#10 University Vocab: Undergrad Years
❗️ Most universities in the world now offer 4-year Bachelor programmes. What’s the vocab?
🔎 There are basically two ways, one American and one British. The American one is more specific, four words, one for each year, while the British one is plain and suits any country’s education system.
🔎 In America, students in the first year of college or undergrad studies are called freshman, no matter if they are male or female. Students of the second year are called sophomore, in their third year they are called junior and in their final year senior. There are also super senior students – those who don’t graduate on time and stay for a fifth year.
🔎 In Britain and elsewhere first-year students are simply called first-year students, or in Britain itself sometimes freshers, in the second year we can call them second-year students, then third-year students and in the fourth year final-year students.
👉@afandi_english👈 #uni_vocab
❗️ Most universities in the world now offer 4-year Bachelor programmes. What’s the vocab?
🔎 There are basically two ways, one American and one British. The American one is more specific, four words, one for each year, while the British one is plain and suits any country’s education system.
🔎 In America, students in the first year of college or undergrad studies are called freshman, no matter if they are male or female. Students of the second year are called sophomore, in their third year they are called junior and in their final year senior. There are also super senior students – those who don’t graduate on time and stay for a fifth year.
🔎 In Britain and elsewhere first-year students are simply called first-year students, or in Britain itself sometimes freshers, in the second year we can call them second-year students, then third-year students and in the fourth year final-year students.
👉@afandi_english👈 #uni_vocab
#29 Our favourite mistakes: Vocabulary
▶️ Please translate the following sentence:
Afandining qizi birinchi kursda lekin to’rtinchi kursdagilardan ko’ra bilimli.
❌ Perhaps you think it is:
Afandi’s daughter is in the first course but she is more knowledgeable than the fourth-course students.
✅ Well, it should be:
Afandi’s daughter is in the first year but she is more knowledgeable than the final-year students.
❓Why?
❗️ The word kurs in Uzbek is borrowed from Russian. Yes, it is an international word but doesn’t mean the same in English. A course in English is a series of classes in the same subject. You can have a history course at university or you can go to an English course at a study centre. Perhaps you have many courses this semester, and therefore you have a lot of coursework (see #9 University vocab).
👉@afandi_english👈 #mistakes #vocabulary
▶️ Please translate the following sentence:
Afandining qizi birinchi kursda lekin to’rtinchi kursdagilardan ko’ra bilimli.
❌ Perhaps you think it is:
Afandi’s daughter is in the first course but she is more knowledgeable than the fourth-course students.
✅ Well, it should be:
Afandi’s daughter is in the first year but she is more knowledgeable than the final-year students.
❓Why?
❗️ The word kurs in Uzbek is borrowed from Russian. Yes, it is an international word but doesn’t mean the same in English. A course in English is a series of classes in the same subject. You can have a history course at university or you can go to an English course at a study centre. Perhaps you have many courses this semester, and therefore you have a lot of coursework (see #9 University vocab).
👉@afandi_english👈 #mistakes #vocabulary
#9 YouTube Channel Recommendation: BBC Travel Show
⛓ Link: www.youtube.com/user/room4252
📊 English Level: Upper
🔤 Subtitles: Only automatic subtitles
💬 Topics: Travel
💡 Content: The videos are all about special locations in various countries and give you pictures of the world, the kind of which students often lack when dealing with texts about international news, cultures and places in general. BBC Travel Show can really make you feel that you live on a very colourful and amazing planet, and that will motivate you to explore and learn more.
👉@afandi_english👈 #youtube
⛓ Link: www.youtube.com/user/room4252
📊 English Level: Upper
🔤 Subtitles: Only automatic subtitles
💬 Topics: Travel
💡 Content: The videos are all about special locations in various countries and give you pictures of the world, the kind of which students often lack when dealing with texts about international news, cultures and places in general. BBC Travel Show can really make you feel that you live on a very colourful and amazing planet, and that will motivate you to explore and learn more.
