Online Delta Course

Delta Module One

Unit 2
Study Topic Discussion Task 2
Study Guide 2: Analysing Language
Exam Practice Question 2

01/09/2010 Bell Delta Online - Module One: Unit 2 Page 1 of 14

Contents

Study Topic Discussion Task 2 .............................................................................. 3

Study Guide 2: Analysing language....................................................................... 6

Worksheet One .................................................................................................. 8

Example of detailed analysis .............................................................................. 9

Worksheet Two ................................................................................................ 11

Reading List: Analysing Language ................................................................... 12

Module One Exam Practice Questions ................................................................ 13

Paper 1 Task 4 (Authentic Text)

01/09/2010 Bell Delta Online - Module One: Unit 2 Page 2 of 14

 Module One DELTA Online Preparation Course

Study Topic Discussion Task 2

This week you have a choice in terms of the procedure for completing the tasks.

You can either work in a pair or a group of three to prepare your answer and then

post it as a joint response, or work on your own, as in Unit 1.

In helping you decide, you might wish to consider:

 how you like to learn – i.e. are you happy to read and process the

information at your own pace? Do you need „to hear your own thoughts‟

before you can productively take part in a discussion? Or do you prefer to

interact with others and discuss the given content/ideas as an integral part

of your learning process?

 the time you have – i.e. can you afford to „meet‟ with other course

participants by arranging a synchronous chat, or by corresponding by

email?

 your own and your group members‟ time zones - i.e. if you decide to work

a pair or a group of three, then it might be more efficient to work with

people who live in similar time zones.

01/09/2010 Bell Delta Online - Module One: Unit 2 Page 3 of 14

Procedure for working individually

 Download, print out and read the Study Guide to this week's topic. (NB
You do not need to submit any answers from worksheets.)
 Seek out the books and internet links listed in the Reading List and read
as much as you can before writing your responses.
 Prepare your answer to Study Topic Discussion Task 2.1 and 2.2 (below)
using a word processor.
 Find the Section on the Moodle labelled “Study Topic Discussion”. Post
your answers to the tasks. Label the post clearly so that readers know
who contributed to each task.
 After making your own post, read other people's posts. Please try to
comment on the language analysis done by other participants (though
there may be less to actually discuss here).
 Join in the discussion on Task 2.3.

Procedure for working a pair or a group of three

 Download, print out and read the Study Guide to this week's topic. (NB
You do not need to submit any answers from worksheets.)
 Seek out the books and internet links listed in the Reading List and read
as much as you can before writing your responses.
 Use the discussion forums for your group to agree who will work with
whom. Each person should work as part of either a pair or a group of
three.
 Using email communication or synchronous chat with each other prepare
a joint answer to Study Topic Discussion Task 2.1 and 2.2 (below) using a
word processor. How you do this is up to you.
o One way would be (in a pair) for each person to contribute a
different part of the work. These are then put together and both
people edit and amend until a final version is agreed.
o An alternative way would be for one person to write a first draft,
which the other person then reads, add to, edits etc. This person
then passes it back to the first for more changes – and so on until
there is an agreed final version.
 Find the Section on the Moodle labelled “Study Topic Discussion”. Post
your agreed joint answers to the tasks. Label the post clearly so that
readers know who contributed to each task.
 After making your own post, read other people's posts. Please try to
comment on the language analysis done by others in your workgroup
(though there may be less to actually discuss here).
 As individuals, join in the discussion on Task 2.3.

The Task is on the next page

01/09/2010 Bell Delta Online - Module One: Unit 2 Page 4 of 14

Study Topic Discussion Task 2

Post answers to (1) and (2) in a new thread.

For (3) join in the thread that has already been begun.

(2.1) Language Analysis 1

Analyse the bold part of the following exchange in the same way as the detailed
“shouldn‟t have” example in the Study Guide.

(NB We are interested in the grammatical item ‘ll be ...ing – not in the meaning and
use of every word in the exchange)

A: Can you give this book to John?

B Yes, no problem. I’ll be seeing him at work tomorrow.

Consider: This is one particular use of this future tense. Consult a range of grammar
books; how many different uses are given. Are the uses the same in each book?

(2.2) Language Analysis 2

Choose ONE of the items below and analyse it in the same way

(i) A: What do you think I should do?

B: If I were you, I wouldn’t say anything.

(ii) A: I thought you liked Chess?

B: Well, when I was younger I’d play it all the time.

