#1 IELTS DOs & DON’Ts: Exam culture
🆕 Afandi English will no longer stand by and watch you struggle. Here are DOs and DON’Ts for you to keep in mind for “the exam”!
▶️ Exams are education, education is culture. IELTS tests your ability to use English internationally but inside of it is a lot of Western culture – critical thinking, original ideas, self-expression, scientific reasoning, etc.
✅ DOs
➕ Be communicative. Don’t just answer questions and then wait for the next.
➕ Have opinions and see both good and bad in everything. Find reasons and arguments.
➕ Follow the news and watch documentaries to be up-to-date with big issues. Don’t rely on IELTS books or classes only.
❌ DON’Ts
➖ Don’t memorize. It shows that you have no brain at all. Prepare notes (see post of 29/6) instead.
➖ Don’t try to show off but be true to your level. You need both fluency and accuracy (see post of 8/9).
➖ Don’t look for tricks. Knowledge and skills make all the difference.
👉@afandi_english👈 #ielts
🆕 Afandi English will no longer stand by and watch you struggle. Here are DOs and DON’Ts for you to keep in mind for “the exam”!
▶️ Exams are education, education is culture. IELTS tests your ability to use English internationally but inside of it is a lot of Western culture – critical thinking, original ideas, self-expression, scientific reasoning, etc.
✅ DOs
➕ Be communicative. Don’t just answer questions and then wait for the next.
➕ Have opinions and see both good and bad in everything. Find reasons and arguments.
➕ Follow the news and watch documentaries to be up-to-date with big issues. Don’t rely on IELTS books or classes only.
❌ DON’Ts
➖ Don’t memorize. It shows that you have no brain at all. Prepare notes (see post of 29/6) instead.
➖ Don’t try to show off but be true to your level. You need both fluency and accuracy (see post of 8/9).
➖ Don’t look for tricks. Knowledge and skills make all the difference.
👉@afandi_english👈 #ielts
#46 Our favourite mistakes: Pronunciation
▶️ Try pronouncing the following words:
• about
• abroad
• account
• across
• advice
• again
• ago
• agree
• alone
• America
• away
❓What sound do these words have in common?
❗️They all start with an unstressed ’a’ which is pronounced as [ə], not [a], not [æ] and not [e]! Unfortunately the [ə] sound doesn’t have a letter, neither in English nor in Uzbek, and Russian doesn’t have this sound at all. In Uzbek you can find the [ə] sound written as “и” in “борми”.
❗️Linguists call it “the schwa sound”. Read this Wikipedia article to find out more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwa
👉@afandi_english👈 #mistakes #pronunciation
▶️ Try pronouncing the following words:
• about
• abroad
• account
• across
• advice
• again
• ago
• agree
• alone
• America
• away
❓What sound do these words have in common?
❗️They all start with an unstressed ’a’ which is pronounced as [ə], not [a], not [æ] and not [e]! Unfortunately the [ə] sound doesn’t have a letter, neither in English nor in Uzbek, and Russian doesn’t have this sound at all. In Uzbek you can find the [ə] sound written as “и” in “борми”.
❗️Linguists call it “the schwa sound”. Read this Wikipedia article to find out more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwa
👉@afandi_english👈 #mistakes #pronunciation
#16 World Englishes: New York English
❗️ Known as Big Apple and The City That Never Sleeps, New York with its over 8 million inhabitants has it’s own dialect. It is in fact one of the more recognisable dialects in North America. Inside New York City there exist sociolects (rich and educated vs poor and uneducated) as well as ethnolects (Italian, Jewish, Hispanic, Black, etc). Unfortunately, the dialect is slowly dying out as the population is more mixed now.
🔘 Pronunciation: Unlike General American, New Yorkers sound almost British when they drop the [r] before vowels and pronounce the name of their city as “Noo Yawk”; they also have a special way of pronouncing the [ɔ] vowel, as in “talk” and “coffee”, making them sound like “twalk” and “kwoffee”. Watch the video below for a clever analysis of a politician from NY.
🔘 Vocabulary: There are lots of slang words that only New Yorkers understand. Some of them became wider American slang; for a list check out the link below.
