GUIA DEL

TEMARIO
INGLÉS 2020
Students’ Cooperation:

María Quintero
Librada Rodríguez
Diego Espinosa
Karina Pimentel
Moisés Ávila
Yessenia Campos
Osiris González
Made Hernández
Anabelys Pérez
Tatiana Cruz
Joissy Reina
 1. LINGUISTICS

1.1 TRANSLATION:

WHAT IS TRANSLATION?

Translation is the communication of meaning from one language (the

source) to another language (the target). Translation refers to written
information, whereas interpretation refers to spoken information.

The purpose of translation is to convey the original tone and intent of a

message, taking into account cultural and regional differences between
source and target languages.

Translation has been used by humans for centuries, beginning after the
appearance of written literature. Modern-day translators use sophisticated
tools and technologies to accomplish their work, and rely heavily on
software applications to simplify and streamline their tasks.

Translation must take into account constraints that include context, the
rules of grammar of the two languages, their writing conventions, and their
idioms. A common misconception is that there exists a simple word-for-
word correspondence between any two languages, and that translation is a
straightforward mechanical process. A word-for-word translation does not
take into account context, grammar, conventions, and idioms.
signaled a big opportunity for development era un indicio de una gran oportunidad para
of leadership skills with the nearly half who desarrollar habilidades de liderazgo con casi la
possessed no strengths at all. mitad que no poseía fortaleza alguna.

THE CHALLENGE OF GETTING EL DESAFÍO DE LOGRAR QUE LOS

LEADERS TO FOCUS ON STRENGTHS
However, convincing leaders to develop
their strengths rather than hack away at their
weaknesses is hard work. Like Ulysses’
sailors being drawn to the Siren’s song, and
despite all the passionate encouragement we
can give, the majority of leaders gravitate
toward fixing their weaknesses.
LÍDERES SE CONCENTREN EN LAS
FORTALEZAS
Sin embargo, convencer a los líderes para que
desarrollen sus fortalezas en vez de atacar a
diestra y siniestra sus debilidades, es un trabajo
difícil. Tal como los marineros de Ulises,
atraídos por el canto de la sirena, a pesar de todo
el estímulo apasionado que podamos dar, la
mayoría de los líderes son atraídos hacia la
corrección de sus debilidades.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJWGZCi8W1A (translation concept)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eRh_PNhveg (expert translator opinion)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=794KU-m-pso (vocabulary)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLe7Rxkrj94 (listening)

¡Es muy importante aprender todas las palabras que puedas para mejorar la
traducción de un párrafo u oración! Leer textos en inglés o escuchar
Conversaciones en inglés ayuda.
 TECHNIQUES USED

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceOGbyAlJag&t=55s (techniques)
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R-UoCh5AEU (techniques example)

1. BORROWING
Borrowing is a translation technique that involves using the same word or
expression in original text in the target text. The word or expression borrowed is
usually written in italics. This is about reproducing an expression in the original text
as is. In this sense, it is a translation technique that does not actually translate.

Example:

2. CALQUE
When a translator uses a calque, he or she is creating or using a neologism in the
target language by adopting the structure of the source language.

Example: The German word handball is translated into Spanish as balonmano. Or

the English term skyscraper is gratte-ciel in French or rascacielos in Spanish.
3. LITERAL TRANSLATION
Just what it says - "El equipo está trabajando para acabar el informe" - "The team is
working to finish the report". Again, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
For example, the Spanish sentence above could not be translated into French or
German in the same way - you would have to use technique no. 4...
 
4. TRANSPOSITION
This is the mechanical process whereby parts of speech "play musical chairs"
(Fawcett's analogy) when they are translated. Grammatical structures are not often
identical in different languages. "She likes swimming" translates as "Le gusta nadar"
(not "nadando") - or in German, "Sie schwimmt gern", because gerunds and
infinitives work in different ways in English and Spanish, and German is German
(bringing in an adverb to complicate matters). Transposition is often used between
English and Spanish because of the preferred position of the verb in the sentence:
English wants the verb up near the front; Spanish can have it closer to the end. 
 
5. MODULATION
Now we're getting clever. Slightly more abstract than transposition, this consists of
using a phrase that is different in the source and target languages to convey the same
idea - "Te lo dejo" - "You can have it".
 
6. REFORMULATION (SOMETIMES KNOWN AS ÉQUIVALENCE)
Here you have to express something in a completely different way, for example
when translating idioms or, even harder, advertising slogans. The process is creative,
but not always easy. Would you have given the name Sonrisas y lágrimas to the film
The Sound of Music in Spanish?
 
7. ADAPTATION
Here something specific to the source language culture is expressed in a totally
different way that is familiar or appropriate to the target language culture.
Sometimes it is valid, and sometimes it is problematic, to say the least. Should a
restaurant menu in a Spanish tourist resort translate "pincho" as "kebab" in English?
Should a French text talking about Belgian jokes be translated into English as
talking about Irish jokes (always assuming it should be translated at all)? We will
return to these problems of referentiality below. 
 
