Language Teacher Response

Language Teacher Response Teachers questioning Strategies in EFL classrooms 1) What type of questions does the teacher use? 2 Is there a predominance of any particular type(s)? 3) What modification techniques does s/he employ when questions are not understood? 4) How much L2 production do questions generate from the learners? Questioning is considered by researchers as one of the commonly used strategies in language classrooms. Questions are a very important aspect of classroom talk and teachers talk is largely made up of questioning (Tsui 1995). Educational studies on language classrooms have focused on the effect of teacher questions on learners production of the target language and on the types of learner response (Tsui 1995). Teachers questions are a means of engaging learners attention, encouraging verbal responses, and assessing learners progress (Chaudron 1988). Tsui (1995) has elaborated the functions of questions as a source of checking students understanding, to confirm if they have gained the knowledge imparted, to focus their attention, make them involved in the lesson, to take the lesson forward and some teachers ask questions to maintain discipline in the classroom and especially in language classroom questions serve the purpose of making students practice a certain language item and to use the target language for communication. Questioning can either assist target language production or result in meaningful content-related responses by learners (Chaudron 1988). Ellis (1994) gives more emphasis on questioning as a way of keeping control over the classroom discourse. Long (1981) argues that questioning probably facilitates interaction by establishing the topic and who is likely to speak next (Chaudron 1988). Questions provide learners with the opportunity to speak the language and generate a series of follow up conversation among learners as well as helping teacher to check comprehension (Brown 1994).But on the other hand Chaudron (1988) is of the opinion that the nature of questions may strictly limit the possibilities for the students to respond at length. According to Tsui (1995) in majority of the ESL classrooms main part of classroom interaction is created by the teacher posing questions and these can be nearly 70 percent of the classroom talk. But Chaudron (1988) attributes only 20 t0 40 percent classroom talk to questioning. Johnston (1990) observed a total of 522 questions of different types in three hours of language class. Similarly, Long and Sato (1983) observed a total of 938 questions in six ESL lessons (Ellis 1994). Types of Questions The type of questions that the teacher asks affects the kind of response that the students produce (Tsui 1995) Much of the work on questions has centered on developing taxonomies to describe the different types (Ellis, 1994:587). There are so many different types of questions that it is difficult to decide on different categories (Richards and Lockhart 1996, Ellis 1994). However, Tsui (1995) argues that various types of questions are based on the factors such as their cognitive demand and their effect on students. Closed and Open Question Closed and Open-ended questions are distinguished by an early study on L1 classrooms (Barnes 1969 cited in Chaudron 1988). In the earliest classification Barnes (1969; 1976) Closed questions have a short and fixed answer (Barnes 1969). The questions that begin with where, who, when and what are considered factual questions (Barnes 1969 cited in Tsui 1995) having closed and usually brief set of responses (Chaudron 1988). For example Where were you born? (Chaudron 1988) Open questions begin with why and how and are classified having longer response therefore the length and nature of the expected response is left open (Chaudron 1988). They can be referred as general information questions (cf. Naiman et al. 1978; Bialystok et al. 1978 cited in Chaudron 1988). For example What did you do on trip? (Chaudron 1988) Questions that seek for reason (how? and why?) can be both open and close, much of the distinction is made by Barens (1969) between these two types of reasoning questioning (Ellis 1994). Closed reasoning-type questions are the ones that allow one acceptable answer where as open are framed to allow a number of different acceptable responses. However, Barens also points out that many questions have the appearance of being open, but, in fact, when the teachers response to a students answer is examined, turn out to be closed; he calls these pseudo-questions'( Ellis 1994). Long and Satos Taxonomy (1983) The taxonomy which will be used in this research paper is given by Long and Sato (1983) which is based on Kearsleys (1976) framework of question types (Ellis 1994). Long and Sato (1983) made necessary changes in Kearsleys (1976) taxonomy of question types according to their study of ESL teachers questions (Ellis 1994). This taxonomy cited by Ellis (1994) is as follows: Echoic Comprehension checks e.g., All right?; OK?; Does everyone understand polite? Clarification requests e.g., What do you mean?; I dont understand; What? Confirmation checks e.g., S: Carefully. T: Carefully?; Did you say he? Epistemic Referential e.g. Why didnt you do your homework? Display e.g. Whats the opposite of up in English? Expressive e.g. Its interesting the different pronunciations we have now, but isnt it? Rhetorical: e.g. Why did I do that? Because I This framework of questions is based on two main question types, echoic questions and epistemic questions with seven sub-categories. Echoic questions seek for repetition of an utterance or confirm that it has been understood by the listener whereas epistemic questions obtain information from the learners (Ellis 1994). The sub-categories include comprehension checks, clarification requests and confirmation checks under echoic questions and referential, display, expressive, and rhetorical are the sub-categories of epistemic questions (Ellis 1994). Display and Referential Questions Taxonomies by Koivukari (1987) and Hakansson and Lindberg (1988) Questioning Behavior Questions and learner production Modification of questions According to Richards and Lockhart (1996) questioning can be used to allow the learners to keep participating in the discourse and even modify it so that the language used becomes more comprehensible and personally relevant. Wait Time Socio-Cultural Contest

