Key Aspects of English Language Instruction

Unit 10: English Spelling and Phonology

Index:

• English Spelling
• Orthographic Codes in EFL (Rules)
• Sound-Grapheme Relationships: Vowels, Consonants, Silent Letters
• Teaching the Written Code
• Games and Tasks

1. English Spelling

Study of language from two perspectives:

• Diachronic: Study of language over time.
• Synchronic: Study over a specific period in history.

English is the result of the influence of different languages: French, Greek, Latin, Anglo-Saxon (Latin alphabet).

The Great Vowel Shift was a massive change affecting long vowels in the 15th-18th centuries.

Examples: 'enquiry' vs. 'inquiry', American English 'colour' vs. 'color'.

2. Orthographic Codes in EFL (Rules)

Requires good visual memory and the ability to associate forms and meanings.

Rules:

• Consonant doubling (e.g., 'run' → 'running').
• Final 'e' drops (e.g., 'love' → 'loving', 'believe' → 'believer').
• Exception: words ending in 'ce' or 'ge' (e.g., 'courage' → 'courageous').
• Words ending in 'e' or 'i' + '-ous' (e.g., 'vice' → 'vicious').
• Suffix '-ful': 'fulfill' (words ending in 'l').
• Words ending in 'y' change to 'i' (except before '-ing').
• Ordinal numbers: 'st', 'nd', 'rd', 'th'.
• Regular plurals.

3. Sound-Grapheme Relationships

Regular: Sound corresponds to written form vs. Irregular.

Vowels:

• A: Regular /æ/ (cat), Irregular /ɑː/, /ʌ/, /ɒ/ (What), /eɪ/ (day).
• E: Regular /e/, Irregular /iː/, /ɔː/, /uː/.
• I: Regular /ɪ/ (it), /aɪ/ (night), Irregular /iː/.
• O: Regular /ɒ/ and /əʊ/ (go), Irregular /ʌ/, /uː/, /ɔː/, /ɪ/, /ə/.
• U: Regular /ʊ/, /ʌ/, Irregular /uː/, /ə/.
• Y: Regular /ɪ/, /j/ (yes), Irregular /aɪ/ (cry).

Consonants + examples.

4. Teaching the Written Code

Focus on early stages vs. advanced learners.

Common errors + correction strategies.

5. Games and Tasks

Teaching application: rules, extensive reading, games, and activities.

Unit 15: Literature and Text Selection

Index:

• What is Literature and Interpretation
• How to Select a Literary Work: Criteria and Procedure
• Epochs, Authors, and Genres
• Text Types: Authentic vs. Graded

1. What is Literature and Interpretation

Literature is, at a basic level, communication between an author and reader. The author uses their work to entertain, instruct, or inform.

In the classroom, we can use these functions to help students improve their language ability.

2. How to Select a Literary Work

Criteria and procedure for selection.

3. Epochs, Authors, and Genres

3.1 Sociocultural Factors in Text Choice

3.2 Use of Stories

Epochs and Authors:

• 17th Century: It is difficult to define children's literature and trace its history to a precise starting point. In 1658, Jan Ámos Komenský published the illustrated informational book Orbis Pictus. It is considered the first picture book published specifically for children.
• 18th Century: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe or Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift.
• 19th Century: Brothers Grimm: Cinderella or Snow White. Literature marketed for children was intended to instruct the young, though there was a rich oral tradition of storytelling for children and adults. Lewis Carroll: Alice in Wonderland.
• 20th Century: Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter.
• 21st Century: Harry Potter collection by J.K. Rowling.

Genres: nursery rhymes, fairy tales.

4. Text Types

Authentic vs. Graded (adaptation, narrative, descriptive, explanatory, dialogic, argumentative texts).