8. COMPENSATION
Another model describes a technique known as compensation. This is a rather
amorphous term, but in general terms it can be used where something cannot be
translated from source to target language, and the meaning that is lost in the
immediate translation is expressed somewhere else in the TT. Fawcett defines it as:
"...making good in one part of the text something that could not be translated in
another". One example given by Fawcett is the problem of translating nuances of
formality from languages which use forms such as tu and usted (tu/vous, du/Sie,
etc.) into English which only has 'you', and expresses degrees of formality in
different ways
(https://www.interproinc.com/blog/translation-techniques)
1.2 METHODOLOGY
METHODS AND APPROACHES// ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Abstract The researchers of various disciplines often use qualitative and quantitative
research methods and approaches for their studies. Some of these researchers like to
be known as qualitative researchers; others like to be regarded as quantitative
researchers. The researchers, thus, are sharply polarised; and they involve in a
competition of pointing out the benefits of their own preferred methods and
approaches. But, both the methods and approaches (qualitative and quantitative)
have pros and cons. This study, therefore, aims to discuss the advantages and
disadvantages of using qualitative and quantitative research approaches and
methods in language testing and assessment research. There is a focus on ethical
considerations too. The study found some strengths of using qualitative methods for
language “assessment and testing” research—such as, eliciting deeper insights into
designing, administering, and interpreting assessment and testing; and exploring
test-takers’ behaviour, perceptions, feelings, and understanding. Some weaknesses
are, for instance, smaller sample size and time consuming. Quantitative research
methods, on the other hand, involve a larger sample, and do not require relatively a
longer time for data collection. Some limitations are that quantitative research
methods take snapshots of a phenomenon: not in-depth, and overlook test-takers’
and testers’ experiences as well as what they mean by something. Among these two
research paradigms, the quantitative one is dominant in the context of language
testing and assessment research. Keywords: qualitative and quantitative research,
advantages, disadvantages, testing and assessment 1. Introduction Qualitative and
quantitative research approaches and methods are usually found to be utilised rather
frequently in different disciplines of education such as sociology, psychology,
history, and so on. Concerning the research approaches, there persist so-called
paradigm wars in which researchers belong to the two distinct camps—
interpretivism and positivism. The positivistic researchers’ belief is that the social
world consists of concrete and unchangeable reality which can be quantified
objectively. Whereas, the interpretive researchers oppose the positivistic belief of
reality; and argue that, instead, the reality is socially constructed by the humans
which can be changed and understood subjectively (Corbetta, 2003; Marcon &
Gopal, 2005; Kroeze, 2012). As focused on the paradigm wars, there are some
arguments about the superiority of research methods: Whether qualitative evidence
is superior to quantitative evidence, or vice-versa. In this regard, there is a need to
highlight the history of the emergence of paradigms in order to understand the
dominant method in the arena of research. For the first half of the twentieth century,
the positivist model was dominant in social and educational research by giving
importance of using standardised tests and systematic observation, experiment,
survey data, and statistical analysis. In other words, the quantitative research
method was quite powerful. However, after the 1960s, because of the influence of
Kuhn’s work, the new approaches—such as, symbolic interactionist ethnography,
critical research, feminist, phenomenography, discourse analysis and other forms—
came up into practice (Hammersley & Traianou, 2012). That is to say, there was a
shift of research methods from quantitative to qualitative, and the superiority of
quantitative research was not as powerful as before. The growth of qualitative
research was also from the unhappiness with the process of generating knowledge
within the positivistic research (Sandberg, 2005). Alongside the research methods
and approaches, ethical considerations were also introduced in the research world
though it was subsequent to research methods and approaches. Up to jel.ccsenet.org
Journal of Education and Learning Vol. 6, No. 1; 2017 103 this point, it is obvious
that a various types of research techniques and methods were employed in different
areas of qualitative and quantitative research. Likewise, the language testing, as an
area of, research has encountered a vast array of methods and approaches
(Bachman, 2000), for example, VELC Test® score interpretations technique used
by Kumazawa, Shizuka, Mochizuki, and Mizumoto (2016); Exploratory Factor
Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) employed by Sims and
Kunnan (2016); action research in Cambridge English Language Test (Borg, 2015;
Watkins, 2015; Depieri, 2015). The study aims at critically discussing the
advantages and disadvantages of using quantitative and qualitative approaches and
methods for language testing and assessment research. The study begins with an
introduction to the background of research methods and approaches (quantitative
and qualitative). The introduction is followed by a brief description of language
testing and assessment. Then, it presents the pros and cons of using qualitative and
quantitative approaches and methods; and evaluates the dominant research methods
in language testing and assessment research. Finally, ethical considerations are also
pointed out. 2. Language Testing and Assessment In a general sense, a test is
something that demonstrates one’s competence-incompetence, ability-inability; and
that shows someone’s position in the scale consisting of variables such as fail, pass,
average, satisfactory, good, and excellent. An academic test also helps taking an
important decision of whether or not a student will be allowed to move up to the
next step. It can check the progress of a student and suggest whether a student needs
more help or not, and allow us to compare the performance between students. The
test, furthermore, acts as an important tool of public policy—such as the national
examinations are held in the same standard across the country to ensure that only
the top performers can get admission to the next level of education (Douglas, 2014).
The university admission test (a high stake test) is a tool of this kind. In language
testing, the testers are concerned with the extent to which a test can produce scores
that reflect a candidate’s ability accurately in a specific area, for example, reading,
writing a critical essay, vocabulary knowledge, or spoken interaction with peers
(Weir, 2005). Like all other educational assessments, language testing is a complex
social phenomenon (Fulcher, 2010). But it is a significant aspect in education which
affects people’s lives in the society such as—promotion, employment, citizenship,
immigration or asylum depends upon passing a language test. Another
consequential factor of language testing in education is that it dictates what is to be
taught (McNamara & Roever, 2006). So, the discussion so far indicates that the
language tests play an important role in many people’s lives (McNamara, 2000).
However, many have highlighted the validity and reliability of language testing-for
example, Fulcher and Davidson (2007) claimed that every book and article relating
to language testing addresses the test validity to some extent which is the core
concept of testing and assessment. So, a multiple concepts are seen to be involved
in language testing and assessment, and it is a good area of research in education. 3.
Qualitative Research Approaches and Methods Defining qualitative research is
significant as it is the central focus of this section—but there is a challenge to define
this term clearly (Ritchie, Lewis, Nicholls, & Ormston, 2013), since it does not have
its theory or paradigm nor an obvious set of methods or practices that are merely of
its own (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011). This term also involves a vast array of methods
and approaches within the different subjects of research. Hence, the writers have
provided the definition of qualitative research distinctively. Strauss and Corbin
(1990, p. 11), for example, stated that, “By the term ‘qualitative research’, we mean
any type of research that produces findings not arrived at by statistical procedures
or other means of quantification. It can refer to research about persons’ lives, lived
experiences, behaviours, emotions, and feelings as well as about organisational
functioning, social movements, cultural phenomena, and interactions between
nations.” This means that qualitative research is not statistical and it incorporates
multiple realities. Then, Flick (2014, p. 542) claimed that, “Qualitative research
interested in analysing subjective meaning or the social production of issues, events,
or practices by collecting non-standardised data and analysing texts and images
rather than number and statistics.” This definition stressed on how people make
sense of something in the world. So, the qualitative research is basically associated
with multiple aspects. Moreover, Denzin and Lincoln (1994, p. 2) claimed that,
“Qualitative research is multi-method in focus, involving an interpretive,
naturalistic approach to its subject matter.” It is, moreover, apparent that the
qualitative research is concerned with multiple perspectives when Van Maanen
(1979, p. 520) defines it as, “an umbrella term covering an array of interpretive
techniques which seek to describe, decode, translate, and otherwise come to terms
with the meaning, not the frequency, of certain more or less naturally occurring
jel.ccsenet.org Journal of Education and Learning Vol. 6, No. 1; 2017 104
phenomena in the social world.” Therefore, qualitative research appears to be an
overarching concept under which a variety of issues may be placed, and it has
positive and negative perspectives. 3.1 Advantages There are some benefits of using
qualitative research approaches and methods. Firstly, qualitative research approach
produces the thick (detailed) description of participants’ feelings, opinions, and
experiences; and interprets the meanings of their actions (Denzin, 1989). In terms of
language testing, for example, Bachman (1998) showed in his study that qualitative
research results provide the relationship of information processing with
performance specifically and deeply. Chalhoub-Deville and Deville (2008), too,
argued that qualitative approaches are employed to achieve deeper insights into
issues related to designing, administering, and interpreting language assessment.
Secondly, there are some who argue that qualitative research approach
(interpretivism) holistically understands the human experience in specific settings.
Denzin and Lincoln (2002), for example, mentioned that qualitative research is an
interdisciplinary field which encompasses a wider range of epistemological
viewpoints, research methods, and interpretive techniques of understanding human
experiences. From the perspective of epistemological position, any language
assessment cannot be set apart from context, culture and values of where it was
used (McNamara, 2001); and the language assessment researchers began to employ
qualitative research methodology for focusing the issues that need an analysis of
content-related variables such as the influences of test-takers’ characteristics on test
performance, the strategies used to respond to assessment tasks, and so on
(Tsushima, 2015). Thirdly, interpretivism research approach is regarded as an
ideographic research, the study of individual cases or events (Kelin & Myers,
1999); and it has abilities to understand different people’s voices, meanings and
events. So the source of knowledge in this approach is the meaning of different
events (Richardson, 2012). In language testing, the qualitative research techniques
analyse the candidate behaviour, interviewer behaviour, interlocutor behaviour, and
cross-cultural influences on behaviour during the speaking tests (Lazaraton &
Taylor, 2007). Fourthly, the qualitative research admits the researchers to discover
the participants’ inner experience, and to figure out how meanings are shaped
through and in culture (Corbin & Strauss, 2008). Such as, in terms of assessing
written assignments, “satisfactory”, “good”, or “60 marks out of 100” are used by
the assessors, an investigation might be made in order to understand the meaning of
“satisfactory” or “good” or to elicit the features of content or text displayed in the
student scripts (Leung, 2012). So, the studies using qualitative approach can help us
understand the markers’ working assumption about what is to be assessed, and the
meaning of the score or grade. Fifthly, qualitative research methods such as
participant-observation, unstructured interviews, direct observation, describing
records are most commonly used for collecting data (Cohen, Manion, & Morrison,
2011). During the data collection, the researchers interact with the participants
directly such as it happens while data collection through interviews. Consequently,
data collection is subjective and detailed. The study of Rumsey, Thiessen, Buchan
and Daly (2016) deployed the face-to-face and telephone interview techniques of
data collection, and elicited the feelings, perceptions, and views about IELTS tests.
Lastly, qualitative research design (interactive approach) has a flexible structure as
the design can be constructed and reconstructed to a greater extent (Maxwell, 2012).
Thus, the thorough and appropriate analyses of an issue can be produced by
utilising qualitative research methods, and therefore the participants have sufficient
freedom to determine what is consistent for them (Flick, 2011). As a result, the
complex issues can be understood easily. For example, researchers acknowledged
that, because of the nature of classroom dynamics, learners’ behaviour may be
affected by the numerous factors outside of research focus. In this respect, the
qualitative research approach is required to capture these dynamics. As the nature of
language assessment practices is also complex, there is a suggestion by Mohan
(2012) to employ the qualitative research methodology. Thus, the qualitative
research can contribute to the understanding of the complex features of language
assessment. The next section will look at the disadvantages of qualitative research
approaches and methods. 3.2 Disadvantages Beyond the above advantages, some
limitations are obvious. First, Silverman (2010) argues that qualitative research
approaches sometimes leave out contextual sensitivities, and focus more on
meanings and experiences. Phenomenological approach, for instance, attempts to
uncover, interpret and understand the participants’ experience (Wilson, 2014;
Tuohy et al., 2013). Similarly, Cumming (2001) focused on the participants’
experience rather than any other imperative issues in the context. He engaged six
countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan and Thailand) and
experienced writing instructors of these countries in his jel.ccsenet.org Journal of
Education and Learning Vol. 6, No. 1; 2017 105 research. He stated that, “This
sampling was selective and purposive, focused on instructors with high levels of
expertise in each setting, rather than aiming to be representative of educators in the
particular countries or institutions.” It seems that the contextual influence on the
assessment is not taken into account at all in this research because it has looked at
the writing instructors’ expertise, and bypassed what impacts of these countries’
cultures for example would be on writing assessment. Second, policy-makers may
give low credibility to results from qualitative approach. Sallee and Flood (2012)
found that stakeholders frequently use quantitative research when research is called
upon. In terms of educational practice in United States, national and state
policymakers sought to quantify teacher’s and student’s performance (Ravitch,
2010), and in many social sciences, quantitative orientations are frequently given
more regard (Berg, 2009). In addition, purely qualitative research may neglect the
social and cultural constructions of the variables studied (Richards & Richards,
1994). Third, in terms of research method, smaller sample size raises the issue of
generalizability to the whole population of the research (Harry & Lipsky, 2014;
Thompson, 2011). Having studied the language testing assessment in Hong Kong
qualitatively, Lam (2015) admitted that due to the small sample size the study
results do not wish to claim wider generalization to other contexts. Then, data
interpretation and analysis may be more difficult/complex (Richards & Richards,
1994). Berg and Lune (2012, p. 4) also commented that, “Qualitative research is a
long hard road, with elusive data on one side and stringent requirements for analysis
on the other.” Along with the data interpretation and analysis issue, Darlington and
Scott (2003) claimed that developing the undeveloped question into a researchable
form is harder, and the refining question in qualitative research may be continuous
throughout a whole study. In the research paper of Rumsey, Thiessen, Buchan and
Daly (2016), it has appeared that the primary research data collection was not
focused on the research topic, language testing or language requirement, rather
focused on the thematic analysis. But in the secondary data analysis, the collected
data were again used for investigating a new question that was not explored in the
primary research. It seems that the data analysis and developing the research
question using the same data, which is previously collected, is likely to be a harder
and continuous process of conducting a qualitative research. Finally, the analyses of
the cases take a considerable amount of time, and one can generalise the results to
the larger population in only a very limited way (Flick, 2011). For example, if a
legislator needs to vote an issue, she/he cannot wait for three months for a
qualitative study to be administered (Sallee & Flood, 2012). Similarly, in language
testing and assessment research, in order to devise a new policy within a short
period of time, the policy makers may demand quantitative research instead of
qualitative research. However, despite these shortcomings, the qualitative research
becomes prominent in language testing research—as it is a regular accompaniment
with quantitative data analysis to which reports of standard setting are generally
confined (Manias & McNamara, 2015). Moreover, the generalisability seems not to
be a problem as Darlington and Scott (2003, p. 18) pointed out that, “If one
considers the unit of attention as the phenomenon under investigation, rather than
the number of individuals, then the sample is often much larger than first appears.”
Thus, in the studies of language testing, the number of interactions or contacts
investigated would have been infinitely larger than the individuals or families
involved. Moreover, Labaree (2004) suggested that no educational research (either
quantitative or qualitative) ought to be regarded as generalizable, because too many
contextual variables can shape the findings. For example, if a student is unable to
demonstrate enough proficiency in reading or math, quantitative measures—test
scores may indicate that the teacher is to be condemned. But the test scores fail to
consider the classroom environment, students’ home life, and other crucial factors.
Donmoyer (2012) argued that the qualitative researchers can tell the policy makers
what works as the qualitative research provide the thick description. This study will
next consider the advantages and disadvantages of quantitative research. 4.
Quantitative Research Approaches and Methods Bryman (2012, p. 35) defined
quantitative research as, “A research strategy that emphasises quantification in the
collection and analysis of data…” It means quantitative research denotes amounting
something. This research method attempts to investigate the answers to the
questions starting with how many, how much, to what extent (Rasinger, 2013). In
other words, the method lays heavy stress on measuring something or variables
existed in the social world. Payne and Payne (2004, p. 180) stated that,
“Quantitative methods (normally using deductive logic) seek regularities in human
lives, by separating the social world into empirical components called variables
which can be represented numerically as frequencies or rate, whose associations
with each other can be explored by statistical techniques, and accessed through
researcher-introduced stimuli and systematic measurement.” The jel.ccsenet.org
Journal of Education and Learning Vol. 6, No. 1; 2017 106 quantitative research
focuses on those aspects of social behaviour which can be quantified and patterned
rather than just finding out them and interpreting their meanings the people bring to
their own action. Another aspect visa-à-vis the quantitative research is worth
mentioning which is positivism that underpins quantitative research. Weber (2004)
mentioned his colleague, Jorgen Sandberg, who has characterised the positivism
that in positivism, person and reality are separate; objective reality exists beyond
the human mind; research methods are statistics and content analysis; validity-data
truly measures reality; reliability-research results can be reproduced; research object
has inherent qualities that exist independently of the researchers. Additionally,
Bryman (2012) identified positivism as a nomothetic research (which yields law-
like or general actions); in positivism, knowledge is obtained from empirical testing
(Richardson, 2012). However, interpretivism in qualitative research seems to be
opposite to the positivism when the researchers argue that interpretivism is an
ideographic research (the study of individual cases or events) (Kelin & Myers,
1999), and knowledge is derived from the meaning of events (Richardson, 2012).
From this discussion it is evident again that a paradigm war persists in the research
world in which researchers are staying in two different camps, though Weber
(2004) contends that the concept of positivism versus interpretivism is vacuous.
Furthermore, Bryman (1988) claimed that, like qualitative methods, “quantitative
methods” is also an umbrella term covering various types of research. Pros and cons
of quantitative research are as follows: 4.1 Advantages The quantitative findings are
likely to be generalised to a whole population or a sub-population because it
involves the larger sample which is randomly selected (Carr, 1994). Besides
sampling, data analysis is less time consuming as it uses the statistical software such
as SPSS (Connolly, 2007). Powers D. and Powers A. (2015), in their research on
TOEIC tests, contented that the study sample reflects the larger proportion (2300)
of TOEIC test-taking population which helps making the study truth-worthy. Then,
quantitative research is to be based on positivist paradigm of measuring variables
(Kauber, 1986). A language proficiency assessment research, for example,
conducted by Carroll and Bailey (2016) shows that there are different variables such
as EFL student and non-EFL students, and tests in four sub-domains: speaking,
writing, reading, and listening. It is also noticed in another study of second language
fluency by Préfontaine, Kormos and Johnson (2016) that various variables were
used such as class variables: beginning, intermediate and advanced; native speaker
variables: British, American, and Canadian. 4.2 Disadvantages Given the strengths
above, the quantitative research has limitations too. The positivism research
paradigm leaves out the common meanings of social phenomenon (Denzin &
Lincoln, 1998). It also fails to ascertain deeper underlying meanings and
explanations. The study of Bouwer, Béguin, Sanders and van den Bergh (2015)
measured the effect of genre on writing score involving various types of variance
such as person, genre, person by genre, task within genre, person by task within
genre, raters who rated tasks within different genres, and random error. But the
study has not explained the reasons of the effect and their meanings in that
particular context. Another limitation of quantitative research is that the positivism
cannot account for how the social reality is shaped and maintained, or how people
interpret their actions and others (Blaikie, 2007). In quantitative language testing
research, it is found that the studies just investigate and estimate the language skills,
proficiency, scoring, and so on. A study undertaken by Katzenberger and Meilijson
(2014) on the assessment of Hebrew language for preschool children in which it is
to find out the language-impaired Hebrew-speaking pre-school children and to
identify whether the test can distinguish the developing and language-impaired
children. However, the study did not explore why some children develop their
language learning and why some are impaired. That is to say, the study left over the
reality or the children’s understanding of learning capacity of Hebrew language. A
further weakness of quantitative research approach is that it has tendencies of taking
a snapshot of a phenomenon: It measures variables at a specific moment in time,
and disregards whether the photograph happened to catch one looking one’s best or
looking unusually disarranged (Schofield, 2007), for example, the study of Fidalgo,
Alavi and Amirian (2014) engaged a larger number of participants (400) to show
the testing statistical significance. Therefore, it has not been possible to take
information deeply; rather, it has given the overall picture of the variables. Then,
Hammersley (2007) pointed out that the criticism of unresolved problems in
“positivist” research is also apparent, such as-the difficulties of measuring of
educational significance. The importance of English language test, for instance, for
an immigrant in order to be settled in the UK may not be possible to measure
objectively. jel.ccsenet.org Journal of Education and Learning Vol. 6, No. 1; 2017
107 Lastly, the quantitative research paradigm overlooks the respondents’
experiences and perspectives in highly controlled settings (Ary, Jacobs, Sorensen,
& Walker, 2013) because there lacks a direct connection between researchers and
the participants when collecting data. As a result, the data obtaining method
becomes objective. The study of Gu (2015)—such as—engaged 498 participants in
the study of language ability test by distributing test-lets. This shows that the study
has been unable to elicit the participants’ perceptions as the researchers had no
connection with them; just handing out the test-lets. Although the above drawbacks
exist with the quantitative research, a considerable amount of research is being
conducted in the arena of language testing and assessment by employing
quantitative research methods and approaches. Language assessment has a tradition
of employing psychometric procedures and a strong orientation of quantitative
research methods focusing on test score validity (Purpura, 2011). Besides, the
language testing is taken into account as measurement. It is noted that the
psychometric-structural phase of language testing denoted by Spolsky emphasised
on test reliability and established the concept of language testing as measurement
(Morrow, 2012). So, from this concept, the language testing seems to be
quantitative in nature rather than qualitative. 5. Dominant Method in Language
Testing and Assessment Having paid attention to the advantages and disadvantages
of using qualitative and quantitative research method, this section stresses on the
mainstream research method on language testing. In the field of language testing
and assessment, the quantitative research method seems to be used rather than the
qualitative research method. Jang, Wagner, and Park (2014) commented that, “The
field of Language Testing and Assessment (LTA) has been traditionally dominated
by a quantitative paradigm.” Because language testers carry on using statistical
means of test validation. However, quantitative research technique is not the only
method utilised in validation studies, rather multiple other methods are used in
language testing for exploring test validity. Qualitative research techniques,
therefore, such as introspection and retrospection are extensively used in test
validation (Alderson & Banerjee, 2002). Therefore, a significant shift is noticed in
the field of language testing research. Lazaraton (2002) stated that the most
significant development in language testing is the start of using qualitative research
methodologies for designing, describing, and validating language tests in particular.
I would argue that the quantitative research method is still powerful in regard to
language testing and assessment research because the researchers of language
testing around the world mostly employ the quantitative research techniques for
their research. Almost all the studies—for example, in the January 2016 issue of
journal called “Language Testing”—involved quantitative research strategies.
Furthermore, statistical techniques of research were employed in almost all the
published articles of 4 issues in the Language Assessment Quarterly journal, 2015.
So, it is evident that the quantitative research is yet a dominant method of research
in the field of language assessment and testing research. 6. Ethical Considerations
Ethical issues are paramount important matters not only in the primary research in
particular, but also even in terms of using secondary data sets because there are
ethical issues relating to fair and unbiased selection of sources and analysis
(Farrimond, 2013). So, Hack (1997, p. 37 in Blaxter, Hughes, & Tight, 2001)
emphasised that, “It is worth standing back for a moment and considering what
effect your actions might have on others as the result can be quite damaging to
yourself.” The myriad issues are involved in ethical considerations. Such as in
“informed consent” of participants, there mention about the research in which
participants are involved, about who is conducting the research, and about the
results. Maintaining the confidentiality of the results and anonymity of the
participants are also crucial along with these issues (Black, 1999). But, there is
likely no certainty about the confidentiality of material sent by email, as they can be
easily forwarded and copied. Hackers can gain access to the customers’ databases
of public or private organisations (Blaxter, Hughes, & Tight, 2001). The
International Language Testing Association: ILTA (2016, p. 3) also stated that,
“Confidentiality cannot be absolute, especially where the records concern students
who may be competing for admissions and appointments.” In other words, it may
not be viable to preserve the confidentiality in every aspect. However, maintaining
confidentiality is significant. The ILTA (2016, p. 3) simultaneously stressed on that,
“A careful balance must be maintained between preserving confidentiality as a
fundamental aspect of language tester’s professional duty and the wider
responsibility the tester has to society.” So, it is the responsibility of language
testers to hold all about their test takers in confidence. Hammersley and Traianou
(2012) pointed out five commonly recognised principles: minimising harm,
respecting autonomy, protecting privacy, offering reciprocity, treating people
equitably. In terms of language testing, language testers shall have respect for the
humanity and dignity of each of their test takers (ILTA, 2016). jel.ccsenet.org
Journal of Education and Learning Vol. 6, No. 1; 2017 108 So, like other
professions, a common practice in language testing is to develop two codes such as
code of ethics and code of practice. The former highlights morals and ideals of the
profession; whereas the latter focuses on the principles of the code of ethics
(Karavas, 2013). However, these principles, though not all, seem controversial, for
example, respecting autonomy by allowing participants to decide whether they
participate or not in the research means subjecting them to risk of harm. Ethical
dilemmas are also noticed as ethics principles are context specific. Due to the
cultural variations, a principle may be agreed by the participants in one culture; and
disagreed in another. In some developed countries like UK, US, Canada, and
Australia; there is a system of ethical review of all research with human subject. But
many developing countries do not have any formal ethics review procedure for
social scientists (Farrimond, 2013). Another example of ethical dilemma presented
by Loizos (2000) is that treating the issue of surveillance without consent as an
invasion of privacy. He concurrently stated that in medical research the ethics
committee has to balance patient interests against issues of wider public interest.
The effects of not following the above principles are negative in general.
Nonetheless, overlooking some principles may be useful. Dane (1990) mentioned
Humphreys’s tearoom trade project in which it would be better not to inform the
participants about the nature of the research because it could cause the
psychological harm to them. Besides, Jones (2011) argued that even promising to
ensure confidentiality is daunting as it is sometimes difficult to achieve anonymity
for a research subject. It is presumed that ethical issues are highly concerned with
qualitative research rather than quantitative research. Qualitative research especially
in human services experiences challenges associating with ethical considerations,
such as in-depth interview and observation can be widely intrusive because highly
personal matters of people are interviewed (Darlington & Scott, 2003). In addition,
Blaxter, Hughes and Tight (2001) argued that ethical issues are deemed to appear
chiefly with research designs which employ qualitative data collection methods,
because there is an intimate relationships between research and researched. Finally,
the ethical dilemmas wish to demonstrate the idea that no simple, absolute rules for
deciding whether a particular research practice or method is ethical or not (Crano,
Brewer, & Lac, 2015). Beyond this, what is regarded “ethical” in one society or
culture may not be always regarded so in another. Different cultures have different
concepts of morality or ethics. Morality can never be complete or absolute, and
ethical principles cannot be commonly used (Karavas, 2013).

