Reflections from VCU English Language Learners

new vocabularies

VOCABULARY IS OFTEN A NON-COUNT NOUN

YOUR USES OF THE WORDS ARE DECENT BUT I DON’T SEE THE PARTICULAR CONNECTION TO TIMED WRITING TOPICS. 

tmtredneck:

- absorbing (adj) interesting and enjoyable and holding your attention completely

eg: the comic book is very absorbing.

- callous (adj) dont care about other people’s feelings or suffering.

eg: he is very callous.

- merciless (adj) showing no kindness or pity.

eg: Hitler is a merciless human.

- obdurate (adj) refusing to change your mind or your actions in any way.

eg: a lot of prisoners has [SUBJECT / VERB AGREEMENT] a obdurate attitude.

- unpalatable (adj) unpleasant and not easy to accept

eg: losing is not always unpalatable. 

- courteous ( adj) polite, especially in a way that shows respect.

eg: students need to have  A courteous attitude toward their teachers.

LAVISH (extravagant, luxuriously)

TECHNOLOGICAL - ADJECTIVE VS TECHNOLOGY - NOUN

vanvu:

Lavish /’læviʃ/ adj, verb, large in amount, or impressive, and usually costing a lot of money, (with / in sth) giving or doing sth generously, lavish sth on / upon sb/sth to give a lot of sth, often too much, to sb/sth.

Eg: Thank to technology development, we have a lavish lifestyle. It makes our work easier, faster and more precise.

VOCABULARY

AMIABLE IS OFTEN USED FOR A PERSON, I.E. A CHARACTERISTIC OF A GOOD PERSON.

BUILDING A SHOPPING CENTER IS ADVANTAGEOUS FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS: JOBS, CONVENIENCE, AND ???

RE: ARDUOUS, I AM NOT SURE OF YOUR VERB.  EVEN THOUGH ??? A BETTER PLACE IS ARDUOUS, PEOPLE SHOULD TRY THEIR BEST.  MAKING???

IS PERFECTION POSSIBLE?

yeajin:

• AMIABLE: adj. pleasant; friendly and easy to like  agreeable: an amiable tone of voice Her parents seemed very amiable.
   ami•abil•ity /emiblti/ noun [U] ami•ably adv.: ‘That’s fine,’ he replied amiably.

         e.g. Building a shopping center in your town is amiable for many reasons.

• ABSORBING: adj. interesting and enjoyable and holding your attention completely: an absorbing book / game

         e.g. Many people can spend theri time wiht absorbing  products.

• INTERRELATED: verb if two or more things interrelate, or if they are interrelated, they are closely connected and they affect each other: [v] a discussion of how the mind and body interrelate a discussion of how the mind interrelates with the body

         adj.: a number of interrelated problems the belief that the mind is closely        interrelated with the body

         e.g.  The social problems of poverty and disease are interrelated

• ARDUOUS: adj. involving a lot of effort and energy, especially over a period of time: an arduous journey across the Andes The work was arduous.

      e.g  Eventough maing a perfect place is arduous, people should try thier best.

congenial/ amiable/ elaborate

CONGENIAL IS (AS THE FIRST DEFINITION STATES) OFTEN USED WITH PEOPLE AND NOT “TASTE” AS YOU WROTE.   IN YOUR SENTENCE, “COMPARABLE TASTES” WOULD BE MORE APPROPRIATE.

FOR AMIABLE, YOUR EXAMPLE IS A LITTLE REDUNDANT.  BASICALLY YOU ARE SAYING THAT YOU LIKE FRIENDS WHO ARE FRIENDLY TO YOU.  THIS SEEMS SOMEWHAT OBVIOUS, DOESN’T IT?

IF YOU WERE WRITING ABOUT CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD FRIEND (OR OTHER PERSON), YOU COULD INCLUDE “AMIABILITY”

RE: ELABORATE:  I PREFER TO DO ELABORATE WORK BY HAND THAN BY MACHINE B/C IT IS MORE EFFICIENT.  MACHINES MAKE MORE MISTAKES IN DETAILED TASKS AND THEREFORE I SAVE TIME BY DOING THE WORK BY HAND. 

 mowrk:

*con•gen•ial /kndinil/ adj. (formal)

1 (of a person) pleasant to spend time with because their interests and character are similar to your own: a congenial colleague
2 ~ (to sb) (of a place, job, etc.) pleasant because it suits your character: a congenial working environment
3 ~ (to sth) (formal) suitable for sth: a situation that was congenial to the expression of nationalist opinions

Jiha’s emalple EXAMPLE: I prefer to spend time with friends because we can share our different kinds of hobbies or interests. I like spending time with people who have congenial taste in many ways. Spending time with them is beneficial for me. In the conversation, I can get information or learn new things.

