Adjective

Reading

Vocabulary

Parts of Speech

Writing

Preposition

Speaking

Word Order

​​


  • Starting a Conversation

Excuse me, I like your _____  .Are you a friend of _____  ?

Could I ask you something?
Could/Can I ask _____  ?


  • Stopping a Conversation

Would you excuse me?

Well, I’d better be going/I should be going.
(It’s been) nice talking to you.
I hope we get a chance to talk again sometime.

  • Clarifications with Question Words

First, say:

- Excuse me
- (I’m) Sorry
- Pardon (me)?


Then say something like:
- You did what?
- He went where?
- She’s coming when?
- He’s how old?
- We’ll meet who?
- Who will meet us?
- I didn’t understand what you said.
- Did you say _____ ?
- What did you say?
- It’s how far?
- There are what kind of shops?
- It opens at what time?
-They cost how much?


  • Correcting Someone

- Are you sure?
- Actually, I think you mean _____  .
- Actually, _____  .
- Don’t you mean _____  ?
- Excuse me, but _____  ?
- But actually, _____  is  _____  , isn’t it?

  • Correcting Things You Say

- Well
e.g. “I don’t remember much about kindergarten. 

Well, I remember my first day.”

- Actually
e.g. “Actually, I don’t remember the day, but I

remember on the way home I missed my bus stop.”

- I mean
e.g. “The teacher, I mean, the bus driver,

had to call and find out my address.”

- No, wait
e.g. “It happened when I was five … no, wait … I was only four.”


  • Vague Responses

- I don’t know.
- I’m not sure.
- Maybe.
- It depends.


  • Awkward Questions

- How old are you?
- How much do you weigh?
- How tall are you?
- How much money do you make?
- Why don’t you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?
- Have you ever cheated on your boyfriend/girlfriend?
- What is your sexual orientation?
- What religion are you?
- What does your family complain most about you?
- What do you think about my looks?
- What do you think about the President?
-Are you a Republican or Democrat?​


http://richardlstansfield.wordpress.com/category/conversation-strategies/


   Learn How To...


Dive in.
Fear not.
Believe in yourself.
Get the BIG picture.
Trust your intuition.
Make mistakes work FOR you.
Set your own goals.

      Principles of Language Learning: (Brown, 2007)

Helpful  Hints



Listening comprehension is just as important as speaking in terms of communicative competence. 

Strategies for Listening:

  • Try to understand the reason for a particular message
  • Get accustomed to speed and find ways to cope with it
  • Identify listening problems and plan how to improve them
  • Ask questions for clarification
  • Ask the speaker to repeat
  • Listen to a variety of different accents
  • Recognize patterns
  • Listen for structures
  • Listen for transition words/organization markers                                                                                                          

(i.e. cause and effect, compare and contrast)

  • Listen for content words
  • Listen for tone, intonation, stress
  • Listen for specific vocabulary words
  • Use visual clues (pictures, body language, slides)
  • Plan what you’re going to listen for
  • Check how well you understood
  • Check to see if you have the right idea
  • Paraphrase what you hear
  • Empathize with the speaker                                                                                                                                                  

(try to understand why the speaker wants to communicate a certain message)

  • Lower anxiety about listening
  • Visualize the setting/situation
  • Pay attention to repetitions
  • Clear the mind before listening
  • Predict what language will come next
  • Guess the meaning of unknown words
  • Guess the overall meaning
  • Piece together meaning from words that are heard
  • Ignore unfamiliar words
  • Pay attention to the main points
  • Make associations between what you already know and what you hear
  • Personalize by making connections between your personal life and what you hear


Adapted in part from Brown (1994), Chamot (1995), Goh (1997), Mendelsohn (2000), Murphy (1987), O’Malley, Chamot, and Kupper (1989), O’Malley, Chamot, Stewner-Manzanares, Kupper, and Russo (1995), White (2007), and Willing (1987).



Because Spanish is so prevalent in Miami, Florida, learning and practicing English can be challenging.  We offer English lessons 5 days a week for Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced students.  Group Classes and Private Lessons are available, tailored to your individual needs.  All of our English lessons are taught by native fluency English tutors.  Call us at 214-364-3134 or email us at info@linguru.org to schedule a FREE English lesson today!




