Language focus: Study the following phrases and use them whenever you express your opinion.

Agreement	Partial agreement	Disagreement
That’s right -You’re right- I know Exactly Absolutely. -You can say that again -You’re telling me I agree (entirely/ absolutely) -I couldn’t agree more. …	-I agree up to a point, but I wouldn’t go as far as to say that -I take your point, but You’ve got a point there, but….That’s true, but….. -I suppose so – I guess so -I’m inclined to agree	-I’m afraid I can’t agree with you – I’m sorry, but Excuse me, but Of course not -I disagree I don’t know

Activity 1:

Look at the following dialogue and put the expressions used to show agreement/disagreement/partial agreement in the following table.

Firomsa: Our earth is getting hotter. It’s because of pollution and much more.

Roman: I agree with you. Then, what should we do? Any idea?

Fromsa : Hmmm…. I think we must prohibit the use of vehicles or factory activities that damage the river for a while.

Roman : Umm…I’m not sure I can agree. Your ideas are too excessive. It’s impossible. I think we must do reforestation along way and cooperate with many people to make it happen.

Fromsa : Ah that’s right, I agree completely. But, we have a problem here,

Roman : What’s that?

Fromsa : Where can we get the plants?

Roman: Don’t worry. My uncle sells a lot of plants. So, we can buy from him.

Fromsa : That’s a good idea.

Roman: But the problem is…The price he sets for each plant is so expensive.

Fromsa: Oh if that’s the case, how can we afford to buy? I think we should ask for loans.

Roman: No. I can’t agree. We should rather ask him to donate. Fromsa: To donate? How come? He is a merchant. He works for profit. Roman: I’m afraid I don’t agree. It is part of his social responsibility.

Fromsa: Umm… Ok, I’m in a dilemma. Anyways, let’s try.

Agreement	Partial Agreement	Disagreement

Syllables and Stress

Syllables are the basic units of pronunciation in English and are made up of one or more vowel sounds, often accompanied by surrounding consonant sounds. Here are some examples and explanations:

1.Single-Syllable Words:

• Cat: This word has one syllable, /kæt/. The vowel sound /æ/ is surrounded by the consonant sounds /k/ and /t/.
• Dog: Another single-syllable word, /dɔːɡ/, with the vowel sound /ɔː/ and consonant sounds /d/ and /ɡ/.

2.Two-Syllable Words:

• Table: This word has two syllables, /ˈteɪ.bəl/. The syllables are divided into /teɪ/ and /bəl/, with the vowel sounds /eɪ/ and /ə/ separated by consonants /t/ and /b/.
• Happy: Another example, /ˈhæp.i/, with syllables /hæ/ and /pi/, and vowel sounds /æ/ and /i/.

3.Three-Syllable Words:

• Elephant: This word has three syllables, /ˈɛ.lə.fənt/. The syllables are /ɛ/, /lə/, and /fənt/, with vowel sounds /ɛ/, /ə/, and /ə/.
• Computer: Another example, /kəmˈpjuː.tər/, with syllables /kəm/, /pjuː/, and /tər/, and vowel sounds /ə/, /juː/, and /ə/.

4.Words with More Syllables:

• Celebration: A longer word with four syllables, /ˌsɛl.ɪˈbreɪ.ʃən/. The syllables are /sɛl/, /ɪ/, /breɪ/, and /ʃən/, with vowel sounds /ɛ/, /ɪ/, /eɪ/, and /ən/.
• Unbelievable: Another example with five syllables, /ˌʌn.bɪˈliː.və.bəl/, divided into /ʌn/, /bɪ/, /liː/, /və/, and /bəl/, with vowel sounds /ʌ/, /ɪ/, /iː/, /ə/, and /əl/.

In English, syllables help determine the rhythm and flow of speech. Each syllable typically contains one vowel sound, though there can be exceptions, especially in connected speech or dialectical variations. Understanding syllables is important for pronunciation, stress patterns, and even spelling rules in English.

Double Vowel Sounds

It’s not the number of sound that make up a syllable, rather it is the number of single vowel sounds. Sometimes, a number of vowels combine to make just a single sound.

For example:

1. tree = 1 sound
2. goal = 1 sound
3. because = 1 sound

Common Double Vowel Sounds

It’s important to learn spelling patterns for these sounds. Here are some of the most common ones:

ay – (diphthong EI sound) play, say, may

au – (long A sound) fault, launch, haunt

augh – (long A sound) caught, taught, daughter

augh – (short A sound as in “cat”) laugh

ee – (long EE sound) tree, see, three

ea – (long EE sound) each, peach, teach ea – (short E sound) dead, head, health ea – (long EE sound) break, steak,

eu – (long U sound) deuce, sleuth

ei – (diphthong EI sound) beil, eight, weigh

ey – (diphthong EI sound) they, grey

eigh – (diphthong EI sound) eight, freight

eigh – (diphthong AI sound) height ie – (long EE sound) thief, piece oo – (long U sound) moo, boo

oo – (short U sound) book, foot oa – (long O sound) boat, moat oe – (long O sound) hoe, Joe

oi – (diphthong OY sound) soil, toil

ou – (long O sound), your