keep goals secret

transcript of study of

Derek Sivers: Keep your goals to yourself

Everyone, please think of your biggest personal goal. For real -- you can take a second. You've got to feel this to learn it. Take a few seconds and think of your personal biggest goal, okay? Imagine deciding right now that you're going to do it. Imagine telling someone that you meet today what you're going to do.Imagine their congratulations, and their high image of you. Doesn't it feel good to say it out loud? Don't you feel one step closer already, like it's already becoming part of your identity?

0:40Well, bad news: you should have kept your mouth shut, because that good feeling now will make you less likely to do it. The repeated psychology tests have proven that telling someone your goal makes it less likely to happen. Any time you have a goal, there are some steps that need to be done, some work that needs to be done in order to achieve it. Ideally you would not be satisfied until you'd actually done the work. But when you tell someone your goal and they acknowledge it, psychologists have found that it's called a "social reality." The mind is kind of tricked into feeling that it's already done. And then because you've felt that satisfaction, you're less motivated to do the actual hard work necessary.

1:18(Laughter)

1:19So this goes against conventional wisdom that we should tell our friends our goals, right? So they hold us to it.

1:26So, let's look at the proof. 1926: Kurt Lewin, founder of social psychology, called this "substitution."1933: Wera Mahler found when it was acknowledged by others, it felt real in the mind. 1982, Peter Gollwitzer wrote a whole book about this, and in 2009, he did some new tests that were published.

1:45It goes like this: 163 people across four separate tests. Everyone wrote down their personal goal. Then half of them announced their commitment to this goal to the room, and half didn't. Then everyone was given 45 minutes of work that would directly lead them towards their goal, but they were told that they could stop at any time. Now, those who kept their mouths shut worked the entire 45 minutes on average,and when asked afterward, said that they felt that they had a long way to go still to achieve their goal. But those who had announced it quit after only 33 minutes, on average, and when asked afterward, said that they felt much closer to achieving their goal.

2:24So if this is true, what can we do? Well, you could resist the temptation to announce your goal. You can delay the gratification that the social acknowledgment brings, and you can understand that your mind mistakes the talking for the doing. But if you do need to talk about something, you can state it in a way that gives you no satisfaction, such as, "I really want to run this marathon, so I need to train five times a week and kick my ass if I don't, okay?"

2:53So audience, next time you're tempted to tell someone your goal, what will you say?

2:58(Silence)

2:59Exactly! Well done.

3:00(Laughter)

3:02(Applause)

Jayaprana

9 Jayaprana
This is the story of Jayaprana which happened in Bali many years ago. Jayaprana was a very clever young man who could sing very well and was good at telling stories. One day Jayaprana's parents became ill and died and not long after that his brothers and sisters also died. He was left all alone. After his family died, the king asked Jayaprana to live with him. The king liked him because he was good at singing and could tell interesting and funny stories. The king liked to listen to him. One day the king said to him, 'Jayaprana, you are a man now and you must find a wife. Every man must marry. It is not good if you do not have a wife.'
Jayaprana answered, 'But I am still too young to marry.'
The king said, 'No, you are old enough to marry. You must marry quickly. You can choose one of the young women in my house.' But Jayaprana was not interested in them.
One day he was walking in the town and he saw a beautiful young woman. Her eyes were dark, her hair was long and black, and her face was smooth and beautiful. She had a beautiful smile. When Jayaprana saw her, he fell in love with her. He asked his friends, 'What is the name of that beautiful girl?' His friends answered, 'Her name is Ni Layonsari.' Jayaprana could not forget her. He went to the king and said, 'I want to marry Ni Layonsari. Can you write a letter to her parents? Please ask her parents to let me marry her.'
Of course the king was glad to hear this and he quickly wrote the letter and sent it to Ni Layonsari's parents. The parents were happy to get a letter from the king. They said, 'We will be happy if Jayaprana marries Ni Layonsari. '
So Jayaprana and Ni Layonsari were married and they loved each other very much. They lived near the house of the king. One day the king saw Ni Layonsari and when he saw her, he fell in love with her. He went back to his house but he could not forget her so the king wrote a letter and gave it to one of his servants. The king told the servant to kill Jayaprana. The king sent the servant and Jayaprana on a long journey. When they were far from the city, the servant gave the letter to Jayaprana. In the letter the king said, 'Jayaprana, you must die. The servant will kill you.'
Jayaprana was sad but he was not afraid to die. 'I am ready,' he said. The servant took a knife and killed him. When Ni Layonsari heard about Jayaprana's death, she cried. Then the king came to her and said, 'Ni Layonsari, now you must marry me.' Ni Layonsari answered, 'I do not want to marry you.' The king was angry when he heard this, and he said, 'You must marry me now.'
Ni Layonsari answered, 'You must wait for eleven days.' That night Ni Layonsari took a knife and killed herself. When the king heard this, he became angrier. He took a long knife and began to kill his servants. He killed many people and, in the end, he killed himself.
Write the time and then answer the questions 

