Manual para el alumno by Jesus Horacio Baez Avila

5.2.2 Manual para el alumno

Language Awareness activities Jesús Horacio Báez Ávila

“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.” −Nelson Mandela (South African anti-apartheid revolutionary) “One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.” −Frank Smith (contemporary English psychologist) “You can never understand one language until you understand at least two.” −Geoffrey Willans (English author and journalist)

5.2.2 Manual para el alumno

Activity 1 Come up with a new word Work in teams of five. As a team, invent a new word. It could be a word in English, but just for this time, it will work better if the word is in Spanish so that you can best analyze your school community.     

What kind of word is it? Is it a noun? Is it a verb? Is it an adjective or adverb? How do you spell it? What does it mean? How is it pronounced? A word normally has a specific function. Sometimes people like to invent new words so that they cannot be understood easily or to distinguish themselves as part of a group. Words usually refer to people, objects, places and phenomena around us.

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Write your answers below:

Now start using your new word. Use it in the classroom, in the school´s cafeteria or in the halls, wherever it is appropriate. The purpose is that everybody can learn it and make it part of their vocabulary. Do it for five days, then share your experience with the class.

5.2.2 Manual para el alumno

Activity 2 A new member in the family The following exercise will help you see how a new word enters a language. This phenomenon happens because of changes in society, technology, and scientific developments. You will need to have an Internet connection to do this exercise. Follow the teacher's instructions carefully and do not get ahead of him. 1. Before doing the exercise, do some research and answer the following questions. a. What is a linguistic corpus? b. Why are corpora useful to study a language like English? 2. Visit the website:

http://corpus.byu.edu/time/ Your screen should look like this:

5.2.2 Manual para el alumno 3. Once you have pressed the ENTER button, your screen will change to this:

In the highlighted section, change the way the results will be displayed to CHART. You will type the word you want to search in the text field WORD(S). In this booklet, we will use the word hip-hop as an example. 4. Type the word and click on the SEARCH button. The results should display in a bar chart.

Notice when the word hip-hop grew in popularity. It began being used in the 80s and in the 90s. Today virtually everybody knows its meaning and associates it with music, entertainment, and fashion.

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Think:  

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Why does a word become popular? Why did anyone not use it before?

Work with a partner. Write your answers in your notebook, then tell your teacher.

5. You can click on the bars to see the word being used in context. In the images below you can see the results (also known as concordances) for the word hip-hop. You can click on the list item (also known as concordance) to see when the word was used and a more complete view of the context in which it was used. 6. Now it is your turn! Look up the following words in the TIME corpus and decide how they were introduced in the English language.     

soccer the Internet (a worldwide network of computers) miniskirt (piece of clothing) reggaeton (music style) video game 5

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Activity 3 Reading 1. Before reading the text about construction, do some research to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4.

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What types of text are there? What type of text is the one below? Where can you find a text like this one? Does it use formal or informal language?

You can use the following link to help you: http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/factsheet/en03texte3-f-different-types-of-text 2. Read the following text about construction. Then answer the exercises at the bottom.

Construction Donn E. Hancher University of Kentucky The construction industry is one of the largest segments of business in the United States, with the percentage of the gross national product spent in construction over the last several years averaging about 10%. For 2001, the total amount spent on new construction contracts in the U.S. is estimated at $481 billion [Engineering News Record, Nov. 19, 2001]. Of this total, about $214 billion is estimated for residential projects, $167 billion for nonresidential projects, and the rest for non-building projects. Construction is the realization phase of the civil engineering process, following conception and design. It is the role of the constructor to turn the ideas of the planner and the detailed plans of the designer into physical reality. The owner is the ultimate consumer of the product and is often the general public for civil engineering projects. Not only does the constructor have an obligation to the contractual owner, or client, but also an ethical obligation to the general public to perform the work so that the final product will serve its function economically and safely. The construction industry is typically divided into specialty areas, with each area requiring different skills, resources, and knowledge to participate effectively in it. The area 7

