Cultural bias in the assessment of english language learner students Essay

Cultural bias in the assessment of english language learner students - Essay Example English language countries have many rich cultural traditions and features that must be reflected in the assessment of English language learner students and other parts of the learning process. It is also pay attention to the students of different cultures who study English as the second foreign language and their possibilities to understand English through its culture expressed in the language and to compare their native cultures with the English one. It helps to make the learning interesting that improves the results of English language learner students' assessment. 2. It is better to consider the role of culture in English teaching and learning on the examples of some concrete countries cultures of which differ from that of English. The examples of Russia and Japan show considerable features in English language learning and teaching. "Native speaking English language teachers are very much needed in Russia and in most cases they are met with traditional Russian hospitality, get a decent pay according to Russian standards and receive good evaluations and references" (Millrood). Cultural features of Russia influence the teaching process and assessment. English lesson in Russia has some features. "A lesson usually has three-stages, including homework check up, presentation of the new material and reinforcement of the new material" (Millrood). ... "In pairs and small groups learners need a very detailed description of what they are supposed to do, otherwise tending to work individually and/or waiting to be asked by the teacher and to give the prepared answer" (Millrood). In pair and group activities in Russia learners must follow the teacher's instructions, and their assessment directly depends on task performance accuracy according to it. "Whole-language approach is not universally supported. A good lesson is considered to be competence-building. In every lesson, the teacher is expected to organise balanced activities in learning lexis and grammar, as well as in speaking, listening and reading" (Millrood). The learners' assessment is tightly connected with their skills of taking part in these balanced activities. In Russia "a lesson is usually result-oriented and it is the result, which is considered primary, not the activity, which may be very motivating and activating the learners" (Millrood). So, good assessment and a posi tive result are the main orients of the English language lesson in Russia. "At the end of the lesson, each learner usually gets a mark on a five-point scale with a detailed comment from the teacher" (Millrood). This kind of assessment of a five-point scale form doesn't reflect the whole depth of learner's knowledge and cannot be considered as the objective assessment of learning results. In Russian schools "a lesson is usually declared as communicative though in reality, teachers and learners spend a lot of time dealing with grammar structures, bilingual exercises and text understanding" (Millrood). Because of that the learners' assessment is often

Production and International Logistics Case Study

Production and International Logistics - Case Study Example In the early 1900, Henry Ford, the owner of Ford Motor company became the world's richest men by his mass production success in the automobile industry. During World War II, the US government also requested him to mass produced bomber air crafts for the US Air Force. Ford Motor Company's production system during those years is a good example of a mass production system. Demand was so high, Ford has to mass produced to satisfy demand. Ford has all the good reason to hold high inventories during those years, that was, to please his customers by keeping a steady supply of his automobiles. This is also one of the reasons why some firms chose to mass produced. Another reason is the uncertainties in supply and supply capacity (Morton 1999). Toyota saw the success of Ford Motor but cannot replicate Henry Ford's production strategy due to the devastation suffered by Japan's economy after the war. This gave birth to a new concept of production where inventory level is zero, the lean production system, otherwise known as the Just-in-Time or JIT system. In the Machine That Changed the World, James Womack, used 'the term lean production to describe the profound revolution in manufacturing that was initiated by the Toyota Production System (cited by Asay, D. and Ott, S ,1998 ). Toyota's factories, along with most of its suppliers, can be spotted around Toyota City. Delivery of components and parts depended on the speed of the assembly line, and parts were delivered using logistics just at the right time when these are needed. The system eliminates the need to carry large inventories but close coordination between suppliers and logistics for the success of the system. When delivery of components or raw materials lagged behind, or when there are defects on deliveries, the strategic advantage and benefits that could have been gained from using the lean concept would be defeated. This led adherents of JIT to embark on a system of managing inventory and logistics in collaboration with total quality management (Heizer, Render 2001). The movement of supplies and other commodities from suppliers to users or consumers in the supply chain is a function of logistics. This is particularly important in a global economy where competition is borderless. International logistics therefore plays an important role in the success of production. The following section compares and contrast the traditional mass production system and lean production system. 2.0 Mass Production vs. Lean Production Traditional mass production differs from lean production in its overall organizational characteristics and manufacturing methods. Let us compare and contrast mass production as against lean production on the following terms: business strategy, organizational culture, customer relationship, production and scheduling, inventory management, quality assurance, information management and manufacturing cost. 2.1 Business Strategy In mass production strategy, the focus is on exploiting economies of scale of existing products and technologies. This strategy takes advantage of the decrease in the unit cost of the product as the volume of production per period of time increases (Kroll, et al, 1996). On the other hand, lean production strategy is customer focused. It seeks to identify and exploit new opportunities and competitive advantage through product design,