Giáo trình Speaking II - Phạm Lê Hoài Phương (Phần 1)

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SPEAKING II : STUDY GUIDE 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 
Mainline by Alexander, L., G. et al (1991) aims at improving the learners' use of 
English in situations. It comprises a variety of unscripted situations, dialogues and 
discussions. With an emphasis on speaking skill, Mainline can also be used to improve 
other skills such as writing, reading and listening. The study guide focuses more on 
activities that help improve the Kimbrough, V. (1987) are also employed to develop the 
learners' speaking skill. 
UNIT 1 
Lesson 1 : REUNION 
Situations : 
Questions you may want to ask your friend when meeting him/her after a long 
car/train journey. 
Did you have a good time driving? 
How was your trip? 
How far did you drive? 
Was the train on time? 
Can you add more to the list? 
Solo : for this situation, you may want to use the words and phrases following to 
explain to your colleague the late train. 
sorry I don't mean to be late 
 the train will be late in two hours 
please wait try to get to the place as soon as possible 
goodbye hope to see him/her soon 
Talking points : 
1. Describe most pleasant/unpleasant journey you've ever had. 
For this talking . In addition, you should mention the reasons why it was the most 
pleasant/ unpleasant journey. 
Useful words/phrases : 
Unpleasant journey : delayed, noisy neighbors, snore, talkative, steal purse, no 
money, arrival hall, no one to see you at the airport or railway station. 
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Pleasant journey : on time, considerate neighbors, good communication, make new 
friends, good service with delicious food and drink, enjoy the journey. 
2. On Tet (New Lunar Year) occasion, members of a Vietnamese family and their 
friends come together for a reunion. In Western countries, Christmas is the time for 
reunion. 
3. To make a visitor feel welcome, it is advisable that the atmosphere is friendly and 
the host/hostess should be helpful but not interfering. Make the guest feel at home. 
4. What's the best way to travel? Read unit 19 : The best way to travel is on foot in 
the book For and Against by Alexander. 
Lesson 2 : WELCOMING 
Language Review : Impersonal constructions with 
It + be + adj + to-infinitive 
It + be + adj + of-pron + to-infinitive 
as some examples : 
It is good of you to give her advice to stop smoking. 
It is wonderful to get to know that famous singer. 
It was careless of him to drive in the dark without turning the lights on. 
It was thoughtful of you to remember my birthday. 
Composition : 
1. Remember that there are 5 parts in a letter: 
heading (address and date), greeting (Dear..., ), body (message), closing (Yours 
sincerely, Yours truly...) and signature. 
2. In your dialogue, you should express your feelings to see your friend, ask about the 
journey, his/her family, work and tell him/her something about yourself. 
UNIT 2 
Lesson 3 : TO GO OR NOT TO GO 
Situation : 
On presenting a small gift to your friend, on behalf of your department when your 
friend has been promoted to another department, you might want to say thanks to him/her 
for his good work in your department as well as his with all members in the department 
and wish him/her a good time, good luck in the new position. 
Thank you for being so nice and helpful to us. 
No one can replace you. 
We regret to say goodbye to you. We'll miss you. 
Take good care of yourself. 
Talking points : 
1. Describe the capital or other big city and say what it would be like for a foreigner 
to work in. 
You may want to describe Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. Useful words and 
expressions : 
modern lifestyle lots of foreign investment fast life pace labor force 
available high consuming need convenient transportation 
2. Compare a Vietnamese wedding with a Western one. 
3. Advice to someone wants to succeed in his career 
like the job sense of discipline dedication creative responsible 
good relation with other colleagues "work as you don't need money" 
4 and 5 : Discuss with your friends or read more books for more information. 
Lesson 4 : EXPRESSING PERSONAL WORRIES AND GIVING 
ADVICE/DECLINING TO GIVE ADVICE 
Further practice : Examples 
Accommodation : 
A : I'm moving into the got enough space. I hate living in the city. 
B : Don't be too upset. You'll get used to it. Everyone needs time to adapt himself 
into the new living environment. 
Social : 
A : I look so ugly. I don't know what to wear and to make matters worse, I always 
say the wrong things. 
B : Oh come on! You look so nice. I don't find anything wrong with your speech. 
Relax! Don't worry too much. 
The opposite sex : 
A : I feel sad. My girlfriend is getting tired of me. She avoids meeting me but I do 
want to see her. 
