Motivation For Language Learning Among Libyan Students English Language Essay

Motivation For Language Learning Among Libyan Students English Language Essay The motivation to learn a foreign or second language is a subject of some considerable interest nowadays. This has not always been the case. In 1956, Wally and Lambert believed that learning another language involved verbal ability and intelligence but notions like motivation, attitudes and anxiety were not considered to be of significance. Opinions have since changed and one might occasionally think that affective variables are the only influences worthy of consideration. Learning a foreign language can be a difficult and lengthy process and I would not be at all surprised to learn that several variables, so far not considered significant, were found to be of importance in second-language acquisition. Hitherto, research has concentrated on individual difference features of the student such as, language anxiety, attitudes and motivation, self-confidence, personality variables (e.g. risk-taking, desire to succeed, empathy and so on), intelligence, field independence, language learning strategies, and language aptitude. However, there are other variables and other classes of variables that could be considered. This essay will focus on motivation, as I believe that many of these other variables are reliant on motivation for their effects to be realized. For example, language-learning strategies are unlikely to be used if the learner is not motivated to learn the second language and a learner will be disinclined to take risks using the second language if he / she has little intention of learning it. Therefore, motivation is crucial, in the same way that language aptitude is, in determining the success or otherwise of learning a foreign language in a classroom setting. Ellis (1985) states that motivated individuals who integrate both linguistic and non-linguistic outcomes of the learning experience will accomplish desirable attitudes and a higher degree of second-language proficiency. Recent years have seen an increase in the number of Libyan students coming to the UK to study for postgraduate degrees. A major issue for most of these students is their poor command of English, both verbal and written. This naturally has a negative impact on their ability to integrate into life in England, both on and off campus. An examination of their motivation to learn English may highlight the linguistic challenges they face in England and the process of their adaptation to both their degree study and the new society and culture. Therefore, this essay will first undertake a literature review to look at research carried out into motivation for second-language acquisition. It will then describe and examine adult Libyan students instrumental and integrative motivation in learning English as a second language. Secondly, it will introduce a short semi-structured interview with postgraduate Libyan students who have not long been in the UK. The purpose of the interview is to establish whether their goal orientation is mainly instrumental or integrative. Some conclusions will be made before some implications for classroom teaching are drawn. Literature Review According to Dornyei (2009), it is necessary to know what motivation is so as to enhance the motivational intensity of students. He defines motivation as a cluster of factors that energize the behaviour and give it direction. Alkinson (2000: 123) defines motivation as the effort that learners put into learning a second language as a result of their needs or desire to learn it. According to Gardner and Lambert (1972), there are two types of motivation: integrative motivation and instrumental motivation. Gardner and Lambert (1972) state that integrative motivation occurs when learners are interested in learning about the second languages culture and want to communicate with speakers of that language and become integrated into that culture: a more interpersonal quality of learning. On the other hand, Gardner (1996) states that instrumental motivation refers to those students who learn a second language in order to gain some kind of advantage be it economic (better paid job) or social (better status). They are thus more practical and self-oriented. Lamp (2004) finds that most Libyan students who study English as a second language are instrumentally rather than integratively orientated. Dornyei Ushioda (2009: 53) believe that integrative orientation is an essential source of motivation because it is based firmly in learners personalities. As such it is likely to exert its influence over an extended period and to sustain learning efforts over the time which is necessary to achieve language learning success. Also, Skehan (1989) suggests that being integratively oriented leads to greater motivation, which in turn helps to sustain the learner throughout the long process of mastering a second language, particularly when that learner only starts learning the new language in high school. Instrumental motivation on the other hand is less effective because it is not rooted in the learners personality. It is therefore more susceptible to negative external influences and the learner is less likely to put in the effort required to attain cumulative progress. According to Lamb (2004), over the last few years, motivation has nevertheless been reconceptualised. He argues that integrative motivation is becoming increasingly unimportant in a globalizing world in which English is the medium of communication between speakers of many languages, from many cultures, for many purposes. The desire to integrate with the first language community hardly makes sense anymore. Therefore, the debate about the integrative concept has intensified and has taken a new turn. Dornyei Ushioda (2009), ask whether we can apply the concept of integrative orientation when there is no specific target reference