<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Teacher Shelle]]></title><description><![CDATA[Articles]]></description><link>http://tx.english-ch.com/teacher/shelle/</link><copyright><![CDATA[Copyright Teacher Shelle]]></copyright><generator>sNews CMS</generator><item><title><![CDATA[N.Korea town opens to Western tourists]]></title><description><![CDATA[  
  
  
     
              
         N.Korea town opens to Western tourists           
   North Korea's authorities have opened the border town of Sinuiju to Western tourists, Chinese-based travel agencies said, despite international tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear test in February.     

The move opens up the possibility of foreign tourists being able to make day tours to the secretive state, a considerably cheaper option than the more expensive multi-day trips currently on offer.     

The country is largely sealed off from outsiders, with Western travellers allowed in only on strictly controlled tours.

After heightening its rhetoric in past weeks in response to international sanctions, Pyongyang has sent mixed messages in recent days, both firing short-range missiles and sending a top envoy to China who pledged to promote peace.     

Simon Cockerell, co-founder of Beijing-based Koryo Tours, which specialises in trips to North Korea, said it had been seeking permission to add Sinuiju, opposite the Chinese city of Dandong, to its itineraries for years.     

Now that it had been granted, his company hopes to begin offering day trips for 1,200 to 2,000 yuan ($200 to $330) from next month.     

"There's a different feeling there, as it's a major area for trade with China. They have a lot of Chinese goods. And every day you can see Dandong, so much richer, on the other bank," he said.     

On a planning visit earlier this week he was greeted with an electric sign reading: "Warmly welcome Simon Cockerell David".     

It is the main crossing between the two countries, and Sinuiju was previously open to Chinese visitors.     

Gareth Johnson, director of Young Pioneer Tours, said Sinuiju would provide a lower-cost way to see North Korea as it could be done in a day. "To go on a tour, it's three days minimum. We are the cheapest, but it is still too expensive for some people."     

The North remains a niche tourist destination, with the five main agencies arranging trips to the country sharing 4,000 to 5,000 Western tourists per year. "Of course, it is not mass tourism. My clients are people who are interested in politics, social matters, and discovering different things," Cockerell said.     

"You don't go there to relax beside a swimming pool."     

   source:http://ph.news.yahoo.com      

  
  
   ]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 24 May 2013 22:17:00 +0000</pubDate><link>http://tx.english-ch.com/teacher/shelle/level-c/nkorea-town-opens-to-western-tourists/</link><guid>http://tx.english-ch.com/teacher/shelle/level-c/nkorea-town-opens-to-western-tourists/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Can`womenomics&#039; save Japan? ]]></title><description><![CDATA[  
  
  
     
              
       Can`womenomics' save Japan?      
  By  Diana Magnay, CNN         
  Tokyo (CNN) -- "Women are Japan's most underutilized resource."     

So said Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in April as he outlined a raft of measures aimed at closing the gender gap in the Japanese workforce.     

As a Western journalist new to Japan, it is a shock that it takes an economic argument to move the government to act toward more female participation in the workforce. But it's not just a foreign perspective. The noted economist Noriko Hama writes in the Japan Times this week, "You secure better working conditions for women because they have a rightful claim to such treatment. No other reasoning or justification is necessary to do something that is decent and just."     

Nevertheless, if you are a prime minister in urgent search of growth, the numbers behind so-called "womenomics" in Japan are compelling.     
  
'If you were to close the employment gap between Japanese men, which is 80%, one of the highest in the OECD, with Japanese women -- which is still around 60% -- we estimate that you'd add about 8.2 million workers into the Japanese workforce," says Kathy Matsui of Goldman Sachs, who has long championed the cause. That influx of female workers "could lift the asset level of Japanese GDP by as much as 14%," she adds.     

Now Prime Minister Abe is trying to force corporations to act. He has set targets of at least one female executive per company and offered tax incentives to companies that encourage mothers to return to work.     

According to Goldman Sachs, some 70% of Japanese women choose to leave the workforce after they've had children. That's more than twice the number in the U.S. or Germany.     

Japan's bleak demographic outlook is well known. The birth-rate is shrinking, the population is getting older and there are fewer workers' to pay for the nation's pensioners. The IMF forecasts Japan's population will shrink by around 30% by 2055.     

Abe's push to make the workplace a more hospitable place for women -- quite apart from the argument that it's just more fair -- is also a matter of economic survival.     

