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Unit 3 Personal Information

Tuning Sounds 1. Consonants /r/ and /l/

/r/ is a voiced consonant. It starts with the tongue gently resting on the floor of the mouth. As the sound is produced, the middle of the tongue is raised towards the area near the hard palate, but not touching it. Air flows without an obstruction and the sound is finished by a slightly rounding of the lips.

A:22 Listen and repeat.

1. rope 2. right 3. reach 4. rain 5. room6. rack 7. rock 8. river 9. correct 10. fairy

/l/ is a voiced consonant. To produce this sound, we place the tip of the tongue behind the upper front teeth, move the tongue downwards, and let the air come over the sides of the tongue.

B:23 Listen and repeat.

1. lope 2. light 3. leach 4. lain 5. loom6. lack 7. lock 8. liver 9. collect 10. fairly

C:24 Listen and repeat. 1. row low 2. rain lain 3. rack lack 4. room loom 5. right light 6. river liver 7. reach leach 8. rope lope 9. rock lock 10. correct collect

D:25 Now listen and circle the word you hear in each pair in Exercise C.

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Note that /r/ can occur in the initial, medial, or final position of a syllable. When this sound occurs in the medial or final position, most people with a British accent are likely to omit it, whereas people with a North American accent often pronounce this sound clearly enough to make a distinction. Here are some examples.

party lower airport argue

2. Consonants /ʒ/ and /ʤ/

/ʒ/ is a voiced consonant. We pull our tongue back into the area beyond the alveolar ridge (the part behind the upper front teeth) and force the air to flow through the tongue. The manner of this sound is fricative.

E:26 Listen and repeat.

1. genre 2. vision 3. usually 4. luxury 5. version6. Asia 7. garage 8. pleasure 9. measure 10. decision

/ʤ/ is similar to /ʒ/ in terms of voicing and place of articulation.However, they differ in manner of articulation. /ʤ/ is a voiced affricate, where air is blocked in the same manner like a plosive sound, but it is released in a fricative manner.

F:27 Listen and repeat.

1. June 2. jam 3. genuine 4. general 5. region6. gadget 7. major 8. page 9. bandage 10. language

G:28 Listen and repeat.

1. measure major 2. genre June 3. garage gadget 4. vision region 5. Asia ageing 6. luxury language

H:29 Now listen and circle the word you hear in each pair in Exercise G.

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Language Focus Personal information Asking for and giving one’s personal information is necessary in certain situations such as official and business contact. Below are some useful expressions that we can use to ask for and give personal information. Please note that we should be careful when asking about personal information because some questions are sensitive and may seem impolite, especially in different cultural contexts.

Asking about personal information Giving or refusing to give answers

What’s your name / first name / given name?

My name is Olivia. / It’s Olivia.

Do you have a middle name? What is it?

Yes, I do. It’s Rose. / No, I don’t.

What’s your surname / last name/ family name?

My surname is Willis.

How do you spell your name / surname? It’s W-I-L-L-I-S.

Can you spell your name /surname, please?

Sure, it’s W-I-L-L-I-S.

Where are you from? I’m from Bangkok, Thailand.

Do you have any siblings? Yes, I have 2 brothers and 1 sister. / No, I don’t.

What do you do? I’m a teacher.

What’s your phone number? My number is 0996561332. / I’m sorry I can’t give you my phone number now. Can you contact me by email, please?

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Asking about personal information Giving or refusing to give answers

How many languages can you speak? What are they?

I can speak 3 languages: Thai, English and Spanish.

What kind of music / movies / do you like?

I like jazz music. I like action movies.

What’s your favorite play? I like Phantom of the Opera.

I: Choose the best response to each question or statement.

1. What is your mother tongue?a. I’ve learned many languages.b. I’m a native speaker of Thai.c. My mother can speak English.

2. A horror movie is what I’m dying for.a. Same here.b. Me neither.c. Why not?

3. Is a middle name common for a native Thai?a. It depends on your given names.b. We normally have a lot in common.c. Most Thais don’t have a middle name.

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J:30 Listen to the conversation and fill in the blanks. Then answer the questions that follow.

1. What is Olivia’s last name?a. Billieb. Willisc. Wilkins

2. Why did Olivia call the company?a. To check whether her reservation was

completeb. To ask whether her personal

information was correctc. To provide her name for the company

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3. What is the company going to do very soon?a. Sell another package to Oliviab. Write a short notification to Oliviac. Send a confirmation email to Olivia

K:31 Listen to the conversation and fill in each box with the information you hear. Then answer the questions that follow.

1. Where does the man come from?a. Mississippib. Oregonc. Idaho

2. Why did the girl register for this club?a. To buy some French and Japanese booksb. To take French and Japanese coursesc. To practice her French and Japanese

3. What can be inferred from the conversation?a. The girl used to live in Portland for two years.b. The man joined language camps in Idaho twice.c. The conversation probably took place on the first meeting day.

Name City State Language(s)

Man

Woman