LET English Major (Language)
LET English Major (Language)
LET English Major (Language)
1. STRUCTURE OF ENGLISH
Functions of nouns
1. Subject of Verbs Several items have ambiguous stems.
2. Direct Objects of Verbs They administered the test.
3. Indirect objects of verbs The lecturer provided the participants handouts.
4. Subject noun predicates We are LET reviewers.
5. Object noun predicates The reviewees chose him their representative.
6. Objects of prepositions in the DLSU review class
7. Appositives The LET, a professional examination, is conducted every year.
8. Vocatives Anne, how did you find the exam?
B. Pronouns- Pronouns replace a noun or a noun phrase. Pronouns are very crucial in expressing one s
ideas, because wrong use of pronouns may lead to confusion. Pronouns are very essential to make
your sentences brief and less repetitive. Let us review the different types of pronouns together with
their functions. This would help us in distinguishing and choosing the appropriate pronoun for a
certain context.
1. Personal - I, me, you, he, him, she, her, it, we, us, they, them
2. Possessive- my, mine, your, yours, her, hers, his, its, our,
3. Demonstrative- Demonstrative pronouns point to and identify a noun. There are only four
demonstrative pronouns namely: this, that, these, and those.
4. Interrogative- Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions, such as: who, whom, whose,
which, and what.
5. Relative- Relative pronouns are used to link one phrase or clause to another. The relative
pronouns are: who, whom, that, and which.
6. Indefinite- pronouns that refer to identifiable but not specified person or thing. (all, another, any,
anyone, anybody, anything, both, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, few, many,
neither, nobody, none, no one, nothing, one, several, some, somebody, someone, something)
7. Reflexive- used as object of the verb form or preposition to refer to the subject of the sentence
(myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves)
8. Intensive- occurs directly after the word it modifies (myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself,
ourselves, yourselves, themselves)
C. Verbs
denote action (e.g. read, jump, play); show state of being (stative verbs) (e.g. be-verbs, remain,
appear, become, etc.)
has 4 inflections: {-s} 3rd person singular present tense; {-ed} simple past tense; {-en} past
participle; {-ing} present participle
intransitive verbs do not take an object (direct) (e.g. Flowers bloom.)
transitive verbs require an object (direct) (e.g. Flowers need water and sunlight.)
linking/copula verbs- what follows the verb relates back to the subject (e.g. Roses are sweet.)
Tense- the grammatical marking on verbs that usually indicates time reference (Jacobs, 1995)
Subject-Verb Agreement
1. Verb with s is singular. Verb without s is plural.
Examples:
He plays basketball. They play basketball.
2. Make the linking / verb agree with the real subject.
Linking verbs such as: am singular, present tense
Is singular, present tense
Was singular, past tense
Examples: Marinas concern was her classmates.
Henrys mother and father are his sole support.
3. Non-count noun subjects take a singular verb.
Examples: The food is good. Unity builds a nation.
4. In most cases, collective noun subjects take singular verbs, but if the group is viewed as individual
members, use a plural verb.
Examples:
The class is going on a field trip.
The class have been arguing about where to go.
a. Collective nouns take singular verbs if all members act as a single body. Noun such as
audience, class, team, band, committee, jury, herd, crowd, flock.
Examples: The committee was in full agreement with my idea.
The family is unanimous on the issue.
b. Collective nouns take plural verbs if the members act as individuals.
Examples: The basketball team were disorganized.
The family are debating on the issue.
5. Mass nouns can only be pluralized by quantifiers. Nouns such as sugar, rice, and, hair, information, and
evidence,
Examples: Two sacks of rice. Pieces of evidence / information
Strands of hair
6. Mass nouns (non-countables) are always singular.
Examples. Black ink is needed for this kind of paper.
Sugar is sweet.
7. Subject nouns that are derived from adjectives and describe people take plural verbs.
Examples:
The rich are in favor of a tax cut.
The poor are opposing the proposal to revise the constitution.
8. Some proper noun subjects that end in s such as names of courses, diseases, places, as well as book
and film titles and the word news, take singular verbs (news, politics, physics, mathematics, mumps,
measles)
Examples:
Wales is a beautiful region. Measles often has side effects.
Mathematics is an interesting subject. The news was very good.
Physics is an interesting subject.
9. There are some nouns that have the same singular and plural form, in this case, the subject may take
either a singular or a plural verb, depending on the intention or the meaning that you wish to express.
Nouns that are always plural in form should take a plural verb.
Nouns such as:
Slippers Eyeglasses Trousers Earrings Pants
Scissors Sunglasses Refreshments Pliers
Examples: Refreshments are served during the seminar.
His trousers are newly bought.
Several species have died over the past centuries.
10. For items that have two parts, when you use the word pair , the verb is singular but without the word
pair, the verb is plural.
Examples:
My pair of scissors is lost. My scissors are lost.
11. Plural subject nouns such as a unit of measurement (distance, weight, time, or amount of money) that
signal one unit should take a singular verb.
Example:
Nine hundred nautical miles is too far to travel in a day.
Ten years was an eternity for him.
Ninety thousand pesos is too expensive for that ring
12. Basic arithmetical operations (add, subtract, multiply, divide) take singular verbs.
Example:
Four times five equals twenty.
13. Clausal subjects are singular even if the nouns referred to are plural.
Example:
√ A collective noun can take either a singular or plural verb depending on meaning.
Example:
All my batch mates (stay/stays) at the dorm.
16. The indefinite pronouns in Table below are always singular:
Indefinite Pronouns
-one words -body words -thing words Others
Anyone
Anybody Anything
Everyone
Everybody Everything Each
Someone
Somebody Something Every
No one
Nobody Nothing
One
Examples:
Every cadet has a responsibility to study their lessons well.
Nothing satisfies her.
Note:
Indefinite pronouns such as: all, any, a lot of, none, most, and some can be singular or plural.
They are singular when they refer to a singular or non-count noun or pronoun. They are plural when
they refer to a plural noun or pronoun.]
Examples:
Some of the books are imported.
Some of the snow has melted.
17. The expression The number used as a subject takes a singular verb. The expression a number used
as a subject takes a plural verb.
Examples: The number of students coming is decreasing.
A number of players practicing are increasing.
A number of cadets are taking the exam.
The number of cadets taking the exam is 75.
18. With none as subject, use a singular verb.
Example:
None of the supplies is here.
19. With either or neither as subject, use a singular verb.
Example:
(Either/Neither) was acceptable to me.