(2.3) Discussion

Look for the thread called “Language Analysis – Thoughts” in the Café. If nobody has
started such a thread yet, then you should start it yourself. Post some comments
about how this task / topic feels for you. You could mention thoughts on any of these
questions:

 Does it seem useful to analyse language in this way? Why? Why not?

 Which aspects do you find easy or difficult?

 How much is this something you do / don’t do before teaching?

01/09/2010 Bell Delta Online - Module One: Unit 2 Page 5 of 14

 Module One DELTA Online Preparation Course

Study Guide 2

Analysing language
Introduction

When we teach a piece of language for the students to use actively – whether it‟s a
single word, or a whole tense – we need to consider a range of features, to ensure
that we are giving the learners adequate information to use it correctly. This depth of
language analysis is useful not only for the DELTA Module One exam, but also in
planning lessons. These areas are:

 The meaning (or concept) in the particular context in which is it being used.
The meaning can often be analysed by breaking it down into smaller pieces of
meaning.
 The form e.g.
o When analysing a noun, is it countable or uncountable? Is the plural
regular?
o For a verb form, how do the bits fit together? Is it regular? How does it
work in the question and the negative, can it be used in any tense? Is
it used in all forms?
 Function or use Is there any particular context in which it is used?
For what purpose is it used? (e.g. asking for information, apologising).
 Style or register, genre (appropriacy to the context of use)
Is the language informal, neutral, or formal? Are there certain contexts in which it
is more likely or less likely to be used? Is it primarily spoken or written?
 Spelling Is the spelling regular? Does it change in different forms of the
word? (e.g. How do you spell the past tense or the plural?)
 Punctuation Is there any particular punctuation connected with the language,
such as commas or apostrophes?
 Pronunciation Are there any issues of pronunciation? Are there any
problematic phonemes in the piece of language? Where is the primary
stress? If you are thinking at phrase or sentence level, what are the stressed
words? Are there any weak forms? Is there any linking between the words?
Is there any elision or assimilation? Is there a particular intonation that
normally goes with a piece of language to ensure it fulfils its function?
 Collocation Are there any other words or phrases that are useful to learn at
the same time as the target language? Is the noun usually used with a fixed
range of verbs or vice versa? Are verbs or adjectives followed by fixed
prepositions?
 Possible learner problems This moves away from analysis of the language
itself on to thinking about classroom application of the analysis, but it is an
area that you may be asked to consider in the exam. Obviously some of the
problems will emerge in your general analysis, but you might also consider

01/09/2010 Bell Delta Online - Module One: Unit 2 Page 6 of 14

 whether there are issues of language or culture that will create extra problems
for your learners. For example, European languages often have the present
perfect tense but may use it in a different way from English. There are no
articles in Arabic. Russian is a more direct language than British English, and
the intonation can sound rude if transferred.

Using this Study Guide

1) Work through the examples of student errors on Worksheet 1 to notice and

analyse the kinds of learner errors that incomplete teaching can lead to.
Many of them you will already know. If you have problems explaining any of
the errors, then check in one of the reference grammars to find a good
explanation. You do not need to submit any answers, but if you have any
problems or questions, raise them for discussion on the forum. If you find any
particularly good explanations in reference books, it would be good to share
them with other course participants.

2) Read the example detailed analysis of one sentence. This will help to prepare
you for the Study Topic Discussion Task.

3) Look at Worksheet 2 - the list of terminology connected with language

analysis. Check that you understand it all, and write definitions of any
terminology that you feel less sure about. Think of an example for each term.
Use references when you need to. Please add to the Glossary on the Moodle
front page.

Any grammar book could be a useful reference, including those written for learners.
It‟s interesting to note whether the rules given to learners are different or simplified
compared with those given to teachers.

01/09/2010 Bell Delta Online - Module One: Unit 2 Page 7 of 14

 Study Guide 2

Worksheet One

Look at these learner errors.

What does the learner need to know about the language in each case?

1. * How many people do work in the office?

2. * It‟s a wooden square box.

3. * There‟s an asleep man in the living room.

4. * Don‟t fear. It‟s not dangerous.

5. * He offerred to help me, but I preferred to work alone.

6. * Some of people went to the park.

7. * The doctor‟s the person, that I need to talk to.

8. * “Dear Sir, Thank you for your letter of 12th August. I‟ve spoken to my boss
on the matter…….

