Praxis ESL Linguistics

Indefinite article

"Indefinite" means "not specific". Use A(AN) when you are talking about a thing in general, NOT a specific thing. Examples: I need a phone. Not a specific phone, any phone

Voiced & unvoiced consonants

(ex. Teacher says black eyes but student mistakenly hears black ice. [z] in 'eyes' as voiced & [s] in 'ice' as unvoiced.

Audio lingual method

-Based on the notion that language is best learned through a reinforcement of targeted language forms. Having students listen to and repeat a dialogue in a practice drill is indicative of this method. -ex. ELLs listen to a recording of two native english speakers, teacher replays it and stops after each line in the dialogue so ELLs can repeat it in unison.

Fossilization

-Getting stuck at a specific stage ("I can get by so why bother" syndrome)

Minimal pairs

-In phonology, minimal pairs are pairs of words or phrases in a particular language that differ in only one phonological element, such as a phoneme, toneme or chroneme, and have distinct meanings. They are used to demonstrate that two phones constitute two separate phonemes in the language. -Helps to distinguish between sounds in English

Output Hypothesis

-Merrill Swain -The output hypothesis states that language learners will pay attention to phrases when they can attach meaning to them. The act of speaking or writing under certain conditions makes up the process of second language learning. Speaking the language is different than understanding the language. 3 Functions- -1. Noticing functions: The learner realizes what they do not know or only partially know. They know what they want to say but are unable to communicate it. This is done through practice, verbally communicating in the second language in the classroom. 2. Hypothesis-testing function: It is when the learner provides statement realizing that the grammar is not always correct and they receive feedback in order to improve. This enables the learner to reformulate their statements. Interaction within the classroom with teacher and peers can assist the learner to improve their grammar. 3. Metalinguistic function: The learner reflects upon the language learned and this enables them to control their output and internalize their linguistic knowledge. After the first two functions, the student should be able to internally reflect on what they have learned.

Language experience approach

-Promotes literacy development through the use of students personal experiences. Typically, the teacher will ask students to talk about an event in their lives and transcribe their speech. The transcription can then be used as the basis for reading and writing activities) (ex. Having ELLs recount what happened during a recent school wide assembly as the teacher transcribes the story on the chalkboard.)

The Input Hypothesis

-Stresses that learner input should be based slightly beyond learners current receptive level so that the learner can progress. The Input hypothesis is Krashen's attempt to explain how the learner acquires a second language - how second language acquisition takes place. The Input hypothesis is only concerned with 'acquisition', not 'learning'. According to this hypothesis, the learner improves and progresses when he/she receives second language 'input' that is one step beyond his/her current stage of linguistic competence. For example, if a learner is at a stage 'i', then acquisition takes place when he/she is exposed to 'Comprehensible Input' that belongs to level 'i + 1'. We can then define 'Comprehensible Input' as the target language that the learner would not be able to produce but can still understand. It goes beyond the choice of words and involves presentation of context, explanation, rewording of unclear parts, the use of visual cues and meaning negotiation. The meaning successfully conveyed constitutes the learning experience.

ELLSs with different educational backgrounds

-Students may lack background knowledge depending where they came from

Communicative language teaching

-authentic, real world resources - ex. photo copies of advertisements from English magazines

Stressed syllables

1 Stress on first syllable rule example Most 2-syllable nouns PRESent, EXport, CHIna, TAble Most 2-syllable adjectives PRESent, SLENder, CLEVer, HAPpy 2 Stress on last syllable rule example Most 2-syllable verbs to preSENT, to exPORT, to deCIDE, to beGIN

Pronouns

A pronoun (I, me, he, she, herself, you, it, that, they, each, few, many, who, whoever, whose, someone, everybody, etc.) is a word that takes the place of a noun. In the sentence Joe saw Jill, and he waved at her, the pronouns he and her take the place of Joe and Jill, respectively.

Passive voice

A sentence is passive when the subject is acted upon by an agent that may or may not be named. (ex. The dinner is being prepared.) 'Dinner' is being acted on by an unnamed agent.

Foreigner talk

A simplified version of a language that's sometimes used by native speakers when addressing non-native speakers. "Foreigner talk is closer to baby talk than to pidgin," says Eric Reinders. "Pidgins, creoles, baby talk, and foreigner talk are quite distinct as spoken but nonetheless tend to be perceived as similar by those adult native speakers who are not fluent in pidgin" (Borrowed Gods and Foreign Bodies, 2004).