20. With correlative subjects either
or or neither
nor, the verb agrees with the closest subject.
Examples:
Either Bob or my cousins are going to do it.
Neither my cousins nor Bob is going to do it.
21. With there subjects, the verb is singular or plural depending on whether the noun phrase following the
verb is singular or plural. There and here are never used as subjects. When a sentence begins with there
and here, you must look thoroughly to find the real subject.
Examples: There are many devices in a mans heart.
Here are the plants you want for the garden.
When the sentence begins with there and here, the verb agrees with subject that comes after the verb
(for inverted order)
Examples: Here come my children. There are no errors.
There is one book on the table. There are (three books) on the table.
(a book and a pen)
22. When the subjects joined by and refer to a single unit or is considered as one, it takes a singular verb.
Examples: Bread and butter is a common breakfast for Americans.
The secretary and treasurer is here.
My uncle and sponsor lives next door.
23. Compound subjects joined by and referring to separate entities, should take a plural verb.
Examples: Christine and Cora are my friends.
2. LINGUISTICS
LINGUISTICS
Language - A system that uses some physical sign (sound, gesture, mark) to express meaning.
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. Its breadth and depth reach various fields and affect
our daily lives. In the field of language teaching, linguistics plays a very important role. Primarily, it
provides language teachers with what to teach since basic linguistic concepts serve as the
foundation of language, hence language teaching. Secondly, the study of language and how it is
learned provide teachers with basic ideas on how to teach.
Vocabulary Building
Latin words from this period are often composed of prefixes, roots and suffixes.
Students can learn many vocabulary words at once by learning about these Latin roots and affixes.
Prefixes and suffixes: Using this information in the classroom
Most of todays suffixes date from the Middle English period of history.
Inflectional Suffixes (learned early):
-s, -es, -ed, -ing, -er, -est
Derivational Suffixes (usually change part of speech):
-able, - ness, -ful, -ment, -ity
The suffixes may change pronunciation of base words:
define à definition
compete àcompetition
BACKGROUND: Language, including the phonology, is always changing but the great vowel shift was an
unusually profound and quick change. It occurred over a 100 to 200 year period from 1400 to 1600.
Scholars have not really found a reason for this.
Examples of some changes in vowels that occurred in the modern period of English are shown on the next
slide.
The great vowel shift
During the Renaissance, the pronunciation of words changed particularly for the vowel sounds.
Rules that enable us to combine morphemes into sentences (bridge between sound and meaning).
When children put words together they are following syntactic rules about how morphemes are put together.
Semantic
Arbitrariness of the Sign - Sounds of words bear no relationship to meaning (except for
onomatopoeia).
In Philosophy we often distinguish between denotation and connotation.
A single sentence can correspond to two propositions, each of which has a distinctive syntactic (and
logical) structure, hence, a different cognitive representation.
• Evidence that meaning is assigned to syntactic structure, rather than to words and sentences.
Grammar - How do we know that one sentence is grammatical and the other is not?
Enter Rules
But what are rules, and how are they represented in the brain?
How do we come to have such knowledge?
In what form is such knowledge represented in the mind?
How can children learn grammar?
Noam Chomsky
Focused on the vast and unconscious set of rules he hypothesized must exist in the minds of speakers
and hearers in order for them to produce and understand their native language.
Chomsky s Views
• He abandons the idea that children produce languages only by imitation (abandon behaviorism)
• He rejects the idea that direct teaching and correcting of grammar could account for childrens
utterances because the rules children were unconsciously acquiring are buried in the unconscious of
the adults.
• He claims that there are generative rules (explicit algorithms that characterize the structures of a
Hypothesis The inborn linguistic capacity of humans is sensitive to just those rules that occur in human
languages. Language development occurs if the environment provides exposure to language. Similar to the
capacity to walk.
Universal Grammar - Despite superficial differences all human languages share a fundamental structure.
This structure is a universal grammar. We have an innate ability to apply this universal grammar to whatever
language we are faced with at birth.
Grammar is descriptive
Support for Chomsky 2
Claim that children cant be taught grammatical rules because they are not explicitly known. Rather,
they absorb these rules unconsciously, as their language is spoken around them.
B. CONSTANT SOUNDS
What is a word?
A word is a particular combination of sounds and meaning.
We can identify words by the strings of sounds that comprise them.
We can also tell what is a possible word in our native language.
Listeners tacitly know:
The sound sequences that make for possible words in their language.
What lies behind our ability to distinguish possible from not possible words?
Tacit knowledge of the phonotactic constraints of the language.
Loanwords
As a result of cultural contact, one language may borrow words from another.
The newly borrowed words are transformed to meet the phonological constraints of the borrowing
language.
A plethora of theories have evolved and they can be broken down into four major categories:
Behaviorist Use behavioral training for accurate pronunciation and rote memory of information such
as object and motor vocabulary.
Humanistic Reduce tension and support a positive emotional state in the learner.
Cognitivist Align learning with the brain and its natural ways of knowledge acquisition.
Postmodern Techniques of Knowledge:
Constructivist Leave behind one-size-fits-all methods and negotiate activities and objectives based on
the needs of the learner, using knowledge of learning styles and multiple intelligences, and
encouraging meta-cognition and self-reflection in order to increase students self knowledge and
capacity for making conscious meaning.
Linguistic Concepts
Phonological Rules
The rule system within a language by which phonemes are sequenced and uttered to make words. Language
consists of a fairly small set of sounds (phonemes). There are about 40 in English. Most have no meaning in
themselves; rather we string them together to form meaningful bits and pieces.
2. Phonetics. It studies language at the level of sounds: how sounds are articulated by the human
speech mechanism and received by the auditory mechanism, how sounds can be distinguished and
characterized by the manner in which they are produced.
3. Morphology. It studies the patterns of formation of words by the combination of sounds into minimal
distinctive units of meaning called morphemes. It deals with the rules of combining morphemes to
form words, e.g. suffixes or prefixes are attached to single morphemes to form words.
Morphology is the study of word formation; it deals with the internal structure of words. It also
studies the changes that take place in the structure of words, e.g. the morpheme go changes to
went or gone to signify changes in tense and aspect.
4. Syntax. It deals with how words combine to form phrases, phrases combine to form clauses, and
clauses join to make sentences. Syntax is the study of the way phrases, clauses and sentences are
constructed. It is the system of rules and categories that underlies sentence formation. It also
involves the description of rules of positioning elements in the sentence, such as noun phrases, verb
phrases, adverbial phrases, etc.
