1) How do you understand the word “psychopath”?
2) Are psychopaths necessarily selfish? Are selfish people necessarily psychopaths?
3) Is it bad to be selfish?
4) Psychopathy, selfishness and need to attract attention. How do they correlate?
5) How much attention do we need to attract?
6) Psychological problems and psychopathy. Can there be problems without psychopathy? Can there be psychopathy without problems?
7) Is it bad to be a deviated person? Why?
8) How do you like this strategy: If you are suffering from an inner conflict which you are not able to resolve alone, bring your trouble to the public attention and discuss it?
9) Is it better to go to a shrink (analyst)? Is it better to discuss it with friends?
10) Is our global world neurotic, as Fromm once suggested? Is it even psychopathic? Or is it basically healthy?
11) What kind of psychopathy became a “norm” nowadays?
12) Are we hated or loved? If somebody feels presence of hatred, is it a kind of mental hallucination?
13) What about feeling of being loved?
14) Is something wrong with you if you feel that the life is revolving around you?
1) Mind map of foreign language. Foreign language consist of... consist in...
2) Learning words. Mnemonics, flash cards, electronic flash cards, developing memory, etc...
3) "Magic" techniques of memory
4) What is magic?
5) Levels of understanding what studying foreign languages is
6) Approaches
7) Comprehensible input
8) Affective filter
9) Reading, speed reading, artistic reading
10) Working on voice
11) Polyglots and monoglots
12) Blind typing
13) Pronunciation
14) Phonology
15) Communication games
16) Levels of teaching
17) Rules of reading
18) Extreme reduction
19) Parallel texts
20) Interesting books and other resources
21) Computers, bookreaders, tablets and other gadgets
22) Movies and how to watch them
23) Tutorials, manuals, textbooks, exercises
24) Grammar books
25) Examinations
26) Hypnopedia
27) Translation, interpreting
28) English phonemes in Russian letters
29) Memory as vector graphics
30) Languages and sexuality
31) Languages and war
32) Motivation
33) Languages and children
34) Dictionaries
35) Physical health and brain
36) All channels of perception (modalities)
37) Bilingualism
What associations come to your mind when you hear modal verbs? There can exist a typology of people. People of Must, people of Can, people of Need and so on… Erich Fromm began to deal with that in his book «Haben oder Sein» (To Have or to Be).
Must: Immanuel Kant and Joseph Stalin. Army, war and preparing to war. Clear streets, no beggars. Prisons and schools.
Can: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Henry Ford. Creativity and accomplishment.
Could: Gorbachev. World of lost opportunities and pieces of advice that are never followed.
May: Permissions, democracy, soft promises (that never come true).
Might: Not taking responsibility. Soft regrets about lost opportunities.
Will: Prediction of future, willingness, fantasies, emotions, spontaneity.
Shall: Oracle, procurator, public prosecutor, fate, doom, commandments. Prescriptive grammar.
What about duty of men to defend women? What about duty of men to defend their country?
“Men defending women - thing of the past only needed in working class circles. In middle class and upper class circles this is not needed at all and many women these days can defend themselves. As for defending the country in the future that will be done with drones; and as I said why can't you have women tank drivers and fighter pilots? Why should only men risk their lives? Over here most middle and upper class people are incapable realistically of defending their country or a woman, they are wimps with a brain. Look, if our own Queen can train as a mechanic and repair vehicles to help the war effort, what is anyone else's excuse? Here we had a then royal princess training to do a working class man's job, and she actually did it. She actually volunteered to do it.”
1. Is feminism a punishment for women?
2. If yes, should we punish women for feminism with feminism?
3. Is there need of men's job in our world?
The world is build of air conditioners, political correctness a right grammar, isn't it? Or is it build of concrete, oil and harsh work?
4. Killing people is a very easy thing if it is done with drones. So that is how it should be done. Killing is like playing computer games. Every woman can do it, cannot she?