9. * I‟m opposed to eat meat.

10. * My house got built in 1900.

11. * Peter picked up me at the station.

01/09/2010 Bell Delta Online - Module One: Unit 2 Page 8 of 14

 Study Guide 2

Example of detailed analysis

Here is a short example of the areas you need to consider, applied to an example
sentence. The words in bold show the grammar we are focussing on.

You shouldn’t have spoken to an older person like that!

Meaning
 You did something
 What you did was wrong …
 … in my opinion

Form
 Subject +shouldn’t (modal verb with contracted negative) + Perfect Infinitive –
i.e. have + past participle (irregular)
 (Note: Can be used in the affirmative with same function, but the function
would change in a question)

Function
 Criticism of another person‟s past action, a reproach.
 Can function as “kindly advice.”
 More often is seen as very direct – a “telling off” (but note that it‟s hard to
judge the actual function of an isolated sentence without a context).

Style and register

 Neutral to informal.
 Probably spoken English (in formal written English the contraction would
probably not be used).
 Might imply some hierarchical relationship (e.g. older relative, boss, etc) as
the speaker is implying that they are more aware than the listener.

Spelling and Punctuation

 The spoken form may be represented with an exclamation mark.
 “Have” may sometimes be written „ve – but two contractions in a row can look
rather odd e.g. shouldn‟t‟ve.

Pronunciation
 The “l” in “shouldn‟t” is not pronounced – sometimes known as silent „l.‟
 Probable weak forms „you‟ (e.g. /jə/), „have‟ (e.g. /əv/) „to‟ (e.g. /tə/).
 Possible elision of /h/ in have.
 Probable assimilation of /v/ in „have to /f/ because of following voiceless /s/.
 Probable intrusive /w/ between „to‟ and „an‟ to make the linking of the vowels
easier.
 Probable linking between „an‟ and „older‟, because of the initial vowel.
 The main stress likely to be on “person” with a secondary stress on „spoken‟.
Alternatively, main stress on “shouldn‟t.”
 Likely to be falling intonation.

01/09/2010 Bell Delta Online - Module One: Unit 2 Page 9 of 14

  Uncontracted form (i.e. You should not have) is possible, but unlikely. Sounds
even more emphatic and imperative. Probable stress on “not”.

Collocations
 Some typical verb collocations after “You shouldn‟t have” are: been, said,
done, come, had, let, left, asked, gone, taken, put, bothered, married, etc.
 Often preceded by “But”, “No” “However” “By the way,” etc.
 Can be softened with introductory phrases e.g. “Well,” or “Maybe”.
 Meaning can be changed with introductory phrases such as “There‟s no
reason why …” or “I don‟t see why …”

Learner problems (other than listed above)

 Learners may also have confusion between different modal verbs –
particularly must and would.
 Learners may not appreciate the directness of the utterance, and that it can
sound rude if said with poor intonation or in the wrong context.
 Confusion with sentences like
o (1) “You shouldn‟t have to work on Sundays” which, although
containing the same words, are a different structure (shouldn‟t + have
+ to infinitive) and meaning;
o (2) “You shouldn‟t have more than two handouts,” which is the
structure “You shouldn‟t” + main verb “have.”

01/09/2010 Bell Delta Online - Module One: Unit 2 Page 10 of 14

 Study Guide 2

Worksheet Two

Some Terminology

Check that you know all of these. Give an example of each. If you are unsure of any,
write a definition.

1) Target language
2) An auxiliary verb
3) A determiner
4) A complex sentence
5) Verb aspect
6) A noun phrase
7) An intransitive verb
8) A dynamic verb
9) A non-finite verb form
10) A functional exponent
11) A gerund
12) An intensifier
13) A modal verb
14) An adverbial
15) A quantifier
16) A question tag
17) Style
18) Register
19) Syntax
20) Semantics
21) Pragmatics
22) Vague language
23) Ellipsis
24) The bare infinitive (the base form)
25) A conjunction
26) A multi-word verb

01/09/2010 Bell Delta Online - Module One: Unit 2 Page 11 of 14

 Module One DELTA Online Preparation Course

Reading List: Analysing Language

Key References (Refer to as many of these as you can)

Carter and McCarthy Cambridge Grammar of English CUP
Cobuild Cobuild English Grammar Collins
Martin Parrott Grammar for English Language Teachers CUP

Very interesting background reading – * recommended *

Michael Lewis The English Verb LTP / Heinle
RA Close A Teachers‟ Grammar LTP / Heinle

Improve your own understanding of grammar

Scott Thornbury About Language CUP
Bolitho and Tomlinson Discover English Macmillan

Other resources
Leech, Conrad,
A-Z of English Grammar and Usage Longman
Cruikshank and Ivanic
Carter, Hughes and
Exploring Grammar in Context CUP
McCarthy
Leech and Svartvik A Communicative Grammar of English Longman
Michael Swan Practical English Usage OUP
Scott Thornbury A-Z of ELT Macmillan
... and many many more!

