Chapter 2
Listening Speaking
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English and Vietnamese Section
English | Vietnamese
IC3, IT, TOEFL, Best Answer
Self- and Teacher Evaluation
Water Cycle
Sinh thái học về nước
Who has the responsibility for protecting and preserving the earth’s water supply?
Ai có trách nhiệm bảo vệ và gìn giữ nguồn cung cấp nước của trái đất?
Skills:
In this chapter you will do these things:
English Language Skills:
Grammar: Classifiers
Combined Words
Introductory Motivation and Focus:
Water Dance
Source: Water Dance. Thomas Locker. Voyager Books, San Diego, 1997.
The poem you will hear is from a book by Thomas Locker called Water Dance. Before you listen to the poem, brainstorm with your class: In what forms do you see water everyday?
Write these words on the board. Examples: Rain, ice, river . . .
Listen to the poem and fill in the last word of each stanza. A stanza is a verse or a section of a poem that is arranged together. It usually has a rhyming and rhythm pattern. These stanzas are written like riddles. A riddle is a puzzling question. So listen carefully to solve the riddle of the missing word.
Look at the following words. Do you know what they mean? Discuss the meaning of each word. You may need to look in the dictionary.
Find the final word in each stanza from the list below. First, listen to the stanza and look at the picture. Then fill in the missing word. The first one is done for you.
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| 1. I am ___ rain______. | 2. I am _______________ | 3. I am _______________ |
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| 4. I am _________. | 5. I am _______________ | 6. I am _______________ |
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| 7. I am _________. | 8. I am _______________ | 9. I am _______________ |
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| 10. I am ___________. | 11. I am _______________ | 12. I am _______________ |
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| 13. I am __________ |
(Transcript)
Water Dance by Thomas Locker
Number One:
Some people say that I am one thing.
Others say that I am many.
Ever since the world began
I have been moving in an endless circle.
Sometimes I fall from the sky.
I am the rain.Number Two:
Sometimes I cascade.
I tumble
down,
down, over the moss-covered rocks,
through the forest shadows.
I am the mountain stream.Number Three:
At the foot of the mountains,
I leap from a stone cliff.
Spiraling.
Plunging.
I am the waterfall.Number Four:
In the shadows of the mountain,
I am still and deep.
I fill
and overflow.
I am the lake.Number Five:
I wind through broad, golden valleys
joined by streams,
joined by creeks.
I grow ever wider,
broader and deeper.
I am the river.Number Six:
I pass through a gateway
of high stone palisades,
leaving the land behind.
cool silver moonlight
sparkles and dances
on my waves.
I am the sea.
Number Seven:
Drawn upward
by warm sunlight,
in white-silver veils
I rise into the air.
I disappear.
I am the mist.Number Eight: :
In thousands of shapes I reappear
high above the earth in the blue sky.
I float.
I drift.
I am the clouds.Number Nine:
Carried by winds
from distant seas
I move,
growing heavier,
growing darker,
returning.
I am the storm front.Number Ten:
At the wall of the mountains,
I rise up
as gleaming power-filled towers
in the darkened sky.
I am the thunderhead.Number Eleven:
I blind the sky with lightning.
The earth trembles with my thunder.
I rage.
I drench the mountainside.
I am the storm.Number Twelve:
Storms come.
Storms pass.
I am countless droplets of rain
left floating in the silent air.
I reflect all the colors of sunlight.
I am the rainbow.Number Thirteen:
I am one thing.
I am many things.
I am water.This is my dance through our world.
End of Transcript
Vocabulary
Making Pictures With Language:
A poem can create a picture in the mind. This poem creates pictures in the mind by describing the different forms water takes. Sometimes it describes what we see. Sometimes it speaks to us in simile and metaphor.
A simile is a figure of speech comparing two unlike things that is often introduced by like or as (as in cheeks like roses) according to Merriam-Webster Online. An example of a simile in this poem is:
I rise up as gleaming power-filled towers in the darkened sky.
It is a simile because it uses the word “as.” It is a simile because it is like a tower but is not a tower.
A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them (as in drowning in money) according to Merriam-Webster Online. It is different than a simile because it does not use the words “as” and “like.” Rather, it states that one object “is” another object. There are many examples of metaphors in this poem:
- I leap from a stone cliff. (Can water leap?)
- I pass through a gateway of high stone palisades, leaving the land behind. (A gateway is made by human hands?)
- Cool silver moonlight sparkles and dances on my waves. (Does moonlight dance?)
- Drawn upward by warm sunlight, in white-silver veils I rise into the air. (A “veil” is a piece of cloth.)
- At the wall of the mountains . . . (Is a wall built by human hands?)
- I blind the sky with lightning. (Can the sky be blinded?)
- I rage. (Can a storm be angry?)
