Argyrios Georgoulis
I'm a translator, editor & EFL teacher. I hold a European Civilization Studies BA from the Hellenic Open University & an MA in Translation from the Ionian University in Corfu.
Location Corfu, Greece
Activity
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Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
A. When throwing a fair six-sided dice numbered one to six, there's a 50% chance of it landing on one, two or three.
B. In non-deductive arguments, we first have to check the plausibility of our whole argumentative construction. The probabilistic character of non-deductive arguments compels us to enforce them as much as we can to give them persuasive...
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3. As shown in (2), religious conflicts are rooted in functional and substantial reasons simultaneously, so this bright man is quite consistent.
4. (2) also explains how switching occurs, as it sheds light on the structural mechanics that govern the way people differentiate between their own religious views and those of others.
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Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
Firstly, like many others in this discussion, I believe that discriminating between functional & substantial views means a lot of logical leaps, gaps, and arbitrary conclusions, as these two models are hugely interconnected and overlapping. Having said that, I'll try to comment on the third interviewee, whose analysis I found genuinely interesting.
1. He...
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Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
Hello, dear FutureLearn friends & co-learners!
I'm a freelance translator, editor & EFL teacher living in Greece.
I'm also an honors graduate of the Hellenic Open University (Studies in European Civilization) currently pursuing postgraduate studies in translation at the Ionian University in Corfu.I've started attending this course a lot of time ago...
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Best comment I've read so far on this thread.
Meaningful and well articulated. -
Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
It's crystal clear to me that the crucial point here - and the reason Patrick claims that the letter does not contain an argument - is that Lisa didn't make it unequivocally certain that the law defines 80-year-old trees as protected and, thus, there's a statutory legal duty on the Auckland Council to take care of these trees and prevent them from being harmed...
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Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
I regularly (about once a month) back up my data on an EHD and in the meantime I also use another EHD and multiple cloud services to keep all files & folders I work on safe.
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Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
One of my main subjects is European Civilization, so I frequently have to analyze and expand on nouns such as (the) Renaissance, (the) Reformation, colonization, social contract, nation-state, modernity.
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Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
1. The Al-Qaeda is an example of a militant organization operating on an absolutist basis and framing its activities as part of a wider, sacred and unquestioned, cosmic war against evil.
2. The Crusades offer a concrete example of a historical religiously framed conflict between groups with clearly demarcated different religious identities (Christianity...
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Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
She teaches Grammar, in particular the 1st Conditional; she keeps her students involved by checking their knowledge and tries to help them figure out the rule on their own.
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I think you're right, but I wouldn't reject pronunciation rules or, say, regularities as a first step in the learning process. Your approach is advanced and should, in all probability, be gradually introduced (maybe even from the beginning - I wouldn't object to this) to refine and complement the learners' knowledge and, at the same time, increase their...
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Argyrios Georgoulis replied to Raquel Prieto Martín
That's absolutely correct, Raquel!!!
"A stress-timed language is a language where the stressed syllables are said at approximately regular intervals, and unstressed syllables shorten to fit this rhythm. Stress-timed languages can be compared with syllable-timed ones, where each syllable takes roughly the same amount of time.
Example
English and German... -
Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
Hi everyone!
I'm a translator and EFL teacher living in Corfu, Greece. I'm also a student of the Hellenic Open University, my subject being Studies in European Civilization.For the last five years, I've been, in the main, teaching adult classes ranging from intermediate (B1) to advanced level (C1). I'm greatly interested in CLIL as I'm almost entirely...
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Apart from highlighting the usefulness of all official IELTS preparation resources, my advice to a friend would be to focus on meaningful and authentic materials as much as possible. Song lyrics, films, newspapers, poems, fiction and any other personal interests should be enthusiastically pursued.
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I slightly adapted what I've already posted at 3.13 to meet the needs arising from this section's topic. Hope it helps!!!
The British Council's resources, of course, can be of great help to all learners: http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org.cn/skills/listening-skills-practice
Flo-Joe is also highly recommended:
http://www.flo-joe.co.uk/And,...
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Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
The British Council's resources, of course, can be of great help to all learners: http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/reading-skills-practice
Flo-Joe is also highly recommended:
http://www.flo-joe.co.uk/And, if you want to take your reading practice to another -different yet fairly meaningful- level, you can also check Democracy Now!, a...
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Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
I believe you have to practice a lot - and in real life situations (like emails, small articles, f/b posts etc.) as much as possible - and planning your writing is of essential importance, as it can guide you all the way and help you avoid getting stuck or lost.
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Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
Hi again, as I've already mentioned in 1.1 I'm an English teacher. I don't plan to take the test, I just want to learn more about it. I'm also a translator and an editor and I genuinely like all of my jobs.
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Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
Hi everyone,
I'm an English teacher and this sums it all up perfectly, I believe.
