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."