DEPARTMENT OF BASIC ENGLISH

CU RR IC U LU M UNIT

S P E A K I NG
L3~ SPRING SEMESTER

PREPARED BY
BİRCAN ÖZDEMİR
ÇİĞDEM KAYIHAN ASLAN
ECE ER
NAVİD M . TALAEİ
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

DISCUSSION (prepared by Navid M. Talaei) ................................................................ 2

NARRATION (prepared by Navid M. Talaei) ................................................................ 5

PRONUNCIATION (prepared by Bircan Özdemir) ...................................................... 9

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE (prepared by Ece Er) ......................................................12

GIVING OPINION (prepared by Çiğdem Kayıhan Aslan) ........................................... 15

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 DISCUSSION

We normally use language for different functions in daily life; we can

use it to talk about our emotions, thoughts, opinions, requests, etc.
Discussing a topic is a part of our daily communications. For
example, you can talk about the food at the new Chinese restaurant
with your friend and share your ideas with him or her, or you might
discuss your ideas about learning a new language with your
classmates, or in a professional setting, you might discuss various
ways of making more profit. As you can see, we can discuss our personal, academic
and professional views in different places. In this material, we are going to focus on
academic discussion, and briefly talk about the functional language (e.g. how to
agree/disagree) we can use to improve our discussion skills.

Functional Language:
1. Agreeing

When discussing something with your friends or other people, you can have the same
idea as they do, in other words you agree with them. You can use these expressions
(and others) to show your agreement:

Degree Expression
Agree That’s true!
You have a point there.
Exactly!
No doubt about it!
I (absolutely) agree!
You are absolutely right!
Strongly Agree I couldn’t agree with you more!

2. Disagreeing

Here are some of the expressions that you can use when you disagree with someone:

Degree Expression
Disagree Well, I don’t know, maybe…
I don’t think so.
That’s not always the case.
I’m not so sure about that.
Not necessarily.
I’m afraid I disagree.
Strongly I (totally) disagree!
Disagree No way!

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3. Giving Opinions

When discussing, you are basically sharing your ideas and opinions. So you can use
some expressions like these to give them:

Degree Expression
Opinion I think (that)…
In my opinion, …
To me, …
The way I see it, …
In my view, …
Belief I (strongly, firmly, etc.) believe that…

4. Interrupting

Normally, it is not a good idea to interrupt someone who is talking, but if you feel the
need to say something (important) in the middle of their talking, you can use these
expressions to interrupt them politely:

Expression
Can I add something here?
Sorry, I’d like to explain something here…
Sorry to interrupt but …

When someone interrupts you but you want to continue, you can say: “Let me finish,
please.” or “Can I finish?”.

Remember that discussing a topic means sharing opinions and ideas with each other,
and also it means trying to convince the other side that you are right about a particular
topic. In order to persuade the other side, you should provide good reasons by giving
facts and/or examples. So it is very important to talk about some facts, statistics (if
possible), and examples to support your ideas. Compare these examples:

Example 1: I think boxing is a terrible sport. I hate it.

Example 2: I don’t really like boxing, because, in my opinion, it is very

violent and dangerous. Many boxers lose their health just doing it. Also,
there are some examples of boxers who lost their lives in the boxing ring,
for example Brad Rone, who died in the ring in 2003.

Example 1 is not very convincing because it doesn’t include any reasons, facts or
examples. However, Example 2 is more convincing in that it includes reasons (why
he/she hates boxing), more opinions (boxing is dangerous for health) and an example
(Brad Rone, who died in the boxing ring).
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DISCUSSION – PART A. Read these people’s ideas and take a minute to think about them, and
take notes about your ideas related to the topics. Then in groups of four, discuss your ideas
about all of the topics.

I think it would be great if there were

only one language spoken in the
world, so we wouldn’t have to learn a
new a language.

In my opinion, people should get

married before the age of twenty.

I think families with more children

are happier than small families
with one or two children.

Well, if you ask me, living in a

small town has more advantages
than living in a metropolitan area.

PART B. Class Activity: Now discuss and share your ideas about the topics above with all
of your classmates.

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 NARRATION

As you have already learned, narration means telling a story or

talking about an event that happened to you or someone else.
These events or experiences can be happy, sad, frightening or
even embarrassing ones. You can also talk about the things
that happened to you on special occasions like your birthday
or graduation and so forth. Moreover, you can retell the story
of your favorite movie or your favorite novel character to your
friends, and talk about the details of the story.

