Post by Ritva Paivomaa on Oct 6, 2014 9:33:28 GMT -5
Dear students
we will discuss yle news in class in October 2014. You will get a handout in class one week before the lesson. If you can't attend that lesson, you can read the selected news items and tasks here
(If you'd rather read a word version, you can read the attachment if you log in with USERNAME 'stepsstudent' and PASSWORD 'autumn2014'.Latest news 13 Oct 2014.docx (26.57 KB))
TASK:
Which of these news items did you find interesting? Why?
Can you explain in your own words what the news report number 1 (2,3,…) is about?
Write an opinion (not necessarily your own:)) on one news report (or several) - or a question.
Eg. News report 2: Did you use to read the Moomin books when you were young? How about your children or godchildren?
News report 5: It is nice to read some news about possible alternatives to layoffs.
What has happened since 13 October 2014?
Did you learn any interesting new words or expressions?
How could you express the following words/expressions in English?
1. valtava vaikutus 2.a. kansainvälisesti tunnettu 2.b. teatterielokuva 3.a. mahdolliset / tulevat kodinostajat
3.b. oma asunto 4. puolustusministeri 5. vaihtoehto irtisanomisille 6. luottoluokituksen lasku
7. ilmatilan loukkaukset 8. irtisanomis-neuvottelut 9.a. kemian Nobel-palkinto 9.b. keksintö
10. delfiinin-poikanen 11. ikärasismi 12.a. pitkittyneet neuvottelut 12.b. irtisanomiset ja ulkoistaminen
1. Rural doctor Kiminkinen: It’s everyone’s business to know these two statistics... Rural doctor Tapani Kiminkinen, from Saarijärvi, is known around the country for his popular and direct take on health issues in Finland.
Lifestyle has a huge impact on human health, and it’s never too late to start improving our habits. Kiminkinen’s mantra is that our own free time, friends, relationships and nuclear family are to be treasured. Simple things like making packed lunches and maintaining physical fitness dictate what we are.
2. Original Moomin comics make bid for global movie stardom
One of Finland’s most beloved exports, internationally renowned comic characters the Moomins, took a new shot at international feature film stardom on the weekend. A French-Finnish co-production, 'Moomins on the Riviera' premiered in London on Saturday. It’s the first animated feature film to be based directly on the popular Moomin comic strips created by Swedish-Finnish artist and writer Tove Jansson.
3. Housing prices outpace wages
The price of housing is now rising faster rate than wages across many parts of Finland. The growing gap between housing and income makes it difficult for many to improve their financial position by moving to growth centres. These days prospective homebuyers must squirrel away savings for at least 4 years longer than earlier in order to afford a residence of their own.
4. Stubb: Russia should account for its harrying of Aranda
On Sunday, Prime Minister Alexander Stubb used his monthly interview hour with Radio Finland to register his support for Defense Minister Haglund’s call for Russia to give an explanation of its harrying of a Finnish research vessel in international waters. He also took the chance to comment on Finland's sliding economic status and passed comment on the need to encourage labour migration to the country.
5. Metalworking firms found “labour bank” as alternative to layoffs
Finnish metalworking companies in the eastern part of the country have founded a labour bank that has proven highly successful. The labour bank allows companies to ‘borrow’ employees from other companies if there isn’t enough work available at their place of hire. Employees may move to other firms for a spell, but their work contract and salary remain the same.
6. Credit downgrade could cost Finland 100 million in debt interest
Finance minister Antti Rinne admits that businesses may also face higher borrowing costs following ratings agency Standard & Poor's decision to strip Finland of its triple-A rating on Friday. The government's slowness in implementing promised reforms to pensions and healthcare was singled out as one reason for the downgrade.
7. Sweden and Finland plan joint airspace surveillance
Finnish and Swedish defence ministers are pushing for more intense Nordic defence cooperation to watch over both countries’ skies. The goal is to prevent possible airspace violations against the backdrop of a number of recent incursions by Russian aircraft.
8. Mail company Itella concludes redundancy talks; decides to send home 239
State-owned postal services provider Itella announced Friday that it will send home 239 workers. The decision marks the conclusion of redundancy talks that began back in August.
9. Finland helped seed 2014 Nobel for chemistry
One of the 2014 Nobel Prize for Chemistry winners started his work on the winning invention at the University of Turku in the 1990s. A grant from the Academy of Finland provided seed money for research when no one else believed in physicist Stefan W. Hell's ideas.
10. Dolphin calf born at Särkänniemi dolphinarium
A 36-year-old dolphin named Veera has given birth to a female dolphin calf at the Tampere theme park. The dolphinarium has previously attracted widespread calls for its closure from animal rights campaigners.
11. Age discrimination in the workplace grows
There's a commonly-held perception that people over 40 suffer from age discrimination in the workplace in Finland. Although labour law professor Seppo Koskinen cautions that age discrimination may increase as the official retirement age in Finland is raised, not all of the statistics bear out a bias against older employees - yet.
12. Cabin crew and Finnair reach agreement
After prolonged negotiations, the Finnish Cabin Crew Union (SLSY) accepted a savings agreement with Finnair. The new deal will bring Finnair annual savings of 18 million euros, while protecting cabin personnel from redundancies and outsourcing.