inuit

5 The Inuit
The Inuit live in Canada, Greenland and the north of America. They were the first people to live in these countries, arriving there about 5,000 years ago. They live in a land of ice and snow, a land without trees. For nine long months of the year it is cold, dark winter, while summer is only three short months. Today, many Inuit live modern lives in towns and cities, but not so long ago the people lived the way their parents and their parents’ parents had lived for thousands of years. Like many people all over the world, the Inuit do not want to lose their languages. There are about 90,000 people who speak Eskimo-Aleut languages and because there is not much difference between the languages, people from different places can understand each other. They want to remember their culture and teach their children the old ways.
Most Inuit lived in small groups of only a few families. Many of these groups lived near the sea because most of their food came from there. Because the weather was too cold to grow anything, their food was the fish and animals that they caught. Other Inuit moved from place to place following the animals called caribou, which made up the biggest part of their food. Sometimes the Inuit boiled their food but often it was not cooked at all.
In winter, the Inuit lived in houses made of earth and stones with an earth roof. Another kind of Inuit house was made of snow. The people could build these houses very quickly so they were useful when they travelled from place to place. The snow houses were round and not very high. The beds and tables were also made of snow and the windows were made of ice. The doors of the snow houses were small so the warm air inside could not get out and the cold air could not get in. A house like this was not cold. There was a lamp inside the house and this warmed it. The lamp was important because it did three things. It warmed the house, it gave light and it was used to cook the food.
Because it was always very cold, the Inuit had to wear thick, warm clothes. The women made clothes from the skins of animals. Each piece of clothing could take weeks or even months to make and they could be very beautiful. Mothers wore special clothes so they could carry their babies on their backs against their skin to keep them warm and safe.
Dogs were important to the Inuit way of life because they could live in the very cold weather. Each group had several dogs which helped the people when they moved around. The Inuit also used boats. The boats were light and easy to carry and they could move through the water quickly. Small boats were used to catch animals and fish, and bigger boats were used when the family travelled. A long time ago the Inuit used stone and animal bones to make knives and the other things they needed. However, over time they began to use guns and modern knives.
Now the Inuit way of life is changing but the old ways are remembered and valued. Write the time and then answer the questions. 

gossip

Gossiping

The importance of gossip

These include:

• the trust involved in sharing gossip 
• the bonding effect of sharing secrets 
• a means of learning the unwritten rules of social groups 
• reminding group members about the importance of the group’s norms and values
• a way of deterring bad behaviour 
• comparing ourselves socially with others.

original article:

http://informalcoalitions.typepad.com/informal_coalitions/2008/11/the-importance-of-gossip-as-a-natural-dynamic-of-organizational-behaviour.html

