General Tips for Listening
Comprehension
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Finding out clues
Being familiar with Numeral statement
Speculation
Understanding contents and the main ideas
Assumption
Finding out clues
 Map
a. direction: east…south-eastern…
b. street: preposition-between…and; next to;
across from; at the corner; on the right, get on;
board; go one block up (down)…
--- country: Vietnam; Spain…
--- city: boulevard; island; suburb…
--- store: laundromat; hardware store…
--- place: MRT; sidewalk; intersection…
 c. environment: living room; garage…
 d. background: description
 e. position: in the sink; on the shelf…
 f. occasion: tell by the appearance…
 g. occupation: accountant; veterinarian…
 h. restaurant: beverage; seasoning…
 i. goods in a place: hyper mart; pet shop..
 J. business terms: fitting room; refund…
Being familiar with Numerals
 1. currency: nickel; five-dollar bill…
 2. ordinal: twentieth; one hundredth…
 3. time expression: a quarter to two;
fortyish…
 4. counting: thirty a head; buy one, get one
free…
 5. weather and temperature: It is foggy; It’s
freezing; Celsius; Fahrenheit…
Speculation
 Tell by the picture: location; people;
purpose; situation; behavior…
 Keen sensitivity:
--from answering sheet
--number, schedule, math, year, place,
temperature…
Analysis
 1. direct statement--What does the man
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mean?
2. the main idea--what are they mainly
discussing?
3. related info—why…; according to the man,
how…?; Which of the following?...
4. relationship: What, who…Wh--5. hint: What will they do next?...
6. where, when…
Conversation
 Personal preference- I find..; I love..; I’m not
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so…
Complaint- I’m sorry…complain about..
Refusal- I’m all booked up..I’m afraid…
Praise- Well done; Good for you!...
Reception-This is.. May I (leave) take a
message?.. Hold on; Sorry..
Brief Introduction-Let me…Do you mind…
 Response-Nice to meet you; It’s my
pleasure…
 Asking a question- What do you do? WHclause..
 Suggestions- I think… I suggest… You could
try… How about…
Understanding content and the main
ideas
 1. utilize phrase- be used to; be supposed
to; infinite (to+V) and gerund (Ving) usage
 2. Causative V- let +V; Have+V; Make+V..
 3. V+Ving- stop; enjoy…
 4. Idioms-What’s eating you? right and left;
We have a lot in common; a big spot…
Assumption
A. Dialogue
Ex: M: Let’s go to Santiago zoo. A baby panda
has just been born.
F: But it’s always packed.
M: This time we did what you want. We
came here for shopping. It will be my
turn to decide the place for our date.

assumption
 1. they are not a couple: friends
 2. they are not in the zoo: in a dept store
 3. the man likes animals, perhaps
 4. the woman doesn’t like a crowd place
 5. the woman likes to shop on their date
 6. they are thinking the place for next date
B. Hint in the dialogue
C. If – conditional clause: Present
Past
Future tense
Functions

a.
b.
c.
d.
Direct statement-Ex: SARS (Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome) has brought huge
damage to the world and mankind.
We should fix the broken wall.
I think SARS is an evil person.
Mankind damaged SARS already.
We should find a cure for that ASAP.
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
Imperative mood: Ask, demand, please,
command-omit
“you”- Clean up your room
Conditional: present tense-Ved;
past tense: had+ PP;
future tense: use present tense
Exclamation: What a; How..;
Wh+: What+ thing, people, time, place, reason
Auxiliary: Can, could, will, would, shall, should,
may, might…: answer with “Auxiliary”
Be +Verb: answer with “yes, no”
Have+PP: answer with “have” or “has”
Extra Information
 Usage of interrogation
 Vowel’s distinction
 Underlying meaning
 Confusion in content
Usage of Interrogation: what
 What time: when
 What kind of
 What place: where
 What color
 What people: who
 What size
 What reason: why
 What shape
 What method: how
 Which of
 Which one is
 What is
 What does
Usage of Interrogation: where
 The major part is focused on “the place”
---where did you go?
