Language
What is IN a preposition?
Have you ever thought about how prepositions work in a sentence?
Prepositions can have 1. spatial, 2. temporal, or 3. abstract meanings
- I live in a house.
- I left home at 9am.
- Something came across my mind
There is a concept of Space in prepositions. How do we locate an object relative to space?
- John is at the dentist.
- John went to the dentist.
However, the scale is Relative. Look at these two sentences.
- The ant walked across his hand.
- A bus drove across the country.
What is the semantic category/communicative function?
- The balloon passed over the house.
- The balloon passed over.
- The balloon went up. (postulate)
- The balloon went over there. (landmark)
How does Spatial Awareness work?
Think about dimensions: 1D, 2D, and 3D
- John drove down the road. (a line – one dimensional space)
2. The skater twirled on the pond. (the pond is a surface, 2D)
3. The astronaut checked his equipment in the airlock. (a room has 3D and we are placing him inside)
Where is the location of space?
at – (non-directional) Amy ran at the track.
at – (core meaning, denote position) I am at school.
at – (being at a specific point) The intersection of the lines is at co-ordinates 3,4 on the graph.
How does a motion verb work with prepositions?
- John threw the ball at Mary.
- John threw the ball to Mary.
How does the preposition modify the verb?
- (place) John exercised inside the house.
- (path) John stormed inside the house.
What is a phrasal verb?
kick-off
ran into my teacher
ask out
blow up
break-in (interrupt)
break up (relationship)
How does the phrase with a preposition become idiomatic?
hold your hand up
off like a shot
in at the deep end
off the record
in the pink
English can be crazy!
- A house can burn up as it burns down.
- You can fill in a form by filling it out.
- Why is it after dark when it is after light?
Language – In Time And Space
A look at how the English language is constantly evolving. Words used, and the meaning of those words change over time. For example, in the 1940s a “wireless” was the word used to describe what we now call a “radio.” Today, “wireless” has taken on a totally new meaning, associated with “wireless headphones”, “wireless internet” etc..
Variation is a term used to explain the process whereby two native English speakers can understand each other but may not speak exactly the same i.e. Scottish, Australian etc. Variation is the product of change. Populations with common languages separated over time, the forms of speech changed independently and thus the languages separated. This variation is seen in the form of different dialects and accents.
There have been many studies relating to the variation of detail within the English language. An easy variation to identify is that between English dialects when pronouncing words that end in “er.” From the 19th century onwards, local dialects in Northern England began to drop the “er” and replace it with an “a” sound. For example, “butter” became “butta” , “shiver” became “shiva” etc. This variation was also carried into forms of English that developed in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Studies have also illustrated that social status can determine language variation. Speakers with a higher social status and education are more likely to pronounce words in their full and proper form. Studied in the field of Sociolinguistics.
Another theory of language variation looks at the separation of human populations across the globe. Language (as a form of communication) is a naturally inherited characteristic of the human species. Particular forms of language are aspects of specific human societies. As these societies drifted apart over time, languages developed independently of each other. Studied in the field of cultural linguistics.
The mastery of speech develops in early childhood. Language structure is fixed before the teens. Other theories look at language change being consistent with societal changes. There is also the theory that language changes from one generation to the next, and the speech mastered is determined by that spoken in communities in which children grow up.
Helping Students Create Their Own Learning Goals By Greta. J. Gorsuch
Reflection on an Article
(756 words)
Students learn (language) for various reasons from those who need English to study in university to those that just want to talk to more people from around the world. But what makes them achieve what they set out to do which is speaking English competently? You could say it is a goal, their intention, their aspiration to be this person who has no problems with language. The only difficulty is, do they really know what their targets are? These can be for a course of English language, for example, thirty hours or the end product over a longer period. I will try in this piece to explain some points regarding learning goals in relation to the article by Greta J Gorsuch.