Best regards
Ritva
we will discuss yle news in class in October 2014. You will get a handout in class one week before the lesson. If you can't attend that lesson, you can read the selected news items and tasks here
(If you'd rather read a word version, you can read the attachment if you log in with USERNAME 'stepsstudent' and PASSWORD 'autumn2014'.Latest news 13 Oct 2014.docx (26.57 KB))
TASK:
Which of these news items did you find interesting? Why?
Can you explain in your own words what the news report number 1 (2,3,…) is about?
Write an opinion (not necessarily your own:)) on one news report (or several) - or a question.
Eg. News report 2: Did you use to read the Moomin books when you were young? How about your children or godchildren?
News report 5: It is nice to read some news about possible alternatives to layoffs.
What has happened since 13 October 2014?
Did you learn any interesting new words or expressions?
How could you express the following words/expressions in English?
1. valtava vaikutus 2.a. kansainvälisesti tunnettu 2.b. teatterielokuva 3.a. mahdolliset / tulevat kodinostajat
3.b. oma asunto 4. puolustusministeri 5. vaihtoehto irtisanomisille 6. luottoluokituksen lasku
7. ilmatilan loukkaukset 8. irtisanomis-neuvottelut 9.a. kemian Nobel-palkinto 9.b. keksintö
10. delfiinin-poikanen 11. ikärasismi 12.a. pitkittyneet neuvottelut 12.b. irtisanomiset ja ulkoistaminen
1. Rural doctor Kiminkinen: It’s everyone’s business to know these two statistics... Rural doctor Tapani Kiminkinen, from Saarijärvi, is known around the country for his popular and direct take on health issues in Finland.
Lifestyle has a huge impact on human health, and it’s never too late to start improving our habits. Kiminkinen’s mantra is that our own free time, friends, relationships and nuclear family are to be treasured. Simple things like making packed lunches and maintaining physical fitness dictate what we are.
2. Original Moomin comics make bid for global movie stardom
One of Finland’s most beloved exports, internationally renowned comic characters the Moomins, took a new shot at international feature film stardom on the weekend. A French-Finnish co-production, 'Moomins on the Riviera' premiered in London on Saturday. It’s the first animated feature film to be based directly on the popular Moomin comic strips created by Swedish-Finnish artist and writer Tove Jansson.
3. Housing prices outpace wages
The price of housing is now rising faster rate than wages across many parts of Finland. The growing gap between housing and income makes it difficult for many to improve their financial position by moving to growth centres. These days prospective homebuyers must squirrel away savings for at least 4 years longer than earlier in order to afford a residence of their own.
4. Stubb: Russia should account for its harrying of Aranda
On Sunday, Prime Minister Alexander Stubb used his monthly interview hour with Radio Finland to register his support for Defense Minister Haglund’s call for Russia to give an explanation of its harrying of a Finnish research vessel in international waters. He also took the chance to comment on Finland's sliding economic status and passed comment on the need to encourage labour migration to the country.
5. Metalworking firms found “labour bank” as alternative to layoffs
Finnish metalworking companies in the eastern part of the country have founded a labour bank that has proven highly successful. The labour bank allows companies to ‘borrow’ employees from other companies if there isn’t enough work available at their place of hire. Employees may move to other firms for a spell, but their work contract and salary remain the same.
6. Credit downgrade could cost Finland 100 million in debt interest
Finance minister Antti Rinne admits that businesses may also face higher borrowing costs following ratings agency Standard & Poor's decision to strip Finland of its triple-A rating on Friday. The government's slowness in implementing promised reforms to pensions and healthcare was singled out as one reason for the downgrade.
7. Sweden and Finland plan joint airspace surveillance
Finnish and Swedish defence ministers are pushing for more intense Nordic defence cooperation to watch over both countries’ skies. The goal is to prevent possible airspace violations against the backdrop of a number of recent incursions by Russian aircraft.
8. Mail company Itella concludes redundancy talks; decides to send home 239
State-owned postal services provider Itella announced Friday that it will send home 239 workers. The decision marks the conclusion of redundancy talks that began back in August.
9. Finland helped seed 2014 Nobel for chemistry
One of the 2014 Nobel Prize for Chemistry winners started his work on the winning invention at the University of Turku in the 1990s. A grant from the Academy of Finland provided seed money for research when no one else believed in physicist Stefan W. Hell's ideas.
10. Dolphin calf born at Särkänniemi dolphinarium
A 36-year-old dolphin named Veera has given birth to a female dolphin calf at the Tampere theme park. The dolphinarium has previously attracted widespread calls for its closure from animal rights campaigners.
11. Age discrimination in the workplace grows
There's a commonly-held perception that people over 40 suffer from age discrimination in the workplace in Finland. Although labour law professor Seppo Koskinen cautions that age discrimination may increase as the official retirement age in Finland is raised, not all of the statistics bear out a bias against older employees - yet.
12. Cabin crew and Finnair reach agreement
After prolonged negotiations, the Finnish Cabin Crew Union (SLSY) accepted a savings agreement with Finnair. The new deal will bring Finnair annual savings of 18 million euros, while protecting cabin personnel from redundancies and outsourcing.
Best regards
Ritva