Category English Language

It is not always easy to ask questions in class. You may have a doubt, and you may even have a teacher who encourages student participation in class, and yet, getting your voice heard amidst 40-60 children needs strategy. You can scream your head off to be heard, but that may invite punishment.

A better option would be to tweak the way you ask questions and pose them in a dear voice. And of course, be patient and wait for the right moment.

Here are some strategies:

After an absence

When you’re absent from class and you return the next day, you naturally want to know if you missed anything. I have heard students says, “I was absent yesterday, can I have the quiz paper now?” This is rude. Others ask: “Did I miss anything yesterday?” That’s a strange question, because those who are absent certainly miss lessons. Will the class do nothing just because some were absent?

So try this: “What did I miss yesterday when I was absent?” You’ll get a much better response.

Before a test

When you ask, “Is this included for the test?” you actually mean, “Should I be paying attention to this?” The answer is simple: “Yes, pay attention.” So, do not ask this question.

For real uses

There are teachers who take a tot of interest in what students learn and step outside the text to bring in other relevant facts. Some students say, “When am I ever going to use this?” That sounds rude and seems to question the teachers good intention.

So, change your words to ask, “Could, you give me a real-world example of how this information can be used?” That’s what the teacher wants to hear and you’ll get a much better response to future questions.

To be excused,

If you have to leave the classroom in the middle of a lesson, it is not a good idea to say, “I am going to the wash/rest room” Even the more polite “May I go to the wash/rest room?” is not quite the way to ask for permission. I have heard students launch into a complete explanation of why they have to leave. That is quite unnecessary.

Whenever you want to be excused, when in the company of people – whether its classmates, co-workers, bosses or relatives – say just that: “May be excused?”

Time it right

Wait for the right time to get the teacher’s attention. Most teachers give students a chance to ask questions and get their doubts cleared. So wait. If the teacher stops during the course of the lesson to let you ask questions, use that opportunity. If the teacher does not invite questions, wait for a pause before asking.

Be polite, get noticed

Raise your hand. This is the most common anal polite way of letting our teacher know that you have a question. It is a silent signal that you need clarification about something. It shows that you are willing to wait and not interrupt the lesson or disturb the class. You get noticed in a room full of students. Keep your hand up until your teacher acknowledges you.

Direct attention

If the teacher fails to notice your raised hand for more than five minutes, say. “Excuse me,” in a soft tone. That is bound to attract the attention of the teacher. Wait until you are called before you begin talking.

Always be polite. Repeating “Excuse me!” and talking over your teacher will make you look like you’re trying to disturb the class.

Make it short

Keep your question brief. Ask for specific information. Long-winded questions eat into the time the teacher has in class to complete her work. So stick to the point and, do not begin with an introduction. Avoid: “Ma’am you told us yesterday that…..” OR “My friend, and, I were discussing this lesson and…” OR “I was reading the questions at the end of the lesson…”

Make your question specific. Start with a question word: who, what, where, when, why, how.

Pay attention

Listen attentively to the answer. Do not look around the class when the teacher talking to you. Do not interrupt. If you want to remember the answer word-for-word, take notes after informing the teacher. Once you have the answer, thank the teacher. If you’re still having trouble grasping something, ask the teacher for clarification before you move on.

One at a time

Avoid, asking several, questions at the same time. The teacher may not remember all those questions. Also, she may not have time to answer all of them at once, especially if it’s near the end of the period. Also, other students may have questions of their own.

If you have several doubts, the best option is to approach the teacher after class or during recess. If your questions are related, ask them one by one.

 

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How to form

1. We use the imperative (or the command) form to give orders or directions in English. We can use the imperative form to advise and to warn. Adding the word “Please” makes the order polite. “Eat the vegetables!” “Switch off the fan and lights when you leave the room.” “Do not make noise.” “Complete your homework before going to bed.” “Do not speak with your mouth full of food.” “Turn left and go straight on.”
2. To make the imperative, use the infinitive of the verb (to go/ to come/ to walk/ to clean) without ‘to’: “Practise singing for at least an hour every day.” “Be careful.” “Please take a seat.”
3. To make a negative imperative, put “do not” or “don’t” before the verb. (Don’t is more informal than “do not”.) “Don’t go!” “Do not walk on the grass.”

