English For Secretaries Unit 1: Locating People

Locating People in the office is probably one of the frequent task a secretary or an administrative personnel does. This can be done face to face or through a telephone conversation. In this unit we learn about different types and examples of conversation in the office. They will practice pronunciation, sentence and word stress, intonations as well as sentence structures with shows courtesy towards the clients.

The focus of this lesson is how to be able to talk to new people in the office, to talk to clients on the phone, to spell out words, to make polite requests, to practice the /i/ sound and to learn common acronyms relating to business. 

In this lesson we focus on the use of imperatives and the use of modal verbs (can, could, may) to make polite requests. And also we will review the use of present simple tense and the use of Will in business.

Grammar Focus:

Showing courtesy and politeness is one of the requirement policies for office workers. It is very important that office personnel shows respect to clients as well as to their fellow workers. So, we will discuss one of the essential structures which shows courtesy and politeness.

Modal Verbs: are used for polite request. We can use can, will or we can also use could, would or may for more formal form.

Example: Can I see you for a moment?

The Imperatives are use to make request in English. However, we use the word "please" to make the sentence more polite and courteous.

Example: Have a seat please.

Intensive English Summer Workshop: How to Avoid Generalization, Adverb of Frequency, Adding details, Essay Structure

Avoiding generalization 

General statements reduce the quality of your work. Therefore,  you have to avoid making general statements unless you have data to prove it.

Ex: Weddings are expensive. (not all weddings are expensive. Therefore, this statement is too general)

- We can avoid generalization by using CAN or TEND to.

Example: 

Using modal words CAN: Weddings can be expensive.

Verb (be is in the infinitive form): Weddings tend to be expensive.

More Examples:

We tend to tip the waiters in the in restaurants.

Weddings tend to be less common these days.

Birthdays can be important.

Blowing your nose in public maybe rude in Japan.

Shaking hands tends to be how most people great in India.

ADVERB OF FREQUENCY

-tells us how often something happens and they can be used to help avoid generalization.

Example of adverb of frequency which are commonly use are: sometimes, often, rarely.

-they can also be use to make generalization not avoid them.

Example: always and never

You always say that. (this statement is clearly not true all the time.)

You often say that. (this statement is probably more accurate since the adverb of  frequency 'often' makes the sentence less general and closer  to the truth.

-Adverbs can be placed before the main verb or after the verb to be. 

Grammar for Writing

We add details to our statement to make it more interesting.

1. Add words to avoid generalization.

Ex: In my country, traditional weddings tend to be important.

2. We add a prepositional phrase.

Ex: Traditional weddings tend to be important to many people.

3. Add two prepositional phrase.

Ex: In my country, traditional weddings are very important to many people.

4. Add an adjective to a noun.

Ex: Traditional weddings are important to many people.

5. Add an adverb to an adjective.

Ex: Wedding are very important.

More exmaples:


1. There is a wedding reception.

- After the ceremony, there is often a large wedding reception with lots of guest.

2. The man gives a ring.

- The man may give an expensive diamond ring to his fiancee to show they are engaged.

3. The guests bring wedding gifts.

-At the reception, the guest usually bring wrapped wedding gifts for the bride and groom.

ESSAY STRUCTURE

Introduction - begin with interesting sentences to introduce a topic. It should include a clear thesis statement which outlines what the writer argues or express


Main body paragraphs - contains a topic sentence with one idea. And the rest of the paragraph support or argue against the idea using examples, evidence and illustrations.

Conclusion - restate the main idea of the body, it ends with appropriate final sentence and should not introduce a new argument.

Thesis Statement - a sentence which explains the writers opinion and conclusions from the essay.

Sourced: Cambridge Reading and Writing Skills Unlock 3

Intensive English Summer Class Lesson Review: Collocations, Subject-Verb-Subject, Present Simple, Time Expressions

Collocations - group of words which are often use together.

Verb + Noun = Collocations
Verb + A noun phrase = Collocations
Verb + Prepositional phrase = Collocations

Example: Verb + Noun

I have breakfast.
have + breakfast = have breakfast 

Dae-Jung and Chung Hee play video game.
play + video game

Abdullah studies Maths.
studies + math = studies Maths


Example: Verb + Prepositional Phrase

Abdullah goes to the cinema.
goes + to the cinema = goes to the cinema

Abudullah studies in the library.
studies + in the library = studies in the library.