APPROPRIATES ACTIVITIES FOR ESL

Teachers all over the globe struggle with making the right decision. Wait… scratch that.
People all over the globe struggle with making the right decision. Whether people are
trying to decide where to go out for dinner, what career path to pursue, or which
activities to use to build a healthy, engaging, and enriching classroom environment,
making the right decision can feel a little overwhelming.
I mean, let’s face it. There are countless opinions out there on which decisions are the
“right” ones, but does the “right” decision actually exist? Lesson planning can be tricky,
and the most difficult part of lesson planning is the fact that there are so many factors
that go into creating your plan. You have to consider your students’ proficiency level,
their interests, your curriculum, upcoming assessments, language learning theories, and
much more.
Today we’re going to take a closer look at two of the four categories that teachers
around the world use when developing materials for their students and their classrooms.
Whether you’re looking to create your own worksheets, activities, or resources or are
working on adapting materials you’ve been given, there are plenty of tips, tricks, and
strategies for developing the right materials for your adult language learners.

Designing Language Courses

One of my favorite books to reference when I’m looking to put together a lesson unit,
like this one, is Designing Language Courses by Kathleen Graves. While I originally
came across this book when putting together a lesson unit for my bachelor’s degree,
I’ve found it incredibly helpful for creating units, courses, and individual lesson plans. 

While I was looking through Designing Language Courses this past week, I came
across a section of the chapter on developing materials that focused on compiling other
teachers’ opinions on how to make decisions about resources and activities. It got me
thinking about how I approach a classroom decision both while lesson planning and on-
the-spot in the language classroom. 
There is always room for learning and improvement, as a teacher, which is why I was
so intrigued by listening to other teachers’ experiences and strategies. It’s one of the
best ways to learn and grow as an educator! 

What is Materials Development?

“Materials development encompasses decisions about the actual materials you use -
textbook, text, pictures, worksheets, video, and so on, as well as the activities students
do, and how the materials and activities are organized into lessons. The materials you
develop are influenced by your beliefs and understandings about teaching and learning
languages as they apply to your particular course in its particular context.”
Graves starts out by defining materials development in the quote above. Some teachers
may find themselves creating an entire lesson plan from scratch, by simply observing
their students’ needs and constructing activities and worksheets that fit those needs.
While other teachers have requirements to fill, a curriculum to follow, or a textbook to
use. 
Whether you can relate more to the first or the second scenario, every teacher engages
in materials development and must confront a variety of decisions when putting
together a lesson plan. How you approach choosing the “right” decision will ultimately
depend upon your circumstances and your priorities in the classroom. Nevertheless,
there are four main areas to consider when deciding on what activities, worksheets,
textbooks, and resources will work best for both you and your students: Students,
Language Skills, Social Awareness, and Variety. Today we’ll focus on the first two.

Your Materials Should Serve Your Students

The activities and materials you choose should definitely serve your students and their
needs. After all, you're teaching so that your students can learn! But, the question is, in
what ways do you need to keep your learners in mind?
Firstly, I think it’s important that your materials and activities draw on what your
students already know. Not only does this build confidence, but when a language
learning task is related to your students’ experiences and current circumstances, it
becomes relevant and your students will be more engaged.
As your students gain confidence, they can move onto problem solving, discovering,
and analyzing the language they’re learning. While simple and straight-forward
activities are necessary, at times, in the beginning stages, activities that require your
students to come up with creative solutions or interact with language in a new way are
incredibly engaging and effective!
Finally, I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but everything that you do in the
classroom should directly tie into your students' needs outside of the classroom. Why
do they need to learn English? What situations do they find themselves in? How can
you help them use English in their everyday lives more confidently?
Example:

. 1. Board Race
There isn’t an EFL teacher I know who doesn’t use this game in the classroom. Board
Race is a fun game that is used for revising vocabulary, whether it be words from the
lesson you’ve just taught or words from a lesson you taught last week. It can also be
used at the start of the class to get students active. It is a great way of testing what your
students already know about the subject you’re about to teach.
 Why use it? Revising vocabulary; grammar
 Who it's best for: Appropriate for all levels and ages
How to play:
First, watch this helpful video of real teachers using this game in the classroom
by BridgeTEFL:
This is best played with 6 students or more - the more, the better. I’ve used it in classes
ranging from 7-25 years of age and it’s worked well in all age groups. Here's a step by
step explanation:
  Split the class into two teams and give each team a colored marker.
 If you have a very large class, it may be better to split the students into teams of
3 or 4.
 Draw a line down the middle of the board and write a topic at the top.
 The students must then write as many words as you require related to the topic
in the form of a relay race.
 Each team wins one point for each correct word. Any words that are unreadable
or misspelled are not counted.

2. Call My Bluff / Two Truths and A Lie

Call My Bluff is a fun game which is perfect at the start of term as a ‘getting to know
you’ kind of game. It is also a brilliant ice breaker between students if you teach classes
who do not know one another -- and especially essential if you are teaching a small
class size.
The game is excellent for practicing speaking skills, though make sure you save a time
for after the game to comment on any mistakes students may have made during the
game. (I generally like to reserve this for after the game, so you don't disrupt their
fluency by correcting them as they speak).
With older groups you can have some real fun and you might be surprised what you’ll
learn about some of your students when playing this particular EFL game.
 Why use it? Ice-breaker; Speaking skills
 Who it's best for: Appropriate for all levels and ages but best with older groups
How to play:
 Write 3 statements about yourself on the board, two of which should be lies and
one which should be true.
 Allow your students to ask you questions about each statement and then guess
which one is the truth. You might want to practice your poker face before
starting this game!
 If they guess correctly then they win.
 Extension: Give students time to write their own two truths and one lie.
  Pair them up and have them play again, this time with their list, with their new
partner. If you want to really extend the game and give students even more time
to practice their speaking/listening skills, rotate partners every five minutes.
 Bring the whole class back together and have students announce one new thing
they learned about another student as a recap.

1.3 PHONETICS

WHAT IS PHONETICS?
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans make and perceive sounds,
or in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign.

WHAT IS PHONEMES?
It is a unit of sound that distinguishes one word from another in a particular language.
For example, in most dialects of English, with the notable exception of the west midlands
and the north-west of England the sound patterns /sɪn/ (sin) and /sɪŋ/ (sing) are two
separate words that are distinguished by the substitution of one phoneme, /n/, for another
phoneme, /ŋ/. Two words like this that differ in meaning through the contrast of a single
phoneme form a minimal pair. If, in another language, any two sequences differing only
by pronunciation of the final sounds [n] or [ŋ] are perceived as being the same in meaning,
then these two sounds are interpreted as variants of a single phoneme in that language.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8l9IVjmteM

English (GA) Phonetics and Spelling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROw9S0rYF84

English (GA) Vowels

It’s very important to read and study again “The Sounds of English , A
course on Phonetics” and “Linguistic 300 Dealing with Phonology”
by RUBEN A. VILLARREAL R.

1.4 GRAMMAR

CLAUSES

Isn't it marvelous that a finite system like the English language can be manipulated in an
infinite number of ways? Grammar clauses help make this true, and they're particularly
helpful for students as they learn more about writing and reading comprehension.
Teachers can also focus on clauses to call attention to specific problems in their
students' writing. Let's learn about the different types of clauses in grammar and how
they work.

DEFINE CLAUSE VS. PHRASE

 Words and phrases make up clauses. Clauses are units of grammar that contain at least
one predicate (verb) and a subject. This makes a clause different than a phrase, because
a phrase does not contain a verb and a subject.
In fact, the essential component of a clause is the verb -- and a clause only contains one
verb or verb group. A verb group can consist of a single word (such as "played,"
"cooked," and "swam") or contain helping verbs (as in "will excel" and "has been
dreaming").

If we look at a simple sentence, we see it only contains one clause. Here are some
examples of simple sentences that consist of just a single clause:

 Darby played.
 Jamie cooked the dinner.
 A man in Cincinnati swam in the river.
 Sammy will excel on the varsity team.
 Jennifer has been dreaming during class.

TYPES OF CLAUSES IN GRAMMAR

We'll begin with the two main types of clauses: independent and dependent clauses.
Then, we'll dive into the various parts of speech that can also band together to form
clauses.

INDEPENDENT CLAUSES

An independent clause can stand as a sentence by itself or it can be combined with other

clauses. These clauses will always contain a subject and a predicate. They can join with
a dependent clause or other independent clauses to make a complex sentence. Here are
some examples, with the independent clause in bold:
 I love opening the windows while the warm breeze blows.
 Since we enjoyed this book, we'll be sure to pay it forward.
 She walked to the grocery store to buy a bouquet of flowers.
 DEPENDENT CLAUSES

By itself, a dependent clause can't be considered a sentence. Standing alone, it would be

considered a sentence fragment, or an incomplete sentence. It needs to be combined
with an independent clause to form a complete thought.

Let's take a look at some examples with the dependent clause in bold:

 If that's a burrito, I'm having it.

 He's mean mainly because he's unhappy.
 Let's go for a walk while the sun's still out.

More specifically, dependent clauses take three forms: adverb clauses, adjective clauses,
and noun clauses.

ADVERB CLAUSES

Adverb clauses are groups of words that function like an adverb. They modify verbs,
other adverbs, or adjectives. These clauses are typically used to elaborate when, where,
why, how, how much, or under what condition the action of the sentence took place.

Here are some example sentences using adverb clauses:

 Since it's just me, I'll eat in tonight.

 My dog, although she is shy, loves people.
 I keep a suitcase packed, in case I find a great flight to Ireland.

For more, explore these Examples of Adverb Clauses.

ADJECTIVE CLAUSES

Adjective clauses are groups of words that modify nouns and pronouns. These clauses

tend to begin with pronouns such as:
 who
 whose
 that
 which

Here are some adjective clauses in sentences:

 The winners, whose names are posted on the bulletin board, will receive round
trip airfare to Mexico City.
 Money that is well spent will last forever.
 Exercise, which many people dislike, is good for you.