group of speaker. In other words, does it makes sense to talk about integrative attitudes when ownership of English does not necessarily rest with a specific community of speaker, whether American English or British English? Moreover, does the notion of integrative motivation of learning English have any real meaning, given the increasing curricular reframing o f English as a universal basic skill to be taught from primary level alongside literacy and numeracy, and given the predicted decline in numbers of English as a foreign language learners by the end of this decade? These questions have led some second-language motivation researchers to rethink the concept of integrative motivation. Yashima (2002: 57), for example, expands the notion of integrativeness to refer to a generalised international outlook or international posture, which she defines with reference to Japanese learners of English who have an interest in foreign or international affairs, willingness to go overseas to stay or work, readiness to interact with intercultural patterns, and openness or a non-ethnocentric attitude toward different culture. Dornyei Ushioda (2009) expand this concept of international posture such that the external reference group moves from being a specific geographic and enthnolinguistic community to being a non-specific global community of English language users. Ushioda (2006) questions whether it is meaningful to conceptualise these points, i.e. is it meaningful to conceptualise the global community as an external reference group or as part of ones internal representation of oneself as a defacto member of that global community? This theoretical shift of focus to the internal domain of self and identity by researchers such as those mentioned above makes this a radical rethink of the original integrative concept. Dornyei and Csizer (2002) speculate that the process of identification theorised to underpin integrativeness might be better explained as an internal process of identification within the persons self-concept, rather than identification with an external reference group. Dornyei (2005: 175) developed this idea further by drawing on the psychological theory of possible selves. According to this theory, possible selves represent individuals ideas of what what they might become, what they would like to become, and what they afraid of becoming, and so provide a conceptual link between the self concept and motivation. Dornyei (2005) also builds on this theory of possible selves to develop a new conceptualisation of second- language motivation, the second language motivational self-system. Its central concept is the idea of self, which refers to the representation of the attributes that someone would ideally like to possess (i.e. a representation of personal hopes, aspirations or desires). In relation to second-language motivation, Breen (2001) argues that second-language aquisition theorists have not developed a comprehensive theory of identity that integrates the language learners and the language-learning context. Breen (2001) uses the term identity to describe how a person understands his/her relationship to the world, how that relationship is constructed across time and space, and how the person understands possibilities for the future. Breen (2001: 45) developed the motivational concept of investment to capture the socially and historically constructed relationship of the learner to the target language, and their often ambivalent desire to learn and practise it. When learners are interested in a language, they do so with the understanding that they will acquire a wider range of symbolic and material resources, which will enhance their culture capital, their identity and their desires for the future. Therefore, an investment in the target language is an investment in the learners own identity. Arnold (2002) proposed that in addition to the current research and theories, there is a need to draw on a wider variety of theoretical viewpoints in order to further our understanding of motivation in second-language learning. Of these, the more important ones that are relevant to this essay include the cognitive perspective of learner goal orientation, the theory of goal-setting and attributional theory, all of which will now be briefly discussed. Firstly, according to Pintrich (1989), the cognitive perspective differentiates two major learner goal orientations: intrinsic and extrinsic. Students demonstrate an extrinsic orientation if their reasons for engaging in a task are to acquire grades, rewards, or approval from others. Conversely, Arnold (2000) maintains that if the rationale for students engaging in a task is curiosity, challenge, mastery, or learning, then they are considered to be intrinsically oriented. Arnold (2000) also adds that there is much evidence in second-language acquisition literature to support the claim that intrinsic motivation is strongly connected to the outcomes of second-language learning. Harmer (2007) suggests, even where the original reason for taking up a language course, for example, is extrinsic, the chance of success will be greatly enhanced if the students come to love the learning process. According to Philips (2005) most Libyan students are extrinsically oriented. For example, all Libyan schools place a strong emphasis on tests, grades and competitiveness, all of which only serve to promote Libyan students extrinsic motivation. The students are only learning the second language to impress their parents and teachers rather than learning it because they love to do so. As a result, adult students who come to study in the UK have been extrinsically motivated to simply do enough to pass exams and get a well-paid job after graduating. Secondly, according to Locke Latham (1994: 55) the theory of goal setting is based on the principle that much human action is purposeful, because it is directed by conscious goals. This theory