Eurolink News Issue No 23 November 09

The last five letters of the name of this month remind me that the bonfires on the fifth will have glowing remains; embers are also residues of feelings, and in this capacity we remember the hallowed on All Saints' Day, our departed loved ones on All Souls' Day and those fallen in combat on Remembrance Day.

Misnomer

The word "quite" can be confusing if not seen or heard in context as it needs other markers to determine which end of the word's semantic spectrum its meaning lies.

When I say "I quite agree", I am expressing my agreement in the fullest sense, to the utmost extent; similarly, if I describe something as "quite an event", it is or was inevitably remarkable, outstanding.

On the other hand, my comment "she's quite nice" is less enthusiastic and the judgement is muted to some extent.

Phonetics

According to my marking experience, the following three aspects of phonetic transcription seem to be the most troublesome. These practice exercises are offered to focus attention on their usage and to improve identification and differentiation:

• the schwa in words
• the -ed ending
• the labial fricatives (th)

Where is the schwa in each of the following words?

• natural
• colour
• station
• important
• furniture
• centre
• expedition
• final
• over
• weather
• wider
• theatre
• future

Check the criteria and choose which of the three possible pronunciations is used in the following words:

• demonstrated
• studied
• ignored
• moved
• compared
• localized
• practised
• recorded
• called
• needed
• faxed
• switched
• satisfied
• painted
• walked
• typed
• closed
• rented
• arrived
• mended

Which of these dental fricatives are voiceless and which are voiced?

• three
• thirty
• the
• bathroom
• through
• there
• they're
• brothers
• they
• that
• thumb
• thing
• thought
• death
• thanks
• thirteen
• those
• Thursday
• sixth

Ex cathedra

A well-tried and engaging exercise for more advanced students involves the jigsaw puzzle of an article.

The title of the article should be handed to the pairs/groups as individual words for them to re-assemble. The process and end result will sensitise them to the subsequent article.

Students must then organize the respective cut-out paragraphs into the original sequence, making use of any language signposts and inherent contextual logic.

Once correctly restored to its original form, the article can be discussed in plenum for its content and format, the role of paragraphs being a prime consideration.

Ken Milgate
Chief Examiner

Eurolink News Issue No 22 October 09

October gives an opportunity to remind students of phonetics that the letter "c" is pronounced as a / k / or / s /.

For practice, transcribe the following words phonetically:

• receive
• candid
• circus
• cinema
• recently
• cake
• recluse
• cancer
• circle
• concise

Drumming on the Internet

If you're expecting a master-class by Ginger Baker, then you'll be disappointed because this short piece is intended to be food for thought for those screen squatters whose impatience for an immediate reply to their emails is born of the relative speed of cyber-communication.

Next time you send an email with a request for help, just pause to consider that the situation of the recipient is an unknown factor.

The lack of a timely return to suit your needs will perhaps upset your equilibrium, but people have other lives and other commitments.

Personally, I do not respond to work-related emails over the weekend in deference to my family and pursue other interests. So, if you are a seven-day workaholic, you will now know why any request to me for information may be delayed. I reply to all emails, but on a point of principle reserve the right to some quality time for myself. Whilst on the subject of Ginger Baker, I think I'll close now and listen to some Cream!

Size does make a difference

When completing worksheets, be especially vigilant in the correct use of upper and lower case letters. In the four phrases below the two versions of the same word are pronounced differently by virtue of the difference in the size of the respective initial letter. Can you say each one correctly?

1. a nice hotel - a Nice hotel
2. Real Madrid - real Madrid
3. Polish brush - a polish brush
4. a room in Reading - a reading room

Ex cathedra

If I had a pound for every time I have corrected "its" and "it's" and "practice" and "practise"!, I would be eating caviar rather than cod and chips!

As a practising or potential ESOL teacher, you will be expected to be a reliable source of information in respect of grammar enquiries and a faultless practitioner of English as it is spoken and written.

Other transgressions include the omission of apostrophes and commas, incorrect use of the colon and semi-colon, upper and lower case letters, not to mention basic spelling.

Strangely enough, or so it may seem, the worst offenders are native English-speakers. But maybe that is not so strange on reflection as those students for whom English is not their mother tongue have studied English grammar, while mother-tongue Anglo-parlance are normally denied such instruction in the whole education system.

I have a student in my CPE class by default: she initially wanted to study for her GCSE in English but was informed she would not be taught any formal grammar per se.

Correct grammar is expected of CPE examination candidates, which is why I include structural exercises in my lessons.

