Analysis of vocabulary items
The form of a lexical unit is regarded in the following perspectives
· phonetics(something [sʌmmƟiŋ])
· spelling (write the word on the blackboard)
· conformity to the rules of reading (e.g. there are lots of ways in which the letter cluster – “ough” can be pronounced)
· structure: word-building morphemes
· grammar: irregular verbs, irregular plural nouns, suppletive forms like “bad-worse”, “one-first”
Meaning:
· how many meanings a word or phrase has
· which of them ought to introduce today (if the meanings of a word are too divorced from each other, like “get” as “receive” and “get” as “become”; one meaning at a time is quite sufficient; if the meaning can be brought under the umbrella of the same notion, it is advisable to give them all at once. E.g. the word ‘bag’ covers such meanings as ‘suitcase’, ‘schoolbag’, ‘purse’, ‘plastic bag’, etc., where a Russian learner will use quite different words)
· whether the word has any equivalent in the mother tongue or whether it renders a phenomenon alien to the mother tongue culture and calling for an explanation (pudding, beadle)
· whether the meaning of the Russian equivalent covers the same scope of meaning or is narrower or wider in meaning
· whether the learners are familiar with any synonyms or antonyms in the target language
The usage of a lexical unit
· its collocability (=combinability with other words)
· its cross-thematic potential (illustrate the usage of a word in different situations lest it should ‘freeze’ into just one context)
· the communicative sphere of its usage. E.g. ‘afraid’ may be used to characterize someone’s courage or cowardice, to voice someone’s premonitions, to correcr someone or refuse to do something in a polite form
· the peculiarities of its linguistic environment E.g. ‘weather’, ‘nature (as a landscape)’ never takes the indefinite article; ‘enjoy’ can’t be followed by an infinitive.
| English @ Russian | Pencil, tree | |
| No equivalent in the native language (realia) | Exposure, lacunae, muffin | |
| English is broader than Russian. Here we often deal with so-called ‘faux amis’ – ложные друзья переводчика | Red, brown, blue | |
| Russian is broader than English | *** | |
| Russian is broader and narrower than English | *** |
19/02/10
The main criteria of choosing the strategy of explaining the meaning
1. Precision
2. Involving the students’ intellectual ability (show the picture of a cow – the big animal that gives us milk)
3. Economy (of time, of affords) – a context is a very good technique, but if the context is too detailed and too long it violates the requirement of economy.
Sometimes you can use 2 techniques at once. If a word looks like a bit like its Russian equivalent they may guess the meaning from the form, or they may failed to guess (tiger – тигр или тайга). We need a context. The context may be very short. The hunter shoot a tiger.
The Russian language is a friend, but a friend you resort to only in times of dire needs. Presenting the meaning of the vocabulary item
· Can the meaning be deduced from the form of the word (international words, derivation - friendship or word composition – letter-box)
· Do the learners know any synonyms or antonyms of the words? But sometimes antonyms can be tricky too (old). In synonyms we can rely on the word ‘very’, which describes many words (huge – very big, amazing – very strange)
· Can the exact meaning can be presented by means of direct demonstration?
· Is it possible to use enumeration – it is very useful when you present a generic word through words with specific meanings (furniture, vegetables)?
· is it possible to give a precise and laconic definition (surgeon – a doctor, who operates, thrifty – who saves money for a rainy day)?
· can the meaning of the word be deducted from the context?
· can the meaning be rendered exactly by one or two words in the mother tongue? (terms – hydrogen - водород, nitric acid – азотная кислота; words with specific meaning – видовые понятия: kinds of trees or birds) Sometimes you use Russian to show that the word has 2 meanings: man – человек, мужчина. We translate words of very abstract meaning which are difficult to define (envy)
If none of these work resort to an explanation in the mother tongue (e.g. the Russian word is broader than English – кроме как помимо и за исключением)
Exercises aimed at retaining the form of a lexical unit
1. read the contrasting pairs: fought – thought, feel – fill
2. read the following lines of words where the same letters or letter combinations may give us different sounds
bread – read – break; now – know – how - snow
3. listen to the words and show your red cards if the word means something good and tour blue cards if the word means something bad:
‘homeless’ +- =-, ‘hopeful’ ++=+; ‘fearless’ --=+
4. find and read the phrases with the same meaning as that of the first word in the line
important – not very important, not important, far from important, far from unimportant, hardly important
5. look at the line of unfamiliar words and find all those, you can understand without using a dictionary
attach, attack, attention, attract, attempt
6. find the words that have the same root
courage, courageous, carriage, encourage, current, discourage
26/02/10
1. Guess the missing word in a native language context.
Посколько на берегу не было ни лодки ни *** мы не могли перебраться на другой берег.
