UNIT V ESSENTIALS FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION IN ENGLISH
Improving Vocabulary stock-general and technical vocabulary-British and American
vocabulary-homophones & homonyms, idioms and phrases-Different grammatical functions of the same word-Grammar-Tenses, Voice, reported speech, Modals, spoken English structures, formal and informal-letters, project reports, descriptions, circulars, synopsis and summary writing. Listening skills for competitive exams-Reading skills- skimming and scanning Reading journals, magazines and newspapers for comprehension. Practical use of English conversation, seminars, individual speeches and group discussions. Reference skills-Using dictionary, thesaurus and encyclopedia effectively. Error shooting for better use of English.
Improving Vocabulary: Effective Ways to Improve Vocabulary: Tip #1 Studying lists of words is not the way. Spending time at the neighborhood Starbucks, I see plenty of university students preparing for the verbal section of the GRE with storebought word lists, fastidiously prepared flash cards, and other trappings of standardized test mania best served alongside a venti mocha. While not entirely futile, this list-based approach to vocabulary building is misguided at best. Words exist in contexts, and studying words divorced from their contexts makes those words harder to learn - and worse yet, harder to use later. (Think of it this way: if you want to improve your racquetball serve, you'll probably want to position yourself in an actual racquetball court, right?). Effective Ways to Improve Vocabulary: Tip #2 Read a lot. The experience of encountering unfamiliar words in print is remarkably instructive. First, because you're already engaged in reading something, you are arguably more motivated to learn a new word so that you better understand what you're voluntarily reading. Second, you have come across the word organically rather than artificially (i.e. in a vocabulary list). You'll pick up new words - and clarify meanings of words already in your toolkit - by exposing yourself to them in their, shall we say, natural habitat. The context will enrich your attempt to build a better vocabulary. Effective Ways to Improve Vocabulary: Tip #3 Read good writing. I admit that "good writing" is a contentious term, but in general, I consider writing to be"good" if it communicates complex ideas in ways that are clear and concise yet thorough and detailed. In other words, thereshould bea tension between sometimes keeping it simple and sometimes using so-called "big words" words because they communicate something that common words just can't. To put it another way, look for writing that has an intellectual, exploratory bent. So, what should you read regularly? I'm not qualified to prescribe exact sources for all, but I'll reveal my biases and recommend some periodicals and blogs I like: The New York Times (especiallyon Sundays) The New Yorker The Utne Reader Salon (www.salon.com) Malcolm Gladwell's Blog (www.gladwell.typepad.com) There's a more liberal orientation to the above, but if you prefer socially conservative reading, try the National Review or anything by Ann Coulter. Also, the above are all periodicals or blogs. Regular books are equally effective, and it would be imprudent to ignore them. Fiction (the sort good enough to be classified as literature) and nonfiction are both bound to build your vocabulary. Effective Ways to Improve Vocabulary: Tip #4. Don't (exclusively) read fluff. It's okay to indulge in less intellectual reading and writing. We all do it, and it can be fun. But don't read fluff so steadfastly that you ignore heavier stuff. USA Today is an example of a fluff newspaper notorious for watering down concepts and avoiding sophisticated language in order to appeal to the masses. Although it's arguable that they're doing some good by making news more accessible to a wider group of readers, they're also guilty of neglecting critical shades of grey when it comes to politics, economics, sociology, and the other disciplines they typically cover. Unless your vocabulary is indubitably weak, you're not going to improve it by reading something like USA Today. Effective Ways to Improve Vocabulary: Tip #5. Diversity of topics is important. Read some natural science stuff. Then read some applied science stuff. Read some contemporary literature. Then read some Shakespeare. Comb through a pop psychology book and then consume a humorous work (and no fair saying those last two are the same!). Varied reading will sharpen both general and subject-specific vocabularies. The diversity of reading material at liberal arts colleges is one reason that graduates of such schools generally possess better vocabularies. History. Philosophy. Biology. Travel. Anthropology. Linguistics. Art. Gender Studies. Politics. You don't have to be an expert in all disciplines to build a meaty vocabulary, but you do need to be a well-informed reader who's confident and comfortable reading on topics outside your areas of immediate expertise. Effective Ways to Improve Vocabulary: Tip #6. The process of improving your vocabulary is ongoing - not so much a discrete act as a component of everyday edification. You can't just sit down for five minutes a day and say, "I'm going to do my vocabulary workout right now." It's not like doing ab crunches or squat thrusts. Effective Ways to Improve Vocabulary: Tip #7. Stop and look up unfamiliar words immediately. Read with a thorough dictionary handy - never a reductive, overly abridged pocket model. Better yet, use a resource like www.dictionary.com, which provides definitions from multiple sources and often gives useful examples of the vocabulary in action. And don't just hastily look up the word and move on. Take time to understand pronunciation, say the word aloud, and read the sample sentences if they're present. Doing so will help firm your grasp on the new language. Effective Ways to Improve Vocabulary: Tip #8. Don't limit yourself to learning new words in print. Picking up vocabulary in the midst of a public lecture, a PBS show, or a radio broadcast might be a little trickier (because spelling isn't obvious), but it's doable. You may even want to jot down phonetic versions words that you encounter when you're indisposed and theninvestigate them when you have free time. Effective Ways to Improve Vocabulary: Tip #9. Try out your new vocabulary in speech and writing. While I don't advocate standing around waiting for the chance to drop your newest gewgaw, don't be afraid to experiment with language. It is incumbent upon us as English speakers to celebrate the language by actually using it. Sprinkle new words in your blogs, in your emails, and in your conversationsso long as they're germane.
Effective Ways to Improve Vocabulary: Tip #10. Delight in language. It sounds absurd for me to preach this. After all, how can I insist that people revel in words? But the truth is that you'll learn more effectively when you find it enjoyable. Let me illustrate. Look at the word "aspersion." It's a term that I first encountered several years ago. Although I recognized the word, I admitted to myself that I didn't really understand exactly what it meant. When I looked it up, I was surprised to see that it had two basic meanings: one related to slander and one related to holy water. Depending on your attitude toward the church, there is some laughable irony present. I consistently come across little gems - funny stories, unusual origins, previously unfamiliar double meanings.and it's, well, fun! I hope that, when you reach for the dictionary to define a new vocabulary word, it's not something you dread. Effective Ways to Build Vocabulary: Final Thought Don't overdo it. Remember: there's a reason why words like "encomium" and "ossified" are not used on a daily basis. Many vocabulary words derive their power and import from their infrequent deployment. Technical Vocabulary: Having a good understanding of technical vocabulary is a requirement of many academic disciplines. Often in the fields of Science, Engineering and Medicine, amongst others, there will be a need to manipulate technical language with ease and fluency. In Arts, Humanities and Social science disciplines, there will also be a requirement to use what may be termed 'specialised' vocabulary, though this will not usually be deemed to be 'technical'. Using technical vocabulary can be a daunting task, and the English tutor may not necessarily be an expert in your subject area. It is reassuring to remember, however, that not even a native speaker can know all the words in his or her own language, and that technical vocabulary is generally used only by specialists in the field, who work within a particular academic community. One solution to the difficulty of using technical vocabulary is to consult some of the many on- line dictionaries and glossaries of specialized words in the English language. Although working with technical language is difficult, there is also some good news! Despite the difficulty of learning and acquiring technical vocabulary, many technical words have Greek or Latin base forms, and these can be easy to recognise. Some technical words are the same across a range of different languages. Many writers provide clues about whether a word is technical or not, for example, they may define the word in the text, write the word in bold, inverted commas or italics, or in a diagram. Often, technical vocabulary is repeated within specialised text, indicating its importance. The technical use of a word can be better understood by looking up the full definition of the word, with all its uses, in a good English-English dictionary. Some technical words are used outside the academic area with little change in meaning. British English (BrE) is the form of English used in the United Kingdom. It includes all English dialects used in the United Kingdom. American English (AmE) is the form of English used in the United States. It includes all English dialects used in the United States. British and American vocabulary: Written forms of British and American English as found in newspapers and textbooks vary little in their essential features, with only occasional noticeable differences in comparable media [1]
(comparing American newspapers with British newspapers, for example). This kind of formal English, particularly written English, is often called "standard English". [2][3]
The spoken forms of British English vary considerably, reflecting a long history of dialect development amid isolated populations. In the United Kingdom, dialects, word use and accents vary not only between England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, but also within them. Received Pronunciation (RP) refers to a way of pronouncing standard English that is actually used by about two percent of the UK population. [4] It remains the accent upon which dictionary pronunciation guides are based, and for teaching English as a foreign language. It is referred to colloquially as "the Queen's English", "Oxford English" and "BBC English", although by no means all who live in Oxford speak with such an accent and the BBC does not require or use it exclusively. [5]
An unofficial standard for spoken American English has also developed, as a result of mass media and geographic and social mobility, and broadly describes the English typically heard from network newscasters, commonly referred to as non-regional diction, although local newscasters tend toward more parochial forms of speech. [6] Despite this unofficial standard, regional variations of American English have not only persisted but have actually intensified, according to linguist William Labov. [citation needed]
Regional dialects in the United States typically reflect some elements of the language of the main immigrant groups in any particular region of the country, especially in terms of pronunciation and vernacular vocabulary. Scholars have mapped at least four major regional variations of spoken American English: Northern, Southern, Midland, and Western. [7] After the American Civil War, the settlement of the western territories by migrants from the east led to dialect mixing and levelling, so that regional dialects are most strongly differentiated in the eastern parts of the country that were settled earlier. Localized dialects also exist with quite distinct variations, such as in Southern Appalachia and New York. British and American English are the reference norms for English as spoken, written, and taught in the rest of the world. For instance, other member nations of the Commonwealth where English is not spoken natively, such as India, which often closely follow British English forms, while many American English usages are followed in other countries which have been historically influenced by the United States, such as the Philippines. Although most dialects of English used in the former British Empire outside North America and Australia are, to various extents, based on British English, most of the countries concerned have developed their own unique dialects, particularly with respect to pronunciation, idioms and vocabulary. Chief among other English dialects are Canadian English (based on the English of United Empire Loyalists who left the 13 Colonies), [8] and Australian English, which rank third and fourth in the number of native speakers. For the most part American vocabulary, phonology and syntax are used, to various extents, in Canada; therefore many prefer to refer to North American English rather than American English. [9] Nonetheless Canadian English also features many British English items and is often described as a unique blend of the two larger varieties alongside several distinctive Canadianisms. Australian English likewise blends American and British alongside native usages, but retains a significantly higher degree of distinctiveness from both the larger varieties than does Canadian English, particularly in terms of pronunciation and vocabulary. Homophones & homonyms: HOMONYMS are words that sound alike but have different meanings. Homophones are a type of homonym that also sound alike and have different meanings, but have different spellings. HOMOGRAPHS are words that are spelled the same but have different meanings. Heteronyms are a type of homograph that are also spelled the same and have different meanings, but sound different. Homonyms Homonyms, or multiple meaning words, are words that share the same spelling and the same pronunciation but have different meanings. For example, bear. A bear (the animal) can bear (tolerate) very cold temperatures. The driver turned left (opposite of right) and left (departed from) the main road. Homophones, also known as sound-alike words, are words that are pronounced identically although they have different meanings and often have different spellings as well. These words are a very common source of confusion when writing. Common examples of sets of homophones include: to, too, and two; they're and their; bee and be; sun and son; which and witch; and plain and plane. VocabularySpellingCity is a particularly useful tool for learning to correctly use and spell the soundalike words.
