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."

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!

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.

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.