Giving Directions

GIVING DIRECTIONS

Giving directions is one of the methods of transferring information. While asking or writing the directions, we should be clear in our symbols words and phrases.

The following words and phrases are important in showing the directions

Ex.        North                       South               East                 West

 To our left, to our right,   in front of, opposite beside, Behind,  adjacent to, thirty yards away etc.,

In giving the directions, if we use the pointer symbols, they will be of more help to the strangers.

• Go straight ahead
• Go straight on
• Go straight (American Usage)

• Turn left
• Take a left (American)

• Turn right
• Take a right (American)

• Go past
• Go past the hunuman temple

Keep going until you get to the syndicate bank

Take the first/ second turn on your left / right

U shape curve

Indicating specific landmarks are also important, such as

At the right corner you find a green two storied – building, near the electric transformer; beside the head post office; at the cross roads etc.,

Distances in time:

Ten minutes walk; two minutes ride on a scooter, five minutes drive etc.,

Example

Directions

A:        Excuse me, how do I get to the Post Office? B:         Yes, sure. Go straight on and keep going until you get to the Syndicate bank. Then turn left, go a few yards and you will see the post office on the right. A:        Thank you very much

Introduction to Giving and Asking for Directions

Direction is the information contained in the relative position of one point with respect to another point without the distance information.

How to give Directions

There are basically two ways to give directions, the “route perspective” characterized by landmarks, and the “survey perspective” characterized by references to cardinal directions (north, south, west, east).   Which system you use depends on where you are, and who you’re giving directions to, and most of the time it’s best to use a combination.   The most important thing is to be brief and clear.

Street Name and nearby Landmark

Perhaps, the easiest way to give directions is just to say what street it is on.   Granted, it’s not so easy in some countries where there are no street names, but even there it can be modified to fit.   For countries that don’t use street names you can give an area and a landmark. 

Giving directions

The person who helps you often says how near or far the place is:

"It's about five minutes from here."
"It's about a ten-minute walk."
"It's easier if I can show you on the map…"

Specific instructions

Here are some useful words and phrases for giving street instructions.

"Turn left / right."

"Go straight on at the lights / when you come to the crossroads." (Lights = traffic lights; crossroads = where two roads cross)

"Go across the roundabout." (Roundabout = where all the cars go round a circle in the middle of the road)

"Take the first turning / road / street on your left / right." (Turning = road that goes left or right)

"You'll see / You'll come to a (bank). Then …"

"Don't take the first road."

"Go on for about (2 minutes / 100 metres)."

Landmarks

We often make reference to landmarks when we give directions to help the other person. These can be places in a town, such as cinema, bank, bus stop, etc. They can also be parts of the road system. Here are some common terms:

taxi rank = a place where taxis queue for passengers

level crossing = where the road and railway meet. There are barriers that go up and down to signal when a train is coming

underpass = a walkway that goes under a busy road so pedestrians can get to the other side safely

overpass / flyover = a road that goes over another road (or railway)

zebra crossing = black and white markings in the road for pedestrians to cross the road (the markings look like a zebra's stripes)

pedestrian crossing = a place in the road where pedestrians can cross. Often there are traffic lights.

tunnel = a road under (or through) mountains

crossroads = where two roads cross each other

junction = where one road meets another, and you can either go left or right

fork in the road = where the road divides, and you decide to go left or right

turning = a road off to your left or right

main road = a big road where there is lots of traffic

lane = a small road, or a part of a road (the left-hand lane / the right-hand lane; the bus lane)

Use prepositions of direction

Go past = continue past something so that is is now behind you

Go across = cross something, like a road or crossroads

Go along = continue down a road

Go straight on = don't turn left or right

Go up = walk / drive up a hill

Go down = walk or drive down a hill or a road

Go through = pass through something, such as a tunnel or a town

Go out of = exit (i.e. a railway station)

It's in front of you = you can see it facing you

It's opposite the bank = it faces the bank

It's on the corner = it's where two roads meet at a 90° angle

JAM (Just A Minute) Topics

Just A Minute (JAM) Topics

List of JAM Topics

Topics for Conversation Skills

1. A memorable day in my life.
2. My favorite actor.

3. First day at the college/school.

4. Corruption.

5. Brain Drain.

6. Caste based Reservations.

7. Parents are living Gods.

8. Global Warming.

9. English as a link language.

10. Knowledge is power.

List of JAM Topics 

11. Health is Wealth.

12. Exams should be banned.

13. Are Social networking sites useful?

14. My favorite food.

15. My favorite place.
16. Does age really matter in marriage?
17. What do you think about life?
18. What are the qualities of a successful person?

