REVISION 2

(20 marks)

Answer all questions.

1. “Figurative expressions are used for special effects and do not have usual or literal
meaning”.

Discuss how this knowledge helps you in using English Language effectively. Justify
your answer with relevant examples.

Figurative language refers to the use of words in a way that deviates from the
conventional order and meaning in order to convey a complicated meaning, colorful
writing, clarity, or evocative comparison. It uses an ordinary sentence to refer to
something without directly stating it. Literal language, however, is used to state fact
as it is. Figurative language such as metaphor, idiom and simile are used to help
explain complicated concepts or directions easily.
Metaphor is when one idea is understood in terms of another. In English, some terms
may be hard to understand, therefore metaphor is used to make understanding the
terms easier. For instance, his words cut deeper than a knife. Obviously, language is
unable to literally cut us, but the phrase is used to express the pain the listener is
going through upon listening to the speaker.
Simile is rather similar to metaphor. Simile is where two things are being compared in
a way that clearly indicates a comparison is being made. For example, his temper is
like a thunderstorm. The use of simile is able to make English more exciting and
memorable without losing its actual meaning.
Finally, idiom is an expression that cannot be understood from its literal meaning.
Each phrase has a separate meaning of its own. It cannot be denied that idioms give
us a new and creative way to express ourselves in English. For example, instead of
saying ‘good luck’, we can say ‘break a leg’. Certainly, if one does not know what
‘break a leg’ actually means, they might actually break a leg, literally.
As we can see above, clearly, figurative expressions do help us use English
Language effectively due to the different outcomes of every expression used in daily
life.

[10 marks]
2. ‘A teacher’s speech acts impart knowledge, organise the classroom, give
demonstrations and make English teaching efficient. They give directives, provide
feedback and ask questions to students.’

Based on the statement above, discuss the speech acts and provide relevant
examples on the following:

a) Giving directives
b) Providing feedback
c) Asking questions

Speech act is an utterance which exhibits speaker’s intention and the effect it has on
listeners. Long story short, it is the action that the speaker wishes to trigger in his or her
audience. Request, warnings, promises, apologies, and greetings all fall under speech act.
Evidently, speech act is essential in communication thus the reason why it is important for
teachers to be able to manipulate speech act correctly.

When a teacher wants to give directives, he must assert his authority as a teacher to ensure
that his instructions is clear and expectations must be met. To ensure the students
understand his direction, the teacher can explain the purpose of the task. Appropriate tone
must be used as well to guarantee the success of the speech act. For instance, he should
not yell, mumble or castigate. The teacher should pause from time to time to enable the
student to digest the information given. If needed to, the teacher can repeat his directions as
we cannot guarantee that the students are listening to him well or not.

Providing feedback is certainly important for teachers. Through feedback, teachers are able
to provide the students with suggestions for development, learning strategies and even
corrections for errors. However, providing feedback must be done correctly to avoid being
misunderstood by the students for criticism. For example, the teacher must be as specific as
possible. A simple ‘good job’ is unable to help the students understand what they did right.
The teacher has to tell them how they have been faring in class so they will be able to know
how to improve. By providing appropriate feedback, the students will assume that the
teacher is genuinely concerned about them and their education.

Finally, a proactive person always makes a great teacher. Questioning should be used to
achieve well-defined goals and should require students to use the thinking skills that he or
she is trying to develop. Therefore, questions must be decided based on the syllabus they
learned rather than a misleading one. Questions asked must be not too general as well as it
might confused the students. With this, it is clear that asking question is not as easy as it
might seem.

In conclusion, it cannot be denied that speech act is very important for teachers to ensure
the growth of their students. Of course, speech act does not only help teachers to give
directive, providing feedback and asking questions but many more. Therefore, as a teacher,
we much be sensitive to all kind of speech act to make sure the information we would like to
relay is able to reach its destination safely.

[10 marks]