Skills Enhancement Seminar Eastern Visayas State University July 7, 2012 Skills Enhancement Seminar Mark Fullmer

English Questions on the LET Reading Comprehension Vocabulary Pronunciation Grammar Idioms Knowledge of Literature Knowledge of Language Terminology

Reading Comprehension What is the meaning of this statement: “History never cited a leaderless nation”? Nations can survive without leaders A leader can fade away but another will come up Leaders are always born Leaders are matched with historical events

Vocabulary The President is a garrulous speaker. GARRULOUS means: Taciturn Reticent Talkative Diligent

Knowledge of Literature In Paz Latorena’s short story “The Small Key” what is inside the chest when the second wife Soledad opened it? Old clothes Skeletons Land documents Weapons used in the second world war

Knowledge of Language Terminology This theory of language learning and literacy views children capable of relating new information to prior knowledge. Constructivist Sociolinguist Interactive Reader Response

Objectives for Today Reading Comprehension Vocabulary Pronunciation Singular-Plural agreement Idioms Knowledge of Literature Knowledge of Language Terminology

Results from our prepositions seminar 1. Joan lives ___ Santillan Road. (a) in (b) on (c) at (d) to 2. Maggie will be ready to leave ___ about thirty minutes. (a) in (b) at (c) on (d) where 3. Since he met his new girlfriend, Mico never seems to be ___ home. (a) on (b) at (c) in (d) towards 4. Jeremy responded to his mother’s demands ___ throwing a tantrum. (a) with (b) by (c) from (d) through 5. I think Carmen spent the entire afternoon ___ the phone. (a) on (b) in (c) at (d) with Pre-test: 62% correct Post-test: 78% correct

PRONUNCIATION: What you need to know for the LET

Rhyme Questions 1. Which of these words do not rhyme? (a) That’s easy to bear. (b) Let us sing a cheer for them. (c) It is so clear. (d) it is the sheer truth. Tip 1: If you find any 2 sounds that are the same, eliminate them as possible answers. Tip 2: Don’t be fooled by spelling. English pronunciation is not consistent.

Emphasis Questions Which word is read on a high note to emphasize the kind of day: “This is a warm day!” (a) is (b) day (c) warm (d) this adjective verb Tip 1: Ask yourself what part of speech is being identified? Tip 2: Read each option aloud to hear emphasis noun adjective pronoun

Phonetics Questions *most common* 4. Which among these words has the ending [d] sound? (a) Joked (b) Walked (c) Laughed (d) Played Tip 1: Eliminate answers with similar sounds Tip 2: Memorize the most common phonetic symbols using a word chart.

Some sounds that might be on the LET: [unvoiced th] [voiced th] [zh] [sh] [z] /ð/ /θ/ /ʒ/ /ʃ/ /z/ the thump pleasure plush please breathe wreath measure mesh miser bathe bath leisure leash leads them theme genre shop zombie those thought precision formation amaze these thesaurus visualize wish whizz that thank decision demolition visit

Pronunciation Post-Test Complete the following 10 questions in 8 minutes

1. Which of these words do not rhyme. (a) Watch the bird soar high 1. Which of these words do not rhyme? (a) Watch the bird soar high. (b) I am studying core curriculum. (c) Please pour the drinks. (d) I was one hour late for class. 2. Which ED end sound is different? (a) Pleaded (c) Collaborated (b) Imported (d) Informed 3. Which word is read on a high note to emphasize who is doing the action: “I bought the cake yesterday!” (a) I (c) bought (b) cake (d) yesterday 4. Which among these words has the ending [id] sound? (a) unchecked (c) pockmarked (b) coughed (d) misinterpreted 5. Which among these words has the [z] end sound? (a) Maps (c) Laughs (b) Jokes (d) Buys

6. Which among these words has the starting voiced [th] sound 6. Which among these words has the starting voiced [th] sound? (a) Thank (c) Think (b) These (d) Thing 7. Which among these words has the [sh] sound? (a) through (c) promotion (b) vizualize (d) vacillate 8. Which among these words has the voiced [th] sound? (a) Mouth (c) Breathe (b) Teeth (d) Health 9. Which of the words below has the [zh] sound? (a) Ships (c) She (b) Shore (d) Leisure 10. Which among these words has the [id] end sound? (a) Praised (c) Mailed (b) Judged (d) Needed

Singulars & Plurals Workshop Pretest: Complete the following 10 questions in 10 minutes.

