Interacting with Sensitivity, Directions, Past Tense Review Spoken English Self Study Fujian Normal University

“a”,“o” and “u” Pronunciation Long vowels fāke  “fei-ji” 飞机 nōte  “bo-cai” 菠菜 clūe  “lu” 路 Short vowels hăt  no equal pinyin hŏt  no equal pinyin bŭn  “men” 门 ratrotrut batboughtbut packetpocketpuck (g)nat ( 蝇 )knotnut capcopcup bagbog ( 沼泽 )bug

Tongue Twister Betty Botter bought a bit of bitter butter Which made her batter bitter But a bit of better butter Makes better batter So Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter Making her bitter batter better. FNU Language Enhancement

Personal Questions Where were you born? I’d rather not say. Where are you from? I’d rather not say. How tall are you? How old are you? How much do you weigh? I’d rather not say. How much rent do you pay? I’d rather not say. How much do you make? I’d rather not say. Why aren’t you married? I’d rather not say. Why don’t you have children? I’d rather not say. Where were you last night? Why weren’t you home? Did you stay out late? Did you come home alone? Did you have a good time? Did you see a good play? Did you go to a concert? I’d rather not say.

What other subjects might be considered personal in China?

Cultural and Language Points Birthplace: no problem Height, age, weight: personal for older/middle-aged women Money (rent and salary) : personal Family: very personal One “did you” question: no problem Too many “did you” questions: intrusive

Language Pattern: Asking Personal Questions I hope you don’t mind my asking, but __(question)___? May I ask, ______(question)_______? Can I ask, _______(question)_______? I have a question, but I’m not sure if it’s a personal one for you. ___(Question)____? I have a question, but I’m not sure if it’s considered personal in your country. ___ (Question)____?

Language Pattern: Polite Reponses I’d rather not say. If you don’t mind, I’d rather not talk about that. I’m sorry, that’s something I’d rather not talk about. I’m sorry, I’d prefer not to answer that. I’m sorry, that’s a hard question for me to answer. Sorry, I don’t pay much attention to (politics). Sorry, I don’t know much about (politics). I’m sorry, in China people usually don’t ask that question, so I feel a bit uncomfortable about answering that.

Past Tense Review What did you do this past weekend?

Past, Present or Future? runwalkgo ranwalkedwent will runwill walkwill go

Time Line 1971 Was born in Canada 1974 Started going to school 1985 Started working 1987 Went on my first overseas trip to England 1994 Graduated from university 1999 Lived in China 2002 Was married 2007 Had a son