There are grammar books for all levels, so if you are conscious of any shortcomings in your language knowledge or need a refresher, visit your local educational bookshop now before you are found wanting in class. Some private study is a small price to pay for the potential loss of face and confidence if corrected by a student or silenced by your own ignorance.

Ken Milgate
Chief Examiner

Eurolink News Issue No 21 September 09

For those of you who took on the apostrophe challenge in August's news issue, here is the correct version:

1. child's play
2. the bee's knees
3. Harry's brother
4. boys' coats
5. St Cuthbert's Hospice
6. companies' logos
7. a pint of John Smith's
8. MOTs
9. MPs' second jobs
10. each other's strengths and weaknesses

Sound advice

When transcribing phonetically, it is important to remember that there are differences between written English and spoken English: unless you draw a clear demarcation line between the two forms, there will be transfer of information and confusion.

Two problematic aspects of transcription seem to be silent letters and the intrusive r.

IPA details the sound of a word which may exclude some letters by virtue of the fact that they are not pronounced and hence labelled "silent".

In the words below the letters underlined feature in orthography but, as they are not pronounced, do not appear in the phonetic transcription of the same word. Of course, some of the letters in the written form are transcribed with symbols which may include different letters or different combinations.

• handsome
• write
• ghost

Similarly, the letter r often has a lengthening role in some English words and as such is absent in phonetic transcription as it is subsumed into the appropriate long vowel.

eg card      /kad/

Only a Scottish accent would roll the r.

The words bird, murder, berth, north would also not show the letter r in the transcribed version.

The letter r might, however, appear in transcription to denote natural connected speech: as a free-standing word, more would not be transcribed with an r, but in the phrase more intelligent, the r would act as a link connecting the two words.

Also, remember there are no capital letters in transcription, nor are there any hyphens!

Misnomer

"The best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft a'gley" Robert Burns (To a Mouse)

It was John Steinbeck who formalized the contained phrase for the title of his story, Of Mice and Men, but legions of others have alluded to the lines by misquoting, substituting plans for schemes.

What is the difference between a scheme and a plan?

The adjective scheming would suggest a devious activity, but what could be devious about a colour scheme? And why would Baldrick want to announce a cunning plan if a plan is merely a positive arrangement?

In the final analysis we have to accept nuances for the correct use and settle for a plan of action and a seating plan while to scheme a downfall implies a plan with artful intent.

Ex cathedra

An exercise I have used with advanced classes to combine environmental awareness and language acquisition is to ask students to make a rubbish inventory for homework.

On a walk or shopping trip they should write down a description of any discarded items seen, incorporating the name of the object and an accompanying adjective. Examples might include an empty bottle, a flattened tin, a crumpled newspaper.

In the process students practise naming objects of everyday use and learn some new words for unknown items. At the same time they will be encouraged to build up their active knowledge of adjectives.

Objects observed but not known nominally could be described to the class for the others to identify; similarly, objects could be described and the appropriate descriptor supplied, the exercise heralding a more complex scenario in both passive and active learning.

Enjoy your word recycling!

Ken Milgate
Chief Examiner

Eurolink News Issue No 20 August 09

The pronunciation of the first syllable of the month of August highlights one of many discrepancies between the written and spoken word in the English language.

The following words share an aspect of pronunciation despite their different spelling:

fall awe corn bought door coarse court war talk

The apostrophe . . .

. . . is a punctuation mark used to indicate the omission of a letter or the possessive case, but for many any word ending in s is a challenge for correct grammar.

Where should there be an apostrophe, if at all, in the following phrases?

1. childs play
2. the bees knees
3. Harrys brother
4. boys coats
5. St Cuthberts Hospice
6. companies logos
7. a pint of John Smiths
8. MOTs
9. MPs second jobs
10. each others strengths and weaknesses

Solution in September’s issue.

Misnomers

I have a problem with the word problem. In essence it is a doubtful or difficult matter requiring a solution, but I accept that it is standard practice for a German to say kein Problem and a French person to say pas de probleme when they are pleased to perform any requested routine task or merely to express agreement with a suggestion.

I find it absurd that some English people use the expression instead of the more sincere my pleasure or you’re welcome as a reply to an expression of gratitude.

Similarly, why should it be a problem for a bank teller to give you tens rather than twenties or a waiter to bring the wine menu. It’s part of their job, isn’t it?