Abdullah relaxes with friends.
relaxes + with friends = relaxes with friends.

SUBJECT- VERB- OBJECT

An object is a person or thing ( a noun, pronoun or noun phrase) that is affected in a direct way by the action of the verb. Note that the verb is after the subject in the sentence.

Example: 

- My grandfather reads a news paper. (news paper is the object in the sentence. It answers the question what does my grandfather read?

Mei Lei loves to apple. (what does Mei Lei love?)

- A prepositional phrase after the verb is not an object.

Example:

Abdullah studies in the library. ( in the library is a prepositional phrase and is therefore not an object in the sentence.)

He lives in Thailand. (in Thailand  is a prepositional phrase)

-A pronoun, a noun or a noun phrase after is or are is not an object.

Example:

Abdullah is a students. (student is after the verb is and therefore is not an object)

Melody and Ginger are students. (students is after the verb are and therefore is not an object)

PRESENT SIMPLE

-We use present simple if we talk about our typical lifestyle.
-to express events or situations that exists always, usually or habitually.
-they exist now, have existed in the past, and probably will exist in the future.
-things that are generally true in our lives.

Example:

She likes apples.
Tom walks to school.
I take a shower every morning.

The verbs likes, walks and take is in the present form.

- If the subject of the sentence is third person and singular ( he, she,it, Faisal, Kate, cat), we add -s to the verb.

Example: 

He reads books.
Kate listens to music.
My cat likes milk.

-if the verb is go we add -es. If the verb is have we change it to has.

Example:

She goes to school everyday.
My mother has breakfast at 8:a.m.

TIME EXPRESSION - tells when or how often something is happening.

every + a noun for time

Example: 

I read a book every week.
She has English class every Wednesday afternoon.
They play football every afternoon.

-prepositional phrase for time 

at + o'clock time: at 10 a.m., at 3 p.p.
in + part of the day: in the morning, in the afternoon
on + day of the week: on Monday, on Tuesday
on + day of the week + part of the day: on Monday morning, 
                                        on Tuesday afternoon.

Student Activity:

Students talk about their lifestyle by creating their own time table.

They will write present simple sentences to describe their daily activities and usual routine.

Sourced: Cambridge Unlock 1 Reading and Writing

IntensiveEnglish Summer Class Lesson Review: Nouns and Adjectives, Noun Phrases, Subject and Verb, Prepositions, Prepositional Phrases and Punctuation

NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES

Nouns - are people, places or things.
Adjectivess - Describes people, places, things.or state (ex. climate)

Examples of nouns and adjectives in simple simple sentences:

The  man  is  tall.   (man - noun)  (tall - adjective)
The room is cold. (room -noun) (cold-adjective)
The climate is good. (climate-noun) (good-adjective)

Noun phrases - type of noun that is an adjective + noun.

*adjective + noun = noun phrase

tall + man = tall man  
He is a tall man.

cold + room = cold room
This is a cold room.

good + weather = good weather
Spain has a good weather.

SUBJECT AND VERB

A sentence is about a subject.
A subject can b a pronoun, noun or a noun phrase.

Ex:

Pronoun: I am from Beijing.
               She is a student.
               It is sunny.

Noun: My father is old.
           Yakutsk is in Russia.
           The weather is cold.

Noun Phrase: The average rainfall is 21 mm.
             Typical teenagers are students.

Note that the verb is after the subject in the sentence.

Ex:

I am from Beijing.
My father is old.
Typical teenagers are students.

PREPOSITION (preposition of location)

- are used to explain where someone or something is.

Examples are:  at, in, from, and to

Example of preposition in the sentence:

Ulaanbaatar is in Mongolia.
Winters are cold in Ulaanbaatar.
It is rainy in summer.

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES

- give information about 'where' and 'when'

preposition + noun = prepositional phrase
preposition + a noun for a season or a noun

Example of prepositional phrase which tells 'where'

in + Abu Dhabi = in Abu Dhabi
My brother lives in Abu Dhabi.

from + Angkara
I am from Angkara.

Example of prepositional phrase which tells 'when'

in + summer = in summer.
It is warm in summer.

in + January = in January.
It is cold in January.

*When the prepositional phrase is at the beginning of the sentence, it is followed by a comma.