we teach not to be afraid of unfamiliar words (Плот). Actually such excercises teach to deal with 2 different challenges: to guess the exact meaning of an unfamiliar word and to irnore the unfamiliar word to which the cotext gives no /// and to guess the general meaning of the sentence. Both skills are equally necessary but for diffferent kinds of reading.
Она рассердилась и икснула его по голове тяжелым игриком.
We guess exactly the “X” (ударила). And in “Y” we ignore the difficulty because it doesn’t matter.
2. teach them to understand derivatives, which do not have exact equivalents in Russian.
e.g. ‘-er’. teach-teacher, sing – singer, but do-doer (человек, который совершает действие)
3. teach them to understand a famikiar word in a number of contexts which change the meaning of the word.
e.g. spot – пятно. His jacket was covered with spots.
He showed me the exact spot where the accident had happened. (место)
He answered the question on the spot.
I soon spotted what the mistake was.
swing – качаться,
They were swinging their arms.
The children were swinging on the gate.
The door swung shut. (захлопнулась)
He swung his stick dealing his enemy a mortal blow (замахнулся)
He will swing for his crime. (повесят)
You should develop your learners power of observation, showing how the same vocabulary item changes its meaning in a different linguistic environment.
e.g. consist in – consist of,
The difficulty consists in
this machine consists of
look at – look upon, sorry for – sorry about
I’m sorry for my dog (жалко) – I’m sorry about my dog.
Reproductive exercises.
Selection of several words if a larger number (набор)
Make your learners memorize the vocabulary without cramming
Name the things that can be difficult, changenble, dangeorous, things that can develop
Fashions, languages, emotions, profession, music, weather, adventures, memory, thinking, grammar, examinations, health, character.
Name the qualities which arre more or less permanent or appear only from time to time
intelligent, happy, angry, lazy, practical,
Working out analogies.
When you make analogies for the learners vary the principle of analogy. Variation of criteria does not only help to retain the vocabulary items, but has a general educational value. It prevents stereotypes. It makes thinking more flexible.
Find the intruder.
a dog, a cat, a fox, a cow, a sheep
a carpet, a bookcase, a wardrobe, a cupboard
to get well, to be treated, to recover, to get cured.
Astonished, unbelievable, surprising, incredible
Grouping vocabulary items which are relatively synonymous.
Reproduce the vocabulary items, grouping them according to their meaning “a” means “b” or “c”
illness, cure, getting cured, getting well, ailment, disease, remedy, recovery, malady, medicine, drug, affliction, convalescence.
Matching vocabulary items.
Match words and their translations into Russian
| Admire Enjoy Invite Envy | Получать удовольствие от Завидовать Восхищаться Приглашать |
Read the English words in the order of their Russian.
Matching words and their antonyms or matching words and contexts.
Translation exercises
Translate the word combinations in the right-hand column using the given vocabulary
speech, book, voice, adventure, answer, exam, reader, exam, question, situation, life, teacher, voice, learner
| bored boring surprising surprised interested interesting exciting excited absorbing absorbed | Заинтересованный читатель Удивленный голос Увлекающая книга Пугающая ситуация Скучающий ребенок Гнетущая ситуация Вдохновляющая речь |
/////////////////////////
Left-right asotiations, which develop a sense of colocability
| Work Speak dance | Beautifully Coldly Slowly politely |
Choose the colours for the things that look nice together.
| a…dress and ….shoes a…coat and a…hat a…blouse and a …skirt a…shirt and …trouses | Black Red Blue yellow |
A lexical – grammatical exercise
finish the sentence logically
this jacket is too long for me. Will you show me … one? (покороче)
this hat is too small for me. Let me try on a … one?
I’m afraid I can’t afford buying this coat. Do you have … coats of this sixe?