Where to use orders

You often see the imperative form in instruction manuals or when someone tells you how to do something.

A recipe book is written in imperative sentences. There are often “sequencing” words to show the steps in the process. For example. “firstly”, “secondly”, “next” and “finally”.

You can also say “after that” instead of “then”, and “first”/ “second” instead of “firstly” and “secondly”.

Example: Simple instructions to plant a tree.

First, choose a healthy sapling.

Then choose a spot that doesn’t have too much shade.

Next, dig a hole measuring one foot by one foot – see that the hole is two-feet in depth.

After that, fill the hole nearly to the top with a layer of small gravel, sand, mud + compost – in that order.

Then gently place the sapling in the middle of the hole. And the, press the mud on the sides to ensure that the sapling stays finally in the spot.

Finally, spray water around the root gently with a water can.

Which verbs to choose

Verbs plays an important role while giving instructions. It is very important to choose the correct verbs when you give advice/ instructions/ directions. This helps to remove doubts and confusion in what you want to convey.

Examples:

Turn on /switch on… “First, turn on the computer.”

Turn off / switch off… “Turn off the lights when you leave.”

Take off / remove… “Take off / Remove your shoes before you enter the house.”

Take out… “Take the dirty clothes out of the box and put them in the washing machine.”

Attach / connect… “Connect the wires.”

Check / make sure… “Check that the pockets are empty before you put your jeans in the washing machine.”

Proceed / continue… “Continue to stir until the mixture is thick.”

Plug in… “Plug the modem in.”

Put back / replace… “Replace the lid after taking out the jam.”

How to improve the method

When you give instructions you can help the listener with extra information and advice.

Try adding the phrases given below in bold to make your instructions effective.

Remember to… wear garden gloves when you dig with a sharp implement.

Be careful not to… pour too much water.

Try not to… pull the sapling every day to see if it is glowing.

You need to… place a tree guard to protect the sapling.

It’s important to… see that the sapling gets adequate amounts of sunshine.

It helps to… take the advice of a gardener in the choice of the plant you want.

Be sure to… inform people around you that you have planted a sapling.

Always… choose a tree that grows strong roots.
Never… plant a coconut tree in a street.

Checklist for writing instructions

Keep in mind the following points

1. Use short sentences and short paragraphs.
2. Arrange your points in logical order.
3. Make your statements specific.
4. Use imperative sentences.
5. Put the most important item in each sentence at the beginning.
6. Say one thing in each sentence.
7. Choose your words carefully. Write in direct, simple words.
8. Read, follow your instructions to carry out the work (try out the recipe). Are your instructions working?

 

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Have you heard the phrase “any x, y, and z”as in“I don’t have to worry about every x, y or z?

We use these last three letters of the alphabet when we want to refer to some unknown people. Though these are merely letters, they stand for people. We use these three alphabets in maths, in algebraic equations. Where did they come from? How did they become important?

The origin of x

Some people think that the letter X is used to represent the unknown in both English and Mathematics because the letter has had to struggle to establish its identity. Interesting theory, right?

X is derived from the Phenician letter samekh, meaning “fish.” It was used by the Phoenicians to represent the /s/ consonant (denoting a hard S sound), the Greeks borrowed the samekh around 900 BC and named it Chi.

Once they became masters of the arts, the ancient Greeks set about to simplify the digraph (“a pair of letters representing a single speech sound”) /ks/, which is used most prominently throughout the western regions of Greece. So the X was born.

The Romans later adopted the X sound from the Chalcidian alphabet, a non-ionic Greek alphabet. They borrowed the Chi symbol, consisting of two diagonally crossed strokes, from the Greek alphabet to denote the letter. This symbol also represents the Roman numeral X or “10”.

In other words, the Romans took the /x/ sound from one alphabet (Chalcidian) and combined it with the Chi symbol from another alphabet (Greek) and thus X was born.

The X has been around for ages and has had different stories and sounds associated with it. It can mean Christ, like the X in Xmas, stand for a chromosome, and even show up in friendly letter writing (XOXO).

