LET Reviewer for English Majors

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LET Reviewer for English Majors

1. I.              Linguistics
1. Scope of  Linguistic Studies
1. Phonology – studies the combination of sounds into organized units of
speech, the combination of syllables and larger units.
2. Phoneme is a distinctive, contrasted sound unit, e.g. /b/, /æ/, /g/.  It is the
smallest unit of sound of any language that causes a difference in meaning.
3. Allophones are variants or other ways of producing a phoneme.
1. Phonetics – studies language at the level of sounds: how sounds are
articulated by the human speech mechanism.
2. Morphology – studies the patterns of forming words by combining
sounds into minimal distinctive units of meanings called morphemes.
3. Morpheme is a short segment of language which  (1) is a word or
word part that has meaning, (2) cannot be divided into smaller meaningful parts
without violating its meaning, (3) recurs in different words with a relatively stable
meaning.
4. Allomorphs – are morphs which belong to the same morpheme
e.g., /s/, /z/, and /ez/ of the plural morpheme /s/ or /es/.
5. Free morphemes can stand on their own as independent words,
e.g., beauty  in beautifully, like in unlikely. Thus, they can occur in isolation.
6. Bound morphemes cannot stand on their own as independent
words. These morphemes are also called as affixes.
7. Inflectional morphemes never change the form class of the words
or morphemes to which they are attached. They show person, tense, number, case, and
degree.
8. Derivational morphemes are added to root morphemes or stems to
derive new words.
1. Syntax – deals with how words combine to form phrases,
clauses, and sentences, and studies the way phrases, clauses, and sentences are
constructed.
2. Structure of predication –refers to the two components :
subject and predicate
3. Structure of complementation – has two basic elements :
verbal and complement
4. Structure of modification – includes two components : head
word and modifier
5. Structure of coordination – covers two components :
equivalent grammatical units
1. Semantics – attempts to analyze the structure of
meaning in language and deals with the level of meaning in language.
1. Lexical ambiguity – refers to the characteristic
of a word that has more than one meaning.
2. Syntactic ambiguity – refers to the characteristic
of a phrase that has more than one meaning e.g. Filipino teacher.
4. Pragmatics – deals with the contextual aspects of meaning in particular
situations ; studies how language is used in real communication.
1. Speech act theory – advances that every utterance consists of
three separate acts (1) locutionary force – an act of saying something and describes
what a speaker says, (2) illocutionary force – the act of doing something and what the
speaker intends to do by uttering a sentence, and (3) perlocutionary act – an act of
affecting someone; the effect on the hearer of what a speaker says.
2. Categories of illocutionary acts – refers to categories proposed by
John Searle to group together closely related intentions for saying something:

 Representative – stating, asserting, denying, confessing, admitting, notifying,

concluding, predicting, etc.
 Directive – requesting, ordering, forbidding, warning, advising, suggesting, insisting,
recommending, etc.
 Question –asking, inquiring, etc.
 Commissive – promising, vowing, volunteering, offering, guaranteeing, pledging,
betting, etc.
 Expressive – apologizing, thanking, congratulating, condoling, welcoming, deploring,
objecting, etc.
 Declaration – appointing, naming, resigning, baptizing, surrendering,
excommunicating, arresting, etc.

1. Discourse – studies chunks of language which are bigger than a single sentence.
2.  Language Views / Theories of  Language
1. The Structuralists support the idea that language can be described in terms of
observable and verifiable data as it is being used.
1. Language is a means of communication.
2. Language is primarily vocal
3. Language is a system of systems.
4. Language is arbitrary.
5. The Transformationalists believe that language is a system of knowledge
made manifest in linguistic forms but innate and, in its most abstract form universal.
1. Language is a mental phenomenon. It is not mechanical.
2. Language is innate. Children acquire their first language because
they have a language acquisition device (LAD) in their brain.
3. Language is universal: all normal children learn a mother tongue, all
languages share must share key features like sounds and rules.
4. Language is creative and enables speakers to produce and
understand sentences they have not heard nor used before.
6. The Functionalists advocates that language is a dynamic system through
which members of a community exchange information. It is a vehicle for the
expression of functional meaning such as expressing one’s emotions, persuading
people, asking and giving information, etc.

