© ignou BEGAE-182 UNIVERSITY English Communication Skills Indira Gandhi National Open University School of Humanities Block 3 READING AND WRITING SKILLS Block Introduction UNIT 1 The Reading Skill UNIT 2 Vocabulary Development UNIT 3 The Writing Skill: Some Basic Guidelines UNIT 4 The Language of Formal Letters Tessa Media & Computers 4th Proof on 19/08/2019 41 59EXPERT COMMITTE Prof Balaji Ranganathan Prof Romika Batra Gujarat Central University Indira Gandhi University Gandhinagar, Gujarat ‘Meerpur, Rewari Dr Anand Prakash (Retd) Dr Hema Raghavan (Retd) Formerly at Hans Raj College Formerly at Gargi College University of Delhi University of Delhi Dr Rajnish Kumar Mishra Dr Richa Bajaj Special Centre for Sanskrit Studies Hindu College INU, New Delhi University of Delhi ee IGNOU FACULTY (ENGLISH) Janki Devi College Prof. Anju S Gupta University of Deh Prof. Noora Singh Prof. Malati Mathur Prof. Nandini Sahu Prof Pramod Kumar Dr. Pema Eden Saméup Ms, Mridula Rashmi Kindo Dr. Malathy A. BLOCK PREPARATION Course Writer ‘Content and Language Editing Dr. P.N. Ramani (Unit 1) Prof. Anju Sahgal Gupta Retired, Pondicherry University School of Humanities, IGNOU Pondicherry Ms. Gopa Biswas (Unit 2) Retired Deputy Director ‘National Open School, Dethi Prof. Anju Sahgal Gupta (Unit 3) School of Humanities, IGNOU Prof. Shruti Sircar (Unit 4) EFLU, Hyderabad PRINT PRODUCTION Mr. CN, Pandey Secretarial Assistance Section Officer (Publication) Ms, Premlata Lingwal, PA SOH, IGNOU, New Delhi Course Coordinator Prof. Anju Sahgal Gupta School of Humanities, IGNOU August, 2019 © Indira Gandhi National Open University, 2019 ISBN All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form, by mimeograph or any other means, without permission in writing from the Indira Gandhi National Open University Further information on Indira Gandhi National Open University courses may be obtained from the University’s office at Maidan Garhi, New Delhi-110 068 or visit University’ web site hutp:/‘wws.ignow.ac.in Printed and published on behalf of the Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi by Prof. Shatrughna Kumar, Director, Schoo! of Humanities, , ARE-IL, Okhla, New Delhi Laser Typeset by: Tessa Media & Computers, C-2 Printed atBLOCK INTRODUCTION This Block concentrates on the Reading and Writing Skills. In Unit 1, (The Reading Skill) we discuss some of the strategies used by good readers. We also give you an insight into the characteristics of Readings and Levels of Meaning in a text, Unit 2 (Vocabulary Development) discusses ways to impro' vocabulary. e your In Unit 3 and 4, we concentrate on the Writing Skill, beginning with the basies of writing to formal letters. We hope you enjoyed reading the Block and completed all the exercises. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ‘The material (pictures and passages) we have used is purely for educational purposes. Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders of material in this book. Should any infringement have occurred, the publishers and editors apologize and will be pleased to make the necessary corrections in future editions of this book. Unit 1 taken from CTE-3 Block 2.UNIT 1 THE READING SKILL Structure 1.0. Objectives 1.1 Introduction 1.2. Reasons for Reading 1.3. The Reading Process 14 Strategies Used by Good Readers 1.5. Characteristics of Reading 1.6 Levels of Meaning 1.7. Reading Problems 1.8 Let Us Sum Up 1.9. Answers 1.1 OBJECTIVES After going through this unit you should be able to: ‘© discuss and describe the different approaches to reading; ‘© identify and list out the different purposes of reading English as a second language in India; ‘¢ explain the skills involved in reading; ‘* employ various strategies for improving reading; and ‘© practice different tasks and activities to develop the reading skills. 1__INTRODUCTION When we say we are educated and know a language, the first question we would be asked is ‘can you speak, read and write in it?’ Reading has been recognized to be one of the primary skills to be mastered in a language. Perhaps that is the reason why it has been given a lot of importance from the early stages of learning Itis believed, and rightly too, that reading can open up a wealth of information and knowledge to young leamers. As students we need to know how to improve our reading skills. In this unit we shall study about reading skills and how to practice and develop them through tasks and activities. We shall examine how the purposes of reading are related to both what we read and how we read. 1.2__ REASONS FOR READING Take a piece of paper and, in about five minutes, list all the different kinds of things you have read during the last five days or so, in any language — ts table, notices, letters, ete. How many of the things on your list were actually in English? Now think about the things you have listed. You must have ineluded even things like menu of a restaurant, labels on medicine bottles, engagement diary and instruetion leaflets. Why did you read each one? What did you want toReading and Writing Skis get fiom it? Were you interested in the pronunciation of what you read? Or were you interested in the grammatical structures used? Most probably, you read them because you wanted to get something from the writing: facts, ideas, information, enjoyment, even fellow feeling. You will thus find that you had a variety of reasons for reading, and if you compared notes with other people, you would find different reasons again. All these are authentic reasons for reading, that is, reasons that are not concerned with language learning as such, but with the uses to which we put reading in our daily lives outside the classroom. Can we li because some of the reasons why we read in our daily life? We normally read a) we want information for some purpose, or because we are curious to know about some topic, the answer to a question, or the solution to a problem; b) we need instructions in order to perform some task in our workplace or in our daily life (we want to know how an appliance works or how to make a model airplane. We are interested in a new recipe for baking a cake; we have to fill in forms). ©) we want to keep in touch with friends through messages, or understand official correspondene d) we want to know when or where something will take place or what is available (we consult timetables, programmes, announcements, notices, and menus, or we read advertisement); ©) we want to know what is happening or has happened (newspapers, magazines, reports); 1) we want to play a new game, do a puzzle, act in a play, or do some other activity which is pleasant, amusing and enjoyable; g) we seek enjoyment or excitement (short stories, novels, songs, and poems). ‘The term ‘reading’ thus embraces a wide variety of tasks, activities, skills and mental process. Reading also occurs at different levels. A child may read easy material fluently ‘without help. S/he may also read more difficult material, calling for concentration and special effort. S/he may read materials which require outside help such as instruction by the teacher. Cheek Your Progress 1 1) What are the different kinds of materials we normally read in our daily life?2) How is ‘reading’ traditionally used in the classroom? 3) Mention at least five purposes for which we read in real 4) Why do you think we need to leam ‘reading’ as a skill? 1.3__ THE READING PROCESS Let us try to understand what ‘reading’ means. As a first step, it might be useful to find out what you think about reading, Here are some statements about reading. Which of these statements do you think are true? Which of them are false? Can you explain why you think so? 1) Reading involves looking at a text and saying the words to yourself 2) Reading involves putting the words in print on the page into sentences and making sense of them 3) To understand a word, you have to read all the letters in it, to understand a sentence you have to read all the words in it. 4) To understand a text, you need to know the meaning of all the words in the text 5) The teacher can help students to read a text by reading it aloud while they follow the text in their books. The Reading SkillReading and Writing Skis 6) When we read for meaning, we do not need to read every letter of every word, nor every word in each sentence. 