How to say x

In its pronunciation, the letter X has been compared to a chameleon. For example, X is used to establish the /ks/ sound (called “voiceless velar fricative”), as in wax and fox. To get this sound, you place the back of the tongue at the soft palate. You do the same for X’s/ gz/ sound, as in auxiliary and exhaust. X can also take on the /z/ sound as in xylophone and Xanadu, the hard /k/ sound as in excite, and /kzh/ as in luxury. The X can also be silent as in Sioux (Falls), and the French loan-word faux.

The origin of y

Y came in late to join the English alphabet. It was called ipsilon in German, upsilon in Greek, but we do not clearly know what it was called in English. The Y sound as in yard, yes, yield is from Old English words with initial g- as in got and y- as in yet, which were considered the same sound. These were written as 3, known as yogh. The system was altered by French scribes, who continued with the way Europe used –g- and from the early 1200 s used –y- and sometimes –gh- to replace3.

This is how it was formed.

Y started its journey in Classical Greek as –ik (os) and went to Classical Latin –ic (us). In Old English, it was recognised as –ig and in Middle English it became –y.

Y, as you know, is used to make adjectives from nouns. Example: Snow – snowy. Having, full of, or characterized by: dirty, healthy rather, somewhat: yellowy, chilly, dusky inclined or tending to: drowsy, sticky suggestive of, somewhat like: wavy fit or suitable for: Christmassy quality or condition: jealousy, zoanthropy a shop or goods of a (specified) kind: coopery a collective body of a (specified)kind: soldiery It is there for terms of endearment – for “little dear.” [kitty, Billy, daddy]

The origin of Z

Z’s history includes a time when it was used so rarely that it was removed from the alphabet altogether.

Where did Z come from?

The Greek zeta is the origin of the letter Z. The Phoenician glyph zayin, meaning “weapon,” had a long vertical line capped at both ends with shorter horizontal lines and modern capital I.

Then it evolved into the Greek zeta. The top and bottom lines became elongated, and the vertical line got slanted, connecting to the horizontal lines at the top right and the bottom left. It finally looked like what we call Z today.

Why did Z get removed from the alphabet?

Around 300 BC, the Roman Censor Officer Appius Claudius Caeus removed Z from the alphabet. He pronounced the letter Z as archaic (old-fashioned.) He said the pronunciation of /z/ had became /r/ by a process called rhotacism, rendering the letter Z useless.

How did Z get added back?

Two hundred years after Appius Claudius Caecus threw the letter Z out, Z was reintroduced to the Latin alphabet. At the time, it was used only in words taken from Greek. Because of its absence and reintroduction, zeta is one of the only two letters to enter the Latin alphabet directly from Greek and not Etruscan.

Z was not always the final letter of the modern English alphabet, although it has always been in the 26th position. For years the & symbol (now known as the ampersand) was placed at the end, When pronounced “and.” When people recited the alphabet, Z was said with the Latin “per se,” meaning “by itself.” The position and pronunciation eventually got clubbed together: “X, Y, Z, and per se and” became “X, Y, Z, and ampersand.”

These days Z is the least used letter in the alphabet, though American English uses it more often than British English. Early English did not have a Z but used s for both voiced and unvoiced soft consonant sounds (sibilants). Words in English that originated as loan words from French and Latin are more likely to be spelled with a Z than an S, such as blazon or buzzard. Also, American standardization modified /z/ suffixes to more accurately reflect their pronunciation, changing –ise and –isation to –ize and -ization.

 

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Once in my twelfth standard class, I watched students cry when I read the poem “Home they brought the warrior dead,” I am sure you giggled, yawned, listened with rapt attention, dreamed or clapped in the end – while listening to poem being read to you. Was that the power of the words? Was it the way it was read? Both?

Many things contribute to the “enjoyment” of poetry. Sometimes it is the depth of the thought. Sometimes it is the impression the words leave with you.

Sometimes it is because it is the kind of poem you like. Sometimes it is the way the words are arranged, the imagery you get. It is also possible that you are not impressed at all! But you try to understand the poem, see how you feel about the thoughts expressed. You are expected to “react” to a poem, not analyse it. If you are not sure about the poem’s meaning and the poet’s intent, you read it again and again till you are able to assess your feelings towards what the poet says.

Keep these in mind, when you start reading a poem.

