w
e e d
3. SYNONYMS
We are filled with regret, when we look back at our own lives, that
we were not introduced to a thesaurus at school. In English there are
many words with similar meanings. A pupil needs to know which word is
most apt and for what reason. The first thing though is to acquaint
pupils with synonyms and then to encourage them to explore the best word
for an appropriate context. Pupils will naturally be motivated
intrinsically and extrinsically to add to the list in the book.
Synonyms are very useful when brainstorming prior to speaking or
writing. They allow one to get the ‘spread’ of a topic. Encourage
pupils to use synonyms when thinking about a topic.
4. ANTONYMS
The comments made on synonyms also apply to antonyms. Both synonyms
and antonyms are very important in helping pupils to develop critical
thinking and skills in analysis. Let us take an example:
The synonyms for bold
are : bright, loud, showy (negative) or,
brave, heroic, strong (positive),
The antonyms for bold are: meek, shy, timid
Does one have to look negatively on someone who is not bold but
meek or weak? In which context/s is it acceptable to me meek or weak?
Allow learners to separate synonyms and antonyms according to categories
such as: positive—negative; strong—weak; easy—difficult etc. The
desired learning outcome is that pupils will use words selectively to
communicate the tone they desire. They will also learn how to interpret
what others say to them. Learners can also change a portion of literary
text to give its opposite meaning.
The use of antithesis should be especially encouraged. Here are more
examples from poetry:
Man proposes; God in his good time disposes.
When he could see he was blind; when he became blind he saw all too
clearly.
To err is human, to forgive, divine.
The future is in the past.
5. COLLECTIVE NAMES
Critical analysis and thinking require that we group things according
to some characteristic. We also group things for ease of reference or
for purposes of poetic or idiomatic expression. We can accordingly
understand why the term 'herd' is used in respect of
some animals and a 'pack' in respect of others. We can also
distinguish between a 'nest' of pirates and a 'nest' of tables. There
are some commonalities but also some major or subtle differences.
Explore why we should talk of a 'pace of assess' or a 'sord of
mallards'. Are these animals that are on the move, somewhat different
from when they are relatively still and on the ground? Then again, what
does one gain by talking of a 'zeal’ of zebras or a ‘pride’ of
lions? Finally, what is herd mentality and who would be a brood of
noisy brats and which rugby players are part of a pack?
6. PREPOSITIONS AFTER VERBS
This can be a rather tricky section for anyone who is not a native
speaker of the English language. Let us take the first entry in
the book which is 'aim'. This word is generally followed by 'at'
as in: aim at a target. Occasionally it could be followed by 'for' as
in: aim for victory. It could also be used with 'to' as in: aim to kill.
An educator would therefore do well to use the given list as a
foundation for building upon. Pupils should be encouraged to look at
books by noted authors to get more examples for their own personal
dictionaries.
A preposition expresses a relation between it and another word. In
the list the preposition comes after a verb and before a noun. The
function it fulfils can be easily understood when the word is
represented as pre-position. As such, the preposition stands in
front of the word that it governs. The educator can try out an exercise
such as the following:
book into a hotel bump into something
walk down the road swim across the river
come through the forest climb over a fence
PREPOSITIONS AFTER ADJECTIVES & PHRASES WITH PREPOSITIONS
Once again pupils can be encouraged to look at available literature
for new examples of such prepositions to add to their list. The next
recommended during these lessons on homophones. The making of puns is
a delightful exercise and though it is said that a pun is the lowest
form of wit, everyone needs to start from the bottom. Give the learners
a chance to make and to collect puns.
8. HOMONYMS OR HOMOGRAPHS
The word 'boil' for example is in reality two different words with
two different meanings. One word refers to an inflamed pus-filled
swelling. The other is to heat a liquid until it bubbles up and
the vapour appears. The learner should be asked to look at a dictionary
for similar looking words that are listed separately as entry 1 and
entry 2. The study of homonyms, once again, affords the learner an
excellent opportunity to use the dictionary.
