Speaking Practice 7

Could I Come by Your House?

Susi     : This lecture is not easy.

Niko   : What’s up, Susi? Are you talking about Speaking 1 lecture?

Susi     : Yeah. I can’t speak English well.

Niko   : No, I don’t think it is not you being unable to speak English. You are good.

Susi     : I won’t say. My English is not good. I am awful. Even my pronunciation is worse than the worst in this class.

Niko   : Don’t say that, Susi. Don’t over-judge yourself, please.

Susi     : I am not over-judging, Niko. It is the truth.

Niko   : No, of course not. Your English is good. I think you just need to practice your pronunciation more often.

Susi     : Do you think so?

Niko   : Yes, absolutely.

Susi     : How could I practice my English, then?

Niko   : I have some practice with my senior every Friday. She comes to my house and drills my pronunciation.

Susi     : That is great. Could I come by your house?

Niko   : Sure thing. Stay for one or two hours, so we can practice.  Frankly speaking, I need a company to practice. The senior is further smarter than me.

Susi     : With my pleasure, Niko. Thank you.

Niko   : No need to thank me; instead, you can thank the senior.

Susi     : Yeah, ok see you on Friday.

Niko   : See you too, Susi.

I.          Underline new words and discuss them either with your peer or lecturer.

II.        Underline some expressions of ‘thanking’ and ‘gratitude’.

III.      Underline some expressions of ‘ asking permission’

IV.      Practice the dialogue with your peer in turn.

V.        Complete these sentences based on your own situation.

a.       …………………………………… is not easy.

b.      I can’t …………………………………………

c.       Don’t ……………………………………………, please.

d.      I think ………………………………………………………………………

e.      Could I ……………………………………………….?

Speaking Practice 6

Thanking and Responding Thanking.

There are many ways to say thank you and to say gratitude. There are many ways to respond thank you. You're welcome has been very common to respond it. Somehow there are many ways to respond thank you as like: 

1. You got it
2. Don’t mention it
3. No worries
4. Not a problem
5. My pleasure
6. It was nothing
7. I’m happy to help
8. Not at all
9. Sure
10. Anytime

In this dialogue is an example of how people saying thankfulness and how to respond it.

YOU ARE MY BESTIE

Rina    : Hi Anna, you look awful. What is the matter?

Anna  : No….nothing

Rina    : Are you sure? Is there anything you want to share me? I am listening.

Anna  : This is a bit tough for me.

Rina    : Tough for you? About what? What is burdening you now?

Anna  : I think you know that next two days is  tuition dead line. I had the money yesterday, but when I  was about to pay it, my mother got sick. She got typhus, and she must be hospitalized.

Rina    : I am sorry to hear that, Anna. Is your mother at the hospital now?

Anna  : Yeah, she will go home as soon as she gets better, and I have no idea when it is. I have no idea how I  pay the tuition either.

Rina    : I wanted to help you, if you don’t mind. Just use mine. I have paid mine and I have a small amount of it. I think it is a half from the tuition. You just need to think the rest.

Anna  : Ooo Rina, I mind it. I don’t want to bother you.

Rina    : Anna, you are not bothering me. Contrarily, I am happy to help you.

Anna  : Alhamdulillah.

Rina    : I am sorry too if I just can lend you a half of the thorough number.

Anna  : No, It has been so much for me. It is very nice of you, Rina.

Rina    : No need to mention that, Anna. You are my bestie, aren’t you?

Anna  : No, you are my bestie. Thanks a lot. I really appreciate what you have done to me.

Rina    : My pleasure, Anna.

I.          Underline new words and discuss them either with your peer or lecturer.

II.        Underline some expressions of ‘thanking’ and ‘gratitude’.

III.      Underline expression(s) of ‘giving sympathy’

IV.      Answer these questions well.

a.       What is the connection between the two speakers?

b.      Find the synonym of:

Share   : …..

Tuition : …..

Tough  : …..

Bother : …..

Bestie  : …..

c.Would you like to do the same (lend a big amount of money to one of friends) if you were Rina?

V.        Practice the dialogue with your peer in turn.

Speaking Practice 5

MY EASYGOING LECTURER

S    : Ma’am could I have you time, please?

L    : Yes, What can I do for you?

S    : Could I discuss my lecture schedule?

L    : Sure, why not?

S    : Ma’am, This is my fifth semester here, and I just work in a big company. It is very difficult for me sometimes to ask permission. I work in the evening started from 2 am. to 9 pm almost everyday, from Monday to Sunday.