For a deeper dive, enjoy these Examples of Adjective Clauses.

NOUN CLAUSES

A noun clause is a group of words that band together and act like a noun. Nouns clauses
are used when a single word isn't enough. They're always dependent clauses; they
cannot stand alone as a complete sentence and they often begin with words like:
 how
 that
 what
 when
 where
 which
 who
 why

Here are some sentence examples using noun clauses:

 How he behaved was not acceptable.

 She didn't know where she was.
 Her favorite part of the book was when the dragon turned into a boy.

These clauses are quite common and work well in many types of sentences. For more,
be sure to read Noun Clause.
 CONNECTING INDEPENDENT CLAUSES

You might've noticed that many clauses can be joined simply by adding a comma. Let's
talk about some of the other ways you can connect the various types of clauses.
Independent clauses can be connected in several different ways.

Adding a Comma and a Conjunction

One of the best ways to work with a conjunction is to include a comma. This indicates a
pause, and then the conjunction can help continue your thought.
 And - She stepped into the room, twirled around once, and cartwheeled in
delight.
 But - The boy wanted to go to the movies, but he had already spent his
allowance.
 Or - You can start a fire with a lighter, make a wish, or you can use a charcoal
chimney starter.
 Yet - The woman was late for the meeting, yet she still stopped to freshen her
lipstick.
 So - The little girl wanted to please her parents, so she did everything they told
her to do.

For more on this, enjoy 8 Times Commas Were Important.

Using a Semicolon

Semicolons are another nice way to indicate a pause while still connecting your
thoughts. Semicolons are best suited for joining two independent clauses.
 I didn't eat the last cookie; I ate the last french fry.
 That is a rose quartz; it's meant to attract love into your life.
 She picked up the old postcard; the date matched her wedding anniversary.
 Today, life begins anew; choose wisely.
 Cork is a county in Ireland; if you're lucky enough to travel there, you're lucky
enough.
 Using a Semicolon and a Conjunctive Adverb

Conjunctive adverbs connect two independent clauses or two complete sentences. They

work nicely with semicolons because they connect two complete ideas within one
sentence. These adverbs help us compare and contrast items, list events, or illustrate
cause and effect. Here are some examples:
 I went to the park; however, the rain dampened my mood.
 You will enjoy this book; moreover, it will change your life.
 She was invincible; nevertheless, he tried to steal her joy.
 He made the wrong move; as a result, she vowed never to see him again.
 We took a wrong turn; consequently, we lost an hour in our drive time.

Connecting Dependent Clauses

Dependent clauses can connect to independent clauses with no punctuation or with a

comma. You may want to review 8 Times Commas Were Important. It addresses
pertinent times when commas (or their absence) are important. One of the first times
they're important is wrapping around clauses. For example:
 If you're going to cry about it, I'm leaving.
 I'd like to make it clear that, while I understand your concern, you are abjectly
wrong.
 She was tired, despite her best efforts, and oh so disappointed.

Here are example sentences where a comma isn't necessary:

 He's leaving because you're crying.

 Life is not worth living without a wish in your heart.
 I know it'll happen since we've been working so hard.

The more you read, the more you write, and the more commas around clauses will flow
naturally for you.
 IMPORTANCE OF CLAUSES

By using clauses correctly, you can quickly improve the quality of your writing as well
as your ability to communicate with an audience. Clauses can help you direct the
attention of the reader so that your sentence is understood. Proper usage will also help
you avoid dreaded sentence fragments.

Of course, the opposite of a sentence fragment is a run-on sentence. This is a sentence

that's missing appropriate punctuation and, perhaps, has too many clauses. Take a look
at Run-on Sentences to learn more about the components of a sentence.

Functions of the passive voice

The passive voice is used to show interest in the person or object that experiences an
action rather than the person or object that performs the action. In other words, the most
important thing or person becomes the subject of the sentence.

The passive voice is used when we want to focus attention on the person or thing
affected by the action. Normally, the performer of the action, or the agent, comes first
and is made the subject of the verb and then we use the active form of the verb. The
other person or thing is made the object of the verb.

Examples

 The passive voice is used frequently. (= we are interested in the passive voice,

not in who uses it.)
 The house was built in 1654. (= we are interested in the house, not in who built
it.)
 The road is being repaired. (= we are interested in the road, not in the people
who are doing the repairs.)

Sometimes we use the passive voice because we don't know or do not want to express
who performed the action.
Examples

 I noticed that a window had been left open.

 Every year thousands of people are killed on our roads.
 All the cookies have been eaten.
 My car has been stolen!

The passive voice is often used in formal texts. Switching to the active voice will make
your writing clearer and easier to read.
 Passive Active

A great deal of meaning is conveyed by a A few well-chosen words convey a

few well-chosen words. great deal of meaning.

Our planet is wrapped in a mass of gases. A mass of gases wrap around our planet.

Waste materials are disposed of in a The city disposes of waste materials in a

variety of ways. variety of ways.

If we want to say who or what performs the action while using the passive voice, we use
the preposition by. When we know who performed the action and are interested in him,
it is always better to switch to the active voice instead.

Passive Active

"A Hard Day's Night" was written by the The Beatles wrote "A Hard Day's
Beatles. Night".

The movie ET was directed by Spielberg. Spielberg directed the movie ET.

This house was built by my father. My father built this house.

Read more about the passive voice and active equivalents for all English verb tenses.

Forming the passive voice

The passive voice in English is composed of two elements:

the appropriate form of the verb 'to be' + past participle
 Affirmative Negative Interrogative Negative
Interrogative

The house was The house wasn't Was the house built Wasn't the house
built in 1899. built in 1899. in 1899? built in 1899?

These houses were These houses Were these houses Weren't these
built in 1899. weren't built in built in 1899? houses built in
1899. 1899?

To clean, passive voice

Subject + to be (conjugated) + past participle + rest of sentence

Simple present

The house is cleaned every day.

Present continuous

The house is being cleaned at the moment.

Simple past

The house was cleaned yesterday.

Subject + to be (conjugated) + past participle + rest of sentence

Past continuous

The house was being cleaned last week.

Present perfect

The house has been cleaned since you left.

Past perfect

The house had been cleaned before they arrived.

Future

The house will be cleaned next week.

Future continuous
 Subject + to be (conjugated) + past participle + rest of sentence

The house will be being cleaned tomorrow.

Present conditional

The house would be cleaned if they had visitors.

Past conditional

The house would have been cleaned if it had been dirty.

Inifinitive

The house must be cleaned before we arrive.

PASSIVE VOICE WITH INFINITIVES

The infinitive passive voice is used after modal verbs and other most verbs normally
followed by an infinitive.

Examples

 You have to be tested on your English grammar.

 John might be promoted next year.
 She wants to be invited to the party.
 I expect to be surprised on my birthday.
 You may be disappointed.
 PASSIVE VOICE WITH GERUNDS
Gerunds are used after prepositions and verbs normally followed by a gerund.

Examples

 I remember being taught to drive.

 The children are excited about being taken to the zoo.
 The children are excited to be taken to the zoo.
 Most film stars hate being interviewed.
 Most film stars hate to be interviewed.
 Poodles like to be pampered.
 Poodles like being pampered.

Using "to be born"

"To be born" is a passive form and is most commonly used in the past tense. However,
in some cases, the present or future tense is appropriate.

Examples

 I was born in 1976.

 Where were you born?
 Around 100 babies are born in this hospital every week.
 We don't know on exactly which day the baby will be born.

Sometimes the passive is formed using the verb to get or to have instead of the verb to
be. A separate page deals with these alternative ways to form the passive voice.

How to Form The Passive Voice In Spanish

To reiterate, we use the passive voice to emphasize the action being performed, rather

than subject performing it.

While the passive voice in Spanish can be used with any tense, it is most commonly

used when speaking in the past or in the future.

There are two ways to form the passive voice:

1. Ser + Past Participle of the Verb + Por

2. Se + 3rd person of the verb
 1) Using “Ser” verb in a Passive Sentence

When you change to the passive voice in Spanish, the object in an active sentence

becomes the subject in the passive sentence.

There are three rules to note about this form of the passive voice:

1. You must always use the verb Ser (to be) along with the past participle of the
main verb
2. The past participle must always agree with the gender and number of the passive
subject
3. The agent (or passive agent) may be added at the end of the sentence by the
preposition “por”, only when necessary

This will make more sense once we look at some examples.

For example, below we are changing the same sentence from the active voice to the

passive voice.

Active Sentence Structure Passive Sentence Structure

Subject + Ser (conjugated) + Past Participle of Action

Subject + Action verb (conjugated) +
Verb + Complement + Por (optional)
Object + Complement

 Los boletos + fueron + comprados + la semana

 Christian + compró  + los pasada + por Christian
boletos + la semana pasada

2. The Passive “SE” or “Pasiva Refleja”

This is probably the most common form of the passive voice used by Spanish speakers

on a day to day basis. It is used to talk about general requirements, suggestions or well-

known facts.
Although the passive voice is normally considered more formal than the active, this

form (passive “se”)  has a structure that sounds more natural and is preferred when

speaking.

The passive “se” is straight forward to use since it is always formed in the 3rd person –

be it a singular verb conjugation (él, ella, usted) or 3rd person plural (ustedes, ellos,

ellas) depending on the context.

In other words, you will always use either:

 se + 3rd person singular conjugation

 se + 3rd person plural conjugation

Now, some examples of this form in action.

 This beer is sold in boxes containing 100 units – Esta cerveza se vende en cajas
de 100 unidadesBilingual translators are requested – Se solicitan traductores
bilingües

 Spanish is spoken in many cities around the world – Se habla español en muchas

ciudades alrededor del mundo

 It is recommended to participate actively in the first class –

Se recomienda participar activamente en la primera clase

 It is suggested to take two pills every morning – Se sugiere tomar 2 pastillas

cada mañana
2. LITERATURE

Analogy Examples in Poetry

In poetry, analogies help the writer paint a vivid picture in the reader's mind, while
adding a deeper layer of significance. The idea is to get a notion to resonate and move a
reader's heart. Here are a few examples from some amazing poets:

"The day is done, and the darkness

Falls from the wings of Night,
As a feather is wafted downward
From an eagle in his flight."
- "The Day Is Done," Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

This analogy likens the closing of a day to a feather drifting softly from an eagle's wing.

Imagery

Imagery is used in poetry to help the writing appeal to the senses. Imagery is one of the
seven categories of figurative language.

Imagery in Poems: Words With Impact

Imagery intensifies the impact of the poet's language as he shows us with his words
rather than just telling us what he feels. Song lyrics are also full of imagery.

T.S. Eliot - Preludes

This is an excerpt from "Preludes," an imagery poem by T. S. Eliot. This is an excellent

example of visual imagery and auditory imagery. You can almost see and hear the horse
steaming and stamping and smell the steaks:

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Examples of Imagery in Poetry
Imagery is used in poetry to help the writing appeal to the senses. Imagery is one of the
seven categories of figurative language.

open book with sunset

Imagery in Poems: Words With Impact

Imagery intensifies the impact of the poet's language as he shows us with his words
rather than just telling us what he feels. Song lyrics are also full of imagery.

T.S. Eliot - Preludes

This is an excerpt from "Preludes," an imagery poem by T. S. Eliot. This is an excellent
example of visual imagery and auditory imagery. You can almost see and hear the horse
steaming and stamping and smell the steaks:

The winter evening settles down

With smell of steaks in passageways.
Six o'clock.
The burnt-out ends of smoky days.
And now a gusty shower wraps
The grimy scraps
Of withered leaves about your feet
And newspapers from vacant lots;
The showers beat
On broken blinds and chimney-pots,
And at the corner of the street
A lonely cab-horse steams and stamps.
And then the lighting of the lamps.

Imagery Is About Sharing Perspective

Ultimately, imagery is about sharing perspective. If you describe something vividly,

your reader must take the perspective of the speaker in your poem. The sensory details
make the audience feel as if they are present in the situation you are sharing, allowing
them to deeply feel the emotion you describe as well.

Different Types of Themes in Poetry

The theme of a piece of poetry, a short story, a novel, or even a work of art, is the
underlying message that the writer or artist wants to convey. It can be something as
simple as love, or as something more complex, such as human versus nature. When you
consider poetry and its attempts to convey something of the human experience, you can
imagine the range of possible themes. But, let’s think about some of the most common
that you are sure to come across.

Examples:Love, Death , Religion/Spirituality , Nature , Beauty , Aging, Desire ,

Identity/Self , Travel/Journeys , Apocalypse, Dreams, Celebration, Wellness/Recover,
New Life/Birth, Disappointment/Failure, War, Immortality, Coming of Age.
Love

Love is the most obvious. It can be love for another person, love for nature, or even
love for oneself. The first on this list is the most obvious. Love for another can be seen
within the work of countless poets since writing as a form of expression came into
being. One writer who is known for crafting some of the most beautiful and memorable
love poems in the English language is John Keats. He is known for works such as
‘Endymion’ and ‘Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art’. Or you might be
familiar with Lord Byron, who wrote breathtaking poem such as ‘She Walks in
Beauty’.

But, let’s look at a lesser-known poet, Anne Bradstreet. One of her best-known works is
a clear example of love as a theme, ‘To My Dear and Loving Husband’. Here are the
final four lines:

Thy love is such I can no way repay;

The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.

Then while we live, in love let’s so persevere,

That when we live no more,

In the twelve short lines of the poem, she uses the word “love” six times. She states that
her relationship to her husband is more valuable than “whole mines of gold” or all the
riches of the East. The poet expresses her devotion through simile and metaphor.

