Manatunga English Learning

 1. Foundation Skills

 Grammar & Sentence Structure

• Learn tenses (past, present, future) and when to use them.

  •  Wrong: He go to office yesterday.

  •  Correct: He went to the office yesterday.

• Master articles (a, an, the).

• Watch subject–verb agreement.

  • She have a pen.

  • She has a pen.

 Vocabulary

• Don’t just learn words—learn word families:

  • decide → decision → decisive → decisively

• Focus on collocations (common word pairs):

  • strong coffee, heavy rain, make a mistake (not powerful coffee or do a mistake).

 Punctuation

• Comma for pauses: I like apples, bananas, and oranges.

• Apostrophe for possession: John’s book.

• Quotation marks for speech: He said, “I’m ready.”

 2. Writing Structure

 Paragraphs

• Topic sentence (main idea)

• Supporting details (examples, facts, explanations)

• Concluding sentence (wrap up / link to next paragraph)

Example:
Reading improves vocabulary. When you read, you encounter new words in context, which helps you remember them. For instance, novels expose you to descriptive language, while newspapers show formal usage. Therefore, reading is one of the best ways to grow your vocabulary.

 Essay / Article

• Introduction – Hook + Background + Thesis

• Body paragraphs – Each one has a clear point with evidence

• Conclusion – Restate main idea, give closing thought

 3. Style & Tone

• Formal (essays, reports): Avoid contractions (do not instead of don’t), avoid slang.

• Informal (blogs, personal writing): Use contractions, conversational tone.

• Persuasive: Use strong words (must, crucial, essential).

• Descriptive: Use sensory details (The air smelled of fresh rain).

 4. Techniques to Improve

1. Summarize daily news articles → Builds clarity.

2. Paraphrase → Take a sentence and rewrite in a different way.

   • Original: Technology is changing the way we work.

   • Paraphrased: The workplace is being transformed by technology.

3. Expand sentences → Add details.

   • Short: The dog barked.

   • Expanded: The big brown dog barked loudly at the stranger near the gate.

4. Freewriting – Set a timer (10 min) and write without stopping. Don’t worry about mistakes.

 5. Common Mistakes to Avoid

•  Overusing difficult words just to “sound smart.”

•  Writing long sentences without punctuation.

•  Mixing tenses: Yesterday I go to market and bought fruits.

•  Direct translation from native language → awkward English.

 6. Practice Routine (Daily / Weekly)

Daily

• Read 1 article (newspaper, blog, book).

• Write 1 paragraph (summary, journal, or opinion).

• Learn 5 new words + collocations.

• Check grammar using a tool (Grammarly, Hemingway).

Weekly

• Write 1 essay (250–300 words).

• Edit last week’s writing → remove mistakes.

• Ask someone (or me) for feedback.

• Try a creative piece (story, dialogue, blog post).