response..

In the article “ how to tome a wild tongue”, the writer first tells us a story that she was taught speaking Spanish at recess and the teacher ask her to come back to speak. However, in my opinion, I do not think it is right. I think the writer is out-standing because she can speak many different kinds of language. For example, she can speak English Standard Spanish, Standard Mexican Spanish, North Mexican dialect, and Chicano Texas Spanish. I regarded them as literacy. And I think it is good for her to practice them because practice makes perfect and she will not forget them as well.
As I say, language is important in any culture. A language does far more than just enable people to communicate with each other. The language of one country is different from the other country and it tells the features of the country which distinguish it from one company to another.
Language shapes the way people perceive the world and it also provides help to define culture of any society. There are countries in which more than one language is spoken, and if in that case, you can find more than one culture in that society. For example Canada has the English-speaking and French-speaking culture. Similarly, America is a country that mixes all kinds of culture. So I think people should be free to talk in any language they want.
Language, of course, is knowledge, and in our world today knowledge is one of the key factors in competitiveness. Brains and knowledge are what create the prosperity and growth we tend to take for granted. In an advanced industrial society in an increasingly interdependent world, the knowledge of other language becomes indispensable. Seriously, there are rapidly growing trade links in the Americans, and learning Spanish or Portuguese is an important tool for business people and officials seeking to build on those ties. As we move toward hemispheric economic integration, the knowledge of other languages of the hemisphere is becoming a highly marketable skill.
According to all the above, I think different language is a very wonderful skill. It not only increase one’s literacy, but reflect different culture as well.

words in chinese culture----response to reading in class

In the article boone written by Elizabeth Hill, she talks about many kinds of literacy, especially the visual literacy such as photograph, writing, speaking and etc. among all the literacies, I want to talk about the writing, the words literacy in my own culture. as we know, chinese words are one of the most difficult language in the wold. I want to say something about the evolution of the chinese language.
when talking about the writing utensils of Chinese characters, people often think of four treasures of the study, that is, brush, ink stick, ink slab and paper first. Among them, paper is the carrier of writing, and brush is the main writing tool. Besides brush and ink, the writing utensils of Chinese characters include graver Jijue( one kind of knife used for engraving on metals and stones),ect.
The origin of Chinese writing can be traced back to ancient China, although we are not certain of the date of its invention. According to some statistics, Chinese writing has at least a history of four thousands years. I t is generally believed that people made records by tying a knot in a rope. This way of recording was replaced by the invention of words by Tsang Chie.
We can not say that there is no word before Tsang Chie. Actually, Tsang only combined the invented words of his predecessors with slight changes. Meanwhile, thereawas still another inventor called Chu Sung.
Nonetheless, the fact the Chinese written was originated in painting is beyond doubt and this is why modern chinese consider writing and paining to have the same origin. And it is match what Elizabrth writes in her essay---writing and paining are the same form of literacy.

"How does literacy shape technology? How does technology shape literacy?"

When comes to the question “How does literacy shape technology and how does technology shape literacy.” I think the relation is obvious.
First of all, literacy does shape the technology greatly. Literacy is the ability that people have. And the potential of people is endless. It is our human that create the technology and push the society going forward. Thanks to the White Brothers, we can travel around the world in the air. Thanks to Edison, we can work, live, and so all kinds of things in a bright area. Owing to Bell, we can hear other people’s sound at a very far distance. All these technology is created by human potential. That is human’s literacy that creates the technology and pushes the wheels of the history going forward.
As we see above, literacy plays a very important role in shaping technology. However, it is not the whole story. On the other hand, technology shapes literacy as well. Due to the power loom, hard weavers lost their jobs. Because of the kerosene, candle makers lost their jobs. Owning to the tractors, farm laborers lost their jobs. With the appearance of electronic switching, switchboard operators lost their jobs. Technology selects people of high potential. In that case, people will do something that they are good at, in other words, do something they have comparative advantages. Also, because of the selection of technology, more people turn to school for better education in order to improve themselves and out compete with other people. As a consequence of it, their literacies improve. That is how technology shape people’s literacy.

like a audient..

Community comes in many forms, medium, sound, pictures, words all are a certain kind of community. Modern ways of community, in most cases, contain more than one component. For example, people often combine them together to form a new outcome and it certainly become more attracted.

