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Issue #040 -- Week 08/02/15-14/02/15
February 17, 2015
Hello,


Greetings and General Information


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Month 6 ~ Lesson 24


We started studying three subjects back in September 2014: pronunciation and grammar for improving your communication skills, as well as website design and development, for applying your English in practice once you get skilful in English and website building. Once we covered the basics of pronunciation, we started a new course in reading.

In our reading course we started to work on some reading skills for the TOEFL exam, for those of you who are contemplating this in the future. This is particularly useful to my current students, who need to take this exam as part of their Level 5 course in Reading/Writing, this being the main reason for which I started this section.

Until I shall have the time to create my planned e-books from these courses, you can find our past lessons for free, as follows:

Pronunciation:
Issue 016 - The NAMES and SOUNDS of the Letters
Issue 017 - Short/Long Vowel Sounds & CVCs
Issue 019 - CCVCs and CVCCs
Issue 020 - Digraphs and Silent Letters
Issue 021 - Sight Words (or Dolch Words)
Issue 022 - Long Vowel Sounds
Issue 023 - The R-Controlled Vowel Sounds
Issue 024 - Vowel and Consonant Contrasts

Reading:
Issue 025 - An Introduction
Issue 026 - The Basic "Ingredients" of a Reading Programme
Issue 027 - Word Recognition
Issue 028 - Understanding Meaning in Context [1]
Issue 029 - Understanding Meaning in Context [2]
Issue 030 - Understanding Meaning in Context [3]
Issue 031 - Enlarging Your Vocabulary (Beginner)
Issue 032 - Vocabulary Games Online
Issue 033 - Traditional Vocabulary Games
Issue 034 - Understanding Vocabulary from Context [TOEFL Skill 1]
Issue 035 - Recognizing Referents [TOEFL Skill 2]
Issue 036 - Simplifying Meanings in Sentences [TOEFL Skill 3]
Issue 037 - Inserting Sentences into the Passage [TOEFL Skill 4]
Issue 038 - Finding Factual Information [TOEFL Skill 5]
Issue 039 - Understanding Negative Facts [TOEFL Skill 6]

Communicative Grammar:
Issue 016 - CAUSE and EFFECT
Issue 017 - Comparison of Adjectives
Issue 019 - Comparison of Adverbs
Issue 020 - Special Cases of Comparison
Issue 021 - Comparison Clauses vs. Comparison Phrases
Issue 022 - Restrictive and Non-Restrictive Meaning
Issue 023 - Expressions of Frequency
Issue 024 - Using Grammar for Speaking/Writing
Issue 025 - Linking Signals and their Functions [1]
Issue 026 - Linking Signals and their Functions [2]
Issue 027 - Linking Signals and their Functions [3]
Issue 028 - Linking Sentences [1] (Types of linking)
Issue 029 - Linking Sentences [2] (Time, cause/reason/result)
Issue 030 - Linking Sentences [3] (Conditions)
Issue 031 - Linking Sentences [4] (Additions)
Issue 032 - Relative Clauses
Issue 033 - Grammar with Fun!
Issue 034 - Participle and Verbless Clauses
Issue 035 - Cross-Reference and Omission
Issue 036 - Presenting and Focusing Information
Issue 037 - Pieces of Information
Issue 038 - Dividing Messages into Tone Units
Issue 039 - Expressing Moods, Emotions and Attitude

