Pronunciation Website

Last week in the K37 speaking class, we spent some time on /ʤ/, a sound that's hard to make and even harder to explain how to make. I mentioned a website that gives more information about it. The University of Iowa in America put together a demonstration. Click here to go to the website and then click on the American flag.

Shorten Your Summary

Sometimes you may be required to summarize a text in a certain number of words. How can you make sure you have the most important information in your summary?

One way to practice is to start with a text and start deleting the parts that you think are unimportant. When you re-read the text, the overall meaning should still be clear if you've kept the important information.

Example:

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea's navy fired warning shots to chase away a North Korean fishing boat that crossed their disputed sea border early Wednesday, the Defense Ministry said, in the latest flareup of tension on the divided peninsula just days before the Group of 20 summit in Seoul. The North Korean boat intruded on South Korean territory for about two hours before returning to North Korean waters early Wednesday, the ministry said. The fertile maritime border, the scene of three deadly skirmishes between the Koreas, is a key flashpoint because the North does not recognize the line drawn by the U.N. at the close of the 1950-53 Korean War.
          The firing comes just days after North Korea shot two rounds at a South Korean guard post in the Demilitarized Zone, prompting return fire from South Korean troops, according to Seoul military officials.South Korea is bracing for any possible North Korean moves to sabotage next week's Group of 20 summit of world leaders. North Korea has a track record of provocations when world attention is focused on the rival South.

 When you read what's left, the meaning should still be clear. In this example, you could remove a few more words and it would still make sense.

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea's navy fired warning shots at a North Korean fishing boat that crossed their disputed sea border just days before the Group of 20 summit. The North Korean boat intruded on South Korean territory for about two hours before returning to North Korean waters. The border is a flashpoint because the North does not recognize the line drawn by the U.N. at the close of the Korean War.
          The firing comes just days after North Korea shot at a South Korean guard post, prompting return fire from South Korean troops. South Korea is bracing for any possible North Korean moves to sabotage next week's Group of 20 summit. North Korea has a record of provocations when world attention is focused on the South.

That reduces it from about 180 words to about 125. The meaning is still there and it makes sense. Now you just need to put it into your own words, which will simplify it and probably cut the word count even further.

          South Korea fired warning shots at a North Korean fishing boat that crossed their disputed sea border just days before the G20 summit. The North Korean boat was in South Korean territory for about two hours. The border is a trouble spot because the North does not recognize the border the U.N. drew at the end of the Korean War.
          A few days ago, North Korea shot at a South Korean guard post and South Korean troops shot back. South Korea is preparing for possible trouble from North Korea before next week's summit. In the past, North Korea has caused trouble when world attention is focused on the South.

 Here are two ways to practice it yourself.

• Find an online that's easy for you to understand. Copy and paste it into a new document. Then delete the unnecessary parts and read it again to see if the important information is still there and it makes sense. Re-write it in your own words.
• Photocopy an article from your textbook that you need to summarize. Cross out the unnecessary parts and read what's left. It should still make sense and contain all the important information that was in the original. Then re-write it in your own words.

On an exam, you could do the same thing a little differently.

1. Mark the parts that you think contain the main points.
2. Read only those parts and see if the main message of the article is there and it makes sense.
3. Write a topic sentence and then add the main points that you marked. Be sure to put the main points into your own words!

On the Sidelines

"The foreign ministers of China and Japan met on the sidelines of a regional summit in Vietnam." That phrase, "met on the sidelines of [a different meeting]" has shown up at least twice in our listening class (Units 4 & 7) and here it is again. The annual Asean summit began yesterday and the foreign ministers of Japan and China met about their latest diplomatic argument, even though that was not the main reason that they came to Hanoi.

When leaders come to a meeting or summit and meet for a different purpose during that summit, you will often see it reported as they "met on the sidelines."

Collocations 01

This afternoon we talked about collocations in class. Here is some more information. The slides advance after 5 seconds but, if they go too fast, just pause them. Slide 8 has a few exercises. The answers are on slide 10.

Thee or Thuh?

This afternoon a student asked me, "When do you pronounce "the" /ði/ and when do you say /ðə/?" My  quick answer was something about a vowel sound but then when I started to give examples, it got confusing.

If you look around the internet, you'll find conflicting answers depending on the dialect of English being spoken. Dictionary.com says that it's /ði/ before a vowel sound and /ðə/ before a consonant sound.

The part that can be confusing is that it's before a vowel sound, not a vowel. EnglishClub.com explains that part. For example, "university" begins with a vowel but it's actually the sound of the consonant, /y/ (also written as /j/).

A Mom's Tough Standards, Imported From Vietnam

If you'd like to practice listening, click here for a conversation between a Vietnamese mother and her daughter about what it was like to raise a child in America. The mom, Teresa Nguyen, who is originally from HCMC, talks about how she tried to raise her daughter Stephanie in American culture while trying to preserve their Asian culture. After listening a few times, you can read the transcript here but be sure to listen several times first!

