GROUP SPEECH: Subjunctives, Non-Final Intonation Pattern

Before reading the succeeding scene, practice reading aloud these statements using the non-final intonation pattern (normal-rise-normal):

Had I known, I would have told you.

If I could, I would.

If I had seen it myself, I would have believed it.

Form triads and read this scene aloud. Read with the appropriate expression and intonation.

If you only listened…

[Trixie and Mika meet a distraught Red near the school auditorium.]


Trixie : Hey, Red! What’s up?
Red : I’m so mad at myself! I should have listened!
Mika : Listened to what?
Red : Remember that audition I wanted to go to?
Trixie : Of course! You wanted to audition for the role of
Mercutio, right?
Mika : The audition was yesterday, I remember. Did you go?
I’m sure you got the part.
Red : How could I? I missed the auditions.
Trixie and Mika : Oh no!
Red : Had I listened to the announcement during assembly
last Monday, I would have gone to the auditions.
Mika : And if you had read the posters on the bulleting boards,
you would not have forgotten.
Trixie: If I were you, I would request for a special audition.
Red : Is that done?
Trixie : I don’t know. You can try.
Mika : I suggest that you talk to the auditions committee as
soon as possible. There could be a second round, you know.
Red : Ok, I’ll try. Thanks, girls. Next time, I’ll pay
more attention to school announcements!


Because Red wasn’t listening to school announcements, he missed the chance of playing an important role in the school play. What about you? Was there an opportunity you missed, or nearly missed, because you failed to listen? Think about an advice that you took for granted, or announcements you didn’t pay attention to. Share these regrets in class. Use these sentence openers as your guide:

If only I had…, I would have…
Had I listened to…I would have…

KINDS OF LISTENERS: WHICH ONE ARE YOU?

Are the qualities and attitudes of these listeners desirable or not? Which kind are you?

(1)Mind reader : You try to identify the speaker’s motives. You pay attention to what the speaker thinks and feels. You second-guess or pre-empt the speaker’s words and messages.

(2)Rehearser : You try to fill the speaker’s shoes, attempting to say things your way. You say to yourself, if I were speaking, this is what I’ll say,” or “I won’t say that.”

(3)Filterer : Some call this selective listening, hearing only what you want to hear. You block out undesirable Words and sounds, and hear only what you like, or that which appeals to you.

(4)Dreamer : You tend to drift off when someone is speaking to you. Your mind wanders because you are Distracted or interested in something else. This may lead to embarrassing comments like,“I beg your pardon?’, or “What’s that again?”

(5)Identifier : You refer everything you hear to a previous experience. You react to sounds and spoken information depending on what you can identify with. Anything that is not within your scope of experience is difficult to comprehend.

(6)Placater : You agree with everything you hear just to be nice or to avoid conflict.

(7)Derailer : You change the subject too quickly, proving that you are interested not in what the speaker is saying, but on what you really want to say.

(8)Sparrer : You are always on the verbal warpath. You belittle or disagree with what’s said without giving the speaker time to explain further. You insist on what you know and feel instead of listening objectively to what is being said.

PRONOUNCING "p" and "f"

Practice reading these [p] and [f] contrastive word pairs aloud.

Initial "p" and "f"Pray – fray
Pin – fin
Pile – file
Purr – fur
Par – far
Pact – fact
Pool – fool
Plaque - flak

Medial "p" and "f"Supper – suffer
Copy – coffee
Upper – offer
Cops – coughs
Snips – sniffs
Lapping – laughing
Stopping - stuffing


Final "p" and "f"
Leap - leaf
Cheap – chief
Clip – cliff
Top – tough
Whip – whiff
Cap – calf
Tip – tiff
Mop – muff
Lap – laugh
Rip – riff
Gap - gaffe

/mre051806

EXERCISES ON SUBJECTS AND PREDICATES

Read the paragraphs below. For each numbered sentence, underline the complete subject once and the complete predicate twice.


CHEM GEMS
(adapted from “Why Study Chemistry?”)

(1) Most students don’t understand the reason for studying Chemistry. (2) They view it as a complex, abstract subject. (3) A closer look at the principles of Chemistry will reveal its significance in everything from weather patterns to brain functions, to the operation of computers. (4) Some examples are described here.
(5) For ages, farmers have used fertilizers to enhance the growth of their crops. (6) Plant Chemistry studies through the years have identified calcium, phosphorus, iron, and other chemical species as necessary for crop growth. (7) Gardening supply stores carry a variety of different fertilizers with different chemical compositions. (8) The best fertilizer for a particular situation depends on the Chemistry of the soil and the plant.
(9) Oil exploration geologists study rock formations, looking for chemical compounds. (10) Through their research, geologists can determine near-exact locations of oil deposits on the Earth’s crust.

LISTENING FOR VERBAL ALERTS

VERBAL ALERTS

Listening is a language skill that is often taken for granted since it seems to be a natural process that goes on inside a person. Yet listening skills should be developed in every student because a lot of what goes on inside the classroom entails listening. Whether you are listening to your teacher discussing a lesson, to a classmate giving a report, or to the principal making announcements during assembly, it is important to give the speaker your full attention so you understand the information you hear. You can also use listening strategies, like identifying verbal alerts or signals, to help you process what you hear.

Speakers often use verbal alerts that tell listeners, “This is important, so listen up!” These alerts are introductory phrases that are meant to give listeners an idea of the significance of what they’re about to listen to.

INTRODUCTION
“We will discuss…”
“Open your books to…”
“First, let’s look at…”

MAIN IDEAS
“Take not of…”
“Let me repeat…”
“Remember that…”
“This is important…”
“I want to stress that…”

CHANGE IN DIRECTION
“Next…”
“Let’s move on to…”
“On the other hand…”
“However…”

MAJOR DETAILS
“For instance…”
“For example…”
“Namely…”
“The following…”


CONCLUSION
“Finally…”
“In short…”
“In conclusion…”
“To summarize…”


/mre080506