| about this site | who we are | site map | reading tips | teaching tips | student tips | build vocab | | teaching vocab | hot links | visit Thai school | Bangkok Post | Post books | student weekly | home

This column is for self-study or classroom use and gives guided help with reading the wide variety of writing styles and topics that appear as feature articles in the Bangkok Post. The lessons include background information, skill-building practice and vocabulary explanations. October 21, 2003 What would you say about this? INTRODUCTION

The newspaper is a great source of fun pictures to talk about. Two of them are here today. What would you say, what descriptive words would you use to say what the picture is about? Today you can have some fun doing just that and building your vocabulary as well. Teachers: This can be a fun vocabulary building activity for your students. Because they will be actively engaged in finding words for a purpose and in a competitive situation, they will be able to use and remember them. Have your class working in teams of four or five and give half of the teams one picture, the other half the other. There are some suggested words in the lists below, words students might not think of themselves. Put these lists on the board for students to choose which words can be applied to their picture. Their task is to add as many words as possible to the lists drawing on their own knowledge and from sources such as synonym dictionaries, Thai-English dictionaries and thesauruses. Adjectives Nouns Verbs Adverbs inventive guinea pig create dangerously stunning exhibitionist remodel artistically awkward handyman endure painstakingly patient entrepreneur show off proudly ..... ..... ..... ..... You might want to give a limited time to make this more of a competition. At the end of the work time, collect the words together, making sure students can use each one before you give points. As a follow-up, have students imagine meeting the person in the picture and write two or three questions they would like to ask. Encourage them to use some of the new words from the collected list. Students: Here’s what to do: Your teacher will give you a picture that appeared recently in the Bangkok Post. Look at it and read the caption. Then work as a team of four or five to list as many words as you can to talk about the picture. Your teacher will give you a few suggested words to get you started, but not all of them will apply to your picture. You and your teammates will know some other words, but try to use dictionaries and thesauruses to fill out your list. Be prepared to use your words to talk about your picture — only words you can use will gain you points. The team with the most points wins.

OUR STORIES FROM THE BANGKOK POST HIGH AND DRY Floods are no problem for Khom Suksaimuang, a 44-year-old vendor of kanomchin Kalaya (Kalaya white noodles) to customers in Phetchabun province in northern Thailand. Mr Khom, who has been delivering noodles for 20 years, decided to retool his old tricycle last year when heavy floods disrupted his business. Having built a new raised body, Mr Khom says he's ready for whatever Nature brings his way. — SURAPOL PROMSAKA NA SAKOLNAKORN BEST ARM FORWARD Thatiya In-amkha, a second year student at Suphan Buri Art College, serves as a model for a body painting contest at Seacon Square mall. — SOMCHAI POOMLARD • This lesson was prepared by Maureen Paetkau, a professional teacher of English as a second and foreign language and Assistant Manager and Webmaster for Learning Post at the Bangkok Post. Read our other instant lesson here. Return to our home page. | Comments to Maureen at maureen@bangkokpost.co.th | | © The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd. All rights reserved 2003 | Last modified: October 20, 2003