Ex: In the dry season, the average temperature are between 22°C and     25°C.

PUNCTUATION

Use capital letters for names of...

Month: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August,            September, October, November, December

Days: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Nationalities: British, Thai, Cambodian, American, Filipino

Names of People: Ahmad, Svetlana, Maria...

Places: Turkey, Angkara, Thailand, London

Student Activity:

At this time the students follow the activity guide provided by the textbook. It is very important that they fully understand the concept and the rules of writing specially sentence structure such as the order of words in the sentence. Also, they learn a wide scale of vocabulary by highlighting 'unidentified words', finding the meaning and adding it to their wordbook.

Sourced: Cambridge Unlock Reading and Writing 1

Pre-University English Summer Class 2015

Its been a while since the last time I was teaching. And today I am very excited! its my first day in class and I am giddy like a preschooler ;) Yup, I have always love teaching and sending me into a class is like a holiday... with pay that is. LOL! 

Anyways, I will be teaching English this summer, writing in particular and I am very  excited to share with my students the art of being able to express themselves through writing. I know it will be such a great challenge for all of us in the class where we learn English as a second language but we just have to do our best and believe that everyone is capable :)

So today, I started the class by reviewing the parts of speech, did a brief review of its function in writing and did some activities. I wanted to know what the students have already learn and we can start from there. We didn't do so much activity today... not just yet. The first day is where I assess my students. So I ask them to write some sentences. Then divided them into groups where they edit each others work and explain their corrections. I was pretty impress how they all tried their best to come up with the correct grammar. The class setting was a bit conventional this time but we will be doing more student centered activities in the coming days. 

As their teacher and facilitator I just want to make sure that we set our sail towards our goal which is to learn something and make good of our time. So, I see to it that there is a balance mixture of conventional and "casual" learning in the class. 

So, there's little update on my summer class. However, please do stay tune for more class activity updates and teaching/learning strategies. Have a wonderful day! xoxo 

Hansel and Gretel and the House Made of Snacks

This month on my ESL class, we are doing a unit on Hansel and Gretel for 2 weeks. This week I introduced the story the students and talked about the characters. It is very important that you pointed to some pictures and flashcards when describing actions and events that happens in the story so the beginner ESL students can understand what you are talking about. It is also important to affirm whether they understand by asking questions and having them fill in the key words by saying it.

The more advance ESL students did some character study where they identify the qualities of the characters by using simple adjectives.

It is also a good way to introduce to them the parts of the house and identify which part of the witch's house is made of so they have a full understanding of the different parts of the house.

I also introduce the different kinds of feeling and emotions and ask them what they think the characters in the story feel and how would they feel if they are in their place. This is often challenging with beginner learners but you can tell them the equivalent word in their native language.

Then I let them draw their house and while they were drawing it, it is helpful that I move around asking each one of them what their house is made of and what are the different parts of the house made of. This will create a conversation. But before letting them draw I get to to learn how to say "my house is made of....., the walls are made of...., the windows are made of.... and so on" so when you go around asking them they can be able to describe their house.

... and then we get to make a house made of snacks. The duration of this activity may take 2 to three days depending on how fast the students can familiarize with the phrases and understand the story. However, it is very important that they learn to identify the actions, events, emotions in the story. Next week, we will continue with the  "Hansel and Gretel" unit and I will post an update what activities we did.

"Story Autopsy"

"Story Autopsy" is one of the strategies I use when reinforcing reading comprehension and critical thinking. The students are encouraged to discuss and brain-storm possible answers to the questions.

Strategy:

1. Let the students pick one story from the book.

2. Then paste the "what, where, when, and how" question on the wall.

3. Provide them 1 index card for each question.

4. Then tell them that you will first read the story to them and they will write the answers to the questions on the index card. Then tell them to flip it over. And let them read the story themselves and answer the same questions after they read the story. Then discuss and compare their first answer (from listening) and their second answer (from reading the story themselves). This will reinforce listening and reading comprehension.

5. Let them discuss the story by going over the details on their index cards.

6. List down all the "important words" words that they are not familiar with and discuss by showing and telling them examples relating to the word.

This strategy will not only encourage critical thinking and reading comprehension skills but also encourage speaking through discussion as well as introduce different kinds of stories, important people and events.