If, however, I ask the garage mechanic if he can have my car ready by three at the latest or the dentist to re-schedule some dental appointment to accommodate an urgent work situation of mine, then both could signal their compliance with an appropriate no problem as both requests might involve collateral manoeuvring.

If it’s no problem, consider the situation before you respond.

Ex cathedra

Bob Hoskins is famous for his BT adverts encouraging us all that it’s good to talk; I am forever extolling the virtues of reading for pleasure.

ESOL publishers’ catalogues are refreshingly stocked with graded readers, some of which are accompanied by CDs.

Titles include authentic material written by specialists as well as abridged classics; whatever the choice of reading, students are guided by the numerical coding of the relative language level. There may be need to correlate some publishers’ numbers with the Skills for Life coding to make sure readers enjoy language content which is level-specific.

Extensive reading is one of the best ways we can help our students to accelerate their language development and boost their confidence.

So, if your ESOL section does not have its own discrete library of such readers, persuade your line manager that it’s good to read.

Ken Milgate
Chief Examiner

Eurolink News Issue No 19 July 09

The pronunciation of the two-syllable month July is fixed on the second syllable.

The words listed below, however, can be pronounced with both initial and final stress, indicative of a different part of speech or indeed a different meaning.

Do you know the differences?

• entrance
• minute
• present
• collect
• concert
• perfect
• absent
• convict
• consort
• suspect

Misnomers

It is ironic that peace studies is basically the analysis of international relations in terms of defensive policies and the role of the military and hinges consequently on strategic armaments in readiness for a threat of war.

In George Orwell’s "1984" the Ministry of Truth purveys lies and manipulates people.

When people ask "how are you?" we reply in the spirit of phatic communion "fine, thanks" or "can’t grumble" even if we feel decidedly otherwise because we know the enquiry is in most cases a polite gesture rather than a genuine request for actual information, a standard response is expected rather than a specific reply.

It is a question of saying what you mean or meaning what you say.

Teaching English at home and abroad

At present the Language Centre in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is the institution where students are directed to complete their residential teaching block.

Teaching English to students in mainland UK is one thing; teaching the same language in a Spanish-speaking environment is entirely "otra cosa".

Students in the latter situation will be learning English as a foreign language while their counterparts in the UK will be largely engaged in learning English as a second language for a variety of reasons. The differentiation has implications for both lesson content and delivery.

UK-based students can relate their learning directly to their immediate surroundings both in and outside the classroom and will doubtless feel intrinsically motivated to integrate their learning with their current life. There will be communality among learners above and beyond the mere language, which will be more associated with culture on a daily basis.

Students learning English in their own country or another alien culture will be physically detached from the language as a vanguard communicator.

The ultimate challenge of language proficiency is the transfer of knowledge learnt in the safe environment of the classroom to street cred once the teaching day is over. Knowledge can be field-tested in direct application in the real world as opposed to the simulated realm of classroom experience.

From a teaching perspective, a multi-lingual group of learners studying English in Spain will rely more on the teacher to create an English atmosphere in the classroom whereas their counterparts in the UK should fully exploit the advantage of a linguistically-attuned environment.

But when all is said and done, the "sol" of Las Palmas will have a greater attraction for potential TESOL practitioners than the unpredictability of the English "tiempo".

Ex cathedra

This month’s teaching tip is a simple way of consolidating the criteria for two verb tenses that often prove troublesome for ESOL students in terms of application.

Let us suppose that the class meets on a Wednesday, in which case students could compile their own diary entries: there would be three past days (Sunday, Monday and Tuesday) and three future days (Thursday, Friday and Saturday). The Wednesday could accommodate both tenses.

Written entries could be modelled on language as below

On Monday morning I went to the doctor’s.
On Tuesday evening I visited my friend in hospital.

to signify completed actions within a given time anchor.

Alternatively, students could respond orally to questions

What did you do last Tuesday morning?
Were you at home last Monday afternoon?

In terms of the present continuous it will be used to indicate planned future arrangements.

What are you doing this afternoon?
What are you doing on Friday evening?

Or in statements

On Thursday afternoon I am having my hair cut.
On Friday evening my family are going out for a meal.

Association with personal details will hopefully connect the criteria to contextual reality instead of abstract recall.

Ken Milgate
Chief Examiner

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Eurolink News Issue No 18 June 09

Pronunciation of the month of June is problematic for both German and Spanish natives.
Whereas the German J in Juni is pronounced /j/ as in IPA, the English equivalent requires students to master the pronunciation of words like judge and jury.

