looked somewhat upset and said, 'Well,I knew you were going to take a big portion,but I would like to leave a little to my familytoo!'

“Yeah, right!”

A linguistics professor was lecturing his classone day.

'In English', he said, 'A double negative formsa positive. In some languages, though, such asRussian, a double negative is still a negative.However, there is no language wherein a dou-ble positive can form a negative.'

A loud voice from the back of the room pipedup, 'Yeah, right.'

Collected by LÊ THỐNG


10 LEARNING WORLD

HOW MOTIVATION

AND LEARNING STRATEGIES

AFFECT LEARNING

Different language learners have their own ways to study and acquire the target language. In this paper, I will describe how I learn English as a foreign language. I also discuss how two factors motivation and learning strategies

(metacognitive strategies) influence on my learning process and outcome.

Types of motivation

A social psychological factor which affects my learningprocess and outcome is the motivation. Motivation is“some kind of internal drive which pushes someone to dothings in order to achieve something”. Motivation in sec-ond language learning is a complex phenomenon. Thereason why some L2 learners doing better than others isthat they are better motivated. Indeed, high motivationmay cause successful learning and vice versa.

There are two types of motivation: instrumental motiva-tion and integrative motivation. A learner with instrumen-tal motivation wants to learn a language because it willbe useful for certain goals, such as getting a job, readinga foreign newspaper, passing an examination. On theother hand, a learner who is integratively motivated wantsto learn a language in order to communicate with peopleof another culture who speak it. Some researchers notedthat integrative motivation is the primary factor that ac-counts for L2 achievement and a learner can both havetwo types of motivation. In some situations or the socialcontext of the learning, instrumental motivation affectsthe learners more than the integrative even though inte-grative motivation may be more powerful in facilitatingsuccessful L2 learning.

It is true that I have both two types of motivation. Although I like to practise English with native speakers ofEnglish, the exams and my career as an English teachermotivate me to learn more and more. Furthermore, researchers suggested another two kinds of motivation:intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is “doing something as an end in itself, for itsown self-sustaining pleasurable rewards of enjoyment, interest, challenge, or skill and knowledge development”.In contrast, extrinsic motivation refers to doing somethingfor some outcome, such gaining a qualification, getting ajob etc. Both instrumental and integrative motivationalorientations constitute forms of extrinsic motivation. However, in the scope of this essay, I only focus on instrumental and integrative motivation.

Motivational phases

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

As mentioned above, I like to keep the vocabulary notebookas my mini dictionary. First, I decided to keep the vocabularyto learn new words (choice motivation). After a few months,I felt daunted by the revision of words from vocabulary note-book since the number of lexical items had increased overtime (executive motivation). However, when I was readingthe newspaper in English, I found out that I understood thearticles easily since I have taken note and learned manywords from the article in my vocabulary notebook. For thisreason, I made decision to keep the vocabulary notebookand I have got five notebooks up to now (motivation retrospection).

Metacognitive strategy

Metacognitive strategy is one of the general kinds of learningstrategy which learners may use in language learning.Metacognitive strategies involve thinking about the mentalprocesses used in the learning process, monitoring learningwhile it is taking place, and evaluating learning after it hasoccurred. When learners reflect up their learning, they become better prepared to make conscious decisions aboutwhat they can do to improve their learning.

Learning strategies can be learnt to enhance an individual’sability to learn language. In my case, my father is my teacherwho taught me metacognitive strategies and raised my metacongitive awareness. It is true to the definition of learn-ing strategies that metacognitive strategies do help me to“learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed,


11LEARNING WORD - POCKET ADRESS LIST - QUOTATIONS

more effective” during the time I was studying English atschools and universities. How metacongtitive strategieshelp me to learn English effectively?

First, one group of metacognitive strategies helps learnersmanage themselves as learners. Knowledge of learningstyles and self-knowledge strategies helps me choosestrategies that comfortably fit with my learning styles. Forexample, since my learning style is auditory, I improvemy listening skill through radio and conversations.

Second, another set of metacognitive strategies helplearners to manage the learning process. As mentionedabove, I used to keep learning diary in order to recordwhat I had learned and planned to learn something more.

Lastly, other group of metacognitive strategies also helpslearners deal effectively with a given language task. Inmy case, I used to plan to learn ten new words, somenew grammar points a day and revise what I havelearned during the week.

Furthermore, learning strategies are influenced by theage and language proficiency. When I was at the age ofbetween seven and sixteen, I used to read aloud a passage to improve my pronunciation. However, when Igrew up, I never did anymore. At beginner level, I usedto translate a reading passage form newspaper or booksinto my mother tongue and took note all of the wordsfrom the passage and learn them. Moving intermediatelevel, I just learned key words from the reading passageand tried to guess meanings of the new words thoughcontext.