Willem Iskander

4 Willem Iskandar  by Paul Nation
Willem Iskandar was a famous writer from North Sumatra in Indonesia. He was interested in teaching and learning and he was one of the first Sumatran people to write poems and school-books.
Willem Iskandar was born in 1838. His father was the king of a part of Sumatra. When he was a baby, his parents called him Sati. When the first school was opened in his village, Sati was one of the first children to enter it. His school was not a rich school. The building was very small and it had only one teacher. His teacher soon liked Sati because he was a very clever student.
Then Mr. Gouden, an important Dutch man in Sumatra, came to visit the school. He saw Sati and was interested in him because he was clever. After the visit he went to see Sati's parents. He wanted Sati to come and live with his family and to learn Dutch and other things with his own children. Sati's parents were happy about this and Sati lived with the Gouden family until he was old enough to start work in an office.
A few years later, when the Gouden family went back to Holland, they asked Sati to go with them. So in 1854 Sati left for Holland to study there. He was the first person from Sumatra to study in that country. While he was living in Holland, the Dutch king heard about him and one day Sati went to see the king. He was the first person from Sumatra to visit the king. When the king met him, he gave him a new name: Willem Iskandar. When his parents heard about this, they were not very happy because they did not want Sati to forget about his own country. This never happened.
After studying in Holland for five years, Willem came back to his own village and got some money to open a high school. This was the first high school in Sumatra. He was the only teacher so he taught all the classes. Willem worked very hard and at the same time he wrote books for his students. After some time, he asked the good students from the higher class to teach the students in the lower class. In this way he taught his students to be teachers. His students later became teachers in many different parts of Sumatra.
Willem Iskandar worked for about 15 years and then he was sent again by the Dutch to study in Holland. He met many people and made many friends. After some time he married one of his Dutch friends.
After three years the people in Willem’s village were happy because he had passed his examinations and he was coming back soon. However, he never went home. Willem Iskandar was ready to go home and had said good-bye to his friends. Then his wife suddenly did not want to go with him. She did not want to leave her country. Willem Iskandar was very sad. He loved his wife but he wanted to go home to his own country. One day, in one of the quiet corners of a beautiful flower-garden in Amsterdam he shot himself. Near his body they found a note in Dutch from Willem. Only the word 'Good- bye' was written on it.
Write the time and then answer the questions. 

idioms review

Idioms review

Grow up

Be in love

Take it easy

Take ages

Keep on be in seventh heaven

Tie the knot

In shape

Can’t afford

Get married

Save up

Cost an arm and a leg

Make a mistake

Have a heart of gold

Right away

Get in touch with

Get cold feet

Come in handy

Get rid of

Put off

Once in a blue moon

 Get sick

Take care of

Work out

Day in day out

Have something in common with

Be used to

Out of shape

Jainism

2 Jainism - Paul Nation
Like Buddhism, Jainism began in India. However, while Buddhism went to other countries, Jainism never moved from India. Jainism is not widely known now but it was very important in the history of India.
The greatest teacher of Jainism lived at the same time as Buddha. His name was Mahavira and he came from a strong and rich family. When he was thirty years old, he left his home. He travelled for twelve years and then began teaching. He taught his ideas to his followers for thirty years until his death at the age of 72. The place of his death is important for his followers.
For almost one hundred years after Mahavira died, Jainism was not very important. Then a famous king became a follower of Jainism. At this time Jainism broke into two parts. It happened like this. One leader wanted to leave the north of India where there was not enough food and people were hungry. A big group of people went with him but many others did not follow him. Later, when some of the people came back to the north of India from the south, they found changes. Followers of Jainism had not worn clothes in the past but now many of them were wearing white clothes. The two groups still believed in the same things but they lived in different ways.
For the followers of Jainism everything has a life. Animals, trees, flowers, water and stones all have lives. Every part of the world is alive. Each life wants to be free from its body but until it is free, it is born again and again. If it wants to be free it must do good things and not hurt anything else.
This is difficult so a Jain must do things carefully. If a person walks on a bee and kills it, this is very bad. Water and earth each have a life so drinking water and walking on earth hurt them. A true follower of Jainism eats and drinks but does not kill the plants. Other people kill them. Water must be very clean before Jains will drink it because they do not want to kill anything in the water. Jains cover their faces with a piece of cloth because they do not want to hurt the wind or air when they take it into their bodies. They do not run or hit their feet on the ground. They live very carefully and think before they do anything.
Some lives are more important than other lives. All living things are put into five groups. The highest group is people, gods and some animals like horses, cows, and snakes. The second group cannot hear things. Bees are in this group. The third group cannot see or hear. The next group cannot hear, see, or smell things. Some of the things in this group live in the sea or in the ground. The last group is the biggest. They can only feel things. Plants, earth, water, air, stones, fire and wind are in this group. It is very bad to hurt things in the highest group. It is not as bad to hurt things in the lowest group, but it is still bad. The followers of Jainism do not like to hurt things at all.
Write the time and then answer the questions. 