19. How do you define failure?

20. Do you prefer smart work or hard work?

List of JAM Topics

21. How would you describe your best friend?

22. If you were to die tomorrow, what would you do with your last day on this earth.

23. Tell about a movie you have seen recently.

24. The role of communication skills in today's life.

25. If you were a billionaire.

26. Moral values and ethics.
27. If you were the PM.
28. If you were a bird.
29. Love marriages vs Arranged marriages
30. What is your role in the development of the country.

List of JAM Topics

31. Life without electricity.
32. My favourite tourist destination.
33. An interesting place you have been to recently.

34. An interesting person you have met.

35.What you would like to do when you get older.

36. What you would like to learn in the future.

37. A frightening experience you had when you were young.

38. A person you like to spend time with.

39. An exciting experience you had.

40. Something you like to do when you have free time.

41. A place you would like to visit in the future.

42. A person who has influenced your life.

43. Something you have never done but would like to do.

44. Something you have done but never want to do again.

45. An experience which made you laugh.

46. An experience which made you cry.

47. What you would do if you had a crore rupees.

48. What you would do if you were President of your country.

49. A gift you could give others.

50. A gift you would like someone to give you.

51. A special talent you have.

List of JAM Topics

For more information about JAM/ Just a minute sessions

List of JAM Topics

Group Discussion PPT

Group discussion from Kondal Bonala

For functional-English ppt

For presentation-skills ppt

For interview-skills-ppt

For resume-writing-ppt

For Vocabulary ppt

For reading-comprehension-ppt

Presentation Skills PPT

Presentation skills from Kondal Bonala

For functional-English ppt

For group-discussion-ppt

For interview-skills-ppt

For resume-writing-ppt

For Vocabulary ppt

For reading-comprehension-ppt

Giving Instructions and Directions

Giving Instructions and Directions

  Giving Directions

Homonyms

Homonyms

Homonyms are words that have the same pronunciation, but different spellings and meaning. 

List of Homonyms

Homonyms        Meanings

AIR – HEIR        :  fresh air; the heir to the throne;

AISLE – ISLE     :  an aisle seat; the British Isles;

ALTAR – ALTER  : to lead to the altar; to alter course;

BAND – BAND     : a rock band; a rubber band;

BANK – BANK     : the bank of the river; the Bank of England; a bank account;

BARE – BEAR – BEAR : with bare hands; I can't bear it; the polar bear;

BARK – BARK     : the dog barked at me; barking dogs; the bark of a tree;

BAT – BAT        : blind as a bat; a baseball bat;

BE – BEE          : to be or not to be; to be as busy as a bee;

BEAT – BEET     : to beat the drums; beets and carrots;

BRAKE – BREAK  : car brakes; let's have a break; don't break it;

BUY – BY          : to buy a car; to walk by the river; to sit by the window;

CACHE – CASH   : cache memory; pay cash; I have no cash;

CELL – SELL       : a prison cell; my cell phone; to sell books;

CENT – SCENT    : 100 cents in a dollar; a faint scent of roses;

CEREAL – SERIAL : to eat breakfast cereal; to watch TV serials;

COARSE – COURSE        : coarse fabric; a course of lectures;

CURRANT – CURRENT   : red currant; current year; ocean current;

DEAR – DEER      : Dear Sir; dear friend; a young deer; several deer;

DEW – DUE        : morning dew; When is the train due?

DIE – DYE          : He died two years ago. She dyed her hair red.

FAIR – FAIR – FARE     : that's fair; book fair; bus fare;

FINE – FINE        : one fine day; fine wine; to pay a fine for speeding;

FIR – FUR           : pines and fir trees; a fir cone; a fur coat; natural fur;

FLEA – FLEE        : a flea market; to flee the country;

FLOUR – FLOWER : two cups of flour; a bunch of flowers;

FOREWORD – FORWARD : a foreword in a book; to move forward;

GAIT – GATE       : heavy gait; slow gait; to open the gate;

GRATE – GREAT   : to grate cheese; a great opportunity;

GROUND – GROUND  : to fall to the ground; freshly ground coffee;

HAIR – HARE       :  she has dark hair and green eyes; he ran like a hare;

HAY – HEY         : to make hay; hay fever; Hey!

HEAL – HEEL       : to heal the wounds; high heels;

HEAR – HERE       : Did you hear what he said? She doesn't live here.

HI – HIGH           : Hi; how are you? high walls; high speed; high temperature;

I – EYE              : I can see it clearly. My left eye itches.

KNIGHT – NIGHT  : the Knights of the Round Table; a dark night; days and nights;

KNOW – NO        : Do you know him? No, I don't. I have no time.

