Pair Work: English Conversation Clip

Here's my video clip of English Conversation. The topic of the dialogue is Transferring money and money exchange. Hope you enjoy the clip and accept our mistake occurred while recording.

http://youtu.be/_0ZOIdMO5jw

My Self-Study Plan

My Self Study Plan

I would like to improve the following skills:

1. English Listening Skill for Advanced Learners

2. English Speaking Skill & Pronunciation for Advanced Learners

3. English Writing Skill & Grammar for Advanced Learners

4. English Reading Comprehension Skill & Vocabulary for Advanced Learners

The websites I would like to use are:

1.   http://www.voanews.com/, http://www.cnn.com/, http://www.ted.com/

      (for what skills) – for English Listening Skill

2.    http://www.bbclearningenglish.com/ , http://www.voanews.com/ , http://www.britishcouncil.com/

      (for what skills) – for English Speaking Skill & Pronunciation

3.    http://www.tqd.advanced.org/ , http://www.grammarlady.com/  http://www.englishpractice.com/ , http://www.edunet.com/ http://www.webster.comment.edu/ , http://www.csufresno.edu/ ,

http://www.writing.msu.edu/  

      (for what skills) – for English Writing Skill & Grammar

4.   http://www.eslcafe.com/ , http://www.english-to-go.com/ ,  http://www.vocabulary.com/

     (for what skills) – for English Reading Comprehension Skill  & Vocabulary

My Plan

1	I will practice my listening skill through English news in www.voanews.com
2	I will practice my listening skill through English song.
3	Favorite website
4	Know how to improve English speaking skill.
5	I will practice my speaking skill by learning vowel and consonant sound.
6	I will practice my speaking skill by fun role play
7	Know how to improve writing skill
8	I will practice my writing skill by learning grammar.
9	Learning part of speech to improve writing skill
10	Know how to be a good reader
11	Learning new vocabulary for reading skill improvement
12	Reading an English article
13	Listening movie Preview
14	I will practice my listening skill English through kids TV program
15	I will practice my listening skill English through Talk Show program
16	Useful expression of business language (speaking skill)
17	Irregular verb (speaking skill)
18	Inversion and adverbial clause for writing skill
19	Diagramming sentence (writing skill)
20	Reporting graph (writing skill)
21	How to present a presentation
22	How to make a good PowerPoint presentation
23	Idioms (reading skill)
24	Reading a passage (reading skill)
25	Vocabulary Hunting (reading skill)

My goals for taking this course are:

1.        English listening skill is one of the most essential skills for advanced learners who want to get improved in English. To be progress in this skill relies on regular practice and learners should find helpful way to practice. Practicing through modern media, like internet, would very much help learners to practice by listening English native speakers talks.

2.        To be improved in English speaking skill is obviously my second goal. As we know non-English native speakers like Thai people hardly talk with foreigners in daily life, except those who usually work with English native speakers. It is luckily that nowadays we are in globalization era and it seems that everything in our life is possible and easy to access high technology. We don’t need to

3.        English Writing skill is one of important skill that I need to use on a regular basis; reading emails, letters and legal document for my work. I set a goal to be more improve in this skill by taking less time when reading a difficult passage.  

4.        Last but not least, the skill that I really want to be improved is English reading skill as it is significant to my career. I need to read incoming email from my German boss and clients. I always have to read English email message, letter and fax that related to law field. This will not be varied. We need to read the message from many sources and fields such as science, IT, politics, economy, etc. So the media that we can easily access now would be the most advantage for English advanced learner to practice and improve in their reading skill. I am the one of those people who want to enhance my English reading skill. 

5.      In my view, this course would extremely encourage and motivate the students to use modern media and IT sources 

Vocabulary Hunting

allege (v)     alter (v)     cease (v)     elaborate (adj)     fragment (n)     philosophy (n)     litigation (n)
induce (v)    reservoir (n)     subside (v)     upsurge (n)

1. Because of the possible link between disease in cows and humans, many companies stopped trading in British beef and associated products. ___________

2. Global warming will change the way we live: everybody will experience some change.__________

3. The most recent management thinking encourages managers to listen more carefully to the ideas of their employees.____________

4. When the interest in the company declined, the value of its shares began to fall. ____________

5. As so many jobs require good skills, there is a pool of people who are unemployed because they do not have any skills. _____________

6. A number of universities are worried about legal action in the law courts by students who are dissatisfied with their courses. _____________

7. The governement's refusal to accept the result of the election prompted thousands of people to come out on to the streets and protest.____________

8. During the last twenty-five years, there has been a significant increase in the number of overseas students in British universities. ___________

9. Following an air accident, investigators examine every piece of the wreckage to determine the cause of the crash. _____________