explains why some people carry out tasks better than others: those who are goal oriented perform better and achieve more. Garden (1985) states that there are two important aspects of goals: goal mechanisms and goal attributes. Content and intensity are the most widely studied goal attributes. However, goal specificity and goal difficulty are aspects of content which are most researched. Dornyei (2005) states that commitment is the most commonly studied feature of intensity and this is the degree to which a person is attracted to the goal, considers it significant, is determined to achieve it, and sticks with it in the face of difficulties. Locke and Latham (1996: 40) propose three direct mechanisms by which goals regulate performance: Firstly, goals direct activity toward actions which are goal appropriate at the expense of actions that are inappropriate. Secondly, goals adjust expenditure in that individuals regulate their effort according to the complexity level of the goal or task. Thirdly, goals influence the perseverance of action in situations where there are no time limits. Finally, Dornyei Ushioda (2009) define the attributional theory of motivation. This portrays human beings as scientists who are motivated to achieve a causal understanding of the world. These strivings for a causal explanation are supposed to have behavioural implications. In an achievement-related context, the chief sets of causes considered responsible for failure and success are: effort, ability, luck and task characteristics. Weiner (1992) states that these are analysed along two dimensions: stability and lack of control. The stability dimension contrasts ability and task difficulty, both of which are thought to be unchangeable, with effort and luck possibly changing on subsequent attempts to carry out a task. The lack of control aspect contrasts ability and effort (both internal factors) with task difficulty and luck (both external factors). In principle, individuals might attribute causes to any one of these four factors. Dont know if this is what you mean also not sure if it s very clear, especially the bit about dimensions and the following couple of sentences Motivation for Language Learning among Adult Libyan students in the UK: Instrumental or Integrative? It has been established that individuals learn a second language in two main ways: they are either instrumentally or integratively motivated. Among Libyan students, it would appear that instrumental motivation is more evident than integrative motivation and that teaching and learning for exams have dominated foreign language teaching in Libya. According to Philips (2005), in Libyan education, English is compulsory. The majority of Libyan language learners do not choose to learn English; consequently, many lack the internal drive for learning English and they have to depend on external driving forces. Philips (2005) adds that because English is compulsory, students see it as a means of improving their social standing. Moreover, the Libyan people think that almost everything can be attained through hard work, even if they take no personal interest in it. So, it is not unusual that Libyan EFL students learn English to qualify for graduate and postgraduate education, to prepare themselve s for the best future employment possible and to pass exams; all of which are external factors and which align with several collective social expectations. Johnson Krug (1980) believe integrative motivation to be more prevalent than instrumental motivation in the learning process, since without external influencing factors, the student becomes unmotivated to learn. This however is not the case in cross-cultural situations. Johnson Krug (1980) find that external driving forces, particularly those nurtured and supported by the exam system and curriculum in formal education, continue to motivate the Libyan EFL student. Many studies have looked at motivation in a Libyan context, and found that instrumental orientation is very common among Libyan EFL students. Kara (1992) maintains that 99% of Libyan students of English are only learning English for reasons of certificate motivation. Philips (2005) argues that most Libyan individuals learn English for utilitarian and patriotic reasons, for personal advancement as well as for national modernization and material gains. Libyan students are motivated to learn English because they believe that they will be financially better off in the future. Interview The aim of this short and semi-structured interview is to prove what has been shown through the research discussed above: namely that adult Libyan students who come to study in the UK exhibit signs of instrumental orientation rather than integrative orientation when it comes to their English learning experiences. This researcher will examine the motivation behind second-language acquisition in an informal setting and will interview postgraduate Libyan students who are undertaking MA and PhD studies in the UK. Research Questions Several questions were considered important for the purposes of this research. These were as follows: What has motivated Libyan students in the UK to learn English? Do you think it is important to learn English, and why? What was your reason for learning English in the UK? What are your attitudes towards British people? And finally what work youll be doing in your country after graduating in the UK? Participants and Data Collection Procedures Two postgraduate Libyan students who are studying for degrees in the UK participated in this study. For both students, this was their first time in the UK and their first time in an English speaking country. Both respondents were found through my own social network and were friends of a friend. See further details in Table (1) below. Name Gender Age Current subject Duration of study in the UK Mohammed Male 26 MA Medicines Three years Laila Female 29 PhD TESOL Four years Table 