LET Material (Language) - PDF

LET Material (Language) 1. STRUCTURE OF ENGLISH Basic English Structures and Rules A. Nouns- name a person, place, thing, event, or idea. In the English language, nouns commonly function as the subject of the sentence. Nouns seem to be the simplest among the other parts of speech, y...

LET Material (Language) 1. STRUCTURE OF ENGLISH Basic English Structures and Rules A. Nouns- name a person, place, thing, event, or idea. In the English language, nouns commonly function as the subject of the sentence. Nouns seem to be the simplest among the other parts of speech, yet it sometimes confuses a reader. Let us have a quick review of the noun classes that you have learned in your elementary and high school. 1. Common and Proper - Nouns that name a particular person, place, thing, event, or idea are what we refer to as Proper nouns. All the other nouns that present a general idea are Common nouns. Proper nouns always start with a capital letter. 2. Concrete & Abstract- Concrete nouns are those which name something (or someone) that can be perceived by our senses: sight, smell, taste, hearing, or sight. Abstract nouns are the opposite of concrete nouns. They are the ideas that we understand even if we haven‘t perceived them yet 3. Count & Non-count- Count nouns are nouns that can have a singular or plural form. Moreover, you can also use an indefinite article (a, an) with them. On the other hand, Non-count nouns are those nouns that you cannot count. They are never plural nor singular and you cannot use the indefinite article with them. 4. Collective Nouns- Collective noun is a noun naming a group of things, animals, or persons. The members of a group are countable, yet you usually regard the group as one. Hence, “a collective noun takes a singular verb when the group acts as a unit (see example 1); [while] it takes a plural verb when the members of the group act individually (see example 2)” (Hogue, 2000). Example 1: The ship crew stays in one dormitory. Example 2: The ship crew take separate vacations Functions of nouns Subject of Verbs Several items have ambiguous stems. Direct Objects of Verbs They administered the test. Indirect objects of verbs The lecturer provided the participants handouts. Subject noun predicates We are LET reviewers. Object noun predicates The reviewees chose him their representative. Objects of prepositions in the DLSU review class Appositives The LET, a professional examination, is conducted every year. Vocatives Anne, how did you find the exam? B. Pronouns- Pronouns replace a noun or a noun phrase. Pronouns are very crucial in expressing one‘s ideas, because wrong use of pronouns may lead to confusion. Pronouns are very essential to make your sentences brief and less repetitive. Let us review the different types of pronouns together with their functions. This would help us in distinguishing and choosing the appropriate pronoun for a certain context. 1. Personal - I, me, you, he, him, she, her, it, we, us, they, them 2. Possessive- my, mine, your, yours, her, hers, his, its, our, 3. Demonstrative- Demonstrative pronouns point to and identify a noun. There are only four demonstrative pronouns namely: this, that, these, and those. 4. Interrogative- Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions, such as: who, whom, whose, which, and what. 5. Relative- Relative pronouns are used to link one phrase or clause to another. The relative pronouns are: who, whom, that, and which. 6. Indefinite- pronouns that refer to identifiable but not specified person or thing. (all, another, any, anyone, anybody, anything, both, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, few, many, neither, nobody, none, no one, nothing, one, several, some, somebody, someone, something) 7. Reflexive- used as object of the verb form or preposition to refer to the subject of the sentence (myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves) 8. Intensive- occurs directly after the word it modifies (myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves) C. Verbs  denote action (e.g. read, jump, play); show state of being (stative verbs) (e.g. be-verbs, remain, appear, become, etc.)  has 4 inflections: {-s} 3rd person singular present tense; {-ed} simple past tense; {-en} past participle; {-ing} present participle  intransitive verbs do not take an object (direct) (e.g. Flowers bloom.)  transitive verbs require an object (direct) (e.g. Flowers need water and sunlight.)  linking/copula verbs- what follows the verb relates back to the subject (e.g. Roses are sweet.)  Tense- ―the grammatical marking on verbs that usually indicates time reference‖ (Jacobs, 1995)  Aspect- verb forms used to signify certain ways in which an event is viewed or experienced. Aspect can view an event as completed whole (simple), whether or not it has occurred earlier (perfect), or is still in progress (progressive) 1 Subject-Verb Agreement 1. Verb with –s is singular. Verb without –s is plural. Examples: He plays basketball. They play basketball. 2. Make the linking / verb agree with the real subject. Linking verbs such as: am singular, present tense Is singular, present tense Was singular, past tense Examples: Marina‘s concern was her classmates. Henry‘s mother and father are his sole support. 3. Non-count noun subjects take a singular verb. Examples: The food is good. Unity builds a nation. 4. In most cases, collective noun subjects take singular verbs, but if the group is viewed as individual members, use a plural verb. Examples: The class is going on a field trip. The class have been arguing about where to go. a. Collective nouns take singular verbs if all members act as a single body. Noun such as audience, class, team, band, committee, jury, herd, crowd, flock. Examples: The committee was in full agreement with my idea. The family is unanimous on the issue. b. Collective nouns take plural verbs if the members act as individuals. Examples: The basketball team were disorganized. The family are debating on the issue. 5. Mass nouns can only be pluralized by quantifiers. Nouns such as sugar, rice, and, hair, information, and evidence, Examples: Two sacks of rice. Pieces of evidence / information Strands of hair 6. Mass nouns (non-countables) are always singular. Examples. Black ink is needed for this kind of paper. Sugar is sweet. 7. Subject nouns that are derived from adjectives and describe people take plural verbs. Examples: The rich are in favor of a tax cut. The poor are opposing the proposal to revise the constitution. 8. Some proper noun subjects that end in –s such as names of courses, diseases, places, as well as book and film titles and the word news, take singular verbs (news, politics, physics, mathematics, mumps, measles) Examples: Wales is a beautiful region. Measles often has side effects. Mathematics is an interesting subject. The news was very good. Physics is an interesting subject. 9. There are some nouns that have the same singular and plural form, in this case, the subject may take either a singular or a plural verb, depending on the intention or the meaning that you wish to express. Nouns that are always plural in form should take a plural verb. Nouns such as: Slippers Eyeglasses Trousers Earrings Pants Scissors Sunglasses Refreshments Pliers Examples: Refreshments are served during the seminar. His trousers are newly bought. Several species have died over the past centuries. 10. For items that have two parts, when you use the word ―pair‖, the verb is singular but without the word ―pair‖, the verb is plural. Examples: My pair of scissors is lost. My scissors are lost. 11. Plural subject nouns such as a unit of measurement (distance, weight, time, or amount of money) that signal one unit should take a singular verb. Example: Nine hundred nautical miles is too far to travel in a day. Ten years was an eternity for him. Ninety thousand pesos is too expensive for that ring 12. Basic arithmetical operations (add, subtract, multiply, divide) take singular verbs. Example: Four times five equals twenty. 13. Clausal subjects are singular even if the nouns referred to are plural. Example: What we need is more reference books. 14. Gerund and Infinitive subjects take a singular verb. Examples: Reading books is my hobby. To err is human. 15. With fractions, percentages, and the quantifiers all (of), a lot of, verb agreement depends on the noun coming after these phrases. 2  √ A singular noun, noun clause, or non-count noun takes a singular verb. Example: A lot of the information is about maritime disasters and safety procedures. √ A plural noun takes a plural verb. Example: A lot of seafarers need to have a retraining of SOLAS. √ A collective noun can take either a singular or plural verb depending on meaning. Example: All my batch mates (stay/stays) at the dorm. 16. The indefinite pronouns in Table below are always singular: Indefinite Pronouns -one words -body words -thing words Others Anyone Anybody Anything Everyone Everybody Everything Each Someone Somebody Something Every No one Nobody Nothing One Examples: Every cadet has a responsibility to study their lessons well. Nothing satisfies her. Note: Indefinite pronouns such as: all, any, a lot of, none, most, and some can be singular or plural. They are singular when they refer to a singular or non-count noun or pronoun. They are plural when they refer to a plural noun or pronoun.] Examples: Some of the books are imported. Some of the snow has melted. 17. The expression ‘The number’ used as a subject takes a singular verb. The expression ‘a number’ used as a subject takes a plural verb. Examples: The number of students coming is decreasing. A number of players practicing are increasing. A number of cadets are taking the exam. The number of cadets taking the exam is 75. 