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Telecommunications

Watch Hedieh Ranjbartabar give an introduction to telecommunications then practice the pronunciation of key vocabulary.
View transcript
3.3
Welcome to the final week of English for Technology. This week, you will focus on telecommunications.
11.8
So, let’s start with a basic question: what are telecommunications? To answer this question, let me welcome back Hedieh. Thanks, Tim. How do you communicate with your friends, teachers or colleagues? If you are close to each other, in the same room, you might talk with them face to face, but what if you’re far away from each other in different parts of the city? Or even in different countries? How do you communicate at a distance? You talk over the phone or by video call. You send them a message or an email. All of these types of communication where you are far away from each other are called telecommunication.
68.6
So, what does the word telecomunication mean? Well, the prefix tele- comes from a Greek word meaning far away or at a distance. So, telecommunication simply means communication at a distance. A telecommunication device is a machine that can communicate with another machine, such as a mobile phone, a computer or a printer.
105.5
When two or more of these devices are connected to each other so they can communicate, this is called a network. So, a network is a system that allows devices such as computers, printers and mobile phones to communicate with each other. In other words, to send and receive information between them. To send information like this is called transmission. The verb is to transmit. Transmission is the whole process of sending messages from one device to another. Networks are the systems that allow for this transmission of information.
154.9
There are different types of networks and there are also different sizes. In your home, you might have a very small network with just a small number of devices communicating with each other, or you might have a larger office network that connects all of the devices in a company building. The largest network is, of course, the Internet, which connects different devices all around the world. But how do devices in these networks communicate with each other? How are they connected to each other? You will have a look at this in the next video. In this video, you heard some key vocabulary for telecommunications. In the next step, you will review and practise this vocabulary.

In this video, Hedieh introduced the topic of telecommunications.

Here are some of the key words from the video. Click to hear the pronunciation. Practise saying each word and make sure you stress the correct syllable.

Vocabulary

communicate (v.)
/com – MU – ni – cate/		 network (n.)
/NET – work/
computer (n.)
/com – PU – ter/		 printer (n.)
/PRIN – ter/
connect (v.)
/con – NECT/		 system (n.)
/SYS – tem/
device (n.)
/de – VICE/		 telecommunications (n.)
/te – le – com – mu – ni – CA – tions/
distance (n.)
/DIS – tance/		 transmission (n.)
/trans – MI – ssion/
face-to-face (adj.)
/FACE/ /to/ /FACE/		 transmit (v.)
/trans – MIT/
information (n.)
/in – for – MA – tion/		  

Quizlet

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This content is taken from
Macquarie University online course,

English for STEM: Understanding Technology Vocabulary

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Now try this Quizlet Set to practise the key vocabulary from the video you just watched.

Making Your Quizlet

After you have practised with our Quizlet set, try making your own study set on the Quizlet website to match your needs. You should make Quizlet flashcards that help you learn best. Here are some examples of what you can include on the flashcards:

  • the word in English
  • the definition in English
  • the word in your language
  • the definition in your language
  • an example sentence
  • the word form (noun, verb, adjective)
  • a picture

Need help using Quizlet? Click here.

Discussion

Which vocabulary from the video was new for you? If you like, share the Quizlet set you made with other learners.

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This content is taken from Macquarie University online course
English for STEM: Understanding Technology Vocabulary
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