SOCIAL TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

1. USE OF PLASTICS
2. DIGITAL PAYMENTS
3. NEW MOVIES
4. ONLINE EDUCATION
5. SHOPPING MALLS
6. SOCIAL MEDIA
7. ONLINE SHOPPING
8. FAST FOOD
9. LOVE MARRIAGES
10. FASHION TRENDS
11. TV SERIALS
12. EXTRAVAGANT WEDDINGS
13. MNREGA

TO BE CONTINUED...

EC CLASS

  An "English Communication(EC)" classroom

Number of students: 30
Duration of the class: 2 hours

For whom: IELTS students and for those having personal interviews in future(for jobs,admissions etc.) and also for school students, college students and people who are interested in English communication skills

PARTS OF THE EXERCISE

1. Main Exercise: A few speakers(seven or more) will speak on the selected topic for 2-3 minutes.

2. Ground Work Exercise: Before the main exercise starts a group of people(three or more) from the audience will act as friends(also called friendly circle) and ask the selected speaker a few questions informally and privately to guide him/her in thinking critically and 
comprehensibly about the topic in order to deliver a good speech publically. This can last for 1-2 minutes.

3. Interactive Session: After every speech is over, a few questions will be asked from the audience side about some of the points mentioned in the speech.

4. Doing the ABC: After the speaking exercise is over, the participants can do ABC that means Activity-Booklet Compilation. All the speakers who have delivered their speeches will make a booklet by compiling their speeches in written format for future reference. 

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE EXERCISE

1. Slips: Making a lot of small slips on which the topics to speak are written, folded and kept on the speaking desk to pick and choose for the speaker.

2. Making a friendly circle: Selecting a few students from the first row(to begin with) to help the main speaker to think about the topic and compose a speech mentally.

3. Interaction and discussion: After the speech is delivered, the people in the audience can ask questions or reflect on the content of the speech to probe the topic further to understand and appreciate the English communication skills of the speaker.

Some of the topics for this exercise are: 

1. A typical festival in your country
2. One of the happiest events in your life
3. Your favourite institution
4. Your ideal home
5. The place where you grew up
6. A person from your childhood whom you admired very much
7. A skill which is also a hobby

A few more topics for doing this exercise are:
Your favourite food/dish
Your favourite actor/stage performer
Your favourite movie/drama
Your favourite short story/poem
Your favourite music/musical instrument
Your favourite dance form/dancer
Your favourite song/singer
Your favourite TV show/channel/personality/anchor
Your favourite historical personality/period
Your favourite country
Your favourite hotel/shop
Your favourite possession
Your favourite tourist spot
Your favourite hobby
Your favourite mode of travel
Your favourite subject to study
Your favourite friend
Your favourite leader/role model
Your favourite game/player
Your favourite celebrity
A person in your family 
What do you like the most about your "self"/job/life/place/state/country/world?
What do you dislike the most about your "self"/job/life/place/state/country/world?
A typical day in your life (a week day).
How do you spend your weekends?
The first day in your school/college/job
An important decision of your life.
A memorable family function
A memorable party
A memorable public function
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Watch this class in action

TO BE CONTINUED...

SIMILES FOR A FRIEND

Athlete A friend is a balancing pole that enables us to walk the tight rope of life without falling.

Physician A soft bandage and a soothing ointment for the cuts and bruises of life.

Botanist A vine that clings to us and hides the discrepancies and rough places of life.

Florist    Greater the ruins, the more closer a friend clings.                                                                                                          

Jeweller A golden link in the chain of life.

A person in mourning One who comes in when the whole world goes out.

COURTESY-  INTERNET

ONLINE NETWORKING TIPS

 

Top 6 tips to ace it on SOCIAL MEDIA

1) Your profile picture, headline and summary are the 3 golden words on LinkedIn, use them well.

2) Engage with other people’s content by adding meaningful comments.

3) Post relatable, observational and knowledgeable content that gives insights or drives conversations.

4) Don’t shy away from creating content just because you feel that no one would read your content or that you don’t have enough experience to talk about something.

5) Build a good network by connecting with relevant people.

6) Be consistent in everything.

COURTESY - LinkedIn

TO BE CONTINUED...

GROUP DISCUSSION

                                                    A GROUP DISCUSSION (GD)

TOPIC - Are we getting addicted to TV serials?

PARTICIPANTS: Ajay, Eva, Binila, Chandru and Salim

Welcoming all to the GD...Let's start.

Ajay: Dear friends, with your permission I would like to initiate the group discussion on       “Are we getting addicted to TV serials?” Could you please lend me your ears?

Eva: Of course, we are all ears. Please do continue.

Ajay: Well, Television today, has become an important member of our family. There are many kinds of TV channels showing a variety of programmes like News, Sports, Movies, Music,Travel etc. However, in the evenings, people usually prefer to watch their favourite serials or soap operas. I am afraid this has now become a kind of addiction. Some of us find it very difficult to skip an episode. We empathise with the characters so much that we always think about these characters and eagerly wait to see them again. And most of the serials are tearjerkers trying to attract the viewers by arousing the emotions of sympathy, sadness, anger etc. In short, serials have become a kind of opium for the masses. And the MNC’s which sponsor these serials show the advertisements of their products in between the episodes at the drop of a hat. They therefore make hay while the sun shines.

