PART ONE: Teaching English to English Learners Flashcards
Intoduction & chapters 1-2 of Diaz-Rico textbook
phonology
study of the sound system of a language
p. 15
phonetics
science of the production, reception, analysis, transcription, and classification of speech sounds, and also relation of speech sounds to the total language process
p. 15
phonemes
individual sounds in a language, distinctive units that “make a difference” when sounds distinguish words
p. 16
digraph
pair of letters used to write one sound or a combination of sounds that does not correspond to the written letters combined, confusing to English learners attempting to separate the digraph into separate phonemes
p. 16
diphthong
vowel blend of two adjacent vowels, each of which is sounded
p. 16
phonemic sequences
permissible ways in which phonemes can be combined in a language
p. 17
point of articulation
tip, front, or back of tongue
p. 18
manner of articulation
the way the airstream is obstructed
p. 18
voiced versus voiceless sounds
determined by whether the vocal cords vibrate or not
p. 18
phonological awareness
the process of separating the oral sound stream into syllables and words
p. 18
phonemic awareness
ability to use the sound-symbol connection to separate sentences into words and words into syllables in order to hear, identify, and manipulate the individual phonemes within spoken words
p. 18
stress
amount of volume a speaker gives to a particular sound. Stress is a property of syllables, and in some languages, stress is predictable.
Teachers are better served by teaching words in context rather than in lists.
p. 18
pitch
phonological component that plays a key role in determining meaning.
p. 19
tone languages
use the pitch of individual syllables to contrast meaning
p. 19
prosody
pitch interacting with word stress to produce the underlying rhythm of the language
Spanish speakers may have difficulty achieving prosody because English words are pronounced with different stress depending on their locations in sentences
smooth prosody is a combination of phrasing and pausing, e.g. “Please/do your chores/before you go out”
p. 19
intonation patterns
use of pitch to modify sentence meaning
English is characterized by accented and unaccented syllables, where tonal languages produce sentences without a rise-and-fall curve
p. 19
contrastive analysis
paying careful attention to phonemic differences between languages
found to be relatively nonproductive as a teaching methodology
p. 20
error analysis
making careful note of a learner’s difficulties to identify need for specific interventions
p. 20
morphology
study of the meaning units in a language
p. 20
morphemes
small word units that cannot be further subdivided
p. 20
free morpheme
stand alone morpheme, i.e. envelope, the, through
p. 20
bound morpheme
occurs only in conjunction with other morphemes, either as affixes or bound roots, i.e. -ing, dis-, -ceive
p. 20
morphemes: best practice
science lesson, teacher uses several roots from a general list (astro, bio, hydr, luna, etc.) asks students to work in pairs to search text for words with these roots. Next students receive a list of prefixes and affixes and pairs generate 5-10 new words including definitions. Students then write word and definition on separate index cards and play memory matching game with the 2 card decks.
p. 21
affixes
prefixes (beginning of word), suffixes (end of word), infixes (inserted between other morphemes, i.e. motherS-in-law)
p. 20
clipping
word formation process of shortening words, i.e. prof for professor
p. 22
word blends
words formed from parts of two words, i.e. travelogue from travel + monologue
p. 22
attention to morphemes
can accelerate language acquisition if students are exposed to families of words across parts of speech, i.e. courage, courageous, encourage or ice, icy, ice cream, ice age
p. 22
comparatives and superlatives: best practice
Speed Search: students pull a slip of paper every two minutes to find someone who fits description on the slip: “thinks dogs are LESS intelligent than cats”, “has MORE than two brothers”, “oldEST child in the family”
p. 23
syntax
rules that govern the formation of phrases and sentences
p. 23
syntactic proficiency
native speakers of a language can distinguish syntactically correct from incorrect combinations of words, even if they cannot explain the syntactic rules being violated
p. 23
ambiguity
double meaning, i.e. “She is a Korean karate expert”
p. 23
explicit teaching of syntax
because the mind seeks to acquire patterns, and syntax is a pattern, creative and systematic teaching of syntax can accelerate language learning
systematic grammar instruction (labeling parts of speech) combined with grammar games and creative language engagement helps students learn parts of speech
p. 24
syntax learning center activity: best practice
give students cards for a sentence in random order, have them create sentences with the cards. Quick check for right order could involve putting a letter on the back of each card to spell a word if sentence is constructed correctly
p. 24
metalinguistic knowledge
vocabulary needed to talk about grammar
students who have NOT studies grammar in their native language may not already possess this
p. 24
semantics
study of the meanings of individual words and of larger units such as phrases and sentences
p. 24
English syntax contrasted with Mandarin
verb tense, subject-verb agreement, word order, plurals, articles (doesn’t use definite or indefinite articles)
p. 25
English syntax contrasted with Spanish
verb conjugation, subject-verb agreement, noun/adjective order, articles (both definite and indefinite articles must match the noun to which they refer)
p. 25
semantic challenges
- finding words in second language to correspond to those known in the first
- learning words for ideas and concepts for which there is no first-language counterpart
- similar words whose meanings differ in small or large ways - near cognates (same meaning, slightly different spelling or pronunciation) or false cognates (i.e. blanco is white, not blank)
p. 26
nuances of meaning: best practice
teacher provides a list of a dozen common emotions, students in pairs make up situations that would engender these specific emotions (fear, fright, love, anger, thankfulness, etc.)