18. With none as subject, use a singular verb. Example: None of the supplies is here. 19. With either or neither as subject, use a singular verb. Example: (Either/Neither) was acceptable to me. 20. With correlative subjects either…or or neither…nor, the verb agrees with the closest subject. Examples: Either Bob or my cousins are going to do it. Neither my cousins nor Bob is going to do it. 21. With there subjects, the verb is singular or plural depending on whether the noun phrase following the verb is singular or plural. There and here are never used as subjects. When a sentence begins with there and here, you must look thoroughly to find the real subject. Examples: There are many devices in a man‘s heart. Here are the plants you want for the garden. When the sentence begins with there and here, the verb agrees with subject that comes after the verb (for inverted order) Examples: Here come my children. There are no errors. There is one book on the table. There are (three books) on the table. (a book and a pen) 22. When the subjects joined by and refer to a single unit or is considered as one, it takes a singular verb. Examples: Bread and butter is a common breakfast for Americans. The secretary and treasurer is here. My uncle and sponsor lives next door. 23. Compound subjects joined by ‗and‘ referring to separate entities, should take a plural verb. Examples: Christine and Cora are my friends. The secretary and the treasurer are here. My uncle and the sponsor live next door. 24. Follow the general rule in pairing subjects and verbs regardless of prepositional phrases or clauses that are sometimes placed in between the subject and verb. Example: The color of his eyes is blue. (The subject is color and not eyes.) 25. The verb after the relative pronouns who, which, and that agrees with its antecedent. Examples: 3  Children may not see a film that has an X-rating. Children may not see films that have an X-rating. 26. Subjects followed by intervening expressions such as: in addition to, in company with, together with, as well as, etc. Should take verbs that agree with real subjects. Examples: The teacher, together with the pupils, is dancing. 27. Titles of literary / artistic works and names of firms, companies, stores, etc. Should take singular verbs. Example: Green Coconuts is Manansala‘s latest painting. Del Pan Brothers is a marketing firm. 28. The indefinite words ―each, every, everyone, somebody, no one, either, neither‖ take singular verbs. Hence, they demand singular verbs. Examples: Every student was asked to give his opinion about the exhibit. Neither movie is good for you. Each of the branches of the tress was cut. Neither of my parents speak Vietnamese. 29. Words such as ―many‖, and ―few‖ are used only with plural nouns. Words such as ―much‖ and ‖little‖ are used only with singular nouns. Examples: Many applicants were hired. Such money is needed for the project. 30. ―Each other‖ is used when we refer to two persons or things. ‖One another‖ is used when we refer to more than two. Examples: He and his sisters always advise each other. His classmates help one another in their project. 31. The word ‘some‖ may modify a singular or plural noun. Examples: Some food looks delicious. Some tickets were not sold. 32. The phrase such as ―is one of the‖ and ―among the‖ must be followed by a plural noun. Examples: Mike is one of the players. Among the nominees, Leah is the most promising. 33. The relative pronoun should take a verb that agrees in number with its near antecedent. Examples: Lorna is one of the students who read a lot. Myrna is one of the children who live with foster parents. Marlon is one of the players who have joined the soccer team. The relative pronoun must be near its antecedent. Examples: Everyday, grandfather takes nap in his room. (wrong) Everyday, grandfather takes his nap in his room (correct) 34. Demonstrative pronouns: examples: This singular This is my book. (Near/reached) These plural That is my book. (distant) That singular These are my books. (Near/reached) Those plural Those are my books. (distant) 35. Emphatic verbs must be followed by a simple form of a verb. Do present tense, plural + THE SIMPLE FORM OF THE VERB Does present tense, singular + THE SIMPLE FORM OF THE VERB Did past tense, singular / plural + THE SIMPLE FORM OF THE VERB Examples: John did not write the poem Jake does have a good opinion. What did you do? Cathy and Tess do play basketball. 36. The auxiliary verbs Has is used in singular, present tense of the verb Have is used in plural, present tense of the verb Had is used in singular / plural, past tense of the verb. Auxiliary verbs must be followed by a past participle form of the verbs. Examples: She has seen the movie. They have decided to stop the project. Estella and Brian had eaten the cake yesterday. 37. The infinitive verbs Its fixed pattern must be: to + the simple form of the verb Examples: to play, to write, to sing, to walk, etc. Jake wants to play basketball. The professor taught us how to write a term paper 38. Do not allow the number of the verbs to be affected by (intervening expressions ( standing between the verb and its subject. Determine the real subject of the verb. Examples: Tact as well as patience is required. Ana, together with Kelly, has arrived. 39. In the present tense, a singular subject followed by a prepositional phrase remains singular. Examples: A piece of paper was thrown on the floor. A dozen of eggs was delivered to the office. 40. The verb concords with the subject, not with the predicate. Examples: My worry is the many plights I have to face. My favorite gift is flowers. 41. Adjectives used as nouns are considered plural. Examples: The rich are popular. 4  The needy are to be given shelter. 42. When a sentence begins with a phrase, the verb agrees with one subject that comes after the verb. Examples: Hanging on a tree was a streamer. Seated among the students is the president of the school. 2. LINGUISTICS LINGUISTICS  Language - A system that uses some physical sign (sound, gesture, mark) to express meaning.  Linguistics is the scientific study of language. Its breadth and depth reach various fields and affect our daily lives. In the field of language teaching, linguistics plays a very important role. Primarily, it provides language teachers with “what to teach” since basic linguistic concepts serve as the foundation of language, hence language teaching. Secondly, the study of language and how it is learned provide teachers with basic ideas on “how to teach”. We are uniquely language user We Use Other Animals Communicate Language We can separate our vocalization from a given Cats arch their back to scare situation (cats only arch their back in the the neighbor cat appropriate situation). Bees tell each other when they We can lie (animals only report) have found food Chimpanzees can be taught to We can speculate (animals are bad at use primitive sign language to counterfactuals) communicate desires. 4 parts to Language Grammar Phonology – Rule pertaining to the sound system Morphology – Rules governing word structure. Syntax – Rules governing the structure of sentences Semantics – Rules concerning meaning. How Do We Make Speech Sounds? History of English Language  Helps teachers understand the origins of our phonology, morphology, orthography and semantics.  Helps teachers understand and explain our spelling system.  Provides an appreciation for the variety and expressive precision of English vocabulary.  Enhances vocabulary teaching.  Explains the historical origin of some common errors seen in invented spelling. Vocabulary Building  Latin words from this period are often composed of prefixes, roots and suffixes.  Students can learn many vocabulary words at once by learning about these Latin roots and affixes. Prefixes and suffixes: Using this information in the classroom  Most of today‘s suffixes date from the Middle English period of history.  Inflectional Suffixes (learned early):  -s, -es, -ed, -ing, -er, -est  Derivational Suffixes (usually change part of speech):  -able, - ness, -ful, -ment, -ity  The suffixes may change pronunciation of base words:  define  definition  compete competition BACKGROUND: Language, including the phonology, is always changing but the ―great vowel shift‖ was an unusually profound and quick change. It occurred over a 100 to 200 year period from 1400 to 1600. Scholars have not really found a reason for this. Examples of some changes in vowels that occurred in the modern period of English are shown on the next slide. The great vowel shift  During the Renaissance, the pronunciation of words changed particularly for the vowel sounds.  The spelling system was already established and did not change to accommodate the changing sound. You now know  What sounds will children confuse with /p/ and how can I help?  Why do common sight words such as ―was,‖ ―what,‖ and ―said,‖ have irregular spellings?  How many meaningful parts (morphemes) are there in the word contracted?  Why is English spelling perceived as ―crazy?‖ Rules that enable us to combine morphemes into sentences (bridge between sound and meaning). When children put words together they are following syntactic rules about how morphemes are put together. 