In The Name of God

Topic:
Interview

Tutor:
Ms. Chnour Khalandi

By:
Parisa Behzadi Mohammadi

Subject:
TKT Course

Summer, 2017
Table of Contents
Interviewer: .............................................................................................................................. 4

Interviewee's Background: ..................................................................................................... 4

Speaking: .................................................................................................................................. 4

Solution1: .................................................................................................................................. 4

Solution2: .................................................................................................................................. 4

Grammar: ................................................................................................................................. 5

Solution1: .................................................................................................................................. 5

Solution2: .................................................................................................................................. 5

Writing:..................................................................................................................................... 5

Solution1: .................................................................................................................................. 6

Solution2: .................................................................................................................................. 6

Reading: .................................................................................................................................... 6

Solution1: .................................................................................................................................. 6

Solution2: .................................................................................................................................. 6

Name of the Suggested Books: ................................................................................................ 7

Many a Shadow ........................................................................................................................ 7

A Bull on The Beach: ............................................................................................................... 7

Notes from a Small Island ....................................................................................................... 7

Enduring Love.......................................................................................................................... 7

Teacher Man............................................................................................................................. 7

The Island ................................................................................................................................. 7

A Room with a View ................................................................................................................ 8

Notes from a Big Country ....................................................................................................... 8

Name of the Suggested Movies: .............................................................................................. 8

Jaws (1975) ............................................................................................................................... 8

Skyfall (2012) ............................................................................................................................ 9

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The Matrix Reloaded (2003): ................................................................................................ 10

Margin Call (2011):................................................................................................................ 10

Blade Runner (1982):............................................................................................................. 11

This is England (2006): .......................................................................................................... 12

The Theory of Everything (2014): ........................................................................................ 12

Notting Hill (1999): ................................................................................................................ 13

Listening: ................................................................................................................................ 13

Solution1: ................................................................................................................................ 13

Solution2: ................................................................................................................................ 13

Vocabulary: ............................................................................................................................ 14

Solution1: ................................................................................................................................ 14

Solution2: ................................................................................................................................ 14

References ............................................................................................................................... 15

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Interviewer:
I am Parisa Behzadi Mohammadi. Im 28 years old. I am asked to write an interview about the
English background of somebody. Im writing about his Speaking, Reading, Listening,
Writing, Grammar and vocabulary.

Interviewee's Background: My interviewee is Farid Sarbazvatan. He is 24 years old. His

English Knowledge is at CAE level.

Speaking:
His speaking is at a good level. He can express the things that he wants to mention. He can
communicate easily, but he has a problem that puts his speaking in trouble. He is trying to
speak fast that makes his speaking seem less attractive.

Solution1: We can decrease or increase the speed of our speech by the speed of vowels'
pronunciation. So, the faster we pronounce the vowels, the faster we speak. He needs to
pronounce the vowels more slowly in order to speak slowly. So he has to read at least 5 minutes
every day, but by trying to stretch the vowels more than he does now. By following this advice
he can reduce his speed in speaking. (Selvin, 2008)

Solution2: He needs to practice putting pauses in his sentences. He has to practice it by

himself first in the case that he sits in front of a mirror and practice it alone. Later on he has
too practice it when he is looking and talking to people. By looking in their eyes he can
understand that if they understand what he says or not. He can practice as it is shown in the
following example (Stephan, 2012):

/A curious child //asked his mother/: /Mommy/, /why are// some of your
hair//turning grey?/

/The mother tried to use// this occasion to teach her child/:/ It is because
of you/, /dear/./Every bad action of yours// will turn one of my hair grey!/

/The child replied innocently/: /Now I know//why grandmother has/

/only grey hair/ on her head./

Stephen

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Grammar:
I checked his grammar by asking him to write a writing about the reading he has read and also
while he was speaking about the listening he has listened to. There were some grammatical
problems that he needs to be aware of them. If he corrects some minor problems that he has
got, he will communicate better.

For instance he doesnt pay attention to subject verb agreement in most of sentences like the
following sentence America earn a lot. He needs to use America earns a lot. In another
sentence, like Literature have many things to offer. he repeats the same problem.

He has another problem too. He used a sentence in the following structure: Our country loses
the money that it spends on the manpower. As it is obvious, (Swan, 2005)A relative pronoun
is like the subject or object of the verb that comes after it. So we dont need another subject or
object. So he had to omit the it, which was extra.