10. Your research proposal doesn't need to be too detailed; keep it simple and concentrate on the main points.

11. The prisoner claimed that he had been attacked by the police, but there was no evidence to prove this.


Answer: 1. ceased  2. alter  3. philosophy  4. subsided  5. resevoir  6. litigation  7. induced  8. upsurge 
9. fragment  10. elaborate  11. alleged

Reading a Passage (Reading Skill)

As it has done every ten years for the previous one hundred and ninety years, the United States government conducted a census, or counting, of its population in 1980. The tradition of the census is as old as the Republic, for the nation's founders clearly stated in the first article of the Constitution the requirement that a census be taken each decade to determine the number of seats each state may have in the United States House of Representatives. Thus, the original purpose was to ensure that each voter (men only, at that time) would be represented with relative equality in the governement. Since that time the purposes of the census have multiplied, although its original function remains the primary one. The census now also serves as a planning too for future government programs and for housing, welfare, and educational needs in the coming years. In addition, it is used to determine the distribution of governement funds to local communities.

Questions:

1. How often was census-taking originally required in the United States?

    a. Every year                                            b. Every election year

    c. Every ten years                                     d. Every ninety years

2. Who first determined that a census should be conducted in the United States?

    a. The first President

    b. The writers of the Constitution

    c. The members of the House of Representatives

    d. The original voters

3. According to the passage, what is the main reason for taking a census?

    a. To predict future educational needs

    b. To allow women to vote

    c. To guarantee fair representation

    d. To distribute government funds equally

4. Which of the following would be the most appropriate title for the passage?

    a. The History of the Census

    b. The Development of Census Techniques

    c. The Constitution of the United States

    d. Population Problem in the United States

Answer: (c), (b), (d), (a)

Idioms

Idioms and Expressions (with Eggs and Bunnies) Exercise

1. To egg someone on means:

a. To gently push a person on to a stage or speaking platform.
b. To encourage or dare some one to do something that may be unwise or dangerous.
c. To purchase a train or bus ticket by bribing the ticket agent.
 
2. Don't put all your eggs in one basket means:

a. Do not risk everything but placing too many hopes on one job or project.
b. Do not hurt yourself by carrying one large load.
c. Breakable things should be wrapped and carried in separate containers.
 
3. Don't teach your grandmother to suck eggs means:

a. Do not make things too easy for others by taking away challenges.
b. Do not ask a person to do something that is unsafe or dangerous to them.
c. Do not try to teach someone who is older and more experienced than you.
 
4. To have egg on one's face means:

a. To feel like a fool.
b. To visit a health spa.
c. To have a healthy glow.
 
5. The expression "He that would have eggs must endure the cackling of hens" means:

a. Men who work with many women should expect some difficult times.
b. Eating healthy food can make you the object of ridicule.
c. You must be willing to suffer to get what you want.
 
6. To kill the goose that lays the golden egg means:

a. To prepare a feast to mark a special occasion.
b. To destroy something that is valuable or profitable to you.
c. To blame some who makes a very large and embarrassing mistake.
 
7. To lay an egg means:

a. Do something thought impossible.
b. To give a bad performance.
c. To work carefully and precisely.
 
8. The expression "You can not make an omelet without breaking eggs" means:

a. In order to get what you want you have to give up something else.
b. It is important to know what you are doing before starting a project.
c. Some things are just not worth having.
 
9. To walk on eggs means:

a. To be very cautious.
b. To do something very unpleasant.
c. To do something very costly.
 
10. As mad as a March hare means that someone is:

a. angry
b. crazy
c. frantic
 
11. First catch your hare means:

a. Do not make plans for something until you actually have it.
b. Success is hard to achieve.
c. Strive to be the best you can be.
 
12. The expression "If you run after two hares you will catch neither" means:

a. Greed results in failure.
b. Fitness is a big concern.
c. You can not do two things well at the same time.
 
13. The expression "To run with the hare and hunt with the hounds" means:

a. To belong to unconventional social groups.
b. To support both sides of an argument.
c. To live one's life in enjoyment and fun.



Answer: b, a, c, a, c, b, b, a, a, b, a, c, b

Make a Good PowerPoint Presentation

If you don't know how to make a good PowerPoint presentation, just click below link, then you will find how to create better PowerPoint presentation.

http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/skills/presentations.aspx

How to Make a Good Presentation

If you want to make a good presentation, you should try this website.

 

http://www.rogerdarlington.co.uk/Presentation.html

Graph & Report (Writing Skill)

Have you ever find yourself hard to present or report the data showed in graph, chart, table, figure, etc in English? You don't know how to start and which part you should pinpoint?