Homographs Homographs are words that are spelled the same, but have different meanings and are often pronounced differently as well. Some examples of homographs are: bass as in fish vs bass as in music, bow as in arrow vs bow as in bending or taking a bow at the end of a performance, close as in next to vs close as in shut the door, desert as in dry climate vs desert as in leaving alone.
Currently, VocabularySpellingCity cannot distinguish between homographs, as we are unable to have two pronounciations for the exact same word. We are looking for possibilities in the future. Heteronyms or Heterophones Same Spelling, Different Pronunciations, Different Meanings. All heteronyms are homographs, but not all homographs are heteronyms. See why this concept can be so confusing to learn? Wind: I need to wind the alarm clock so I can fly my kite in the early morning gusty wind. Record: Please record the program when they try to beat the world record for word nerdiness. Excuse: Please excuse this poor excuse for art.
idioms: An idiom is a combination of words that has a figurative meaning, due to its common usage. An idiom's figurative meaning is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made. Idioms are numerous and they occur frequently in all languages. There are estimated to be at least 25,000 idiomatic expressions in the English language. An idiom is a common word or phrase with a culturally understood meaning that differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest. For example, an English speaker would understand the phrase "kick the bucket" to mean "to die" as well as to actually kick a bucket. Furthermore, they would understand when each meaning is being used in context. An idiom is not to be confused with other figures of speech such as a metaphor, which invokes an image by use of implicit comparisons (e.g., "the man of steel" ); a simile, which invokes an image by use of explicit comparisons (e.g., "faster than a speeding bullet"); and hyperbole, which exaggerates an image beyond truthfulness (e.g., like "missed by a mile" ). Idioms are also not to be confused with proverbs, which are simple sayings that express a truth based on common sense or practical experience. In linguistics, idioms are usually presumed to be figures of speech contradicting the principle of compositionality. [4] This principle states that the meaning of a whole should be constructed from the meanings of the parts that make up the whole. In other words, one should be in a position to understand the whole if one understands the meanings of each of the parts that make up the whole. The following example is widely employed to illustrate the point: Fred kicked the bucket. Understood compositionally, Fred has literally kicked an actual, physical bucket. The much more likely idiomatic reading, however, is non-compositional: Fred is understood to have died. Arriving at the idiomatic reading from the literal reading is unlikely for most speakers. What this means is that the idiomatic reading is, rather, stored as a single lexical item that is now largely independent of the literal reading. Phrases:
Phrase - A group of words, which makes sense, but not complete sense, is called a Phrase. It is a group of related words without a Subject and a Verb.
or
A Phrase consists of two or more words lacking a complete sense and a complete verb. It may consist of one or more incomplete verbs - the Infinitives or the Participles standing on their own.
Words/group of words in italics are phrases in examples below:
1). The sun rises in the east. 2). Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. 3). She wore a hat with blue trimming. 4). The accident on the bridge was not serious. 5). The girl with red hair is an artist. 6). Sasha took a long leave. 7). Holding the toy, the child slept. Words combine to make phrases, and phrases are one of the basic patterns out of which we build sentences. A phrase is a group of words which acts as a single unit in meaning and in grammar, and is not built round a verb. Phrases can have many different functions in a sentence. They are used as subjects, objects, complements, modifiers, or adverbials. Understanding phrasal patterns helps us to discuss and explain the effects in our own and others writing. In the sentence: The strange green creatures with bobbing heads spoke. the phrase the strange green creatures with bobbing heads acts as the subject of the verb spoke. The phrase is a single unit both in its meaning and in its grammar. the fragment the strange green is not a phrase, because it has no separate meaning and no grammatical function. Expansion and heads A phrase is an expansion of one of the words inside it, which is called its head. For example, creatures is the head of the strange green creatures with bobbing heads. The words that expand the head of a phrase are its 'expanders', which are generally the head's modifiers; for example, green modifies creatures. All this means is that green makes the meaning of creatures more precise - instead of meaning simply 'creatures', it means 'green creatures'. (For an expander which is not a modifier see Prepositional phrases.) There is a useful notation for showing heads and their expanders, in which the head is written higher than the modifiers, showing that it is the 'boss' and the expanders are its assistants, brought in to make the message more precise.
How long is a phrase? A phrase can be two words long: big dog Sometimes you will even see a single word referred to as a phrase. Or a phrase can be much longer: that lovely old pub by the bridge over the river In a noun phrase, one or more words work together to give more information about a noun. all my dear children the information age seventeen hungry lions in the rocks In an adjective phrase, one or more words work together to give more information about an adjective. so very sweet earnest in her desire very happy with his work In a verb phrase, one or more words work together to give more meaning to a verb. In English, the verb phrase is very complex, but a good description of its many forms can be found here. In an adverb phrase, one or more words work together to give more information about an adverb. especially softly formerly of the city of Perth much too quickly to see clearly
In a prepositional phrase, one or more words work together to give information about time, location, or possession, or condition. The preposition always appears at the front of the phrase. after a very long walk behind the old building for all the hungry children in case it should happen again Different grammatical functions of the same word Words are like little people, and like people, theyre gregarious. They like to work together in teams where each word plays a distinct role, so grammatical analysis is rather like understanding the dynamics of a group of people. Think of a staff meeting, for example. There are different kinds of people different ages, sexes, qualifications, etc and partly because of these differences, each person plays a different role in the meeting. Likewise in a sentence: there are different kinds of words nouns, verbs, adjectives and so on and they each play a different role in the sentence.
The technical term for kinds of words is, of course, word classes, and that for their roles is grammatical functions. Some people think that classifying words is the end of grammatical analysis, but in fact its just the beginning. For any word in a sentence, there are two grammatical questions, not one: What word class does it belong to? What is its grammatical function? These are separate questions, with answers drawn from a separate vocabulary. For word classes we have the familiar parts of speech (noun, verb and so on), but for grammatical functions we use slightly less familiar terms. These include subject and object, but the most basic ones are head and dependent, which only make sense in relation to a phrase. If you understand these three terms, then the rest of syntax is just filling in details.
In this technical vocabulary, a phrase is any team of words that collectively express a single meaning. An entire sentence is a phrase, and so is a two word combination such as English teacher. This means that one phrase may be part of another, Chinese-box style. For example, the phrase [about grammar] might be part of a larger phrase [easy books [about grammar]]. (The brackets are a very useful notation for showing phrases, but there are others such as trees and arrow-diagrams.) For beginners, synthesis is easier than analysis, so you and your class can have endless fun building larger and larger phrases.
The members of a phrase team contribute to its collective aim in different ways: The head is in charge of the basic meaning and of the external grammatical relations. The dependents help to make the meaning more precise, and only relate grammatically to the head. For example, take [easy books [about grammar]]: The head is books, so easy books about grammar are books, not grammar (or easiness); and grammatically, the phrase relates to other words like a plural noun e.g. we use a plural verb in Easy books about grammar are [not: is] plentiful. Easy is a dependent of books because easy books are books and easy is only related grammatically to books. About is also a dependent of books for the same reasons, but it doubles up as the head of a smaller phrase, [about grammar]. Given these elementary ideas, grammatical functions are reasonably obvious in most phrases, though some phrases are much more challenging. n contrast to content words, function words (also called grammatical words) are words that have little lexical meaning or have ambiguous meaning, but instead serve to express grammatical relationships with other words within a sentence. Function words are closed-class words. Languages do not easily add new words to this set. They are always relatively few and resistant to change. They are lexically unproductive and are generally invariable in form. Examples Prepositions: of, at, in, without, between Pronouns: he, they, anybody, it, one Determiners: the, a, that, my, more, much, either, neither Conjunctions: and, that, when, while, although, or Auxiliary: verbs be (is, am, are), have, got, do Particles: no, not, nor, as Tense: In grammar, tense is a category that locates a situation in time, to indicate when the situation takes place. Tense is the grammaticalisation of time reference, often using three basic categories of "before now", i.e. the past; "now", i.e. the present; and "after now", i.e. the future. The "unmarked" reference for tense is the temporal distance from the time of utterance, the "here- and-now", this being absolute-tense. Relative-tense indicates temporal distance from a point of time established in the discourse that is not the present, i.e. reference to a point in the past or future, such as the future-in-future, or the future of the future (at some time in the future after the reference point, which is in the future) and future-in-past or future of the past (at some time after a point in the past, with the reference point being a point in the past). Tense is normally indicated by a verb form, either on the main verb or on an auxiliary verb. The tense markers are normally affixes, but also stem modification such as ablaut or reduplication can express tense reference, and in some languages tense can be shown by clitics. Often combinations of these can interact, such as in Irish, where there is a proclitic past tense marker do (various surface forms) used in conjunction with the affixed or ablaut-modified past tense form of the verb. Languages that do not have grammatical tense, such as Chinese, express time reference through adverbials, time phrases, and so on. The concept of time can be split into: 1. The Present - What you are currently doing. I eat, I am eating 2. The Past - What you did some time back. I ate, I was eating 3. The Future - What you will do later. I will eat, I will be eating In the English language, tenses play an important role in sentence formation. The tense of a verb shows the time of an event or action. There are four types of tenses. Simple, Perfect, Continuous and Present Perfect Continuous and each of these has a present, past and future form. PRESENT TENSES SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE In Simple Present, the action is simply mentioned and there is nothing being said about its completeness. I eat. I sleep. I play. PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE In Present Continuous, the action is on-going/ still going on and hence continuous. I am eating. I am sleeping. I am playing. PRESENT PERFECT TENSE In Present Perfect, the action is complete or has ended and hence termed Perfect. I have eaten. I have slept. I have played. PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE In Present Perfect Continuous, the action has been taking place for some time and is still ongoing. I have been eating. I have been sleeping. I have been playing.
PAST TENSES SIMPLE PAST TENSE In Simple Past, the action is simply mentioned and understood to have taken place in the past. I ate. I slept. I played. PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE In Past Continuous, the action was ongoing till a certain time in the past. I was eating. I was sleeping. I was playing. PAST PERFECT TENSE Past Perfect is used to express something that happened before another action in the past. I had eaten. I had slept. I had played. PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE Past Perfect Continuous is used to express something that started in the past and continued until another time in the past. I had been eating. I had been sleeping. I had been playing.
FUTURE TENSES SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE Simple Future is used when we plan or make a decision to do something. Nothing is said about the time in the future. I will eat. I will sleep. I will play. FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE The future continuous tense is used to express action at a particular moment in the future. However, the action will not have finished at the moment. I will be eating at 9 a.m. I will be sleeping when you arrive. I will be playing at 5 p.m.
FUTURE PERFECT TENSE Future Perfect expresses action that will occur in the future before another action in the future. I will have eaten before 10 a.m. I will have slept before you arrive. I will have played before 6 p.m. FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE Future Perfect Continuous is used to talk about an on-going action before some point in the future. I will have been sleeping for two hours when you arrive. I will have been playing for an hour when it is 5 p.m.
