1. I am a student of CREST.
2. I have classes daily.
3. I come here in the morning.
4. There are 40 students in my batch.
5. I like discussions in class.
6. I am attending a Think in English(TE) class now.
7. After this class, I am going to have lunch.
8. I have got three TE classes till now.
9. I have been staying in Calicut for a week now.
10. I have been here since Dec 1st.
SENTENCES IN ENGLISH ABOUT THE PAST
1. I was a student of in TKM College last year.
2. I was doing my MSc. in Physics last year.
3. I completed my course in October.
4. I had six subjects in my course.
5. There were thirty students in our batch.
1. In 2018, I will join the IAS academy in Trivandrum.
2. I will be preparing for IAS in 2018.
3. I will be busy with my studies in 2018.
4. I will have classes daily.
5. There will be a lot of seminars and workshops also.
So we have learnt till now 20(10+5+5) sentences in English...This makes half of our English Sentence Pattern.
A CONVERSATION ABOUT ENGLISH
I have an English class today.
What do you want to learn there?
I want to learn to use English.
You mean, you want to learn to use English language or "English" which means the culture of England.
I want to learn English language, not English.
Do you know what is English language made of...I mean what is the most important thing in English language?
Grammar,
No...guess again. It is the sentences in English.
Oh...so how can I learn the sentences in English ?
For that you need to understand the pattern of sentences in English ie., the English Sentence Pattern (ESP)
What should I do to learn ESP?
Be conscious of the right pattern of sentences in English.
And then....
Learn to do it in a sub-conscious way....by using it often whenever you get a chance and if you don't get a chance to use English sentences then look for and even create chances on your own...once you master the logic of English sentences sub-consciously, you are on the right track.
PASSIVE ACTION - SENTENCE STRUCTURES
1. ELT class is attended by me.
2. ELT class is liked by me.
3. ELT class is being attended by me now.
4. ELT class is being attended by me tomorrow.
5. ELT class has been attended by me.
6. ELT class was attended by me yesterday.
7. ELT class was being attended by me in the afternoon.
8. ELT class will be attended by me.
(ELT - English language in Thoughts)
MODAL VERBS
1. Can you attend the class?
2. Could you please attend the class?
3. May I attend the class?
4. I might attend the class.
5. Shall I attend the class?
6. Should I attend the class?
7. Must I attend the class?
8. Would you like to attend the class?
9. Do I have to attend the class?
10. Do I need to attend the class?
11. Do I ought to attend the class?
12. Did you use to attend the class?
With this, we have learnt all the basic 40(20+20) sentence structures in English...This makes our basic knowledge of English Sentence Pattern(ESP) complete.
ACTIVITY BASED CLASSES
I. Asked the participants to do: MES(Making English Sentences) EXERCISES
1. Guess the ACTOR exercise...Learning to make sentences to describe a person.
2. Guess the PLACE exercise....Learning to make sentences to describe a place.
3. Guess the DISH exercise....Learning to make sentences to describe a dish.
4. Guess the MOVIE exercise....Learning to make sentences to describe an emotional incident.
II. Asked the participants to do: CONVERSATIONAL EXERCISES
1. A day in the life of a celebrity...Learning to do an imaginary conversation with a celebrity as the main character.
2. Newspaper based exercise...Learning to do a real conversation based on a newspaper report.
III. SID (Speech-Interaction-Discussion) Exercise
Asked the student groups to:
1. Select a topic
2. Give a speech
3. Interact with the audience by inviting questions
4. Discuss by asking the audience whether they agree with their solution/suggestion related to the issue being discussed. The team should write the solution/suggestion on the board.
The topics given were:
1. Political Violence
2. Movies
3. Summer Heat
4. Gender Equality
5. Corruption in Institutions
6. Poverty Deaths
7. Social Media
8. Fear of Exams
While talking about these issues they had to follow some rules like:
All the statements should be related to the society they were living in.Give enough space to your own experience in that subject. Talk about personal experiences if you can, connected with the issue. As far as possible don't generalize. Talk about specific details. Make your speech rich in ideas and ideals.
