Tuesday, March 11, 2025 Copyrightⓒ AIM Coaching
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English_____
6/18/2024 _____________
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Tuesday, March 11, 2025 Copyrightⓒ AIM Coaching
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The Melody of Language
When I first arrived in Australia, I struggled to understand English. However, I
soon discovered an unexpected learning tool—soap operas. Their simple and
repetitive storylines made them easy to follow, and the actors’ exaggerated
expressions helped me grasp emotions and meanings. I focused on their
conversations, imitating their words, tone, and expressions. Watching shows
like Sons and Daughters and The Young Doctors became my daily routine. I
would repeat the dialogue aloud, practicing the rhythm and flow of speech.
Through this, I realized that speaking well begins with listening carefully.
Despite my efforts, forming sentences quickly remained a challenge. I found
myself preparing conversations in advance, much like planning moves in a
chess game. My first “hello” was the opening move, and I would predict
possible replies, crafting my responses beforehand. This method helped me
navigate everyday situations like asking for directions or ordering food.
However, my strategy failed when talking to girls. Their unexpected remarks
left me speechless, and by the time I thought of a clever reply, they were
long gone.
Back in Hong Kong, my teachers had never spoken about the melody of
English—the way its pitch, rhythm, and tone create meaning. Even simple
sounds, like a sigh of frustration or a hum of approval, differed between
English and Chinese.
Surprisingly, I discovered a way to understand this musicality while resting in
a busy shopping mall. As I drifted between wakefulness and sleep, I stopped
focusing on individual words and instead noticed the natural rhythm of the
language. English sounded like the chime of glass bells, its tones rising and
falling in a pattern I could almost clap along to.
From that moment, my relationship with English changed. It was no longer
just about grammar and vocabulary—I had learned to listen to its music.
Comprehension Questions
1. Identify the main verb in this sentence: “Watching shows like Sons and Daughters
and The Young Doctors became my daily routine.”
2. Rewrite this sentence in the past perfect tense: “I focused on their conversations,
imitating their words, tone, and expressions.”
3. Convert this sentence into passive voice: “My teachers had never spoken about the
melody of English.”
4. Find an example of a complex sentence in the story and explain its structure.
5. Rewrite the following sentence in direct speech: “He realized that speaking well
begins with listening carefully.”
Tuesday, March 11, 2025 Copyrightⓒ AIM Coaching
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6. What does the word “exaggerated” mean in the context of the story?
7. Find a synonym for “navigate” as used in the passage.
8. What is the meaning of “prosodic” in the original story?
9. Use “unexpected” in a sentence of your own.
10. Identify a metaphor used in the story and explain its meaning.
11. What two soap operas did the narrator watch to learn English?
12. How did the narrator describe English in the shopping mall?
13. Why did the narrator compare preparing for conversations to playing chess?
14. What was the narrator’s main difficulty when speaking to girls?
15. Where was the narrator originally from?
16. What lesson did the narrator learn about language beyond grammar and vocabulary?
17. How did dozing in a mall help the narrator understand English?
18. Why was listening such an important part of the narrator’s learning process?
19. How did the narrator's approach to learning English change over time?
20. What does the narrator mean when he says, “English sounded like the chime of glass
bells”?
21. Why do you think soap operas were useful for the narrator’s learning?
22. What advice would you give someone learning a new language based on the
narrator’s experience?
23. How do you think emotions play a role in language learning?
24. Do you think the narrator's strategy of preparing conversations in advance was
effective? Why or why not?
25. If you were to learn a new language, what methods from the story would you use,
and what other techniques might you try?
Prompt 1: (Narrative Writing)
Imagine a world where no one cared about others' struggles, where people only looked after
themselves, and where kindness was rare. Now, picture a world where a simple act of
sympathy changes someone’s entire day, or even their life. Sympathy is not just feeling
sorry for someone; it is the ability to understand, share, and respond to their emotions. It is
what makes us human.
Prompt 2 :
Tuesday, March 11, 2025 Copyrightⓒ AIM Coaching
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Solutions:
