- •Module one Getting to know each other
- •In making a presentation
- •In discussing personal goals and strategies to achieve them
- •Vocabulary and speech patterns
- •Unit 1.
- •Introducing yourself and others. Starting a conversation.
- •1 Discuss the questions.
- •2 Match the expressions and responses.
- •3 Are these greetings formal (f) or informal (I)?
- •In a formal situation:
- •In an informal situation:
- •3 Choose from the box above the most suitable phrases to introduce yourself to:
- •4 To get to know each other better introduce yourself and add a sentence or two about yourself. Some ideas to begin:
- •5 Practice the conversations with a partner. Match a line in a with a reply in b and a further comment in c.
- •3 Now read the text carefully and answer the questions
- •4 Find words or phrases in the text which mean:
- •5 Use the text and choose the best words to complete the short conversations below.
- •6 Compare the forms of addressing people in Great Britain and the United States with those used in Belarus.
- •1 Work in small groups. Make introductions and initiate a talk in the following situations:
- •Do you know the basic rules of introductions?
- •Safe and Unsafe Subjects for Talk
- •In pairs, answer the following questions:
- •1Put the words in the correct order and write the statements.
- •2 Make questions from the following words. Use the pronoun you in each case. Add necessary auxiliary verbs.
- •3 Ask and answer the questions with a partner.
- •4 Fill in the spaces with the correct tag
- •5 Discuss in pairs what questions you would ask in the following situations.
- •3 Work in pairs. Complete the sentences using a phrase with get
- •Unit 2 Language learning experience. Defining objectives for the future.
- •3 Address the audience, adding an opening sentence or two
- •4 Prepare four different openings using the techniques above. Practice the openings with a partner. Choose one of the presentation situations below.
- •5 Discuss these points:
- •6 Decide whether each sentence in the Useful Language box is formal (f) or informal (I).
- •Introducing the topic
- •Inviting questions
- •6 T 2.1. Listen to the openings of one formal presentation and one informal presentation. Tick (√) the phrases from the Useful Language box used by the speakers.
- •Welcome to University
- •2 Now read the text carefully and answer the questions:
- •3 Find in the text English equivalents for the following word combinations:
- •4 Give your opinion. Use the following expressions
- •I think that ... I strongly believe that ...
- •I am sure that ... I am convinced that ...
- •5 Which three aims of learning English mentioned in the text above are most important for you?
- •6 In pairs decide on your speaking skills objectives for the course that you are beginning and the ways to achieve them. Choose one of the following statements, or write one of your own.
- •7 Try to make a full list of goals for learning English and think of learning activities to reach them.
- •Text 1 Cultural hints for performing presentations
- •Text 2 Speeches of Introduction
- •1 Choose the best variant.
- •2 Underline the correct tense in the following sentences.
- •Vocabulary Focus
- •1. Do or make? Complete the questions and then write the answer.
- •2. Use the word given at the end of each line to form a word that fits the gap in the same line. A formal letter
- •1 Read the short text. In the exercise that follows it circle t (true) or f (false).
- •5 Write an appropriate question for these answers.
- •6 Fill in the correct word derived from the word in bold
- •7 Complete the text with the verbs in brackets. Use them in the correct tense forms
- •8 Rewrite the selection below. Two ways are provided. Follow the direction in each step.
- •Rewrite the selection, changing “Jack” to “Betty”. Make all other necessary changes. Your first sentence will say:
- •9 Rearrange the steps of a presentation to make it according to the accepted rules.
- •10 Arrange the phrases from a presentation below in a proper order
- •Self-assesment checklist list Module 1. Getting to know each other
Text 1 Cultural hints for performing presentations
Style of presentations
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In the USA the presenter has a more informal style. Modern audiovisual aids are used. The audience may ask questions or interrupt while someone is speaking.
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In Britain the presenter often has a more formal style. Germans like a presentation with technical details. The French like a formal, logical approach mixed with imagination.
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In Latin America and southern Europe presentations are lively and eloquent. The opening includes appreciation of hospitality. Comments are directed to the senior persons. Much use is made of hands and body language to emphasize a point. Audience members may want a more personal ‘extra’ talk afterwards.
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In Japan and south-east Asia the audience likes facts and data rather than abstract concepts. The opening is formal and includes appreciation of hospitality. Comments are directed to everyone. The Japanese ask repeated questions to check understanding.