 They emphasize the meaning and functions rather than the grammatical
characteristics of language.

1. The Interactionists believe that language is a vehicle for establishing interpersonal

relations and for performing social transactions between individuals.
  Language teaching content may be specified and organized by patterns of exchange
and interaction.

1. Language Acquisition / Theories of Language Learning

1. Behaviorist learning theory – the language behavior of an individual is
conditioned by sequences of differential rewards in his/her environment.

According to Littlewood (1984), the process of habit formation includes the following :

1. Children imitate the sounds and patterns which they hear around them.
2. People recognize the child’s attempts as being similar to the adult models and
reinforce (reward) the sounds by approval or some other desirable reaction.
3. In order to obtain more of these rewards, the child repeats the sounds and patterns so
that these become habits.
4. In this way t he child’s verbal behavior is conditioned (‘shaped’) until the habits
coincide with adult models.

 Behavioralists see three crucial elements of learning: (1) a stimulus, which serves to
elicit behavior, (2) a response triggered by the stimulus, and (3) reinforcement which
serves to mark the response as being appropriate and encourages the repetition of the
response.

1. Cognitive learning theory.  Noam Chomsky believes that all normal human beings have
an inborn biological internal mechanism that makes language learning possible.

 Cognitivists / innatists ‘ mentalists account of second language acquisition include

hypothesis testing, a process of formulating rules and testing the same with competent
speakers of the target language.

1. Krashen’s Monitor Model (1981).This is the most comprehensive theory in second

language acquisition. It consists of five central hypotheses.
1. The acquisition / learning hypothesis – claims that there are two ways of
developing competence in L2:

Acquisition – the subconscious process that results from informal, natural communication
between people where language is a means, not a focus nor an end in itself.

Learning – the conscious process of knowing about language and being able to talk about it,
that occurs in a more formal situation where the properties of a language are taught

1. The natural order hypothesis suggests that grammatical structures are acquired in a

predictable order for both children and adults _ certain grammatical structures are
acquired before others, irrespective of the language being learned.
2. The monitor hypothesis claims that conscious learning of grammatical rules has an
extremely limited function in language performance: as a monitor or editor that
checks output.
3. The input hypothesis. Krashen proposes that when learners are exposed to
grammatical features a little beyond their current level those features are acquired.
4. The affective filter hypothesis. Filter consists of attitude to language, motivation, self-
confidence and anxiety. Learners with a low affective filter seek and receive more
 input, interact with confidence, and are more receptive to the input they are exposed
to.

 Teachers must continuously deliver at a level understandable by learners

 Teaching must prepare the learners for real life communication situations
 Teachers must ensure that learners do not become anxious or defensive in language
learning.
 Formal grammar teaching is of limited value because it contributes to learning rather
than acquisition

1. Language Teaching Implications

1. Language theories provide some basis for a particular teaching method or
approach.

 Structuralism / behaviorism has produced the audiolingual method (ALM), oral

approach / situational language teaching, bottom-up text processing, controlled-to-free
writing.

1. The cognitive learning theory results to the cognitive approach that puts language
analysis before language use and instruction by the teacher, before the students
practice forms.

 Learning as a thinking process gives birth to cognitive-based and schema-enhancing

strategies such as Directed Reading Thinking Activity, Story Grammar, Think-Aloud,
etc.

1. The functional view of language introduced methods which are learner-centered,

allowing learners to work in pairs or groups in information gap tasks and problem-
solving activities where such communication strategies as information sharing,
negotiation of meaning, and interaction are used.

 These communication-based methods include the Communicative  Language Teaching

/ Communicative Approach, Notional-Functional Approach, Natural Approach

1. Cognitive – affective has given rise to a holistic approach to language learning or whole
person learning. It also includes the humanistic approach, allowing learners vocabulary
for expressing, sharing and understanding one’s feelings, values, and needs.

 The humanistic techniques cover Community Language Learning.

