Tuesday, February 11, 2014

What's Your Personality?

Photo credit: CNN.com
We all have certain characteristics that make us who we are. What words do you use to describe your personality traits or the personality traits of others? Here's a list to get you started. You can click on each word to get the fuller meaning. There are many words to describe personality, both positive and negative. Here is and even more a complete list of 636 Primary Personality Traits

So, it is clear that there are many words to describe your personality and the personalities of those around you. Try this Personality Adjective Quiz, and see how well you understand the meaning of these descriptive words.


PERSONALITY ADJECTIVE QUIZ
1. 
WHAT DO YOU CALL A PERSON WHO LIKES LOOKING AT HERSELF/ HIMSELF IN THE MIRROR ALL THE TIME?

A.
modest

B.
vain

C.
spoilt

D.
outgoing

2. 
WHAT DO YOU CALL THE PEOPLE  WHO SHOW THAT THEY LOVE  OR LIKE PEOPLE VERY MUCH?

A.
mean

B.
reliable

C.
affectionate

D.
moody

3. 
WHAT´S THE OPPOSITE OF "VAIN"?

A.
charming

B.
sensitive

C.
jealous

D.
modest

4. 
WHAT´S THE OPPOSITE OF "GENEROUS"?

A.
mean

B.
lazy

C.
selfish

D.
bossy

5. 
WHAT DO YOU CALL THE CHILDREN WHO BEHAVE BADLY BECAUSE THEY´RE NORMALLY GIVEN EVERYTHING THEY WANT?

A.
selfish

B.
spoilt

C.
reliable

D.
self-confident

6. 
WHAT´S THE OPPOSITE OF "MESSY"?

A.
tidy

B.
untidy

C.
lazy

D.
unreliable

7. 
WHAT DO YOU CALL THE PERSON WHO HAS COMMON SENSE AND IS PRACTICAL?

A.
sensitive

B.
sensible

C.
oversensitive

D.
ambitious

8. 
WHAT DO YOU CALL THE PERSON WHO LIKES GIVING ORDERS TO EVERYBODY ELSE?

A.
aggressive

B.
shy

C.
bossy

D.
insecure

9. 
WHAT´S THE OPPOSITE OF "CLEVER"?

A.
intelligent

B.
mean

C.
extrovert

D.
stupid

10. 
WHAT DO YOU CALL THE PEOPLE YOU CAN TRUST OR RELY ON?

A.
unreliable

B.
reliable

C.
jealous

D.
moody

Answers: 1)B, 2)C, 3)D, 4)C, 5)B, 6)A, 7)B, 8)C, 9)D, 10)B

Now it's time for a little Personality Test. Answer each question as honestly as you can--there are no right or wrong answers. When you're finished, use the Key at the bottom to calculate your score. The Analysis will then give you and explanation of your score. --Do you agree with your results? When you are finished, you may wish to take another personality test and compare results. Here's one for you to try: Big Five Personality Test


Personality Test

1. When do you feel your best?
a. In the morning
b. During the afternoon and early evening
c. Late at night

2. You usually walk
a. Fairly fast, with long steps
b. Fairly fast, with short, quick steps
c. Less fast, head up, looking the world in the face
d. Less fast, head down
e. Very slowly

3. When talking to people you
a. Stand with your arms folded
b. Have your hands clasped
c. Have one or both your hands on your hips
d. Touch or push the person to whom you are talking
e. Play with your ear, touch your chin, or smooth your hair

4. When relaxing, you sit with
a. Your knees bent with your legs neatly side by side
b. Your legs crossed
c. Your legs stretched out or straight
d. One leg curled under you

5. When something really amuses you, you react with
a. A big, appreciative laugh
b. A laugh, but not a loud one
c. A quiet chuckle
d. A sheepish smile

6. When you go to a party or social gathering you
a. Make a loud entrance so everyone notices you
b. Make a quiet entrance, looking around for someone you know
c. Make the quietest entrance, trying to stay unnoticed

7. You're working very hard, concentrating hard, and you're interrupted. Do you..
a. Welcome the break
b. Feel extremely irritated
c. Vary between these two extremes


8. Which of the following colors do you like most?
a. Red or orange
b. Black
c. Yellow or light blue
d. Green
e. Dark blue or purple
f. White
g. Brown or gray

9. When you are in bed at night, in those last few moments before going to sleep, you lie
a. Stretched out on your back
b. Stretched out face down on your stomach
c. On your side, slightly curled
d. With your head on one arm
e. With your head under the covers

10. You often dream that you are
a. Falling
b. Fighting or struggling
c. Searching for something or somebody
d. Flying or floating
e. You usually have dreamless sleep
f. Your dreams are always pleasant


Add up your points using the table below:



A
B
C
D
E
F
G
1
2
4
6




2
6
4
7
2
1


3
4
2
5
7
6


4
4
6
2
1



5
6
4
3
5



6
6
4
2




7
6
2
4




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


10
4
2
3
5
6
1




Total Points: ________________

Analysis
Over 60 points: Others see you as someone they should "handle with care" You're seen as vain, self-centered, and who is extremely dominant. Others may admire you, wishing they could be more like you, but don't always trust you, hesitating to become too deeply involved with you.