👉@afandi_english👈 #youtube
#10 Learn how to learn: Speaking
❓English learners often say: ”I want to improve my speaking!” Sounds familiar, yes?
Talk to yourself if you have no one else. Why not. If you do have a partner then here’s how:
1️⃣ Speaking is communicating, it’s a two-way road. Stop yourself from wanting to speak more than other people. Long monologues kill every conversation.
2️⃣ Choose meaningful topics or make boring topics meaningful. Don’t think What would other people say? but express your own opinion and hear what others have to say.
3️⃣ Engage in conversation. Don’t just answer questions but have something to say and ask back. Practice turn-taking and your conversation becomes as natural as in your own language.
4️⃣ Adapt to your partner. It may not be the right time to show off high-level vocabulary or idioms.
5️⃣ Don’t be selfish. If you only care about yourself and grab speaking time you can’t learn to communicate. Your best friend will always be your mirror.
👉@afandi_english👈 #learn2learn
❓English learners often say: ”I want to improve my speaking!” Sounds familiar, yes?
Talk to yourself if you have no one else. Why not. If you do have a partner then here’s how:
1️⃣ Speaking is communicating, it’s a two-way road. Stop yourself from wanting to speak more than other people. Long monologues kill every conversation.
2️⃣ Choose meaningful topics or make boring topics meaningful. Don’t think What would other people say? but express your own opinion and hear what others have to say.
3️⃣ Engage in conversation. Don’t just answer questions but have something to say and ask back. Practice turn-taking and your conversation becomes as natural as in your own language.
4️⃣ Adapt to your partner. It may not be the right time to show off high-level vocabulary or idioms.
5️⃣ Don’t be selfish. If you only care about yourself and grab speaking time you can’t learn to communicate. Your best friend will always be your mirror.
👉@afandi_english👈 #learn2learn
#12 Spot Afandi and his donkey: Afandi at Samo Textile
❓ Can you spot Afandi and his donkey in this picture?
❗️If you can, follow the instructions in #1 (see pinned message) and win 5,000 Paynet-soums!
👉@afandi_english👈 #spot_afandi
❓ Can you spot Afandi and his donkey in this picture?
❗️If you can, follow the instructions in #1 (see pinned message) and win 5,000 Paynet-soums!
👉@afandi_english👈 #spot_afandi
#3 Featured article: Studying abroad in times of covid-19
📍 Are you confused about what covid-19 means for your plans to study abroad? Or just wondering how covid-19 changes just about everything? Read this article about how universities in the developed world are both struggling and innovating in the crisis.
⛓https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/08/08/covid-19-will-be-painful-for-universities-but-also-bring-change?utm_campaign=coronavirus-special-edition&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=salesforce-marketing-cloud
👉@afandi_english👈 #article #economist
📍 Are you confused about what covid-19 means for your plans to study abroad? Or just wondering how covid-19 changes just about everything? Read this article about how universities in the developed world are both struggling and innovating in the crisis.
⛓https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/08/08/covid-19-will-be-painful-for-universities-but-also-bring-change?utm_campaign=coronavirus-special-edition&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=salesforce-marketing-cloud
👉@afandi_english👈 #article #economist
The Economist
Covid-19 will be painful for universities, but also bring change
They need to rethink how and what they teach
#30 Our favourite mistakes: Grammar
▶️ Please translate the following sentences:
1️⃣ Ko’pchilik odamlar Afandini bilishadi.
2️⃣ Bazi odamlar Afandini yaxshi ko’radi.
❌ Perhaps you think it is:
1️⃣ Most of people know Afandi.
2️⃣ Some of people love Afandi.
✅ Well, it should be:
1️⃣Most of people know Afandi.
2️⃣ Some of people love Afandi.
❓Why?
❗️ Most and some are quantifiers and of is only needed when it is followed by another determiner, e.g. “Most of the people …” – but that changes the meaning to a specific group of people.
