GENERAL ENGLISH: VOCABULARY, READING AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS COURSE
UNIT 1
WHAT IS THAT?
UNIT ORGANIZATION
OBJECTIVES
Pre- Students are able to:
Unit 1. Identify the purpose of the
descriptive text.
2. Get the nuance of language
and expression used in a
descriptive text.
3. Identify the word categories
to determine the meaning.
4. Use words based on their
functions to create different
meanings.
5. Get the religious value and
the real world connection
from the topic discussed
Core- Students are able to:
Unit 1. Read a text with a good
pronunciation.
2. Identify the idea of a text.
3. Get the detail information of
the text.
4. Respond to a description.
Post- Students are able to:
Unit 1. Describe things/phenomena
in accordance with their
major/field of study/interest,
using a good language
expression and
pronunciation.
2. Present their description
using an interesting media.
SECTIONS ACTIVITIES
Critical Thinking  Building Context from
Pictures/Headlines/Clips/
Aperception Questions.
 Discussing the religious values
and the real world connection
from the topic.
Words in context:  Categorizing words by its
Identifying part of function to determine the
speech. meaning.
 Using words in a sentence.
Reading Skills  Answering pre-reading
questions.
 Reading aloud.
 Identifying topic and main idea.
 Getting meaning from its
context.
 Answering questions based on
the text.
 Questioning some information
from the text.
 Completing sentences using
words from a text.
Presentation:  Describing things/phenomena
describing in front of the class.
things/phenomena  Giving comments to the
presentation.
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GENERAL ENGLISH: VOCABULARY, READING AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS COURSE

1 CRITICAL THINKING
This section encourages the students to connect their background knowledge about a topic to the
real world life, as well as to the Islamic value; and engange them to think critically about the topic.
This section also aims to expose the nuance of language and expression used in describing things or
someone.

Look at these pictures.

1. What kind of places are they?

2. Do you know the name of these
places?
3. Where are they located?
4. Have you ever been to one of
these places?
5. What you likely could see there?
6. Do you know about any
tradition/ special habits the
people do around that place?

(Pictures taken from: http://jihandavincka.com/2015/08/26/saat-kabah-hanya-berjarak-satu-jam-saja/;

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gyeongbok-gung_palace-05_(xndr).jpg; http://www.specialholidays.net/package-colourful-
rajasthan; http://travelinnate.com/buckingham-palace/)

2 WORDS IN CONTEXT

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 GENERAL ENGLISH: VOCABULARY, READING AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS COURSE

This section guides the students to improve their scanning and skimming reading skills by
eliciting a descriptive text about a topic and disccussing the general purposes of the text; as
well as to define words in context by identifying part of speech of words.

READING EXERCISE

A. Find these following word int the text and try to guess the meaning of the words below.
1. Fasting (verb) : ______________
2. Desire (noun) : ______________
3. Awaited (verb) : ______________
4. Erases (verb) : ______________
5. Dusk (adj) : _______________

Ngabuburit: Fasting Tradition In Bandung

Ramadhan is an Islamic name for the fasting month which takes place once a year. It is a month that is
eagerly awaited by many Moslem believers, including Indonesian citizens of which over 80% of are
Muslim. Ramadhan is valued much higher than any other month because it is a month when Allah
erases all sins of Muslims who try hard to repent in this special month. It means that all Muslims should
fast the whole month and resist not only the need to eat and drink, but most important is the control of
desire and anger.

Ramadhan is special not just because it is a month when the gate of heaven is open wide, but also
because Ramadhan contains two special days: Nuzulul Quran and Lailatul Qadar. Nuzulul Quran falls on
the 17th night of Ramadhan. It is a night when the holy Quran was first granted to the great prophet
Muhammad. Lailatul Qadar is a night of Ramadhan that is worth more than a thousand ordinary
months. It is a night when all prayers will have great opportunity to be granted by Allah.

Many activities take place to celebrate Ramadhan. The Sundanese people in Bandung often go out
before dusk with friends or family to welcome the moment of buka puasa, which means breaking the
fast. They call it ngabuburit. Usually, places become public spots like Gasibu Field and Tugu Perjuangan
in front of Gedung Sate or in a wide yard of Tugu Pahlawan Cikutra. In Gasibu Field, people play evening
sports such as foot ball, jogging, biking, or even skateboarding without worrying of getting tired because

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 GENERAL ENGLISH: VOCABULARY, READING AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS COURSE

of fasting. While in Tugu Pahlawan, lots of children play with mercon, small fireworks that create specific
sounds.