L    : That’s good for you.

S    : Yeah, that is good for me, but it means bad for my college.

L    : I’ll say.

S    : Is that possible  for not able to come to your class regularly? Surely, I will attend your class as I have time. In case I am working and can’t reach for your class, I will text you.

L    : Sounds not good.

S    : Yes, ma’am. Is that possible if I do some tasks regarding to my absences?

L    : Well, let me think about it. I will tell you as soon as I get the answer.

S    : Thanks ma’am. it is very nice of you.

L    : No need to mention that. Success for both your job and your study.

S    : You too, ma’am.

I.          Underline new words and discuss them either with your peer or lecturer.

II.        Underline some expressions of ‘asking permission’

III.      Underline some expressions of ‘giving sympathy/no sympathy’

IV.      Answer these questions well.

a.       Who are the speakers?

b.      How many years has the student studied in the University?

c.   What does ‘it’ mean in ”Well, let me think about it”?

d.      What does “I’ll say” mean?

e.      Do you think the lecturer will give the permission? Explain your reason!

V.        Practice the dialogue with your peer in turn.

Speaking Practice 1

INTRODUCTION 1 

Read this slight introduction of an English teacher for several times. Then, change the italic words/phrases and practice your self introduction to interlocutor(s).

Hi, my name is Tina Indrawati. You can call me Wati. I live at Jalan Kusumawardana no.5, Jakarta. My phone number is 081556664444. I was born in Jakarta. My origin is  Makasarese. I am 26 years old. I am in my middle 20s. I am married. I work as teacher and English instructor. I work for ILP and some private courses. My job description is to plan lesson, to teach, to assess, to do report and to do class administration. My hobbies are swimming, singing, studying, working out and reading. I study in Unindra because I want to be able to master English and I want to be an English teacher someday. My life motto is “Do the best and let Allah decide the rest”.

INTRODUCTION 2

Read this slight introduction of a college student for several times. Then, change the italic words/phrases and practice your self introduction to interlocutor(s).

Hallo everybody. My name is Andi Fajar. I am twenty years old. I live at Jl. Kusumawardana no.45 Kebayoran Heights, Bintaro. My phone number is 087885551111. 

I am college student of ESQ Business School.  I am in my second semester now. I am major in English. My favorite lecture is Syntax. I like the way my lecturer explaining things and triggering my critical thinking in his lecture. 

I am from South Sulawesi. My father is Makasarese, but my mother is from Manado. She is Manadonese. I come from small family. I just have a younger sister. She is three years younger than me.

When I am graduated from my recent campus, I will seek a good job. I have a dream to be a leader. I believe that my communication skill will bring me to a success.

INTRODUCTION 3

Read this dialogue, and practise it with a peer. Then, do the next practice by changing some parts for your personal info.

☻ Hi , what is your name?
☺ My name is Faisal.
☻ Hi Faisal, my name is Dian. Are you new here?
☺ No, I am not new. I just moved to this class.
☻ I see...Do you live near here?
☺ No, I live in Kuningan, Jakarta.
☻ Do you live with your parents?
☺ No, I live with a room mate. We rent a small room while we stay in Jakarta. How about you? Do you live with parents?
☻ Sure. I live in Depok. It is near from here.
☺ What is your hobby?
☻ I like jogging. How about you?
☺ I like working out.
☻ Really? Where do you usually work out?
☺ Not far from my house.
☻ Do you like basketball?
☺ Yes, absolutely.

☻Great. we can do it together, then.

☺Yeah, no doubt for that. Can't wait for the time.

☻Me either. I will text you later. What is your phone number?

☺It is 081234926107. May I have yours, too?

☻yes, it is 085757787888.

Practise the dialogue with a peer and fill this blank for his/her data.

Name                    : ……………………………..

Address               : ……………………………..

Phone Number : ……………………………..

Hobby              : ……………………………..

Punctuation and Capitalization Practice

Punctuation and capitalization will be our best consideration in writing. Check this slight review for punctuation and capitalization.

