Dee’s English Lessons

Presenting my newly published book for IELTS candidates. IELTS Speaking Test Guide. The book can found online at this link.

This episode focuses on a presentation of how to use the newly published book Foundation English Vocabulary Workbook by D. Nkwetato Tamonkia. You can get book online at this link https://www.google.com.hk/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=Foundation+English+Vocabulary+Workbook+by+D.+Nkwetato+Tamonkia

Resuming podcasting after a break of several months to focus on the publishing of three books for English learning. The books are now available online on all major book platforms, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, etc. You can search for the books by the following Author name: D. Nkwetato Tamonkia or by book titles: IELTS Speaking Test Guide IELTS Writing Workbook Foundation English Vocabulary Workbook. Thank you all for your patience, your loyalty to my lessons and your support. If you buy copies of the books, please do leave some good reviews and ratings. Don't forget to share the links with people who need the books. For any questions you can always reach me by email at f-writers@hotmail.com

Resurfacing after a long period away working on a book publishing project. Introducing new features for upcoming podcast episodes - interviews with people in different settings.

IELTS - Task 2 Writing marking criteria: How do examiners score task 2 essays: 1. Task Achievement (TA) score / 9 2. Coherence and Cohesion (CC) score / 9 3. Lexical Resource (LR) score / 9 4. Grammatical Range and Accuracy (GRA) score / 9 They add the four scores and divide by 4 to obtain your final score in writing.

Paying attention to time when taking English tests. Preparing for English tests: Using a stopwatch to time each task to make sure it can be done on time in the actual test. Case study: IELTS. Speaking: Answering questions in 30seconds, 2minutes and 1minute. Writing: Finishing two writing tasks in 60minutes. Task one in 20minutes and Task two in 40minutes.

Answering questions from listeners about English language learning goals. How can learners set goals to improve their English? Teacher Dee recommends the four boxes approach. First make four boxes representing the four major language skills: Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking. Then under each of the skills, focus on specific learning activities that help you improve that skill. For example: Under reading, set a goal to read a short passage of just about 100 words every day, then extend the goal to reading articles, short stories and lastly novels. Under listening, set a goal to listen to a short dialogue every day and then tell someone what the dialogue is about. Then extend the goal to longer conversations, then a speech, then lastly English news broadcasts. Under writing, start by writing simple sentences, then compound and complex sentences, then paragraphs and lastly, essays. Always get someone to check and correct them for you. Under speaking, start by talking with people you feel comfortable around like friends and family members before you try speaking formally in more public settings.

Vocabulary Series: Human Rights and various subcategories of Human Rights such as: => Women's Rights => Children's Rights => Workers' Rights => Handicapped Persons' Rights => Animals' Rights

First episode of the year 2023. Introducing a new series: Vocabulary: Replacing words that have general meanings with words with more specific meanings for better comprehension. Here is the link to download the files containing 40 seafood words and pictures. Click here to download.

Series on IELTS Speaking continues. Theme: Sports. Focus: Footbal. VOCABULARY FOCUS: 1. An assist 2. Crossbar 3. Free kick 4. Goalkeeper / Goalie 5. Header 6. Kickoff 7. Linesman 8. Referee 9 Attackers. 10 Midfielders. 11. Defenders. 12. Wingers. 13. Sweeper. 14. Penalty. 15. To be booked. 16. Yellow Card. 17. Red Card. 18. A draw / A tie. 19. Footwear. 20. An upset. Sample Speaking Test: PART 1: Let's talk about sports. Do you like team sports? What's your favorite team sport? Why is it your favorite? Is football popular in your country? Has your national team won many titles? Do you think students should be encouraged to do more sports? Who is the football player you admire the most? Would you like to be a football superstar? PART 2: Describe a famous sports person in your country. Say what sport the person is famous in. Talk about the person's physical appearance. Talk about the person's personality. Talk about the achievements the person has in life. PART 3: Some people say organizing tournaments like the FIFA World Cup is a waste of money. Do you agree? How do you think investing in sports can develop a country? Do you think sports super stars earn too much? What's your opinion about violence in sports?