MORE EXERCISES
1. ENTERTAINING TOPIC INTRO Ex :Asked the student groups to introduce a new topic(for eg. Electric Cars) to the audience in an entertaining /engaging manner using creative communication techniques like Skits, Role Plays, Team Speeches, Conversational dramas etc...can be followed by Interaction and Discussion.
2. LIFE STORY Ex. : Asked the teams to do a Role play based on the best life story of a team member and then the audience has to guess who is that team member...can be followed by Interaction and Discussion.
3. WHAT IT TEACHES ME Ex. : Asked the teams to speak to the audience about an object in the classroom that teaches you something about life or about yourself or society and then the audience has to guess which is that object...can be followed by Interaction and Discussion.
4. IKIGAI Ex.: Asked the students to present a role-play where a eminent person shares his social mission with people and also how did he : follow his passion / pursue his profession and then find a mission to empower the people around him, his contributions to social well-being and change.
5. NO PAIN, NO GAIN Ex. : Asked the students to enact a situation that happened in their life where they had to take a tough decision regarding their future course of action and how did they succeed in making the right choice.
6. SHARING A FUNNY EXPERIENCE Ex. : Asked the students to talk about an experience from their life which was funny because it surprised them / made them feel like a fool / was silly, without any result / it lacked sense/ was an insult / something went wrong / it made people laugh.
7. PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP / INTERACTION ALBUM Ex.
In this exercise you think/speak about a person whom you have met and :
a. Who made a striking first impression on you.
b. Then there were a few interactions which helped you understand him/her better.
c. Then talk about the impressions about that person which are lasting ones, stable and steady.
8. FRIENDSHIP IN RELATIONSHIPS Ex.
In this exercise the students, using a role-play, show a relationship that has some colours of a good friendship. For example:
a. Being non-judgmental.
b. Without comparisons
c. Help rendered without any formal request
d. Space for expressions rather than expectations
e. Ideas and thoughts instead of too much Questions
f. Showing care over career and other aspects.
g. Conversations rather than explanations.
9.MIS/UNDERSTANDING IN COMMUNICATION
In this exercise students talk about an experience from their life when they were misunderstood by someone or they misunderstood somebody and because of this misunderstanding in communication the relationship came to a standstill, making you/others feel sad/anxious/bitter/angry/ashamed/silly/stupid and then how did you try to mend the bridges.
10. BEFORE/AFTER AN INVENTION EXERCISE
In this exercise the students performed a role play which showed communication in a situation before/after an scientific invention was made for eg. telephone, radio, TV, mobile, Internet, Social Networking etc. Also they gave a speech and interacted with the audience about a popular brand that revolutionised an industry for eg. Nokia, Samsung, Facebook, WhatsUp, Google, IPhone, Philips etc.
11. LEFT, RIGHT AND CENTER SPEECH EXERCISE
In this exercise asked the students to come to the front as a four member team and then:
a. One of them will give a topic to the three members.
b. The person on the left/right will share a thought and then give a chance to the next person.
c. Then the person in the center will give a speech connecting both the ideas/thoughts.
12. BREAKING SOCIAL CODES EXERCISE
In this exercise the students in groups come and present a role play on:
a. how they challanged old rules/customs/practices in society
b. how was the experience
c. were they successful
d. whether people understood their point of view.
13. IMPERFECTIONS EXERCISE
In this exercise students speak about a situation when/where they felt they were imperfect ie ., lacked understanding, skill, knowledge, aptitude, temperament, experience, background, competence and how they helped themselves by pushing the boundaries and redefining themselves in the process.
14. MEN/WOMEN BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS EX.
Asked the students to do a role-play highlighting a particular pattern in behavior,communication,thinking or action with regard to men/women.
TO BE CONTINUED...