Mood and Tone

Mood is the feeling created by the poet for the reader. Tone is the feeling displayed by
the author toward the subject of the poem. Mood and tone often depend on one another
to get across what the author is trying to portray.
Example: Some words that can describe the mood of a poem might be:
romantic, realistic, optimistic, pessimistic, gloomy, mournful,
sorrowful, etc.
Some words that can describe the tone of a poem might be:
serious, humorous, amused, angry, playful, cheerful, sad,
gloomy, etc.
Alliteration vs. Assonance vs. Consonance in Poetry

Poetic Sound Devices

Alliteration, assonance, and consonance are all poetic sound devices. They use
repetition to create sounds and set the mood within a poem. These sounds can be
pleasing if the poet wants the reader to feel relaxed, abrasive if the reader should feel
tense, or any other mood.

The difference between alliteration vs. assonance vs. consonance isn’t as tricky as it
seems. Here are the definitions for each sound device:

alliteration – repeated initial consonant sounds in multiple words

assonance – repeated vowel sounds in multiple words

consonance – repeated consonant sounds in multiple words

Examples of Alliteration

Alliteration is the easiest sound device to identify in a poem. Because it involves the
first letter or blended sound in two or more words, readers can track this repetition quite
easily. Some basic examples of alliteration would include:
Here is an example of alliteration used for poetic effect. Emily Dickinson’s poem
“Fame is a fickle food” uses alliteration not only in the title, but also throughout the
poem:

Notice how Dickinson pairs specific words with alliteration: fame/fickle, second/set,
crumbs/crows/caw, flap/farmer. But in the last line, which brings man’s death, the
alliterative structure breaks down. You can read more examples of alliteration in poetry
to help you identify the ways poets use the device for different effects.

Examples of Assonance

Assonance, also known as “vowel rhyme,” can affect a poem’s mood as alliteration
does. The vowels typically appear in the middle of the word. For example:
You may observe that the vowels are not identical from word to word. In fact, only the
vowel sound is required to match in assonance, not the vowel itself. That’s how a
pattern like “falls across” is still an example of assonance.

Read the first stanza of “In a Garden” by Amy Lowell for an example of calming
assonance:

These repeated sounds represent the different noises one might hear in a garden. Check
out additional assonance poetry examples to see how many ways vowels can change the
sound of a poem.

Examples of Consonance

Consonance is similar to alliteration in that it uses the repetition of consonant sounds. In

fact, alliteration is a form of consonance that occurs at the beginning of a word. Other
examples may find the repeated consonant sound in the middle or end of the word. Here
are some examples of consonance:

When combined with assonance at the end of the word, consonance results in middle or
end rhyme in a poem. Here is an example of consonance in “Mother to Son” by
Langston Hughes:
The poem takes the reader up and down a stair of sounds. The repeated -ll and st-
sounds in the beginning are repeated in the end of the poem, with hopeful -in sounds
sprinkled in the middle and end. Not only does the poem make use of consonance, it
uses dialect to establish the poem’s mood.

Type of Stanza

A stanza is a series of lines grouped together in order to divide a poem; the structure of
a stanza is often (though not always) repeated throughout the poem. Stanzas are
separated from other stanzas by line breaks. Each stanza is a standalone unit that can
either make up an entire poem or can build a bigger poem with other stanzas.

What Are the Different Types of Stanza?

Monostich. A one-line stanza. Monostich can also be an entire poem.

Couplet. A stanza with two lines that rhyme.

Tercet. A stanza with three lines that either all rhyme or the first and the third line
rhyme—which is called an ABA rhyming pattern. A poem made up of tercets and
concludes with a couplet is called a “terza rima.”

Quatrain. A stanza with four lines with the second and fourth lines rhyming.
Quintain. A stanza with five lines.

Sestet. A stanza with six lines.

Septet. A stanza with seven lines. This is sometimes called a “rhyme royal.”

Octave. A stanza with eight lines written in iambic pentameter, or ten syllable beats per
line. The more lines a stanza has the more varieties of rhyme and meter patterns. For
example, “ottava rima” is an eight-line stanza with the specific rhyme scheme in which
the first six lines have an alternating rhyme pattern and a couplet as the final two lines.

Isometric stanza. Isometric stanzas have the same syllabic beats, or the same meter, in
every line.

Heterometric stanza. A stanza in which every line is a different length.

Spenserian stanza. Named after Edward Spenser’s unique stanza structure in his poem
“The Faerie Queene.”

A Spenserian stanza has nine line, eight in iambic pentameter—ten syllables in a line
with emphasis on the second beat of each syllable—and a final line in iambic
hexameter—a twelve-syllable beat line.

Ballad stanza. Often used in folk songs, a ballad stanza is a rhyming quatrain with four
emphasized beats (eight syllables) in the first and third lines, and three emphasized
beats (six syllables) in the second and fourth lines.

Haiku
A haiku is a three-line poetic form originating in Japan. The first line has five syllables,
the second line has seven syllables, and the third line again has five syllables.

What Is the Traditional Haiku Structure?

Defining haiku in terms of syllables and sentences becomes complicated once you
translate the poetry across languages. Some translators argue that 12 English syllables
would correlate more closely to the 17 sounds called on used by Japanese haiku poets.
Another structural difference born out by translation is that Japanese haiku are written
straight across in one line, while English-speaking poets use two line breaks to separate
their poem into three lines.

However, there is a common structure that most haiku poems follow. It is the 5-7-5
structure, where:
The entire poem consists of just three lines, with 17 syllables in total
The first line is 5 syllables
The second line is 7 syllables
The third line is 5 syllables

Common Themes of Haiku Poetry

Nature themes and imagery evoking a specific season are the traditional focus of haiku
poetry. Haiku poems often feature juxtaposition of two images.
Nature and the seasons. Describing the season was the original purpose of haiku, and to
this day poets often focus on the natural world and how it changes throughout the year.

On. A Japanese haiku contains 17 on, or sounds. On are counted differently than
syllables in English, which leads to translators’ lack of consensus on whether 17
English syllables truly captures the spirit of haiku.

Free Verse

Free verse poetry is poetry that lacks a consistent rhyme scheme, metrical pattern, or
musical form.

Free verse poetry rose to prominence in the nineteenth century. While examples of
unmetered, non-rhyming poetry date back to antiquity, such a style had not been of
notable artistic prominence prior to the late 1800s.
Cinquains

A Cinquain is a five-lined poem (hence the name!) and is a favorite poetic form for
many kids because, as one of our Brave Writer students pointed out: “They are easy and
fun to write and they don’t require a whole lot of words!” They also reinforce some
basic grammatical parts of speech.

Format for Writing a Cinquain

Line 1: One word (a noun, the subject of the poem)

Line 2: Two words (adjectives that describe the subject in line 1)
Line 3: Three words (-ing action verbs–participles–that relate to the subject in line 1)
Line 4: Four words (a phrase or sentence that relates feelings about the subject in line 1)
Line 5: One word (a synonym for the subject in line 1 or a word that sums it up)
Alternative Line 5 for older poets: Five words (a phrase or sentence that further relates
feelings about the subject in line 1)

Example:
Epic

An epic poem is a lengthy, narrative work of poetry. These long poems typically detail
extraordinary feats and adventures of characters from a distant past.

What Are the Characteristics of an Epic Poem?

Is written in a formal style.

Contains third-person narration and an omniscient narrator.

Frequently invokes a Muse who provides inspiration and guidance to the poet.

Takes place in an era beyond the range of any living memory.

Typically includes a journey across a variety of settings and terrains

Features a hero with immense bravery and resolve.

Ballad

A ballad (or ballade) is a form of narrative verse that can be either poetic or musical. It
typically follows a pattern of rhymed quatrains. From John Keats to Samuel Taylor
Coleridge to Bob Dylan, it represents a melodious form of storytelling.
Name

Definition of Name Poem

A Name Poem, or Acrostic Poem, tells about the word. It uses the letters of the word
for the first letter of each line.

Example:

Sonnet

A sonnet is a 14 line poem, typically (but not exclusively) concerning the topic of love.
Sonnets contain internal rhymes within their 14 lines; the exact rhyme scheme depends
on the style of a sonnet.

What Is the Structure of a Shakespearean Sonnet?

Sonnets already contained fourteen lines before Shakespeare adapted the form.
However, the Shakespearean form is easily characterized by its structure, meter, and
rhyme scheme.

A rhyme scheme is the rhyming sequence or arrangement of sounds at the end of each
line of poetry. It is typically represented by using letters to demonstrate which lines
rhyme with which.
FICTION

o Legend: a story about human events or actions that has not been

proved nor documented in real history. Legends are retold as if they
are real events and were believed to be historical accounts. They
usually tell stories about things that could be possible.

For Example:
Alongside the river in Old Usquepaugh, Rhode Island is an old grist mill
that was built the 1700s. It is settled beside a misty waterfall, its wheel
spinning in the water all day and night to churn out corn. Across from the
mill, workers built small cottages into the sides of the hill with stones and
stone and packed the walls with horse hair for warmth. On one night in
October, during the full moon, one of the workers noticed that the mill’s
wheel stopped spinning, so he pulled on his coat and walked to the mill. He
thought he saw a branch wedged in the top of the wheel, so climbed a
ladder to the roof. As he reached to grab the branch, he lost his footing,
falling into the rocky falls below. His body was never found. They say that
every October, on the night of the full moon, the wheel stops turning as it
did that night long ago…and coming from the mist of the falls, you can
hear the sound of a man moaning.
The ghost story above could be a legend for several key reasons. First, it is
based on a real place and corn mill in Rhode Island, where the mill
worker’s cottages still stand today. Second, the plotline is believable and
possible. Third, the details are ambiguous…does the wheel really stop
every October? It’s possible. Can you hear a man moaning? Unlikely…but
could it be real? As you can see, parts of the story are real, but other parts
are, perhaps, fiction.

o Myth: a classic or legendary story that usually focuses on a particular

hero or event, and explains mysteries of nature, existence, or the
universe with no true basis in fact. myths are now known and
believed to be false, and myths almost always involve the gods and
goddesses.

For Example:
The dog was strong and fearless, and you could tell by the way he sat that
he was a proud pooch. His bravery was famous amongst dogs and other
creatures far and wide; the stories of his deeds were known by young pups
and old mutts alike. His owners had named him Hercules, after the great
hero of legend, and he had lived up to his namesake.
This short passage employs the classic Herculean myth to the story of dog.
The hero Hercules was known for his superhuman strength and abilities as
a warrior, but also for his pride. Here, a dog named Hercules is described
as having similar traits and abilities as the Hercules of Greek myth.
o Nursey rhyme, fable: A short story, typically with animals as
characters, conveying a moral. Also known as a Presentation
transcript.

For Example:
An ugly, warty frog sat on his lily pad enjoying the sunshine. Another frog
hopped along and said, “wow, you are hideous! There is no way you will
ever find a mate!” Just then, a beautiful princess came to the pond, scooped
up the ugly frog, and planted a big kiss on his warty nose. He instantly
turned into a tall, handsome prince, and walked off hand in hand with the
princess as the other frog watched with his mouth wide in astonishment.
Never judge a book by its cover.

This short story constitutes a fable for two key reasons: first, its
main characters are anthropomorphic frogs (frogs that have been given
human qualities); they have been given the ability to speak for the story.
Second, the story ends with a lesson—“never judge a book by its cover”—
which is relayed to the audience when the ugly frog turns into a prince.

o Fairy tale: a story, often intended for children, that features fanciful
and wondrous characters such as elves, goblins, wizards, and even,
but not necessarily, fairies. The term “fairy” tale seems to refer more
to the fantastic and magical setting or magical influences within a
story, rather than the presence of the character of a fairy within that
story. Fairy tales are often traditional; many were passed down
from story-teller to story-teller before being recorded in books. Fairy
tales do not need to be written down to be legitimate. Many tales
that your parents or grandparents may have told you off the top
of their heads are also fairy tales. For example, stories of the
tooth fairy, the boogeyman, leprechauns and pots of gold or even
Santa Claus. If a story takes place in a magical land, with
fantastical creatures who perform wondrous tasks, it is very
likely a fairy tale.

You may see titles likes these:

Snow White, Cinderella, Rip Van Winkle, The Twelve Dancing
Princesses, Rumpelstiltskin, Thumbelina, etc.

They are all fairy tales. They belong to no one and have been adapted and
retold countless times.
Fairy tales do not need to be written down to be legitimate. Many tales that
your parents or grandparents may have told you off the top of their heads
are also fairy tales. For example, stories of the tooth fairy, the boogeyman,
leprechauns and pots of gold or even Santa Claus.

NON-FICTION

Nonfiction or non-fiction is any document or content that purports in good

faith to represent truth and accuracy regarding information, events, or
people. Nonfiction content may be presented
either objectively or subjectively, and may sometimes take the form of
a story. Nonfiction is one of the fundamental divisions of narrative
(specifically, prose writing— in contrast to fiction, which offers
information, events, or characters expected to be partly or largely
imaginary, or else leaves open if and how the work refers to reality.
Nonfiction's specific factual assertions and descriptions may or may not be
accurate, and can give either a true or a false account of the subject in
question. However, authors of such accounts genuinely believe or claim
them to be truthful at the time of their composition or, at least, pose them
to a convinced audience as historically or empirically factual. Reporting
the beliefs of others in a nonfiction format is not necessarily an
endorsement of the veracity of those beliefs, but rather an exercise in
representing the topic. Works of nonfiction need not necessarily be written
text, since statements expressed by pictures or film can also purport to
present a factual account of a subject.

Distinctions
The numerous literary and creative devices used within fiction are
generally thought inappropriate for use in nonfiction. They are still present
particularly in older works but they are often muted so as not to
overshadow the information within the work. Simplicity, clarity and
directness are some of the most important considerations when producing
nonfiction. Audience is important in any artistic or descriptive endeavor,
but it is perhaps most important in nonfiction.