51 to 60 points: Others see you as an exciting, highly volatile, rather impulsive personality; a natural leader, who's quick to make decisions, though not always the right ones. They see you as bold and adventuresome, someone who will try anything once; someone who takes chances and enjoys an adventure. They enjoy being in your company because of the excitement you radiate.

41 to 50 points: Others see you as fresh, lively, charming, amusing, practical, and always interesting; someone who's constantly in the center of attention, but sufficiently well-balanced not to let it go to their head. They also see you as kind, considerate, and understanding; someone who'll always cheer them up and help them out.

31 to 40 points: Others see you as sensible, cautious, careful and practical. They see you as clever, gifted, or talented, but modest...Not a person who makes friends too quickly or easily, but someone who's extremely loyal to friends you do make and who expect the same loyalty in return. Those who really get to know you realize it takes a lot to shake your trust in your friends, but equally that it takes you a long time to get over it if that trust is ever broken.

21 to 30 points: Your friends see you as painstaking and fussy. They see you as very cautious, extremely careful, a slow and steady plodder. It would really surprise them if you ever did something impulsively or on the spur of the moment, expecting you to examine everything carefully from every angle and then, usually decide against it. They think this reaction is caused partly by your careful nature.

Under 21 points: People think you are shy, nervous, and indecisive, someone who needs looking after, who always wants someone else to make the decisions and who doesn't want to get involved with anyone or anything. They see you as a worrier who always sees problems that don't exist. Some people think you're boring. Only those who know you well know that you aren't.

(Thanks to "Taking Off and Touching Down" for this test!)



Wednesday, January 29, 2014

More Tongue Twisters!

In our last post we talked about the benefit of using tongue twisters to improve your English pronunciation. Here's a fun way to improve your tongue twister skills--try rapping them! Watch the video below, and then give it a try (you can stop the video periodically while you view, and attempt some of the tongue twisters yourself!)  You know this guy must have practiced a lot before sitting down to entertain us with this video!


And now, how about tongue twisters for two: Betty Botter's butter.
Now YOU try!
Betty Botter bought a bit of butter.
The butter Betty Botter bought was a bit bitter
And made her batter bitter.
But a bit of better butter
Makes better batter.
So Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter,
Making Betty Botter's bitter batter better.
 

We gave "Tongue Twisting in Twos" a try. Here's how we did it:
  • Students formed "teams" of two and chose a tongue twister (or two) from some printed on a handout* (see below).
  • Teams had 15 minutes to practice using a rap-style rhythm, and then came to the front of the class for a rap performance.
Now take a look at some of the results!


*Tongue Twisters
A tutor who tooted the flute
Tried to tutor two tooters to toot
Said the two to the tutor
“Is it tougher to toot
Or to tutor two tooters to toot?”

Silly Sally swiftly shooed seven silly sheep.
The seven silly sheep Silly Sally shooed
Shilly-shallied south.
These sheep shouldn’t sleep in a shack;
Sheep should sleep in a shed.

Three sweet switched Swiss witches
Watch three washed Swiss witch Swatch watch switches.
Which sweet switched Swiss witch watches
Which washed Swiss witch Swatch watch switch?

A big bug bit a bold bald bear and the bold bald bear bled blood badly.

Brisk brave brigadiers brandished broad bright blades, blunderbusses, and bludgeons — Balancing them badly.

Can you can a canned can into an uncanned can like a canner can can a canned can into an uncanned can?

If you must cross a course cross cow across a crowded cow crossing, cross the cross coarse cow across the crowded cow crossing carefully.

Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager managing an imaginary menagerie.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Tongue Twisters

What is a tongue twister? According to Wikipedia, "A tongue-twister is a phrase that is designed to be difficult to articulate properly, and can be used as a type of spoken (or sung) word game. Some tongue-twisters produce results which are humorous (or humorously vulgar) when they are mispronounced, while others simply rely on the confusion and mistakes of the speaker for their amusement value."

Tongue twisters are found in all languages. I'll bet you can say a few in Dutch--or another language you know. Watch this video to hear some tongue twisters from native speakers in a few different languages.

Tongue twisters are a great way to practice pronunciation. Here are a few of some common English tongue twisters. They may look easy, but try to say each one 5 times as fast as you can and see how easy it is to loose control of your tongue!

