Believe and you will achieve!

Believe and you will achieve!

Music For vocabulary...

Music For vocabulary...

Thursday, 8 June 2017

Adverbs and Adjectives ( A request ! :) )

Hello dear students, 

It has indeed been a while since my last blog post...life has gone on and times have been eventful as they must be and will be. How have you been ? 

I trust that your journey to fluency has been eventful, enjoyable and most of all, a learning experience that awakens the very soul ! 

Remember to be good to each other - may the learning and teaching proceed... today, I present to you: 

ADVERBS AND ADJECTIVES : 



Adverbs:

Adverbs are used to give us more information about an action verb. How something happens or is done. 

For example:

'She cried loudly when the cat died'.
'He easily climbed the wall'.

Many English adverbs end in –ly. They are often made by adding –ly to the end of an adjective: quick + ly = quickly.

Be careful!

Sometimes adjectives end in –ly. For example:
friendly, lonely and lovely.

Adjectives:

Adjectives are used to tell us about nouns. They tell us about people and things.

'That was a bad film'.
'My exam was easy'.

Adverb + Adjective:

Adverbs can be used with adjectives. Take a look at the following examples:

adverb+adjective
extremely expensive
incredibly surprised
reasonably good
Astronomically high

Linking Verbs
LIST
to appear
to be
to become
to feel
to get
to go
to grow
to look
to prove
to remain
to seem
to smell
to sound
to stay
to taste
to turn

USE
The linking verbs above are often followed by adjectives instead of adverbs. In such situations, the adjective describes the subject of the sentence rather than the verb.




TIPS::

Look at the context

If you're not sure whether to use an adverb or an adjective, try to figure out what you're describing. Remember, adjectives are used to describe nouns, which means they can explain what kind of thing you have, how many things you have, or which thing you're talking about.

Adverbs, on the other hand, are used to describe verbs, which means they can explain how something happened, when something happened, or where something happened.





Look at the placement:

Here's an easy way to know where to put an adjective in a sentence. It will usually appear just before the noun it's describing. By contrast, an adverb will usually appear right after the verb it's describing.
Unfortunately, placement doesn't always tell you if something is an adverb or adjective. For example, is sassy an adjective or adverb in the image below?


Even though it's right next to a verb (is), sassy is an adjective because it describes the magician. And while adjectives are usually close to the words they describe, adverbs can move around more freely in a sentence. For example, you might see an adverb at the beginning of a sentence.




Here, frankly is an adverb, but it doesn't describe any specific verb in the sentence. Instead, it means the entire sentence will be spoken in a frank, or direct, way. If he was more optimistic, he might have said, Hopefully, it will all work out.




Now read the following sentences and decide if an adverb or adjective is needed:

Relax. He's a ___ driver.
safe
safely

Your brother is so ___.
kind
kindly

I always work ___ during the week.
hard
hardly

You ___ touched your lunch.
hardly
hard

At the party everyone was ___ dressed.
beautiful
beautifully

By the time we got home I was ___ tired.
terribly
terrible

Han did ___ on his test.
badly
bad

I baked this cake ___ for you.
special
specially

They have been ___ married for years.
happily
happy

It's natural to feel ___ before a job interview.
nervously

nervous

Tuesday, 12 January 2016

The Subjunctive mood = VERBS WITH ''That''.


So, I have had a request from a student, Nathalie would like to know what the mystical ‘’yodafied’’ language is; that we at times use in more formal speech or writing.

Her request :
‘’Could you explain when we need to use "That"? For example, "I have received the following request. Could you confirm that I can approve it?" Do I need to use "that" or not?’’

How about: Could you confirm that it be approved? 

The verb '' To confirm'', is both transitive < Obj > and intransitive < No Obj > - meaning, you can use ''confirm'' with or without an object.

Examples: Could you confirm + the approval. I would like to approve the following request -Could you please + confirm? or Could you confirm + that + I (should) approve + it.



LET’S DELVE INTO A SOMEWHAT BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD !



We use the magical subjunctive if expressing a sense of urgency or importance – such as requesting permission or making a suggestion:





Examples:

I recommend that he study his grammar regularly. ( Note that we drop the ‘’s’’ or ‘’es’’ when using the subjunctive in the third person.)

The teacher suggests that we be focused when listening to explanations. ( Advice/ A desire that the teacher has. Note the use of ‘’be’’ when using the subjunctive in the present tense.)

I wish I were you/ I wish I were happier (Subjunctive hypothetical ( unreal possibility.) - used in the second conditional.)

I propose that we eat earlier. ( Doubtfully going to happen / just a suggestion.)