7) There are no major differences between how one reads in one’s mother tongue and how one reads in a second or foreign language. What is actually involved in the process of reading? Itis important to understand this if we really want to develop reading skills in a second or foreign language (or in any language for that matter). If we know how ‘efficient readers’ read, either in their own mother tongue or another language, perhaps we can use some of the techniques employed by these readers to acquire the reading skills, In considering the reading process, first we have to distinguish between two quite separate activities: reading for meaning (or ‘silent reading’) and reading aloud. Think of your own experience as a student. In many classrooms, the reading lesson is used as an opportunity to teach pronunciation and encourage ‘expression speaking’, i.., speaking with feeling and emotion. For early readers, reading aloud is of course an important aid; beginners have to discover how reading is associated with the spoken words they have already learnt to use. But the early reading stage does not last long — normally, two or three years at the most. Do children have to read aloud after that? If they do, what are the contexts in which they may be required to do it? For most of us, once we have passed the early reading stage, reading aloud is not an activity we engage in outside the classroom, unless of course, we are actors/actresses or newsreaders. The purpose of reading aloud is not just to understand a text but to convey the information to someone else who has no to it, such as reading out parts of a newspaper article to a friend, or reading a notice to other people who cannot see it clearly, or reading to someone who has lost his/her spectacles. acces Obviously, reading aloud involves looking at a text, understanding it, and also saying it. It is a much more difficult activity than reading silently because our attention is divided between reading and speaking. We often stumble and make mistakes when reading aloud in our own language, and reading aloud in another language is even more difficult. Moreover, it slows down the reading process and may even affect comprehension to a certain extent. Reading for meaning, on the other hand, is the activity we normally engage in when we read books, newspapers, road signs, posters, etc.; it is what you are doing as you read this Unit. It involves looking at sentences in a text and understanding the message they convey, in other words, making sense of a written text, It does not normally involve saying the words we read, not even silently inside our heads. ‘Now read the first part of the text silently. The Discovery of Penicillin Pasteur discovered germs and Lister killed them. These two men together revolutionized the theory and practice of medicine. Germs can be destroyed by heat, They can be poisoned by certain chemicals called antiseptics. Carbolic acid is one such antiseptic used by Lister. The object of antiseptic method wasto stop germs from entering the body. But the cure of disease was a more difficult problem, for here the germs had already entered the body. It means that injecting carbolic acid into the body in as much a dose as would kill all the germs, would kill the patient also. It was a bacteriologist named Matchnikoff, a pupil of Pasteur, who revealed the true nature of the problem. He discovered the white cells of the blood, which are called leucocytes. He showed that these cells run out to join battle with the germs, like soldiers answering a bugle-call. It was necessary to find something that would attack only the germs and not destroy the fighting leucocytes. The man who took up the problem was Alexander Fleming, Now read the second part aloud, or follow while someone else reads it aloud to you. As luck would have it, Sir Almroth Wright and Fleming worked together. They had some doubts with regard to the efficacy of injecting antiseptics. They felt that the surgeon's aim should be not so much to kill the germs with an outside agent as to help the leucocytes to do their natural germ-killing work. And in 1922, after about 20 years of research, they discovered an antiseptic manufactured by the body. Wright made the discovery by what he modestly called an accident. He was suffering from Catarth and began to examine his own nasal secretions, cultivating them on plates spread with agar, a jelly-like substance used as a nutrient in germs culture. In these secretions he discovered the substance that destroyed the microbes in the culture plates. He called it lysozyme. This was the first natural antiseptic that was harmless to the cells of the body: Penicillin was the second. Another accident helped Fleming discover penicillin. If Fleming had not developed a finer sense of observation and awareness he would have missed it. ‘The more a scientist is observant the greater his chances of discovering new things. One morning, as was usual with him, he took out the plates on which had grown colonies of Staphylococcus, a common germ. Which technique makes it easier to understand the text? Which technique is more helpful in developing reading ability? Another important aspect of reading is that when we read for meaning, we do not need to read every letter of every word, nor every word in each sentence, This is because we can guess much of what is said as we read it, provided the text makes sense. For example, if you are given merely a string of words that makes no sense at all like this: [man jumping tiger the on lake help to] then obviously you have to slow down and read every single word, as you can no longer make guesses. But try to read this sentence, A m—was walk — d—n the s—4, e—r-ing a gr—n—. Even though more than half the letters are missing, you could probably read the sentence without difficulty, and even guess the last word without the help of any letters, You may also have noticed that as soon as you guessed the second word, it helped you go guess the whole of the first part of the sentence. This example is only an isolated sentence. If you are reading connected sentences in a text, each sentence helps you to guess what the next one will be, and so on through the whole text. The Reading SkillReading and Writing Skis 10 Reading is thus an active process, When we read, we do not merely sit as passive receivers of the text. We also draw on our own knowledge of the world and of the language to help us guess what the text will say next. Look at this very simple mode of the process of communication. SER ates | Cessnee 7 Ca sxe mie | Tar == a N ‘per 2 } } ier Figure 1: The Communic: jon Process We can use the more general term encoder. The encoder has a message in his! her mind (it may be an idea, a fact, a feeling, ete.) which s/he wants to communicate to someone else. In order to make this communication possible, s/ he must first put it into words: that is s/he must encode it. Once it is encoded, in either written or spoken form, it becomes available as a text to any other person who reads or hears it, ie., the person who decodes, the message it contains, Once it is decoded, the message enters the mind of the decoder and it is, understood; communication has thus been achieved. Do you think that this model explains the communication process satisfactorily’? You will realize that the model is obviously too simple. Things can go wrong at any stage in the process. For instance, we cannot be sure that the decoder has received the message as it was intended by the encoder. The decoder may not have understood the language and style in which the message has been enclosed, or the encoder may not have encoded his/her message properly, in an organised ‘manner, However, one thing is clear from this model, namely it assumes that reading means getting out of the text as nearly as possible the message that the waiter put into it This is fairly widely held view of reading. According to this view, the text is full of meaning conveyed through words, and the meaning can be absorbed by the reader’s mind like a sponge absorbs water. To put it in another way, the reader’s mind is an empty vessel into which the text pours ideas, facts, etc. Orit is like a blank slate on which the text imprints the words, the ideas, etc. ‘The writer has done all that is required for understanding his/her message and the reader need not make any effort, but has only to let his/her mind absorb it passively. The reader’s role is thus seen to be a passive one. Obviously, we know that it does not happen like this. All the meaning in the text does not actually get into the reader’s mind, We know from our experience of reading that a text which may be easy for one person will be difficult for another. Problems arise when there is a mismatch between the presuppositions of the writer and those of the reader, The text will, therefore, not be understood by anyone who lacks this knowledge. But is it possible for the writer and the reader