Let’s take commercial video for example, which I mean is advertisement. When advertisers make video, they have a very direct purpose such as convince people to buy their products, make people believe that their products are the best in order to increase their sales and profits. We are all the audients of the advertisements since we watch television in our daily life and I am not an exception. Suppose I watch a video, how will I make a judgment about the products and make a decision whether buy or not? I think there are many factors that can influence my decisions. First of all, the whole view of the advertisement. That is, the visual enjoyment. Is the video funny, beautiful, and attracted? All else equal, I will prefer one that is more beautiful. In this sense, I think the video makers are supposed to make the pictures clear and beautiful. No matter what the content is, it is the most important to persuade people to sit down and watch. Consider if no one is willing to watch the advertisement, it makes totally no use to make the content better. Another factor that is equally important with the picture is the content. I think the content should be reliable. I prefer the real results from the public researches. Based on the scientific results, it will be easier to convince people that their products are better.
If advertisers meet the two important requirements above, the advertisements are supposed to be good, but not perfect in my view because I think the perfect thing should be creative. If you want to be outstanding, you should insert something special and creative. If in that case, I think the audients will convince you in most times.

literacy #4 blog entry #5

When I got to the campus in January, I make a chat with many blanks. Every blank represent a day. So when a day passes, I fill the blank with a color. I told myself that when all the blanks are filled, it is time to go home. This morning, when I color the march 20th blank, I suddenly realize that most of the time in this semester has gone, even I failed to recognize. I ask myself what I have learned and whether I regret wasting time in the past. After thinking hard, I think I was dong just ok but there is still a long way to go in my time management. And it leads me to think a kind of literacy----time management.
Time management is a set of principles, practices, skills, tools, and systems that help you use your time to accomplish what you want. First of all, time is limited. Time is a very special resource in that you cannot store it or save it for later. Everyone gets the exact same amount of time each day. If you didn’t use your time wisely, you can never get it back. Secondly, time is scare. We often feel like we have too much things to do and not enough time. In a certain degree, it will leads to an unfilled life. Time management helps you use the time that you do have in better ways. Thirdly, you need time to get what you want out of life. It means you need time to do almost anything worthwhile in life. You need to learn how to make time for the thingk that are important to you. Even if you can only afford to give a small amount of time each week to your goals, you would be surprised at how much progress you can make. What’s more, you can manage time well, you can accomplish more with less effort. When you become more productive using improved time management skills and tools, you can accomplish more with less effort. Reducing wasted time and effort gives you even more productive time throughout the day. Both of these allow you to make time for a wide range of activities that bring more balance and fulfillment to your life. Since everyday we have too many choices to spend our time, time management helps us to make conscious choices so we can spend more of our time doing things that are important and valuable to us.
Now that most of the semester has gone, I think it is time I tried to manage my time better in the coming days. In this case, when I go back to China in May, I will be proud of myself without regret.

literacy #3 blog entry #4

Chinese chess, or xiangqi in Chinese, is perhaps the most popular board game in the world, played by millions of people in China, other parts of Asia, and wherever Chinese have settled.
It exercises the brain in much the same way as western (international) chess, but it is much faster moving. The movement of the pieces tends to be more fluid, the positions more open. In a sense, it is all “middle game.” There is no careful buildup of pawn structures, the major pieces come into play immediately and drawn-out endgames are rare.
I regard Chinese chess as my literacy because not only I love it but I can play it very well and benefit from it as well. I start to play chess when I was eight. Since Chinese chess is a kind of brain exercise, it helps me develop deep thinking towards the things. It shapes my value and form my initial opinion toward the life. Also, it helps me become a patient and calm person, which is very important in our way to success. In order to compete chess with other adversaries from other cities, we all need to travel to a certain city and get together to play. Several days’ spending with friends is a very valuable experience in my life. During the time we spent together, I slowly learn how to understand others, how to become a considerate person and how to put the benefit of the team in the first place. They all play a crucial role in my later life. Furthermore, chess present the love from my father. It is mu father that teach me to play and encourage me whenever I fail. I will never forget.
Chess is very important to me because it is my everyday literacy. I can play it and benefit from it.

literacy #2 blog entry #3

The second literacy in our everyday life I want to say is the personal character. Personal character traits are the attitudes you have toward your activities and the challenges they present. These traits may be positive, negative or often in between vary from person to person, depending on the situation. As we know, positive personal character traits result in achievement of goals and success. Negative character traits can lead to failure or frustration. Most of these traits are established through training from parents, while others are gained from peer groups.
I regard personal character as a literacy means that people who have a positive trait own the literacy. For example, people who have the literacy will behave plucky instead of cowardly. Facing some difficulty, they will be determined instead of discouraged. They hold the ability of confident instead of unsure. Doing something important, they will be conscientious instead of careless. When doing something need effort, they will be hard working instead of lazy.
I regard literacy as the entire asset you have. Positive attitude is a critical literacy in everyone’s life because it is the key to success.
I still can remember the time when I complete with adversaries from all over the country in chess. At first, I lost three times in a row. We totally had 12 competitions. At that time, I can either just be sad or adjust my mood. Luckily, I chose the latter. I said to myself “it is not a big deal, the competition just begins and I still have many opportunities. Being beat three times just means the past; I will stand up and fight.” Holding this thought, I did real well in the next nine competitions and finally achieve the second price. I think it is the attitude that make a difference.