My Working Papers: Conversation Class Materials

1. Do you believe in "global warming"?

2. Would you like to be young again? If you were young again for just one

day, what would you do? From then on? Would you rather be a man or a

woman? If you were of the opposite sex for just one day, what would you

do? If you turned into a man [woman] how would you treat women [men]?

treat women [men]? If a rich man who wanted to be young again offered

you $1,000,000 for a year of your life, would you take it?

3. What is your hometown? Why do you live in Taipei? What do you like

about Taipei? If you could live somewhere else, where would it be?

Why? What do you dislike about Taipei? What can be done about it? *

4. Do you think that movies and television effect behavior? What would you

do if your friends invited you to go with you to see a kind of movie you

don't like?

5. What do you think of Chinese medicine? Vitamins? Diet? Exercise?

What folk cures do you know of? What is the best way to lose weight?

6. Comic books and super heroes. What super power, or supernatural power,

would you like to have? Why?

7. Happy times

Difficult times

Things you've done that you're proud of

The most fun you've ever had

8. How important is it that you and your mate be of similar religion, age,

social class, economic class, nationality, culture, race, temperment,

intelligence, education, smoking and drinking habits?

9. Should ancient burial sites be disturbed for their archeological

treasures?

10. Would you kill/break someone's legs for a $65,000? for a million

dollars? If you had worked all your life to reach the Olympics, with

all the millions of dollars a gold medal would bring you, and only one

person stood between you and your goal, would you have him killed? have

his legs broken? If you knew someone was going to do it on your behalf,

would you try to stop it? (Refers to the Tanya Harding case.)

Do you believe in animal psychics? Animal psychologists? Spoken

A communication with animals? How well do you and your pet communicate?

B What is/are your favorite chair(s)? Where are your telephones, and

what kind of telephone services do you have? What kind would you want?

11. Do animals have rights? Should we save all species from

extinction? If so, how? What if it costs jobs?

12. X Which would you rather be called, and Asian or an Oriental?

What do you think of the word, "Chinaman"?

13. X Should bo-po-mo be scrapped for a Romanized system?

14. ^ Which do you regret more, the things you've done or things you didn't

do? What kind of things have you regretted over the past week? In the

course of your life? Would you change any of it? If so, what would you

change, and what do you think would have been the result? If you were

offered $1,000,000 to appear nude in a movie, which would you regret

more, doing it or not doing it? "Indecent Proposal"?

15. X Strange stories

16. X What are your hobbies? Indoor? Outdoor?

17. v What do you think of organ transplants for sale? Animal to human

transplants?

18. X How would you plan a five-day vacation to South Carolina? (Opportunities

to formulate questions.)

19. x What are the duties of the news media in striking a balance between

the public's right to know and the individual's right to privacy?

20. X How has your order of birth (oldest, middle, youngest child) influenced

your behavior? What would you be like if you had been born in a

different order? a different sex?

WHAT ARE YOUR PET PEEVES?

21. Other mysteries: Crop circles, rocks that move themselves, etc.

22. What can be done, and what can YOU do about:

a. Overcrowding c. Water pollution e. Heavy traffic

b. Noise pollution d. Trash problems

23.t # What do you think of cosmetic surgery? What would you change about you?

What would you change about someone you know?

24.X What do you think of men in earrings? Ponytails? *Dyed hair on Chinese?

*Tinted contact lenses? Baggy clothes? *Women wearing nose rings?

Bare midriffs on public streets? Rap "music"? Rats tails?

25.V What kind of movies and television shows do you like best? How do you

think Americans in movies and on TV are different from Americans in real

life?

26.X What is the key to happiness?

a. worldly success (wealth, power, fame, popularity)?

b. intellectual/philosophical contemplation?

c. nearness to God? d. proper diet, exercise and sleep?

27.X What changes in lifestyle or technology do you expect/hope for during

your lifetime? Would you like to live on another planet, the moon or

under the sea?

28.T What would you do if you had a time machine? Why? Do you believe that

time travel will ever be possible?

29.t Political quiz: authoritarian, conservative, liberal, libertarian,

populist.

