Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for Teaching & Education for Secondary education

English Verb Tenses: A Comprehensive Look

Past Simple

• Usage: For definite or concrete moments in the past.
• Positive Form: Subject + Verb (2nd form or -ed)
• Negative Form: Subject + did not + Verb (base form)
• Question Form: Did + Subject + Verb (base form)?

Past Continuous

• Usage: For actions in progress at a specific time in the past, or actions of ongoing duration in the past.
• Positive Form: Subject + was / were + Verb + -ing
• Negative Form: Subject + was not / were not + Verb + -ing
• Question Form: Was / Were + Subject + Verb + -ing?

Past Perfect

• Usage: To express actions that happened before another action in the past.
• Positive Form: Subject + had + Verb (past participle / 3rd column)
• Negative Form: Subject + had not + Verb (past participle / 3rd column)
• Question

*During the course we have learned five strategies about teaching English with greater confidence. First, it is essential to create a safe environment. The classroom should be a place where the student feels comfortable.-In this way, it's important a good relationship between the entire educational community. Creating an environment that strengthens the autonomy and overall making the student feel part of a group not only focusing on the academic environment.-The second strategy is dedicated solely to the teachings in terms of reflecting on your own relationship with the English. The teacher has to be realistic about what he knows, keeping in mind that his knowledge is the basis of learning or any group of students.-The next strategy, is not... Continue reading "Teaching English with Confidence: Strategies and Reflections" »

Paragraph

Is the subdivision of a written composition that consists of one or more sentences, deals with one point and begins on a new line. Elements: purpose, audience, clarity, unity and coherence. Techniques to achieve fluency: linkers, repetition, varying sentence length, punctuation and synonyms.

What to Avoid in Summaries?

No opinion, no pronouns, no adjectives, no exact figures, achieve neutral style.

Letters

Purpose: inform, complain, request, apologize, give opinion and apply-organization-intro: aim of letter/present the idea/dear sir, madam> yours faithfully//dear mr thomas> your sincerely-body: develop idea, give previous background and specific data-conclusion: sum up the info / point of view--style: friend: semiformal, to an editor... Continue reading "Effective Writing Techniques and Styles for Different Purposes" »

Discourse and Society

Discourse Community

It is a group of people involved in and communicating about a particular topic, issue, or in a particular field.

Characteristics:

• Well-established or closed networks
• Made of several overlapping groups of people
• Belonging to different discourse communities can be very different
• Genres and the social relations can also vary
• Interact with wider speech communities

Common Goals:

Common objectives or public goals.

Intercommunication:

Mechanisms of communication. (Conversations, Facebook posts, face-to-face at meetings, speeches)

Participation:

Participatory mechanisms to provide information and feedback. In other words, the exchange of knowledge.

Genres:

One or more genres in the communicative utterance of its aim. (Public... Continue reading "Understanding Discourse, Speech Communities, and Pragmatics" »

Understanding Text Organization

A text is an organized linguistic unit (words, phrases, sentences, periods, paragraphs, full text) structured according to the communicative situation, register of language, and communicative intentionality.

Sentence-Period

A sentence-period is a set of sentences linked by a period, covering the same subject.

Message vs. Text

The message is what is said, while the text is the organized form of what is said.

Communicative Environment

The communicative environment surrounds the issuance of a text and a message. Key questions include: "Who speaks?" and "To whom do they speak?"

Intention to Communicate

This refers to what we want to achieve with our message, such as reporting, ordering, inviting, seeking, or requesting.

The... Continue reading "Understanding Text Organization, Communication, and Language" »

Samuel Johnson (1755): Dictionary of the English Language

Standardization of meaning of words and English spelling

Robert Lowth (1772): Short Introduction to English Grammar

Prescribed what correct grammar should be, based on Latin knowledge

Karl Ploetz: Grammar Translation Method

Learning language using example sentences, two grammar rules, and a list of vocabulary. Translation is emphasized.

Berlitz Method: Direct Method

Learning focuses on oral language, listening, and speaking. Imitation of native speakers is encouraged. Proficient teachers are required, and L1 is not used in classes.

Michael West: Reading Method

Learning through reading. Tests focus on frequent words, and complexity is decreased in tests.

Army Method (WWII): Audiolingualism

Based... Continue reading "A Comprehensive History of Language Learning Theories and Methods" »

Text Properties: Definition and Characteristics

A text is a complete communication unit, whether oral or written, that occurs in a particular situation with a specific communicative intention. Its essential properties or characteristics are adequacy, coherence, and cohesion.

Understanding Text Properties: Adequacy and Coherence

A text demonstrates adequacy when it is well-adapted to the issuer's communicative intention and the specific communication situation.

A text is coherent if its various statements meet the following criteria:

• They are interrelated, meaning they refer to the same subject.
• They maintain a logical relationship.
• They do not contradict each other.
• They advance the information, providing new insights.

Linguistic Cohesion: Lexical and

Unit 1: Personality, Nature, and Verb Tenses

Vocabulary

Personality Traits: Bitter, cruel, dedicated, dependable, eager, enthusiastic, optimistic, outgoing, responsible, supportive, sympathetic, truthful.

Phrases: Get better, get involved, get permission, get the feeling, get things done, get used to, make a difference, make an effort, make an impression, make the most of it.

Nature: Bully, founder, star, victim, habitat, National Park, shade, the wild.

Grammar

• Past Simple: James wrote a story / James didn't write a story / Did James write a story?
• Past Continuous: James was writing a story / James wasn't writing a story / Was James writing a story?
• Used To: I used to wear / He didn't use to wear / Did they use to wear?
• Present Perfect Simple: We've

Unit 1: Vocabulary

ambitious, argumentative, assertive, calm, considerate, conventional, creative, dedicated, eccentric, immature, organised, outgoing, responsible, selfish, sensible, serious, sociable, stubborn, unconventional

Grammar

Present perfect simple, present perfect continuous, verb + object + to infinitive, verb + object + infinitive without to, verb + object + past participle.

Unit 2: Vocabulary

afford, allowance, budget, debt, expenses, financial, income, repay, save, waste, careless, dear, extortionate, hard up, valuable, well off, worthless, stingy, affluent, a rip-off, dirt cheap, cost an arm and a leg, come into some money, dip into your savings, live from hand to mouth, make a killing, tighten your belt.

Grammar

Indirect questions,... Continue reading "English Vocabulary and Grammar Units 1-7" »

INTELIGENCIAS MÚLTIPLES:

1. Linguistic intelligence: the ability to use words effectively.
2. Logical/mathematical: the capacity to use number and reason effectively.
3. Visual-spatial: the capacity to recognize form, space, color, line…
4. Bodily/kinesthetic: the ability to use the body to express ideas and produce things.
5. Musical: the ability to recognize and perceive musical forms.
6. Interpersonal: to interact with the mascot, teacher or other students.
7. Intrapersonal: the ability of self-knowledge and self-understanding.
8. Naturalist: the ability to recognize and categorize plants, animals and other objects in nature.

COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING (CLT)

It began in Britain in the 1960s. Characteristics: Language is used for communication. Hymes defines communicative... Continue reading "Approaches to Language Teaching and Learning" »