VIV'S ENGLISH NEWSLETTER

By Viv Quarry. Edition Number 8 The ninth of November 1998.

Study English in England with Cicero International - See Viv for information & discount.

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 Oh No!

Firstly, the bad news. I'm afraid to say, that with Viv as your English teacher, you will have a vocabulary test on average once a month (normally during the first week of each month).

Why vocabulary?

A language is a combination of words in a certain order. The more words that a person can use and recognise, the better they will able to read, write, speak and understand in different situations.

Why test?

Everyone has a different rate of retention (the amount that you can remember). What we need to know is how many of the words that you organise in your notebook you are able to remember. If you can remember 50% of the new words, there is no problem. However, if you retain less than 50%, then you will need to revise your vocabulary more, or take special steps to try to increase the number of words that you can remember.

I have put a list of vocabulary learning techniques on the back of this month's newsletter.

Why once a month?

If you are someone who finds learning vocabulary difficult, it is essential that you revise your vocabulary regularly (see the learning curve overleaf). Testing, gives us an easy way to check your progress, and also gives your teacher the chance to check your notebook for any problems in spelling, meaning or organisation.

Don't forget!

Just because we focus on vocabulary every month, it doesn't mean that the special areas of difficulty at the back of your notebook are less important. It is essential to revise all of the sections at the back of the book if you are to speak and write English well.

On holiday at last!

After several false starts, Viv is finally going on holiday on the 14th of December. I will be flying from Rio to London on this day, so the last day for classes will be on the twelfth of December (I'll be back on the 14/1/99). Either I can include December's classes on your bill for November, or I can give you a separate bill during the week beginning on the eighth. You can decide, but I would be grateful if all bills could be paid before I travel - there's no thirteenth salary for poor old Viv!

Exchange rate

THIS INFORMATION IS OUT OF DATE.

Incidentally, the exchange rate which I have maintained during the financial crisis (1.22), stays in effect for the remainder of this year.

The World-wide Web

Here are some interesting sites for those of you who have access to the Internet:

SEE 'INTERNET PRACTICE' ON THIS WEB SITE.

Is a fun way to improve your writing skills and learn new vocabulary.

There is an on-line dictionary and a very basic automatic translation service at:

SEE LANGUAGE TOOLS AND WEB SITE MAPS.

Unfortunately, I don't recommend this translation site for your compositions - the English which it often comes up with doesn't always make sense! Happy surfing!!!

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