Internet Links
Consider using corpus information for real data about usage e.g. the British National
Corpus (BNC) accessed at:
http://corpus.byu.edu

Other websites you could use are:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_grammar
http://www.beaugrande.com/UPLOADGRAMMARHEADER.htm
http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/grammar_home_frame.html
http://www.usingenglish.com/glossary.html
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/intro/intro.htm
http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/enc-gen.htm
and again, many others – just follow the links!

01/09/2010 Bell Delta Online - Module One: Unit 2 Page 12 of 14

 Module One Exam Practice Questions
Paper 1 Task 4 (Authentic Text) (30 mins)
The authentic text for this task is reproduced on the opposite page.

a. This printed text is part of a marketing brochure designed to introduce the

company to a new reader. Identify five features of the text which are
characteristic of the genre. Give one example of each feature you identify.

b. Look at the sentence:

The Bell story began over half a century ago when a young British army
officer – Lieutenant Frank Bell – was captured as a prisoner of war.
(lines 1 & 2)

i. Identify the following aspects of pronunciation that might be heard when

this sentence is spoken: (a) linking (b) weak forms.

ii. Divide the sentence into tone units.

Identify the likely main stress in each tone unit.
Identify the likely intonation – fall or fall-rise – for each section.

c. Look at the following extract.

That is because at Bell our goal remains a simple one: to change lives
around the world by offering people learning experiences that will remain
with them forever. (lines 16 & 17)

i. Comment on the use of that in each case.

ii. Describe three different problems of meaning or pronunciation that

learners at intermediate level might have in each case.

d. Look at the following three extracts taken from the text. Comment on the form
and meaning/use of the parts in bold.

Confronting the daily hardship and boredom of prison life (lines 2 & 3)
…Frank began teaching his fellow prisoners (line 3)
…the route to international co-operation and understanding lay in learning
(lines 8 & 9)

01/09/2010 Bell Delta Online - Module One: Unit 2 Page 13 of 14

 Module One Exam Practice Questions
Resource material related to Paper 1 Task 4

The following text is an introduction to The Bell schools, taken from the 2008 publicity
brochure.

Changing lives
A foreword by David Pottinger, Bell‟s Chief Executive
The Bell story began over a half a century ago when a young British army officer –
Lieutenant Frank Bell - was captured as a prisoner of war. Confronting the daily hardship
and boredom of prison life, Frank began teaching his fellow prisoners Spanish and
French, a simple act of defiance that quickly led to the creation of a secret university –
teaching a broad range of subjects - right there in the harsh conditions of the prison 5
camp.

After the war, Frank Bell returned to England where, reflecting on his experiences, he
became convinced that the route to international co-operation and understanding lay in
learning. This led him, in 1955, to open his first language school in Cambridge, which still
operates today. 10

Although Frank might be a little surprised at the size of the Bell organisation today –
more than 40 teaching centres in 13 countries, teaching over 100,000 students from
more than 120 countries each year – he would certainly recognise the quality philosophy
which has been at the heart of what we do for over 50 years. This continues to inspire
myself, my colleagues, teachers, agents and our students. 15

That is because at Bell our goal remains a simple one: to change lives around the world
by offering people learning experiences that will remain with them forever.

2007 saw us take some major steps towards that goal, with the opening of new Bell
centres in Beijing, Qatar and Vietnam and an outstanding new facility in London. We also
announced the purchase of Bedgebury School, set in a magnificent estate in the South 20
East of England – offering what we believe to be the best language school facilities in the
UK (see page 12 for more information).

We believe 2008 looks like being even more exciting and very much look forward to
welcoming you to one of our centres. Whatever your language goals – in life, work or
education – in Bell you have a partner committed to help you achieve them 25
.

01/09/2010 Bell Delta Online - Module One: Unit 2 Page 14 of 14