Genre approach to teaching formal letter writing

Writing in a foreign language is both complex and fascinating, whether viewed from the perspective of a teacher or a student. My teacher-interest in the writing skill stems from the fact that in my experience it is the most difficult skill to develop successfully. As a non-native user of English and a foreign-language student, on the other hand, I often feel that especially when writing in order to accomplish a specific goal, we have insufficient tools to write successfully. Transmitting information is easier than getting things done. Consequently, in this paper I concentrate on the genre which tends to be most disliked by both teachers and students – formal letters, with the specific focus on letters of complaint. It is this type of letters that each of us may need to write in real life. This type of a letter is interesting as the writer has to combine a number of skills. In order to write successfully it is not enough to master the use of grammar and lexis, a writer has to be aware of the cultural and social context in which the text will function. I believe the genre approach to teaching writing allows students to develop all sub-skills necessary to become proficient writers. In this paper attention will be first given to Common features of formal letters, then to a brief explanation of what genre approach is. The second half of the paper covers some of the of the major problems learners may encounter when writing formal letters (motivation, cultural and linguistic issues). The “problem” section is followed by a number of practical solutions

Axiological entanglement of economics

In mainstream economics, the principle of freedom from value judgment (Wertfreiheit) is enforced. This principle has different interpretations. The aim of this paper is to present the author’s interpretations of the principle of Wertfreiheit. The basic ideas of axiology have been analysed: values, valuations, and value judgments, including their application to economic activities and economic researches. Two models of valuations have been presented—the taste model and perception model—as well as points of view of economic researches on those models. The conclusion comprises the author’s interpretation of the principle of Wertfreiheit as that of impartiality and integrity in research activities.Publication of English-language versions of the volumes of the “Annales. Ethics in Economic Life” financed through contract no. 501/1/P-DUN/2017 from the funds of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education devoted to the promotion of scholarship

Discourse completion test as a tool for the development of intercultural competence

Udostępnienie publikacji Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego finansowane w ramach projektu „Doskonałość naukowa kluczem do doskonałości kształcenia”. Projekt realizowany jest ze środków Europejskiego Funduszu Społecznego w ramach Programu Operacyjnego Wiedza Edukacja Rozwój; nr umowy: POWER.03.05.00-00-Z092/17-00

Sociolinguistic Conditioning of Phonetic Category Realisation in Non-Native Speech

The realisation of phonetic categories reflects a complex relationship between individual phonetic parameters and both linguistic and extra-linguistic conditioning of language usage. The present paper investigates the effect of selected socio-linguistic variables, such as the age, the amount of language use and cultural/social distance in English used by Polish immigrants to the U.S. Individual parameters used in the realisation of the category ‘voice’ have been found to vary in their sensitivity to extra-linguistic factors: while the production of target-like values of all parameters is related to the age, it is the closure duration that is most stable in the correspondence to the age and level of language proficiency. The VOT and vowel duration, on the other hand, prove to be more sensitive to the amount of language use and attitudinal factors

The use of parametric tests in the study of vowel duration cue for voicing in the following word final consonant in Polish english

Chapter TenZadanie pt. „Digitalizacja i udostępnienie w Cyfrowym Repozytorium Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego kolekcji czasopism naukowych wydawanych przez Uniwersytet Łódzki” nr 885/P-DUN/2014 zostało dofinansowane ze środków MNiSW w ramach działalności upowszechniającej nauk

Market Reaction to Mandatory IFRS Adoption: Evidence from Poland

This article analyses the effects of mandatory International Financial Reporting Standards adoption in Poland. Our aim is to determine how market participants reacted to the new accounting standards on the year of the adoption and whether their behavior changed afterwards. We examine abnormal returns around annual consolidated report publication, and the value relevance of earnings. Event studies show that annual report publication does not produce unexpected information either before, on, or after the adoption. Value relevance estimations produce consistent earnings coefficients for the unexpected earnings model for adopters and non-adopters. Interestingly, IFRS adopters are valued higher before the adoption, but not afterwards. The paper contributes a comprehensive methodology for market reaction studies and offers a range of possible extensions.IFRS, event study, value relevance, accounting regulation