30.F Who do you admire the most? Why? Who do you dislike the most? Why?

What do you think is your best quality? What do you think is your worst

fault?

31.t What would you do if... l) you see someone smoking in a non-smoking area?

*2) you don't like a friend's new clothes or haircut? *your in-laws or

someone else gives you advice all the time? your TV breaks two days

after the warranty expires? you're invited to go to a party, and you

don't want to go? In what sticky situations have you found yourself?

32. What do you think of "gay rights"? "Gays" in the military? Women in

combat roles?

33. mt Odd but true tourist attractions:

a. A week in a "Nazi concentration camp". (S. W. England)

b. A few days in a "Wild West" town, with the opportunity to be in a

staged gunfight or robbery. (Maggie Valley, N.C.)

c. A seafood dinner in an undersea restaurant. (Florida Keys)

d. A guided tour of a red light district. (London, England)

e. A summer camp in which youths live like their ancestors. (Arabia)

f. Your own ideas. DESERTED ISLAND?

34. mt Do you believe in UFOs? Do you know anyone who has seen one?

What would you do if you saw one? Would you tell anyone?

35. X What do you like to read? Newspapers? Magazines? Books? What kind?

What is your favorite novel? How do you get your information?

36. mt The latest in housing: a giant leap backward. Would you like to live in

a cave? Would you like to visit the South Pole?

37. mt What kind of advice can you give a foreigner who will be going to a

social function? Time of arrival & departure? Clothing and jewelry?

Greetings? Forms of address? Good & bad topics for conversation?

Body language (e.g., eye contact, proximity)? Toasting & drinking?

Other?

38. t How safe is Taipei? Have you ever been a crime victim?

39.t How would you describe your personality? How do you wind down after a

stressful day? What would your dream job be? How do you feel about the

future? What do you do if a cashier gives you more/less change than you

should receive? Do you enjoy being alone?

40.tw Do you doodle? What kind of doodles do you draw? Animals (likes them)

Arrows (dynamic---up:ambitious. curved: impulsive) Spiderwebs

(networkers) Body (depends on how it is presented, shows how you

relate to others) Geometric shapes (logical, analytica2) Circles

(positive) Circles within circles (escapism) Dots (passive) Triangles

(intellectually curious) Faces (interested in people) Eyes (interested

in beauty) Houses (security, comfort, warmth, shelter---with path,

chimney or open door: friendly. with trees, flowers or curtains: likes

beauty in the home) Initials (thinking of that person) Stairs or

ladders (ambition---elaborate: well-planned progression) Stars (high

aspirations) Symbols (money, luck, fame, etc.) Tic-tac-toe

competitive).

WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO COLLECT?

41.X Ghosts? Do you know anyone who has seen one?

42.x Racism, Bigotry, Prejudice and Bias in Taiwan, the U.S. and Europe.

Is racial or sex discrimination ever a positive thing? (Consider:

White or black actors portraying Chiang Kai-shek in a movie.)

43.x What's your idea of a really good-looking man? Woman?

What's your idea of a really ugly man? Woman?

44.x What do you do for a headache? How do you cheer yourself when you

are depressed?

TRY BEFORE YOU BUY?

45.x Love vs. compatibility in marriage

What do you want in a mate?

What are the causes of the rising divorce rate?

46.t What's your idea of a fun way to enjoy the Taipei area?

47. How do you spend your extra money? Would you rather use your money to

do things or to have things? What would you like to have that you don't

already have? What would you like to do that you haven't already done?

Is there something you've done that you'd like to do again? How would

you change your spending habits?

48. w Do you believe in ESP? Do you know anyone who has experienced it?

Out-of-body experiences? Do you know anyone who has experienced it?

Do you believe in self-levitation? What about dopplegangers?

49. * Do you like to take pictures? What of? What's your technique?

50. Is cancer local or general? What do you know about AIDS?

51. % If you could add a question to a census or poll, what would it be? Why?

52. * What would you do in case of attempted kidnapping? Strong armed

robbery? What are ways you can avoid becoming a victim? What can you

do to resist?