Just for your reference:
❗️ Quantifiers are words that describe a quantity (an amount of something), like many, some, few, a lot of, several, enough, …
❗️ Determiners are words that come before nouns and tell us how these nouns relate to the text, like articles (the/a), demonstratives (this/that), possessives (my/your/our) and also quantifiers.
👉@afandi_english👈 #mistakes #grammar
▶️ Please translate the following sentences:
1️⃣ Ko’pchilik odamlar Afandini bilishadi.
2️⃣ Bazi odamlar Afandini yaxshi ko’radi.
❌ Perhaps you think it is:
1️⃣ Most of people know Afandi.
2️⃣ Some of people love Afandi.
✅ Well, it should be:
1️⃣
❗️ Most and some are quantifiers and of is only needed when it is followed by another determiner, e.g. “Most of the people …” – but that changes the meaning to a specific group of people.
Just for your reference:
❗️ Quantifiers are words that describe a quantity (an amount of something), like many, some, few, a lot of, several, enough, …
❗️ Determiners are words that come before nouns and tell us how these nouns relate to the text, like articles (the/a), demonstratives (this/that), possessives (my/your/our) and also quantifiers.
👉@afandi_english👈 #mistakes #grammar
#11 World Englishes: Pinoy English
❗️ Philppine, or informally “Pinoy”, English is a mixture of influences from the country’s history as first a Spanish and then an American colony, plus local languages and the national language Tagalog. English is big in the Philippines and lots of Filipinos work abroad, so you there’s a good chance you will hear this accent sooner or later!
🔘 Pronunciation: The [f] sound is pronounced as [p] and [v] is pronounced as [b]. The ‘th’ sounds are pronounced as [d] and [t]. The [r] is either trilled (‘rrr’) or made very American.
🔘 Vocabulary: Filipinos often confuse he and she and they have some expressions that may confuse us, e.g. comfort room or just CR means toilet, Go ahead! means See you later!, tasty means bread and open / close the light means turn on/off the light.
▶️ Check out what it sounds like:
⛓ A tutorial
⛓ In real life
👉@afandi_english👈 #world_englishes
❗️ Philppine, or informally “Pinoy”, English is a mixture of influences from the country’s history as first a Spanish and then an American colony, plus local languages and the national language Tagalog. English is big in the Philippines and lots of Filipinos work abroad, so you there’s a good chance you will hear this accent sooner or later!
🔘 Pronunciation: The [f] sound is pronounced as [p] and [v] is pronounced as [b]. The ‘th’ sounds are pronounced as [d] and [t]. The [r] is either trilled (‘rrr’) or made very American.
🔘 Vocabulary: Filipinos often confuse he and she and they have some expressions that may confuse us, e.g. comfort room or just CR means toilet, Go ahead! means See you later!, tasty means bread and open / close the light means turn on/off the light.
▶️ Check out what it sounds like:
⛓ A tutorial
⛓ In real life
👉@afandi_english👈 #world_englishes
#8 It’s a strange world: Digital Nomads
❓Wouldn’t it be cool to earn a good salary while working at a tropical beach?
❗️The internet economy made it possible to do just that. For Mongols, Kazakhs and Kyrgyz, the traditional lifestyle is nomadic – they used to live in tents and move around. But most of them built houses and settled down. Now there is a new nomadic lifestyle – young people working for tech companies are found in cozy locations all over the world. All they need is a laptop and an internet connection!
⛓https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_nomad
▶️ Here’s a YouTube video about Digital Nomads: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjf8Qxo_tXk
👉@afandi_english👈 #strange_world #culture #technology
❓Wouldn’t it be cool to earn a good salary while working at a tropical beach?