I'm also find that to summarize or make a comment from scale, chart or figure data is not easy to do. As this week, I have learned how to report a graph in English class, I would like to share this to you guys and I also find some more beneficial sources that have a plenty of helpful information about graph reading. It is normal for graduate students to write a summary or commentary from data or result they have. This is not same as the way we describe the data. We need to make a comment and summarize what we learn from the data. What we should know first is we need to find the right strength of claim and then order the statements in appropriate way - that is we should start the most significant to the less significant. Or it means we move from general to specific direction

Diagramming Sentences (Writing Skill)

As this week, I have learned about "Diagramming Sentences" in class and I found that it is very interesting, beneficial and kind of fun (^_^) so, I want to share this with you. I hope anyone who visit my blog will understand and take a benefit from it. 

In one sentence comprises of many kinds of part of speech; noun, verb, object, preposition, etc. To know diagram sentence, it can make you understand part of speech and whenever you understand each part of speech you will write it better and easily. And when you read you will understand what you read better.

1. Diagramming Subjects & Verbs



Diagram Subject and Verb is to put the subject on the left side of the vertical line and the verb on the right side of the vertical line.

Example:

Subject / Verb

Man   / runs
Dog   / is eating
Cat    / slept



2. Diagramming Questions

Before diagramming questions, we need to turn the question into a statement. Then we can put the subject on the left side of the vertical line and the verb on the right side of the vertical line.

Example:

Can I run?                                    -  I / can run
Did Josh eat?                               -  Josh / did eat.
Should we have been swimming? -  We / should have been
swimming



I found one website instructing sentence diagramming as below site.

http://drb.lifestreamcenter.net/Lessons/TS/diagram.htm

Since part of the writing process involves editing our work, we need to know how to recognize complete thoughts and how to vary our sentence structure. This makes our writing more coherent as well as more interesting to read. Understanding the functions of parts of the speech in a sentence and their relationship to one another can be very helpful in learning to construct good sentences.

A sentence (to be a sentence) at the very least must have a Subject (noun or pronoun) and a Predicate (verb). The remaining words in a sentence serve to describe, clarify or give us more information about the subject or the verb. A diagram arranges the parts of a sentence like a picture in order to show the relationship of words and groups of words within the sentence. Let us take a look at how this is done. We will begin learning how to diagram sentences and use this tool to become better writers.

Step #1

Look for the VERB in the sentence. A verb is a word that shows action (dance, sing, walk, run, etc.) or state of being (am, is, are, was, were, etc.)

Ask the question, "What action is taking place, or what happened in the sentence?" The answer you get will let you know which word (or group of words) serves as the verb in the sentence. The VERB is placed on the right hand side of the base line.

Examples:

Aunt Polly punished Tom for ditching school.

Tom started a fight with the new boy in town.

   

Try these:

Tom’s friends were painting the fence for him.
Huck Finn was a homeless boy.

Step #2

Find the SUBJECT of the verb (the person or thing that performs the action).
Ask the question, "Who? or What?" before the verb. The answer you get will let you know which word (or group of words) serves as the subject of the verb. The SUBJECT is placed on the left hand side of the base line.

Examples:

Aunt Polly punished Tom for ditching school.

Tom started a fight with the new boy in town.

   

Try these:

Tom’s friends were painting the fence for him.
Huck Finn was a homeless boy.

Step #3

Find the DIRECT OBJECT. (If there is one in the sentence, it is the person or thing that receives the action of the verb.)
Ask the question, "Whom? or What?" after the verb. The answer you get will let you know which word serves as the direct object of the verb. The DIRECT OBJECT is placed on the base line to the right of the verb separated by a line that goes upward from the base line.

Examples:

Aunt Polly punished Tom for ditching school.

Tom started a fight with the new boy in town.

 

Step #4

Look for ARTICLES (a, an, the) or POSSESSIVES (my, your, his, hers, its, their, Joe’s, Maria’s, etc.) Ask the question, "Whose?"
ARTICLES and POSSESSIVES are attached to the base line beneath the word they describe.

Examples:

Tom’s friends were painting the fence for him.

Step #5

Look for ADJECTIVES (words that describe or limit a noun or pronoun). Ask the questions, " Which one? How many? What kind? What size? What color? " ADJECTIVES are connected beneath the words they modify.

Examples:

Becky Thatcher wore two long braids

Tom’s little brother discovered the black thread.

 

Huck Finn was a homeless boy.

Step #6

Look for ADVERBS (words that modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs). Ask the questions, "How? When? Where? How much? Why?" ADVERBS are connected beneath the words they modify.

Examples:

Injun Joe ran away.

