A Language - Text and discourse

30 Language functions
Students of a foreign language need to be able to do things like offer help, give their opinions,
suggest courses of action or disagree.
Many functional language exponents are examples of either fixed or semi-fixed LEXICAL
PHRASES.
-The same function, such as requesting, can be expressed by a wide range of different
LANGUAGE EXPONENTS (the actual phrases that are used).
-The difference between language exponents is often a difference between directness (Close the
window!) and tentativeness (Could you possibly, perhaps close the window?).

31 Written and spoken English

SPOKEN e.g.: face-to-face conversation

WRITTEN e.g.: novel, newspaper
WRITTEN SPOKEN
 Punctuation  Constructions (forecast is-
 Coherence forecast's)
 Cohesion  Ellipsis(missing out words that
we don't need)
 Intonation

32 GENRE

 A genre is any stylistic category in literature that follows specific conventions.

 Writing genres:
 Poetry
 Drama
 Prose
 Nonfiction
 Media
33 register
REGISTER is a combination of the kind of activity and topic we are writing and talking about
(sometimes called FIELD), the tone we wish to use (based on the participants and their
relationship to each other) and the mode of the communication (for example email, formal oral
announcement, literary novel or tweet) .

34 Cohesion and coherence

COHESION is the use of certain stylistic devices to guide readers and show how the different
parts of a TEXT relate to one another.
 teacher, teach or teaching= lexical coherence
 Consistent tense usage helps to make a text cohesive.
 Time adverbials ( then, today, after that, tomorrow etc.)
 Ellipses like The first (instead of the first presentation) to refer back to something she has
already mentioned (I went to four presentations).
 Linkers (then, so, on the other hand, all in all etc.)
 substitution with words like one, kind, etc.

COHERENCE the quality of being logical and consistent. We need to be able to put our ideas
together in such a way that people understand us - and understand our purpose for writing or
speaking.

D. MANAGING LEARNING AND TEACHING

67 Where students sit
 Traditional classrooms have straight lines of chajrs or benches facing the front - where
the board and the teacher are. Tills can be very useful for some forms of WHOLE-
CLASS TEACHING, such as explaining things, demonstrating, showing pictures or
films and making announcements.
  Some teachers seat their students in a CIRCLE. This can help to create a feeling of
equality and inclusiveness.
 Some teachers have their classrooms organized with groups of students seated round
INDIVIDUAL TABLES. This is appropriate for a large range of GROUPWORK tasks,
but it can sometimes make teaching the whole class more difficult.

69 Giving instructions, checking meaning

There are a number of things we need to do when giving instructions:
 We should keep our instructions simple, using short simple sentences.
 We need to break down the instructions we want to give into manageable chunks so
the students don't have to take in too much information at the same time.
 We must make our instructions logical and COHERENT.
 Where possible, we should let the students see us doing the activity. For example, if
we want them to get involved in a dear reading activity , they should see us reading,
too. If we want them to learn how to use dictionaries, they should see us using them
appropriately.
 Make stages of the activity.
 We can demonstrate the activity and make deliberate mistakes to see if the students
notice that we are getting it wrong.
 We can stop activities at any stage, and say things like Can anyone tell me what
Student A should be doing right now?

-CHECKING MEANING-
 include CONCEPT CHECKING when we introduce new language. For
example, if we have presented the sentence I managed to open the window, we
can ask the students to choose the best way of explaining it:
a) It was easy but I did it.
b) It was difficult but I did it.
c) It was difficult so I couldn't do it.
d) I tried and I did it, etc.
 use questions to check meaning;
 ask students to give more examples of the concept that we have introduced;
 ask the students to draw pictures of the words we have introduced.

70 Classroom moments
I. HOW TO START A LESSON
  Some teachers put on music before the students start coming into class. This sets the
mood for what is to follow.
 Some teachers start their lessons with WARMERS to get the students in a good mood for
a lesson. Activities like this are also sometimes called ICEBREAKERS. They are often
games or activities such as RUNNING DICTATION , POETRY REORDERING or
MATCHING activities , where the students have to move around or puzzle things out.
 We can go straight into the lesson by asking for a class story.

II. WHEN STUDENTS ARE LATE

Things to do:
 Code of conduct;
 Ask why they are late;
 the rest of the class summarize what has happened so far for the students who are late.
 students cannot come into the lesson if they are more than five minutes late.

