Joan McCormack
Hello, I work at the University of Reading, as a Pre-sessional Programme Director. I enjoy engaging with international students, and being exposed to different perspectives on life.
Location Reading, England
Activity
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Joan McCormack made a comment
I was inspired by the first Monash mindfulness course I did, and incorporated some of it into my life, doing the course and others again over a few years.
have gone off track recently and not longer meditation - or being very mindful - I've joined to try and get back on track -
Joan McCormack made a comment
Hello I'm Joan and I've joined this course because I am interested in intercultural competency, and my views on what it is, and and how best to 'teach' it are constantly changing - this course appealed as it comes from a different perspective to my context - and I look forward to engaging and learning from the student cohort as much as from the delivery
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Joan McCormack made a comment
Tutto bene grazie!
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Irish pubs are found throughout the world - defintiely an example of banal nationalism............often with green shamrocks and the Irish flag but little real 'irishness' about the feel of the pub.
I feel connected to my close friends who happen to share my nationality - but not to any Irish person I happen to meet on my travels. There has been an... -
Joan McCormack made a comment
Sono insegnante di inglese
facchio l'insegnante di inglese -
Joan McCormack made a comment
Sono Irlandese
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Joan McCormack replied to Kathleen Nelson
Ciao Kathleen, sono di Dublin ma vivo a Londra da 20 anni. Ciao a tutti!
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Joan McCormack made a comment
Io mi chiamo Joan - ilonga - o- a - enne. Ciao a tutti!
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Joan McCormack made a comment
Ciao Io sono Joan.......piacere!
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Joan McCormack made a comment
An organisation can promote well-being by ensuring each mameber of staff feels heard and valued - it can do this by having regular forums for discussion/promoting and flagging awarneness of diversity and inclusivity and fostering a good work/life balance.
Managers can ensure this is put in place through knowing their staff - meeting regularly in both formal...
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Joan McCormack replied to Claudia Irigoin
Hi Claudia. I'm alos a teacher and interested in this course for the same reason; we had to put our first course online in April, and students struggled with the transition. I hope this course will help me set up my next one more effectively from the student perspective.
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Joan McCormack made a comment
The delivery is definitely more important - no matter how good the content is, it will be lost on the audience if not well delivered.
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Joan McCormack made a comment
It was a simple exercise - and did make its point, but do we really expect all Australians to be surfers, even if that is the first nationality to spring to mind? and concerning the 3rd question, I think the context where you see this woman would influence where you think she is from.
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Joan McCormack made a comment
If you have not been provided with a reading list, it is always worth checking the website of the course you plan to study; often core texts of the course are posted there.
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Joan McCormack replied to Stephane Dan
@StephaneDan very well put Stephane!
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Joan McCormack replied to Stephane Dan
Reading can indeed be a demanding skill, especially if you are reading about a topic unfamiliar to you; I like that you feel it is a physical as well as a mental activity, as the physical space, balanced with the ability to concentrate and focus go hand in hand. Some people can read easily on a busy train, blocking out what is around them, others needs a...
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Joan McCormack replied to Myo Hlaing
Indeed yes Myo, there can be circumstances which determine whick way of reading is more effective
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Joan McCormack replied to Phyo Thu
You raise an interesting point here Phyo, about 'enhancing your thinking'; can you elaborate on this a little, and explain HOW you feel it does this?
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Joan McCormack replied to Sunday Joseph Olatoye
Good to hear your are finding the summaries interesting Sunday!
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Joan McCormack replied to Tatiana Valencia
Yes Tatiana, making notes to help you remember your points is a good strategy - and I think your second strategy is even better. Having read an article, it is often the follow-up discussion with someone which really helps us understand the article more deeply, clarify our ideas about it.
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Joan McCormack made a comment
It is interesting reading all your comments...……….the main trends the seem to be emerging in the discussion is agreement that firstly actually practising speaking is the only way to improve, and secondly feelings of shyness or embarrassment about speaking, for various reasons. You are right in thinking it is important to overcome this feelings, as I have seen...
