Activities using linguistic frameworks

Transcription

1 Note for teachers These resources can be used for AS/A2 English Language or combined Language and Literature. They are intended to give students active things to do with the frameworks. Working with the semantic framework has been phrased so that it may be given to students, but it also serves as a record of possible activities for teachers. They can be run as a circuit-type activity, with different stations to work with/revise semantic concepts in different ways. This can be combined with the other two frameworks sheets, providing ten stations to work round. Working with the grammatical framework has also been reworked into something that can be given to students, but again these tasks can instead be provided verbally or run as a circuit activity. The nouns in the first activity can go onto PowerPoint slides for paper-free reference, allowing you to quickly provide the right answer. Working with the lexical framework works in the same way as the other two. These activities are particularly enjoyed by students, but drunk may be an inappropriate choice for words for if you want to avoid taboo and indelicate language in the classroom. Working with the phonological framework is the same kind of thing. You may want to have some tongue twisters to hand to help students who can t think of any, especially if you gather a stock of unusual ones. A quick Google search produces hundreds! For shop names, the website is superb they have a downloadable PowerPoint of an assortment of shop fronts doc Page 1 of 5

2 Working with the semantic framework Euphemisms and dysphemisms Pick an area commonly inhabited with euphemisms (sex and death are the biggest fields, closely followed by bodily functions, itself rather euphemistic). Try to list five euphemisms and five dysphemisms and then discuss the truth of the statement that females tend to use euphemisms and males tend to use dysphemisms. Try to use concrete examples wherever possible. Personal ads Write a standard stereotypical personal ad, then work on a translation. For example, loves cuddles may mean desperately clingy. Be as creative as you like! The firing line Script a brief speech dismissing someone using as many different euphemisms as possible. More challenging version: Write a 2-3 sentence sacking speech, then rewrite it as many different ways as you can, using a different euphemism and different register/style each time. Imagery Be sure you can explain the difference between a simile and a metaphor. Then produce a list of clichéd similes (as daft as a brush, hair like silk) and of dead metaphors (I m starving). Extension activity Craft the most interesting/unusual/striking similes or metaphors you can to describe: 1. A person s eyes or hair. 2. A flower. 3. Water doc Page 2 of 5

3 Working with the grammatical framework Noun types: seeing the difference Sort these nouns into two categories (this is more easily done as a cut and sort activity). Note that the two groups are not necessarily even in number: Peter Boy Cheese England Country Dumbo The Lion King Rover Table Elephant Yorkshire Film Pencil Doctor Fire engine Brick Once you have reached an agreement over what goes where, define the difference between the two groups as clearly as you can. Next repeat the exercise with these nouns: Happiness Armchair Light bulb Hate Sky Heart Tree Charity Christianity Flag Woman Time Wheelbarrow Loneliness Jug Mystery For whiter than white whites Write two advertising slogans (for real or invented products), one using at least one comparative, one using at least one superlative. Predictions Congratulations! You ve just landed a job as a fortune teller. Write five predictions for your friends using different modal auxiliaries. Put them in order from most definite to most tentative. Extension tasks Analyse your own writing in advertising slogans and predictions. What techniques did you naturally use in writing for these genres? Try producing more sentences like the predictions activity, but this time offering advice with varying degrees of firmness, again using modals doc Page 3 of 5

4 Working with the lexical framework Words for Collect as many words within your group for drunk as you can, trying to cover as many different registers or levels of language as you can. Try to think about what your parents/grandparents would say formally and informally, and also think about different contexts, e.g. what would you say to a police officer / teacher and what would you say to your mates. Once you have a collection of words, you need to get them in rank order from most formal to least. Then, once that s done, try applying some lexical labels to them. Do you have examples for each of the following terms? If not, can you add some for the categories you don t yet have? formal technical informal colloquial impolite slang taboo dialect/regional posh slang old fashioned older people s slang youth slang Wrong register Comedy often arises from the use of an inappropriate register, and you are now going to create a text which exploits this. You may use your own creative ideas, or try one of these tried and tested possibilities: a Principal s welcome speech to new students a nursery rhyme or fairy tale. Extension activities If you finish quickly, try one or both of these: 1. How would you analyse your (or your neighbour s) text? You are not to be negatively critical, but should produce good analytical sentences identifying specific examples and effects using the PQE (point quotation explain) model. 2. Write the same text again but using the opposite wrong register (i.e. if you produced an unusually formal text, go the other way and write in slang, or vice versa) doc Page 4 of 5

5 Working with the phonological framework Tongue twisters Collect two or three tongue twisters in your group and identify the sounds that you are supposed to mix up. Can you classify these sounds in terms of articulation? (i.e. are they plosives / fricatives etc?) Which sounds are most easily mixed? Can you create your own tongue twister using an identified group of sounds? Headlines These often make use of phonological devices, especially alliteration and puns. Come up with at least one possible headline using phonology for effect for each of the following types of story (and feel free to be creative here and/or use current events): a crime (e.g. murder, robbery ) celebrity gossip (bad behaviour, relationship break-up ) TV news (soap storyline, reality show news ). Extension activities If you finish quickly, try this: Shop names of certain sorts often use puns. Try to name as many different types of business that do this as you can, then either come up with punning names of your own for these kinds of business, or list the ones you can remember seeing or do a mixture of the two! Alternatively, try creating some punning names for the kinds of business that don t usually do this. Why can some get away with it and others not? doc Page 5 of 5