Aspiration

Aspiration is also a feature of phonation. The airstream mechanism is how the air moves through the vocal tract during articulation. Most languages have exclusively pulmonic egressive consonants, but ejectives, clicks, and implosives use different mechanisms.

Assimilation

Assimilation is a general term in phonetics for the process by which a speech sound becomes similar or identical to a neighboring sound. In the opposite process, dissimilation, sounds become less similar to one another. Assimilation is the influence of a sound on a neighboring sound so that the two become similar or the same. For example, the Latin prefix in- 'not, non-, un-' appears in English as il-, im-. and ir- in the words illegal, immoral, impossible (both m and p are bilabial consonants), and irresponsible as well as the unassimilated original form in- in indecent and incompetent.

Jim Cummins

BICS & CALP (Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills & Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency)

/b/

Bad, laB

BICS

Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (Social language)

CALP

Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (Academic language)

/d/

DiD, laDy

/f/

Find, iF

/g/

Give, flaG

How to teach ELLs about register, or the use of language within a specific social setting.

How language used is different in formal & informal settings (ex. Having students role play activity where they simulate speaking with their boss or going out with friends)

/h/

How, Hello

Consonant clusters

In linguistics, a consonant cluster or consonant sequence is a group of consonants which have no intervening vowel. In English, for example, the groups /spl/ and /ts/ are consonant clusters in the word splits.

Register

In linguistics, a register is a variety of a language used for a particular purpose or in a particular social setting.

Code switching

In linguistics, code-switching occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation. Multilinguals—speakers of more than one language—sometimes use elements of multiple languages when conversing with each other.

Overgeneralization

In linguistics, overgeneralization is the application of a grammatical rule in cases where it doesn't apply. The term overgeneralization is most often used in connection with language acquisition by children. For example, a young child may say "foots" instead of "feet,"

Elision

In phonetics and phonology, elision is the omission of a sound (a phoneme) in speech. Elision is common in casual conversation. "Elision of sounds can . . . be seen clearly in contracted forms like isn't (is not), I'll (I shall/will), who's (who is/has), they'd (they had, they should, or they would), haven't (have not) and so on. We see from these examples that vowels or/and consonants can be elided.

Dipthong

In phonetics, a diphthong is a vowel in which there is a noticeable sound change within the same syllable.From greek- 2 sounds "If you say the words hat and lip, you can hear that the vowel sound in each is singular in nature; that is, each contains only one kind of sound. But if you say the words out, bite, and toil, you will hear that the vowel sound of each, though restricted to one syllable, is composed of two different kinds of sound. These dual vowels are called diphthongs (literally, 'two voices' or 'two sounds'), as opposed to the singular vowels, which are monophthongs ('one voice' or 'one sound')."

Nasalization

In phonetics, nasalization (or nasalisation) is the production of a sound while the velum is lowered, so that some air escapes through the nose during the production of the sound by the mouth. An archetypal nasal sound is [n].

Plural Inflection

Inflection is the name for the extra letter or letters added to nouns, verbs and adjectives in their different grammatical forms. Nouns are inflected in the plural, verbs are inflected in the various tenses, and adjectives are inflected in the comparative/superlative. Here are some of the most important inflection rules:

Negative transfer

Influence of mother tongue knowledge when learning English. (Could be a bad influence in learning the L2)

Informal register

Informal language is more common when we speak. However, there are times where writing can be very informal, for example, when writing postcards or letters to friends, emails or text messages.

Rising intonation

Intonation describes how the voice rises and falls in speech. (ex. Would you like coffee?)

Stephen Krashen

Krashen's theory of second language acquisition consists of five main hypotheses: the Acquisition-Learning hypothesis, the Monitor hypothesis, the Input hypothesis, the Natural Order hypothesis, and the Affective Filter hypothesis.

L1 Interference

Language transfer (also known as L1 interference, linguistic interference, and crosslinguistic influence) refers to speakers or writers applying knowledge from one language to another language.

Silent period

New arrivals tend to go through a period of silence, which could last days, weeks or even months. It is important to give students time to observe and adjust to their new environment.