9. ADJECTIVES
Pupils need to demonstrate that they can use adjectives appropriately
for clearer communication. Learners can begin to form simple phrases of
the following type:
able seaman aged parent arch enemy
ashy appearance avid reader baby face
bare ground bear skin best man
body blow bony fish bush meat.
The next step would be to introduce the degrees of comparison. For
example:
The sea is calm. The sea is calmer than it was this morning.
At this moment the sea is the calmest it has
been.
A further step is to use adjectives in sentence formation. Here are
some examples:
This fish is bony. The shops were busy.
Everyone was glum. The night was cold.
The child was deaf. The air was foul.
Finally, select passages from literature where adjectives have been
artfully used.
10. ADVERBS
It is generally easy to form an adverb. This is done generally by
adding 'ly' to an adjective, eg:
able ably
arch archly
bare barely
calm calmly
cold coldly
dark darkly
This is why we repeated many of the words that were listed for
adjectives.
Sometimes the adjective itself has an 'ly' ending, eg:
costly lively
lordly sickly
unholy wobbly
The difficult adverbs though are: afar, anew, away, back, fast, half,
hard, and so on. These adverbs don’t look like adverbs. Fortunately
the list is small.
The learner has to recognise that an adverb modifies a preceding verb
so that the listener/reader can learn how, why, where, when or to what
extent something happened. Examples:
She sang - sweetly, movingly, beautifully, melodiously, [how?]
- because she was so happy.
[why?]
- in
the opera, in the Royal Albert Hall. [where?]
- after the interval [when?]
-
although she was very unwell. [although?]
Pupils should learn to recognise an adverb from the manner in which
it modifies the verb in the sentence.
11. NOUNS
A noun is a word used to name of a person, place or thing. Some
things are easy to picture, e.g.:
arch, ball, bead, bath, and beak. The learner
is therefore encouraged to make a drawing of such words. Things like: -
acne, adze, aloe, bass (instrument), and apse are easily
grasped if the learner can see them as they exist in real life or in
clear pictures.
Words like 'bail' and 'band' are homonyms and one has therefore to be
careful which meaning is being illustrated. A 'bail', as used in
cricket, is easy to represent in a picture. The 'bail' obtained from a
judge after one is arrested, is difficult to show in this way. The word
band, on the other hand, can refer to a strip, a loop, a stripe of a
different colour or a mark with stripes. It also refers to a group of
people or a group of musicians. In the USA it can also refer to a herd
or flock. By being asked to draw pictures or to find pictures to
illustrate words, learners can be shown how multiple meanings attach to
many words.
The next step is for the learner to combine two nouns to form a
compound word. Examples are:
airbase, beehive; baseball, and bookshop. Some
of these words have become joined, others are separated by a hyphen
(ear-plug) and others still remain two separate words (dry dock).
12. VERBS
Forming the past participle is an important objective in learning
about verbs. In the regular form, this can be done by adding: 'd' (die -
died), 'ed' (walk - walked), 'ied' (dry - dried). Often the last
consonant is doubled and 'ed' added (don - donned). Other forms are
irregular: ’cut’ for example remains cut, ‘eat’ becomes eaten
and ‘fly’ becomes flown. Once sufficient work has been done on the
formation of participles, learners can be asked to form tenses.
As with nouns, verbs can also be compounded. Examples are: look away,
move back, pull over. In the dictionary the learner will discover many
uses of 'look' and its compounds e.g. look back, look back on, look back
upon, look back to, etc. This is how the learning experience is widened.
It should expand like ripples on a calm lake.
The next step is to look at verb phrases which in many instances have
become part of the idiomatic usage (collocation). Examples are: to aid
and abet a criminal, to bear the cross, to bell the cat, to
blot one's copy book, to bury the hatchet. Once again pupils can examine
available literature to look for examples. Pupils can show one another
the lists they respectively compiled.
A further important step is to learn and use phrasal verbs. This will
require a great deal of application. Phrasal verbs are used very widely
and very routinely in everyday speech. We understand what people mean
when they say: I will not give up or I will not back down. Learners must
be encouraged to use phrasal verbs in their daily speech by asking them
questions and getting them to reply with a phrasal verb.