Work for Migrant Workers Essay -- Immigration Labor Essays Papers

Work for Migrant Workers Works Cited Not Included In the early 1970’s, by examining profit rates globally, it was determined that a falling rate of profit existed. The chief method to counter this problem was to seek out cheaper labor. Global factories were then created as the solution to this problem of falling profit rates. With the birth of these global factories, came not only transnational corporations but also transnational migrant workers. Therefore, why is there so much debate concerning migration when it was basically conceived and in many cases continues to be, a solution to a problem? Through global economic integration and the birth of global factories, many â€Å"underdeveloped† countries believed that these corporations would resurrect their dying economies by providing jobs to their many unemployed workers. However, these corporations did not hire the unemployed male but women usually between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one who worked approximately ten hours per day in extremely poor working conditions for very low wages. As a result, this left mostly the unemployed male (and/or the unemployed female over twenty-one) in a position to either migrate for work or become a caretaker for their families’ children. As documented by several of the films we’ve watched during class, many of these unemployed workers chose to migrate – sometimes both mother and father leaving behind children to be cared for by extended family members. One such child when asked if he missed his mother and father replied â€Å"No, because I don’t even know them† which truly epitomizes the migrant workers’ sacrifices for their families!! One might ask why do these migrant and/or global factory workers do the things they do? ... ...storical context of differential power and inequality.† (Schiller, Basch & Blanc-Szanton 8). Again, migrant workers exist because of economic circumstances and the innate sense of survival. Therefore, why are there so many beliefs and debates concerning migration? Because some people just don’t get it! What some seem to be missing in these debates is that with global economic integration obviously come transmigrant workers (and in some cases their families too), so why debate whether they should be allowed to cross borders as they are simply the product of globalization. Further, one should not forget that in many instances, these workers were â€Å"solutions† to economic or wartime problems!! Therefore, I strongly feel that migrant workers must be given the right to work regardless of what country they are from or what country they must work in!