Solution1: He needs to study and work more on grammar structure. I want to suggest him to
get use of Practical English usage (Swan, M., 2005). It is a rich and complete book for all
grammatical problems and practical usage of English. It is a reference book, so he can read
more about any other problems he faces.

Solution2: It is better for him to write about the things he reads or movies he watches. If he
tries to write for himself regularly and tries to check his grammatical problems himself, he will
be more conscious about grammatical structure.

Writing:
In writing an article, the first and the most important thing is format of it. If we dont know
what the format of writing is, we will find a group of sentences next to each other, but not a
writing. The correct format of writing makes it more understandable and more organized. The
correct format leads you in finding the correct place to find the wanted information.

The problem that he had in writing, was the lack of correct format of the writing. He started to
write a about the reading he has read, as I asked him to do it. He didnt start outlining his ideas
at least in his mind, to have a route to follow in his writing. He didnt write any introduction,
body and conclusion paragraphs. So he needs to be aware of what writing is and the way that
he has to follow to write a correct writing.

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Solution1: He should keep reading the book of Writing Academic English (Ashima, A.,
Houge, A., 2006). This book will let him know about all the structures of writing in details. He
will learn How to write topic sentence, supporting sentence, concluding sentence, and etc. in
easy words and with lots of practice. He can improve his writing skill by completing reading
this book which can help him with all writing types.

Solution2: While he is practicing his grammar skill by writing for himself, he can practice the
structures of the writing. He sometimes has to write in a week, in order to get use to write an
essay correctly. As we know practice makes perfect, so if he practices writing more and more
due to correct format of writing, he will write easily in any field he wants.

Reading:
In reading articles two things can be understood. The first one is the fluency and how well you
are good at pronouncing. The second issue is how well you understood the main idea of the
article. Understanding of the reading depends on how well we are at answering different
questions of how, what, who, where, when and etc., that leads us on better and full
understanding of the thing that we are reading (Khalandi, 2017). If we read more, it will be
easier to understand what we read.

By being keen on his reading skill, he was good at understanding the whole article. He could
mention what was the article about and what elements have been discussed there. On the other
hand he had problem of pronunciation and fluency. There were pauses between the words he
was pronouncing, and also there were some words such as Prodigies, Canada, Though, Asia
and Ominous that he had problem pronouncing them.

Solution1: I think one way to improve pronunciation is watching movies. By watching movies
your ear hears the correct pronunciation of lots of different vocabularies and you can learn lots
of new vocabularies.

Solution2: Reading out loud make you aware of your pauses and lack of fluency in your
reading. So if he practices on reading out loud for himself every day, especially on literature
books, after a while he will improve on fluency and it will be easier for him to pronounce the
vocabularies.

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Name of the Suggested Books:
Many a Shadow is a 2015 biography by David Barter. William Turner was a country lad,
born in a small farm cottage in Oxfordshire at the end of the First World War. Growing up in
this rural idyll, William thrived, attending school and becoming an apprentice carpenter.
Before long, William was called into the army, where he was part of the Normandy invasion
and the subsequent bitter fighting throughout France. 364 pages (Aloy, 2014).

A Bull on The Beach: Enjoying The Good Life in Mallorca is a 2012 novel by Anna
Nicholas. Having settled in a Mallorcan mountain idyll, Anna Nicholas, her husband the
Scotsman, and their son Ollie want to become as self-sufficient as possible. 347 pages (Aloy,
2014).

Notes from a Small Island is a humorous travel book on Great Britain by American author
Bill Bryson, first published in 1995. Bryson covers all corners of the island observing and
talking to people. On his way, Bryson provides historical information on the places he visits,
and expresses amazement at the heritage in Britain. Sideways, Bryson pays homage to the
humble self-effacing fortitude of British people under trying times such as the World Wars
and Great Depression, as well as the various peculiarities of Britain and British English. 327
pages (Aloy, 2014).

Enduring Love (1997) is a novel by British writer Ian McEwan. On a beautiful and
cloudless day, a middle-aged couple celebrate their union with a picnic. Joe Rose and his long-
term partner Clarissa Mellon are about to open a bottle of champagne when a cry interrupts
them. A hot air balloon, with a 10-year-old boy in the basket and his grandfather being dragged
behind it, has been ripped from its moorings. Joe immediately joins several other men in an
effort to bring the balloon to safety. In the rescue attempt, one man, John Logan, dies. 247
pages (Aloy, 2014).

