Homework for Week 10, Language Skills II, Mo 14-16, Th 14-16, Th 16-18, Fri 10-12

My Thursday and Friday classes have no homework over the break. These are points that we will review in the new year (our next meetings are January 7th and January 8th, respectively). My Monday class needs to prepare this material, however, as we have our last meeting of 2015 on December 21st.

1. Scroll down on this site to the "Royal Order of Adjectives" and study the chart. Read up on any other areas that you need to review: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/adjectives.htm

2. Complete exercises 2-4 on the bottom of this page: https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/adjectives/order-adjectives
Try this exercise, too: http://www.english-grammar.at/online_exercises/adjective_adverb/kingsley-manor.htm

3. Have a read through the order of adverbs here: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/adverbs-and-adverb-phrases-position

4. And practice with these exerices:
http://www.esl-lounge.com/student/grammar/2g40-position-of-adverbs.php
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/adjectives_adverbs/adverb_position.htm

If you're having difficulty with this, try this exercise as well: http://www.english-grammar.at/online_exercises/adjective_adverb/ad015-word-order-adverbials.htm

5. For vocab practice, check out this vocab tutor on this GRE website: http://www.mygretutor.com/vocabulary.aspx 

6. Finally, prepare the article in the reader for next week. Since it's a long one, skim it if you are short on time.

Homework for Week 10, Language Skills I, Mo 10-12, Mo 12-14, Fri 12-14, Fri 14-16

Attention Friday classes: you don't have homework over the break, but this is practice for the new year if you're interested (we will be addressing these points in our next class). 

1. Consider how you would respond to the following interview questions by finding a job announcement on this portal ( http://www.indeed.co.uk/ ):
-Describe yourself in 3 words
-What is your greatest strength/weakness?
-Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
-What can you add to our company?
-What's the biggest challenge you've faced on the job?

2. Consider how you would translate the following slogans and bring your results with you to class:
Erleben, was verbindet
Im Falle des Falles, klebt UHU wirklich alles

3. Have a look at this "Twas the night" parody and consider writing your own (can just be a couple of stanzas, too): https://www.facebook.com/georgehtakei/posts/569777809718343
http://a.dilcdn.com/bl/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/12/x6.jpg (this is a Star Wars one)

4. Look up the words you don't know in the cover letter I distributed in class.

5. Complete the following gerund vs. infinitive exercises:
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/structures/gerund_prepositions.htm
https://elt.oup.com/student/englishfile/advanced/a_grammar/file05/nef_int_grammar_5_03?cc=us&selLanguage=en

Do these exercises if this area of grammar is particularly difficult for you:
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/structures/gerund_infinitive.htm
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/structures/gerund_infinitive2.htm

6. Complete this adjective exercise:
http://www.nonstopenglish.com/exercise.asp?exid=813

7. Transcribe the following word pairs into IPA and check your work using a reliable dictionary:
an insight, to insight; an escort, to escort; an increase, to increase; abstract, to abstract; a suspect, to suspect; present, to present; a rebel, to rebel

Homework for Week 9, Language Skills II, Mo 14-16, Th 14-16, Th 16-18, Fr 10-12

1. Complete the translation we began in class and bring it with you next week. If your native language is not German, you can select a satirical text in your native language to translate. Pay attention to words that have multiple possibilities, depending on the context, such as Hausmeister = facility manager, maintenance person, building supervisor

2. Have a look at the other two article excerpts distributed in class and go line by line in checking if you understand meanings of the individual sentences. You should be able to put these sentences into your own words.

3. Read up on the difference between "that" and "which" here: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/which-versus-that-0?page=all

4. Finally, consult e-campus for this week's reading (if you don't have access, email me to add you). 

Homework for Week 9, Language Skills I, Mo 10-12, Mo 12-14, Fr 12-14, Fr 14-16

1. Complete this exercise on the difference between "do" and "make": http://languageavenue.com/advanced-english/advanced-vocabulary-exercises/do-or-make-exercise-1-advanced

Thank you to the student who asked the question about "dare" on Friday. Here is some information, which we will elaborate on next week. In general, it is considered by standard grammars to only take the infinitive (although, as we discussed in class, there are speakers who will use it with the gerund):
http://www.englishpractice.com/improve/uses-of-dare/

2. And this exercise on past perfect and past perfect continuous: http://speakspeak.com/english-grammar-exercises/upper-intermediate/past-perfect-simple-vs-past-perfect-continuous

3. Look up 5 idioms that utilize the verb "make" and 5 that utilize "do" and bring them with you to class.

4. Start learning the set of verbs that take the gerund (http://www.englishpage.com/gerunds/gerund_list.htm) and those that take the infinitive (http://www.englishpage.com/gerunds/infinitive_list.htm). Make sure the read the extra info for the verbs with footnotes!

5. Find a German slogan this week and translate it into English. Keep in mind the translation principles we reviewed today in class.

6. Finally, starting in the new year I will be referencing the reader for this course in preparing for the exam. By our first meeting in January, you need to have a copy. This can be obtained at the A&A Copy-Druck-Center on Stockmanstr. directly behind our Institute on the corner.

