ENGLISH II

UNIT 1: “DEVELOPING READING SKILLS

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 CONTENTS

PAGES
UNITS AND LESSONS

UNIT 1: “DEVELOPING READING SKILLS”

Strategies to develop your Reading Skills in English. 3

Reading Text 1: “English as Global Language” 4 - 10

Reading Text 2: “Telework” 11 - 16

Grammar Review: 17 - 20
Simple Present and Present Continuous
Suggested English Websites for further practice 21

This booklet material was selected, adapted and/or designed for instructional
purposes, to be used in the classroom and as a study guide for students.

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 UNIT 1: DEVELOPING READING SKILLS

Strategies to develop your reading skills in English

Let’s study some relevant concepts that will allow you to develop reading comprehension
skills and strategies within a text.

Skimming and scanning are two very different strategies for speed reading. They are each used for
different purposes, and they are not meant to be used all the time. People who know how to skim
and scan are flexible readers. They read according to their purpose and get the information they
need quickly without wasting time.

What is skimming?

Skimming is one of the tools you can use to read more in less time. Skimming refers to looking
only for the general or main ideas. With skimming, your overall understanding is reduced because
you don’t read everything. You read only what is important to your purpose. Skimming takes place
while reading and allows you to look for details in addition to the main ideas.
Let’s say you are doing research on a long chapter or a web site. By reading the first few
paragraphs in detail, you will get a good idea of what information will be discussed. Once you
know where the reading is headed, you can begin to read only the first sentence of each
paragraph. Also called topic sentences, they give you the main idea of the paragraph. If you do not
get the main idea in the topic sentence or if the paragraph greatly interests you, then you may
want to skim more.

.
What is scanning?

Scanning is another useful tool for speeding up your reading. Unlike skimming, when
scanning, you look only for a specific fact or piece of information without reading everything. You
scan when you look for your favourite show listed in the cable guide, for your friend’s phone
number in a telephone book, and for the sports scores in the newspaper. For scanning to be
successful, you need to understand how your material is structured as well as comprehend what
you read so you can locate the specific information you need. Scanning also allows you to find
details and other information in a hurry.

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READING TIPS

On the next page, you will find the article “English as a global language”.

Before you read

Skim this text and write the topic you think it’s discussing. To do that, focus on the
words you know.

Topic of text after SKIMMING:

Read the heading or title and think about your personal experience orknowledge.

How much do you know about English? Take this quiz to find out.

YES NO
1. Do you know why English is considered a global language?
2. Can you name five countries where English is their official language?
3. Can you name two countries where English is their first language?
4. Do you know why the English language is important in the Internet?
5. Do you know in what situation(s) people need to take an
international examination of English?

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 READING 1: “ENGLISH AS A GLOBAL LANGUAGE ”

(1) Nowadays, there is no doubt that English is a global language. This is because English
is already spoken by a quarter of the world’s population, and millions more learn it
every year. It is certainly the language of politics and diplomacy, science and
technology, news, tourism and transport. Besides, much of the world’s international
trade and business is conducted in English.

(2) People who speak English belong to one of these three groups: those who have

acquired it as their native language; those who have learned it as a second language;
and those who are forced to use it for a practical purpose - educational, professional
or administrative. People from England and the United States belong to the first
group because English is their “mother tongue”. In the second group, it is possible to
find more than sixty countries where English is a second language. The government,

universities and business use it. Some of the people, but not all, speak it well and use
it for certain aspects of their lives because they live in a society that is mainly
bilingual. Canada is a good example of a bilingual country because English and
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 French are its official languages. Moreover, English is an official or government
language in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Hong
Kong, Singapore, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, and many other countries. In the third
group, there are some countries where English is considered a foreign language (EFL)
and people use it for specific purposes, for example in Chile people use English to
travel, to study, to work in a foreign country, or simply to surf on the Internet.

(3) It is also clear that the Internet and the English language are “good friends”. Regarding
the use of English in the Internet, Dr. Francisco García Peñalvo, Vice- Provost of the
Technological Innovation Department of the Universidad de Salamanca, Spain, says
that “the digital age has opened a wide variety of possibilities to spread knowledge,

and the Internet is the way that allows direct access to knowledge wherever it is
produced and at any time”. In fact, 45 percent of web pages are written in English, -
that is, eighty percent of the scientific publications have been written in English since
1980, ninety-one percent of publications on Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Medicine
and Mathematics have been written in this language since 1991 and a similar
percentage of publications on Social Sciences and the Humanities has been published
in English since 1995.