---where are you from?
---where are you going to?
---where is…
Usage of Interrogation: when-the
time
 When is
 When was
---In 2000…
---in June…
---on Monday…
---at 1:30pm…
---before, after…
Usage of Interrogation: who
 Identification: male or female-who is that
woman…
 Relationship between the roles, characterswho are you…
 Titles: cast, position, background, sceneswho is in charge of.…
Usage of Interrogation: why-cause
 Correct tense- why should I?...
 Being logical-how come…?
Usage of Interrogation: which
 Which - people
- thing
- place
- time
Usage of Interrogation: How
 “How” is similar to “What”: multiple usage
---type, method
---condition, situation, status
Ex: how much; how many; how far; how long;
how often; how old; how about; how fast;
how is, how do; how soon…
---determiners: usually, twice a week,
seldom…
Usage of Interrogation: auxiliary
 Can (Could) you…
 Will (would) you…
 Shall (should) I…
 Are (am) (is) (was) (were)…
 May I…
Usage of Interrogation: Have PP
 Have + S + PP…
 Has + S + PP…
 Had + S + PP…
Vowel’s distinction
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
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feel, fill
cup, cop
color, collar
pull, pool
fool, full
all, oil
closing, clothes
pilot, pirate
bed, bad
hill, heel
…..
Underlying meaning
 A: speaker’s speed and intonation-what?; all
right; Come on!; Here it is !
 B: Be patient! Be attentive! Pay attention to
the details
---comparative, superlative adjective
---as…as; not so…as
---tricky word: board-bored; meat-meet; piecepeace; pray-prey; principle-principal; flew-flu
fair-fare…
Confusion in content
 Analysis of the main idea:
Ex: M: I want to open a saving account
F: Certainly. Please have a seat. I’ll get
some forms for you in a minute
Q: What does the man want?
M: I’d like to make a reservation
W: Yes, how can I help you?
M: I’d like a table for eight at six this evening.
Will that be ok?
W: Ok, I put it in the reservation book already.
Please be on time.
Q: What does the man want?
M: I heard Bob and Mary made up again
yesterday.
Q: What does the man mean?
Summary for Listening
 Picture description: key word & 5H&1H
 Answer the question: listen the questions
very carefully and make a correct judgment
 Short dialogue: speculate and make
assumption
Objectives
Conversational situation
Broadcast in the public
Weather forecast report
Commercials
Products introduction
Information desk
Instructions
General Tips for Reading
Comprehension
 Vocabulary Building
 ACTIVE Reading Skills
Vocabulary Building
 Word definitions:
---A headword: spelling, meaning, and uses,
ex: die (v); die (n)-hard metal with a design
---singular or plural word: box-boxes; ox-oxen;
phenomenon-phenomena…
---regular or irregular V past tense or past
participle tense: spring-sprang-sprung; bearbore-born; speak-spoke-spoken…
 A derivative: is a word formed by adding an affix
---word or syllable placed in front of a word (called a
prefix), ex: ab-sent: away; anti-social: against; prepare: before; co-operate: together; ex-it: out of;
homo-sexual: the same …
---adding an ending to a headword (called a suffix),
ex: astronom-er: person who carries out the action;
strong-er; success-ful: full of; fashion-able:
showing qualities of; govern-ment: result or means
of an action…
 A compound: is a word formed by adding
another word to a headword. It is written as
one word (ex: nightdress); or as two words
separated by a hyphen (ex: night-time); or
as two separate words (ex: night life).