Voice: In grammar, the voice (also called diathesis) of a verb describes the relationship between the action (or state) that the verb expresses and the participants identified by its arguments (subject, object, etc.). When the subject is the agent or doer of the action, the verb is in the active voice. When the subject is the patient, target or undergoer of the action, the verb is said to be in the passive voice. For example, in the sentence: The cat ate the mouse. The verb "ate" is in the active voice, but in the sentence: The mouse was eaten by the cat. The verbal phrase "was eaten" is passive. In The hunter killed the bear. The verb "killed" is in the active voice, and the doer of the action is the "hunter". To make this passive: The bear was killed by the hunter. The verbal phrase "was killed" is followed by the word "by" and then by the doer "hunter". In a transformation from an active-voice clause to an equivalent passive-voice construction, the subject and the direct object switch grammatical roles. The direct object gets promoted to subject, and the subject demoted to an (optional) complement. In the examples above, the mouse serves as the direct object in the active-voice version, but becomes the subject in the passive version. The subject of the active-voice version, the cat, becomes part of a prepositional phrase in the passive version of the sentence, and could be left out entirely. Active Voice and Passive Voice Verbs are either active or passive in voice. In the active voice, the subject and verb relationship is straightforward: the subject is a do-er. In the passive voice, the subject of the sentence is not a do-er. It is shown with by + do-er or is not shown in the sentence. Passive voice is used when the action is the focus, not the subject. It is not important (or not known) who does the action. The window is broken. (It is not known who broke the window, or it is not important to know who broke the window.) The class has been canceled. (The focus is on the class being canceled. It is not important to know who canceled it.) The passive voice is often used. (The focus is on the passive voice. It is not important to explain who the writer is.) Passive voice should be avoided when you want more clarity in writing. However, in some cases, you need to use passive voice to stress the action, not the actor. Also, passive voice can be considered more polite, as it sounds less aggressive or dramatic. That building was built in 1990. The car was invented about a hundred years ago. I was told that Mary moved to a different country. Your business is appreciated. She was elected to city council. It was rumored that the company would lay off a few people soon. It is recommended that the billing process be shortened. You can easily rewrite an active sentence to a passive sentence. The object in the active sentence becomes a subject in the passive sentence. The verb is changed to a be verb + past participle. The subject of the active sentence follows by or is omitted. Sam wrote a letter to Jamie. A letter was written to Jamie by Sam.
The government built a new bridge. A new bridge was built by the government.
I recommend that you apply for this position. It is recommended that you apply for this position. Reported speech: Direct Speech Direct speech repeats, or quotes, the exact words spoken. When we use direct speech in writing, we place the words spoken between inverted commas ("....") and there is no change in these words. We may be reporting something that's being said NOW (for example a telephone conversation), or telling someone later about a previous conversation Examples She says "What time will you be home?" She said "What time will you be home?" and I said "I don't know! " "There's a fly in my soup!" screamed Simone. John said, "There's an elephant outside the window." Reported Speech Reported speech is usually used to talk about the past, so we normally change the tense of the words spoken. We use reporting verbs like 'say', 'tell', 'ask', and we may use the word 'that' to introduce the reported words. Inverted commas are not used. She told him that she was happy. She told him she was happy. When we report someones words we can do it in two ways. We can use direct speech with quotation marks (I work in a bank), or we can use reported speech (He said he worked in a bank.)
In reported speech the tenses, word-order and pronouns may be different from those in the original sentence.
Present simple and present continuous tenses Direct speech: I travel a lot in my job Reported speech: He said that he travelled a lot in his job. The present simple tense (I travel) usually changes to the past simple (he travelled) in reported speech. Direct speech: Be quiet. The babys sleeping. Reported speech: She told me to be quiet because the baby was sleeping. The present continuous usually changes to the past continuous.
NB: I work in Italy Reported speech: He told me that he works in Italy. It isnt always necessary to change the tense. If something is still true now he still works in Italy we can use the present simple in the reported sentence.
Past simple and past continuous tenses Direct speech: We lived in China for 5 years. Reported speech: She told me they had lived in China for 5 years. The past simple tense (we lived) usually changes to the past perfect (they had lived) in reported speech. Direct speech: I was walking down the road when I saw the accident. Reported speech: He told me hed been walking down the road when hed seen the accident. The past continuous usually changes to the past perfect continuous.
Perfect tenses Direct speech: Theyve always been very kind to me. Reported speech: She said theyd always been very kind to her. The present perfect tense (have always been) usually changes to the past perfect tense (had always been). Direct speech: They had already eaten when I arrived Reported speech: He said theyd already eaten when hed arrived. The past perfect tense does not change in reported speech. Modals: Modals (also called modal verbs, modal auxiliary verbs, modal auxiliaries) are special verbs which behave irregularly in English. They are different from normal verbs like "work, play, visit..." They are used to indicate modality. They give additional information about the function of the main verb that follows it. They have a great variety of communicative functions. Use of modal verbs: Modal verbs are used to express functions such as: 1. Permission 2. Ability 3. Obligation 4. Prohibition 5. Lack of necessity 6. Advice 7. possibility 8. probability Modal verbs are followed by an infinitive without "to" Examples: You must stop when the traffic lights turn red You should see to the doctor There are a lot of tomatoes in the fridge. You need not buy any. Exception: You ought to go to the doctor A list of modals Here is a list of modals: Modal Verb Meaning Expressing Example must to have to 100 % obligation I must stop when the traffic lights turn red. to be very probable logical conclusion (deduction) He must be very tired after such enormous work must not not to be allowed to prohibition You must not smoke in the hospital. can to be able to ability I can swim to be allowed to permission Can I use your phone please? it is possible possibility Smoking can cause cancer ! could to be able to ability in the past When I was younger I could stay up all night and not get tired.. to be allowed to more polite permission Excuse me, could I just say something? it is possible possibility It could rain tomorrow! may to be allowed to permission May I use your phone please? it is possible, probable possibility, probability It may rain tomorrow! might to be allowed to more polite permission Might I use your phone please? it is possible, probable weak possibility, probability I might come and visit you in America next year, if I can save enough money. need necessary necessity Need I say more? need not not necessary lack of necessity/absence of obligation I need not buy any tomatoes. There are plenty in the fridge. should/ought to used to say or ask what is the correct or best thing to do 50 % obligation I should / ought to see a doctor. I have a terrible headache. to suggest an action or to show that it is necessary advice You should / ought to revise your lessons to be very probable logical conclusion (deduction) He should / ought to be very tired after such enormous work had better to suggest an action or to show that it is necessary advice You 'd better revise your lessons Spoken English Structures: WRITING AND SPEECH WRITING normative leaves out the prosodic (intonation, pauses) and the paradigmatic (gestures, loudness) Linguistics and grammar mostly describe the written language Functions: action social content information entertainment Socrates (Phaedrus): 'writing destroys memory and sets up outside the mind what can only be inside it' SPEECH has twice as many grammatical words (a closed class) as lexical (an open class) is as structural and as functional as writing is more concerned with the social function of language: status, for example, or small talk. Claude Lvi-Strauss: 'the savage mind totalizes' A. R. Luria: oral cultures lack abstract thinking but are rich in metaphors think in a situational rather than a categorical way Marshall McLuhan predicted an alliance of 'hot technology' (computers etc.) and orality against literacy SPOKEN ENGLISH The Phatic Talk about the weather is typically imprecise and evasive ('sunny spells', rather cool', 'changeable') so as to take the drama and conflict out of the situation. Some expressions ('such as anyway') have no meaning except as discourse markers. Speech and Power Presidential candidates very often have a background in law, where public speaking is important. In public affairs, scandals are often decided on the basis of performs in explaining the offence: 'inappropriate behaviour' (Clinton), 'economical with the truth'. This equally applies to matters of substance like peace in Northern Ireland or the abortion debate in the United States. The person who wins the argument is thereby proved 'right'. Formal: These kinds of sentences are usually used in offices and other official setups. In such situations, you need to maintain certain decorum, not just in your conduct, but in your speech as well. Before we give you the basics of formal sentences, remember that words like 'please' and 'thank you' form an important part of the formal conversations. Formal phrases, usually, start with 'You ought to...', like 'You ought to complete this file by evening' or 'you ought to attend this meeting.' This will get the work done, without you sounding too imposing! Semi-formal: This is when you are speaking to your colleagues or with a client over lunch. You can relax a bit during semi-final conversations, but that does not mean that you should speak nonchalantly. A good way to start a sentence is, 'I think you should + infinitive'. For example, "I think you should increase the quotation' or 'I think you should start using the other software'. The negation of the same would be, 'I don't think you should + infinitive'. Informal: This is when you are at home, or speaking to your friends. In such situations, all you need to pay attention is to be grammatically sound, and you are sorted. You can form your sentences as you like; just make sure that you keep in mind the basic rules of syntax and grammar. Formal And Informal-Letters: Informal letters How do you keep in touch with family and friends? Do you write letters, emails, speak on the telephone, send cards, text using a mobile phone, or use a social networking site such as Facebook? Sometimes we need to communicate a lot of information and a letter or email may be the easiest way to do this. We may write a letter to mark a special occasion or to communicate something thats difficult to say face-to-face: for example, a letter expressing our sympathy when somebody has died, or a letter sending our congratulations on the birth of a new baby. These are personal letters. Personal letters may be short or long but they are usually chatty and informal. -) so address him/her with a name: begin the letter with Dear Joey/ Tim /Rebecca, etc. your friend and thank him/her for it or apologise for the fact that you have not answered the last letter soon enough. the proper register. The letter is supposed to be informal so you can use contractions, informal linking words like well, by the way, anyway, so, colloquial expressions, etc. -conversation-like statements or questions in your letter: You know that I had this exam, right? You think he will be able to come to the party? - arrange the next meeting, send greetings to his/her friends and family, etc. Best wishes; Love; Regards. Formal letters Formal letters are letters to people who we dont know on a personal level. We may need to write formal letters or emails for many different reasons. For example, we may write to find out information, to apply for a job or a course, to make a complaint, to give information or to send an apology. It can be helpful to look at examples of different kinds of letters that other people have written to get an idea about how to lay out your letter and the kind of language to use. If youre writing a formal letter, ask yourself: Who am I writing to? Why am I writing? What do I need to tell them? What do I want them to do? When you write a formal letter, its important to have all the information you need with you, such as dates, names and addresses. If youve been given a contact name or a reference number, make sure you use it as this will help the person dealing with your letter. Keep copies of formal letters so you have a record of what you've sent, and so you can follow up any letters at a later date. business or a formal letter is a letter written in formal language, usually used when writing from one business organisation to another, or for correspondence between such organisations and their customers, clients and other external parties. Here are a few guidelines which would help you through composition of formal letters: Rules for Writing Formal Letters: There is a set pattern for writing a formal or a business letter. Furthermore, you try to write as simply and as clearly as possible, and not to make the letter longer than necessary. One should never use informal language. Addresses: 1) Your Address The return address should be written in the top right-hand corner of the letter. 2) The Address of the person you are writing to. The inside address should be written on the left, starting below your address. Date: Put the date on the upper left side of the page. Write the month as a word. Salutation or greeting: 1) Dear Sir or Madam, 2) If you know the name, use the title (Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms, Dr, etc.) and the surname only. 3) If you are writing to a woman and do not know if she uses Mrs or Miss, you can use Ms, which is for married and single women. Content of a Formal Letter First paragraph The first paragraph are the opening lines which should be short and state the purpose of the letter- to request, apologise for something, etc. Second Paragraph The paragraph or paragraphs in the middle of the letter is the body of the letter which should contain the vital information explaining the purpose behind writing the letter. Letters shouldnt be too lengthy. Thus, the information should be kept precise, concentrating on organising it in a clear and logical manner rather than expanding too much. Last Paragraph The last paragraph of a formal letter should affirm what action you expect the recipient to take- to refund, send you information, permit a request, etc. Ending a letter: 1) If you do not know the name of the person, end the letter as: Yours faithfully. 2) If you know the name of the person, end the letter as: Yours sincerely. 3) Your signature Sign your name, then print it underneath the signature. If you think the person you are writing to might not know whether you are male of female, put you title in brackets after your name. Project Report: The project report is an extremely important aspect of the project. It should be properly structured and also necessary and appropriate information regarding the project. No data fields are to be exposed in the project field.