5. Semantics. It deals with the level of meaning in language. It attempts to analyze the structure of
meaning in a language, e.g. how words similar or different are related; it attempts to show these
inter-relationships through forming categories. Semantics accounts for both word and sentence
meaning.
6. Pragmatics. It deals with the contextual aspects of meaning in particular situations. It is the study of
how language is used in real communication. As distinct from the study of sentences, pragmatics
considers utterances those sentences which are actually uttered by speakers of a language.
7. Discourse. It is the study of chunks of language which are bigger than a single sentence. At this
level, inter-sentential links that form a connected or cohesive text are analyzed.
Labiodental
Interdental
Alveolar
Bilabial
Palatal
Glottal
Velar
voiceless p t k
STOPS voiced b d g
voiceless f ϴ s š h
FRICATIVES voiced v ð z ž
voiceless č
AFFRICATES voiced ǰ
voiceless
NASALS voiced m n ƞ
voiceless
LIQUIDS voiced l r
voiceless
GLIDES voiced w y
Vowels- sounds produced with little obstruction in the vocal tract and are generally voiced.
They are described in terms of: tongue height, frontness, lip rounding, and tenseness. To
further understand and remember these concepts, check the diagram of vowel sounds
below. (Source: www.thedialectcoach.com)
Suprasegmentals- prosodic features that form part of the make-up of sounds no matter
what their place or manner of articulation is. These properties are pitch, intonation, stress,
and juncture.
Pitch- the auditory property of sound that is determined by the frequency of the waves
producing it -- highness or lowness
Intonation- refers to the variation of tone when speaking. It is the rise and fall of pitch
which may contrast meanings of sentences. The statement Mario is a teacher ends with
a fall in pitch; while Mario is a teacher? has a rising pitch
Stress- refers to the relative emphasis of syllables; the syllable that receives the most
prominent stress is referred to as primary stress. To produce a stressed syllable, one may
change the pitch (usually by raising it), make the syllable louder, or make it stronger.
e.g.
2 1 2 1 1 2
Fundamental introductory secondary
Juncture- refers to the pauses or breaks between syllables. The lack of any real break
between syllables of words is referred to as close juncture; plus juncture, or open
juncture is used to describe a break or pause between syllables in the same word or
adjacent worde.g. nitrate vs. night rate; why try vs. white rye; black bird vs. blackbird
2. Morphology is the study of the patterns from which words, through the combination of sounds, are
formed. When these sound units are combined, they form distinctive units of meaning called
St. Louis Review Center, Inc. - Davao • (082) 224-2515 or 222-8732 9
morphemes. In general English terminology, these are usually called affixes although morphemes
are more than just the ordinary affix that we have learned in Basic English courses. Some of the
most important concepts to be remembered are the following:
Morphological Rules
Language is made up of Morphemes. (we call these morphemes as Lexicon - our mental dictionary). 3
million words in English (about 200,000 words in common use today).
Morphemes- a word or a part of a word that has meaning; morphemes cannot be further
subdivided since it is the smallest unit; it may be found in other words since it usually has a
stable meaning (e.g. the word review has two morphemes {re}, which usually means to
do again and {view} )
Allomorphs- variants of a morpheme that may be phonologically or morphologically
conditioned (e.g. the plural {-s} has at least three allomorphs [-s] as in /catS/, [-z] as
in /dogZ/, and [-iz] as in /boxIZ/
Free morphemes- those that can stand on their own as independent wordse.g. {view}
in review and {like} in unlike; they can also occur in isolation.
Bound morphemes- those that cannot stand on their own as independent words; they
need to be attached to a free morpheme or a free form e.g. {re-}, and {un-} they are
commonly called affixes
Inflectional morphemes- those that do not change the form class of the words or
morphemes to which they are attached; they are always attached to complete words; they
cap the word; they are a closed-ended set of morphemes. English has only 8 inflectional
morphemes:
-s 3rd person sing. Pres. She stay-s at home.
-ed past tense She stay-ed at home.
-ing progressive She is stay-ing at home.
-en past participle She has writt-en a letter.
-s plural She wrote letter-s
- s possessive Kay-s book is new.
-er comparative This car is fast-er than that.
-est superlative This is the fast-est car.
Derivational morphemes- those that are added to root morphemes or stems to derive
new words; they usually change the form class of the words to which they are attached;
they are open-ended, i.e. they are potentially infinite.
e.g.
real + {-ize} = realize
hope + {-ful} = hopeful
{un-} + faith + {-ful} = unfaithful
3. Syntax is the study of the way phrases, clauses and sentences are constructed. It deals with how
words, phrases, and clauses combine to make meaningful thoughts and ideas. It also involves
the description of rules of positioning elements in the sentence, such as noun phrases, verb phrases,
adverbial phrases, etc. Some of the most important structures that should be remembered are the
following:
Structure of Predication- has two components: a subject and a predicate (e.g. the moon
shines; soldiers fought bravely; rain has ceased falling)
Structure of Complementation- has two components: a verbal element and a
complement (e.g. send the e-mail; plant new trees, be still)
Structure of Modification- has two components: a head word and a modifierwhose
meaning serves to broaden, qualify, select, change, or describe in some way affect the
meaning of the head word (e.g. helpful students, great teachers, interestingly delicious)
Structure of Coordination- has two components: equivalent grammatical units and
joined often but not always by a coordinating conjunction (e.g. black and white; love not
hate; neither safe nor secured)
Syntactic Rules
Rules that enable us to combine morphemes into sentences (bridge between sound and meaning). When
children put words together they are following syntactic rules about how morphemes are put together.
SYNTAX: The rule system governing sentence formation; the study of sentence structure.
Arrange these words into a coherent sentence and write it down.
little mine red is sports car cute the
the red cute little sports car the sports little red cute car
5. Pragmatics deals with the role of context in the creation of meanings. It is the study of how language
is used in real communication. Pragmatics considers utterances, which are actually uttered by speakers
in authentic communication. Some of the pragmatic concepts that should be remembered are the
following:
Locutionary force the literal meaning of the sentence; what sentences say (e.g. Why
dont we buy a new car? Wh Question)
IIllocutionary force: the pragmatic meaning of the sentence; what sentences do (e.g.
Why dont we buy a new car? Request of Action: buying a new car)
Perlocutionary force: the reaction of the hearers: how people react to sentences (e.g.