to have identical experiences of life? Not necessarily. Look at the figure below,Area of shared assumptions Writer Reader Figure 2: Presupposition and Communication ‘The figure shows how two people can have certain things in common, the shaded area where the two circles overlap. This area includes all the knowledge that they share, including knowledge of language, it also includes attitudes, beliefs, values and assumptions that they share. The unshaded areas represent experiences that are unique to each individual Itis clear, therefore, that the greater the size of the shaded area, the easier the communication. That is, if the writer and the reader are from closely similar backgrounds with similar attitudes, beliefs and assumptions, the reader can interpret the text with apparently no conscious effort. There is, however, the danger that a careless reader may assume that the extent of the shaded area — that common ground — is bigger than it actually is. In that case s/he is likely to misunderstand the text, trying to read into it meanings that are not there. Similarly, a writer may assume that his/her reader is likely to share a great deal of his/her knowledge, beliefs, etc. but the reader may actually struggle to make sense of the text. It should now be clear that the meaning of the text does not merely lie in it waiting to be passively absorbed by the reader. On the contrary, the reader has to be actively involved in getting the meaning out of the text. 1.4 _STRATEGIES USED BY GOOD READERS Good readers interact with the texts that they read. They have personal expectations about what they want to get out of a text, and they bring those expectations to bear on what they read. They actually create meaning by constructing, or generating relationships between what they read and what they already know. In generating these meanings, they draw on their prior knowledge of and beliefs about the subject — their “World knowledge” so to speak, that relates to the subjects. Readers have networks of prior understanding about a topic, what The Reading Skill iReading and Writing Skis 12 theorists call schemata. In reading, they add to those networks, filling in some of the gaps with what they know, or in their existing schemata: The prior knowledge a reader already has about a subject has as much to do with what s/he gets from a text as the actual words in the text. A Reader's Prior ¥ ( EXPERIENCES WITH The MEANINGS the Vocabulary Life, a Reader Ideas, Language /* Constructs in Syntax, and. Relation to a Text and Form of Literature a TEXT / me. Figure 3: The Relationship Among Prior Experiences, a Text, and the Meaning Reader Constructs — Schema Theory in Action, Figure 3 shows the relationships among prior knowledge, a text and the meanings a reader constructs in relation to the text. It summarizes what is known as schema theory. The figure also shows that, in creating meaning, good readers rely also on their prior knowledge of how language works, of how ideas are organised in writing and of how different forms are structured. ‘Thus schemata are knowledge structures which represent a generalized knowledge about objects or events, or even about a language system which are activated while processing a text. An important function of schemata is therefore to help readers to match what they know with what the written text tells them, i.e., to monitor their comprehension. If there is some deficiency at the level of analysing print i.e. decoding problems like poor word recognition, the higher- level knowledge of the topic (i.e. schemata) will eompensate for the deficiency. Reading is thus an interactive process; there is a simultaneous interaction of the reader's prior knowledge and his/her sampling of the text; this is done constantly while reading. Let us sce this process at work with a simple example, Here is the beginning of a short text you are required to read: Keshav was on his way to school last Wednesday: Who, do you think Keshav was? How did you arrive at this conclusion? Was it based on textual information or on your prior knowledge? Now the next senten of the text reads like this: He was really worried about the English lesson. Who was Keshav? Have you now changed your view about Keshav, or not? Why? The third sentence: Last week he had been unable to control the class. ‘Are you now sure who Keshav was? Which part of the text has to be matched with what kind of prior knowledge to help in the inference?The fourth sentence: The Reading Skill It was unfair of the English teacher to leave him in charge of the class What further changes in your inference have you made? Why? The last sentence: After all, it was not a normal part of a computer operator ’ duty. ‘Are you now clear in your mind about who Keshav was? You will have realized from this short exercise what is actually involved in reading a text and making sense of it. Check Your Progress 2 1) Distinguish between ‘silent reading’ and ‘reading aloud” 2) Which of the two techniques of reading is to be preferred for understanding a text? Why? 3) What is the role of ‘prediction’ in reading? Illustrate it with an example of your own, 4) Explain the importance of shared assumptions between writer and reader. 13Reading and Writing Skis 14 5) What are ‘schemata’ and what is their role in reading? 6) What is the nature of the reading process - passive, active or interactive? Explain. 5 _CHARACTERISTICS OF READING What do we mean by efficient reading? What are the characteristics of reading? 1) Reading is purposeful. That is, there is always a reason for reading. In general terms, we read either for information or pleasure. Your purpose in reading a textbook is obviously different from your purpose in going through a novel, or in reading a poem. But there is nothing like totally purposeless reading - even when you read a novel during travel, you read it to pass your time, and that is the purpose, 2) Reading is selective. That is, the type of reading you do or the way you read a text varies according to your purpose in reading. You quickly sean a page in the RWA telephone directory to locate a name, a telephone number, or an address, but you have to pay careful attention to every word in a legal document, To put it erudely, we scan for specific information, noting only what is relevant to our purpose at the given moment and rejecting or ignoring, the majority of what appears on the page because it is irrelevant to our purpose. We skim, attempting to extract the gist of a text. Or we read intensively with the aim of decoding the whole of the writer’s message. 3) Reading speed varies according to content and purpose. Efficient readers use the minimum number of clues in the text - semantic and syntactic - to extract the information they need. You will agree that you generally read a novel or a short story faster than you read your textbook or study material, unless you are a literature student. 4) Reading is silent. Reading aloud is a specialized skill used, for example, by actors and newsreaders, but seldom by the general reader. If it is used,its purpose is to communicate to another person a written message to which that person does not have access. 5) Reading is text-based. It seldom involves the mere decoding of individual sentences isolated from context. Look at this set of sentences: The mind of a thinker may work in many ways. The experiments proved his theory of ring structure. However, water is only a solvent and not a reagent, What is wrong with this? We cannot make sense of these sentences, because they are together without any relationship among them. They do not constitute a text at all and so we cannot ‘read’ this set meaningfully. 6) Reading involves complex cognitive skills. Readers do not merely decode the message. They make predictions and inferences - they anticipate based on what they read, They build assumptions about the overall content at the macro-level and predict what is likely to come next in the text at the micro- level. That is why reading is called “a psycholinguistic guessing game”. Readers may also impose their own organization on the information they extract from a text. At a more sophisticated level, they react to what they read, assessing the accuracy of the facts presented, the value of the opinions stated, or the quality and appropriacy. 