Alice, Brian, Carol and David need to cross a bridge within 17 minutes. The bridge will collapse if more than two people are on it at a time. Alice can cross in 1 minute, Brian in 2 minutes, Carol in 5 minutes, and David in 10 minutes. They must use a single torch to cross as it is dark. The group works out a plan to get all four people across the bridge safely within the 17 minute timeframe.

1. English:
Approached using speech
and understanding

2. Crossing the Bridge
Alice, Brian, Carol and David
have to cross a bridge in 17
minutes. The bridge will
collapse if there are more
than two people on it at the
same time. It is dark and it is
too impossible to cross the
bridge without a torch. There
is only one torch.

3. Alice can cross the bridge in 1 minute. The
others are wounded or injured to varying
degrees which means that it takes:
Brian 2 minutes to cross the bridge;
Carol 5 minutes to cross the bridge;
David 10 minutes to cross the bridge.
If there is more than one person on the
bridge, the bridge can only be crossed at the
speed of the slowest person. How can they
cross the bridge in 17 minutes?

4. 2
Alice(1 min) and Brian(2 min) cross the
bridge.
Alice(1 min) takes the torch back to the 3
other side.
Carol(5 min) and David(10 min) cross
the bridge. 13
Brian(2 min) takes the torch back to the
other side 15
Alice(1 min) and Brian(2 min) cross the
bridge.
17

5. English:
Approached using speech
and understanding

6. 10
How many words do you
need to know in order to
understand 25% of what
native English speakers
say and write?

7. The Oxford English Corpus (OEC) is a collection of texts
(books, newspapers, magazines,base form of speeches etc.)
Lemma = A ‘lemma’ is the blogs, emails, a word; for
that showsthe lemma ‘climb’ includes the different
example how the English language is used in real situations.
It keeps track of all the words native English speakers use in
speaking & writing. It tells us the and climbed
word forms climbs, climbing, number of words that
English speakers currently use.

8. Laggard - a person or thing that does
not keep up with others
Endobenthic (english) - Living within
the sediment of a lake or sea floor;
infauna. Also called endobiontic
Pomology - the branch of botany that
studies the cultivation of fruit.

9. Think of the 90% level.
According to this chart, you only need to know
10 Native speakers what native
words to understand 25% of use just
speakers say and write.
You 7000 words for understand 50%
need to know 100 words to 90% of
of what native speakers say & write, and 1000
what they 75% of and words used
words to understand say all the write
in common, every day English.

10. Today’s Puzzle
You are driving in your car – it is a two-
seater sports car. You pass a bus stop and
see three people standing there waiting for
the bus:

11. Beforewho looks as if she is about to
1. An old lady you tell me what a
and is in urgentand decide
Think need of medical attention.
die silly game this is and wonder
why we aren’t learning
2. An old friend who once saved your life.
yourman (or woman)– know
answer that for many
English, you should
3. The perfect
you
yearsmust been dreaming of meeting
you have explain what
this was used by a
multinational company as
choicetheir job interview
part of
you make (in
Who do you offer a ride to –
good – it poses an
process English)
knowing that there can only be
one ethical/moral dilemma
passenger in your car?

12. The winning candidate – out
of 200 applicants- gave this
answer:
I would stop, give the car
keys to my friend and
ask him to give the old
lady a lift to the nearest
hospital – I would
remain at the bus stop
with the person of my
dreams

13. Look at the
picture – tell
me what a
homophone
is

14. Some common Homophones

15. What parallels can you draw between
the farmer described in this advert
and the life of a Christian disciple?

16. Poor
Listening
Habits

17. What bad listening habits
have you picked up over
the years?
Judgmental listening –
jumping to conclusions
about the speaker
Selective listening – only
hearing what you want to
hear.

18. Impatient listening –
finishing other people’s
sentences, interrupting them
Egocentric listening –
thinking about what you’ll say
as others are talking
Patronizing listening –
pretending to listen, but really
off in your own world.
Stubborn listening –
listening, but not open-your
mind is already made up.

19. Can you relate to any of
these common pitfalls?
Your ability to move
past them will have a
profound impact on
your relationships, your
ability to communicate
effectively in English
and also your
effectiveness in
leadership.

20. Commonly mispronounced words

21. Learning to Listen
If you want to become
a great listener, you’ll
need to work on two
things:
- Showing empathy
- Asking good
questions

22. Show Empathy
em•pa•thy - [Gk. empatheia]
The action of understanding,
being aware of, being
sensitive
…experiencing the feelings,
thoughts, and experience of
another without having the
feelings, thoughts, and
experience fully explained

23. Empathy is about
entering into another
person’s situation.
It involves
understanding how
others feel and
showing that you
genuinely care.

24. Good listeners are
great at this. They
might;
- Nod
- Show concern in their
faces
- Give an occasional
“hmmm,”
- Display real interest
in what you’re saying.

25. When we listen
empathetically to others,
they tend to become
receptive to what we have
to say in return. They see
that we’re not focused on
advancing our agenda or
“winning” the
conversation.