The aim of the project is to produce a good product and a good report and that software, hardware, theory etc. that you developed during the project are merely a means to this end. Design document has to be progressively converted to a project report as and when the various stages of project are completed. Ideally you should produce the bulk of the report as you go along and use the last week or two to bring it together into a coherent document. How to write a Project Report A tidy, well laid out and consistently formatted document makes for easier reading and is suggestive of a careful and professional attitude towards its preparation. Remember that quantity does not automatically guarantee quality. A 150 page report is not twice as good as a 75-page one, nor a 10,000 line implementation twice as good as a 5,000 line one. Conciseness, clarity and elegance are invaluable qualities in report writing, just as they are in programming, and will be rewarded appropriately. Try to ensure that your report contains the following elements (the exact structure, chapter titles etc. is up to you): Title page This should include the project title and the name of the author of the report. You can also list the name of your supervisor if you wish. IMPORTANT: Before submission you should assemble a project directory which contains all your software, READMEs etc. and your project report (source files and pdf or postscript). Abstract The abstract is a very brief summary of the report's contents. It should be about half a page long. Somebody unfamiliar with your project should have a good idea of what it's about having read the abstract alone and will know whether it will be of interest to them. Acknowledgements It is usual to thank those individuals who have provided particularly useful assistance, technical or otherwise, during your project. Your supervisor will obviously be pleased to be acknowledged as he or she will have invested quite a lot of time overseeing your progress. Contents page This should list the main chapters and (sub)sections of your report. Choose self-explanatory chapter and section titles and use double spacing for clarity. If possible you should include page numbers indicating where each chapter/section begins. Try to avoid too many levels of subheading - three is sufficient. I ntroduction This is one of the most important components of the report. It should begin with a clear statement of what the project is about so that the nature and scope of the project can be understood by a lay reader. It should summarise everything you set out to achieve, provide a clear summary of the project's background, relevance and main contributions. The introduction should set the context for the project and should provide the reader with a summary of the key things to look out for in the remainder of the report. When detailing the contributions it is helpful to provide pointers to the section(s) of the report that provide the relevant technical details. The introduction itself should be largely non-technical. It is useful to state the main objectives of the project as part of the introduction. However, avoid the temptation to list low-level objectives one after another in the introduction and then later, in the evaluation section (see below), say reference to like "All the objectives of the project have been met...". Background The background section of the report should set the project into context and give the proposed layout for achieving the project goals. The background section can be included as part of the introduction but is usually better as a separate chapter, especially if the project involved significant amount of ground work. When referring to other pieces of work, cite the sources where they are referred to or used, rather than just listing them at the end. Body of report The central part of the report usually consists of three or four chapters detailing the technical work undertaken during the project. The structure of these chapters is highly project dependent. They can reflect the chronological development of the project, e.g. design, implementation, experimentation, optimisation, evaluation etc. If you have built a new piece of software you should describe and justify the design of your program at some high level, possibly using an approved graphical formalism such as UML. It should also document any interesting problems with, or features of, your implementation. Integration and testing are also important to discuss in some cases. You need to discuss the content of these sections thoroughly with your supervisor. Evaluation Be warned that many projects fall down through poor evaluation. Simply building a system and documenting its design and functionality is not enough to gain top marks. It is extremely important that you evaluate what you have done both in absolute terms and in comparison with existing techniques, software, hardware etc. This might involve quantitative evaluation and qualitative evaluation such as expressibility, functionality, ease-of-use etc. At some point you should also evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of what you have done. Avoid statements like "The project has been a complete success and we have solved all the problems asssociated with ...! It is important to understand that there is no such thing as a perfect project. Even the very best pieces of work have their limitations and you are expected to provide a proper critical appraisal of what you have done. Conclusions and Future Work The project's conclusions should list the things which have been learnt as a result of the work you have done. For example, "The use of overloading in C++ provides a very elegant mechanism for transparent parallelisation of sequential programs". Avoid tedious personal reflections like "I learned a lot about C++ programming..." It is common to finish the report by listing ways in which the project can be taken further. This might, for example, be a plan for doing the project better if you had a chance to do it again, turning the project deliverables into a more polished end product. Bibliography This consists of a list of all the books, articles, manuals etc. used in the project and referred to in the report. You should provide enough information to allow the reader to find the source. In the case of a text book you should quote the name of the publisher as well as the author(s). A weakness of many reports is inadequate citation of a source of information. It's easy to get this right so there are no excuses. Each entry in the bibliography should list the author(s) and title of the piece of work and should give full details of where it can be found. Appendix The appendices contain information which is peripheral to the main body of the report. Information typically included are things like parts of the code, tables, test cases or any other material which would break up the theme of the text if it appeared in situ. You should try to bind all your material in a single volume and create the black book. Description: Description is one of four rhetorical modes (also known as modes of discourse), along with exposition, argumentation, and narration. Each of the rhetorical modes is present in a variety of forms and each has its own purpose and conventions. The act of description may be related to that of definition. portraiture or representation in language; an enumeration of the essential qualities of a thing or species. describing; a delineation by marks or signs. characteristics by which someone or something can be recognized. Examples of DESCRI PTI ON 1. Reporters called the scene a disaster area, and I think that was an accurate description. 2. I applied for the position after reading the job description. 3. a writer with a gift of description Origin of DESCRI PTI ON Middle English descripcioun, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, from Latin description-, descriptio, from describere Circulars: Circular letter is also a kind of a letter that is issued for a number of people. It is a kind of notice that is sent as a letter aimed at a large number of people. When any information/instructions/guidelines are to be sent to all its branches by the Head Office, circulars are usually issued by the Head Office to its branches or by higher officer to its junior officers for compliance. Official Circulars Instructions/guidelines issued by head of the department to a large number of subordinate employees are usually circulated through official circulars. Official circulars are issued generally from Head Office to its branches. Official circulars are usually issued as following: 1. From Head Office to its branches, 2. From a Central Ministry to State Ministries, or offices/ departments working under the Ministry, 3. From Chief Election Commission to all the State Commissions, and 4. Like the other circulars. Business Circulars Business circulars are issued by a business entity to its clients, dealers, sub-dealers, branches, etc. Following types of information are usually sent through business circulars: Information about change of address of the registered office of a company to its share holders, Information about special discount on Deepawali festival to the dealers and sub-dealers, Information about removal from service of an employee from an institution to all its offices, dealers and sub-dealers, Information about a policy of incentive for achieving sales targets etc. to dealers and sub- dealers, and Any other information relating to business. Miscellaneous Circulars Circulars issued by a society/organization to its members etc. come under this category. Personal Circulars Circulars issued by a person to his circle regarding change of his telephone numbers or residential address etc. are personal circulars. Structure of a Circular 1. Address of the issuing agency: Usually in all kinds of circulars, the address, phone no., etc. of the issuing office/ agency/department is printed at the top. 2. Reference: Reference is usually written at the left side. It is different for each circular. 3. Date: Date is written at the left side. 4. Subject: Subject on which the circular is being issued, is written, in simple letters. 5. For: After subject, 'For' is written, that indicates, for whom, the circular is being issued/meant. For example: If the circular is issued by the Head Office of a bank for all the Zonal/Regional offices, then 'For' must be invariably explained as follows: For: All Zonal/Regional Offices If the circular is meant for all its branches, then it should be mentioned as following: For: All branches 6. Salutation: Generally, no salutation; likeDear Sir, Dear Sirs etc. is used in circulars. When the circular is meant to the authorities, the use of salutation can be done. In Business circulars, usually salutations; like Dear Dealers, Dear Customers, Dear Valued Customers, etc. are used. 7. Body: The body of the circular contains whatever is wished to be conveyed by the circular issuing authority. The language used should be straight, unambiguous, formal and simple that conveys the instructions / guidelines in clear terms. 8. Signature: At the bottom, the circular issuing authority puts his signature. The designation of the issuing authority is also written below the signature. The use of subscription; yours faithfully, or yours sincerely is avoided in circulars. Synopsis: A synopsis is a brief summary of the major points of a subject or written work or story, either as prose or as a table; an abridgment or condensation of a work. Synopsis is a summary or recap is a shortened version of the original. The main purpose of such a simplification is to highlight the major points from the original (much longer) subject, e.g. a text, a film or an event. The target is to help the audience get the gist in a short period of time. A written synopsis starts with a lead, including title, author, text type and the main idea of the text.
Summary Writing:
A summary is a condensation of a text, which manages to convey the information written in the text in your own words. A good summary shows that its writer has a fluent understanding of the text being summarized. This handout will serve as a guideline to writing a summary, and well be working on this throughout the next term as a way to improve our reading comprehension, to work on accuracy in language and syntax. As we get better at summarizing, well explore how summary can be used as a starting point for an argument or interpretation of a text. A "stand-alone" summary is a summary produced to show a teacher that you have read and understood something. It is common in many 100 and 200 level classes to get assignments that ask you to read a certain number of articles and summarize them. This is also a very common type of writing assignment in graduate school. How to produce a summary: 1.Read the article to be summarized and be sure you understand it. 2.Outline the article. Note the major points. 3.Write a first draft of the summary without looking at the article. 4.Always use paraphrase when writing a summary. If you do copy a phrase from the original be sure it is a very important phrase that is necessary and cannot be paraphrased. In this case put "quotation marks" around the phrase. 5.Target your first draft for approximately 1/4 the length of the original. The features of a summary: 1.Start your summary with a clear identification of the type of work, title, author, and main point in the present tense. Example: In the feature article "Four Kinds of Reading," the author, Donald Hall, explains his opinion about different types of reading. 2.Check with your outline and your original to make sure you have covered the important points. 3.Never put any of your own ideas, opinions, or interpretations into the summary. This means you have to be very careful of your word choice. 4. Write using "summarizing language." Periodically remind your reader that this is a summary by using phrases such as the article claims, the author suggests, etc. 4.Write a complete bibliographic citation at the beginning of your summary. A complete bibliographic citation includes as a minimum, the title of the work, the author, the source. Use APA format.
