International Students NZ

Today’s picture: Sullivan’s Bay, Mahurangi (thanks to Satareh for this one!)

Part 1: Today's word

A dimension is an aspect of a situation, especially one which has an important impact on your attitude. So, for instance, you could say that distance education took on a whole new dimension with the invention of the internet. In other words, an important aspect was added which changed the basic character of the internet. When you are researching or analysing a social or business issue, you could look at the cultural, psychological, or ethical dimension in order to gain a more complete understanding of the issue. You may also come across the word dimension in mathematics, where it just means the length, width and height of an object.

Click here for interactive exercises on academic vocabulary and writing.

Part 2: Test

Here are FOUR sentences with the word of the day. But only THREE are correct. Which is the Odd One Out?

Learning a bit of the Maori language added a whole new dimension to her experience of New Zealand culture.

Her research focused on the effects on family life of a specific social dimension: the increased use of online networking.

The vast dimensions of the scheme made it necessary to employ a specialist project management team.

The researchers could have considered the sociological dimension of the issue.

Part 3: Practice Questions:

Have any of your assignments asked you to consider the cultural, ethical or social dimensions of a specific issue?
Have any of your university studies added a whole new dimension to your way of thinking?

Part 4: The Idiomatic Test

It's like water off a duck's b ___
The experience was a real eye- o____
She didn't lift a f ___ to help
At least you've got your f ___ in the door
An early election is on the c ___
I was totally out of my d ___
Everyone's getting in on the a ___
The copier's given up the g ____

Part 5: Kiwi Quiz Question

Which of these is a well-known New Zealand fashion designer?

Trelise Cooper
Coco Chanel
Stella McCartney
Issey Mijake

More information here

Part 6: Today’s online listening

This is an interview on Australian Radio with a PhD researcher Bianca Price, who has researched the impact of how good-looking a sales assistant is perceived to be on purchase decisions.

Vocabulary for the article:

intimidated
flaw
flawless
metrosexual

Questions for the article:

What was the research question? Are women less likely to purchase clothing when they perceive the sales assistant as being more attractive than they are?

Where did the researcher get the idea from?

Where was the research published?

What were the research methods?

What were the findings?

What theory did she use to explain her findings?

What practical implications may the research have?

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(Young women) are more p __________ to eating disorders.

Women are con ___________ with a number of images from the media.

The emphasis on attractiveness for these young women can det____________ their social network, it can det__________ whether they find a relationship

You’re dealing with two dim ______________ here ...

Women asp ______ to be a celebrity.

Firms will want to ass__________ those images with their particular brand or product

The v ______ majority of (clothing) stores are targeted towards young women.

Women who don’t per________ themselves as attractive may be det__________ (from shopping in stores with attractive sales assistants)

A lot of men would enc__________ difficulties (with a similar situation)

Grammar Focus: Expressing tendencies

‘will’ doesn’t only refer to the future in English. It is often used to express a general tendency – it has a similar meaning to ‘tend to’ and is often used as an alternative. Both ‘tend to’ and ‘will’ are also used with adverbs like ‘generally’ and ‘typically’ to make the tendency a little weaker. This is an important grammar point if you are describing trends or habits – and when we are talking about people and society, we need this grammar a lot, since the real world is not black and white, but many shades of grey.

Here are a few examples from today’s listening:

Men tend to like buying things off better looking women. In fact, they’ll go out of their way to buy things they don’t need.

Women and women will generally be more competitive with each other.

Women tend to value their attractiveness.

Women will generally focus on their appearance first and foremost.

Today’s news story:
Internet cry for help finds answer across the world

Today’s Video suggestion:
Kath and Kim explore the various dimensions of swimwear purchase decisions
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