Series focused on IELTS practice continues with the theme The Internet. Common vocabulary: To get online / offline, to surf the internet, to browse websites, to upload / download materials, to chat, shop, learn online, cyberspace, cyber crime, cyber criminals, cyber security, cyber bullying, e-books, e-commerce, e-payment, e-mail, e-learning, social networking websites, video / music sharing websites, search engines, web applications, laptop, desktop computer, tablet, WiFi,  Typical questions related to the theme The Internet: Part 1 Speaking: 1. Do you use the internet often? 2. What do you use the Internet for? 3. Is it expensive to use the Internet in your country? 4. What's your favorite website? 5. Do you have any online learning experience? 6. Do you prefer learning online? 7. How about shopping online? Do you prefer shopping online? 8. What do you think is the biggest danger of using the Internet? Part 2 Speaking: Describe an application young people use very often in your country. You should say: => What kind of app it is. => What it is used for. => The special features it has. And say why young people consider it to be their favorite app. Part 3 Speaking: 1. In your opinion, is it okay to allow students to have access to the internet during class time or not? 2. Do you agree with the opinion that the Internet has more negative effects on students than positive effects? 3. What do you think will happen in the future if every one relies on the Internet for every thing? 4. Should the use of the Internet be regulated?

Series on typical IELTS questions continues: Focus on Part 3 Speaking. General introduction to Part 3 speaking questions. Sample questions discussed: 1. What is your opinion about school club activities? 2. Do you think school club activities should be compulsory or optional? 3. What do you think can be done to improve the quality of life on the school campus? 4. Do you think it is better for a school to be located downtown in the city or far away in the countryside? 5. Should teachers be allowed to punish students who disrespect rules?

Academic IELTS: Part 2 Speaking Practice: Theme: Talking about school. Topic 1:  Describe your school campus. You should - Say where it is found - Say how big it is - Say what natural elements can be found And suggest what you think can be done to make the campus better. Topic 2: Describe an important school activity you usually take part in. - Say when and where the activity takes place - Talk about what happens during the activity - Talk about your role in the activity And say why you think it is an important activity for students. You can send in your answers by email to: f-writers@hotmail.com 

Common topics in IELTS Speaking Part 1: Talking about school subects: 1. What subjects do you study at school? 2. What's your favorite subject? 3. What's your worst subject? 4. What's your major?  5. Why did you choose to study that major?  You can send in your voice messages using the link below. https://anchor.fm/dee64/message

Introducing a new series of episodes: Topic: Standardized English tests (IELTS, TOEFL and SAT). Objective: To get students on summer holidays preparing for those tests to be familiar with the sort of questions to expect.

Resumption episode after the 3months lock down due to COVID-19 resurgence in Shanghai.Sharing the experience of life under lock down in Shanghai.   

Wrapping up series on Job Hunting: Reviewing previous parts discussed. Last part: Questions interviewees can and can't ask interviewers: 1. Does your company have branches in other parts of the city, in other cities, in other countries? 2. If hired when are we expected to start work? Immediately or at a later date? 3. Do we work extra hours? 4. (Ask a technical question about the job).

Series on Job Hunting continues... Part 3: Challenging interview questions. Case questions: What's your salary expectation? This is what we pay for this position, is that okay for you? 

Series on Job Hunting continues: Part 3: Common challenging interview questions:  Case questions:  Why did you leave your previous company? Why do you want to leave your current job? Why do you think our company is suitable for you?

Series on Job Hunting continues: Part 3. Typical job interview questions to prepare for. Typical question 2: What are your strengths and weaknesses? Discussing some more examples of strengths and weaknesses. Strengths: Dedicated, creative, flexible, resourceful, problem-solving skills, ability to work under pressure, time management skills, team player, fast learner, leadership skills, typing skills, writing skills, determination, negotiation skills and communication skills. Weaknesses: Disorganized, impatient, insecure, self-criticism, multitasking, blunt, public speaking, shy, too detail-oriented, saying "no", unhealthy work/life balance, delegating, procrastination, hard skills, micromanaging.