In conclusion, learners with strong motivation, integrativeor instrumental, are likely to be successful in languagelearning. Language learning strategies is “an extremelypowerful learning tool” for language learners. I believedthat the two factors motivation and metacognitive strategies have positive influence on my learning processand outcome. So how motivation and learningstrategies affect your learning?

Lecturer NGÔ DUY PHÚC

POCKET ADRESS LIST

360 Coffee ForumAddress: 33 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai street, Ben Nghe

ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City

This new forumis mainlyopened for col-lege studentswith differenttopics such ase d u c a t i o n ,skills, entertain-ment, career,etc. Joining inthe forum, students can get helpful knowledge about many aspects of life through talking with experts or experienced persons in a comfortable coffee space.It is organized twice a month, especially at the endof the second week and the fourth one. For more information, visit http://www.hotrosinhvien.vn

Learning English Onlinehttp://www.tuoitrenews.vn/cmlink/tuoitre-news/education/nhip-cau-anh-nguTuoi Tre Newspaperintroduced a newversion of Englishlearning section onits English onlinepublication. The sec-tion provides stu-dents with an activeand effective English study method. With 7 areas including Lessons, Grammar, Listening, Vocabulary,Articles, Quizzes - Fun, and Ask us, it helps us improve our English skills perfectly.

TRẦN NGUYỆT MINH

Source: tuoitre.vn

Source: tuoitrenews.vn

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

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

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

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

QUOTATIONS OF THE MONTH


12 TALKSHOW

Fail - Try again - Fail again -Fail better

Full name: Lê Phương Anh VũDate of birth: May 5th, 1991Class: QT09DB01Hometown: Dak LakHobbies: playing guitar, flute, harmonica, organ, horn, reading booksAchievements:1st prize: Dream of the Vietnamese Youth – OU, Marketing Challenge Contest2nd prize: singing contest of Faculty of Business Administration with his own song,Top three: Trainer Audition: Finding presenterDeputy Secretary of Youth Organization of the Faculty of Special Training Program (2009 – 2011) andChairman of “Your Club” (2012)

Good news for us today is that in Marketing ChallengeContest 2011, the honor was conferred on Mr. Anh Vũfor his excellent performance over 2,000 other competentcandidates. To be the best in the contest, he remarkablyexceeded two students from Foreign Trade Universitywho won the 2nd and 3rd prizes. Today, we will talk tosuch a talented guy to know more about him.

• Looking at your profile, no one can ignore agreat deal of your admirable achievement. Doyou think you are different from the majority ofstudents?

If yes, maybe it is because I am “over-active” and “over-positive”. My parents always teach me that idle hands aredevil’s tools. Being free will result in doing something silly,

which I think is true in most ofthe cases. I have been part ofsome organizations where Ibecome aware of my own abilities and face first life trialssince my first year of tertiaryeducation. Moreover, I alsofocus and strive for my goals.Right now, I am running myown club called Your Club tohelp other students realizetheir true values. Last but notleast, I always believe in

myself no matter what I am labeled, because no one cantrust us as much as we can. Therefore, I dare to createnew chances and opportunities to experience new thingswith an aim of making my life colorful and interesting.

• It seems that you are very positive. In what situations have you gained such thinking?

It was my first days in university when a teacher askedus a very thorny question: “Did you ever wonder whyyou were born and lead a life?” This question took metwo weeks to think about. Then the book “I am gifted,you are too”, which shares many helpful lessons like identifying, objectives correctly, being responsible, andsort

of, changed my mind substantially. I looked back to the timeI had passed and decided that it was time for a change.

• What is the key of your success?

A Nike’s slogan, “Just do it”, leaves an overwhelming impression on me. My key is overcoming our fears to do newthings. The biggest trial that most of us can’t confront with isour fears; we are scared of too many things. Just throw ourfears away and leave “our safe inhabitant” to be involved innew challenges. If we think we can, we can. (Smile) I won’tmake my dream – being a CEO – come true, unless I thinkand behave differently from what I used to. Act, or dream isjust a dream. I like a saying of Samuel Beckett “Ever tried.Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better”, since after failing, we can attain at least some valuable lessons and experiences for ourselves to be mature.

• What is one trouble in youth lifestyle?

I think a big problem is the habit of complaining. As we see,the majority of the youth complains all the time no matterhow small the problem is. They just cry “Why this is me! WhyI am a victim!” We all know that we can’t change what didhappen, but we can change our attitude toward these matters. Magically, our positive attitude can pave a way for alot of nice results. We are the persons who decide what wewill be, so why aren’t we optimistic and responsible for ourown life?

