Jun. 28 Supplemental Mini Boot Camp!

[Kat C]

Dear all,

It's been great seeing my Yoyo family again! I'd like to do my part and offer a few activities in addition to our regular meetings. More Yoyo, more fun!

So join us on June 28 for our second Supplemental Mini Boot Camp. We'll play games, work on our pronunciation, tackle stubborn errors, and above all, have a great time with our English.

Come ready to talk, learn new things, and talk some more!




Time: Sunday, June 28, 2 pm - 5 pm (or later).
Place: 夢駝鈴咖啡坊 (汀州路三段108號). Ask for Kat or come to the biggest booth on the second floor. One drink minimum. Order your own drink/food. We can also bring in snacks.
RSVP: On the forum in this thread.





Please prepare for the boot camp (hey, it's meant to be challenging! ):


1. The Great Synonym Confusion: What's the difference? How to use them?

(1) fun, funny, amusing, laughable, make fun of, laugh at, joke with, play with, tease
(2) meet, meet up, know, know of, encounter, run into, bump into, come across
(3) mistake, mistaken, fault, error, wrong, false, blame, guilty
(4) common, ordinary, typical, normal, familiar, general, generic, universal, usual
(5) right, proper, suitable, fitting, appropriate, adequate, legitimate
(6) influence, affect, effect, impact, sway, shape, carry weight, leave one's mark
(7) humble, modest, polite, courteous
(8) opportunity, chance, chances, odds, shot, break, luck, fate, destiny


2. Synonym is your friend: Try a new way to say the same thing - you don't want your English to be "boring!"

(1) boring: monotonous, tedious, tiresome, tiring, dull, drab, a drag, old, dead, flat, lifeless, robotic, generic, nothing special
(2) angry: furious, mad, upset, pissed (off), annoyed, not happy
(3) interesting: fascinating, intriguing, compelling, refreshing, stimulating, entertaining, fun, intense, thought-provoking
(4) busy: buried, swamped, overloaded, have enough on one's plate, have fish to fry, tied up


3. Sounding like a native:

Watch/listen the YouTube clip below. Repeat after the speaker and record yourself (sound only). Play back and compare your recording to the original. Repeat the process until you feel that you sound just like him! Bring your best recording to the meeting – it's a contest!

Pay attention to the intonation, stress, and contractions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-bEh_93F4g


Yes, you can do it! We'll see you there.

Kat & Lydia


P.S. If you missed the first boot camp, check out the thread:
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=3906&p=28333&hilit ... amp#p28333

[Tina Sun]

Synonym Confusion!!!! It is truly so challenging!!!! I hope I can make it on 6/28.

[Iris Wu]

Right, can I say it is a "butt kickers exercise"? Or can I say "I need to kick my butt to come to the camp"?
I'll join, thanks, Kat and Lydia!

[Kat C]

I'd say, "these exercises will really kick your butt!"

And, "you need to drag your butt to the camp!"

Can't wait to see you there, Iris!




Kat
(this is me right now...)

[Kooper]

Or "I will bite the bullet and go to the camp"? Please count me in!

Does drag one's ass have the same meaning as drag one's butt?

[Kooper]

Dear Kat, Lydia and YoYo friends,

I will bring the dictionary Longman Language Activator (http://www.amazon.com/Longman-Language- ... 0582419522)
, which puts similar words together and compare them. Guess it might help in the first and second session.

Kooper

[Kat C]

Hi Tina,

I hope you can make it too! But if not, let me know if you have questions that I can help answer on the forum.

Hi Kooper,

Yes, to "drag one's ass" means the same thing as to "drag one's butt", just cruder.

Using "bite the bullet" here is not wrong, just quite strong, making this thing really something you don't want to do but feel that you have to.

For example, while you may just feel lazy and have to drag your butt out of bed, it may be truly painful if you have to, say, bite the bullet and sell your house because you're out of your job.