❗️The internet economy made it possible to do just that. For Mongols, Kazakhs and Kyrgyz, the traditional lifestyle is nomadic – they used to live in tents and move around. But most of them built houses and settled down. Now there is a new nomadic lifestyle – young people working for tech companies are found in cozy locations all over the world. All they need is a laptop and an internet connection!
⛓https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_nomad
▶️ Here’s a YouTube video about Digital Nomads: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjf8Qxo_tXk
👉@afandi_english👈 #strange_world #culture #technology
#4 Go out and teach! Explaining vs Eliciting
❗️As a teacher you should explain things to your students, right? Actually not so much. Here is why:
🔎 When students don’t ask for an explanation even your best explanation just won’t move them. This is very basic psychology. Your lesson should be engaging, with as much interaction as possible.
🔎 You’re not a professor and teaching skills needs a different approach from teaching knowledge. Explanations often feel like lectures. If you talk for most of the lesson (“TTT” – Teacher Talking Time) your students don’t get enough time to practice.
🔎 While explaining you don’t feel your students. Are they with you? Is it too easy or too difficult? What do they know already? Perhaps they would also like to show what they know and can do?
❗️For all these reasons it is better to avoid explaining and instead guide the students by asking questions even when you know all the answers. This is called eliciting.
👉@afandi_english👈
❗️As a teacher you should explain things to your students, right? Actually not so much. Here is why:
🔎 When students don’t ask for an explanation even your best explanation just won’t move them. This is very basic psychology. Your lesson should be engaging, with as much interaction as possible.
🔎 You’re not a professor and teaching skills needs a different approach from teaching knowledge. Explanations often feel like lectures. If you talk for most of the lesson (“TTT” – Teacher Talking Time) your students don’t get enough time to practice.
🔎 While explaining you don’t feel your students. Are they with you? Is it too easy or too difficult? What do they know already? Perhaps they would also like to show what they know and can do?
❗️For all these reasons it is better to avoid explaining and instead guide the students by asking questions even when you know all the answers. This is called eliciting.
👉@afandi_english👈
#31 Our favourite mistakes: Pronunciation
▶️ Try pronouncing the following words:
• again
• against
• heaven
• pleasant
• said
• says
• special
• sweat
• sweater
• weapon
• x (letter name)
❓What sound do these words have in common?
❗️They all have the single vowel [e], like “get”, in them. For clarity [э] in Cyrillic:
• again – wrong: əгейн, correct: əгэн
• against – wrong: əгейнст, correct: əгэнст
• heaven – wrong: ҳивəн, correct: ҳэвəн
• pleasant – wrong: плизəнт, correct: плэзəнт
• said – wrong: сейд, correct: сэд
• says – wrong: сейз, correct: сэз
• special – wrong: спейшл, correct: спэшл
• sweat – wrong: свит, correct: свэт
• sweater – wrong: свитер, correct: свэтəр
• weapon – wrong: випəн, correct: вэпəн
• x – wrong: икс, correct: экс
👉@afandi_english👈 #mistakes #pronunciation
▶️ Try pronouncing the following words:
• again
• against
• heaven
• pleasant
• said
• says
• special
• sweat
• sweater
• weapon
• x (letter name)
❓What sound do these words have in common?
❗️They all have the single vowel [e], like “get”, in them. For clarity [э] in Cyrillic:
• again – wrong: əгейн, correct: əгэн
• against – wrong: əгейнст, correct: əгэнст
• heaven – wrong: ҳивəн, correct: ҳэвəн
• pleasant – wrong: плизəнт, correct: плэзəнт
• said – wrong: сейд, correct: сэд
• says – wrong: сейз, correct: сэз
• special – wrong: спейшл, correct: спэшл
• sweat – wrong: свит, correct: свэт
• sweater – wrong: свитер, correct: свэтəр
• weapon – wrong: випəн, correct: вэпəн
• x – wrong: икс, correct: экс
👉@afandi_english👈 #mistakes #pronunciation
#13 Spot Afandi and his donkey: Afandi cleverly realises that this police car is fake
❓ Can you spot Afandi and his donkey in this picture?