Life in the South Pacific Islands

1 Life in the South Pacific Islands   (Paul Nation)

The Pacific is the largest ocean in the world and has more than 5,000 islands. These islands make up many different countries but together they are called the Pacific Islands. The Pacific Islands are always warm and the weather is the same for most of the year. Between the months of April and November there is less rain and there is some cool wind but the weather is still warm. The people of the Pacific Islands came from Asia a long time ago. We know this because a few of the words in their many different languages are the same as words in Asian languages. 

In the following story we can see how life was in a Pacific Island village many years ago. Today, many places in the Pacific have changed but it is good to look back to see how life was in the old days. 

A day in the life of a Pacific Island village. 

The life of the village begins when the sun comes up. The shouts of the young men are heard among the trees. They call to one another as they go to their work. As the sun begins to shine on the soft brown roofs and the tall thin trees, birds call and the noise of the sea is mixed with the noise of the village. Babies cry and little children roll out of their beds and walk down to the sea to wash their faces. Older children get ready and go to find their friends to go fishing. The whole village opens its eyes and goes towards the sea. 

Some of the men get ready to take the boats out fishing. Through the village a noise calling the young men together is heard. They come from all parts of the village. Some go with their digging sticks to work in the village garden. Others work in their own gardens. Little children are too hungry to wait for the first meal of the day so they eat food left over from the day before. Women carry washing to the river at the far end of the village while the older girls go fishing or make cloth. 

In the houses the older women and the mothers with young babies sit and talk about the day. The old men sit by themselves rolling leaves to make rope. Some families are already hard at work cooking the food which has been brought from the village gardens. Children are running backwards and forwards, carrying water. They get leaves to put the food in before it is cooked. 

At twelve o'clock the ground burns the feet of the little children and they run into the houses. Some of the women carry leaves to keep the sun away from their faces. Everything is quiet and as the sun slowly moves towards the sea, someone shouts out 'a boat'. The men bring their boats out of the sea and on to the land. They are tired because the day has been hot. The fish are put on the floor, or in front of the houses until the women pour water on them. The men come home from the gardens. They go together to a big house to drink and talk and then everyone eats the food that the women have made. The day is almost finished. 

Write the time and then answer the questions. 

lost

short

Your own voice

Learning English is very important in the Japanese university system.

But you know,  in a large class it is difficult.  

So,  What is the goal?  Why does Japanese society feel it is so important?   Is it important to you?  This is a discussion question.   There are so many different answers to consider.
Each answer is important.  

Of course  reading is enough for most people.   And you can have an opinion about what you read.

But what about discussion?
Discussion is not the same as a short conversation. It is not reading.  

Discussion is finding your opinion and checking what other people think.   This gives your own opinion balance.  

Discussion in any situation means you have a  live  voice.  Not your teacher's voice,  your own personal opinion.

In Japan,  the style of discussion is different.   People listen,  agree,  try to keep harmony.   They want to follow the leader.   There are important social rules.  

But learn ing a different style of communication can only make you  a more flexible person.    No one style is best.   Just different.  

In Japan Social change is not so important so discussion is not highly valued.

Gossip questions

Gossip questions

1.  What word means 'having conversations about other people's private lives?

2.  How old are "pre-teens'?

3.  How much of pre-teens conversation was gossip?

4.  What did girl's mainly gossip about?

5.  Who did boys most often gossip with?

6. In general, when you were in junior high and high school,  what types of things did you talk about with your friends?

7, Nowadays,  what types of things do you talk about with your friends?

gossip

Gossiping

Gossiping - student A


This article is about gossiping. Do you understand what "gossip" means? In conversations, when people sometimes talk about other people's private lives, it is called gossiping. We often imagine older women telling gossip to each other; in other words, they tell personal information about other people. 