5. Elites don't need to learn harsh reality of our life. It is for common people. Why not?
6. Women do not need to be women and men to be men. Unisex is the best way of existence. Why not?
7. Even a queen can play a miner for some time. This her work equals to the work of miners, so miners should not complain about their difficult life.
Can a native speaker help us with our pronunciation?
Q: What do you generally do at such discussions?
Ilya: Last time we shared tips and did exercises. We still have to discuss some of tips, then talk about IPA and phonemes, about dialects, ultimate reduction and clarity, about instruments, phonetics and phonology, share our experience and talk about whatever you want.
Q: Is there anyone with perfect pronunciation to guide all the others?
Ilya: no
QQ: sorry to interfere with your conversation, and by no means want to sound rude, but how do you know that you are doing well, unless there is some professional to judge your performance?
Q: That's exactly my point. This area of the language seems to be the most difficult to master (without a teacher).
Ilya: You can ask the same question about everything what is done in the club...
Considering modal verbs, subjunctive mood and other stuff like that… I was asked a question, what can be discussed about the Subjunctive mood? I answered, about everything at what you react emotionally. And what can be emotional in grammar? It was a very interesting question. There is some life in grammar. But what is it? I think that there is some mystical point of view at grammar. Does anybody want to talk about mysticism of grammar?
1) Tense, Aspect, Mood (mode) and modals
2) Pictures, and feelings, and energy of feelings and hypnotizing power of words
3) Moods as realms
4) Modals verbs as gods
5) Grammar, Mathematics, Universe and God
6) Chemistry and psychology
7) To have or to be? To do, to have or to be? The power of this question
8) “Never to have, never to be and only to do” and Russian mentality
1) Nationalism vs Fascism and Nazism
2) Economic roots
3) Psychohistorical roots
4) WW I – the first global civil war of elites against their own nations, their own men
5) WW I as a perverted (sadistic) sexual fantasy of elites
6) WW II – the revenge of masculinity
7) Nazism and Capitalism – competition without responsibility
8) Nazism vs Jews
9) Nazism vs Russians
10) Nazism vs Men (Feminism)
11) Nazism vs Communism
12) Nazism and Democracy
13) Democracy vs Totalitarianism
14) Nazism vs Christianity
15) Nazism and sexual perversions
16) Adam Smith, Darwin and Nazism
17) Nazism, Oedipus and suicidal national projects
18) Definition of Nazism
It is about studying partially new and partially known words. And it is about memorizing up to the optimal level and no "better" than that. And it is about your memory after you have already learned and trained special techniques. It is mostly about gaining the passive vocabulary but it is also about activating the passive vocabulary.
1) To remember means to forget right
2) Relaxation and removing unnecessary movements
3) Consciousness or subconscious? Can we memorize voluntarily, intentionally? How can we motivate our memory?
4) Make your subconscious work and you will never get tired
5) We never forget things completely. How can we utilize that fact?
6) How well should you try to memorize words from the first time?
7) Using mnemonics; is it the right direction?
8) Flashcards
9) Double rotation
10) Rules of reading and very simple special signs instead of transcription
11) How to learn rules of reading? The same flashcards and double rotation.
12) Flashcards and our computer programs
13) Dictation mode and blind typing
14) Shamanic techniques
15) Multitasking, trance, strong and long drive (keif, high, thrill, rush ets…)
16) How much drive would you want?
17) What does the word consist of? What are our subtasks then?
18) Using 3 channels
19) Blind typing or handwriting?
20) Writing down the words from the context and how it should be done. Should we take words only from the context?
21) Memorizing at the moment of reading
22) Alternative techniques? With bare hands? How can we cope with words without computer programs?
23) Developing new native language in visual channel (and in the kinesthetic one)
24) Improving your sleeping
25) Forgetting about your conflicts and trouble
26) Not overeating and other health relating things
27) Brain massage
28) The power of young sportsmen
29) No illusions: knowing words is not enough to become a fluent speaker
30) How fast can foreign languages be learnt?