1. Which is the correct plural for the word “mouse” 1. Which is the correct plural for the word “mouse”? (a) mouses (c) mice (b) mouse (d) mices 2. Which is a correct singular-plural pair? (a) thief--thiefs (c) tomato--tomatos (b) roof--rooves (d) hero--heroes 3. Which has a correctly pluralized noun? (a) The two ladys were late. (c) The two sandwiches were eaten. (b) The two womans were late. (d) The two cupes of water. 4. Which of the following sentences uses an incorrect plural noun? (a) I broke my one pair of glasses and now I cannot see. (b) After the murder, many polices arrived on the scene of the incident. (c) A number of people attended the fiesta in V&G subdivision. (d) There was much furniture at the store.

5. Some words are never pluralized in English 5. Some words are never pluralized in English. Which of these is always singular? (a) appendix (c) information (b) media (d) data 6. Which sentence is grammatically correct? (a) My scissors is not cutting correctly. (c) Physics is my favorite subject. (b) Economics are a difficult subject. (d) The United States are very influential. 7. Some words have 2 acceptable plurals. Which includes an unacceptable form? (a) appendixes/appendices (c) syllabuses/syllabi (b) indexes/indices (d) criterions/criteria

8. Which incorrectly pluralizes a word that should be singular 8. Which incorrectly pluralizes a word that should be singular? (a) Reading will teach many facts. (c) Reading will improve your vocabularies. (b) If you read, you will gain new ideas. (d) Reading will teach you more words. 9. What is the correct plural for the word “phenomenon”? (a) phenomenones (c) phenomena (b) phenomenons (d) phenomenas 10. For words ending in “y”, what is the correct rule? (a) Add “s” after all words ending in “y” (b) Add “ies” after all words ending in “y” (c) Add “s” after words ending in vowel + y, but replace “y” with –ies for words ending in consonant + y (d) Add “s” after words ending in consonant + y, but replace “y” with –ies for words ending in vowel + y

English Pluralization is Buang-buang!

We'll begin with a and the plural is

But the plural of should be oxen, not oxes.

One fowl is a but two are called geese,

Yet the plural of should never be meese.

You may find a lone or a whole set of

Yet the plural of is houses not hice.

If the plural of is always called

Why shouldn't the plural of be called pen?

If I speak of a and you show me your

And I give you a would a pair be called beet?

If one is a tooth and a whole set are Why should not the plural of booth be called beeth?

One may be “that” and three would be “those,” Yet in the plural wouldn't be hose.

And the plural of is cats and not cose.

We speak of a and also of brethren,

But though we say we never say Methren,

Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him

But imagine the feminine being She, shis and shim

So English, I fancy you will all agree, Is the funniest language you ever did see.

Topic 1: Plural Nouns There are 4 main ways to construct plural in English. There is a pattern, but there are also exceptions to the rule. word + s word + es Word ending in “y” = ies Word ending in “f” = ves

Word + s (*most common*) singular plural a car two cars a cassette two cassettes a lamp two lamps a hat two hats a cup two cups

Word + es Sibilants include “ch” “ts” “zh” “z” “x” “s” Add “es” after sibilants. (What are sibilants?) singular plural a box two boxes a sandwich two sandwiches a boss two bosses a buzz two buzzes a couch two couches

For words ending in “y” Rule 1: After consonant + y, replace with “ies” singular plural a city two cities a lady two ladies Rule 2: After vowel + y, add “s” singular plural a boy two boys a day two days

For words ending “f” or “fe” Add -s Replace with -ves singular plural a roof two roofs a thief two thieves a cliff two cliffs a wife two wives a sheriff two sheriffs a shelf two shelves

For words ending in “o” Add -s Add -es singular plural a disco two discos a tomato two tomatoes a piano two pianos a potato two potatoes a photo two photos a hero two heroes

Activity: Pluralize these words 1. overlay 2. sanctuary 3. trench 4. trinket 5. reef 6. leaf 7. interruption 8. information overlays sanctuaries trenches trinkets reefs leaves interruptions information

For some words, you never add “s” (Uncountable nouns) Sentence homework My Math homework was not easy. information Information is more available in the internet age. knowledge His knowledge of English is excellent. furniture All the furniture was on sale at the store.

Topic 2: Singular Nouns Some nouns are singular even though they refer to plural things Noun Sentence water She spilled a lot of water. fruit Would you like some fruit? hair Your hair looks lovely. rice He always eats too much rice.

Some nouns end in “s” but use a singular verb Sentence news Good evening. Here is the news. physics Physics is our first lesson on Monday morning. progress Progress was made in developing new technologies. The United States The United States is a country with 50 states.