First of all, I have to talk about the teacher and their role in the classroom with regard to student learning goals. What do the students think they are there for? Is the teacher there to do everything? Is the teacher there to spoon-feed the students so to make it easy for them? These are the sorts of questions that might be asked but is the teacher there to do everything? Greta’s article mentions that teachers are ‘traditionally the primary source of information and inspiration’. It is true that the students can be sat waiting for the teacher to speak, the idea that the students do not speak unless spoken to. They can actually feel afraid to ask further questions or just get the exercise done. This is where concrete learning objectives can try to make the students come away from relying on the teacher to create goals for themselves as students and as such putting more emphasis on themselves (students) and what they want to achieve. Greta says, ‘language students themselves are the best source of information’. To be a language learner does not just involve coming to class and listening to a teacher then going home. It involves being a language learner for life in and outside class.
It is here inside the class (not to mention outside) that the teacher if they want to create a learning environment they should encourage these learning goals for the students. Some teachers do not have ‘effective strategies’, Greta says. I agree with her as they can go into the class and teach a great lesson, but there could be more from the students. Greta mentions, ‘simple goal clarification activities’. This, I think, is the ‘use’ part of the lesson where the teacher actually gets the students to show that they have achieved their goal if only for that week by speaking and presenting what they have learned. This incentive, I think at least, gives students that pleasure of reaching a goal and then setting another one. The satisfaction to think that they set a target and have reached it must be beneficial in scaffolding their learning for future progress.
Greta’s ideas for future progress relate to giving cards out, getting the students to fill in their goals, making sure they are achievable and realistic ones at that. The only part, I think, that they must do is share these with other students. I think this honesty in class will get the students to realize what they are in class for. They must also be kept focused on these goals. Greta says, ‘ during the next few weeks, get students to look back at their card, and rewrite their responses’. Again, the teacher should never shy away from keeping the students focused on their goals. If one student does not feel they have reached their goals this is a great time to focus on why. It is true that a student may do, for example, thirty hours of study and then go up another level. In this student’s mind is that they are now a level higher, so their English language must be a level higher. This idea could be far off the mark, thus having students with achievable goals makes the students fully aware that they have reached that goal or not, and when this goal is relayed to the teacher he or she can give advice on what they can do next.
To conclude, it can be said teachers have to do their job but just as much the students have to do their job too. This does not mean forcing them; it means giving them that focus. Hopefully, the students will realize that a new foreign language is part of their life not just in the classroom for a few hours every week.
Vocabulary building in young learners
(933 Words)
For this writing task, I was asked to give my response to 5 statements about how young learners can help build their vocabulary. I will answer true or false statements 1- 5 and explain why.
1. In a young child, a single word may constitute a considerable degree of meaning.
Is this True or False?
2. Words categories and concepts normally exist in isolation from each other.
Is this True or False?
3. Vocabulary development comprises at least three stages.
Is this True or False?
4. All languages have the same relationship between time and tense.
Is this True or False?
5. Where possible we should draw upon as many of the senses as possible when teaching vocabulary.
Is this True or False?
1. In a young child, a single word may constitute a considerable degree of meaning. T/F
This is true. The ability to use words is partly tied to the young child’s ongoing cognitive development, so the use of words will have a degree of meaning. Thus, for a child, a word stands for a concept, but that concept is open to interpretation in that they select a category of relatively similar objects and apply the lexical item throughout. A child can learn the word dog or as a young child puts it ‘doggy’. This refers to a four-legged animal. This word can exist for any type of dog either big or small or type of breed. For example, a dog may refer to beagles and scotties, but not to poodles. This aspect of children’s thought associates a word with an object, but they may then, in the future, use that word to describe a number of other similar objects in their environment. The child can also use the word ‘doggy to mean ‘there is a dog’ Notwithstanding, it can mean ‘come here’ said with a rising tone. Young children tend to utilise rising intonation to signal yes-no questions.
2. Words categories and concepts normally exist in isolation from each other. T/F
This is false. Words do not live in isolation, individual words can be categorised in many ways that remove the word from the original meaning or at least a child’s only idea of the meaning. The word ‘game’ can be attached to words such as card (game), ball (game), Olympic (games), and also football (game). As such the Olympic Games conjure up thoughts of many competitors from around the world competing together, although a ball game can involve one person banging a ball against a wall. This looks at two ends of the game spectrum. Winning the Olympic Games has men and women getting gold medals; the ball game respectively has no winner or loser. Furthermore, the game of poker has skills of a different kind compared to kicking a football around the football pitch as well as less physical energy.
