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A "stand-alone" summary is a summary produced to show a teacher that you have read and understood something. It is common in many 100 and 200 level classes to get assignments that ask you to read a certain number of articles and summarize them. This is also a very common type of writing assignment in graduate school.

How to produce a summary:

1.Read the article to be summarized and be sure you understand it.

2.Outline the article. Note the major points.

3.Write a first draft of the summary without looking at the article.

4.Always use paraphrase when writing a summary. If you do copy a phrase from the original be sure it is a very important phrase that is necessary and cannot be paraphrased. In this case put "quotation marks" around the phrase.

5.Target your first draft for approximately 1/4 the length of the original.

The features of a summary:

1.Start your summary with a clear identification of the type of work, title, author, and main point in the present tense.

Example: In the feature article "Four Kinds of Reading," the author, Donald Hall, explains his opinion about different types of reading.

2.Check with your outline and your original to make sure you have covered the important points.

3.Never put any of your own ideas, opinions, or interpretations into the summary. This means you have to be very careful of your word choice.

4. Write using "summarizing language." Periodically remind your reader that this is a summary by using phrases such as the article claims, the author suggests, etc.

4.Write a complete bibliographic citation at the beginning of your summary. A complete bibliographic citation includes as a minimum, the title of the work, the author, the source. Use APA format.

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A "stand-alone" summary is a summary produced to show a teacher that you have read and understood something. It is common in many 100 and 200 level classes to get assignments that ask you to read a certain number of articles and summarize them.

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Summaries are shorter versions of a longer piece of writing. They include all the most important main ideas of the original. A summary includes examples or ideas found in the original writing without any additional information. It should be brief, so it must either generalize or eliminate many minor details and examples. It should also be clear. That means it should not be so general that it is vague or unclear.

1. Read or reread the material you want to summarize.

2. Identify the main controlling idea in the original writing.

3. Identify the main supporting points.

4. Identify key words.

5. Paraphrase key words and the main ideas.

6. Check your sentences against the original writing to make sure you have included all the main ideas.

7. Check your sentences to make sure you haven't added any new information.

8. Rewrite your sentences using appropriate transitions to link one idea to another.

Follow these steps when summarizing a paragraph:

1. Read the material you want to summarize.

2. Identify the main controlling idea for the whole writing.

3. Identify the main supporting points.

Young children learn their first language by trying to communicate a message rather than by trying to learn grammar rules. (This is an example. Examples are not necessary in summaries.)
In the same way, second language learners must try to communicate even when they are not certain of the correct forms or words.
Mistakes become learning opportunities.
Therefore, the more learners use the language, the more skilled they become in the language.

4. Identify key words and phrases.

5. Write a summary that repeats or paraphrases key words and the main ideas.

6. Check that all the main ideas are included.

7. Check that there is no new or added information.

8. Finally, use appropriate transitions to link one idea to another.

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Intermediate Writing for ESL Students | Sample

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Summaries are shorter versions of a longer piece of writing. They include all the most important main ideas of the original. A summary includes examples or ideas found in the original writing without any additional information. It should be brief, so it must either generalize or eliminate many minor details and examples.

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Assign students to a story from Story Corps (you can do this in breakout rooms, also; assign a group to one story). During listening, students should make notes on the main idea. After listening, students should create a one or two-sentence gist statement of the story content. Students can share their statements with the class after.

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StoryCorps is an independent nonprofit project whose mission is to honor and celebrate the lives of everyday Americans by listening to their stories.

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At home: have students look up a news story (either local or abroad) and summarize it and bring their summary to class.

In class: have students summarize their news article and then lead a short discussion on the topic (consider doing this in breakout rooms if your class is too large).

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The 'voiced th' /ð/ and 'unvoiced th' /θ/ sounds are the only pair of English sounds that share a single, common spelling. For that reason, the 'th sounds' are presented together in this ESL/ELL pronunciation lesson.

With the exception of being voiced or unvoiced, the /ð/ and /θ/ are nearly identical; the tip of the tongue is placed behind the top front teeth. The friction occurs between the tip of the tongue and the top front teeth. Subtle friction may also occur between the top of the front of the tongue and the tooth ridge. The lips are kept relaxed during the production of both 'th sounds.'

An alternative method of producing the 'th sounds' is to place the tip of the tongue between the top and bottom front teeth. While this method will produce the correct sound, it often creates difficulties transitioning to and from other sounds. This is because the tongue needs to be so much further forward when between the front teeth as compared to behind the top front teeth.

The 'th sounds' are continuous consonants, meaning that they should be capable of being held for a few seconds with even and smooth pronunciation for the entire duration. Because the sounds are fricatives, the majority of the sound comes from the friction of the air traveling through a small opening in the vocal tract.

