Lessons learnt from Term 1 @ Allame University

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Posted on 30th June 2007 by Bamshad (Bob) Lotfabadi in Archive

I have come to learn several valuable lessons through-out the course, which I like to remind myself of for the next term. Perhaps you agree with me on some of these lessons. I hope you can help improve this list:

Lesson 1 – Be as active as possible in your class.

This helps you learn and gain self-confidence. It helps your prof realize you are interested in the class (if he realizes it at all)

example: I think I was active enough to make a difference in my understanding in this term’s courses material. Courses such as: “The Dialogs” class, “Understanding And Reading Concepts” class, “The Grammar” class, and “English Learning Skills” class, not to mention the other ones that I am satisfied with.

Lesson 2 – Make notes for your more difficult course “during the course”.

I think writing on a peace of paper is very valuable when it comes to organizing your thoughts. For the grammar course, – The book “Communicate What You Mean” – I should have made notes. I wanted to do this just the day before the final exam, and I realized it is too late. Better do it in a relaxed environment with no hassle around to understand the lesson and to gain something personal out of the course.

Lesson 3 – Focus on the course. Don’t waste your time arguing with your professor if you don’t have to.

I say this because I think my final mark was impacted by an argument I had with one of my profs. Don’t take things personal. Everyone have their own view on life. When they talk their own thoughts, it doesn’t mean they are talking to you. Let them do their talking and enjoy life the way they want. You enjoy life too. Don’t take things personal especially with a professor who deals with many students through-out the term and probably doesn’t mean to insult you in a significant way :-)

Lesson 4 – Study for your own benefit, not because the professor wanted you to.

I went to the library throughout the term and read material in English that interested me. I have to admit our library is a “poor” university library but still, you can find your own interesting books and magazines to feed your brain. I agree with the Dr. Mohaghgheghi’s words. You should do your own homework and get to know many things about the world you live in, especially the related material to your future career and academic achievement.

These are the lessons that come to my mind so far! Any comments?

Movie Presentation Information – Ms. Shams’s Term 2 Class

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Posted on 28th June 2007 by Bamshad (Bob) Lotfabadi in Archive

,

Movie Presentations
- This Announcement Was First Published on:
Thursday, 7th of Tir, 1386 @ 18:00 Tehran Time
- This is:
The Seventeenth Revision of the Original Post.
- What You Read Here Was Revised and Republished on:
Sunday, Mehr 1st, 1386 @ 07:00 Tehran Time

[The Movie List is now available and you can find it below. Please read all details for a thorough understanding. Thank you. :-) ]

Hello all,

It’s nice to see you around! Here is the necessary information for presenting your movie in Ms. Shams’ class during the next term (Fall/Winter 1386 or 2007). I have listed Ms. Shams’ concerns in point form:

      Issue 1

      Please be in class the very first day of classes. Ms. Shams has informed me that her class will begin right at the beginning of the semester so that we would have enough time for everyone. Please be in class the first day the classes begin according to the course calendar and the university schedule. No student-made schedule of attendance is expected from the students. :-)

      Issue 2

      - Mr. Aram Yazdi-Zad has selected the movie “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”. This is confirmed. (Shahrivar 31st, 1386)

      - Miss Masoomeh Ghasemie will be presenting “Garfield 1″. This is confirmed with Ms. Shams. (Shahrivar 24th, 1386)

      - Miss Farnaz Pak-Nahad will be presenting “Garfield 2″. This is confirmed with Ms. Shams. (Shahrivar 24th, 1386)

      - Mrs. Purmohammadi has selected the film “The Others”, which is on Ms. Shams’ list and was OKed yesterday morning. (Shahrivar 19th, 1386)

      - Bamshad Lotfabadi (That’s me!) has selected “The Prestige”. The presentation was confirmed by Ms. Shams. It is also on Ms. Shams’ movie list. (Shahrivar 6th, 1386)

      - Energetic Ehsan Talebnia, has changed his movie from “Freaky Friday” to “Shooter”. This is now confirmed. (Mordad 16th, 1386)

      - Marvelous Morteza Rezaee has selected the movie “Cold Mountain”. With regards to his work, Ms. Shams writes: “Wow! That’s great & I hope Morteza presents some excellent work to the class.” (Mordad 16th, 1386)

      - Mr. Reza Shams has selected the movie “We are no angels”, which was confirmed this morning by Mrs. Shams. (Mordad 9th, 1386)

      - My good friend Hesam Azari has selected the movie “Finding Neverland”. Ms. Shams mentioned that she’s very happy that Hesam has selected this movie and she said, “I’m sure that he’ll present it perfectly”. (Tir 31st, 1386) Hey folks, don’t get jealous. ; ) Mrs. Shams is nice with everyone. Unfortunately it takes lots of space here if I write all her nice comments about all of you. : )

      - Miss Raziyeh Jalali has selected the movie “Requiem for a Dream”. The movie title is in Ms. Shams’ list and was naturally confirmed. (Tir 21st, 1386)
      However Miss Jalali would like to change her movie. It is still not clear what movie she would like to switch to. (Shahrivar 6th, 1386)

      - Miss Afsaneh Abbaszadeh had requested to present the movie “Master and Commander” a few days ago. This is now confirmed. (17th of Tir, 1386)

      - Miss Vajiheh Farshi has selected the movie “7 Years in Tibet”. This is confirmed. (14th of Tir, 1386)

      Issue 3:
      For the presentation notes and handouts you should provide the following if nothing else:

      1- Vocabulary list (better to include word, meaning in the movie context, example either from the movie or outside the movie)
      2- Interesting expressions (including the meaning)
      3- The movie dialogs and spoken text for the instructor

      When asking Ms. Shams to confirm this, she said:

      Yes, these points are exactly what we want for the presentation. You may as well ask the students to submit their homework on DVDs & only DVDs. Unfortunately some of the films they’ve given me last term don’t work. Besides, please ask them to see & check the whole film before handing it in. Also ask them to concentrate more on expressions & useful sentences rather than vocabs.

