Unit 3.

- Spelling, vocabulary and

grammar
3.1. Language and context

Everybody, more or less frequently, has to write during his or her life. Reading and
writing are an essential part of the communicative process, much more for those
who form part of an academic context. In order to be effective, it is important to
learn some rules about the use of language which makes our recipients and/or
readers understand us easily.

However, learning does not consist on the mere assimilation of contents, but also
requires discovery and use of certain strategies (particular and individual forms of
learning) that help someone becomes an independent learner.

During the last two units, we have seen strategies to detect personal elements that
help and those that are obstacles to writing. During this unit, we will study the
strategy of memorization, the orthographic and grammatical rules and most
complex vocabulary rules of English language. In units 8 and 9, we will study in
depth how to apply these rules in academic texts.

Reflection task 3.1.

Read the following four questions and think about two key issues in each of them:
the pertinence of these questions to the topics dealt with here and the writing
mistakes, slips of writing or typos usually made by the students.

a) Do you know the difference between formal writing and academic writing?

b) What is the difference between language learning and language acquisition?

c) Have you ever logged in for academic debates with regard to your area of
expertise? When, where and about what?

d) What kind of student are you? How do you define your strengths and
weaknesses with regards to English?

Read the comments about this task on the virtual campus. The comments are
posted in the section "Evaluation".
3.1.1. Memorization

The command of these linguistic aspects is frequently linked to the retention and
application of the rules; this is why the learning process is connected to the
process of memorization. According to the Diccionario de términos clave de ELE
(1997-2008), "[memory] is the mental capacity to process, store and recover
information during variable time periods". Nevertheless, how is this process
activated? What strategies or techniques can be used for the purpose of
memorizing?

Not everything we smell, see, hear, touch or taste is registered in our memory.
Motivation and attention have a central role. In order to learn we need to retain and
fix; this means developing our capacity to fix, retain and reproduce the information
that interests us. To retain any information in our long-term memory, a minimum
effort is necessary: between 15 to 60 minutes. Then, this data has to be refreshed
24 hours later, a week later, a month later, otherwise, it will be forgotten.

Each person has a different process of memorization: listening, reading,

gesticulating, repeating or writing. Below, some memorization techniques used by
students are shown:

Figure 3.1. The memorization. Source: adapted from Fern�ndez, S. (2008) Tareas y
proyectos en clase. Sgel.
3.1.2. Spelling rules

Some people are unsure about spelling rules in general; for example whether to
double the last letter of a word when adding suffixes like -ed, -ing, or -er to the
word and many more that may cause confusion during the time the students are
writing an essay or a paper.

Actually this is a very important issue: students become experts on spelling just by
the action of constant writing or exercising writing and receiving feedback, of
course, combined with lots of reading.

a) Adding suffixes -ed, -ing, or -er

 Most short words of one syllable ending with a single consonant double the
last letter: tap - tapped, hit - hitting, shop - shopper.
 Words ending with more than one consonant do not double the last letter:
thump -thumped, halt - halting.
 Words of more than one syllable ending with a single consonant double the
last letter if the word is stressed on the last syllable: begin - beginner,
commit - committed, occur - occurring, prefer - preferring.
 If the stress is not on the last syllable, but an earlier one, the last letter is not
doubled: benefit - benefited, gallop - galloping, pardon - pardoned, offer -
offering. Exceptions: handicap - handicapped, kidnap - kidnapper, worship -
worshipping.
 Words of more than one syllable ending in l double it if the stress does not
fall on the last syllable: cancel - cancelled, travel - travelling, jewel - jeweller.
These words take a single l in US spelling. Exceptions: appealing,
paralleled.
 Final consonants are not doubled before suffixes beginning with a
consonant: enroll - enrolment, commit - commitment, fulfil - fulfilment, prefer
- preferment, quarrel - quarrelsome, rival - rivalry.

b) Keeping the final silent e of words when adding suffixes -ed, -ing, -er, or -
ly

 If the suffix begins with a vowel, the e is dropped: hope - hoping, dive -
diver, pursue - pursuing, celebrate - celebrated. Exception: age - ageing.
  If the suffix begins with a consonant, the e is kept: bare - barely, fine - finely,
woe - woeful, refine - refinement, care - careless. Exceptions: argue -
argument, awe - awful, due - duly, true - truly, whole - wholly.

c) Changing y at the end of a word to i, when adding -ed, -ing, or -er

 Words ending in y and preceded by a vowel, keep the y: key - keying play -
playing, annoy - annoying.
 Words ending in y and preceded by a consonant, change the y to i when
adding -ed or -er: cry - cried, fly - flier, carry - carried, dusty - dustier. But
keep the y when adding -ing: cry - crying, fly - flying, carry - carrying.

d) -ful or -full?