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Joan McCormack replied to Sadaf Khan
You raise some interesting points here Sadaf - first in deciding to identify a limited number of key points, and secondlay using visuals which will help you rememeber them.
And if you share your ourline with other students, they are likely to ask you questions about it, which means you need to engage more fully with the content -
Your systematic approach is admirable Sofia!
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Joan McCormack replied to Thar Htet Zaw
Yes James, critical thinking is an element of being reflective; both are skills which you can develop and go into in more depth over time. Reflection can involves both observation and tapping into your feelings about experiences.
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Joan McCormack replied to Alicea K
Alicea, your point about breaking things down is a strategy worth thinking about for everyone, as being overwhelmed affects most students at some stage in their studies. When feeling that way, it is good to step back, and look at the smaller steps - or tasks as you say - which the task involves.
This can help to get perspective, and is a useful... -
For some students the teaching methods are quite idifferent from their previous experience, and can take getting used to; its' good to hear you are looking forward to exploring this Suthandar, balancing it with engaging socially
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Yes Esther, the diversity of nationalities is one aspect of studying in the that international students find most enriching
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Joan McCormack replied to Sanjana Basu
It's a good idea Sanjana to make contact with students already studying here - their experience as a student e can be invaluable for you
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Joan McCormack made a comment
There are other course Mahmud to improve writing; search the futurelearn site for 'academic writing'
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Yes indeed Azucena, writing does take time and great effort; this is true even if you are a native speaker, and have experience of writing, and obviously all the more so if you are writing in a language that is not your mother tongue. We are emphasizing the importance in planning before writing; detailed planning helps with every aspect of your writing.
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Joan McCormack replied to Rosaline Opoku
This was quite an experience Rosaline, and sounds like an undergraduate dissertation; it's important to have a good supervisor for a piece of work this length
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Joan McCormack replied to JunTong Ma
Good for you for following a course like this JunTong, and thinking about the future!
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Joan McCormack made a comment
Reading about the range of factors which have surprised you or been new to you is helpful for us as course designers, in terms of meeting the needs of participants- thank you !
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You certainly have a good grasp of what academic integrity means Jaqueline! You include the question we asked to get the discussion going, and it's worth pointing out that academic integrity is only one aspect of writing you need to understand. Expectations will differ according to the writing genre of your particular field, which you will learn more about...
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Joan McCormack made a comment
You certainly have no problems in identifying these structures in academic writing; the next step is using them! Do you have a method of building up a range of these expressions?
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Joan McCormack replied to Lisa Z
This sounds like a good approach Lisa - you know how to put things in place to manage your time and work effectively. the importance of editing can be emphasized enough: when marking as assignment it is immediately evident if it has been rushed, without a proper final reading
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Joan McCormack made a comment
It's good to hear you find the tips on critical thinking useful; it's a concept you will hear quite a lot about when you come to study in the UK!
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Joan McCormack replied to khaled hamed
Which strategy did you find most helpful Khaled?
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Joan McCormack replied to May Phyoe
I like the fact that you accommodate each situation May, and adapt your practice accordingly!
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Joan McCormack made a comment
The pattern emerging here suggests you've each found what works for you - a key element in successful study is identifying your particular learning style.
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Joan McCormack replied to Hellen Malaya
Yes Hellen, it's a technique worth practicing. And remember it is not necessary to understand everything at this stage - you are just deciding whether this text is useful for your purpose. And you might even decide that the text is too difficult for you, and therefore decide to look at other more accessible sources for the information you need. Sometimes...
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Reading academic texts can certainly be tough Anand! but hopefully as you become more familiar with the vocabulary, and how texts in your field are structured, you will find this easier.
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Joan McCormack made a comment
It is good to hear that you ( and others) find the notes useful Matsumi; you also mention that you find reading overwhelming at time, and this is a feeling I have heard expressed by home as well as international students. Hopefully this week the approaches and strategies we discuss will help you become an more effective reader.