Pidginization

Pidginization is a linguistic process that occurs when people who do not speak the same language come into contact. It involves the simplification of the contacting language and the exploitation of linguistic common denominators.

Possessive pronouns

Possessive pronouns refer to something which belongs to someone or something. They can take the place of both the pronoun and the noun which is possessed, and they're generally found at the end of the clause or sentence. The possessive pronouns are mine, yours, his, hers, ours, yours, theirs and whose. ex. The green shirt is mine; the red one is his.

Relative clauses

Relative clauses are clauses starting with the relative pronouns who*, that, which, whose, where, when. They are most often used to define or identify the noun that precedes them. (ex. Do you know the girl who started in grade 7 last week? Can I have the pencil that I gave you this morning?)

Falling intonation

Standard unemphatic falling intonation is the most common type of intonation in English. It is used in statements (declarative sentences), special questions, commands (imperative sentences), exclamatory sentences, in the first part of disjunctive questions and in the last part of alternative questions. (Different types of sentences are described in Basic Word Order in the section Grammar.) The final fall in English is used on the last stressed syllable of a sentence and falls stronger and deeper than the fall in Russian. (ex. We live in \MOScow. She is ten years \OLD.)

Natural Order Hypothesis

Stephen Krashen- This hypothesis states that grammatical structures are learned in a predictable order (Romeo). Krashen also claims that this can only happen if the subject is given input they can comprehend, and if anxiety levels are low.

Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject verb agreement simply means the subject and verb must agree in number. This means both need to be singular or both need to be plural. (ex. Incorrect: A bouquet of yellow roses lend color and fragrance to the room. Correct: A bouquet of yellow roses lends . . . (bouquet lends, not roses lend)

Suggestopedia

Suggestopedia is a teaching method which is based on a modern understanding of how the human brain works and how we learn most effectively. Suggestopedia was originally applied mainly in foreign language teaching, and it is often claimed that it can teach languages approximately three times as quickly as conventional methods.

Definite article

THE is called a definite article. "Definite" means "specific". Use THE when talking about something which is already known to the listener or which has been previously mentioned, introduced, or discussed. Examples: I have a cat. The cat is black.

Grammar translation method

The grammar translation method is a method of teaching foreign languages derived from the classical (sometimes called traditional) method of teaching Greek and Latin. In grammar-translation classes, students learn grammatical rules and then apply those rules by translating sentences between the target language and the native language.

Language experience approach

The language experience approach (LEA) is a whole language approach that promotes reading and writing through the use of personal experiences and oral language. It can be used in tutorial or classroom settings with homogeneous or heterogeneous groups of learners.

Sociolinguisitics aspects of language

The nature of the relationship that exists between interlocutors is among the factors that contribute to variations in linguistic register. (ex. formal/informal register when speaking to someone)

Fossilization

The point at which no further learning seems possible. Fossilization in language learning may occur when students feel their communicative needs have already been met ("I can get by so why bother" syndrome).

Verb tense

The tense of a verb is determined by when the action took place. The three tenses are: The Past Tense The Present Tense The Future Tense

Zone of Proximal Development

The zone of proximal development, often abbreviated as ZPD, is the difference between what a learner can do without help and what he or she can do with help. It is a concept introduced, yet not fully developed, by Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) during the last ten years of his life.

Total Physical Response

Total physical response (TPR) is a language teaching method developed by James Asher, a professor emeritus of psychology at San José State University. It is based on the coordination of language and physical movement.

Noam Chomsky

Universal Grammar: proposing that the ability to learn grammar is hard-wired into the brain. It is sometimes known as 'mental grammar', and as opposed to other 'grammars', e.g. prescriptive, descriptive and pedagogical. The theory suggests that linguistic ability manifests itself without being taught (see the poverty of the stimulus argument), and that there are properties that all natural human languages share. It is a matter of observation and experimentation to determine precisely what abilities are innate and what properties are shared by all languages. Chomsky suggested that all humans are able to acquire language and specified this as the Language Acquisition Device, often abbreviated and referred to as LAD. Generative grammar was as well associated with Chomsky. This approach by Chomsky has been the center of theoretical linguistics and have since resulted in many different grammatical theories. This theory specifies that when learning and attaining language children need to be creating sentences using knowledge of the grammatical principles in their own native language instead of plainly memorizing words and sentences.