 

*ami•able /emibl/ adj. pleasant; friendly and easy to like agreeable: an amiable tone of voice Her parents seemed very amiable.

Jiha’s example: I prefer to live in a new city because I can enjoy and experience many new things. I think that first hand experience is the best way to learn something than learning with books. If I move a new town, I can make friends who are amiable for me and have different backgrounds from me.

*elab•or•ate adj., verb
/lbrt/ [usually before noun] very complicated and detailed; carefully prepared and organized: elaborate designs She had prepared a very elaborate meal. an elaborate computer system
 elab•or•ate•ly adv.: an elaborately decorated room elab•or•ate•ness noun [U]

Jiha’s example: I prefer to work with my hands because it is more efficient to do elaborate works than a machine work.   

New vocabulary: Irreproachable

NOTICE THAT THE DEFINITION STATES, “OF A PERSON OR THEIR BEHAVIOR”).  IN YOUR SENTENCE, YOU USED THE WORD FOR SOCIETY.  THIS DOES NOT WORK.  PLEASE TRY AGAIN.  

rosebian:

ir•re•proach•able /rprtbl; NAmE pro / adj. (of a person or their behaviour) free from fault and impossible to criticize blameless

Synonyms:

beyond reproach, blameless, exemplary, faultless, good, guiltless, impeccable, inculpable, innocent, irreprehensible, irreprovable, perfect, pure, reproachless, righteous, unblamable, unblemished, unimpeachable, virtuous

Antonyms:

blameable, imperfect

Ex: The society of American have freedom of speech that was irreproachable thing.

Vocabulary

yisaak:

 in•toxi•cat•ing / n t ks ke t ; NAmE t k/ adj. (formal)
1 (of drink) containing alcohol
2 making you feel excited so that you cannot think clearly: Power can be intoxicating.

Saak’s example: The game made me intoxicating INTOXICATED so that I could not concentrate ON my study. STUDIES.  THIS SUGGESTS THAT YOU DRANK A LOT IN THE GAME.

dys•pep•tic /d spept k/ adj.
1 (medical) connected with or suffering from dyspepsia
2 (formal) bad-tempered

Saak’s example: Depression, which is a kind of mental disease, makes people have dyspeptic attitute. MAKES PEOPLE BE DYSPEPTIC.

THIS IS AN UNCOMMON WORD.  THANKS FOR TEACHING ME A NEW WORD.

dys•pep•sia /dspepsi; NAmE dspep/ noun [U] (medical)pain caused by difficulty in digesting food  indigestion

in•ex•plic•able /n kspl k bl/ adj. that cannot be understood or explained incomprehensible: inexplicable behaviour For some inexplicable reason he gave up a fantastic job. explicable

Saak’s example : If something is inexplicable, you cannot explain why it happens or why it is true.

cal•lous /k l s/ adj. not caring about other people’s feelings or suffering cruel, unfeeling: a callous killer / attitude / act a callous disregard for the feelings of others

 

saak’s example: A callous person is very cruel and shows no concern for other people’s feelings.

ran•cour (BrE) (US ran•cor) /r k (r)/ noun [U] (formal) feelings of hatred and a desire to hurt other people, especially because you think that sb has done sth unfair to you bitterness: There was rancour in his voice. They divorced with remarkably little rancour. She learned to accept criticism without rancour.

Saak’s example: Some police officers guess that this event of murder is distributed ??? to rancorous case.

 

New Vocabulary

sunglee:

1.amusing

amus•ing / mju z / adj. funny and enjoyable: an amusing story / game / incident She writes very amusing letters. I didn’t find the joke at all amusing. note at funny
 amus•ing•ly adv.: The film amusingly pokes fun at the media.

Snug’s example - My teacher’s manner is amusing.