Whether Japan's male corporate bosses are listening remains to be seen.     

  source: www.cnn.com      
  
  
  

 ]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 22 May 2013 22:08:00 +0000</pubDate><link>http://tx.english-ch.com/teacher/shelle/level-c/canwomenomics-save-japan-/</link><guid>http://tx.english-ch.com/teacher/shelle/level-c/canwomenomics-save-japan-/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Abe: Return all missing Japanese]]></title><description><![CDATA[  
  
  
     
              
        Abe calls on North Korea to return all missing Japanese           
  The government will ask North Korea to return all missing Japanese citizens in North Korea, not only those officially designated as abductees by the government, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday.     

“The resolution of the abduction issue means the return to Japan of all victims, including missing people,” Abe said at a House of Councillors Audit Committee meeting.     

The government officially recognizes 17 people abducted by North Korean agents and has asked Pyongyang to repatriate them to Japan.     

The Investigation Commission on Missing Japanese Probably Related to North Korea, a private Japanese organization, says about 470 other Japanese may have been abducted by agents of that country.     

Japan is always open to talks with North Korea on the issue of past abductions of Japanese by North Korean agents, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Monday.     

Suga spoke about a visit by Isao Iijima, special adviser to the Cabinet secretariat, to the reclusive country last week. The Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe emphasizes “both dialogue and pressure,” Suga told a regular press conference. “We will make every effort to settle the abduction issue while always keeping the door open.”     

  source: http://the-japan-news.com      
  
  
  
 ]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2013 21:41:00 +0000</pubDate><link>http://tx.english-ch.com/teacher/shelle/level-c/abe-return-all-missing-japanese/</link><guid>http://tx.english-ch.com/teacher/shelle/level-c/abe-return-all-missing-japanese/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[English education]]></title><description><![CDATA[  
  
  
     
       
        Council proposes lowering age for English education           
  An expert panel on education will recommend that the government lower the grade when primary school students start studying English from the fifth year and make it a regular subject for fifth and sixth graders, sources said.     

In its draft proposal, the Education Rebuilding Implementation Council outlined several ideas, including how to address globalization. In particular, to cultivate people capable of taking active roles internationally, the council proposed reform measures for the current primary school English education system.     

Currently, fifth- and sixth-graders take one class of “foreign language activities” per week, which has been compulsory since the 2011 school year.     

However, the activities are not a formal subject and are taught mostly by teachers who are not English specialists. As a result, many observers have pointed out the need to improve such activities.     

To expand and improve primary school English teaching, the council will ask the government to consider several proposals, including:     

-- Making foreign language activities a formal subject.  

-- Lowering the grade to begin English education.  

-- Assigning full-time teachers specialized in the field.  

-- Increasing teaching hours.  

The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry plans to examine the current English education system and begin discussing the proposals at a meeting of the Central Council for Education.    
The discussions would center on the idea of lowering the grade to start foreign language activities to about the third year and making the activities a formal subject for fifth- and sixth-graders by introducing official textbooks and grading.    

However, to realize the changes, the ministry will face some problems, including how to secure funding for full-time teachers.    
  source: http://the-japan-news.com      
  
  
  



 ]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 19 May 2013 21:48:00 +0000</pubDate><link>http://tx.english-ch.com/teacher/shelle/level-c/english-education/</link><guid>http://tx.english-ch.com/teacher/shelle/level-c/english-education/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[High Blood Pressure - A Silent Killer ]]></title><description><![CDATA[  
  
  
     
              
        High Blood Pressure - A Silent Killer            

  According to the World Health Organization over a billion adults around the world suffer from high blood pressure. It is now taking steps to fight against what is called a silent killer. High blood pressure can lead to strokes and a heart attack.     
Almost 10 million people die of these two diseases every year. They are the number one causes of death globally. High blood pressure also leads to kidney failure, blindness and other illnesses. It often goes hand in hand with diabetes and obesity, which increases heath risks even further.     

As the WHO reports, people in developing countries in Africa suffer more from high blood pressure than people in developed countries. The reason is that health care in the developed world is much better organized and people go to the doctor soon enough.     

High blood pressure should never be ignored and always taken seriously. It is a warning sign from your body that something is not OK. Although people may live with high blood pressure for years without even knowing it, it is important to check your blood pressure regularly and take the necessary steps.     

The WHO says that you can reduce your blood pressure by changing your living habits. Eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly, avoiding alcohol and nicotine are some things that you can do without consulting a doctor.     
   source:http://www.english-online.at      
  
  
  


 ]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2013 22:49:00 +0000</pubDate><link>http://tx.english-ch.com/teacher/shelle/level-b/high-blood-pressure-a-silent-killer-/</link><guid>http://tx.english-ch.com/teacher/shelle/level-b/high-blood-pressure-a-silent-killer-/</guid></item></channel></rss>