B : Maybe you should change your behavior. Think about some reasons that upset 
her. If I were you, I'll do my best to win her heart. 
The family : 
A : I'm so tired of life. I quarrel with my family members often. 
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B : Come on! You shouldn't be too much upset. Everyone quarrels sometimes. If I 
were you I would try to avoid the arguments. 
Composition : 
Advise a friend who is worried about her/his mother 
Useful words and expressions : 
understand how you feel mother is alone needs someone to take care of 
live far away take time to alone need making friends 
go out more join clubs for old people phone her often 
visit her if possible do not worry too much everything will be all right. 
UNIT 3 
Lesson 5 : BREAKING THE ICE 
Oral composition 
Describing people 
1. Example : 27- year- old John Steven Cook is a single solicitor. He has medium 
build of about 5'11" height. His eyes are hazel and his hair is dark brown. He seems lively 
and friendly to everyone. He goes swimming and plays goft in his free time. 
2. Can you describe yourself? 
Lesson 6 : DESCRIBING A PERSON 
Further practice : All the vocabulary and expressions provided in this part are useful. 
Learn them all. Remember to give information on age, appearance, character, interests 
and skills when you describe a person. 
Language review : study verbs : may, might, must and can't 
Note : May and might are used to express degrees of possibility 
Example : He may/might have been an active child. 
Must and can't can be used to express deduction. 
Example : He must have been popular at school. 
 He can't have saved much money. 
For more information on modal auxiliary verbs with perfect infinitives, see pages 
109-340 of the book Practical English Usage by Michael Swan (1980). 
Use of English : 
For direct and indirect speech, see chapter 31 of the book : A Practical English 
Grammar by Thomson and Martinet (1987). 
UNIT 4 
Lesson 7 : WOMEN'S LIBERATION 
For more information on women's liberation, read unit 1 in the book For and 
Against by Alexander. 
Asking questions : 
Imagine you are interviewing a well-known woman doctor. She is married to lawyer 
and has three children, aged 2, 6, and 8. You might want to ask her the following 
questions : 
I know that you're very How can you manage to work full time and take care of 3 
children at the same time? 
Are there any difficulties that you have to face when being a caring mother and 
hard-working doctor? 
Does your husband help you with your housework? 
Do you have servants? 
Could you tell us your secrets to success? 
Do you have free time to enjoy life? 
Can you think of some more questions to ask her? 
Talking points : compare the life of a woman today with that of your grandmother. 
Life of a woman today Life of a woman before 
More free time to pursue a career or 
happiness 
Participating into social activities Doing 
many kinds of work 
Giving birth and bringing up children 
Staying at home and doing housework 
Housewife 
Can you add more to this table? 
Lesson 8 : THE LANGUAGE OF ARGUMENT 
Learn the language of argument provided in the two tables. How to make a counter-
proposition is disagreeing. Read unit 9 of the book Speaking Naturally by Tillitt and 
Bruder (1989). 
Composition : Men's liberation movement 
Useful words/expressions 
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men and women are equal no "ladies first" women are spoiled 
men do more housework women spend time shopping and making up 
women talk more and work less decide things by intuition too free to take care of 
the family 
UNIT 5 
Lesson 9 : A NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT MONEY 
General questions : 
1. Risk in carrying large sums of cash around : you may lose the money or be robbed. 
2. A credit card is useful for going shopping without carrying large sums of cash. 
3. December perhaps is the most expensive month of the year as at this time people 
have to buy a lot of presents and the price is usually higher than usual. 
4. What makes holidays expensive? Presents and travelling cost. 
5. What bills do you pay regularly? How do you budget? 
Maybe electricity, telephone, internet, and water bills. Part of monthly salary is used 
to pay all these bills. 
6. The best way to save money : do not spend more than half of the money you earn. 
7. Presents need not be expensive as the value of the presents depends little on its 
cost. 
Lesson 10 : MONEY TRANSACTIONS 
All the language and vocabulary provided in the tables are useful. Learn them all. 
Read the language review part and try to make some requests and express wishes. 
Composition : State the arguments for and against buying things with a credit card. 
 For Against 
not risk losing cash spend more than needed 
convenient to be carried with shoppers may be in debt 
avoid being attacked or robbed be tempted to spend 
Can you add more to this list? 
UNIT 6 
Lesson 11 : FESTIVALS 
Festival : (day or time of) religious or other celebration : Christmas and Easter are 
Christian festivals. 