5 Semantic Arbitrariness of the Sign - Sounds of words bear no relationship to meaning (except for onomatopoeia). In Philosophy we often distinguish between denotation and connotation. Semantics Follow Syntax ―The people talked over the noise‖ Two Syntactical Interpretations 1. [The people] [talked [over]the noise]]] - Over is a preposition 2. [The people [talked over][the noise] – Over is a particle A single sentence can correspond to two propositions, each of which has a distinctive syntactic (and logical) structure, hence, a different cognitive representation. Evidence that meaning is assigned to syntactic structure, rather than to words and sentences. Grammar - How do we know that one sentence is grammatical and the other is not? Enter Rules But what are rules, and how are they represented in the brain? How do we come to have such knowledge? In what form is such knowledge represented in the mind? How can children learn grammar? Interesting Facts about Language The number of sentences is infinite. We are able to distinguish grammatical from ungrammatical sentences. We are able to recognize truncated sentences (―Stop it‖) that are missing nouns. We are able to recognize ambiguous sentences (―Andrew saw the girl with binoculars‖) We can create sentences that paraphrase each other. Noam Chomsky Focused on the vast and unconscious set of rules he hypothesized must exist in the minds of speakers and hearers in order for them to produce and understand their native language. Chomsky’s Views He abandons the idea that children produce languages only by imitation (abandon behaviorism) He rejects the idea that direct teaching and correcting of grammar could account for children‘s utterances because the rules children were unconsciously acquiring are buried in the unconscious of the adults. He claims that there are generative rules (explicit algorithms that characterize the structures of a Hypothesis – The inborn linguistic capacity of humans is sensitive to just those rules that occur in human languages. Language development occurs if the environment provides exposure to language. Similar to the capacity to walk. Universal Grammar - Despite superficial differences all human languages share a fundamental structure. This structure is a universal grammar. We have an innate ability to apply this universal grammar to whatever language we are faced with at birth. Prescriptive vs. Descriptive Rules Prescriptive Rules – E.g., Don‘t split the infinitives. A pronoun must agree in gender and number with the noun to which it refers. Descriptive Linguistics – Implicit knowledge of rules that are inherent in the language. Grammar is descriptive Support for Chomsky 2 Claim that children can‘t be taught grammatical rules because they are not explicitly known. Rather, they absorb these rules unconsciously, as their language is spoken around them. Phonological Rule: Plural Marker DEFINITION OF LANGUAGE Cognitivist Structuralist Transformationalist Functionalist Behaviorist Interactionalist System Mental Phenomenon Interaction Arbitrary Innate To persuade Repetition Socialization (absolute) Means of To give/ask Reinforcement Communication LAD information 6  Primarily Vocal To make someone do something OTHER DEFINITIONS PSYCHOLINGUISTS- Language is learned through schema SOCIOLINGUISTICS- Language performs a social function WEBSTER- Language is the expression and communication of emotions or ideas between human beings by means of speech and hearing that is systematized and confirmed by usage among a given people over a period of time. The sounds of English (A language is a complex structure) A. Vowel sounds – high, mid, low ( front, central back) Vowel sounds can also be classified as SPREAD, ROUND OR NEUTRAL. B. CONSTANT SOUNDS NASAL PLOSIVES FRICATIVES AFFRICATIVES LATERAL GLIDES m,n,ng b,d,g,p,t,k, v,f,s,z,sh dz,ch w,l,r,j,h (voice and voiceless) What is a word? A word is a particular combination of sounds and meaning.  We can identify words by the strings of sounds that comprise them.  We can also tell what is a ‗possible word‘ in our native language. Listeners tacitly know:  The sound sequences that make for ‗possible words‘ in their language. What lies behind our ability to distinguish possible from not possible words?  Tacit knowledge of the phonotactic constraints of the language. Loanwords  As a result of cultural contact, one language may ‗borrow‘ words from another.  The newly borrowed words are transformed to meet the phonological constraints of the borrowing language. Words have phonological structure  The phonological structure of a word tells us how to pronounce it and how to recognize or distinguish it from other words. Words have morphological structure  The morphological structure of a word is a guide to its meaning and its role in sentence structure. Second Language Acquisition Theories. A plethora of theories have evolved and they can be broken down into four major categories:  Behaviorist ―Use behavioral training for accurate pronunciation and rote memory of information such as object and motor vocabulary.‖  Humanistic ―Reduce tension and support a positive emotional state in the learner.  Cognitivist ―Align learning with the brain and its natural ways of knowledge acquisition.‖  Postmodern Techniques of Knowledge:  Constructivist ―Leave behind one-size-fits-all methods and negotiate activities and objectives based on the needs of the learner, using knowledge of learning styles and multiple intelligences, and encouraging meta-cognition and self-reflection in order to increase students‘ self knowledge and capacity for making conscious meaning.‖ Linguistic Concepts Scope of Linguistic Studies: 1. Phonology. It studies the combination of sounds into organized units of speech, the combination of syllables and larger units. It describes the sound system of a particular language and distribution of sounds which occur in that language. Classification is made on the basis of the concept of the phoneme. It is the study of the sound system of language: the rules that govern pronunciation. It is the component of a grammar made up of the elements and principles that determine sound patterns in language. Phonological Rules 7 The rule system within a language by which phonemes are sequenced and uttered to make words. Language consists of a fairly small set of sounds (phonemes). There are about 40 in English. Most have no meaning in themselves; rather we string them together to form meaningful bits and pieces. Phonology: A related Term  PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSING: The use of information about speech sounds which can include:  Pronouncing words  Remembering names  Rhyming, identifying syllables  Segmenting and blending sounds 2. Phonetics. It studies language at the level of sounds: how sounds are articulated by the human speech mechanism and received by the auditory mechanism, how sounds can be distinguished and characterized by the manner in which they are produced. 3. Morphology. It studies the patterns of formation of words by the combination of sounds into minimal distinctive units of meaning called morphemes. It deals with the rules of combining morphemes to form words, e.g. suffixes or prefixes are attached to single morphemes to form words. Morphology is the study of word formation; it deals with the internal structure of words. It also studies the changes that take place in the structure of words, e.g. the morpheme ‗go‘ changes to ‗went‘ or ‗gone‘ to signify changes in tense and aspect. 4. Syntax. It deals with how words combine to form phrases, phrases combine to form clauses, and clauses join to make sentences. Syntax is the study of the way phrases, clauses and sentences are constructed. It is the system of rules and categories that underlies sentence formation. It also involves the description of rules of positioning elements in the sentence, such as noun phrases, verb phrases, adverbial phrases, etc. 5. Semantics. It deals with the level of meaning in language. It attempts to analyze the structure of meaning in a language, e.g. how words similar or different are related; it attempts to show these inter-relationships through forming categories. Semantics accounts for both word and sentence meaning. 6. Pragmatics. It deals with the contextual aspects of meaning in particular situations. It is the study of how language is used in real communication. As distinct from the study of sentences, pragmatics considers utterances – those sentences which are actually uttered by speakers of a language. 7. Discourse. It is the study of chunks of language which are bigger than a single sentence. At this level, inter-sentential links that form a connected or cohesive text are analyzed. I. Basic Linguistic Concepts 1. Phonology is the study of sounds—the most basic building blocks of language. From these basic units, sounds are arranged into bigger units of speech. From this basic definition, it is safe to say that this study of the sound system of language determines the rules of pronunciation Some of the most important concepts that should be remembered in relation to phonology are the following:  Phoneme- the smallest unit of a sound that causes a difference in meaning (e.g. /m/, /n/, /æ/) [pIn] would have a different meaning if pronounced as [pEn] (or that changes one word into another word).  Phonemes should not be confused with letters. Phonemes are the sounds of speech. Letters may represent phonemes in written language. Consonant phoneme  A consonant phoneme is a speech sound that is formed by fully or partially obstructing flow of the airstreams. Consonants are often described as closed sounds  Allophones- variants or other ways of producing a phoneme. They are phonetically similar. For example, the systematic variations of /p/ are: i. Aspirated /p/ as in pen ii. Released /p/ as in spot iii. Unreleased /p/ as in pot  Consonants- sounds produced with the obstruction of airflow. The airflow is either blocked momentarily or restricted so much that noise is produced as air flows past the constriction. Consonants are described in terms of physical dimensions such as: place of articulation- a point of contact between two articulators (e.g. tongue and lips), manner of articulation- the description of how the speech organs are involved in making a sound, and voicing-the change in sound (i.e. either voiced or voiceless). To further understand and remember these concepts, check the table of consonant sounds below. (Source: Parker, F. & Riley, K. (1994) Linguistics for Non-Linguists) Phonics – Teaching the connections between sounds and spelling PHONETICS: The study of linguistic speech sounds and how they are produced and perceived.  What parts of your mouth are involved?  tongue & roof of mouth; lower lip and upper teeth; lower teeth and tongue Orthography - A writing system.  What part of each of these words stands for the sound of long e? tree speak chief be baby receive these  Which orthographic rule is used in adding each of the suffixes below? cups pennies tripped starring baking 8  Labiodental Interdental Alveolar Bilabial Palatal Glottal Velar voiceless p t k STOPS voiced b d g voiceless f ϴ s š h FRICATIVES voiced v ð z ž voiceless č AFFRICATES voiced ǰ voiceless NASALS voiced m n ƞ voiceless LIQUIDS voiced l r voiceless GLIDES voiced w y  Vowels- sounds produced with little obstruction in the vocal tract and are generally voiced. They are described in terms of: tongue height, frontness, lip rounding, and tenseness. To further understand and remember these concepts, check the diagram of vowel sounds below. (Source: www.thedialectcoach.com)  Suprasegmentals- prosodic features that form part of the make-up of sounds no matter what their place or manner of articulation is. These properties are pitch, intonation, stress, and juncture.  