Why dont we buy a new car? husband gets annoyed/interested/amused: husband
ignores/ husband searches for brochures/ husband takes the wife with him to the car
dealer)
Conversational maxims is any of four rules which were proposed by Grice (1975) stating
that a speaker is assumed to make a contribution that is adequately but not overly
informative (quantity maxim); the speaker does not believe to be false and for which
adequate evidence is had (quality maxim); is relevant (maxim of relation or relevance),
and is clear, unambiguous, brief, and orderly (maxim of manner).
Implicature is something that is meant, implied, or suggested which is different from
what is actually said. (e.g. When Aling Myrna said that Mang Jun is going to drive them to
the Airport, Aling Aning said I better check my insurance policy. Aling Anings utterance
shows that Mang Jun is a fast and reckless driver.)
Theories of Language
1. Structuralists see language in terms of its structure. They believe that by describing the observable
and verifiable features of the language, one can learn it. Hence, as the name implies, structuralists see
language as a system and studying these systems would make it possible to learn language. Some of
the most prevalent thoughts that sprung out of structuralist vews are the following:
Language is a means for communication- Language is an important tool for communicating. It
gives shape to people thoughts, as well as guides and controls their activitiy.
Language is primarily vocal- Speech is the primary concern of language, and the written form is
merely a graphic representation of the oral language. Therefore, it is assumed that speech is a
priority in language teaching.
2. Transformationalists believe that language is innate and universal. They believe that language rules
are universal and every normal being would eventually find ways to transform input into intelligible
language. Some of the most important tenets of transformationlist view to language are the following:
Language is a mental phenomenon. It is not mechanical.
Language is innate. The presence of the Language Acquisition Device (LAD) in the human brain
predisposes all normal children to acquire their first language in an amazingly short time, around
five years since birth.
Language is universal. All normal children acquire a mother tongue. Also, all languages must share
key features of human languages such as: all languages have sounds; all languages have rules
that form sounds into words; and all languages have transformational rules that enable speakers
to ask questions, negate, issue orders, defocus the doer of the action, etc.
3. Functionalists believe that language is vehicle for expressing functional meaning such as expressing
ones emotions, persuading people, asking and giving information, making people do things for others,
etc. This view deviates from the structural view since it focuses more on the meaning rather than form.
Thus, this leads to a language teaching that prioritizes the teaching of language notions and functions
rather than language rules.
4. Interactionists believe that language is a vehicle for establishing interpersonal relations and for
performing social transactions between individuals. Interactionist principles are basically pegged on the
socio-cultural theory of Levinsky Vygotsky and the Experientila learning theory of Jean Piaget and John
Dewey. Interactionists view language as a vital tool in creating and maintaining social relations through
conversations. Some of the most basic premises (Richards & Rodgers, 2001) that interactionists hold
are the following:
a. We are born to talk.
b. Talk is organized in conversations.
c. Conversations have rules/maxims.
d. These maxims are learnt through conversation.
e. 2nd lg. maxims are learnt through participation in cooperatively structured interactional activities.
b. The natural order hypothesis suggests that there is a predictable and natural order from which
grammatical structures will be acquired for both children and adults.
c. The monitor hypothesis claims that learners who have acquired or learned particular language
rules will eventually monitor or check himself or herself during the process by which he/she uses
that language. The monitor is an editing device that may normally operate before language
performance.
d. The input hypothesis. For an individual to learn a language, Krashen believes that learners
should be exposed to grammatical features a little beyond their current level (i + 1), those
features are acquired. Too difficult lessons may threaten the learner, while too easy lessons may
bore a learner. This will both result in failure
e. The affective filter hypothesis. Krashen believes that emotions play a very important role in
language learning. The more threatened or anxious a learner is, the lesser or slower will he/she
learns. On the other hand, the more confident a learner is, the higher and faster is the possibility
for him/her to learn a language.
• Other Universal Theories
1. The Competition Model by Felix (1985):
2. Dulay and Burts Creative Construction Theory (1974):
3. Krashens Monitor Model
1. The Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis (1981)
2. The Natural Order Hypothesis
3. The Monitor Hypothesis: The Input Hypothesis:
4. The Affective Filter Hypothesis
4. Continuum of learning - language is acquired through predictable and sequential stages of
language development.
• Stage I: The Silent/Receptive or Preproduction Stage
• Stage II: The Early Production Stage
• Stage III: The Speech Emergence Stage
• Stage IV: The intermediate Language Proficiency Stage
• Stage V: The Advanced Language Proficiency
5. Alternative Theories of Mental Functioning:
6. Multiple Intelligences by Howard Gardner (1983):
7. Emotional Intelligence by Salovey and Mayer (1990) and popularized Goleman (1998):
8. Suggestopedia by Lozanov (1982): Pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar are assimilated
and learned intuitively.
9. Humanistic Approach
10. Postmodern Techniques of Knowledge
o constructivism, intercultural positioning, metarational thinking, and creation of meaning
Influences of Theories on Language Teaching
1. Behaviorism led to methods and activities that make students overlearn the lesson. Most activities
involve mimicry and memorization. Moreover, teaching under the behaviourist perspective involve a
lot of practice and drills. These are repeated until students master the lesson. Some of the most
popular products of behaviourism are the Audio-Lingual Method (ALM), Oral Approach/Situational
Language Teaching, Operant Conditioning approach, Bottom-up Text processing, Controlled-to-Free
writing, etc.
2. Cognitivism produced language teaching approaches and Activities that prioritizes language analysis
over language use and instruction by the teacher. It is compatible with the view that learning is a
thinking process, a belief that underpins cognitive-based and schema-enhancing strategies such as
Directed Reading Thinking Activity, Story Grammar, Thinking-Aloud, etc.
3. The Functional view led to the creation of communication-based methods that provide exercises and
classroom activities that focus on the realistic functions of the language, rather than the previous
focus on the forms of the language. Some of the offshoots of functional view are Communicative
Language Teaching/ Communicative Approach, Notional-Functional Approach, and Natural Approach.
These methods are learner-centered which means that learners have ample time for interaction,
information sharing, and negotiation of meaning, as opposed to the previous approaches that are
teacher-centered.
4. The view that is both cognitive and affective eventually developed to a holistic approach to language
learning or whole-person learning. These approaches created humanistic techniques in teaching the
language, which means that aside from the cognitive aspects of the learner, teaching has involved the
emotions of the learners. One of these approaches is what has come to be known as the Community
Language Learning.