(4) If you want to study in an English-speaking country or to be promoted at work, the

best way to be ready for those challenges is taking an international examination of

English. There are a lot of certified examinations that can be taken by anyone whose
native language is not English. These are appropriate for people of all nationalities, no
matter their first language or cultural background. The examinations cover all four

skills –listening, speaking, reading and writing, and they are designed to assess the
learner’s ability to use English in different fields, such as business, communication,
academic purposes, etc.

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 While reading

I. Circle the correct answers.

1. According to the article, English is a global language because . ………

a) It is spoken in England and the United States.
b) It is used for talking about international trade and business.
c) It is already spoken by a quarter of the world’s population, and millions
more learn it every year.

2. Native language is the same as .

a) second language
b) first language
c) foreign language

3. According to the article, the Internet and the English language are “good
friends” because .
a) There is evidence that shows that a great amount of articles are published in
English.
b) People use English to surf on the Internet.
c) There are a lot of English dictionaries online.

4. English is an official or government language in .

a) France
b) India
c) Chile
There are appropriate international certifications of English for .
a) a limited number of people.
b) anyone whose native language is English.
c) people of all nationalities.

After you read

II. For which paragraphs in the text are these good headings? Write the numbers from 1
to 4.
a. How English speakers can be classified.
b. Do you want to get an international examination of English?
c. English is a world language.
d. How much is English used on the Internet?

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After you read, you can also pay attention to the new vocabulary and find out “REFERENTS”

What is a referent?

In a well-written text, repetition of words is not allowed. Many words are used all the
time to avoid repetition. These words are called referents (contextual references).

Look at this example:

In many countries nowadays it is very common for high school students to take a year off. This
is a great idea, especially if they are not sure what subject they want to study at college or
what field of work they want to end up in. It gives them more time to think about it.

The second sentence of the paragraph above doesn’t sound so repetitive because the phrase
“high school students” has been replaced by the pronoun THEY in this sentence. Therefore, it’s
very important to know what word referents are ‘referring to’ in order to understand the
meaning and the main idea of a reading text.

A referent could be:

o a personal pronoun (I, you, they)
o an object pronoun (him, them)
o a possessive adjective (her, its, our)
o a demonstrative adjective (that, these, those)
o And any other word used to signify another previously mentioned in a text.

III. Go back to the text “English as a global language “, read it again and find out what these
words refer to.

Example: What does it refer to? (paragraph 1, line 2) “It” refers to English.

1. What does “those” refer to? (paragraph 2, line 2)

2. What does “it” refer to? (paragraph 2, line 7)

3. What does “it” refer to? (paragraph 3, line 5)

4. What do “those challenges” refer to? (paragraph 4, line 2)
5. What does “they” refer to? (paragraph 4, line 6)

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 IV. Find the words in italics in the reading. Then match each word with its meaning.

d 1. doubt (paragraph 1) a. to gain a skill by one’s own ability, efforts or behaviour.

2. belong to ( ) b. of, in or from a country or an area other than one’s own.

3. spread ( ) c. with reference to something or somebody.

4. acquire ( ) d. feeling or not being certain or not believing something.

5. assess ( ) e. to permit somebody/something to do something.

6. allow ( ) f. to estimate the quality or value of somebody or something.

7. foreign ( ) g. to the largest degree; in the majority; mostly.

8. regarding ( ) h. to be member of a group, a family, an organization, etc.

9. mainly ( ) i. to become or make something widely known or available.

When we are Looking for Vocabulary, we are using a useful strategy to understand a reading text.

- To use this strategy, we need to scan the text before reading.

- As we scan, we look for words we do not know.
- When we find a new word, we can note it by underlining it, writing it on a separate piece of
paper, or (if we are online) highlighting it.

This text was adapted from “The Readers Club Handbook”, americanenglish.state.gov

- We do not need to know every word when we read. When we scan, we should select
only words that seem important and unfamiliar to us.
- Once we have selected new or unfamiliar words, we can look for their meaning.
- To find meanings of words, we can look them up in a dictionary. For example:
https://www.wordreference.com
https://dictionary.cambridge.org
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 A good Reading Strategy is to look for Grammar References
before, while or after reading the Text.