Lexical – grammatical phonetic exercises.
Make up utterances which you can use with the given intention.
Make up questions that you can ask if you:
are angry, want to buy some things for your friends, want to see the city
excuse me, wher is the …? shop, café,
is there a … near here?
Substitution table.
| I like I don’t like I prefer | Opera Drama Comedy Pop music ballet | because | It is always beautifull It makes me feel happy It makes me feel tired It makes me laugh It is too loud It makes me think |
You can even end a class with the substitution table if it leads a connected utterance with personal involvement.
| Our city Ryazan Moscow | Has needs | (Too) many Few No | Clean Old Green Good Lage Modern | Buildings Squares Parks Hotels Hospitals Clubs Cars |
| There are |
Choose the right word according to the context. (partial translation)
As a rule I (избегаю выходить) out in such weather
It was a miracle that you (избежал) death.
The origin of the Universe is a riddle that will never be (решена)
12/03/2010
*** with developing your students’ logic.
Rhythm, pronunciation drill
1. What shall I wear& I don’t care
2. You may use them, but don’t lose them
3. What have you lost? How much did it cost?
4. Shall I take my sweater? – Yes, I think you’d better
Pronunce these words and then use some of them to complete each sentence below:
Cheese, cream, jam, orange, lemon, bacon, pastry, porridge
… is (are) no good to a hungry man
… is just the right thing for lunch
… is a delicious thing to make a sandwich with
What is the good of tea without …?
Intonation and pronunciation
The first peculiarity of rhythm is that the stressed syllables come at regular intervals. No matter, how many unstressed syllables happen to be between them. The more unstressed syllables we find between the stressed ones, the more quickly they are pronounced.
If you teach students to pronounce a sentence “I am goingtothe cinemawithmy friend”
//////////////////////
Is the rhythm the same or is it different. You can start with the Russian example.
Подожди! – Не за что
Не забудь покормить кошку! – А где корм?
Ask the students to think of a Russian response, stimulus, which will have the same rhythm.
Почему ты не в школе. – А учитель-то болен. Я немного простужен.
A receptive task.
Find the sentences with **
Please help me(4). I need help (1). Read it, please (5). It is easy (3). Let’s begin (2)
1) oOO 2) OoO 3) ooOo 4) OOo 5)Ooo
Rhythm + grammar + vocabulary - Compare your city and Moscow. (см. ранее)
Rhythm + grammar + Logic
Complete the question transforming them into alternative ones.
How do you like your soup?
How do you like you porridge (eggs, potatoes, chicken, tea)
Cold – hot, strong – weak, thick – thin, with – without sugar, boiled – fried – roasted – mashed.
Rhythm is closely connected with the range and the pitch. In fact, both are presented in the traditional intonation chart of a sentence. That is why the range and the pitch may first be introduced as a special challenge, but as we go on developing it, rhythm becomes just as important. The idea of the range is related to correct breathing.
e.g. Put out a candle. You teach to divide the process of breathing out into the equal portions, teac to pronounce some elements of alphabet.
‘Back reading’ – an extended sentence is pronounce beginning with the final stressed word and then making it longer and longer
As to the tones, start with the low fall, and until it becomes truly good, don’t give them a contrasting pairs. Teach them to differentiate. The same one-word can occur with both terms.
Intonation + logic
Arrange the alternatives into logically opposed pairs
| Is it | Effective Important Enjoyable Impossible Interesting | or | Dull? Unpleasant? Annoying? Unnecessary? Useless? |
Only then introduce the high fall
Shaw you cards for the tones. Shaw that the speaker’s attitude changes with the tone. the meaning can be quite difficult.
It is usefull to give mini-dialogues, consisting of one sentence. Each dialogue given at least two sets of moods.
- Again!
- Again?
- Yes
- All right
Logical stress /// the same sentence into the minimal utterances. A minimal utterance is the sentence plus speaker’s intension. An utterance always answers a real questions or an imaginary one. The chief strategy t develop logical stress.
1) Back reading
There are many factories in the centre of the city
Correct the teacher
There are many factories in the suburbs of the city
In the suburbs? Why, there are many factories in the \centre of the /city!
There were many factories in the centre of the city!
Were? Why, there are many factories in the centre of the city!