3. Vocabulary development comprises of at least three stages. T/F
This is true. Word learning is the product of a set of cognitive and linguistic stages that include the ability to acquire concepts, an appreciation of syntactic cues to meaning, and a rich understanding of the mental states of other people. These capacities are powerful and early emerging. Firstly the child must make sense of new vocabulary. When words are first met by young learners, there are concepts that are given labels in English and may be new to the child, or only partially developed. The teacher or parent may not be merely teaching vocabulary, but teaching concepts. The labels and concepts need to be incorporated into schemas that already exist. The child has to learn this new vocabulary. Learning and retaining new vocabulary is made easier by grouping words together into families. While learning all this new vocabulary the child has to retain and recall this vocabulary for the various situation they will find themselves in. The single most effective way of helping students build vocabulary is by increasing the amount that they read. The child revisits the groups of words; adding to them and reorganising them provide ways of giving learners both the repetition and the development that is needed as they grow into English through the primary years and stages.
4. All languages have the same relationship between time and tense. T/F
This is false. Various countries of different lexis in different parts of the world that have relatively little contact with each other, will have experienced a different environment. Each country will invent words for the things in its environment that matter to it, and naturally, they find words for different things in their country. England has four seasons, other countries have three. Some countries are dark for many months. Learners from different countries don’t have some words in their vocabulary because they have never encountered such aspects of life. Basically, the learners have to develop categories and concepts for the new words they encounter. For this situation, when children encounter new words teachers need to provide support for understanding. New vocabulary needs to be presented in a context that helps the child understand the meanings and associations that help explain time and tense.
5. Where possible we should draw upon as many of the senses as possible when teaching vocabulary. T/F
This is true. Children learn words by seeing, feeling, tasting, listening, enjoying, and experiencing. These various means at a teacher’s disposal bring the reality of words to the fore. For example, a child can know the word ‘apple’ but this does not show the learner every aspect of the object. They can learn that it is a fruit and other fruits are in the same family. They can see pictures of apples so they see the shapes and colours. They can eat an apple then they know the taste and feel. Is it soft? Is it hard? It can be shown that the apple starts going rotten after a while, but it is also good for your health before going rotten. An apple pie can be cooked for the child to show how apples can be used. Granny Smith apples come from England. Other apples come from other countries. They can go on a field trip and see apples growing. The child realizes they grow in trees. They can go shopping at a supermarket and buy apples. They can be shown they are bought in weight.
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Syntax – a Reflective Essay
(589 words)
I see syntax as an important part of language study and reading books like The Language Instinct by Stephen Pinker has inspired me to take a closer look at how we use our language and how a sentence is formed. I hope with this essay I can give a little insight into how syntax is used.
It is clear to see that the sentence ‘Man hits animal’ is not the same as ‘Animal hits man’. We know this because we use a code, or set of rules, to translate between orders of words and combinations of thoughts. Generally speaking, this set of rules is called a generative grammar. Syntax works on a prescriptive use of grammar although spoken English is not as formal as we think and works along the lines of a more descriptive method. Descriptive syntax is about understanding the rules that a speech community employs by examining the way that the members of that community actually do talk.
English language holds rules that can create larger more complex structures. It is by learning phrase and clause structures that gives us a clearer picture of syntax. These structures are what make the syntax rules. We find that it is possible to create an infinite number of sentences, all of which can express meaningful thought. Thus it is possible to construct sentences that the speaker has never used before. It can be said that English has a finite number of rules which facilitate an infinite number of sentences. Syntax shows that sentences and the relationship of their component parts works in English. To understand a sentence one cannot merely pay attention to the order of words. For example, in the class we learnt about complex, compound and simple sentences and components in them.
1. They were the boys who arrived to see and I knew all of them who came.
And = FANBOYS (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So)
Independent Clause (x2) = They were the boys / I know all of them
Dependent Clause (x2) = who arrived to see / who came
Who arrived = the WHO is subjective case
Infinitive phrase = to see
Sentence type = compound complex
As above, syntax is the system that speakers and writers use when they combine words into phrases and clauses, ultimately creating meaning in their structures.
To conclude I have noticed that all sentences have basic patterns. I can now say that in many respects there is a mechanical basis in the brain, and all thought has a syntax, or code. So, we see that our utterances represent this internal coding by way of our common syntax.