- This is my dance through our world. (Does water dance?)
Alphabetize the following vocabulary:
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Water Cycle Vocabulary:
Look ahead to the Lecture/Presentation section of this chapter. There you will find diagrams of the water cycle. One diagram has labels in English. The other diagram has labels in Vietnamese. Use the pictures to create a list of vocabulary words that describe the water cycle.
Study Skill A:
Frequency Adverbs
Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs—that is, adverbs tell us more about a verb, adjective or other adverb. Adverbs of frequency answer the question How often? To explain how often something happens, we use frequency adverbs. It is possible to use them when referring to the past, present or future.
- The river often flooded when we were children.
- The river usually floods during a full moon.
- The river always flows.
Arrange the Adverbs of Frequency below from those that refer to things that most often happen at the top to those things that happen least at the bottom: (There is not an absolute order.)
- Always _____
- Usually _____
- Frequently _____
- Often _____
- Sometimes _____
- Occasionally _____
- Rarely _____
- Seldom _____
- Hardly ever _____
- Never _____
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Adverbs of frequency have different positions in the sentence. With most verbs, the adverb of frequency is positioned between the subject and the verb.
Examples:
- Flooding often occurs in November during the full moon.
- The rainy season usually begins in May.
- We typically wear ponchos when we ride bikes in the rain.
- It never snows in the Delta.
In sentences that have the verb “to be”, the adverb normally comes after the verb.
Examples:
- The ground is frequently saturated with rainwater.
- It is always wet during the rainy season.
- The rain is normally welcomed after the very hot days of the dry season.
- We are occasionally caught in the rain without an umbrella.
Adverbs of frequency often appear at the beginning of the sentence.
Examples:
- Sometimes I fall from the sky.
- Ever since the world began I have been moving in an endless circle.
- Typically we have good weather for Tet.
Unidentified Nouns: There is/Are and Impersonal It
Often, in English, we speak and write with nouns that have no identification. These are called indefinite nouns. There is and there are and the impersonal it are frequently used indefinite nouns.
There is (singular) and There are (plural) are used in English to show that something exists. There is and there are appear before the subject of the sentence. Use there is and there are before a singular or plural noun.
Examples |
Notes |
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Affirmative Statements |
There is a river flowing through the village. There’s a storm coming this way. There are times that the river floods. |
There’s = There is |
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Negative |
There is no rain today. There isn’t a dry place after the storm. There are no clouds in the sky. There aren’t any lakes is this area. |
There isn’t = There is not There is no = There isn’t a/any There are no = There aren’t any |
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Questions |
Some Questions Is it going to rain? Isn’t there a road to the sea from here? Are there many rivers in this area? Aren’t there reports of bad weather coming this way? |
Short answers for yes/no questions with there is/are:
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Use the impersonal it with a verb, adjective, or distance expression.
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Examples |
Notes |
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Statements |
It’s late. It’s 12:30. It’s near the river. It’s 30 kilometers from here It’s raining It’s very hot today. It may rain tomorrow. |
Time—according to clocks, days of the week, months, dates, years, early, late, etc. Distance—meters, kilometers, near, far, etc. Use impersonal it with verbs and adjectives about the weather. |
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Questions |
Is it late? (Yes, it is. No, it isn’t.) How far is it to the river? How often does it rain in the dry season? |
Use the impersonal it in yes/no questions, short answers, and information questions. |
Exercises and Activities for Speaking Skill A:
Work in pairs.
Using Frequency Words. Ask and answer present tense questions with these phrases. Add frequency expressions. Speak about your hometown or region when answering the question.
Example: Q. Does it snow in your village?
A. No, it doesn’t. It never snows in my village.
- snow
- river flood
- rain during dry season
- tide comes in and goes out
- water during the dry season
- rainy season begins
- weather during Tet
- wear or use during the rainy season (poncho or umbrella for example)
- wear or use during the dry season
- dry season begins
Using There is/There are and Impersonal It . Look at the Water Cycle diagrams below in the Lecture/Presentation section. Work in pairs and describe the water cycle. Describe what the blue arrows are diagramming by using There is/There are and Impersonal It as much as possible. You may write your sentences down, but first try to describe these pictures spontaneously.
Example: Water is stored in the atmosphere in the form of clouds. It then comes to earth in the form of rain and snow. There is snow and ice on the top of mountains . . .
Lecture/Presentation:
Illustration by John M. Evans, USGS, Colorado District. Vietnamese translation by Assoc. Prof. Tran Thuc, Director, Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology, Vietnam. These illustrations are taken from the U.S. Geological Survey at http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycle.html and http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclevietnamesehi.html
Follow a drip Through the Water Cycle
Thus far, you have done a vocabulary exercise and a skill-building exercise using the water cycle diagrams above. You should now be familiar with the vocabulary and the water cycle. This means that you are now prepared to listen to a presentation on the water cycle. This presentation describes the journey of a drip of water. Be sure that you know what a “drop” or "drip" is before you listen.