Website Design and Building:
Issue 016 - The Basic Concepts
Issue 017 - Content vs. Monetize
Issue 019 - PREselling vs. Selling
Issue 020 - Developing a Site Concept
Issue 021 - Choosing Your Site Concept
Issue 022 - Choosing Your Niche
Issue 023 - Real Supply and Value Demand
Issue 024 - The Filter Tool - Phase 1
Issue 025 - The Filter Tool - Phase 2
Issue 026 - The "Depth" of a Website
Issue 027 - Evaluate 7 factors for each Site Concept
Issue 028 - Profitability vs. Monetization
Issue 029 - The Site Content Blueprint
Issue 030 - Lateral Brainstorm
Issue 031 - Designing your Site Content Blueprint
Issue 032 - Checking Profitability with Pre-Set Tasks
Issue 033 - Finish your Site Content Blueprint
Issue 034 - Investigate and Plan Monetization Options
Issue 035 - Monetizating with AdSense
Issue 036 - What Exactly Is AdSense?
Issue 037 - The Most Wanted Response (MWR)
Issue 038 - Credit Card and Payment Processing
Issue 039 - Monetizing Forum Topics in SBI


Reading ~ Making Inferences from Stated Facts


Reading Skills for TOEFL [7]

Some multiple choice questions in TOEFL will ask you to draw a conclusion from specific details in the reading passage. Questions of this type contain the words implied, inferred, likely, or probably, to let you know that the answer is not directly stated. Instead, some information will be given in the passage, and you will need to draw a conclusion from that information.

Let’s consider an example:

Ancient Coins

”Long before coins were invented, metals such as gold, silver, copper, and bronze were used as a medium of exchange for trade. However, each piece of metal had to be weighed each time it was used in trade to establish its value. The Lydians of western Anatolia were the first to begin producing metal coins in standard weights, in the seventh century B.C., impressing a seal into the coin to indicate its value. One such coin minted during the time of Lydian King Croesus, who ruled from 560 B.C. to 546 B.C., has been recovered by archaeologists; this coin is imprinted with the heads and forelegs of two animals, a bull and a lion, who are facing each other. It was not until 525 B.C. that coins with images on both sides came into being.”

Question 1:

It can be inferred from paragraph 1, that gold came into use as a medium of exchange
- before 700 B.C.
- after 700 B.C.
- during the reign of King Croesus
- in 525 B.C.

In this example, you are asked to infer when gold came into use as a medium of exchange based upon stated information in the first paragraph. To answer this question, you should refer to the information about gold in the passage and draw a conclusion from that information. The passage states that long before coins were invented, metals such as goldwere used as a medium of exchange and that The Lydianswere the first to begin producing metal coins in the seventh century B.C. From this context, it can be determined that gold came into use as a medium of exchange before 700 B.C. To answer this question, you should select the first answer: A).

Question 2:

It is implied in paragraph 2 that coins from the time of King Croesus were
- imprinted on one side only
- made of gold
- imprinted with two animals
- imprinted on both sides

In this example, you are asked to determine what is implied about coins from the time of King Croesus, based upon stated information in the second paragraph. To answer this question, you should refer to the information about coins and King Croesus in the second paragraph. The passage mentions King Croesus, who ruled from 560 B.C. to 546 B.C. , and that it was not until 525 B.C. that coins with images on both sides came into being. From this context, it can be determined that coins from the time of King Croesus were all imprinted on one side only. To answer this question, you should select the first answer: A).

How to succeed with questions about inferences from stated facts?

1) How to identify the question: Find the relevant phrases:
It is implied in paragraph X…
It can be inferred from paragraph X…
It is most likely that…
What probably happened …?

2) Where to find the answer: they are generally found in order in the passage.

3) How to answer:
i) Choose a key word or idea in the question;
ii) Scan the appropriate place in the passage for the key word or phrase (or related idea);
iii) Carefully read the sentence that contains the key word or phrase.


Grammar ~ Stress on Emotions in Communication


We learned about interjections in our last lesson. Today, we shall consider other ways of giving emotion emphasis.

The simplest way to express emotions in your oral communication is by using exclamations. These are a type of sentences used to express the speaker’s feeling or attitude. They begin with what as a determiner in noun phrases (“what a great show”) or how as a degree word with adjectives or adverbs (“how clever”).

“What an extraordinary cruise they’ve had!”
“How delightful your daughters are!”

