PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF LEARNING ENGLISH AND FRENCH
УДК 81-13:[811.111+81.113.1]
ALMETOVA A.
University of Toronto, Canada
When I was a 17 year-old girl, I went to the UK to study the International Baccalaureate program. Prior to that, I had been learning English and French off and on for a few years. In the UK I studied 6 subjects for the two years and obtained my IB diploma in order to enter a university. The course was extremely tough, I had many difficulties with all of my subjects, but it was possible for me to overcome the difficulties.
From the very beginning of the course I realized that the first problems came to me due to the lack of terminology I knew for the subjects. I had to catch up a lot in my biology, economics and even math courses. I worked really hard, asked as many questions as I could, I was learning every day, I could not imagine myself at a lesson without a dictionary. In order to understand and learn each subject I needed to find the logic inside it. Basically, I did not need to learn by heart, but I needed to learn what the IB system wanted me to learn. Moreover, I read newspaper articles every day. The main aim for me was to learn how to think in English.
In my IB diploma I also studied French literature. Our professor used many different methods of teaching. We had debates on specific topics, were listening to the CDs, had oral exams and were writing essays. Throughout the course we read 4 books and wrote our final work on one of them. All in all, my comprehension of French has improved a lot with the help of all the learning methods. This year I realized that at the French lectures and Tutorials I really started thinking in French.
At the moment I am studying in Canada, where I have an opportunity to practice both of the languages. I know that my English and French are not perfect, but in comparison to the previous years I’ve made some progress.
In order to learn a language, it is important to use books, learn specific vocabulary in science, social science, humanities, according to the personal interests. It is useful to prepare oral presentations in different topics and organize debates. At the university, we practice speaking a lot. We have specific lessons called Practical where we talk with everyone in the group and learn grammar. Every two weeks we write small tests. I really like it, because with the help of regular tests I memorize better.
In my opinion, the system of learning any language should contain a variety of tasks. If something is difficult to memorize, try to make it as simple as possible. Moreover, apply your knowledge into real tasks.
And one last remark. The more languages you are trying to learn, the easier and the more pleasant it is to master the next one. As for me, I have started studying Italian as a third foreign language and I am definitely enjoying it and really into it.
ECONOMIC PROBLEMS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION: THE FEATURES OF HARMONIZATION AND UNIFICATION OF THE TAX SYSTEMS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES
УДК 336.221.4:061.1EC=111
ANISIMOVA V.
Ufa State University of Economics and Service (Ufa)
Development of the world economy causes the output of the productive forces and production factors beyond the nation-state. There is a lot of freedom for migration of all elements of economic activity: capital, labor, and finance. With the globalization of today's economy and the development of integration processes the harmonization of tax systems becomes a first priority problem.
The harmonization of tax systems is the systematization and standardization of tax systems and tax policies of the countries of the international community. It is especially important during the world financial crisis [1].
The most obvious manifestation of internationalization and the growing interdependence of the economies of the states is the economic integration within the European Union. Harmonization and unification of the tax systems of the countries – members of the European Union has become a powerful tool to ensure the integration process within the European Union. According to the Treaty establishing the European Union, which entered into force in 1958, sales tax (VAT) and other indirect taxes are subjects to unification. Within the European Union, the value added tax has become an important tool in the fight for markets against other countries, particularly the United States [2].
Tax harmonization suggests creating areas with a unitary tax system. At the same time, all countries should always adhere to the following basic principles developed by the Member States of the European Union:
The tax policy of the state is to ensure freedom of promotion of goods and people;
The national tax policy should not be in conflict with the tax policies of the other countries;
Tax policy should prevent double taxation.
The tax harmonization in the European Union has set itself such purposes as:
The abolition of the tax limits in order to ensure equal competitive conditions for businesses;
The integration and unification of the European Union internal market as the main engine of integration processes in the region;
Bringing the tax systems to conformity [3].
The experience of the European Union member states showed that the system of indirect taxes is more a subject to harmonization, as they have the greatest impact on mutual trade, pricing goods, and account for a large share of tax revenues in the budgets of all European Union states. It should be noted that in the development of mutual trade, the procedure for collecting VAT is of considerable importance. Currently, all countries of the European Union have turned into a «country of destination», which provides a zero rate of VAT on exports of goods (works and services) and the VAT refund from the budget on the resources used for exported goods. The experience shows that some defects made in the tax laws on VAT indicate the presence of double taxation. The fact is that neither the Agreement nor the national legislation of the countries clearly define the concept of export of services and activities. The result is a situation where the work and services sold by a non-resident are taxed both in the country of origin and the country of destination. To eliminate this negative practice, it is necessary to develop a single list of exported and imported works and services, as well as a uniform tax system. One of the important problems of overcoming obstacles appeared during the process of harmonization of tax systems in the European Union is to harmonize the profit tax systems [2].
