English Language Fundamentals

Questions and Answers

What is the purpose of phonemic awareness activities?

To teach reading comprehension

To develop spoken language skills

To improve spelling skills

To make reading instruction more enjoyable (correct)

What direction does English writing follow?

Bottom to top

Left to right (correct)

Top to bottom

Right to left

What is phoneme blending?

Saying a word and identifying its individual sounds

Identifying the first sound in a word

Deleting a sound from a word

Saying individual sounds and making a word (correct)

What should the learner do first when trying to memorize a spelling?

Close their eyes and try to visualize the word Signup and view all the answers

What is an example of phoneme identification?

Finding the same sound in different words Signup and view all the answers

What is phoneme deletion?

Removing a sound from a word Signup and view all the answers

What should the learner do if they are having trouble remembering a spelling?

Add the word to a list for spaced recall practice Signup and view all the answers

Why should phonemic awareness activities be done with known words?

Because they are familiar to the learner Signup and view all the answers

Before looking up the spelling of a word in a dictionary, what should the learner do?

Make an informed guess about the spelling Signup and view all the answers

What is the goal of phoneme segmentation?

For the teacher to guess what the word is Signup and view all the answers

What is the best way to develop fluency in spelling?

Large quantities of reading and writing Signup and view all the answers

What type of writing activity can help with fluency development?

Ten-minute writing on an easy topic Signup and view all the answers

What is the topic of phonemic awareness activities?

Spoken Language and Reading Signup and view all the answers

What should the teacher do during a ten-minute writing activity?

Respond to the content of the text and encourage the learner to write more Signup and view all the answers

How can learners get the stress in the right place when pronouncing a written word?

By breaking the word into parts Signup and view all the answers

What should learners do to decide how to pronounce a written form?

Seek confirmation by asking someone who might know or by using a dictionary Signup and view all the answers

Why might spelling not be a major focus for some language learners?

Because they have no problem with it Signup and view all the answers

What is the main goal of intensive reading?

To improve comprehension of a particular text Signup and view all the answers

What is the classic procedure for intensive reading?

Grammar-translation approach Signup and view all the answers

What should balance be maintained in teaching spelling?

Between attention to spelling and other language aspects Signup and view all the answers

What is the drawback of intensive reading at its worst?

It focuses on comprehension of a particular text with no thought to other texts Signup and view all the answers

What is another goal of intensive reading?

To increase learners' knowledge of language features Signup and view all the answers

What should be used in conjunction with intensive reading?

Extensive reading for fluency development Signup and view all the answers

What is the benefit of intensive study of reading texts?

It increases learners' knowledge of language features and improves their comprehension skill Signup and view all the answers

What is one of the goals of intensive reading?

To determine the language features of a course Signup and view all the answers

What is a positive aspect of letting texts determine the language features of a course?

The language features are set in the communicative context of a text Signup and view all the answers

What is a drawback of letting texts determine the language features of a course?

It may result in an uncontrolled mixture of useful and not very useful items Signup and view all the answers

What should the teacher ask themselves when doing intensive reading?

How does today's teaching make tomorrow's text easier? Signup and view all the answers

What is one way to put the principle of focusing on items that will occur in a wide range of texts into practice?

Focus on items that occur with high frequency in the language as a whole Signup and view all the answers

What is another way to put the principle of focusing on items that will occur in a wide range of texts into practice?

Focus on strategies that can be used with most texts Signup and view all the answers

What is a possible negative consequence of intensive reading?

The features given attention to may be an uncontrolled mixture of useful and not very useful items Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of translation in intensive reading?

To check whether learners understand Signup and view all the answers

What do comprehension questions usually direct learners' attention to?

The reading text Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of using carefully constructed distractors in comprehension questions?

To train learners to reason their way through linguistic and intellectual problems posed by the text Signup and view all the answers

What is the benefit of using multiple-choice comprehension questions according to Munby?

They help learners to recognize areas of comprehension error Signup and view all the answers

What is an important step in Munby's technique for comprehension training?

Discussion between the teacher and learners Signup and view all the answers

What do intensive reading exercises aim to do?

Help learners handle language features in a passage and other passages Signup and view all the answers

What is the limitation of comprehension questions?

It is not always clear which job they are doing Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of comprehension training?

To help learners recognize areas of comprehension error Signup and view all the answers

What is the advantage of using pre-tested comprehension questions in standardized tests?

They ensure that learners cannot answer the questions without reading the text Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Phonemic Awareness Activities

Phonemic awareness activities involve separating sounds in a word and putting them together to make a familiar word (e.g., /t/ /e/ /n/ = ten)
Activities include phoneme blending, phoneme segmentation, phoneme isolation, and phoneme deletion

Writing Conventions

English has specific writing conventions, such as writing from left to right
Not all languages follow the same conventions

A Strategy for Memorising Spellings

Close eyes and try to visualize the word
Think of similarly spelled words
Break the word into parts to aid memory
Add the word to a list for spaced recall practice or place on a word card

A Strategy for Finding the Spelling of a Word

Make an informed guess about the spelling by thinking of other known words that sound the same
Check if the spelling fits known rules

A Strategy for Deciding how to Pronounce a Written Form

Try the pronunciation if the word looks like known words
Break the word into parts to get the stress in the right place
Seek confirmation by asking someone or using a dictionary

Spelling and Fluency Development

Fluency in spelling comes from large quantities of reading and writing, and fluency practice
Typical writing fluency development activity: 10-minute writing on an easy topic, with no correction of spelling errors or grammatical errors

Teaching Intensive EFL/ESL Reading I

Intensive study of reading texts can increase learners' knowledge of language features and control of reading strategies
The classic procedure for intensive reading is the grammar-translation approach, but it should be balanced with other language-focused learning and extensive reading
Intensive reading can have two goals: comprehension of the text and determining language features to focus on in the course

Intensive Reading Principles

Focus on language features that occur in a wide range of texts
Focus on strategies that can be used with most texts
Ask "How does today's teaching make tomorrow's text easier?"
Focus on high-frequency items and strategies that can be used with most texts

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Description

Quiz on basic English language skills, including phonemic awareness, writing conventions, and memorizing spellings.