Pitch- the auditory property of sound that is determined by the frequency of the waves producing it -- highness or lowness  Intonation- refers to the variation of tone when speaking. It is the rise and fall of pitch which may contrast meanings of sentences. The statement ―Mario is a teacher‖ ends with a fall in pitch; while ―Mario is a teacher?‖ has a rising pitch  Stress- refers to the relative emphasis of syllables; the syllable that receives the most prominent stress is referred to as primary stress. To produce a stressed syllable, one may change the pitch (usually by raising it), make the syllable louder, or make it stronger. e.g. 2 1 2 1 1 2 Fundamental introductory secondary  Juncture- refers to the pauses or breaks between syllables. The lack of any real break between syllables of words is referred to as close juncture; plus juncture, or open juncture is used to describe a break or pause between syllables in the same word or adjacent word—e.g. nitrate vs. night rate; why try vs. white rye; black bird vs. blackbird 2. Morphology is the study of the patterns from which words, through the combination of sounds, are formed. When these sound units are combined, they form distinctive units of meaning called morphemes. In general English terminology, these are usually called affixes—although morphemes are more than just the ordinary affix that we have learned in Basic English courses. Some of the most important concepts to be remembered are the following: Morphological Rules Language is made up of Morphemes. (we call these morphemes as Lexicon - our mental dictionary). 3 million words in English (about 200,000 words in common use today). 9   Morphemes- a word or a part of a word that has meaning; morphemes cannot be further subdivided since it is the smallest unit; it may be found in other words since it usually has a stable meaning (e.g. the word ―review‖ has two morphemes {re}, which usually means ‗to do again‘ and {view} )  Allomorphs- variants of a morpheme that may be phonologically or morphologically conditioned (e.g. the plural {-s} has at least three allomorphs [-s] as in /catS/, [-z] as in /dogZ/, and [-iz] as in /boxIZ/  Free morphemes- those that can stand on their own as independent words—e.g. {view} in review and {like} in unlike; they can also occur in isolation.  Bound morphemes- those that cannot stand on their own as independent words; they need to be attached to a free morpheme or a free form—e.g. {re-}, and {un-} they are commonly called affixes  Inflectional morphemes- those that do not change the form class of the words or morphemes to which they are attached; they are always attached to complete words; they cap the word; they are a closed-ended set of morphemes. English has only 8 inflectional morphemes: -s 3rd person sing. Pres. She stay-s at home. -ed past tense She stay-ed at home. -ing progressive She is stay-ing at home. -en past participle She has writt-en a letter. -s plural She wrote letter-s -‘s possessive Kay-‗s book is new. -er comparative This car is fast-er than that. -est superlative This is the fast-est car.  Derivational morphemes- those that are added to root morphemes or stems to derive new words; they usually change the form class of the words to which they are attached; they are open-ended, i.e. they are potentially infinite. e.g. real + {-ize} = realize hope + {-ful} = hopeful {un-} + faith + {-ful} = unfaithful 3. Syntax is the study of the way phrases, clauses and sentences are constructed. It deals with how words, phrases, and clauses combine to make meaningful ―thoughts‖ and ―ideas‖. It also involves the description of rules of positioning elements in the sentence, such as noun phrases, verb phrases, adverbial phrases, etc. Some of the most important structures that should be remembered are the following:  Structure of Predication- has two components: a subject and a predicate (e.g. the moon shines; soldiers fought bravely; rain has ceased falling)  Structure of Complementation- has two components: a verbal element and a complement (e.g. send the e-mail; plant new trees, be still)  Structure of Modification- has two components: a head word and a modifier—whose meaning serves to broaden, qualify, select, change, or describe in some way affect the meaning of the head word (e.g. helpful students, great teachers, interestingly delicious)  Structure of Coordination- has two components: equivalent grammatical units and joined often but not always by a coordinating conjunction (e.g. black and white; love not hate; neither safe nor secured) Syntactic Rules Rules that enable us to combine morphemes into sentences (bridge between sound and meaning). When children put words together they are following syntactic rules about how morphemes are put together. SYNTAX: The rule system governing sentence formation; the study of sentence structure.  Arrange these words into a coherent sentence and write it down. little mine red is sports car cute the ―the red cute little sports car‖ ―the sports little red cute car‖ How does word order affect the meaning? Who’s the boss? Jan is the boss of Martin. Martin is the boss of Jan. The boss of Jan is Martin. Is Jan the boss of Martin? 4. Semantics deals with the level of meaning in language. It attempts to analyze how words similar or different are related and in turn, show these inter-relationships through forming categories. Semantics accounts for both word and sentence meaning. Some of the most important concepts to be remembered are the following:  Lexical Ambiguity- a characteristic of a word that has more than one possible meaning (e.g. the English word ―bank‖ may mean ‗a financial institution‘ or ‗an edge of a river‘)  Syntactic Ambiguity- a characteristic of a phrase or sentence that has more than one meaning (e.g. ‗He ate the chips on the couch.‘ can mean ‗he ate the chips while sitting on the couch‘ or ‗he ate the chips that were placed or left on the couch‘)  Synonymy- words having the same idea; (e.g. big and huge; student and pupil; buy and purchase) 10   Antonymy- two words which are different in form and in meaning (fast and slow; heavy and light) Some antonyms are gradable (hot and cold—not everything that can be hot or cold is, in fact, either cold or hot; a liquid, for example, may be warm or cool)  Hyponymy- a word or a phrase that has its meaning included within another word; the contained word is also know as the superordinate (e.g. laptop contains the meaning of computer; therefore, laptop is a hyponym of the superordinate computer)  Homonymy- a sense relation in words with the same phonetic form but different in meaning (e.g. bow ‗to bend forward to show respect‘ or ‗a weapon that shoots arrows‘)  Anaphora- a linguistic expression that refers to another linguistic expression (e.g. The earthquake killed hundreds of thousands of people in Haiti. It was devastating.) It is used anaphorically to refer to ‗the earthquake‘. SEMANTICS: The study of word and phrase meanings  To what category do these words belong? bicycle bus taxi automobile scooter skim scan peruse review study 5. Pragmatics deals with the role of context in the creation of meanings. It is the study of how language is used in real communication. Pragmatics considers utterances, which are actually uttered by speakers in authentic communication. Some of the pragmatic concepts that should be remembered are the following:  Locutionary force the literal meaning of the sentence; what sentences say (e.g. ―Why don‘t we buy a new car?‖ – Wh Question)  IIllocutionary force: the pragmatic meaning of the sentence; what sentences do (e.g. ―Why don‘t we buy a new car?‖ – Request of Action: ―buying a new car‖)  Perlocutionary force: the reaction of the hearers: how people react to sentences (e.g. ―Why don‘t we buy a new car?‖ – husband gets annoyed/interested/amused: husband ignores/ husband searches for brochures/ husband takes the wife with him to the car dealer)  Conversational maxims is any of four rules which were proposed by Grice (1975) stating that a speaker is assumed to make a contribution that is adequately but not overly informative (quantity maxim); the speaker does not believe to be false and for which adequate evidence is had (quality maxim); is relevant (maxim of relation or relevance), and is clear, unambiguous, brief, and orderly (maxim of manner).  Implicature is something that is meant, implied, or suggested which is different from what is actually said. (e.g. When Aling Myrna said that Mang Jun is going to drive them to the Airport, Aling Aning said ―I better check my insurance policy‖. Aling Aning‘s utterance shows that Mang Jun is a fast and reckless driver.) Theories of Language and its Influences on Language Teaching Some of the most basic questions in language teaching and learning are: ―how does one learn a language?‖ and ―how should a teacher teach language?‖. These questions may be answered by some of the theories of language, which took roots from linguistics. The discussions below will present an overview of the developments of various theories that influenced the practices in modern-day language teaching. Theories of Language 1. Structuralists see language in terms of its structure. They believe that by describing the observable and verifiable features of the language, one can learn it. Hence, as the name implies, structuralists see language as a system and studying these systems would make it possible to learn language. Some of the most prevalent thoughts that sprung out of structuralist vews are the following:  Language is a means for communication- Language is an important tool for communicating. It gives shape to people‘ thoughts, as well as guides and controls their activitiy.  