Before you listen: Discuss in class the title of this presentation: Follow a drip Through the Water Cycle. Answer these questions:
- What does this title mean?
- What can you predict about this presentation from the title?
- What do you already know about a water cycle?
- What words may be of importance for this presentation?
- Here is the introduction of the presentation. Read it:
“Follow a drip through the water cycle. Water is always cycling around, through, and above the Earth. It is continually changing from liquid water to water vapor to ice. The ocean is the best place to begin since it is where most of Earth’s water is found.”
Listen to the presentation. First listen to the presentation. Use the diagrams to listen.
(Transcript)
Follow a Drip Through the Water Cycle
Follow a drip through the water cycle. Water is always cycling around, through, and above the Earth. It is continually changing from liquid water to water vapor to ice. The ocean is the best place to begin since it is where most of Earth’s water is found.
A drip of water is on the surface of the ocean. The heat from the sun warms the drip and it evaporates, which means that it rises as a vapor. The wind blows it over land. There, the heat from the land rises taking the drip of vapor higher and higher into the atmosphere to where the air is cold.
When the vapor gets cold, it changes back into liquid. This process is called condensation. If it is very cold, the drip of water turns to ice and becomes a cloud.
Eventually the drip falls to earth. This is called precipitation. When it falls there are many places for water drops to go. It can land on the leaf of a tree, evaporate, and become a cloud again. Or it can land on the ground.
It soaks into the ground and becomes part of ground water. Humans may take it from the ground for farms or use it for drinking water or for washing dishes or taking a bath.
The drip may flow with the river, fight a fire, fill a water tank. The drip may find itself in a rice paddy, in a bowl of noodle soup, washing a water buffalo, or in a bathroom shower. The possibilities are endless. Eventually it returns to the environment.
(end of transcript)
Now listen to the presentation in parts. Look at the following words and phrases. Discuss them in class to make sure you know what they mean. Then listen to each part and raise your hand when you hear each word.
| Terms | (Transcript) |
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A drip of water is on the surface of the ocean. The heat from the sun warms the drip and it evaporates, which means that it rises as a vapor. The wind blows it over land. There, the heat from the land rises taking the drip of vapor higher and higher into the atmosphere to where the air is cold. (end of transcript) |
| Terms | (Transcript) |
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When the vapor gets cold, it changes back into liquid. This process is called condensation. If it is very cold, the drip of water turns to ice and becomes a cloud. Eventually the drip falls to earth. This is called precipitation. When it falls there are many places for water drops to go. It can land on the leaf of a tree, evaporate, and become a cloud again. Or it can land on the ground. (end of transcript) |
| Terms | (Transcript) |
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It soaks into the ground and becomes part of ground water. Humans may take it from the ground for farms or use it for drinking water or for washing dishes or taking a bath. The drip may flow with the river, fight a fire, fill a water tank. The drip may find itself in a rice paddy, in a bowl of noodle soup, washing a water buffalo, or in a bathroom shower. The possibilities are endless. Eventually it returns to the environment. (end of transcript) |
Now listen to the entire presentation without stopping .
Exercises and Activities for Listening Skill A:
Follow a Drip Through the Water Cycle: Describe the Water Cycle in your own words. You did this before the presentation. Now do it again speaking with more vocabulary, more information and more confidence.
Study Skill B: Pronunciation of “S,” “Z,” and “Th”
Students learning English often have difficulty pronouncing “Th” sounds because their mother tongue does not have this sound—the soft “Th” like in “thanks” and the hard “Th” as in “this.”
“S” and the soft “Th” are both unvoiced sounds. This means that when you hold your hand to your throat, you cannot feel your vocal cords vibrate. Sometimes students of English will substitute the sound of “S” for the soft “T” sound. This is because there is only one difference between the two sounds. When you pronounce “S,” your tongue lies on the bottom of your mouth, but when you pronounce the soft “Th,” your tongue touches the back of your upper teeth.
“Z” and the hard “Th” are both voiced sounds. This means that when you hold your hand to your throat, you can feel your vocal cords vibrate. Sometimes students of English will substitute the sound of “Z” for the hard “Th” sound. This is because there is only one difference between the two sounds. When you pronounce “Z,” your tongue lies on the bottom of your mouth, but when you pronounce thehard “Th,” your tongue touches the back of your upper teeth.
Exercises and Activities for Listening Study Skill B:
Minimal Pairs: Practice saying the following minimal pairs aloud. Hear the difference between the sounds. See the difference between the sounds—look into the mirror to watch your tongue. And feel the difference between the sounds—feel the vibrations in your throat and feel the location of your tongue as you make the sounds.
