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Файл:A guide to effective communication in English. Учебное пособие по практике устной и письменной речи английского языка
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Unit 1. WHAT KIND OF STUDENT ARE YOU?
Vocabulary development
Topical vocabulary: to work hard at, to work long hours, to sit up late, to take
pains to do sth, to overwork, be absorbed, be bored, to slave at books, to be good
(weak, poor) at sth, to cram, to swot, a swat, a crammer, to crib, to disrupt
classes, disruptive, to pass / do well in an exam, to fail / do badly in an exam,
failure, to fall (lag) behind the group, to catch up with, to have a good command
of, to lack sth, to neglect, to play truant, to work by fits and starts, to get good
(bad, excellent, satisfactory, unsatisfactory) marks, to fail in a subject, to major
in sth (Am.), to make progress in sth, to slip out of one's mind, to write down
distinctly / (in)correctly / properly / too close / neatly /carelessly, to peep at, to be
good / clever / poor / quick at sth, to be quite at home in, to be strong / weak in,
it goes in one ear and out the other, to scrape through the exam, to devote much
time to, a teachers’ favourite / pet, to be top of the class, a real known-all, a bit of
a big-head, a lazy bones, a slow learner, illiterate, his mind keeps wandering,
absent minded, dyslexic, his eyes got red from over reading, to be a low/slow
achiever, to be a high flyer, to be (not) up to standard, to learn from your
mistakes, to learn the hard way.
Divide the topical vocabulary into two groups:
Referring to a conscientious student Referring to a lax student
Can any of the phrases be applied to both types of students?
Additional vocabulary: entrance / final / school-leaving exams, to take an
examination in some subject, applicant, to apply for, to be enrolled/admitted, to
educate, education (primary / secondary / higher), educational system, to read up
for exams, an examination card, an examining board / panel, an examiner,
outside examiner, interlocutor, to read tip for an exam, to retake / resit an exam,
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to enter a university, at final exams (in finals), freshman (Am.), first year student,
second year student, sophomore, undergraduate, post-graduate student, junior /
senior student, full-time student, part-time student, to leave school, to graduate
from a college, to hold examinations, holidays, vacation, to drop out of (college),
to be chucked out of, to be expelled from.
Tasks
1. Find the expressions with the following prepositions, fill in the table.
at in from
2. a) Make sentences of your own using the following expressions; b) Make
small dialogues using these phrases:
to be absorbed, to be bored, to disrupt classes, to neglect, to play truant, to catch
up with a group, to be a high flyer, to be up to standard, to drop out of.
3. Find the definitions of the words in explanatory dictionaries. Make contexts
using these words.
Dyslexic, disruptive, illiterate, command, to peep (at).
Reading and speaking
► Before reading the dialogue try to answer the following question: Is it
possible to succeed in life without having a university education? Discuss the
problem with your fellow-students.
► Read and translate the dialogue.
Text 1. AFTER THE EXAMS
- What do you think of the exams, Pete? I recon they were dead easy.
- Maybe they were easy enough for you but they were much too hard for
me.
- Oh, come on. You’ve probably done better than you think.
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- No, I’m dead certain I’ve failed in Latin and most likely in French and
History too. Thank goodness it’s all over though. We can forget about it
now – at least until the results come out.
- Yes. Now I can get on with reading all the books I’ve been wanting to
read for months but haven’t had time for.
- What! … Well, it’s up to you I suppose, but I’ve had enough of reading;
I’m not going to open another book for months! Don’t you think we all
deserve a break?
- Well, yes … I’ll take a day or two off perhaps. And I think I’ll come to
Bob’s sister’s party tomorrow night. But if I’m going to university in
October I’ll have to get down to some serious work again pretty soon.
- I’ve got to get through the A level exams first. I worry about university if
and when I ever get there.
- That’s the trouble with you. You always try to do everything at the last
minute.
- And you are too serious; that’s your trouble. You never stop swotting.
- Well, I like reading.
- And I can’t stand it. I don’t know why I decided to try to go to university
in the first place. I . think I’ll run away and join the army or something.
(Dennis Ware. Intermediate English Course: Linguaphone Institute
Limited, London, 1980, p. 39)
4. Answer the questions:
1) Who do you think are Pete and his companion? Are they students?
2) What kind of exam (s) is/are in the focus of the conversation? What do the
guys feel about the exams?
3) What is the difference in their attitude to studies in general? Speak about
each young man in detail.
4) What are the boys’ plans for the nearest future?