Language is primarily vocal- Speech is the primary concern of language, and the written form is merely a graphic representation of the oral language. Therefore, it is assumed that speech is a priority in language teaching. Language is a system- Language is a system which is structurally related with other elements or ‗building blocks‘ for the encoding of meaning. These elements are the phonemes (sounds), morphemes (words), and tagmemes (phrases and sentences/clauses).  Language is arbitrary- There is no inherent relation between the words of a language and their meaning or ideas conveyed by them. The relationship between the words and the ―things‖ they denote is merely dictated by what the natives ―want‖ it to be. 2. Transformationalists believe that language is innate and universal. They believe that language rules are universal and every normal being would eventually find ways to transform input into intelligible language. Some of the most important tenets of transformationlist view to language are the following:  Language is a mental phenomenon. It is not mechanical.  Language is innate. The presence of the Language Acquisition Device (LAD) in the human brain predisposes all normal children to acquire their first language in an amazingly short time, around five years since birth.  Language is universal. All normal children acquire a mother tongue. Also, all languages must share key features of human languages such as: all languages have sounds; all languages have rules 11  that form sounds into words; and all languages have transformational rules that enable speakers to ask questions, negate, issue orders, defocus the doer of the action, etc. 3. Functionalists believe that language is vehicle for expressing ―functional meaning‖ such as expressing one‘s emotions, persuading people, asking and giving information, making people do things for others, etc. This view deviates from the structural view since it focuses more on the meaning rather than form. Thus, this leads to a language teaching that prioritizes the teaching of language notions and functions rather than language rules. 4. Interactionists believe that language is a vehicle for establishing interpersonal relations and for performing social transactions between individuals. Interactionist principles are basically pegged on the socio-cultural theory of Levinsky Vygotsky and the Experientila learning theory of Jean Piaget and John Dewey. Interactionists view language as a vital tool in creating and maintaining social relations through conversations. Some of the most basic premises (Richards & Rodgers, 2001) that interactionists hold are the following: a. We are born to talk. b. Talk is organized in conversations. c. Conversations have rules/maxims. d. These maxims are learnt through conversation. e. 2nd lg. maxims are learnt through participation in cooperatively structured interactional activities. Theories of Second Language Acquisition 1. Behaviorist learning theory. This theory holds that the language behaviour of an individual is conditioned by the rewards and punishments provided by his/her environment. It regards language as a ―behaviour‖ which means that, like other forms of human behaviour, it may be learned through the a process of habit formation. The three crucial elements of learning in behaviourism are: a stimulus, which serves to elicit behaviour; a response triggered by the stimulus, and reinforcement, which serves to mark the response as being appropriate (or inappropriate) and encourages repetition (suppression) of the response. Behaviorist perspective in language learning is usually attributed to B.F. Skinner‘s Verbal Behavior. 2. Cognitive learning theory. Chomsky contested Behaviorist assumptions since individuals are not machines that can be set to learn something. He argues that language is not acquired by sheer imitation and through a form of conditioning on reinforcement and reward. He believes that all normal beings are born to learn a language, through an innate Language Acquisition Device that allows humans to transform inputs into the universally accepted language rules. Major strategies used in the Cognitive approach include: Chomsky’s Generative Grammar: ―Language is learned through reinforcement and an active language processor, the language acquisition device (LAD) which generates rules through the unconscious acquisition of grammar.‖ Krashen’s Monitor Model: ―Krashen considered acquisition (an unconscious process that occurs when language is used for real communication) more important that learning (which involves ―knowing about‖ language and its rules) in achieving fluency, and deemphasized direct instruction of syntax rules.‖ Information-Processing Theories: ―The sensory register (input/recognition), short-term memory (information encoding), and long-term memory (storage) work together during learning.‖ Perception is the process by which the sensory register receives and briefly holds environmental stimuli, either as images or sound patterns, and selects input for further processing.‖ Alternative Theories of Mental Functioning: ―As information is received, the brain creates a pattern across the net, adjusted over time by repeated exposure.‖ 3. Krashen’s Monitor Model. Probably the most cited theory of second language acquisitionis Krashen‘s theory which involves five general hypotheses: a. The acquisition/learning hypothesis claims that there are two ways of developing competence in L2: 1. Acquisition – the subconscious process that results from natural communication between people where language is a means, not a focus nor an end in itself. This means that language may be learned even in the absence of formal teaching. 2. Learning – the conscious process of knowing about language and being able to talk about it. This means that explicit teaching should be done since it involves knowledge of the language rules. (Grammar and Vocabulary) b. The natural order hypothesis suggests that there is a predictable and natural order from which grammatical structures will be acquired for both children and adults. c. The monitor hypothesis claims that learners who have acquired or learned particular language rules will eventually monitor or check himself or herself during the process by which he/she uses that language. The monitor is an editing device that may normally operate before language performance. d. The input hypothesis. For an individual to learn a language, Krashen believes that learners should be exposed to grammatical features a little beyond their current level (i + 1), those 12  features are acquired. Too difficult lessons may threaten the learner, while too easy lessons may bore a learner. This will both result in failure e. The affective filter hypothesis. Krashen believes that emotions play a very important role in language learning. The more threatened or anxious a learner is, the lesser or slower will he/she learns. On the other hand, the more confident a learner is, the higher and faster is the possibility for him/her to learn a language. Other Universal Theories 1. The Competition Model by Felix (1985): 2. Dulay and Burt‘s Creative Construction Theory (1974): 3. Krashen‘s Monitor Model 1. The Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis (1981) 2. The Natural Order Hypothesis 3. The Monitor Hypothesis: The Input Hypothesis: 4. The Affective Filter Hypothesis 4. Continuum of learning - language is acquired through predictable and sequential stages of language development. Stage I: The Silent/Receptive or Preproduction Stage Stage II: The Early Production Stage Stage III: The Speech Emergence Stage Stage IV: The intermediate Language Proficiency Stage Stage V: The Advanced Language Proficiency 5. Alternative Theories of Mental Functioning: 6. Multiple Intelligences by Howard Gardner (1983): 7. Emotional Intelligence by Salovey and Mayer (1990) and popularized Goleman (1998): 8. Suggestopedia by Lozanov (1982): ―Pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar are assimilated and learned intuitively.‖ 9. Humanistic Approach 10. Postmodern Techniques of Knowledge o constructivism, intercultural positioning, metarational thinking, and creation of meaning Influences of Theories on Language Teaching 1. Behaviorism led to methods and activities that make students ―overlearn‖ the lesson. Most activities involve mimicry and memorization. Moreover, teaching under the behaviourist perspective involve a lot of practice and drills. These are repeated until students master the lesson. Some of the most popular ―products‖ of behaviourism are the Audio-Lingual Method (ALM), Oral Approach/Situational Language Teaching, Operant Conditioning approach, Bottom-up Text processing, Controlled-to-Free writing, etc. 2. Cognitivism produced language teaching approaches and Activities that prioritizes language analysis over language use and instruction by the teacher. It is compatible with the view that learning is a thinking process, a belief that underpins cognitive-based and schema-enhancing strategies such as Directed Reading Thinking Activity, Story Grammar, Thinking-Aloud, etc. 3. The Functional view led to the creation of communication-based methods that provide exercises and classroom activities that focus on the realistic functions of the language, rather than the previous focus on the forms of the language. Some of the offshoots of functional view are Communicative Language Teaching/ Communicative Approach, Notional-Functional Approach, and Natural Approach. These methods are learner-centered which means that learners have ample time for interaction, information sharing, and negotiation of meaning, as opposed to the previous approaches that are teacher-centered. 