Stage 2: Apply the Listening Process Model- this involves five distinctive components, namely:
Receive, Comprehend, Interpret, Evaluate, and Respond
Stage 4: Establish New Goal(s)- upon assessing, learners should establish new goals to build on
strengths and work on concerns
Listening can be best understood as a combination of low and high inferences (Rost, 1990). When they use
their knowledge of linguistic features to infer (decode) the sounds in an utterance, listeners make low-level
inferences, because the focus of listening is merely on the sounds and not on the message. On the other
hand, if a learner listens to understand what a message means, they engage in higher level inferences. This
is done by using their knowledge of both linguistic and pragmatic nature.
Learners also develop listening skills cognitively through the use of listening comprehension strategies. These
are mental mechanisms used to process and manage information. The three categories of listening strategies
are
Cognitive- this strategy involves processing, interpreting, storing, and recalling information. Some of
the sample skills involved here are inferencing and predicting.
Metacognitive: this strategy involves managing & facilitating mental processes and coping up with
difficulties during listening. Examples of such strategies include comprehension monitoring and
visualizing.
Social-affective: this strategy involves asking the help of others to facilitate comprehension and
managing ones emotions when listening such as confidence building and cooperation.
Pre-listening stage (activating schema and allowing them to use words which they will shortly hear in the
text)
tuning-in to the topic or given text
Expressing their views about the text to be listened to
Predicting content from the title
Answering a set of questions
Studying and examining pictures
Singing a song or chant
While-listening stage-
Tasks should be enjoyable and meaningful to students;
should be simple and easy to handle;
should provide opportunities for students to succeed
Post-listening stage
off-shoots or extension of the work done at the pre-and while stages
Students have time to think, reflect, discuss, and to write
2. Teaching Pronunciation
The role of pronunciation work in a communicative, interactive course of study
The Goal of Teaching Speaking is to produce students who can competently express themselves and
avoiding confusion in the message due to faulty pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary. Moreover, learners
should also learn how to observe the social and cultural rules that apply in each communication situation.
TEACHING CONVERSATION
1. Conversation indirect (strategy conscious raising)
2. Conversation direct (gambits)
3. Conversation transactional (ordering from a catalog)
4. Meaningful oral; grammar practice (modal auxillary would)
5. Individual practice ; oral dialog journals
6. Other interactive techniques
Interviews
St. Louis Review Center, Inc. - Davao • (082) 224-2515 or 222-8732 17
Guessing games
Jigsaw tasks
Ranking exercises
Discussions
values clarification
Problem solving activities
Role play
Simulations
TEACHING PRONUNCIATION
Rather than attempting to build a learners articulatory competence from the bottom up, and simply as the
mastery of a list of phonemes and allophones, atop down approach is taken in which the most relevant
features of pronunciation stress, rhythm, and intonation are given high ;priority.
Instead of teaching only the role of articulation within words, or at best, phrases, we teach its role in a whole
stream of discourse.
“Its better to keep your mouth closed and have others think you are ignorant than to open it and
remove all doubt.
Teachers must encourage students to speak no matter how broken and halting their attempts may be
6. Motivation and concern for good pronunciation- high motivation leads to extended effort to improve
and learn
Does it make sense? No, it does not, but a linguistic analysis can tell you that for example, slithy is
an adjective, and gyre and gimble are verbs.
B. Top-down Reading- assumes that reading begins with knowledge and hypotheses in the mind of the
reader. Similarly, this presents some situational problems, because readers would have different
schema because of different experiences. Hence, conclusions might mislead a learner. For example, at
first glance, a reader might fill the blanks below with ship or boat and sea or ocean
However, if you would further read it, the blanks may have the following words to fill them.
JERRY SWUNG THE RACKET, AND THE BALL WENT SAILING ACROSS THE NET.
C. Interactive reading- is an interactive reading model is a reading model that recognizes the
interaction of bottom-up and top-down processes simultaneously throughout the reading process. A
popular Chinese proverb may summarize the idea espoused by interactive reading.
Tell me and Ill forget. Show me, and I may remember. But involve me and I ll understand. Chinese
proverb
The Goals of Teaching Reading- similar with listening and speaking, teaching reading of course entails
certain goals. The following are just some of them.
1. Schema Activation- For learners to understand a new text, he/she should be able to connect this to
previous knowledge or schemata. Hence, to teach reading successfully, a reading lesson should
provide opportunities for learners to make necessary connections with what they know and what the
text offers. Some of the many strategies for schema activation are: Brainstorming, Previewing, and
Showing Graphic Organizers or Visual Aids.
2. Vocabulary Development- Logically speaking, the more words learners know, the easier it is for them
to connect with the text and understand it. Although learners must be encouraged to continue reading
even in the presence of new words, a reading lesson should inevitably develop vocabulary strategies
or what some writers call word-attack skills. Some of the words should be taken into consideration
are:
a. High frequency words or words that are usually encountered, or repeated in the text
b. Academic Words or words that are used with the content area
c. Technical words or words that may have a different meaning in a certain discipline
d. Literary words or those words which are commonly used in literature
3. Comprehension Development- Reading is the process of constructing meaning from print. Hence, it is
the ultimate objective of reading instruction to help learners understand a text, and develop strategies
in understanding a text.
4. Understanding Text Organization- Understanding the content goes hand in hand with understanding
how it is organized. Hence, students need to learn how to relate the following to the text:
a. Text type (narrative or expository)
b. Genre
c. Hierarchy of ideas in exposition
d. Significant Details in narrative and expository texts
e. Use of graphic organizers
5. Application- Reading instruction should also develop the learners ability to relate their learning to
real-life situations. Reading instruction can end by:
a. Valuing
b. Appreciating
c. Relating lessons to own life
d. Linking lesson to explain real-life contexts
e. Responding creatively using multiple intelligences
Phases in a Reading Lesson- There would be different ways in presenting a reading lesson. However,
generally speaking, the following are the parts and contents of a Reading Lesson:
a. Pre-Reading- This part of the lesson opens the lessons by previewing the new reading lesson. During
the pre-reading, teachers may pose a stimulating question, picture, video clip, title, etc. to capture
the interest of the learners and prepare them to the main activity or lesson.
b. While Reading- This is where the main activity or lesson or text is presented. While the While
Reading presents the text to be read, the instruction should not be plainly reading.
c. Post-Reading- This is the phase which may aptly be called closure. Here, the learners understanding
of the text may be evaluated or linked to other language activities and lessons through the creation of
certain outputs or presentations.