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Joan McCormack replied to Angad Singh
Thank you for sharing your idea Angad - yes I think watching movies can be extremely helpful in developing your listening skills - which also impacts on speaking, as in interaction you cannot separate the 2
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Joan McCormack replied to Lisa Z
Thank you Lisa - your title intrigued me, and I will certainly look into booktube as I really enjoy discussing books, and getting recommendations for new ones!
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Joan McCormack made a comment
It's lovely to meet you all, and learn about the eclectic mixture of courses you will be embarking on - welcome to the course if you are a late arrival!
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Joan McCormack made a comment
It's worth pointing out that applying these techniques gets easier, and becomes more automatic the more you practise them
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Joan McCormack made a comment
It's interesting to read the range of genres which you enjoy reading. For me it is also very heartening to see thus far almost all of you prefer to read on paper rather than online - we are long way from seeing 'real' books being replaced by digital material! That said, of course reading online is playing an increasingly important role in our lives, and the...
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Joan McCormack replied to Hellen Malaya
Hello @HellenMalaya. Working in multi cultural groups is becoming increasing prevalent both in Higher Education as well as in business - so useful you have learned about this!
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Good to hear this Jaqueline - students are often taken aback when thy arrive in the UK and university conventions are different from home. The more familiar you are with what to expect before your arrive, the easier the transition is
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Joan McCormack replied to Angad Singh
Hello Angad, I'm interested to know what measures you take to practice speaking?
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Joan McCormack replied to Lisa Z
You touch on a feeling here that many individuals learning a language experience - and it sounds like you have worked out a way to overcome it. the person/people you are engaging with care about the message you are communicating, and understanding this, not the grammatical errors you might or might not be making.
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Joan McCormack replied to Paz Tejada
Hello @PazTejada
It might be helpful to look at Lisa Z comments below; she has had a similarly experience and has some recommendations you might find useful -
Joan McCormack replied to Rosaline Opoku
You seem to have a very systematic way of building up your vocabulary, useful indeed in terms of widening your ability to express ideas.
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Joan McCormack replied to Jaqueline García Cordero
You have summarized how important respect is very clearly Jaqueline; there are bound to be misunderstandings, and uncomfortable moments when engaging with other people, especially from different cultural backgrounds. Key to getting beyond this is indeed willingness to listen ( and hear what is behind words) as well as keeping an open mind. Both aspects were...
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You make a good point here, Lonah - you can get to know many people, but liking one another is key in terms of building a friendship. Mutual cultural understanding comes from spending time with people, and as many of the other posts have stated, it can help to begin with if you have shared interests, or join the clubs/societies around.
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Joan McCormack made a comment
Reading your ideas, I can see there are some very experienced presenters out there; you've been commenting on the important of thorough research and organization in terms of content, as well as thinking about your audience.
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Joan McCormack made a comment
I've enjoyed reading your comments on journal-keeping; a number of your have spoken about how it can help you 'process' what is happening around you. Sometimes you experience things in another culture which you feel uncomfortable about, but do not feel able to talk about easily. Writing it down can help you feel better and sometimes understand the situation...
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Joan McCormack made a comment
I think Irish culture has changed considerably over the past decades- 50 years ago many of the values would have centred around religion, - so religion, family, the importance of 'appearances', in the sense denial of what did not fit in with the 'good family' concept, hard work, perseverance, passion.
Now the grip of religion has been replaced by people... -
Joan McCormack made a comment
Integrity, curiosity, flexibility, respect, sense of humour(or lightness of touch, approach to life).
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Joan McCormack made a comment
The reviews I had were very helpful in helping me think more about differentiating between the aspects of me which have their origins in my own culture - and those which are the result of my life experience and experience of living in other cultures. I need to keep working this out !
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Joan McCormack made a comment
For work I have started to plan on my electronic calendar connected to my email- it's taking me time to get used to this but I have realised I double book things if not there, and get meeting invites Iif a space in blank- when I actually have something scheduled.
For private life I have a small diary notebook and write in things -
It was really helpful to have 2 people review my assignment - I found it difficult to separate out my cultural characteristics from my personal ones so it really got me to think hard. Intrersting reading other people's and learning from them - would like to have access to read more of them!