In fiction, the writer believes that readers will make an effort to follow and
interpret an indirectly or abstractly presented progression of theme,
whereas the production of nonfiction has more to do with the direct
provision of information. Understanding of the potential readers' use for
the work and their existing knowledge of a subject are both fundamental
for effective nonfiction. Despite the claim to truth of nonfiction, it is often
necessary to persuade the reader to agree with the ideas and so a balanced,
coherent and informed argument is vital. However, the boundaries between
fiction and nonfiction are continually blurred and argued upon, especially
in the field of biography; as Virginia Woolf said: "if we think of truth as
something of granite-like solidity and of personality as something of
rainbow-like intangibility and reflect that the aim of biography is to weld
these two into one seamless whole, we shall admit that the problem is a
stiff one and that we need not wonder if biographers, for the most part
failed to solve it.
Semi-fiction is fiction implementing a great deal of nonfiction, e.g. a
fictional description based on a true story.

Major types
Common literary examples of nonfiction
include expository, argumentative, functional, and opinion
pieces; essays on art or literature; biographies; memoirs; journalism; and
historical, scientific, technical, or economic writings (including electronic
ones).
Journals, photographs, textbooks, travel books, blueprints,
and diagrams are also often considered nonfictional.[citation
needed] Including information that the author knows to be untrue within
any of these works is usually regarded as dishonest. Other works can
legitimately be either fiction or nonfiction, such as journals of self-
expression, letters, magazine articles, and other expressions of imagination.
Though such works are mostly either or the other, a blend of both is also
possible. Some fiction may include nonfictional elements. Some nonfiction
may include elements of unverified supposition, deduction,
or imagination for the purpose of smoothing out a narrative, but the
inclusion of open falsehoods would discredit it as a work of nonfiction.
The publishing and bookselling business sometimes uses the phrase
"literary nonfiction" to distinguish works with a more literary or
intellectual bent, as opposed to the greater collection of nonfiction subjects.

The Four Types of Nonfiction Explained

 Narrative Writing. This type of nonfiction tells a true story about a
person, event, or place. ...
 Expository Writing. The purpose of this type of nonfiction writing is
to explain or inform a reader about a certain topic.
IRONIES

 What Is Irony?
The definition of irony as a literary device is a situation in which there is a contrast
between expectation and reality. For example, the difference between what something
appears to mean versus its literal meaning. Irony is associated with both tragedy and
humor.

 What are the main types of Irony?

There are a number of different types of irony, each meaning something a little
different. (examples of each in literary works)

 Dramatic irony: Also known as tragic irony, this is when a writer lets their
reader know something that a character does not. For example, when the reader
knows that the bus roaring down the highway is headed for an elevated freeway
junction that hasn’t been completed yet, it fills the audience with anticipation
and dread for what they know is coming: the passengers’ horror and shock. In
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, each young lover takes the poison, thinking the
other is already dead the dramatic irony comes from the audience wanting them
to know the whole story before taking this final action. Similarly, in
Shakespeare’s Othello, Othello trusts Iago, but the audience knows better.
  Comic irony: This is when irony is used to comedic effect—such as in satire.
Jane Austen was a master of irony and dialogue. Her preoccupation with social
divisions, and the witty and insightful tone with which she revealed hypocrisy
and parodied people contributed heavily to her voice. Austen opens Pride and
Prejudice with a famous line implying that men are the ones who hunt for a
wife; however, she makes it clear throughout the narrative that it is actually the
other way around.

 Situational irony: This is at play when an expected outcome is subverted. For

example, in O. Henry’s classic tale, The Gift of the Magi, a wife cuts off her
long hair to sell it in order to buy her husband a chain for his prized watch.
Meanwhile, the husband has sold his watch in order to buy his wife a comb for
her hair. The situational irony comes from each person not expecting to have
their gift be undercut by the other’s actions.

 Verbal irony: This is a statement in which the speaker means something very
different from what he or she is saying. Think of the knight in Monty Python
and the Holy Grail: with both his arms sliced off, he says, nonchalantly: “It’s
just a flesh wound.” He is ironically (and comically) underplaying the severity
of his injury.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvbhivbyiLI&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiR-bnCHIYo&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqg6RO8c_W0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZFYuX84n1U
SHORT STORIES

A short story is a brief work of literature usually written in narrative prose emerging
from earlier oral storytelling traditions in the 17th century the short story has grown to
encompass a body of work so diverse as to defy easy characterization.

What is short story?

A short story is a work of prose fiction that can be read in one –usually between 20
minutes to an hour. There no maximum length, but the average short story is 1,000 to
75,000 words, with some outliers reaching 10,000 or 15,000 words.
At around 10 to 25 pages, that makes short stories much shorter than novel, with only a
few approaching novella length .a piece of fiction shorter than 1,000words is considered
a short story or flash fiction and anything less 300 words is rightfully called micro
fiction.

Plot
It is the sequence of events in a story or play.
 Introduction: beginning of the story where characters and setting is revealed.
 Rising Action: where events in the story become complicated and the conflict in
the story is revealed (events between introduction and climax)
 Climax: point of highest interest and the turning point.
 Falling Action: events and complications begin to resolve themselves.
 Conclusion: untangling of events in the story.

Theme
The theme is the central idea or belief in a short story.
Setting
The time and location in which a story takes place is called the setting. For some stories
the setting is very important, while for others it is not. There are several aspects of a
story´s setting to consider when examining how setting contributes to a story (some, or
all, may be present in a story)

 Place: geographical location. Where is the action of the story taking place?
 Time: when is the story taking place? (historical period, time of day, year, etc)
 Weather conditions: is it rainy, sunny, stormy, etc?
 Social conditions: what is the daily life of the characters like? Does the story
contain local colour (writing that focuses on the speech, drees, mannerisms,
customs, etc of a particular place)?
 Mood or atmosphere: what feeling is created at the beginning of the story? Is it
bright and cheerful or dark and frightening?

AMERICAN LITERATURE.

American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and
its preceding colonies (for specific discussions on poetry and theater). Prior to the
founding of the United States, the British colonies on the east coast of today's United
States were heavily influenced by English literature. The American literary tradition
began as well as part of the broader tradition of English literature. The revolutionary
period is notable for the political writings of Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton
and Thomas Paine. Thomas Jefferson's U.S. Declaration of Independence solidified his
status as a key American writer. It was in the late 18th and early 19th centuries that the
country's first novels were published. An early example is William Hill Brown's The
Power of Sympathy, published in 1791. Brown's novel describes a tragic love story
between ...

American literature does not lend itself easily to classification by period of time. Given
the size of the United States and its diverse population, American literature does not
lend itself easily to classification by period of time. Given the size of the United States
and its diverse population, there are often several literary movements happening at the
same time. However, this has not prevented scholars of literature from making an
attempt. These are some of the most commonly agreed periods of American literature
from the colonial period to the present.are often several literary movements happening
at the same time. However, this has not prevented scholars of literature from making an
attempt. These are some of the most commonly agreed periods of American literature
from the colonial period to the present.
The Colonial Period (1607-1775) This period encompasses the founding of Jamestown
until a decade before the Revolutionary War. Most of the writings were historical,
practical or religious in nature. Some writers not to miss this period include Phillis
Wheatley, Cotton Mather, William Bradford, Anne Bradstreet, and John Winthrop. The
first narrative slave, "a narrative of the Rare Sufferings, and surprizing liberation of the
British Hammon, a man of the black," was published during this period, in 1760 Boston.

The Revolutionary Era (1765–1790) This period includes writings by Thomas

Jefferson, Thomas Paine, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton. This is arguably the
richest period of political writing since classical antiquity. Important works include the
"Declaration of Independence," "The Federalist," and the poetry of Joel Barlow and
Philip Freneau.

The National Period (1775-1828) This was in American literature is responsible for
the first notable works, such as the first American comedy written for the stage- "The
Contrast" by Royall Tyler, written in 1787, and the first American novel "The Power of
Condolence" by William Hill, written in 1789. Washington Irving, James Fenimore
Cooper and Charles Brown Brockden are credited with creating typically American
fiction, while Edgar Allan Poe and William Cullen Bryant began writing poetry that
was markedly different from that of english tradition.

The Renaissance of America (1828-1865) Also known as the Romantic Period in

America and the Age of Transcendentalism, this period is commonly accepted as the
greatest of American literature. Major writers such as Walt Whitman, Ralph Waldo
Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, and Herman
Melville. Emerson, Thoreau and Margaret Fuller are credited with shaping literature and
the ideals of many later writers. Other important contributions include the poetry of
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and the tales of Melville, Poe, Hawthorne, and Harriet
Beecher Stowe. In addition, this era is the point of American literary criticism, directed
by Poe, James Russell Lowell and William Gilmore Simms inauguration. The years
1853 and 1859 brought the first novels written by African-American authors, both men
and women: "Clotel", by William Wells Brown and "Our Nig," by Harriet E.

The Royalist Period (1865-1900) As a result of the American Civil War,

Reconstruction and the Age of Industrialization, American Ideals and Self-Awareness
changed profoundly, and American literature responded. Certain romantic notions of
American Renaissance were replaced by realistic descriptions of American life, such as
those depicted in the works of William Dean Howells, Henry James and Mark Twain.
This period also resulted in regional writing, such as the works of Sarah Orne Jewett,
Kate Chopin, Bret Harte, Mary Wilkins Freeman and George W. cable. In addition to
Walt Whitman, another master poet, Emily Dickinson, appeared at this time.

The Naturalist Period (1900-1914) This relatively short period is defined by its
insistence on the recreation of life as life really is, even more than the realists had been
doing in previous decades. American naturalist writers such as Frank Norris, Theodore
Dreiser and Jack London created some of the most powerfully raw novels in american
literature history. His characters are victims who fall prey to their own instincts and
economic and sociological factors. Edith Wharton wrote some of his most beloved
classics, such as "The Custom of the Country" (1913), "Ethan Frome" (1911), and "The
House of Joy" (1905) during this time period.

The Modern Ages (1914-1939) After American Renaissance, modern times is the
second most influential and artistically rich age in American literature. His main writers
include poets such as the EE power plant Cummings, Robert Frost, Ezra Pound,
William Carlos Williams, Marianne Moore, LangstonHughes, Carl Sandburg, TS Eliot,
Wallace Stevens, and Edna St. Vincent Millay. Novelists and other prosists of the time
include Cather, John Dos Passos, Edith Wharton, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck,
Hemingway, William Faulkner, Gertrude Stein, Sinclair Lewis, Thomas Wolfe, and
Sherwood Anderson. The modern era contains some major movements within it,
including the age of jazz, the Harlem Renaissance, and the lost generation. Many of
these writers were influenced by World War I and the disappointment that followed,
especially the expats of the lost generation. In addition, the Great Depression and the
New Deal resulted in some writing m...

The coup generation (1944-1962) Beat writers, such as Jack Kerouac and Allen
Ginsberg, devoted themselves to anti-traditional literature, poetry and prose, and anti-
system politics. This period of time saw an increase in confessional poetry and sexuality
in literature, resulting in legal challenges and debates about censorship in the United
States. William S. Burroughs and Henry Miller are two writers whose works faced
challenges of censorship. These two great ones, along with other writers of the time,
also inspired the countercultural movements of the next two decades.

The Contemporary Period (1939–present) After World War II, American literature
has become a wide and varied in theme, mode and purpose. Currently, there is little
consensus on how to go about ranking the last 80 years in periods or movements the
longer it should be, perhaps, before scholars can make these determinations. That said,
there have been a number of important writers since 1939, whose works can already be
considered "classic" and which can become canonized. Some of these very established
names are: Kurt Vonnegut, Amy Tan, John Updike, Eudora Welty, James Baldwin,
Sylvia Plath, Arthur Miller, Toni Morrison, Ralph Ellison, Joan Didion, Thomas
Pynchon, Elizabeth Bishop, Tennessee Williams, Philip Roth, Sandra Cisneros, Richard
Wright, Tony Kushner, Adrienne Rich, Bernard Malamud, Saul Bellow, Joyce Carol
Oates, Thornton Wilder, Alice Walker, Edward Albee.

19th CENTURY NORTH LITERATURE.

The 19th century is a time of awareness for American letters. The influence of
European Romanticism gives way to transcendent realism. American literature is based
on the profound meaning of the feelings that the individual experiences in the face of
things.
The main features of transcendentalist American literature are: Symbolization:
the objects described in the literary work become symbols, that is, they acquire
meanings different from the one that is their own. ·
The lyrical vision of reality: the subject who interprets reality must adopt a lyrical
vision, that is, individual subject.
Psychological penetration: the consciousness of the individual is a source of
interpretation of reality. ·
Admiration for nature: nature is the source of the most meaningful experiences for
the individual.
Expresive simplicity: a sober, tender and elemental style is the key that reveals the
secrets of the lyrical universo.

A second stage of 19th-century American literature is marked by the objective view of

reality. The material prosperity of the second half of the century will lead to the
emergence of a more descriptive and moderate literature.
Some features of this second period are:
Desire for plausibility: literary work seeks to create the greatest impression of reality
possible. For this reason the description of the environments and physical traits of the
characters is thorough, detailed.
Exaltation of the everyday: the everyday acquires great value. Characters are defined
according to their daily activities.

LITERARY FORMS:
LA PROSA: the American prose of the nineteenth century is abundant and offers us a
rich panorama of styles. The transcendentalist conception includes Washington Irving
(1783–1859) and Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862). On the other hand, Herman
Melville (1819–1891) is the greatest 19th-century novelist in the United States. The best
known figure of transcendentalism is Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849).
THE LYRIC: The truly significant lyrics of the American 19th century are part of the
transcendentalist trend. The most prominent figures of the lyrics are Walt Withman
(1819–1892) and Emily Dickinson (1839–1886).
AUTHORS:
EDGAR ALLAN POE: (Boston, 1809- Baltimore, 1849) American poet, storyteller
and critic. His parents, itinerant stage actors, died when he was still a child. Edgar Allan
Poe was educated by John Allan, a wealthy businessman from Richmond, and from
1815 to 1820 lived with him and his wife in the United Kingdom, where he began his
education. He's the first great writer of the century. Both his theories about literature
and his poems (the most famous is The Crow) lay the foundations for modern poetry on
the basis of certain notions of Romanticism, and greatly influe
nced late-century European poetry. Its fame is due to its extraordinary stories, which
will also influence the growers of the genre in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries ...