p. 26
episodic memory
memory tied to emotionally rich experience
p. 27
word knowledge necessary for complete comprehension
spoken form, written form, grammatical behavior, collocational behavior, frequency, stylistic register constraints (i.e. formal/informal), conceptual meaning, word associations (i.e. connotation)
p. 28
passive vocabulary knowledge
understanding most frequent meaning of a word
p. 28
controlled active vocabulary knowledge
cued recall (able to fill in a blank) p. 28
free active vocabulary knowledge
ability to spontaneously use words
p. 28
teaching vocabulary: best practice
teach with collocations (“lose your way”, “lose your temper”, “lose your keys”)
taught within grammatical environment (verbs always introduced with “to”, i.e. “to apply”, “to return”
emphasis on register (where, when a word is used, and if it is formal/informal)
emphasis on word form (are there affixes or other clues towards meaning?)
emphasis on connotation (nuances to differentiate one word from another)
p. 29
academic vocabulary
the vocabulary used to educate, knowledge of this vocabulary is essential to school success. Also part of cognitive academic language proficiency. Grade 2 “measure”, grade 3 “paragraph”, grade 4 “exhibit”, etc.
p. 28
semantic shifts
shifting between formal and informal register
p. 29
instrumental function of language
getting needs met
students practice list of ways to request actions of others, including “could you”, “would you mind”
p. 30
regulatory function of language
controlling others’ behavior
students take turns acting as timekeeper and taskmaster in cooperative groups
p. 30
informative function of language
communicating information
students keep rec0rds of weather patterns, or commonly misspelled words on a bulletin board
p. 30
interactional function of language
establishing social relationships
students work together to plan field trips or other projects
p. 30
personal function of language
expressing individuality
students journal and share thoughts and opinions
p. 30
heuristic function of language
investigating and acquiring knowledge
during projects, students brainstorm questions about which no one knows the answer
p. 30
imaginative function of language
expressing fantasy or possibility
students “play” with language - sounds of words and images they convey
p. 30
discourse
language associated with a particular activity, kind of knowledge, group of people, or institution
study of discourse involves looking at language in larger units, such as oral text and written text
discourse specialists look at how people take turns, use contextual clues as they ineract, and demonstrate they are listening,
p. 31-32
register
formal or informal
academic competence: psychological factors
developing qualities such as persistence, rapport with teachers, attunements to demands of task, ability to seek, obtain, and benefit from help
p. 33
academic competence: sociocultural factors
peer culture must sustain patterns of academic activity, parental/cultural standards of achievement must be appropriately demanding and supportive, school must enforce high educational standards with expert mgmt, well-certified staff, and adequate resources
p. 33
oral discourse in the classroom
opportunity to participate in a specialized conversation and practice appropriate intonation, pausing, phrasing
p. 33
cooperative learning as discourse alternative
teacher assists students with learning tasks, plans tasks where students can use language in academic ways with peers
p. 36
instructional conversation as discourse alternative
teacher acts as discussion leader with small group of students, following up a lesson with a directed conversation that invites deeper understanding of the issues raised. Has the benefit of increased understanding of students’ thought processes, as well as in students’ sense of co-ownership
p. 37
co-construction of meaning
permits learner to plan, choose, and evaluate knowledge in relation to personal needs and goals
p. 37
participatory genres
help student bridge home-school divide by using community patterns of discourse (e.g. Hawaiian “talk-story”)
p. 37
pragmatics
study of communication in context. Involves ability to use language for different functions, appropriately adapting or changing language according to listener or situation, and ability to follow rules for conversations and narrative.
p. 37
appropriate language: best practice
teacher has students develop short conversations with different people in different situations, e.g. a child, teenager, working adult, and retiree
p. 38
register shifts
Adjusting pitch, tone, volume, and vocabulary for varied cultural and social norms, social and physical setting, goals, purpose, participants, audience, and subject matter
p. 38 & 40
oral register shifts: best practice
create opportunities for situated practice, offer repeated trials with feedback, let students take initiative in creating settings, apply strategies for identify and addressing difficulties ELL may encounter in comprehending regional dialects, create an instructional environment that respects ELL home language
p. 39
turn-taking
Native speakers have internalized guidelines of when to speak or be silent and for how long, how to give up “the floor”, how to enter a conversation, etc. These customs vary in different cultures - care should be taken to explain turn-taking where needed rather than to punish or ignore improper behaviors.
p. 40
dialect
any variety of language which is shared by a group of speakers
p. 42
regional dialect
physical terrain may keep dialects isolated and intact
p. 43
social-stratification dialects
may be associated with ethnic or peer solidarity - if people want to be considered part of a particular social group, they consciously or unconsciously adopt vocab, pronucnciation, & grammatical patterns
p. 43
deeper syntactic causes for dialects
dialects persist based on ways in which languages are constructed
p. 43
accent
sound of the language. People use accent to make judgments on a range of personal qualities and capabilities, but it does not mean the speaker is less competent in the language.
p. 43