👉@afandi_english👈 #world_englishes
❗️ Known as Big Apple and The City That Never Sleeps, New York with its over 8 million inhabitants has it’s own dialect. It is in fact one of the more recognisable dialects in North America. Inside New York City there exist sociolects (rich and educated vs poor and uneducated) as well as ethnolects (Italian, Jewish, Hispanic, Black, etc). Unfortunately, the dialect is slowly dying out as the population is more mixed now.
🔘 Pronunciation: Unlike General American, New Yorkers sound almost British when they drop the [r] before vowels and pronounce the name of their city as “Noo Yawk”; they also have a special way of pronouncing the [ɔ] vowel, as in “talk” and “coffee”, making them sound like “twalk” and “kwoffee”. Watch the video below for a clever analysis of a politician from NY.
🔘 Vocabulary: There are lots of slang words that only New Yorkers understand. Some of them became wider American slang; for a list check out the link below.
👉@afandi_english👈 #world_englishes
#13 Travelogue Uzbekistan: Sneaky Snacks
Culture is full of contradictions. You thought you found out how this strange society works and then it’s the total opposite. We call that “paradox” – two things that don’t seem to fit together but somehow do. And here’s a good example.
The act of copying isn’t creative. People copy when they don’t have their own ideas. But I cannot help seeing a great deal of creativity in what some sweet-toothed copycats come up with. Respect! Although… “Smack with love” basically means “Beat children with love”. At least give ‘em some ice cream after you beat them!
In non-Western cultures copying is actually seen as a form of respect for the original. Fascinating.
---Vocab---
📍contradiction = two things that can’t both be right 📍sb cannot help doing sth = sb must do sth 📍a great deal of sth = a lot of sth 📍sweet-toothed = having a sweet tooth = liking to eat sweet things 📍copycat = sb who copies sth 📍come up with sth = have an idea
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #uzbekistan
Culture is full of contradictions. You thought you found out how this strange society works and then it’s the total opposite. We call that “paradox” – two things that don’t seem to fit together but somehow do. And here’s a good example.
The act of copying isn’t creative. People copy when they don’t have their own ideas. But I cannot help seeing a great deal of creativity in what some sweet-toothed copycats come up with. Respect! Although… “Smack with love” basically means “Beat children with love”. At least give ‘em some ice cream after you beat them!
In non-Western cultures copying is actually seen as a form of respect for the original. Fascinating.
---Vocab---
📍contradiction = two things that can’t both be right 📍sb cannot help doing sth = sb must do sth 📍a great deal of sth = a lot of sth 📍sweet-toothed = having a sweet tooth = liking to eat sweet things 📍copycat = sb who copies sth 📍come up with sth = have an idea
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #uzbekistan
Copycat chocolate is ...
Anonymous Poll
46%
Yummy
12%
Edible
18%
Prosto uuuzhas
12%
Shameless
12%
Do I care?
#27 Spot Afandi and his donkey: Afandi on a Stairway to Heaven
❓ 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
#16 Tongue twister: Irritable Creatures
❗️Challenge yourself with this tongue twister today:
▶️ A noise annoys an oyster, but a noisy noise annoys an oyster more.
Translation:
Shovqin chig'anoqni jahliga tegadi, lekin shovqinli shovqin chig'anoqni ko'proq jahliga tegadi.
❗️Pay attention to:
🔘 Linking – Consonants in end position and vowels in beginning position are linked together:
A noise ͜ annoys ͜ an ͜ oyster, but ͜ a noisy noise ͜ annoys ͜ an ͜ oyster more.
👉@afandi_english👈 #tongue_twisters
❗️Challenge yourself with this tongue twister today:
▶️ A noise annoys an oyster, but a noisy noise annoys an oyster more.
Translation:
Shovqin chig'anoqni jahliga tegadi, lekin shovqinli shovqin chig'anoqni ko'proq jahliga tegadi.
❗️Pay attention to:
🔘 Linking – Consonants in end position and vowels in beginning position are linked together:
A noise ͜ annoys ͜ an ͜ oyster, but ͜ a noisy noise ͜ annoys ͜ an ͜ oyster more.