Have you ever taken a high school or college level English language course and wondered why you still can't speak English?  At Linguru, we simplify learning English and show you how to communicate in real-world contexts.  Whether your goal is to be accepted into the college of your dreams, improve you standardized test score, increase business opportunities, better serve your clients, or travel with ease and converse socially, our classes will provide you the skills to become a native English speaker.  Classes are taught by native English tutors who will motivate you to jump in and speak English right away.  We provide effective English lessons for real world contexts.  Stop getting lost in large group English lectures.  Start speaking English now!

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English vowels have three aspects: front-to back quality,  open-to-close quality,  and lip rounding.  

The chart below represents the tongue’s position when making the sound.


http://soundsofspeech.uiowa.edu/english/english.html

-English:West Germanic language; spoken in U.S.A., U. K., Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand


-Asian/Sino-Tibetan: includes languages of Tibetan (Lhasa, Khams, Amdo, Dzongkha, Sikkimese, Sherpa, Ladakhi), Burmese/Myanmar Chinese (Mandarin, Wu, Cantonese, Yue, Min, Xiang)


-Romance: Romanic languages, Latin languages, Neo-Latin languages; Spanish Portuguese, French, Italian, Romanian, Catalan, Occitan


-Russian/Indo-European: East Slavic language spoken in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, former USSR nations


-Semitic: Arabic, Amharic, Hebrew,Tigrinya, Aramaic (endangered, not extinct)




A root, as its name suggests, is a word or word part from which other words grow, usually through the addition of prefixes and suffixes.  Understanding the meanings of the common word roots can help us deduce the meanings of new words that we encounter.The table below defines and illustrates 30 of the most common Greek and Latin roots. The letter in parentheses indicates whether the root word is Greek (G) or Latin (L).


ROOTMEANINGEXAMPLES
-ast(er)-(G)starasteroid, astronomy
-audi- (L)hearaudible, audience
-auto- (G)selfautomatic, autopsy
-bene- (L)goodbenefit, benign
-bio- (G)lifebiography, biology
-chrono- (G)timechronic, synchronize
-dict- (L)saydictate, diction
-duc- (L)lead, makededuce, produce
-gen- (L)give birthgene, generate
-geo- (G)earthgeography, geology
-graph- (G)writeautograph, graph
-jur-, -jus- (L)lawjury, justice
-log-, -logue- (L) thoughtlogic, obloquy
-luc- (L)lightlucid, translucent
-man(u)- (L)handmanual, manure
-mand-, -mend- (L)orderdemand, recommend
-mis-, -mit- (L)sendmissile, transmission
-omni- (L)allomnivorous
-path- (G)feelempathy, pathetic
-phil- (G)lovephilosophy, bibliophile
-phon- (G)soundphonics, telephone
-photo- (G)lightphotograph, photon
-port- (L)carryexport, portable
-qui(t)- (L)quiet, restacquit, tranquil
-scrib-, -script- (L)writeascribe, script
-sens-, -sent- (L)feelresent, sensitive
-tele- (G)far offtelecast, telephone
-terr- (L)earthterrain, territory
-vac- (L)emptyevacuate, vacate
-vid-, -vis- (L)see

visible, video




Prefixes always come before a word. In English, prefixes generally do not affect the part of speech. For example, they cannot change a word from being a verb to being a noun. They can only change the semantics of the word


PrefixMeaningExample
a-, an-withoutamoral
ante-beforeantecedent
anti-againstanticlimax
auto-selfautopilot
circum-aroundcircumvent
co-withcopilot
com-, con-withcompanion, contact
contra-againstcontradict
de-off, away fromdevalue
dis-notdisappear
en-put intoenclose
ex-out of, formerextract, ex-president
extra-beyond, more thanextracurricular
hetero-differentheterosexual
homo-samehomonym
hyper-over, morehyperactive
il-, im-, in-, ir-not, withoutillegal, immoral, inconsiderate, irresponsible
in-intoinsert
inter-betweenintersect
intra-betweenintravenous
macro-largemacroeconomics
micro-smallmicroscope
mono-onemonocle
non-not, withoutnonentity
omni-all, everyomniscient
post-afterpostmortem
pre-, pro-before, forwardprecede, project
sub-undersubmarine
syn-same timesynchronize
trans-acrosstransmit
tri-threetricycle
un-notunfinished
uni-oneunicorn

http://grammar.about.com/od/words/a/comprefix07.htm



Suffixes, on the other hand, retain the meaning of the root of the word, but can change the part of speech of tense of the word.