Nine Guidelines for Good Summary Writers
1). A summary presupposes absence. The writer of a summary should assume his or her audience does not have access to the thing being summarized, and so should try to be as clear as possible in communicating the information contained in the text being summarized. For example, when you summarize something for me, you should force yourself to think that I have not read the text youre summarizing, even though you know Ive read it. 2). A summary should have a clear statement of the main idea of the text being summarized. This is very similar to having a thesis in an interpretive essay. For example, Professor Smith is concerned primarily with the tense relationship between bus drivers and passengers in suburban Cleveland in his book Precious Cargo. 3). A good summary organizes its information from most important to least important, begins with judgements about what is important (and what is not) about a text being summarized. A good summary requires careful planning, just like any other kind of writing. Spend some time figuring out what to say and the best way to say it before you begin drafting a summary. An outline can help, as can freewriting. 4). A summary should acknowledge its source material, making mention of the author and the title of the work being summarized. For example: In chapter four of Jack Finneys novel Time and Again. . . A summary should be clear about the important details about the thing its taking the place of, the who, what where and how of the text. For example In chapter four of Jack Finneys novel, Si Morley, an artist who travels back in time, . . . 5). A good summary contains no expression of its authors opinion. Summary is supposed to be objective, and thus the author of a summary tries to keep him or herself out of the summary. What the summary writer is trying to communicate are the ideas contained in the text being summarized, so adding additional information is usually a distraction. For example, a good summary writer would try to refrain from using phrases like I think. . . or I believe. . . in their summary. 6). A good summary is economical; it delivers its ideas quickly and clearly. A good summary writer tries to eliminate all extraneous detail from their representation of the ideas being summarized. For example, a literary characters hair color, their favorite color or what kind of car they drive is probably not that important when describing the characters adventure climbing Mount Everest. 7). A good summary writer provides background information where appropriate as briefly as possible. A good summary writer will also define terms specific to the thing theyre writing about. For example, if youre trying to write a summary of chapter six of your Biology textbook, which deals with different cells undergoing meiosis, you may need to define meiosis for your reader, even though this information is contained in chapter three of the textbook. 8). The central purpose of writing a summary is to condense things judiciously. That is, what youre doing is trimming fat and making the most important ideas the most prominent. To do this, you must re-author the text at hand--create a new sequence for its ideas that makes sense. Rarely does a summary follow the same order of ideas that the original chapter does. 9). Summary writing is an act of translation. Quotation is generally out of place in summary writing, but quotation may appear in limited ways on occasion. The important thing is that summary is a translation of the text into your own words which helps to abbreviate and clarify the important ideas in a text being summarized. Listening skills for competitive exams: Listening is the ability to accurately receive messages in the communication process. Listening is key to all effective communication, without the ability to listen effectively messages are easily misunderstood communication breaks down and the sender of the message can easily become frustrated or irritated. Listening is so important that many top employers give regular listening skills training for their employees. This is not surprising when you consider that good listening skills can lead to: better customer satisfaction, greater productivity with fewer mistakes, increased sharing of information that in turn can lead to more creative and innovative work. Many successful leaders and entrepreneurs credit their success to effective listening skills. Richard Branson frequently quotes listening as one of the main factors behind the success of Virgin. Effective listening is a skill that underpins all positive human relationships, spend some time thinking about and developing your listening skills they are the building blocks of success. A good listener will listen not only to what is being said, but also to what is left unsaid or only partially said. Effective listening involves observing body language and noticing inconsistencies between verbal and non-verbal messages. 1. Stop Talking If we were supposed to talk more than we listen, we would have two tongues and one ear. Mark Twain. Don't talk, listen. When somebody else is talking listen to what they are saying, do not interrupt, talk over them or finish their sentences for them. Stop, just listen. When the other person has finished talking you may need to clarify to ensure you have received their message accurately. 2. Prepare Yourself to Listen Relax. Focus on the speaker. Put other things out of mind. The human mind is easily distracted by other thoughts whats for lunch, what time do I need to leave to catch my train, is it going to rain try to put other thoughts out of mind and concentrate on the messages that are being communicated. 3. Put the Speaker at Ease Help the speaker to feel free to speak. Remember their needs and concerns. Nod or use other gestures or words to encourage them to continue. Maintain eye contact but dont stare show you are listening and understanding what is being said. 4. Remove Distractions Focus on what is being said: dont doodle, shuffle papers, look out the window, pick your fingernails or similar. Avoid unnecessary interruptions. These behaviours disrupt the listening process and send messages to the speaker that you are bored or distracted. 5. Empathise Try to understand the other persons point of view. Look at issues from their perspective. Let go of preconceived ideas. By having an open mind we can more fully empathise with the speaker. If the speaker says something that you disagree with then wait and construct an argument to counter what is said but keep an open mind to the views and opinions of others. See our page: What is Empathy? 6. Be Patient A pause, even a long pause, does not necessarily mean that the speaker has finished. Be patient and let the speaker continue in their own time, sometimes it takes time to formulate what to say and how to say it. Never interrupt or finish a sentence for someone. 7. Avoid Personal Prejudice Try to be impartial. Don't become irritated and don't let the persons habits or mannerisms distract you from what they are really saying. Everybody has a different way of speaking - some people are for example more nervous or shy than others, some have regional accents or make excessive arm movements, some people like to pace whilst talking - others like to sit still. Focus on what is being said and try to ignore styles of delivery. 8. Listen to the Tone Volume and tone both add to what someone is saying. A good speaker will use both volume and tone to their advantage to keep an audience attentive; everybody will use pitch, tone and volume of voice in certain situations let these help you to understand the emphasis of what is being said. 9. Listen for Ideas Not Just Words You need to get the whole picture, not just isolated bits and pieces. Maybe one of the most difficult aspects of listening is the ability to link together pieces of information to reveal the ideas of others. With proper concentration, letting go of distractions, and focus this becomes easier. 10. Wait and Watch for Non-Verbal Communication Gestures, facial expressions, and eye-movements can all be important. We dont just listen with our ears but also with our eyes watch and pick up the additional information being transmitted via non-verbal communication. How to Improve Listening Skills He felt strongly that listening skills needed to be taught and practiced, and this was my fathers technique for teaching us these critical skills. He would say just because you have two ears on the side of your head doesnt mean you automatically know how to listen. Hes right. Effective listening is something that needs to be learned. Especially, today we work and live in busy environments. We practice tuning-out, not tuning-in. Want more information on how to improve your listening skills? Three Steps to Effective Listening Skills Step 1: Tune in. Tuning in, of course, is the very first step to effective listening. In order to be a successful listener you must be physically and mentally prepared to tune in. For me, this means aligning my body with the other person and maintaining eye contact--giving him or her my undivided attention. It also means turning off any mind chatter. Sometimes Im still thinking about something else and I arrive late to the listening. Or sometimes, I start listening, but before my conversation partner finishes, I begin planning what I am going to say in response. Or worse, I pass judgment and think, This isnt important. This is stupid and I stop listening. Good listeners suspend judgment and wait until the other person is finished before they create a response. If you feel like you might forget a point just take notes. Show You are Listening By the way, its also nice if you are able to show that you are listening: lean in, tilt your head, or occasionally nod at your partner. The idea is not just to listen, but also to encourage the speaker. In this step, the key is to concentrate on the words you hear and the body language signals you see. Are they smiling? Are they talking rapidly? Hows their posture? Are the words and body language congruent? For example, if someone is smiling and talking rapidly theyre likely to be genuinely excited and interested in the topic. If you notice slumped shoulders and a chin tilted toward the ground perhaps the person is experiencing sadness or a lack of self-esteem. The clues can be very subtle. It might be that you barely notice a slight side to side no headshake at the same time the person is saying, Sure, we can do that. For this step, you need to tune in to what and how something is said and be alert for what is left unsaid. Understand What Youve Just Heard Step 2: Decide what it means. Next, youll need to translate and interpret what you heard and observed. Youve got to decide what it all means. We all create meaning based on our own experiences, so its important to confirm that your understanding of what was communicated is really what the speaker was trying to communicate. Sometimes youll need to ask open-ended questions to confirm your understanding. For example, even if I say something as simple as I opened the door what exactly are you imagining in your mind? Am I opening an office door? Am I opening a car door? Maybe its a door to a house? The point is that sometimes youll need to ask open-ended questions to confirm your understanding. Such as, When you said X, what did you mean? Why do you think X, is it because of A? Can you give me an example of what you meant by Y? Tell me more about your feelings regarding X Pay Attention to Non-Verbal Communication In addition to paying attention to the meaning of the words, youll also need to understand the non-verbal behaviors you observed. Were the tone of voice, gestures, and words all in agreement? Did the words say yes, but the body language said no? Did your conversation partner seem excited, disappointed, angry, confused? These non-verbal gestures and actions reveal inner thoughts, attitudes, and emotions that may not have been expressed verbally. Avoid Miscommunication Step 3: Paraphrase to confirm understanding. The final step to effective listening is to confirm your understanding. To do that youll need to paraphrase, or reword what you heard including the content and the emotion. For example, the speaker might say, I cant stand that I need to repeat the instructions three or four times in excruciating detail and she still doesnt seem to understand how to complete the task. The listener might respond, It sounds like you are frustrated because shes not following instructions even after the steps of a task have been explained more than once. The structure of paraphrasing is: lead-in plus feelings summary plus content summary [[AdMiddle]So, again, another example might be, It seems (lead in) that you are angry and perhaps resentful (feelings summary) because youre being asked to work overtime (content summary), is that right? Be careful to be accurate and not overstate what you heard. By repeating back the others persons meaning in your own words, you are letting the other person know you understand what they are telling you. In short, it prevents miscommunication. The Steps to Effective Listening Skills So there you have it, three steps to improve the intensity and accuracy of your listening skills. First you need to tune in to what someone is saying and tune out all the noise. Pay attention to everything that is said and left unsaid and pick up on non-verbal behaviors. Then you need to clarify what it all means by asking open-ended questions. Finally, you need to repeat back what you heard, in your own words, to confirm your understanding of what the other person said. Improving listening skills is not difficult. By following these three steps youll develop a greater insight into what people are really saying. Reading skills: Reading skills refer to the specific abilities that enable a person to read with independence and interact with the message. Students at the university do a lot of reading unlike in secondary school. Some tips to help in having good reading skills are active reading and styles of reading. Strategies for Developing Reading Skills Using Reading Strategies Language instructors are often frustrated by the fact that students do not automatically transfer the strategies they use when reading in their native language to reading in a language they are learning. Instead, they seem to think reading means starting at the beginning and going word by word, stopping to look up every unknown vocabulary item, until they reach the end. When they do this, students are relying exclusively on their linguistic knowledge, a bottom-up strategy. One of the most important functions of the language instructor, then, is to help students move past this idea and use top-down strategies as they do in their native language. Effective language instructors show students how they can adjust their reading behavior to deal with a variety of situations, types of input, and reading purposes. They help students develop a set of reading strategies and match appropriate strategies to each reading situation. Strategies that can help students read more quickly and effectively include Previewing: reviewing titles, section headings, and photo captions to get a sense of the structure and content of a reading selection