👉@afandi_english👈 #tongue_twisters
#11 Afandi Quiz: Which place?
🆕 In this type of quiz you are given a photo and guess where the photo was taken. Look for clues inside the photos and see the options. All photos are original.
▶️Here is a sunny place in what looks like an old town. Some languages are there and the architecture might tell you something, too.
👉@afandi_english👈
🆕 In this type of quiz you are given a photo and guess where the photo was taken. Look for clues inside the photos and see the options. All photos are original.
▶️Here is a sunny place in what looks like an old town. Some languages are there and the architecture might tell you something, too.
👉@afandi_english👈
Afandi English
This picture was taken in ...
Sharpen your eyes, ladies and gentlemen!
👎 🇪🇬Egypt was wrong. Yes it’s a famous country and the Arabic writing is a match. But you would not likely see any French language in public, and even English may not be used so much. European colonial influence on architecture is also limited in Egypt.
👎 🇾🇪Yemen was wrong, too. It’s an Arab country and half of it was under British rule for some time but not enough for European architecture to take hold (=begin to have a real effect).
👍 🇩🇿Algeria was correct! It’s an Arab country and has had a strong influence from France in terms of language and architecture. And if you take a closer look you may even spot a green-and-white flag on one of the buildings.
👎 🇮🇷Iran was clearly wrong. The country was never actually colonised. The national language (Persian / Farsi) is written in the Arabic script (here: writing system) and it is unlikely to find another language beside it.
👎 🇪🇬Egypt was wrong. Yes it’s a famous country and the Arabic writing is a match. But you would not likely see any French language in public, and even English may not be used so much. European colonial influence on architecture is also limited in Egypt.
👎 🇾🇪Yemen was wrong, too. It’s an Arab country and half of it was under British rule for some time but not enough for European architecture to take hold (=begin to have a real effect).
👍 🇩🇿Algeria was correct! It’s an Arab country and has had a strong influence from France in terms of language and architecture. And if you take a closer look you may even spot a green-and-white flag on one of the buildings.
👎 🇮🇷Iran was clearly wrong. The country was never actually colonised. The national language (Persian / Farsi) is written in the Arabic script (here: writing system) and it is unlikely to find another language beside it.
#9 Go out and teach! Giving homework
❗️Giving homework is often a ritual at the end of a class and can be super boring. What to do?
🔎 Learn the new words is the most boring homework ever and students don’t know how to do that efficiently if you don’t give them the right techniques. Think of interesting vocabulary tasks like making mind maps, finding collocations or creating a story.
🔎 Let your students do projects like interviews, surveys, photo projects, posters, flyers, news reports, and so on. They can work with topics, learn to plan and produce and present meaningful results.
🔎 Keep up with the times and use social media. Let them send voice messages, have group discussions, interview people, run a channel, etc.
❗️By the way, you don’t always have to give homework at the end of the class because you may not have the students’ full attention. Interesting homework needs more instructions and planning.
👉@afandi_english👈
❗️Giving homework is often a ritual at the end of a class and can be super boring. What to do?
🔎 Learn the new words is the most boring homework ever and students don’t know how to do that efficiently if you don’t give them the right techniques. Think of interesting vocabulary tasks like making mind maps, finding collocations or creating a story.
🔎 Let your students do projects like interviews, surveys, photo projects, posters, flyers, news reports, and so on. They can work with topics, learn to plan and produce and present meaningful results.
🔎 Keep up with the times and use social media. Let them send voice messages, have group discussions, interview people, run a channel, etc.
❗️By the way, you don’t always have to give homework at the end of the class because you may not have the students’ full attention. Interesting homework needs more instructions and planning.
👉@afandi_english👈
Afandi English
#9 Go out and teach! Giving homework ❗️Giving homework is often a ritual at the end of a class and can be super boring. What to do? 🔎 Learn the new words is the most boring homework ever and students don’t know how to do that efficiently if you don’t give…
If you're not a teacher but a student you can check if your teacher is using any of these ideas. If not, why not give them a good suggestion?