Principles for Designing Effective and Interesting Reading Lessons (Farell, T.S.C., 2002)
1. Reading materials should be interesting for the target learners.
2. Reading instruction should prioritize students reading the text.
A. Vocabulary Development
1. Structural Analysis- is largely focused on the unfamiliar word itself. In this strategy, the meaning of a
word is derived by looking at the root word. Structural analysis includes attention to root words,
affixes and inflections. It may also include attention to plural forms, tenses, comparisons,
contractions, and compound words (Arias & Acuña, 2002). Hence, learners should be exposed to the
different meanings of the affixes in order to use structural analysis. The table below shows some of
the most commonly used affixes.
B. Comprehension Development
1. Anticipation Guide- consists of a list of statements that are related to the topic of the text your
students will be reading. While some of the statements may be clearly true or false, a good
anticipation guide includes statements that provoke disagreement and challenge students beliefs
about the topic. Before reading the text, students indicate for each statement whether they agree or
disagree with it.
2. ReQuest- is designed to encourage students to: a) formulate their own questions about the material
they are reading and develop questioning behavior; b) adopt an active, inquiring attitude to reading;
c) acquire reasonable purposes for reading; and, d) improve their independent reading
comprehension skills. (Readence, nd)
3. K-W-L (Know-Want to know-Learned)- K-W-L is the creation of Donna Ogle and is a 3-column chart
that helps capture the Before, During, and After components of reading a text selection. In this
strategy, learners are encouraged to fill-out column K with what they already know about the topic.
Then, they will fill out column W with what they want to learn or know about the topic. After reading
the selection, they will be filling out column L to list down what they have learned from reading the
text. In this strategy, learners monitor their own learning.
4. Mapping- provides a visual guide for students to clarify textual information such as characters,
problems, settings, reactions, and outcomes.
5. PLAN- a graphic organizer in which students create a map to visually organize and better understand
the information. It includes: P-rediction of the content; L-ocating the known and unknown
information; A-dding words or phrases to the unknown as students locate information; and N-oting
new understanding or information about the text.
Writing Theories
Writing as a social and cultural phenomenon- writing is not merely a product of an individual but of
society and culture. Writing takes place within a context, with a particular purpose and an intended
audience.
Writing as a cognitive activity- writing is viewed by some authorities (Hayes & Flower, 1980; Hayes,
1996) as a cognitive process which consists of two main parts: the task environment and the individual.
Individual aspects of writing involve interactions among the working memory, motivation and affect,
cognitive processes, and long-term memory.
But how can we be sure that remedial instruction would work? An article published in the Science Daily (June
12, 2008) reported that
Just as a disciplined exercise regimen helps human muscles become stronger and perform better,
specialized workouts for the brain can boost cognitive skills, according to Carnegie Mellon scientists.
+Their new brain imaging study of poor readers found that 100 hours of remedial instruction --
reading calisthenics, of sorts, aimed to shore up problem areas -- not only improved the
skills of struggling readers, but also changed the way their brains activated when they
comprehended written sentences. This was the first brain imaging study in which children were
tested on their understanding of sentences, not just on recognition of single words.
St. Louis Review Center, Inc. - Davao • (082) 224-2515 or 222-8732 22
II. What should be remediated?
Learners who need remedial instruction vary. Some needs remediation of the entire language lesson, while
some just needs particular attention to a certain macro-skill. It is then important for a teacher to learn the
areas which commonly need to be remediated.
A. Listening-Speaking- In remediating listening and speaking, one must answer the questions: What
affects listening comprehension? and What are the difficulties of the learner when speaking? There
are two main factors that should be considered in remedial listening and speaking.
Internal factors- these include the learner characteristics such as language proficiency,
memory, age, gender, background knowledge as well as aptitude, motivation, and
psychological and physiological factors
External factors- these include factors that are outside of the learner such as speed of
delivery & different accents of the speakers, Content & Task of materials, Context
(spatial/temporal location of the utterance), Co-text (linguistic context or textual environment)
B. Reading- There are a lot of things to consider when conducting a remedial instruction for reading. In
this discussion though, we will limit these by answering the question What affects reading
comprehension? This is a very broad question as reading covers a lot of subskills, from perception to
comprehension. We may present the answer to the question above in two groups.
Perceptual and Decoding Deficit- for younger or beginner learners, one of the challenges in
terms of reading is their (a) ability to understand sound-symbol correspondence also known as
graphophonic knowledge; (b) ability to understand that letters represent sounds so that words
me be read by saying the sounds represented by the lettersm and that words may be spelled
by writing the letters that represent the sounds in a word or the alphabetic knowledge; and (c)
the ability to recognize words instantly not necessarily with meaning or the sight-word
knowledge.
Reading Subskills Deficit- for more advanced learners who have developed basic perceptual
and decoding skills and have overcome certain deficits, problems arise in the form of reading
subskills such as vocabulary, syntax, and semantics. Most students tend to discontinue reading
because of inability to decipher the meaning of words in a text or the sentence structure and
the meaning presented in the text confuse them.
C. Writing- Similar to reading, the difficulties in writing vary, depending on the level of the learners.
Beginning learners struggle on writing letters and words, intermediate learners experience problems
on writing grammatically correct sentences and paragraphs, while more advanced learners who are
adept at the grammar of the target language usually have problems on making their outputs unified
and coherent. Generally, there are three areas of difficulty for students with writing problems (Troia,
2002).
Knowledge- students with writing problems (a) are usually not aware of what makes a good
writing; (b) have limited vocabulary; (c) have underdeveloped knowledge of word and
sentence structure; (d) have insufficient knowledge of the topic to be written; (e) are
insensitive to audience needs and perspectives
Skill- students with writing problems (a) fail to plan before the write (i.e. make an outline of
what they will be writing about); (b) exhibit poor text transcription, (e.g. spelling and
punctuation); (c) prioritize on what should not be the priority (i.e. grammar and mechanics
over content and coherence); (d) have limited ability to self regulate thoughts, feelings, and
actions throughout the writing prcess.