 An Antonym: word that is contrary in
meaning to another; word which is opposite
in meaning
---hot→cold
---easy→difficult
---succeed→fail
---true→false
One good way to increase your vocabulary
 Thesaurus(es): words and phrases grouped
together according to similarities in their
meanings
 Nuance: slight difference in meaning
 Synonym: word which is the same in
meaning
 Semantics: study of meaning, relating to
meaning in language
 Ex: little
---small; short; slight; petite; slender; dainty;
tiny; wee; miniature; diminutive; pint-sized;
unimportant; insignificant; minor; trivial;
trifling; petty; paltry; worthless;
inconsequential; negligible;
 Opinion:
---view; belief; thought; standpoint; judgement;
estimation; feeling; impression; notion;
conviction; firm or assured belief
 Opponent:
---opposition; adversary; contestant;
competitor; enemy; foe; contender;
antagonist; struggle; fight; dispute; debate;
argument
 Imagine:
---picture; visualize; see in your mind’s eye,
envision; envisage; conjure up; assume;
presume; expect; suppose; think; believe;
take it; dare say; surmise; guess; conjecture;
reckon; calculate; find out; figure out
 An Idiom: is a phrase or sentence of two or
more words that has a special meaning of
its own.
---a verb with a particle or a preposition
Ex: go back; run away; run into; look after;
try…on; look…up; fall behind (with
something); go through something…
 Word Families:
---Noun
---Adjective
---Verb
---Adverb
It is helpful to learn words in the same ‘family’
that form different parts of speech.
 Inseparable two-word verbs: call on (a
person); get along with (someone); put up (a
person); wait on (a person)…
 Separable two-word verbs: blow out
(candles); bring up (a child); pick up (a
book); give up (a task)…
 Spelling confused
---adapt: adjust, get used to
---adept: skilled in something
---adopt: take somebody into one’s family as a
relation
 Acquire: get; obtain; gain; buy…
 Require: need; be in need of; call for;
demand; necessitate; involve; entail
 Inquire: ask; investigate; question; query;
research; look into; examine; explore; probe;
study; scrutinize; make a detailed
examination of
 Beside: (preposition) at the side of; close to;
compared with; beside the point= have nothing to
do with; beside oneself=at the end of one’s selfcontrol
 Besides:
---(adverb) moreover; also
Ex: I don’t …; besides, it’s too…
---(prep) in addition to; as well as
Ex: I have three other hats besides this.
 snake: snack;
 moth: month
 vary: very
 harsh: hush
 window: widow
 Channel: channel
 quality: quantity
 ax: ox
 praise: prize
 bat: bet
 floor: flour
 beg: bag
 gamble: gambol
 appear: appeal
 last: lest
 arise: arouse
ACTIVE Reading Skills
 ACTIVE:
---Active Prior Knowledge
---Cultivate Vocabulary
---Teach (Learn) for Comprehension
---Increase Reading Fluency
---Verify Strategies
---Evaluate Progress
Active Prior Knowledge
 Activation of background knowledge: topic
 Elicit your prior knowledge, and generate
interest in the topic, through use of visual
prompts and questions
Cultivate Vocabulary
 Vocabulary plays a crucial role
 The main reading passage: 1st paragraph
 Decipher new vocabulary as you encounter
it
 Guess what
Teach (Learn) for Comprehension
 Comprehending reading material
 Self-monitoring and awareness techniques
are applied to various task types such as
analyzing, synthesizing, inferring,
hypothesizing, and predicting
Increase Reading Fluency
 Conscious development
 Reading speed and comprehension are key
ingredients in building fluency
Verify Strategies
 To be aware of: What does it mean? Why do
they ask it?
 To find out the “ Conjunction”-join other
clause, words.. (ex: and, but, or…) and
“Disjunctive”-contrast between ideas (ex:
either…or; neither..nor…) Adverb-however,
furthermore, in addition, either…or
Evaluate Progress
 Use Reading Rate Chart: such as 1 minute
for 37 words→1 min for 260 words
 Use Reading Comprehension Chart: one
chapter needs ? Minutes
 Through either verbal, thinking, or written
discussion
More about Reading Skills
 Scanning: move eyes very quickly across
the text. We don’t read every word or stop
reading when we see a word we don’t
understand. We look for the info we want.
 Developing reading fluency: Learning to
read faster AND comprehend more at the
same time
 Predicting: Make predictions before you
read. Use what you know about the topic to
guess what the reading will be about.
