Intermediate

  Pre-reading questions: What type of music do you like? Who is your favorite musician or singer? Where do you usually listen to music?   Starting on January 2018, Japan’s music copyright management organization plans to acquire copyright fees from schools that uses music in teaching musical instruments like piano, guitar, and the likes. Some organizations like Yamaha Music Foundation are scrutinizing on how to manage the plan. Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers, and Publishers were also afraid that the said fees would hinder Japan’s music culture. In April 2016, JASRAC started imposing changes on vocal and musical instrument lesson classes at cultural centers. In line with this,…
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Pre-reading questions: For you, what is education? How does education affect our future? How does your country ensure quality education for all? Singapore’s Ministry of Education will implement an aptitude-based program, which focuses on students’ natural ability and talents, in place of the traditional academic-based system. This new program will be implemented in the Institute of Technical Education, polytechnics and universities in the country. According to Ng Chee Meng, Ministry of Education official, general academic ability will no longer be used in assessing students. Ong Ye Kung of Higher Education and Skills stressed the need for the country’s post-secondary educational institutions to have an additional mission – to uncover and…
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Pre-reading questions: What do you like about learning thru the internet? How has the internet changed the way kids learn these days? Do you think e-learning can replace traditional classroom learning? According to UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), digitalization is the key to advancement in education and learning. E-learning is already gaining a strong foothold in South Africa. Tablets and laptops are provided to guarantee that children have access to primary education. Based on the current trend in South Africa, e-learning revenues have the potential of increasing further in the next few years. Some mobile operators are now developing new applications for e-learning. A lot of students…
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Pre-reading questions: Have you experienced studying abroad? What do you think is the best university in Japan? How important are teachers in the lives of the students? England, a country that is part of the United Kingdom, is experiencing a growing scarcity of teachers. Many teachers already left their jobs and a lot more are set to resign soon. Teachers in key subjects such as Math and Science are urgently needed as the number of students is increasing. As per statistics from the official government, the total number of full-time teachers in secondary schools went down by 10,000 between 2010 and 2015. Malcolm Trobe, general secretary of the Association of…
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