4. The view that is both cognitive and affective eventually developed to a holistic approach to language learning or whole-person learning. These approaches created humanistic techniques in teaching the language, which means that aside from the cognitive aspects of the learner, teaching has involved the emotions of the learners. One of these approaches is what has come to be known as the Community Language Learning. Language Teaching Methodology - Definition of some important terms: Language and Literature teaching goes beyond knowing the content or the ―what to teach‖. Hence, teachers should be knowledgeable and skilful in planning and executing lessons for a language and literature class. The succeeding review discussions would focus the ―how to teach‖ language and literature. Before going into the details, here are some important terms to be defined:  Approach - is a set of assumptions dealing with the nature of language, learning, and teaching. (Anthony, E.; 1963) - defines assumptions, beliefs, and theories about the nature of language and language learning. (Richards, J. and Rodgers, T.; 1982, 1986)  Method – is an overall plan for systematic presentation of language based upon a selected approach. (Anthony, E.; 1963) - is an umbrella term for the specification and interrelation of theory and practice. (Richards, J. and Rodgers, T.; 1982, 1986)  Technique – is a specific activity manifested in the classroom which is consistent with a method and therefore in harmony with an approach as well. (Anthony, E.; 1963) - is the level at which classroom procedures are described. It is a medium of implementation (e.g., a particular trick, strategy, or contrivance) used to accomplish an immediate objective.  Design – specifies the relationship of theories to classroom materials and activities. (Richards, J. and Rodgers, T.; 1982, 1986) 13   Procedures – are the techniques and practices that are derived from one‘s approach and design. (Richards, J. and Rodgers, T.; 1982, 1986)  Strategies – are specific methods of approaching a problem or task , modes of operation for achieving a particular end, planned designs for controlling and manipulating certain information. 3. TEACHING LISTENING AND SPEAKING A. The Teaching of Listening The Goal of Teaching Listening- to improve the language competence of learners by developing listening skills such as identifying and discriminating phonemes and other suprasegmentals, maximizing comprehension of aural input, and identifying relevant and non-relevant information. The Nature of Listening  Most used language skill at work and at home  Takes up as much as 50% of our everyday communication  Ironically, neglected most of the time (i.e. not included in most language activities and classes) Different views of listening in language teaching 1. Listening as a SKILL Wolvin and Coakely (1992) identified 5 types of purposeful listening a. Discriminative- listening to distinguish auditory and/or visual stimuli b. Comprehensive- listening to understand the message presented orally c. Therapeutic- listening to provide someone the opportunity to talk and express his or her problems d. Critical- listening to find out whether a message is logical or fallacious e. Appreciative- listening to achieve entertainment Listening comprehension skills or Enabling skills a. Listening for detail- listening for specific information b. Listening for gist- listening to get only the main and most important ideas c. Drawing inferences- listening to fill in gaps and draw conclusions from the message uttered d. Listening selectively- listening only to specific parts of the input e. Making predictions- listening to create anticipations before and while listening 2. Bottom-up Listening In this process, teaching primarily focuses on sounds that are used to build up units of information, such as words, phrases, clauses, and sentences. It is assumed that by understanding these small units, the aural input will eventually be understood. Hence, comprehension is built from ―bottom‖ (sounds) to ―up‖ (understanding) 3. Top-down processing This process may be referred to as the opposite of bottom up. In top down processing, the assumption is that learners must learn how to apply their schema or background knowledge to facilitate comprehension. It is generally believed now that processing of information is neither top-down nor bottom-up alone. It is now common knowledge that processing occurs at the same time in what is known as parallel processing (Eysenck, 1993). In some instances, one type of processing might take precedence over the other, depending on the amount of practice an individual has had on a specific task. 4. Listening as an INTEGRATIVE PROCESS This model is founded on the belief that that ―developing listening competence requires a systematic, developmental approach; opportunities for listening practice in varied contexts and for different purposes; multiple opportunities for self assessment and feedback; and goal-setting.‖ (Thompson, et.al., 2004) The Stages of the Integrative Listening Model: Stage 1: Prepare to Listen- determining the goal; analyzing the listening context; and addressing the influence of various listening filters Stage 2: Apply the Listening Process Model- this involves five distinctive components, namely: Receive, Comprehend, Interpret, Evaluate, and Respond Stage 3: Assess Effectiveness of Listening Performance- reflecting on one‘s performance to determine the effectiveness and problems; assessment could be during and after listening Stage 4: Establish New Goal(s)- upon assessing, learners should establish new goals to build on strengths and work on concerns Factors that influence learners’ listening 1. Knowledge of the language system- a learner would find difficulties or ease when listening if he/she is aware of the linguistic system of the language being used 2. Background knowledge- a learner would find it easy or difficult to understand messages depending on how much schema does he/she have in relation to the message 3. Knowledge of the situation and co-text- a learner would find it easy or difficult to understand messages if he/she knows the situation and/or issues involved for creating such messages 14 Listening can be best understood as a combination of low and high inferences (Rost, 1990). When they use their knowledge of linguistic features to infer (decode) the sounds in an utterance, listeners make low-level inferences, because the focus of listening is merely on the sounds and not on the message. On the other hand, if a learner listens to understand what a message means, they engage in higher level inferences. This is done by using their knowledge of both linguistic and pragmatic nature. Learners also develop listening skills cognitively through the use of listening comprehension strategies. These are mental mechanisms used to process and manage information. The three categories of listening strategies are  Cognitive- this strategy involves processing, interpreting, storing, and recalling information. Some of the sample skills involved here are inferencing and predicting.  Metacognitive: this strategy involves managing & facilitating mental processes and coping up with difficulties during listening. Examples of such strategies include comprehension monitoring and visualizing.  Social-affective: this strategy involves asking the help of others to facilitate comprehension and managing one‘s emotions when listening such as confidence building and cooperation. Problems that Language Learners Face during Listening 1. Text- learners may encounter difficulties in understanding the message because of their lack of skills to discern the phonology & speech rate, e.g. a native speaker of English would naturally speak English at a rate faster than a learner is usually exposed to; skills to understand discourse features, e.g. the involvement of some idiomatic expressions or euphemisms; and the skills to perceive differences among text types, e.g. the different language items used when giving information as compared to giving instructions 2. Task- learners may encounter problems when they are presented with different types of question specially if these questions involve background knowledge about a particular issue; amount of time, e.g. if the listener is given enough time to process the message; and whether or not the listener can get the information repeated, i.e. if the communication is one-way or two-way. 3. Interlocutor (speaker)- this may be related to the first problem; each speaker would have different purposes and strategies when speaking, and these speaking characteristics may involve accent, fluency, gender, and standard or non-standard usage 4. Listener- the learner himself/herself may be a problem; her language proficiency, gender, memory, interest, purpose, prior knowledge, & attention would play a vital role in the full understanding of the message presented orally. 5. Process- the strategy that the learner usually uses, whether the listener uses top-down or bottom-up, would also affect the way he would understand a message Listening Tasks for Communicative outcomes Communicative Outcomes Examples Lists Similarities/ differences/ errors Sequenced information Picture sequences, lyrics Matched items Pictures with texts, themes with texts Restored texts Complete the gaps in a text Diagrams or pictures Floor plans, sketches of people Notes Short notes during presentations One Way Listening Tasks (transactional) It involves listening and responding through different ways to achieve outcomes. They do not have to interact with the speaker while listening. It is mainly concerned with obtaining information and knowledge. Task Response Restoration Include omitted words or phrases Create original message with words Reconstruction heard or noted down Sorting Sequence, rank, categorize items Identify inconsistencies and Evaluation contradictions Match information from listening to Matching pictures or written texts Jigsaw Create a whole from different parts Two-Way Listening Tasks (interactional) The listener has to interact with the speaker by asking questions offering information and expressing opinions Task Response Creative dictation Dictate to each other to complete a text Sequence/reproduce/complete pictures Description or diagrams Listen and express opinion in simulated Simulation situations Listen and respond to formal and Presentation informal presentations 15 Stages in a Listening Lesson Pre-listening stage (activating schema and allowing them to use words which they will shortly hear in the text)  ―tuning-in‖ to the topic or given text  Expressing their views about the text to be listened to  Predicting content from the title  Answering a set of questions  Studying and examining pictures  Singing a song or chant While-listening stage-  Tasks should be enjoyable and meaningful