5.2.2 Manual para el alumno classifications typically used are residential (single- and multifamily housing), building (all buildings other than housing), heavy/highway (dams, bridges, ports, sewage-treatment plants, highways), utility (sanitary and storm drainage, water lines, electrical and telephone lines, pumping stations), and industrial (refineries, mills, power plants, chemical plants, heavy manufacturing facilities). Civil engineers can be heavily involved in all of these areas of construction, although fewer are involved in residential. Due to the differences in each of these market areas, most engineers specialize in only one or two of the areas during their careers. Construction projects are complex and time-consuming undertakings that require the interaction and cooperation of many different persons to accomplish. All projects must be completed in accordance with specific project plans and specifications, along with other contract restrictions that may be imposed on the production operations. Essentially, all civil engineering construction projects are unique. Regardless of the similarity to other projects, there are always distinguishing elements of each project that make it unique, such as the type of soil, the exposure to weather, the human resources assigned to the project, the social and political climate, and so on. In manufacturing, raw resources are brought to a factory with a fairly controlled environment; in construction, the “factory” is set up on site, and production is accomplished in an uncertain environment. It is this diversity among projects that makes the preparation for a civil engineering project interesting and challenging. Although it is often difficult to control the environment of the project, it is the duty of the contractor to predict the possible situations that may be encountered and to develop contingency strategies accordingly. The dilemma of this situation is that the contractor who allows for contingencies in project cost estimates will have a difficult time competing against other less competent or less cautious contractors. The failure rate in the construction industry is the highest in the U.S.; one of the leading causes for failure is the inability to manage in such a highly competitive market and to realize a fair return on investment. Hancher, D. E. (2003). Construction. In W. F. Chen & J. Y. R. Liew (Eds.), The Civil Engineering Handbook (2nd ed., p. 2785). Hawaii: CRC Press. Improve your inferencing skills. Try to guess the meaning of unknown words from context – e.g. what part of speech is it? What does preceding and following information suggest the unknown word might mean? (Southampton, 2010)

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5.2.2 Manual para el alumno Exercise 1 Decide if the following statements are true or false. Justify your answers. 1. This text is about construction in the United States. (T) (F) 2. Conception, design and construction are part of the civil engineering process. (T) (F) 3. Dams, bridges, ports, sewage-treatment plants, and highways, are examples of utility construction projects. (T) (F) 4. Many civil engineers are involved in residential projects. (T) (F) 5. In construction, the “factory” is set up on site. (T) (F) Exercise 2 Underline ten examples of cognates in the text. Write them in your notebook. A cognate is a word which is similar in form and meaning to a word in another language because both languages are related. For example English bicycle and Spanish “bicicleta”. Think, Why are there so many cognates between English and Spanish?

 Exercise 3

Your 10-year-old brother is curious about what you study in school. Write a short description about construction and what is involved in it. Use the cognates that you identified in exercise two to help you. Remember to keep it simple so that your younger brother can understand.

__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

5.2.2 Manual para el alumno When writing a descriptive text it is a good idea to:  use adjectives and adverbs  make comparisons  say how something feels, smells, looks, sounds, and tastes

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Think: How can you use what you have learned in this lesson when you take your English classes or do homework?

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Work with a partner. Write your answers in your notebook, then tell your teacher.

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Activity 4 What kind of English should I learn? This is a question that every serious English student should ask at some point in their studies. However, it is not always easy to decide. This activity will show you some of the most important varieties of the English language and hopefully, help you decide what kind of English you should learn. English is widely spoken all over the world. It is estimated that there are 427 million people who have English as their first language, just second after Mandarin Chinese.

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David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language 3 rd. Edition

Exercises: 1. Listen to the text in six different accents. Raise your hand if you like the English you hear.

Arthur the Rat As read in the alt.usage.english newsgroup (AUE) Audio Archive Once there was a young rat named Arthur, who could never make up his mind. Whenever his friends asked him if he would like to go out with them, he would only answer, "I don't know." He wouldn't say "yes" or "no" either. He would always shirk making a choice. His aunt Helen said to him, "Now look here. No one is going to care for you if you carry on like this. You have no more mind than a blade of grass." One rainy day, the rats heard a great noise in the loft. The pine rafters were all rotten, so that the barn was rather unsafe. At last the joists gave way and fell to the ground. The walls shook and all the rats' hair stood on end with fear and horror. "This won't do," said the captain. "I'll send out scouts to search for a new home." Within five hours the ten scouts came back and said, "We found a stone house where there is room and board for us all. There is a kindly horse named Nelly, a cow, a calf, and a garden with an elm tree." The rats crawled out of their little houses and stood on the floor in a long line. Just then the old one saw Arthur. "Stop," he ordered coarsely. "You are coming, of 11

5.2.2 Manual para el alumno course?" "I'm not certain," said Arthur, undaunted. "The roof may not come down yet." "Well," said the angry old rat, "we can't wait for you to join us. Right about face. March!" Arthur stood and watched them hurry away. "I think I'll go tomorrow," he calmly said to himself, but then again "I don't know; it's so nice and snug here." That night there was a big crash. In the morning some men—with some boys and girls—rode up and looked at the barn. One of them moved a board and he saw a young rat, quite dead, half in and half out of his hole. Thus the shirker got his due.

