English vocabulary - Martin Hunt 2016

2 Ideas for learning language

In this unit you will learn

✵ words for learning language

✵ ways of improving your English

✵ how to ask for help with your learning

Basics

Do you know these words? Check in a dictionary and write the word in your language in the space provided.

Test your basics

Cover the words on page 12 so you can’t see them. Then write the English word in the space provided.

Extension

Verbs

✵ We read a book but an author writes a book.

✵ We can listen to someone else or we can speak ourselves.

✵ To write something down is to record information, for example new words or vocabulary.

✵ If you don’t know something, you can ask a question for another person to answer. For example:

✵ Sometimes we must search for information.

✵ We can look up a word in a dictionary - that is find that word in a dictionary.

✵ We can find out information - that is look in many places to find what we need; find out is more general than look up. For example:

Look up the word ’vocabulary’ in your dictionary.

Find out everything you can about France.

Sources

You can find English in lots of places. You can:

✵ Listen to the radio; listen to a song in English or buy one on CD.

✵ We watch television or watch a [film/movie|; we can also see a [film/movie].

✵ If you have a computer with an internet connection you can surf the internet or you can use a CD-ROM which might have lots of information (for example, a dictionary on a CD- ROM).

✵ You can work with a computer or a textbook to help you with your English.

✵ You can also read books, magazines, and newspapers

✵ You can use a [video recorder/VCR] to record something that’s on television so you can watch it later; you can also record something on a tape recorder.

✵ If something is difficult, you can [practise/practice|, that is, do it again and again. You can do an exercise, for example, from a textbook, to help you.

Questions

If you need something that somebody else has ...

✵ Have you got...?/Do you have...? Yes, I have./No, I haven’t.

✵ May I borrow...? or May I use...? Yes, of course./No, I’m sorry, I’m using it. No, I’m sorry, I need it myself.

To ask to use something:

✵ May I watch television?

✵ May I listen to the radio?

✵ May I use the computer?

✵ May I surf the internet?

Practice

Exercise 1 Here are some anagrams of things you can use to help you learn a foreign language. Put the letters in the correct order to make a word. For example:

koboeton notebook

1 teerinnt

3 yarntidico

5 CO-RDM

7 zaamigen

2 DC repaly

4 decorrer edovi

6 neviletois

8 seexirce

Exercise 2 Verbs and objects. Match the two parts of the sentences together.

1 I like to write down new words...

2 I often use my CD-ROM dictionary...

3 Why don’t you record this [programme/program]...

4 You can play your CD on my...

5 Let’s look the word up...

6 It’s amazing what you find when you surf...

a CD player.

b an exercise on it.

c in my notebook.

d in a dictionary.

e on my computer.

f television.

7 If I find something difficult, I like to do...

8 You can hear lots of English if you watch...

g the internet.

h on the [video/ VCR]?

Exercise 3 Fill in the gaps in the sentences below with the correct English word.

1 Have you got a dictionary? Yes, I have.

2 May I borrow a pen? No, I'm sorry. I’m ... it.

3 ... I use the computer? Yes, of course.

4 Do you have a CD-ROM dictionary? ..., I don’t,

5 May I ... to the radio? No, I’m sorry, I need it myself.

6 May I read your magazine? Yes, of ... .

Now check your answers.

► Exercise 4 (Recordings 2.1, 2.2, 2.3) Pronunciation practice. Listen and repeat the words on the recording. Use the transcript at the back of the book to help you if necessary.

In use

Reading

Before you start, check you know these words:

easy useful

Note: ’Your own language’ is the language you speak, for example, Spanish, Japanese, French.

In Reading 1 below, there is an introduction to a language book giving advice on how to learn English. Look at the words in the box; which words do you think will appear?

Reading 1 Now read the text and put a ˅ next to those words that you find.

Ideas for learning English

1 …

Find as much English around you as you can. Read newspapers or magazines, even if you can only read a few words. See how much you can understand. Listen to the radio, watch television or see a film - hear as much English as you can, it all helps. Read books - some books are written in easy English to help you understand, especially stories. Try some of these. Newspapers and magazines are also a good source of spoken English because they have many interviews.