One tradition for Muslims to break their Ramadhan fast at dusk is the serving of sweet drinks or snacks
for their appetizers before getting into main meals. So, during Ramadhan there are stalls along the
streets and markets selling dates and Kolak, the most famous snack in Ramadhan made of sweet
compote stewed in coconut milk and brown sugar. Beside Kolak, there are also Cendol (glutinous rice
balls stewed in coconut milk and brown sugar) and Rujak Cuka, Indonesian salad with vinegar.

Kids, teenagers, and even adults do ngabuburit also in the

mesjid (mosque) or mushola (prayer room). Usually, they do
pesantren kilat, an intensive course of learning the Quran.
They sit round reading the Quran and learning the Hadist (the
Prophet Muhammad's quotes), Fiqih (Islamic jurisprudence),
Tauhid (the concept of Oneness of Allah), Tasawuf (Sufism)
and NahwuSaraf (Arabic grammar) lead by a lecturer or even
kyai (preist).

The Mesjid or mosque is the place they usually come to after breaking the fast. The Islamic Center on
Jalan Diponegoro, Mesjid Agung Bandung on Dalem Kaum area, Mesjid Balai Kota, Mesjid Istiqomah on
Jalan Citarum, Mesjid Al-Ishlah in the Dago area are some of the big mosques in Bandung that are full of
Muslims every day in Ramadhan, especially at night when Muslims do tarawih, a special Ramadhan
evening prayer.

B. Study the text once again. Identify the part of speech and the meaning of 10 words from
the text. Then find out to which other part of speech the words could belong.

Example:
“ ... all Muslims should fast the whole month and resist not only the need to eat and
drink, ...”
DRINK

 Verb (kata kerja) : minum (kki); meminum (kkt)

 Noun (kata benda) : minuman

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GENERAL ENGLISH: VOCABULARY, READING AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS COURSE

WORDS PART OF SPEECH

NO.
NOUN VERB ADJECTIVE ADVERB
e.g: Drink √ √
1. Minum (kki)
Meaning Minuman
Meminum (kkt)

2.
Meaning

3.
Meaning

4.
Meaning

5.
Meaning

6.
Meaning

7.
Meaning

8.
Meaning

9.
Meaning

10.
Meaning

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GENERAL ENGLISH: VOCABULARY, READING AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS COURSE

Part of Speech

In the English language, words can be considered as the smallest

elements that have distinctive meanings. Based on their use and
functions, words are categorized into several types or parts of speech.
This article will offer definitions and examples for the 8 major parts of
speech in English
grammar:  noun, pronoun, verb, adverb, adjective, conjunction, prepositi
on, and interjection. However, this unit focuses only on four main part of
speech, namely noun, verb, adverb, adjective.

1. Noun

This part of a speech refers to words that are used to name persons,
things, animals, places, ideas, or events. Nouns are the simplest among
the 8 parts of speech, which is why they are the first ones taught to
students in primary school.
Examples:
 Tom Hanks is very versatile.
 The italicized noun refers to a name of a person.
 Dogs can be extremely cute.
 In this example, the italicized word is considered a noun because it
names an animal.
 It is my birthday.
 The word “birthday” is a noun which refers to an event.

There are different types of nouns namely:

 Proper– proper nouns always start with a capital letter and refers to
specific names of persons, places, or things.
Examples: Volkswagen Beetle, Shakey’s Pizza, Game of Thrones.

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GENERAL ENGLISH: VOCABULARY, READING AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS COURSE

 Common– common nouns are the opposite of proper nouns. These

are just generic names of persons, things, or places.
Examples: car, pizza parlor, TV series
 Concrete– this kind refers to nouns which you can perceive through
your five senses.
Examples: folder, sand, board
 Abstract- unlike concrete nouns, abstract nouns are those which you
can’t perceive through your five senses.
Examples: happiness, grudge, bravery
 Count– it refers to anything that is countable, and has a singular and
plural form.
Examples:  kitten, video, ball
 Mass– this is the opposite of count nouns. Mass nouns are also called
non-countable nouns, and they need to have “counters” to quantify
them.
Examples of Counters: kilo, cup, meter
Examples of Mass Nouns: rice, flour, garter
 Collective– refers to a group of persons, animals, or things.
Example: faculty (group of teachers), class (group of students), pride
(group of lions)

2. Pronoun

A pronoun is a part of a speech which functions as a replacement for a

noun. Some examples of pronouns are: I, it, he, she, mine, his, hers, we,
they, theirs,  and ours.
Examples:
 Janice is a very stubborn child. She just stared at me and when I told
her to stop.
 The largest slice is mine.
 We are number one.