(Of course I hope my boot camp is not something you seriously don't want to do! )

Great questions, and the book will definitely help! Thanks.

Kat



Oh, can't forget this:

[Kooper]

Quoted from the website of Oxford Learner's Dictionaries: (http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.c ... ?q=amusing)

These words all describe somebody/​something that makes you laugh or smile: funny, amusing, entertaining, witty, humorous, comic, hilarious
funny: that makes you laugh:a funny story He was a very funny guy.
amusing: funny and enjoyable:It’s a very amusing game to play.
entertaining: amusing and interesting:It was a very entertaining evening.
witty: clever and amusing; able to say or write clever and amusing things:a witty remark a witty public speaker
humorous: funny and entertaining; showing a sense of humour:a humorous look at the world of fashion
comic: that makes you laugh:Many of the scenes in the book are richly comic.
hilarious: extremely funny

funny, amusing, humorous or comic?
Amusing is the most general of these words because it includes the idea of being enjoyable as well as making people laugh and can be used to describe events, activities and occasions:an amusing party/​game/​evening.
Humorous is more about showing that you see the humour in a situation, than actually making people laugh out loud.
Comic is used especially to talk about writing and drama or things that are funny in a deliberate and theatrical way. It is not used to describe people (except for comic writers).
Funny can describe people, jokes and stories, things that happen, or anything that makes people laugh.

[Kooper]

It's still hard for me to understand the differences between amusing and entertaining. Is there a particular situation where people only use "entertaining" and not "amusing?"

[Kooper]

know vs. know of:

“I don’t know him but I know of him.” This means you are not acquainted with “him”, have never spoken to “him” (“don’t know him”) but you are aware of “his” existence and some of the things he does (“know of him”). (http://www.englishdaily626.com/qna.php?019)

[Luis Ko]

i wanna go camping too, no, i mean go to the boot camp too, if i can get up early..

[Kooper]

i wanna go camping too, no, i mean go to the boot camp too, if i can get up early..

Are you going to burn the midnight oil tonight for soccer games?

[Luis Ko]

i wanna go camping too, no, i mean go to the boot camp too, if i can get up early..

Are you going to burn the midnight oil tonight for soccer games?

not really la~ i'm not a fan of south American football.. XD

just don't usually get up until afternoon on holiday la~

[Iris Wu]

It's still hard for me to understand the differences between amusing and entertaining. Is there a particular situation where people only use "entertaining" and not "amusing?"

Definitely a good question for Kat and Lydia.
I am just wondering in the case of "an entertaining story" and "an amusing story", does "an entertaining story" imply/carry more of that "the story is not for thinking"?

[Iris Wu]

I was so moved when Kat said that every time she comes back to Taiwan, she has two families: one is her family family, and the other is her YoYo family. We really feel her passion and enthusiasm when she is with us. This year, she even brought her daughter, Lydia, with her, attending our meetings,and giving many suggestions behind the scenes. Yesterday, once again they spent several hours showing us many techniques of listening, speaking, using idioms and synonyms which were all quite refreshing.

Following is the summary of the activities and things we learned from the boot camp, just to share with the members who could not join the meeting.

Game I: The Definition Game

• Two people in a team.
  Each person gets a dice. Each dice has six pictures on it, with each picture showing a single object or theme.
  Each person describes a picture to their partner and the partner guesses what the picture is.
  Goal: To describe things when you do not have the exact word for the thing.

Game II: A Good Listener

• Pair up with a new partner
  A tells about himself/herself to B. Make it interesting. Avoid generic items, such as “I love music” or “I like to watch movies”, etc.
  It must be something special, not ordinary or unfeatured characteristics, such as I love music or I like to watch movies, etc.
  When time is up, B has to repeat everything he has just heard.
  Switch side.
  Goal: Become a better listener. And you get to know more about the people in your group.
  Good Resource for listening comprehension: NPR TED Radio Hour

Activity III: Learning Idioms (“number” related idioms)

• 3 people in a team
  Each team gets 5 idiom examples.
  Each example has a blank to fill in. The blank is part of the idiom and the idiom is number related.
  Each team works together to solve the puzzle of the missing word in the idiom.