Homework for Week 8, Language Skills I, Mo 10-12, Mo 12-14, Fri 12-14, Fri 14-16

1. I was asked by a student if there were ways of checking plurals in IPA. The Oxford English Dictionary lists these with entries for nouns: http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/bath_1
I apologize to my 12-14 class to whom I said that the plural "baths" would be voiceless. The "th" in the singular "bath" is voiceless and in the plural "baths" it is voiced.

2. For modal verbs, please complete the exercise distributed in class and complete the following exercise:
http://www.esl-lounge.com/student/grammar/4g66-past-modals-exercise.php
Do these exercises if modals are giving you some trouble: https://elt.oup.com/student/solutions/advanced/grammar/grammar_08_022e?cc=de&selLanguage=de
http://www.englishpage.com/modals/interactivemodal4.htm

3. On the topic of stress shifts in English, you might have fun nerding out with the Language Log entry (a good blog for linguists, by linguists) on the unexpected stress pattern of the word "Thanksgiving": http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/005145.html

4. Read up on phonetic rules for plural endings here: http://www.phonicsontheweb.com/plurals.php

Homework for Week 7, Language Skills I, Mo 10-12, Mo 12-14, Fri 12-14, Fri 14-16

1. Please translate the German text distributed in class into English. Idenitfy any problem areas (grammar and lexicon) that you'd like to address in class.

2. If you were confused about the transcription of the word "exam" today in class, check out the IPA in this entry (OED): http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/exam

3. For phonetics, please do the following:
a. Transcribe the following words, focussing on transcribing with either [s] or with [z]:
 Bob's, churches, hits, Sarah's, buses, misses, plays, breaks, smashes, Sue's, knives, lifts, marks, stairs, promises, presses, sings, helps, climbs, shows, Smith's, Jones's

b. Transcribe the following words, focussing on whether the word ends with [t] or with [d]
selected, needed, transcribed, missed, showed, wanted, promised, arranged, laughed, licked, subdued, decided, smoked

For both sets, check your transcriptions using the IPA from a reliable dictionary.


4. Complete this exercise on commas in preparation of next week (you can check your answers by clicking on the "go to answers" link at bottom of the page): https://owl.english.purdue.edu/exercises/3/5/19

5. Finally, have a look at the Freakonomics website and listen to a podcast of your choosing: http://freakonomics.com/radio/

Homework for Week 6, Language Skills I, Mo 10-12, Mo 12-14, Fri 12-14, Fri 14-16

1. Complete the following exercises for subjunctive mood. As you're completing the exercises, see if you can identify patterns and rules concerning when the subjunctive is employed:
http://www.learnamericanenglishonline.com/Orange%20Level/Exercises_for_the_Orange_Level/Exercise_10_subjunctive_mood_1.html
http://usefulenglish.ru/grammar/subjunctive-mood-exercise-five
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/arts/exercises/grammar/grammar_tutorial/page_67.htm

2. Confirm your impressions from #1 by reading up on the subjunctive mood here:
http://grammarist.com/grammar/subjunctive-mood/
https://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/grammar_subjunctive.html

3. Finally, read the satirical articles distributed in class today (the full list can be found on this website: http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/full-list-of-stuff-white-people-like/ ). Check out this video by the SNL sketch comedy show as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ7OJdDSXVo Consider what elements are required for successful satire and make an outline of a topic you would like to satirize (you can use the model "what _________ (people) like", for example). Write up your satire and submit it in the form of an essay if you have time.

Homework Week 5, Language Skills I, Mo 10-12, Mo 12-14

1. For phonetics, please transcribe two of your favorite song titles into IPA. Additionally, use a dictionary or type "define:" and insert the word you want transcribed into Google and check the remaining words in the transcription exercise from last week.

2. For grammar, read the article I distributed in class and write five sentences summarizing the context of the article OR your reactions to it (e.g. "If Karl Kraus were alive today, he'd...") using the five different if-clause constructions for conditionals. You'll find information on this construction here: http://www.edufind.com/english-grammar/conditional/

3. Finally, if you need some practice with perfect and simple tenses, I recommend writing a (short) biography or obituary of someone you like or admire in which you flip between the chronological sequence of events.

Homework for Week 4, Language Skills I, Fri 12-14, Fri 14-16

1. Complete the translation exercise on tense distributed in class. Complete the following online exercise as well: http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs12.htm

2. Read about IPA and the IPA characters on this website: http://www.antimoon.com/resources/phonetichelp.htm
Then transcribe the following words into IPA (you can use a good dictionary AFTER you have completed the exercise to check your work): burn, about, muppet, broth, brother, Yahoo, physics, cheerleader, Plato, flea, puck, climb, baby, nourish, judgement, gather, enough, there, gate

3. If you are interested, compose a short text on a sensory experience and turn it in next week.

P.S. I believe I spelled this word incorrectly on our board today (left out the "h"): exhilarate (this is the correct spelling)

Homework for Week 4, Language Skills I, Mo 10-12, Mo 12-14

1. Complete the translation exercise on tense distributed in class. Complete the following online exercise as well: http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs12.htm

2. Complete the IPA transcription exercise distributed in class (here is the accompanying website): http://www.antimoon.com/resources/phonetichelp.htm

3. If you are interested, compose a short text on a sensory experience and turn it in next week.