alcfezbook.com • facebook.com/ALC.Fes.ALIF Volume VII, Issue IV • January 2016

STUDENT V ICETHE AMERICAN LANGUAGE CENTER • FES

Don’t you think that the Internet has turned our ex-istence upside down? Some people think that it has affected our lives in a positive way, but don’t you think that the Inter-net has ruined some people’s lives, too? Can’t you see that teenagers, even kids, are be-coming addicted to it? You can clearly notice these days that people don’t socialize anymore. You might meet your friend outside, but all you do is keep texting on your phone. Some even think that they have a lot of friends, like on Facebook or Twitter, but once you think about it again, you’ll realize that this virtual world won’t last forever. Furthermore, you may think that those people behind your computer screen can under-stand you. Well, that’s only what your mind says.

Too many young people are obsessed with technology nowadays.

Parents should do something, shouldn’t they?

Many people think that teens spend too much time surfing the net, and they’re not wrong! But, honestly, what do you want us to do? We work a lot on school days, and to hang out, we use social media because we can’t go out all the time. And there is literally nothing to do in Fez, or in any other Moroccan city! Teenagers think that in-stant messaging is better than talking face-to-face because you can say whatever you want to, and you really don’t care about what the haters say. You can also watch funny videos, tutori-als, and podcasts on YouTube. But what if you hang out in real life? You just talk and talk for a few hours, then you get bored. Some teens who are not confident could never talk in front of someone like a

normal person. They’re always stressed out, and their hands get wet and everything! So, why should parents do something about it if their teens feel really good and con-fident, and if they can be their real selves while they’re alone in their rooms when no one else is around? We should have some privacy, too, like grown -ups. How do the grown-ups want us to learn how to be mature adults if they don’t give us the chance to?! I mean, our parents really need to think about this. Sometimes they wonder why we don’t talk to them or tell them our secrets. It’s simply because some things are private or sometimes em-barrassing! They don’t tell us their private things, either! It’s natural to keep something for yourself. I wish that parents would understand.

Yasmine MesbahiAdvanced 2

Have you also noticed how kids don’t play outside anymore, or how all they do is sit in front of their comput-ers and play games the whole day? I hate how their parents act so proud of their children because they know how to use computers. All I can tell them is, “Open your eyes! “ There will come a day when your child will grow up, and you won’t know anything about him, what he does or what he likes. Why? Because you didn’t limit the time he used to spend alone in his room on the Inter-net. Because you’re the reason why he’s so addicted to the Internet now, and that’s why he can’t leave his room and meet real people and make real friends. And believe me, he’ll blame you for that. I know that the Internet can solve a lot of problems in people’s lives, but it destroys our relationships, even the closest ones.

Hind SodyAdvanced 2

FIND YOUR VOICE. Send your writing to alcstudentvoice@gmail.com.

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interview Send your writings to alcstudentvoice@gmail.com. Include your name and level at the ALC.

2 • January 2016 alcfezbook.com • facebook.com/ALC.Fes.ALIF

An Interview with Si Hamid Mountassir

PUZZLE ANSWERSYou can find the puzzle on page 4.

1. heart-to-heart2. man’s man3. goody-goody4. day in, day out5. All’s well that ends well6. to name names7. time after time8. one-on-one time9. face-to-face10. little by little

Student Voice: Where are you from? Are you originally from Fez?Si Hamid Mountassir: I was born into a large family in Sidi Kacem, a town built by the French at the beginning of the twen-tieth century. This area is known for its great agricultural potential, especially citrus farms and orange orchards. My siblings were born in the same place, and all of them are married except my younger sister. I live with my wife and two daughters in Fes.SV: Tell us about your life as a student. Where did you study? What did you study?HM: I joined a Koranic school at an early age like many kids of my generation. The traditional atmosphere of the place was quite inspiring, and we managed to cope with it. I was extremely interested in re-ligious education to the extent that I was extending my stay and could only start the first grade at almost the age of eight. After high school grad-uation, I came to the University of Fes to major in English language and l i t e r a t u r e . I still keep fond memo-ries of my participation in a drama club supervised by Paul Havil-land and Griselda Al Tayeb. I played in Shakespeare’s Julius Cesar and Wole Soin-ka’s The Swamp Dwellers. Later, I went to Rabat for my postgraduate studies.

