Activities and Games to Learn English

Playing Games and Activities Builds you Confidence to speak with Ease and Comfort…. as the Games Simulate the real-life Situations.

For Example when you speak on Confidence useing the Words-poster as below you not just pick-up the related Vocabulary but also get the opportunity to speak-out your sentences.

A Wordle (Poster) with works related to Confidence…

 I invite students of Intermediate/Get Selected program to come and speak on Topic: ‘What is the type of conversation, I like to participate in what are some qualities that I have as a Speaker……  Tip: use some ‘new’ words as you speak.

When the wordle above is in front of you it becomes easy.

 

Describe personality of person with Adjectives

By using the Most common personality adjectives you are able to describe the personality of a person you know.

• I am putting-up the full document here for usage of Intermediate/Advanced students of our Learn English program at T.r.i.c.k.s
• Use these words as you Learn to speak in English – to communicate your views better… be careful with the negative words.
• Do make 2/3 sentences using each one of them and speak them out in the role-plays given to you in the class.

 Most common personality adjectives (from the Document)…

The character traits described by the personality adjectives under ‘Section a’ below are considered to be “good” or positive by most English speakers. The list under ‘Section b’ is for some negative personality traits. This is generally true but remember that words are often used subjectively. For example, “determined” is shown here as a positive personality adjective, while “stubborn” has got a negative connotation (the literal meaning of both is very similar). Use them in your everyday speech/writing…… Make 2-3 sentences of ‘your own’ on each and relate them with a person you know to Learn and remember them… have fun!

a)   Adjectives that Describe people Positively

adaptable, adventurous, affectionate, agreeable, ambitious, amicable, amusing, brave, bright, broad-minded, calm, careful, charming, conservationist, compassionate, considerate, courageous, courteous, creative, decisive, determined, diligent, diplomatic, dynamic, easygoing,
emotional, energetic, enthusiastic, extroverted, fair-minded, faithful, fearless, forceful, frank, friendly, funny, generous, gentle, good, hard-working, helpful, humorous, imaginative, impartial, independent, intellectual, intelligent, kind, loving, loyal, modest, neat, nice, optimistic, passionate, patient, persistent, philosophical, polite, powerful, practical, pro-active, quick-witted, quiet, rational, reliable, reserved, resourceful, romantic, self-confident, self-disciplined, sensible, sensitive, shy, sincere, sociable, straightforward, sympathetic, thoughtful, tidy, tough, unassuming, understanding, Tactful, versatile, warmhearted, willing, witty

b)   Describe people negatively (Please take care in using them; even with the people you don’t like… they can be your best friends too!)

aggressive, arrogant, boring, bossy, careless, changeable, compulsive, cruel, cunning, detached, dishonest, dogmatic, domineering, flirtatious, foolish, fussy, greedy, harsh, impatient, impolite, inconsistent, indecisive, inflexible, interfering, intolerant, introverted, irresponsible, jealous, lazy, mterialistic, mean, miserly, moody, narrow-minded, nasty, naughty, nervous, obsessive, over-emotional, pessimistic, possessive, rude, ruthless, sarcastic, secretive, selfish, short tempered, silly, stubborn, stupid, superficial, Superstitious, Tactless, timid, touchy, thoughtless, unkind, unpredictable, unreliable, untidyuntrustworthy

T.r.i.c.k.s and Tips to Learn them, remember them and use them in describing a person and comparing two or more people:

1. Try to understand 5 per day and relate them with a person you know…. you may even relate them with an Animal e.g. ‘clever like a fox’

2. Think of 5 that you associate yourself strongly with and write down some examples of when you used that personality trait

3. Play the alligation game of assigning a ‘negative word’ to a fellow student… it’s just a game to take it lighlt and explain how and in what situations you are not that

4. Compare popular characters from the films or political parties on the personality that they display

5. Enjoy using them and associating good personality words to people in yous family, friends and colleagues. You will see a change in their behavior as well!

Would you mind if I ask, “what’s your mood today?”

The words ‘Mind’ and ‘Mood’ are used in a variety of situations we hear them regularly… we even use these words in Hindi….”Mind mat karna” and “Aaj Mood nahin hai” etc.

Are you familiar with all the meanings and usages of ‘mind’ & ‘mood’? Can you frame your sentences and understand the expressions where they are used?… Did you really mind my asking about your mood today?