HERMAN MELVILLE: (New York, 1819 - 1891) is one of the best writers of the
19th century. His early works deal with marine themes, such as Typee or White Bluson.
His great creation, Moby Dick, is one of the great novels of all time. It chronicles the
obsessive pursuit of a killer whale by Captain Ahab until the final disaster. The plot
becomes a metaphor for man's eagerness, heroic and superb at the same time, for
defeating nature or evil, as the mysterious whale is interpreted. Melville also excels in
the short narrative, with three great titles: Bartleby the scribe, a story about an office
worker anticipating the themes and concerns of the Czech writer Franz Kafka; Benito
Cereno, with harrowing intrigue, and Billy Budd, about the unjust death of a young
sailor.

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE: (Salem, USA 1804-Plymouth, 1864) portrays in his

works the severe Puritan society of New England and explores in them the theme of sin
and evil. His main works are The Scarlet Letter, set in the life of the first settlers, or The
House of the Seven Towers, of fantastic tone. The supernatural also characterizes his
stories.

  MARK TWAIN: (Florida, USA, 1835- Redding1910), pseudonym of Samuel

Langhorne Clemens, is the most important novelist of this period. His narrative departs
from beautician concerns, and provides spontaneity to the prose of his generation,
through the treatment of everyday subjects. His satirical spirit and pessimistic view of
the human being apply both to the past (a Yankee in King Arthur's court) and to the
present day (The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg). His best novels are The Adventures
of Tom Sawyer and his even better follow-up, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
The picaresque journeys of its young protagonists reflect, from its apparent simplicity,
both the racial social problems of American society and some deep aspects of human
nature.

JACK LONDON: (San Francisco, 1876- Glen Ellen, 1916) is a realistic narrator of
agile and direct style. In his novels and tales he exalts the strength and goodness of
man's natural state, deteriorated by civilization. Nature, landscape and animals shape
their narrative universe. He wrote tales of adventures inspired by personal memories,
including The Call of the Jungle, White Fang (both set in Alaska), The Sea Wolf and
Martin Eden.

 WALT WHITMAN: (1819-1892) brought a renewing air to poetry with the metric
freedom of its verses and the recovery of reality as lyrical matter. He is the author of a
single book, Leaves of Grass. His long poems, written in vigorous verses, sing to
individualism, democracy, freedom and sensuality.
AMERICAN AND ENGLISH LITERATURE

English literature is all written in English, regardless of the provenance of its authors.
Under this name are gathered works written in Old English, Medieval English, Modern
English and Contemporary English, as well as those written in the dialect varieties that
the current language has around the world.
English literature its most important features and works.

English literature encompasses any work written in the English language, regardless of
the origin of its writers. With this denomination we can find texts in old, medieval,
modern and contemporary English, in the same way as those that have been written in
different dialects that the language currently possesses throughout the world.

Characteristics of English literature:

 It was influenced by concepts of Italian and French literature, but retaining its
own style.
 Ancient English had an impact on modern English, creating classical works of
poetry based on the defeats of the Franco-Normanda invasion.
 Among its main genres and most used by its authors is theatre and drama.
 During his restorative time, much simpler, tasteful and modern works were
created, all with a clear political concept.
 The stages of English literature are divided into Anglo-Saxon, middle,
neoclassical, romanticism and modern times.
 Poems and novels predominate within English literature.

Periods and historical context of English literature.

The first words released in Old English were given during medieval times, oral literary
creation was written to be presented, with epic poems being the most important. English
has some relation to today's Norwegian and Icelandic language, so Anglo-Saxon verses
are believed to have their origins in Viking and Germanic war poems. At the beginning
of the sixteenth century, Albion gained its independence, departed from France and the
language changed, French reached the lower classes, so English is changed in a certain
respect. At the end of medieval times, the authors began to make literary works of
romance in verse and prose, during this same period appears the first English author,
Geoffrey Chaucer with his work Tales of Canterbury.

The printing press appeared in 1476 and with it was born literature itself, then Protestant
reform inspires the book of common prayer, which was iconic for English literature.
Later the drama, prose and poetry appear during the reigns of Jacoob I and Elizabeth I.
During periods of English Renaissance uprising, English literature has a strictly
religious basis. Then isabelina literature appears, where drama and theatre prevailed.
During this time, influenced by the Baroque period, parodies, Jacobin literature,
tragedies and the translation of the King's Bible also predominate. La literatura política
a mediados del siglo XVII.

The literature of restoration, in 1667, fostered a resurgence of all past literary forms,
based on morality and censorship. During this time prose and satire become very
popular. During this time many writings were modified with sectarian messages, those
who possessed violence were censored and hidden and those with political criticism
declined.

Genres.

The genres that stand out throughout English literature, even contemporary ones are
classic and contemporary genres, considered one of the richest literatures in genres in
the world. Among them we can highlight poetry, prose, theater, satire, autobiography,
comedy, fantasy literature, science fiction, drama, among many others.

Representatives and works of English literature.

William Shakespeare: If we talk about English literature, we are obliged to name the
most important column of literature, not only English, but world literature. The works
of Romeo and Juliet, Mac Beth, King Lear, in many others, stand out in the hundreds of
masterpieces written by Shakespeare, which, without exception, have transcended the
passage of time, being even inspiration for iconic authors of history, such as Tolkien,
Cervantes, Murakami, among many more. This consecrated playwright was a very
important writer, being recognized in literary history and who wrote works that have no
similarity to compilations of short stories or to the police novels that dominated during
his time, completely revolutionizing literature.

Charles Dickens: David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, great masterpieces of English

literature, which have been covered in film, television, comics, theaters and various
formats of classical and contemporary culture, are works written by Dickens. Born in
1812, in the south of England. Because of family debts he had to leave school against
his will to start working at the young age of 12. However, just a year later he returned to
school, but his father ended up in prison by giving himself up. These events were
always present in Dickens' mind and are reflected in his works. An example of this is
that you can always see the orphans that always appear in the posts you made. His
success began in 1836, when he was only a journalist and he wrote "The Postcussion
Papers of the Pickwick Club", which made him the pioneer of episode publications.

Oscar Wilde: Well-known Irish author, originally from Dublin and who died in 1900 in
Paris. Oscar Wilde is known not only for his works, but for the tragic and hectic life that
touched him. His best-known work is undoubtedly The Portrait of Dorian Gray.Wilde
possessed an incredible talent for lyrics, in fact, by having an extraordinary school
career, he moved to London, where he shared with literary exponents of the time.

J.K. Rowling: His first name is Joanne, but because of the prejudices of the time, he
decided to hide it and place only his initials. It was born in 1965, becoming one of the
most famous and distributed works of contemporary literature. Harry Potter. Rowling
studied french literature and philology at Exeter, England and the Sorbonne in France.
His life stands out mainly for the family and economic problems he faced when writing
his work, to which were joined by multiple rejections by publishers.

How to catalog English literature? This issue is quite simple, since we mainly say that it
is one that is written with English as the language used wherever the person who writes
it. With this premise we find different stages that have marked differences influenced
mainly by schools created by the most important writers in each of the stages.

It all begins with a very old period that we will develop later with the Middle Ages and
the first text of which we have knowledge written in a very ancient English primitive
that is known as the Caedmon. The one that has much cost to find more texts from the
same period or earlier is because mainly the knowledge was imparted and applied
orally. The possibility of writing was reserved for great nobles and clergy, who had
access to language learning, most of whom were illiterate people.

The primitive sources of English literature drink from the Norwegian and Icelandic
branches being a mixture of both fruits of colonization exercised by different peoples
throughout the Middle Ages and mostly found in monasteries scattered throughout
Anglo-Saxon territory.

Premodern or medieval period: Medieval English literature is a very broad theme,

which includes all the works that were available in Europe during the Middle Ages
(from the fall of the Western Roman Empire, 500 AD to the Renaissance of the fifteenth
century). Literature at this time was dominated by religious writings, which included the
poetry, theology and life of the Saints, but lay works and scientific works were also
produced. That is, works of all kinds were produced, from the totally sacred to the
completely unholy.

Early modern era or Renaissance: "The English Renaissance" is the term used to
describe the artistic and cultural movement that existed in England from the 16th to the
mid-17th century. It is associated with the Pan-European Renaissance (according to the
thoughts of some historians) that originated in Italy in the 14th century. This era of
English cultural history is also known as "Shakespeare's Time" or "The Elizabethan
Age", referencing the most important author and monarch of the time. But, these names
can make mistakes, because Shakespeare was not a well-known author in his time and
in Elizabeth's case, because the Renaissance spans a broader time than his reign. 

Elizabethan literature: The Elizabethan era had a thriving literary production,

especially in the field of theatre. William Shakespeare was an outstanding author of
poetry and plays, probably the most relevant figure that English literature has had in its
history, but other figures have also had a relevant weight in the theatre such as
Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Dekker, John Fletcher and Francis Beaumont. The urban
comedy genre was also developed very often and admired.
Jacobean Literature: Poet and playwright Ben Jonson led Jacobean literature, after
Shakespeare's death. Several authors followed his style as Beaumont and Fletcher, all of
which were called "sons of Ben". Another popular style of the time was the revenge
theater that became popular with John Webster and Tomas Kyd.
Restoration Literature: The reopening of the theatres gave the opportunity to perform
satirical works on the new nobility and the growing bourgeoisie. The mobility of
society, which followed the social upheails of the previous generation, provided ideas
for the creation of the comedy costumbrista. Aphra Behn was the first female novelist
and professional playwright. John Bunyan's allegory, The Pilgrim, is one of the most
widely read works of this period.
Augustus-era literature: The early 18th century era is known as the age of Augustus
or neoclassical literature. Alexander Pope's works show that the poetry of these years
was very formal. The English novel was not very popular until the 18th century,
although many works were very important, such as Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe
(1719). In the mid-18th century the novel settled with authors such as Henry Fielding,
Laurence Stern and Samuel Richardson, who perfected the epistolar novel; Richardson
was a moralist while Fielding and Stern got closer to the comedy genre.

Romanticism: The reaction to industrialization and urbanism pushed poets to explore

nature, such as the group of "The Poets of the Lake" in which we include William
Wordsworth. These romantic poets brought to English literature a new degree of
sentimentality and introspection. Among the most important authors of the second
generation of romantic poets are Lord Byron, Percy Bysse Shelley and John Keats.

Victorian Literature: The novel was the most important literary form of Victorian
literature. Most of the authors were more focused on knowing the tastes of the middle
class he read than in satisfying aristocrats. Among the best-known works of this era we
highlight: the works of strong emotional content of the Bronte sisters; William
Makepeace Thackery's Vanity Fair satire; George Eliot's realistic novel; and the
insightful portraits of Anthony Trollope's life of landowners and professional class.
Charles Dickens was staged in 1830 under the tendency of publication by installments.

Modern Literature: The most prominent novelists of the inter-war period were D.H.
Lawrence and Virginia Woolf, the latter member of the Bloomsbury group. The
Sitwells also gained strength between literary and artistic movements, but with less
influence. The most important writers of popular literature were P.G. Wodehouse and
Agatha Christie.

Postmodern literature: Two examples of Postmodern English literature are: John

Fowles and Julian Barnes. Important writers of the early 21st century are: Martin Amis,
Ian McEwan, Will Self, Andrew Motion and Salman Rushdie.

Characters.
Definition:
Character is the mental, emotional, and social qualities to distinguish on entity from
another (people, animals, spirits, and other animated objects).

Character development is the change that a character undergoes from the beginning of
a story to the end. The importance of a character to the story determines how fully the
character is developed. Character can be primary, secondary, minor or main.

Character are development by:

Actions: o comportamientos
Speech: por el habla
Appearance: apariencias
Other character comments: un comentario del personaje
Author comment’s un comentario del autor
Unity of character and action un caracter particular.

Characteristics of a character:
name, age, race, sex, height, weight. color etc

Types of characters:
Round. Character are those the reader/listener/Viewer gets to know well. They have a
variety of traits that make them believable.

Flat characters:
are less well develop and have fewer or limited traits or belong to a group, class or
stereotype.

Anthropomorphic:
the characterization of animals. Inanimate objects, or natural phenomena as people.
Skilled authors can use this to create fantasy even from stuffed toys. The
characterization of inanimate objects from tiny soldiers to trees.

Animal Character.
In realism are best when the animals act only like animals as in The Incredible Journey.

Character change. (2)

Dynamic characters are rounded characters that change.

Static (stock) characters: are round or flat characters that do not change during the
story. When someone uses static and flat character whose actions are predicable, so the
listener or reader is free to concentrate on the action and theme as it moves along toward
and often times universal discovery

SETTING

includes time, place, weather, mood and social conditions.

Backdrop (ajuste de fondo) setting is when the setting is unimportant for the story and
the story could take place in any setting.

Integral setting. Is when the action, character, or theme are influenced by time and
place, setting.

Functions of setting: setting can establish the mood or atmosphere of scene or story.

Setting as antagonist: characters must resolve conflict created by the setting.

Setting that illuminates character: this help the characters find themselves and grow
as individuals.

Setting as symbolism: a symbol is a person, place, object, situation, or action which

operates on two levels of meaning, the literal and the figurative, or suggestive. People
understand only obvious symbols, forest, unknown, garden, natural beauty, darkness,
evil. A grouping of symbols may create an image called an allegory

SYMBOLISM

Symbolism is important in writing, as is important in English literature

WHAT EXACTLY IS SYMBOLISM

Symbolism – the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities

Symbol, – a thing that represents something else, especially a material object
representing something abstract.
for example – or, more precisely, a crucifix – is symbolic of Christian faith. or two
simple lines drawn on paper.
Symbolism, then, is a kind of shorthand (Taquigrafia)– not just in literature but in the
world around us. All road signs, for example, are symbolic. They are universally
understood by motorists (even the ones who choose to ignore them) and they can get
over a lot of information in a very small space.

