TamKang University TOFEL Preparation Course

Week 2

Host: Andrew du Boulay

Recommended Text

• Reminder if you want the best TOEFL book

“Cracking the TOEFL iBT” 2011 Edition (with Test Preparation CD)

Publisher: Princeton Review 2010 Approximately, NT$ 1,103

• To Order contact Safin (陳珈汝 ) in the Dean’s office ~ room CL521

Extra Learning Tools

• The Official Guide to the TOEFL® Test, 3rd EditionA guide with practical and tactical information you need to know about the TOEFL test. Includes two full-length practice tests, real sample responses

About last week’s test

• The following graph shows the average spread of last week’s test.

• Compare where your performance fits into the rest of the class.

• Our aim is to improve performance and move the majority of students toward the 75% pass mark

Distribution of test results

3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 Mean test score was 11.26 out of 30 with 120 students

Students

Lesson 2

• Your best friend: the Dictionary. Understand what you read as you read it.

• Your next best friend: the Thesaurus

Question 1

• What do you call a person who likes to read and study a dictionary?

Answer

• A1 : a smart person with a great vocubulary!

Question 2 & 3

• 2. What do you call a person who likes to study the formation and meaning of words?

• 3. What do you call a person who likes to study the history and formation of words?

Answer 2 & 3

• A2: a lexicologist.– From the Greek words

• lexis ~ meaning word • ology ~ meaning to study • plus the suffix ist ~ to signify a person

• A3 : an etymologist.– From the Latin word

• etymologia ~ meaning to study the origin of a word

The best place to start…

a Dictionary and a Thesaurus

• Oxford dictionaries and thesauruses are trusted the world over

• They invest in language research • Give you access to the latest new words and

phrases and the most up-to-date definitions.

For learners of English

• Oxford’s dictionaries for learners of English give the help and support you need to expand vocabulary and use words correctly.

• They explain words using language learners understand, with illustrations for difficult words, and help with grammar and pronunciation.

Electronic Dictionaries

• Consumers are turning to electronic dictionaries over the traditional book dictionaries due to their portability and user friendly features.

• The best electronic dictionaries are both comprehensive and easy to use.

• They have large, easy to read LCD screens, comprehensive word banks, and tons of consumer friendly features.

International Phonetic Alphabet

• The IPA is the most common phonetic system.• It was established in 1886 in Paris.

Different Phonetic Sounds

Phonetic symbol IPA Sounds = to English Letter IPA English Sound  Some English words

ㄅ b э: b b  bat, ball, big, bank, book, bible

ㄆ  p э: p p  pan, pen, point, please, proper

ㄇ m э: m m  man, memory, mother, monster

ㄈ  f э: f f  find, fox, friend, foe, finger , life

ㄉ  d э: d d  do, did, doing, done, destined

ㄊ  t э: t t  tap, tip, toss, temporary, total

ㄋ  n э: n n  no, need, now, next, never

ㄌ  l э: l l  leg, long, lane, lemon, lime

ㄍ  g э: g g  get, go, going, gone, grandma

ㄎ  k э: c + k k cat, come, kick, cool, kettle, chemistry, chaos, Christian,

ㄏ  h э: h h her, hurt, hearse, have, hold, hello, help, heaven,

ㄐ  ʤ i: j g ʤ  jam, jump, jazz, jog, judge, general, generation, giant

ㄑ  ʧ i: ch ee ʧ  cheese, cheat, church, chop, change, challenge, chocolate

Different Phonetic Sounds

Phonetic symbol IPA Sounds = to English Letter IPA English Sound  Some English words

ㄒ  ʃ i: sh ee ʃ sheep, shop, sharpen, shadow, motion, imagination, chef,

ㄓ  ʤ ü: j ew ʤ  Jew, juice, juicy judicial

ㄔ  ʧ ü: ch ew ʧ  chew, chewing, choose,

ㄕ  ʃ ü: sh ew ʃ shoe, chateau, chauffeur, shame, session, profession, show

ㄖ  ʒür combined sound ʒ  decision, measure, treasure

ㄗ  ds-z combined sound d s z  does, dozen

ㄘ  ts ts t s  dentists, artists, tests, plates

ㄙ  sz s z s sit, sister, his zebra, size, sizzle, peoples’ zoo, xylophones

ㄧ i: i   I  it, sit, situation, institution,

ㄨ  u: several diphthongs  u: do, to, too, two, kangaroo, you, flew, through, coupé, blue,

ㄩ  jü ü  j ü Mainly for German words.You’re, j = yes

ㄚ  a: ar a: are, archer, arm, army, muscular 

Different Phonetic Sounds

Phonetic symbol IPA Sounds = to English Letter IPA English Sound  Some English words

ㄛ  ɔ: several diphthongs  ɔ:

 auto, author, auspicious, saw, awesome, all, or, ordinary, major,

ㄜ  э: several diphthongs  э:  her, girl, curl, term, turn,

ㄝ je yeh j e yeah (yes), yell, yellow,

ㄞ  aI several sounds  aI

Letter ‘I’, tie, fly, fire, by, bye, buy, eye, bicycle, hi (hello), high,

ㄟ ei Usually ‘A’ words eiLetter ‘A’, day, maid, made, fade, appreciate, eight,

ㄠ  aƱ ao  aƱ Ouch! Our house. How now brown cow.

ㄡ  oƱ several diphthongs  oƱNo, know, go, low, coat, boat, remote, follow, yellow

ㄢ  Λn un  Λ nup, hut, but, under, undo, understand, hundred

ㄣ  en en  e n end, send, envy, enable, enter, envelope

ㄤ Λŋ ung  Λ ŋup, sun, rung, ring, thingsing, sang, sung, 

ㄥ Ʊŋ ong   Ʊ ŋput, look, book,

No Ʊŋ sounds

ㄦ э:r several diphthongs  э:r her, sir, father, turn, burn, dirt, 

Some sounds not in Chineseæ ‘a’ as in cat at, hat, mat, scatter, material,

manager

l ‘l’ as in lolly look, listen, learn

ƆI ‘oy’ as in boy toy,

r ‘r’ Red Rooster on Ross River Road

θ ‘th’ as in with thank, think, thistle, brother, mother, father

ð ‘th’ as in the this, that, those, them ,they, their, therefore

v ‘v’ in victory five, favour, very, every

w ‘w’ in wish with, when, why, window

The Thesaurus

• A thesaurus is a book that lists words grouped together according to similarity of meaning (containing synonyms and sometimes antonyms) in contrast to a dictionary, which contains definitions and pronunciations.

• The largest thesaurus in the world is the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary which contains more than 920,000 words.

Synonyms

• In its narrowest sense, a synonym is a word or phrase that is perfectly substitutable in a context for another word or phrase.

• They have identical or very similar meanings.• Words that are synonyms are said to be

synonymous. • Eg: the words car and automobile are

synonyms.

Synonyms

• Synonyms can be any part of speech (e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs or prepositions), provided both words are the same part of speech.

Synonyms

• Noun : "student" and "pupil" "petty crime" and "misdemeanour"

• Verb: "buy" and "purchase"• Adjective: "sick" and "ill"• Adverb: "quickly" and "speedily"• Preposition: "on" and "upon"

Antonyms

• Antonyms are words with opposite or nearly opposite meanings.

• For example:– short and tall– dead and alive– increase and decrease– add and subtract

• The words synonym and antonym are themselves antonyms.

One of the best around …

• You can download a Thesaurus on-line

Next week’s lesson…

• Lesson 3• Pronunciation: the key to improving listening,

speaking and spelling.• The LATIN Alphabet• Vowels, Consonants and Diphthongs