1. II.             Literature
2. Goals of Teaching Literature
1. Develop and/or extend literary competence. Jonathan Culler defines literary
competence as the ability to internalize the ‘grammar’  of literature which would
permit a reader to convert linguistic sequences into literary structures and meaning.
2. Develop and/or enhance learners’ imagination and creativity.
3. Develop students’ character and emotional maturity.
4. Develop creative thinking.
5. Develop literary appreciation and refine one’s reading taste.
 

1. Methods in Teaching Literature

1. Lecture Methods : formal, informal, straight recitation
2. Discussion Methods : pair work, buzz group, group work
3. Public Speaking Methods : memorizing, interpretive reading (Readers Theater,
Chamber Theater), debate, panel forum
4. Audio-Visual Methods : using slides, transparencies, film, vcd, dvd,
5. Project Methods : scrapbook making, exhibit/diorama, dramatization, literary
map, time line, video/audio scriptwriting
6. Field Research Methods : field trip, author interview
7. Creative Writing Methods : journal writing, closure writing, team writing, 
writing workshop
2. Some Strategies and Techniques in Teaching Literature
1. Show and Tell and  Blurb Writing– using the title and cover design
2. Movie Poster and Movie Trailer – transforming a literary piece into film
3. Writing Chapter Zero / Epilogue – writing a prequel or sequel
4. Mock Author Interview – assigning a student to play the role of the author
5. Biographical Montage – compiling authentic materials about the author
6. Graphic Representations – using sketching or other visual representations
7. Sculpting – making a tableau or montage
8. Creative Conversation, Speech Balloons, or Thought Bubbles – supplying
dialogues
9. Worksheets – completing grids or writing responses
10. Transforms – translating or turning a piece into another genre

1. Literary Criticism – involves the reading, interpretation and commentary of a specific

text or texts which have been designated as literature. Literary criticism is the
application of a literary theory to specific texts. Literary theory identifies what makes
literary language literary and the function of literary text in social and cultural terms.
1. Classical Literary Theory –literature is an imitation of life.
1. Mimesis (Plato) – literature is an imitation of life.
2. Dulce et utile (Horace) – function of literature is to entertain or to
teach/instruct
3. Sublime (Longinus) – style may be low, middle, high, or sublime
4. Catharsis (Aristotle) – purgation of negative emotions of fear and pity
5. Historical – Biographical and Moral – Philosophical Approaches

a. A literary work is a reflection of its author’s life and times or the life and times of the
characters in the work.

b. It emphasizes that literature functions to teach morality and to probe philosophical issues.

1. Romantic Theory. William Wordsworth articulated it in his Preface to the Lyrical

Ballads as literature which should

a. have a subject matter that is ordinary and commonplace

b. use simple language, even aspiring to the language of prose

c. make use of the imagination

d. convey a primal, simple, uncomplicated feeling

e. present similitude in dissimilitude (similarities in differences)

1. New Criticism – believes that literature is an organic unity. To use this theory, one
proceeds by looking into the following : the persona, the addressee, the situation
(where and when), what the persona says, the central metaphor (tenor and vehicle),
the central irony, the multiple meaning of words.
2. Psychoanalytical Theory – applies Freudian psychoanalytic ideas to literature.

a. It looks into the character’s or author’s motivations, drives, fears, desires.

b. It believes that creative writing is like dreaming – it disguises what cannot be confronted
directly – the critic must decode what is disguised.

1. Mythological  / Archetypal Approach – is based on Carl Jung’s theory of collective

unconscious.

a. Repeated or dominant images or patterns of human experience are identified in the text.

b. It also uses Northrop Frye’s assertion that literature consists of variations on a great
mythic theme that contains the following : (1) the garden : the creation of life in paradise, (2)
alienation : displacement or banishment from paradise, (3) journey : a time of trial and
tribulation, (4) epiphany : a self-discovery as a result of struggle, (4) rebirth / resurrection : a
return to paradise.