Wish you all a useful and pleasant experience!!! -
Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
Hi everyone! I'm from Greece and, apart from being a freelance translator, I'm an EFL teacher and an undergraduate student of the European Civilization Studies programme at the Hellenic Open University.
The course focuses on the aspect of education that interests me the most, that is, its universal and democratic character.
I hope that all participants... -
Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
This is based on Game Theory, which prevailed after WW2 and especially in the Cold War period. There are some heavily debated points in it, as it posits that, in each and every situation, humans (and distinct groups of humans) act as totally isolated/separated individuals. Leaving aside some -very much needed- further analysis related to concepts such as...
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Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
To put it briefly, and just try to add a little bit to all the aforementioned, I believe that a crucial element here is the confirmation of an intimate relationship: a visible token of verification and a sense of physical presence that the ritual of carving/marking/naming allows for. Implied commitment or dedication could possibly be also introduced as a...
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Talking about "coordinators" instead of "leaders" might prove to be of help.
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Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
If I had to spare words, it would be:
a) Respect towards life and equality in enjoying it and
b) Cooperation instead of competition as the main social practice.
But I believe that a certain amount of analysis can make things clearer:A. Respect towards all manifestations of life. Life, in all its forms, should be cherished and fostered. This applies,...
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Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
A. Respect towards all manifestations of life. Life, in all its forms, should be cherished and fostered. This applies, in the main, to all individuals with feelings, who feel pain and have emotions, but a certain awareness of interdependence between humans, animals and the natural environment is of crucial importance.
B. Cooperation instead of competition...
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Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
Hi everyone! I'm a freelance translator, an EFL teacher and also an undergraduate student of the European Civilization Studies programme at the Hellenic Open University, so I've got lots of reasons to attend this very promising course. Educational practices as well as philosophy and sociology are all parts of my area of study and interest, in which logical &...
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Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
I'm really happy to participate in this MOOC and looking forward to it.
I'm almost totally convinced that it'll prove to be a delightful and rewarding experience at the same time. -
Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
Hi everybody,
I'm a freelance translator & EFL teacher from Greece.
Not my field thus, but I find the subject extremely interesting and it might prove to be of help in many ways. After all, mental health is a fundamental prerequisite to almost all creative human activities.
So, I wish to all people taking part in this course a fruitful educational... -
Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
Thanks for this warm welcome!
Looking forward to the course and wish that all participants enjoy a useful and valuable experience! -
Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
Firstly, I want to thank all the people that worked for this MOOC and also all participants for their valuable contributions in the comments area. I think there were lots of interesting topics examined and discussed and useful information provided during all 4 weeks.
A wealth of material to reflect on: the nature of language, the aspects of meaning, the...
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@ Angelica: I agree. I believe that the phrase "is there any point in me teaching them all this stuff?" is a rhetorical question actually. All the more, when I take into account Dr. Will Baker's words in 4.7 (Controversies in ELF research):
"And probably the biggest misconception is that ELF is a variety of English. Now, ELF is not a variety of English. Some... -
Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
I believe that the problem has to do with inequality in general. We shouldn't underestimate the fact that the worldwide spread of English is a direct result of colonization and brutal domination of other countries, peoples and cultures.
But the language, in itself, is a tool of communication.
So, it can help countries, peoples and cultures understand each... -
I believe that f2f learning is of crucial importance, but I don't doubt the usefulness and helpfulness of multiple online learning methods and resources.
What I think are the two core elements still way off from being integrated into online teaching (or learning) are:
a) a huge part of what we call "nonverbal communication" (even in cases that allow for a... -
Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
I believe that connectivist learning reflects perfectly the era we're in, with computers and the Internet dominating and penetrating almost all aspects of life. No doubt it promotes learner autonomy and cooperation as well and I believe it's a valuable learning approach when handled correctly, but, on the other hand, one should be well-aware of the...
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Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
I do agree with all the comments underlining the significance of motivation and interest with regard to the learning process. I watched both videos and my conclusion is that CLIL shouldn't be taught to students as part of their compulsory education. This way, it's difficult for them to focus on language and the learning burden, at best, doubles. What's more, a...
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I've read some things about CLIL, but I don't have any relevant teaching experience. Of course, as a learner, whose mother tongue is Greek, I have loads of learning experience, i.e., I've read numerous texts and carried out a lot of tasks in English, thus improving my language competency through content-focused projects related to historical, philosophical,...
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Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
It's a fairly useful idea and I might put it to use. It's a nice template and lots of similar story-making prompts can be produced from this pattern. I try to always introduce meaningful peer and group work activities in my lessons but this kind of task, and TBLT in general, is something I haven't approached yet, so this idea can become a valuable source of...
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Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
Too many students in these classes, but the lessons are carefully planned and the students show a remarkable degree of discipline and will to cooperate, so everything seems to work fine.