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Joan McCormack made a comment
Relationships - family friends colleagues
Integrity - being true to what I know is right, even if challenging
Serenity, calmness - silence
Respect - for each individual
Challenge - for personal growth and understanding
Listening and being listened to
Spending time in nature, for centring, letting go of the non essential things -
Joan McCormack replied to Yuan Liang
I agree Diane - we can only 'learn ' so much about culture - to understand and develop intercultural competence we need to engage and experience it, in other words live/create our own perdonsl storiex
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Yes , sometimes being silent can stop you offending someone...
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Yes I agree- and it's not always a comfortable silence, sometimes I feel inadequate with this silence
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Joan McCormack made a comment
I use in lots of ways I realise
- to calm someone down who is having a rant
- a ''stony' silence to show disapproval
- silence to show empathy if someone is
- to give me, or other people time to think
- in a companionable way, feeling very at ease with someone
- to clear my head, get my thoughts straight
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Joan McCormack made a comment
My observation in a student dining hall was first that cultural groups tended to sit together. And secondly the number of people within their groups on their phones- ignoring the present moment of the people they are with
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Joan McCormack made a comment
I'm a very tactile person by nature, and have learned to be careful about my behaviour around some cultures -
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Joan McCormack made a comment
Very interesting exchange as an example of miscommunication through making assumptions- Mr Wang will honour his family commitment, he would expect Mr Wilson to understand this. Mr Wilson thinks the job is more important, he cuts Mr Wang off before he can fully explain.
Yes I have experienced something similar - when I invited people for dinner, not... -
Joan McCormack made a comment
1 I think an understanding of your own identity gives you a sense of confidence, and this means you can be more open to interacting with people from other cultures, and perhaps more able to accept/tolerate differences or very different reactions in situations, because you are confident enough not to feel threatened by difference
2 Yes most definitely! It... -
Joan McCormack made a comment
I am an Irishwoman, and am the product of how I was brought up, but I really only looked at this, and at my values by living in other cultures, and experiencing a different set of values. Which made me stronger in some of the cultural values I held, and led me to drop others I am constantly learning through travelling, and talking to people of different...
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I agree with this Michael - that he should tell his classmates how it makes him feel; in some cases they may be making thoughtless comments without even meaning them
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Joan McCormack made a comment
I think the irrespective of his multicultural background, Andy is at a stage of life which is confusing for many people his age - these are crucial years in actually working out how you are, away from home and family, establishing what your own individual identity is. Particularly hard for him being torn by many side of his identity and insensitivity of people...
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Joan McCormack made a comment
The third poem 'Demarcations' moved me the most ; it is so hard to find a real sense of 'belonging ' when living in another culture. I think it relates more to 'the circle of the ingroup ' more than the perceptual barriers
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Joan McCormack made a comment
I think the onion image is useful for thinking about culture because sometimes the response or reaction of someone from another culture is not easy to understand e.g. Chen and Markus. And thinking about layers of the onion helps recognise maybe there is something underneath the first layer I need to understand; not just accept something at face value
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Joan McCormack made a comment
The kind of communication which has deepened my understanding of friends has often been a crisis situation, or when they feel lonely or or hurt or sad. This shows a vulnerable side, with feelings expressed from the heart that you might not usually see. Being there as a friend to listen and empathise can deepen the friendship.
It also peels off another layer... -
Or 'forget' their own differences, in an effort to understand the other culture?
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Joan McCormack made a comment
There have been a number of comments about Markus and Chen not talking directly to each other - but I think this is very typical at the time of something happening. If they continue as friends, they might talk about it after the raw feelings have passed.
I do think Markus, being in a host culture , and accepting a gesture well-meant, could have been more... -
Or are we talking about 'small culture' here - so there is the bigger cultural picture of being of the same nationality, and that can be broken down into 'small' cultures within specific areas, whether that is what you both mention, class, family etc. I think it was Halliday who came up with this idea of small culture?