Let us now remember some of the important notes that you should keep in mind when you are
narrating:

1. Tense

We usually use past tense (simple, continuous, or perfect) in narration,

because we are talking about something that happened in the past:

e.g. While I was talking to my professor on the phone, my cell phone’s

battery died because I had forgotten to recharge it the night before.

2. Chronological Order of the Events:

When you are narrating, it is important to talk about the events in the order they happened.

3. Time Sequencers:

Time sequencers are linking words that are usually used in narration to start, to connect the events
and to end the story. Here are some of them:

Time Sequencers to start the narration:

When I was twelve, I broke my leg.
Once, I was travelling in Peru and something really interesting happened.
One morning I was late to school and I was in hurry, but my car didn’t start.
Last year, he was taking evening classes to improve his Spanish and…
On last New Year’s Eve, my family paid me a surprise visit which did not go as they
had hoped…
etc.

Time Sequencers to connect the events in the narration:

First of all, Firstly, First, I tried to break the window to get out but …
It was the worst birthday of my life! To begin with, I had a terrible flu, and…
Later, he said that it was his fault.
Then, we decided to change our destination.
Next, I tried to talk to him about it, but he didn’t answer my call.
After that, I called the police and…
During the movie, he was making a lot of noise.
etc.

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 Time Sequencers to end the narration:
Finally, we arrived there, and saw the man standing next to him.
In the end, she apologized and left the building.
In short, it was the worst day of my entire life.
In conclusion, I was awfully disappointed by his behavior.
To make a long story short, we were really frightened when we couldn’t find him,
but when we found him, we got very happy.
To put it in a nutshell, it was the best holiday I’d ever taken.
etc,

4. Use enough details, but not too much.

When you are retelling an event or a memory, it is a good idea to talk about
some details, but not too many details. You can add details by talking about
what, when, where, how, who, why, etc.

5. Use “Fillers”.

“Fillers” are words, phrases or sounds that are used “to fill in the pause or gap” when you are talking.
Well, you know, um, uh, I mean, etc. are “fillers”. You can use them from time to time, but do NOT
use them too much!

EXERCISE 1.

A. Read the story below:

On my last birthday, my friends surprised me as usual and we had a

good time together. It was an ordinary Tuesday, and everything
looked normal until I opened my apartment’s front door to leave for
work in the morning. When I opened the door, a basket full of
colorful balloons with a note on it caught my eye right away. The
note read: “Hit me with your best shot!”. As soon as I saw the basket,
I remembered that it was my birthday because we had done the same
thing before on Kyle’s birthday! I knew that a big water balloon fight
was waiting for me because the balloons were filled with water. I
wanted to escape inside my house but it was too late! Jordan, Kyle,
and Sam, close friends of mine, were hiding and suddenly they threw
some balloons at me. They burst on me and water splashed all over
me. After ten minutes of brutal water balloon fight between me and
my friends, I went to work totally soaked in water! Later that day, my
nice colleagues at work invited me out for dinner in a marvelous
restaurant with great food. After we had dinner, I was surprised by
some waiters who were bringing my birthday cake to our table and
singing the “Happy Birthday!” song! At that moment, I was happy
and a little embarrassed. Next, I made a wish and blew out the
candles and my friends gave me their presents. I liked all of the gifts,
but my favorite one was the leather wallet which Sam gave to me.
After the restaurant, some of my friends went home, but we
continued to celebrate my birthday at a cozy bar near my house. In
short, it was a funny, exciting, and of course, wet birthday, and we

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B. With your partner choose two of the occasions below and tell your partner what happened or what
you did on these occasions. Pay attention to the points you learned above and do not forget to include
some details. After your partner finishes her/his story, you can ask follow up questions for more
details.

What did you do on …?

a. your last birthday b. last New Year’s Eve

c. last Mother’s Day d. your first day at the university

EXERCISE 2. You are going to watch a short movie called “Listen to Me”. As you are watching,
take notes (not full sentences) in the spaces below and then work in pairs and take turns to tell each
other what happened in the movie. You can use the useful words below.

Useful words:

Janitor: a person who takes care of a large building, such as a school, and deals with
the cleaning, repairs, etc.
Crumpled (paper): crushed and wrinkled
To tease somebody: to make fun of someone
To bully somebody: to hurt or frighten someone else and to force them to do something
that they do not want to do
Sign language: a system of communication using visual gestures and signs.

Concrete block Prosthetic arm

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 How did it
finish?

What
happened
?

Where did
it happen?

EXERCISE 3.

A. Ask and answer these questions with your friend in pairs:

1. Who is your favorite movie or book character?

2. Why do you like him/her?
3. What would you do if you were in her/his place in the story?

B. Imagine that you are the book or movie character you like. Then in groups of four, take turns and
tell your friends what happened to “you” in the story with some details. You can change the end of
the story if you want.