2) Answer the teacher’ question (after ‘back reading’)
Robinson Crusoe spent 28 years on an uninhabitated island
(Who spent.. How long... Where did he…)
3) (For beginners) Answer the Russian questions in English, beginning with ‘Oh, no’
It is a big black cat
Кто это на рисунке– черный котёнок?
Кто это там во дворе – черный щенок?
Кот серый, не так ли?
Похоже на большого черного кота, но может быть это просто пятно на фотографии.
4) (for beginners) Use the same sentence with different logical stresses to complete the following utterance.
Help me fix my bike
Нет, одному мне ремонт не под силу
С твоим-то велосипедом всё в порядке …
5) Use the same sentence in different situation, adapting the logical stress to the speaker’s purpose.
I thought you would like it
Suppose you come to your friend’s birthday with a gift. You friend is very disappointed. How do you react.
You friend is happy. It is that he wanted.
6) Continue the phrase, adapting the syntax to the logical stress which signals the meaning.
People like him …(он нравится людям, люди как он)
Work at phonetics presupposing teaching to read aloud. Don't give long passages. Choose the short passage.
19/03/2010
Major skills
Teaching listening (=aural comprehension)
1. The mechanism of speech and their aural comprehension
2. The factors that influence speech perception
3. Adapting texts for purposes of listening
4. The basic and functional skills of aural comprehension
5. Exercises aimed at developing the basic skills of listening
6. Tasks aimed at developing the functional skills of listening
Mechanisms of speech
| English terms | Russian terms |
| Memory: Immediate (IM) | Память Непосредственная (НП) |
| Operational (OM) | Оперативная (ОП) |
| Permanent (PM) | Постоянная (ПП) |
| Inner reproduction | Внутреннее проговаривание |
| Inner speech | Внутренняя речь |
| Synthesis of meaning | Осмысление |
| Anticipation (verbal or logical) | Предвосхищение (вербальное и смысловое) |
| Anticipation as prognosis (= вероятностное прогнозирование) = guessing what will be written or said next | Anticipatory synthesis (упреждающий синтез) planning what you will say or write next |
During aural comprehension we take in a sequence of sounds rather than separate words, a sequence from pause to pause and in order to understand it we have to fix it in our memory while analysis is taking place. This involves IM or echo-memory. IM is very precise, it keeps the wording, intonation, but it is very short-lived, just for seconds. We need it until we will have understood something.
Then comes the mechanism of inner reproduction. That is we repeat what we hear without being aware of it. This repetition is very much reduced phonetically. Actually there are no more than traces of the real words and phrases. If inner reproduction is inhibited the quality of comprehension becomes worse.
Due to this 2 mechanisms the listener is able to identify the patterns he hears and pronounces *** with the patterns of separate words which are kept in his permanent memory.
Next you have to bring this words into one meaningful sentence.
Synthesis of meaning on the sentence level. In order to comprehend the next sentence we must delete from our memory the phrase that we have understood. But for the information not to be forgotten we must preserve it in a more compact code, to zip it. It is done with the help of inner speech. Inner speech is an intermediate stage between thinking and real speech. It violates normal syntax or rather it has a syntax of its own not grammatical, but logical.
Land given to vassals
for lifetime only
then hereditary
Inner speech may also be a mixture of verbal and non-verbal signals, e.g. if you listen to instruction how to get to the railway station you can keep it in your memory as a picture or the notes kept in your memory can be half-english and half-russian. Inner speech can be compared to the text as a telegram. It is also related to very important written skills, of note-taking in reading and listening and the skills of note-taking planning your own utterance.
The memory responsible for preserving the results of inner speech is operational memory (OM). OM unlike immediate memory (IM) is not word for word retention but is the most logical kind of memory. It lasts as long as we need its results (смысловые вехи, эквивалентная замена – equivalent substitutions, the guide-line of the inner speech).
The equivalent substitutions are not stored in the OM as a mechanical sequence. This memory is related to thinking and it turns a linear sequence into the hierarchy. The hierarchy may keep getting rearranged though the whole process of listening; it is a living structure.
OM can’t function without a synthesis of meaning on the textual level. OM and synthesis are greatly helpful in anticipation which at least works as prognosis, guessing what is going to be said next.
