Vocabulary
to come upon
a foreign substance
shall we say
a soufflé
a worm
to slice
a hostess
kept my wits about me
appetite
From the desk of Ann Landers
Discussion
1. Do you agree or disagree with Ann Landers' advice?
2. Do you think that the answer to the question, "Do you feel the hostess would want to know?", depends on how well the hostess and guest know each other?
3. If the guest eats around the worm, he or she presumably would leave the worm on the plate. In this case, the hostess is likely to see the worm later. Then how do you suppose she will feel?
Situation 11.
Lover’s Language Worries Lover
Dear Ann Landers,
I have been dating a young man for several years. Dan is everything a girl could want. Well, almost. He is kind, nice looking, considerate, fun to be with, and he makes good money. The only drawback is his grammer. For example, he says "I seen," "youse," "have went," and "between you and I".
I bite my tongue when he makes these awful mistakes, especially in the presence of my friends. I don't want to be ashamed of him, Ann, and I don't want to embarrass him either, but I'm afraid one day I might.
Is there a chance that we can have a good marriage in spite of this? I am 26 and a college graduate. Dan is 27 and attended a trade school. I do love him, but I fear I'll be a nagging wife – or worse yet, a silent wife who is ashamed of her husband's grammer.
Please hurry your answer. He is waiting for mine.
York, Pennsylvania
Factual questions
1. How long have she and Dan been dating?
2. Why does she like Dan?
3. What is the drawback?
4. What doesn't she want to do?
5. What is she afraid of?
6. What question does she ask Ann Landers?
Vocabulary
considerate
a drawback
to bite one's tongue
to be ashamed
to embarrass
a trade school
to nag
in spite of
Language use
Note the last line of the letter. Mine is a possessive pronoun. In this case, what does it take the place of?
Discussion
1. Have you ever been embarrassed by someone's bad grammar? Are there mistakes in your own language similar to the kinds that upset this girl? Are some kinds of mistakes in your language considered to be more serious than other kinds of mistakes?
2. Do you think that speaking or writing your own language incorrectly can be a drawback in work or business, in social situations, or in a marriage? Explain.
3. How, or by whom, is correctness in your language decided? Do you believe that anything a native speaker says is acceptable, even if it doesn't follow the traditional rules?
4. When you make a mistake while speaking English in class, how do you feel about your teacher correcting you? Would you rather be corrected (1) immediately, (2) after you have finished what you wanted to say, or (3) alone in private? Why?
5. When you're talking with an English-speaking friend, how do you feel about being corrected if you make a mistake?
6. The writer of this letter is a college graduate. The man she wants to marry is not. Do you think this difference in education makes a difference in the success of a marriage? If only one person of a married couple can be college educated, does it matter if it's the husband or the wife? Why? What difference does it make?
Writing
Now write a reply to York's letter, as if you were Ann Landers.
From the desk of Ann Landers
Dear York,
Dan sounds too good to
discard. Ask him if he wants to be corrected – when the two of you
are alone, of course.
Incidentally, you misspelled
the word grammar throughout your letter. It is ar, dear. Perhaps you
and Dan are not as far apart as you think.
Discussion
1. Do you agree with Ann Landers that Dan is too good to discard? Why or why not? If Dan and York get married, what kind of relationship do you think they will have?
2. What if Dan tells York he doesn't want to be corrected, that he thinks his English is fine? What should she do? What would you do?
3. What things/qualities are most important to a successful marriage, in your opinion? What kind of man or woman is your ideal mate? How would he or she talk, behave, dress, feel, think?