 Keeping on reading: Do not stop when you
see a word you do not know. To get the
general idea or “gist” of what you are
reading.
 Using Subtitles to predict content: to divide
the reading passages into paragraphs that
have subtitles, to use subtitles to predict
some of the ideas that may be in the reading
 Don’t need to look up words you do not
know. Skimming is one way to look for the
main ideas.
 Keep on reading to the end
 Focus on getting the general idea of what
you are reading
 Read more fluently, you will be able to read
more material. By reading more material,
you will read more words---improve your
vocabulary
 Every para has a main idea. Often 1st or
2nd sentence of the para gives us the main
idea
 Focus on the general idea of the reading,
not on specific words
 Work on building your vocabulary all the
time
Conclusion
 Using
---Predicting
---Scanning
---Skimming
Every time you read can help you to improve
your fluency
Summary for Reading
 Vocabulary and Sentence patterns: quickly scan;
catch the key word; sex; tense; word form
 Cloze Test: read the context completely; tense;
relationship between S & V; Grammar
understanding; Idioms; do exercises
 Reading Comprehension: key information; ask
“WHAT”; the whole concept, gist, and main idea
Objectives
 Read a short passage
 Read storybooks
 Private letter
 Advertisement (Commercials)
 DM, Fliers, Pamphlet, Bulletin, News,
Instructions, Recommendations, Manual,
Announcement, Fax, Telegram,
Memorandum, Itinerary…
Summary for Writing
 Tips: start, connect, relay, synthesize
 Sentence Structure: S+V; S+V+C; S+V+O;
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S+V+IO+DO; S+V+O+C
Tense
Correct word usage and Mechanical Punctuation
State the facts precisely
Be familiar with idioms and proverbs
Practice English thinking process
Impromptu speech
Objectives
 Short sentences, Passages, and Report
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


paper
Such as: Postcard, Note, Notice,
Congratulatory address,
Fill in an application form
Describe business, daily routine
Resume
Analysis for a sentence structure
 Painting is my hobby. I feel that I am a born
painter. When I show pictures of my painting
to my friends, they praise me for the skill
displayed there, saying that they can hardly
believe (that) they have been done by an
amateur. Honestly, however, I sometimes
wonder if they are trying to give me
compliments.
10 sentence patterns
 1. It is +A+to V: …that money is everything
 2. S+believe +it +A+toV+N cl: policy known
to everybody
 3. There/Here is/are+N(S)+modifier: There
are some stars seen in the sky. (a professor
who discovered the law)
 4. Adverb cl, Main cl: (although, while…)
 5. Compound sentence:
S+V+and(but,or, for ,so…:You must work hard
or you will get punished. (;) (,) He has a
good education; moreover, he is a genius.
(therefore)
 6. To+V, S+V: In order to improve…
 7. Participle, S+V: Having done his
work…Utterly exhausted, he cam back to..
 8. Ving, S+V: Before taking the test, …
 9. Prep, S+V: With, In spite of, For the sake
of…: Despite danger,
 10. Adverb, S+V: Luckily, Certainly,
Undoubtedly…As a matter of fact, he has
got an admission from an American
university. Basically, men are different from
women.
EX: Rush Hours
 It is crowded everywhere in (subject sen..)
 There are traffic jams (body)
 People ( ) are like packed sardines(body)
 People can hardly get into the MRT…(body)
 The traffic goes from bad to worse(body)
 We can hardly move in..(conclusion)
Wrong spelling (A big mistake)
 My father is a very impotent person.
Everyone respects him a lot.
I’ll begin with…First
In general, Second, Third, Next, Then, At this
point, As you know….
Finally, In summary, At the end, In conclusion
Summary for Speaking
 5W (Where, When, What, Who, Why) & 1H
(How): find out the gist and express its main
idea
 Sentence making: use the vocabulary or
word you get familiar
 Read aloud and clearly: pronunciation,
syllable stress, intonation, fluency
 Practice makes perfect
Objectives
 Describe daily life
 Short dialogue
 A brief introduction of yourself
 Daily schedule: such as - work environment,
family, work experiences
 Your opinion, viewpoint, thoughts..