     

  Huck bravely saved the Widow Douglas

Step #7

Look for PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES. (These are groups of words that begin with a preposition and end with a noun or pronoun which is the object of the preposition. Together they serve the same function as an adjective or an adverb.) PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES are connected beneath the line of the words they modify.

Examples:

Huck overheard a conversation between two men.

Tom was exploring the cave with Becky.

The two of them were lost in the cave.

Now let's put what you have learned into practice.  Try these sentences:

We read a book about Tom Sawyer in English class.

 

Each student made a report on a chapter from the story.

Inversion and Adverbial Clauses (Writing Skill)

Inversion

This involves using question word order after an adverbial with a negative or restrictive meaning comes at the begining of the sentences. These structures are usually only used in formal speeech and writing. Note that all of these adverbials can be used without inversion if they come in the normal position.

never
I have never seen a more obvious case of cheating! (normal position)
Never have I seen a more obvious case of cheating!


rarely
Rarely does such a rare painting come on the market.


seldom
Seldom has a scientific discovery had such an impact.


No sooner...than
No sooner had I shut the door than I realized I had left my keys inside.


Hardly...when
Hardly had the play started when there was a disturbance in the audience.


Scarcely...when (than)
Scarcely had they entered the castle when there was a huge explosion.


Only after, only when, only later, only then, only
Only Jane managed to finish the project on time. (no inversion)
Only in a city as large as this can you find so many foreign restaurantes.


On no condition, under no circumstances, on no account, at no time, in no way
Under no circumstances is this door to be left unlocked.


Not only...but also
Not only did he lose all the money, but he also found himself in debt.


Not until
Not until he stopped to rest did Mary realize that she had been wounded.
Not until the building had been made safe could anyone go back inside.


Little
Little did anyone suspect what was about to happen.


------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Adverbial Clauses


Time


- Adverbial time clauses are introduced by time conjunctions: when, after, as as soon as, before, by the   time, during the time, immediately, the moment, now, once, since, till/until, whenever, while.
Ex. Jane started to play the piano when she was six.
      Keep the book for as long as you like.


- If the clause comes first, we usually put a comma after it.
Ex. The moment he came into the room, I recognized him.


- In adverbial time clauses referring to the future we do not use will; we use present simple, or present perfect to emphasize completion.
Ex. Let me know as soon as you've finished.


** Note that we can use will future in relative clauses begining with when.
Ex. Can you let me know when you'll be coming back.


Place


- Introduced by where, wherever, anywhere, everywhere. Clauses beginning where normally come after the main clause.
Ex. There is an impressive monument where the battle was fought.
Everywhere David goes, people ask him for his autograph.


Manner


- Introduced by as, and normally coming after the main clause.
Ex. I took the train, as you recommended.


- Introduced by the way in colloquial English.
Ex. You didn't write this the way I told you to.


- Often used in comparisons with (in) the way (that), (in) the same way (as)
Ex. You're not doing it in the same way that you did it before.


- As if and as though can be used after be, act, appear, behave, feel, look, seem, smell, sound, taste.
Ex. He acted as if he had seen a ghost.


Reason


- Introduced by as, because, since, seeing (that).
Ex. Because I'm late, I won't be able to meet you after all.


- Introduced by for, but coming after the main clause. This is often formal or literary.
Ex. They said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.


Contrast


- Introduced by although, though, even though, considering (that).
Ex. Even though Tim goes to fitness classes, he is a very poor runner.


- Introduced by while, whereas, in formal speech and writing, and by much as, usually followed by verbs of liking etc.
Ex. Much as / While we appreciate your work, I'm afraid we have to let you go.


- however + adjective
Ex. We are determined to complete the project, however, difficult it is.


- no matter + question word
Ex. No matter where you live, the weather will have some effect on you.


- wh-question word + -ever
Ex. Whenever you live, the weather will have some effect on you.


Purpose


- Introduced by so (that) usually followed by a modal auxiliary.
Ex. I asked you to come early so (that) we could discuss last night's meeting.


- Introduced by in order that in formal speech and writing.
Ex. Legislation is needed in order that this problem may be dealt with effectively.


- So as (not) to is uded with infinitive constructions.
Ex. I closed the door quietly so as not to disturb anyone.


- Introduced by in case, meaning "to be prepared for a possible event".
Ex. We turned down the music in case it disturbed the neighbours.


Result


- Introduced by so + adjective / adverb + that, or such (a) + (adjective) + noun + that.
Ex. He is so tall that he can easily touch the ceiling.


- Introduced by so much / many / few / little + that
Ex. There were so many people in the room that some had to sit on the floor.


- In reduced clauses.
Ex. He is so tall! He is such a tall boy!