1. Scan the previous text again and say if the underlined words are COUNTABLE
(C) or UNCOUNTABLE (U).

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

2. Now, read these sentences taken from the text and complete them with THERE
IS, THERE ARE, SOME, ANY, A LOT.

1. There isn’t doubt that English is a global language.

2. The digital age has opened of possibilities to spread knowledge.
3. There are of certified examinations.
4. In English, _four English skills.
5. a group of people who are forced to use English for a practical purpose.
6. In Chile, there are _people who use English to travel, to study, to work in a
foreign country, or simply to surf on the Internet.
7. _a 45 percent of web pages that are written in English.

3. Scan the text again and answer these questions. Provide full answers.

1. How many people learn English every day?

2. How many countries are there where English is a Second Language?

3. According to Dr. Francisco Garcia Peñalvo: How much information on the internet is written
in English?

4. Is there an example of a bilingual country in North America?

5. Are there any countries where English is considered a Foreign Language?

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 READING 2: “TELEWORK”

Before you read

Skim the text and write the topic. To do that, focus on the words you know.

Topic of text after SKIMMING:

Read the heading or title and think about your personal experience orknowledge.

How much do you know about teleworking? Take this quiz to find out.

YES NO
1. Do you know what telework is?
2. Can you name three jobs that are suitable for teleworking?
3. Can you name one Chilean company that has a teleworking program
for their employees?
4. Can you explain one benefit of telework in business or financial
services?
5. Do you know who is eligible for teleworking?

Before reading the article, watch the video “Telework in action: Microsoft”.
Follow this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyvnuHGrixw

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This text was adapted from material taken from the book Achieve TOEIC and an article taken from the website of
the International Labour Organization.

https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_534548/lang--en/index.htm

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 Read the paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 and answer Exercises I and II.

I. Are the following questions answered in the paragraphs 1 to

5? Write the numbers from 1 to 5.
a. What are the benefits of teleworking?
b. What does telework mean?
c. What do managers think about teleworking?
d. Why teleworking increasing in companies around the world?
e. In what cases or situations is teleworking inappropriate?

II. Circle the correct answers.

1. What is one of the drawbacks of teleworking?

a) It requires more office space.
b) It raises costs significantly.
c) It severely disrupts public transport.
d) It is not appropriate for people beginning their working lives.

2. The word “premises” in paragraph 3, line 2, is closest in meaning to:

a) orders b) averages c) buildings d) distances

3. What is said about teleworking in the Morton-Fleming survey?

a) Teleworkers get more work done.
b) Teleworkers earn up to 40% more.
c) It provides a formally –managed environment.
d) Managers are less committed to the company’s values.

4. Which aspect is NOT mentioned in the paragraphs 1 to 5?

a) Cost cutting b) Factory strikes c) Overtime work d) Reduced travel time

Read the paragraphs 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. Then answer the following questions.

1. Who participated in the Global Dialogue Forum in 2016?

2. What did the participants in the Forum agree about the benefits ofteleworking
for workers and employers?

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After you read, you should also pay attention to the new vocabulary and find out “REFERENTS”

What is a referent?

In a well-written text, repetition of words is not allowed. Many words are used all the
time to avoid repetition. These words are called referents.

Look at this example:

Giving employees the freedom to organize their working schedule to fit with their personal
life means they are working when they are best able to engage fully with their work.

In the second sentence the pronoun “they” has replaced “employees”, so the paragraph doesn’t
sound repetitive.
It’s very important to know what word referents are ‘referring to’ in order to understand the
meaning and the main idea of a written text.

A referent could be:

o a personal pronoun (I, you, they)
o an object pronoun (him, them)
o a possessive adjective (her, its, our)
o a demonstrative adjective (that, these, those)
o And any other word used to signify another previously mentioned in a text.

Go back to the text “Telework“, read it again and find out what these words refer to.

Example: What does it refer to? (paragraph 2, line 3) “It” refers to teleworking.

1. What does “who” refer to? (paragraph 3, line 1)

2. What does “it” refer to? (paragraph 3, line 3)

3. What does “their” refer to? (paragraph 5, line 2)

4. What does “they” refer to? (paragraph 7, line 5)
5. What does “They” refer to? (paragraph 9, line 5)

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III. Find the words in italics in the reading. Then match each word with its meaning.
VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT

a 1. premises (paragraph 3) a. areas of land including their buildings.