Noun Suffixes

Suffix

Meaning

Example

-acy

state or quality

privacy

-al

act or process of

refusal

-ance, -ence

state or quality of

maintenance, eminence

-dom

place or state of being

freedom, kingdom

-er, -or

one who

trainer, protector

-ism

doctrine, belief

communism

-ist

one who

chemist

-ity, -ty

quality of

veracity

-ment

condition of

argument

-ness

state of being

heaviness

-ship

position held

fellowship

-sion, -tion

state of being

concession, transition




Verb Suffixes

-ate

become

eradicate

-en

become

enlighten

-ify, -fy

make or become

terrify

-ize, -ise

become

civilize




Adjective Suffixes

-able, -ible

capable of being

edible, presentable

-al

pertaining to

regional

-esque

reminiscent of

picturesque

-ful

notable for

fanciful

-ic, -ical

pertaining to

musical, mythic

-ious, -ous

characterized by

nutritious, portentous

-ish

having the quality of

fiendish

-ive

having the nature of

creative

-less

without

endless

-y

characterized by

sleazy



  •               

A noun is a person, place, thing, or idea.



A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun. 


  • Personal Pronouns
  subject -(before verb)  object-(after verb)   possessive
  I me mine
Singular  you you yours
  he him his
  she her hers
  it it its
  we us ours
  they them theirs
Plural  you you yours




Adjectives modify nouns and pronouns.


  • Royal Order of Adjectives:
 Determiner
 Observation
 Physical Description
Origin
Material
Qualifier
 ~NOUN~
  psychological
 sight-size, shape, age, color
  touch-texture
  
  (5 senses)
 
  
  

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/adjective_order.htm


  • Example:

Rueben was ashy, small, short, old, grey,German,furry,hunting, Schnauzer dog.

 

Verbs express actions or states of being.

  • Simple Present
The present simple tense expresses habits and habitual truths— actions that always or never take place.
  • Present Continuous/Progressive
The present continuous tense is formed by using the appropriate present simple form of to be followed by the present participle. This tense is used when the action occurs at the moment of speech and is often accompanied by an adverbial phrase of time.  The present continuous tense is also used for actions that will take place imminently or soon in the future.
  • Present Perfect
The present perfect tense is used to indicate that the verbal action began in the past and either has not yet ended, or has ended but has some relevance for the present; this tense is often used to talk about experiences, changes, and continuing situations. 
The present perfect tense is formed by using the appropriate present simple form of the verb to have followed by the past participle of the verb in question.
  • Present Perfect Continuous/Progressive
The present perfect continuous tense is used to indicate that the verbal action was continuous in the recent past and continues up to the present; it indicates actions that occurred continuously in the recent past.
  • Simple Past                                                                           
The past simple (sometimes called the “simple past”) tense is used to express that the verbal action began and ended in the past.
  • Past Continuous/Progressive
The past continuous tense is formed by using the appropriate past simple form of to be followed by the present participle. This tense is used to express an action that was in progress (and not finished) at a time in the past, and is often used to report an action that was in progress at a particular time in the past.  This tense is also used to describe a situation that took place over a period of time in the past.  The past continuous tense is also used to describe a state, event, or action that was planned in the past.  In addition, the past continuous tense is used for past actions that were interrupted or already in progress at a given time in the past.
  • Past Perfect
The past perfect tense, is used to express that one action began in the past before another past action. The past perfect tense is formed by using the appropriate past tense form of the verb to have followed by the past participle.
  • Past Perfect Continuous/Progressive
The past perfect continuous tense is used to indicate that the verbal action began in the past before another past event and persisted over a period of time.
  • Simple Future
Future simple of all verbs is formed simply by adding the modal verb will before the infinitive without ‘to’.  Future actions can also be expressed by using the phrase to be going to before the verb in question.
  • Future Continuous/Progressive

The future continuous/progressive tense involves continuous actions happening at a specific time in the future.  It is formed with will/won’t + be + present participle.