2. courteous

cour•te•ous / k ti s; NAmE k rt/ adj. polite, especially in a way that shows respect: a courteous young man The hotel staff are friendly and courteous. discourteous
 cour•te•ous•ly adv.: ‘I don’t think we have met,’ said the chairman courteously.

Snug’s example - A [THE] teacher is courteous to his students.

3. alluring

al•lur•ing / l r ; NAmE l r / adj. attractive and exciting in a mysterious way: an alluring smile
 al•lur•ing•ly adv.

Snug’s example – My teacher has an alluring smile.

TaeSoePark

mowrk:

elab•or•ate adj., verb
/lbrt/ [usually before noun] very complicated and detailed; carefully prepared and organized: elaborate designs She had prepared a very elaborate meal. an elaborate computer system

* Elaborate : Company owner are elborate upon a plan.

ARE THE OWNERS CAREFULLY PLANNED?  THEY CAN MAKE AN ELABORATE PLAN.

in•spir•ing /nspar/ adj. exciting and encouraging you to do or feel sth: an inspiring teacher (informal) The book is less than

*inspiring : He is a very inspiring teacher. CORRECT.

op•pres•sive /presv/ adj.
1 treating people in a cruel and unfair way and not giving them the same freedom, rights, etc. as other people: oppressive laws an oppressive regime The political situation has grown increasingly oppressive

*oppressive : He is very prressive soilder in army. WORK ON SPELLING.

cor•rob•or•ate /krbret; NAmE rb / verb [vn] [often passive] (formal) to provide evidence or information that supports a statement, theory, etc. confirm: The evidence was corroborated by two independent witnesses. corroborating evidence
*corroborate : police has evidence to corroborate the statement of guilt.

flimsy /flmzi/ adj. (flim•sier, flim•si•est)
1 badly made and not strong enough for the purpose for which it is used rickety: a flimsy table
2 (of material) thin and easily torn: a flimsy piece of paper / fabric / plastic
3 difficult to believe feeble: a flimsy excuse / explanation The evidence against him is pretty flimsy. He keeps calling on the flimsiest of pretexts.

*Flimsy : He lives in A flimsy little house.

 

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Technology has made the world a better place to live.

shimj:

All people live in advanced technology nowadays. Many people know how much technology improved but they do not know how it gives many unfavorable condition in the world. Technology has made the world a worse place to live in many cases.

-First, technology has disadvantage in a war. As time goes by, there are more wars. To protect own countries, whole countries try to make new stong weapons for warfare. A long time ago, people only used sword, fire, and refles in battles. Today, many countries use bomb that kill plenteous civilians at once. Since many countries make more new powerful weapons to protect themselves, more people die in each war. [IF THEY ARE PROTECTING THEMSELVES, THEY WOULD NOT DIE.  CHANGE THE VERB, “PROTECT”.]

-Second, technology has aggravated the environment. To prosper own country, many countries cut trees to make area to build buildings. This made environment in harm. Also, the world produces exorbitant cars since it has made people easy to move people from one place to the other. This made people to use more gas and that cause the air pollution. Because people try to make the world better place, it made bad environment.

In conclusion, technology has made the world worse by making more weapons and making environment worse.

People learn in different ways. Some people learn by doing things. Other people learn by reading about things, others learn by listening to people talk about things. Which of these methods of learning is best for you? Use specific examples to support of your choice.

LISTING VS LISTENINH

mowrk:

   I prefer to learn something from listing people. If I learn by listening to people talk about things, it will be much more fun and exciting than reading books. Also, I can learn not only knowledge but also other things that can not learn in the books through other people’s experiences.

   First, learning by listening to people talk is efficient. When I study with books, if something does not understand [IF I DO NOT UNDERSTAND SOMETHING] , I have to find someone who can help me to answer it. However, if I have a question during listing from people, I can ask them directly. Also, I can ask them more detail stories I want to know or even ask them tell slowly. It will help me to understand something.

    Second, if I learn from stories of people, it will be much fun. Reading books sometimes need patient to keep it up and easy to be tired. The lessons from first hand experience of people are active [ENGAGING] and easy to understand.

    Next, I can learn something from people’s mistakes. When I listen something from others, I can memorize their mistakes or something wrong. And then I will try not to make the same mistakes already they made. It will be very good lessons in my life.