26. Empathy Role Play
– in pairs, for the whole class
We (the whole class) shall
- Two plays
be commenting on your
– in the of English and also
use first you have to
demonstrate a lack of care, even
your ability to show
anger with the person concerned
empathy and listen well to
– in the second you have to show
another person
empathy towards them
1. Person A who’s pet rabbit has
just died – person B is comforting
them

27. 2. Person A has forgotten to do their
assignment for Richard – person B is
trying to encourage them that it will
not be too bad when they tell him
3. Person A has a bad stomach
ache (from eating too many chilies
– person B is comforting them

28. “People don’t
care how much
you know until
they know how
much you care.”
Do the people you listen to know
how much you care about them?
Do they share openly with you?

29. You have just met a
famous person and
want to keep their
attention whilst other
people are competing to
take them away from
you.
Name your chosen
person and give three
questions you might
ask them to ensure they
stay and talk to you.

30. Pronouncing the ‘th’ sound

31. Ask Good Questions
Which doctor would you
prefer?
One who barges through the
door and immediately begin
trying to sell you the latest
and greatest drug on the
market?
One who asks questions first
– then gives a diagnosis

32. Any good doctor knows that
you never give a prescription
without first making a
diagnosis.
Doctors take the time to look
into your eyes, listen to your
heartbeat, ask where it hurts,
etc.
Then they draw a conclusion,
make a diagnosis and give
you a prescription.

33. Have you learned to
poke and prod (like a
doctor examining you)
during your
conversations with
others? Or, do you make
assumptions and jump
to conclusions?

34. Many Christian’s (esp.
leaders) believe they’re
supposed to have
answers, not questions.
Asking good questions
doesn’t make you weak;
good questions help you
connect with people and
understand where they’re
really coming from. It’s a
sign of strength.

35. Are you a good listener?
Attitudes
5 = Almost Always
3 = Occasionally
1 = Almost Never
an opinion or general feeling about something

36. 1 Do you like to listen
to other people talk?
2 Do you encourage
other people to talk?
3 Do you listen, even if
you do not like the
person who is
talking?

37. 4 Do you listen equally
well whether the
person is man or
woman, black or
white, young or old?
5 Do you listen equally
well to friend,
acquaintance and
stranger?

38. Actions
5 = Almost Always
3 = Occasionally
1 = Almost Never
When talking or listening to
someone...

39. When talking or listening
to someone......
6. Do you put what you
have been doing out of
sight and out of mind?
7. Do you look at the
speaker?
8. Do you try to ignore
the distractions around
you?

40. When talking or listening to someone...
9. Do you smile, nod your head and
otherwise encourage the speaker to
talk?
10. Do you think about what is being
said?

41. Comprehension
5 = Almost Always
3 = Occasionally
1 = Almost Never
To grasp of the meaning of something

42. 11 Do you try to
understand what the
speaker means?
12 Do you try to
understand why the
speaker is trying to
communicate
13 Do you let the
speaker finish what
they are trying to
say?

43. 14 If the speaker
hesitates do you
encourage him to
go on?
15 Do you restate
what is said to
check your
understanding?

44. Evaluation
5 = Almost Always
3 = Occasionally
1 = Almost Never
The act of considering or examining something in order
to judge its value, quality, importance, extent, or
condition

45. 16 Do you withhold
judgment about
ideas until the
speaker has
finished?
17 Do you listen,
regardless of the
manner of
speaking and
choice of the
words?

46. 18 Do you listen, even though you
anticipate what the speaker is going
to say?
19 Do you question the speaker in order
to get a full explanation of ideas?
20 Do you ask the speaker to define
technical or unfamiliar words he
uses?

47. Scoring Guide
Less than 50
Do you pay attention to
anyone?
Is it worth including you in a
team?

48. 50-70
Danger exists of losing
contact with people. You
need to work a little harder
and pay attention to areas
highlighted

49. Over 70
You are a good listener.
One challenge would be to
let your partner or a close
friend complete the form
for you - how do you score
then?

50. Look at the
picture – tell
me what a
homonym is

51. The key to understanding the humour in this cartoon
is the word ‘spirit’. ‘Spirit’ is an example of a
‘homonym’: a word which has the same spelling and
a pronunciation as another word, but with a different
meaning. In this case, ‘spirit’ can mean ‘a ghost-like
spirit’ or a ‘hard type of alcohol’, for example,
whiskey or vodka.

52. Some common Homonyms

54. 7 openings on your head – only 1
for speech!

55. GETTING PERSONAL
Think about your own listening ability.
On a scale of one to ten (ten being the
strongest), how would you rate yourself
as a listener? If you are really brave, have
a friend fill it out for you!
I display empathy and show genuine
interest in others.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
<poor excellent>

56. My body language shows
attentiveness.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
<poor excellent>
I seek to understand before being
understood.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
<poor excellent>

57. I ask relevant questions and engage in
others’ thoughts.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
<poor excellent>
I am open; I avoid judging others or
interrupting them.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
<poor excellent>