DEBATE TOPICS

Asked the teams if they agreed with these opinions and why/why not:

Should more people practice/use:

1. Become vegetarians

2. Alternative medicines

3. Public transport

4. Agriculture

5. Digital payment

6.Love marriages

7. Social media

8. Less plastic

9. Walking

10. Reading

11. Simple weddings

12. Branded clothes

13. Conserving nature

14. Cleanliness

15. Beauty consciousness

16. Home-based business

17. Girls' only schools

18. Reservation for women

19. English speaking

20. Mobile phone restrictions

21.Multiplexes or theatres

22. Beaches/parks

23. Control on fast foods

24. Nature friendly life

25. Playgrounds/Malls 

Some more topics

1. Working in Kerala/abroad

2. Kerala/ "God's own country" - Is the name justified?

3. Do we have good hobbies?

4. Are our movies close to reality?

5. Have cinema theatres become unaffordable to common man?

6. Has English culture had a good effect on our lives?

7. Tourist places in Kerala vs those in other states

8. Movies Malayalam vs Hindi/Tamil/English

9. Is it easy to ban fast food?

10. Is it easy to ban plastic?

TO BE CONTINUED..................

DESCRIBING A CLIMAX SCENE EXERCISE

Describe a climax scene from a movie. You should say:
We see ......................(what/whom)
We hear .....................(speech/dialogue/noise of....)
We feel........................(sadness/happiness/fear/relieved/satisfied/excited)
We become..................(curious/inspired)
We give up....................(a bad habit like smoking)
We practice...................(a skill like swimming)
We can view it ...............(once/twice/many times)
We think about a ............(a social issue)
We appreciate ................(the story/acting/action/creativity of the director)
We get ............................(a lesson/message/advice/inspiration)

TO BE CONTINUED..................

USING "THE"

The definite article "The" is used with:

1. The Internet

2. The radio

3. The army, navy, air force, police, fire brigade.

4. with "same".....They study in the same class.  

5. To specify the position, location of things and to give direction.

Turn left at the end of the road.

Look to the right. You can see the museum.

6. Before the superlatives like TUSING THE DEFINITE ARTICLE - "THE" IN ENGLISH SENTENCES

The definite article "The" is used with:
1. The Internet
2. The radio
3. The army, navy, air force, police, fire brigade.
4. with "same".....They study in the same class.  
5. To specify the position, location of things and to give direction.
Turn left at the end of the road.
Look to the right. You can see the museum.
6. Before the superlatives. The youngest child.
7. The only, The first/second etc.
8. With names of musical instruments.The guitar, violin, tabla
9. Places like: The cinema/mall/station/airport.
10. Names of multiplexes
11. Names of deserts
12. Names of hotels
13. Names of groups of islands
14. Names of mountain ranges
15. Names of oceans/seas and also canals/gulfs/straits
16. Names of regions of the world/a country. For eg. The Middle East/Far East
17. Names of political parties
18. Names of rivers
19. Names of countries with words like kingdom/republic/states/union or have a plural name. The Philippines/West Indies/United States/United Arab Emirates/United Kingdom
20. Names of people of a country like The French/British/Japanese
21. Adjectives that talk about a group of people like The rich/poor/old.
22. Names of families like The Ambanis/Birlas
23. Names of things that are unique. For eg. The sun/moon. Tokyo is the capital of Japan.
24. Names of things being mentioned/already mentioned. For eg. The museum is nearby.
25. Before the names of directions. The east/west/north.
26. Before the names of religious books. The Bible/Gita/Koran.
27. Before the names of famous buildings/monuments. The Red Fort/ Taj Mahal/ LIC building.
28. Before a Proper Noun when it is used as an adjective: The late Mr. Nehru, the beautiful Padmini.
29. Before the names of communities : The Muslims/Christians
30. Before the names of Newspapers, magazines.
31. Before a Common noun used as Abstract noun: He felt the devil within him.
32. In phrases like "The more, the merrier."