Teacher Man is a 2005 memoir written by Frank McCourt which describes and reflects on
his teaching experiences in New York high schools and colleges. 272 pages (Aloy, 2014).

The Island is a historical novel written by Victoria Hislop in 2005. It has won several awards.
Set on the island of Spinalonga, off the coast of Crete, The Island tells the story of Alexis
Fielding, a teenager on the cusp of a life-changing decision. Alexis knows little or nothing
about her family's past and has always resented her mother for refusing to discuss it. She
knows only that her mother, Sofia, grew up in Plaka, a small Cretan village, before moving to

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London. Making her first visit to Crete to see the village where her mother was born, Alexis
discovers that the village of Plaka faces the small, now deserted island of Spinalonga, which,
she is shocked and surprised to learn was Greece's leper colony for much of the 20th century.
320 pages (Aloy, 2014).

A Room with a View is a 1908 novel by English writer E. M. Forster, about a young woman
in the repressed culture of Edwardian England. Set in Italy and England, the story is both a
romance and a critique of English society at the beginning of the 20th century. Merchant-
Ivory produced an award-winning film adaptation in 1985. In 1998, the Modern Library
ranked A Room with a View 79th on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the
20th century. 256 pages (Aloy, 2014).

Notes from a Big Country is a collection of articles written by Bill Bryson for The Mail
on Sunday from 1996 to 1998. The book was published in 1998. When Bill Bryson returned
to the USA he was asked to write a weekly column about what life was like in the big country.
The results, combined here to make a book, are funny and insightful, making you snigger. Full
of descriptions and statistics. 368 pages (Aloy, 2014).

Name of the Suggested Movies:

Watching films can be a great way for people to learn English. We all have our favorite movie
moments; and even as passive viewers, theyre probably teaching you more than you realize.
(Zazulak, 2015 )

Jaws (1975)

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We may as well start with one of the most famous and quoted speeches in cinema, in which
intrepid shark hunter Quint, explains that his hatred of the creatures stems from experiencing
the sinking of the warship, the USS Indianapolis, during World War II and witnessing his
fellow survivors being picked off by sharks (based on real events). Its a scene thats the subject
of a story as fascinating as the dialogue itself. Originally conceived by uncredited writer Harold
Sackler, the scene was later expanded to 10 pages by director Steven Spielbergs friend John
Milius before Robert Shaw, the actor playing Quint, did an edit that took the speech down to
five pages (Zazulak, 2015 ). When a young woman is killed by a shark while skinny-dipping
near the New England tourist Town of Amity Island, police Chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider)
wants to close the beaches, but Mayor Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) overrules him, fearing
that the loss of tourist revenue will cripple the town (Kendrick, 2012).

Skyfall (2012)

An interesting addition which is directed by Sam Mendes for two reasons: firstly, it illustrates
how tone can dictate the context of speech. In the scene the villain, Raoul Silva, makes his
introduction; regaling James Bond with a story about how, as a child, he used to stay with his
aunt on an island that he recalls as being a paradise. As his speech progresses, however, it
takes a more sinister turn as he describes how the island became infested by rats that they had
to trap in a barrel and which soon resort to cannibalism to survive. The two surviving rats, he
suggests, are him and Bond two men that have been forged by violent lives effectively
demonstrating the illustrative power of metaphors.

Secondly, the scene is notable because Javier Bardem, the actor playing Silva, is a Spanish
speaker (hailing from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria). Despite having a successful career in

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Spain, the actor learnt English and soon became a Hollywood star via films like Skyfall and
No Country for Old Men. For that reason, hes definitely an English learning role model.
The scene is therefore interesting because it highlights how impactful language can be even
with an economy of words, while the story of its creation shows how important it can be to
review and edit what we write in order to be more effective (Zazulak, 2015 ).

The Matrix Reloaded (2003):

This notoriously verbose scene, in which the films hero, Neo, meets The Architect of The
Matrix, is both an illustration of advanced English and an example of how being more articulate
doesnt always make your point more understandable. The movie is directed by Lana
Wachowski, and Lilly Wachowski in 2003 which is probably best to watch the scene with a
pad and pen and write down any of the words you dont understand, of which there may be
quite a few, so that you can look up their meanings later. Even advanced speakers might not
know the meaning of words like concordantly, pertinent, inherent, eventuality,
anomaly and assiduously, to name but a few (Zazulak, 2015 ).