Carnivals : public festival, joyful events, celebrations and merry-making occurring 
at a regular time of a year. 
Procession : number of people, vehicles, etc moving along in-an orderly way, esp as 
part of a ceremony or demonstration. 
Review unit 17 : Festival and Holidays of the book : Well-Spoken by Ramsey and 
Rees-Parnal. 
Lesson 12 : PHRASAL VERBS 
Learn all the phrasal verbs on page 23. 
Use of English : answer key 
1. got through 6. got over 
2. take after 7. go in for 
3. ran after 8. ran into 
4. went for 9. taken to 
5. call on 
UNIT 7 
Lesson 13 : CHOOSING A PRESENT 
Situations : 
A conversation between a shop assistant and someone trying to buy a birthday 
present or a relative or friend : 
Shop assistant : Good morning. Can I help you? 
Customer : I'm looking for a present for my niece. . 
S. A. : How old is she? 
C : She is 10. 
S. A. : How about a doll? 
C : I gave her a doll on her last birthday. 
S.A. :Well, how about CD? 
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C : Yeah, it's a good ...can 1 have a look at that camera over there? 
S.A. : Certainly. This looks nice. 1 think she will like it. 
C : How much is it? 
S.A. :$15. 24 
C : Can I pay by credit card? 
S.A : Yes, of course. 
C : Could you wrap it for me, please? 
S.A : Sure. Just a minute. 
C : Thank you. 
Lesson 14 : SHOPPING 
Do all the activities and exercises in this lesson. 
UNIT 8 
Lesson 15 : THE MOTORIST'S GUIDE TO INTER-CITY 
Situation : 
Questions you may ask the Enquiry Office when you have decided to go from 
London to Edinburg by train. 
How much is one-way/return ticket? 
When's the next train to Edinburg? 
At what time are there trains to Edinburg? 
Are meals included? 
Are there buffets on train? 
Talking points : 
How would you improve transport in your country? 
Useful words/expressions 
clear the pavements public transport smoke check 
construct freeways/highways special routes for certain kind of vehicles 
upgrade streets/railways build airports strict traffic laws helmets 
Lesson 16 : MAKING COMPARISONS 
Study the comparisons 
Composition : Advantages of flying over other forms of transport 
fast speed well-served joining the world together 
the world gets smaller comfortable flights exciting feelings up in the air enjoy the 
picturesque sights in the air nice programs on TV and radio on plane not very tired 
after the journey for business 
UNIT 9 
Lesson 17 : THE GOOD OLD DAYS 
Asking questions : 
Interviewing the oldest inhabitant of your country : 
You may want to ask these questions: 
How old are you? 
Did you watch TV when you were young? 
What did you usually do when you were young? 
Did people drive car when you were 20? 
Did you fly? 
Did you go to school? 
What did you study at school? 
Can you add more to the list? 
Lesson 18 : THE LANGUAGE OF ARGUMENT 
Study the language provided in the lesson and also refer to unit 9 : Agreeing and 
Disagreeing of the book Speaking Naturally by Tillitt and Bruder. 
UNIT 10 
Lesson 19 : DO YOU DOODLE? 
Talking points : 
Advice to a visitor to your country to see if he's interested in antiquities or art 
visit museum tour around the city see some artistic performances 
visit antique shop visit galleries read guide books 
talk to the artists visit antique collectors 
Lesson 20 : DRAWING ATTENTION 
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Lesson 21 : DR PETERS' BRAVE NEW WORLD 
Do all the activities/exercises in these lessons. 
UNIT 11 
Lesson 22 : VERBS AND ADJECTIVES FOLLOWED BY TO, ON, OF 
AND WITH 
Use of English : Put in the correct prepositions 
1. with 7. to 
2. of 8. to 
3. of 9. of 
4. to 10. to 
5. on 11. of 
6. on 
Composition : New discovery in recent history that has had profound effects on mankind 
since then : COMPUTER 
Useful words/expressions 
computer used in every aspect of life, such as education, medicine, science, technology and 
so forth increase working speed replace mankind in a lot of work keep data and 
process data design other computers word processor compose music draw maps 
diagnose human beings become dependable on it. 
Lesson 23 : FRINGE BENEFITS 
Situation : interview for a job 
Example : 
Interviewer (A) : Good morning. How are you? 
Interviewee (B) : Good morning. I'm great, thank you. 
A : Well, Mr. Smith. You are interested in the position of the accountant in our 
company. Can you tell us something about your educational background? 