Now, let's practise punctuation and letter capitalization by adding some punctuations and by capitalizing some letters in exercise 1 and exercise 2

Exercise 1

as a student of unindra i experience much wonderful time and great solid team here i spend a lot of sessions studying here and spending time with my friends we sometimes do peer work we spare for a quiz preparation and we have small discussion for score evaluation i have many nice and smart friends in class we support each other we help any friend who needs help we solve any problem together our class chief is fauzy he is smart and diligent he is the main booster of our class solidity

even i live in a far distance from my campus i enjoy my weeks my house is in jurang mangu and my campus is in tanjung barat it sometimes takes two and a half hours for me to get to campus sometimes i ride my motorcycle often i take public transport and rarely does a nice friend ride me to college

my favorite subject in unindra is basic writing  i always love when saturday comes it means the time for me to know how to write well  the class begins at 2 pm in the afternoon my lecturer is mrs hanna she is a pretty smart  lecturer she lectures us how to write in her attractive teaching style in last meeting she said to us everybody dont forget next week we will have writing 1 progress test just prepare yourselves and get your best result ok well now i will study for the next writing test wish me luck will you

Exercise 2

i am a girl of ambonese aged twenty two years old my friends call me tiur that is my nick name now i just begin my work as an employee in bpjs ketenagakerjaan i just began my job on last monday september 5th it is difficult to adapt either with my new friends or with company policy i think it is a luck for me to be able to work here my father mr polo was very happy when he noticed that  was accepted here

my working schedule is from 7 am until 4 pm  i work for eight hours another hour is for break time last two days one of yesterday my friend here invited me along to shop with her she is tina we went to matahari department store to shop till drop i just followed her i wanted to buy clothes but i couldnt for l did not have enough money l had not got y first salary l need to be financially efficient tina wanted to buy me clothes but i refused it gently i felt regret why i said no i love the charles and keith blouse tina is a very kind person wanting to purchase me cloth at that time but politely i denied her help 

actually in my new office i have great friend the problem is that i just need to adapt with air conditionered room and stack of paper on my desk before i used to work outdoor meeting people and to enjoy the day spending time in sun heat i hope i can enjoy my work as i regularly do it 

How to Do Listing in Writing

Listing is a several techniques done as a pre-writing stage. This technique helps some beginners to collect ideas and put them in coherency. Listing can be done by:

1. Write the title of the passage at front

2. List some words that convey your thought towards the title

3. Cross out unnecessary idea

4. Rewrite the points of thought in coherent

5. Write a passage.

Here is the  detail example of listing

1. Write the title of the passage

Here, we have an idea of  why writing is very important. We can choose "The Importance of Friendship" as the title.

2. List some words that convey your thought towards the title

After the title is fixed, we can write any ideas in our mind related to friendship.

Tabayyun

Clarification

Make sure

Friendship

Conflict

Gossip

Positive thinking

Prejudice

Misunderstanding

Narrow-minded

3. Cross out unnecessary idea and 4. Rewrite the points of thought in coherent

After all, cross out what should be omitted, and scan for their coherency. Then, rewrite the points again to visualize us how to put them in paragraph, like this below..

1.Friendship

2.Positive thinking

3.Prejudice

4.Misunderstanding

5.Clarification

5. Write a passage.

Friendship is the most important thing in our live. It is important because we are human beings who need to share. Our friends always help us as we help them. When some  of them are good, some are bad. They make us laugh as well as they make us cry. Thing unites us towards our differences is positive thinking.

However, we sometimes destroy our friendship without any purpose. Ego often blinds us about positive side of our friend. For example when we have problems, no body helps. In this situation, we often think negatively. Some ones unwisely get angry and break friendship without any confirmation. We must avoid something like this happens in our relationship.

Friendship is not only sharing when it is needed. Beyond everything, friendship is more to build understanding and to gain openness one to another. Either asking or giving clarification is needed in friendship. By this, friendship will long last for both side for good.

The bold words refer to points in listing display. Remember, writing is a free style of someone under conventional rule, of course. Do not be afraid to write. Do not stop writing. Even ten-time writing does not guarantee your rich writing ability. So, never give up to write again...and again.

Writing Practice 1

Here is an incomplete paragraph available for your verb writing exercise. Complete the gaps using the available words in brackets. 

An Annoying Friend at College

Lina ........... (be) a friend of mine in campus. She .......... (be) my coworker. Even we .......... (work) in different sections, she always .......... (invite) me along with her to have lunch together. Actually, she ........... (be) my best friend, but she ........... (be) sometimes annoying. She always ........... (want) to know deeper about me. I ........... (feel) inconvenient for that reason.

