PROFESORA DRA JELENA BOBKINA 2 Use of English

PROFESORA DRA. JELENA BOBKINA

§ 2. Use of English § USE OF ENGLISH. MATCH THE FOLLOWING IDIOMS WITH THEIR MEANING

§ 1. -A hot potato § 2. -Add insult to injury § 3. -At the drop of a hat § 4. -back to the drawing board § 5. -best thing since sliced bread § 6. -blessing in disguise § 7. -burn the midnight oil § 8. -caught between two stools § 9. -Elvis has left the building § 10. -hit the nail on the head a. - When an attempt fails and it's time to start all over. b. - The show has come to an end. It's all over. c. - To work late into the night, alluding to the time before electric lighting. d. - To further a loss with mockery or indignity; to worsen an unfavorable situation e. - Do or say something exactly right f. - an issue (mostly current) which many people are talking about and which is usually disputed g. - without any hesitation; instantly h. - Something good that isn't recognized at first i. - When someone finds it difficult to choose between two alternatives. j. - A good invention or innovation. A good idea or plan.

§ 3. - Use of English GAPPED SENTENCES. THINK OF ONE WORD ONLY THAT FITS IN THE FOLLOWING SETS OF SENTENCES

§ 1. -a. My bedroom looks like a _____ right now in between moving houses. § b. In the US you do not _____ ushers unless they do something extravagant for you. § c. Have you ever been to the lighthouse located in the northern ______ of the island? § 2. - a. My children never want to ______ me in on what they do in school. § b. I was _____ stay at my friend's house for a whole weekend. § c. There isn't enough room for us, _______ alone any guests

3. a. Hers was a classic tale of ______ to riches. § b. The beggar was dressed in ______ § c. I keep these _____ for cleaning the car. § 4. a. She is held in very _____ regard by her colleagues. § b. We had _____ hopes for the business. § c. This issue has had a ____ profile in recent months

§ TEXT ANALYSIS. READ THE TEXT AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS BELOW

§ From the turn of the twentieth century onwards, it has been generally assumed that L 2 should be taught without reference to the learners' L 1. It has become a popular belief among teachers that the translation of L 1 gets in the way with the acquisition of L 2. § Newson (1988) argued that using translation as a teaching and testing tool has four disadvantages. Translation (1) encourages thinking in one language and transferring to another, with accompanying interference; (2) deprives teacher and learner of the benefit of working within a single language; (3) gives false belief of the idea that there is a perfect one-to-one correspondence between languages; and (4) does not facilitate achievement of generally accepted aims such as emphasis on the spoken language.

§ Additionally, Carreres (2006) put forward some arguments against using translation as a § § § language teaching tool: Translation is an artificial exercise that has no place in a communicative methodology. Also, it is restrictive in that it confines language practice to two skills only: reading and writing. Translation into L 2 is counterproductive in that it forces learners always to view the foreign language through their mother tongue; this causes interferences and a dependence on L 1 that inhibits free expression in L 2. Translation into L 2 is a purposeless exercise that has no application in the real world, since translators normally operate into and not out of their mother tongue. Translation, particularly into L 2, is a frustrating and de-motivating exercise in that the student can never attain the level of accuracy or stylistic polish of the version presented to them by their teacher. It seems to be an exercise designed to elicit mistakes, rather than accurate use of language. Translation is a method that may well work with literary-oriented learners who enjoy probing the intricacies of grammar and lexis, but it is unsuited to the average learner.