Exclamations are formulated with these introductory words (‘what’ and ‘how’) at the front of the sentence, as if it would be a question, but then the subject and the verb in the sentence keep their position as in a normal affirmative sentence.

We can shorten exclamations to a noun phrase or an adjectival phrase:

“What a man!” (=> ‘What a man he is!’)
“How strange!” (‘How strange this is!’)

What an easy lesson this was! … Would you not say that, my friends? Indeed it was, and this is due to the mid-term exams we're going through at the moment, hence I'm keeping this issue sweet and short...

However, this doesn't mean it has less importance in your learning. You need to pay attention to the correct word order in this kind of sentences AND keep using them in your speech – don’t forget about them. Next time we shall learn about the emphatic ‘so’ and ‘such’.


Website Design ~ Finalizing Your Monetization Mix


We said we shall finalize our lesson on monetization round about now, and move on to our next lesson for the rest of the month. Here are some valid suggestions on how you can still improve on your strategy for making an income online.

1) For earning a good income online, the best advice is to diversify.

Take your time as you review and think about the wide variety of possible monetization models. The possibilities are endless. By doing some "future" thinking now, you will know if your present choice of a Site Concept will allow for more than one profitable opportunity. And you'll get an idea of how profitable it can be. Don't box yourself into a corner before you even get started!

Why is more than one income stream necessary? Realistically, not every visitor who lands on your site will be interested in your primary offering. They are at your site for different reasons. They are looking for different solutions.

You've worked very hard to get them to your site in the first place, right? So be prepared with multiple ways to monetize your traffic. Every click on one of your monetization methods counts. Think "a little bit of profit more often" and your income becomes both larger and more stable!

Never be dependent on any one income source. "All your eggs in one basket" is a high-risk strategy. By diversifying, your revenues increase, your business is more stable, and you are in charge of your business destiny.

2) Pace your monetization implementation. While you may be planning five different monetization models, add them one at a time, weeks or months apart and then assess each one.

More importantly, after you introduce your first income-generator, during the early weeks, even months after that... Focus on building more targeted traffic for your primary monetizer. Then, when you are ready, plug your next monetization strategy into your site.

Multiple income opportunities should never be introduced at the expense of your main business, or at the expense of building great content. You may be thinking... "Hey, I don't want to miss out on any potential income. I want to build a commercial site now!" Mistake. Big mistake!

Do not be in a rush to monetize your site. Traffic-building (and lots of it) comes before monetization. Do not over-commercialize your site and do not commercialize it at the beginning. Keep this important point in mind...

Quality benefit-focused content is what attracts more visitors and keeps traffic coming back again and again. Quality content is what creates warm, willing-to-buy/hire visitors who trust you and your business.

If I had lots of links to a number of items for sale, like books, CDs and other worksheets material, would you buy from me right now? I think NOT… That is not going to happen if my site is just one big pile of links. Both the search engines and you, my surfers will ignore me.

Think of PREselling as building your "Brand of One"... whether the "one" is you personally or your small business company name.

So... You've done the necessary preparation for a new website. You're ready to build one by now, which takes us nicely onto the next step – applying for the domain name with SBI! and hosting a new website online.


This Is It, Folks!


I hope you find this information useful and not too confusing. Even though you're in the stage of building on it, have patience at this point in your learning and you'll be able to reap the fruit of your work later on, whichever aspect of our lessons you are concentrating on.

A new and valuable addition to the website is the comments feature that can facilitate your communication 24/7 from now on. Your messages will be monitored and accepted or denied, depending on the content and the attitude, but NOT on the grammar, spelling and overall correctness of your input. I have offered the service of correcting messages retrospectively, as a constructive contribution to your continuous improvement. Do participate and make this place feel like a community.

Please feel free to comment and suggest your ideas by replying to this email - I look forward to hearing from you. If you wish to chat either with me or with other members worldwide, go to My English Club !

OK, I wish you all a great week ahead.

Have fun, as always! My best wishes,

Lucia da Vinci

Founder of My English Club


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