1 Data were collected from both students separately and at different times. Both students had already been in the UK for 18 months. Each interview took approximately 30 minutes. Both students gave permission for their answers to be taped during the interviews. Discussion Both respondents believe that English is of great importance to their academic education in the UK. Both had come to study at a postgraduate level in the UK in order to improve their career prospects and benefit financially upon graduating. As discussed before, these reasons show a distinct instrumental orientation in their motivation for learning English. Both respondents felt a current and urgent need to further improve their four skills reading, listening, speaking and writing of English despite their achievements in learning English in Libya before they came to the UK. Their experience of learning English in Libya involved particular training programs and / or formal instruction. This meant that they excelled at passing English exams rather than being able to converse in a practical way with English-speaking people. Having recognised that they might have some problems when they got to the UK, both respondents spent a year improving their knowledge of English before applying for their postgraduate courses. They also did this to assist them in their actual postgraduate work as both felt that they needed additional language skills in order to cope with their studies. Mohammed said oral skills are important to me because they help me to communicate with people from different parts of the world and also help me in my academic degree. With good oral skills I can cope more easily with academic activities such as communication or discussions with my supervisor, understanding seminars and talking to other students about their studies. Laila however, said (English) reading and writing skills are particularly significant when it comes to writing my thesis. It was obvious that both respondents tended to be more preoccupied with an instrumental orientation. Kara (1992) found that Libyas motivation for learning English is very job-oriented and certainly very pragmatic. Libyans learn English because learning English provides them with a sense of achievement and helps them secure better-paid jobs. For Mohammed, the practical aspects of the English language seemed to far outweigh the integrative dimension. He said Ill need English for my future career because I desire to work in the UK after graduating. My area of study is popular with the medical field in many countries, particularly in the UK. Working in the UK will be more lucrative for me than working in Libya. However, he added that if I were to find a job as a doctor and live in the UK, maybe I will have intrinsic goal orientations when it comes to learning English then because then I will want to be able to communicate with English people and have a deeper understanding of their comm unity and culture so that I can integrate and adjust to the society. The second interviewee, Laila said Studying English is essential to me since without it, an individual cannot be successful in any respected field, and also for me, studying English can be significant because if I am skilled in English, others will respect me more. In addition, she said, In my country Libya, people who get a good degree in an English speaking country find it easier to find a well-paid job because my country lacks qualified English teachers in higher education. She also added I am interested in using the Internet as a communication tool to help me learn about people from different countries. It is also useful for finding information and learning materials in English. Both respondents had negative attitudes towards British people that they had met. They felt that British people were arrogant, impatient and prejudiced. This could be considered further evidence of instrumental orientation. According to Dornyei Ushioda (2009), negative attitudes towards the target language community, may lead to a lack of interest in interacting with the people of the target language. Mohammed had experience of being treated rudely and impatiently by an English person when he had asked for directions. Having had this experience, he was less willing to interact with English people in case it happened again. Laila said my English landlord treated me less favourably in the allocation of rooms than English tenants who shared the same house. This is a sad example of a negative experience as a result of Lailas aspiration towards integrative motivation. Laila felt that her landlord was prejudiced against individuals from developing countries. She too has had negative experiences when trying to interact with ordinary British people in the street. Laila asked a woman for some directions to the coach station and this woman not only ignored the question but also walked quickly away. As a result, Laila has felt frustrated by some British people who she found to be very arrogant and would have preferred to avoid. Both respondents, despite their negative attitudes toward English people, felt that they were more successful in learning English in the UK than at home. Johnson Krug (1980) suggest that people who rated foreign people negatively were more successful than those who rated them positively and that the expression of negative feeling towards them only spurred them on to overcome and manipulate the people of the target language. Finally, both respondents were able to agree that their motivational goals with regard to learning English were instrumental. Both said that they hoped to get better-paid jobs after graduating and English skills were part of this overall plan. In summary, the interview process has shown that both Libyans were highly motivated to learn English and that they had a higher degree of instrumental motivation than integrative motivation. According to Pintrich (1989) and from his cognitive