[1] The title: Sure, a poem’s title may not always be of significance. It may not appeal to you. But some certainly draw you to explore the contents. Examples: Paradise Lost, Do Not Go Gentle Into The Night, The Road Not Taken. It is true that sometimes the title does not say much (The Snow Man by William Blake), but most reveal a hint. Read on, and then ask yourself; Does the title reflect the true meaning of the poem?

[2] Words/Phrases: Ask: Why has the poet chosen this word/phrase? Why did Wordsworth write”Ten thousand saw I” not “Ten thousand I saw”? Why are some words repeated (Of the bells, Of the bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bell by Edgar Allan Poe)? Which word/phrase stands out? (“Men may come….forever” – The Brook by Tennyson.) Is there a word/phrase that has more than one meaning? Are there words which convey opposite thoughts (“Darkness visible” – John Milton, Paradise Lost)?

[3] Style/Diction: Is the poem in an elaborate style, with a lot of descriptive lines? Is it a simple or a dense one in meaning? Is it formal, conversational, abstract, descriptive? How would you describe the language and vocabulary (register): informal, formal, common, casual, neutral, mixed?

[4] Tone: What seems to be attitude of the poet towards his audience? Does he speak directly (‘Tell me not, in mournful numbers”)? What is his attitude towards the subject of the poem? Is the tone serious, ironic, argumentative, somebre, abrupt, playful, cheerful, sad, or a mix of one or more of these? Does it keep changing? Is it clear/unclear?

[5] Word Order: What is special about the way the words are arranges? What effect does it bring? How is “Her arms across her chest she laid” different from “She laid her arms across chest”? Are the lines made of long sentences or fragmented phrases? Does it jump around before flowing smoothly?

[6] Punctuation: Punctuation in poems is often different from the punctuation in prose. Poems are made of lines and not sentences, so they stop abruptly, have dashes or commas to mark the end of a line. Punctuation is often used to create rhythm. Sometimes the lines stop without punctuation and the thought continues in the next line. So check out: Is the punctuation unusual? Does it add to the beauty of the poem?

[7] Figures of speech: Poets use figurative language to present their ideas in condensed form. There are similes and metaphors, alliteration, repetition, personification and onomatopoeia. Most of all, there is imagery – word pictures that bring the description alive. Here is an example from the poem “Egret Rising.”

Like a phoenix rising not from flames but watery reeds,

The egret flapped its wings and gracefully rose up from the weeds.

The flash of white feathers shone against green leaves and clear blue sky,

The majestic bird set a course unknown and swiftly away did fly.

So, look for exaggeration (hyberbole: “Ten thousand saw I at a glance”), metaphors and unusual construction of lines.

Hope is the thing with feathers –

That perches in the soul –

And sings the tune without the words –

And never stops at all –

From Hpoe Is The Thing With Feathers by Emily Dickinson

[8] Rhythm and Meter: The first poems you read had a regular beat and a rhyme scheme. This was to help you memories the poem. Remember “Twinkle, twinkle little star?” Poems are musical. So look for the rhythmic patterns.

“Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright

In the forests of the night

What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry?”

Read the poem aloud, and the beat becomes very clear.

[9] Speaker/Narrator: Who is the speaker? Is he talking to the reader?  Is he a narrator telling a story? [Read The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes.] Ask: What is happening in the poem? Is is action? Drama? Who tells the story of The Ancient Mariner by Coleridge?

[10] Time/ Setting: These are important to understand in a narrative poem. What was the World understand in a narrative poem. What was the world like when the poet wrote these lines? Is a sense of place clear (urban, pastoral, forest, desert, beach, etc.), or does the poem seem to occupy an abstract time and place (such as mental or emotional state)?

 

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When you go outside on a pleasant day, you may feel thrilled to breathe the air and enjoy the freshness of nature. Likewise, when something is a breath of fresh air, you receive the same excited feeling from being around it as you do when you step outside into a fresh breeze.

When something is a breath of fresh air, you enjoy it greatly. It is new, thrilling, and invigorating to you.

This idiom comes from two idioms widely used before the 1800s. The two idioms from where is originates are breath of heaven and breath of spring, both of which mean the same thing.

First, people often use this phrase to describe their joy when they are in a great mood. Second, people use this phrase to describe the need for something new when in a bad situation.

 

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