  • Future Perfect           
The future perfect tense is used to express that one action will begin in the future before another (future) action. The future perfect tense is formed by using the future tense form of the verb to have (i.e., will have) followed by the past participle.

The future perfect tense refers to an action, which isn’t finished yet, but will be completely/partially finished by a specified future time.  It is formed with will/won’t + have + past participle.

  • Future Perfect Continuous/Progressive
The future perfect continuous tense is used to indicate that the verbal action will begin in the future before another future event and will continue over a period of time.  It is formed with will/won’t + have + been + present participle.

Tree Map®


For classifying and grouping, students learn to use a Tree Map. Things or ideas are sorted into categories or groups.  On the top line, write the category name. Below that begin writing sub-categories. Below each sub-category write specific members of the group

Circle Map®


Circle Maps are tools used to help define a thing or idea. It is used to brainstorm ideas.  In the center of the circle, use words, numbers, pictures, or any other sign or symbol to represent the object, person, or idea you are trying to understand or define. In the outside circle, write or draw any information that puts this thing in context.



Thinking Maps® integrate thinking skills and mapping techniques. Learning to use these strategies helps students develop good writing skills.  Thinking Maps® uses basic mental operations involved in perceiving, processing and evaluating information. They describe, classify, and sequence.

http://www.nhcs.k12.nc.us/parsley/curriculum/ThinkingMaps.html​

Root Words

Noun

Prefixes

English Class Info

Reading Like a Reader

  • ​Awkward Questions (continued)

What do you say if someone asks you an awkward question?

- If you want to end the conversation or change the topic, use a “Conversation Killer.”


- If you want to continue the conversation, use a “Conversation Killer” and then a  “Conversation Keeper.”

  • Conversation “Killers”

- I don’t really know.
- That’s a good question.
- I’m not sure.
- I have no idea.
- I’d have to think about that.
- Umm, ahhh, I’d rather not say.

  • Conversation “Keepers”

- What do you think?
- How do you feel?
- How about you?
- What about you?

  • Rejoinders

Rejoinders are special phrases. We use them for three reasons:
-to show that we are listening
-to show that we understand
-to show that we are interested

  • Happy

- That’s great!
- Terrific!
- Wonderful!

  • Sad

- That’s too bad.
- I’m sorry to hear that.
- Oh, no!

  • Interested

- I see.
- That’s nice.
- Oh, yeah?

  • Surprised

- You’re kidding!
- I can’t believe it!
- Oh, really!  /  Oh, really?


  • Follow-up Questions

When talking, first use a Rejoinder, then a Follow-Up Question.


Use Follow-Up Questions to:
- show that we are listening.
- show that we understood.
- show interest.
- continue the conversation.
- get more details about a topic.

What … ?
Where … ?
When  … ?
What kind of  … ?
How … ?
(How long … ?  / How far … ?  / How late … ?  / How big … ? )



Suffixes

Grammar

Diphthongs

Consonants

Thinking Maps

Conversational Phrases

Conjunction

Verb

Interjection

Linguru's Fluency Focus

Pronuncation

Listening

Vowels

Cultural Patterns

Simple Conversation Strategies

Infer

Adverb

Pronoun

Bridge Map®


Bridge Maps give students a tool for applying the process of seeing analogies. On the far left, write in the relating factor. The relating factor is the similar phrase that fits both sides of an analogy. On the top and bottom of the left side of the bridge, write in the first pair of things that have this relationship. On the right side of the bridge, write in the second pair of things that have the same relationship.
The bridge can continue with more relating factors.

Multi-Flow Map®


Cause and effect is represented in a Multi-Flow Map. In the center rectangle, list the event that occurred. In the rectangle to the left, list the causes of the event. Write the effects/consequences of the event in the rectangles to the right of the center rectangle. 