Gossiping - student B
 

Researchers analyzed girls and boys between the ages of 9 and 12 in order to learn if they gossip and what they gossip about. By the way, children between 9 and 12 are called 'pre-teens.' The researchers found that pre-teens spend 50% of the conversation time gossiping.

Gossiping - student C



Girls often talk about boys that they were in love with. They also talked about boys other girls loved. Boys, other the other hand, rarely talked about girls that they loved. But they did talk about girls in general.

Gossiping - part D


There was some interesting information about pre-teens. Pairs of boys who were good friends gossiped less than boys who were not close friends. In other words, boys used gossip to become friends with someone new. Girls, on the other hand, used gossip mostly with their friends. Girls spent much more time gossiping with close friends than with girls who were just acquaintances.

It's about time!

about the story


a. What does "It's about time!" mean?

b.  What does Vittoria say to Sebastian when he asks her to marry him?

c.  What do you think of Vittoria’s decision?

d  How long does it take for the couple to tie the knot?

e  How do the newly weds feel?

about you

a.  Have you ever bought anything that cost an arm and a leg?

b.  Are you single?   Do you want to get married someday?

c. How would you deal  with a situation where your parents didn't want you to marry?

d. Are you saving up to buy anything?  What?  

e.  Tell about a time when you finally got something you wanted after a long wait.

Get rid of

Dictation - read carefully to your partner

When Barbara turns on her heater, there's a terrible smell.  It is getting worse and worse.  She can't stand it!  She goes to the repair shop.  "What's the matter with my car?"  She asks.  Please get rid of that smell. When the mechanic takes a look at th heating system, he pulls out a big dead Python.  Barbara loses it.

Questions - ask your partner

1.  Why does Barbbara turn on the heater?
2. What happens when she turns on the heater?
3. Does she like the smell?
4.  Why do you think the snake was in the heater?

test

test sample

Songs from the Soul:

Stories from Around the World

Retold by Jennifer Bassett

1   In which story can you find these things? Complicity, The Luck of Four, Chinna and Muthu, The Deceivers, Treason.

a  A yellow butterfly. ………………

b  A little goat. ………………

c  A fat chicken. ………………

d  A lottery ticket. ………………

e  A computer. ………………

Setting

Choose the best answer.

1   In The Evening Train, Keshto lives _____.

a [  ] on a large farm b [  ] in a noisy city c [  ] in a small town d [  ] in a quiet village

2   Keshto makes and cooks delicious _____ cakes.

a [  ] rice b [  ] potato c [  ] tea d [  ] chocolate

3   Emma and Jimmy in Complicity visit a _____ with their mother.

a [  ] farm b [  ] shop c [  ] mine d [  ] house

4   In The Luck of Four, Chai goes into Samy’s _____ shop.

a [  ] book b [  ] clothes c [  ] coffee d [  ] cake

5   In Chinna and Muthu, there has been no _____ in the village for a long time.

a [  ] rain b [  ] work c [  ] milk d [  ] hot weather

Changing their Skies: Stories from Africa

Retold by Jennifer Bassett

1   Which story do these sentences come from? The Rubbish Dump, Cardboard Mansions, Leaving.

a  She began to think again about Stanger, and the past, and her friend Ratnadevi. ……….

b  He saw Mazambezi sitting by the side of the pit looking down into it. ……….

c  There were no fruit trees, no birds calling and   flying in and out of the trees. ……….

d  Some weeks later answers to the letters began arriving with big shiny prospectuses. ……….

e  Near the house he stopped and hid the plane under his shirt. ……….

f   That was the first time I saw her as a person, and not just as our mother. ……….

g  All through the journey he stood by the window, with his nose against the glass. ……….

h  It was a hard life, with five children and no husband. ……….

i   Why did people vomit when they were flying in a plane? ……….

j   She waited for the boy, pulling the end of her old green cotton sari over her head. ……….