In Greece, law permits no more than 27 students in a public-school class. Classrooms are smaller and the setting is, almost always, teacher focused; blackboards are in... -
Argyrios Georgoulis replied to Alastair Briggs
Also, as regards the "Solitary Teacher" challenge, here's a fine piece of poetry (can become a fine English lesson too):
The Solitary Reaper
By William WordsworthBehold her, single in the field,
Yon solitary Highland Lass!
Reaping and singing by herself;
Stop here, or gently pass!
Alone she cuts and binds the grain,
And sings a melancholy... -
Argyrios Georgoulis replied to Alastair Briggs
I too agree that there's a lively and meaningful give-and-take going on in this course and that having the opportunity to communicate and exchange ideas on teaching & learning with peers from all around the globe is really encouraging.
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Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
Linguistic analysis, discussion on student motivation and learning styles and the bottleneck hypothesis spring to mind as some thought-provoking and useful elements of Week 1. It's new knowledge that can help a teacher become more sensitive and flexible regarding their students' needs as well as the strategies available for teaching a language and coming...
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Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
Well, I have to admit I'm a little delayed; nevertheless, in hope of making a worthy contribution, here are my examples:
Q. Would you like to join me for a walk?
A. I'm writing an email at the moment.Which may mean that the second person would like to go for a walk after writing the email, but could also be an indirect way to decline the...
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Dear David,
I really appreciate your educational concerns and I don't think they're irrelevant to the issue at hand. I just wanted to point out that different capacities regarding language acquisition have to do with certain situations - they're socially and not genetically produced. This is the source of misunderstanding I was talking about, not your... -
"A student who learns to enjoy the language and not be afraid of making mistakes, is more likely to use the language."
Fully agree too. In fact, I believe that this is a fundamental prerequisite to successful teaching and learning. Of course, I reckon that the concept of enjoyment, in this case, includes the sense of achievement, the joy of communication,...
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In relation to my previous post, here are two links to resources providing interesting and helpful information:
Language - Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LanguagePhilosophy of Linguistics - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/linguistics/ -
Hi everybody,
I believe that, while there's a lot of interesting and valid information provided, this discussion is somehow misguided from the beginning and that's the main cause of all disagreement.
I mean that if we take the initial question ("Do you think that we all have a basic human ability for language which helps us learn other languages?") to a...
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Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
Hello, I'm a freelance translator and an EFL teacher from Greece. Last year, I took the TKT modules 1 & 2 and achieved Band 4 levels in both. What's more, I'm a student of the Hellenic Open University, my subject being Studies in European Civilization. So I have plenty of reasons to attend this course and I hope it'll be a valuable and rewarding experience for...
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Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
Hello everybody, I'm a translator and EFL teacher from Greece, so there were plenty of reasons motivating me to embark on this course. I look forward to diving into this new area of knowledge and hope we all enjoy a fruitful and rewarding learning experience!!!
At the moment, I have to deal with a heavy workload, but I'll try to participate as much as... -
Argyrios Georgoulis replied to Deryn Verner
Hello Geoffrey, apologies for my late response.
I was referring to "evolutionary views" with respect to their diachronic meaning: views that try to identify -and work on and refine- more functional and less destructive patterns of (human) interaction through history. So, I think that, if you somehow commented on my post, there may be a slight, yet crucial,...
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Hello Edmund, my apologies for the late response.
My comment has to do with morality as well as consistency of attitude. Legitimate states need things like these. The idea is that war is, by definition, a negative situation and, more generally, this is a view that, to a large extent, rejects Realism.
In very broad terms, I believe that pacifists,...
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I found this a really meaningful and fascinating discussion - it also reminded me of a talk that might be quite contributive as regards morality and detachment in relation to rigorous evaluation procedures:
https://www.ted.com/talks/sam_richards_a_radical_experiment_in_empathy#t-4680 -
Argyrios Georgoulis replied to Deryn Verner
Of course, there exist plenty of reasons in the world today for someone to be cynical, but I also think that there's a lot of space for evolutionary views regarding the nature of humans.
This has to do with Sue's comment: It's quite certain that a desire for harmonious relationships and collaboration and a peaceful, creative and fulfilling life is a common... -
Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
I very much appreciated Natasha's analysis and I'm in agreement with the arguments regarding nationalism as a means for elites to mobilize people in order to to gain and legitimize power.
I also find that the Yugoslavian example adequately displays how a merely cultural identity can be turned into a political one to serve purposes like the previously...
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Argyrios Georgoulis replied to Nick Wilson
Additional factors such as the distance of supply sources and the efficiency of certain weapons in a particular battlefield along with the combatants' different kinds and degrees of motivation might have to be taken into account.
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Argyrios Georgoulis made a comment
If we accept that
"recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world"
and that
"all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights"
and
"they are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in... -
As far as I know, Faucault's proposition has to do with a profoundly critical examination of power and society and deals with the all so obvious but at the same time difficult-to-realise fact that politics and war belong to the same worldview, the same set of thinking methods and the same attitude towards life.
Maybe, what we experience when examining the...
