Lost Identity?

Embodied in a virtual world, how do you present yourself?

No matter being a newbie or an oldbie, I almost speak in English all the way. It seems normal for me that English is the only dominant language in second life in which everyone should speak. “Is it necessary to use the so-called “international language” for successful socialization in SL” was a question I wouldn’t hesitate to answer with “YES” some time ago.

However, once I ran into a Chinese speaker who asked me to speak Chinese to her in China Town even though she had no idea whether I was a Chinese speaker or not . I felt surprise and inquired what language she used to communicate with people in SL and she responded without hesitation— “Chinese”. I was not sure she spoke English well or not but she told me firmly that Chinese was also an international language.

I’ve started to ponder whether I lost my identity in SL because I am so accustomed to the dominant culture that I am blind to face my own mother language. To be honest, I am pleased about showing my origin to others in the virtual world, yet I tend to reckon English as the only access to the world and presentation of internationalization unconsciously. It is crucial to realize the power of cultural imperialism acting upon myself imperceptibly.

Definitely it is too tough for me to change the situation not to speak English, so I’ve tried to alter my appearance to resemble a Chinese as much as possible in order to reinforce my idnetity. I inquired around where to purchase Chinese avatars and even spent almost all of my Liden on an Asian avatar. Now as a Chinese-looking girl in SL, I feel more comfortable and confident about who I am.

The Luscious Landscape along Interchanges

(Photo: Tobie Openshaw)

Have you ever been attracted to those beauties in sexy and appealing dresses? If you get a chance to experience, you are sure to be surprised by Taiwanes Betelnut Beauties.

One of the features in Taiwan appealing to international media and foreign tourists is our “betelnut girl”. Sprinkled with numerous transparent boxes with twinkling neon lights and alluring shop names, the interchange in Taiwan is known as a display for betelnut girls. As a stall, the showcase displays these betelnut beauties in sexy outfits.

Formerly, people selling betelnut are from diversity of ages and could be males or females but, gradually, for the sake of attracting customers, the boss of betelnut stalls came up with an idea to hire young and beautiful girls in fascinating outfits as clerks. Obviously, it is such a successful business strategy that betelnut girl has become a burgeoning industry in Taiwan. You may wonder why most stalls are located on interchanges and that’s because truck drivers are the chief customers who support the betelnut industry. In order to keep alert and energetic, truck drivers like to chew betelnuts while they are on a long-way driving. Accordingly, situated on interchanges, betelnut shops are sure to earn more businesses.

Even though the business strategy is so successful, it incurs overwhelming judgments on those girls. With so many beauties dressed little clothes on the street, it is regarded as indecent exposure. Chinese culture doesn’t encourage women dress exposurelyat all, especially in public; moreover, it is believed that making money by the advantage of appearance is definitely a moral wrong.

Serving as betelnut beauties, those girls are the same as showgirls in car exhibition or super stars dancing lusciously on TV programs. Apparently, most of us take wrong attitudes toward them. Instead of doing something legally wrong, they are dedicated to their career by entertaining customers and taking their career seriously.


Visit Tobie Openshaw's gallery of betelnut girl photos, taken over a five-year period:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tobie_openshaw/sets/72157594581621891/

【Revised】Is native appearance equal to language-teaching proficiency?

Is it the best way to learn a language with a native speaker? Does a native speaker present a person who has a good command of language teaching? If you answer those questions positively without any doubt, I am afraid you are falling into some myths.

(reference:http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/shanghai/events/35874/?most_viewed=1)

About half a decade ago, children English private school popped up promptly and so did the number of the children who were sent to the schools. Learning English has turned into a popular trend among all people, especially parents who expect their children to win at the start point of a race. In order to attract more students, private schools are dedicated to constructing all English environments; in recent years, some of them even hire native speakers as English teachers.

(reference:web.tiec.tp.edu.tw/blog/puu03)

However, some of those so-called “native speakers” are not proficient in language teaching at all since a native speaker cannot definitely stand for a person who learns the art of teaching languages. Maybe you will consider that getting along with a native help immerses children in a local-imitating environment where they are equipped with daily spoken ability. It does work in some part but does not strike the right note invariably. The teacher plays an important role in strategically guiding as well as facilitating children step by step instead of just talking with them in the target language. As parents who mind the development of their children, it is one of the significant issues you need to focus on.

The owners of children English private schools should try to enhance their proficiency in choosing as well as fostering teachers so as not to impair what they have expected originally.

Learning English!

Is it the best way to learn a language with a native speaker? Does a native speaker present a person who has a good command of language teaching? If you answer those questions positively without any doubt, I am afraid you are falling into some myths.



About half a decade ago, children English private school popped up promptly and so does the number of the children who are sent to the schools. Learning English has turned into a popular trend among all people, especially parents who expect their children to win at the start point of a race. In order to attracting more students, private schools are dedicated to constructing all English environments; recent years, some of them even hire native speakers as English teachers.