• Do you think that you are leading a happy life?Sure, I have a very happy family where I can feel a greatlove of my caring and devoted parents. Every moment, Ienjoy life by doing new things and get a lot of intoxicatingexperience. Also, I start helping my friends have positive attitude like me. Next year, I will set up two more clubs tohelp more friends. Thank you for your very amazing sharing. All the best to you.

NGUYỄN THỊ MỸ LINH

Sourve: Anh Vũ


13OPPORTUNITY PLANET - OU SPOTLIGHTS

1. Bookaholic Club: Beyond The Cover Season,deadline: 31/05/2012

Bookaholic Club now officially announced the amateurbook cover design contest Beyond the Cover Season3. This annual contest is held for young people wholove the work of design, especially book cover design.Topic: A ticket to childhood. Time: 02/04/2012 to31/05/2012. Prizes: 7.000.000 VND for the winner.Visit http://bookaholicclub.com/ for more information.

2. The Goi Peace Foundation and UNESCO:International Essay Contest for YoungPeople, deadline 30/06/2012

This contest opens to anyone up to 25 yearsold. Theme: “Create the Future We Want” –Write about what kind of future you wish tocreate for yourself and the world, share yourdream and ideas for making it a reality.

Contestants write an essay (no more 800 wordsin English or less than 1600 characters inJapanese) with the above theme and send itonline. The prizes range from 650 USD to 1.300USD, certificate, gift and a chance to visitTokyo, Japan.

Visit http://www.goipeace.or.jp/english/activi-ties/programs/1201.html for more information

3. Earth Day Writing Contest 2012 For Students, deadline 08/04/2012

NGUYỄN QUỐC VŨ

OU SPOTLIGHTS

Where you can receive announcements, interesting activities that will take place in our school.Check this out regularly so that you won’t miss any of them. ^ ^

1. The Sun English Speaking Club – Member recruitmentThe Sun Club is currently recruiting new members. If you are interested in the activities of the Sun Club andwould like to join, send your information (name, class, email, phone number) to [email protected] contact Mr. Hà Hoàng Sơn (0939 343 994) to schedule your interview.

2. Student Union – Scholarships for ethnic students Student Union Secretariat announces the grant of 50 scholarships (1 million VND for each) for ethnic stu-dents. Ethnic students who are studying at Open University and have average score from 7.0 upwards in2010-2011 school year, please send your profile to the Office of Youth Union (Room 106, 97 Vo Van Tan

street, district 3). Deadline: 07/04/2012. For more information, visit www.hotrosinhvien.vn. NGUYỄN QUỐC VŨ

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


14 BOOKAHOLIC CORNER

SPONSORS

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

1. TIỂU SỬ STEVE JOBS: 2. CÔ GÁI TRONG TRANG SÁCH:Hồ Văn Thắng (XD10A6) Đỗ Huyền Thanh (Lecturer)Nguyễn Thị Thu Hiền (TN09ĐB2) Nguyễn Xuân Hạnh Quyên (AV10A5)

3. KỶ YẾU HỘI THẢO - Về bản sắc văn hoá Hà Nội trong văn học nghệ thuật thế kỷ XXNgô Ngọc Thuỳ Liên (AV09A3) Trần Thị Mỹ Vân (AV10A5)

And now here we go to new books for this month, remember to cut and send your vouchers as quick aspossible to us to be the next lucky readers. :D Note: please complete all the information in vouch-ers correctly and carefully. Any carelessness is not accepted.

VÀ NỤ CƯỜI SẼ HONG KHÔ TẤT CẢAuthor: Many authorsPublisher: Hoa Hoc Tro,Vietnamese Students Magazine Price: 50.000 VND

Whether you are a fan of Hoa Hoc Tro Magazine (HHT), you cannot miss the partic-ular edition “Và nụ cười sẽ hong khô tất cả”. The book includes the most special andlatest short stories of many popular teen writers at present. Each of them will giveyou an interesting piece of paper in their own style. Besides, the book is also attached16 colorful pages and a very beautiful March 8th greetings card. Choose “VÀ NỤCƯỜI SẼ HONG KHÔ TẤT CẢ” for this spring as well as Women’s Day. I am sure thatyou will be pleased and satisfy with this meaningful gift.

This book is available at Vinabook.com- an online bookshop with the aims of having the bestand fastest service for customers, developing the online book market in Vietnam.Website: http://www.vinabook.com

LÀM NÊN – 400 điều trường học vẫn không dạy bạnAuthor: H.N. CassonTranslator: Group of Alphabooks translatorsPublisher: Labor and SocietyPrice: 49.000 VND

“This is the first book which shows me how to be successful in life. I followed the ad-vices in the book and got a lot of achievements. Therefore, I believe that the youngwill also succeed like me if they obey what it points out” said Nguyễn Cảnh Bình –C.E.O of Alphabooks. Indeed, “Làm nên” is really a necessary and useful book. Itscontent provides us with a lot of knowledge, living skills and valuable lessons fordoing business in particular and daily life in general. Nobody tell us these things, andalso we are not taught at university. Surely, “LÀM NÊN” is the indispensable handbookfor all of us.