perspective, the data would indicate that both respondents exhibited extrinsic goal orientations. Both believed that learning English would assist them in their postgraduate studies, enhance their career prospects, improve their English interactions and communications and assist them in integrating into British communities. In other words, learning English was seen to improve their quality of life in the UK. Conclusion Motivation is one of the most significant factors influencing learners second-language proficiency and achievement. Libyan students show signs of being instrumentally motivated rather than integratively motivated. In order to illustrate this, an interview was set up to investigate motivation to learn English among Libyan postgraduate students. Data gathered during the interviews supported the theory that they had been motivated to learn out of the belief in the instrumental or extrinsic value of English, primarily for their studies and future career prospects. Some research showed that current English teaching methods in Libya are targeted towards achieving good grades rather than promoting proficiency. Whilst many Libyan students do well in the English exams in Libya, their ability to use English in an English-speaking environment on a day-to-day basis remains limited. It has been shown that instrumentally motivated EFL students in Libya learn English to increase their employment pr ospects, increase their salary expectations and for social advancement. Instrumental motivation is maintained through the exam system and its attendant teaching environment. Classroom implications According to Dornyei and Csizer (2001), teachers play an important role in maximizing students motivation to learn a second language in the classroom. To this end, there are some teaching and learning strategies, which could be employed in the English-learning classroom. Firstly, Dornyei and Csizer (2001) suggest that teachers should dispense with the traditional teacher-centered teaching methods and instead encourage students to use their initiative. English could be introduced using multi-media examples such as music, film, TV and literature. Once their interest is induced, students will be motivated to take part in classroom activities and so attain the goal of language learning. Teachers need to take on many roles: cooperator, organizer, informant, initiator, guide, participant and advisor. A learner-centered class is a successful class with learners playing the dominant role. Learner-centered dynamic classrooms can help learners to make progress and encourage them to practise the second language. Secondly, Dornyei (2001) states that teachers should create a relaxed atmosphere in the classroom because a tense atmosphere can cause anxiety amongst learners and this hinders their motivation and effectiveness in a foreign language. Additionally, teachers should choose teaching materials that are appropriate for the learners and that create a desire for learning. Authentic and interesting teaching materials enable learners to improve their verbal and oral communication skills in real-life situations. Thirdly, Dornyei (2001) adds that teachers should increase self-confidence among students of English through encouragement rather than scolding or criticising. Finally, Dornyei and Csizer (1998) assert that a teacher can increase students natural curiosity towards the English community and its culture by discussing things like geography, history, lifestyle, political matters, day-to-day living and using written, audio and visual information. Drawing upon the experience of students who have visited English-speaking countries is also a clever way to introduce interesting information. Teachers should help students to realize that they are not just learning English to pass exams. Students should look upon the exercise as a means of learning about other cultures, people and societies. Teachers of English should cultivate positive attitudes among their students towards English speaking people and cultures, thereby promoting integrative motivation for learning English. Check the spellings of the researchers names you quote there were several inconsistencies which Ive corrected (after checking in google) but you might like to check that they are indeed spelled correctly.

Heart of Darkness and Coppola’s Essay

   Kurtz was the best agent the Company had – and yet his journey has resulted in his oppressive and tyrannical demeanour; and he unleashed his maddened soul unto his surroundings. Kurtz obviously spent much time dwelling on thoughts and attempts to journey into his soul. The fact that he once travelled down the river with his ivory, and yet turned back after miles of travelling depicts his indecisive nature. Marlow realises this, and sees how torn apart the man really is. He realises that Kurtz’s solitude in the wilderness had allowed him to segregate and isolate everything he had known. With nothing to control him and no voices of reason, his journey into his soul in the end, distorted it into a malicious, gluttonous thing, whereby its greed and passions were to become insatiable, â€Å"But his soul was mad. Being alone in the wilderness, it had looked within itself†¦ it had gone mad. † (pg66) As we approach the end of their journeys, we see that Marlow has salvaged himself from insanity and darkness. Kurtz however, cannot retrieve himself, â€Å"The brown current ran swiftly out of the heart of darkness†¦ as Kurtz’s life was running swiftly too, ebbing, ebbing out of his heart into the sea of inexorable time. † (pg68) The use of metaphors and analogous language explicates that the further Marlow and the others depart in the physical journey, the less the likelihood of Marlow obtaining a deleterious soul. However, inversely, the further Kurtz proceeds away from his physical journey, the ‘heart of darkness’ he entitled to himself – the sooner he faces his cessation. He