7) Effective reading also involves chunking of information that the wel developed schema makes possible. When we read, our eyes take in whole phrases at a time which are meaningful; they do not move from word to word in a straight line, but move backwards and forwards over the text. You will understand this if you do a simple exercise. Try covering a text with a piece of paper and read it literally word by word. Move the paper along the text, revealing only one word each time. You will find that it is almost impossible to read and understand a text in this way. You soon lose track of the meaning and you need to keep looking back across the text to take in whole sentences. Your reading slows down so much in this attempt to read only one word at a time; you lose the sense of what you are reading 8) Reading is based on comprehension. That is, understanding meaning is integral to reading rather than the result of it. The more we comprehend, the more we can, and tend to read. Cheek Your Progress 2 1) How would you say that reading is ‘purposeful’? The Reading Skill 15Reading and Writing Skis 16 2) Howis one ‘selective’ in reading? 3) What does the reading speed depend on? How? 4) Inwhat sense is reading called “a psycholinguistic guessing game”? Explain, 1.6 LEVELS OF MEAN Having begunto read, good readers operate cognitively at four highly interrelated and overlapping levels of meaning: the literal, the interpretive, the critical, and the creative, What is involved is understanding meanings at each of these four levels. Let us find out about these levels: Literal: Literal comprehension involves the reader in understanding the information stated directly in a text, That information may be facts and details, sequences of events, main ideas and generalizations, causes and effects. The key clement in comprehension at this level is that the information is present “in black and white” in the text. The reader does not have to dig too deeply to get at it, S/he should be able to state exactly what the passage is saying, to make sure that she understands it, For example, if the piece of writing is about someone digging the earth, the reader should be able to state what the person is actually doing. “digging the earth”.Literal comprehension is of fundamental importance. It requires a thorough understanding of paragraph, sentence and word meanings and is required for higher levels of comprehension. Interpretive: To read at the interpretive level, on the other hand, is to read ‘between the lines’, to recognise ideas and information not directly stated. In doing so, the reader must make inferences. S/he may have to infer time relationships - the year, time of day, and season; geographical relationships; cause and effect relationships; the ages, feelings and familial relationships of characters; main ideas and generalizations if these are not stated explicitly in the text. In other words, the reader must study the facts given in the text and put two and two together in making the inference. Writers do not always state facts directly. They imply emotions and attitudes, and suggest points of view. For instance, an author may not state directly that a particular character is bad, but the words s/he uses to describe that person and the situation s/he presents him/her in may convey the author's attitude towards that character. A perceptive reader should be able to recognise this attitude. S/he must be able to get beyond the surface meaning of words and see what the implications of such words are. For instance, the same persons could be called “terrorists” or “freedom fighters” according to the writer's attitude towards them, Similarly, in describing someone eating, a writer may use the words, “wolfed down’ “guzzled” or “slobbered”. If the writer is describing a baby eating, these words may be merely a statement of fact, but if they are about an adult, these may well be a suggestion of distaste towards the person who is eating, Interpretive reading also involves ferreting out meanings expressed through literary allusions, idiomatic expressions, and figures of speech. The writer who writes of a character, “He had no heart”, does not mean this literally but is relying on an idiom to communicate meaning. Another author who describes a person as having a “Midas touch” is communicating something special, something meaningful, only to the reader who recognises the allusion to the king who wanted everything he touched to turn to gold. The poet who speaks of “crossing the bar” is referring metaphorically to death; he is not speaking literally of crossing a sand bar. The scientist who refers to the earth as a lifeboat to explain relationships aboard a planet troubled by the problems of limited resources and inereasing population is also relying on a metaphor to put his/her message across. One of the most difficult interpretations a reader must make is in terms of these kinds of inferences. The reader must bring to bear his/her previous experiences with language, literature, and life in constructing meanings, Critical: Critical reading requires making judgements with regard to a text. The reader may judge the accuracy of facts, the validity of conclusions drawn, or the effectiveness of the author’s style. For instance, a writer may use very flowery language to create an atmosphere, or s/he may write ‘tongue in cheek’. Critical reading also requires giving reasons for the judgement and stating the criteria used in making it, commenting on the views expressed in the passage and the appropriateness and effectiveness of the treatment of those ideas. Creative: Creative reading calls for the generation of new ideas, insights, applications and approaches. It requires invention, prediction, and use of the The Reading Skill 7Reading and Writing Skis 18 imagination. Proposing an alternative conclusion or generalization based on a reading text and suggesting related examples are exercises in creative reading, Composing orally, drawing, and writing stories with the same pattern or same words as in those that one has read are also exercises in creative reading, Check your progress 4 1) What are the four levels of comprehension? 2) Mention any two interpretive abilities with examples. 3) What does ‘critical reading” involve? 4) Give two or three examples of ‘creative reading’. 5) What does flexibility of reading depend on? 1.7 READING PROBLEMS Miscues or decoding errors Through one-to-one oral reading (or individual oral reading), a teacher can identify and interpret a child’s miscues, or decoding errors. Miscue analysis, or the analysis of a reader's error patterns, provides valuable clues to a reader's interaction with a text. If you study the error patterns systematically, you willrealize that all errors arc not equally significant. Take, for example, the reading of the sentence: ‘He sat on the sofa after supper’. A child who reads it as “He sat on the bed after supper’ has used context clues to decode sofa incorrectly. However, she/he had not distorted the meaning of the sentence in any serious way. In contrast, the child who reads the same sentence as, *He sat on the soup after supper’ has used knowledge of the beginning consonant sounds to come up with another word that distorts meaning significantly. A teacher should therefore raise these questions in analysing a reader’s miscues a) How well does the child use phonic information during reading? If the child says rid/for ride and fuum/for fume, s/he knows the initial and final consonants and uses them appropriately, but s/he does not use the final construction to interpret the vowel correctly. b) How well does the child use syntactic information during reading? Supposing the text says: “The boy looked sadly to the right” and the child reads it as, “The boy looked slowly to the right’, the miscue is syntactically acceptable because it is syntactically similar to the text (both the words are adverbs). But if the child reads it as ‘The boy looked sound to the right’ not only is the meaning of the sentence changed, but the miscue is syntactically unacceptable. ©) How well does the child use semantic information during reading? If the text reads: “The day was very warm’ and the child reads it as “The day we quite warm’, the miscue has not significantly changed the meaning of the text. On the other hand, if the child reads it as “The day wasn’t very warm’, the meaning of the text has been significantly changed. So, analysis ofa child’s miscues provides the teacher with information on what to emphasize with that child: phoneme - grapheme relationships, use of context clues, or use of prediction based on what one knows about language. In this respect, miscue analysis is a valuable diagnostic tool. Faulty reading habits Certain faults in reading techniques have been noticed among second or foreign language learners. Many of these might have actually been acquired in L1 reading, for research shows that there is a strong