A student asked me why “singer” and “finger” sound different. I explained how the division of syllables affected the pronunciation of “ng.” But that’s really not enough of an explanation, is it?  I actually found it hard to find a nicely laid out list of rules for /ŋ/, but thankfully, by looking at exercises in student books like Linda’ Lane’s Focus on Pronunciation (Longman, 1993, Unit 31), I was able to piece the patterns together.

Please view my Wrong Angle_handout and let me know if you agree with the pronunciation patterns I outlined. I feel the speaking activity in Task B is appropriate for adult learners at a high intermediate or advanced level. My three short texts can be seen merely as models or suggestions. You know your students best and could compose similar texts with the most appropriate content for them.

The activity that I’m sharing today resulted from a question a YouTube viewer posted on my channel. I realized that in my videos on embedded questions I hadn’t adequately addressed the nature of these noun clauses when used in the subject position. In most cases, embedded questions will take a singular verb, like any subject that refers to a singular idea.

• How much I love grammar is likely clear by the number of posts I have on this subject. [subject = embedded question]
• Studying grammar is every teacher’s responsibility. [subject = gerund phrase]
• That grammar can be confusing even to teachers is no surprise. [subject = noun clause with that]

However, what-clauses behave differently. At the prompting of that YouTube viewer, I came up with examples to recall the patterns:

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find confirmation of this pattern in any of my reference books, so I turned to Stacy Hagen, who restored my peace of mind by confirming that I was on the right track. A huge thank you to Stacy for clarifying that a what-clause + BE followed by a plural noun calls for a plural verb. She added that the rule should be observed in formal English. I see this behavior of  what-clauses as similar to “There…” in the subject position.

• There is a need for clarification.
• There are no books in my library that helped me.
• There is a clear pattern here.
• There are always patterns when you open your eyes and look for them.

The only thing left to do was to confirm these findings for that student and come up with a fun way for other learners to gain practice with embedded questions in a subject position. I hope you, too, will enjoy using the song What the World Needs Now Is Love and my What the World Needs Now_handout.

By the way, when I searched on YouTube for recordings of Dionne Warwick singing this tune, I found one with clear audio and one with a wonderful comment posted by a viewer: “Great song, great singer. What the world needs these days are more of both.”

I recommend brief controlled practice to review word order and punctuation. You might also call attention to a limited set of reporting verbs and strengthen students’ ability to choose one accurately by calling attention to the manner or purpose expressed by the verbs. See Making the Right call_handout

When students are ready for communicative practice, ask them to get into pairs. Each pair needs one smartphone with the Voice Memo app or other sound recorder.

1. Have a grab bag of topics prepared in advance: on slips of paper, write topics that are of interest to your students, such as weekend plans, hobbies, favorite restaurant, or a good vacation spot.
2. Each pair will get a topic card and be asked to prepare 4-6 lines of conversation on the given topic.
3. The dialog will then be recorded via a smartphone. (Video is also possible, but audio is likely easier to manage in a group setting.)
4. Each pair should send their file to another pair. Partners will work together to transcribe the dialog. Require different reporting verbs to be used.
5. The transcription can be shared with the authors the dialog for correction.

1. Give weather reports. (Beginners) If you have studied weather-related expressions, students can take turns giving the daily weather report. Each student could have an assigned day to stand outside and deliver the weather report, ideally through video, but a still shot coupled with a short text is also possible. Give them a template: Good morning. Today is (Friday, May 31). It’s (warm and sunny). Right now it is (78) degrees. Decide in advance how students can distribute the  report: mass email, submit to you, post to Facebook page, etc.

2. Give a status update to a partner. (All levels) Assign each student a partner. Have them send 2-3 updates (10-20 seconds) to their partner via video between one class and the next. At the next class, they can meet in small groups and tell what their partners did recently. Focus on the language that needs to be practiced, for example, simple past – beginners, time clauses – intermediate, “be going to” for intended actions - advanced.

3. Explain a process. (All levels) In pairs or individually, students can use video or still shots to explain a sequence of 3-5 steps. With lower level students, the videos can be brief and simple: This is how I make tea. First, I put a tea bag in a mug. Next, I pour in hot water. Then I wait two or three minutes. Finally, I add lemon and drink. Encourage more content from upper level students. If working in pairs, they can develop a 15- or 20-second script and film each other. One might pose questions, and the other explains the process. Again, decide in advance how students will share their content with you and/ or the class.