As a forty-year-old beautiful woman, she ........... (have) married with three sons. Her first son ........... (be) going to be a doctor soon, and her second child ........... (be) just beginning his study in UNJ. The last one ........... (be) a daughter who still ........... (go) to senior high school. Her husband ........... (be) a manager in a big company. I ........... (believe) she ........... (have) such a wonderful life.

Even she ........... (be) great in her way, she still ........... (get) jealous especially to me. I think she ........... (be) jealous to me from her intention to know what I ........... (do) every day. She ........... (be) a curious person. She always ........... (ask) me where I ........... (teach), what I ........... (do), how I ........... (do) this and that. One thing for sure, she often ........... (tell) about her private life. She often ........... (say) what she should not ........... (say) about her marriage. She ........... (keep) talking about that repeatedly. She not only ........... (yell) at me about that, but she also ........... (tell) anybody whom she ........... (meet). Sometimes I ........... (feel) pity. For me it ........... (be) a very reluctant topic, and it ........... (be,not) for public. I really ........... (want) to get rid from her life, but she just ........... (follow) me wherever I go. It hope she will ........... (realize) neither to share her life secret nor to be curious for another’s life. . 

Speaking Practice 4

HE USED TO BE MY CLOSEST ONE

Practice this dialogue with a friend.
A lady just realized that one of new employees in her office is her best friend  at college. She is confirming that to her coworker.

☻Hi Ani, where are you going?
☺Hello Tina, I am going downstairs. I am meeting an HRD personnel. His name is Mr. Pandu.
☻ Mr. Pandu? Never heard that name.
☺ Yes, he is new here
☻ Ohya? I met a new guy this morning. He looks like my old friend, Pandu.
☺ Are you sure?
☻ Yeah…one of my best friends in campus. I wanted to greet him, but I wasn’t so sure. He has grey hair, but my friend Pandu shouldn’t have any.
☺ Grey hair grows, you know?  I think, he is in your age.
☻ Really?
☺ Absolutely. He just told me that yesterday. He is married, and he has three children. All are daughters.
☻ Is he Manadonese?
☺ Yes, he is.
☻ Ooh, maybe age has changed his skin color. He has mole in his right cheek, doesn't he?
☺ Yes, he does. Big one. 
☻ Is his hobby canoeing?
☺ Absolutely.
☻ His last name must be Setiawan, mustn’t it?
☺ See...he is your friend, isn't he?
☻ Of course... He used to be my closest one in campus. He is tall. He has wavy thick hair. He is left-handed. He is Manadonese. He really likes canoeing, drinking coffee, and he smiles a lot.
☺ I am sure he is the same Pandu, then.
☻ Yes…no doubt for that.
☺ I will come by to your room and ask him to have lunch together. 
☻ Sure....go ahead. Enjoy your lunch, then.

Speaking Practice 3

WELCOMING A FRIEND

Welcoming friend is a common to do for someone who likes to make friend. Practice this dialogue with a peer in turn.

A:Hi Nurul. Did you just arrive here?
N:Hallo Ahmad. Yes I did.
A:Wow, welcome back home. You stayed in Jakarta for 6 years, didn’t you?
N:Yes, and I completed My  under-graduate study in four years, too.
A:So, you went to Jakarta  not only to study? What did you do there?
N:I worked there, too.
A:Really? What did you do there?
N:I taught children in primary school.
A:Wow, excellent. I have been dreaming to teach children since I was kid,  but it was only my call. Destiny brings me to another way.
N:What are you doing now?
A:I work as a technician in a small company.
N:That is also good. Success for your job now.
A:Thank you, Nurul. 
N:No need to mention that.
A:So, what is your next plan, Nurul.
N:Well, now  I am teaching in  a senior high school not far from here. I think I will just do teaching and educating the children here.
A:Great to hear that, could I visit you teaching some times?
N:Sure thing. Why not? Please feel free to come any time you want, and permit me to have a visitation to your work site some times in the future, too.
A:Of course I won’t stop you. Just come anytime you want, but please confirm me in advance when you are about to come, will you?
N:Sure, I will. Nice to talk with you, Ahmad.
A:Me too, Nurul. I hope we can meet soon for our visitation.
N:Yes, can’t wait for the moment. See you again
A:Bye.

Speaking Practice 2

Practice this dialogue with a peer.

ARE YOU NEW HERE?
A new male student just comes to a class and meets everyone. One of them is greeting him.