Credit for pointing this link out goes to Ms. Melia, an American teacher who taught at DAV in 2007. Thanks, Melia!

Stone Soup

After posting the cookbook link on Twitter, I realized you might want to see where the term "Stone Soup" comes from. It's an old European folktale that has been told in many countries and in many forms. Sometimes it's called "Nail Soup" because the main character uses a nail instead of a stone. Sometimes, as the picture below shows, the whole village gets involved instead of just one woman.

Here's the story, adapted from Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts.

A beggar knocked at the farmhouse door. "I can't let you in because my husband is not at home," said the woman who answered the door. "And I don't have anything to give you." Her voice showed that she did not like the beggar and wanted him to go away.

"If you don't have any food, then I could give you some of my soup stone," said the beggar. He pulled and ordinary-looking stone from his pocket.

"Soup stone?" said she, suddenly showing interest in the stranger.

"Oh yes," he said. "If I just had a potful of water and a fire, I'd show you how it works. This stone and boiling water make the best soup you've ever eaten. Your husband would thank you for the good supper, if you'd just let me in to show you how it works."

The woman's suspicions yielded to her desire for an easy meal, and she opened the door. She boiled a pot of water, the beggar dropped in his stone and then he tasted the boiling water. "It needs salt, and a bit of rice," he said.

"I have a little salt and rice," she said. She got it out of her cupboard and he put it into the pot. He tasted it again. "Much better!" he said. "But a good soup needs a few vegetables and potatoes. Do you have any?"

"Oh yes," she said, her enthusiasm for the miracle soup growing. She quickly found some potatoes, onions, carrots, and beans.

After the soup had boiled awhile, the man tasted it again. "It's almost done. The stone is working. A few pieces of meat and it would be perfect!"

The excited woman ran out to the yard and quickly killed a chicken. She plucked the feathers, cut up the meat, and put it into the pot.

When the meat had cooked, the woman filled a bowl for the beggar and for herself. They ate until they were full and there was still enough left for her husband.

The beggar thought the husband would be home soon, so stood up to leave and said, "Thank you for letting me use your pot and your fire." He took his stone from the bottom of the pot, licked it clean, and put it back into his pocket.

"Please come again," said the happy woman.

"I will indeed," said the beggar. Then he disappeared into the woods.

Read What You Already Know

One way to improve your English reading is to read something in English that you're already familiar with in Vietnamese. For example, a news item about the Red Shirts in Thailand is easier to understand if you've read the news about Red Shirts in Vietnamese first. It makes it much easier to guess unknown words and follow the train of thought.

Another thing you can do is read English versions of Vietnamese stories. You may know this one which is on the internet at a University of Pittsburgh website that has folktales from many different cultures.

One Cow More

A stupid man went to market and bought six cows. He rode one home and drove the others before him. On the way he counted them, but could see only five. Again and again he counted them. He was certain that he had lost one and was afraid he would be scolded by his wife.

She was waiting for him at the gate of their house. As soon as he saw her he said tearfully, "I've lost one of our cows. I don't know it could've happened. I was very careful."

"How many cows did you buy?" asked his wife.

"Six, but now I can see only five," answered the stupid man.

His wife looked at him and laughed, "You foolish man, there isn't one cow less, there's one more!"

For an English version of Cam and Tam, click here.

The Road Not Taken

If you'd like to read something a little lighter than international relations this summer, here's a famous poem by Robert Frost. He was an American poet who lived most of his life in the northeastern part of the country until he died in 1963.

The poem is about a time when he came to an intersection and had to decide which road to take. He decides to take the one that most people did not use and he thinks that will make a big difference in his future. The last 3 lines of the poem are the most well-known part.

"The Road Not Taken"

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood(1),
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth(2);

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear(3);
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black(4).
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

(1) wood = forest
(2) undergrowth = the small bushes and plants that grown under the tall trees.
(3) wanted wear = he thought that path needed/wanted someone to go down it because the grass growing on the path showed that few people had been using it.
(4) these 2 lines, and the 2 before them, mean that both paths seemed to be about the same. They lay covered with leaves and no one had walked on them to make the leaves turn color. trodden = walked on.

English poetry is most often based on timing or rhythm and similar-sounding words (rhyme). If you read this aloud you'll notice an ABAAB rhyming pattern in the last word the lines. The last word of the 1st, 3rd and 4th lines rhyme (A) and the last word of  the 2nd and 5th lines rhyme (B).

9 Things You Should Never Do On an Exam

Here are some problems I've noticed as I've marked quizzes and exams in the last few weeks. If you've made any of these mistakes, take note! Your future grades will be better if you avoid these nine mistakes.