4. Guess the next step. (Intermediate and Advanced) Have students take a picture of someone or something in the middle of an action. They can share their photos in class. Each time they partner up with a new student, they will describe what they see in the photo and guess what happened next. The photographer can then confirm or explain what really happened. Decide what language you wish to focus on, for example, present or past progressive. Student A: I see a woman in the photo. Maybe she is your neighbor. Here she is carrying a trash bag. Was she going to take the trash outside? Student B: She was, but then the bag broke. I helped her clean it up. Alternative: Video someone doing something and express an alternative outcome, given a counterfactual condition. Student A: The woman was carrying the trash bag and it broke open. If she hadn’t put so much in the bag, it wouldn’t have torn like that.

5. Make your own vocabulary clips. (All levels) I’ve recommended this activity before, but it’s one I’d like to suggest again. If given a basic template, students can begin to compile videos for their own online resource. Here’s a model provided by one language school in Boston. Their Word of the Day videos are based on the collection I posted on my website.

ANSWER: A YouTube viewer posted this question, and it took some digging and reflection to come up with an answer. It’s one of those questions that had me turning to a colleague for additional insights. We both pondered the nature of “I suppose” and “I don’t suppose” in relation to tags that could occur in conversation.

Conversation — that was the key. We all know that certain patterns are more typical of conversation than written speech. Furthermore, exceptions to more standard patterns are more likely to occur when speaking, especially in a casual context. Question tags, by nature, are conversational. Speakers often use them to seek confirmation or agreement. Question tags seem to have a good number of variations, which is probably due to the very fluid nature of our spoken thoughts.

Let’s first recall the basic pattern for forming question tags: The subject in most question tags matches the subject in the main clause: You like that, don’t you? Also, the question tag generally uses an auxiliary verb in the form that is opposite of the main clause verb: You don’t like that, do you?’ Of course, I used the phrases “most question tags” and “generally uses” purposefully. Almost any rule has its exceptions: Interesting, isn’t it? [Example of a tag for an incomplete main clause.] Oh, you already know the answer, do you? [Example of a tag with an affirmative verb, though the main verb is also affirmative. Used to express a challenge.] Don’t interrupt me, will you? [Example of a tag following an imperative.] Let’s consider the matter more, shall we? [Example of a tag following a main clause with Let's.]

As we continue to explore exceptions to the rule, we need to recognize that some question tags will not follow a simple declarative sentence. There can be a main clause and a subordinate clause, as in the case of “I don’t suppose [main clause] you like that [subordinate clause], do you [question tag]?” I don’t suppose is an example of a comment clause. Other comment clauses include I guess, I believe, I think, and I would say. The Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English states that these clauses can mark the speaker’s opinion or express a degree of doubt or certainty (Biber et al, 865). Furthermore, Biber explains how comment clauses appear in more than one position (197). Speakers can use them as the main clause or as finite clause stance adverbials, which means their position can vary:

• I guess this will take some thought, won’t it?
• This will take some thought, I guess, won’t it?
• I think it’s becoming clearer,  isn’t it?
• It’s becoming clearer, I think, isn’t it?

It seems simple enough to tell students to focus on the main thought rather than words inserted as comments when forming a question tag. However, that only helps when the comment clause is affirmative. Note how the examples with affirmative comment clauses allow the speaker to observe the standard rule of polarity in the question tags:

• I guess this will take some time, won’t it? (+,+/-)
• I think it’s becoming clearer, isn’t it? (+,+/-)
• I’d say say that’s enough, isn’t it? (+,+/-)
• I believe we’re almost done, aren’t we? (+,+/-)

Now consider the following examples with negative comment clauses. We can’t tell students to ignore the comment clause and focus on the main idea to form the tag. That would help with the choice of subject, but not the verb form.

• I don’t think it’s any clearer now, is it? (-,+/+)
• I don’t believe we’re done, are we? (-,+/+)
• I don’t suppose you like that, do you? (-,+/+)

The verb in the comment clause (the main clause) is negative, the verb in the subordinate clause is affirmative, and the question tag is affirmative. What happened? I believe the comment clause controls polarity, but the subordinate clause indicates the true subject. In other words, negative comment clauses (-) require affirmative question tags (+), and affirmative comment clauses (+) require negative question tags (-). The speaker must focus on the main idea to determine the true subject of the question tag.

I don’t think that was too confusing, was it?

Source:

Biber D. et al. (2007). Longman grammar of spoken and written English. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.

