Sunday 3 April 2011

8 secrets of success

For this week, I'd like you to listen to the 8 secrets of success researched and brought to you by Richard St John.
1.Which are the 8 secrets of success according to him?
2. Choose any one 'secret' that you think is your secret to success. Giving suitable examples, explain why you think so, in no less than 200 words. 




Thursday 24 March 2011

How art gives shape to cultural change

Since it is a little long to do, I am going to give you TWO weeks to do this. So THIS EXERCISE will be calculated as TWO assignments instead of one. Make sure you work hard and that you follow the three steps I'm asking you to take while watching the video I am proposing for this week.

1. Watch the speech entitled "How art gives shape to cultural change" by Thelma Golden without the sound. Concentrate ONLY on the the images you see (paintings, photos, art in general) and choose any one work of art that interested you from all those that you watched in the video.
Explain the work of art shortly in your own words (mention the exact time the work of art appears in the speech) and then tell us why you liked it or didn't like it. I would like to see a short neat paragraph and NOT three lines !

2. Now watch the speech with the sound as many times as you want to answer the following questions -
a. How do images work, according to Thelma Golden ?
b. Which questions does she raise about the role a museum plays in a society ?

3. Golden says : “Think about artists, not as content providers,.... but again as real catalysts (for change).” . Would you agree with her point of view ? Why or why not ? Again, I'd like to see a short neat paragraph and NOT three lines !

Happy working !

Friday 18 March 2011

Drawing upon humor for a change

I would like you to watch very interesting speech that gained world-wide approval : Drawing upon humour for a change
There are a few steps I would like you to follow -
1. I would like you to watch the video the first time without any sound. That would help you to understand the context and read all the cartoons at once.
2. Next, watch the video as many times as you like and answer the following questions -
a. What according to you is the central idea of the speech ?
b. Do you agree with it ?
c. Would you agree with Donnelly when she says that the sense of humor changes according to one's culture ?
You may answer these questions in the question-answer format or in one short paragraph.
Happy viewing !

Thursday 10 March 2011

Beliefs during school-days

When we are in school, we believe all kinds of things. Watch this video to learn about a love-charm that  school kids are speaking about.

1. What does this charm do ?
2. When you were at school, did you also believe in something that you find silly today ? What was it ? 
3. Where do you think such beliefs come from ? Rumours, superstitions or simply the need to believe in something ? Argue your point of view.

Using these questions as clues, write a short article of no less than 150 words. 
These questions must be answered, but not in a question-answer format but in the format of writing an article. 

Tuesday 22 February 2011

Informal letter

Imagine you have stayed with some British or American friends in the UK or is the US.
You spent two weeks with them and have returned to France.
Write a letter thanking them for your stay and inviting them in return to stay with you.
Your letter should be informal and have a minimum of 120 words.
Have a nice vacation !!!

Wednesday 16 February 2011

Never give up

Do a bit of online research and find one person (famous or not) who has been successful in very difficult circumstances, in spite of all the physical or mental difficulties that he or she has been through.
Write a short article on that person in no less than 120 words. 
Please do not copy or paste anything from Wikipedia or any other website as I will be sure to find out !!

Thursday 10 February 2011

Cool places to hang out in Grenoble

The view from my balcony
As this is my first year in Grenoble, I dont know many places to hang out. I would like to visit this city that I am still not very familiar with. Could you recommend a nice place to me? 
This place could be a nice restaurant (not very expensive, please!), or an interesting museum (I don't like museums much, so make sure it is worth a visit!) or any other thing in Grenoble that would make my life in this city a little more exciting...
I am a student, just like you are, with minimum funds at my disposal, so please do not recommend some fancy 5-star restaurant or an extremely boring museum. I like walking, greenery, music, art (to an extent!), reading, cooking and eating (I love French food!) ....
Please do NOT copy-paste some random place you found on Wikipedia! I can do that myself. I am more interested in a place that is well-known and one which is visited....   Let it be a place that YOU KNOW, that YOU LIKE and somewhere YOU HAVE BEEN..... a nice restaurant perhaps? ;-)
Make it as interesting as you can (you could upload a photograph that you have taken yourself or a video that you have shot) with precisions on how to get there (directions), price, why you think I should visit it and anything else that you would like. Your article should be no less than 120 words!