Finally, attention can be drawn to simple verbs like 'back' and
'come' amongst others. These verbs are easily made into numerous phrasal
verbs. We have listed verbs that make up the bulk of phrasal verbs in
use today.
13. COLLOCATIONS
The relationship between two words or groups of words that often go
together and form a common expression is called collocation. Thus the
expressions 'throw a party’, ‘catch a bus’ ‘lend a hand’
and ‘grim determination, among thousands of others have become
everyday expressions that everyone uses. Collocated
pairs of words are made up of:
Verb + noun jump the queue / spin a yarn
Adjective + noun noble intentions / lean times
Verb + adj + noun take decisive action / make empty promises
Adverb + verb hastily assembled / widely
advertised
Adverb + adjective badly smashed / relatively new
Adverb + adjective + noun totally inappropriate conduct, brightly
coloured
object, securely fenced premises
Adj + preposition accused of / holidaying with / excited about
Noun + noun * shoelace / book fair, bookcase
The collocation that is formed with homonyms are very interesting as
in the examples below:
riverbank reserve bank
ball gown ball game
base camp base coin
dateline date palm
bush buck fast buck
headband jazz band
sour lime bird lime
airmail chain mail
flagpole south pole
cockcrow scarecrow
Examples of phrases: 'beaten black and blue', blown hither and
thither, or 'cast in stone', 'come to the point’,
‘drop someone a line’, ‘red in the face'.
Why is it so important to learn how words collocate in English? It
allows for sentences to be more compact and classy.
Collocations derived from ‘acknowledge’:-
acknowledge acquaintance with
acknowledge applause
acknowledge guilt
acknowledge praise
acknowledge the presence of
Use a dictionary of collocation to create phrases like the above
with:-
acquire admit answer
express overcome suffer
14. Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs can be divided into three categories:
14.1 Separable
You must back this up with facts.
Can you break these figures down for me?
I would like to bring this child up as my own.
The umpires called the match off because of the rain.
I called mum up on my cell phone.
The pilot asked us to calm ourselves down .
We must carry this on for as long as we can.
The nurses will carry the patient out of the hospital.
“Will you carry this task over till next week?
My friends came in numbers to cheer me up.
close down close up draw up figure out figure up fill in fill out
fill up find out fix up give up hold up
keep up leave out let down pass out pay off pick up play down play up
point out put off put on rule out
set up show off tear up think up throw away touch up try on try out turn
down turn out wind up work out
14.2 Inseparable
It is impossible to back out of a lease.
Thieves break into a shop.
The promoters called for volunteers.
I so much wanted to catch up with all the happenings of the day.
The doctor will check up on this evening.
If we come across the diamond we shall return it to you.
I have come down with the flu.
You must come up with the deposit by Monday.
My friends can count on me in a crisis.
It’s better to do without things we don’t ever use.
drop out of face up to fall back on
get away with get down to get in
get off go back hold on to
live up to look after look back on
look down on look forward to look up to
make up for read up on
14.3 Intransitive
When the trouble is big just back down.
“I’ll be very unhappy if you back out “
“I expect you to bear up. “
The storm will soon blow over.
The explosives blew up.
“Let us all calm down. “
The teacher asked us to carry on.
“I wonder if I’ll ever be able to catch up? “
“My car needs a thorough check up.”
“We need someone funny to help us cheer up.”
come over drive back fly back get along get away get up get through give
up grow up keep up let up make up
run off show off stand by take over talk back wake up watch out wear off
wear out
Learners must be encouraged to collect Phrasal verbs from radio
programmes and the books that they read. They can then share these with
their classmates. The school can begin to build its own dictionary of
Phrasal Verbs in everyday use.
15. MIXED FUNCTIONS
Detailed notes are already provided in the book to help learners with
this section. The educator’s function is to point out that one cannot
tag a word without seeing it in context. By giving learners practise in
using one word for different functions they become aware of this. The
word ‘back’ for example can be used as:
Verb I will back Bafana Bafana all the way.
Noun My back hurts.
Adverb. Come back at once.
Adjective. She is sitting in the back row.
16. SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION
In the main body of the text basic patterns were provided. Once
learners become comfortable with constructing sentences, they should be
exposed to slightly more complex patterns drawn from professional
writers. Models of sentences from established writers
should be routinely collected and classified.
This can be done using the following examples:-
Pattern 1
At last she sprang up, came behind me, and drawing my head back,
kissed me. ( E. Nesbit)
To my shame I knew next to nothing about that expedition. (V.
Zhuravlyova)
As the old man spoke, I became aware of a loud and gradually
increasing sound, like the moaning of a vast herd of Buffaloes upon an
American prairie.(Edgar Allan Poe)
For the next two weeks Armiston gave himself over to his dissipation,
which was accompanying Godahl on this adventure. (Frederick Anderson)
For a whole month I had been wandering all over this magnificent
island, and I had a feeling of having reached the end of the world. (Guy
de Maupassant)
Pattern 2
After I had entered, he locked the doors, fastened the windows, and
even placed a chair before the chimney. (Bret Harte)
Now I am calm, but truly there is no more to tell: the incident ends
where it began – in darkness and in doubt. (Ambrose Bierce)
At once a little trickle of flame came out of the fuselage, which
became larger until the whole fuselage and tailplane was enveloped in
flames. (Captain James McCudden)
“Some day I’m going to have just a good old-fashioned beef,”
Sara said dreamily. (Clifton & Apostolides)
Then, as I looked, the mist, or smoke, or cloud, or whatever one may
call it, seemed to coalesce and solidify at two points quite close
together. (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
At length – not that he was weary, but only idle and luxurious –
Pegasus folded his wings and lay down
17. MAKE A MATCH
The desired outcome in this exercise is for the learner to make new
words by joining two familiar words. A good idea would be to write each
word on a strip of cardboard and then cut the strip into two. The
learner will then try to join words by putting the two strips next to
each other like in a jigsaw puzzle. The exercise will teach the learner
an important technique in word coinage. In the beginning it was just a
fire that was lit when people went camping.At some point it became 'camp
fire' and that is how it got recorded in a dictionary. Cocks would have
crowed from the beginning of time. This would have been referred to as
the crowing of the cock. In the interest of economy it became a 'cock
crow' in the end.
18. ABBREVIATIONS
There is one great virtue in creating a list of common abbreviations.
It enables the learner to make a start with something that has to be
added to for the rest of that individual's life. New abbreviations are
always coming into existence. Abbreviations and acronyms like UNESCO and
NATO proliferate in literature and it can be very frustrating when one
cannot find these listed in a dictionary. Educators should encourage
learners continuously to compile a list of abbreviations and acronyms.
In the text abbreviations have been divided into two parts. The first
lists abbreviations commonly used by the general public.
The second part of the abbreviation is aimed at students who have to
refer to dictionaries and reference books.
19 CLOZE TESTS
A cloze test should be used very frequently in the classroom. A
learner who is growing in language competence will be able to anticipate
the word that has to come up in a given context. In a cloze test the
word required does not have to be the omitted word.
Any suitable word that fits into the context is acceptable.
Chomsky emphasised the ability of children to derive structural
regularities from the utterances of those around them and then to make
use of those same regularities to construct sentences that they never
heard before. Through the use of internalised structural regularities a
learner can fairly accurately anticipate the word that is to follow in a
sentence. The cloze test is therefore a powerful tool in testing and
teaching language.
In a cloze test the educator can leave out every nth word, every
selected noun or verb or adjective, or as we did in, Matilda Learns the
Joy of Reading, every four letter word. One can employ a great deal of
flexibility with a cloze test provided that there is enough flow in the
text to allow for informed guessing.
In a cloze procedure exercise the reader is required to use both his
knowledge of the language as well as the context to predict the words
that have been deliberately left out of the passage. As cloze procedure
is very valuable in testing vocabulary, language and comprehension, it
is a powerful aid for language learning and reading.
The answers that are given do not have to be the omitted words. Any
suitable word that works well in context is acceptable. Learners can
create Cloze Procedure exercises for themselves or their friends with
any material across the curriculum. They can use strips of post-it paper
to cover a few words temporarily in a book and then ask fellow pupils to
read a poem or passage where they have to predict or substitute the
missing word.