Barnes, M. (2014). AUE: The alt.usage.english Newsgroup. The Audio Archive: Arthur the Rat. Retrieved June 08, 2014, from http://alt-usage-english.org/index.shtml

2. Answer the following questions: a. What dialects of English did you hear? b. Your teacher will identify the most popular variety of English in the classroom. What is it? c. What are your conclusions? To decide what English variety you should learn, take into account your plans and potential opportunities. What kind of company would you like to work for? Will you have plenty of chances to listen to British English in your workplace? Choose what you think will work for you, in the end, all English dialects are equal for communication. There is no dialect superiority!

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3. An excellent way to learn a language is through imitation. Do some research on the Internet and listen to different accents. Try visiting http://www.dialectsarchive.com/. Which accent is your favorite? Is there a famous person with that accent? Why don't you try to imitate them? Share your decision with the class.

5.2.2 Manual para el alumno

Activity 5 The dictionary What is a dictionary? What kind of dictionaries are there? How can you use it effectively? This activity will help you answer these questions. A dictionary is an extremely useful tool which will allow you to become more independent in your studies. Learning to use it will help you know the meaning of words even when there is not a teacher in front of you! It usually has grammar reference sections, extra exercises, illustrations, and even a pronunciation guide. How can all of those resources help you complement your classes?

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Answer the following questions: 1. What kind of information can you find in the dictionary? 2. What is the disadvantage of using an abridged English-Spanish dictionary? 3. What is the advantage of using an English-English dictionary? 4. How can I know which meaning I need if a word has multiple meanings? 5. A word can be a verb and a noun, give an example. 6. How does a dictionary show the different meanings of a word? 7. What types of English dictionaries are there? Write a brief description of each one of them. 8. What is a word called in the dictionary? 9. How is a derived word formed? 10. What abbreviations does the dictionary use? What do they mean? Where in the dictionary are they? 11. How is a compound word formed? 12. What are the parts of a dictionary? 13. What is the name of the alphabet which was designed to show the pronunciation of words? 14. What is a self-access laboratory? Follow-up activities: 1. Visit a local library specialized in the English language so that you can see by yourself all the reference books, dictionaries, magazines and media that are available for you. There are at least two libraries of this kind in Mexico City:

5.2.2 Manual para el alumno Biblioteca “Benjamín Franklin” Liverpool 31, Col. Juárez, C.P. 06600, México D.F. Phone 5080-2089 Webpage: http://www.usembassy-mexico.gov/bbf/biblioteca.htm Opens Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 19:00 Biblioteca Británica Pública Antonio Caso No. 127, Col. San Rafael, C.P. 06470, México D.F. Phone 3067-8817 Webpage: http://www.tamflibrary.org.mx/index.php?lang=ES Opens Monday to Friday from 8:30 to 19:30 and Saturday from 10:00 to 16:00

2. Write the bibliographic record of three dictionaries of different kind. If it is allowed by the library, take a picture for each cover. Write a brief description about the usefulness and characteristics of each dictionary. Organize the information as it is shown in the following example:

5.2.2 Manual para el alumno

Bibliographic record

Description: A completely revised and updated edition of this best-selling language reference is now available. It covers the core vocabulary of everyday life with over 75,000 clear, concise definitions. It includes pronunciations, word origins and synonym lists, special sections and tables.

5.2.2 Manual para el alumno

Activity 6 There's a problem with my food! Read the following situation: You are eating in the school cafeteria but there´s something massively wrong with your food (you name the problem). Four of you are sitting at a table when suddenly, the school principal approaches you and asks you: “How do you like your food?” What will you say? How will you say it?

Work in teams of 5. Write a conversation where you demonstrate the situation above. Each team member has to speak and ideally, nobody should dominate the conversation. Take into account that you will be talking to the school principal so, try to be polite.

Taken from: http://econwatson.blogspot.mx/2010_06_01_archive.html

Think: 

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How would the conversation change if you were talking to a friendly teacher and not the school principal? And if you were talking to a friend?

5.2.2 Manual para el alumno

Activity 7 Online translators 1. Discuss the following questions with your class: 1. Do you know any online translator? 2. How often do you use them? 3. What are some advantages and disadvantages of using them?

2. Translate the following saying into English:

Camarón que se duerme se lo lleva la corriente 1. Use the Google translator: ……………………………………………………………………... 2. Use the Bing translator: ………………………………………………………………………... 3. Ask someone who knows English to help you: …………..………………..…………………………………………………………………………...

Are the translations the same? Are they grammatically correct?

5.2.2 Manual para el alumno Tell your class.

The purpose of translation is to help people understand the meaning of what is being said in a foreign language. Translation has helped different societies to share knowledge and do business together, even when they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t share the same language. However, exact equivalence is of course impossible.

