Communication Skills, Techniques and Strategies. Initial Test.

Hi students.

I’ve started this post to improve the class communication skills and I want you to take part actively – obviously.

So, what about starting with some of the problems I’ve found while marking your initial tests? Let’s do Task 3 first. Reading into Writing. Write an essay (70-100 words) for your teacher about health and food. (ISE Foundation Trinity College Reading and Writing exam. Sample Paper 1. September 2017).
Let me post some sentences we could improve somehow:

1. The language of Iceland is Icelandic and it’s more than a thousand years old. (3 words)
2. You must eat three meals a day because if you don’t eat three meals a day you won’t be healthy.
3. People don’t drink water enough and they only drink energy drink or other type of drink that don’t be healthy, like Coca-Cola. Almost all the students drink a Coca-cola per day and it’s the worst to the body.
4. Drink a lot of water is very important because 80% of the body is water, you must drink two litres of water every day, also you can take the water of the food.
5. If we will have health food and practise exercise our live will be better.
6. The most of the people want to eat more healthy in their lifes but they can’t if they don’t eat fruit or vegetables, only hamburgers and hotdogs.
7. In our society, too much people don’t take care of himself and do anything without advertisement of that.
8. Some people are unhealthy because they don’t eat healthy food but they eat fast food, they don’t do any sport, they use the car for all, they don’t go the bed early.
9. I saw many times the people who eat unhealthy food. Every week, on Saturday’s night, all the people go to McDonalds or Burger King to eat any hamburger and some chips. The fried food is very unhealthy. Also this hamburger with any drink, specific Cola.
10. In the dinner you must eat a little healthy dinner…
11. You must know that if you are healthy you would live more, but to be healthy you must do exercise and I think that you must do exercise one hour a day. Bu if you do exercise and don’t eat healthy food is the same…
12. Today in day, many people are not eat healthy food…. Water, for example, can make your health, fish too….Ways for healthy are, for example, fruits, water, vegetables,…
13. Today, I’m going to speak about healthy food. One year ago, I never eat vegetables, because I didn’t like.
14. The habits that people unhealthy have are the typical.
15. And my final tip is the sport, if you practise it apart of your fisic change your health will change too.
16. It’s very easy to cook or to take a routine diet that can helps you live many years more. Fruits, vegetables, fish and meat, to gain proteins, are the favourite diet for many doctors.

Improvements in the comments section below. Thanks.

Now, let’s do the opposite! I will post a list of good communication skills taken from your initial test. This time Task 4 from the same paper. Extended Writing. Your friend from another town wants to know about where you live. Write him/her an email (70-100 words):

1. I moved to London because my mother found a job there.
2. There is a museum I haven’t visited yet.
3. From: alejandrosily@yahoo.com
   To: johng@yahoo.com
   Subject: My town.Hi John,
   I moved to Los Palacios two weeks ago.
4. Hey friend,
   What’s up?
   Yesterday I received your email about your new life. I was very happy and proud of you.
   Well, after we met, I moved to Seville. Now, I live in a house near a park and every I go there to do some sport and enjoy the landscape.
   Besides/Even, the cinema is 10 minutes from my place, so every time we can we go to watch a film.