SV: Have you ever lived outside Morocco?HM: Never, but I have been abroad a num-ber of times. As a university student, I used to travel through Europe. I also worked in different places in England and Scotland. SV: How long have you been teaching at the ALC?HM: Since 1997.SV: How long have you been a teacher in life?HM: For 21 years. I joined the Sais-Fes School of Humanities in 1994 after spend-ing five years as a research student. I’m still working in the department of English stud-ies.SV: When did you decide to become a teach-er? Why did you choose teaching?HM: I figured out that I wanted to become a teacher during my experience at college. I was exposed to such a healthy academic environment that I was emotionally and in-tellectually affected by the performance of wonderful professors at that time. I started planning my future career, and I was work-ing very hard to achieve my goal.SV: What do you enjoy most about teaching?HM: Being able to interact with students and learn from them. Teaching is a fun and creative outlet.SV: Describe your teaching style in three words.HM: Innovative, motivating, and dialogic.SV: How is teaching at the ALC different from teaching at other schools?HM: There is no doubt that teaching at the ALC is an interesting experience in terms of the equipment and the resources avail-able. Instructors and students can access the computer lab, the library, and even the bookstore. This is an ideal educational en-vironment offering so many opportunities to improve our teaching styles and method-

ologies. What is more, the school has been consistent in updating textbooks together with software programs. The interaction with our colleagues being native speakers has also enhanced our teaching experience at the ALC.SV: What is the role of a teacher in the class-room?MH: The traditional models of instruction based on a top-down approach are now of no value. One of the major roles of a teach-er is to create an appropriate atmosphere where students can be easily motivated, including the slow learners who sometimes feel frustrated. SV: What qualities do good teachers have?HM: The love of the subject, the passion for teaching, perseverance, and creativity.SV: What qualities do good students have?HM: Perceptiveness, self- discipline, integ-rity, and respect.SV: If you weren’t teaching English, what would you be doing?HM: I would be working as a political ana-lyst.SV: What’s your favorite word in the English language?HM: Learn.SV: What’s your least favorite word in the English language?HM: Nepotism.SV: What word or phrase do you overuse?HM: For some reason.SV: What is your motto?HM: By learning you will teach; by teaching you will learn.c/

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alcfezbook.com • facebook.com/ALC.Fes.ALIF January 2016 • 3

writing & opinion

Omaima LoukiliALC Graduate

The Media Is Your Third Eye

The media has an immense influence on our conscious and unconscious minds. This is a fact that we cannot deny. Since childhood, we have received a lot of infor-mation that determines the way we see the world. Is our view of the world beautiful or ugly? Since the media has the main role in inform-ing us, it also has the power to decide how we see the world. If we were to ask a person living in a tiny vil-lage in the middle of Africa (one that does not receive much media information), “What is the world like?,” the expected answer would be, “Despite the lack of wa-ter, it is beautiful.” Our expectation of this answer comes from the fact that the per-son is not aware of what is going on in the world. He does not know how many wars exist, how many humans get killed, or how badly the economy is doing. However, if we ask someone who faces

all kinds of media every day, we would hear millions of negative answers. The explana-tion for this difference is simple: he has information. He knows. It does not mat-ter if he is wrong or right. What counts is that he has received information, believed it, and he now examines the world through this information. Watching the media’s output nowa-

days, you notice that the majority of pro-grams, whether they are news, documenta-ries, or even movies, all have one common, negative perspective. They all spread a pes-simistic wave to their audiences. The me-dia grants a large presence to drugs, murder, and crime, which urges people to see their

communal “world” as an insecure place to live. This propaganda creates fear in others. Thus, the outcome is a change in people’s attitudes and behaviors. Two of these outcomes are an increase in the crime rate and an increase in drug abuse. Indeed, if a person spends his whole life watching chaos on television, listen-ing to scandals on the radio, and reading about corruption in the newspaper, he will not be a strictly obedient citizen. Firstly, he would act out because his unconscious mind would react as that of a person who is in a life-or-death situation. As a result, he would choose to defend himself, although it may not be in a legal or humane way. Secondly, after catching sight of illegal stuff as if it were run-of-the-mill, it will not take long for the viewer to pass legal limits be-cause human beings love to imitate what flashes before them on screens. All in all, as the media is defined as a way to inform viewers of what is going on in the world. It is not unfair to blame the media for others’ reactions to the events of their world. In the end, the question that holds is, “What should we change first: the media or the world?”