As to permanent memory it is a kind of store room, but it is not static either, it is also a process, a dynamic structure. The information, which is likely to be used is kept nearest, within easy reach. And the information which was retained but never used again is thrown out. If you want a structure or a word to be retained they must have as many links as possible with other language items. Show it combinability.
Conclusion.
1. The importance of establishing
2. The importance of regular systematization
3. Even if you teach non-professionals pay attention to adequate pronunciation in order to ensure the mechanism of inner reproduction, otherwise they will never understand the difference between ‘then’ and ‘than’, ‘leave’ and ‘live’. Besides, adequate pronunciation makes it much easier to determine a border line between the words.
4. IM should be specially drilled with the help of different techniques such as expanding sentences.
5. The tempo of their own speech should be normal and not too slow in order that their inner reproduction should keep up with the tempo of the original speech they are listening to.
6. It is extremely important to give a concrete task before listening, never say listen to the text and try to understand, because the task given is supposed to channel the OM. The same text can be given 2 times or more, but it is desirable than each time the tasks changes.
7. To develop the mechanism of the inner speech pay a lot of attention to the skill of paraphrasing, because then you will ensure that the equivalent substitution are more likely to be in the target language than in Russian. It will also help them to build a hierarchy in the OM.
Factors that influence speech perception
1. linguistic – hinder speech perceptions, they are long/short vowels, difficult sound clusters, rhythm with the words clinging to each other, polysemy, homophony, grammatically homophones (why didn’t you say you’d let him go)
2. extra-linguistic – can also hinder speech perception, such as the speaker’s accent, or the noises in the channel of communication (traffic, crowd), they may be helpful: pictures, diagrams, directions. The timbre of the speaker – it is easier to understand a man than a woman.
Adapting texts for purposes of aural comprehension: links; the length, the vocabulary, the syntax, the density of information, cultural adaptation.
Links – do never give very long stories.
Vocabulary: there must be several levels of ***
Substitute the unfamiliar word by a familiar one. The news I heard astounded me.
Live out unfamiliar words if they are not important.
Reword the sentence like “he is not very industrious – he doesn’t like to work hard”
You put the text aside and retell it in an entirely new way.
26/03/2010
Adapting texts for the purposes of listening.
Grammatical adaptation
1. Substitute unfamiliar or barely familiar structures by simpler ones, e.g. “Far from averting this threat the government”.
2. It is advisable to break long sentences into 2 or more shorter ones. It concerns complex sentences. You should diminish the depth of subordination.
3. Some sentences, especially in a summary kind of texts are so compressed, that it is difficult to see the natural order of the events. In a case of flash backs try to arrange a straight chronology of the events.
4. If the information is very compressed it is meant for reading, not listening. Listener may miss some essential part of the message. To prevent it some vital facts might be paraphrased and thus repeated.
5. Weights and measures. This may also be adapted, that is translated into the recipient’s culture.
E.g. Frail and tender, Tutankhamon died not yet twenty, after a reign of six years. – He ruled Egypt for 6 years and then he died when he was 20.
The river was 5 feet deep.
It was not until 1990 that I encountered him again, now a university professor, and we launched a joint project.
The basic skills of aural comprehension
The phonetic skills:
1. Indentifying the sounds of the foreign language words
2. Differentiation between a word and a word combination that sounds similar (She was in white – She was invited; their – they are; minute – mean it)
3. Understanding the message on the basis of differentiating between direct and indirect speech.
4. Determining the main communicative intention of the speaker by the tones (which question is the speaker answering?)
Lexical skills:
1. The skill of identifying the contextual meaning of a polysemantic word. (spot)
2. Only for listening: differentiating between homophones.
3. Identifying the meaning of the unfamiliar word from the context. For reading and listening.
4. Understanding the meaning of an unfamiliar word on the basis of its familiar root and familiar affixes. For listening and reading.
5. Understanding the relationship between words or word combinations in an utterance as synonymic or antonymic. (sight – vision)
Grammar skills of listening:
1. Understanding the function of unfamiliar words. For reading and listening.
2. Identifying the contracted forms of verbs (he’s – he is, he has or his)
3. Identifying the subject-predicate relationships in a complex sentence. Finding the predicate in a sentence where several words can potentially belong to different parts of speech.