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5) Did you happen to deal with fellow-students having attitudes similar to
those of Pete and his companion? Which attitude to studies is closer to
your mentality? Is Pete a purely negative “personage”?
5. Retell the dialogue using as many pieces of topical and additional
vocabulary as possible.
6. Translate the proverbs and try to find their Russian equivalents. Explain
the meaning of the proverbs. Make short stories to illustrate them.
Diligence is the mother of success. No pains, no gains. A drowning man catches
at a straw. No sweet without sweat. Little strokes fall great oaks. He always
goes the extra mile. A bad beginning makes a bad ending.
7. Make up dialogues using topical vocabulary.
- Pete’s friend tries to convince him to give up silly ides like joining the army
and start working for the entrance exams to the university.
- A lax and a conscientious student discuss their winter exams.
- Two students are planning to prepare for exams together but their preparation
strategies are different.
Translation skills
1. Пэгги посвящает учебе все свое свободное время. Она постоянно что-то
зубрит. У нее даже глаза покраснели от чрезмерного чтения. 2. Говорят, что
обычные люди учатся на своих ошибках, а умные – на ошибках других. 3.
Учителя говорят, что у Гарри правила в одно ухо влетают, а из другого
вылетают. Он рассеянный. 4. Мартин постоянно жалуется, что
перетруждается в университете. Я думаю, он просто не привык прилагать
усилия, чтобы чего-то добиться. 5. Мистер Браун очень счастлив, потому
что его сына зачислили в престижный колледж. 6. Мой друг провалился на
грамматике, он будет пересдавать этот экзамен через месяц. 7. Патрику не
хватает усидчивости. Не удивительно, что он отстает от группы. 8.
Студенты второго курса с удовольствием приняли участие в «Дне
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первокурсника». Они поздравили своих младших товарищей с получением
студенческих билетов. 9. Поступить в Оксфордский университет – большая
честь для молодого человека. 10. Очень много абитуриентов подают
документы в Южный федеральный университет. 11. – Не очень-то Джейк
силен в английском! – Однако, он любимчик учителей, и поэтому он
умудряется сдавать все экзамены, хотя и с великим трудом. 12. Эндрю –
очень начитанный парень. Приятели по университету называют его
«Мистер Всезнайка».
Listening
Listen to the following four dialogues and summarize the facts in the tables
Table 1. Before the exam
The
name
The
subjects/the
type of the
exam
The
person’s
intentions
and
ambitions
What the
person
feels
about the
coming
exams
The way
the
person is
going to
get his
results
The plans
to
celebrate
(his mood
and
emotions)
Table 2. After the exam
The name The result The plans The person’s
The
actions
in case
the
person
fails
emotions
Answer a few additional questions:
1) Does the girl live alone in a flat?
2) Were the girl’s parents angry?
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3) Did all the man’s friends pass the exam?
Say in which contexts the following words from the dialogues are used: upstairs,
kill, surname, expect.
Unit 2. CAN YOU PLAN YOUR WORKING DAY FOR EFFECTIVE
STUDIES OR HOW TO SUCCEED IN MASTERING LANGUAGES
Vocabulary development
Topical vocabulary: to study on (the) first shift, to be used to sth., curriculum, to
deal with, to get down to work, to give up, to go to lectures, to have a lecture /
classes, hostel, to improve pronunciation, to instruct, to do / to study a subject, to
attend / to miss / to skip classes (lectures, seminars), period, Philology,
phonetics, grammar, to pick up (a foreign language), to master the language, to
revise, to refresh, to put off, to specialize in sth., to attend lessons / seminars in
some subject, a lecture / book / test / quiz / exercise on smth, to be worth (while)
doing, to have time/books at one's disposal, it pays to (it is to your profit) / to do
smb good, to be late for / be short of time / be pressed for time, to be over, to
finish / to be through with, to practice / to have practice in, classroom activity, to
oversleep, to miss / to catch the bus, to excuse for / an excuse / a lame excuse, to
manage, time management.
Additional vocabulary: linguistic activities, to have practice in, home-reading,
homework / task / assignment, to take notes, to comprehend, to memorize,
correctly / incorrectly, to spell out the word, orally, in written form, to ask
questions on (about) the text, to answer questions to the text, to leave out (of
articles, prepositions), to mind one’s pronunciation / intonation / spelling, to
make reading and speaking more distinct, to be aware of, to work systematically.
8. Find the expressions with the following prepositions, fill in the table.
on in to
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9. Consult explanatory dictionaries and find the definitions of the following
synonymic verbs. Try to find the difference in their meanings. Use these verbs in
the appropriate contexts.