 Full becomes -ful when added to the end of a word: beautiful, joyful, useful,
mouthful, spoonful.
 Note also: fulfil, fulfilment.
 But: fullness.

e) Adding mis- and dis-

 When adding mis- or dis- to the beginning of a word, there is only one s
unless the word itself begins with s: misheard disagree disappear misspelt
disservice dissimilar 6.

f) Adding in- and un-

 When adding in- or un- to the beginning of a word, there is only one n
unless the word itself begins with n: inseparable, unending, innumerable,
unnecessary.

g) i before e except after c

 This rule works with many words, especially if the sound is ee: ceiling,
believe, deceive, niece, receive, shield, siege.
 Exceptions (examples): seize, protein, weird, species, Keith, Neil, Sheila.
  If the sound is ay the spelling is always ei: freight, neighbor, weigh.

h) Adding -ly

 When -ly is added to a word ending in y, the y changes to an i: happy -

happily, necessary -necessarily.

i) -ize or -ise?

 In British English, many verbs can be spelt either -ize or -ise. -ize is the
usual US spelling. Note: capsize, prize (to value) which must be spelt -ize.
 Words spelt -ise (note that these words can only be spelt -ise; there is no
choice in the matter): compromise, demise, disguise, enterprise, exercise,
franchise, merchandise, revise, surmise, surprise, verbs:, advertise, advise,
apprise, arise, chastise, circumcise, comprise, compromise, demise,
despise, devise, disguise, enfranchise, enterprise, excise, exercise,
improvise, incise, merchandise, premise, prise, (open), revise, supervise,
surmise, surprise, televise.

j) -able or -ible?

 It is not always easy to remember whether a word ends with -able or -ible.
Most words end
-able, and whenever new words are coined, they are usually spelt -able.
 There is no simple rule (it depends on the Greek or Latin word from which
the word comes), but the set of commonly used words that end -ible is a
fairly small one: accessible, audible, collapsible, combustible, compatible,
comprehensible, contemptible, convertible, credible, crucible, defensible,
digestible, discernible, edible, eligible, fallible, feasible, flexible, forcible,
gullible, horrible, inadmissible, incorrigible, incorruptible, indelible,
indestructible, indivisible, inexhaustible, inexpressible, intelligible, invincible,
irascible, irrepressible, irresistible, eligible, negligible, ostensible,
perceptible, permissible, plausible, possible, reducible, reprehensible,
responsible, reversible, sensible, susceptible, tangible, terrible, visible.
 Most other adjectives end in -able.

Reflection task 3.2.

Select the correct answer from the words in brackets, according to the rules learnt
in this section:

1. He (correct, correctly) defined the terms. The answer sounded (correctly,

correct).

2. She (quickly, quick) adjusted the fees. She adapted (quick, quickly) to any
situation.

3. He measured the floor (exact, exactly). They proved to be (perfectly, perfect)

(exact, exactly) measurements.

4. The stillness of the tomb was (awfully, awful). The tomb was (awfully, awful) still.

5. It was a (dangerously, dangerous) lake to swim in. The man was (dangerous,
dangerously) drunk. The gas smelled (dangerously, dangerous).

6. She performed (magnificent, magnificently). It was a (magnificent, magnificently)

beautiful performance.

7. Her voice sounds (beautifully, beautiful). She sang the song (exact, exactly) as it
was written. We heard it (perfectly, perfect).