Corrective Feedback Methods Used

Corrective Feedback Use of a Native English Speaker Teacher and a Non-Native Teacher INTRODUCTION The importance and benefits of corrective feedback have been debated in many aspects in SLA field. Most of the teachers take correcting errors as their responsibility. There is no doubt that the first aim of corrective feedback is to make students aware of their mistakes so that they can correct.The way teachers carry out this progress may differ from eachother hence I dedicated this paper to find out differences or similarities in correcting feedback patterns of a native English teacher and a non-native English teacher lecturing at University of Kocaeli ELT Department. After observation , I asked them their opinions about students’ mistakes and corrective feedback so as to understand dynamics that effect the type and rate of Corrective feedback they give. LITERATURE REVIEW Corrective feedback is called any reaction from teachers to students’ â€Å"non-nativelike use of th e target language† indications. Kim, 2004)The approaches towards corrective feedback differ. Rezaei, Mozaffari&Hatef, 2011 summarize these approaches; some schools of thought like Behaviorism considered errors as taboos in their discourse and believed that theyshould be immediately corrected by the  teacher (Brown, 2007; Larsen-Freeman, 2000; Richards &Rodgers, 2001)while others claimed that error correction was not only unnecessary, but also harmful to language learning(Krashen, 1981a;1981b). With the emergence of communicative approaches, error correction underwent aradical shift (Nicholas, Lightbown, &Spada, 2001; Russell, 2009).CLT advocates created a balance betweenwhat Audiolinguists and Cognitistvists do and suggested that an error must be viewed as evidence of learners'linguistic development, not as a sin to be avoided. CLT advocates recognized the need for fluency and thisallows teachers to leave  some errors uncorrected. Nevertheless, currently SLA researchers st rongly believe in error correction and corrective feedback (Ellis,2006). While carrying out corrective feedback, different methods are implemented during the classroom period. Researchers have begun to focus on these different methods so as to find out which ones are more or less ffective. When it comes to practice in the class the methods may differ according to the students’ language level and type of error, teachers’ attitudes towards errors and also time for feedback. Types of Corrective Feedback:(Lyster, 1997; Lyster;Ranta, 1997). 1. Explicit correction: Clearly indicating that the student's utterance was incorrect, theteacher provides the correct form. â€Å"S:   Some diamonds  used to  decoration. T:Please say, ‘Diamonds  are used for  decoration’. ‘Don’t say,used to’. You must use a passive form of the present simple tense here. â€Å" 2.Recast: Without directly indicating that the student's utterance was incorrect, the teacher implicitly reformulates the student's error, or provides the correction. â€Å"S:   Some diamonds  used to  decoration. T: Some diamonds are used for decoration† 3. Clarification request: By using phrases like â€Å"Excuse me? † or â€Å"I don't understand,†the teacher indicates that the message has not been understood or that thestudent's utterance contained some kind of mistake and that a repetition or a reformulation is required. â€Å"S:   Some diamonds  used to  decoration. T: Excuse me? â€Å" 4. Metalinguistic clues.Withoutproviding the correct form, the teacher poses questions or provides comments or information related to the formation of the student's utterance . â€Å"S:   Some diamonds  used to  decoration. T: Do diamonds use something to decorate ? 5. Elicitation:The teacher directly elicits the correct form from the student by asking questions (1), by pausing to allow the student to complete the teacher's utterance (2) or by asking students to reformulate the utterance(3). Elicitation questions differ from questions that are defined as metalinguistic clues in that they require more than a yes/no response. â€Å"S:   Some diamonds  used to  decoration. – T: People used some diamonds, so †¦? 2- T: Some diamonds†¦? 3- T: Say that again. â€Å" 6. Repetition. The teacher repeats the student's error and adjusts intonation to draw student's attention to it. â€Å"S:   Some diamonds  used to  decoration. T: Some diamonds used to decoration â€Å" METHODOLOGY This research is conducted in Kocaeli University, English Language Department. I observed and voice recorded preparation class Listening course in which native English speaker teacher Ms. Costa lecturing and 1st year class Listening & Pronunciation course in which non-native teacher Mr. Kurtaran lecturing .I removed material listening parts of recordings from both and student to student discussions from Ms. Costaà ¢â‚¬â„¢s class. In that way I had 25minutes lasting data of student-teacher interactions. After transcribing and clarifying their corrective feedbacks, I interviewed with these teachers so as to understand the dynamics lying under the way and frequency they give corrective feedback. FINDINGS Corrective Feedback use by teachers are in the tables below: CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK TABLE OF NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKER TEACHER| Recast| T: What did you do yesterday? S: I watched TV and I sleep, sleep, sleep. T: I slept, I slept, I slept. Okey. |Explicit Correction| T: What are the three things that you ate yesterday? S: I ate rice, meatballs and coke. T: Lets repeat, I ate rice, meatballs and coke. (Class repeats after the teacher for studying intonation) S: I guess you didn’t eat the coke, probably drink. Don’t eat your coke. | Recast with stress| T: What would you buy if you were rich? S: I want to buy.. T: I would buy S: I would