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I find your comments interesting Eulalia - this level of directness is something I learned about in Japan, and because it is a society that emphasises lack of directness, I was often confused, and did not understand that not saying 'yes' , was implicitly a 'no'!Looking back, I think my degree of directness must have come across as rude at times.....
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Joan McCormack made a comment
I work with international students, and do some teaching around raising student awareness of the culture where they are situated, through getting them to identify some of the differences they notice .e.g. in how their roles are different here from back home, in the differences they notice between socialising here. But more importantly to reflect on why this...
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Joan McCormack made a comment
Understanding how cultural values underlay behaviour is an area that fascinates me. I have lived in Japan and Peru, and certainly initially I found reactions/responses in some situations very difficult to understand. I work in a multicultural environment, and hope this course will help me to be able to better 'read' behaviour of people from other cultures
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Joan McCormack made a comment
I am very pleased to have just joined this course - the theme of each week appeals to me very much, especially the one on comparing cultural styles
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Joan McCormack replied to Holly Myers
And it's fascinating how this power is played out in the short dialogues. I also really liked the fact that the writer was also questioning and interpreting while she was being interviewed, even though she had written the characters and the dialogue.
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Joan McCormack made a comment
I found the last part of the meditation particularly helpful - moving between wishing kind thoughts alternatively between mysel and the other person. I experienced this physically as a softening around the belly, and emotionally finished feeling calm and gentle.
I am finding it SO helpful do keep coming back to these meditations on this course and the...
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This was my second time to do the course, and it has helped get me back on track with being more aware and mindful of how I'm living my life- in particular the ongoing thinking about past and future in my head. I'm able to see this more often now and bring mysel back to the 'now'. Apart from the discussions and practices which I found very helpful, I also...
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Joan McCormack replied to Michelle N
Is it worth thinking about the intention in all this? If I'm making a difficult request of someone, either because I need to (e.g work), or because I genuinely feel it's important, then I will focus on this when making the request, and approach the individual according to how I think they will best respond. I don't think this is being manipulative, we all...
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Similarly for me - that moment of stopping and going into stepping back before dealing with a challenging person or meeting is very helpful
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Joan McCormack replied to S A K
But for me one of the very challenges of mindfulness IS dealing with the people who trigger strong emotional responses- the not very comfortable ones like anger, resentment, hurt. Whether the other person is mindful or not , the key it to fined and del with what is triggering my response to them, and that's within my body/mind. Ar times mindful meditation...
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Yes thank you Anne - it pulled me up short, it's so true. Am looking now at what the sum total of everything I have focussed on has been!!
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Joan McCormack made a comment
The glossary is really helpful- I had a vague idea of the meaning of some of these terms, and this has really helped clarify things- thank you!
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Hello Rayhan, you raise an interesting point here, in terms of each paragraph not necessarily having the same structure. In a course in academic writing we start with the general 'rules' and patterns of the genre. However, once you have mastered these as a writer, you develop your own style to some extent, which may indeed involve a slightly different...
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Joan McCormack replied to Grace Ho
Hello Grace, I think you have identified a problem many students find with the Cornell system in the beginning - so do not expect to much of yourself to start with, especially with the long passages. With practice, your understanding of the reading will improve, and it will be easier to take notes. So for now - just try and identify one point from the longer...
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Joan McCormack made a comment
Your comments so far are showing you have some very clear ideas about the elements of the paragraph, especially in terms of the importance of the first sentence, the paragraph leader, and how the ideas presented here needs to be developed in the paragraph.
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Joan McCormack replied to Federica Lamont
Very clear and succinct commentary Federica!
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Joan McCormack replied to Sam Young
Thank you Sam - it is really useful to have your observations about the time the course material is taking to work through. Zita, you have reiterated this view, and we will certainly consider this for next time round
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Joan McCormack made a comment
I make notes in diary - then transfer key points into a word doc
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Joan McCormack made a comment
I think I'd be quite upset in this situation, as I was being friendly, and seemed to be receiving a friendly response back. I would really wonder why, and would try and ask some of my work colleagues about it. I'd feel it was a misunderstanding, and would want to get to the bottom of it, and not have my friendly intention misinterpreted