Listen to the 'th sounds'

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How to pronounce the 'th sounds' /ð, θ/ in American English - Pronuncian: American English Pronunciation

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ESL: The 'voiced th' /ð/ and 'unvoiced th' /θ/ sounds are the only pair of English sounds that share a single, common spelling. To pronounce the sounds, the tip of the tongue is placed behind the top front teeth. The friction occurs between the tip o

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The Internet TESL Journal Richard Soulliere
tarzaninchina [at] yahoo.ca
Taiyuan Normal University (Taiyuan, Shanxi, China)

English language learners often mispronounce the "th" sound by making a simple "s" sound. What follows is a tongue exercise in class that produces near-immediate results in rectifying this learned deficiency.

Introduction of the Problem

Throughout my years of teaching English as a foreign language, I have met many English language learners who say "sink" instead of "think". This occurred in kindergarten all the way through to university level students. Many other teachers encounter the same problem and discussed the ways they have tried to alleviate it, few with any amount of success.

The Technique

A technique I discovered that works well involves all students in the class and can be completed (including practice) in a matter of minutes, so it need not take up an entire class.

First, briefly explain to students that the only way to correctly make the "th" sound is to stick your tongue out. If students reply that this doesn't look nice or involves a loss of face, simply remind them that they're speaking in another language and that they would be saying it wrong and would be more difficult to understand. Many students are willing to become more expressive and chalk it up as part of that expression, especially with full confidence knowing it's correct.

Second, have all students stick their tongues out and to keep them stuck out for thirty seconds. Don't begin timing until all students have stuck out their tongue. Join students by sticking your tongue out as well as it makes it more believable, not to mention allowing them to feed off of you and their classmates to avoid being singularly embarrassed. Make it a point to pay attention to the amount of time it takes as well as insure that all students are keeping their tongues stuck out.

Third, have students practice saying some words with the "th" sound.

Follow-up

Following this exercise, practicing words with the "th" sound in it is important. First, begin with some words. This should be enunciated clearly as they will need to watch your mouth movements closely, so it may help to make a conscious effort to stick your tongue out a little more than usual with the first word and then tone it back down to normal.

Once done assessing their improvement with individual words, move onto some tongue twisters, for example:

These things that these things think, they're the things that these things think.

Thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb.

In future conversations with students, you can employ a simple cue as a corrective measure. If ever they speak the 's' sound where the 'sh' sound should have been spoken, simply stick out your tongue and they'll think back to the error they made by associating that action with the proper way to make that sound.
For students who continue slipping up with this sound, you can employ a mild punishment of having them stick out their tongue for an entire two-minute stretch.

Be Mindful of the Following

There are a few concerns in using this technique and they are as follows:

This should not be done before a break as they'll forget if you continue immediately after the break.

If you stick your tongue out as a joke, particularly if you do so often, the corrective cue of sticking your tongue out might not be usable and make correcting this problem more cumbersome.

For younger students, insure they don't stick their tongues out too far or bite their tongues.

Don't emphasize speed with the tongue twisters as students will be prone to biting their tongue.

Don't perform this in a cold classroom (especially during winter) because students will complain.

The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. XI, No. 11, November 2005
http://iteslj.org/ http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Soulliere-TH.html

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Teaching the "Th" Sound to ESL/EFL Learners

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The Internet TESL Journal Richard Soullieretarzaninchina [at] yahoo.caTaiyuan Normal University (Taiyuan, Shanxi, China) English language learners often mispronounce the "th" sound by making a simple "s" sound. What follows is a tongue exercise in class that produces near-immediate results in rectifying this learned deficiency.

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Engoo is a service that offers lessons for those learning English. Although the lesson materials can be used for self study, they are intended for use with a teacher. To book a lesson with one of our professional teachers, please visit Engoo.

© 2013 - 2020 DMM.com LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Engoo is a service that offers lessons for those learning English. Although the lesson materials can be used for self study, they are intended for use with a teacher. To book a lesson with one of our professional teachers, please visit Engoo. © 2013 - 2020 DMM.com LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Below is a list of words that vary only by one having the sound /s/ and the other the sound /θ/.

You can use this list to practise the sounds, or as a list of words to be careful in pronouncing.

At least while you are making a conscious effort to do so, it is fairly easy to pronounce these two sounds differently. /θ/ is pronounced with your tongue between your teeth or even sticking out of your mouth, and you can make sure you pronounce it clearly by putting your finger vertically in front of your lips and checking that it gets wet when you make this sound. /s/ is pronounced with the tongue well inside your mouth and the mouth much more widely stretched.