MAIL – MALE      : to send by mail; a male child;

MEAT – MEET     : meat and potatoes; to meet a girl; to meet with friends;

NONE – NUN       : none of them; she is a nun;

PAIL – PALE       : a pail of water; his face is pale;

PAIR – PEAR       : a pair of gloves; apples and pears;

PEACE – PIECE   : peace and quiet; a piece of bread; a piece of paper;

PEAK – PEEK      : a mountain peak; to peek into the hole;

PLAIN – PLANE   : plain answer; plain food; to go by plane;

PRINCIPAL – PRINCIPLE  : principal cause; a man of principle;

READ – REED     : to read a book; reed grows near water;

RIGHT – WRITE  : that's right; my right hand; civil rights; to write a letter;

RING – RING      : a wedding ring; to ring a bell;

ROLE – ROLL     : to play a role; a roll of toilet paper; the ball rolled away;

ROOT – ROUTE  : the roots of the tree; Route 10; bus route;

SAIL – SALE      : to sail on a ship; I bought it on sale;

SIGHT – SITE    : a beautiful sight; to see the sights; good eyesight; construction site; website;

SOME – SUM     : I need some money; a large sum of money;

SON – SUN       : he is my son; she has three sons; the sun is shining;

STAIR – STARE  : go down the stairs; don't stare at people;

STAKE – STEAK : the stakes are high; I'd like a steak for dinner;

STEAL – STEEL  : to steal money; stainless steel;

SUITE – SWEET : a hotel suite; this cake is too sweet;

TAIL – TALE      : a bird with a long tail; a long and interesting tale;

TOAST – TOAST: a piece of toast; I'd like to propose a toast to Alan's health;

TOE – TOW      : I stubbed my toe; a tow truck; to tow a car;

TOO – TWO      : I like it too. I spent two days at the lake.

TRUNK – TRUNK : the trunk of a tree; an elephant's trunk; a wooden trunk;

VAIN – VEIN      : in vain; she is vain; veins carry blood to the heart;

WAIST – WASTE: a slender waist; a waste of time; to waste money;

WAIT – WEIGHT: to wait for an hour; her weight is 65 kilograms;

WARE – WEAR –WHERE  : glassware; men's wear; he is wearing a suit; Where is Mike?

WAY – WEIGH   : to find a way; the shortest way; she weighs 65 kilograms;

WEAK – WEEK   : weak eyes; weak tea; next week; for two weeks;

WEATHER – WHETHER  : nice weather; ask her whether she wants to go;

WHICH – WITCH: which of these; Which bag is yours? She is a real witch.

WHINE – WINE  : my dog often whines; stop whining; red wine; French wines

Lets learn a song on homonyms

Information Transfer

Information Transfer

  Information Transfer

Report Writing

Report Writing

Report Writing from Kondal Bonala

Letter Writing

Letter Writing

Letter writing is one of the important tools of written correspondence. A good letter is of something that carries the writer’s/sender’s presence. There are two types of letters. They are business and personal letters.

A business letter is formal and written to communicate with an official or a business firms. It is different from personal letters in many ways like language, style, format and purpose. Information presented in a business letter should be straight, lucid and precise.

The purpose or the reason of the letter must be mentioned in the opening paragraph. Give complete details in clear terms in the body. State clearly the expected action in the closing paragraphs.

There are six important parts for a business letters. They are as follows:

1. The Heading: It consists of the sender’s address and the date on the last line. Generally there should be a one line gap for the address and date.There is no need to write the return address if letterhead of the company is used for this purpose.

2. The Receiver’s Address: Write receiver’s address clearly and completely.

There is a general rule that one line should be skipped between date and address line.

3. Salutation: It deals with how one addresses the receiver of the letter. In a business letter it has to be formal.

It starts with the word "Dear" and often includes the person's last name.

4. The Body: The body carries important details in detail. The language used should be lucid and courteous.

For each paragraph, one line should be skipped.

Also skip a line between the greeting and the body. Skip a line between the body and the close.

5. The Complimentary Close: This brief expression usually ends with a comma.

6. The Signature: Skip two lines and write your name and just above the signature should be done.

Women may indicate how they wish to be addressed by placing Miss, Mrs., Ms. or similar title in parentheses before their name.

Business Letter Styles

The following are some of the formats of the business letters. There are three accepted styles.

They are

1. Modified Block Style

2. Semi Block Style

3. Block Style

Of the three, the third one (Block Style) has been widely used in the modern day communication. In block style, punctuation marks like commas and full stops are omitted in many places. Comma should be given after salutation and leave taking lines.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary PPT

Vocabulary is one of the important skills of English language.  without a set of words, even the best comprehension of English grammar will not allow to speak English. 

The ppt presentation may help the learners to get the various types forming vocabulary and knowing them may useful to the learners in the formation of new words in daily context.







For functional-English ppt

For presentation-skills ppt

For group-discussion-ppt

For interview-skills-ppt

For reading-comprehension-ppt

For resume-writing-ppt