1. Structuralist Literary Theory – comes from the linguistic theory of Ferdinand de

Saussure which recognizes language as a system or structure. To Vladimir Propp and
Tzvetan Todorov , structuralism should identify the general principles of literary
structure and not to provide interpretations of individual texts. Three dimensions in
individual literary texts :

a. the text as a particular system or structure in itself (naturalization of a text)

b. texts are unavoidably influenced by other texts (intertextuality)

c. the text is related to the culture as a whole (binary oppositions)

1. Deconstruction – interrogates our common practices in reading and exposes the gaps,
incoherences, the contradictions in a discourse and how the text undermine itself or
how a text contradicts itself. Deconstruction draws much from the works of Jacques
Derrida. The process involves

a. identifying the oppositions in the text

b. determining which member is favored/privileged and looking for evidence that contradicts
it

c. exposing the text’s indeterminancy

 1. Russian Formalism – led by Viktor Shklovsky – aims to establish a ‘science of
literature’ and discover the literariness of a text by highlighting the devices and
technical elements used by the author. These elements should include :
2. baring the device – e.g. distorting time in various ways – foreshortening, skipping,
expanding, transposing, reversing, flashback, flashforward, etc.
3. defamiliarization – this means making strange and using fresh ways of describing
things
4. retardation of the narrative – the technique of delaying and protracting actions by
using digressions, displacements, extended descriptions, etc.
5. naturalization – refers to  how we endlessly become inventive in finding ways of
making sense of the most random or chaotic utterances or discourse.
6. carnivalization – Mikhail Bakhtin used this term to describe the shaping effect of
carnival on literary texts. The festivities associated with the carnival are collective
and popular; hierarchies are turned on their heads (fools become wise; kings become
beggars); opposites are mingled (fact and fantasy, heaven and hell); the sacred is
profaned; the rigid or serious is subverted, mocked or loosened.
1. Marxist Literary Theory. It aims to explain literature relation to society – that
literature can only be properly understood within a larger framework of social reality.
Marxist literary critics would like to look at the structure of history and society and
then investigate whether the literary work reflects or distorts this structure. They
insist that literature has a social dimension – it exists in time and space, in history and
society. Moreover, writers are constantly formed by their social contexts and social
class.
2. Feminist Criticism. Branching out from Marxism, it is a political discourse; a
critical and  theoretical practice committed to the struggle against patriarchy and
sexism.

a. Feminism asks why women played a subordinate role to men in society.

It studies the male-dominated canon to understand how men have used culture to further
their domination of women.

b. It studies literature by women for how it addresses or expresses the particularity of

women’s life and experience. Feminist critics insist that women’s experience is different
from men’s.

1. 12.   Postcolonial Criticism. Postcolonialism refers to the independence enjoyed by

Third World countries after the decline of colonial rule by imperialist powers. The many
concerns of postcolonial criticism includes the following :

a.  attempt to resurrect their national culture and to combat the misconceptions about their
culture

b. dramatize the colonial experience and their response to it

c. escape from the implicit body of assumptions to which the language of the colonizing
power, English,  was attached.

d. study diasporic texts outside the usual Western genres, especially works by aboriginal
authors, marginalized ethnicities, immigrants, and refugees.
e. analyze nationality, ethnicity, and politics with poststructuralist ideas of identity and
indeterminacy, and hybrid constructions (Homi K. Bhaba)

1. 13.   Post Modern Literary Theory. Postmodern refers to the culture of advanced

capitalist societies, which has undergone a profound shift in the ‘structure of feeling.’
Postmodern texts have the following features :

a. fragmentation                                                            g.
intertextuality
b. discontinuity                                                             h.
decentering
c. indeterminacy                                                            i.
dislocation
d. plurality                                                                    
  j. ludism
e. metafictionality                                                          k.
parody
f. heterogeneity                                                             l.
pastiche
 
 

1. III.            Linguistic Approaches to Reading

2. Bloomfield Approach – Leonard Bloomfield and Clarence Barnhart advocate that the
child should be acquainted with the letters of the alphabet at the very start. The child
should begin with capital letters and then go to small letters.
3. Fries Approach – Charles Fries’ basic concept : Learning to read in one’s native
language is learning to shift, to transfer, from auditory signs for the language signals
which the child has already learned to visual or graphic signs for the same signals for
language perception. The aim is to develop high-speed recognition responses to
English spelling patterns.
4. C.     Eclectic Approach
1. Reading as interest – development of the recreational reading habit; the major
approach is personalized or individualized reading.
2. 2.     Reading as language process

