Speaking Portfolio_4_ ADS

Date: 14 May, 2010

Time: 2.00pm approx. 2 hours

Place: Auckland Deaf Society
164 Balmoral Road, Balmoral

Main topic:
- Sound system: for hearing aids people
Learn how to operate after new installation

The conversation was focus on how to operate the new sound system in Auckland Deaf Society.
Since my church has hired the hall to use it as a Sunday service for over 2 years. However, the sound system always has different problems on every week, no matter our (normal) or the hearing aid people system. Since one of our congregation he is wearing the hearing aid, he needs the 'loop' system. Unfortunately, the 'loop' system is always not worked that he was quite worried and felt bored during the sermon.
Thank God, they installed a so 'perfect' and friendly user one on Thursday that I went to learn how to 'operate' it on Friday after my class.

I still found out some culture aspects and differences during this conversion.
Firstly, some 'kiwi's' characters are - finish one thing/job at one time. It's seemed the 1 speaking port. which I had mentioned. As the technician, Ian, still had a job in Albany following, but he tried to finish one by one and should achieve his requirement- over 90% good. He is not the young guy who I met before. Since some young people have 'easy come easy go' attitude.
In addition, they quite encourage people to keep the character of different culture, not 100% copy of them. It is including the accent and speaking style. Since I was introduced by the secretary, Trisha Shanaghan, of ADS, we had a good conversation.
Trisha: That's why I brought Alice to be here. Alice is a 'buss'!" I checked with her that 'is it a idiom or something else. At the first moment, she was quite reluctant answered this. She explained that she could speak this quite common. However, if I spoke this, it would be quite awful. Asian should have Asian speaking style no matter in English. But I let her know that I want to learn some more 'kiwi' style things when I listen and knew what its mean. Finally, ... is a 'buss' is described 'lot' of happen like a bee and 'humming'.

During the conversation with the technician, Ian, I learned some phase and ask repetition from him, such as volume 'up or down' on the panel, not high or low. When he taught me how to operate, he said if I have 'intuitive' sense something's wrong, just let him know. I grasped the time and ask him how to spell of that word.
Ian: it's bad
Alice: Why? mm but it's a good word, isn't it? I want to learn a new word!
Ian: it's a good word, it's bad because I don't know how to spell it.
A: I'll check out form dict.

When nearly finish our conversation, I introduced my name again and ask him
A: What's your name?
I: In
A: mm? How to spell it?
I: I a n
And he let me know that it can spell as 'I a i n' in Scottish too.
So, in common conversation, people generally use schwa and lexical features. During this time, I use 'stress' of meaning and also use lot of contractions to make the conversation smoothly.

Although it is the last speaking portfolio, I feel that it's quite useful and remind me all the things which I have learned from class and using in my daily life!

Speaking Portfolio_3_ Lynfield Veterinary Care

The conversation was focus on illness and information of my cat. It took place at Lynfield Veterinary Care on 10 May, 2010 for approximately 3o minutes. The native speaker is a doctor of pet and I was the client. Since my cat was sick for a few days.

I had made the booking at 11.00amon Monday, but when I went to there, the clinic was moved. So I made a phone call to check the new address. Thank God, it's quite close but I was still a little bit late. When I jumped to the clinic and felt appolized for the late, the receptionist were quite friendly to say that "It's alright! The doctor is still in the last appointment, please take a seat." It's the culture differences in my home town that I would be treated and said "p-l-e-a-s-e t-a-k-e a s-e-a-t!" in long & rude.

And during the conversation with the doctor, Beverley, I let her know that I gave some milk for my cat.

Beverley: Cow's milk?

Alice: No, human milk! Beverley smiled and laugh in gentle

Beverley: human drinking milk!

She corrected my mistake in soft.

If this case happen in my culture, Iwill be corrected in rude and loud.

And nearly end of my consulation, I found out that the pronunication through Beverley's was quite difference which I heard before. When I asked her that where did she come from?

She replied with simle that she born and came from England, but stayed in South Africa and Cambodia for a while.

This kind of conversation was not familiar with me. According the strategies from the 'Spoken English in Practice' class, I tried to search some vocab. to understand the background and what kind of sentences will the doctor ask? And also take note and if I do not understand the meaning, I will ask for repetition. (vomit; spit, spitting, spat; swallow; not able to eat)

During the conversation with the doctor, she was very friendly and treated my cat as a human being to let me feel comfortable. She said," What's things happen for Ribina?"Ribina is my cat's name. When I described his illness that he wantedto vomit but it was not; want to eat, but he can't; gagging like something stick inside . . .She replied and felt sorry ," Oooh! what a poor things!"
Let me feel that she was quite care of my naughty but lovely cat. It's a difference of my culture that many doctors are felt 'cold' and treated a 'pet' as a 'animal'. I also learned some phases and vocab. from her. For example, some pawing at mouth-want to pull out something; neck has been very long- gagging/ vomit; mild lung changes and lung worms - something wrong in lung not exactly has worms inside; moulting-losing hair for cat . . . When I told her that my cat spit yesterday. My grammar was wrong, it should be 'spat'. She used the right grammar- spat. If I didn't check this word, I would not know what she said. And she asked any 'foamy fluid" in the spat? I didn't understand the meaning of that and asked to repeat and write down the word. She was very patience to explain that again. We finished this conversation with her detail explanation that to leave my cat to take some checking: gas isofluorane, morphine, x-ray to check any foreign body in his throat.

In the conversation, I felt difficult and nervous for me. Since my cat was quite sick, but the doctor let me to calm down and lead me to explain step by step; she made me feel comfortable no matter my barrier English. Therefore, I didn't use much discourse markers but some minimal encourages- mm, yeah while I was thinking to choose any words which I prepared in my note book. And I learned many new words and new things through this conversation, such as moulting is caused from stress, like human being sickness too.

During this and last 2 speaking portfolio, this conversation is the hardest but quite challenging, reality and emergency. Focusing on coming conversation, I should concentrate the grammar- which kind of tense I should use. I am not able to get use past tense in my conversation.