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Skills

A Practical Guide in Conversation, Vocabulary and Writing

by Mara Cogni (Author)
©2019 Monographs VIII, 258 Pages

Summary

Many students today have to grapple with questions such as What am I very good at? and What are my strengths and how can I use them for a better life? These are central questions for us as learners, employees, family members, friends and thriving individuals in general. An inquiry into our skills helps us discover our potentialities and the talents we need in order to create a fulfilling life. As a result, it assists us in successfully finding the right role for ourselves in society. Skills: A Practical Guide in Conversation, Vocabulary and Writing is intended to take learners on a reflective skill-investigative journey, in which speaking and writing about skills is both self-exploratory and fun.
This book offers a more reflective approach to thinking and talking about skills. Learners will become well-equipped with knowledge and understanding of a set of skills they can ascribe to themselves and others. This will, consequently, prepare them for a world of work that is very specific in its skillset requirements. The book aims at helping students think critically about skills both orally and in writing. It also includes activities intended to expand vocabulary, which underlies successful communication.

Table Of Contents

  • Cover
  • Title
  • Copyright
  • About the author
  • About the book
  • This eBook can be cited
  • Contents
  • Introduction
  • Chapter 1. Personal Skills
  • Flexible
  • Diligent
  • Detail oriented
  • Proactive
  • Ambitious
  • Perseverant
  • Passionate
  • Empathetic
  • Self-sacrificing
  • Curious
  • Discipline
  • Sociable
  • Confident
  • Competitive
  • Courageous
  • Chapter 2. General Skills
  • Listening
  • Speaking
  • Reading
  • Writing
  • Communication
  • Cooperation
  • Observation
  • Responsibility
  • Problem solving
  • Conflict management
  • Critical thinking
  • Self-motivation
  • Digital competence
  • Emotional intelligence
  • Ethical reasoning
  • Chapter 3. Skills and Jobs
  • Healthcare
  • Mental healthcare
  • Childcare
  • Education
  • Engineering
  • Food service
  • Tradesmanship
  • Media and journalism
  • Chapter 4. Skills for the Future
  • Dealing with ambiguity
  • Avoiding confirmation bias
  • Cognitive flexibility
  • Deep focus
  • Dialectical thinking
  • Chapter 5. Skills in Literature and Films
  • References

Mara Cogni

Skills

A Practical Guide
in Conversation,
Vocabulary
and Writing

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PETER LANG

About the author

Mara Cogni holds a Master’s Degree in Philosophy of European Languages from the University of Oslo, Norway and a Master’s Degree in Modern Languages from Moldova State University. She is currently holding the position of Lecturer M.A. at Oslo Adult Education Center Sinsen, and works actively with incorporating philosophical thinking into her teaching. As a passionate educator, Mara believes that reflection and philosophy are ideal approaches to the future classroom experience. She is the author of Philosophy and Education: Engaging Pathways to Meaningful Learning (Peter Lang, 2018) and From Sentences to Essays: A Guide to Reflective Writing Through Reflective Thinking (2019).

About the book

Many students today have to grapple with questions such as What am I very good at? and What are my strengths and how can I use them for a better life? These are central questions for us as learners, employees, family members, friends and thriving individuals in general. An inquiry into our skills helps us discover our potentialities and the talents we need in order to create a fulfilling life. As a result, it assists us in successfully finding the right role for ourselves in society. Skills: A Practical Guide in Conversation, Vocabulary and Writing is intended to take learners on a reflective skill-investigative journey, in which speaking and writing about skills is both self-exploratory and fun.

This book offers a more reflective approach to thinking and talking about skills. Learners will become well-equipped with knowledge and understanding of a set of skills they can ascribe to themselves and others. This will, consequently, prepare them for a world of work that is very specific in its skillset requirements. The book aims at helping students think critically about skills both orally and in writing. It also includes activities intended to expand vocabulary, which underlies successful communication.

This eBook can be cited

This edition of the eBook can be cited. To enable this we have marked the start and end of a page. In cases where a word straddles a page break, the marker is placed inside the word at exactly the same position as in the physical book. This means that occasionally a word might be bifurcated by this marker.

Flexible

1. SPEAKING

a. In groups, discuss the questions below. Take notes during your discussion.

1. Describe a flexible person.

2. Describe an uncompromising person.

3. What is workplace flexibility?

4. What is learning flexibility?

5. Are flexible people more competitive?

6. Is a flexible person confident or insecure?

7. Is flexibility the same as compromise?

8. Is being flexible the same as spontaneous?

9. What is the difference between cognitive and emotional flexibility?

Flexible (adjective)

ready to change in order to adapt to different circumstances

Flexibility (noun)

the willingness to change or find a middle ground

10. Can anyone learn to become flexible?

b. Use a dictionary to find antonyms for the words below.

Rigid

Categorical

Unvarying

Immovable←3 | 4→

c. Discuss in groups.

1. What makes somebody unwilling to compromise? Make a list.

2. What makes somebody willing to compromise? Make a list.

2. WRITING

Write a short letter/e-mail to a person who is very rigid, in which you give advice about how she or he can become more flexible.

3. VOCABULARY

Underline one phrase which does not belong in each set.

1. A flexible employee / willing to compromise / willful attitude / open to shift strategy

2. Rigid rules / adaptable to change / changeable moods / malleable strategies

3. Easygoing environment / intransigent plans / cooperative efforts / adjustable colors

4. SPEAKING

a. Complete each statement with one of the alternatives provided (there is no right answer!). In groups, give reasons for your choice.

1. Flexible people ___________________________________________

change their minds a lot.

are very accommodating.

are not rigid.

are open to change.←4 | 5→

2. A flexible person __________________________________________

does not have unbending rules.

does not have any principles.

finds others smarter than himself/herself.

has little to say.

3. Adapting people __________________________________________

prefer to be liked.

Details

Pages
VIII, 258
Publication Year
2019
ISBN (Softcover)
9781433150401
ISBN (PDF)
9781433171307
ISBN (ePUB)
9781433171314
ISBN (MOBI)
9781433171321
DOI
10.3726/b15818
Language
English
Publication date
2019 (July)
Published
New York, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Oxford, Wien, 2019. VIII, 258 pp.
Product Safety
Peter Lang Group AG

Biographical notes

Mara Cogni (Author)

Mara Cogni has a Master’s Degree in Philosophy of European Languages from the University of Oslo and a Postgraduate Award in Psychology from the University of Liverpool. She is currently holding the position of Lecturer M.A. at Oslo Adult Education Center Sinsen, and works actively with incorporating psychological and philosophical theories into her teaching.

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Title: Skills