8. He was a very (sensibly, sensible) person. He acted very (sensible, sensibly).

9. Mike wrote the exam too (slow, slowly) . He always writes (slow, slowly).

10. Talk (softly, soft) or don't talk at all. The music played (softly, soft).

Read the comments about this task on the virtual campus. The comments are
posted in the section "Evaluation".

Reflection task 3.3.

Write down the kinds of mistake seen in the following sentences and correct them.
The mistakes are either of the following: misspelled words and lack of capital
letters.

1. Apropriacy error ________________

2. See the characteristics bellow ________________

3. Fifth hypotheses ________________

4. When student�s help each other... ________________

5. That is, phocus on language more than on meaning and a big expectation for
the natural order. ________________

6. Before analyzing and giving my point of view about both affirmations it is really
necessary to define some basic concepts to understand swain…
________________

7. There are many controversial theories and hypothesis. ________________

8. The monitor theory has to do with corectness. ________________

9. And they should give feedback when necessary, avoiding the interuption when
the student is… ________________

10. December, monday, brazilian, English. ________________

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posted in the section "Evaluation".

3.1.3. Advanced grammar

During the first half of the 20th century, linguists who theorized about the
human ability to speak did so from the behaviorist perspective that prevailed at that
time. They therefore held that language learning, like any other kind of learning,
could be explained by a succession of trials, errors, and rewards for success.

This view became radically questioned, however, by the American linguist Noam
Chomsky. For Chomsky, acquiring language cannot be reduced to simply
developing an inventory of responses to stimuli, because every sentence that
anyone produces can be a totally new combination of words. The term "generative
grammar" refers to the set of rules that enables us to understand sentences but of
which we are usually totally unaware.

It is because of generative grammar that everyone says "that's how you say it"
rather than "how that's you it say", or that the words "Bob" and "him" cannot mean
the same person in the sentence "Bob loves him", but can do so in "Bob knows
that his father loves him".

In Chomsky's view, the reason that children so easily master the complex
operations of language is that they have innate knowledge of certain principles that
guide them in developing the grammar of their language. In other words,
Chomsky's theory is that language learning is facilitated by a predisposition that
our brains have for certain structures of language.

Reflection task 3.4.

Select the correct answer from the words below and test your knowledge:

1. About fifty percent of the students in our class ______ from poor families.

a) is

b) are

c) can

d) am

2. One-third of the population here ______ increased its income in the past three
years.

a) has

b) have

c) has been

d) have been

3. Bread and butter ______ their daily food.

a) is

b) are

c) can

d) am

4. Great quantities of fish ______ in this river in the past few years.

a) is caught

b) has been caught

c) are caught

d) have been caught

5. Why she didn't come today ______ quite clear.

a) isn't

b) aren't

c) don't

d) doesn't

6. When and where to build the school ______ yet.

a) has not been decided

b) have not been decided

c) has not decided

d) have not decided

7. What we need ______ bicycles.

a) is

b) are

c) can

d) am

8. What he says and what he ______.

a) do not agree

b) does not agree

9. He as well as his brothers ______ fond of sports.

a) are

b) is
c) has

d) have

10. More than one student ______ late for class this morning.

a) can

b) am

c) was

d) were

Read the comments about this task on the virtual campus. The comments are
posted in the section "Evaluation".

Reflection task 3.5.

Select the correct answer from the words below and test your knowledge (infinitive
and gerunds):

1. Do you mind ______ here?

a) I sit

b) my sitting

c) sat

d) I sitting

2. I can hardly imagine Mike ______ across the Atlantic Ocean all by himself.

a) sail

b) to sail

c) sailing

d) to sailing

3. I would appreciate ______ back this afternoon.

a) you to call

b) you call

c) you're calling

d) your calling

4. No one enjoys ______ in public.

a) to be made fun of

b) making fun of

c) being made fun of

d) to make fun of

5. If you keep ______ in English, your oral English will improve.

a) to talk

b) talking

c) talk

d) having talked

6. I don't feel like ______ out for a walk.

a) going

b) to go

c) go

d) to be going

7. Would you mind ______ the window?

a) to close

b) close

c) closing
d) to be closing

8. People couldn't help ______ the funny man.

a) to laugh at

b) laugh at

c) laughing at

d) laughing on

9. This sentence needs ______.

a) to improve

b) improving

c) improve

d) being improved

10. He never stopped ______ until his last minute of life.

a) to work

b) to be working

c) working

d) to have worked

Read the comments about this task on the virtual campus. The comments are
posted in the section "Evaluation".