This book is available at Alpha books- a bookshop with main product line as: Alpha Biz (man-agement), Alpha Edu (education and thinking), Alpha Omega (classics), Alpha Kid (for children), IMONE (literature).Website: http://www.alphabooks.vn

Source: http://www.vinabook.com

Source: http://www.alphabooks.vn


15BOOKAHOLIC CORNER - OU SPOTLIGHT HIGHLIGHTED

NHẬP MÔN NGHIÊN CỨU DỊCH THUẬT - LÝ THUYẾT VÀ ỨNG DỤNGAuthor: Jeremy MundaysPublisher: Tri ThucPrice: 53.000 VND

This third edition is written in exceptionally clear and user-friendly style. To reflect thenature of the link between translation theories and practice, Jeremy Munday has addedcase studies in each chapter to offer practical examples of how theories can be appliedin the real world. Readers who may have no previous knowledge of translation studiesmay also find the book interesting and illuminating. It has become a key source for gen-eration of translation students on both professional and university courses.

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

PHẠM NGỌC TUYẾT

Source: http://nxbtrithuc.com.vn

OU SPOTLIGHT HIGHLIGHTED

The FFL Galaxy, an art playground for students of Facultyof Foreign Languages of Open University who want to ex-press their aptitude through singing, dancing or playingdrama, was successfully celebrated on March 24 at 422Dao Duy Anh meeting-hall.

Held every 2 years, FFL Galaxy created good impressionon everybody attending on that event. The key ideathroughout the contest was “SOAR”, which inspired theimpressingly decorating style of the stage with kite, wings,stars and colorful balloons. In addition, another highlightof that night was the bright orange color of organizingboard like “orange storm”.

To open and warm up the night show, the organizer drewthe audience to take part in a game. At 6 pm, everybody was already to SOAR.

Surprisingly, the contest’s co-host with Bich Tram, a famil-iar MC face, was Mr. Ngo Duy Phuc, a new young teacherof FFL, received enthusiastic cheers from students. Theygreeted to everybody and introduced the first act, whichwas a tender song named “Oi que toi” (my hometown).

The contest became hotter with various kinds of perform-ances. Everybody was from mixing with soft and emo-tional songs such as “Nhat ky cua me” (Mom’s diary), “Xedap” (Bicycle) to the vivid modern dance of FFL’s Gener-ation and the English song “Space down”. Not all that, thewell-known Chinese song “Tong Hua”, Japanese tradi-tional dance “Yosakoi” and a comic drama “Tam thoi Face-book” (Tam in the Facebook age) add more vivid taste tothe performance.

Specially, the FFL Galaxy also welcomed invited guests,who were ex-winners from old music contests, Mr. AuTuyen Dieu (the ex-student of FFL of Open University)

and Mr. Phuc to contribute to special performance of thecontest.Palpilatingly, we came to the most expected moments of thenight, the result was:• The 1st prize: “Bien va anh trang” (beach and moonlight)by Lu Do Minh Hoang (AV11A3) and Trinh Minh Hang(AV11A5)• The 2nd runner-up: “Tam thoi Facebook” (Tam in the Face-book age) by class AV10A1.• The 3rd runner-up: “Yosakoi” by Le Lap Duc (AV10A5) andPhung Duc My (HV08A1)• 3 encouragement prizes: traditional dance-“Lung linh muaxuan” (HV11), “Dong Thoai” (Tong Hua) by Lai Dac Thanh(HV11) and Trieu Kha Dinh (HV11), “Just the way you are”by Huynh Thien Truc (AV10A6) and Nguyen Van Duan(AV10A5)

To conclude thecontest, Mr. TranThien Son gavesome heartfeltwords to candi-dates taking partin the contest, theorganizing boardand all studentsattending to theshow.

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

NGUYỄN TRÚC PHƯƠNG

Source: Trúc Phương

FFL GALAXY II - �SOAR�


16 ART GALLERY

Japanese performance of Kendo - 10/2009

ART GALLERY - Moments of Faculty of Foreign Languages

National defence education - 02/2012, AV11A1 Chinese bridge - HV07, 05/2010

Song for love - 12/2012

Football team, 2010

Dynamic FFL, 02/2010

Spring of volunteer, 01/2012 FFL - Fight For Love! :)

Documents

The FFL Journal - Volume 4