transfer of reading habits from one language to another. Many of these early reading habits, when they continue into the later stages of reading, are known to slow down the reader and the reading process. a) Subvocalization: Subvocalization refers to forming the sounds of the words you are reading and even murmuring them aloud. With beginning readers, this offers the support of the spoken language when they try to interpret the written form. Beginners in L1 reading (and in L2 as well) are often encouraged to make use of it. But reading aloud or subvocalization is much slower than silent reading - our eyes move faster than our tongue -so efficient readers do not subvocalize. If you subvocalize, you will tend to read word by word instead of in sense groups, which slows you down, b) Finger pointing: Another faulty habit that slows down the reading process is finger pointing which children use to fix their concentration on the word The Reading Skill 19Reading and Writing Skis 20 they are deciphering. Finger pointing is particularly common when the writing system in the second or foreign language is not the same as the one in L1. This again slows down the reading proc: s. ©) Regressions: Another reading habit that makes reading slower is the occurrence of regressive eye movements, i.e. the eyes move backwards to check previous words instead of moving steadily forward. Sometimes, even a skilled reader may have to return to earlier parts of a text and reinterpret them in the light of what has followed. In this case, regression may be a sign of an active reader at work. However, we must eliminate pointless and frequent regression by practising reading with easy material. Check Your Progress 5 1) What is meant by ‘subvocalizing’? 2v jon’? Is it always a sign of faulty reading technique? 1.8 LET US SUM UP Reading is an important activity in our daily life and itis a skill that has to be developed in students earlier in school, We read different types of materials for different purposes. There are many authentic reasons for reading. Recognising words in print is only the initial stage of reading, but learners must be trained to read whole texts and not merely words and sentences in isolation. Reading for meaning (or ‘silent reading’) is different from reading aloud. A general reader is seldom required to read aloud. When we read for meaning, we do not need to read every letter of every word, nor every word in each sentence, because very often we guess, anticipate, and predict as we read a text. A writer and his readers share certain assumptions about the world and about the language used for communication, Reading is an interactive process involving both bottom- up decoding of the text and top-down processing. The reader’s schemata interacts with the textual input.Reading is purposeful, selective, and text-based. The reading speed varies according to one’s purpose in reading and the content of the text. Reading involves complex cognitive skills. Itis called “a psycholinguistic guessing game” because itinvolves making predictions. The teacher who teaches reading should recognize the leamer’s reading problems, including faulty reading habits, and should help them to overcome those problems, 1.9 ANSWERS Check Your Progress 1 1) Time-tables, maps, diary, calendar, labels, noti , newspapers, magazines, books, sign boards, forms, and so on - the range is very wide. 2) Traditionally, reading is used in the classroom to consolidate the oral work done by students earlier, to make them see the relationships between speech sounds and written symbols, and to answer questions in assignments and examination, (you may have your own answer) 3) We normally read to get information about a topic, to perform a task with the help of instructions or directions, to establish friendly relationships through correspondence, to know about programmes, goods and servic ete,, and get enjoyment or excitement. 4) Reading is an important activity in which students are likely to engage themselves in during their study or later in their jobs or even in personal life, So ithas to be developed as.a skill to enable to cope with these demands. Cheek Your Progress 2 1) “Silent reading’ is reading for meaning and it is a more common acti than “reading aloud’, which is done in limited contexts. Silent reading is easier and faster than the other. 2) ‘Silent reading’ is to be preferred because it enables one to read faster and comprehend the text more easily. 3) The ability to prediet what will come next ina reading text is central to the process of reading. It helps the reader to monitor his/her comprehension of the text, It also helps the reader to process minimum textual input to arrive at the meaning of the text. 4) The more the shared assumptions, the better the communication. Without shared assumptions, comprehension of the writer’s message will be extremely difficult, if not impossible 5) Schemata are mental structures embodying one’s prior knowledge of the world, his/ her experiences, and also his/her knowledge of the language in which the message is enclosed. They help the reader in anticipating and predicting what will follow in a text, Textual input is matched against schemata to make sense of the text. 6) Reading is an interactive process involving a simultaneous interaction of bottom-up decoding of a text with the reader's schemata to produce meaning, The Reading Skill 2Reading and Writing Skis 22 Cheek Your Progress 3 1) Reading is purposeful because it is the purpose which dictates and directs the way we read a text and process it. It suggests what strategy or technique of reading we need to employ to satisfy our needs, 2) Areaderis ‘selective’ in reading in two ways. First s/he selects the kinds of texts s/he would be interested in reading, Secondly, s/he selects the minimum clues in the text to arrive at its meaning for his/her purpose without having to read every word in it 3) Reading speed depends on content and purpose. Reading light fiction is easier, and hence faster than reading a philosophical or scientific text full of jargon. Similarly, ifthe reader’s purpose is only to get the gist of a text, s/he needs to skim through the text fast. Butif s/he wants to read for details, s/he has to read it with concentration and effort. 4) Reading involves basically making guesses and predictions about what might follow in a text, matching these against fresh textual input, and modifying them accordingly. It isin the sense that reading is called “a psycholinguistic guessing game” because the predictions are made possible by the schemata available in the reader’s mind. Check Your Progress 4 1) Literal, interpretive, critical and creative. 2) Interpreting or inferencing time relationships, geographical relationships, cause and effect, generalizations based on details/facts given, attitudes, emotions and points of view. Select any two and give your own examples, 3) Making judgements about the accuracy of facts, validity of opinions or inferences, effectiveness of style and organisation, etc. 4) Dramatising or role-playing, rewriting from a different point of view, etc 5) The nature of the text to be read and the reader’s purpose in reading it. Check Your Progress 5 1) Subvocalization refers to the act of forming the sounds of the words we are reading and even murmuring them aloud. 2) Regression refers to the tendency of the eyes to move backwards over print instead of moving forward. No, sometimes, even a skilled reader may do it modify his/her earlier predictions in the light of fresh textual clues.UNIT 2 VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT Structure 2.0 Objectives 2.1 Introduction 2.2. Active and Passive Vocabulary 2.3. Content Words and Function Words 2.4 Some Difficulties in Leaning English Vocabulary 2.5 Word Building: Affixation and Compounding 2.6 Using a Dictionary and a Thesaurus 2.7 Let Us Sum Up 2.8 References and Suggested Readings 2.9 Answers 2.0 OBJECTIVES After you have read this lesson, you should be able to: ‘© differentiate between active and passive vocabulary: ‘© distinguish content and function words; ‘* discuss with appropriate examples homonyms, homophones, homographs or idiomatic expressions; ‘* enumerate the use of suffixes and prefixes; and ‘© justify the use of dictionary and thesaurus to expand vocabulary. 