❗️If you can, follow the instructions in #1 (see pinned message) and win 5,000 Paynet-soums!
👉@afandi_english👈 #spot_afandi
❓ Can you spot Afandi and his donkey in this picture?
❗️If you can, follow the instructions in #1 (see pinned message) and win 5,000 Paynet-soums!
👉@afandi_english👈 #spot_afandi
#3 Education Video: A computer class without computers
❗️How important is classroom equipment? Can teachers deliver good classes even without much equipment? Today’s video is about a teacher in Ghana who teaches computer classes – without any computer at all. It’s a great example of a teacher’s improvisation skills and shows us what really matters in education.
▶️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9rtFiZ7unw
👉@afandi_english👈
❗️How important is classroom equipment? Can teachers deliver good classes even without much equipment? Today’s video is about a teacher in Ghana who teaches computer classes – without any computer at all. It’s a great example of a teacher’s improvisation skills and shows us what really matters in education.
▶️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9rtFiZ7unw
👉@afandi_english👈
YouTube
'I teach computing with no computers' - BBC News
A teacher from Ghana, who went viral after pictures of his chalkboard-computer alternative were shared on social media, has said he never meant to become an internet sensation.
Richard Appiah Akoto, from Kumasi, told the BBC was simply trying to prepare his…
Richard Appiah Akoto, from Kumasi, told the BBC was simply trying to prepare his…
#11 Tongue twister: She sells sea shells
❗️Challenge yourself and practice your pronunciation with this tongue twister today.
▶️ She sells sea shells on the sea shore. The shells that she sells are sea shells I'm sure. So if she sells sea shells on the sea shore, I'm sure that the shells she sells are sea shore shells.
🇺🇿 Translation:
U qiz dengiz chig’anoqlarini dengiz soxilida sotadi. U qiz sotadigan chig’anoqlar dengiz chig’anoqlari ekanligiga ishonchim komil. Agar u qiz dengiz chig’anoqlarini dengiz soxilida sotsa, ishonchim komilki u qiz sotadigan chig’anoqlar dengiz soxili chig’anoqlari.
❗️Pay attention to:
🔘 Linking – Same or similar consonants and end-consonants with start-vowels are linked with one another:
She sells ͜ sea shells ͜ on the sea shore. The shells that she sells ͜ are sea shells ͜ I'm sure. So if she sells ͜ sea shells ͜ on the sea shore, I'm sure that the shells she sells ͜ are sea shore shells.
👉@afandi_english👈 #tongue_twisters
❗️Challenge yourself and practice your pronunciation with this tongue twister today.
▶️ She sells sea shells on the sea shore. The shells that she sells are sea shells I'm sure. So if she sells sea shells on the sea shore, I'm sure that the shells she sells are sea shore shells.
🇺🇿 Translation:
U qiz dengiz chig’anoqlarini dengiz soxilida sotadi. U qiz sotadigan chig’anoqlar dengiz chig’anoqlari ekanligiga ishonchim komil. Agar u qiz dengiz chig’anoqlarini dengiz soxilida sotsa, ishonchim komilki u qiz sotadigan chig’anoqlar dengiz soxili chig’anoqlari.
❗️Pay attention to:
🔘 Linking – Same or similar consonants and end-consonants with start-vowels are linked with one another:
She sells ͜ sea shells ͜ on the sea shore. The shells that she sells ͜ are sea shells ͜ I'm sure. So if she sells ͜ sea shells ͜ on the sea shore, I'm sure that the shells she sells ͜ are sea shore shells.
👉@afandi_english👈 #tongue_twisters
#32 Our favourite mistakes: Vocabulary
▶️ Please translate the following sentences:
Davlat granti (byudjet) asosida o'qishni xohlardim, lekin faqat shartnoma (kontrakt) asosida o'qishga kira oldim.