to students;  should be simple and easy to handle;  should provide opportunities for students to succeed Post-listening stage  ―off-shoots‖ or extension of the work done at the pre-and while stages  Students have time to think, reflect, discuss, and to write B. The Teaching of Speaking ORAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN PEDAGOGICAL RESEARCH 1. Conversational Discourse Carrying on a conversation 2. Teaching Pronunciation The role of pronunciation work in a communicative, interactive course of study 3. Accuracy and fluency Accuracy – clear, articulate, grammatically and phonologically correct language Fluency – flowing and natural language The Goal of Teaching Speaking is to produce students who can competently express themselves and avoiding confusion in the message due to faulty pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary. Moreover, learners should also learn how to observe the social and cultural rules that apply in each communication situation. The Nature of Speaking  Two-way process between speaker and hearer  ―encoding‖ the message a speaker wishes to convey in appropriate language Different views of speaking in language teaching 1. Conversational Discourse- ―conversation‖ classes should provide activities for ―transactional‖ (opening a bank account, ordering food in a restaurant, offering services, etc.) and ―interactional‖ (open dialogue, social discussions, etc.) conversation 2. Accuracy & Fluency- Accuracy (ability to use correct, clear, articulate, and phonologically correct rules of language) and Fluency (natural, smooth, and flowing) should be both prioritized; however, current approaches to language teaching lean strongly towards message oriented techniques (teaching language use) rather than language oriented techniques (teaching language usage) 3. Affective factors- anxiety generated over risks of blurting out things that are wrong, stupid, or incomprehensible; teachers and teaching environment should then be warm and embracing no matter how halting or broken their attempts may be. 4. Interaction effect- one learner‘s performance is always colored by that of the person (interlocutor) he or she is talking with; thus, teachers should not create a ‗god-like‘ characteristic during interactions with students 5. Teaching Pronunciation- in the advent of communicative language teaching approaches, issues on whether phonological details of the language should be taught or not have been debated upon. Since some learners, specifically adults, will never acquire an accent-free command of language, some teachers find pronunciation as unimportant TYPES OF SPOKEN LANGUAGE Interactional Transactional CHARACTERISTICS OF SPOKEN LANGUAGE THAT MAKE SPEAKING EASY AS WELL AS DIFFICULT 1. Clustering – fluent speech is phrasal, not word by word 2. Redundancy – the opportunity to male meaning clearer through redundancy of language 3. Reduced forms – contractions, elisions, reduced vowels may create problem (learn colloquial contractions) 4. Performance variables –the process of thinking as your speak Thinking time – insert fillers 16  5. Colloquial language – make user that your students are reasonably well acquainted with the words, idioms, and phrases of colloquial language 6. Rate of delivery – speed Our task as teachers is to develop in a student the acceptable speed along with other attributes of fluency 7. Stress, rhythm, and intonation This is the most important characteristics of pronunciation. The stress timed rhythm of spoken English and its intonation patterns convey important messages 8. Interaction Learning to produce waves of language in a vacuum, without interlocutors – would rob speaking skills of its richest component; the creativity of conversational negotiation. PRINCIPLES FOR DESIGNING SPEAKING TECHNIQUES 1. Use techniques that cover the spectrum of learners needs, from language – based focus on accuracy to message –based focus on interaction, meaning, and fluency 2. Provide intrinsically motivating techniques – try at all times to appeal to students‘ ultimate goals and interests, to their need for knowledge, for status, for achieving competence and autonomy, and for ―being a;; that they can be‖ 3. Encourage the use of authentic language in meaningful contexts Remember – it is not easy to keep come up with meaningful interaction 4. Provide appropriate feedback and correction – it is important that you take advantage of your knowledge of English to inject the kinds of corrective feedback that are appropriate for the moment. 5. Capitalize on the natural link between speaking and listening Don‘t lose out on opportunities to integrate these two skills. Skills in producing language are often initiated through comprehension and that these two skills can reinforce each other. 6. Give students opportunities to initiate oral communication Part of oral communication competence is the ability to initiate conversations, to nominate topics, to ask questions, to control conversations and to change the subject 7. Encourage the development of speaking strategies Strategies such as:  Asking for clarification (what)  Asking someone to repeat something (huh, excuse me?)  Using fillers (uh, I mean, well) in order to gain time to process  Using conversational maintenance cues (uh huh, right, yeah, okay, hmmm)  Getting someone‘s attention (hey, say, so)  Using paraphrases for structures one can‘t produce.  Appealing for assistance from the interlocutor (to get a word or phrase, for example)  Using formulaic expressions at the survival stage) How much does___cost? How do you get to the ____?  sing mime and nonverbal; expressions to convey meaning. TEACHING CONVERSATION 1. Conversation – indirect (strategy conscious –raising) 2. Conversation – direct (gambits) 3. Conversation – transactional (ordering from a catalog) 4. Meaningful oral; grammar practice (modal auxillary would) 5. Individual practice ; oral dialog journals 6. Other interactive techniques  Interviews  Guessing games  Jigsaw tasks  Ranking exercises  Discussions  values clarification  Problem solving activities  Role –play  Simulations TEACHING PRONUNCIATION Rather than attempting to build a learners articulatory competence from the bottom –up, and simply as the mastery of a list of phonemes and allophones, atop down approach is taken in which the most relevant features of pronunciation – stress, rhythm, and intonation – are given high ;priority. Instead of teaching only the role of articulation within words, or at best, phrases, we teach its role in a whole stream of discourse. FACTORS AFFECTING LEARNERS PRONUNCIATION 1. Native language – the most influential factor affecting a learner‘s pronunciation 2. Age – children under the age of puberty stand an excellent chance of sounding like a native is they have continued exposure in authentic contexts Beyond the age of puberty, there is no particular advantage attributed to age 17  The younger the better is a myth 3. Exposure – quality and intensity of exposure are more important than mere length of time 4. Innate phonetic ability – ―ear‖ for language If a person as had early exposure to language – he would have a knack on the language whether he remembers the language or not SBI (strat based In)s – has proven that some elements of learning are a matter of fact are an awareness of your own limitations combined with a conscious focus on doing something to compensate for those limitations 5. Identity and language ego- one‘s attitude toward speakers of the target language and the extent to which the language ego identifies with those speakers Positive attitudes 6. Motivation and concerns for good pronunciation The intrinsic motivation is the strongest factor that would affect the learners Problems that Language Learners Face during Speaking 1. Clustering- some learners don‘t know when to pause; they should be trained that speaking have thought units or ―breath groups‖ 2. Reduced forms- some learners do not know how to make contractions, reduced vowels, shortened statements, etc. 3. Performance variables- some learners find it difficult to avoid using ―fillers‖ such as uhm, ahh, well, you know, I mean, like, etc. especially during formal speech presentations 4. Colloquial language- some learners find it difficult to look and use correct words, idioms, and phrases that are appropriate for a particular speech act 5. Rate of delivery- some learners are either too slow or too fast; they should be trained on how to deliver at an ―acceptable speed‖ 6. Stress, Rhythm, and Intonation- learners find it difficult to follow the prosodic rules of a target language, usually because of mismatches or differences between the native language and the target language (e.g. Filipino is syllable-timed while English is stress-timed) 7. Interaction- if learners would not have any avenue to interact, then learning how to speak would be difficult, if not impossible Factors that influence learners’ speaking 1. Native Language- mother Language affects the learning of the target language 2. Age- learners within the critical period (i.e. between age 5 and puberty) 3. Exposure- quality and intensity of exposure is better than duration/length of time 4. Innate phonetic ability- some people manifest ‗better‘ phonetic coding ability than others 5. Identity and Language Ego- attitude towards speakers of the target language Language ego – you are what you speak Wrong notion on Mark Twain‘s ―It’s better to keep your mouth closed and have others think you are ignorant than to open it and remove all doubt.” Teachers must encourage students to speak no matter how broken and halting their attempts may be 6. Motivation and concern for good pronunciation- high motivation leads to extended effort to improve and learn Affective factors Obstacles to learners – causing anxiety – the anxiety generated over the risks of blurting things out wrong, stupid, or incomprehensible Speaking Tasks for Communicative outcomes Type of Performance Task/ Response  Student simply parrots back (imitate) a word or phrase or sentence Imitative Speaking  Task: word repetition; pronunciation drills  One step beyond imitative speaking to include any speaking performance