buy a car and†¦. | Explicit Correction| T: Enver, where yould you go? S: I would go Dubai, Hon Khong, Paris. T: Okey, Dubai, Honkong and Paris. Umm, guys make sure you are using â€Å"to† go to, go to, everybody go to†¦( Class repeats after the teacher)|Recast & Explicit Correction| T: What would you buy if you were rich? S: Build a tall and big house T: You’d build a big and tall house, word order is like that. | Recast & Clarification Request| T: If you were rich, would you work? S: I think being rich and having a job is different things. Having a job you asked to a statu /statu/ in our life, it is important. T: Status /st? t? s/, is that what you mean? S: Yes, it is important. | CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK TABLE of NON-NATIVE TEACHER| Recast with stress| S: Is one road /r d/ to success / ’sakses/ better than another? T: Is one road / r d/ to success / s? k? es/ better than another ? | Recast| T: Of course here, the word â€Å"road† is used symbolicly, road is a methaphore, what does it actually suggest? S: Method, way.. T: Methodology, way, okey. | (1)Clarification Request & (2)Metalinguistic Clue| S: To be successful means that you can do whatever your aims are. T: What does it mean ‘to do an aim’? (1)Do we do an aim? Do we do an aim? Are the aims things to be done? What do we do the aims? (2) Ss: We achieve. | Repetation| T:What is your interpertation of success? S:Being able to reach the necessary knowledge. T: Reaching necessary knowledge? S: Requiring the necessary knowledge. (1)Repetation (2)Clarification request (3)Explicit Correction| S: My friend shatters†¦ brochures. T: Shatters? (1) What do you mean with shutters? (2) She shatters? You mean hands out, distrubutes? Shatter oyle dag? tmak degil. Darmadag? n etmek, an earthquacke shutters an area. (3)| Recast with stress| T: What is one skill or talent you wish you had? S: The leadership T: So you don’t think you have leadership skills. S: Uhmm, I have but not enough T: You wish you had more or bet ter leadership skills, okey. | Explicit Correction| T: I mean how do you think you could improve your communication skills?S: Going.. En.. T: Could ! Could! (clicks his fingers) I could do this, I could do that.. S: I could go to England†¦. | (1)Repetation (2)Metalinguistic Clue| T: Other suggestions please. S: Creator, idea creator in an commercial company. T: Idea creator,(1) that is not what they call it. Yarat? c?.. What do we call it in Turkish? (2) Ss: No idea. T: Advertising, lets call it advertising. | Explicit Correction| T: In what ways has the typical career part changed in the last few decades? S: In the past they climb the ladder but now they†¦ T: Nobody climbs no ladders. Is that what you are suggesting?S: No, they go to better job easily. One step to third step†¦Something like that. T: Something like that is not a sort. You mean; in the past, there was only one ladder to climb, the ladder you would climb, staying with one company but now, there are many opportinuties; many different jobs, companies, okey? That is it. | Corrective Feedback types and percentages given by two teachers’ are shown on the graphics below : It is seen that NT gives less CF during student talking time which is 2,24 times more than in NNT’s class. As it is seen in the graphic, NT uses Recast as a half of CF she gives.NNT teacher uses Recast, Explicit Correction and Repetation at the same level which are the mostly used first thee. Out of 8 CF; 4 Recast, 3 Explicit correction and 1 Clarification Request is used by NT. NNT uses more different types of CF. Out of 13 CF NNT uses; 3 of Recast, Explicit Correction and Repetation in addition to 2 of Metalinguistic clue and Clarification Request. Both teachers give more than one CF at a time. Native Teacher considers the students as language learners, Non-Native Teacher considers them as future teachers. Regarded to their consideration, their approaches to student’s mistakes differ.NNT thinks m aking mistakes is a part of progress but some mistakes of ELT students at that level are not acceptable. NT gives more importance to fluency and complexity hence she does not want to stop students speech so as not to make them feel uncomfortable. She thinks that she gives CF at a low rate than she should do as she focuses on meaning. NNT gives more importance to accuracy and thinks that they don’t have much time left as the students are about to become teachers, he tries any kind of Corrective Feedback so as to make sure that the students realise their mistakes and correct them.He thinks that he gives CF at a high rate than he should do as these classes are the last chances of the students to learn from their mistakes before they start teaching. According to the interview it could be concluded that being Native or Non-Native effect theachers’ expectations from students and these expectations effect the frequency and type of CF they give. References Kim, J. (2004). Issu es of corrective feedback in second language acquisition,Teachers College, Columbia University Working Papers in TESOL & Applied Linguistics  4(2), 1. â€Å"Gass, S. (1997). Input, interaction, and the second language learner.Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Schachter, J. (1991). Corrective feedback in historical perspective. Second Language Research, 7† Lyster, R. &Ranta, L. (1997). Corrective feedback and learner uptake: Negotiation of form in communicative classrooms. Studies in Second Language Acquisition,19, 37-66. Rezaei, S. , Mozaffari, F. , &Hatef, A. (2011). Corrective feedback in sla: Classroom practice and future directions,International Journal of English Linguistics,1(1), 1. Corrective Feedback Use of a Native English Speaker Teacher and a Non-Native Teacher Betul Okcan Kocaeli University Reseach Skills A. P. Dogan Yuksel 2012