 Communicate with foreigners
General Review of Grammar
 Nouns
 Articles
 Verbs
 Conjunctions
 Adjectives
 Tenses and Voice
 Adverbs
 Clauses
 Prepositions
 Conditional
Sentences
Nouns (S, O, SC, OC)
 Proper Nouns: Name, Place, Month, Week-Capital
 Common Nouns
--- Countable N: a, an, one, two, many, a few-s, es,
(ch, sh), ies, fe (ves), irregular N-foot, ox, crisis,
phenomenon, mouse, aircraft, means, fish(es)
--- Uncountable N: much, little, abstract N-courage,
time, noise, anger; -ness, -dom,-th,-ity, sion, ship,
al,… Ving, economics, measles, billiards…
--- Collective N: company, people, jury, audience,
police, mankind…
 Pronouns: he…him…his…his…himself (xS)
 Indicative Adj Pron: this, that-S,O, C: ex:
What Ann truly expects is not that.
The climate of Thailand is more humid than that of
Taiwan.
 Infinitive N: some, any, both, all ,either, neither,
each (≠every-A), one (≠it), ..
Ex: The school bus come and go and if you miss one,
you can still take another.
Verbs
 Transitive Verbs: N-OC: kill, make, build,
like, want, enjoy, produce…: The core
competitiveness of the firm is producing
computer chips…
 Intransitive Verbs: agree, rain, rise,
live…:The temperature rises higher and
higher in this scorching summer day. He
raises his hands to draw attention.
 Dative Verbs: 2O (direct-person and indirect
O-thing): give, send, bring, write, deliver,
offer, lend (something to somebody); ask,
require, expect (something of somebody);
provide, supply (somebody with something)
 Sensory Verbs: +A, +like+NC, +O+V,
+O+Ving: (feel, look at, taste, smell, see,
watch, hear, sound):I see many tourists
pouring to this resort.
 Causative Verbs: (make, have, get, let)
S+”+O+V; S+”+O+A; S+”+O+N: I make my
boyfriend behave like a gentleman. John got
the faded curtains removed.
 P.S.: get to +V: Bill gets his brother to have
strong build of body.
Infinitives
 S: To be punctual is important.
 O: I hope to keep up in my class. (plan to,
seem to, refuse to, agree to, decide to; warn
+N+to, tell..to, teach..to, order..to.
Persuade..to, allow..to) NOT to.
 Adverb: She is difficult to get along with.
 Too…to; enough to; prefer to; rather than
Gerunds
 S: Inserting coins is the first step to use this
machine.
 O: enjoy, quit, keep, deny, avoid, finish,
admit, delay, can’t help, postpone, resent,
risk, mind (Jessie minds your imitating her
style). (I appreciate his coming).
 Go +Ving
 Remember, forget, stop, try, look forward to,
be used to, be accustomed to
 Not Ving:
1. Not taking advantage of friends is my
principle.
2. Because he is quick-tempered, I suggest
not telling him this news.
Modal Auxiliaries
 Will, would, can, could, may, might, must,
have to, shall, should
Adjectives
 A + N: Kevin is an obstinate man; thus, there is no
use changing his concept.
 After sensory V or Be V: Phoebe seems irritated
by the severe and unreasonable criticism.
 -ful (fearful); --able (readable); -less (merciless);
complex A (bed-ridden); three- day conference;
well-informed; well-bred; overused ; workaholic;
annoyed; annoying; exhausted; exhausting; be
frightened of; as (not)+A+as; the same as…
 A is to B what C is to D:
In Puritan society, stoicism is to a man so is
chastity to a woman.
A is not B just as C is not D:
I won’t make concession to your demand just
as Jim won’t succumb to your threat.