• The idioms learned:
  • - That makes two of us. ((To agree with someone's statement.)
    - That boy has got a one-track mind; all he thinks about is football. (To only think and talk about one thing.)
    - You look like a million dollars (very good, beautiful, or fancy). A million-dollar smile
    - A Catch-22 situation.: (A dilemma).
    • You need working experience to get a job, but all the jobs you want required some experience. How do you get your first job? That is really a catch-22 situation.
    - Nine times out of ten a small computer problem can be easily fixed. (A lot of times, usually, frequently)
    - Lesser of two evils (The less bad thing of a pair of bad things.) I didn't like either politician, so I voted for the lesser of two evils.
    - (Not / never) in a million years (a very firm “never”) She says that she doesn't believe in a million years he had anything to do with it.
    - Our team won after they scored a goal at the eleventh hour. (almost at the end)
    - 50 shades of grey (grey area, something ill-defined by or not conforming to existing rules): There's no black or white. Only shades of grey.
    - Zero in (on) (to direct one's attention to something): The boss immediately zeroed in on the expenditure numbers.
    - One too many (originally “one drink too many”, implying drunkenness; too much of something):
    • I have heard that same rumor one too many times.
      I think I've had one too many. It's time to stop drinking.

Activity IV: Speaking and Pronunciation

Activity V: Synonyms

• Two people in a team
  Each person picks one word from the listed synonym groups
  Check the meaning of the word.
  Look it up on Google News (English version) and find sentences using the word.
  Describe to the class the difference between the two synonymous words.
  The words picked and researched:
  - polite vs. courteous
  - official vs. formal
  - generic, general, usual and typical
  - critical vs. crucial
  - humble vs. modest
  - according to vs. based on

• Notes from Iris: I am afraid to confuse people without listing complete definitions or explaining all the differences clearly here.
  Personally, I think it is good to go through the exercise ourselves, and if there are still questions about the synonyms, you can post them on the forum. I am sure they will get answered.
  For those who were in the meeting, please feel free to share what you have researched and learned.

Others learned from the boot camp:

• A good Resource for Listening: NPR TED Radio Hour
  - Teen dictionary: contains many phrases, expressions or slang used by teens
  - chit chat
  - vegan: a person who does not eat animal products. No meat, eggs, dairy, or honey. Purely plant-based food.
  - scooch over: Move a short distance, especially while seated.
  - Go with the program. Go with the flow.
  - Treasure trove: A collection of valuable or delightful things:
  Your book is a treasure trove of unspeakable delights
  - My legs fall asleep. = My legs go numb.
  - Get short changed:
  • Julian came in late, but we didn't want him to get short changed. He still joined the conversation contest. (We didn't want him to miss out....)
  - It escaped me. = I forgot what I was going to say. = I lost my train of thoughts.
  - Hit the nail on the head: find exactly the right answer. spot on.
  - On the spot: immediately, impromptu (done without being planned or rehearsed )
  • At Michael's wedding, it was amazing that Rock made an impromptu speech!
  - Take Five: to take a short break.
  - Spin-off: a by-product or incidental result of a larger project.
  • a subsidiary of a parent company that has been sold off, creating a new company.
    Hobbit star Orlando Bloom promises elven spin-off movie.
  - Carve out: to create a reputation, rank, or job through skillful activities
  • Steve Jobs has carved out a special spot in the history of technology.
  - Better yet: used when you are adding a new idea that you think is better
  • Come for a weekend or, better yet, come for a whole week. (macmillandictionary.com)
  - make up= compensate (big word)
  • Your present kindness will not compensate (=make up) for your previous rudeness.