Women Needed Consider a Career in Trucking

Women Needed Consider a Career in Trucking Take a closer look at the faces behind the wheels of our nation’s trucks and you may notice a growing change- women truckers! This welcome addition to our nation’s professional trucking workforce comes at the perfect time, as more drivers are retiring than are getting into truck cabs and a shortage of qualified drivers threatens the industry. AllTruckJobs.com helps shed some light on an exciting new career option for women. Although the overall percentage of truckers who are women is still relatively low, this is a positive trend, and one that hopefully will continue to grow in the coming years. And there’s every reason to believe it will, thanks to the proactive efforts of such organizations as Women in Trucking (WIT), and trailblazing women such as Caitlin Welby, CEO of RFX global trucking; in addition to breaking industry boundaries for women, they’re helping to change the perception that trucking is bad for the environment- an important consideration f or many young job hunters entering the workforce.If you’re a woman who’s considering her options for her next job, don’t let stuffy traditions and outdated modes of thinking limit your options. Explore the world of professional truck driving- it just might lead to your next great job!Fresh Faces in Trucking: Solutions to Driver ShortagesRead More at www.alltruckjobs.com

Free Essays on Jack The Ripper

The worlds most notorious serial killer was active for only ten weeks, during which time he murdered five victims. Despite the relatively modest body count, his crimes terrorized the most populous city on earth, making headlines around the globe. To this day, Londons unidentified prostitute-killer remains the subject of more books, plays, films and articles than any other felon in recorded history. The mystery of Jack the Ripper opened on the 31st of August 1888, with the discovery of a womans lifeless body on Bucks Row, in the heart of the Whitechapel slums. The victims name was Mary Nichols, known as Polly to her friends, and she had earned her meager living as a prostitute before a final client showed a taste for blood. Her throat was cut, with bruises underneath the jaw suggesting that she had been punched or choked insensible before the killer plied his blade. The medical examiner discovered deep post-mortem slashes on the victims abdomen, with stab wounds to the genitals. The m urder of an East End prostitute was nothing new to Scotland Yard. Detectives had two other cases on the books for 1888, already. Emma Smith had been attacked on April 2, by a gang of four or five assailants, living long enough to offer the police descriptions of her killers. Martha Tabram had been found in Whitechapel on August 7, stabbed 39 times with a weapon resembling a bayonet. Neither crime had anything in common with the death of Mary Nichols, and detectives were compelled to wait for further homicides to indicate a pattern. On September 8, they found their link with the discovery of Annie Chapmans corpse, a short half-mile from Bucks Row. The victim, yet another prostitute, had first been choked unconscious, after which her throat was cut and she was cruelly disemboweled. Her entrails had been torn away and draped across one shoulder; portions of the bladder and vagina, with the uterus and ovaries, were missing from the scene. The Lancet quoted Dr. B... Free Essays on Jack The Ripper Free Essays on Jack The Ripper The worlds most notorious serial killer was active for only ten weeks, during which time he murdered five victims. Despite the relatively modest body count, his crimes terrorized the most populous city on earth, making headlines around the globe. To this day, Londons unidentified prostitute-killer remains the subject of more books, plays, films and articles than any other felon in recorded history. The mystery of Jack the Ripper opened on the 31st of August 1888, with the discovery of a womans lifeless body on Bucks Row, in the heart of the Whitechapel slums. The victims name was Mary Nichols, known as Polly to her friends, and she had earned her meager living as a prostitute before a final client showed a taste for blood. Her throat was cut, with bruises underneath the jaw suggesting that she had been punched or choked insensible before the killer plied his blade. The medical examiner discovered deep post-mortem slashes on the victims abdomen, with stab wounds to the genitals. The m urder of an East End prostitute was nothing new to Scotland Yard. Detectives had two other cases on the books for 1888, already. Emma Smith had been attacked on April 2, by a gang of four or five assailants, living long enough to offer the police descriptions of her killers. Martha Tabram had been found in Whitechapel on August 7, stabbed 39 times with a weapon resembling a bayonet. Neither crime had anything in common with the death of Mary Nichols, and detectives were compelled to wait for further homicides to indicate a pattern. On September 8, they found their link with the discovery of Annie Chapmans corpse, a short half-mile from Bucks Row. The victim, yet another prostitute, had first been choked unconscious, after which her throat was cut and she was cruelly disemboweled. Her entrails had been torn away and draped across one shoulder; portions of the bladder and vagina, with the uterus and ovaries, were missing from the scene. The Lancet quoted Dr. B...