3.  Adjective

This part of  a speech is used to describe a noun or a pronoun. Adjectives

can specify the quality, the size, and the number of nouns or pronouns.
Examples:
 The carvings are intricate.
The italicized word describes the appearance of the noun “carvings.”
 I have two hamsters.
The italicized word “two,” is an adjective which describes the number
of the noun “hamsters.”
 Wow! That doughnut is huge!
The italicized word is an adjective which describes the size of the
noun “doughnut.”

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GENERAL ENGLISH: VOCABULARY, READING AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS COURSE

4. Verb

This is the most important part of a speech, for without a verb, a sentence
would not exist. Simply put, this is a word that shows an action (physical or
mental) or state of being of the subject in a sentence.
Examples of “State of Being Verbs” : am, is, was, are, and were
Examples:
 As usual, the Stormtroopers  missed their shot.
The italicized word expresses the action of the subject
“Stormtroopers.”
 They are always prepared in emergencies.
 The verb “are” refers to the state of being of the pronoun “they,”
which is the subject in the sentence.

5. Adverb

Just like adjectives, adverbs are also used to describe words, but the
difference is that adverbs describe adjectives, verbs, or another adverb.
The different types of adverbs are:
 Adverb of Manner– this refers to how something happens or how an
action is done.
Example: Annie danced gracefully.
The word “gracefully” tells how Annie danced.
 Adverb of Time- this states “when” something happens or “when” it
is done.
Example: She came yesterday.
The italicized word tells when she “came.”
 Adverb of Place– this tells something about “where” something
happens or ”where” something is done.
Example:  Of course, I looked everywhere!
The adverb “everywhere” tells where I “looked.”
 Adverb of Degree– this states the intensity or the degree to which a
specific thing happens or is done.
Example: The child is very talented.
The italicized adverb answers the question, “To what degree is the
child talented?”

6. Preposition

This part of a speech basically refers to words that specify location or a

location in time.
Examples of Prepositions: above, below, throughout, outside, before,
near,  and since.

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GENERAL ENGLISH: VOCABULARY, READING AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS COURSE

Examples:
 Micah is hiding  under the bed.
The italicized preposition introduces the prepositional phrase “under
the bed,” and tells where Micah is hiding.
 During the game, the audience never stopped cheering for their
team.
The italicized preposition introduces the prepositional phrase “during
the game,” and tells when the audience cheered.

7. Conjunction

The conjunction is a part of a speech which joins words, phrases, or

clauses together.
Examples of Conjunctions:  and, yet, but, for, nor, or,  and so
Examples:
 This cup of tea is delicious and very soothing.
 Kiyoko has to start all over again because she didn’t follow the
professor’s instructions.
 Homer always wanted to join the play,  but he didn’t have the guts to
audition.
The italicized words in the sentences above are some examples of
conjunctions.

8. Interjection

This part of a speech refers to words which express emotions. Since

interjections are commonly used to convey strong emotions, they are
usually followed by an exclamation point.

Examples of Interjections:
 Ouch! That must have hurt.
 Hurray, we won!
 Hey! I said enough!

(taken from: http://partofspeech.org/)

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 GENERAL ENGLISH: VOCABULARY, READING AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS COURSE

EXERCISE ON PART OF SPEECH

A. Pick THREE words from the previous exercise and put them in sentences by paying
attention at their words categorization (part of speech).
Example:
Present
1) Noun : My father gives me a very nice present
2) Verb : The dancers present an outstanding performance.

1. ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

2. ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

3. ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

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 GENERAL ENGLISH: VOCABULARY, READING AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS COURSE

B. Use the correct part of speech to arrange sentences describing people, things, events.

1. Describing People

What sort of
person would you
find attractive?
Blonde, fair, dark
or ginger-haired/
red-haired.

She has such

beautiful auburn
hair. (red-brown)

Fair and dark can

be used for hair,
complexion or
skin.

Examples:

 She is a very smart and elegant woman, always well-dressed; her husband is quite
the opposite, very scruffy and untidy-looking/ messy-looking.
 He’s very good-looking, but his friend’s rather unattractive.
 Do you think beautiful women are always attracted to handsome men. I don’t. I
think personality matters most.
 First impression are always important.

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GENERAL ENGLISH: VOCABULARY, READING AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS COURSE

a) Answer these remarks with the opposite description.

Example: A: I thought you said he was the short, chubby one.
B: No, no, no, not at all, he’s the tall, thin-faced one.

1. A: Was that his brother, the dark-skinned, wavy-haired one?

B: No, completely the opposite, his brother’s ....
2. A: She’s always quite well-dressed, so I’ve heard.
B: What! Who told you that? Every time I see her, she’s ....