Predicting: using knowledge of the subject matter to make predictions about content and vocabulary and check comprehension; using knowledge of the text type and purpose to make predictions about discourse structure; using knowledge about the author to make predictions about writing style, vocabulary, and content Skimming and scanning: using a quick survey of the text to get the main idea, identify text structure, confirm or question predictions Guessing from context: using prior knowledge of the subject and the ideas in the text as clues to the meanings of unknown words, instead of stopping to look them up Paraphrasing: stopping at the end of a section to check comprehension by restating the information and ideas in the text Instructors can help students learn when and how to use reading strategies in several ways. By modeling the strategies aloud, talking through the processes of previewing, predicting, skimming and scanning, and paraphrasing. This shows students how the strategies work and how much they can know about a text before they begin to read word by word. By allowing time in class for group and individual previewing and predicting activities as preparation for in-class or out-of-class reading. Allocating class time to these activities indicates their importance and value. By using cloze (fill in the blank) exercises to review vocabulary items. This helps students learn to guess meaning from context. By encouraging students to talk about what strategies they think will help them approach a reading assignment, and then talking after reading about what strategies they actually used. This helps students develop flexibility in their choice of strategies. When language learners use reading strategies, they find that they can control the reading experience, and they gain confidence in their ability to read the language. Reading to Learn Reading is an essential part of language instruction at every level because it supports learning in multiple ways. Reading to learn the language: Reading material is language input. By giving students a variety of materials to read, instructors provide multiple opportunities for students to absorb vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure, and discourse structure as they occur in authentic contexts. Students thus gain a more complete picture of the ways in which the elements of the language work together to convey meaning. Reading for content information: Students' purpose for reading in their native language is often to obtain information about a subject they are studying, and this purpose can be useful in the language learning classroom as well. Reading for content information in the language classroom gives students both authentic reading material and an authentic purpose for reading. Reading for cultural knowledge and awareness: Reading everyday materials that are designed for native speakers can give students insight into the lifestyles and worldviews of the people whose language they are studying. When students have access to newspapers, magazines, and Web sites, they are exposed to culture in all its variety, and monolithic cultural stereotypes begin to break down. When reading to learn, students need to follow four basic steps: 1. Figure out the purpose for reading. Activate background knowledge of the topic in order to predict or anticipate content and identify appropriate reading strategies. 2. Attend to the parts of the text that are relevant to the identified purpose and ignore the rest. This selectivity enables students to focus on specific items in the input and reduces the amount of information they have to hold in short-term memory. 3. Select strategies that are appropriate to the reading task and use them flexibly and interactively. Students' comprehension improves and their confidence increases when they use top-down and bottom-up skills simultaneously to construct meaning. 4. Check comprehension while reading and when the reading task is completed. Monitoring comprehension helps students detect inconsistencies and comprehension failures, helping them learn to use alternate strategies. Skimming And Scanning: Skimming refers to the process of reading only main ideas within a passage to get an overall impression of the content of a reading selection. How to Skim: * Read the title. * Read the introduction or the first paragraph. * Read the first sentence of every other paragraph. * Read any headings and sub-headings. * Notice any pictures, charts, or graphs. * Notice any italicized or boldface words or phrases. * Read the summary or last paragraph. Scanning is a reading technique to be used when you want to find specific information quickly. In scanning you have a question in your mind and you read a passage only to find the answer, ignoring unrelated information. How to Scan: * State the specific information you are looking for. * Try to anticipate how the answer will appear and what clues you might use to help you locate the answer. For example, if you were looking for a certain date, you would quickly read the paragraph looking only for numbers. * Use headings and any other aids that will help you identify which sections might contain the information you are looking for. * Selectively read and skip through sections of the passage. Skimming and scanning are two very different strategies for speed reading. They are each used for different purposes, and they are not meant to be used all the time. They are at the fast end of the speed reading range, while studying is at the slow end. People who know how to skim and scan are flexible readers. They read according to their purpose and get the information they need quickly without wasting time. They do not read everything which is what increases their reading speed. Their skill lies in knowing what specific information to read and which method to use. What Is Skimming? Skimming is one of the tools you can use to read more in less time. Skimming refers to looking only for the general or main ideas, and works best with non-fiction (or factual) material. With skimming, your overall understanding is reduced because you dont read everything. You read only what is important to your purpose. Skimming takes place while reading and allows you to look for details in addition to the main ideas. Many people think that skimming is a haphazard process How to skim. placing the eyes where ever they fall. However, to skim effectively, there has to be a structure but you dont read everything. What you read is more important than what you leave out. So what material do you read and what material do you leave out? Lets say you are doing research on a long chapter or a web site. By reading the first few paragraphs in detail, you will get a good idea of what information will be discussed. Once you know where the reading is headed, you can begin to read only the first sentence of each paragraph. Also called topic sentences, they give you the main idea of the paragraph. If you do not get the main idea in the topic sentence or if the paragraph greatly interests you, then you may want to skim more. At the end of each topic sentence, your eyes should drop down through the rest of the paragraph, looking for important pieces of information, such as names, dates, or events. Continue to read only topic sentences, dropping down through the rest of the paragraphs, until you are near the end. Since the last few paragraphs may contain a conclusion or summary, you should stop skimming there and read in detail. Remember that your overall comprehension will be lower than if you read in detail. If while skimming, you feel you are grasping the main ideas, then you are skimming correctly. When to skim.Because skimming is done at a fast speed with less-than-normal comprehension, you shouldnt skim all the time. There are many times, however, when skimming is very useful. Suppose you are taking a presentation skills class and have to deliver an oral report in a few days about the first computers ever made. You locate six books and four newspaper articles about this topic. Because you must be ready soon, you do not have time to read each word, but you need a large quantity of solid information. Skimming will help you locate the information quickly while making sure you use your time wisely. It will also increase the amount of usable material you obtain for your research. Suppose you have an exam in a few days. You need to review the material you learned, but you dont want to reread everything. By skimming, you can quickly locate the information you havent mastered yet and study only that material. While reading, ask yourself the following questions to help you decide whether or not to skim. If you answer yes to any of these, then skimming is a useful tool. Is this material non-fiction? Do I have a lot to read and only a small amount of time? Do I already know something about this? Can any of the material be skipped? If you have sufficient background knowledge or believe you dont need the information, then skip it! Thats rightdont read it at all! Believe it or not, skipping material may sometimes be the best use of your time. Just because someone wrote something doesnt mean you have to read it. If you pick and choose carefully what you skim and skip, you will be pleasantly surprised at the large amount of information you can get through in a short period of time. What Is Scanning? Scanning is another useful tool for speeding up your reading. Unlike skimming, when scanning, you look only for a specific fact or piece of information without reading everything. You scan when you look for your favorite show listed in the cable guide, for your friends phone number in a telephone book, and for the sports scores in the newspaper. For scanning to be successful, you need to understand how your material is structured as well as comprehend what you read so you can locate the specific information you need. Scanning also allows you to find details and other information in a hurry. How to scan. Because you already scan many different types of material in your daily life, learning more details about scanning will be easy. Establishing your purpose, locating the appropriate material, and knowing how the information is structured before you start scanning is essential. The material you scan is typically arranged in the following ways: alphabetically, chronologically, non-alphabetically, by category, or textually. Alphabetical information is arranged in order from A to Z, while chronological information is arranged in time or numerical order. Information can be also be arranged in non- alphabetical order, such as a television listing, or by category, listings of like items such as an auto parts catalog. Sometimes information is located within the written paragraphs of text, also known as a textual sense, as in an encyclopedia entry. Reading journals, magazines and newspapers for comprehension: READING SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES
There are many appproaches to reading scientific articles. Those of you who have had significant experience reading such articles will have developed a style of you own. For those of you who have not, I will discuss one approach. One does not read a journal article like a novel or a newspaper article. There are several reasons for this: 1) The information is too dense to comprehend it with a simple reading. 2) You may be interested in a specific aspect of the article rather than the entire thing. The special structure of such articles allows one to find the desired section more easily. 3) Understanding of one part of an article will often require backward or forward reference to another part of the article. For adequate understanding of an article, you should be prepared to read an article at least two, three, or four times. You will often be amazed to discover that what seemed completely incomprehensible on the first reading, appears to make perfect sense on subsequent readings. You should be comforted to know that even experienced scientists must read articles over and over again. Furthermore, there will be things you simply do not understand because 1) you do not have the adequate background, 2) they are just too complicated, or 3) they simply do not make sense. Do not overlook this last possibility simply because you see something in print. You should be prepared to do some work in order to acquire sufficient background for adequate understanding of an article. This will include: 1) looking up points made in the references; 2) looking things up in textbooks; 3) looking up words in dictionaries (particularly biological and medical dictionaries); 4) asking questions of people who may know.
In general, people do not try to conquer every article they encounter. There are simply too many articles and it would require too much work. They tend to go through a sequential process of studying the article - all the while deciding whether or not to give it further attention. The decision is based on several factors: 1) Whether the article is of sufficient interest 2) Whether the article is relevant to their work 3) Whether the article is of general importance 4) Whether the article is if high quality and or accurate 5) Whether the article is clearly written and accessible at least after reasonable amount of effort 6) Whether the article is "meaty" 7) Whether the article is short.
Phase I: Screening the article 1) Read the title once fast looking for key words. Read the title slowly until it makes sense. 2) Look through the authors to see if there is anyone whose name you recognize, whose work you know. This is an important process in trying to judge the quality of the data. 3) Look at the date. In molecular biology, where information is rapidly changing, the date may be all-important. With policy issues, the date is less important than the quality of thought. Bear in mind that there is a definite lag period between when the research gets done, when the article gets written and when it gets published. In addition to the publication date, many journals list the date when the article was received, and the date when the article was accepted. Interestingly, journals that are refereed (see below) are more likely to be delayed in their publication, but are less likely to contain inaccurate or frivolous articles. 4) Some articles have a brief list of key words. Although they are sometimes misleading (as anyone who has done a computer reference search knows) they are usually quite informative and should be looked at early on.
Phase II: Getting the punch line. 1) Read the abstract once fast looking for key words. Read the abstract slowly until it makes sense. 2) Read introduction. The introduction is often the easiest part of an article to read. In some cases, it is also the most informative - not so much in terms of presenting new information, but in consolidating background information. Some authors will also present the punch line of their research in a way that is easier to understand than the way it is presented in the abstract. 3) The introduction will often cite many of the references. This is an excellent time to begin looking at them. The references are particularly informative if they contain the titles of the articles being cited. You will want to go back to the reference page over and over again.