2.1__ INTRODUCTION Like bricks when laid out properly, correctly and with some imagination can build up simple walls or complex design for buildings and mansions, not to talk of other structures, similarly a language user uses different words to construct sentences — both single word sentences or longer ones. But just as bricks alone are not adequate, and they need to be strengthened by use of mortar/conerete mixture, similarly words alone may not be adequate. The appropriacy of the word chosen, the word order in which it is placed, the nuance of the meaning - everything play an important role. In this lesson, we will read how words — oral or written — are gradually leamt and how a learner, over the years, adds to the initial word base. 2.2 _ ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOCABULARY Just think for a moment. Can you use all the words the moment you have heard them or have read them onee? Do you use all the unfamiliar words — the meanings of which you have guessed while reading or listening — in your speech or writing? Some words you may, some you might not. But you start understanding those words if you hear or read them again and again, Our listening and reading 23Reading and Writing Skis 24 vocabulary is much more than our speaking or writing vocabulary. The words that you can use appropriately when you say or write something form what is known as your aetive vocabulary and those that you have an idea of or can guess the meaning of, but cannot use confidently form a part of your passive vocabulary. Our active vocabulary is more limited (smaller) than our passive vocabulary. As students we try our best to increase the repertoire of both active and passive vocabulary and gradually try to convert our passive into our active vocabulary. Cheek your progress 1 1) Given below are a few words. Under which category ‘ Active’ or ‘Passive? would you put them? antiseptic anomaly — forte. — herbarium =—_paroxysm i) Consult a dictionary to find out the meaning and pronunciation of the words (given above) if you do not know them. ii) Compare your list with someone in your family or one of your friends. Does the list differ? 2) Look at the following words: Rapport Abdicate Recede Maverick Would memorizing the meaning and pronunciation of these words help you in using them immediately in your speech? Give at least one reason for your answer. 2.3__ CONTENT WORDS AND FUNCTION WORDS Read the following sentences: 1) Isaw a beautiful bird sitting on a branch of a gulmohar tree. 2) Pari, my five year old granddaughter, wants to wear blue jeans all the tim: e cries loudly whenever her parents ask her fo put on a frock, however Look at the underlined words carefully, once again, Even as isolated diserete words they carry some meaning. These words, if you observe carefully, are nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs. These words are called content words. On the other hand, the words which are not underlined are function words. These words are more frequently used and carry some grammatical meaning, These words which are also known as structure words, are modal and auxiliary verbs, determiners, prepositions and conjunctions. New leamers leam content words first. The list of such words are open, in the sense that new words are added to this list over the years, e.g. think of the word helipad or smart phone. Did these words exist some hundred years ago? Why were these words added to the list of words that are so commonly used today? Think and write your answer here,On the other hand, function words are a much smaller set, although more frequently used and the word list is a closed one, i.e. no new determiners or prepositions have been added to this list. Check Your Progress 2 1) Which of the following words would you consider of recent origin? phishing hand blender milk shake cute clone iPod flash mob blue tooth smart card. smiley 2) Look for the meanings of the words given in question 1. Use adi decide the part of speech these words belong to. 3) Find out how long these words have been in circulation. Vocabulary Development 25Reading and Writing Skills 26 2.4 SOME DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING ENGLISH VOCABULARY Leamers of English as Second Language may find a few stumbling blocks in ‘mastering this language. In this section we shall look at a few of these difficulties. One Word Many Meanings (Homonyms) Homonyms are words which have the same spelling and pronunciation but, different meanings in different contexts. In the following sentences, the word club has different meanings. ‘Asa child, you might have gone to a local elub in your colony. You might have seen the picture of Bhim with a elub in his hand in Mahabharat serial on television, and if you play cards, you have to deal with elubs in the pack. You might suggest to a student to elub two paragraphs together to make the writing ‘more compact. © A.club is an association of people with common interest (first sentence). © Aclub isa heavy stick with a thick end, used asa hand weapon (Bhim with a club in his hand). ‘© Clubs is one of the four suits in a conventional pack of playing cards. A ie‘© In the fourth sentence, elub means combine. Let us take another example. 1) She went to her room and lay down on the bed. 2) My husband is busy preparing a bed for the pansies. 3) Heat the curry thoroughly and serve it on a bed of rice. You will notice that the word hed has different meanings in the examples given above. You understand the meaning from the eontext in which the word has been used. E.g. the context of the first sentence is a piece of furniture, in the second sentence the context is the area in a garden so that plants can be grown in it, whereas “a bed of rice” in a recipe would mean a layer of rice These contexts give the clues about the meaning of the word bed or club. Read the examples given above again and look at the words that give you the clues about the situation. In English, there are many such words where the spelling (written form) and pronunciation (sound) are the same but they have different meanings in different contexts, Cheek your progress 3 1) There are many fans in the room. Is this sentence ambiguous in meaning? Give a reason for your answe1 2) What are the different meanings of the word light? Use the word in sentences to bring out the different meanings. Compare your answers with any dictionary. Vocabulary Development 27Reading and Writing Skis 28 Same Sound Different Form and meanings (Homophones) Look at the following set of words. A B 1) Great grate 2) flour flower 3) break brake 4) there their 5) stationary stationery 6) bow bough What is common in the different set of words? Yes. You have got it right. The pronunciation (sound) of both the words are exactly the same but the written form (spelling) are different. The meaning of the words are also different, Which spelling to use is decided by the context in which the word is used. Such pair of words — with identical sounds but different spelling and different meaning — are known as homophones. homo = same phone = sound Cheek Your Progress 4 1) You must have noticed the warning on many cars / taxies in India - Keep distance. Power Break. What is wrong? Why? 2) Give examples of five sets of homophones, Same Form Different Sound and Meaning (Homographs) Now let us look at a different set of examples. la The Director’s Secretary took down the minutes. 1b Even minute details are taken care of by a diligent organizer. 2a Warriors, in earlier days, fought with bows and arrows.2b We bow our head to the martyrs of our freedom movement, What do you notice in the above examples? Write it in a sentence here. Did you notice that the spelling in both the sets of sentences are the same? What, about the sound (pronunciation) and meaning? Consult a dictionary if you are not sure, Such pair of words are termed homographs. homo = same graph = writing In the above examples, did the context of the word help you in deciding the ‘meaning? If yes, then write down the pronunciation and meanings of the words ‘minute in sentences 1a and 1b and bow in sentences 2a and 2b. Check Your Progress 5 1) The words lead (v) and lead (n) are homographs as are the wort and live (adj). Explain with suitable example. s live (v) 2) Give examples of another set of homograph (other than the ones mentioned here). Use them in your sentences to bring out the difference in meaning. Consult a dictionary to check the pronunciation. Vocabulary Development 29Reading and Writing Skis 30 Idiomatic Expressions Does lend an ear to someone mean the same as to lend someone money? What does from hand to mouth mean? Who in your family is the apple of your eye? Or what is it to have a green thumb? ‘Asan experienced user of the language you know the meaning of such ‘idiomatic expressions’ and you are well aware that these frozen expressions mean something. which is totally different from the sum total of the individual words. The meaning camot be derived from individual words and must be learnt as a complete unit, of meaning. And this understanding is acquired slowly, gradually and with constant contact with the language, Check your progress 6 1) Explain the meaning of the underlined idioms. a) I refuse to play second fiddle to my younger sister any more. I have had enough. b) Tam sorry I cannot listen to you now. I am pressed for time, c) T'd better write the information in my notebook. I have a head like a sieve. 