ENGLISH PROFICIENCY 1
WORDS & LANGUAGES
What does knowing a word mean?
Pronunciation
Meaning
Grammatical features/aspects
Morphology
Collocations/combinations with other words
Use in context
Style & register variation
Word origin
Word structure/composition
Wider vocabulary?
Add new meanings to words (eg. Figurative meaning), learn collocations & idioms,
related word forms
Word families: recognise -> recognition
o = adding new morphemes prefix in+describe+able suffix
root
Affi xes
= bound morphemes (can’t occur as separate word <-> free morpheme)
-> help form a words meaning
-> can be added to root word to form derived/ inflected form
Prefix (beginning) changes the meaning
Anti: against
Ante: before
In, un: not
Suffix (end) changes the word class
-ity: Latinate words (generous)
-ly: adjective -> adverb
Special one: infix -> add something inside a word (passerby-passersby)
Prefix can be adapted for pronunciation: in -> impossible
-ise versus –ize
-ize= widely used in America <-> British English: both forms
-ize= used to be standard when forming new verbs: characterize, terrorize
-ise = obligatory in certain cases:
o Forms part of a larger word element: compromise, surprise
o Derived verb from noun with ‘s’ in the stem: televise-television
, Language learning
4 skills:
Receptive – passive: listening & reading
Productive – active: speaking & writing
Factors that influence language learning:
o Where & how -> instructional setting, linguistic immersion, …
o When -> age, cognitive development, …
o Why -> intrinsic/extrinsic motivation
Affected by your first language
o Negative transfer/interference: influence of the native language leads to errors
in the acquisition or use of a target language
o Positive transfer/facilitation: influence of the native language leads to
immediate or rapid acquisition or use of the target language
Accent
= variation in overall pronunciation
<-> dialect: different words and grammar
Received pronunciation (RP) = accent of English
o Educated speakers & formal speech
o Used as model to teach English as foreign language
o Has changed over time
RP = very present in British politics: all sound like upper-class South-Easterners
<-> US: people vote for those originating from their region & carrying their accent
Register
words that are appropriate in a particular situation or express a particular attitude
different labels:
o formal
o informal
o approving <-> disapproving
o taboo
o figurative
o literary
o old-fashioned (dated)
o sarcastic language
Arti culate
= Able to express your thoughts, arguments, and ideas clearly and effectively
‘whites talking about blacks’
Subtext of amazement -> because they don’t expect it
Linguistic terminology
1. Simile: comparison that uses words such as like or as
a. <-> metaphor: compares one thing to another straight up
2. Oxymoron: 2 contradictionary terms appear as 1
a. Eg. Old news
3. Two-part expression: back and forth, trial and error, …
WORDS & LANGUAGES
What does knowing a word mean?
Pronunciation
Meaning
Grammatical features/aspects
Morphology
Collocations/combinations with other words
Use in context
Style & register variation
Word origin
Word structure/composition
Wider vocabulary?
Add new meanings to words (eg. Figurative meaning), learn collocations & idioms,
related word forms
Word families: recognise -> recognition
o = adding new morphemes prefix in+describe+able suffix
root
Affi xes
= bound morphemes (can’t occur as separate word <-> free morpheme)
-> help form a words meaning
-> can be added to root word to form derived/ inflected form
Prefix (beginning) changes the meaning
Anti: against
Ante: before
In, un: not
Suffix (end) changes the word class
-ity: Latinate words (generous)
-ly: adjective -> adverb
Special one: infix -> add something inside a word (passerby-passersby)
Prefix can be adapted for pronunciation: in -> impossible
-ise versus –ize
-ize= widely used in America <-> British English: both forms
-ize= used to be standard when forming new verbs: characterize, terrorize
-ise = obligatory in certain cases:
o Forms part of a larger word element: compromise, surprise
o Derived verb from noun with ‘s’ in the stem: televise-television
, Language learning
4 skills:
Receptive – passive: listening & reading
Productive – active: speaking & writing
Factors that influence language learning:
o Where & how -> instructional setting, linguistic immersion, …
o When -> age, cognitive development, …
o Why -> intrinsic/extrinsic motivation
Affected by your first language
o Negative transfer/interference: influence of the native language leads to errors
in the acquisition or use of a target language
o Positive transfer/facilitation: influence of the native language leads to
immediate or rapid acquisition or use of the target language
Accent
= variation in overall pronunciation
<-> dialect: different words and grammar
Received pronunciation (RP) = accent of English
o Educated speakers & formal speech
o Used as model to teach English as foreign language
o Has changed over time
RP = very present in British politics: all sound like upper-class South-Easterners
<-> US: people vote for those originating from their region & carrying their accent
Register
words that are appropriate in a particular situation or express a particular attitude
different labels:
o formal
o informal
o approving <-> disapproving
o taboo
o figurative
o literary
o old-fashioned (dated)
o sarcastic language
Arti culate
= Able to express your thoughts, arguments, and ideas clearly and effectively
‘whites talking about blacks’
Subtext of amazement -> because they don’t expect it
Linguistic terminology
1. Simile: comparison that uses words such as like or as
a. <-> metaphor: compares one thing to another straight up
2. Oxymoron: 2 contradictionary terms appear as 1
a. Eg. Old news
3. Two-part expression: back and forth, trial and error, …