B : I graduated from College of Sciences, Oxford University in 1999 as an 
accountant. 
A : So far have you worked for any companies? 
B : Yes, I was employed as an accountant for T&T company but unfortunately, the 
company got bankruptcy a year ago so ... 
A : I see. How long did you work for T & T? 
B : For one year and a half. 
A : Well, Mr. Smith, are you willing to work under pressure? 
B : Yes, I think so. 
A : Thank you very much. We'll send you a letter to inform you of the result. 
B : I hope to hear from you soon. 
A : Bye. 
Talking point : 
Describe a job : A Pop Star 
Useful expressions and phrases : 
Crowds greet them everywhere not private individuals public property fame wealth 
colossal rewards create fashions high personal profit 
UNIT 12 
Lesson 24 : MAKING STATEMENTS AND QUALIFYING COUNTER-
STATEMENTS 
Use of English : Rewrite the sentences 
1. Even though waiters don't earn much, they get quite a few tips. 
2. In addition to salary, pilots get "perks". 
3. Although teachers are not well paid, they have long holiday. 
4. As well as being well paid, a head waiter often gets good tips. 
5. Despite the fact that most musicians earn very little, they're doing the job they 
really enjoy. 
6. Although a hospital matron earns quite good money, she has to pay for her 
accommodation. 
7. While nurses only receive a small salary, they do get a uniform and free food. 
8. Although taxi drivers only earn about $30 a week, they do get quite a lot of tips. 
9. No matter how hard nurses work, they still don't earn very much. 
Composition : "Taxi-drivers and waiters shouldn't expect tips." 
Useful expressions: 
For Against 
already paid tips are to appreciate good 
well-paid salary in some restaurants service 
service tax is included in bills tips are up to the customers 
other jobs such as doctors, engineers tips are not large sum of money do not get tips 
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UNIT 13 
Lesson 25 : CONVERSATION IN THE INTERVAL 
Situations : 
Solo : You have arrived half an hour late for an evening at the theatre with a friend. 
He has gone in, but you must wait outside until the interval. What do you say to your 
friend in the interval? 
Useful cues 
Greet and apologize, give reasons for being late explain and show 
concern if the friend had to wait for a long time ask about the 
performance/movie show interest in the friend's saying talk 
about something else talk about an interesting thing that happened to 
you on that day 
Talking points : 
Recommend activities for a foreign friend who is visiting your country. tour around the 
country in a week stop at big cities and the capital visit museums see some 
cultural performances or take part in some 
local festivals go sight seeing shopping taste specialties 
socialize go to clubs visit some schools/factories talk to the local 
people make friends 
Lesson 26 : AFTER THE SHOW 
Learn all the vocabulary provided at page 51. 
Composition : Write a dialogue between two people who have just come out of a cinema 
after seeing a new film. One thought the film was very good : the other didn't enjoy it at 
all. 
A : What do you think of the movie? 
B : I think it was really marvelous. The plot was interesting and 
leading actors and actresses performed well. 
A : Really but it was too noisy and there were some ghost shows. 
B : Perhaps it does not suit your taste but I like the opening scene with spectacular 
views. In addition, the setting was impressive. 
A : But the plot did not appeal to me. It was too "Hollywood". 
B : Maybe you're right but as a whole it was an excellent movie and there's no 
wonder why cinema fans highly appreciate it. 
A : Well, still I can't say that I liked it. 
UNIT 14 
Lesson 27 : HELP YOUR DOCTOR TO HELP YOU 
Situation : Persuade a friend who is a heavy smoker to change his/her habits. 
Useful words/expressions : 
smoking causes lung cancer/heart disease and bronchitis smoking is like 
burning your money uncomfortable environment for other people 
chew gum instead count up to ten before lighting a cigarette 
eat candy use the money for other purposes 
Talking points : 
Smoking should be forbidden by law. 
Read unit 2 : World governments should conduct serious campaigns against smoking 
in the book : For and Against by Alexander. 
UNIT 14 
Lesson 28 : CAUSE AND EFFECT 
Talk about these 
Can you fill in the table? 
Effect Cause Remedy 
Boredom no motivation stress Read book, socialize, go to parties 
Poverty War, unemployment, limited 
natural resources, lazy to 
work 
Stop war, build factories, industrial 
areas, borrow money to invest in the 
economy, motivate people to work 
Fires 
Motor accidents 
Smuggling 
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