Phase III: Understanding the approach 1) Peruse the figures and tables. You will not understand them this first time through but this will help you know what to look for when you actually read the article. 2) Go to the discussion. Read the first few paragraphs and the last few paragraphs. If it is short and/or easy to understand, read the whole thing. Phase IV: First reading 1) If you get this far you may wish to photocopy the article if you have not already done so. The monetary investment will surely be trivial in comparison to the investment of your time. 2) Skim the abstract and the introduction once again. At this point you should be able to have an adequate understanding of them. 3) Skim the methods section. The methods section will need to be studied carefully only if you intend to use some of the procedures in your research. Certain parts of the methods, such as where the chemicals were purchased or whence the viral strains were obtained do not actually contribute to an understanding of the article and may be safely omitted. Other parts of the methods may remain obscure even after the rest of the article is fairly clear. For our purposes, the methods should be studied only in so far as they contribute to the understanding of the rest of article. 4) Read the results section. 5) Read the discussion. 6) Study the figures and tables.
Phase V: Increasing understanding 1) Reread the article in its entirety. You may wish to read several times. 2) Be sure to write on the article. Circle words you do not know. Check important points. Question things you do not understand or that do not appear to make sense. X-off things that are wrong. Jot down further ideas or questions. 3) Consult the references. Look up points that were not fully explained. Consult textbook to clarify points of general biology. Look up words that are unfamiliar. 4) Before leaving the article, reread the abstract once again. Reading newspaper: Nulla nuova, buona nuova meaning no news is good news is a famous Italian usage. It may be true in the ambience of too much news of disturbing nature pouring in from all directions all the time nolens volens. But, news is sine qua non for active life. None can ignore the milieu in which he lives. Only news keeps us in touch with the milieu in which we live. It gives us the insight to the dynamics that form the environment around us, it be in local or regional or national or international level. Keeping doors shut from news renders us deadwood and leads to isolation from the world around us and ultimately to atrophy.
The main conveyor of news is newspaper. Though there are many other sources of news like magazines and books in print media, radio and television channels and Internet connections in electronic media, words of mouth and telephone and wireless communications etc, no other source ever could come near the newspaper in importance. It is true of the past and the present and it is true of the future also. Neither the advent of the television nor that of the Internet could affect the importance of the newspaper. The reason for this is the width, breadth and the depth of the news provided by the newspaper, its low cost and the ease of providing the news at our leisure and comfort as many times as we desire.
Newspapers are very important in many ways. They give us lots of information about various matters at various levels that are not available anywhere. Though magazines and books also give lots of information, the scope of the news there is limited to a few selected topics. Televisions and internet connections while provide news faster than the newspapers, it cannot have the width, breadth and depth of the newspapers and do not provide the comfort of the repeated references at our leisure and comfort apart from harming our eyes because of the glare and being the source of health hazards because of radiations.
People of all profession need newspapers. Engineers, doctors, scientists, professors and other professionals need them to know the day-to-day developments in their respective fields. Businessmen need newspapers to keep in touch with the economic and commercial trends in the country and see current share prices. Politicians need them to read recent political events in the country. Others read newspapers to know how changes around them affect their life. Students read newspapers to broaden their knowledge and keep abreast of the recent developments in various fields, be it in politics, economics, science, sports or art and culture. Newspaper is an important tool of the learning process for students.
Advertisements in newspapers are also very informative and give lots of information about the world around us and recent trends apart from being very entertaining. The editorials and the articles in the editorial page of the newspapers are always very analytical and give insight to the news and their background. Reading newspapers is incomplete sans a glance to the editorials and the articles.
Reading newspapers everyday is must for both students and adults for growth and enlightenment irrespective of the class or field of their life. For, reading newspaper everyday is highly educational, and an important informal education in that. One can ignore this important function of the life at own peril.
Practical use of English Conversation: Interaction describes a range of processes. A previous On Modeling article presented models of interaction based on the internal capacity of the systems doing the interacting [1]. At one extreme, there are simple reactive systems, such as a door that opens when you step on a mat or a search engine that returns results when you submit a query At the other extreme is conversation. Conversation is a progression of exchanges among participants. Each participant is a learning system, that is, a system that changes internally as a consequence of experience. This highly complex type of interaction is also quite powerful, for conversation is the means by which existing knowledge is conveyed and new knowledge is generated. We talk all the time, but were usually not aware of when conversation works, when it doesnt, and how to improve it. Few of us have robust models of conversation. This article addresses the questions: What is conversation? How can conversation be improved? And, if conversation is important, why dont we consider conversation explicitly when we design for interaction? This article hopes to move practice in that direction. If, as this forum has often argued, models can improve design, we further ask, what models of conversation are useful for interaction design? We begin by contrasting conversation with communication in a specific sense. We then offer a pragmatic but not exhaustive model of the process of conversing and explore how it is useful for design. What Is the Process of Conversation? Conversation at its simplest takes place when participants perform these tasks: 1) Open a channel. When participant A sends an initial message, the possibility for conversation opens. For conversation to follow, the message must establish common ground; it must be comprehensible to participant B. 2) Commit to engage. Participant B must pay attention to the message and then commit to engaging with A. Such a commitment may amount to nothing more than continuing to pay attention. For conversation to persist, the commitment must be symmetrical, and either side may break off for any reason, at any time. Put another way, each participant must see value in continuing the conversation, which offsets the personal cost of being engaged: what we call the bio-cost, or the energy, time, attention, and stress required [3]. 3) Construct meaning. Conversation enables us to construct (or reconstruct) meaning, including meaning that is new to the destination. Conversation theory has a highly detailed model that we must leave to other descriptions though it is useful even in this skeletal form [4]. Messages are composed with topics or distinctions that are already shared, on the basis of prior conversation or shared contexts, such as common language and social norms. Participant A uses the message channel to convey what these topics are and how they are distinct from one another (descriptive dynamics), along with a kind of glue that explains just how these topics interact to make up the new concept (prescriptive dynamics). Participant B takes all this in and puts it all together to reproduce As meaning (or something close enough). This can occur because, first, the descriptive and prescriptive dynamics come together to express an inherent coherence for the conceptthey fit together like gears in a watch and only in a limited way or ways. Second, the human nervous system has evolved especially to make sense of the messages that arrive [5]. This meaning making (the taking all this in and putting it all together) is a mini AHA moment, every time we get what someone is saying [6]. 4) Evolve. Participant A or B (or both) are different after the interaction. Either or both hold new beliefs, make decisions, or develop new relationships, with others, with circumstances or objects, or with themselves. Here we define an effective conversation as an interaction in which the changes brought about by conversation have lasting value to the participants. 5) Converge on agreement. Participant B may wish to confirm understanding of As concept. To do so, B must create and transmit a different formulation of the topic(s) under discussion, one that captures his model of the concept. On receipt, participant A attempts to make sense of Bs formulation and compares it with her original intention. This may lead to further exchanges. When both A and B judge that the concepts match sufficiently, they have reached an agreement over an understanding. Such agreement may involve a fact about the world or merely shared belief. Sometimes participants agree on the qualities of a song, or that they like each other enough to continue talking. 6) Act or Transact. Sometimes one or more of the participants agrees to perform an action as a result of, and beyond, the conversation that has taken place. For example, they may agree to play a game together or enter into a relationship. Or they may agree to an exchange, as when money is traded for a product or service. Thus we have a simplified description of conversation. All of us experience breakdowns in conversations; it is near miraculous that we understand each other at all. But if you comprehend this, the process of conversation is working right now. Lecture or Speech: Whole class teaching is generally done by following the lecture method. It is the easiest of all the teaching methods. The number of students running into 70 or 80 or more is no deterrent to this method of teaching. The teacher is to have the simple requirement of a passive audience. If that is taken care of, he can go on and on with his discourse. Teacher preparation is minimal here. He has to have the ability of presenting the textual material in a sequential order. Students listening to the lecture is not ensured here. Yet, if there is no hindrance from the students side in the form of shouting, catcalling etc., the teacher can go on with his business and at the end of the period leave the classroom with the feeling of having completed his mission. Lectures are one sided. There is no guarantee that the students are with the teacher when the lecture is on. There is also no guarantee that the students listen to what the teacher teaches. There is no compulsion on their part to take down notes. They need to simply keep quiet and facilitate the teacher having a go at his discourse.A lecture is a carefully prepared oral presentation of a subject by a qualified expert. It is usually rather formal. The lecture or speech may be used 1. To present factual material directly and logically. 2. To present one point of view on a controversial subject. 3. For accounts of travels or personal experiences. 4. To entertain or inspire an audience. 5. To stimulate thinking and further study on a problem and to open the subject for general discussion. Some advantages 1. It is suitable for audiences of any size. 2. It is easy to organize. 3. Some people can learn more easily by listening than by reading. Some limitations 1. Good speakers informed on subjects of interest to the group may be hard to find. Experts are not always good speakers. 2. The role of the audience is passive. 3. Feedback is limited. 4. Only one side of a question is presented with little chance for challenge or rebuttal. Physical requirements 1. Adequate seating so every member of the audience may see and hear the speaker in comfort. 2. A stage or slightly raised platform and a speakers rostrum. Procedure 1. The chairperson should introduce the speaker to the audience with brief remarks as to his or her position, experience or special qualification for this particular appearance. 2. If visual aids such as films, slides, maps or charts are to be used, they should be appropriate to the subject and to the audience. Use them to heighten audience interest, not to distract the audiences attention. 3. At the conclusion of the prepared lecture, the chair-person should thank the speaker and call for a questions period, discussion or whatever has been planned as follow-up.
Seminar: The seminar is a group of people engaged in specialized study led by a recognized authority in the subject being studied. It may be a single session or a series of sessions. Seminar is a structured group discussion that may precede or follow a formal lecture, in the form of an essay or paper presentation. This method can be used when the students are willing for presenting the topic on hand as a research paper with a view to having an in depth discussion following the presentation. The major advantage of the seminar as a mode of instruction is its stimulation and testing of students power of comprehension and evaluation.