  • She sells sea shells on the sea shore
  • A proper copper coffee pot
  • Around the rugged rocks the ragged rascal ran
  • Red lorry, yellow lorry, red lorry, yellow lorry
  • A big black bug bit a big black bear
  • Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
 You can find many, many more English examples here.

Here's another challenge for you!


So, what is the most difficult tongue twister? MIT researchers in Boston think they found the most difficult combination of sounds ever. You can read more about the research in this article from Mail Online, but in the meantime, let's see if YOU can say the world's hardest tongue twister: "pad kid poured curd pulled cold"

Tongue Twister Lesson:

Once the concept of tongue twisters was introduced, students were given the opportunity to create their own.

  •  This activity is a variation of the old Consequences game. A paper with these questions was given to each student:
  1. Write your first name
  2. What did she/he do?
  3. Where?
  4. When?
  5. Why? Because…
  • Instructions:
    • Get into teams of about 5 people.
    • On a piece of blank paper write your answer to question 1.
    • Pass the paper to the person on your right. Write an answer to question 2 on the paper you have just received. Your answer must begin with the first sound in the person's name (e.g. Bob - bought a bike).
    • Pass the paper on again and write an answer to question 3, again using the sound at the beginning of the name.
    • Continue until all the questions have been answered.

 Here are some of the tongue twisters students came up with!

  1. Hugo hugged a huge heart in his head when he hurt the bird he took a shirt. 
  2. Nelke knocked in the north of New York at night because Nelke is cool.
  3. Tycho treated Tom in Turkey on Tuesday because he needed to treat a Tom Turkey in Turkey.
  4. Danielle danced a dipidedoo dance in a dipidedoo competition on a dipidedoo day  because she loves dancing the dipidedoo.
  5. Michelle made a money maker in the Mac on Money Monday because she loves making money on Money Mondays.
  6. Teun sold Tom in tiny Tilburg at ten to ten because that's Teun's town.
  7. Rens ran the road on the runway on Sunday because Rens is a runner.
  8. Sander saw a saw in Shanghai on Sunday because he was scared.
  9. Veerle fell flawless in France on Friday because she was frightened.
  10. Wanne was worried in Wonderland when we were walking with wonder worries.
  11. Miriam muddled in mud in Middelburg on Mud Monday because she wanted to be muddy.
  12. Romy ran a race 'round the rivers while rainy rivers rained all day.
  13. Hannah hit her hand helping in Harlem on helping day 'cause Harlem helped.
  14. Mees met a monkey in the maze when monkeys murmured because he liked Muppets
  15. Bodine bought bacon in a bacon store while the bacon was baked the bacon was unbaked.
  16. Wessel waited in Wenonah one week in the wild weather.
  17. Josef juggles in the jungle in January and he giggles.
  18. Emma eats eggs anywhere, everytime, because eggs are excellent.
  19. Iris ironed in Iraq when war was on Idols she wasn't important.
  20. Roald runs in Roden at a rare race because he was running.
  21. Roemer runs on the road in Romania as a rolling rat because Roald was wrecking Robin.
  22. Jaimy joined a jogging group at a gym in July and makes a joke of joining the jogging group.
  23. Danielle danced with a donkey at Dusseldorf in Deutstland in December because she doesn't dance with a dude.
  24. Luna looked at a long person in London from the London Eye at lunch time. She loves the long person.
  25. Vianne visited Venezuela on Victory Day because vegetarians hate her.
  26. Jasmijn jumped in Jamaica in January because it's Julia's birthday.
  27. Beau bought a ball in the bouncyhouse between June and July because she built a building.
  28. Inger irritated and insect in India in the middle of the month--I'm happy lots!
  29. Hannah handed in her homework in her house on a holiday because she hates holidays.
  30. Silvy sat on a snake at summer school on a sunny summer day on the seventh of September on Sunday because she sat on a spider earlier, but the spider spit.
  31. Nino ate noodles in Norway at nine past nine and now he needs to knock.
  32. Poetra pushed Peter Pan from a pallet in Praag when the ponies pranced he wanted a pear.
  33. Noah needs nothing in Neverland and nothing needs Noah.
  34. Colin called in the club at 5 o'clock
  35. Bas bit a bear while laughing in the bath when everyone was playing basketball.
  36. Jasper jazzed in the jazz club and just last night he made a joke.
  37. Mitch must make the mountain by Monday because he's moody.
  38. Julian jumped from a plane in jail in July because he's jelly.
  39. Iris irritated in the Intratuin on I-day because she's ill.
  40. Rosalie read a red book in a red room on a rainy day because she reads red books.
  41. Mara made a milkshake at a market on Mara Milkshake Market Day.
  42. Lina liked a Lamp in Lollypopland a long time ago lamps are what she likes.
  43. Joy enjoyed her jojo in the jellybean store when she jogged she jabbered.
Not bad for the first time! Take a look at the photos below to see how well all the groups cooperated to make their tongue twisters.