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Episode 08: You Won't Do These

Episode 08 :
You Won't Do These

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'Common Mistakes & Suggestions for Improvement' can be downloaded in 'Resources'
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Resources
Notes: Common Mistakes & Suggestions for Improvement
Talking without pausing
  Suggestions:
  		•  Don't talk too quickly.
  		• Stop and breathe at the end of sentences.
  		• The best speakers in the world are not the fastest.
    No intonation
      Suggestions:
  		•  Don't talk with a monotone voice. You will not sound interested in the film.
  		• People usually stop listening when speakers have little intonation.
  		• Stress important words by speaking louder, higher, lower or slower.
    Too much intonation
      Suggestions:
  		•  Too much intonation is not natural.
  		• Other students may laugh at you!
  		• Practice stressing important words by presenting to your classmates.
    Reading notes
      Suggestions:
  		•  Talk to people, not note cards, in presentations.
  		• Students who write too many notes usually look less confident.
  		• Looking down stops you speaking clearly and confidently.
    Mispronunciation of character names
      Suggestions:
  		•  Learn how to pronounce character names correctly.
  		• Ask your friends or teachers if you don't know how to say a word.
  		• Say other words if you still don't know. e.g. the woman, her boyfriend, the hero, the bad guy
    Plagiarism
      Suggestions:
  		•  When giving a presentation, DO NOT copy a film review from the Internet.
  		• Film reviews often have words that you do not know so you won't sound natural.
  		• Your teachers are clever. They will know when you copy!
    Becoming the character
      Suggestions:
  		•  Think about the topic you are given.
  		• Your talk should be related to the topic.
  		• Talk about the characters. Don't become Spiderman, a princess or Seabiscuit!
    Not listening to others
      Suggestions:
  		•  An interaction means that you listen to other students.
  		• You respond to what you say.
  		• Don't make a speech or ignore what the last speaker said.
    Turn-taking & not giving reasons for opinions
      Suggestions:
  		•  You don't need to take turns one after the other in interactions.
  		• Natural discussions are less planned. Speak when you have something to say.
  		• Give reasons for your opinions.
    Nervous start
      Suggestions:
  		•  Everyone is nervous before an oral exam.
  		• Try to use English before your presentation or interaction. Listen to songs and talk to your friends or family.
  		• If you talk English to your classmates beforehand, you will understand them more during the interaction.
    Not interrupting
      Suggestions:
  		•  Some students could speak all day! You must interrupt them to have a chance to speak.
  		• Wait until they finish a sentence then speak.
  		• Be brave! Say, 'Excuse me...' or 'Sorry to interrupt you...' then begin.
    Not serious enough
      Suggestions:
  		•  When nervous, some students giggle and can be silly!
  		• You can laugh and have fun during an interaction.
  		• However, teachers do not like silly comments like 'You're stupid!'
    Not asking for clarification
      Suggestions:
  		•  Students may say a word wrongly.
  		• You should ask, 'What do you mean by... ?'
  		• This shows you are following the discussion and your teacher will respect you.

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    Voting
    You saw students acting out 13 mistakes. Which mistake do you make most often? Think about If you know what you know, you can do much better!
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    New Words & Phrases
      Words/Phrases Meaning Translation Example sentence
    1. brave (adj) not scared 勇敢 Be brave and ask questions in discussions.
    2. clarify (v) make what you say clear 澄清 Let me clarify your point. You feel that Super Size Me helped change eating habits in America.
    3. confident (adj) feel strong when doing something 有信心 I felt more confident about presentations after practicing with my friends.
    4. intonation (n) voice rising and falling while speaking 語調 You should have more intonation while you speak.
    5. monotone (adj v) your voice doesn't rise or fall while speaking 單調 She has a monotone voice so the other students weren't interested in listening to her.
    6. natural (adj) not forced or unreal 自然 When we speak naturally, we laugh a lot.
    7. nervous (adj) feeling uneasy and scared 緊張 Were you nervous before your oral exam? I couldn't sleep the night before!
    8. pausing (n)
    pause (v/n)    		 stopping while talking 停頓 When Vicky gets nervous, she talks non-stop, without pausing.
    9. plagiarism (n)
    plagiarise (v)    		 copying from another source, e.g. copy a film review from the Internet 抄襲 Teachers always know if students plagiarise their presentations. Don't try it!
    10. pronunciation (n)
    pronounce (v)    		 how a word is said 發音/ 讀法 How do you pronounce this word? I'm not sure.
    11. serious (adj) while talking about something important, not silly 認真 / 嚴謹 You can have fun in interactions but you should be somewhat serious. Don't giggle!
    12. speech (n) a talk where only one person speaks 演說 The Vice-Principal gave a short and funny speech in assembly.
    13. stress (v) give force to an important word while speaking 強調 You should stress the main words in each sentence by saying them louder, higher or slower.

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