§ It is also a widely held view that translation is not a suitable exercise in the initial stages of learning (Marsh, 1987). It is argued that, before learners can tackle translation productively, they need to have acquired a significant level of proficiency in the L 2 language. They need to have moved beyond beginner's level. § According to Owen (2003) the rationale against using translation is founded on obliging learners to share their precious L 2 use time with the L 1; this is not a productive use of the opportunities given by the class. § Despite the previous arguments against teaching translation, there are strong arguments for teaching translation. The following section will refute the arguments against teaching translation. § From an opposite perspective, translation, misconceived and overused, could be seen as a victim of the grammar-translation method, rather than the source of its evils. The problem was not translation as such, but a teaching methodology that separated language from its communicative function. Indeed, translation itself as it takes place in the real world is essentially linked to a communicative purpose. As Duff (1989: 6) puts it, "translation happens everywhere, all the time, so why not in the classroom? "

§ 1. - DO YOU THINK THE AUTHOR HAS A BIASED PERSPECTIVE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWER

§ The author indeed has a biased perspective; he is in favour of using translation in L 2 instruction. § Even if he starts the text putting forward the arguments against translation, he goes on to provide us with the arguments in favour of translation. Most importantly, in the conclusion he clearly states his opinion in favour of the use of translation in L 2 teaching.

§ 2. -WHAT TYPE OF TEXT IS IT? WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE STRUCTURE OF THE TEXT?

§ It is an argumentative text with a very clear structure. The first minor part, which only includes the very first paragraph, introduces the issue. The first major part gives us many arguments from different writers who oppose the use of translation in L 2 teaching. Then we are presented, in the second major part, with many arguments in favour of the use of translation. Finally, the second and final minor part is the last paragraph, where the author gives us his personal position.

§ 3. -CLASSIFY THE FOLLOWING AUTHORS UNDER THE CORRECT CATEGORY:

§ 4. -DO YOU THINK THE USE OF TRANSLATION CAN BE FRUITFUL IN A PRIMARY SCHOOL CLASSROOM? GIVE YOUR PERSONAL OPINION.

§ Even though it is true that translation should not be the main vehicle for instruction, it is undeniable that it could be useful in some specific circumstances. § Each student learns in a different way, and we will face some pedagogical scenarios where students benefit from the use of translation. Students featuring Asperger’s syndrome for a start, enjoy having general rules they can hold on to. At a basic grammatical level, some equivalences between L 1 and L 2 can be established and thus, these students will greatly benefit from translation. The same applies to other autism spectra, which also enjoy having A=B rules when learning. § Also, some students who have trouble assimilating grammar rules with an inductive methodology will benefit from having a similar structure in their mother tongue.

§ 2. USE OF ENGLISH. REPHRASE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES

§ 1. "I really wish I hadn't left the cake next to the radiator, " he said. REGRETTED He regretted having left/leaving the cake next to the radiator. § 2. "It's not a good idea to wear a pink shirt with your green trousers, " she told me ADVISED She ___________ _a pink shirt with my green trousers. § 3. "There's no way I'm going to sing karaoke with you, " he said to his mother. REFUSED He _____ karaoke with his mother. § 4. "Why don't you ask questions so that I can give my voice a rest? , " he said. SUGGESTED He ___________ so that he could give his voice a rest.

§ 5. "Believe it or not, I can name the capital city of every country in the world, " he said. CLAIMED He ______ name the capital city of every country in the world. § 6. "Don't forget to hand in your essay next Friday, " she told me. REMINDED She ______ my essay (on) the following Friday. § 7. "The government has failed to keep its promise to reduce inflation, " she said. ACCUSED She _______ to keep its promise to reduce inflation.

§ 3. READING. REARANGE THE PARAGRAPHS IN THE CORRECT ORDER

§ "I actually was thinking like, 'I don't get why other moms say they're so tired, or this is § § § so hard. I got this, ' " she says. Then, back at home, she noticed police helicopters circling over their apartment. "There were snipers on the roof, " she remembers thinking, "and there were spy cams in our bedroom and everyone was watching me. And my cellphone was giving me weird messages. " The cops must have arrested the nanny instead, she decided. That was wrong, Lisa thought to herself. The nanny shouldn't be punished for my crime. Lisa told her husband it wasn't fair. She was going to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge. Lisa Abramson says that even after all she has been through — the helicopters circling her house, the snipers on the roof, and the car ride to jail — she still wants to have a second child. Lisa wanted to be the perfect mom. She was ready to be the perfect mom. She and her husband lived in San Francisco, and Lisa had worked as a successful entrepreneur and as a marketing executive for a Silicon Valley tech company. When it came to starting her family, she was organized and ready to go. And that first week after her baby was born, everything was going according to plan. The world was nothing but love. Lisa started to feel like she couldn't keep up.