4. Elliptical questions (Warm enough? Going for a walk?)
Functional skills:
1. Listening to a monologue.
2. Listening to a dialogue or to a conversation of several people without taking part.
3. Listening to your interlocutor when you take part in a dialogue.
Types of exercises. Monologue:
· Listen for the gist of the message
· Listen for details.
· Selecting facts relating to the specific problems.
· Read a short text. Listen to another version of it and find what has been added in the aural version.
· Differentiating between subjection facts and subjective opinions
· Determining the form of discussion (description – narration – exposition – argumentation).
· Predicting the end of the text (for 3 both)
Dialogue:
· Determining the attitude of the speaker to each other
· Determining what opinions the interlocutors share and where they differ
· Reconstructing the missing lines
· Understand whether the fragment of dialogue you hear indicates that it is the beginning, the middle or the end of the dialogue.
· Listening to your interlocutor as your participate in a dialogue.
· Making your interlocutor stick to the point, not letting him digress or if he does digress to bring him back to the original issue
· If the conversation embarrassing your, you must listen to the interlocutor with the purpose of turning the dialogue into the new channel. But so smoothing, that your interlocutor can’t notice it
Developing the phonetic skills of listening.
Listen to words that sound similar and decide which of them should be used in the given context.
Он будет свободен завтра. free, tree, three
Listen to the words and name the number of the picture:
a cat, a cup, a cap
a pen, a pin, a pan
Listen to the phrases and show your green card if they describe the picture correctly
It’s a green cap
It’s a black cat
Listen to pairs of sentences and say if they differ or if it is the same sentence twice.
He has run home. – He has rung home.
He fought very hard. – He thought very hard
Listen to pairs of sentences and decide which of the, the first or the second suits the context given in the handout.
He has run home. – He has rung home. But nobody answered the phone
He fought very hard. – He thought very hard And soon the plan was ready
The doctor didn’t test (taste) the new medicine
He was traveling in far (four) countries
He will get a good price (prize)
We shall work (walk) in the fields
His wife found (phoned) him at the office.
Look at the sentence given in 2 variants and tick the variant that you hear.
They bought new (shorts/shirts) for the team.
(I reckon/ Erick and) I need a good holiday.
Do you know she’s (Finnish/ finished)?
We’ll be letting them have a (newer system/ new assistant) if they want one.
Intonation.
Logical stress.
Listen and repeat the most important word:
There are two big armchairs in the corner
In the corner? I see
There are two big armchairs in the corner
Two? I see
Determining the main purpose of the speaker by intonation.
Listen to a complex sentence and respond with «вот как».
| I came here by bus| because my car needs to be repaired | Does it? I’m sorry to hear that |
| I didn’t go for a walk | because I was feeling sick | Were you? I’m sorry to hear that |
| I feel better now | because I am in the open all day long | Do you? I’m sorry to hear that |
| They are very upset | because their dog has disappeared | Has it? I’m sorry to hear that |
Listen to the following sentences and choose a response which will be rhythmically the same.
| /Nancy is \ill | /Give her a \pill /Phone her /brother \Bill |
| He /likes to /play with /other \boys | He has /many ex/pensive \toys. They /always /make an /awful \noise |
Listen to some ideas. Express your agreement end choose how to respond. С такими людьми обычно так и происходит, именно поэтому так оно и получается.
| /Students who are still quite young, usually have a good memory | I agree with you. That’s why they usually have good memories. |
| /Students who /miss /many /lectures often fail their examinations. | That’s true. Such students often fail their examinations |
Listen to statements and ask a question of surprise (вот как)
| He says I have to help them. | Do you really? |
| He says, “I am quite sure of it” | Is he really? |
| She says I am a wonderful singer. | Are you really? |
Listen to sentences with direct or indirect speech and answer the following question.
| “The elder of the two sisters” said the young man “was very attractive” | Who was very attractive? The elder sister |
| The elder of the two sisters said the young man was very attractive | The man |
Differentiation between alternative questions and general questions with the conjunction or.
Do you keep a cat or a dog? – Yes I do, I keep a cat.
Do you Danish or Swedish? – Yes I do, I know Swedish. No I don’t
Grammar skills.
The difficulty lies in the structure, ******