Lesson 1
Vocabulary
What does it mean to know a word?:
A word ¿A symbol that conveys meaning, sometimes literal, surrounded by a space
and sometimes just as a modifier to a sentence.
It means that you know:
- The pronunciation and the spelling
- Syntactic properties
- The meaning of the word in a different context and its connotation
- The register of the word
- The frequency of the word
6 steps to expand your vocabulary:
Step one: add new meaning to a word
Step two: understand the figurative meaning of vocabulary items
Step three: expand your knowledge of collocations
Step four: use a wider range of idiomatic expressions
Step five: learn related word forms
Step six: expand your vocabulary withing the same topic
Dictionaries:
Dictionary ¿ a malevolent literary device for cramping the growth of a language
making it hard and inelastic.
Register ¿ the style of language, grammar and words for particular situations
, Lesson 2
Jamila Lyiscott
Ted talk “broken English”:
She named it “broken English” to challenge and critique the common perception that
non-standard forms of English are ‘less’, ‘inferior’ or ‘broken’ in comparison to
standard English.
In this ted talk she talks about being ‘articulate’.
She thinks that the school system but also the people control articulation/language
Stereotypes trap people by limiting how they are perceived and how they are allowed
to express themselves.
“When people feel like they have to erase themselves in order to become a part of
some mysterious whole.”
By doing this we rob each other of our differences.
She plays with perception by switching registers.
e.g. wha kinda ting is dis? Father the impending problem at hand….
Rhetorical question ¿ a question you don’t expect an answer to.
A pun ¿ a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that
there are words that sound alike but have different meanings.
e.g. roots can mean “where you come from” and “hair roots” in the context of this ted
talk
register labels in dictionaries
terms used to signal meaning and style:
formal expressions ¿usually only used in serious or official language and would not
be appropriate in normal everyday conversation
informal expressions ¿ used between friends or in a relaxed or unofficial situation and
are not usually appropriate for formal situations
approving expressions ¿show that you feel approval or admiration
taboo expressions ¿ likely to be thought by many people to be very offensive or
shocking and should thus be avoided
figurative language ¿ used in a non-literal or metaphorical way
old-fashioned expressions ¿passing out of current use
sarcasm/ sarcastic language ¿ uses words to mean the opposite of the meaning that
they seem to have in order to be unpleasant to somebody or make fun of somebody
using the right register is essential
2
,Less formal register:
similes ¿making a comparison between two different things using “like” or “as”
phrasal verb ¿verb + adverb/ preposition
two-part expressions (irreversible binomials) ¿a pair of words used together as a fixed
order as an idiomatic expression or collocation
3
, Lesson 3
Language learning
register awareness matters for language proficiency:
Language proficiency ¿ the ability to use language in real-world situations, in
spontaneous interactions and in a manner acceptable and appropriate to native
speakers of the language
Proficiency demonstrates what a language user is able to do regardless of where,
when or how the language was acquired.
CEFR levels ¿ common European framework of references for languages (from A1 to
C2 levels)
The four skills of language learning:
Receptive/ “passive”
- Listening
- Reading
Productive/ “active”
- Speaking
- Writing
Factors that influence how well and fast you learn a language:
where and how one learns the language (instructional setting involving being taught
explicitly or cultural/linguistic immersion involving authentic experiences?)
when one learns the language (age and level of cognitive development impact speed
of progress)
why one is learning the language (extrinsic versus intrinsic motivation)
How does your first language affect the way you speak English?:
Any two languages diverge in some respects but converge in others
Transfer ¿the influence of non-native language acquesition or use
Negative transfer/ interference ¿the influence leads to errors in the acquesition or use
of a target audience
Positive transfer/ facilitation ¿the influence leads to immediate or rapid acquesition
or use of the target laguage
Vocabulary expansion:
By learning words that are part of the same word family, you can often increase your
vocabulary relatively quickly and easily.