Article "The" is not used with:
1. television/TV
2. Names of meals - breakast/lunch/dinner
3. last/next etc.
4. Names of materials - Gold/Silver.
5. Names of games - Football/Cricket.
6. Institutions when used with their primary function like "Going to school"
7. Before a common noun used in its widest sense : Man is a social animal.

TO BE CONTINUED...

ENGLISH SENTENCE PATTERN (ESP)

TALKING ABOUT SELF

I am  .............................     ..............................(Full Name)

1.   I am a student of .....................................................................

2.   I was a good Football player in school.

3.   I will be in .................................................... next year.

4.   I have been here for ................... years.

5.   I have a brother/sister/parents.

6.   I had good marks in ..............................................

7.   I will have a good career in ........................................

8.    There are ......... members in my family.

9.    There were ................ students in my batch.

10.  There will be many vacancies in ............................

11.                I read ..................................(Newspaper)

12.                I like ........................................(Hobby)

13.                I am working in ............................

14.                I am joining ................................... next month.

15.                I have done a course in .....................................

16.                I have been studying .................................. for ............  years.

17.                I studied in ................................... for Plus Two/SSLC.

18.                I was studying in a mixed school.

19.                I will improve my ................................ skills.

20.                I will be watching celebrity interviews.

1.      The work is done by me.

2.      The work is enjoyed by me.

3.      The work is being done by me now.

4.      The work is being done in the evening.

5.      The work has been done by me.

6.      The work was done by me.

7.      The work was being done by me.

8.      The work will be done by me.

1.    I can speak.

2.    I could speak.

3.    I shall speak.

4.    I should speak.

5.    I may speak.

6.    I might speak.

7.    I must speak.

8.    I have to speak.

9.    I need to speak.

10. I ought to speak.

11. I used to speak.

12.  I would like to speak.

Am	Is	Are	Do	Does	Did	Was	Were	Have	Has
Will	Can

Ø  Do I speak English? Yes I speak English.

Ø  Do you speak English?

Ø  Does he speak English? Yes, he speaks English.

Ø  Are the students speaking good English? 

Ø  Did they speak English? Yes, they spoke English.

Ø  Has she spoken English well?

Ø  Have they spoken English?

Ø  Can we speak English now?

1.      What is your qualification?

2.      Where do you come from?

3.      When did you join?

4.      Why did you join?

5.      How was the class?

6.      Which was your favourite subject?

7.      With whom did you sit?

8.      Whose suggestion was it?

9.      Who was your teacher?

.............................................................................

EXERCISES: Speaking about a famous person/place/dish/song/movie.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Self Introduction for Job Interviews

"Can you introduce yourself ?" or "Self Introduction" is usually the first question asked in job interviews. Here's an example of a self introduction by a student of Food Crafts Institute,Kozhikode.  He starts with his name, then mentions his native place, present occupation, languages known, work experience, educational qualifications, courses attended, future plan and ambitions, skills, hobbies and interests, extra curricular activities in school/college, family details and finally the person's nature.

Good morning sir/madam. May I introduce myself...

I am Suraj. My full name is Suraj Varma.

I am from Calicut. My native place is Chelannur in Calicut.

I am 20 years old.

I am a student of FCI. My institute is at Karaparamba in Calicut.

I am studying for a certificate course in F&B ie., Food and Beverage services. My favorite subject is Beverage service.

I know three languages - English, Hindi and Malayalam.

I am an undergraduate.

I have a 6-months experience in Sales and Marketing for a mobile phone company. 

I have done an MS Office and computerized accounting course from IHRD, Calicut.

I want to work as an F&B staff in a five star hotel. My ambition is to become an F&B manager in five years.

About my skills, I can speak three languages - English, Hindi and Malayalam. I can also use computers to do office work.

About my hobbies, I like travelling. My favourite place to visit is Wayanad. 

I also like cooking. My favourite dish is vegetable biriyani.

I have participated in Cricket and Basketball tournaments while in school.

I have an interest to learn Spanish in future.

About my family, there are four members- parents, my younger sister and myself.

And finally about my nature, I am a friendly person, cool and eager to learn and adapt to new situations.

That's all about myself. Thank you.

TO BE CONTINUED...