Activity: is the sentence correct? In the past decade, scientists have made many progresses in the field of genomic research. In the past decade, scientists have made much progress in the field of genomic research.

Activity: is the sentence correct? The furniture at the stores were very expensive. The furniture at the stores was very expensive. The items of furniture at the stores were very expensive.

Topic 3: Irregular plurals singular plural a man two men a woman two women a child two children a mouse two mice a tooth two teeth a goose two geese a foot two feet

Topic 4: Foreign Plurals Words in English borrowed from other languages often don’t follow the above rules. You have to memorize them.

Foreign Plurals with “es” ending Singular: Analysis Axis Basis Diagnosis Plural: Analyses Axes Bases Diagnoses

Foreign Plurals with “a” ending Singular: Datum Medium Criterion Phenomenon Plural: Data Media Criteria Phenomena

Foreign Plurals with 2 forms Singular: Syllabus Index Appendix Plural: Syllabi/Syllabuses Indices/Indexes Appendixes/Appendices

Plurals/Singulars: Post-Test Complete the following 10 questions in 8 minutes

1. Which is the correct plural for the word “goose” 1. Which is the correct plural for the word “goose”? (a) gooses (b) gooves (c) geese (d) geeses 2. Which is the correct singular-plural pair? (a) reef—reeves (b) potato—potatos (c) hoof—hoofs (d) thief—thieves 3. Which of the following sentences uses an incorrect plural noun? (a) The dean approved all the syllabi. (b) The scientist computed much data. (c) Winston had many homeworks from school. (d) I learned many facts today. 4. Which has a correctly pluralized noun? (a) Three childrens (b) Four photoes (c) Two citys (d) Five boxes

5. Which of these is always singular 5. Which of these is always singular? (a) hair (b) knowledge (c) history (d) metonymy 6. Which sentence is grammatically correct? (a) Every day, the news are depressing. (b) The Philippines are a collection of over 7,000 islands. (c) There are many unexplained phenomena. (d) The book has three appendix. 7. Some words have 2 acceptable plurals. Which includes an unacceptable form? (a) appendixes/appendices (c) syllabuses/syllabi (b) indexes/indices (d) criterions/criteria

8. Which is incorrect? Economics is a difficult subject The nightly news was watched by 5.7 million viewers. (c) The informations about the LET were overwhelming. (d) I went to many beaches during the summer. 9. What is the correct way to pluralize “basis”? bases (b) basises (c) basices (d) basis 10. Which is an incorrect plural? (a) boys (b) convoies (c) quandries (d) appendices

Idiom LET Questions What is an idiom? Dog Cat Rain “It’s raining cats and dogs.” An idiom is a phrase where the words together have a meaning different from the dictionary definition of individual words.

“A penny saved is a penny earned” Explanation: This means we shouldn’t spend or waste money but instead save it. Sample sentence: “I decided to watch a movie at home instead of at the mall. After all, a penny saved is a penny earned.”

Complete the following 10 questions in 8 minutes. Idioms Post-test Complete the following 10 questions in 8 minutes. Tips for LET pronunciation questions 1. The right answer will never be a literal translation. Eliminate answers that are too close to the original idiom. 2. If you are not sure of the meaning of the idiom, make an educated guess. Ask yourself: is the idiom optimistic or pessimistic? Does the idiom sound good or bad? Then match it with an answer that has the same feeling.

What do the following underlined idioms mean? 1. We have waited long enough. It’s time to face the music. face the speaker (b) strive for excellence (c) listen to music (d) begin a difficult challenge 2. He learned to swim through trial by fire. a court case (b) learning by doing (c) an easy experience (d) an impossible task 3. The acid test for a good friendship is respect. difficult exam (b) sign of friendship (c) best way to judge (d) a lie-detector test

4. The banker made some risky investments 4. The banker made some risky investments. Which idiom describes her action? A dark horse (b) a ballpark figure (c) playing with fire (d) a drop in the bucket 5. The actress had her day in the sun. moment of fame (b) most popular movie (c) a beautiful tan (d) significant achievement 6. The government made across the board changes. (a) educational (b) systemwide (c) international (d) dangerous 7. I have no preference. The ball is in your court. your hometown (b) your hobby (c) your choice (d) your possession

8. Don’t move to Manila. You’ll be opening a whole can of worms. spoiled food (b) a place of opportunity (c) many problems (d) many people 9. Only an act of God can save us from the typhoon now. (a) belief in religion (b) humans are unable to save (c) dramatic action (d) a terrible accident 10. Watch out for changes in the law next year. be prepared (b) applies to children (c) do not believe (d) be happy