From Pronunciation Contrasts in English. Don L.F. Nilsen and Alleen Pace Nilsen. Regents Publishing Company, Inc., New York, 1973.
Sentences
I don’t THINK it will SINK.
Being THIN is no SIN.
BREATHE the fresh BREEZE.
Can you BATHE in both BAYS?
soft “Th” and “S”
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hard “Th” and “Z” |
thank - sank |
then - Zen |
thaw - saw |
thee - Z |
theme – seem |
thither - zither |
thick - sick |
breathed – breezed |
thigh - sigh |
seethed - seized |
thimble - symbol |
teethed - teased |
thing - sing |
clothed - closed |
think - sink |
clothing - closing |
thumb - some |
bathe - bays |
unthinkable - unsinkable |
breathe - breeze |
faithless - faceless |
sheathe – she’s |
mouthy - mousy |
lathe - lays |
math - mass |
loathe - lows |
tenth - tense |
teethe - tease |
forth - force |
writhe - rise |
worth - worse |
tithe - ties |
mouth - mouse |
soothe - sues |
Tongue Twisters: Repeat these three times quickly.
She sifted thistles through her thistle-sifter.
I thought a thought.
But the thought I thought wasn't the thought
I thought I thought.
REVIEW:
Exercise 1: Your teacher will say 20 different words to
you. Most of them you will know and some of them will be new. See if you can correctly write down what is being said.
| 1. __________________ | 11. __________________ |
| 2. __________________ | 12. __________________ |
| 3. __________________ | 13. __________________ |
| 4. __________________ | 14. __________________ |
| 5. __________________ | 15. __________________ |
| 6. __________________ | 16. __________________ |
| 7. __________________ | 17. __________________ |
| 8. __________________ | 18. __________________ |
| 9. __________________ | 19. __________________ |
| 10. __________________ | 20. __________________ |
Exercise 2: Let us review saying the different tones. Please listen carefully to your teacher and then repeat as accurately as possible. How many meanings do you know? Write the meaning beside the words you know.
Tôi |
Ăn |
Đen |
Cam |
Bảo vệ |
Màu |
Tuổi |
Vàng |
Tiếng Anh |
Nông nghiệp |
Chị |
Trắng |
Tím |
Xanh |
Động vật |
Sống |
Nước |
Nâu |
Đỏ |
Môi trường |
Công nghiệp |
Grammar: Classifiers
Many words in Vietnamese are preceded by classifiers. When we want to talk about colors in Vietnamese, we must precede the color with the word, “Màu”.
Additionally, while there are two separate phrases to distinguish the colors green and blue, the general word is used with more frequency. “Xanh” can identify an item that is either green or blue. “Xanh da trời”, or litterally “Blue/Green Sky”, is used to distinguish the color blue. “Xanh lá cây”, or litterally “Blue/Green Tree Leaf”, is used to distinguish the color green.
Write the Vietnamese name for each of the following colors. Try not to look at the above list. If you have any questions, ask your teacher to repeat the word and try to spell it correctly simply by listening.
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________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
This chapter focuses on Water and Food Security. In the Level 1 Writing Chapter 2, you learned new vocabulary, some of which focused on the environment. These words are the foundation of your emerging dialogue with Vietnamese students.
As I’m sure you already noticed, two syllables can be combined to create a word with a different meaning. Historically, Vietnamese was written similarly to Chinese. These separate characters each conveyed separate meanings and, when placed in certain combinations, new meanings emerge.
Exercise 3: Here are six words you learned above. Do you remember their meanings?
Nông nghiệp |
___________________________________________________________ |
Bảo vệ |
___________________________________________________________ |
Môi trường |
___________________________________________________________ |
Tiếng Anh |
___________________________________________________________ |
Động vật |
___________________________________________________________ |
Công nghiệp |
___________________________________________________________ |
When these words are separated, each syllable conveys a more specific meaning.
Nông = |
Farming |
Nghiệp = |
Trade, Craft |
So: Farming + Trade, Craft = Agriculture! |
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Công = |
Public, Work, Labor |
Nghiệp = |
Trade, Craft |
So: Public, Work, Labor + Trade, Craft = Industry |
Now! Would you be able to define the word “Nông thôn” if I told you that the word “Thôn” meant “Village”?
Nông ____________________________________
Thôn ____________________________________
Nông + Thôn = ____________________________
Use your Vietnamese dictionary and look up the rest of the combined words in Exercise 3.
Exercise 4: In groups of 2 to 3 students, combine all of the vocabulary you have learned and create as many sentences as you can. Speak these sentences to one another and make sure to involve your teacher! Be careful with your tones! A slip-up and you might say something that you highly regret!