2. employers ( ) b. moving to a higher position.

3. address ( ) c. the general, fixed cost of running a business.

4. survey ( ) d. deal with or discuss.

5. issued ( ) e. giving one’s complete loyalty to something .

6. raising ( ) f. people who have been hired to work for another.

7. overhead ( ) g. people that employs one or more workers.

8. committed ( ) h. published, put into circulation.

9. employees ( ) i. a sampling of facts, figures, or opinions.

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 GRAMMAR REVIEW

Warming up

A. Label the photos (a-e) with the words in the box.

go on business trips – go to conferences – have meetings – give presentations – go to trade fairs

A B C

D
E

Vocabulary: Work

B. Tick the words you know. Then write each word next to the verbs in the bubbles (NEXT PAGE).

a contract a message a report a meeting a conference

an email a customer in a company
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notes an invoice
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 write A report / an invoice

work In a company

go to A meeting/ a conference

take Notes

sign A contract

answer An email

visit A customer

C. Look at the pictures and say what the people are doing now.

1 2 3

Now read these dialogues.

1. 2. 3.
A: Is Peter answering the phone A: Are Lucy and Tom A: Are you looking for a restaurant?
now? talking? B: No, I’m not. I’m looking for a house to
B: No, he is writing a report now. B: Yes, they are. rent.

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 The Simple Present Tense and the Present Continuous
Simple Present Present Continuous
Rule 1: Action that happens again and again. Rule 3: Action that is happening right now.
She takes the bus every day. Frankie is doing his homework now.

Rule 2: Mental stages (e.g. love, hate) Rule 4: Actions that are changing now.
I love my English class. It’s getting warmer these days.
What’s happening with you?

Look at the chart again and write Present Simple (PS) or Present Continuous (PC) in the blanks.
1. We use the to talk about things that happen every day/ week/ month, etc.
2. We use the to talk about things happening now.
3. We use am, is, and are in questions.
4. We use do and does in questions.
5. We use “usually”, “sometimes”, “never”, and “always” in sentences.
6. Some “time expressions” used in sentences are: right now, today, this morning, these days,
this week, this month, this year, and this season

Present Continuous

Subject Verb
I am working
In the present continuous, people usually
you are working use ’m not, ’s not, and ’re not after
he pronouns.
she is working
it
we
you are working
they

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 E
Simple Present statements

I eat lunch. I don’t eat breakfast. Verb endi ngs: he, she, it.
You have juice. You don’t have soda. Give gives
We get up early. We don’t get up late. Wash washes
They read magazines. They don’t read the paper. Pray prays
He listens to pop music. He doesn’t listen to rock. Fly flies
She watches cable TV. She doesn’t watch satellite TV. Have has
Do does

EXERCISES

A. Short answers: Simple Present or Present Continuous?

Match the questions on the left with the short answers on the right.

1. Are Lucy and Paul studying now? a. Yes, he does.

2. Is it raining right now? b. No, I don’t.
3. Does Peter use the computer at work? c. Yes, they are.
4. Are you going to an important meeting? d. No, I’m not.
5. Is Tom working on the computer now? e. Yes, it is.
6. Do you have the chance to go to different places
f. No, he isn’t.
on business?

B. Complete this conversation with the verbs in parenthesis. Use the Simple Present Tense.
A: What...........Henry............(do)?
B: He’s a teacher. He....................(teach) English at a school in Vancouver.
A: And what about Lisa? ….………….. does she.................(work)?
B: She...............(work) for a big computer company in San Diego.
A: What ……..…… she................(do) exactly?
B: She’s a web-site designer. She …………..… (design) fantastic Web sites.

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 Suggested English Websites for further practice

Práctica de vocabulario y gramática de la unidad:

wwwa.gendawebo.rg
Práctica de pronunciación y comprensión auditiva:
www.esl-lab.com/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/
- Videos sobre gramática:
http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/grammar-vocabulary/grammar-videos
Diccionarios online:
www.wordreference.com
www.dictionary.cambridge.org/
www.ldoceonline.com
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary

This booklet material was selected, adapted and/or designed for instructional
purposes, to be used in the classroom and as a study guide for students.