Bubble Map®


Bubble Maps are used to describe qualities using adjectives.   In the center circle, write the word or thing being described.
Write the adjectives in the outside circles.


Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs 


  • Adverbs of Degree:
 0% 5% 25% 50% 75% 95% 100%
 totally not hardly fairly quite really extremelytotally
 completely not  reasonably rather very  completely
 absolutely not  somewhat pretty so  absolutely
   relatively    

 


Prepositions describe a relationship between a noun and the rest of the sentence.


A common meaning of ‘in’                                         A common meaning of ‘on

Within  the limits, bounds, or area of.                       Indicating position above and supported by or in contact with. 


He was hit in the face; I was born in France.             The money is on the table. We sat on a stool.

  • Preposition List

up                                                                                down

in front of                                                                    in back of, behind

on, on top of                                                                off, off of

out, outside, out of                                                      in, inside, within

over, above                                                                 under, below, beneath, underneath

near, close to, by                                                        far, away, far away from, beyond

left-hand side                                                              right-hand side

next to, beside                                                            along

among                                                                         between, in the middle of, either side of

across                                                                          around

through                                                                       throughout



Conjunctions are transition and connective words.

  • Conjunction List:


  • Contrast:
even though, although, though, but, yet, nevertheless, nonetheless, however, despite, in spite of

  • Continuing the same idea:
moreover, furthermore, in addition, additionally, also, in addition, besides


An interjection is a word that expresses strong feeling or emotion.  They are more prevalent in spoken language than in written language.  Interjections commonly appear in fiction, specifically when authors are attempting to convey natural dialogue.

Examples:     Wow !          Great !          Gosh !          Ouch !   
     



One of the first aspects of structure that we can look at is the linear order of words. 

All spoken utterances are in a chronological and linear order. While many languages

allow considerable freedom in their word order (Russian, Latin, and Aboriginal Australian

languages), there is no language in the world in which the linear order of words does

not matter at all.

 

  • SUBJECT-VERB-OBJECT (SVO)
    • English, Chinese
    •  “The man saw the dog”
  • SUBJECT-OBJECT-VERB (SOV)
    • Japanese, Turkish, Russian
    • “Pensive poets painful vigils keep.” (–Pope)
  • VERB-SUBJECT-OBJECT (VSO)
    • Arabic, Irish, Welsh 
    • “Govern thou my song.” (--Milton)
  • OBJECT-SUBJECT-VERB (OSV)
    • Jamamadi 
    • “When nine hundred years you reach, look as good you will not.” (--Yoda)
  • OBJECT-VERB-SUBJECT (OVS)
    • Apalai - Amazon basin
  • VERB-OBJECT-SUBJECT (VOS)
    • Malagasy- Madagascar


Akmajian, Adrian, et al. Linguistics: An Introduction to Language and Communication, fifth edition. MIT Press: Cambridge, MA. 2001. 

Flow Map® 


Flow Maps sequence and order a process. They can be used to explain the order of events. In the outside rectangle, write
the name for the event or sequence. Rectangles to follow list
the steps or events that follow from beginning to end. Smaller
rectangles may be written below to list substages or each major stage.

Double Bubble Map®


When comparing and contrasting, we use Double Bubble Maps. This is similar in concept to a Venn Diagram. Two items being compared are written in the two center circles. Outside bubbles show items that share qualities with only one object - these are contrasting qualities. Center bubbles (that connect to both circles) show similarities between the two items being compared.



Writing is a culturally specific learned behavior.




  • Vowel Examples
The chart below contains example words to help illustrate what the different IPA symbols represent.

.Front
Central
Back
 High beet, peak......boot, due
bit, pick....book, hood
 Midbait, takeof, theboat, poke
bet, peckbut, puckcaught, dawn
 Lowbat, pack......hot, don
 


A diphthong is a complex vowel, made of two components; a diphthong begins as one vowel and finishes as another.

  • Diphthong Pronunciation Videos

FrontBack
 High beet, peakboot, due
 Mid
or
bait, take
or
boat, poke

Brace Map® 


Brace Maps help learners understand the relationship between a whole physical object and its parts. They are used to analyze the structure of an item. On the line to the left, write the
name of the whole object. On the lines within the first brace
to the right, write the major parts of the object, then follow
within the next set of braces with the subparts of each major
part.