C1/C2
Word families A2/B1
4
Vocabulary
What does it mean to know a word?:
A word ¿A symbol that conveys meaning, sometimes literal, surrounded by a space
and sometimes just as a modifier to a sentence.
It means that you know:
- The pronunciation and the spelling
- Syntactic properties
- The meaning of the word in a different context and its connotation
- The register of the word
- The frequency of the word
6 steps to expand your vocabulary:
Step one: add new meaning to a word
Step two: understand the figurative meaning of vocabulary items
Step three: expand your knowledge of collocations
Step four: use a wider range of idiomatic expressions
Step five: learn related word forms
Step six: expand your vocabulary withing the same topic
Dictionaries:
Dictionary ¿ a malevolent literary device for cramping the growth of a language
making it hard and inelastic.
Register ¿ the style of language, grammar and words for particular situations
, Lesson 2
Jamila Lyiscott
Ted talk “broken English”:
She named it “broken English” to challenge and critique the common perception that
non-standard forms of English are ‘less’, ‘inferior’ or ‘broken’ in comparison to
standard English.
In this ted talk she talks about being ‘articulate’.
She thinks that the school system but also the people control articulation/language
Stereotypes trap people by limiting how they are perceived and how they are allowed
to express themselves.
“When people feel like they have to erase themselves in order to become a part of
some mysterious whole.”
By doing this we rob each other of our differences.
She plays with perception by switching registers.
e.g. wha kinda ting is dis? Father the impending problem at hand….
Rhetorical question ¿ a question you don’t expect an answer to.
A pun ¿ a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that
there are words that sound alike but have different meanings.
e.g. roots can mean “where you come from” and “hair roots” in the context of this ted
talk
register labels in dictionaries
terms used to signal meaning and style:
formal expressions ¿usually only used in serious or official language and would not
be appropriate in normal everyday conversation
informal expressions ¿ used between friends or in a relaxed or unofficial situation and
are not usually appropriate for formal situations
approving expressions ¿show that you feel approval or admiration
taboo expressions ¿ likely to be thought by many people to be very offensive or
shocking and should thus be avoided
figurative language ¿ used in a non-literal or metaphorical way
old-fashioned expressions ¿passing out of current use
sarcasm/ sarcastic language ¿ uses words to mean the opposite of the meaning that
they seem to have in order to be unpleasant to somebody or make fun of somebody
using the right register is essential
2
,Less formal register:
similes ¿making a comparison between two different things using “like” or “as”
phrasal verb ¿verb + adverb/ preposition
two-part expressions (irreversible binomials) ¿a pair of words used together as a fixed
order as an idiomatic expression or collocation
3
, Lesson 3
Language learning
register awareness matters for language proficiency:
Language proficiency ¿ the ability to use language in real-world situations, in
spontaneous interactions and in a manner acceptable and appropriate to native
speakers of the language
Proficiency demonstrates what a language user is able to do regardless of where,
when or how the language was acquired.
CEFR levels ¿ common European framework of references for languages (from A1 to
C2 levels)
The four skills of language learning:
Receptive/ “passive”
- Listening
- Reading
Productive/ “active”
- Speaking
- Writing
Factors that influence how well and fast you learn a language:
where and how one learns the language (instructional setting involving being taught
explicitly or cultural/linguistic immersion involving authentic experiences?)
when one learns the language (age and level of cognitive development impact speed
of progress)
why one is learning the language (extrinsic versus intrinsic motivation)
How does your first language affect the way you speak English?:
Any two languages diverge in some respects but converge in others
Transfer ¿the influence of non-native language acquesition or use
Negative transfer/ interference ¿the influence leads to errors in the acquesition or use
of a target audience
Positive transfer/ facilitation ¿the influence leads to immediate or rapid acquesition
or use of the target laguage
Vocabulary expansion:
By learning words that are part of the same word family, you can often increase your
vocabulary relatively quickly and easily.
C1/C2
Word families A2/B1
4
