Academic vs. Personal Texts: Key Differences
Comparison of Texts: Academic vs. Personal
The use of personal writing (letters, postcards, etc.) often differs significantly from academic texts. This modification is more intense among young people, for whom academic activity is primary. Specific features include:
Academic Texts
- Purpose: Demonstrate knowledge or present work results.
- Content: Derived from other texts or activities (experiments, lectures).
- Context: Decontextualized from the student’s immediate reality.
- Language: Objective, accurate,
Communicative Structures & Grammar in Language Learning
Essential Communicative Structures
The primary goal when learning a second language is to communicate effectively with others, both orally and in writing. To achieve this, students need a basic vocabulary and command of the elementary syntactical structures that form the language’s framework (linguistic competence). Correct use of grammatical rules is crucial for communication competence. Without understanding how to form and interpret sentences (what Chomsky called “competence”), the most basic
Read MoreChildren’s Literature: Techniques for Reading and Comprehension
Children’s Literature in English: Reading and Comprehension Techniques
Reading or listening to literary texts is a communicative activity through which attitudes, values, and socio-cultural aspects are transmitted. Materials such as stories, poems, and rhymes are valuable teaching aids that will help students attain communicative competence. Teachers should use literary texts in the English class because they present language in context, provide authentic language, and are motivating. Teachers
Read MoreGamification and Language Learning Strategies
Gamifying the Language Classroom
We can gamify a class by following these steps:
- Understanding the target audience and context
- Defining learning objectives
- Structuring the experience
- Identifying resources
- Applying gamification elements
We can gamify a Primary English classroom using many resources and games, such as Kahoot, Toovary, and Quizizz. Ultimately, the key to gamifying a classroom is to start with action or performance first, not with the content.
The Critical Period Hypothesis in Language Learning
Read MoreSome
Linguistic Signs, Meaning, and Communication
The Significance of Signs
Kinds of Signs
Signs
Signs are created by human beings to communicate (words, numbers, signs).
Symptoms or Signals
Symptoms, or signals, are signs that refer to natural phenomena and are not intended to communicate anything, although they do inform us about something (e.g., fever is a symptom that indicates illness).
The Linguistic Sign
Linguistic signs are a type of signal used to create messages in a language (e.g., finger, horse, box).
Components of the Linguistic Sign
The linguistic
Read MoreCircuit Elements, Saussure’s Dichotomies, and Language
Circuit Elements and Parts of Speech
In this circuit, we can differentiate between an inside and an outside. The inside is divided between sender and receiver. We can also distinguish three types of completely mixed facts:
- Physical facts (embodiment of the line).
- Physiological facts (hearing, speech).
- Psychic facts (conceptual aspects).
We also distinguish between active and passive parties. The sender is active, and the receiver is passive. However, the receiver is also active in their own way, although
Read More