that is designed to practice some phonological and Intensive speaking grammatical aspect of language  Tasks: directed response; read-aloud; sentence/dialogue completion tasks; oral questionnaires; picture-cues tasks  Short replies to teacher or student initiated questions or comments (a good deal of student speech in the classroom is responsive); replies do Responsive speaking not extend into dialogues; such speech can be meaningful and authentic  Tasks: question and answer; eliciting instructions and directions; paraphrasing a story or a dialogue Interactive Speaking  Transactional- carried out for the purpose of conveying or exchanging  Transactional specific information; involves relatively long stretches of interactive  Interpersonal discourse 18   Interpersonal- carried out for the purpose of maintaining social relationships  Tasks: interviews; role play; discussions (problem-solving); games; conversations; information gap activity; telling longer stories; extended explanations  Usually for intermediate to advanced levels; tasks involve complex, relatively, lengthy stretches of discourse; extended monologues can be Extensive Speaking planned or impromptu (monologue)  Tasks: oral reports; summaries; short speeches; picture-cued storytelling; retelling a story or a news event Stages in a Speaking Lesson Presentation stage (a.k.a. ―pre-activity stage‖)  Teacher‘s task is to serve as informant  Students listen and try to understand  Activities should be minimal so as to allow students to participate and perform later Practice stage  Students do most of the talking  Teacher is facilitator and monitor Production stage  Stage where students use the language for themselves  Free use of language (free expression is more important than mistakes)  Opportunities to use language as they wish make students become more aware the they have learned something; thus, they become encouraged to go on 4. TEACHING READING AND WRITING A. The Teaching of Reading What is Reading? Various authorities in the field of Reading Instruction have varying definitions of reading, some of them are as follows:  ―Reading is the act of constructing meaning while transacting with text.‖ – Martha R. Ruddell * The reader makes meaning through the combination of prior knowledge and previous experience.  ―…both the mind of the reader and the language on the page are what enable people to read and understand.‖ (Wood, 2000)  ―Reading is thinking. It‘s more than moving one‘s eyes across the lines of print, more than recognizing words.‖ (Mc Whorter, 2001)  ―Reading is not merely the transfer of information from an author to a reader.‖ (Mc Cormick & Waller, 1987) What are the Reading Processes? A. Bottom-up Reading- assumes that reading begins with print (letters  words  phrases  sentences  meaning). However, problems arise because in some instances, knowing the linguistic features of a text would not necessarily bring a reader to its meaning. Consider this passage from Lewis Caroll‘s Through the Looking-Glass: `Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe. Does it make sense? No, it does not, but a linguistic analysis can tell you that for example, ―slithy‖ is an adjective, and ―gyre‖ and ―gimble‖ are verbs. B. Top-down Reading- assumes that reading begins with knowledge and hypotheses in the mind of the reader. Similarly, this presents some situational problems, because readers would have different schema because of different experiences. Hence, conclusions might mislead a learner. For example, at first glance, a reader might fill the blanks below with ―ship or boat‖ and ―sea or ocean‖ THE _________WENT SAILING ACROSS THE _____________. However, if you would further read it, the blanks may have the following words to fill them. JERRY SWUNG THE RACKET, AND THE BALL WENT SAILING ACROSS THE NET. C. Interactive reading- is an interactive reading model is a reading model that recognizes the interaction of bottom-up and top-down processes simultaneously throughout the reading process. A popular Chinese proverb may summarize the idea espoused by interactive reading. ―Tell me and I‘ll forget. Show me, and I may remember. But involve me and I‘ll understand.‖ – Chinese proverb 19 The Goals of Teaching Reading- similar with listening and speaking, teaching reading of course entails certain goals. The following are just some of them. 1. Schema Activation- For learners to understand a ―new‖ text, he/she should be able to connect this to previous knowledge or schemata. Hence, to teach reading successfully, a reading lesson should provide opportunities for learners to make necessary connections with what they know and what the text offers. Some of the many strategies for schema activation are: Brainstorming, Previewing, and Showing Graphic Organizers or Visual Aids. 2. Vocabulary Development- Logically speaking, the more words learners know, the easier it is for them to connect with the text and understand it. Although learners must be encouraged to continue reading even in the presence of new words, a reading lesson should inevitably develop vocabulary strategies or what some writers call ―word-attack skills‖. Some of the words should be taken into consideration are: a. High frequency words or words that are usually encountered, or repeated in the text b. Academic Words or words that are used with the content area c. Technical words or words that may have a different meaning in a certain discipline d. Literary words or those words which are commonly used in literature 3. Comprehension Development- Reading is the process of constructing meaning from print. Hence, it is the ultimate objective of reading instruction to help learners understand a text, and develop strategies in understanding a text. 4. Understanding Text Organization- Understanding the content goes hand in hand with understanding how it is organized. Hence, students need to learn how to relate the following to the text: a. Text type (narrative or expository) b. Genre c. Hierarchy of ideas in exposition d. Significant Details in narrative and expository texts e. Use of graphic organizers 5. Application- Reading instruction should also develop the learners‘ ability to relate their learning to real-life situations. Reading instruction can end by: a. Valuing b. Appreciating c. Relating lessons to own life d. Linking lesson to explain real-life contexts e. Responding creatively using multiple intelligences Phases in a Reading Lesson- There would be different ways in presenting a reading lesson. However, generally speaking, the following are the parts and contents of a Reading Lesson: a. Pre-Reading- This part of the lesson opens the lessons by previewing the new reading lesson. During the pre-reading, teachers may pose a stimulating question, picture, video clip, title, etc. to capture the interest of the learners and prepare them to the main activity or lesson. b. While Reading- This is where the main activity or lesson or text is presented. While the ―While Reading‖ presents the text to be read, the instruction should not be plainly reading. c. Post-Reading- This is the phase which may aptly be called ―closure‖. Here, the learners‘ understanding of the text may be evaluated or linked to other language activities and lessons through the creation of certain outputs or presentations. Principles for Designing Effective and Interesting Reading Lessons (Farell, T.S.C., 2002) 1. Reading materials should be interesting for the target learners. 2. Reading instruction should prioritize students reading the text. 3. Activities and exercises in a reading lesson should reflect the purposeful, task-based, and interactive nature of real reading (predicting, hypothesizing, and revising ideas about what was read). 4. Activities and exercises in a reading instruction should allow learners to bring their knowledge and experiences to the text being read. 5. Reading lessons should focus on teaching and not on testing. 6. There should be a variety of reading activities in each lesson to maintain the interest and motivation of learners. 7. Reading lessons should be divided into pre-reading, during or while reading, and post reading phases. Some strategies in Teaching Reading A. Vocabulary Development 1. Structural Analysis- is largely focused on the unfamiliar word itself. In this strategy, the meaning of a word is derived by looking at the root word. “Structural analysis includes attention to root words, affixes and inflections. It may also include attention to plural forms, tenses, comparisons, contractions, and compound words” (Arias & Acuña, 2002). Hence, learners should be exposed to the different meanings of the affixes in order to use structural analysis. The table below shows some of the most commonly used affixes. 20  Prefix Meaning Examples a- also an- not, without atheist, anemic a- to, towards aside, aback ab- also abs- away, from abdicate, abstract ad- also a-, ac- movement to, advance, adulterate, , af-, ag- change into, adjunct, ascend, affiliate, al-, an-, addition or increase affirm, aggravate, ap-, at- as- alleviate, annotate, , at- apprehend, arrive, assemble, attend Suffix Meaning Examples -able capable, can do usable, notable, comfortable -ad group triad, monad -arch ruler, leader monarch, tetrarch 2. Contextual Analysis- is the strategy that we use in attempting to obtain the meaning of an unfamiliar word by examining the context in which it appears. This strategy encourages you to look for ―contextual clues,‖ i.e., related information that would provide the meaning of the unfamiliar word. Simply put, contextual analysis involves your analysis of other words that surround the unknown word. Some of the most common context clues are the following: a. Synonyms- e.g. The newcomer looks dubious, his credentials are questionable. b. Antonyms- e.g. Doña Mariana‘s boisterous laughter distracted the calm classroom. c. Examples- e.g. It‘s amazing how Joe maintains his citrus fruit trees; you can see oranges, ponkans, mandarins, and even lemons in his backyard. d. Comparison and Contrast- The tuk-tuk of Thailand, like that of our tricycles, amazes most tourists. B. Comprehension Development 1. Anticipation Guide- consists of a list of