20 IDIOMS
It would be a good idea to use a big blank book to collect and group
idioms under topics: cat, dogs, birds, insects, wild animals, habits,
weather and so on. Learners should also be encouraged to create idioms
from the things that they know and see in South Africa. Every language
uses idioms because users of language are indeed both inventive and
creative.
The best English is undoubtedly idiomatic English. Here are some
examples: "Get to the point. Stop beating about the bush".
Language, used in this way, is natural, colourful and full of vigour. A
purely literal understanding of English can on occasion lead to comic
results or even tragic consequences.
Reading up-to-date literature and listening to spoken English on
radio is very useful in understanding the changing idiom. The educator
must organise a series of workshops on the use of modern idioms. Maybe
then the learner will say "That's cool!"
21 HOW WORDS ARE MADE
This is a fascinating area for exploration. The examples that have
been provided can be enlarged on a week by week basis. Have a chart or
board on which the ROOT WORD OF THE WEEK is written. The words derived
from the root can then be listed.
The use of prefixes, suffixes and combining elements must be explored
over a long period of time.
22. CLUE WORDS
This is really a dictionary exercise. The search for the wanted words
is confined to only a few pages of the dictionary. The learner does not
need to be frustrated because the search is very limited. The desired
outcome is that the learner uses a dictionary or dictionaries. In the
process the learner will come across other words and these would further
expand the learner's vocabulary.
23. LADDER WORDS
As in Clue Words, two letters are given as a clue. These two letters,
however, can only be used to find the first word. Thereafter the last
two letters of each word will constitute the first two letters of the
word succeeding.
This exercise is a little harder than Clue Words. For this reason,
frequent references will need to be made to a dictionary.
24. WORDS THAT RHYME
The learner will test alphabetically to find a corresponding match.
Once again a dictionary will be a very handy tool. The exercise is
arranged in such a way that the words are arranged in alphabetical
order. Rhyme is powerful in aiding memory. A desired and further outcome
is that learners can construct verses using rhyme.
25. ANAGRAMS
Four letters are given. By rearranging these letters the first time,
learners will uncover the first word hidden there. Doing this once
again will produce the next word. The educator can have these anagrams
printed on cardboard strips for handing out to learners who have some
minutes to spare between lessons. It would be good for discipline as
well as for vocabulary enrichment to keep pupils fully interested and
occupied. All of these games promote thinking. So often the word is
there in the consciousness but will not materialize. Games like those
above sharpen responses.
26. FOUR STEPS TO THE TARGET WORD
The learner needs to know words generally to make discrete changes
that will yield new words. Every learner will be able to play this game
but speed is really its essence. Where the learners appear to be
struggling, the educator can revise the list at the end of the chapter
with the class, to better equip the learners. In all of these games we
have attempted to create a very large comfort zone for the learner. We
did this by looking for simplicity, regularity and similarity.
27. WORD SQUARES
A word square is a miniature crossword puzzle. Each word must read
the same horizontally as well as vertically.
Therefore the solution to each puzzle requires only four words. The
learners can use 16 small cardboard or plastic squares to represent the
string of letters given at the end of the puzzle. Each squares can be
solved by juggling the sixteen letters to find the four words that will
fit the clues. The letter in the bigger font is the letter with which to
begin the first word.
What are the main objectives of introducing Word Squares? Crosswords,
we know, have an enduring interest for human beings. Children who start
early will become engrossed in solving word puzzles all through their
lives. There is great satisfaction for each of us in being able to solve
a puzzle. Through nurturing this interest we achieve the most desired
outcome, namely: possessing and using the largest number of words in the
language.
Learners can also use these puzzles to test themselves. They will
need neither any educator nor any adult to supervise and assess the
test. This is something that the learner can do unaided.
28. KANGAROO WORDS
The first aspect relates to spotting the joey in the pouch of the
mother kangaroo. The more important exercise is to study how words are
continually being shortened. The present tendency is to create very
short words to facilitate the sending of SMS’s.