1) Are you a feminist?
2) Why is feminism for equality only for women? Why is it called feminism and not “equalism”? Can there be equality only for a part of the society?
3) Do you think that men and women don’t have equal rights now? Who is privileged?
4) Do you know laws favoring men? Can you name laws favoring women?
5) At what age should men and women get pension?
6) What about army and draft?
7) Do you agree that men are worse than women?
8) Why girls are more successful at school?
9) Should the behavior of men be controlled? Should men's sexuality be constantly restricted by women?
10) Were women oppressed by men throughout the history? Must men compensate to women their suffering throughout the history?
11) Should men run after women?
12) Should women be saved first? How do you like the Titanic story?
13) Should we protect only women from domestic violence or should men also be protected?
14) Who are better workers?
15) Who is paid better?
16) Is there any prejudice in our society against men or women?
17) Should paternity fraud be considered a crime? And how severe should be the punishment?
18) What about election rights? Suppose majority of women vote and send men to wars. Men die. Women have majority and again send only men to wars. Is it democracy? Why not?
19) Why do men drink vodka? Why do men smoke? Is it because of their defective nature? Can there be other explanations?
20) Is feminism for equal rights or does it have different aims?
21) Are you a feminist?
22) How does feminism affect women?
23) How does feminism affect men?
24) What do we have to do with it?
1. Do you prefer emotionally touching deep topics or do you prefer neutral and safe talks not really touching your soul and mind? Do we come here to study English or to share our ideas?
2. Is Internet a proper place to have debates? Do you try to prove your point of view or do you prefer political correctness?
3. Do you feel comfortable when people try to teach you how to live? Does advice mean assault for you?
4. Do you always try to follow given topic or is it sometimes better to talk about everything what comes into your mind?
5. What can be a reason for a ban? When is it appropriate to say "if you don’t obey my rules I will ban you"?
6. Is it appropriate to interrupt the speaker? And what if he talks about things that are already clear and returns to the same things over and over again? What if he misinterprets your words?
7. Should there be the rule of two (three, four, five) minutes for each interlocutor? Should people talk by turn?
8. Should everybody have the same time or should active fellows who have what to say talk more?
1) Is it OK to wish somebody defeat? Competitors always do it, don’t they?
2) Some people believe that only misery of being a loser can motivate people to become better. Do you agree with that? Can you name other possible motives?
3) Is it a good idea to discourage people? If you compete with people you will always do it, won't you?
4) Do you try to compete in our club and not to support somebody? Do you try to be supportive? Do people like those who are supportive?
5) Should ideologies compete?
6) Why do capitalists demand from governments of other countries to support competition in their countries?
7) Who are more competitive and who are more cooperative, men or women?
8) Does such a thing as a self-made man exist? Don't you think that men can make themselves only if they are supported?
9) Should we give understanding to everyone or should we exchange (“sell”) our understanding for something?
10) Do men support women? Do women support men?
11) Who are more cooperative and who are more competitive, Westerners or Russians?
12) Elites that compete with their own people lose their respect. Whole states and their citizens lose their respect because of that. So nobody is really respected nowadays. Do you respect Obama for instance? Do you respect Americans?
13) Do you like the situation when nobody is respected?
14) Is money respected?
To avoid some misunderstanding I have to explain some things
Your ability and your readiness to create real and interesting discussions is a part of being a good English teacher and a good English learner as well. I think it is obvious. That is why we discuss things in English here.
If you want to be a good teacher it is absolutely necessary to understand what is happening in the mind and soul of your students. Otherwise you will not be able to build a rapport between your student and yourself and as a result the lessons will not be effective.
You should understand what “affective filter” is and how it works preventing learners from learning foreign languages. Read Stephen Krashen if you haven’t heard about the affective filter. He wrote an interesting book about second language acquisition. And his book is free.......