Sentence Frames to Promote Critical Thinking & Access Background Knowledge. Melissa DaPonte Katz works with younger ELLS, but the concept of sentence frames is useful to ELTs in general. Melissa demonstrated how she uses sentence frames to provide scaffolding and help learners move toward higher-order thinking. She explained that “frames” are different from “stems” in that sentence stems only prompt a complete thought. In contrast, sentence frames teach language patterns; they provide linguistic structures that are relevant to the given topic. For example, to help students identify and discuss author’s purpose, Melissa has given the sentence frame: I think the author’s purpose it to ___ because ___. Other frames can be created for predicting, identifying cause and effect, comparing, and contrasting.

The use of sentence frames can elevate class discussions and help ELLs build internal templates for expressive language. Melissa noted how sentence frames bring ELLs into a classroom discussion quickly and build a learner’s confidence. She has used them in partner work, for writing journals, as an activation or closing activity, and even as part of assessment.  Melissa explained how the sentence frames keep language demands down and free up energy and space for higher-order thinking.

You can visit her school’s wiki and find more examples of sentence frames.

Exploring the Talk of TED Talks for the Classroom. Helen Solorzano, author of NorthStar: Listening and Speaking 3 and Contemporary Topics 1, talked to us about going beyond  comprehension questions and exploring other aspects of listening materials to develop students’ listening skills and strategies. Helen promotes the idea that we L2 teachers must learn to listen in a new way. We must design our listening lessons to help students listen to what is said, how it is said, and what is not said (directly).

To illustrate her approach to in-depth listening, Helen turned to TED Talks, and specifically a talk by a Google engineer, Matt Cutts. TED Talks, as you may know, are brief, inspiring performances from global TED conferences, and as the tagline states, the talks feature “ideas worth spreading.” The videos are free under a Creative Commons license, making the resource a very convenient choice for teachers.

In terms of listening to what is said, we can ask learners to focus on main ideas and details. For example, we might use true-false questions or have them complete a template for an outline of the talk. We can also focus on vocabulary. Helen shared a vocabulary profile tool and suggested its use in order to identify word frequency and determine which vocabulary to pre-teach. She reminded us that we could also give attention to idiomatic words, so students could listen for context.

Listening for aspects of discourse help students focus on how things are said. For instance, student can learn to identify the structure of TED Talks, with their ever-present discourse markers and frequent personal experience openers. How exactly do the speakers introduce themselves? Does each speaker follow the basic structure: opener-body-closer? We could ask students to give their own talk using the same organizational discourse markers. Attention can be called to verb tenses through a cloze exercise. Students could also listen for stance markers (Actually,… / It turns out…) or asides (By the way,…).  How things are said also includes pronunciation aspects, such as intonation patterns and changes in speed and emphasis.

A lesson can also focus on what is not said during a TED Talk. From references made during  a performance to implied meanings through gestures, this aspect poses its own unique challenges. Teachers can create inference questions to tackle the unsaid. Helen pointed out that it’s okay for inference questions to have more than one correct answer. This actually encourages discussion.

Helen mentioned other sites that offer rich listening materials for ELLs:

• StoryCorps
• Public Radio Exchange

You can also visit her L2Listening blog.

I offer my sincere thanks to both Helen and Melissa for sharing their insights and suggestions.

Using Brain Research to Enhance and Energize Language Instruction: The Multiple Pathways Model. Dr. Janet Zadina was wonderfully engaging and delivered an information-packed presentation on brain research. Through her studies in cognitive neuroscience and with her experience in education, Dr. Zadina was able to help attendees better understand how we learn and how we can help students learn a language.  She began by highlighting the importance of one’s readiness to learn and the belief in one’s ability to learn. The existing state of the learner must be considered. While we want students appropriately aroused (with their interest in the lesson peaked), we can make lessons engaging and memorable without bringing in anxiety or trauma. A positive atmosphere facilitates learning, and teachers must make the environment as rich and meaningful as possible.

The presentation helped me retain the concept of how synapses are formed and how learning means making connections from existing neural information to new information. Dr. Zadina pointed out the importance of connecting to a learner’s background information and building a foundation. In the case of learning sounds, we received the suggestions to exaggerate contrast, provide multiple encounters with the sound spoken by different speakers, and allow for an extensive speaking-listening experience. As for grammar, Dr. Zadina recommends asking students to figure out grammar rules rather than giving the rules to them. Dr. Zadina went on to explain that people learn what is important to them.

Other take-away thoughts from this talk include the fact that our learners’ brains are working harder than ours during a lesson. That should prompt us to reduce their cognitive load and keep out distractions. I also appreciated the insight that we do not have the brain we are born with; we have the brain we create. The ability of the brain changes. Finally, we all left with the reminder to use information or it will get lost. In Dr. Zadina’s words, “Fire until you wire.”