 Language Experience Approach – a strategy which views reading as an extension of

speaking : thinking/experiencing, talking, writing, reading.
 Psycholinguistic Approach – view reading as an interaction of thought and language, a
process of combining psychology and linguistics. This approach advances that reading,
like listening, is a receptive process, used to understand a written message, that
readers reconstruct the author’s meaning in their own words.

1. Reading as culture – focuses on the relation between dialect differences and the
written message as well as on one’s cultural heritage. It makes instruction relevant to
the pupil’s cultural background.
2. Reading as a learned process – emphasizes on controlled development of skills in a
structured sequence progressing from simple to complex

 The Basal Textbook Approach – follows this general format : scope-and-sequence

or flow chart for all an overall view of skills; kindergarten readiness workbooks; first
 grade, second grade and above skillbooks; teacher’s guides and assessment tests.
The standard basal text lesson follows these steps:

(a)    background or motivation

(b)    vocal development

(c)    purposeful or guided silent reading

(d)   discussion

(e)    purposeful rereading

(f)     skill instruction in word recognition, comprehension skill with the use of workbooks

(g)   enrichment activities

 The Linguistic Approach – look at reading as recognizing and interpreting graphic

symbols representing spoken sounds which have meaning. It stresses sound-symbol
regularity and systematic exposure to frequently used sounding patterns.
 The Phonics Approach – believes that the English spelling system is essentially regular
in its correspondence between letters and speech sounds and that letter sounds can
be blended together to form words. For second language learners short phonics drills
on crucial sounds like f, v, j, sh, th, z, a  and the schwa are needed.
 Programmed Instruction – includes step-by-step learning, learning, immediate
feedback, regular and constant review and individual progress through materials.
 The Skills Monitoring Approach – reading is analyzed in terms of skills arranged in
hierarchies. This approach entails

(1) a scope and sequence chart of reading skills

(2) a battery of tests for preassessment of reading abilities

(3) based on test results, instruction to adjust to pupils’ interest, abilities, and needs

(4) a continuous assessment using both formative and summative tests

(5) a corrective or remedial measures

(6) an adequate and challenging enrichment activities for the bright pupils.

1. IV.            Stage and Speech Arts

2. Level / Context of Speech Communication
1. Intrapersonal – involves only oneself.

 Internal discourse like thinking, analysis, contemplation, meditation

 Solo vocal communication like thinking aloud, soliloquies
 Solo written communication not intended for others like diaries, or personal journals
 1. Interpersonal – involves an exchange between sender and receiver of a message. It
may be direct (face-to-face) or indirect (via telephone, e-mail, teleconference)

 Dyadic communication ; two people talking

 Group communication ; study group, committee meetings
 Public communication ; scholarly lectures, political campaigns

1. B.     The Speech Arts

1. Different types of public speech according to purpose

 Informative – to present facts, knowledge, information

 Persuasive – to reinforce or modify the audience’s beliefs
 Occasional or entertaining – to amuse the audience

1. How the speech is delivered

 Impromptu speech – delivered with little or no preparation

 Extemporaneous speech – delivered with some prepared structure such as notes or
outlines
 Memorized speech – reciting speech from memory
 Manuscript speaking – reading the speech word-for-word from its written form or the
manuscript

1. Types of oral interpretation

a. Solo interpretation

 Story telling – oral sharing of a personal or traditional story; it may be illustrative