III. WHEN THE CLASS NEEDS TO BE QUIET

o if the teacher speaks very loudly and this is unexpected, it may make the students stop
what they are doing because they are curious.
o Some teachers raise their arms.
o Some teachers use little bells or miniature cymbals or a whistle (or some otl1er musical
noise) to indicate that an activity is over.
o Some teachers stand (usually in the same place each time so the students know what is
happening), watch and wait until the class has quietened down. It helps to maintain eye
contact with the class when we do this.

IV. FINISHING THE LESSON

 summarize what has happened in the lesson;
 ask the students to tell you what tl1ey have learnt;
 tell students what they can look forward to in the next lesson;
 ask students to write down (three) things that they have learnt;
 end lessons with an enjoyable activity such as a game or song.
72. GIVING FEEDBACK

 When students say or write things, they usually expect feedback from the teacher.
 This often comes in the form of some kind of EVALUATION.
 It is important that our students know that we have heard what they have said or
read what they have written.
  We should be careful not to praise students too enthusiastically too often. If we
say Fantastic! or Well done.' to everything that they say, the words lose their
meaning. Students don't enjoy being praised if they cannot see a good reason for
it.
 We often need to show tl1e students that what they have said is incorrect.

IDEAS OF EVALUATION:
 We can REFORMULATE or RE-CAST what the student has said
 We can repeat what the student has just said with a rising INTONATION.
 We can ask our students to clarify what they have just said.
 We can comment on the CONTENT of what the students have just said.
 We can use FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS to encourage students to say more.

77 Using the L1
Many people around the world grow up speaking two, three or more languages. When we
discuss this topic, however, we tend to talk about a student's L1 to refer to their first/home
language.
When people are learning languages, especially at the beginning, they translate from one
language to another in their heads whether we like it or not!

Arguments against using the students' L 1 in the classroom:

 The more the students speak in their Ll, the less English they speak.
 Students get fantastically good COMPREHENSIBLE INPUT from the teacher in
English. If the teacher uses the students' Ll, they won't get as much English exposure.
 We want our students to think in English, not in their L 1. We want to create an English
environment in the classroom.
 Students learn best by trying to express themselves in English. The more they
communicate in English, the better. There is no point in COMMUNICATIVE
ACTIVITIES if the students are using their Ll..
Translation activities
 We can evaluate students' progress at the end of a course of study by asking them if they
can translate the phrases and structures they have been studying back into their Ll.
 The students can translate different sections of a text and then share their translations to
build up the complete story.
 Students can translate short texts and then compare their translations with those of their
classmates.
 The students discuss different idioms in different languages and cultures.
 We can get our students to use online web translators and ask them to say what, if
anything, is wrong with the translations.

Language functions
Revise
1. For questions 1–8, match the sentences with the language functions A–H.
A Agreeing
B Asking for clarification
C Disagreeing
D Giving an opinion
E Inviting
F Offering
G Requesting
H Suggesting

1 I can’t go along with you there.-C

2 D’ you fancy a film tonight?-E
3 I’ll do it if you want.-F
4 Might a bigger screen work better?-H
5 I was wondering if you would look at my lesson plan.-G
6 I wouldn’t use that coursebook if I was you.-D
7 What exactly do you mean by that?-B
8 Yes! Absolutely!-A
2. For questions 1–6, match the phrases in italic in the dialogue with the language functions
A–H from Exercise 1. There may be more than one possible answer. AK
A: (1) Would you like to come round this evening?-E
B: (2) Yes sure.-A
A: (3) We could watch the documentary on TV.-H
B: (4) No thanks.-D
A: (5) Well, how about you come up with a plan?-G
B: (6) I’ll bring my iPad, shall I? I’ve got a great film I’d like you to see.-F

Written and spoken English

Revise
1 For questions 1–8, decide whether the sentences and phrases are more writing-like (WL) or
speaking-like (SL). AK
1 I am in receipt of your communication.-WL
2 I would like to start by describing the process.WL
3 Omigod-SL
4 See you later-SL
5 With best wishes-WL
6 Wow! Fantastic!-SL
7 You OK?-SL
8 gr8 2cu last nite-WL

2 Punctuate the following conversation.

A: what have you got in that bag?
B: various vegetables: potatoes, carrots, onions,cabbage.
A: you’re going to cook?
B: yes.
A: i don't believe it!
B: come on, I’m not that hopeless-even if you think I am.
A: ok, sorry.