2) Substitute the underlined words with the appropriate idiom given in the box. You may have to change the form of the idiom if required. Asskeleton in the cupboard make short work of Drop a line get the message a) You needn't look at your watch again, I've understood what you want me to do and I'll go now, b) It is commonly said that every family has a secret or embarrassing fact which no one likes to discuss. ©) Don’t forget to write to us as soon as you arrive in Delhi.3) Think of four idiomatic expressions in your mother tongue that uses different body parts e.g. 10 have a finger in every pie, Find out if there are English equivalent to those expressions in your mother tongue. Two examples in Hindi are given below: oongli pe nachaana sar aankon pe bithaana Formal-Informal Expressions / Approved — Disapproved Levels of formality and the connotations of some words also pose practical problems for students of a second language. In learning a new language there is a tendency to use the more formal language in normal conversational situations or vice versa ie. use a slang or colloquial expression inappropriately. Similarly the positive or negative connotations of some words might create difficulty for you. We all know how we applaud the firmness, determination or resoluteness (words indicating approval) of people we like whereas we deplore the stubbornness, obstinacy and pigheadedness (terms indicating disapproval) of those whom we don’t like in exactly the same situations. Similarly the same person can be fat or plump to different persons. It takes a long time for most of us to catch such nuances of the language. Check your progress 7 1) Write format (), informal (inf), approved or disapproved against the words given below. Consult a dictionary, if necessary. Laudatory smart alec. Sissy. felicitous. Dirt cheap, dude. Soporifie clobber. Hyponyms (word categories) Orange is a fruit and so is an apple, banana or a mango. The word fruit is a superordinate while the name of other fruits given above are the hyponyms Similarly, learners are familiar with different items in the world around them. Given below are some examples of this category of sense relationship. Superordinate Hyponyms Clothes Shirt, trousers, frock, kurta, Trees Neem, banyan, gulmohar, acacia Different methods of cooking | Boil, simmer, bake, roast, deep fry, stir fry, sauté. Colours Blue, red, white, crimson, aquamarine, seagreen, ochre Collocation (word partnerships) When two terms are used together frequently, they are said to collocate, e.g. we an use the word colour in the following combination: Vocabulary Development 31Reading and Writing Skills 32 Adjective bright colour, favourite colour Noun Colour blind, eye/hair colour, Colour film/ photograph, Colour television Preposition In colour Source: Collins Cobuild Advanced Illustrated Dictionary Check Your Progress 8 1) Read the words given below in the rectangle. Put them in proper cat One is done for you as an example. In some you have to write the categories in the boxes. Human dvellings | wigwam |“Xparment Canada Mansion Iceland ‘Mammoth Sofa Norway Villa Wigwam Dinosaurs Chaise lounge Denmark Chair Duckbilled Platypus Igloo Tent Bungalow Countries 2) We often use certain words in combination with others. An example is given for you. Use a dictionary, if necessary. Make Money, comment, .. Close Hair (colour) Hair (style) Antonyms (Opposites) The term anfonym is used to refer to words which have an opposite meaning. But there are pairs of words which contrast in terms of a scale, e.g. hot/cold; tall/short; easy/difficult. These opposites are gradable. For example, if we put hot/cold (water) at two ends of a continuum, we get something like this Scalding hot — boiling hot —> warm —slukewarm — tepid — quite cold freezing cold But think of opposites, male/female. Such meanings are non gradable or mutually exclusive. A boy cannot be a git! or a dead person cannot be alive/ living. Synonyms (Similar Meaning) Every language has groups of lexical items which are very similar in meaning (Synonym) but are never identical. For example: angry, annoyed, upset andirritated may be synonyms but each word differ slightly from the others. As a teacher, you have to pay attention to synonyms if you wish to encourage your students to choose appropriate words in different types of writing Check Your Progress 9 1) Make a word continuum for the pair big/small. Huge > very big > very small tiny 2) Can words like limp, hobble, stroll, saunter, march, stride, trudge and trek be used as synonyms of walk? Consult a dictionary and give reasons for your answer. 3) How many synonyms are there for the word glamour? Write them here. 2.5 WORD BUILDING: AFFIXATION AND COMPOUNDIN: Affixation We can build new words in English by adding prefixes and suffixes to the base word, For example, to the word mortal we can use the prefix im to make a new word immortal and we can get the word immortalise by adding the suffix- ise Similarly, the word agree can take the prefix dis- to make a new word disagree and another word disagreement with the suffix — ment. Vocabulary Development 33Reading and Writing Skis 34 Use of prefixes like im-, dis- or multi- when added to the root word gives it a different meaning. For example: un - uncommon, unable in - inconvenient, injustice dis - disadvantage, disagree il ~ illegal, illegible ir - irregular, irrelevant im = impossible, impatient multi - multilingual, multifaceted fore - forenoon, forewarn Here are some suflixes: age bag-baggage, post-postage -dom kind-kingdom, star-stardom -hood state-statehood, boy-boyhood -ism hero-heroism, Hindu-Hinduism Compounding Compounds are made up of two or more parts which can also occur independently as words. These separate words are combined to form other new words which, are listed separately in the dictionary and have separate meanings. Blackboard Flowerpot Armebair Check Your Progress 10 1) Choose the correct prefix from the prefixes given in brackets to express the kind of meaning indicated for each of the words given below: i) Contented (mal, dis-, un-) negativ ii) Represent (non-, mal-, mis-) ‘wrongly’ iii) Inform (mal-, mis-, dis-) ‘incorrectly’ .. iv) Active (ultras, in-, hyper) ‘extremely. v) Comfortable (un-. dis-, non-) negative 2) Match the words in Column A with those in Column B to form compounds A B brain pour down felt draw caseheart back stair storm pin 2.6 _USING A DICTIONARY AND A THESAURUS Dictionaries are of help in checking and learning of pronunciation with the correct stress pattern, meaning in contexts (with examples) or grammar of a word (e.g. the part of speech it belongs to; whether transitive or intransitive in case of a verb or whether countable or uncountable in case of a noun), Some dictionaries like the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (2002 edition) (ALD) gives the origin of the word, For example, Gordian Knot which means a very difficult or impossible task or problem. Then in origin of the word it mentioned: ORIGIN: From the legend in which King Gordius tied a very complicated knot and said that who ever untied it would become the ruler of Asia, Alexander the Great cut through the knot with his sword. Moreover, dictionaries like the Cambridge International Dictionary of English (1995 edition), includes a picture dictionary (e.g. on kitchen, bicycles etc) as does Advanced Oxtord or Collins Cobuild. ‘The last dictionary mentioned here also includes word Webs or topic related vocabulary through encyclopedia —like readings combined with related art work, word partnerships (collocations) and word links (word origin) e.g. (geo=earth; geography; geology, geopolitical) or even usage like less and fewer. You also have used the dictionary to decide whether a particular word is formal, informal. and shows approval and disapproval to complete your task set in Check your progress 7. While the language of literary criticism of OALD is very informative; the Text Messaging and Emoticons included in Collins Cobuild is very handy in an age of e-mails and SMSs. In other words, a dictionary is not only a useful reference material but also a treasure house of information to build up the vocabulary of your learners. In higher classes, you will find both the thesaurus and the dictionary extremely beneficial in reading and writing tasks. Vocabulary Development 35Reading and Writing Skills Cheek Your Progress 11 1) Substitute the word nice in the following paragraph, Change sentence construction, if necessary. It was a nice morning, We went out fora mice picnic to a nice park near our house. The food was nice and we played nice games. We enjoyed the nice outing 2a) Makea cross word puzzle of fen new words that your students have recently Jean. 2b) Ask your students to write clues (across and down) (using a dictionary, if necessary. 