Don't:

1. Use reductions like “gonna.”
2. Write like you’re sending an SMS. “u” and “ur” are not words in English.
3. Use “and so on.” If you answer, “Which countries are in Asean?” with, “Viet Nam, Cambodia, Thailand, and so on” what kind of mark do you think you will get?
4. Use “in my opinion” when you are asked for facts.
5. Use “on the other hand” when you are not introducing a contrast.
6. Use “almost of” when you mean “most of.” Almost of Most of the Sudanese don't want another war. (Didn’t we talk about that in class?)
7. Use “everything” when you mean “anything.” They can do everything anything they want. (Check a good grammar book for the difference.)
8. Answer 5 questions when it says, “Answer 3.” Your last 2 answers will be ignored. Follow the instructions.
9. Write sloppily. After the first 40-50 exams, teachers get tired of trying to decipher messy handwriting and they become a lot less sympathetic. When they have hundreds of exams to grade, the odds are against yours being in the first 50. Write neatly!

Xenophobia

By now all you K34 readers know that xenophobia means (I bet some English readers are reaching for their dictionary right now). Just a few days after we covered this topic with R-4, this article appeared in a New York City newspaper. The Candidate From Xenophobia

Some of it may be hard to understand because it involves American politics at the state level so I'll include some notes below. But the article will give you a better understanding of the meaning of the word.

From time to time some American communities get on an English-only kick -- that is, they emphasize the need to use only English in schools and government. Of course, since America is an English-speaking country, it is important for immigrants to learn the language. Many don't and they end up relying on their kids to translate for them because their kids usually go to American public schools and learn English well.

However, it's a bit ridiculous to pretend that English is the only language that should be used in America -- especially since America has 35-40 million people who speak Spanish, making it the fifth-largest Spanish-speaking population in the world.

The editors of the NY Times thinks it's more than ridiculous and used the word, "xenophobic." Try reading the editorial and see what you think.

Notes:
 
primary elections: From the U.S. presidential election, you probably remember that primaries are pre-elections that political parties use to select their candidates. They do that with state governors too. Whoever wins the primary election becomes the party's candidate for governor in the general election.

bottom-feeding: This is slang for lacking dignity, disgraceful.

gubernatorial: An adjective related to state governors. You won't see this word used much outside of U. S. politics. Pronounced with a long u.

make-my-day growl: A reference to the old "Dirty Harry" movies. It means to say something is a threatening way.

A primary race...can be a fantasy universe: The writer wants to say that primary elections can be a chance for politicians to raise issues that are not important or nonsensical.

American Sign Language: This is a communication system used by deaf people -- they speak by making hand gestures which represent words. I've seen deaf people in Hanoi use sign language too.
 
spin on the Know Nothing Movement: "spin on" here means "interpretation of" or "version of" In the 1840's and 1850's in America an anti-immigrant political movement began to try to curb immigration from Europe. It began as a secret group and when members were asked about it they were supposed to reply, "I know nothing about it."

K34 Midterm 2 Information

As you know, the averages of your quizzes will be your grade for your second midterm. Each class will have 7 quizzes. I will drop the lowest mark and only average 6, so if you were sick and missed one quiz it won't affect your grade.

Your last quiz will be:

R5 - 26/04/2010.
R4 - 20/04/2010.
R3 - 21/04/2010.

Increase Your Reading Speed

This afternoon I found this web site that says it will help increase your reading speed and prepare you for the IELTS or TOFEL. If you want to try it, be sure to click "Settings" and increase the chunk size to at least 3-4. Reading word-by word is not that helpful.

There are a couple other sites suggested here.

I've not personally checked out any of them, but you can try them and see if they help you.

K34 Reading Midterm Exam

Your midterm exam is scheduled as follows:

• R5 - Monday, 29 March.
• R4 - Tuesday, 30 March
• R3 - Wednesday, 31 March

There will be an article of about 750 words and you will have to explain three expressions from the article (3 points, answer two comprehension questions (4 points) and summarize the article in one sentence (3 points).

Only English-English dictionaries are allowed. You cannot have any other books or papers on your desk.

K34 Tuesday R4 Class Announcement

On Tuesday, 16 March the R4 will self-study. You may want to use the time to review your vocabulary and prepare for the midterm on 30 March. We will meet again on 23 March.

K2 Midterm Exam

K2 Reading will have a midterm exam on Monday, 22/3 for K2C and Wednesday, 24/3 for K2B. The format will be similar to the sample exams in the back of the textbook (but no translation).

• There will be one article, about 800 words long.
• There will be six comprehension questions. You have to answer five of them.
• You will summarize the article in your own words (no more than 200 words).
• Only English-English dictionaries are allowed - no other books or papers.

 Before the exam we will have a short exercise to help you review some writing grammar.

 

Clear your desk for the test!