Elementary

mouse mouth

sing thing

Pre-Intermediate

face faith

force fourth

sick thick

sink think

sort thought

tense tenth

Intermediate

mass math

miss myth

pass path

saw thaw

seem theme

some thumb

song thong

use youth

worse worth

Upper-Intermediate

gross growth

kiss kith

Norse North

race wraith

seam theme

sigh thigh

sin thin

sore thaw

sought thought

sum thumb

truce truth

Advanced

moss moth

piss pith

purse Perth

sank thank

sawn thorn

suds thuds

sump thump

symbol thimble

Written for EnglishClub by Alex Case

Voiced by Jonathan Taylor

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Below is a list of words that vary only by one having the sound /s/ and the other the sound /θ/. You can use this list to practise the sounds, or as a list of words to be careful in pronouncing.

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Students will likely already know modals, consider discussing the nuance of politeness within modals (for example, the difference between "can you pass me that" and "could you pass me that")

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What do Bob Marley, The Clash and Mary J. Blige have in common?

When Bob Marley sang "Could you be loved?" he was using modal verbs.

The Clash did the same with the immortal line, "Should I stay or should I go?"

Mary J. Blige gave modals a more informal spin on her song titled, "Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda."

Modal verbs aren't just in some of our favorite songs. They're all around us. That means there's lots of inspiration for you to teach them. Instead of sticking to boring old grammar drills, you can take real-life scenarios to teach modal verbs the fun way.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere.Click here to get a copy. (Download)

The Many Uses of Modal Verbs

Modal verbs are incredibly versatile and are used for several different functions in the English language. This is why they're absolutely essential for your students. Here are just some of the things they're used for:

Permission: Modal verbs like "can," "could" and "may" are all used for giving or asking for permission. You can use these to teach your students how to construct polite questions.

Prohibition: They can be used in the opposite way too. Students can use words like "can't" and "mustn't" to set rules and boundaries or give orders.

Advice: Modal verbs don't always have to make such strong sentences. They can be used in softer ways as well. "Should," "ought to" and "had better" are all good ways for giving advice.

Obligation: If you tell your students that they "need to do their homework" and "must come to class on time," they'll understand that these are obligations, and things they have no choice in.

No obligation: Modal verbs can be used to express lack of obligation too. For example, you don't have to come up with your own activities when FluentU has them all for you!

Grammar lessons don't have to be boring or tedious. With these ESL activities, you can make them fun! That way, students will pick up modal verbs more easily. Here are five activities so fun that students will forget they're even learning!

1. Give Me a Sign

This exercise is great for teaching how to use modal verbs for prohibition and obligation. It uses real-life examples that students see around them every day, so they should have no problem picking up the grammar and putting it into context.

Start by showing or drawing a picture of a no smoking sign to your class and asking them what it means. If they say "no smoking," ask them to elaborate with a full sentence. This should elicit "you can't smoke," or something to that effect.

Then, ask your students how they could make the sentence stronger. This should prompt them to give you "you must not smoke."

From here, you can teach a selection of modal verbs, such as "have to," "must" and "mustn't."

Create a worksheet or PowerPoint presentation which provides a selection of signs. These could be road signs, safety signs or signs you might find in the classroom. Keep them simple and easy to understand. Remember, these should be signs that they're familiar with already, they just need to put their meanings into English. They can use the given modal verbs to write sentences for each one.

To finish up the class, move onto something more fun and more challenging. Give out a selection of weird and wacky signs, such as this one from the Travel Channel. Students will have to get creative with their modal verbs to decide what they mean, and can work in pairs to write their own ideas. At the end, you can go over their answers together, and correct their grammar as you go along.

And if your students enjoy that, bring even more reality into the classroom by teaching with FluentU.
Instead of going over the same workbook exercises, vocabulary drills and grammar problems, students learn English through video clips of popular movies and TV shows, pop songs, comic books, news articles and more.
Teaching with FluentU doesn't just make your English lessons more fun, it also creates a culturally immersive learning environment. Students don't just memorize English words, they learn the context in which they're used, helping them speak more naturally as a result.

Visit the FluentU website today to sign up for a free trial and see firsthand how engaged your students will become.

2. Agony Aunts

In order to practice using modal verbs for advice, your students can try their hands at being agony aunts.

To open up the topic, tell your students that you have a problem you want them to help you with. This can be something as simple as "I'm hungry" or "I don't know what to do this weekend." Ask them to give you some advice. Once they do, work with them to flesh it out into a full sentence. You can do this by writing a gap fill on the board, such as "You ____ go to a restaurant."

