Fertile Harvest on Class-Observation

For language instructors, class-observation seems to be of paramount importance because, on the one hand, we may selectthe essential and put them into practice during the observation. On the other hand, to attend and visit other lecturers' lessons maybroaden our horizons and make new friends. I once did the class-observation when I pursued the master's degree in the U.S.A.,and I learned a lot from it, such as visual aids, the method of small conferences, and in-class practices concerning the evaluation ofstudents' papers. This paper will minutely demonstrate the process and try to give fellow colleagues the benefits of my experienceand perhaps some advice on teaching English.

Control of disability glare by means of electrochromic filtering glasses:A pilot study

Purpose:To evaluate the potential clinical usability of a new prototype of ophthalmic blue light filters developed by using electrochromic technology in pseudophakic patients complaining of glare.Methods:A prototype of electrochromic device was developed,with a specific frame that enclosed an electronic driver that allowed personalizing its function for each patient.A pro-spective,observational case series study was performed to test it.Five patients who had un-dergone cataract surgery with clear intraocular lenses and complaining of glare were included in the study.Main outcome measures were the results obtained in the satisfaction questionnaire that was delivered to patients.Then,visual acuity,contrast sensitivity,and reading ability data were evaluated with and without the prototype under diferent lighting conditions and different modes of the prototype after a complete month of use.Lens transmittance was also measured.Results:Visual acuity,contrast sensitivity and reading function did not change significantly with prototype use.The main activity for which the prototype was used was walking.Only one patient found that the dimming level was insuficient.No patients reported variable discomfort when passing tunnels,not sufficiently clear indoors,or put on and remove discomfort.The lenses slightly decreased their transmittance at the end of the study.Conclusion:Glasses based on elect rochromic technology may be acceptable for outdoor/indoor use and for distance-near vision.Future studies with larger samples must be conducted to confirm the clinical usability of these glasses.

AN EFFECTIVE VISUAL AID FOR TEACHINC VOCABULARY

IntroductionTeaching vocabulary,is one of the most important tasks in teaching English.With successful teaching ofvocabulary,students will find English classes interesting and words easy to memorise.If English classesare dull,students will not be interested in trying to learn new words.Sometime students find itimpossible to distinguish the difference between so many similar words.In my experience,one of themost effective ways to solve the problems is to make appropriate use of a very simple teaching aid-coloured chalk.Coloured chalk can produce‘sharp contrasts’on the blackboard.‘Sharp contrasts’willhelp students to discover associations between words,word formations,and minor differences in thespelling of some commonly confused words.With coloured chalk,teachers do not have to ask studentsagain and again to pay attention,the‘sharp contrasts’will highlight the key features.Teachingvocabulary with appropriate use of coloured chalk will produce twice the result with half the effort.