3 Punctuate the following paragraph.

When I arrived at Bangkok airport I couldn’t find anyone waiting for me. I went to the
information desk and asked for help. ‘Who are you expecting?’ said the woman behind the
counter. ‘Someone from my company,’ I answered. Just then Sam walked up. ‘sorry I’m
late,’ he said, ‘I got caught in the traffic.’

Genre
Revise
1 For questions 1–7, match the extracts with the genres A–G they are most likely to occur in.
A Advertisement
B Business letter
C Email
D Novel
E Poem
F Tweet
G Exam
1 Fly Blue Sky Airways – it’s the only way to travel!
2 RT@builderman having a gr8 time at circus. Better without animals!
3 Hi Karen
Great to hear from you. Glad you are OK.
I was wondering – do you fancy coming for a quick meeting next Tuesday at 11?
We could go through the agenda for the meeting.
Wbw
Kate
4 Time passed slowly that week. It always does when you are feeling out of sorts.
But if I had known what was coming, I would have been happy with the pace of
things.
5 Answer questions 1 and 2 before attempting the rest of the paper.
6 I am in receipt of your communication of December 16th .
7 If you chase the bird
As it slowly turns
Wing feathers out like crampons
And the rolling flutter of its tail;

1-A
2-F
3-C
4-D
5-G
6-B
7-E

Register
Revise
1 For questions 1–8, choose the best option (A, B or C) to describe each statement.
1 This is when one person only is speaking.=C
A Mode
B Dialogue
C Monologue
2 This is a combination of activity and topic.=A
A Field
B Tone
C Mode
3 This is the language we use when the situation expects us to be respectful, or when we
don’t know the other person well.=A
A Formal
B Mode
C Informal
4 This is when we write a shortened form of a word or phrase.=C
A Ellipsis
B Tone
C Abbreviation
5 This describes whether we are talking on the phone, writing emails, communicating via
smoke signals, etc.!=B
A Informal
B Mode
C Topic
6 This is language we use when we are unsure of information or the people we are talking
to.=C
A Formal
B Informative
C Tentative
7 This a combination of topic, tone and mode.=A
A Register
B Formal
C Abbreviation
8 This is vocabulary that is not very commonly used.=B
A Informal language
B Low frequency language
C Literary language

Cohesion and coherence

Revise
1 For questions 1–5, match the sentences with the cohesive devices A–E they include.
A Anaphoric reference
B Cataphoric reference
C Lexical cohesion
D Linkers
E Time adverbials

1 A few days after Paul and Emma met, love was in the air.
2 It was after a few years’ teaching that they thought of it – setting up a school of their own.
3 Paul and Emma wanted to start a school even though starting a school would be difficult.
4 Paul had always wanted to be a teacher in a classroom with students and teachers and
boards and books and all that kind of thing.
5 Paul started teaching when he was in his early twenties.

1=E
2=B
3=D
4=C
5=A

2 Put the sentences in the correct order to make a paragraph.

1 He replied that they all wanted to wish her a happy birthday, and then they all started to
sing.
2 When she walked into the classroom she realized something was wrong.
3 She asked him what he wanted to say.
4 She enjoyed that.
5 She got out her books and was about to start when one of the students put up his hand.
6 The students were all sitting there quietly and no one said a word.

When she walked into the classroom she realized something was wrong. The students were
all sitting there quietly and no one said a word. She got out her books and was about to start
when one of the students put up his hand. She asked him what he wanted to say. He replied
that they all wanted to wish her a happy birthday, and then they all started to sing.
67. Where students sit
Revise
1 For questions 1–8, match the descriptions with what the terms A–I. There is one extra option
that you do not need to use.
A Communicative speaking activities F Pairwork
B Groupwork G Sociogram
C Inner and outer wheels H Solowork
D Learner autonomy I Whole-class grouping
E Mandatory participation
1 All the students in the group have to take part whether they like it or not! MANDATORY
PARTICIPATION
2 Groupwork is especially useful for these. COMMUNICATIVE SPEAKING ACTIVITIES
3 Some students appreciate quiet time in class and the chance to think for themselves.
SOLOWORK
4 This is good for activities like story circle writing and story reconstruction, etc.
GROUPWORK
5 This is the way that students are organised when we do things like take the register or give
general explanations. WHOLE-CLASS GROUPING
6 We get students to work together in groups of two. PAIRWORK
7 We want students to be able to take some learning decisions for themselves. LEARNER
AUTONOMY
8 When students sit in this way they can change the pairs they work in very quickly. INNER
AND OUTER WHEELS