For Spanish speakers, the initial letter in junio is a strong guttural sound not found in the English of England but the ch of Scots loch, Welsh bach, or German Aachen, Achtung; it is silent at the end of the word reloj.

True to form

Handwriting is a very personal expression and, as such, the formation of letters can assume a variety of acceptable and discernible forms.

In the case of phonetic transcription, however, the written form should reproduce the appropriate symbols accurately and without variation for the sake of conformity and universal recognition.

Students of phonetics should be particularly vigilant when forming the following:

• the schwa
• the long /i/ and the short variant with no dot but with upper and lower crossbars
• the dental fricatives for the th sound
• short and long u
• /z/ which has no mid horizontal crossbar

Misnomers

Nowadays, a public school is a private fee-paying school!

Public schools originated in the grammar schools of the Tudors and were under public management in contrast to private schools which were run for the profit of their proprietors.

The word gymnasium, derived from the Greek gymnos for naked, was a place where physical training took place, men in ancient Greece exercising naked.

The word is used in German to denote a grammar school.

In terms of academic study, there is a wide choice of subjects which look plural but are treated as singular: physics, civics, mathematics, economics, statistics, logistics, linguistics, dynamics and robotics inter alia are singular nouns despite the final s. As a relaxation from cerebral studies, students can always turn their hand to singular pastimes such as billiards, darts or dominoes!

Ex cathedra

Practice with verbs in course books is often mechanical and guided to such an extent that correct responses can be achieved without a reliable transferable ability beyond the constraints of accommodating sentences.

An exercise my advanced grammar classes enjoy is to justify the choice of verb tenses in a given article from a newspaper. There will usually be a mixture of tenses as the content of the article time-travels, challenging students in plenary session to recall the criteria in each instance.

Once the exercise has been established as a regular feature, students will be able to perform the same task on their own as a form of aide memoire.

Constant practice at tense recognition is a prerequisite for correct usage in self expression.

Ken Milgate
Chief Examiner

Eurolink News Issue No 17 May 09

Although, according to dictionaries, both can and may are used to express permission, I could never bring myself to say "Can I wait?" when seeking permission. It is ingrained in me from early childhood to use may in such requests. Otherwise, may operates in more formal contexts like:

• Who are you, may I ask?
• Be that as it may
• That is as may be

Misnomers

Starting with this issue, this section of the newsletter will examine instances of inappropriate names and hopefully make readers reflect more on our linguistic heritage.

Consider the words classic and classical: "Classic events on Classic FM" heralds the announcer in between pieces of classical music on the radio station.

While there is no denying the classical nature of the music, the argument of the radio station defies its excellent, first class epithet on the grounds of incongruity.

The sublime orchestration of Bach or Borodin is sandwiched between banal patronizing layers of jingle-riddled advertising and self-congratulation, often accompanied by terms and conditions garbled at barely comprehensible speed.

The language juxtaposition is a spiritual affront if a financial necessity. I may not be the only disenchanted purist who has switched allegiance to Radio 3.

For further linguistic discrimination, check the difference between:

• historic and historical
• economic and economical
• politic and political

The long and the short of it

For native and non-native speakers alike, recognition of the short and long vowel i proves troublesome.

Perhaps the difference becomes clearer in comparison; try saying these pairs and note the difference:

Long	Short
eat	it
seat	sit
fiend	fin
peel	pill
greet	grit
regal	regale
Lille	lily
seize	sister
FIFA	fifth
leap	lip

It is in the interests of propriety and to spare blushes that similar words differentiated by the length of the vowel sound are properly modelled and practised in class so that no-one is unsuspectingly on the receiving end of at best a sympathetic chuckle or at worst outraged indignation when they attempt to buy garden vegetables or bed linen — peas or sheets!

Ex cathedra

Physician meet phonetician — here’s a matching activity that came to me while working in the allotment over the Easter holidays!

Each student receives two human outlines with numbered empty boxes attached to various body parts; on one of the frames they write in the correct orthography and on the other they write the appropriate word in phonetic transcription.

When both tasks have been completed and corrected in plenum, students will see at a glance the disparity between spelling and phonetic transcription; this in turn will hopefully reinforce the need to read with observation.

Points to highlight would include:

• silent letters (wrist, knee, thumb)
• the schwa (muscle)
• the intrusive r (heart)
• diphthongs (ear)

Further related topics:

• correct pronunciation of diseases and medical conditions
• describing symptoms
• role-plays in a doctor’s surgery

Ken Milgate
Chief Examiner