      Issue 4:
      Upon asking her, Ms. Shams responded that she has no problem with being contacted by any of the students directly through her email address. Anyone who would like to email her can let me know and I will provide him/her with the necessary address.

      Issue 5:
      Here is the list of movies hand-picked for presentation by Ms. Shams. Please let Ms Shams and the class know what you like to present by leaving a comment here (recommended), emailing me (bamshadbamshad at yahoo.com), or calling my cell:

      [The following list shows the movies recommended by Ms. Shams. It was updated with the student names this afternoon, Sunday, 24th of Tir, 1386]

      :

      - The Prestige Taken by Mr. Bamshad Lotfabadi
      - Finding Neverland Taken by my good friend Hesam Azari
      - Run away jury******
      - Father of the bride(2)
      - Good shepard
      - Life or something like it
      - The curse of jade scorpion
      - The Others******* Taken by Mrs. Purmohammadi
      - Brookback Mountains
      - Good German
      - Black Dahlia
      - Wild Orchid
      - Bitter Moon
      - Tennant
      - Requim For A Dream Taken by Miss Raziyeh Jalali
      - Immortal Love
      - Transpating
      - Cold mountain Taken by Mr. Morteza Rezaee
      - Brothers Grimm

      Issue 6:
      You can also get your “own” movie. Just leave a commnent here, email me, or call my cell so that I can confirm with Ms. Shams.

      Issue 7 [old]:
      The best way to contact her would be through me (Bamshad) or through Bamshad’s Web site. You can call my cell – if you have the number – , or email me at bamshadbamshad@yahoo.com, or leave a message here so that I can see it and respond to it.

      Issue 8 [older]:
      Ms. Shams is on a trip during summer. Thus calling her cell phone is done through Rouming. It will cost both you and Ms. Shams heck of a lot of money, so please ignore this option for contacting her!

Thank you for your patience as we work to bring you the best service possible here at Bamshad.com

This first term @ Allame was full of beautiful memories. I miss you all during summer. The nice thing is that we all have some time to re-coup and re-vamp now. See you all next term.

Sincerely,

Bamshad Lotfabadi :-)

Bamshad’s Official Statement on “Allame University Term 1 Final Scores”

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Posted on 27th June 2007 by Bamshad (Bob) Lotfabadi in Archive

As many of you are aware I have not scored as anticipated in my first term finals. Although the word is not official yet, I’ll finalize my viewpoint on the scores and comment on all my course marks, one by one. In general, I like to share my report card with you and help myself feel more relaxed.

It would be a joy to see you participate in the discussion with your viewpoints on your own marks and the possible reasons for earning such marks.

My Official Statement Will be Out Soon. At the meantime please feel free to comment on any aspect of our university exams.

All the best, :-)

Bamshad

————————- Course 1 ———————

Course Name: Understanding & Reading Concepts

My Final Mark
: 18.5 out of 20 (92.5%)

Is my mark fair or unfair? Fair

Could I get a better mark? Absitively

Why?

I believe my explanation of the concepts I read in English is in good shape. Considering that I have spent close to eleven years of my young life in the West including Canada, I have the most amount of confidence in dealing with English culture concepts and written material compared to any other student in our Iranian class. I agree that success comes with hard work and effort and not with the places you have been at as my prof says. However, to define me as a “relatively good student” does not satisfy me in the class when others get 100% marks! I believe I was among the top students in the class deserving a 98% to 100% mark.

Are there any reasons that you think had influence on your mark?

I think I didnot do as well in the final exam, giving my professor a reason to my low understanding of the material (Although she should have considered my real effort in the class, which demoed my ability to work with English). I also had an oral arguement with my prof during the course, which was my own fault. The instructor has in fact been fair by giving me a not so bad mark while she could be much more harsh. This of course is only acceptable if she has treated everyone else in the same manner.

Therefore the mark I have is fair! I am happy with it!

Goethe Address and Phone Number in Tehran, Iran

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Posted on 21st June 2007 by Bamshad (Bob) Lotfabadi in Archive

,

Hello! Here is the necesseary information to contact DSIT [Goethe] in Iran. This is the official institute for German learnings, which functions under the guidelines of the German embassy.

You can find this information useful to register for the classes or ro ask them any questions related to German studies:

Goether Institute Iran (DSIT):

http://www.dsit.org/

موسسه زبان آلمانی
قلهک
خیابان شریعتی
خیابان یخچال
خیابان کی نژاد
کوچه اسلامیه شماره ۱۴-۱۸

تلفن در تهران: 22606146
تلفن/ فکس در تهران: 22601851

German Embassy Website in Iran (Which includes all cultural links such as study information for students of the language or education in Germany):

http://www.teheran.diplo.de