These are the ‘2 words we are going to Learn today’ – with that some common expressions and more words like mindset, moody etc…So, please ‘prepare your mind’ and get into ‘the right mood’ to learn: how to confidently use these words and expressions in your everyday conversations.

MIND

Your mind is where your thinking happens. If you’ve made up your mind, you’ve come to a decision.

Mind can also mean “pay attention to” or “watch.” If someone tells you to “mind your manners,” they want you to be polite. If you tell them to “mind their own business,” maybe they’ll leave you alone. When I ask, “Would you mind if I open a window?” I’m asking if this would bother you.

I am sure you have heard:

Regular announcements in the Delhi Metro: “Please Mind the Gap”,

“Mind your Language” the video episodes we swatch to get some fun from British Humor as it happens in Mr. Brown’s English class

All I want is some “Peace of Mind”

Some more usages picked from the Media (thanks to http://www.vocabulary.com): 

A large part of me realized early on that it was my mind playing tricks. (BBC Oct 25, 2013)

Aspiring Minds research has been featured in The Economist and Wall Street Journal among other media. (Scientific American Oct 24, 2013)

But wealthy Singaporeans don’t mind spending several hundred thousand dollars on a luxury car. (BBC Oct 24, 2013)

But Dr Addyman thinks that studying babies’ laughter can be just as effective at helping us pinpoint developments in the way their minds are expanding. (BBC Oct 19, 2013)

Please keep in mind that you still have to click open this link to see all the meanings

Words that come from it: Mindset, Mindful, Mindfulness, Mindfully, Mindless, Mindlessly, Mindlessness, broad-minded, narrow-minded…

MOOD

Are you feeling good or bad, cheerful or irritable right now? This is your mood.

Mood refers to how you feel at the present time and this keeps changing depending on how moody you are. If you want to ask your boss for a raise, wait until he or she is in a good mood. Don’t ask, though, if he or she is “in a bad mood” – that means the person is irritable or already irritated. If you are in the mood for something like ice cream or spicy food, you would like to have it now. Mood can also describe the attitude of a group of people or the feeling of a film, novel or piece of music.

I am sure you have heard: “What’s your mood today?”; “I was not in a mood to go to the office so made a excuse”; “Let’s get into the mood and try something new.”

Some more usages picked from the Media (thanks to http://www.vocabulary.com).

 Studies have linked repeated concussions with a chronic disease with symptoms including memory loss and mood swings. (BBC Oct 26, 2013)

They are already in militant mood, with strikes planned next week over pay. (BBC Oct 25, 2013)

Expressive writing is known to help assuage psychological trauma and improve mood. (Scientific American Oct 19, 2013)

Words that come from it: Moody, Moodiness, Moodily

Enough knowledge of the words… “Let’s concentrate our minds and get into a mood to make our own sentences” so that speak them out before the end of the class and build your active vocabulary with these words.

Now, would you mind if I ask again, “what’s your mood today?”

************ End of the Post ***********

Like we did words of feelings in the BASIC course, We will do usage of different Mood words in the Intermediate/Get Selected/Go Global programs. I will write about that in another post.

I will learn good English; Whatever it takes…

In today’s post under our ‘Connect the Dots’ Series we have CTD #3: Let’s Learn the usage of  some words ending with ” -ever” these are: Whatever, Whenever, Whoever, Wherever, Whichever.

However, I continue to emphasize that after reading this post, You should make 2-3 sentences of your own in whatever situations you feel they can come in handy for your dialogue with others. They can be used in many situations.

We have all seen ” To Whomsoever it May Concern’ written on top of our character certificates and some legally written documents that are addressed to no one in particular. What it means is: it does not matter who reads it.

By now, you know the usage of what, when, who, where and which as question framing words and also as linking words.  Here is the meaning along with 2-2 examples of Whatever, whenever, wherever, whichever, whoever:

Whatever = anything or everything; regardless of what (thing)

• Whatever you do, don’t forget your wife’s birthday.
• Don’t get upset whatever your mother gives you an advice.

Whenever = every time; at any time; regardless of when (time)

• Whenever we organize a picnic it rains.
• Please don’t interrupt me whenever I start to speak.

Wherever = everywhere; no matter where; regardless of where (Location)

• Wherever you go you’ll always find someone who speaks good English.
• She’ll be happy wherever she decides to live.