Reflection task 3.6.

Write down the kind of mistake seen in the following sentences and correct it. The
mistakes are among the following: wrong verb tense, lack of subject, lack of third
person and wrong or misplaced prepositions:

1. This two concepts are... ________

2. I find this two topics very important... ________

3. Because is an interesting topic ________

4. In that case, is better for the teacher... ________

5. In my context is very difficult... ________

6. To identify feelings in learners before to force them to produce... ________

7. In this case we are going to focus about the process of second language
learning or acquisition. ________

8. We have come across with a lot of information about theories and the main
ideas are being internalized in our data,... ________

9. Acquisition will take place only when the input we are exposed is
comprehensible. ________

10. Somehow, it is necessary to focus the discussion in many factors, such as the
age of the learner, the abilities,... ________

Read the comments about this task on the virtual campus. The comments are
posted in the section "Evaluation".

3.1.4. Vocabulary

Our academic vocabularies consist of words that are quite different from those
words we learn in our everyday interactions through recreational reading, watching
movies and television, or just going about our daily work.

Academic vocabulary refers to the words associated with the content knowledge.
Within every discipline there is a specific set of words to represent its concepts and
processes. These words are conceptually more complex than everyday language;
therefore, they are more difficult to learn.

A student's depth of word knowledge within a discipline, or academic vocabulary,

relates to success in that subject (National Institute for Literacy, 2007). To learn
specialized words, such as the vocabulary of science, students must know the
content associated with the word (Graves & Penn, 1986). To help others
comprehend content area readings, it is important that we select the words that
represent the concepts that are fundamental to understanding the text for
instruction. Teachers are reminded that to help students build strong academic
vocabularies that produce positive effects on their "comprehension, learners need
to actively work with new words" (Beck, McKeown & Kucan, 2008).
Reflection task 3.7.

Write down the kind of mistake seen in the following sentences and correct it. The
mistakes are either of the following: false cognates and wrong words for the
context:

1. Homeworks ________

2. Informations ________

3. Educative authority ________

4. Kids that are grown by their grandparents ________

5. The teacher is less able to attend each student ________

6. Demotivated ________

7. Others countries ________

8. Which aspects of language acquirement are biologically…? ________

9. They argue that... often in a slow, grammatical and repetitious way. ________

10. I have been living in the US for a few years, but actually I am living in my
hometown. ________

Read the comments about this task on the virtual campus. The comments are
posted in the section "Evaluation".

3.2. Review

This section summarizes the knowledge acquired during this unit:

 In the introduction the four main topics of the unit have been introduced:
memory, spelling, grammar and vocabulary.
 In the section memory, we have seen the different technique that can be
used to learn faster and with lasting results.
 The section spelling rules has given information about the features of the
most complex spelling issues of English.
  Finally, the sections advanced grammar and vocabulary have provided a
deeper insight into their mechanics and have provided exercises to test your
current knowledge.

3.3. Check your knowledge

Enter the virtual campus and access the Reflection exercises section. There you
will find the tasks you have seen during this unit. You have to complete all of them
and, when you finish them, the system will provide you with the feedback. If you
need more information, consult the files "Assessment", right under the section
Assessment of the unit.

Remember that, apart from reading the contents and completing the Reflection
exercises, you have to complete the activities and the exam or the final task. The
teacher has provided the information about them in the Group forum.

Bibliography

[1] Beck, I.l., McKeown, M.G. & Kucan, L. (2008). Creating Robust Vocabulary.
New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

[2] Graves, M. F., & Penn, M. C. (1986): "Costs and benefits of various methods of
teaching vocabulary". Journal of Reading, 29(7), 596-602.

[3] National Institute for Literacy (2007): What Content-Area Teachers Should
Know about Adolescent Literacy. [checked on the 26/10/2013]
http://www.cdl.org/resource-library/pdf/
what_contentarea_teachers_should_know_about_al.pdf