Motivation- students with writing problems (a) lack persistence; (b) fell helpless and poorly
motivated due to repeated failure
Language Curriculum
A curriculum is first of all a policy statement about a piece of education, and secondly an indication as
to the ways in which that policy is to be realized through a programme of action. It is the sum of all
the activities, experiences and learning opportunities for which an institution (such as the Society) or
a teacher (such as a faculty member) takes responsibility either deliberately or by default (Coles,
2003)
An educational plan that spells out which goals and objectives should be achieved, which topics should
be covered and which methods are to be used for learning, teaching and evaluation (Wojtczak, 2002)
The planned and guided learning experiences and intended learning outcomes, formulated through
the systematic reconstruction of knowledge and experiences, under the auspices of the school, for the
learners continuous and wilful growth in personal social competence (Tanner, 1980)
The sum total of organized learning stated as educational ends, activities, school subjects and/or
topics decided upon and provided within an educational institution for the attainment of the students
(Garcia, 1976, SEAMEO RELC)
Syllabus
A guide for both teacher and learner
A statement of what is to be learnt. It reflects language and linguistic performance. Hutchinson and
Waters (1987
A "summary of the content to which learners will be exposed" (Yalden.1987: 87). It is seen as an
approximation of what will be taught and that it cannot accurately predict what will be learnt.
The overall organizing principle for what is to be taught and learned. It is the way in which content is
organized and broken down into a set of teachable and learnable units, and will include considerations
on pacing, sequencing and grading items methods of presentation and practice, etc.
The relationship of a syllabus to that of the curriculum may be represented using Dubin and Olshtain s
diagram. It may be observed that a curriculum may include different types of syllabuses. Also, it should
be noted that the curriculum,
which is placed at the core of
the diagram, shows that it
consists of various theoretical
perspectives such as the theory
of language, theory of language
learning, and the essential
cultural and educational views
a viewpoint a viewpoint
on the on the
nature of nature of
language language
learning
A Model L2
Curriculum
an educational
cultural viewpoint
To further elaborate and clarify this, Dubin and Olshtain (1986) provides a sample curriculum. In the
sample audiolingual curriculum below, notice that
a. its educational view is Behavioral;
b. the language view that supports it is highly structural and descriptive; and
c. the language learning view is stimulus-response
An
Audiolingual
Curriculum
educational view:
behaviorism
GENERAL CURRICULUM
PLANNING
When designing a curriculum, planners draw on their understanding both of the present and long-term needs
of learners and of society as well as the planners beliefs and values about schools, learners, and teachers.
Any planner who does not have a clear and concrete beliefs and values would eventually fail in the course of
designing, since these beliefs and values form the foundations and rationale of educational programs,
content, activities, assessment and evaluation among others.
Tabas (1962) presents the general outline of steps which a course designer must undertake. This has
become the foundation for many other writers suggestions. Her list of curriculum processes includes:
Diagnosis of needs
Formulation of objectives
Selection of content
Organization of content
Selection of learning experiences
Organization of learning experiences
Determination of what to evaluate, and the means to evaluate
Tabas outline relates with the four fundamental questions that must be answered in developing any
curriculum and plan of instruction suggested by Tyler (1950).
1. What educational purposes should the school seek to attain?
2. What educational experiences can be provided that are likely to attain these purposes?
3. How can these educational experiences be effectively organized?
4. How can we determine whether these purposes are being attained?
(Tyler, 1950)
COURSE PLANNING AND SYLLABUS DESIGN
Similarly, planning and designing a language syllabus follow certain procedures to ensure its validity.
Richards (2001) presented the dimensions of course development.
ESP
EAP EOP
In terms of types ESP materials may be divided into two, namely: content-based materials and
competency-based materials. In relation to previous discussions on syllabus design, content-based
ESP materials are those that focus on language form, language notion, language function, situation,
or even topic. Thus, content-based is more appropriate in EAP. On the other hand, competency-based
materials focus on the language skills (cf. skills-based syllabus); thus, this is more appropriately
applied in EOP.
D. Evaluation- Similar with materials, evaluation processes are important to ESP too. Evaluation provides
necessary information regarding the extent to which the learner learnt. In ESP, testing is mostly
performance-based, as opposed to the usual paper-and-pencil test. Since testing in ESP focuses on
the question has the student reached the level that he s/she s supposed to reach? there will be no
better way to know this but through simulated tests that compel students to perform. In relation to
this, ESP tests are criterion-referenced because a student should reach a particular level in order to
pass the course. (This is contrary to EGP tests, which are often norm-referenced.)
E. Classroom Practice- In terms of classroom practices or methodologies, a popular question raised
against ESP is Is there a particular technique adopted by English language teachers in the ESP
classroom? This question was raised by Sinha & Sadorra (1991), and their answer is no . Indeed,
this question has haunted language teachers, in particular, ESP teachers. Although communicative
language teaching (CLT) is the most prevalent methodology, ESP courses are not limited to this.
Philipps as cited in Robinson (1991) suggests four key methodological principles, namely:
(a) reality control, which relates to the manner in which tasks are rendered accessible to students;
(b) non-triviality, i.e. the tasks must be meaningfully generated by the students special purpose;
(c) authenticity, i.e. the language must e naturally generated by the students special purpose; and
(d) tolerance of error, i.e. errors which do not impede successful communication must be tolerated.
2. Teacher talk- Since ESP courses are communicative in nature, teachers are expected to be
facilitators rather than classroom authorities. Students should have more talk time instead of the
teacher.
Competencies:
Define Instructional Materials.
Discuss the role, design, and use of instructional materials.
Distinguish between and among types of Instructional materials.
Classify types of Syllabus.
A. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
May be operationally defined as especially designed classroom tools which contain instructions
to learners and teachers, and which specify for each increment of learning: the content to be
learned; the techniques of presentation, practice and use of that content; and the modes of
teaching associated with those techniques ( Johnson, RELC Journal)
Institutional materials generally serve as the basis for much of the language input learners
receive and the language practice that occurs in the classroom (Richards)
IMs are an important element within the curriculum and are often the most tangible and
visible aspect of it (Nunan, 1991)
They can provide a detailed specification of content, even in the absence of the syllabus
(Richards and Rodgers, 1986).
They can define the goals of the syllabus, and the roles of the teachers and the learner within
the instructional process (Wright, 1987)
B. Role of Instructional Materials
Cunningsworth (1995) summarizes the role of materials (particularly course books) in language
teaching as:
A resource for presentation materials
A source of activities for learner practice and communicative interaction
A reference source for learners on grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, etc.