Whichever = the person or thing which; no matter which; regardless of which (thing or person)

• Wear whichever clothes are the most comfortable.
• Take whichever tie you want.

Whoever = the person who; regardless of who (person)

• Whoever comes with you to the center is welcome.
• Whoever took the book from the library didn’t return it.

We understood that When we want to emphasize something does not matter we use ‘-ever’ at the end of certain words. Now take this quiz on BBC Learning English. Now, You make 2-3 sentences for each one of the above using examples as above or your own sentence structure. Bring them to me if you are doubtful; Speak-up if you are confident.

Remember, Your promise to yourself “I will learn good English, whatever it takes” !

Yes, it does take some practice before you write or speak with confidence and ease… please DO post your comments and questions on this post whatever they maybe; whenever you have time; wherever from you want to; for whichever ‘phrase’ you are unclear. I don’t mind whoever reads it.

PS: Usage of ‘However’ is done while comparing or contrasting… we will learn that in the Linking words class (if not done already)

5-words a day is not a big-deal, I can learn more…

“A picture is worth 1000 words”  courtesy: http://www.wikipedia.com 

As they say ‘a picture is worth 1000 words’, How would you describe a picture when your total active vocabulary in only that much?

Developing your Active Vocabulary is indeed time-consuming as there are no shortcuts but the good news is: ‘if done well the words stay with you for many many years’ as also there are many usages of the same word.

It’s true that you acquire new words by being in the English environment or by watching TV. But, ‘as you begin to speak’ you must continuously learn them and do conscious efforts to use new words until you reach a level of comfort with English. Make 2-3 sentences of different types using the new word and finally, speak it out (or write it in your mail). Here are the sure ways to Activate Words – I suggest keep it to 5 new words a day.

What are good ways to Learn Words?

You learn words when you Listen or Read or when you do Both – watching a movie with sub-titles for example. Start doing ‘anything that you can do or like to do’ in English – watch any funny video clip on Youtube, a movie with or without subtitles, a serial on Star-world or Discovery, News on DD or BBC, English song, reading newspaper or a novel, cooking using a recipe, sharing a joke, writing a letter or email… reading your text-book, looking at an advertisement, filling-up a form, even reading this post. Good thing is and in India there are a lot opportunities for you to carry-out your work in English. Pick-out 30 min. in a day as your English time where you can easily get 5 new words…. take the words from me the day you cannot pick your words from your work place.

Your most important task is to build up your Active vocabulary. A limited vocabulary will hold you back, and prevent you from speaking English effectively. The Vocabulary starts multiplying very fast after you reach a certain stage where you can understand different forms of the same word, pick the synonyms and antonyms… and then do different usages of these words. In my view learning ‘5 new words’ a day is what you should target (do more when you miss doing it on any day) and add words regularly… make it a habit!

Did you click on the link just above, on the word synonyms? It’s linked to http://www.vocabulary.com I recommend bookmarking this site, the best online English Vocabulary tool and it has one of the fastest dictionary. You may also sign-in to keep your lists and work with them and run a quiz on the words that you know. Not only does it provide excellent definitions but it also allows you to hear how the word is pronounced. You will also find the latest usages of the words in Political or Business News. Practice saying them out loud to yourself and others. And if you forget the correct pronunciation or are confused ask your trainer for help – even with different usages of the word you can seek his/her help.

What is the best way to retain a word and bring it into usage?

How many times in my class have I told about: flash cards? … I have also put it on the pin-up board. There is no better method. Word lists ‘that I sometimes provide to you’ are also useful but flash cards are the time-tested method for memory retention. After making a flash card, start learning the usages of the word. Keep it with you until you’ve learned it. Try your new words on friends in the class or speak it out with me — they may get impressed.

Google is great! -we all love it. I wish we had the Internet and online dictionaries when I was a student. But sometimes pen & paper is the way: use post-it notes or cut a chart to make yourself Flash-cards. They stay with you for as long as you get complete comfort with the word.

An idea: you may also use differently colored Flash-cards for different types of words, Yellow for Nouns, Orange for Adjectives and maybe Green for Verbs etc.

Remember the end-game: Use ‘new words’ in conversation whenever and wherever you can. I expect my students to learn 5 words everyday!