53. * What kinds of snacks do you enjoy? Drinks? Meals?

54. w What would you do if you were invisible?

55. * If you could do anything you wished, and nobody would find out

about it, what would you do? What would you like to do that you've

never done before?

56. * In what ways are men and women different? Map reading? Math & science?

Language classes? (In classes w/male teachers, boys do as well as

girls.) More left-handed males. Are men better cooks? Are women

better at detail? Are men more logical? Which jobs are male? Female?

57. How do you think Americans are different from Chinese?

58. * What languages do you speak? If you were going to study yet another

language, which one would you like it to be?

59. * What do you do to keep up with your "other" language ability?

60. * What would you do if you could read people's minds?

61. * What do you think of bikinis? If they were popular in Taiwan, would you

wear one? Do you wish bikinis were popular in Taiwan? Would you wear

one if you were in another country? What about topless bathing suits?

Nudity on the beaches? If they were considered fashionable, would you

appear in this manner? Why or why not? If you lived near a nude beach,

and someone suggested going there, would you? If you were in another

country and you had your choice of beaches (you would be wearing what

others wear), which would you choose: A. women's full bathing suit and

men's trunks, B. bikinis and men's briefs, C. topless women's and men's

"Speedo" briefs, or D. nude?

62. * What do you think of Taiwan's educational system?

63. * What foreign countries or other interesting places have you visited?

What were they like? Did you behave any differently there than you do

at home?

64. * Have you ever played a practical joke?

65. * What kind of experiences have you had communicating in another language?

Funny? How have you dealt with problems in communicating? (My wife

once thought a bank teller was singing to her.) What about

cross-cultural experiences?

66. * Do you have a word processor or personal computer? If not, do you use

one at work or at school? What do you use it for? How has it changed

your life? How important is it in the modern world?

67. * What is your greatest fear? How do you handle it?

68. Cryptozoology: Bigfoot, Yeti, Loch Ness monster, Lizard Man, etc.

69. * Primitive/no-trace camping?

70. * What would you do with a million dollars? What if you

had to spend all of it on someone other than yourself? What would you

willing to do for a million dollars? (Ask the class to come up with

ideas for that one.)

71. * Your fantasy?

72. * Do you believe in UFO abductions? Would you like to be a UFO abductee?

If you believed you were a UFO abductee, what would you do? Would you

tell anyone?

73. * What foreign countries or other interesting places would you like

to visit? Why?

74. * Do you have recurring dreams? What do you think they mean?

75. What do you plan to do in ten years or at some other time in the

future?

76. * Do you believe in astrology? Have you ever had your "ba-dz" determined?

Have you had your palm read? Other forms of fortune-telling?

77. Would you buy a house if you had reason to believe it was haunted?

THROWAWAY: YOUR FAVORITE JOKES

LIBERTY SURVEY

Personal Liberty

agree unsure disagree

20 10 0

___________________ 1 Military service should be voluntary, not required.

___________________ 2 Government should not control TV, radio, newspapers,

magazines or WWW.

___________________ 3 Government should not prohibit sex between consenting

adults.

___________________ 4 Drug laws do more harm than good. Repeal them.

___________________ 5 People should be free to cross national borders, if

they are peaceful.

Economic Freedom

___________________ 1 No government subsidies.

___________________ 2 Free trade, no tariffs.

___________________ 3 Minimum wage laws cause unemployment; repeal them.

___________________ 4 Government should be financed by user fees, not

taxes.

___________________ 5 Foreign aid should funded by private contributions,

not by taxes.

YOUR FREEDOM SCORE

LIBERAL: 100 *---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---* LIBERTARIAN

90 *---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

80 *---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

70 *---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

social 60 *---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

freedoms 50 *---*---*---*---POPULIST*---*---*---*---*

40 *---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

30 *---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

20 *---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

10 *---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

AUTHORITARIAN: 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 CONSERVATIVE

economic freedoms

HOW SAFE IS TAIPEI?

Yes No Male___ Female___

1. ___ __ Have you feared for your physical safety?