had desecrated his soul, gratified his monstrous passions to the extent where he would now allow his journey to have a path back. This concept is elucidated in the analogy that he had â€Å"kicked himself from the earth†¦ he had kicked the very earth to pieces.. † (pg66). And so the end of Kurtz’s journey occurs, his final words being â€Å"The horror! The horror! † (pg69). He seemingly passed judgement on his actions and life, his ‘journey’ and he deemed it to be horrid. By the end of his journey, Marlow has an altered perception of life. We see that through this spiritual journey he has gained the ability to understand reasons for barbarous actions; a suggestion that it is only through experience and such a journey, that one could ever understand how and why the mind can turn into such a truculent, repugnant thing. Coppola’s Apocalypse Now presents a mission through the Nung River to reach deeper into a jungle. Captain Willard accepts a mission to exterminate Kurtz, a man who implements unsound methods and is accountable for murder. Here Coppola employs a sound technique, the use of music in a minor key to pose an apprehensive sentiment to the mission. Willard formulates an analogy â€Å"never get out of the boat†¦ unless you were going all the way. Kurtz got off the boat†¦ † Willard interpolates to Kurtz’s mental journey, and how Kurtz ‘got off the boat’, and theoretically straight into the arms of the jungle. Kurtz was a man who had extreme potential and ability to reach high ranks within the army. However, he abandoned this and adventured into the unknown and attained new beliefs and ethics, â€Å"the more I read and began to understand, the more I admired him†¦ he could’ve gone for general†¦ but he went for himself instead. † Willard’s understanding of this is one of the primary indications of his commencement towards his own spiritual journey. Kurtz opens opportunities to Willard – by venturing into Kurtz’s foundations he ventures into his own. During this dialogue we see close up camera angles of Willard, sweaty with a torch and black background, giving him a strong look of obsessiveness. Willard then reads a letter from Kurtz, within the letter is a significant passage, â€Å"there are many moments for compassion†¦ there are many moments for ruthless action. What is called ruthless†¦ may be†¦ seeing clearly what there is to be done and doing it†¦ directly. † Kurtz is attempting to postulate reason and justify his ruthless conduct. Following this the boat halts to inspect a native’s boat. During the examination, the soldiers open fire despite the native’s innocence. They discover a girl is still living, and resolve to accompany her to a hospital. Willard however, determines he must continue on his expedition. He deliberately shoots the girl and thus adopts an aspect of Kurtz, â€Å"seeing clearly what there is to be done and doing it. † A median camera shot encompasses the face, neck and torso of the girl, lifeless and inert, revealing and provoking an increased sense of callousness upon Willard’s part. Eventually Willard encounters Kurtz, and he imparts a recount explicating the barbarity of the Vietcong guerrilla forces, â€Å"And then I realized they were stronger than me because they could stand it†¦ men who are†¦ able to†¦ kill – without feeling, without passion, without judgement†¦ † Upon saying this, his face is shadowed; there is no sound but his echoing words reinforcing the dialogue’s intensity. Although Kurtz may have desired strength and mercilessness, the irony and sarcasm of his stories pose another reason as to why he divaricated from the army. The American army has the ability to kill and wage war, and yet American soldiers still hold to moral values that completely contradict their actions, â€Å"we train young men to drop fire on people. But their commanders won’t allow them to write fuck on their airplanes because it’s obscene†¦ † As Kurtz despises such â€Å"lies†, he comes to believe the ability to endure abominable vulgarity shows true genuine strength, and lacks contradictory behaviour. We thus receive reasoning for Kurtz’s journey. Willard then concludes to slay Kurtz, however it is not for the benefit of the army, â€Å"I wasn’t even in their army anymore†¦ I felt like he was up there waiting for me to take his pain away†¦ † As he sees Kurtz, the music begins to play rapidly to produce anticipation. It is a ritualistic slaughter, with constant cuts to a scene of vicious sacrificial killing of a water buffalo by the natives, insinuating Kurtz as a false deity, having an erroneous journey. He is deservingly being slaughtered like an animal, sacrificed back to his jungle. Kurtz’s last words are â€Å"The Horror, The horror. † Here we perceive an acceptance of iniquity in a human’s soul, the ‘horror’ that can arise when a man delves into his soul, and depraves it through attempts to monopolise it. As Willard exits from slaughtering Kurtz, he has been established as the native’s ‘new deity’. Undershot camera angles endorse Willard’s superior status, his face is smeared in mud and his body is profaned with blood. The music is disturbing (producing an anticipative mood) as he progressively walks through the sea of people. There is the prospect of Willard continuing in Kurtz’s footsteps. However, he advances to his boat. It was through this journey that he was able to comprehend Kurtz’s actions. But Willard himself did not falter over the edge into insanity. The journeys in this case show us that placed into the right scenarios, there does sleep a suppressed greed and insanity in every soul that has the chance to escape if delved into. However, as we can see from Marlow and Willard’s examples, this can be understood and the unleashing of such evil can be avoided. Coppola and Conrad both used their techniques to show this concept and those concepts relating to it. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Joseph Conrad section.