You may visit Dr. Zadina’s site Brain Research and Instruction and sign up for a free newsletter. You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Thank you, Dr. Zadina, for sharing your insights!

More highlights to come!

My particular challenge as a teacher is rooted in the fact that the vocabulary and grammar of the civics test is high for my student. Nevertheless, it hasn’t been an impossible task. Perhaps if anyone else is ever faced with a similar situation and the pressure of an approaching interview date, these ideas might be of some help:

1. Look for repetitive words and learn them. There are 100 questions on the civics test. Often the applicant must only provide one or two short answers, but there could be a dozen possible answers. For example, Question 6 asks the applicant to name one of the freedoms given by the First Amendment. Among the five possible answers is religion. This is a longer word compared to speech, but it may be worth learning religion since the word is used again later. Question 10 asks the applicant to explain freedom of religion, and the expected answer is: “You can practice any religion, or not practice a religion.” (Provided by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.)

2. Look for cognates and take advantage of them. The logic here is clear. There are many new words to learn for this test, from declare to amendment. I tried to select the easiest answers to learn in terms of pronunciation and the ease of recalling word forms. Question 36 asks the applicant to name two Cabinet-level positions. One of those answers can be Secretary of Transportation. Although “transportation” is a 4-syllable word, “transport” is easily understood in many other languages. Compared to Transportation, other alternatives like Health and Human Services and Veterans Affairs are a mouthful. Based on the ideas I’ve listed so far, I went through the list of 100 questions and highlighted the answer choices I felt were easiest to learn.

3. Practice the pronunciation that matters most. What counts during the interview is being understood. For that reason, I’m not correcting  slightly inaccurate vowel sounds right now. I’m focusing on problematic consonants for my student, like the /n/ in defines. We laugh when I remind her of the meaning of the words her pronunciation might cause the interviewer to perceive — defies, defiles!  After all, we don’t want to say that the constitution does anything other than define the government. Also, we work on word stress (as in DemoCRATic and RePUBlican) and proper rhythm (as in WE the PEOple).

4. Choose the resources that fit your schedule and budget. If I had had more time to prepare lessons and work with this learner, I might have suggested the purchase of a textbook with an audio component. However, the USCIS does provide a number of free resources online for learners and teachers. There are even free training seminars for adult educators. For those who plan to run a program or course on U.S. Civics and Citizenship, there is also a free toolkit. In recent days, I poked around on YouTube and found a number of training videos for the naturalization interview. I sent links to my student so that she could hear other speakers ask the same questions with different accents and at different speaking rates.

Has anyone else taught for the U.S. Citizenship Test or any other citizenship test? Please feel free to share your ideas.

Recently, I came across an online article from Scientific American about the effects a language has on the speaker’s ability to make decisions about the future. In the comment section, other readers had posted remarks about the reporter’s word choice in the headline How Your Language Affects Your Wealth and Health. Some questioned the correctness of “affects.” Should it be “effects”? I actually agree with the word choice, but because those two words are easily confused, I think a look at the headline formatted as a an exercise item would be a nice lead-in for an advanced lesson with adult learners: How Your Language (Affects / Effects) Your Wealth and Health. You can allow students to consult dictionary entries on affect and effect and ask them to decide which verb is needed.

If Step 1 in this lesson is to think about the correct word choice in the headline, then the Step 2 is to make a prediction. Based on the headline, what will this article talk about? Your questioning may follow this line of thought: “How does the grammar in your native language differ from English? Do those differences force you to think different ways when you speak these two languages? How can the structure of a particular language make you see life a certain way?”

Step 3 moves into the actual article, and after the third paragraph you can introduce the noun effect by asking, “What are the effects of delaying gratification according to the report?” According to Keith Chen of Yale Business School, we can attain our desired outcomes when we learn how to resist the temptation of immediate gratification.

The article goes on to give examples of how speakers are affected by future verb forms (e.g., will or be going to in English) or the lack thereof. If you challenge students to identify these examples as Step 4, you will be able to contextualize the use of affected as part of a passive construction.

As Step 5, you can have students read the final paragraph on page 1 as a word gap, omitting affect and effect and all their related word forms. The task of completing the text will reinforce their understanding of the different meanings and highlight collocations, such as the effect of (something) on (another thing). Indeed, it is interesting to ponder why language has such a strong effect on people’s savings rates.

The article is a bit lengthy, so I would recommend covering page 1 in class and encouraging students to read page 2 at home. As part of the lesson, Step 6 could be to have students create short class surveys in order to see if their own ability to save money confirms or refutes the findings reported in the article.

Note: Scientific American has a Photocopying Permission Request Form.