To understand – to comprehend – to realize – to get.
To repeat – to revise – to refresh – to reiterate.
Reading and speaking
Text 2. LINGUISTIC TALENT
► Before reading the dialogue try to answer the following questions: What are
the necessary conditions for a person to succeed in mastering a foreign
language? What could be possible reasons of people’s failure in this field?
Discuss the problem with your fellow-students.
► Support or challenge the following statements:
- It is easier to learn a foreign language if you are a child. Grown-ups are
less receptive to languages.
- It is more effective for a Russian person to study the English language
in England than in Russia.
- It is easier for a Russian person to learn English if he knows German
(French, Spanish).
► Read and translate the dialogue.
- Why weren’t you at the German class last night, Joan? Have you given
up?
- Well, no … I came back late yesterday and found Simon asleep in the
chair. He’d been writing reports all day long and he was too worn out to
go out again, so we gave a lesson a miss.
- You’ve missed quite a lot of lessons lately, haven’t you? Are you losing
your enthusiasm?
- Yes, I’m afraid so. Neither Simon nor I have a gift for languages. People
just laugh at us when we attempt to speak German. How did you and Eric
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pick it up so quickly and easily? You’ve hardly been in Germany a
month!
- It was neither quick nor easy, I assure you. We’d both studied the
language before we came, and we only needed to brush it up a bit.
- Anyway, all our friends here speak English fluently so we don’t really
need to learn German.
- Well, Eric and I have been both learning and teaching languages for years
and we enjoy it immensely.
- Well, keep it up! I’m all for teaching foreigners English, if it saves me
the trouble of learning foreign languages myself.
(Dennis Ware. Intermediate English Course: Linguaphone Institute Limited,
London, 1980, с. 92 )
10. Answer the questions:
1) What kind of course is taken by Joan and Simon? Do they study at the
University? Do they study a foreign language in their native country?
2) Do they have to attend German classes in the morning or in the evening?
3) How do you imagine Joan and Simon’s daily routine? What about the possible
daily program of Joan’s interlocutor and Eric?
4) Did Joan and Simon begin their study with enthusiasm? What made them give
up? What are the possible reasons of their failure?
11. Retell the dialogue using as many pieces of topical and additional
vocabulary as possible.
12. Using your personal experience make a list of recommendations for younger
people: How to master the language effectively.
13. Translate the proverbs and try to find their Russian equivalents. Explain
the meaning of the proverbs. Make up short stories to illustrate them.
Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today. A bad workman
quarrels with his tools. A lazy sheep thinks its wool heavy. Where there is a
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will there is a way. Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy
and wise. An hour in the morning is worth two in the evening. After dinner
comes the reckoning.
14. Make up dialogues using topical vocabulary.
- An experienced friend gives Joan and Simon some practical advice how to
study languages effectively.
- Joan and Simon are not sure whether they should continue attending German
classes. Joan feels very pessimistic about their linguistic progress but Simon
believes the situation can be improved.
- A young man had convinced his parents to pay for his studying English in
Great Britain but later the parents happened to learn that the son had given up
attending English classes. The indignant parents interrogate the boy on the
phone.
- Two students live in a university campus and share one room in the hostel.
They study at different faculties and on different shifts. It causes some problems.
15. Discuss the following questions:
How can your teacher help you most?
Here are some possible ways your teacher can help you to learn (and you can
add more if you like). Choose the six which you consider most important.
by revising all major areas of grammar thoroughly
by concentrating on areas of advanced level
by working on the use of social language (e.g.
complaining/apologizing)
by explaining new vocabulary items clearly
by giving regular tests
by correcting every mistake you make
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by giving practice in pronunciation
by setting regular homework
by working through past examination papers
by giving plenty of practice in speaking
by giving practice in different types of writing tasks
by getting students to work in pairs or groups
by helping you to develop good learning methods
Compare your choices with the person sitting next to you.
How can you help yourself?
Here are 17 language learning habits. Tick things which you already do.
Underline or highlight the good language learning habits which you will
definitely try to adopt. Refer back to this page from time to time to see which
good learning habits you have developed.
translate from your own language before you speak or write
keep a vocabulary notebook and revise new vocabulary regularly
record new vocabulary in a short phrase or sentence
write new vocabulary with just a translation in your own language
use only a bilingual dictionary
use only a monolingual dictionary
use a grammar reference book
speak only English in class
read English books, newspapers or magazines outside class
listen to spoken English outside class
translate every unknown word as you read
guess unknown words as you read
speak in class only when you're sure, you won't make a mistake
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