(using drawings) or creative / dramatic (using gestures and creative movements) for
entertaining or educating
 Interpretative / interpretive reading – also called dramatic reading, oral reading, or
reading aloud by using the elements of voice and diction to convey meaning and mood
 Declamation – recitation of a poem from memory and is marked by strong feelings
 Monologue – interpretative oral performance of prose or poetry in which the interpreter
plays a role

                  b. Group interpretation

 Reading concert – also known as Readers Theatre- oral reading activity with speakers
presenting literature in a dramatic form
 Chamber Theater – theatrical approach to performing narrative literature
 Speech Choir – also choral reading, choric interpretation, vocal orchestration –
ensemble reading technique where a group of readers recite as one in coordinated
voices and related interpretation : (1) reading in unison – several voices sound like one
instrument, (2) solo and chorus – soloists recite lines and chorus recites refrains, (3)
responsive reading – lines are recited alternately by solo or chorus

1. V.             Structure of English
2. Sentences. Every sentence must have both a subject and a verb.
 1. Three kinds of sentences

 A declarative sentence states a fact, e.g., “Connie loves Rommel.”

 An interrogative sentence asks a question, e.g., “Does Connie love Rommel?”
 An exclamatory sentence registers an exclamation, e.g., “Like, I mean, you know, like
wow!”

1. Three basic structures

 A simple sentence makes one self-standing assertion, i.e., has one main clause, e.g.,
“Connie loves Rommel.”
 A compound sentence makes two or more self-standing assertions, i.e., has two main
clauses, e.g., “Connie loves Rommel and Rommel enjoys it.”
 A complex sentence makes one self-standing assertion and one or more dependent
assertions, subordinate clauses, dependent on the main clause, e.g., “Connie who has
been desiring Rommel these twelve years, loves him, and Rommel, what’s more, still
enjoys it.”

1. Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Relative Clauses

 A restrictive clause modifies directly, and so restricts the meaning of the antecedent

it refers back to, e.g., “This is the girl that started all the fun.” One specific girl is
intended. The relative clause is not set off by a comma.
 A nonrestrictive clause, though still a dependent clause, does not directly modify its
antecedent and is set off by commas. “These girls, who came from Iloilo, are all sweet
and charming.”

1. Appositives. An appositive is an amplifying word or phrase placed next to the term it

refers to and set off by commas, e.g., “Henry VIII, a glutton for punishment, had six
wives.

1. Basic Sentence Patterns (based on syntax)

1. Parataxis – Phrases or clauses arranged independently, in a coordinate
construction, and often without connectives, e.g., “I came, I saw, I conquered.”
2. Hypotaxis – Phrases or clauses arranged in a dependent, subordinate
relationship, e.g., “I came, and after I came and looked around a bit, I decided, well,
why not, and so conquered.”

 
 

1. Asyndeton – Connectives are committed between words, phrases, or clauses, e.g.,

“I’ve been stressed, destressed, beat down, beat up, held down, held up, conditioned,
reconditioned.”
2. Polysendeton – Connectives are always supplied between words, phrases, or clauses,
as when Milton talks about Satan pursuing his way, “And swims, or sinks, or wades, or
creeps, or flies.”
3. Periodic Sentence – is a long sentence with a number of elements, usually balanced or
antithetical, standing in a clear syntactical relationship to each other. Usually it
suspends the conclusion of the sense until the end of the sentence, and so is
sometimes called a suspended syntax.
4. Loose Sentence –  a sentence whose elements are loosely related to one another,
follow in no particularly antithetical climactic order, and do not suspend its
grammatical completion until the close. A sentence so loose as to verge on
incoherence is often called a run-on sentence.
5. Isocolon – the Greek word means, literally, syntactic units of equal length, and it is
used in English to describe the repetition of phrases of equal length and corresponding
structure, e.g., “Harry, now I do not speak to thee in drink but in tears, not in pleasure
but in passion, not in words only, but in woes also.”
6. Chiasmus – is the basic pattern of antithetical inversion, the AB:BA pattern. The best
example is probably from John F. Kennedy’s first inaugural address: “Ask not what your
country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”
7. Anaphora – begins a series of phrases, clauses, or sentences with the same word.
Churchill’s exhortation in 1940: “We have become the sole champion now in arms to
defend the world cause. We shall do our best to be worthy of this high
honor. We shall defend our island home, and with the British Empire we shall fight on
unconquerable until the curse of Hitler is lifted from the brows of mankind. We are
sure that in the end all will come right.”