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 PRONUNCIATION
1. RHYMING WORDS
Match the words which have the same vowel sound.

sand there

France much

bed hate

awake side

care make

wait talk

wise head

touch land

run male

read lies

pride feed

nail son

walk dance

2. MINIMAL PAIRS
Listen to your teacher reading the sentences below. Circle the words that you hear.
Then, work with a partner. This time, you will read the sentences.

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 3. FIND THE SOUND 4. ODD ONE OUT
Choose the object that has the same vowel Underline the word that does not have the
sound with the first object. same sound.

E.g. noise foil full boil

1. licked liked timed hiked

2. beet repeat listen believe

3. bit guilty hit machine

4. loyal serial royal boil

5. rain break say breathe

6. never weather ready great

7. group would choose fool

8. could wood good country

9. hat hate value magic

10. house south southern down

11. word burn hear heard

12. tore work floor formal

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 5. TEST YOURSELF
Work in groups of three. Choose one paragraph and study its pronunciation. Then,
read the paragraph loudly to your friends. Give each-other feedback on your
pronunciation.

1. Yesterday, it was raining outside and I was

reading a dance magazine in my bed. I started to
watch the rain from the window. Suddenly, I
heard a glass breaking noise from the elevator. I
couldn’t believe my ears. It was so loud! I wanted
to run down the stairs. But it was the 17th floor,
and my ankle was injured, so decided to wait in
silence. Suddenly, a big
creature jumped on me.

2. The weather was boiling hot. We were walking down the

street. Nancy wanted to buy ice-cream. Luckily, we could find
and bought one. She licked it so fast that it couldn’t even melt.
She said she liked it so much, and I said I hated it. She couldn’t
believe it, and she pretended not to hear.

3. I first saw her in the

country in France. She was working in a
farm, feeding the sheep. Her hair was grey,
and her hands were full of wrinkles. When
she turned her head and looked at me, it was
like magic. She touched my heart with her
eyes! I can never forget my heartbeats at that
moment. I was ready to leave everything
behind and live in the country with her!

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 PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

As a learner of English language, you are expected to talk about your personal experience using the
language skills you have studied. Personal experience can be about your home, hometown, your
study, your work, your family, friends, hobbies, a childhood memory, etc. When someone asks you
a personal experience question, make sure you follow the points below:

❖ Stay on topic; be sure you understand the question. If you haven’t

understood the question when you first hear it, don’t hesitate to say
“I’m sorry, can you please repeat the question?” or “Can you ask the
question again, please?”. Before you start answering the question,
you can think about what to say for a couple of seconds and organize your ideas. Your answer
should be clear and understandable with definitions and reasonable explanations. Give reasons for
your answer. Don’t talk about something irrelevant to the question to make your talk last longer.

e.g. Who is your best friend? Describe her/him. Explain why s/he is your best friend.

My best friend is Seda. She is a very enjoyable person and she studies Law at Hacettepe
University. She loves eating cakes, like me. I love cakes because cakes are delicious. I
think my mother makes the best cakes in the world.

My best friend is Seda. She is also my roommate. She is a student at Hacettepe University
and she studies law. We met on the first day of university and we have been friends since
then. She is a very enjoyable person with a lot of energy. She likes reading books and
playing tennis. She is also a very good listener. Whenever I have a problem or something to tell,
she is always there to listen to me. Likewise, she always shares her problems and secrets with me.
That’s why we are best friends.

❖ Make sure you respond to the question sufficiently. Extend your answer with descriptions and
explanations.

e.g. What is your favorite restaurant? Describe the place and tell why you like this place.

My favorite restaurant is Burger Ring. It’s a good restaurant and I like eating hamburgers
the most.

My favorite restaurant is Kalabalık. It’s not very big but you can always find a place to sit.
The tables and chairs are made of wood and it makes the atmosphere warm and homelike.
There are very nice posters and photos on the walls. You can eat delicious home-made food
there. I generally order mantı, which is my favorite, with some fruit juice. Owners of the restaurant
are very nice people and they cook all the food on the menu themselves. Everything is fresh and
clean so you can go there without any doubts.