However, some of those so called “native speakers” are not proficient in language teaching at all since a native speaker cannot definitely stand for a person who learns the art of teaching language. Maybe you will consider that getting along with a native immerses children in a local-imitating environment where they are equipped with daily spoken ability. It does work in some part but not strike the right note invariably. The teacher plays an important role in strategically guiding as well as facilitating children step by step instead of just talking with them in the target language. As parents who mind the development of their children, it is one of the significant issues you need to focus on.

The owners of children English private schools should try to enhance their proficiency in choosing as well as fostering teachers so as not to impair what they have expected originally.

【Revised】The Luscious Landscape along Interchanges

(Photo: Tobie Openshaw)

Have you ever been attracted to those beauties in sexy as well as appealing dresses? If you get the chance to experience, you are sure to be surprised by Taiwanes Betelnut Beauties.

One of the features in Taiwan appealing to international media is our “betelnut girl”. Sprinkled with numerous transparent boxes with twinkling neon lights and alluring shop names, the interchange in Taiwan is known as a display for betelnut girls. As a stall, the showcase displays these betelnut beauties in sexy outfits.

Formerly, people selling betelnut are from diversity of ages and could be a male or a female; gradually, for the sake of attracting customers, the boss of betelnut stalls came up with an idea to hire young and beautiful girls in fascinating outfits as clerks. Obvious, it is such a successful business strategy that betelnut girl has become a burgeoning industry in Taiwan. You may wonder why most stalls are located on interchanges and that’s because truck drivers are the chief group who support the betelnut industry. In order to keeping alert and energetic, truck drivers like to chew betelnut while they are on a long-way driving. Accordingly, situated on interchanges, betelnut shops are sure to do more business.

Even though it is such a successful business strategy, it incurs overwhelming judgments on those girls. With so many beauties dressed little clothes on the street, it is regarded as indecent exposure. Chinese culture doesn’t encourage women dress exposurely, especially in public; moreover, it is believed that making money by the advantage of appearance is definitely morally wrong.

Serving as betelnut beauties, those girls are the same as showgirls in car exhibition or super stars dancing lusciously on TV programs. Apparently, most of us take a wrong attitude toward them. Instead of doing something legally wrong, they are dedicated to their career by entertaining customers and taking their career seriously.

Visit Tobie Openshaw's gallery of betelnut girl photos, taken over a five-year period:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tobie_openshaw/sets/72157594581621891/

Betelnut Girls

Have you ever been attracted to those beauties in sexy as well as appealing dresses? If you get the chance to experience, you are sure to be surprised by Taiwanes Betelnut Beauties.

One of the features of Taiwan appealing to international media is “betelnut girl”. Sprinkled with numerous transparent boxes with twinkling neon lights, the interchange in Taiwan is known as a display for betel nut girls. As a stall, the showcase displays these betelnut beauties in sexy outfits.

(Photo: Tobie Openshaw)

Formerly, people selling betelnut are from diversity of ages and could be a male or a female; gradually, for the sake of attracting customers, the boss of betelnut stalls came up with an idea to hire young and beautiful girls in fascinating outfits as clerks. Obvious, it is a successful business strategy so betelnut girl has become a burgeoning industry in Taiwan. You may wonder why most stalls are located on interchanges and that’s because trunk drivers are the chief group who support this betelnut industry. In order to keeping alert and energetic, trunk drivers like to chew betelnut while they are on a long-way driving. Accordingly, situated on interchanges, they are sure to do more business.

(Photo:http://www.tncsec.gov.tw/wks/pt08/home.php?page=page4.php&a01=0101&c03=&wks=pt08&page_key=1612)

Betel nut, which can be used as drug, is the fruit of areca catechu growing in Malaysia and the tropics originally. In addition to Taiwan, many other countries in Asia have the custom of chewing betel nut such as India, Vietnam or Malaysia. Aboriginals in Taiwan regard betel nut as snacks and part of their lives. It is the essential gift in a wedding and serves as a kind of food when it comes to social intercourse. One of the tribes even treats it as rent for their chieftain.

(Photo: Tobie Openshaw)

Serving as betelnut beauties, those girls are the same as showgirls in car exhibition. Apparently, most of us take a wrong attitude toward them. Instead of committing crimes, they are dedicated to their career by entertaining customers and taking their career seriously.

"Visit Tobie Openshaw's gallery of betelnut girl photos, taken over a five-year period: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tobie_openshaw/sets/72157594581621891/ "

Universal Studios

The website is designed for those who have interest in theme parks, especially Universal Studios, to explore features of Universal and attain some essential content for traveling overseas. The target audience are senior high school students or people with intermediate to upper intermediate English ability . It aims to enhance learners’ listening skills of catching main points or general ideas from a speech, conversation, video clip and so on; moreover I intend to have them learn some objects available everywhere in American theme parks. They are also expected to learn the polite and simple way when talking to someone else in English. I use recordings, maps, video clips, PPTs to help them practice listening comprehension and evaluate what they’ve learned. Let’s have fun in Universal Studios Orlando.