Using your voice
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Americans and Germans use a strong, unemotional voice. Most northern Europeans use a moderate tone of voice.
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Latin Americans and southern Europeans have a forceful, animated style which is believed to project sincerity.
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Asians have a quiet, restrained style. The Japanese use silence to establish harmony and sense the mood of the audience.
(Business Builder. Intermediate Teacher’s Resource Series, P.Emerson, Macmillan Heinimann, 2002)
Text 2 Speeches of Introduction
“Distinguished guests, the President of the United States...” If you are ever in a situation in which you have to introduce the President, you will need no more than the eight words that begin this paragraph. The President is so well known that any further remarks would be inappropriate and almost foolish.
Most of the time, however, a speech of introduction will be neither this brief nor this ritualized. If you are introducing another speaker, you will need to accomplish three purposes in your introduction:
Build enthusiasm for the upcoming speaker.
Build enthusiasm for the speaker’s topic.
Establish a welcoming climate that will boost the speaker’s credibility.
A good speech of introduction can be a delight to hear and can do much to ease the task of the main speaker. The basic message of such a speech should be “Here is a speaker you will enjoy, and this is why.” Usually you will say something about the speaker and about the topic – in that order. Following are some guidelines for speeches of introduction.
Be brief. The purpose of a speech of introduction is to focus attention on the main speaker, not on the person making the introduction. Under normal circumstances, a speech of introduction will be no more than two or three minutes long, and it may be shorter if the speaker is already known to the audience.
Make sure your remarks are completely accurate. Many introducers have embarrassed themselves as well as the main speakers by garbling basic facts about the speaker. Always check with the speaker ahead of time to make sure your introduction is accurate in every aspect. Above all, get the speaker’s name right—especially if it involves a foreign pronunciation.
Adapt your remarks to the occasion. Formal occasions require formal speeches of introduction. If you are presenting a guest speaker at an informal business meeting, you might be much more casual than if you were presenting the same speaker to the same audience at a formal occasion.
Adapt your remarks to the main speaker. No matter how well it is received by the audience, a speech of introduction that leaves the main speaker feeling uncomfortable has failed in part of its purpose.
Adapt your remarks to the audience. You need to adapt a speech of introduction to the audience you are facing. Your aim is to make this audience want to hear this speaker on this subject. Suppose, for example, the police commissioner of a certain city is going to address two groups – an audience of elementary-school children and the members of the city council.
The introduction to the schoolchildren might go something like this:
Children, we have a very important guest with us today. He is the number one policeman in our city, the head of all the other police officers. Besides knowing a lot about crime right here at home, the police commissioner has also spent time working with Interpol – a special group of police officers who deal with crimes around the world. Today he is going to talk about how all of us can work with our neighborhood police officers to prevent crime. Let’s give a big round of applause and listen carefully to Police Commissioner Robert Washington.
But the introduction to the city council would be along these lines:
Members of the city council and distinguished guests, it is my privilege to introduce to you today the police commissioner, who will address us on the subject of the community policing program. Most of you know that the commissioner has a distinguished record as head of our police force for more than 10 years. However, you may not know that he also holds a master’s degree on criminology and studied abroad for a year with Interpol, the international police force.
The commissioner first introduced the community program six years ago. The idea behind the program is....
Today the commissioner is going to tell us how this program can be extended to more of the city and made more effective for all of our citizens. Please welcome Police Commissioner Robert Washington.
Try to create a sense of anticipation and drama. You may have noticed one detail shared by the two speeches: the speaker’s name was saved for last. This is a convention in speeches of introduction. By doing this you build a sense of drama, and the speaker’s name comes as the climax of your introduction.
(Stephen E Lucas. The Art of Public Speaking. 2001)
PART B. GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY
Grammar review: Tenses When we speak about events which have a relationship to present time we usually use the Present Simple, the Present Continuous and the Present Perfect tenses. The Present Simple is used to express:
The Present Continuous is used to express:
The Present Perfect is used to express:
Note: the time markers that are used with the Present Perfect – He has just/already left. They haven’t finished yet. I have never been to London. Have you ever been to the USA?
When we speak about events which have a relationship to past time we usually use the Past Simple, the Past Continuous. The Past Simple is used to express:
Note: the time markers that are used with the Past Simple – I did it last month/ two years ago/ yesterday morning/ in 2005, etc. The Past Continuous is used to express:
When we speak about events which are planned for the future time we usually use:
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