M1 – Week 01-Session A: Introduction & POS
1. Watch the video
After the video
1. If you hear new words, list them and use a dictionary. Write a short meaning next to each word.
2. If all words are familiar, choose 5–8 words from the video and write one synonym for each (and, if possible, one example sentence).
Write your answers in the box below.
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Task 1 — Video introduction (3–5 minutes)
Record a short video (3–5 minutes) to introduce yourself. Then share it and post the link:
In this lesson page (in the box), and In the forum (introduce yourself and welcome your classmates).
Where to Upload
Choose one option:
- YouTube / Instagram (Public)
- YouTube (Unlisted) (recommended: only people with the link can watch)
- Cloud storage (Google Drive / OneDrive / Dropbox) (set link permissions so others can view)
What to say (use this structure)
Start with:
“Hello, my name is … I’m from … and I am a GSJ student.”
Then include:
- Your past study or work experience
- Why you are taking this course
- What you want to take away from the course
- Your future goals
Submit: your video link + one sentence inviting classmates to reply.
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Task 2 — Parts of Speech (POS)
Before we analyse sentences and texts, we need to recognise parts of speech (word class). In English, we often group words into:
- Content words: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs
- Function words: prepositions, pronouns, determiners (articles like a/the, and words like some, any, all, my).
A) List and examples
1. Write 5 types of nouns (e.g., proper, common, abstract, collective, countable/uncountable) and give 2 examples for each type.
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2. Write 5 adjectives (any adjectives you choose).
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3. Write 5 adverbs (any adverbs you choose).
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4. Write 5 verbs (mix regular + irregular). For each, write:
- base form: go
- past: went
- past participle: gone
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5. Write 15 prepositions (e.g., in, on, at, under, between, through…)
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B) Combine words (mini-collocations)
1. Pair each noun with an adjective (e.g., excellent book, quiet street). Make 10 pairs.
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2. Pair each verb with an adverb (e.g., study carefully, speak clearly). Make 10 pairs.
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3. Add a determiner to each noun or adjective+noun phrase (e.g., a quiet street, the excellent book, my friends, some articles). Make 10 phrases.
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Task 3 — POS marking in an authentic text (McPhee)
Read the opening of John McPhee’s “Coming into the Country” below. Identify parts of speech. (we will return to this text later this week to do a syntax analysis)
copy 8–10 sentences and label words like this:
N (noun), V (verb), Adj (adjective), Adv (adverb), Prep (preposition), Det (determiner), Pron (pronoun)
Minimum requirement:
Identify at least 20 nouns, 15 verbs, 10 adjectives, 10 prepositions, and 10 determiners/pronouns from the passage.
MY BANDANNA IS ROLLED on the diagonal and retains water fairly well. I keep it knotted around my head, and now and again dip it into the river. The water is forty-six degrees. Against the temples, it is refrigerant and relieving. This has done away with the headaches that the sun caused in days before. The Arctic sun-penetrating, intense—seems not so much to shine as to strike. Even the trickles of water that run down my T-shirt feel good. Meanwhile, the river-the clearest, purest water I have ever seen flowing over rocks-breaks the light into flashes and sends them upward into the eyes. The headaches have reminded me of the kind that are sometimes caused by altitude, but, for all the fact that we have come down through mountains, we have not been higher than a few hundred feet above the level of the sea. Drifting now—a canoe, two kayaks— and thanking God it is not my turn in either of the kayaks, I lift my fish rod from the tines of a caribou rack (lashed there in mid-canoe to the duffel) and send a line flying toward a wall of bedrock by the edge of the stream. A grayling comes up and, after some hesi-tation, takes the lure and runs with it for a time. I disengage the lure and let the grayling go, being mindful not to wipe my hands on my shirt. Several days in use, the shirt is approaching filthy, but here among grizzly bears I would prefer to stink of humanity than of fish.
–JOHN MCPHEE, Coming into the Country From “Several short sentences about writing” by Verlyn Klinkenborg
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Task 4 — Short story (200–250 words)
Write a short story using your own words from Task 2 and Task 3.
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