69 Giving instructions, checking meaning

Revise
1 Read the instructions A–H for a ‘Describe and draw’ activity, and put them in the correct
sequence 1–8.
A. Student B, you must draw the picture that student A has. A will tell you what is in their
picture and you can ask questions. - 5
B. Good. Now that you are in your pairs, I want one person to be student A in each pair, and the
other person to be student B. -3
C. I would like you to get into pairs. -1
D. Now I am going to give A a picture. Here it is. -4
E. Off you go! -7
F. OK. It’s time to stop. A and B, show each other your pictures. How similar or different are
they? -8
G. The most important thing is this: B, you must not look at A’s picture. -6
H. Will you two work together, please? And you two, and you two... -2

70 Classroom moments
Revise
1 For questions 1–9, match the descriptions with the actions and activities A–J. There is one
extra option that you do not need to use.
A Code of conduct F Raising our arms
B Counting backwards G Summarising
C DEAR H Taking the register
D Grading excuses I Talking quietly
E Shouting J Warmers
1 Teachers use these to get a lesson off to a ‘good’ and happy start.- WARMERS
2 Teachers want students to agree about what good behaviour means in the class so they get the
students to help write one of these. –CODE OF CONDUCT
3 Teachers can ask the rest of the class to evaluate the reasons which students give for being late.
–GRADING EXCUSES
4 Teachers get everyone to stop what they are doing and read. -DEAR
5 Teachers keep a record of who has come to the class and who hasn’t. – TAKING THE
REGISTER
6 One way of quietening down a class is to say: Ten, nine, eight ... etc. – COUNTING
BACKWARDS
7 Teachers can end a lesson by saying what has taken place in that lesson. - SUMMARISING
8 When teachers do this, they hope students will quieten down and listen. – TALKING
QUIETLY
9 It is not a good idea to do this because it just adds to the noise level in the class. – SHOUTING

72 Giving feedback
Revise
1 For questions 1–6, choose the best option (A, B or C) to complete each statement.
1 When students are involved in ACCURACY work we often use evaluative feedback.
A accuracy
B fluency
C commenting
2 We can use EVALUATION to make sure that students keep speaking.
A acknowledgement
B evaluation
C follow-up questions
3 Instead of correcting, we can REEFORMULATE what students have said so that they hear the
best way of saying something.
A reformulate
B comment on
C follow up on
4 We can use questioning INTONATION to show that we want students to say more or to clarify
what they have said.
A praise
B intonation
C fluency
5 It is important to ACKNOWLEDGE what students have said or they may think we are
ignoring them!
A reformulate
B correct
C acknowledge
6 It is important to COMMENT ON THE CONTENT of what students say and write and not just
say whether it is correct or not.
A evaluate
B comment on the content
C respond to the grammar

79 Planning lessons
Revise
1 For questions 1–11, match the extracts from a lesson plan with the lesson plan headings A–K.
A Activities
B Additional possibilities
C Aims
D Anticipating difficulties
E Class description
F Interaction pattern
G Language exponents
H Personal aims
I Procedures
J Timetable fit
K Timing
1. 15 minutes - TIMING
2. By the end of the lesson the students will have a better understanding of typical narrative text
structure. -AIMS
3. He didn’t understand what she had said.
He hadn’t realised that she was coming.
She didn’t recognise the picture he had taken. – LANGUAGE EXPONENTS
4. I want to try and be more effective in helping students who are working in groups. –
PERSONAL AIMS
5. I will start by asking students what they did at the weekend ... -PROCEDURES
6. If some students finish first, I will give them ... – ADDITIONAL POSSIBILITIES
7. In previous lessons students have studied different narrative tenses. In future lessons they will
be asked to co-construct and later write their own stories. – TIMETABLE FIT
8. Students will write stories in small groups (story circle). -ACTIVITIES
9. SSS <–> SSS (SSS is a symbol for a small group of students.) –INTERACTION PATTERN
10. Students may find it difficult to understand the relationship between the different verb
tenses... – ANTICIPATING DIFFICULITIES
11. There are 25 students in the class, aged between 17 and 20 (18 female, 7 male). – CLASS
DESCRIPTION