FORM: subject + suggest/propose/confirm/recommend + (that) + subject + subjunctive





Three true forms : all the better to remember : 


1. I suggest that you  + ask + Bernadette > Suggest that someone do something

2. I suggest reading more books! > Suggest doing something

3. I suggest a visit to South Africa - it is amazing here ! > Suggest something


Use the subjunctive - which is a part of grammar used after or with certain verbs:

Advise, ask, command, demand, desire, recommend, suggest, urge, confirm, pray, propose + that …





NOTA BENE: The subjunctive, when used with the third-person form of the verb - the ‑s is omitted/ not included.  AGAIN: When using the verb to be in the subjunctive, the present tense is be, and the past tense is were.

EXAMPLES:

‘’If I were you – I would ask more questions in class!’’

‘’ He proposed that she be quiet while listening to the teacher!’’

‘’It is suggested that he/she/ it use the subjunctive correctly.’’

‘’I recommend that you eat healthily. ‘’
‘’Could you confirm that I can approve the request?’’




The Subjunctive is used after the following expressions: ( ‘’THAT’’ is in parentheses because it is OPTIONAL ! No, you do not need it – YES, it sounds very strange – though, that is crazy English as it stands ! )


It is best (that) ( she confirm the approval.)
It is essential (that) ( we confirm the application approval.)
It is urgent (that) ( you confirm the meeting.)
It is vital (that) ( the approval be confirmed.)
It is a good idea (that) (we approve this.)
It is a bad idea (that)
It is imperative (that)
It is important (that)
It is recommended (that)
It is crucial (that)
It is desirable (that)


VOILA ! I do hope +  that + you found this post of help!



Wednesday, 6 January 2016

Interview with ELF English about teaching children AND my introductory video / written introduction :


Bernadette Is a TEFL Bernadette certified teacher from Port Elizabeth, South Africa. 
Bernadette has a wealth of experience, due to working for various online companies where she won the award for Private lessons three years in a row. She is certainly a most passionate and unique teacher, having worked in the field of education since 2010, where she started off with teaching child art. After earning her TEFL qualification in 2011 - she decided to move into the field of Teaching English as a Foreign language, full-time.
Bernadette has a special flair for communication, utilizing an eclectic methodology - her approach to pedagogy is related to student’s needs - whether it be task based activities with a communicative approach, Grammar orientated sessions, General conversational strategies or Pronunciation and elocution lessons.


Motivation and bolstering confidence, is a key aspect in her classroom, as is encouraging a positive self-evaluation. Bernadette has had tremendous success in preparing students ahead of the TOEIC, TOEFL and IELTS exams. She has worked with Business students, preparing them ahead of presentations, meetings and related Business topics- Telephoning, Negotiations and Business Correspondence. Her aim is to provide lessons in a comfortable and caring environment - she has a love for people, the creative arts - especially painting in oils, music as a medium for learning and helping students attain realistic goals.


What resources do you use while teaching children via skype? 

I enjoy using a variety of tools and resources, much like what is used with my adult students - we all need motivation and a nurtured interest when it comes to language learning - colours and pictures are necessary, even for adult students! I generally stick to using power point, to keep lessons structured, whilst utilizing the eclectic methodology alongside of the PPP method - Presentation, Production, Practice. Is to observe To learn.
The key is to make sure that your presentation is interactive and eye - catching! This will help younger students stay focused

How do you keep children motivated and interested?

Be passionate as a teacher! Make lessons interesting - I base lessons on everything from expressing feelings through to describing food and activities / learning songs. One has to discover what the interests of the child really are and how you are going to feed those. I do believe that reviewing past materials, is essential to a child's progress. It's not necessarily about what has been covered in class nor the amount, however it is what the child is able to do after instruction and the prior mentioned repetition.


"If they can not learn the way we teach, we teach the way they learn" 
- O. Ivar Lovaas

I must say that always including hand actions and suitable body language aided by pictures and melody, maximize the chances of remembering vocabulary and more. The key is to keep children entertained - the best way in which to do so, is to think like a child. Children are easy to motivate once they become accustomed to you - building trust and keeping up with a playful attitude goes a long way when motivating children.

What are some of the difficulties for children learning via Skype?

I find that concentration is a challenge for children of all ages - so keeping instructions relatively short and simple is essential to productivity. We have to bear in mind that students at this age do find it difficult to maintain attention for too long or to recall lengthy instructions. Computer literacy at a very young age is ever - improving, all the same - a teacher needs to be prepared to take control of the session through screen sharing and use of a multitude of tools to make sessions interactive and easily accessible. Videos, colours, flash cards and voice modulation all play a role in teaching children effectively.