Real world symbolism VS literary symbolism.

What is the difference between symbolism in the real world and literary symbolism?

Before answering that, here is an example of symbolism in a novel. Picture the scene…
A boy has just been dumped by his girlfriend and he has shut himself away in his
bedroom to be by himself. He is sitting by the window with his nose an inch from the
glass watching the sky turn blacker and blacker as a storm blows in. When the rain
starts, he watches the water streak down the window pane. The symbolism here is more
obvious: Symbolism in literature, however, tends to be less obvious and more open to
interpretation. Even when the meaning of a literary symbol is obvious (like in my
“stormy skies” example above), the symbol should not stand out as being obviously
symbolic.

the symbolism in common writing is more obvious, but the symbolism in literature is
more difficult to find, for that reason is that not all people like literature.

POINT OF VIEW
Definition:
Could be any. Often third narrative.

Is determined by authors, descriptions of characters, setting, and events told to the

reader throughout the story.

First person. Is told as I. Telling a story from one character limits the amount of
information available to the reader, requiring the reader to add information.

Omniscient point of view

Third person (he, she, they) is all knowing in every detail of action, thought, and
feeling (conscious or unconscious). Sometimes the author uses limited omniscient point
of view.

Objective or dramatic point of view: There is no explanation to the reader of what is

going on or what the character think or feel, we see and draw our own conclusions.

Incredible point of view. if the characters are animal we are not able to know what
they think. We must imagine their actions and movements.
 3. ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES

English for Specific Purpose.

Science and Technology: English for Science and Technology (EST) generally
refers to English used in scientific publications, papers, textbooks, technical
reports and academic lectures, etc. It is used to describe the physical and
natural phenomena, their processes, properties, characteristics, laws and
application in productive activities. As an outcome of the rapid development of
science and technology after World War Two, EST initially emerged in the
1950s. Since the 1970s, together with the shift development of science and
technology as well as the popularity of the English language, “EST has
developed into an important variety of modern English in many countries”, as
pointed out by Qian Sanqing. Due to its main functions of statement,
description, exposition, definition, classification, instruction, comparison,
exemplification, inference and reasoning, EST has achieved its own language
characteristics that contribute to the formal, concise, precise, impersonal and
economical style of scientific documents. The paper explores the characteristics
of EST through various examples at such language levels as the lexical,
syntactic and rhetoric levels, aiming to arouse the awareness of such
characteristics among ST workers so as to improve their use of EST for
communication.

Characteristics of English for Science and Technology. Differences in each

area.

The Lexical Characteristics of EST: The high-level profession and

preciseness of ST materials are tactfully achieved by such lexical
characteristics of EST as the frequent use of science and technology (ST)
words, the replacement of verb phrases by verbs and the extensive use of
abstract nouns and descriptive adjectives.. The Frequent Use of ST Words
Although function words and general words constitute the largest part of EST
vocabulary, the frequent use of ST words in EST and the complicated way that
they vary in formation, meaning and use still form a remarkable feature of EST
vocabulary. Generally, ST words fall into 4 categories according to the way
that they are different in formation, meaning and use: (1) Pure ST words
such as hydroxide, diode, promethazine and isotope etc. These words mostly
composed of Latin or Greek morphemes are monosemic and professionally
used in a special field. (2) Semi ST words such as frequency, density,
energy, magnetism, etc.. Compared to Pure ST words, these words are also
monosemic but more commonly and frequently used in fields of different
professions. (3) Common ST words such as feed, service, ceiling, power,
operation, work, etc.. These are specialized common words carrying different
meanings in fields of different professions. For example, the word feed with the
basic meaning of to give food to a person or an animal can be used in different
fields with different meanings such as to supply water, to provide electricity, to
deliver, to load, cutting feed, power source, ect. Such polysemous common ST
words are freely collocated with other words and are most widely and frequently
used in fields of various professions. (4) Built ST words such as microbicid,
waterleaf, medicare, CSMA, which are built through different ways of word
building such as affixation, compounding, blending, acronyms, etc.. Built words
are much more frequently used in EST than in general English to achieve the
conciseness and preciseness of scientific documents. Such extensive use of
various types of ST words seems to be a challenge for EST users; however, an
awareness of the monosemy of pure and semi ST words, the specialization of
common words and the polysemy of specialized common words together with
knowledge of word-building will eventually lead to a good command of ST
words.

The Extensive Use of Abstract Nouns and Descriptive Adjectives In EST

there exist a large number of abstract nouns, which are used to indicate means,
existence, tools as well as the results and states of actions, behaviors and
movements. This kind of nouns mostly have the same roots with general verbs
or adjective from which they are derived. For example, insulate--insulation,
expand-expansion, stable-stability, humid-humidity, etc. Similarly, in EST also
appear quite a quantity of descriptive adjectives used to describe the state,
feature, degree, size and shape of natural phenomona and matters. These
adjective are mostly derived from verbs and nouns using suffixes such as –
ac/iac, -al, -ar, -ato，-eal, -ed, -ic- ible/able, -ing, -ing, -ive, -oid,- ose, ous, -y. In
addition, abstract nouns and descriptive adjectives are collocated to indicate
highly professional existences. From such examples as favorable prognosis,
bacterial infection, systematic disorder, it can be seen the lexical collocation of
abstract nouns and descriptive adjectives is another striking feature of EST
vocabulary. The reason behind the fact that ST articles prefer such abstract
nouns and the descriptive adjective is that the process, result, state, specialty
and feature of existences in nature can be precisely and impersonally explained
by abstract nouns and descriptive adjectives.

The Replacement of Verb Phrases by Verbs A large number of English verbs

and their corresponding verb phrases share the same meaning in a certain
language context. For example, absorb-take in; examine-look into; rotate-turn
around; utilize-make good use of, etc.. Comparatively, single verbs of limited
use are more monosemous and more formal, while verb phrases are more
colloquial, synomemous and more widely used in spoken English. For example,
absorb shares the same meaning with take in both meaning assimilate, but the
latter flexibly carries different meanings of understand, deceive, shorten when
used in different informal contexts. In order to avoid the ambiguity or
colloquialism as well as to achieve the formality and preciseness of ST
literature, formal verbs are preferentially used instead of verb phrases in EST.

The Syntactic Characteristics of EST The accuracy, conciseness and

objectivity of EST documents are also achieved by some syntactic
characteristics of EST, such as the extensive use of postpositive attributive,
non-predicative verbs, passive voice as well as long and complicated
sentences.

Common Use of Postpositive Attributive: Postpositive attributives commonly

appearing in ordinary English are more frequently used in EST because of the
preciseness requirement of ST documents. Generally, the use of postpositive
attributives in EST can be realized through the following five structures:
(1) Prepositional phrase. e.g. The explanations of the earth’s magnetic field are
generally accepted. (2) Adjectives or adjective phrases. e.g. All radiant energy
has wavelike characteristics, analogous to those of waves. (3) Adverbs. e.g.
The force upward equals the force downward so that the balloon stays at the
level. (4) Participles. e.g. In 1983, there were only 200 computers connected to
the Internet. (5) Attributive Clauses. e.g. The loads a structure is subjected are
divided into dead loads, which include the weights of all parts of the structure,
and live loads, which are due to the weights of people, moveable equipment.

Extensive Use of the Passive Voice: Another prominent characteristic of EST

syntactic structure is the extensive use of passive voice. The extensive use of
passive sentences meets the requirements of ST materials for objectivity,
compactness and coherence. Firstly, the recounting and reasoning of ST works
demand the objectivity of expression, and the use of the passive voice instead
of the active voice helps to create a sense of objectivity. Secondly, in ST
materials, the object of action is of greater importance than the subject, the
actor who performs the action, and the use of the passive voice helps the object
hold the head or the prominent position of the sentence. Additionally, in many
cases, the prominence of the object of action will contribute to the compactness
and coherence of ST literature. The following example will illustrate the
advantages of passive voice in EST. The Harry Diamond Laboratories
performed early advanced development of the Arming Safety Device (ASD) for
the Navy’ s 5-in guided projectile. The early advanced development was
performed in two phrases. In phrase 1, the ASD was designed, and three
prototypes were fabricated and tested in the laboratory. In phrase 2, the design
was refined, 35 ASD’ s and a large number of explosive mockups were
fabricated, and a series of qualification tests was performed. The qualification
tests ranged from laboratory tests to drop tests and gun firing. The design was
further refined during and following the qualification tests. The feasibility of the
design was demonstrated. The use of 8 passive clauses in the passage not only
highlights the main contents being explained, but also creates objectivity,
compactness and coherence of the whole passage.

Wide use of non-predicative verbs: The non-predicative verbs usually taking

three forms, namely “to + V” (the Infinitive), “V-ing” (the Present Participle or the
Gerund) and “V-ed” (the Past Participle) are not limited by a subject or inflected
by categories such as tense, aspect, mood, number, gender, and person, while
at the same time play different roles of nouns, adjectives, or adverbs [3]. Such
flexible use of non-finite verbs creates the objectivity, conciseness, flexibility,
and preciseness of expression, and thereby helps to avoid the subjectivity in
meaning or the abundance in structure in ST materials. Therefore, non-
predicative verbs are far more frequently used in EST than in general English to
serve the purpose of explaining ideas impersonally, concisely and precisely.
Consider the following sentence: They use new and high technologies and non-
public ownership mechanisms to enliven, transform and upgrade traditional
industries, forcefully promoting the attainment of the objectives of “upgrading
old enterprises, nurturing new industries and building large enterprises. The
sentence includes an infinitive phrase to enliven, transform and upgrade
traditional industries and a participle phrase forcefully promoting the attainment
of the objectives of upgrading old enterprises, nurturing new industries and
building large enterprises, of which the latter is more complicated in that it
further employs the gerund phrase upgrading old enterprises, nurturing new
industries and building large enterprises as the object of the complicated
prepositional phrase that modify the attainment, the object of the participle
promoting.

The Rhetoric Characteristics of EST

The objectivity, compactness and coherence of ES materials can be further

enhanced by the rhetorical features of EST, such as the limited use of tenses,
the simple rhetorical choices, the common use of abnormal sentences, and the
deliberate use of subjunctive mood and imperatives.

The Limited Use of Tenses ES writings aims to objectively state the facts,
describe the process, and illustrate the features and functions, most of which
are of university, frequency and particularity. Therefore, in EST, more
commonly used are general statements in simple tenses, mostly the simple
present tense and simple past tense, to create timeless notions. Take the
passage as an example. In bear making. Yeast cells break down starch and
sugar (present in cereal grains) to form alchol; the froth, or head, of the bear
results from the carbon dioxide gas that the cells produce. In simple terms, the
living cells rearrange chemical elements to form new productions that they need
to live and reproduce. By happy coincidence in the process of doing so they
help make a popular beverage. Five verbs used in present tense, break down,
result from, produce, rearrange, help, appear in the short passage of 3
sentences.

The Less Use of Rhetorical Devices and Complex Formation Style Due to
its function of stating facts and laws, EST seldom employ such rhetorical
devices as metaphor, personification, hyperbole, etc commonly used in
literature English. On the contrary, to directly explain the objective world, ST
writers tend to adopt simple formational style of writing. For example, they often
use the prefixion-statement pattern like the sentence Sea water can be used for
a supply of potable (or drinkable) water if it can be separated from the salt
dissolved in it, in which the main information is put in the head of the sentence,
so that the reader can intuitively grasp the main point and understand the
author's ideas immediately.
The Frequent Use of Omission, Inversion and Separation: In ST articles
frequently appear incomplete, reversed, or fragmented sentences. The
existence of such "abnormal" sentences is the rhetoric requirement more than
the grammatical requirement. Specially, omission often helps to save space,
making the presentation more concise and compact. e.g. All bodies consist of
molecules and molecules of atoms (consist is omitted after the second
molecules). Inversion often helps to make a common sense more eye-catching
and prominent, the co-text more closely linked to and the description more vivid.
e.g. The most important of the materials in our bodies are the proteins (the
subject the protein is inversed with the predicative are the most important).
Separation helps to enables the overall structure of the sentence more
symmetric and balanced. e.g. Thus, it would be correct to say that the distance
to the sun, from where we are on the earth, is about 1 million walking days (the
distance is separated from is about 1 million walking days).

The Deliberated Use of Subjunctive Mood: The description of common

sense, the proposition of ideas, the discussion of problems and the deduction of
formulas often involve a variety of prerequisites and conditions. In order to avoid
ambiguity, the use of the subjunctive is always encouraged in EST. Additionally,
many authors are willing to adopt subjunctive mood to express their humility
and leave room for caution. For example, if a pound of sand were broken up
and turned into atomic energy, there would be enough power to supply the
whole of Europe for a few years. The use of subjective mood in the sentence
avoids ambiguity in meaning and also leads to a polite and smooth tone for
expressing the result of a supposed condition.

The tactful use of imperatives: Imperatives are often used in EST materials,
especially used in operation specifications, work procedures, and precaution
matters to provide instructions, suggestions, advice and commands. Let us read
the passage that presents the instructions for the process of an experiment. Fill
a test-tube half full of water and heat it nearly to boiling point. Support the tube
on a stand and allow it to cool. Take the temperature every minute. Stir
carefully with a glass rod. Record the readings you obtain, and plot them on a
graph of temperature against time. Repeat this with a tube half-full of crystals.
Allow the solid to melt. Heat the liquid to 100 ℃, fix the tube on the stand and
allow it to cool. Record the results as before and plot them. The use of the
imperatives in the passage not only helps to make the article refined but also
expresses the author’s friendly suggestions to the reader. Additionally, each
imperative beginning with a different verb adds to the variation of the writing,
thus avoiding dull monotony. Imagine what kind of article it will become if you
are put in the head of each sentence.