  • Use question words
Continue a conversation by using the
5 Wh- question words & the one H question word:
(Who, What, When, Where, Why, How)

  • Return the same question back
Answer the question and ask your partner, " How about you ? " or " And you ? "

  • Give more information
Answer the question and then give more information.

  • Ask follow up questions
Ask more questions about what you and your partner are talking about.

  • Show interest
Use words such as:
( Really, Wow, Right, Yeah, That’s great, Ok, Got it )
to show you are interested in what your partner is saying.
http://www.eflsensei.com/?category=18

​​


(1) Question

Readers ask good questions about the things they read:

Why is something happening? Or not happening? Why is a character feeling or

acting a certain ways? Why did the author use a particular word? And so on.

Questions help readers clarify their understanding.

(2) Predict

No reader, it seems, can resist thinking about what a writer is going to
write next. Predicting helps readers sort out important information from unimportant

information. It also helps them organize their thinking as they encounter new material.

 (3)

Readers figure out things that aren’t actually written in the text. There’s almost always more to a text than just the words on the page. Often, writers leave “clues” that good readers can use to discover important information.

 Question 
It Says
I Say
And So
Read the question
Find information from the text to help answer each question — paraphrase or quote answers from text.
Consider what you know about the information.
Put together  the information from the text with what you know, then answer the question. 

http://www.thinkfinity.org/servlet/JiveServlet/previewBody/5823-102-1-10074/Making%20Inferences.pdf


(4) Connect

We can’t help but be reminded of our own lives as we read. We’re also reminded of similar things we’ve read in other  texts and other parts of the same text.

(5) Feel

Readers have feelings while they read. Sometimes, it seems like we have a direct connection to what we’re reading: sad parts make us feel sad, happy parts make us feel happy, scary parts scare us, and so on. But often, the feelings we have are more subtle. Much of the meaning we get from a text comes from the emotions we feel when read it.

(6) Evaluate

Readers make judgments while they read: Is this good? If so, what’s good about it? Do I like it? Why? Should I keep reading or should I put this down and get something else? The evaluations they make help them decide whether or not what they are reading is
valuable. 




Here’s what was on my mind as I read like a reader through the first paragraph of a short story called “Eddie Takes Off”: 

Eddie had always been able to fly, but it wasn’t until his fifth birthday party that he realized that it would turn out to be a bit of a social problem. Until that embarrassing day on the Johnsons’ lawn, Eddie’s parents had treated his airborne peculiarity as something of a childish whim. “Boy’s gotta stretch out, learn what he can do,” said his father. “I just worry that he’ll hurt himself, you know, bump into the ceiling or get his eye poked out by a bird, I don’t know...” said his mother. For the young Eddie, flying was just another discovery about his developing body, like learning that he could reach out his arm and ring the bell on his cradle railing, or finding that he loved the taste of peas. The first time his parents came into the nursery and found Eddie hovering a foot or two off the floor it came as a bit of a shock. But, after all, parents are forever discovering special little things about their children. Eddie’s mother thought that perhaps they should take their son to see a specialist, but his father vetoed the idea. “It’s not like anything’s wrong with him, and I don’t want him getting a complex about it.”

- From Eddie Takes Off by Ben Hippen 

 

  •    Question: Is this a fantasy story where people have special powers?                                                                                                    

 Or is the author using the idea of flying to stand for something else?

  • Predict: I think Eddie’s flying is going to get him in trouble. 
  • Infer: Eddie’s parents seem strange. I think the author is trying to tell us that they may not be very smart or very sensitive. 
  • Connect: This reminds me of Harry Potter where a boy has special powers.                                                                      

But it also makes me think of other kids I have seen who may be different. 

  • Feel: I feel sorry for Eddie. I think he’s going to be lonely because people aren’t going to understand him. 
  • Evaluate: The beginning is good. I’m curious about Eddie and his flying and I like author’s entertaining and funny style. 

http://www.ttms.org/say_about_a_book/read_like_a_reader.htm