 Comparatives:
 Superlatives
Adverbs
 A modifier to a Verb, an Adjective, an adverb, a




phrase, a Noun, or a sentence: Convenience
stores, especially 7-Elevens, have occupied every
corner of Taiwan.
Fortunately, they survived the conflagration.
-ly
Confusing Adverbs: early, fast
Exception: elderly, silly, lovely, friendly, lonely..In
general, as usual, somewhere, soon, later, rarely,
why?
location
 Before T.V, Modal Aux.:
Jimmy passionately treated me yesterday.
 After IT.V, Be V, .
The river wanders peacefully in the
mountains.
The balloons burst suddenly, which scared
all the kids.
 At home, at work, during the honeymoon,
next spring…
 At the (beginning) or (end) of a sentence: In
1492, tomorrow, next Wednesday (without
prep.)
 Already (positive), yet (negative); before,
ago; enough, rather, fairly
 Comparative and Superlative
Conjunctions
 To connect a word, phrase, or clause, that is it can
connect N, A, V, Adverb, or Clause.
 Such as: and; not only…but also; both…and;
neither..nor (Neither Bill nor you are a good boy);
but; yet; while; or; for; so; therefore; consequently;
as a result; thus; as a consequence; however;
nevertheless; nonetheless, moreover; in assition;
furthermore; besides; .
Ex: In order to accumulate wealth, one must be
frugal and hardworking.
Tenses and Voice
 Simple Tenses
 Perfect Tenses
 Progressive Tenses
 Perfect Progressive Tenses
Voice
 Active Voice: S+V
The mayor has highly promoted the citizens’
living quality since his inauguration.
 Passive Voice: S(O) + Be V + PP…by S
The citizens’ living quality has been highly
promoted by the mayor since his
inauguration.
 People say→ It is said
 People speak → it is spoken
 Got divorced; got married; is known;
became known
 Pop music is enjoyed by most people
because its clear cadence can be easily
memorized by them.
→
Most people enjoy pop music because they
can easily memorize its clear cadence.
Clauses
 N clause:
1.That honesty is the best policy is the well-known
proverb.
2.Why dinosaurs died out is still controversial.
3. I believe that knowledge is might.
4. I am concerned about whether the authorities
solve the inflation problem.
5. The question is when two parties reach
consensus.
 Adj clause: (who, which, that, whose
I appreciate the girl who lent me some money.
The person is the officer whom citizens lodge
a complaint to.
I will never give in to his demand which is
opposite to my will.
The shelter where the refugees live is very
shabby
 Adverbial Clauses: (before, after, when,
while, as, since, until, once, as long as,
because, where, wherever, everywhere,
anywhere, although, though, even though,
whereas, if only if, providing that unless
Ex: If the proper precautions can be taken, all
unnecessary trouble can be nipped in the
end.
 Participles: Ving or PP
I have a crush on the girl (who lives) living on
the 2nd floor.
The proposal (which is) presented at the
meeting is very creative.
Tag Questions
Ex: Admittedly, TV plays an indispensable role
in our daily lives, doesn’t it?
His uncle has been sick with diabetics for a
period of time, hasn’t he?
This is the crucial moment, isn’t i t?
Everyone in this firm struck for handsome
pay, didn’t they?
Everything is under control, isn’t it?
 Nothing is as great and eternal as maternal
love, is it?
 Nobody can play tricks on Mr. Wu, can they?
Conditional Sentences
 Uncertain future: If + S+Vs, S+Vs/will V.
 Contrary to the future:
If+ S+ were to + V, S would() + V
 Contrary to the Past:
If+ S+ Had PP, S+ Would() + Have PP
 Contrary to the present:
If + S + were/Ved, S + would() +V
 Impossible future: (in case)
If + S+ should +V, S+ would()/will + V
Extra information
 as if, as though, if only, provided that, wish
Ex: (a) I wish Michelle Kwan could have won
the skating championship of the 1998
Olympic Games.
(b) I hope Michelle Kwan can win the
skating championship of the 2005 Olympic
Games.