A source of stimulation and ideas for classroom activities
A syllabus (where they reflect learning objectives which have already been determined)
A support for less experienced teachers who have yet to gain in confidence
Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) suggest that for teachers of ESP courses, materials serve the
following functions:
As a source of language
As a learning support
For motivation and stimulation
For reference
Advantages claimed for authentic materials are (Phillips and Shettlesworth, 1978:
Clarke, 1989; Peacock 1997):
a. they have a positive effect on learner motivation because they are intrinsically more
interesting and motivating than created materials. There is a huge source of interesting
sources for language learning in the media and on the web and these relate closely to the
interests of many language learners
b. they provide authentic cultural information about the target culture. Materials can
be selected to illustrate many aspects of target culture, including culturally-based practices
and beliefs and both linguistic and non-linguistic behavior
c. they provide exposure to real language rather than the artificial texts found in created
materials, that have been specially written to illustrate particular grammatical rules or
discourse types
d. authentic materials often contain
C. TYPES OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
1. Textbook
Main reference for the entire course
Usually chosen by the school
Reflects the minimum learning competencies for specific levels
Arrange in units or chapters which can be labeled according to themes, topics, skills, grammar
structures or functions depending on the syllabus type followed.
Contain readings, teaching points, drills, activities, and tasks for every day lessons
2. Workbook / Skillbook
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Usually accompanies the textbook
Provides exercises and drills on specific skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing
Presents reinforcement and remedial activities to support lessons in the textbooks
3. Teachers Book/ Teachers Manual / Teachers Guide
Contain a detailed rationale for textbook
Explain the scope and the sequence for the lessons
Includes introductory notes on how to use the textbooks, specific objectives for each lessons
and suggested strategies for teaching the lessons
Provides guidance in planning the lessons from materials to suggested activities
4. Work Text
Combines the features of the textbooks and workbooks
Provides teaching points like those in the textbook
Reinforces the teaching points with many drills and exercises just like those that contains an A-
Z or practical Suggestions for teaching
5. Module and Self-Learning kit (SLK)
More interactive than the other types of written IMs appear in the workbook
Develops independent study through self-paced instruction
Contains post-test, pre-test, lesson inputs, exercises and drills provisions for self-paced
learning
6. Reference Book
Provides general information on various topics
Includes encyclopedia, dictionary, atlas, manuals, etc.
7. Multimedia Instructional materials
Audio and Visual materials accessible through various medial like radio, television and the
computer
Also includes interactive courseware on various topics
Syllabus Designs
Multi-syllabus
Lexical
Process
Directional
Model How Communication Works Major Factors
Flow
Speaker constructs messages that
Aristotle bring about persuasive effects source &
one-way
(385-322 BC) among listeners message
Speaker constructs messages,
source,
selects a channel, & thereby bring
Laswell message, &
about a range of effects among one-way
(1948) channel
listeners
Speaker encodes message & source,
Shannon-
transmits through channel to message, & one-way with
Weaver
receiver noise feedback
(1949)
Schramm
Types of Communication:
1. Intrapersonal communication describes a person talking to him/herself
2. Interpersonal communication involves two or three people talk with one another in close physical
proximity.
3. Group communication entails groups of people communicating with one another in face-to-face
encounters
4. Mass Communication is a process where professional communicators use technological devices to
share messages over great distances to influence large audiences.
The channels of mass communication are the technological devices or mass media used to send
messages over great distances. These include books, pamphlets, magazines, newspapers, direct-mail
circulars, newsletters, radio, compact disks, audiotapes, television, motion pictures, videotapes, and
computer networks.
People depend on secondhand sources for information hence, the mass media play a major role in
determining the content of a particular culture. Information processing by the media fall into two
major types:
1. Gatekeeping describes the fact that news must travel through a series of checkpoints (or gates)
before it reaches the public. This sociological term was coined in 1947 by Kurt Lewin.
2. Agenda Setting is the process whereby the mass media determine what people think and worry
about. The word agenda means a list, plan, outline, or the like of things to be considered. Generally,
the more media attention is given an issue, the more will people think it is important.
Propaganda which is a systematic effort to promote a particular cause or point of view, is a daily feature
of the popular culture. The following are some of the more common propaganda devices:
1. Slogans. This is effective in both advertising and political campaigns. In the latter, it usually takes
the form of a chant that can unite large crowds into one common emotion.
2. Name Calling. This device is widely used in political and ideological battles as well as in commercial
advertising campaigns. It appeals to the peoples instincts of hate and fear by giving bad names to
those individuals, groups, nations, races, or consumer products that are targeted to be condemned or
rejected.
3. Glittering Generalities. These are broad, widely accepted ideals and virtuous words that are used
to sell a point of view. Many ads declare a product to be the best, or the greatest, or preferred
by more people.
4. Transfer. Some advertisements use symbols of authority, prestige, and respect that arouse
emotions to sell a cause, a candidate, or a consumer product through the process of subconscious
transfer or association.
5. Testimonial. This is an endorsement of a product or an individual by celebrities or other well-
respected persons.
6. Plain Folks. This creates the impression that the advertisers or political candidates are just ordinary
folks like everyone else.
7. Card Stacking. Facts, illustrations, and statements are carefully selected to make the maximum
impact and sometimes give misleading impressions. The cliché that statistics dont lie, but you can
lie with statistics applies to this technique.
8. Bandwagon. This device is based on the idea that if everybody else is doing it, so should you.
The psychology behind this technique makes political polling important at election time.
9. Sex Appeal. This device sells products in many ways. It is used to stimulate emotions and sell
consumer products to both sexes.
10. Music. Although seldom though of as a propaganda device, music is one of the most effective
techniques in radio and television commercials. It is an excellent tool for creating specific moods,
and it can be used effectively for product identification.
Assessment
What is a test?
A test is an instrument or a tool to provide a quantitative description of an observed phenomenon.
It is a method of measuring a persons ability or knowledge in a given area.
A test is a set of techniques, procedures, test items, that constitute an instrument.
A test measures a persons ability or knowledge.
A test has the purpose of measuring.
Testing is similar in scope compared to measurement. It includes a greater variety of instruments than
testing.
Kinds of Test
There are many kinds of test. Each type has a specific purpose and has a particular criterion to be measured.
1. Proficiency test - generally aims to test the global competence of the examinee on skills and
knowledge.
2. Diagnostic and placement test a diagnostic test is used to diagnose a particular aspect of learning.
3. Achievement test it is directly related to classroom lessons, units or even a total curriculum.
4. Aptitude test this test predicts the examinees future performance using a certain skill or knowledge.