§ Lisa thought going to a spin class would help. This was something she usually loved. But after 10 minutes, she fled the room. § She was barely sleeping. Even when she could get a release from what felt like breastfeeding purgatory, she couldn't relax. As she got more and more exhausted, she started to get confused. § Lisa waited for the police to burst in and take her away. But the next morning, she woke up in her own bed. § "It weighed on me as, 'I've failed as a mom. I can't feed my child, ' " she says. "I needed to feed her — that was the most important thing. And my well-being didn't matter. " § Then the baby started losing weight, and the pediatrician told Lisa to feed her every two hours. § That's because right after her daughter was born in 2014 — before all that trouble began — everything felt amazing. Lisa was smitten, just like she had imagined she would be. She would look into her baby's round, alert eyes and feel the adrenaline rush through her. She had so much energy. She was so excited. § And that was when her husband told her he was going to drive her to the police station himself.

§ Suggest some possible pre- while- and post- activities to use songs in the classroom

§ Pre-listening activities § Give students the title of the song and ask them to predict words and phrases that they expect to hear. § Give students the words of a song with an "either/or" choice for certain words in each line. Students choose which word is more likely in each case and then listen and check if they were correct. § Dictate a list of words which appear in the song - in a random order and add one extra word which doesn't appear. Students write the words then listen to the song, ticking off the words as they hear them. They should end up with one word.

§ While listening activities § Students listen and delete extra words which they do not hear (you will need to prepare a song page with extra words) § Students listen and fill gaps (open cloze or multiple choice) § Students listen to a song, draw a picture to represent what they hear and then explain their pictures in small groups. § After listening activities § Students listen to a song and make a note of 6 or 8 words that they hear. Then they use these words as the basic vocabulary for composing a poem in pairs. Although students are often reluctant to write poetry, if you tell them that their poem has to be "corny", they will enjoy the task. § Students write another verse for the song in pairs or small groups. § Students brainstorm all of the words that they have heard and then listen again and check to see how many are correct

§ Implementing Cooperative Learning

§ Cooperative learning is more than merely having students sit together, helping the others do their work. Directing students who finish their work early to assist others isn't a form of cooperative learning either. Neither is assigning a group of students to "work together" UNLESS you assure that all will contribute their fair share to the product.

§ A true cooperative learning experience requires that a number of criteria be met. They are: o Division of labor among students in the group o Face-to-face interaction between students o Assignment of specific roles and duties to students o Group processing of a task o Positive interdependence in which students all need to do their assigned duties in order for the task to be completed o Individual accountability for completing one's own assigned duties o The development of social skills as a result of cooperative interaction o Provision of group rewards by the teacher

§ The introduction of "learning teams" into the classroom is an effective method for increasing the number of students willing to make an effort to learn in school. § The teams usually work together on long-term assignments, although sometimes students remain together in duos, triads or quadrants for the entire day. In these groups, each individual is responsible for assuring that the other team members learn the assigned material. § Those who understand the lesson/material are responsible for teaching it to the others. Groups progress to a new unit of study when all members of the group have mastered the lesson.

§ Group members are also responsible for the behavior of all members. If a team member displays inappropriate behavior, it is the duty of fellow members to remind that student to `check' him/herself. The members attempt to refocus the misbehaving student by offering help and suggestions. § Initially, temporary grouping can help students to grasp the concept of long-term learning teams, and practice responsibilities while the teacher sharpens his/her skills and receives feedback from the students regarding how to improve assignments.