Speaking:
This past week, Accent's Way English by Hadar came up a few times during tutoring sessions. Hadar is a non-native English speaker who worked and trained to sound like an American, which she does, and now she has a YouTube channel showing how people can improve their English speaking skills. She brings up many essential aspects of pronunciation that don't often get discussed: how imposter syndrome can influence people's progress; the technique of shadowing; and morning warm-ups that seem like an outgrowth of her theater education.
In a video by her titled This will skyrocket your English communication skills, she suggests taking prompts and then making video recordings of yourself to improve your skills. Here is a summary of the exercise. First, take a speaking prompt (about work, friendship, the city you come from, etc.). Then, give yourself one minute to prepare to respond. Next, make a video of yourself speaking for two minutes. Don't stop and redo the video; just record yourself once! Next, either watch it or not. Finally, write down three improvements you could make and one thing you did well.
Hadar suggests doing this daily. My suggestion is to first try the activity in miniature if it seems like too much. In other words, take the prompt, give yourself a minute of preparation to respond, and then get your phone and record yourself for thirty seconds, and build from there. If you need some speaking prompts, here is a long list from PrepScholar; they've divided them into categories like education and sports.
Grammar:
Last week's exercises about the passive voice proved to be a challenge for several people, so I thought it might be worth continuing to practice it. This time, though, you will change the sentences from passive to active. Keep the same tense and any modal verbs that may be used. The answers are at the bottom of this post.
1/ The money should have been collected at the door. > They...
2/ Your skin will be frozen by the cold wind if you don't wear a balaclava! > The cold will...
3/ A thousand cups of coffee had been brewed before the machine broke down. > We...
4/ She'll be confused if you tell her that. > You...
5/ The grapes are being crushed right now as we speak. > They...
6/ The windows were being washed when he arrived. > They...
7/ My cousin was affected by the schedule change. > The schedule change...
8/ I could have been told sooner! > You...
9/ My sister might as well have been given the award for most literate. > They...
10/ The cookies are baked in that oven. > They...
Enrich Your Vocabulary | TOEFL words: mundane (adjective)
This word is most often used to mean ordinary or commonplace, but Merriam-Webster lists this as its second definition. Mundane comes from the Latin word mundus, which means world. Therefore, its first definition is earthly, or belonging to the world.
How did our ancestors pass from the mundane activity of counting to the concept of 'number' in the abstract, devoid of any particular collection of objects to label?
---John D. Barrow, Pi in the Sky, 1992
The Britannica Dictionary: 100 Essential Words for the TOEFL
Passive to active sentence answers:
1/ The money should have been collected at the door. > They should have collected the money at the door.
2/ Your skin will be frozen by the cold wind if you don't wear a balaclava! > The cold will freeze you're skin if you don't wear a balaclava!
3/ A thousand cups of coffee had been brewed before the machine broke down. > We had brewed a thousand cups of coffee before the machine broke down.
4/ She'll be confused if you tell her that. > You'll confuse her if you tell her that.
5/ The grapes are being crushed right now as we speak. > They're crushing the grapes right now as we speak.
6/ The windows were being washed when he arrived. > They were washing the windows when he arrived.
7/ My cousin was affected by the schedule change. > The schedule change affected my cousin.
8/ I could have been told sooner! > You could have told me sooner!
9/ My sister might as well have been given the award for most literate. > They might as well have given my sister the award for most literate.
10/ The cookies are baked in that oven. > They bake the cookies in that oven.