☻Hi.
☺Hi too. I am Indah. You are new here, aren't you?
☻ Yes. I just moved from Semarang. I am Ramdani Suhendra. Please call me Dani.
☺ Welcome to our class, Dani. I am the class leader. By the way, where do you live?
☻ l live in Jl. Pipit number 10, Depok 2.
☺ What is your phone number?
☻ My phone number is 081878865555. Could I know your phone number, Indah?
☺ Sure, it is 085778881111. Are you a Javanese?
☻ No, I am not. I used to live in Semarang, but I am Makasarese. My parents are from there.
☺ Boys usually like playing soccer or traveling or hanging out. How about you? What is your hobby?
☻ I love soccer, but it is not my hobby. I like reading and writing.
☺Cool, but I dislike them.
☻ Why don't you like them? They are flirting activities.
☺ Not for me. Would you tell me about your family? 
☻ Sure...I come from a big family. I have four siblings and I am the third one. I have three brothers and a sister.
☺ Wow! On the contrary, I am the only one in my family. I have neither a sister nor a brother. Well...l think it is the time for the next lecture. Thanks for your nice respond.  Happy to talk to you.
☻ And you, Indah.
☺ The next lecture is Speaking 1.
☻ Really? I love Speaking.
☺ Yeah, me too. There...the lecturer is coming. Talk to you again later.
☻ Bye

My Articles

1. Designing English Syllabus for EFL Kindergarten in http://www.lppmunindra.ac.id/designing-english-syllabus-efl-kindergarten
2. Assessing EFL young Learner Reading Skill in http://ejournal.uika-bogor.ac.id/index.php/ENGLISH/issue/view/48

Tips to Reduce Wordiness

Hi readers, are you sometimes fed up in writing? Well...do you know if writing is a very interesting activity to do after you realize if you are an academician? Yeah...sure. In the process of writing, wordiness is necessarily avoided.

These are tips to reduce wordiness in writing
1: "There are/is [noun] [relative pronoun] [verb]..."
Remove "There are/is" and the relative pronoun. The sentence now becomes [noun] [verb].
Example: "There are some people who believe the movie is great." Improved example:"Some people believe the movie is great."
2: "It is [adjective] [that]..."
Remove "It is" and turn the adjective into an adverb.
Examples: "It is clear that the system has a problem." "It is obvious that the manager should resign." Improved examples: "Clearly, the system has a problem." "Obviously, the manager should resign."
3: "Very" / "extremely"
Remove these words. Keeping them weakens the impact of your writing.
Examples: "Proper planning is very vital to project success." "Lack of preparation was a very critical factor in his poor performance." Improved examples: "Proper planning is vital to project success." "Lack of preparation was a critical factor in his poor performance."
4: "Given the fact that..." / "In light of the fact that..."
Replace both phrases with "Because."
Example: "In light of the fact that that the project was cancelled, we're considering staff reductions." Improved example: "Because the project was cancelled, we're considering staff reductions."
Note: Be careful of using "since" as a synonym for "because," as the former deals with time and not cause-and-effect. Therefore, the sentence "Since you arrived, I have gotten better," means that my recovery came after your arrival. However, it doesn't mean that my recovery occurred as a consequence of your arrival.
5: "in the month of [month]..."
Simply remove "in the month of" and your meaning stays the same, with four fewer words.
Example: "Testing will begin in the month of May." Improved example: "Testing will begin in May."
However, phrases such as "city of New York" or "city of Los Angeles" may still be necessary to distinguish them from a similarly named state or county.
6: "color [in color]"
As in the previous example, simply remove "in color" from the sentence.
Example: "The car was red in color." Improved example: "The car was red."
7: "...timeframe"
Remove this word and shred it.
Example: "Testing will begin in the May timeframe." Improved example: "Testing will begin in May."
8: "...environment"
Remove this word and shred it, too.
Example: "The system will be installed in the building 26 environment." Improved example: "The system will be installed in building 26."
9: "have a/n [noun] on"
Remove "have a/n" and "on" and turn the noun into a verb.
Example: "He had an influence on my development." Improved example: "He influenced my development."
10: "on how to [verb]"
Remove "on how to" and turn the verb into its "-ing" form.
Example: "I read a book on how to drive." Improved example: "I read a book on driving."
11: "[noun 1] of the [noun 2]"
Remove "of the" (i.e., get rid of the prepositional phrase) and turn noun 2 into a possessive of noun 1.
Example: "You waste the time of your readers." Improved example: "You waste your readers' time."

Copied from http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10-things/10-plus-ways-to-reduce-wordiness-in-your-writing/ 05062015