This document provides a course outline for a class titled "Developing English Skills for GAT and Everyday Use". The course aims to enhance students' vocabulary, grammar, and language skills to help them achieve good scores on standardized tests and apply what they learn in daily life. The course covers topics like parts of speech, sentence structures, tenses, vocabulary, reading strategies, and speaking skills. Students will practice these skills through exercises, media, and exams to measure their progress.
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Developing English Skills for GAT and Everyday Use
Course Outline
Teacher’s Name: Mr. Nuttapong Rutamornchai
Phone Number:
087-036-7255
Email:
kavawan@gmail.com
Class Time:
-
Course Description
The course enhances students’ vocabulary, grammar, and four language skills,
especially reading and writing. Students practice these skills through handouts,
online sources, and various forms of media. After completing this course, students
can acquire good scores on General Aptitude Test (GAT), Ordinary National
Education Testing (O-NET), and other general tests. Moreover, students are able to
apply what they have learned in everyday life and to use the Internet and other media
as effective tools for self-learning.
Topics Covered in the Course
PART A: Grammar and Writing Skills
Parts of Speech and Basic Sentence Structures
Developing English Skills for GAT and Everyday Use: Course Outline
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1. Nouns
2. Determiners
3. Pronouns
4. Verbs
5. Adjectives and adverbs
6. Agreement of subjects and verbs
7. Basic sentence structures
Essential Grammar Topics
1. Tenses
2. Conditional clauses
3. Subjunctive clauses
4. Passive voice
5. Question forms
6. Indirect speech
Sentence Writing
1. Simple, compound, and complex sentences
2. Sentence structure analysis
Exam Practice
Error Identification
A. The gecko, a lizard several inches long1, often lives2 in people’s houses where3 it
is considered a welcome guest because4 its penchant for eating mosquitoes, ants,
and other vermin.
Developing English Skills for GAT and Everyday Use: Course Outline
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Sentence Completion
B. Suree doesn’t know what to do with her __________ who has shoplifted three times.
1. daughter is five years old
2. five year olds’ daughter
3. five-year-old daughter
4. daughter five years old
C. The survey found that most students were pleased with the college, __________.
1. even the classrooms need to be repainted
2. or they would like to have more qualified professors
3. but they would like to have better food in the cafeteria
4. so they would like to have better classroom facilities
Sentence Rearrangement
a) Similarly, some people who are poor at languages are excellent at computer
sciences.
b) IQ tests only measure things that can be measured!
c) However, many areas of human excellence cannot easily be measured, such as
artistic and musical creativity, emotional maturity, keeping a cool head in
emergencies, being able to impersonate other people, and inventiveness.
d) Students who have failed in language often do very well on university courses in
the arts.
e) Some people may excel in these areas but perform poorly in tests that are
language-based.
PART B: Vocabulary Skills
1. Guessing word meanings from contexts
2. Word structure
3. Dictionary use
Developing English Skills for GAT and Everyday Use: Course Outline
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Exam Practice
Odd One Out
A. 1. violent
2. forceful
3. aggressive
4. exciting
Meaning Recognition
B. A New York police officer is armed with a gun and a club.
1. I always work out at that sports club.
2. He was hit with a heavy club.
3. His new golf club is very expensive.
4. The next card player is waiting for a club.
Meaning in Context
C. When all the __________ were counted, the president was elected with 65% of the
vote.
1. opinions
2. records
3. ballots
4. shares
Synonyms
D. A strong earthquake hit the tourist island of Bali, Indonesia, last December, but
there were no reports of damage on casualties.
1. rocked
2. erupted
3. contacted
4. swept
PART C: Reading Skills
Reading Strategies
1. Skimming and scanning
2. Reading for topics and main ideas
3. Reading for details
4. Understanding references
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5. Making inferences
6. Outlining and summarizing
Reading Practice through Academic Texts and Articles
Exam Practice
When we are young, we learn that tigers and sharks are dangerous animals.
We might be scared of them because they are big and powerful. As we get older,
however, we learn that sometimes the most dangerous animals are also the smallest
animals. In fact, the animal that kills the most people every year is one that you have
probably killed yourself many times: the mosquito.
While it may seem that all mosquitoes are biters, this is not actually the case.
Male mosquitoes eat plant nectar. On the other hand, female mosquitoes feed on
animal blood. They need this blood to live and produce eggs. When a female
mosquito bites a human being, it transmits a small amount of saliva into the blood.
This saliva may or may not contain a deadly disease. The result of the bite can be as
minor as an itchy bump or as serious as death.
Because a mosquito can bite many people in the course of its life, it can carry
diseases from one person to another very easily. Two of the most deadly diseases
carried by mosquitoes are malaria and yellow fever. More than 700 million people
become sick from these diseases every year. At least 2 million of these people will
die from these diseases.
Many scientists are working on safer and better ways to kill mosquitoes, but so
far, there is no sure way to protect everyone in the world from their deadly bites.
Mosquito nets can be placed over beds to protect people against being bitten. These
nets help people stay safe at night, but they do not kill any mosquitoes. Mosquitoes
have many natural enemies like bats, birds, dragonflies, and certain kinds of fish.
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Bringing more of these animals into places where mosquitoes live might help to cut
down the amount of mosquitoes in that area. This is a natural solution, but it does not
always work very well. Mosquitoes can also be killed with poisons or sprays. Even
though these sprays kill mosquitoes, they may also harm other plants or animals.
Although mosquitoes may not seem as scary as larger, more powerful
animals, they are far more dangerous to human beings. But things are changing. It is
highly likely that one day scientists will find a way to keep everyone safe from
mosquitoes and the diseases they carry.
A. Based on the information in paragraph 2, we can understand that
I.
male mosquitoes and female mosquitoes have different eating habits
II. male mosquitoes are harmless to humans
III. female mosquitoes are responsible for transmitting diseases to humans
1. I only
2. I and II only
3. II and III only
4. I, II, and III
B. As used in paragraph 2, minor most nearly means
1. insignificant
2. deadly
3. frustrating
4. dangerous
C. Based on information in paragraph 3, it can be understood that if you get sick with
malaria or yellow fever, your chances of survival are
1. terrible
2. mediocre
3. good
4. excellent
D. It can be understood that the introduction of dragonflies might reduce the number
of flies in a given area because dragonflies
1. work together with mosquitoes
2. kill mosquitoes
3. cannot be killed by poisons or sprays
4. attract bats
Developing English Skills for GAT and Everyday Use: Course Outline
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E. Which of the following best summarizes the information in paragraph 4?
1. Mosquito nets provide adequate protection from deadly
mosquitoes.
2. Poisons and sprays provide adequate protection from deadly
mosquitoes.
3. The introduction of the mosquito's natural enemies provides
adequate protection from deadly mosquitoes.
4. There is no perfect solution to the mosquito problem.
PART D: Speaking Skills
General Conversation in Daily Life
Exam Practice
A.
A:
B:
Please turn the TV down. It’s driving me crazy.
__________
1. Sure, I’m sorry.
2. Okay, I’ll close it.
3. I’ll drive you tomorrow.
4. I’m trying to find the car keys.
Developing English Skills for GAT and Everyday Use: Course Outline