Pronunciation
Grammar
Vocabulary
Cultural Topics
Wildcard
100
What is a syllable? How many syllables are there in the word "unrealistic."
What is: the beat of a word; a unit of pronunciation having one vowel sound. There are 5 syllables in the word "unrealistic."
100
What are the three levels of grammar? Tell what distinguishes each level and give an example of each.
What is: 1) Subsentential – morphology; 2) Sentential – syntax; 3) Suprasentential – discourse
100
Define the word "warmonger" and give the part of speech it belongs to.
What is: a sovereign or political leader or activist who encourages or advocates aggression or warfare toward other nations or groups (noun).
100
What are three aspects of American culture and values that you have learned about in class?
What is: Answers will vary.
100
Perform the following tongue twister: Through three cheese trees three free fleas flew. While these fleas flew, freezy breeze blew. Freezy breeze made these three trees freeze. Freezy trees made these trees' cheese freeze. That's what made these three free fleas sneeze.
What is: Through three cheese trees three free fleas flew. While these fleas flew, freezy breeze blew. Freezy breeze made these three trees freeze. Freezy trees made these trees' cheese freeze. That's what made these three free fleas sneeze.
200
What is the pronunciation difference between the two "th" sounds in English (ϴ and ð)? Give one example of each sound.
What is: ϴ is voiceless, e.g., teeth and ð is voiced, e.g., teethe.
200
What is the difference between major and minor word classes in English? What parts of speech go into each class?
What is: MAJOR (more open: called “major” because they carry most of the meaning of a sentence) - Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs; MINOR (more closed: plays a more structural role in a sentence) - Pronouns, Determiners, Prepositions, Conjunctions
200
Define the word "melancholy" and give its part of speech.
What is: a feeling (noun) or having a feeling (adjective) of melancholy; sad and pensive.
200
Name two topics that are appropriate for "small talk" and two topics that are "taboo topics."
What is: APPROPRIATE - weather, what people "do", current physical surroundings, and shared past experiences (small talk); TABOO - politics, religion, and personal details (taboo topics).
200
Recall three interesting facts about two of your classmates from our "Question Jenga" icebreaker on the first day of class.
What is: Answers will vary. :)
300
Give examples of minimal pairs (words with one sound difference) for s/z and sh/ch.
What is: price/prize and shoe/chew
300
How is English verb agreement different from verb agreement in Spanish?
What is: Only two verb forms in English; varies only for the third person singular forms.
300
Define culture, generalizations, and stereotypes. Give an example of each.
What is: CULTURE - “Culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another”; GENERALIZATIONS - “To infer or draw inferences or general conclusions from many particulars”; STEREOTYPES - “A usually oversimplified conception, opinion, or belief about a person or a group, considered to be typical or to conform to an unvarying pattern, and lacking individuality.”
300
Name three ways in which the Finland education system is different from the American education system.
What is: 1) All of Finland's teachers must have master's degrees; 2) Finland has a much smaller and much more homogenous school population. Finland is absorbing more immigrants, but nowhere near as many as Texas; 3) single, straightforward curriculum for all schools; 4) Giving well-trained teachers respect and freedom to teach 5) Establishing a single, straightforward curriculum for all schools; 6) Students struggling in class get extra attention and tutoring throughout their academic careers; 7) A national curriculum means all schools must meet the same goals. There are high expectations for language, math and science; 8) Teaching is treated as a profession. Competition to become a teacher is intense, but teachers have considerable autonomy in the classroom; 9) Schools are funded equally across the nation. Districts with more funds contribute to the budgets of those with fewer resources.
300
You should provide evidence for your main point(s) in academic English writing. Three Aristotelian strategies for providing evidence in writing are:
What is:What is: Ethos (credibility) Pathos (emotions) Logos (logic).
400
What is one way to identify a word with a short vowel sound? What are two ways to identify a word with a long vowel sound? Give examples for each.
What is: SHORT VOWEL RULE - When there is one vowel in a word, either at the beginning or between two consonants, it usually has the short vowel sound. CVC, VC, and VCC. Ex. cat. LONG VOWEL RULES - VC(silent e); (C)VVC – two vowels together; y/ey at the end of a word; ei/ie together (i before e except after c); oi/oy together; ou/ow together.
400
What is the difference between a demonstrative pronoun and a demonstrative determiner? Give an example sentence for each.
What is: DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUN (Refer to or replace nouns and noun phrases. Occupy the same place that a noun or noun phrase does), e.g., She put the backpack on the front porch; DEMONSTRATIVE DETERMINERS (limit/modify the nouns that follow them), e.g., Kendall put this backpack on the front porch.
400
Define "repartee." Choose a partner on your team and demonstrate what repartee sounds like in English conversation.
What is: (like playing a table tennis game!); Speakers take turns speaking frequently; No one speaks for very long; Getting “to the point”.
400
Name five tips for delivering a strong presentation opening in academic English.
What is: Use humor—a joke; Use the word “imagine”; Tell a story; Try using shocking statistics; Use a question (rhetorical or non-rhetorical).
400
What position in the sentence can English adverbs appear in? Give an example sentence showing each position in the sentence they can appear in.
What is: They are flexible in terms of their position: sentence finally, medially, and initially.
500
Name the 10 s clusters we learned about, provide an example of each, and the trick we learned to pronounce them.
What is: 10 s-clusters - st/str/sm/sn/sl/sk/sp/spl/spr/sw.
500
What are the two types of English conjunctions? Use each type in an example sentence.
What is: Coordinating conjunctions: and, but or; Subordinating (adverbial) conjunctions: because, although, since.
500
What are three vocabulary words you learned from the Dallas Morning News article about the Finland education system? Name and define them.
What is: • autonomy: independent, self-sufficient • beat the pants off: to win or dominate • constrained: forced, controlled • disparities: difference, inconsistency • drab: dull, plain. • elevate: raise, improve. • en masse: all together, as a group. • equip: provide, supply • fine-tune: adjust and improve. • integral: essential, fundamental • intrigued: interested, fascinated • overhaul: to dramatically change, fix, or improve • primacy: predominance • rigid: strict. • salient: most important • straightforward: direct, clear-cut • strictures: limitation, boundary • sweeping: comprehensive, broad • sweet spot: the absolute best
500
What are five characteristics we discussed in class about American ways of reasoning?
What is: The Context, The Point, The Organization, The Evidence, and The Cause.
500
What were the two messages that got lost lost in communication during our "Broken Telephone!" icebreaker? Hint: There were pronunciation targets in both messages.
What is: 1) The bride with a lot of pride put butter on her putter. 2) The people took a vote to put loaves of bread on the boat!
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