The Negative Effects of Cell Phones TodayKaoutar OubdilBeginning 5

While cell phones make our lives more comfortable, they also come with certain disadvantages. I asked some people about mobile phones, and they agreed that they hurt us more than they benefit us. Nowa-days, the use of cell phones is increasing. In spite of all their benefits, they have very dangerous and destructive side effects. First of all, mobile phones are just a waste of time. People are wasting a lot of their time sending unnecessary messages. Students do not give proper time to their studies, and they waste their time playing games, listening to music, watching videos, and reading messages on their phones. Second, mobile phones have negative effects on our health. According to new re-

search, cell phones are contaminated with different types of microorganisms, espe-cially bacteria, which cause a lot of diseases. In addition, while conflicting health stud-ies and reports have noted the harmful ef-fects of microwave radiation on the brain from hours of chatting, a more serious issue is that the sleep patterns of pre-teens and teens are being affected. Other anomalies in behavioral patterns, such as irritability sometimes affect heavy mobile phone users. Third, mobile phones cause disconnec-tion. Being fixated on checking text mes-sages and emails, playing games, or calling friends and relatives can often make the user a slave to technology and detract her from other fun and engaging real-world ac-tivities. Users become absent-minded and out of touch with the real world.

Another problem is that mobile phone use has dangerous effects on our environ-ment, including animals, and especially pets. It has been observed that animals that have been exposed to the radiation that emerges from mobile phones or cell phone towers have more abnormalities compared to those who have not been exposed to these types of radiation. As a consequence of cell phones becoming widespread, mil-lions of birds are flying to their deaths. Ev-ery year, new cell phone towers are being built, even on top of mountains, and thou-sands of birds crash into them. To conclude, I will not say that we should avoid cell phones, but we should use them only when we really need to, because we use them too much, and that affects our behavior.

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writing & puzzle “Always be a first rate version of yourself and not a second rate version of someone else.”

Judy Garland, American singer and actress

The American Language Center-Fes • 2, Rue Ahmed Hiba, B.P. 2136, Fes • phone: 05. 35. 62. 48. 50Student Voice editors: Taoufik El-Ayachi, Jennifer Wendel, and Liz Yaslik • alcfezbook.com • facebook.com/ALC.Fes.ALIF

4 • January 2016 alcfezbook.com • facebook.com/ALC.Fes.ALIF

Hajar AjiyelIntermediate 1

Stop Watching and Help

Well, I think I’m going crazy. When I turn on the TV, I keep seeing people getting hurt and dying. But the strang-est thing is the indifference and the carelessness of the world, es-pecially the Arab world, which just keeps watching from very far like it doesn’t matter, and doesn’t dare to help or support those people. People, especially children, are facing death and fear every day, every hour, every minute, and every second of their lives.

So, why is that? What did these people do to deserve be-

ing killed in cold blood in front of the whole world? Why are they taking revenge on these in-nocent and peaceful children?

Does it feel good to be scared that you might get a bullet right

in your body or that a bomb might destroy your house at any-time? I try to find some an-swers, but it’s just too hard. People just want their

freedom and their country, so they fight for this noble idea. If you don’t understand this, just close your eyes and try to

imagine yourself sitting in your peaceful home. Suddenly, it gets taken from you against your will. How do you think you would feel? Angry? Upset? Afraid? Insane? Of course, you would fight for what belongs to you. In the end, I would like to say that it hurts to watch them like that. We should do something about this matter. For me, I have to pray for these great people and for their peace and freedom someday. I wish the world would understand and stop watching to help.

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Say It Again

G O O D Y O T W OO N O T D K F O HW E L L A N A M EE A I I Y O C I AE G A T I M E A RK A R T N A U N TO I O L N N E A RO N R E P E A T Y

These idioms and phrases use the same word twice. Find words in the puzzle. Fill in the blanks.

Use 10 of the words you found. Repeat each word to finish each clue. The answers are on page 2.

1. A “_______________-to-_______________” is a conversation during which friends share their hopes, dreams, and fears.2. A “______________’s _______________” is a male person with a lot of male friends who is also into typical male hobbies.3. Someone who always tries too hard make parents and teachers happy is sometimes called a “_______________-________________.”4. The expression, “_______________ in, _______________ out” means that the same event takes place all the time, without changing.5. The proverb, “All’s _______________ that ends _______________.” means that an event had a good finish, even though some bad things happened during the event.6. To accuse specific people of doing something wrong is to “________________ ______________s.”7. When an action happens habitually, or just frequently, you can say it happens “______________ after _______________.”8. When only two people hang out together or play sports together, they spend “______________-on-_____________ time” together.9. When people talk “_______________-to-______________,” they are in the same place at the same time.10. When something happens gradually (in small amounts over time), you can say that is happens “______________ by _______________.”