❌ Perhaps you think it is:
I wanted to study with a budget but I could only enter with a contract.
✅ Well, it should be:
I wanted tostudy with a budget get a scholarship / stipend but I could only enter with a contract as a fee-paying student / by paying tuition.
❓Why?
❗️ Both budget and contract are used in business or government contexts.
❗️ A budget is an amount of money that is available to someone in a given period; governments and companies have budgets, but so do families and individuals. What’s your budget? means How much money can you spend on this?
❗️ Contracts are not made between universities and their students as students are not employed by the university. The money they pay are simply fees or tuition fees.
👉@afandi_english👈 #mistakes #vocabulary
▶️ Please translate the following sentences:
Davlat granti (byudjet) asosida o'qishni xohlardim, lekin faqat shartnoma (kontrakt) asosida o'qishga kira oldim.
❌ Perhaps you think it is:
I wanted to study with a budget but I could only enter with a contract.
✅ Well, it should be:
I wanted to
❓Why?
❗️ Both budget and contract are used in business or government contexts.
❗️ A budget is an amount of money that is available to someone in a given period; governments and companies have budgets, but so do families and individuals. What’s your budget? means How much money can you spend on this?
❗️ Contracts are not made between universities and their students as students are not employed by the university. The money they pay are simply fees or tuition fees.
👉@afandi_english👈 #mistakes #vocabulary
#11 University Vocab: Rankings
❗️ The world loves Harvard and Oxford, no matter who makes these university rankings and how they are made. What’s there to be understood?
🔎 There are three big global university rankings: QS, Times Higher Education (THE) and ARWU (or “Shanghai”) Rankings. QS and THE are both published in Britain while the Shanghai Rankings are Chinese. QS is the most popular one but don’t forget that there’s no agreement on the ranks as they all use different criteria. So nobody can say that Oxford is definitely better than Cambridge or vice versa.
🔎 If you’re really interested in the quality of your future university you may want to check subject rankings. What matters more to your studies is the quality of your faculty and department, not the whole university. Besides, national rankings (not from the big three) can also give you some clearer ideas.
❗️Rankings can help us make decisions but we should be careful. Statistics and likelihoods are not guarantees.
👉@afandi_english👈 #uni_vocab
❗️ The world loves Harvard and Oxford, no matter who makes these university rankings and how they are made. What’s there to be understood?
🔎 There are three big global university rankings: QS, Times Higher Education (THE) and ARWU (or “Shanghai”) Rankings. QS and THE are both published in Britain while the Shanghai Rankings are Chinese. QS is the most popular one but don’t forget that there’s no agreement on the ranks as they all use different criteria. So nobody can say that Oxford is definitely better than Cambridge or vice versa.
🔎 If you’re really interested in the quality of your future university you may want to check subject rankings. What matters more to your studies is the quality of your faculty and department, not the whole university. Besides, national rankings (not from the big three) can also give you some clearer ideas.
❗️Rankings can help us make decisions but we should be careful. Statistics and likelihoods are not guarantees.
👉@afandi_english👈 #uni_vocab
#10 YouTube Channel Recommendation: Bloomberg
⛓ Link: www.youtube.com/user/Bloomberg
📊 English Level: Upper
🔤 Subtitles: Available
💬 Topics: News, technology, business, future
💡 Content: Bloomberg has a good selection of videos for people who like to keep up with the times and are interested in recent developments. Check out their videos for good background information about all the issues that the world is talking about – also a great source of English.
👉@afandi_english👈 #youtube
⛓ Link: www.youtube.com/user/Bloomberg
📊 English Level: Upper
🔤 Subtitles: Available
💬 Topics: News, technology, business, future
💡 Content: Bloomberg has a good selection of videos for people who like to keep up with the times and are interested in recent developments. Check out their videos for good background information about all the issues that the world is talking about – also a great source of English.
👉@afandi_english👈 #youtube