Binila: I do agree with Ajay that serials aren’t influencing us in a good way and watching them for a long time does make us empathize with the characters deeply. Some of us take a liking to these serials which show the protagonist as an innocent, vulnerable and gullible person who is made to suffer endlessly for no fault of theirs. The same formula has been repeated in an umpteen number of serials.  

Chandru: Nowadays besides tearjerkers there are horror serials, comedy serials, mythological ones also, catering to the taste of a wide variety of audiences spanning across genders, ages and regions. The number of couch potatoes in our society is going up every day.

Ajay: But I doubt whether other types of programmes hook our audiences as much as these sentimental serials. Can anybody explain why?

Salim: Well, as Miss Binila rightly pointed out, the serials makers fill the episodes with a lot of emotional melodrama, gorgeous faces, twists in the plots etc. All the tricks of the trade are employed to play to the galleries. They take inspiration from popular movies, contemporary events and the present trends in the society. And I must say that some serials do make a good viewing experience giving the audience some food for thought as well.

Eva: With due regards to all your noble opinions, I think youngsters like me care two hoots for these silly tearjerkers that enthuse only the namby pamby ones. I watch TV for movies, musical contests and reality shows that keeps me enthused.  And unlike serials there is no fear of addiction as there is no suspense element in these programmes. They are magnificent with spectacular visuals, sound effects and choreography.

Binitha: Talking about visuals I think the computer graphics has made TV viewing a really enthralling with a lot of edge of the seat experiences.

Ajay: I am afraid, we are deviating slightly from the main topic ie., are we getting addicted to TV serials?

Salim: I think the main reason for some people getting addicted to TV serials is that they don’t consider their leisure time an opportunity to develop various other aspects of their personality that remains passive during the day’s work.

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PHRASAL VERBS TEST

Use the right phrasal verbs in the sentences below.

                                                                                  1. The Chairman hasn’t come. I am afraid the meeting might be put ____.

2.   2. Hang on. There’s still a hope. The Vice Chairman can preside _____ the meeting.

3.   3. I will keep my fingers crossed. The chairman may turn ____ unexpectedly.

4.  4.  But have you made _____ your mind about what needs to be the main topic  of  discussion.    

5.   5. Well, I have zeroed _____ on some important ones.

6.   6. Do speak ______on the incentives to be given to the employees.

7.   7. Of course. I will. Do remind of some more points in case I miss _____ any.

8.   Yeah I will. Can I run ______ the list of topics?

9.   Here you are. I hope the meeting is not called _____.

Yeah. I am quite hopeful. Things will turn _____ as we expected.

ANSWERS

1. off                                                                                            

2. over

3. up

4. up

5. in

6. up

7. out

8. through

9. off

10. out                                                              

TO BE CONTINUED...

MAKE THE RIGHT CONNECTIONS

Using Wh-words,Wh-ever and Prepositions for connections.

While communicating in English it's very easy to connect information,ideas,thoughts etc. 

Let's see how:

First we will use wh-words for making connections. 1.HOW: I really don't know how to thank you for this.

2.WHAT:He actually doesn't know what to do next.

3.WHEN:Of course,she knows when the train will reach Kannur.

4.WHY:They don't know clearly why he cried while speaking.

5.WHERE:We do know where you had gone.

6.WHO: It(the dog) probably doesn't know who you are.

7.WHOM:You don't know the person with whom your boss is having the meeting now?

8.WHICH:You know very well which dress to wear for the function, don't you?

9.WHOSE:Ram knows for sure whose handwriting is this. Now let's see wh-ever words for making strong connections.

Wh-ever connections: 

WHICHEVER: I will be on time whichever be the occasion.

WHATEVER: I will do the work whatever be the problems.

WHEREVER: She will find friends wherever she goes.

WHENEVER: He will have food whenever he comes to our house.

WHOEVER:I will have to follow the rules, whoever you are.

HOWEVER:We will find a way, however difficult be the mission.

Prepositions for connections:

Now let's see how we can use prepositions to make connections. Jass has come...to meet you...with his father...for giving the invitation...of his sister's marriage...on 21 st of next month...at 11 am...at their house...in Beypore...near the LP school... So it is very easy in English to keep on adding  information to a sentence by using prepositions as in the given example.


USING "IF" AS A CONJUNCTION: 

Which sentence given below is the most powerful in terms of belief?

If I get a job in an International company, I will go places.

If I started a business, I would earn a lot of money.

If I had got a job in government service I would have become very happy.

Now in these sentence types using the three IFs, the first sentence is spoken by a very confident person having a very strong belief, the second by a not very confident person having a weak belief and the third by somebody who is living in the past.

So by changing the IF pattern in a sentence, can we enhance our confidence and belief in a particular outcome?  The answer is clear from the above example.

TO BE CONTINUED...