Language Proficiency
Course workload • One lecture on vocabulary • Two lectures on writing • Group and individual assignments You will write: • Two essays (causal analysis, proposal, argumentative): o Course essay (350-­‐400 words) o Exam essay (350-­‐400 words) • Two additional introductions in different text-­‐types • (Various in-­‐class exercises) Write one essay of no more than 350 words. Write an Argumentation essay, a Causal Analysis, or a Proposal. Remember to give your essay a suitable title. Do not forget to check your text for language mistakes before handing in the essay. You are allowed to use an English-­‐English dictionary.
A. Argumentation Essay; argue for or against, (A1) Spending the summer in Sweden (A2) University studies
(A3) Having children before the age of 30 B. Causal Analysis; describe the reasons for, (B1) Pupils' lack of respect for primary school teachers (B2) Swedes' love of nature
(B3) Why so many people live alone in one-­‐person households C. Proposal; solve the problem of, (C1) Pupils' lack of respect for primary school teachers (C2) Staying in touch with distant friends and relatives (C3) Passing the grammar exam Course Information
Essay exam (3)
+
VOC/MCT (1.5)
=
4.5 credits
Vocabulary Building
Reason 1: Skyrocket your career to a new level Reason 2: Avoid costly mistakes that could damage your reputation at work just by opening your mouth Reason 3: Get experienced mentors to help you achieve your personal and business goals in record time Reason 4: Get dozens of the best job offers around Reason 5: Break into some of the most proYitable businesses in the world Reason 6: Use your great vocabulary to get treated like a celebrity when you go out to dinner! Reason 7: Find your perfect love partner Reason 8: If you're already in a relationship, take it to a whole new level Reason 9: Solve your relationship problems Reason 10: Create a stimulating environment for your children (Source: http://www.articlerich.com/Article/The-Top-10-Reasons-to-Build-YourVocabulary/240037)
VOC/MCT
•  Point average: c. 130
•  Average point increase: c.30
•  To pass A-level English: c.160
•  Buy and use a (modern) monolingual
dictionary.
•  Download Words Galore and MCT övningsprov
from course homepage on kurstorget
•  Fie-fo-fum (download from course homepage
or visit 12A225)
•  Merriam-Webster Online (www.m-w.com),
or suggested web resources
•  Use any resource you can find that suits you,
there are tons of useful stuff online
•  Pen and paper--still going strong
Word list
•  word; word class; definition; example
sentence; translation
•  pronunciation, stress
•  Take the time to review your list!
The Joey Syndrome
Monica: It doesn’t make any sense.
Joey: Of course it does. It’s smart! I used a thesaurus!
Monica: On every word?
Joey:Yep.
Monica: All right, what was this sentence originally?
Joey: Oh. “They’re warm, nice people with big hearts.”
Chandler: And that became, “They’re humid, prepossessing
Homo sapiens with full-sized aortic pumps”?
Music
A Poem on the Underground Wall
(Paul Simon)
The last train is nearly due,
The underground is closing soon,
And in the dark deserted station,
Restless in anticipation,
A man waits in the shadows.
And the train is gone suddenly
On wheels clicking silently
Like a gently tapping litany,
And he holds his crayon rosary
Tighter in his hand.
His restless eyes leap and scratch,
At all that they can touch or catch,
And hidden deep within his pocket,
Safe within its silent socket,
He holds a colored crayon.
Now from his pocket quick he flashes,
The crayon on the wall he slashes,
Deep upon the advertising,
A single worded poem comprised
Of four letters.
Now from the tunnel's stony womb,
The carriage rides to meet the groom,
And opens wide and welcome doors,
But he hesitates, then withdraws
Deeper in the shadows.
And his heart is laughing, screaming, pounding
The poem across the tracks rebounding
Shadowed by the exit light
His legs take their ascending flight
To seek the breast of darkness and be suckled by the night.
A Poem on the Underground Wall
(Paul Simon)
The last train is nearly due,
The underground is closing soon,
And in the dark deserted station,
Restless in anticipation,
A man waits in the shadows.