Voiceless consonants

Unvoiced consonants do not use this vibration. Instead they make sound using the movement of air through your teeth, tongue, lips and other articulators. Unvoiced consonants in English: /p/ as in pea /t/ as in tea /ʧ/ as in cheap

How to make academic content comprehensible for ELLS

Use text and visuals to provide students with base knowledge they will need to continue learning. (ex. Showing students a computer based presentation that uses text and pictures to present key terms on a topic.)

How to promote ELLs acquisition of content area vocabulary?

Using targeted, context embedded instruction that incorporates receptive language skills, visuals & targeted language instruction

Consonant voicing

VOICED or VOICELESS The distinction is based on whether the vocal chords vibrate when the sound is produced (voiced), or whether they remain still and do not vibrate (voiceless). (See item K. in Figure 1. for the location of the vocal chords within the trachea). Examples of voiced and voiceless consonants include: voiced: b, d, z, g voiceless: p, t, s, k

Word Choice

Word choice refers to a writer's selection of words as determined by a number of factors, including meaning (both denotative and connotative), specificity, level of diction, tone, and audience.

L.S. Vygotsky

ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development)

Gerund

a form that is derived from a verb but that functions as a noun, in English ending in -ing, e.g., asking in do you mind my asking you?.

Tone

a musical or vocal sound with reference to its pitch, quality, and strength.

Possessive pronouns

a pronoun indicating possession, for example mine, yours, hers, theirs.

Prepositions

a word or set of words that indicates location (in, near, beside, on top of) or some other relationship between a noun or pronoun and other parts of the sentence (about, after, besides, instead of, in accordance with).

Conjunctions

a word used to connect clauses or sentences or to coordinate words in the same clause (e.g., and, but, if ).

/ɑː/

ah: Arm, fAther

/oɪ/

bOY, jOIn

Demonstrative pronouns

demonstrate (verb): to show; to indicate; to point to A demonstrative pronoun represents a thing or things: near in distance or time (this, these) far in distance or time (that, those)

Epenthesis

epenthesis is the insertion of an extra sound into a word. Adjective: epenthetic. Verb: epenthesize. Also known as intrusion.

/ɜːʳ/

er: tURn, lEARn

Vowels in initial position

ex. /ey/= able

Adverbs

is a word or set of words that modifies verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Many adverbs end in "-ly". (ex. Financially Willfully Abruptly Endlessly Firmly)

Metathesis

is the re-arranging of sounds or syllables in a word, or of words in a sentence. Most commonly it refers to the switching of two or more contiguous sounds, known as adjacent metathesis[1] or local metathesis:[2] foliage > **foilage cavalry > **calvary

/eɪ/

long a: sAY, EIGHt

/i:/

long e: sEE, hEAt

/ɑɪ/

long i: fIve, EYE

/oʊ/ or /əʊ/

long o: gO, hOme

/u:/

long u: blUE, fOOd

Interference

multilingual writers commit errors when they over-generalize the grammatical patterns of their native language (L1) to English. (Similarly, this theory suggests that students will transfer the grammatical patterns of native dialects of English into their school writing.) This theory comes to us courtesy of our colleagues who teach ESL and foreign languages.

/ɪəʳ/

nEAR, hERE

/ɑʊ/

nOW, OUt

/ɔː/

nOrth, fOrce, fOUr

/ʊəʳ/

pURE, tOURist

/æ/

short a: cAt, blAck

/e/

short e: mEt, bEd

/ɪ/

short i: hIt, sIttIng

/ɒ/

short o: hOt, rOck

/ʊ/

short u: pUt, cOUld

Syntax

the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.

Semantics

the meaning of a word, phrase, sentence, or text.

Negative Transfer

the obstruction of or interference with new learning because of previous learning, as when a U.S. tourist in England learns to drive on the left side of the road.

Code Switching

the practice of alternating between two or more languages or varieties of language in conversation.

Word Order

the sequence of words in a sentence, especially as governed by grammatical rules and as affecting meaning.

Phonetics

the study and classification of speech sounds.

Morphology

the study of the forms of words.

/ə/

uh: Away, cinEmA

/eəʳ/

whERE,AIR