❖ Choose the appropriate vocabulary to express yourself accurately. Try to use a variety of
vocabulary items instead of using the same ones again and again. Have a look at the table below:

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 Dull Words Words that

big enormous, huge, large, immense, gigantic

small tiny, little, mini, microscopic, miniature
enjoyable amusing, fun, pleasant, entertaining
good amazing, excellent, great, wonderful, fantastic, terrific, super
beautiful pretty, attractive, cute, appealing
things objects, items, goods, belongings
bad terrible, awful, unacceptable, evil, frightful
sad pessimistic, sorry, unhappy, heartbroken, blue, down

❖ Don’t repeat yourself. Avoid long pauses, instead you can use
fillers (um, well, and, so, etc.) ; but be careful not to use them too
much.

❖ Also, be careful with your pronunciation.

EXERCISE 1 Choose a partner and ask one of the questions below to each other. You have
approximately 2 minutes to answer the questions.

• What is your favorite movie? Tell what it is about and why you like it the most.
• What is your favorite book? Tell what it is about and why you like it the most.
• What is your favorite free time activity? Tell about it and why you like doing it.

EXERCISE 2 Choose a partner and ask one of the questions below to each other. You have
approximately 2 minutes to answer the questions.

• What is your happiest childhood memory? Tell about that time and give reasons why it is your
happiest memory.
• What is the most embarrassing moment in your life? Tell about that time and explain why it is the
most embarrassing moment in your life.
• What is the scariest moment of your life? Tell about that time and explain why it is the scariest
moment in your life.

EXERCISE 3 Choose a partner and ask one of the questions below to each other. You have
approximately 2 minutes to answer the questions.

• Who is the person you feel close to in your family? Explain why you feel close to him/her.
• Who is the teacher you admire the most? Explain why you admire him/her.
• Which place is best for studying? Tell why it’s a good place to study.

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EXERCISE 4

Imagine yourself as somebody else (a

famous actor/actress, a footballer, a singer, a
movie character, a superhero, a supermodel,
a cartoon character, etc.) As that character,
tell your partner about a memory that you
can’t forget.

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 GIVING OPINION

EXERCISE 1.

A. Talk about the following questions about TV

commercials in pairs:

1. Do you watch TV commercials? Why? Why not?

2. Do you remember any TV commercial which you
liked? Why did you like it?
3. Which TV commercial that you have watched was the
funniest? Why?

B. Watch six TV commercials and think of your opinion and reasons for the opinion questions
given below. Take notes, but do not write full sentences.

1. Which TV commercial did you like the most? Why?

Opinion »

Reasons »

2. Which TV commercial was the funniest? Explain your reasons.

Opinion »

Reasons »

Remember the useful phrases that you can use when you are giving your opinion and explaining
your reasons:
Purpose Phrase
Giving opinion I (really) think that …
I believe (that) …
In my opinion …
As far as I'm concerned…
I suppose…
I'm (pretty) sure (that)…
I agree (that)…
I don't think (that) …
I don't agree (that) …
Giving reasons First,... Second,...
Also,…
To start/begin with, ...
In addition, …
Moreover, …
Furthermore, …
Giving examples For example,...
For instance,…
… such as…
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C. Work in pairs and answer the questions given in Part B using your notes and the useful
phrases given above. (First student A should give an answer to question 1 and student B should
listen without interrupting and then Student B should answer the same question and student A should
listen. This should be repeated for the other questions as well.)

EXERCISE 2.

A. Answer the following questions in pairs:

1. Do you think TV commercials have negative effects on us? Why?

2. Where else do you see advertisements?

B. Look at the advertisements below and answer the following questions about them in pairs:

1. What are these advertisements about?

2. What do you think about these advertisements?

C. The advertisements you have seen are called ‘matrimonial advertisements’. Think of your
opinion and reasons for your opinion for the question below about these kind of advertisements.
Take notes, but do not write full sentences.

Do you think it is a good idea to find a husband/wife through a matrimonial

advertisement? Why?/ Why not?

Opinion »

Reasons »

Example »

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D. Work in pairs and answer the question given in Part C using your notes and the useful
phrases. (First student A should give an answer to question 1 and student B should listen without
interrupting and then Student B should answer the same question and student A should listen.)

EXERCISE 3.

A. Answer the following questions in pairs:

1. What kind of advertisements can be considered good?

B. Look at the
advertisements below
and answer the following
questions about them in
pairs:

1. What are these

advertisements about?

2. What do you think about

these advertisements?

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C. Think of your opinion and reasons for the opinion question below about these kind of
advertisements. Take notes, but do not write full sentences.

Do you think advertisements can have positive effects on us? Explain your reasons.

Opinion »

Reasons »

Example »

D. Work in pairs and answer the question given in Part C using your notes and the useful
phrases. (First student A should give an answer to question 1 and student B should listen without
interrupting and then Student B should answer the same question and student A should listen.)

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