And the train is gone suddenly
On wheels clicking silently
Like a gently tapping litany,
And he holds his crayon rosary
Tighter in his hand.
His restless eyes leap and scratch,
At all that they can touch or catch,
And hidden deep within his pocket,
Safe within its silent socket,
He holds a colored crayon.
Now from his pocket quick he flashes,
The crayon on the wall he slashes,
Deep upon the advertising,
A single worded poem comprised
Of four letters.
Now from the tunnel's stony womb,
The carriage rides to meet the groom,
And opens wide and welcome doors,
But he hesitates, then withdraws
Deeper in the shadows.
And his heart is laughing, screaming, pounding
The poem across the tracks rebounding
Shadowed by the exit light
His legs take their ascending flight
To seek the breast of darkness and be suckled by the night.
“Four-Letter Word”
Oxford American Dictionary:
Any of several short words referring to sexual or excretory
functions, regarded as coarse or offensive. (e.g. fuck, shit, slut, hell,
cunt, turd, arse)
• “She admitted that she had, as charged, written a four-letter variant
of the verb ‘to copulate’ on her classroom blackboard.“
• “For millions of vegetarians, beef is a four-letter word.”
• “[The Sex Pistols] spat in the air, hurled four-letter words (the
mildest was ‘scum’) at the photographers and with malevolent glares
set off shivers in their fellow travelers.”
I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’
(Scissor Sisters)
...
But I don’t feel like dancin’
When the old joanna plays
My heart could take a chance
But my two feet can’t find a way
You think that I could muster up a little soft shoop devil sway
But I don’t feel like dancin’
No sir, no dancin’ today.
...
“The Old Joanna”
Oxford English Dictionary:
Also jano, Johanna and other variants. Rhyming slang for piano.
• “The piano hasn't always been a sissy's instrument. Thanks to
Keane, youngsters today associate the old Joanna with fey tinkling to
accompany big-faced mummies boys. “
• “I started learning the old joanna, having Beatles sing-alongs with a
vicar’s daughter and blues jams with my next-door neighbour, Henry
Platt (who plays keys with me now).”
• “In the corner there's the old joanna, covered by a dust jacket and
looking decidedly unplonked of late.”
Trying to Recall
(Marie Lindberg)
...
And did we grow apart
Or did we just not grow together?
Livin’ our dreams
When you’re sleeping on the couch
When love becomes sacrificin’
Then I’m not sure it’s gonna be
You and me
Anymore
...
“love
“becomes
becomes
asacrificing”
sacrifice”
sacrificing”
...sacrifiZin’
Film
V for Vendetta
Director: James McTeigue (2006)
curfew
load of bullocks
judicial
villainy
disdain
brandish
pious
auspicious
in lieu of
commonplace
sobriquet
dramatis persona
visage
vaudevillian
vicariously
vicissitude
veneer
vanity
vestige
vox populi
vacant
valorous
visitation
vexation
vivified
vow
vanquish
venal
virulent
vermin
vanguard
vice
vouchsafe
vicious
voracious
volition
verdict
vengeance
vendetta
votive
veracity
vindicate
vigilant
virtuous
vichyssoise
verbiage
veer
verbose
•  Keyword: IMMERSION
•  Read English newspapers, magazines, books.
Watch DVD movies with English subtitles.
•  Make your own vocabulary lists.
•  Learn phrases, not single words--easier to
memorize.
•  Raise your awareness of words and language.
•  Use the words!
Prepositioner
•  Att bli bra på Engelska
•  Jag är säker på att . . .
•  To become good at English
•  I’m certain that . . .
Joint Word Bank
•  3 new words every week, e-mailed to
yours truly •  Format as described in course outline
(subject line: Word Bank week #: Name)
•  Any word that you’ve discovered and find
a useful contribution to your vocabulary-share
In preparation for next time
•  Read the first four chapters of Academic
Writing
•  Find the meaning of the idiomatic
expressions
•  Try to find 5 additional idiomatic
expressions
•  Read “Why an American Revolution?” and
“The Path to Fast Food”