Marketing Myopia - 955 Words

â€Å"Selling and marketing are antithetical rather than synonymous or even complementary. There will always be, one can assume, a need for some selling. But the aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous. The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him and sells itself.† (Drucker 1973, pp.64-65) In the early years of the ‘70s era, Drucker was one of the first educators and authors who identify marketing as a way to understand customers’ needs rather than to sell the products. With the same thinking as Drucker, in a journal article named Marketing Myopia (1960), Theodore Levitt examines and analyzes limitations of managers in approaching the philosophy of modern business. The core†¦show more content†¦In these two professors’ work, customers are still in the core of business. According to Vargo and Lush (2004), customers are defined as resources which always change and need to be catched and held. In order to do that, firms have to do marketing researches, understand customers’ demands and conduct promotion activities for their products. In addition, the marketing myopia has been extended in some new definitions with different orientations related to stakeholder (identified by Smith, Drumwright and Gentile, 2010), competitor and manager (stated by Richard, Womack and Allaway, 1992) as well as Levitt’s basic view in 1960. All in all, Levitt’s marketing myopia is still evaluated as the most influential idea on marketing. And due to these marketing myopia problems, many firms have been stumbling. To overcome difficulties, to survive and to grow, these firms must identify their positions, reorganize their systems, take actions and be ready to change as recommendations of Kitchen and Proctor (1995). REFERENCES Drucker, P.F 1973, Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices, Harper Row Publishers, New York. Kitchen, P.J. 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Gentile *** forthcoming in the Journal of Public Policy Marketing This paper can be downloaded without charge from the Social Science Research Network electronic library at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1336886 Read MoreEssay about Marketing Myopia779 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿Marketing Myopia:   Marketing Myopia suggests that businesses will do better in the end if they concentrate on meeting customers’ needs rather than on selling products. The mistake of paying more attention to products a company offers than to the benefits and experiences produced by these products. The term marketing myopia was first expressed in a famous article of the same name written by  Theodore Levitt  for the  Harvard Business Review  in 1960. In Marketing Myopia, Levitt argued that manyRead MoreLiterature Review on Marketing Myopia2738 Words   |  11 PagesArticle 1: Marketing Myopia 3 Article 2: An Integrated View of Marketing Myopia 4 Article 3: Beyond Marketing Myopia: The Service of Small Railroads 5 Article 4: Futuristics: Reducing Marketing Myopia 6 Article 5: Reconsidering the Classics: Reader Response to Marketing Myopia 7 Article 6: Global Marketing Myopia 8 Article 7: Editorial: Marketing Myopia 9 Article 8: Extending the marketing myopia concept to promote strategic agility 10 Article 9: The New Marketing Myopia 11 Article 10:Read MoreMarketing Myopia, By Theodore Levitt1348 Words   |  6 PagesMarketing Myopia Analysis â€Å"Marketing Myopia†, by Theodore Levitt is one of Harvard Business Review’s most profound articles ever published, having won the McKinsey Award in 1960. The title of the article hints what it suggests, a short-sighted approach to marketing. Levitt, whom has witnessed the rise of three industries: petroleum, automobiles and electronics, analyzes and comments on businesses’ failures, partly due to a misguided focus. Business, in essence is to establish an entity in which profitRead MoreAnalysis Of Theodore Levitts Marketing Myopia 1341 Words   |  6 PagesIn Theodore Levitt’s article â€Å"Marketing Myopia†, he defines that marketing should focus on customer oriented instead of product oriented. He had introduced a famous question, â€Å"What business are you really in?† Many times, people misidentify the industry they are in. For example, Levitt uses the examples of railroad business, Hollywood, oil company, and many other examples to teach us that oriented management can keep a growth industry growing. Although â€Å"product orientation is unquestioned† for manyRead MoreAnalysis Of Theodore Levitt s Marketing Myopia744 Words   |  3 PagesTheodore Levitt s original 1960 Harvard Business Review in 1960 Marketing Myopia addressed shortsighted in management, industry is a customer satisfying business and not a goods producing business (Levitte, 1960). The core meaning behind Levitt s Marketing Myopia is Levitt (2008), Every major industry was once a growth industry. But some that are now riding a wave of growth enthusiasm are very much in the shadow of decline. Others that are thought of as seasoned growth industries have