Margin Call (2011):

A film directed by J. C. Chandor in 2011 which is about the financial crisis of 2007-8, this
scene vividly illustrates business English being used in context, while also highlighting when
plain speaking can be preferable to being technical. In the scene John Tuld, the CEO of the
financial firm (played by Jeremy Irons) impatiently asks senior risk analyst Peter (played by

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Zachary Quinto), to tell him about the impending financial crash in plain English (Zazulak,
2015 ).

Blade Runner (1982):

We should end with a monologue that, like Jaws, is among the most powerful in film history.
Its also a great example of how beautifully the English language can conjure up mental
imagery which is directed by Ridley Scott in 1982. In the scene, Roy Batty, a dying
bioengineered replicant, tells Deckard (played by Harrison Ford) about the things he has
experienced in his life. These include attack ships on fire off the Shoulder of Orion and c-
beams glitter in the dark near Tannhuser Gate. And though we never see the places hes
describing, the dialogue evokes some powerful imagery. Additionally, the scene ends with a
line that shows how poetic the English language can be: All these moments will be lost in
time, like tears in rain. (Zazulak, 2015 ).

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This is England (2006):

Another film which is not the best for children, but certainly worth watching anyway is This
is England. This story is set in the 1980s and follows the story of a young boy (Thomas
Turgoose) who lost his father in the Falklands war and finds friendship and respect amidst a
group of skinheads. Theres plenty of history, British slang, idioms and accents for you to enjoy
with this one, and a great insight to working class British culture. This movie is directed by
Shane Meadows in 2006 (Zazulak, 2015 ).

The Theory of Everything (2014):

Based in Cambridge, England, this film is about the life of Stephen Hawking (Eddie
Redmayne) world-renowned physicist and cosmologist that is directed by James Marsh in

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2014. Aside from being a beautifully-shot film, The Theory of Everything is understandably
emotional and inspiring and makes you want to read more of Stephens work. Oxford and
Cambridge are beautiful cities, and youll definitely want to visit after watching this. Warning:
some of the language is too scientific and specific even for native English speakers (Spoken
english practice, 2016)!

Notting Hill (1999):

Who doesnt love Hugh Grant? Gloriously nineties and ever so cute, Notting Hill is a romantic-
comedy about a bookshop owner (Hugh Grant) whose life is thrown upside-down after a
famous American actress (Julia Roberts) steps foot in his shop. Naturally, as Notting Hill is a
very romantic area, an affair begins to blossom. This film is that is directed by Roger Michell
in 1999 is especially good for hearing the difference between British English and American
English whilst being pretty easy to keep up with, if your listening skills still need practice
(Spoken english practice, 2016).

Listening:
Listening is the first way for starting learning. If we are good listeners, we understand things
easily. He is good at listening that by listening to the listening part he could talk about the
whole idea of the listening and also mentioned the details of the listening.

Solution1: Even when we are good at something, there is a way for improvement. He can
watch English movies to improve more than it is. In sum, there is always need to be better.

Solution2: Listening to music pieces in his everyday life can make his ear even sharper than
it is at the moment.

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Vocabulary:
If we have a good vocabulary knowledge, we can express our ideas even easier. He has a good
range of vocabulary, but we can make it richer the day after day.

Solution1: Even though movies are good source of improving the listening and pronunciation,
it can be a good source of learning lots of new vocabularies. He can learn more vocabularies
by watching movies too.

Solution2: As we read every day we can gain more and more. He can widen his vocabulary
knowledge by reading literary books either.

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References
Aloy, T. (2014, September 24). English C2. Retrieved from
http://englishc2.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/reading-list-c2-2013-2014.html

Kendrick, B. (2012, September 11). Screenrant. Retrieved from

http://screenrant.com/skyfall-movie-reviews/

Khalandi, C. (2017). TKT. Tabriz.

Selvin, P. (2008, January 24). How to reduce my speed in speaking. Retrieved from
http://www.memory-improvement-tips.com/how-to-reduce-my-speed-in-
speaking.html

Spoken english practice. (2016, June 22). Retrieved from

http://www.spokenenglishpractice.com/learn-british-english/

Stephan. (2012, April 27). Retrieved from Motivation:

http://academictips.org/blogs/funny-short-stories/

Swan, M. (2005). In M. Swan, Practical English Usage (p. 500). Jungle Publication.

Zazulak, S. (2015 , November 12). Retrieved from Pearson:

https://www.english.com/blog/5-great-film-scenes-can-help-improve-english

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