2.7__LET US SUM UP Isolated words are difficult to remember. When we learn words and phrases, our memory tries to group words that go together so that one word of phrase reminds us another. We have discussed some of these in different sections of this lesson ee. * Related to the same topic (Associated words e.g. the picture on kitchen) * Examples ofa more general word (superordinate —Hyponyms, e.g, Furniture —table, chair ete.) © Similar in meaning (synonyms e.g. lazy — indolent) 36* Opposite in meaning (mix-separate) © Arranged along a scale, word continuum e.g, letter — word — phrase — sentence — paragraph — page — chapter — book ‘* Built from the same basie word (Affixation, Compound words e.g. Type — retype (prefix) , child — children (suffix), type + write (compound words) However, you must have observed that all the techniques discussed in the lesson are applicable to teaching of content words. Secondly, a word is rarely leamt at one go. Hence, the need to review, revise and reeyele words at frequent intervals so that the learning is spiral and a new aspect is added gradually over the years. Last but not the least, is the use of the mother tongue in providing a quick word meaning in a classroom. While it is easier to give / supply a mother tongue equivalent and classroom saves time, the technique should be sparingly used and must never be a practice. A classroom is the only place to listen to and use the second language, and hence optimal use of available time is absolutely necessary. Moreover, vocabulary teaching does not end in school. It continues well into our adult life. It isa life-long process. Also our passive vocabulary is much larger than our aetive vocabulary. Different techniques — separately and in combination — may be effectively used for teaching, expanding and consolidating student vocabulary. Dictionary and ‘Thesaurus are very important reference material and students should be taught and encouraged to use the same. Vocabulary games make learning /revising of known words enjoyable. 2.8 _REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS Redman, S. and Ellis, R. 1995. A Way with Words. Books | and 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. MC Carthy, M. and O°Deu, F, 1996. English Vocabulary in Use. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Doff, A. 1988. Teaching English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Gaimns, R. and Redman, S. 1996. Working with Words. Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ellis, R. and Tomlinson, B. 1979. Teaching Secondary English. Harlow: Longman. Harmer, J. 1983. The Practice of English Language Teaching. arlow: Longman, Morgan, J. and Rinvolueri, M. 1986. Vocabulary. Oxford: Oxford University " Pre UKOU. (1980). Words and Their Meanings. Milton Keynes: UKOU 2.9 ANSWERS Check Your Progress 1 Vocabulary Development 37Reading and Writing Skis 38 1) Open ended and answers will vary. 2) We do not learn those words which we don’t use. Also to use a word one must know the meaning, the pronunciation, the context in which the word can be used, the other words that need to be used with that particular word and also the grammar of the word. Cheek Your Progress 2 1) Phishing, iPod, Blue tooth, Smart Card, Smiley 2) a) Phishing (noun) — The practice of trying to trick people into giving seeret financial information. (computing) b) _Handblender, Milkshake, Clone (n/v), ©) iPod, flashmob, bluetooth, smart card, smiley (noun) 4) cute (adjective) 3) Do it yourself. Check Your Progress 3 1) The Context is not clear. Which fan are we talking about? — The ceiling, table or pedestal fans in a room or the ardent admirers (as in the fans of ‘Aamir Khan) 2) There was no light in the room, I prefer light colour paint on walls. Tam very light sleeper. Let us have some light refreshment, Check Your Progress 4 1) The correct word should have been brake. The person who has got it written does not know the difference of meaning between break and brake. 2) Blue — blew; see — sea; sale— sail; son — sun; piece - peace. Cheek your progress 5 1) a) Good leaders lead (v) from the front. Use a lead (n) pencil to draw and sketch. b) We live (v) in the capital city of India. Be careful of live (adjective) wires. / A live (adjective) telecast of the final tennis match. 2) Dot yourself. Check your progress 6 1) a) Ifyou play second fiddle to someone, your position is less important although you work together; if'you have had enough, you are unhappy with a situation and want it to stop. b) have no time, ©) Ifyou havea head like a sieve you do tend to forget important things. 2) a) got the message.b) _askeleton in the cupboard. Vocabulary Development ©) drop a line. 3) Dot yourself Cheek Your Progress 7 Laudatory — formal Smart alee — informal, disapproval Dirt cheap = — informal Dude - informal Sissy ~ informal, disapproval Felicitous. - formal Soporific - formal Clobber = informal Cheek Your Progress 8 1) Super ordinate | Hyponyms 1) | Dwellings (human) | Villa, wigwam, apartment, mansion, bungalow, igloo, tent 2) | Countries Canada, Iceland, Norway, Scotland, Denmark 3) | Fumiture Sofa, coffe table, chaise longue, chair 4) | Animals (Extinct) | Mammoth, dinosaurs, duckbilled platypus 2) Make: mess; comment; money; suggestion Close: contest/election; contact; friend; family; connection; attention Hair (colour): golden; red; black; white; grey; aubum; salt and pepper; blonde Hair (style): long; short; frizzy; permed; straight; shoulder/waist/knee length; curly Cheek Your Progress 9 1) Huge - very big — big — quite big — medium sized — quite small — small — tiny 2) Dot yourself, 3) Do it yourself. Check Your Progress 10 1) i) Contented (mal-, di ,un-)negative discontented ii) Represent (non-, mal-, mis-) ‘wrongly’ misrepresent 39Reading and Writing Skis 40 iii) Inform (mal-, mis-, dis-) ‘incorrectly’ iv) Active (ultra-, in-, hyper-) ‘extremely v) Comfortable (un-, dis-, non-) negative 2) Brainstorm Downpour Drawback Heartfelt Staircase Cheek Your Progress 11 Do it yourself. misinform hyperactive uncomfortableUNIT 3 THE WRITING SKILL: SOME BASIC GUIDELINES Structure 3.0 Objectives 3.1, Introduction 3.2. Methods of Writing 3.2.1 Identifying your Subject 3.2.2 Gathering Information 3.23. Purpose 3.24 Knowing your Reader 3.3 Beginning to Write 3.3.1 Wing th Thess Statement TS oA cae os 33.3. Introductions and Conclusions / rN. 3.4. Organising your Writing j a 34.1 Forms of Discourse t 3.5 The Writing Process y 3.6 Let Us Sum Up 3.0_OBJECTIVES Inthis unit, we are going to discuss in detail the writing process, We will discuss the methods of writing which involve identifying the topie, gathering information, oniit and the purpose of writing, When we begin writing, itis important to start with a thesis statement, followed by an essay map, adequate paragraphing and effective introductions and conclusions, We also must be aware of the various discourse types involved in organising your writing: expository, descriptive, narrative or argumentative. Finally, we get into the process of writing the drafts, reviewing, editing and proof reading. 3.1__ INTRODUCTION Ifyou are a student, one of the important tasks that you will have to perform is writing. You may have to write assignments, term papers, emails, formal letters and so on, To fulfill these activities competently you need to be good at written communication. Writing is a complex process and competent writing is a difficult skill to be acquired. There are many myths about the skill of writing. For example, people assume that good writers are born with an innate ability to write and are able to dash off a letter or a report without much effort. Research has, however, shown that this is not true, All writers need to work at their writing, although some may bbe more successful at it than others. Moreover, keeping closely to word limits and formats is even more difficult while writing in formal contexts. 41