29. PROVERBS
A proverb is such a pithy, and excellently phrased sentence that
people tend to overuse it. It would be wonderful if new proverbs came in
as fast as those that were being made stale and ineffective by overuse.
Learners should be encouraged to know and use proverbs selectively. In a
debate one can make a telling point by using a well chosen proverb. A
proverb can also help one to start building an argument or an essay.
Learners should therefore understand the merits as well as the demerits
of using common proverbs. The coining of a new proverb is, however, to
be fully encouraged. Learners should try to update existing proverbs.
Some examples
of newly coined proverbs with a local flavour are given for the
learners to get an idea.
30. SPICTEL
Clip art gives an educator a very potent tool to teach and test
vocabulary. Clip Art can easily revolutionise the teaching of vocabulary
and therefore of language. Explore the availability of this powerful
tool. In Spictel the picture provides an important clue.
31. WORD TRIADS
Look at the example of
'spot cash',
'spot lamp' and 'spot news'.
To pay immediately after a sale is to pay spot cash. A light that is
focussed on a spot, is a spotlamp. Finally, spot news would be news
events that are broadcast as they occur.
Words like 'spot', 'star', 'time' and 'wild', amongst others, have a
minimum of three extensions.
32. WORD SEARCH
This game is for those who have great patience and a good eye for
spotting words however they are hidden. INTERESTING SITES:.
http://www.lholmes.fsnet.co.uk/wordsearchchoice.htm
http://www.planetozkids.com/oban/wordpuz/html/kangaroo.htm
http://www.bigfishgames.com/online/flipwords/flipwords.php
TO CREATE YOUR PUZZLE:
http://coolfreesoftware.com/wordsearch/index.shtml
http://puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com/WordSearchSetupForm.html
http://www.armoredpenguin.com/wordsearch/
TEACHING TENSES:
Active voice is highlighted, passive voice is not.
|
TENSES FOR THE VERB FEED:- |
|
|
|
PAST |
PAST PERFECT |
PAST CONTINUOUS |
|
I fed the dog. |
After I had fed the dog I went to sleep. |
I had been feeding the dog when you called. |
|
The dog was fed. |
After the dog had been fed, I went to bed. |
The dog had been feeding with what I was giving to it when you
called. |
|
PRESENT |
PRESENT PERFECT |
PRESENT CONTINUOUS |
|
I feed the dog twice every day. |
I have fed the dog and now we can go. |
I have been feeding the dog this past half hour. |
|
The dog is fed twice every day. |
The dog having been fed, we can go now. |
The dog has been feeding for this past half hour. |
|
FUTURE |
FUTURE PERFECT |
FUTURE CONTINUOUS |
|
I shall feed the dog twice every day. |
I shall have fed the dog by 11 o’clock tomorrow morning. |
I shall have been feeding the dog for two years come Easter. |
|
The dog shall be fed twice a day. |
I shall have fed the dog twice every day by then. |
I shall have been feeding the dog twice every day by Easter. |
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
Barnhart, C.L & Barnhart R. K. editors, The World Book
Dictionary, Chicago, 1987.
Sinclair, J, editor in chief, Collins Cobuild English Dictionary,
London, 1995.
Tulloch, S, editor, The Reader’s Digest, Oxford, Complete
Wordfinder, Oxford, 1990.
Hawkins, J.M., The Southern African Oxford Dictionary for Adult
Learners, Cape Town, 1999.
Maxwell, C., The Pergamon Dictionary of Perfect Spelling,
Oxford, 1977.
Fergusson, R., The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary, London, 1985.
Prebble, R., Chambers Phrase File, Edinburgh, 1993.
McLeod, W.T., editor, The New Collins Thesaurus, London, 1984.
Bernstein, T.M. & Grambs, D., Bernstein’s Reverse
Dictionary, New York, 1988.
Stibbs, A., Crossword Lists, London, 1994
Marian C. Young, chief editor, In Your Own Backyard, The
Crowell-Collier Publishing Company, New York, 1962.
The Bumper Book of Stories, Cathay Books Ltd, London, 1983.
Print Artist, Master Clips.