Preparing for the Private School Interview

Private school interviews can be stressful. You are trying to impress the school and put your best foot forward. But, this doesnt have to be an interaction that makes you lose sleep at night. Here are some tips to make the interview go more smoothly. Research the School Beforehand ​If you really want  to attend a given school, be sure you know some basic information about the school before the interview. For example, you shouldn’t express surprise that the school doesn’t have a football team during the interview; thats the kind of information thats readily available online.  While you will find out more information on the tour and during the actual interview, be sure to read up on the school beforehand.  Make it clear that you know something about the school and are eager to attend by making such remarks as, â€Å"I know your school has an excellent music program. Can you tell me more about it?† Prepare for the Interview Practice makes perfect, and if youve never been interviewed by an adult before, this can be an intimidating experience. Its always a good idea to study potential questions they may ask you. You dont want to have scripted answers, but being comfortable talking off the cuff about given topics will be helpful.  Be sure you remember to say thank you and to shake hands with the admission officer at the end of the interview. Practice good posture and remember to make eye contact with your interviewer, too. Older students may also be expected to know about current events, so you might want to be sure that youre keeping up on whats happening in the world. Also be ready to talk about potential books, things that are happening at your current school, why youre considering a new school, and why you want that school in particular. Younger children may be asked to play with other children in the interview, so parents should be prepared to tell their child ahead of time what to expect and to follow rules for polite behavior. Dress Appropriately Find out what the school dress code is, and be sure to dress in attire that is similar to what  the students wear. Many private schools require students to wear button-down shirts, so don’t dress in a tee-shirt, which will look impolite and out-of-place on the day of the interview. If the school has a uniform, just wear something similar; you dont need to go buy a replica. Don’t Stress Out This goes for both parents and students.  Admissions staff at private schools are far too familiar with the child who is on the brink of tears on interview day because his parents have given him a bit too much advice—and stress—that morning. Parents, be sure to give your child a big hug before the interview and remind him—and yourself—that you are looking for the right school—not one you have to campaign to convince that your child is right for. Students need to remember to just be themselves. If youre the right fit for a school, then everything will come together. If not, then that just means there is a better school out there for you. When on the tour, be sure to respond to the guide politely. The tour is not the time to voice disagreement or surprise about anything you see—keep your negative thoughts to yourself. While it’s fine to ask questions, don’t make any overt value judgments about the school. Many times, tours are given by students, who may not have all the answers. Save those questions for the admission officer. Avoid Over-Coaching Private schools have become wary of students who have been coached by professionals for the interview. Applicants  should be natural and should not make up interests or talents that aren’t really innate. Don’t feign interest in reading if you haven’t picked up a pleasure reading book in years. Your insincerity will be quickly discovered and disliked by the admissions staff. Instead, you should be prepared to speak politely about what interests you—whether it’s basketball or chamber music—and then you will come across as genuine. Schools want to know the real you, not the perfectly poised version of you that you think they want to see. Common Interview Questions Here are some common questions you might be asked in private school interviews: Tell me a bit about your family? Describe the members of your family and their interests, but stay away from negative or overly personal stories. Family traditions, favorite family activities, or even vacations are great topics to share.Tell me about your interests? Do not fabricate interests; speak about your true talents and inspirations in a thoughtful and natural way.Tell me about the last book you read? Think ahead of time about some books you have read lately and what you liked or didn’t like about them. Avoid statements such as, â€Å"I didn’t like this book because it was too hard† and instead speak about the content of the books. Article edited by  Stacy Jagodowski