3. A: So Charlene’s that rather plump, fair-haired woman, is she?

B: No, you’re looking at the wrong one. Charlene’s ....
4. A: So, tell us about the new boss; good looking?
B: No, I’m afraid not; rather ....
5. A: I don’t know why, but I expected the tour-guide to be middle-aged or elderly.
B: No, apparently she’s only ....

b) Write one sentence to describe each of these people, giving information about
their hair and face, their height and build and general appearance.
1. Yourself 3. A neighbor
2. Your best friend 4. Your picture of a handsome man/ a beautiful woman

c) Now, in the same way, describe somebody very famous, give some extra clues about
them, e.g. He’s/She’s a pop star/politician. Can someone else guess who you are
describing?

d) Now, it’s your turn. Describe the person in the picture by using appropriate adjectives.

________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
Put
a photo
________________________________________________
here!! ________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________

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GENERAL ENGLISH: VOCABULARY, READING AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS COURSE

2. Describing Things

a) Match the pictures of part of the house (1 – 16) to the words in the box.

b) Complete the sentences with the words

from the previous exercise.
1. The stairs go up to the bath room at
the top of a house.
2. You come into the house through
the ....
3. There’s a bird on the ....
4. The ... is next to the bathroom.
5. The red car is inside the ....
6. There are boxes of old toys in the ....
7. It’s warm near the ... in the living
room.
8. Someone is mowing the lawn in the ....

c) Tell apartner about you home.

1. Do you live in a house/ an apartment/
a boardung house/ a dormitory?
2. Describe the outside of your house/
apartment/boarding house/
dormitory.
 Is it big or small?
 What color are the walls and the
roof?
 Is there a balcony, a yard, a
garage, a driveway?
3. Describe the inside of your house/ apartment/boarding house/ dormitory.
 Is there a hallway, an attic, a basement, an office?
 What color a re the walls, floor and ceiling in your bedroom and your living
room?

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GENERAL ENGLISH: VOCABULARY, READING AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS COURSE

3. Describing Event

a) Describe what is happening in the photos by using the following guidance questions!
1. Where are they?
2. What are they doing?
3. Where is it happening?
e.g. : on the right/left of ...; at the bottom/top ...; in the middle of ...; behind of ...; in
front of ...; etc.
4. What is the weather like?
5. How do they look?
e.g.: Happy/sad/bored/tired

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

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GENERAL ENGLISH: VOCABULARY, READING AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS COURSE

VERB USING

The present tense is used to express anything that is happening now or

occurring in the present moment. The present also communicates actions
that are ongoing, constant, or habitual.
For example:
 I'm working on an essay for my English class.
 Brevity is the soul of wit.
 John loves music.
 I run four miles every morning.

Use the past tense to indicate past events, prior conditions, or completed

processes.
For example:
 I voted last week.
 Ancient Romans believed basil was poisonous.
 The fortress crumbled to ruin during the last century.

The future tense indicates actions or events that will happen in the future.

For example:
 I will write my paper this weekend.

Aspect allows you to be more precise in your selection of verbs. Aspect

falls into two categories: continuous and perfect.

The continuous aspect indicates actions that are ongoing.

For example:
 I am writing. (present continuous)
 I was writing when he called. (past continuous)
 If you want to come over later, we will be watching a movie.
(future continuous)

The perfect aspect indicates for how long an action/condition occurs.

For example:
 I have been in Seattle for six months. (present perfect)
 I had studied all night for the test. (past perfect)
 I will have finished my paper by eight o'clock. (future perfect)

(adapted from: https://depts.washington.edu/engl/askbetty/tenses.php)

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 GENERAL ENGLISH: VOCABULARY, READING AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS COURSE

3 READING SKILLS
This section encourages students to have good pronunciation skills by paying attention to the
stressing and intonations. This section also leads students to understand procedural information of
how to do/make something as well as to identify the things needed and the steps.

PRE-READING QUESTIONS

(pictures taken from: http://www.serbabandung.com/masjid-raya-bandung/; http://huseinsastranegara-

airport.co.id/en/bandung/culinary; https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridwan_Kamil;
http://ensiklopediaindonesia.com/gedung-sate-bandung-jawa-barat/;
http://kabarpiyungan.blogspot.co.id/2015/04/jembatan-pasupati-icon-kota-bandung.html

Answer these questions orally!

1. What firstly cross in your mind when you see these pictures? Why?
2. What/who are they?
3. What do you know about each pictures?
4. What do you think about this places/food/person?

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 GENERAL ENGLISH: VOCABULARY, READING AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS COURSE

READING EXERCISES
A. Read the following text aloud, then check the pronunciation.