Unit 6 Case Management Discussion Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Unit 6 Management Discussion - Case Study Example The client was unusually perfect and smartly dressed. On the aspect of personality assessment, the client was apparently guarded in his responses. With respect to Summers (2012), the client remained significantly conservative and evasive, with minimum contributions accompanied by a substantial degree of suspicion. The client also appears awkward in behavior and posturing. He displayed consistent impairment in holding inappropriate sitting postures. The client was anxious throughout the entire diagnosis. During conversations, he appeared distressed and worried by the interview setting. Apart from anxiety, the client also showed significant degrees of emotional withdrawal. He was unexpressive and displayed no sign of change in moods and emotions. According to Summers (2012), this could be seen from the consistent and blunt facial expression of the client throughout the interview. Based on results from the mental status exam, numerous syndromes were established within the client’s mental problem. One symptom is that the client remained blunt and unexpressive for fear of being embarrassed or humiliated by his inappropriate actions. He also displayed elevated self-consciousness by dressing in an unusually smart manner. Summers (2012) say that additional clinical symptoms include the client’s display of extreme worry of being judged by other on what he says. In this regard, he remained rather guarded and evasive during the interview. The client’s sustained and inappropriate sitting postures suggests impairment in physical aspects when placed within a social

Zara - The Fast Fashion Leader Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Zara - The Fast Fashion Leader - Essay Example The essay "Zara - The Fast Fashion Leader" explores the fashion leader, Zara company. Zara is also successful in ensuring barriers are established for new market entrants through self-operated manufacturing capacity and logistics strategies that cannot be rivalled without substantial capital investment. Weaknesses in the model were identified by conducting a comprehensive European/global environmental analysis of the competitive industry as well as through examination of Zara’s current business model. Weaknesses lie is in isolating the company from negative publicity, which has been a large problem recently with accusations of the company being supportive of sweatshop labour conditions with foreign suppliers. Additionally, research has identified weaknesses involving a lack of focus on more relevant, behavioural marketing strategy development as well as the company not maintaining proper focus on building more independent supply and logistics networks that would be owned by Za ra to improve its scope of control. Because of these weaknesses, it is recommended that Zara consider repositioning the business to a premiumisation strategy as a new business level strategy, diversifying self-managed manufacturing and logistics capabilities, and focusing on promotion that is more consumer-centric. It is further recommended that Zara differentiate its products with an emphasis on fashion-forward design in order to capture the attention of target markets that value exclusivity. These strategies will sustain Zara.’s future brand position and build more positive brand equity. TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.0 Introduction..................................................................................................... 2.0 Strategic issues and competitive forces........................................................... 2.1 Industry Life Cycle analysis................................................................ 2.2 Porter’s Five Forces analysi s............................................................... 2.3 PEST framework................................................................................. 3.0 Internal strategic audit..................................................................................... 4.0 PR crises at Zara.............................................................................................. 5.0 Recommendations for future business sustainability....................................... 5.1 Improving supply capabilities.............................................................. 5.2 Better utilisation of marketing theory and practice.............................. 5.3 Premiumisation..................................................................................... 5.4 Differentiation as business level strategy............................................. 6.0 Conclusion........................................................................................................ References 1.0 Introduction The fast fashion leader, Zara, provides fashion and accessory products to a variety of profitable consumer markets in multiple international markets. Zara stands out from competition most distinctly for the retailer’s ability to restock in-store inventories with a lead time of only two weeks or less. This is unparalleled in the retail industry as most retail competitors require months in order to launch a