2 …

If you don’t know a word, you can look it up in a dictionary. You can use a dictionary that tells you English words in your own language, or try using an English-English dictionary and see how much you understand. Keep a dictionary with you when you use this book - it’s very useful, but don’t look in it for every word. See if you can understand first, and only look up the most important words you don’t know.

3 …

In today’s world, there’s nothing better than using a computer. There are some very good dictionaries on CD-ROM, with video and plenty of practice activities. If you can surf the internet, then there is almost no limit to the information out there, and most of it is in English.

4 …

Listen carefully to how someone says an English word. See if you can hear the word on television or radio, and try to record it. Use a tape recorder to record yourself. Listen to yourself speak and then try again. In this book, you will find lots of places to listen and repeat.

Reading 2 The headings have been taken out of the text and are in the box below. Put each heading in the correct place in the text. One heading is not used.

► Listening

In Listening 1 you will hear an interview with a student, Marc Roussell, who spent some time studying in the USA. Look at the box of words from Reading 1 below. Which words do you think Marc will say?

Listening 1 (Recording 2.4) Listen and put a ✓ next to the words Marc says.

Listening 2 (Recording 2.4) Listen again and choose the correct word in the sentences below.

1 You hear the radio/language all the time.

2 You know, you watch television/а film and it’s in English.

3 I think looking in the dictionary all the time is a good/bad idea.

4 I looked up New York on the internet/in a magazine.

5 We learned American/British English at school.

Now check your answers.

Recap

Here are the words we learned in this unit. Do you know them all? Write down the translations if you need to.

Objects and sources

dictionary

cassette (tape)

recorder

television

computer

exercise

newspapers

pen

notebook

cassette (tape)

CD player

CD 

song

[video (recorder)/VCR]

textbook

CD-ROM

books

internet

magazines

Verbs

read

record

ask

look up [practise/practice]

write

listen

answer

find out

write down

speak

search

do

Questions and answers

Have you got...?    Do you have...?   Yes, I have.

No, I haven’t.    May I borrow...?   May I use...?

Yes, of course.    No, I’m sorry.    May I watch TV?

May I listen to the radio?  May I use the computer? May I surf the internet? 

What to do next

✵ Try to watch television, see a film, or listen to the radio in English.

✵ Listen to songs in English.

✵ If you can use a computer, try to buy English CD-ROMs.

✵ Surf the internet - look for something you are interested in.

✵ Read interviews in magazines and newspapers.

✵ Whatever you do, try to use as much English as possible!

Which unit next?

Look at the list of units in this book; choose one you need to learn, or that looks interesting, and try it. Good luck!

Answer key for this unit

Exercise 1

1 internet

2 CD player

3 dictionary

4 video recorder

5 CD-ROM

6 television

7 magazine

8 exercise

Exercise 2

1 I like to write down new words in my notebook.

2 I often use my CD-ROM dictionary on my computer.

3 Why don’t you record this [programme/program] on the [video/VCR]?

4 You can play your CD on my CD player.

5 Let’s look the word up in a dictionary.

6 It’s amazing what you find when you surf the internet.

7 If I find something difficult, I like to do an exercise on it.

8 You can hear lots of English if you watch television.

Exercise 3

1 Have you got a dictionary?   Yes, I have.

2 May I borrow a pen?    No, I’m sorry, I’m using it.

3 May I use the computer?   Yes, of course.

4 Do you have a CD-ROM dictionary? No, I don’t.

5 May I listen to the radio?   No, I’m sorry, I need it myself.

6 May I read your magazine?   Yes, of course.

Reading

Reading 1

(All 6 words appear)

Reading 2

1 English is everywhere

2 Using a dictionary

3 Finding things out

4 Saying it right

’Listening very carefully’ is not used.

Listening

Listening 1

Listening 2

1 You hear the language all the time.

2 You know, you watch television and it’s in English.

3 I think looking in the dictionary all the time is a bad idea.

4 I looked up New York on the internet.

5 We learned British English at school.