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David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language 3 rd. Edition

3. Individually, look for a short paragraph or poem in Spanish. Use an online translator of your choice to translate it into the following languages: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

From Spanish into English From English into German From German into Portuguese From Portuguese into English From English into Spanish

Copy both texts in the table below: Original text (in Spanish)

Final version (from the translator)

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Compare the original text with the final version that the translator gives you. Discuss your findings in small groups, then tell your class. 4. Answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Why no translation is accurate? How can a dictionary help to avoid the problems of word-for-word translation? Why should I avoid word-for-word translation? Online translators have been very useful for many people. After doing this activity, give suggestions on how to use them. 5. How can I apply what I learned in this activity in the English class and when studying at home?

There is no such thing as “best” translation. The success of a translation depends on the purpose for which it was made

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David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language 3 rd. Edition

5.2.2 Manual para el alumno

Activity 8 Structure and meaning 1. Discuss the following questions in pairs or small groups:  

What is grammar? Why is it important to study it? Think: 

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Why is there always a grammar section in exams? Why do teachers give too much emphasis to it?

Have a look at the following examples of an idea expressed in different languages and its Spanish word-for-word translation: Me duele la cabeza (tengo dolor de cabeza)

I have a headache yo tengo un cabeza-dolor jag har ont i huvudet yo tengo mal en cabeza-la der Kopf tut mir weh La cabeza hace a mi mal j’ai mal à la tête yo tengo mal en la cabeza У меня болит голова (u menja bolit golova) en mi duele cabeza

Think: After looking at the examples, would you say that the French or German speak wrongly or differently?

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5.2.2 Manual para el alumno

Write your conclusions: __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

By now you know that English uses “auxiliary verbs” to make questions and negatives, e.g. Do you like dancing? No, I don’t. That is one of its peculiarities, a linguistic tradition different from Spanish.

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2. Discuss the following questions in pairs or small groups. Then tell your class.  

What is meaning? Why is it important?

5.2.2 Manual para el alumno 3. Have a look at the following phrase in English:

Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.  

With the help of a dictionary, say what you think the sentence means. Work in groups of three. Type or write the sentence (with large letters) on a separate piece of paper. Interview an English teacher from your school; ask them to read the sentence aloud and then say what they think it means. Student: Read the sentence aloud, please. Teacher: Colorless green ideas sleep furiously. Student: What do you think it means? Teacher: … Think:

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Is grammar more important than meaning or are they equally important? Why?

To be understood in English or any other language, it is important to take care of your:

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1. Grammar (the structure of your sentences) 2. Meaning (the choice of words you use to express your ideas) 3. Pronunciation (articulation of sounds)

5.2.2 Manual para el alumno

Activity 9 The most frequent words in English Have you ever wondered what the most frequently used words in English are? Have a look at the following list of the 25 most frequent words of spoken English: Frequency* Word

12,653 so

39,457 the

12,641 was

39,114 I

12,526 is

38,147 and

11,666 we

30,822 you

10,951 know

27,106 to

10,892 have

23,372 a

8,977 just

22,864 that

8,803 they

20,997 it

8,617 itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

18,067 of

8,543 what

13,169 like

8,509 but

12,916 in

8,490 this

12,785 yeah

8,440 do

* Frequency per million words Reppen, R. (2010). The 25 most frequent words from a conversation corpus of one million words. In J. C. Richards (Ed.), Using Corpora in the language classroom (Kindle Edi.). Cambridge University Press.

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Make sure that you know the meaning and pronunciation of those 25 words since they are extremely common in everyday conversation.

Exercises 1. Classify the words into content words and function words:

5.2.2 Manual para el alumno Content words Content words are words which refer to a thing, quality, state, or action and which have meaning when the words are used alone: nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

Function words Function words are words which have little meaning on their own, but which show grammatical relationships in and between sentences: conjunctions, prepositions, articles

2. What kind of words are more frequent in conversational English? What is the reason for that? __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

When you read or listen to English, pay attention to the words above. How does native speakers use them? Highlight them in a text or make notes in your notebook. In that way, you will not only be learning frequent vocabulary but also frequent grammar!

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3. Use the words from the list to make as many sentences as possible. __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

4. Answer the questions your teacher will ask.

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Activity 10 I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t write in English and I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know how to start 1. Work with a partner to discuss the following questions. Then tell your class. 1. Have you ever noticed how little children are able to communicate just with a few words? 2. Have you noticed that what they say is not grammatically correct yet adults understand? 3. How do they do it?

2. Pay attention to the PowerPoint presentation your teacher will show you. Write your notes, questions and comments here: __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

5.2.2 Manual para el alumno 3. Write a short story about what you do on weekends or about something interesting or important that has happened to you. Remember the information you learned in the presentation, how can you use it to do this exercise? __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________