The seminar may be used 1. To study a subject in depth under the guidance of an authority. Some advantages 1. A recognized authority is available to guide discussion and to assist the learners. 2. Detailed and systematic discussion and inquiry can take place. 3. All members of the group have the opportunity to participate, over time, in the discussion and in formal presentations. Some limitations 1. It may be difficult to find the right person to direct the seminar. 2. Members may not want to spend all the time required for preparation or reports. 3. The presence of an expert may inhibit participation of some members. 4. It may be difficult to find all the source materials desired. Physical requirements 1. If the group is not too large, arrange the participants around a conference table. If the group is too large or if such arrangements are not possible, arrange the chairs in a semicircle to facilitate group discussions. Procedure 1. Responsibilities for the giving of reports are assigned and these are prepared in advance of the seminar. 2. Reports are made, including the use of visuals and written handouts if needed. 3. All participants discuss the report and question the reporter. 4. Evaluation and follow-up as needed. Discussion Group: A group of persons meet together to discuss informally and deliberate on a topic of mutual concern. The discussion group may be used 1. To develop a nucleus of leadership for community service or informal education. 2. To identify, explore and seek solutions for problems and to develop plans of action. 3. To change attitudes through discussion and the examination of information. Some advantages 1. Group discussion permits full participation. 2. It can establish consensus democratically. 3. It pools the abilities, knowledge and experience of all to reach a common goal. Some limitations 1. Group discussion is time-consuming, particularly if the group includes people of widely different backgrounds. 2. A bossy leader or a few members may dominate the discussion. Physical requirements 1. The group is usually seated around a large table (or tables arranged in a rectangle). Face- to-face discussion is essential. An informal and relaxed atmosphere will permit free discussions. Procedure 1. Should be governed by the group itself. Generally the leader will preside and moderate the discussion. 2. A group may meet as long and as often as is necessary and convenient. 3. A change may be made to use special individual abilities. For example, different leaders may be used in the deliberative, planning and action phases of the groups work. 4. The group may appoint a recorder to keep track of its deliberations and to report on its progress from time to time. Reference skills: Using dictionary: Of the approximately 1 million words in the English language, the average English speaker knows 60,000 of those words, A dictionary can be a very handy tool. Besides helping with spelling and word meanings, being able to use a dictionary effectively and regularly is a perfect way to improve your English language skills through the dictionary's range of other helpful information on everyday language usage and grammar. This article will explain how to make the most of using your dictionary. Familiarize yourself with your dictionary. Dictionaries vary in approach. The best way to learn how to use your particular dictionary effectively is to read its introductory section where you'll find out how the entries are arranged. The introductory section of your dictionary will explain important information such as the abbreviations and pronunciation symbols used throughout the entries. There may also be information on pronunciation of words with similar spellings; this can be helpful if you have only heard a word and you're not sure of its spelling. For example, if you hear "not", it might also be "knot" but the "k" is silent, and this list can help you with suggestions. Know how to look up a word. When you come across a word you don't recognize or know the meaning of, keep a note of it. When you get around to looking it up, here is the sequence to follow: to the letter of the alphabet that your word begins with. For example, "dog" begins with "d". Don't forget the possible spellings for trickier words, such as "gnome" begins with a "g", or "psychology" begins with a "p", or "knock" begins with a "k", etc. an indication of how close you are to locating your word, speeding up the process of going through the pages. run down the page and locate your word. For example, if you were looking for the word "futile", "u" is the second letter. Perhaps you will see "furrow/futtock" in the upper left corner of the left page and "futtock plate/gaberlunzie" in the upper right corner of the right page. Now you know that "futile" is going to be located on one of these two pages. entry words moving past "Furry" and "Fuse" and "Fuss". Since the example word begins with "Fut", go past all the "Fur" and all the "Fus" words alphabetically until you reach the "FUT" area of the page. In this example, move right down through "Fut" and "Futhark" and this is at last, where you will find "futile". Know how to make the most of your find. Once you've located the word, there are several useful elements that you can discover about the word from the dictionary entry. Read the information given about this entry, and depending on your dictionary, you might find many things: A definition of the word. One or more pronunciations. Look for a pronunciation key near the beginning of the dictionary to help you interpret the written pronunciation. Learn how to use the stress marks, as these will aid your pronunciation. The stress mark ' is place just prior to the syllable where the stress is placed. [2]
Capitalization, where relevant. Prepositions, such as "in", "on", etc. and their use with the word in question. Irregular endings for verbs. Synonyms and antonyms. You can use these in your writing, or as further clues towards the word's meaning. An etymology, derivation, or history of the word. Even if you don't know Latin or Ancient Greek, you may find that this information helps you to remember or understand the word. Examples or citations of how the word is used. Use these to add context to the meaning of the word. Derived terms and inflections (I am, you are, etc). Phrases or idioms associated with the word, and slang usage. In addition, the dictionary may explain whether a word is formal or informal. Plurals of nouns. Near neighbor words that might be related, such as "futility". Using thesaurus effectively: Words or rather the appropriate use of them is the lifeblood of effective writing and quality written communication. Just as a chef uses a variety of spices and other ingredients to add flavor to cooking, writers should use a thesaurus to add spice to their writing. Using a thesaurus can bring new life to a mediocre piece of writing. A thesaurus is a general reference work that comes in both print and electronic formats. Most word processing programs offer a thesaurus option within their tools menu. There are several online thesaurus sites that will not only provide the general information within a thesaurus but also will include basic dictionary and etymology. What information is contained within a thesaurus? A thesaurus contains an alphabetical listing of entries with words that are either synonyms or antonyms. A synonym is a word that has the same or similar meaning of the main entry. For example, the entry for the term word might include: remark, statement, speech or declaration. This listing includes terms that are similar in meaning to the term word. An antonym is a word that means the direct opposite entry term. For example, some antonyms for the term dark might include: bright, light, clear, and vivid. Use of a thesaurus can benefit the work and word craft of a writer in many different and unique ways. Ways a thesaurus can improve word craft 1. Increased variety of words One major way to improve the overall quality of writing is to improve the quality of word craft. Word craft is the ability to creatively craft sentences, structure basic word order and create effective pieces of writing. Using a thesaurus will stretch the writer's ability to use a greater variety of words that will add impact and influence to the final product. 2. Deeper implied meaning A thesaurus offers a means for the writer to add deeper meanings by use of related words. Instead of describing something that is blue, use another term as a means of creating depth in the writing. There are more vivid ways to describe something than by just saying the color is blue. Blue has a variety of related terms that are technically different shades of the color. Here are just a few examples: azure, cobalt, navy and cerulean. Just as describing colors in shades adds specific detail, use of a thesaurus can help the writer create many new shades of word craft. 3. Greater overall creativity Using a thesaurus can also add an overall deeper level of creativity than before. Writers strive to make a greater use of their art through words and using a thesaurus is a simple way to achieve new levels of creativity. One quick way to learn the uses of a thesaurus is to take an old piece of writing and recreate it by using the thesaurus to communicate in a different manner. One excellent aspect of using a thesaurus is that the writer actually increases their vocabulary and their ability to write in a more creative manner. Word craft and writing effectively is truly an art. Think of all the most memorable pieces of writing. Where would those same pieces be with mediocre word craft? Word craft requires time, effort and energy on the part of the writer. Be careful a thesaurus can also make writers become lazy in working through their own word craft. Use the thesaurus to increase the effort and work of creating, not as a quick replacement of hard work. Using encyclopedia effectively: An encyclopedia is a book, or series of books, that contains general information about many topics and subjects. While often found with dictionaries in resource libraries, encyclopedias may be much longer and contain more information about the subjects within them. In the past, these works were collected in multiple published volumes. More modern publications, however, include digital formats such as software on a disc or websites with information on them. Format and Purpose Some people can confuse an encyclopedia with a dictionary, although they are inherently quite different. A dictionary offers definitions of words, occasionally accompanied by illustrations, to provide the reader with the meaning of individuals terms or phrases. On the other hand, an encyclopedia explores topics in greater depth and more often includes illustrations, maps, and photographs. While most encyclopedias are organized alphabetically, some are arranged by categories or cross-referenced articles to allow for easier reading. Readers can find a wide range of subjects within these volumes, making them excellent research texts. Historical events, such as the dates and major battles of various wars; scientific information, like pertinent data regarding different theories; and popular culture, such as names and short biographies of various celebrities, can all be found in these volumes. As time goes on, publishers make revisions and release new volumes with more information, to keep them relevant. Historical Encyclopedias Pliny the Elder wrote the first documented encyclopedia in the first century BC with the help of his nephew. This work consisted of 37 volumes and covered subjects ranging from anthropology and human physiology to agriculture, painting, and pharmacology. Through the following few centuries, encyclopedias adopted a religious overtone. The first Christian edition was published in 560 AD, and the first Muslim volume came to light soon after. One of the longest encyclopedias ever was created in 1403 when the Yongle Encyclopedia was published in China. It consisted of 11,000 handwritten volumes; most of the original work has been lost through the centuries, and less than 400 volumes survive today. The word "encyclopedia" comes from the Greek enkyklia paideia, which means "a general knowledge." It has been in use for at least 500 years, since the publishing of Encyclopaedia, or Knowledge of the World of Disciplines in 1559. Modern Formats In the 20th century, the Encyclopedia Britannica became the most well known western work of this type. Topical encyclopedias also came into popularity, covering topics as varied as economics, bioethics, or Judaica. Toward the end of the century, many publishers began releasing them in digital formats such as Compact Discs (CDs) and Digital Versatile Discs (DVDs). Some encyclopedias have become entirely available online, with no corresponding print version. One of the most important advantages of online encyclopedias is that they can be edited frequently, so they remain up to date. Traditionally, a single writer wrote an encyclopedia alone or as a collaborative effort with peers, but a team of writers, who often have no face to face contact with each other, can now put together numerous volumes at a distance. Error shooting for better use of English: What is an error in English? The concept of language errors is a fuzzy one. Ill leave to linguists the technical definitions. Here were concerned only with deviations from the standard use of English as judged by sophisticated users such as professional writers, editors, teachers, and literate executives and personnel officers. The aim of this site is to help you avoid low grades, lost employment opportunities, lost business, and titters of amusement at the way you write or speak.
But isnt one persons mistake anothers standard usage? Often enough, but if your standard usage causes other people to consider you stupid or ignorant, you may want to consider changing it. You have the right to express yourself in any manner you please, but if you wish to communicate effectively, you should use nonstandard English only when you intend to, rather than fall into it because you dont know any better.
Why dont you cover all important points of grammar? Other sites do this; mine is dedicated to errors in usage. This is not a site dealing with grammar in general.
Im learning English as a second language. Will this site help me improve my English? Very likely, though its really aimed at the most common errors of native speakers. The errors others make in English differ according to the characteristics of their first languages. Speakers of other languages tend to make some specific errors that are uncommon among native speakers, so you may also want to consult sites dealing specifically with English as a second language (see http://www.cln.org/subjects/esl_cur.html and http://esl.about.com/education/adulted/esl/). There is also a Help Desk for ESL students at Washington State University at http://www.wsu.edu/~gordonl/ESL/. An outstanding book you may want to order is Ann Raimes Keys for Writers.
Arent some of these points awfully picky? This is a relative matter. One persons gaffe is anothers peccadillo. Some common complaints about usage strike me as too persnickety, but Im just discussing mistakes in English that happen to bother me. Feel free to create your own page listing your own pet peeves, but I welcome suggestions for additions to these pages. First, read the Commonly Made Suggestions page, and if you still want to write me, please do so, after reading the instructions on that page.
What gives you the right to say what an error in English is? I could take the easy way out and say Im a professor of English and do this sort of thing for a living. True, but my Ph.D. is in comparative literature, not composition or linguistics, and I teach courses in the history of ideas rather than language as such. But I admire good writing and try to encourage it in my students.
I found a word you criticized in the dictionary! You will find certain words or phrases criticized here listed in dictionaries. Note carefully labels like dial. (dialectical), nonstandard, and obsolete before assuming that the dictionary is endorsing them. The primary job of a dictionary is to track how people actually use language. Dictionaries differ among themselves on how much guidance to usage they provide; but the goal of a usage guide like this is substantially different: to protect you against patterns which are regarded by substantial numbers of well-educated people as nonstandard.
Why do you discuss mainly American usage? Because Im an American, my readers are mostly American, and American English is quickly becoming an international standard. I often take note of ways in which American English differs from standard British practice. However, the job is complicated by the fact that Canadians, Australians, and many others often follow patterns somewhere between the two. If the standard usage where you are differs from what is described here, tell me about it, and if I think its important to do so, Ill note that fact. Meanwhile, just assume that this site is primarily about American English. If you feel tempted to argue with me, click here first.
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