My Learning Journal – Listening (BBC 6 Minutes)
Name
楊采珺
Date
2012/11/15
Academic Listening
Topic
Part 7 - Academic reading
BBC Learning English
Source
Talk about English
․
Stop rely on dictionary. The significant tip of
progressing is trying to guess the meaning of the word
from the context or from what you already know about
the subject. If there are unfamiliar words when you’re
reading an academic text, try not to reach immediately
for your dictionary.
․
Be selective and make choices. Since we can’t read
everything, we should make our own choice; we
should decide which part of the article should be read
thoroughgoing. We need to narrow down choice of the
reading material, skirt the reading range.
Three main ideas I
heard from this episode
are…
․
The difference between skimming and scanning.
Disparately, skimming isn't really reading - skimming
is quickly looking over some material or a text to
decide, is this useful for us - is it necessary - do we
need to read it? On the other hand, another technique
that is very useful in reading is scanning. Moreover,
scanning is different in that we have an idea of what
we are looking for - we a specific question in our mind
and we are looking for the answer to that question. It
could be a date, a name, it could be a sentence. But the
most important thing is, we know what we are looking
for - we have an idea of what we are looking for in the
text.
In my opinion, I think that scanning and skimming would
One thing I learned in
this episode that I may
be able to use in future
is…
be useful in the future. Since I have to face more and more
English test in the future, I must speed up my reading
speed. In this episode, they mentioned some skills of
reading that I can take advantage of.
I don’t understand what Simon Williams said in the
paragraph. What did he mean by “they tend to stop on
I’m still unsure about…
groups of words and phrases, which you comprehend in one
go”?
Issues that interested
me a lot, and I’d like to
study in more detail
The theme that I would like to learn more is the difference
between skimming and scanning. I hope I can use it vividly
in the future.
․
Amount: a collection or mass especially of something
which cannot be counted
․
Material: a physical substance which things can be
made from
․
Vital: necessary for the success or continued existence
of something; extremely important
․
New words/phrases I
learned in this episode
are …
Skim: to move quickly just above a surface without
touching it
․
Amplify: to increase the effect of something
․
Eliminate: to defeat someone so that they cannot
continue in a competition
․
Enormously: extremely large
․
Fixation: he state of being unable to stop thinking
about something or someone, or an unnaturally strong
interest in them
Word Count
Comments:
507
My Learning Journal – Listening (Academic Listening)
Name
楊采珺
Date
2012/11/1
Academic Listening
Topic
Part 1 - English for Academic Purposes: Introduction
BBC Learning English
Source
Talk about English
․
At the program, Susan Fearn introduces us the English
of Academic Purposes. At the beginning of this part,
Susan tries to let us understand briefly by showing us
the reflection on some of the problems that students
experienced.
․
Secondly, Susan introduces EAP and further education
to us, and focuses particularly on some of the
Three main ideas I
heard from this episode
are…
linguistic problems as well. In this series, she tries to
provide us some means for coping with study in
another language.
․
Equally important, the application of EPA, and help us
get to know EPA thoroughly. At the end of this part,
Susan mentions that the “prior information about a
text” can help us to make predictions about its content
and influence your interpretation.
In my opinion, after listening to this part, I was inspired by
the concept of “prior information”. I never found out that
the title plays such a crucial role in understanding context
One thing I learned in
this episode that I may
be able to use in future
is…
or the overall article. Particularly, the example of the
research carried out by R. Anderson is truly appropriate.
Through seeing the difference between “A Prisoner Plans
His Escape” and “A Wrestler in a Tight Corner” , I
totally understand what the idea is trying to tell us. To sum
up, I believe it can do me a big favor in realizing article in
the future.
Is EPA the foundation of GRE? Or there are more tips for
GRE?
I’m still unsure about… On the other hand, I want to know more about strategies I
can use to improve my listening ability and my
performance in other academic situations.
Generally, the problems that mentioned by the EPA
Issues that interested
me a lot, and I’d like to
study in more detail
students are my problems. I am wondering if I want to
study abroad after graduating from college, what I should
prepare in advance. What is the difference between TOELF
or IELTS and EPA?
․
insight: the ability to have such an understanding
․
familiar with: easy to recognize something
․
pronunciation: the way in which a word or letter is
said
New words/phrases I
learned in this episode
are …
․
linguistic: the study of language
․
pitfalls: an unexpected danger or difficulty
․
cope with: to deal with.
․
associated with: to spend time with a group of people
․
tutorial: a period of study with a tutor and a small
group of students
․
seminars: study on a particular subject
․
initially: at the beginning; at first
․
isolated: to keep something separate
․
register: to record someone’s name
․
chiefly: mostly; mainly
․
in advance: before something happens
․
illustrate: to add pictures to something
․
prior: coming before in time, order, or importance
* Extract from Cambridge dictionary
Word Count
513
Comments:
Dear Grace,
It is good that you provide the definitions of the vocabularies. This action can
make you understand the words better!