BANDUNG
Line 1 Bandung is the capital of West Java in Indonesia. Bandung is 180 kilometers
southeast from Jakarta. Although it has a population of over two million the pace of
city life is slower than Jakarta's. Today Bandung has a population of 2 million people,
Bandung area an estimated 4 million. Bandung is situated on a plateau 768 meters
5 above sea level with a cool climate throughout the year. Bandung is the most
European city of Java. The raining season starts in Bandung a little bit earlier, then the
rest of Indonesia. Normally the raining season in Indonesia is from October till May,
the peak of the raining season is in January. The dry season is from June until August,
temperature is then 25-30 degrees Celsius during the day. In the morning, the sun is
10 almost shining every day, but in the afternoon many times it gets cloudy, for
sunbathing we have to wake up early from 6.30 the sun is already there. In the
evening when the sun is down the temperature has drops. The average temperature
in Bandung is 22 degrees Celsius; the weather is pleasant all year round.
There are short drives up to the mountain resorts of Lembang and the
15 Bosscha Observatory, and higher to the volcanic crater of Tangkuban Perahu, the only
crater in Java accessible all the way by car as far as its rim. It is an awe-inspiring sight
of emanating sulfur fumes. Descent into all the volcano's 12 craters is only possible
with the aid of an experienced guide, because of the presence of suffocating gases at
certain spots. Just a 15 minutes drive from Tangkuban Perahu is a hot springs resort.
20 Here we can swim in warm mineral water pools, good for healing skin problems. The
resort provides visitors with a bar, restaurants, tennis courts and cottage style hotels
overlooking a beautiful mountain-scope.
In Bandung, try to see the "Wayang Golek" wooden puppet show and hear
the "Angklung" bamboo orchestra, as well as the classical Sundanese gamelan and
25 dances. Several institutes of higher education are located here, including the
country's prestigious Bandung Institute of Technology.
In 1488, the area now named Bandung was the capital of the Kingdom of
Pajajaran. During colonial times, the government of the Dutch East Indies built a

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 GENERAL ENGLISH: VOCABULARY, READING AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS COURSE

supply road connecting Batavia (now Jakarta), Bogor, Cianjur, Bandung, Sumedang
and Cirebon. This event was very important for the growth of Bandung. In the 1930s
30 the Dutch East Indies government planned for Bandung to become the capital of the
Dutch East Indies due to its location, however World War II disrupted these plans.
It is not known exactly when Bandung city was built. However, contrary to the
beliefs of some the city was not originally built by the orders of Daendels, the Dutch
East Indies Governor General, but by the orders of 'Bupati' R.A. Wiranatakusumah II.
35 The Dutch colonial powers built wide tree-lined boulevards, villas, gardens, and
fountains, earning Bandung the nickname of "Paris van Java", the Paris of Java, in the
early 20th century. Many of these structures survive to today, and can be seen along
the road leading to the Dago area north of the city.
After Indonesian independence, Bandung was named as the provincial capital
40 of West Java. Bandung was the site of the Bandung Conference which met April 18-
April 24, 1955 with the aim of promoting economic and cultural cooperation among
the African and Asian countries, and to counter the threat of colonialism or
neocolonialism by the United States, the Soviet Union, or other imperialistic nations.

(taken from: http://www.indonesia-tourism.com/west-java/bandung.html)

B. Answer these questions about the text!

1. What does the text tell you about?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________.

2. What things about Bandung that are discussed in the text?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________.

3. How is the weather in Bandung?

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 GENERAL ENGLISH: VOCABULARY, READING AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS COURSE

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________.

4. What is Bandung initially named?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________.

5. Describe things that firstly crossed in your mind when you hear the word “Bandung”!
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________.

C. Circle the word categorizations of the following words. Then, choose the best word to
replace it.

1. Situated: noun / verb / adjective / adverb

a. surrounded b. located c. placed

2. Pleasant: noun / verb / adjective / adverb

a. comfort b. pleased c. enjoyful

3. Emanating: noun / verb / adjective / adverb

a. appeared b. arised c. come out

4. Disrupted: noun / verb / adjective / adverb

a. interuppted b. bothered c. disturbed

5. Earning : noun / verb / adjective / adverb

a. getting b. achieving c. receiving

4 PRESENTATION

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 GENERAL ENGLISH: VOCABULARY, READING AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS COURSE

This section is designed to promote the discussion and presentation of information and to further
reinforce the materials discussed throughout the unit. The task and language prompts help the
students boths present and analyze the presentation of their peers.

Work in pairs. Pick a picture and show it to you friends in front of the class. Then describe it
by following these guidance questions.

(taken from: http://www.slideshare.net/mayteled/describe-pictures-in-english)

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