Use this to elicit the following responses:

Ought to

Should

Had better

Then, students can practice giving advice with these words. You can either give them example problems to answer or have them write some of their own. The best choice for you will depend on the skill level of your class, as well as the amount of time you have. This could be a writing or conversation lesson, depending on how you structure it.

3. Fortune Tellers

Students can try predicting the future by role playing as fortune tellers. This is a great way to practice using "will," "may" and "might."

There are two ways you can approach this topic. The first is to use palm reading. Busy Teacher has a great palm reading lesson plan. Combine this with One Stop English's palm reading worksheet, and your students can learn what the lines on their hands mean. Then, they can use this knowledge to pair up, read their partner's palm and use modal verbs to make predictions about their future.

Here are some examples of sentences they could use:

"Your 'life line' is long, so you will have a long and healthy life."

"Your 'love line' is curved, so you will have a successful love life."

The second way to do it is by using tarot cards. Print out ISL Collective's tarot cards for ESL classes, cut them up and give them out to students in pairs. Once your students have learned how to use the modal verbs, they can draw three cards at a time and use them to make predictions about their partners.

4. Guess the Job

Kick off this activity by having students brainstorm a list of jobs. Once they've done that, ask them to tell you the responsibilities of a teacher. You can use their answers to teach them how to use the following modal verbs:

Have to

Don't have to

Needn't

Mustn't

They can construct sentences like "you must take care of students," "you don't have to wear a uniform" and "you mustn't be late for class." After that, direct them back to the lists they made earlier and have them write similar sentences for the jobs they wrote down. In pairs, students can then discuss their own jobs using modal verbs.

To wrap up, turn it into a guessing game. Ask each student to choose a job without telling their partner what it is. They can use modal verbs to describe the job and their partner can guess the job.

5. Shall We?

Suggestions are another function that modal verbs are used for. This simple activity will get your students comfortable with making them on their own. It's great for lower levels because the language is basic, there's only one modal verb to focus on and the activity has a rigid structure.

Start the class by asking students to talk in pairs about what their hobbies are. This should be easy for most students. After a few minutes of discussion, pick one example from the class. Then, ask how they would invite someone to join them in that activity.

For example, if the activity is football, they might say "Do you want to play football with me?"

Use this to elicit a simpler way to give suggestions, "Shall we...?" Then, show the students how to give some short responses.

Give out cards with different scenarios on each one. Every time a student picks one, they have to use it to make a sentence with "shall we" or "shall I." For example, if their card says "it's hot in here," a student can answer with "Shall I open a window?"

If your students find this too easy, you can then do away with the cards and have them come up with prompts on their own.

Make Your Modal Lessons Fun

Ask any student what the most difficult thing about learning English is and they're bound to say "grammar." Teaching English made me realize just how hard it is to learn, with so many tenses and grammar structures that I'd never considered before. Learning these aspects of the language can be tedious, but it doesn't have to be. Make it entertaining and students will pick up the material much more easily. Use these activities to keep your classes fresh and interesting.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere.Click here to get a copy. (Download)

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5 Must-use Exercises for Teaching ESL Modal Verbs

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What do Bob Marley, The Clash and Mary J. Blige have in common? When Bob Marley sang "Could you be loved?" he was using modal verbs. The Clash did the same with the immortal line, "Should I stay or should I go?" Mary J.

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Note: Javascript is disabled.

The modal verbs include can, must, may, might, will, would, should. They are used with other verbs to express ability, obligation, possibility, and so on. Below is a list showing the most useful modals and their most common meanings:

Modal verbs are unlike other verbs. They do not change their form (spelling) and they have no infinitive or participle (past/present). The modals must and can need substitute verbs to express obligation or ability in the different tenses. Here are some examples:

Past simple

Sorry I'm late. I had to finish my math test.

Present perfect

She's had to return to Korea at short notice.

Future

You'll have to work hard if you want to pass the exams.

Infinitive

I don't want to have to go.

Past simple

I couldn't/wasn't able to walk until I was 3 years old.

Present perfect

I haven't been able to solve this problem. Can you help?

Future

I'm not sure if I will be able to come to your party.

Infinitive

I would love to be able to play the piano.

Modals are auxiliary verbs. They do not need an additional auxiliary in negatives or questions. For example: Must I come? (Do I must come?), or: He shouldn't smoke (He doesn't should smoke).

Important: The explanations and examples on this page are just an introduction to this extensive and complex area of English grammar. Students of English who want to learn more should consult a good reference work, such as Swan's Practical English Usage.
Do a quiz on modal verbs.

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Note: Javascript is disabled. The modal verbs include can, must, may, might, will, would, should. They are used with other verbs to express ability, obligation, possibility, and so on. Below is a list showing the most useful modals and their most common meanings: Modal verbs are unlike other verbs.